In December 1887, after absorbing the experience of the construction of the Pioneer class (3,500-ton armored cruisers), the three shipyards of the Royal Shipyard, the Xinjing Shipyard, and the Xinghe Shipyard joined forces to begin preparations for the construction of two 2,500-ton cruisers.

In April 1888, in order to strengthen the coastal defense of overseas territories, the Admiralty made a decision to expand the 1,350-ton light cruisers, and orders were placed for the construction of two Yongxing-class light cruisers each at the Xinjing Shipyard and the Royal Shipyard.

On November 11, 1888, the three shipyards completed the construction of two 2,500-ton cruisers and four 1,350-ton light cruisers.

On December 17, four Yongxing-class light cruisers completed the final sea trials and were officially handed over to the navy, two of which were assigned to serve in the Pacific Fleet, and the other two light cruisers were assigned to the Congolese colony, which will serve as the main warships of the Congolese dispatch squadron, responsible for safeguarding the national interests of the Han State in the suburbs of the west coast of Africa and the Congo River basin.

With the acquisition of two capital warships that could sail in the inland basin of the Congo River, the overall strength of the Congolese dispatch squadron was significantly improved.

Two light cruisers of 1350 tons, two gunboats with a displacement of 760 tons, five gunboats with a displacement of 200 tons, six torpedo ships with a displacement of 120 tons,

With a total of fifteen small warships and various auxiliary vessels, the number of large and small ships exceeded 30, and the water power of the South American Han State in the coastal waters of the Congo and the inland basin of the Congo River was second only to Britain and France even in the entire west coast of Africa.

The Congolese dispatch fleet was very strong, so Li Mingyuan did not send new ships there again to support, but as the number of Chinese people settled in the Congolese colony increased year by year, increasing the number of local Chinese armed forces and the proportion of political officials became something that the local government had to do.

"There are a total of 186,000 Chinese in the Congolese colony, of which more than 40% are men between the ages of 16 and 45, and the number of these people is about 80,000.

Li Mingyuan looked at Huang Naishang and said: "I have already solved the problem of the Congolese garrison for you, how do you plan to solve the problem of colonial government affairs?" ”

"The minister hopes to send another 160 government officials from the mainland to assist the Congolese Governor's Office in handling colonial affairs."

"The number of 160 people is not small, I will first let the Ministry of Officials and Assessment Department release the news, first see how many people have volunteered to serve in the Congo, if the number is insufficient, and then screen and transfer from the newly recruited officials."

Although with the popularization of anti-tropical disease drugs such as cinchona cream and jack-of-all-trades, the mortality rate of immigrants in the Congo colony has been reduced to less than 3 percent, but they have adapted to the suitable living environment of the country, and most of the new generation of young officials born in the country choose to serve in the country, rather than go to the wild areas of Africa, where diseases are rampant.

The central government has no good solution to this situation, so it can only take a two-pronged approach, on the one hand, to encourage local young officials to contribute to the country and take the initiative to join the Congolese colonies, and on the other hand, to establish schools at all levels in the Congolese colonies to be responsible for educating Chinese children there.

The two measures complement each other to basically solve the problem of the lack of government personnel in the Congolese colony, but in order to meet the general standards of government governance with the mainland, the Congolese colony still lacks a lot in many aspects.

"Your Majesty, the minister is willing to serve in the Congo colony, and I hope that Your Majesty will approve it."

Li Mingyuan's voice fell for less than ten seconds, and a young voice came out from among the many officials.

Following the voice, Li Mingyuan saw He Ziyuan, who took a step to the right, and said with a smile: "Does Lin Shu know the geographical environment, climate, and other aspects of the Congo colony?" ”

"Your Majesty, before attending the Great Dynasty Meeting, the minister asked Governor Huang and Vice Minister Tang of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the situation in the Congo colony."

"Tell me how much you know about the Congolese colony."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

He Ziyuan stood upright outside the crowd and said: "The Congo colony covers an area of more than 2.2 million square kilometers, and the number of indigenous people is roughly estimated to be more than 500 thousand.

The local climatic conditions are very hot, rainy and mosquito-ridden, diseases are rampant, and the mortality rate of Chinese immigrants in the early days remains high, and now with the popularization of local anti-tropical diseases and local Chinese immigrants cutting down large forests and removing weeds, the mortality rate of immigrants has been greatly reduced.

Moreover, with more than ten years of development and construction, there are more than 40 Chinese immigrant settlements under the rule of the Congolese colonial governor's palace, and the local Chinese immigrants are not much different from the mainland in terms of land ownership and living standards, except that the living environment of the local Chinese immigrants is slightly inferior to that of the mainland. ”

He Ziyuan briefly recounted what he had learned, and then continued: "The minister believes that the key to governing the Congolese colony lies in the degree of control and management of the Congolese Governor's Office over the indigenous tribes in various places.

The area of the Congolese colony is close to two-thirds of the land area, and the population exceeds 5 million, according to the local government's Governor Hutchison's vision, if we want to make full use of the local mineral, manpower, and other resources to provide cheap and abundant raw materials for local industrialization, it is far from enough to rely on the current 100,000 Chinese people and 20,000 or 30,000 people. ”

"Lin Shu wants to increase the progress of immigration and increase the number of Chinese in the Congolese colony?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, on the way from the Far East to the mainland of South America, I found that there was a continuous stream of ships carrying migrants to the South Seas and South America, and that the poor people who wanted to emigrate abroad often lined up in miles long along the southeast and northern coasts.

Due to the limitations of their own conditions, Far Eastern immigrants are screened, and only people who meet all conditions can get the opportunity to move to South America.

Natural and man-made disasters in the Far East are continuous, and the number of poor people who want to go to sea to survive is more than 2 million every year, and the total number of local official and non-governmental immigrants every year is only 500,000 or 600,000, and more than 60 percent of the poor people have no chance to move to South America, so they can only choose to move to the South Sea countries, or continue to stay in the Far East to starve.

Although South America itself is temporarily unable to accept more Chinese immigrants, the land in the Congo colony is fertile and suitable for the growth of crops, and if we can increase the intensity of migration transportation and move some of the poor people stranded in the coastal areas of the Far East to the Congo colony, it will not only strengthen the local government's control over the Congo colony, but also give those poor people a way to live. ”

Talking about what he saw and heard on the boat, He Ziyuan's emotions couldn't help but get excited, and his young face was full of anger, guilt, and sympathy for the tragic situation.

"The minister was excited for a while, and there were many deficiencies in his words, and I hope Your Majesty and your lordships will forgive me."

Sensing that he was overly emotional again, He Ziyuan bowed his hand to Li Mingyuan and other officials to apologize.

"Huaxia is a child, seeing and hearing the sorrow of the people, it is inevitable that he will be emotional, and Lin Shu does not need to worry too much."

In his prime, full of ideals and ambitions, although sometimes he doesn't know how to be tactful and tolerant, such a person can only rest assured when he uses it, and Li Mingyuan is also willing to hand over some things to such a person.

"In the past ten years, the local implementation of the policy of shrinking power and the vigorous development of local industrialization have only done what they can for the plight of the people in the Far East, but they cannot cover all compatriots."

"Your Majesty's love for the people is well known to the world, and it is precisely because I have heard of His Majesty's great achievements in South America! The minister suddenly woke up, and with the help of Vice Minister Tang, he was fortunate to come to South America and see His Majesty's face. ”

In front of Li Mingyuan, He Ziyuan was like a lost lamb who had seen a spiritual idol, and excitement and reverence were all over his face.

"Your Majesty's exploits far beyond the scope of South America, in Nanyang, Songkhla and Lanfang have received a total of more than 3 million Chinese, Songkhla and Pontianak, the capital of Lanfang, were originally just a primitive and backward small place, after His Majesty sent local defense force instructors and government officials to the two places, in just over ten years, Songkhla and Pontianak have more than 200,000 Chinese residents.

Although they are surrounded by foreign powers, England and the Netherlands dare not raise troops to offend, and the two countries can have such a situation thanks to the gift of Your Majesty!

Although the minister's talent is humble, as a hot-blooded Chinese man, he is willing to be a pawn in front of His Majesty, and do his due duty for the foundation of the Han Empire! ”

"Hahaha! What Lin Shu said today is in line with my intentions! In the prime of life, we are not afraid of hardships and dangers, overcome obstacles, and strive for the rise of the country! ”

Li Mingyuan was in a good mood, slapped his right hand on the chair vigorously, and said happily: "The infrastructure construction work in all aspects of the Congo colony has been preliminarily completed, and it is time to increase the amount of immigrants imported!"

Lin Shu, I would like to appoint you as the Congolese Colonial Civil Affairs Officer, who will be responsible for the transportation, resettlement, and management of indigenous tribal affairs in the Congolese colony!

Do a good job, don't waste a lot of blood! ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty! The minister should do his best to cooperate with Governor Huang to build the Congo colony into the strongest overseas base in the country! ”…………