Chapter 1671 — Controversy over the Colonial Plan

"Surely it won't come to that?"

"Old Si, you truly do not understand Guangdong's folk customs. Cantonese, Chaoshan, and Hakka may all be Han Chinese of Guangdong, but their relationships are water and fire—far worse than 'not getting along.' Armed feuds escalate to family annihilation. And this pattern persists through migration: the Manchu Qing relocated Guangdong Hakkas to Hainan to defuse tensions, only to see the same conflicts replicate there. Beyond that, Hakka and Chaoshan people are famously clannish. Putting these two groups together is already dangerous. Mixing Fujianese into the equation—is it because you think they won't slaughter each other enthusiastically enough?"

"You mean none of these people are usable?"

"I mean this: until we systematically transform society, demolish old structures, and instill modern civic consciousness, simple manipulation—'using barbarians to control barbarians'—is useless. It will only intensify contradictions, possibly inviting wolves through the door. In the old timeline, how many cases occurred of Southeast Asian Chinese playing 'using barbarians for self-advancement,' seducing natives to massacre compatriots? Those who harmed overseas Chinese most savagely were, more often than not, themselves Chinese. In the seventeenth century, the problem will be worse." Ran Yao's denunciation was scathing.

"Xue Ruowang's plantation ambitions are not impossible, but Palembang is the wrong choice—that is Aceh Sultanate territory. The Dutch have marginal influence; Aceh is formidable. If we insert ourselves, small investment cannot hold it, large investment is not worthwhile. Little Xue is stuck in Batavia and cannot oversee Palembang; we would need another Senator as supervisor... Since we are already preparing a Brunei base for oil extraction, locate the plantations there." Wu De effectively vetoed the proposal. "As for Little Xue, his Batavia work remains important—especially pressuring the Dutch to properly cultivate our rubber."

Wu Nanhai, whose primary concern was tropical agriculture, declared his position: "I support tropical plantations one hundred percent. Where we establish them, I have no preference. The Dutch are probably unreliable—no one in this era has operated a rubber plantation, so they must learn as they go. Handling it ourselves seems more dependable. I have Senator Xiao Hezhou who has long wanted to pursue rubber cultivation. How about giving him the Brunei operation?"

"Xiao Hezhou? Used to fry chicken cutlets in the cafeteria—decent coconut crisp cutlet—but I heard he did finance. Does he know rubber?"

"He left the cafeteria long ago. Now he is an agricultural technician in our tropical crop garden, also working at the food factory—besides cutlets, he knows fish floss. Never mind that. As for rubber expertise, I do not know rubber either; we all start from scratch. He is highly motivated."

"If he is willing to go to Brunei himself, I see no problem," Ma Qianzhu said. "Sending Senators to take independent charge is the hard truth. Public recruitment should proceed; if more suitable candidates appear, they may join."

Seeing no objections, Ma Qianzhu turned to the next page: "Now let us discuss agriculture—especially grain. If grain is insufficient, people's hearts become unstable. To conquer the mainland, we require vast quantities to win hearts and protect manpower."

Wu Nanhai cleared his throat. "Briefly: Our directly operated land in Hainan, Taiwan, and Jeju—including state-owned farms and Tiandihui contracted land—totals approximately one million mu. Next year, 500,000 mu of paddy fields will yield two rice crops plus one green manure crop. Average yield is roughly 600 catties unhusked per mu, equivalent to about 450 catties brown rice. At 30 catties monthly per person, rice alone feeds 620,000 people. This covers only directly operated land, excluding peasant and landlord harvests. Feeding populations of Hainan, Taiwan, and Jeju poses no problem."

"Is that yield estimate high?" Ma Qianzhu asked. "Pesticides and chemical fertilizers have never been sufficient; not all state-owned land has undergone improvement."

"A portion has received improvement; a portion consists of paddy fields with originally superior conditions. Combined with seed and management advantages, this average is achievable. In agricultural counties like Qiongshan and Wenchang, single-crop late rice in ordinary paddies during normal years exceeds 2 shi per mu."

Wu Nanhai spoke with confidence; the others nodded. Years of governance had taught them grain's centrality to national security.

"The remaining 500,000 mu are mainly dry land and poor-condition paddies. Apart from a portion for cash crops, I plan potatoes, sweet potatoes, and miscellaneous grains. That portion can feed another 400,000 people."

One million people: roughly the total population of Senate-controlled territory. Farmers fed themselves and paid land taxes. The Senate could import rice from Tonkin and Siam as supplements. This grain was capital for the Liang-Guang Campaign.

"...Our agriculture's main problems remain the same. Modern farming has three magic weapons: seeds, fertilizers, pesticides. We have seeds, but breeding cannot keep pace—even on directly operated land, improved variety sowing rate does not reach thirty percent. Fertilizers are scarce—we rely on green manure and night soil to substitute for nitrogen, guano and fish meal for phosphate. Low efficiency, high labor intensity. Pesticides are worst: we basically cannot produce chemical pesticides, relying on indigenous plant-based ones. Mass production requires large-scale planting, consuming land and labor, while efficacy is poor and preservation short. Modern improved seeds were not optimized for pest resistance, so pesticide demand is particularly high. We hope the chemical sector achieves breakthroughs soon."

Zhan Wuya reflected: "Chemical industry is our weakness. Breakthroughs require starting with materials. Processing technology is overcapacity, but raw materials are short. If the electric furnace succeeds, gates for chemical and power industries essentially open. Hainan has manganese, and a small tungsten mine with trace molybdenum. We plan mining after New Year, but critical gaps remain—primarily chromium and nickel. Without them, chemical industry cannot start—petrochemical, coal chemical, ammonia, pesticides all hopeless."

"Chromium and nickel are extremely difficult. Not that refining is hard, but no seventeenth-century location mines or refines either—we must build supply chains from scratch. Neither ore is easily found domestically..."

"Isn't Lan Du handling this in the Philippines?"

"The Philippines, yes. Just thinking of jungle mining makes me shudder." Wu De frowned. "Tropical primeval forest. If ore lies by the coast, fine. If inland, merely locating the vein alive would be miraculous..."

Hainan possessed nickel and chromium reserves—Shilu Cobalt Copper Mine held reasonably abundant nickel. But both suffered from small reserves, low grade, and substantial mining costs: classic chicken-rib resources.

"The Southeast Asia Company should no longer be satisfied with trade—add exploration and development," Ma Jia proposed. "We want mixed ownership, and the Company already operates under it. We can move with larger steps: absorb more private merchant capital, grant greater autonomy. Emulate European practices—support adventurers. Do not fret about 'losing control'; given our strength, how far can minor colonial enterprises slip? Fully utilize private initiative to locate resources; do not intervene excessively. Currently we handle everything ourselves—in technical areas we must, but mining can be entrusted to private capital. The key is proper legal regulation."

"You cannot speak three sentences without invoking your profession." Wu De laughed. "An Exploration Law? Colonial Law? Your Law Society has labored for years and produced, besides 'Security Regulation,' 'Marriage Regulation,' and 'General Principles,' not a single formal statute. Every trial, you produce some 'Australian Precedent' as cover—pure conviction by whim..."

Ma Jia flushed: "Law is serious, requiring consideration of all angles. Besides, our work integrates with this timeline's circumstances. We cannot be imprudent... We have completed drafting the 'Marriage Law' and 'Criminal Code'; the 'Civil Code' is nearly finished. The Marriage Law contains basic civil law centered on the nuclear family—providing legal guarantees for new social atmosphere. Criminal Code and Civil Code prepare foundations for suppressing clan powers. With these, we possess the foundation for rule of law."

Xiao Zishan asked: "How are Senators positioned in your law?"

Ma Jia answered: "Every law's first article reads: Senators are sacred and inviolable; Senators are state pillars; Senators are not restricted by this law—and so forth. All legal matters involving Senators are handled by the Senate according to the Common Program."

(End of Chapter)