Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 38 Mobilization before the Journey South
Sitting in the audience
After hearing the magnificent picture that General Zheng Guohui described to everyone, trainee team leader Tang Yaozu and Hu Sanpao looked at each other excitedly, unable to suppress the boiling blood in their hearts.

Both of them were remnants of the Taiping Rebellion. Fortunately, they were recruited by Lord Zheng Guohui at the Yanziji River. From then on, they followed the Lord in battles and performed outstandingly.

Especially in the battle against bandits in Jiangnan, he was one of the most outstanding grassroots soldiers.

Therefore, he was selected and received three months of intensive officer training at the Jinling Military Academy. After graduation, he became a trainee captain (note: trainee platoon leader).

Since the day they embarked on the road of rebellion, these people were destined to have almost no place to stay in the Chinese mainland.

Others could see it, and Tang Yaozu and Hu Sanpao could naturally see that the general was ambitious, which was exactly what they wanted.

Going to Southeast Asia is undoubtedly the brightest option for the future.

at this moment

Tang Yaozu and Hu Sanpao were full of youthful enthusiasm and were inspired with great ambitions. They couldn't wait to go to Southeast Asia to show their talents.

As long as there is a glimmer of hope, who would be willing to be a coward?

The civil and military officials present had different thoughts, but a desire to achieve great things was aroused, and their eyes were full of passion.

Zheng Guohui did not need to hide his feelings in front of these people. He did not hesitate to use such words as "establish a foundation that will last forever", "conquer the barbarians and control the South China Sea islands", "set an example and open up homes for overseas Chinese", etc., to give these people a good spiritual boost.

He also promised that "after the success, I will rule the world with you all" and "all those who are awarded titles and fiefs for their merits will be treated equally. This oath can be witnessed by heaven and earth." These words directly stimulated these young military and political officials to the point that they screamed and their eyes turned red.

There is only a scar the size of a bowl on my head, but I have sold my worthless life to the general and will follow him until death.

After the meeting
Everyone was still discussing enthusiastically that the first special Mindanao pioneer group was responsible for taking root in Southeast Asia, establishing a foothold, and establishing a military logistics base and port.

We are just facing some uncivilized natives. What is there to be afraid of?
Although on the surface there were 500 elite soldiers, in reality they were an army of 4000 armed to the teeth. Every resident in the settlement was an elite who had survived hundreds of battles. Could it be that they were unable to lift a knife after just half a year?

Zheng Guohui left behind three trusted generals: the pioneer group commander Zheng Shouxin (with the title of Qianzong, his younger uncle), the navigator Zheng Shouzhong (with the title of Qianzong, his eleventh uncle), and the Qianzong officer Qian Jiang, as well as the officer in charge of Chongming Island affairs Zheng Shoucheng (with the title of Qianzong, his fifth uncle), to have dinner with him.

room
Zheng Guohui did not say anything more about the trip to Southeast Asia, but just chatted about family matters in a gentle manner, and finally said;
"You gentlemen, please go ahead and lay the foundation for me to lead my army south. This is of utmost importance.

In one or two years at the fastest, and three to five years at the slowest, I will come in person and work hand in hand with you to create a great career.

The current situation in Southeast Asia is very complicated. In the east, the British have occupied Malaya, Singapore, Penang and other places, and are planning to establish the Straits Governor's Colony.

In the northeast, Franks landed in the southern part of Vietnam and were expanding in all directions, establishing the Saigon Governor's Colony and causing chaos in the countries of Indochina.

In the south, the Red Barbarians occupied the East Indies and had established colonial rule in Batavia for over two hundred years. Their rule was deeply entrenched and they were not easy to deal with.

The Western colonial powers share the same language and culture, and their relations are complex, with both competition and alliances, so they must proceed with caution.

The reason why I chose the French colonies as my target is because they have different cultures, languages, races and religions from Britain, France, the Netherlands and other countries. This can minimize the influence of my southward army's conquest and avoid interference from the great powers.

But this is just an optimistic prediction and the worst-case scenario cannot be ruled out.

Therefore, the expansion to the south must be steady. It is very important to gain a firm foothold in Mindanao, widely develop military reclamation production, and achieve food self-sufficiency.

Within this year
I plan to send two to three groups of personnel south to gradually strengthen the presence of Chinese in Mindanao and build it into a solid base for our army heading south.

Only when you are strong enough will others not dare to underestimate you.

The responsibilities you bear are difficult and far-reaching. You must consider everything carefully and act with caution, so as to live up to the trust placed in you by this official."

"Please rest assured, General. We will do our utmost, even if it means going through fire and water."

The commander Zheng Shouxin (with the title of Qianzong, younger uncle), the navigator Zheng Shouzhong (with the title of Qianzong, eleventh uncle), and the Qianzong officer Qian Jiang all stood up and responded solemnly with their fists clasped.

After the dinner, everyone left.

Zheng Guohui came to the yard with his hands behind his back. In the biting cold wind, his mind was exceptionally clear, and he quietly recalled his words and actions of the day.

After reviewing it, I feel like there are no omissions.

Everything that needs to be said has been said, everything that needs to be encouraged has been encouraged, and everything that needs to be taken has been taken. As for how far the trip south can go?
This depends on God's will, and secondly, the southbound fleet must unconditionally follow the order.

It is the second day of March now, the weather is starting to warm up, and it is the early spring season when all things come back to life.

With the remaining power of the northwest wind, the southbound fleet can reach its planned destination, Mindanao, in as little as ten days or as long as half a month.

A smooth arrival means half the success.

Zheng Guohui was not worried about conquering the indigenous islanders after arriving on the island.

His subordinates are all ruthless and merciless. They have personally participated in and experienced the most brutal civil war in Chinese history. Almost all of them are elite soldiers who crawled out of the pile of corpses.

It is a joke to expect them to treat the conquered natives with kindness.

In the entire Luzon Archipelago, excluding the tens of thousands of descendants of Portuguese colonists, the total indigenous population is about 370 million, nearly half of whom are distributed in the densely populated areas near Manila.

This is a densely populated area with dense towns and cities, extensive farmland and water networks, a long history of development, and a large population.

The second is the central Luzon Islands. The first landing place of the French colonists more than 300 years ago was Cebu Island. It was also the center of the early French colony. Later, it gradually annexed Manila and other places in the north.

The total indigenous population of the Cebu Islands is about 120 million. The French colonists owned numerous plantations here, which produced a lot of tobacco, coffee, coconut and various minerals. It is one of the important production areas.

On the southern island of Mindanao, there are about 60 to 65 indigenous people, most of whom exist in the form of tribes or indigenous kingdoms with relatively low productivity.

Mindanao is the second largest island after Luzon, located in the southern part of the archipelago, with a total area of ​​approximately 94630 square kilometers.

The island has a typical tropical rainforest climate and boasts natural landscapes such as Mount Apo.

Mindanao has a mild climate, abundant sunshine and rainfall, making it an ideal place to develop agricultural production.

Not only is it vast in area, its topography is also extremely rich, with many mountains and plateaus, and rivers crisscrossing. It is also a beautiful place full of natural beauty.

Conquering Mindanao is equivalent to conquering one-third of the Luzon Islands and gaining a firm foothold in the South Pacific region.

To put it bluntly
Without overwhelming strength, no one can drive it away.

The fleet was arranged to go to Southeast Asia in batches, and all expenses had to be allocated by Zheng Guohui. The first batch of 4322 people going to Southeast Asia alone would cost nearly 20 taels of silver.

This does not include the salaries and silver paid to the soldiers, nor the money and food paid to the settlers.

In the southbound fleet

All the soldiers received no salary from the day they boarded the ship. The only privilege they could enjoy was that they did not have to pay for the ship ticket heading south.

All the remaining soldiers were rewarded with looted fields, women, houses and other physical objects for their military achievements. The better they performed, the more they got.

It was different for the settlers. They had to pay for the boat ticket to Southeast Asia, which was 50 taels of silver per person, and there was no cheating for anyone.

If you don't want to, you can just rot to death on Chongming Island.

The 50 taels of silver did not need to be paid in cash. It could be owed to the Special Development Mission, paid with the harvest from the rented land, or paid on credit for buffaloes, seeds, farm tools, or materials for building houses.

Another way to repay the silver debt was to take up arms and participate in the battle. Depending on the performance, the debt of three, five, ten, or eight taels of silver would be waived.

The more battles you participate in, the more money you will be exempted from.

Soldiers can get free priority access to local indigenous young women captured through battles based on their combat performance in order to boost morale and inspire fighting spirit.

This is not the case for the settlers. Since they are not in the army, they have fewer restrictions and enjoy the protection of the army, so naturally they have fewer preferential treatments.

If the villagers want to get local young indigenous women, they have to spend real money to buy them.

Under the current social system

Once the public accepts this set of administrative governance rules, it will be almost seamless and can be implemented naturally.

No one thinks there is anything wrong with human trafficking; they have seen it too much.

Zheng Guohui's huge expenditure was mostly used to purchase thousand-stone Fu ships, large Western sailing ships, weapons and equipment such as foreign guns, cannons and gunpowder, as well as food, tents, livestock, various vegetables and grain seeds prepared for the southward journey, expenses for the fleet personnel, etc.

For the sweet liquor brewed from glutinous rice alone, more than 720 barrels were purchased, worth more than taels of silver.

Sweet liquor is not that expensive, but these more than 200 large wooden barrels are not cheap. Each barrel can hold more than kilograms, which is much more expensive than sweet liquor.

Zheng Guohui believes that such expenditure is very worthwhile.

As long as these good measures can reduce the unnecessary loss of personnel during transoceanic voyages, we should persist in them, even if it costs more money.

Just over a hundred years ago

The imperial army's expedition to Myanmar suffered from a large-scale epidemic in the tropics, resulting in a significant reduction in personnel. Even the commander-in-chief Wu Shisheng, deputy general Aligun, and naval admiral Ye Xiangde died of illness one after another. The commander-in-chief Fuheng also fell ill and was bedridden, and died on the way shortly afterwards.

A lesson from the past, a teacher of the future.

Therefore, Zheng Guohui attached great importance to every detail of the expedition to Mindanao, and repeatedly reminded his officers to pay great attention to it. Raw water cannot be drunk, rotten food cannot be eaten, and human and animal feces must be strictly managed and cleaned up in time.

We must not be careless about hygiene. Today's medical conditions are extremely backward, so prevention is the top priority.

Details determine success or failure, and this is no empty statement.

(End of this chapter)