Chapter 95

Fourth update, seeking favorites, recommendations, and Three Rivers votes.

"By the way, Albert, there's one more thing I need your help with." With the military academy matter settled, Zhu Jishi took out the letter drafted by Maria Clementina and handed it to Prince Albert with both hands.

Prince Albert took the envelope, opened it, and his brows immediately furrowed slightly, as if he was thinking about something.

At this moment, Zhu Jishi's face was slightly flushed, perhaps out of shame. He was now playing a very dishonorable role—a traitor! He was selling out the Republic of Lanfang, which the early Chinese immigrants in Nanyang had worked so hard to establish, to the evil British imperialism! This vassal state would essentially be a British semi-colony, and if not careful, it could become a full colony.

However, Zhu Jishi had never heard of any Republic of Lanfang in his future life. The land of West Borneo seemed to belong to Indonesia, suggesting that the Republic of Lanfang was eventually destroyed by the Dutch imperialism. Now, switching allegiance to the British might be a turning point. If Lanfang could truly establish a country under British protection, whether a kingdom or a duchy, it would eventually regain its independence.

Thinking about this, Zhu Jishi felt much better about his first act of treason. Seeing Prince Albert's frown ease, he began to plan how to use the might of the British Empire to deceive Lanfang and the Chinese in Nanyang.

Of course, he himself could not be the Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lanfang. First, he lacked military power; second, he lacked a foundation. Even with British support, it would be difficult to control the local warlords. However, the decision on who would be the Grand Duke must be in his hands—being the ruler of a small country was a tremendous honor for the Chinese immigrants in Nanyang! If he could decide, the Chinese in Nanyang would know how close he was to the British Empire.

Moreover, there were certainly several people in Lanfang qualified to be the Grand Duke. Whoever wanted the position would have to offer him sufficient benefits. He didn't want the gold mines; they were the lifeblood of the people, and the annual income of a few hundred thousand silver dollars wasn't much. However, he must have a port, which would also serve as his base. If the British didn't allow him to train troops in Hong Kong, he could retreat to Lanfang.

He also needed to secure some land. The rubber tree seedlings entrusted to the Royal Botanic Gardens already numbered in the thousands and could be transplanted. In his future life, Indonesia and Malaysia had many rubber plantations, suggesting that the climate was suitable for rubber trees. He planned to establish several rubber plantations in Lanfang. The price of raw rubber from South America was rising daily, and the future income from rubber plantations would certainly exceed that of gold mines.

He also needed to recruit some subordinates in Lanfang and Nanyang, preferably young people who had attended Western schools, even primary school. He would send them to the Jishi University Military Academy for training, preparing for future events!

Of course, he also needed some strong and skilled individuals, preferably with martial arts. Once in Hong Kong, his identity as a descendant of the Ming dynasty would not remain a secret for long. Once the Qing dynasty learned of it, they might send skilled assassins to deal with him! So he needed to be prepared—though this concern was unnecessary, as the Qing dynasty during the Daoguang era had no secret service. The secret police agencies of the Yongzheng and Qianlong eras had long been abolished.

As for using the power of the underworld, well, this wasn't a drama from his future life. There were no women in the underworld who would fall for the old Daoguang emperor. The underworld in the south was dominated by the Hongmen, and it would be too imaginative to think that Hongmen members would act as assassins to kill the "overseas emperor" of the Ming dynasty. Such a task would be better left to the yellow and red sashes in Beijing.

At this moment, Prince Albert had already handed the "national letter" to his wife and looked at Zhu Jishi with a faint smile. "Jason, I'm sorry, but I didn't know there was a Republic of Lanfang in the world... So I can't give you an immediate answer. After all, accepting the protection of the British Empire is not a trivial matter."

"Dear Albert, is this Grand Duchy of Lanfang next to the Kingdom of Sarawak? This small Borneo is quite chaotic." Queen Victoria had already finished reading the letter, skimming through it quickly. A while ago, the King of Sarawak, James Brooke, had sent someone to Britain to request annexation, but Queen Victoria had not agreed.

"Jason, if Britain accepts the Grand Duchy of Lanfang's allegiance, we would have no reason to refuse the Kingdom of Sarawak. This would... involve Britain in the conflicts of Borneo. Do you understand?" Albert carefully chose his words, trying to gauge Zhu Jishi's true intentions. "By the way, Jason, do you want to be the Grand Duke of Lanfang?"

"No, no, I don't have such intentions," Zhu Jishi quickly waved his hands. "I have no foundation in Lanfang, and if I were to become the Grand Duke, I would certainly conflict with the local Chinese warlords. This is not what I want, and I don't think you want to get overly involved in the complex situation in Borneo, do you?"

Prince Albert nodded. More colonies and semi-colonies were always good. So he welcomed Lanfang's allegiance. However, it wasn't worth it to conflict with the Dutch and the Bornean natives over a small, insignificant Lanfang. If Lanfang were to use British support to unify Borneo and then turn against them, it would be a huge loss.

At this moment, Maria Clementina, who had accompanied Zhu Jishi to visit Windsor Castle, suddenly laughed. "Your Highness, if you don't think much of the barren land of Lanfang, why not let them seek the protection of France? King Louis-Philippe is eager to find a colony in Nanyang!"

"No, no, Duchess, I think you misunderstand me." Prince Albert then remembered that Zhu Jishi was also playing both sides, having "conquered" the richest woman in France! If the Duchess of Segur were to lobby the French Prime Minister Guizot and King Louis-Philippe, there was a good chance they would succeed. In that case, Zhu Jishi's "trump card" against the Qing dynasty might end up in French hands!

Prince Albert thought for a moment and said seriously, "The British Empire can provide protection for the Grand Duchy of Lanfang, but the Grand Duchy of Lanfang must first establish its own government, define its borders, and reach border agreements with the Kingdom of Sarawak and the Dutch East Indies."

"This will require the diplomatic mediation of the British government," Zhu Jishi said.

Without the backing of the British Empire, would the Dutch agree to a border treaty with the Lanfang Company, a group of gang leaders? Dream on!

"Hmm..." Prince Albert glanced at the French girl beside Zhu Jishi and took a deep breath. "Alright, I will send a special envoy to mediate—Colonel Robert Churchill as the representative of the Colonial Office." He looked at Zhu Jishi seriously, "Jason, you must promise me that Lanfang will not go to war with the Dutch!"

"I promise!" Zhu Jishi nodded vigorously. "But what about others? Like the Kingdom of Sarawak? Or Brunei, or..."

"The Kingdom of Sarawak won't be a problem; I will write to James Brooke to inform him," Prince Albert waved his hand. "As for Brunei or other native states, it doesn't matter as long as the Dutch don't intervene."

"I understand. Losing to the Dutch, but gaining from the natives," Zhu Jishi said with a smile. He knew the British wouldn't risk a conflict with the Dutch over Lanfang, and the Dutch would also avoid a conflict with the British as long as they got their share of the benefits. The losses Lanfang suffered from the Dutch would have to be compensated by the Bornean natives. If necessary, he could load a ship with weapons from India and support Lanfang in fighting the natives.

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