Perhaps it was Governor Yuli’s clear understanding of the terror of the Royal Security Intelligence Agency that led him to choose not to hide anything at all.
But Arthur was still quite pleased with this attitude, as it at least didn’t treat him like a fool.
Truth be told, with the Royal Security Intelligence Agency, Arthur was able to grasp the development of every administrative region in Australasia in his hands.
This inspection aimed not only to solve the problems that had arisen in various states but also for Arthur to practically assess the capabilities and loyalty of the Governors of States.
Then the question arises, why test the loyalty of these governors?
In fact, Arthur was indifferent.
With his own prestige, even if there were those who were disloyal to him, they would definitely not dare to stand up against him.
The purpose of Arthur’s actions was naturally to pave the way for his son William.
Firstly, to identify potential officers with excellent abilities for training so that they could become supports for William in the future.
According to the promotion trajectory of officers in Australasia, it was utterly impossible for officials from the state governments to step into the Kingdom Government without ten to twenty years of effort.
William would undoubtedly help with this, to ensure that William could control the government better in the future.
Secondly, to find officers who were lacking in both ability and loyalty.
Arthur would not deal with these officers himself, but rather he would leave them to William to handle.
With Arthur’s control over the handling of these officers, the situation would not develop beyond his expectations, and William would also receive a good education and political experience.
If Ubel Reifer was seen by Arthur as a pest to be eliminated in the future, then Governor Yuli was seen by Arthur as a potential stock worth cultivating.
If nurtured properly, by the time Yuli rose to a high position, it would almost be the time when William truly took control of power.
Of course, Arthur’s training plan was not limited to just Governor Yuli. Only when William was able to hold certain powers, with means to contend with the Cabinet as well as political parties and Parliament, could Arthur confidently hand over the throne to William.
Arthur’s first day in Java Island went rather harmoniously.
Governor Yuli, along with the state government, gave Arthur a rather detailed report on political affairs, and Arthur was quite satisfied with Governor Yuli and his predecessor.
Although some problems were revealed in the political report, overall they did not overshadow the merits.
Of course, since the localization of Java Island had not been long, although Java had the largest population among the localized Colonies, the corresponding infrastructure could only be considered average.
If it were not for the legacy left by the Dutch, the development of Batavia would have been much further behind.
However, just because the infrastructure was average didn’t mean that the economic development of Java Island was average too.
As the richest land in the former Dutch East Indies and the most populous area in the future Indonesia, the current level of development in Java Island was definitely the highest among all the colonies in Australasia.
Together with the retention of many Dutch citizens, this allowed the population of Java Island to reach nearly 800,000, surpassing New Guinea State which had just crossed the 750,000 people threshold.
On the second day of his arrival on Java Island, Arthur had Governor Yuli present the development plans for Java Island and discuss the problems in its development.
Regarding the development plan for Java Island, Governor Yuli did not offer a prolonged discourse but rather designed a detailed and reasonable plan based on the current situation of Java Island.
Compared to Ubel Reifer’s by-the-book approach, Governor Yuli’s development plan was clearly more to Arthur’s satisfaction.
Frankly, Arthur was not at all surprised by the Dutchman’s reasons for treating Java Island as the core region of the Dutch East Indies.
Just looking at the mineral resources of Java Island, there was no need to worry about the direction of its development after its localization.
Java Island, with an area of about 138,000 square kilometers, holds tremendous economic value.
In terms of mineral resources, Java Island possesses petroleum, coal, manganese, iron, gold, silver, phosphorus, sulfur, iodine, and other minerals.
As for plant resources, Java Island abundantly produces corn, cassava, peanuts, soybeans, sweet potatoes, kapok, sesame, bananas, mangoes, durians, citrus fruits, tea, coffee, tobacco, rubber, cinchona (quinine’s raw material), sugarcane, kapok, and coconuts, and there has never been any reason to worry about food.
Indeed, that is the case. In later generations, Java Island would be capable of sustaining a population of over 140 million. With the current population not even reaching 1,000,000, simply by reclaiming the existing food-producing areas left by the indigenous peoples, it can fully meet the island’s food consumption requirements.
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It’s worth mentioning that Java Island also hosts many meat-yielding animals, including tigers and crocodiles, which are rare in Australasia.
Currently, Australasian botanists and natural environment researchers have been assessing the feasibility of introducing tigers from Java Island to significantly reduce the number of wild rabbits and camels in Australia.
Although calling on citizens to hunt can effectively reduce the number of wild rabbits, their reproduction rate is just too fast, making this a long-term solution needed to improve Australasia’s environment.
The harm caused by wild rabbits to the environment occurs every moment, and naturally, Arthur hopes to resolve this problem sooner rather than later.
Returning to the topic of the development plan for Java Island.
Because of its rich mineral resources, boasting coal and iron mines, and surrounded by ocean with many excellent harbors, the island is comparatively suitable for industrial development.
In the development plan, Governor Yuli mentioned the construction of an industrial area around Batavia. The construction of the industrial area is divided into two stages; the first stage is relatively small, expected to provide 10,000 tons of steel production output upon completion and also accommodate various small-sized factories, potentially housing 10,000 workers.
The second stage is much larger and requires a base population of at least 1,000,000 people.
Because the second stage can accommodate 100,000 workers, its size in the industrial sector would be considered medium-sized on a national scale.
The industrial areas of both stages would at least take eight years to complete, and the needed funds also start from the millions of Australian Dollars.
If Java Island’s finance had not been rather sound, the funds of Java alone would be entirely insufficient to launch such industrial construction.
The construction of the industry will temporarily remain at this level. It’s not that Governor Yuli is particularly cautious, but the current world market simply does not allow Java Island to sustain a larger industry.
Industrial output and demand must be linked; this is Arthur’s requirement for the industrial sector and all states following the economic crisis outbreak.
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If production were to continue blindly, it would only lead to harm, much like what happened in the United States at that time.
As previously mentioned, Java Island is not at all lacking in terms of food. Food is always very important, and ensuring food reserves, as well as gaining profit through sufficient food production, is what Governor Yuli expects for Java Island.
In the developmental construction of Java Island, increasing food production is also an important aspect.
One must know that Java Island is located in the tropics, where grain production, especially rice, can be harvested three times a year.
This is quite astonishing. Compared to Australia, situated in the south temperate zone, Java Island’s food production can be at least twice that of Australia with the same scale of cultivated land.
Therefore, it becomes quite necessary to develop Java Island into an important food-producing region.
Naturally, Governor Yuli would not forsake Java’s natural advantages and has made very important arrangements concerning food production output.
In addition to repairing and re-cultivating the food-producing areas left by indigenous peoples, there are also plans to extensively reclaim cultivated land in the northern alluvial plains, striving to make Java Island the most important food-producing region in Australasia.
Beyond industry and agriculture, the next steps are to compensate for the deficiencies in infrastructure and to strive for improvements in education and medical care.
There’s no two ways about it with infrastructure development; it can only be achieved through a significant investment of manpower, financial resources, and material supplies exchanged through financial resources.
This is one of the points for which Governor Yuli seeks Arthur’s support because Java Island’s finances simply cannot support all-around development; support from the kingdom’s government is an absolute necessity.
Of course, it’s not just infrastructure that requires the kingdom government’s support. Including the yet-to-be-mentioned medical care and education, all require unified coordination and assistance from the kingdom government, as Java Island does not have that abundance of talent and material reserves.