It's late at night

Daming Palace, in the imperial study of the inner palace

Emperor Richard looked at the historical documents that were already a little yellowed, and only after a long time did he raise his head and rub his brow with a slightly tired expression.

At this time, he knew very well in his heart the scene that happened at the Continental Congress more than 100 years ago, as if he had experienced it himself.

He sighed softly

Emperor Richard casually threw the original declaration of independence, which had already turned a little yellow, into the gilded swallowing beast brazier on the side of the imperial case, lit the flame, and watched the dancing flames completely engulf this precious historical document.

Subsequently, these historical originals were all thrown into the brazier and burned.

After doing this, a satisfied look appeared on Emperor Richard's face.

These so-called historical materials are still good to make him disappear forever, just like those ancient books of the Inca civilization and some other things, there is no need to exist anymore.

After the Tang Empire arose on the North American continent, history has opened a new chapter, what is the point of always clinging to the things of the old era?

Emperor Richard really couldn't imagine that the seventy-first son of the emperor sent another big surprise, not to mention, he is really a lucky general!

Or...... Why can't anyone else touch this?

The secret decree has been issued, and the relevant personnel involved in this matter will investigate to the end and solve it completely without any trouble.

The complete determination of the pattern of the North American continent made Emperor Richard's greatest wish come to fruition; That is, to have an easy access to the sea on the east coast that belonged to the empire, which is now realized.

The metropolis of New York is located on the border between New York and New Jersey, and many residents of Northwest New Jersey live and work in New York, with convenient ferry connections between the two places.

The Port Authority of New York includes the Port of New York and the Port of Jersey, and the royal family of the Tang Empire owns the bustling Manhattan Island and Brooklyn districts of New York.

With these, it is enough.

Not long after the stability of North American affairs, the government of Baron Tang Dezhao once again proposed an immediate plan for the expansion of the East Indies at the end of 1891, which was urgently suspended at the end of the previous year.

In order to secure his hand, Emperor Richard once again vetoed the imperial government's new expansion and colonization plan. And clearly inform the current cabinet ministers that the motion will not be passed during their second five-year cabinet term.

At this stage

Emperor Richard demanded that the government devote itself to digesting the fruits of North American expansion, to do its best to bridge the contradictions between different ethnic groups, to make economic development the first priority, and to cover up the deep discord with prosperous economic development.

This is not an easy task, and requires a high degree of attention and a nuanced assimilation policy, without the slightest sloppiness.

In time

Through immigration, sinicization, education and other means, it will take 1~2 generations to gradually digest the 5.832 million white citizens included in the empire's borders.

In the United States, which was in the original historical time and space, it was through prosperous economic development that a high degree of patriotism was established to integrate various nationalities, and this was the correct path that proved to be successful.

A thriving economy is enough to mask many of the deep-seated contradictions, leaving the empire with plenty of time.

This reflects the inconsistency between the interests of the monarchy and the regime, with Emperor Richard thinking more long-term, while the cabinet seems to be a bit eager for quick success.

Each Cabinet government wants to make a brilliant performance and lay the foundation for the party's future election to govern.

With the sophisticated tastes of the citizens of the empire, if the current cabinet government does not have the dazzling achievements of expanding colonization, even if it is a fanciful statement, many Chinese voters will not look down on it.

The immediate consequence is to lose the prime minister's race or to lose many seats in the Reichstag and the provinces, as well as to lose the election of senior officials, the election of independent prosecutors, and so on.

The swallowing of three states and one vassal in North America this time is enough to make the Tang Dezhao government look back and establish the most abundant capital for the next prime minister's election, but who would think that there are many political achievements?

The preferences of the citizens of the empire directly influenced the policy direction of the cabinet government, and the economy developed step by step rather than practicing internal skills. It was more direct, more dazzling, and more eye-catching to launch an expansionist colonial war, which was enough to arouse jubilation from the government and the opposition and win a round of applause.

Politicians have won a lot of capital, soldiers have won supreme glory and even noble titles, businessmen have gained a larger market, and ordinary citizens have honor!

With so many benefits, who isn't keen on it?

The enthusiasm for expanding colonial wars, which was not only very strong in the imperial army, but also in the political circles, has become a common practice.

Emperor Richard now knew that this was a cocoon, and that the fanatical calls for colonial expansion throughout the empire were coming and going, and if he traced back to the roots, he would not be able to get rid of it.

Therefore, Emperor Richard did not hesitate to use the supreme authority of the imperial family to suppress the strong impulse of the Tang Dezhao government to expand colonization, and left it for long-term consideration.

The Tang Empire is like a train speeding wildly on the road of expansion and colonization, and it is time to step on the brakes and slow down the rushing train.

In the opinion of Emperor Richard

An additional colony of the East Indies or an extra one or two million square kilometers of territory would be of little practical significance to the Empire, and the good territory of the world would have been almost occupied.

The East Indies, which Tang Dezhao's cabinet fancied, were actually not a good place.

The Kalimantan and Sulawesi islands are located near the equator line, and are hot and humid all year round, with tropical rainforests and a very difficult place to develop.

It turned out to be historical

After more than 130 years, this region is still relatively backward and underdeveloped, and it is by no means without reason.

Like the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, often referred to as the "Green Terror" by local pioneers, the dangers of tropical plagues, malaria, flying insects and poisonous snake bites can be deadly.

The early settlers of Brazil had a high mortality rate and the surrounding environment was very unfriendly to human colonization.

The best way to do this is to keep it in a pristine state to maintain the balance of the world's environment.

The Dutch colonists ruled the East Indies for nearly 300 years, more than seventy percent of the population was crowded on the small island of Java, and more than two percent of the population lived in Sumatra.

The islands of Kalimantan and Sulawesi remain undeveloped, with the biggest obstacle coming from the harsh rainforest environment.

If you really want to take it down, you have to choose a good time.

For example, when Britain launched the Second Boer War at the end of this century, the help of the Tang Empire was definitely indispensable.

If they took advantage of the situation to annex most of the Dutch colony, the British would only pretend not to see it.

Without the British fanning the flames, the small bodies of the Dutch could not make big waves, and they could not even make a splash in the world.

Isn't it wonderful that the empire is secretly eating with a mouth full of oil?

Compared to the tropical jungle-strewn island of Kalimantan, Emperor Richard really liked the Arabian Peninsula with its yellow sands, which is the world's oil depot! There is no limit to the riches that lie within.

In any case, this treasure land must be in the bag.

It has been 19 years since the signing of the Tang-Egypt Peace Treaty on March 18, 1872, which established the legitimate military presence of the Tang Empire in Suez City.

On April 17, 1872, Yunzhong Province in East Africa was established, which was the most distant overseas province of the empire and the bridgehead for the Tang Empire's future expansion and colonization in Africa.

The Overseas Military Region of the Royal Army of the Tang Empire has set up the Red Naval Region here, which consists of the Suez City Garrison Command, the Yunzhong Provincial Garrison Command, the North Yemen Special Military Zone and the Sana'a Special Military Zone, a total of four directly subordinate military units, which maintain a military presence all year round.

The Royal Navy has the Red Sea Fleet in Suez City and has several naval bases, including a Royal Marine Expeditionary Regiment stationed at the Sana'a City Naval Base.

These nineteen years

The Tang Empire has been silently sending Chinese immigrants and merchants to Yunzhong Province and Yemen, Jeddah, Leith and even Kuwait in the northeast of the Arabian Peninsula, strengthening its influence in the region and accumulating strength for the next outbreak.

At heart, Emperor Richard was not interested in most of Africa.

He can deeply understand Queen Victoria's current mentality, and Her Majesty the Queen, who single-handedly built the "empire on which the sun never sets", is really overwhelmed now.

I am not interested in looking at this place, I have no appetite to look at that place, I am not interested, and I have completely lost the momentum of forging ahead in the early and middle periods.

Emperor Richard is now in this state of mind, standing in front of the world map in his spare time, watching himself lay down a large imperial territory, his heart is full of pride and a strong sense of accomplishment.

Look at other places, this is not satisfied, that there is no appetite, it is really full of feelings.

The only areas that have been laid out in advance, for long-term planning, are the Red Sea coast and the Arabian Peninsula.

Now

After nearly 20 years of unremitting immigration development, even in the most remote Kuwait, there are more than 6,300 Chinese immigrants in the local area, forming a very powerful Chinese community.

These local Chinese businessmen have their own armed smuggling teams and iron-hulled clippers, most of which carry between 200~500 tons, and are known for their flexibility and speed.

Local Chinese merchants mainly relied on smuggling to Basra, Baghdad and the Kingdom of Iran in the interior of the Ottoman Empire, smuggling sugar, milk powder, wool and petrochemical products such as plastic basins, plastic buckets, and plastic shoes, which were popular in the region, and were very popular in the black market.

In addition, there are many industrial goods of the empire, such as rifles, pistols, sharp sabers and leather boots, cowhide saddles, delicious canned goods, etc.

The Chinese smugglers colluded with some of the most well-established families in the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Iran to thrive in the smuggling business and earn a lot of money.

Kuwait has also become the famous "Dream City" and "Fallen City" of the Gulf, attracting many wealthy Arab merchants, tribal elders and Ottoman nobles to linger and enjoy themselves.

There are beautiful Arab belly dancers, brightly lit luxury night banquets, delicious Chinese food, all-night casinos and gambling stalls, all kinds of prostitutes in Qinglou, whites, blacks and girls from Southeast Asia and Fuso, just like that.

As long as you have money, you can find everything you need in Kuwait.

There are many examples of this in the Arabian Peninsula, where the city of Sana'a in Yemen is home to more than 37,000 ethnic Chinese residents, adventurers from the empire and Europe, and adrenaline-hungry North American cowboys, and the city is more bustling than ever.

Eastern and Western cultures and Arabic cultures are intertwined in Sana'a.

In the city, you can see Arab mosques, Chinese cornices and manors with a strong Mediterranean style, and people of all colors can be seen here.

Yunzhong Province, which has the largest Chinese population (Note; A total of 280,000 square kilometers of Eritrea, Gibuti and the two provinces of the upper Nile) have now been built along the Red Sea with a length of 1,370 kilometers of the Red Sea Trunk Railway and several railway branches.

A series of port towns such as Massawa, Genting and Assab on the Red Sea have been built, and a relatively complete urban system has been formed with Yunzhong City, the provincial capital, and hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land and vast pastures have been developed.

Although located in East Africa, Yunzhong Province is located in the northeastern part of the Ethiopian plateau, bordering the Red Sea, and the climate is between 14 and 234 degrees Celsius all year round, which is pleasantly cool.

The region is full of sunshine and rainwater rivers, which is very suitable for agriculture and animal husbandry, especially the fruit trees planted are crisp and sweet, and can be canned and exported to Europe.

Nineteen years

Yunzhong Province has grown to a population of nearly one million, of which more than 90 percent are Chinese immigrants, and less than 10 percent are Arab or European immigrants, especially Italian and Spanish immigrants, and a few British and French immigrants.

As for the black tribes, they are almost invisible in the local area.

The largest port on the Red Sea coast, Massawa Port, has now become a Red Sea supply port for ocean-going freighters from Britain, France, Tang, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries.

Many British sailors spent their last shilling in their pockets here, and some had a lot of debts in the casinos and could not follow the freighter back to Europe, so they had to stay in Massawa to earn money to pay off their debts.

It has the most developed shipbuilding industry in the entire Mediterranean from the western Indian Ocean, as well as convenient ports and warehouses, forming a distribution center for goods that radiates to Africa and the Near East, and the local economy has become more and more prosperous.

I have to admire the business acumen of the Chinese, and there is even a second home tailored for many European captains, who can easily have an outhouse in Massawa City, with their favorite women and even children.

Many European captains could not walk as soon as they arrived at the port of Massawa, and it was by no means without reason that the freighter stopped for ten days and half a month.

The Tang Empire was very cautious in its expansion and colonization in the Red Sea and East Africa, only strengthening its presence there, but not expanding aggressively.

Emperor Richard waited patiently for the opportunity that the Ottoman Empire would fall apart in World War 1 more than 20 years later, and there was no need to rush at all.

He firmly believes;

I will definitely see the day when this fertile peninsula region will be included in the bag, and now it will take patience or patience, and I can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. (End of chapter)