Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 395 Pontianak
September 5th, 2025

Pontianak, Lanfang

The city is located at the mouth of the Kabuas River (formerly known as Kunjiang) in West Borneo. It is the economic and political center of Lan Fang. Originally, the city was crisscrossed with waterways, and most of the houses were built on the water, with many dilapidated water houseboats.

After submitting to the State of Chu, the Governor of Malaya, Zheng Guoguang, frowned as he looked at the dilapidated and low stilt houses on the water.

An order was immediately issued to demolish all of them, and all Chinese people living in shanties on the water were to move to the shore, where they were allocated a piece of land and allowed to build their own houses.

As for the Malay natives, they were thrown directly into labor camps and contributed to the construction of bridges and roads in the area, so there is no need to elaborate on that.

In this way

The floating shacks where people used to gather were cleared out, and the lake surface has been restored to its original wide state. The water can flow again, and the lake surface, which was originally heavily polluted and littered with garbage, has become clear and clean again.

Although this tough policy caused dissatisfaction among many grassroots people, after a bloody crackdown, the local Chinese community became well-behaved.

Now it seems that this decision was quite correct.

Everyone is lazy. Those shacks on the water that have been inhabited for a long time are dilapidated and the environment is poor. Children can only play in the water mixed with garbage, and there are basically no older people to be seen.

Living in such a harsh environment, the life expectancy of local people is generally not long. There are numerous tropical diseases such as diarrhea and malaria, which the elderly cannot bear.

It will be difficult to solve the problem at its root without thoroughly clearing out these shanty towns.

When King Zheng Guohui of Chu came to inspect the place surrounded by a group of people, Governor Zheng Guoguang said proudly:
"Your Majesty, please understand:
I remember your majesty's will very well. The greatest enemy in tropical regions is epidemic disease, no doubt about it.

So when I came here and saw the stinking river bend and the densely packed houseboats and shacks everywhere, I immediately felt overwhelmed.

The people living here excrete their feces and urinate directly into the water and discard their waste at will. Coupled with the large crowds, the environment has become extremely bad.

Our Great Chu has a territory of millions of square kilometers. We are not short of places. Why do we have to gather all of us in this stinking pond and are unwilling to migrate?

They are all a bunch of low-class people. I ordered that the leaders of the low-class people who instigated the riots be pinned to the shore and their heads be chopped off. Now everyone is safe.

Your Majesty, please look, the planned new construction area is behind us."

King Zheng Guohui of Chu turned around and looked. Rows of houses in the new residential area planned behind him had already been built. Most of them were wooden houses covered with red tiles.

This was organized by local residents, with about ten households forming a mutual aid group. The strong Chinese laborers in the mutual aid group helped build the houses. You help me, I help you, and finally we built the house together.

It's actually not that much money. There are large tracts of forest around Pontianak, and there are also several newly commissioned sawmills, so there is no shortage of wood.

In addition, the Governor's Office provided a certain amount of food subsidies to these people. According to the number of people in each family, each person was subsidized with 20 kilograms of food for three consecutive months.

If you need money and materials to build a house, you can also borrow money from the bank, as long as the amount does not exceed 50 silver dollars per household.

With the support of many preferential policies, large numbers of houses were built rapidly, creating a clean and tidy living environment, which in itself greatly reduced the incidence of epidemics.

The amount of land allocated for housing is also determined based on the number of people in each household.

Basically, each plot of land is 3 mu. If the population exceeds 4 people, one mu will be added. If the population exceeds 7 people, another mu will be added. Each household with more than 6 people can get mu of land, which is the largest.

The wooden houses built are mainly three to four rooms in a row, with a fence in the front yard, where one or two mu of land can be left to grow vegetables and raise chickens and ducks, which significantly improves life.

Behind the house is a unified pit toilet, which needs to be dug 3 meters deep and placed with wooden boards. A hole for defecation and urination is left on the boards, and it is surrounded by thin branches and mud walls on three sides.

If it is not produced according to the regulations, a fine of 5 silver dollars will be imposed.

It is easy to deal with with regulations. Every household has basically the same construction and no one dares to violate the regulations.

The Chu people's political management methods were simple and brutal: first, fines; second, public flogging; and third, direct throwing into a labor camp.

If the crime is extremely serious, then the head will be chopped off immediately.

So even if there was a quarrel among the villagers, no one dared to report it to the authorities. If they did, they would be fined, and there was no way to escape it, whether it was you or him.

More serious cases were punishable by public flogging. When the barbed whip was used, a bloody strip of skin and flesh would be torn off, causing the person to suffer excruciating pain.

Normally, after three lashes, the person being punished can still walk.

If he was whipped five or seven times, he would basically just lie there wailing, unable to even stand up, with his buttocks and back covered in blood and flesh, and trembling with pain all over.

It is precisely under the deterrence of these harsh measures that the public security in the countryside is quite good.

Even if there were some verbal disputes among the villagers, as soon as someone shouted "see the official", 99% of them would immediately become timid, say a few harsh words and run away.

Among the crowd of inspectors, King Zheng Guohui of Chu was obviously quite satisfied with the development and construction here. He said with a swipe of his hand:
"Your Excellency Zheng Ai is right. Our Great Chu Kingdom has vast seas. Why do we have to squeeze into this stinking pond to live?
I have always told you, the governing officials, to be loyal, to govern for the people, and to proceed from the interests of the people in everything you do.

This concept is correct and should be consistently implemented. However, there are exceptions, and not all public wishes are correct, reasonable, or worthy of support.

What should I do?
The correct solution is to use drastic measures and have a compassionate heart.

Our Great Chu Kingdom has a territory of thousands of miles and abundant resources. There is absolutely no space for the common people to survive. Those who support the common people are either selfish or evil.

Why do people live in river bends?

The government has already provided land and offered preferential support for building houses, so why do we still have to live on the water, living a life worse than that of a dog?

This issue deserves deep thought, and officials from all regions should go back and investigate carefully to see if this phenomenon exists.

With the King of Chu's affirmation, Governor Zheng Guoguang straightened his back and said to the Minister of Colonies, Wu Qingfeng, with a radiant look:
"Lord Wu, various cities in the south are experiencing similar situations. Your Majesty is merciful and concerned about the well-being of the Chinese people. We, as your subjects, must share His Majesty's concerns and address them appropriately."

The southern cities he mentioned were the former Dutch-occupied areas of Samarinda and Banjarmasin. There were more or less some Chinese boat people living in the river bends, which was the most dilapidated scenery in the town.

Today's southern region

The Colonial Office and the Malayan Governor's Office could be reached, but it was always not legitimate, and many things had to be carried out through the local United Autonomous Association.

The local United Self-Government Association was mostly composed of officials sent by the Colonial Office, who influenced local politics. Naturally, this matter fell on the shoulders of Wu Qingfeng, Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Wu Qingfeng solemnly replied, "This is a matter of negligence on my part. I will immediately order local officials to review this matter. If any civilians gather in this area, they must rectify the situation immediately."

King Zheng Guohui of Chu did not say much, but walked forward along the wide road.

The roads in Pontianak are wide and straight. According to local officials, the city's sewer facilities are very complete and of high standards.

It can prevent water accumulation and waterlogging during the rainy season, and basically eliminate the smelly ponds, puddles and puddles in the city. The surrounding mountains and forests have been systematically burned, and a large number of shrubs and smelly ditches that breed mosquitoes have been eliminated, and the environment has been completely improved.

This is also a cleanup that the Chu city must go through. It requires burning the surrounding mountains and forests, burning a large number of low shrubs and vines to ashes, which will greatly improve the surrounding environment.

The trees that had been burned quickly sprouted new buds after a few rains in the rainy season, and became lush again after a few months.

What is different from the past is
After the wildfire, the low bushes that were originally more than one meter tall were washed away by rain, forming a thick humus layer. They are usually loaded onto trucks by local farmers and spread on the fields. They are very good plant nutrients.

The mountains and forests have become more open and fresh, and the number of mosquitoes has been greatly reduced.

After talking along the way, we have roughly figured out the development of the local area in Pontianak.

The reason why Pontianak was able to develop is because the local area is rich in gold mines. It has developed to the point where it has more than 80 gold mines, which are controlled by many local Chinese families.

In addition, the city is located on the banks of Kunjiang River, an inland river that extends for more than 860 kilometers inland. The river water is abundant and stable, the river surface is wide, and it has very good inland shipping conditions.

The ore and rice transported back and forth were mostly carried by wooden boats, and water transportation connected several important towns upstream.

Therefore, it is suitable to develop small and medium-sized shipyards in Pontianak for inland river and offshore transportation, which is a very good business.

Moreover, the fishery resources near Pontianak are rich, and developing fishery is also a way out.

It is very close to the Strait of Malacca and is a place where cargo ships gather, providing good conditions for development.

The local area is rich in tin and timber resources. A large number of rafts are lowered from the upstream forests, containing a lot of relatively precious timber. A large timber market has been formed in Pontianak, radiating to surrounding areas in Southeast Asia.

Relying on abundant timber resources, we can develop the timber processing industry and the furniture industry, which is also a way out.

During the inspection
The ministers who accompanied him put forward many good suggestions. King Zheng Guohui of Chu ordered a study to expand the scale of natural rubber plantations, which is a local advantage.

As the world's industrialization process deepens, the uses of natural rubber have gradually expanded and its usage has increased. Therefore, developing rubber plantations is a good way.

The local geographical climate is suitable for the growth of natural rubber trees. There are already natural rubber plantations, but they are not large in scale.

Governor Zheng Guoguang always regarded Your Majesty's words as sacred. When Your Majesty just mentioned it briefly, he secretly made up his mind to vigorously develop natural rubber plantations.

He knew that he was not a man of extraordinary talent, but he was loyal and reliable. He would do whatever the emperor asked him to do, and he would never make mistakes.

You know what, he really took the right path.

Developing a natural rubber plantation is not something that can be achieved overnight. It takes at least 8 to 10 years for a natural rubber seedling to grow into an adult rubber tree that can be tapped, and it requires continuous investment.

During this period, no profit can be seen.

But once a natural rubber plantation is established, it will generate a steady stream of income and is definitely a good deal.

(End of this chapter)