Chapter 2972
Eleven years ago, in order to seize control of the western entrance and exit of the Strait of Malacca, the State of Johor, together with the British colonists, launched an attack on the newly established Sing Tao colony.
At that time, Johor was the strongest among several small countries that splintered after the Malacca dynasty was destroyed by the Portuguese. The king of Johor also considered himself the successor of the Malacca dynasty, and was determined to integrate a bunch of small countries on the Malay Peninsula to restore the glory of the dynasty.
The British colonists hoped to unite with Johor, a local snake, to deal with competitors like Portugal and Haihan. The State of Johor considered this operation to be a "strong alliance" and the two sides hit it off immediately. But they did not take advantage of the newly arrived Haihan Army. Instead, they suffered a heavy blow during the forced crossing of the Strait of Johor.
After this battle, the Johor navy lost most of its warships and sailors, and hundreds of soldiers were captured. In the end, they had to ask for a truce from the Haihan army stationed at Sing Tao and sue for peace.
So under the auspices of Roger, the two sides signed the "Sing Tao Treaty". One of the peace conditions stipulated in the treaty was that the Johor Strait was used as the boundary, and the Johor State could no longer interfere with the area south of the Strait.
Several important islands on the channel, including Star Island, Bintan Island, and Batam Island, which originally belonged to Johor's sphere of influence, were all assigned to Haihan.
This war interrupted the rise of Johor. At that time, Terengganu, Kelantan, Pattani and other countries had become Johor's annexation targets. If Haihan hadn't intervened, these small countries would have been destroyed by Johor.
Although Johor is a lot more honest today, it does not mean that the country has given up its hatred of Hai Han. At least so far, the two countries have yet to establish normalized diplomatic relations.
"If possible, I hope to further divide Johor into several small countries, which will be more conducive to us controlling the situation in the Malay Peninsula."
There were no outsiders present at the moment, and Tan Tianlei expressed his attitude towards Johor without any scruples.
Qian Tiandun smiled. The young man's thoughts were so direct, but his review of the situation was not comprehensive enough.
Qian Tiantun said slowly: "The division of Johor will definitely mean war. If this leads to turmoil in the Malay Peninsula, it may not be a good thing for Sing Tao."
Tan Tianlei said: "My father has the same view, but how can we allow others to snore next to the bed? A country like Johor is always a hidden danger to us. If it is not dealt with, problems will occur sooner or later."
Chin Tin Tun said: "Johor is mountainous and has few high-value natural resources, so the cost-effectiveness of using troops in Johor is very low. But its existence will put pressure on the surrounding small countries, which will make some countries turn to us for the pursuit of Asylum.”
"In addition, Johor and the Portuguese are also feuding. Keeping Johor will also make the Portuguese a little more honest and not put all their energy into competing with us for control of the Strait of Malacca."
Tan Tianlei learned the lesson personally, but I don't know if he really listened to it.
There are several small coastal towns built at the mouths of rivers on the coast of Johor, but given the relationship between the two countries, it is obviously inconvenient for the Haihan fleet to dock in these places.
However, for the purpose of showing off their force, when passing these places, the fleet will still deliberately slow down its speed and approach the coast. The flagship Weibon will sound its whistle to announce its arrival to the people near the coast. Three days after leaving Kelantan, the fleet arrived at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and could already see the outline of Bintan Island on the sea level. From here, the fleet will turn around and sail west toward the Strait of Malacca. A few dozen miles away is the destination of this trip, Star Island.
"The bauxite mine in the southern part of Bintan Island has been mined two years ago. It is said that this is one of the best quality bauxite mines in our country. In recent years, the Ministry of Industry has sent many people over, and it seems that it is strictly enforced. The committee also attaches great importance to this place.”
When passing by the north side of Bintan Island, Tan Tianlei introduced the development situation here to Qian Tiandun.
Qian Tiandun has also heard about the bauxite mines on Bintan Island. Although there are bauxite mines in Annan, they are all located in inland mountainous areas and are inconvenient to develop. The bauxite mines on Bintan Island are located near the coast, and the veins are on the surface. Facilitates open pit mining.
Qian Tiandun asked: "I remember that very early on, the Ministry of Industry planned to develop the bauxite mine on Bintan Island. How come it was delayed until two years ago before it was put into production?"
A helpless smile appeared on Tan Tianlei's face: "There is not enough manpower. The natives here are lazy and not many people volunteer to be miners. We can only use prisoners."
Qian Tiandun suddenly realized that this place was not comparable to China, and it was not easy to develop industries that required a large amount of labor.
The climate of South Asia has created a rich ecological environment here. All kinds of rare and exotic fruits are found all over the mountains and plains. The natives do not even need to grow food. They can survive by picking wild fruits and fruits and hunting and fishing.
For the natives, this is the way their ancestors have lived for generations. They have no idea of a higher quality of life and have no intention of changing their lives through work.
After the Haihan people came here, they spent a long time cultivating the consumption concept of the natives, so that they gradually learned to use labor in exchange for ironware, cloth, cigarettes, wine and other daily necessities.
After the concept of consumption came into being, some native people began to leave the village where they lived and work for the Haihan people.
This process is just like the time when the traveling tribes tamed the local Li people in Sanya, but the difference is that the Li people have a certain yearning for a high-quality life outside the mountains and can communicate with the Han people. However, the natives of South Asia are not civilized at all and have no pursuits in life. It is even more difficult to change their lifestyle.
However, Xingdao is too far away from the mainland of Haihan, and there are not many Han immigrants willing to take the initiative to move here from the country. For a long period of time, one of the main sources of population on Star Island was prisoners exiled from various places.
After Haihan captured Manila in 1637, a large number of people who had served the Spanish colonial authorities were exiled to Star Island. According to official statistics from Sing Tao, in the three years after the First World War in Manila, at least more than 3,000 prisoners from Luzon Island arrived at the hard labor camp in Sing Tao.
Slaves, prisoners and prisoners of war from all over the world have been the main labor force used to complete infrastructure projects on Star Island over the past two decades. Even today, nearly half of the people working as miners on Bintan Island come from local hard labor camps.
Although these prisoner coolies are cheap to use, they are ultimately limited in number and cannot meet the growing development needs of Star Island.
(End of chapter)