The mountainous areas of Borneo can also grow cash crops such as spices, timber, medicinal materials, rubber, etc. Spices in particular were the most valuable hard currency in the Age of Exploration.

In addition, there is very good pasture in the mountainous areas, which can be used to raise horses and cattle, providing sufficient animal power and protein for the island.

Borneo also has rich oil and gas resources, and its future growth potential is unmatched by Luzon Island.

This is normal. After all, Borneo is the third largest island in the world and the second largest island in Asia, with an area of ​​740,000 square kilometers, which is seven times the size of Luzon Island. It is about the same size as the three northeastern provinces of China in later generations.

~~

The world's second largest island and Asia's largest island, New Guinea, is also located in the South Pacific.

The name 'New Guinea Island' comes from Portugal, but with Portugal's poor manpower, it is completely unable to control this large island, let alone colonize it.

On the maps published by the group, the name of New Guinea Island has been changed to Fangzhang Island. The island covers an area of ​​780,000 square kilometers, is rich in resources and densely covered with virgin forests.

The vast territory also brings it endless economic potential. There are vast plains for rice cultivation, and large mountainous areas for spices, cocoa, palm oil, tea and banana cultivation. There are also pastures for animal husbandry, copper and gold mines that are easy to mine, and rich oil and gas resources...

This is another truly heaven-sent treasure!

In comparison, Greenland, the world's largest island, is covered with ice and snow all year round, which is actually useless.

Moreover, Zhao Hao personally believed that the largest island in the world should be Juedao Island… that is, Kangaroo Island next to the South Sea. The benefits of that place naturally need not be elaborated.

The most important thing is that the indigenous population of these three islands is very small and their civilization is relatively primitive, so they are easy to assimilate and there will be no serious rejection phenomenon after eating... Brunei is just a special case that rose up with the civilization brought by the Chinese, and Brunei only directly controlled Brunei and the surrounding narrow coastal plains of a few hundred miles, which is less than one percent of the entire Borneo.

Therefore, these three islands are simply gifts from God to China during the Age of Navigation.

These three islands are also the top priority of Zhao Hao’s immigration strategy.

If you don't take what heaven gives you, you will be punished!

~~

In addition, the South Pacific Islands also include several large islands such as Luzon, Mindanao, Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi.

Together with the Malay Peninsula and the Spice Islands, which were regarded as forbidden delicacy by the Portuguese, these basically constitute the main territory of Southeast Asia.

Needless to say, Luzon Island has become a solid springboard for the group to develop Southeast Asia.

The natural conditions in Mindanao are better than those in Luzon Island. It has more fertile plains and also has large gold mines that no one knows about yet. It holds an important position in Zhao Hao's heart.

However, the Moro tribes on the island are relatively xenophobic and need the Sulu Pacification Envoy Yazid, who is of the same ethnic group and religion as them, to cooperate more with the group's pacification work.

Zhao Hao told Ye Qide that whether he could become the Governor of Sulu in the future depended on the effectiveness of his work in Mindanao.

However, the various tribes in Mindanao were able to send representatives to this group parade, which shows that they still have their hearts set on the Celestial Empire.

After being abused by the Spanish for so long, the leaders should have understood that times have changed. Now is an era where those who don't have a father will be beaten.

Zhao Hao believes that with an attitude of win-win cooperation and a combination of soft and hard tactics, Mindanao can be brought under the rule of the king in the future.

~~

As for Sulawesi Island, it is actually larger than Luzon Island, with an area of ​​170,000 square kilometers. However, it has many mountains and deep valleys and few plains, so it is not suitable for large-scale immigration. However, it is located in the center of Southeast Asia and is rich in spices, so Makassar at the southern end of the island once became the center of trade among the Southeast Asian islands.

The Bugis people, who founded the Makassar Kingdom, even periodically sailed to the north of the isolated island (Australia) to trade with the local Aboriginal people.

The Bugis people, who were smart and good at business, once made the Makassar Kingdom prosperous. However, this also attracted the covetousness of the Portuguese. After they gained a foothold in Malacca, they led their troops to capture Makassar and forced the Bugis people to convert to Catholicism.

For decades, the Portuguese had been doing atrocities in Makassar, including arresting pagans on a large scale, monopolizing the spice trade, and imposing heavy taxes on merchant ships. They also seized ships and arrested people, and demanded ransoms! As for bullying and forced buying and selling, there is no need to mention it.

The shrewd Portuguese did this for a reason. In addition to making money, they wanted to abolish Makassar and transfer the trade center of Southeast Asia to Malacca, so that they could control the entire Southeast Asia at a lower cost.

But Makassar did not want to become a victim. The country was full of public resentment, and everyone hated the Portuguese. That was why King Demburi of Makassar attended the parade despite the Portuguese ban.

Because Zhao Hao said that if he came, he would be the hereditary governor of Makassar, and Makassar would immediately enjoy the protection of the Coast Guard Fleet. If he didn't come, he would have nothing...

Dumbrey was a wise man who could judge the situation and knew that the powerful Spaniards were no match for the Celestial Empire, not to mention the weak Portuguese. So he came and tried his best to show his obedience in the hope of taking the opportunity of a reshuffle to restore Makassar's former prosperity.

~~

As for Java Island, Sumatra Island and the Malay Peninsula, the situations are basically similar. They all have superior geographical locations and are located at the crossroads of the East and West Oceans. The three together form a maritime barrier in the South China Sea. The Han culture in the north, the Hindu culture in the west, and the later Muslim culture converge here.

When Europeans came to the East to trade and preach, they also first took root here.

The unique conditions have made the civilization in these three places relatively developed and densely populated, and they have always been the cradle of the South China Sea cockroaches.

Since the political regimes of each country were relatively mature, compared with the primitive native states on other South Pacific islands, they had sufficient strength and organization to resist the Portuguese invasion and maintain their independence.

Moreover, unlike Malacca and the Spice Islands, they could not directly provide Portugal with lucrative exploitation profits. Just like a hedgehog without much meat, the Portuguese, whose military strength was always stretched to the limit, could not make up their minds to destroy them regardless of the cost.

Of course, this is also because the threat they pose is limited.

For example, the current overlord on the island of Sumatra, the Sultanate of Aceh, has been fighting on the front line against the Portuguese, and has also received support from weapons and troops from the Ottomans and Indian kings. Unfortunately, its record is always dismal.

The most typical example is the Siege of Malacca which took place in the second year of Longqing.

At that time, Sultan Alauddin of Aceh took advantage of the weakness of the Portuguese military and led a fleet of more than 300 warships, carrying 15,000 Acehnese soldiers, 400 Ottoman mercenaries, and several slaves, and carrying 200 bronze cannons, to attack Malacca with great momentum.

As a result, they encountered fierce resistance from 200 Portuguese soldiers and 1,300 mercenaries in the castle. In the end, the Aceh army lost 4,000 people and the Sultan's eldest son was shot dead. They had to withdraw their troops and return home.

This is land warfare.

Aceh was even worse in naval battles. In the Battle of Aceh, which took place the year after the Siege of Malacca, the returning Aceh navy encountered a Portuguese caravel.

At that time, the Aceh fleet had more than 200 warships and was confidently preparing to capture the lone sailing ship. However, it suffered the most disparate defeat in the history of human naval warfare and became an eternal laughing stock.

At that time, the Aceh fleet, centered on galleys built with Ottoman technology, surrounded the large sailing ship tightly and then launched a strong attack from all directions at the same time.

However, the huge gap in firepower between the two sides created a gap that could not be filled by numbers.

The Portuguese artillery had a much longer range than the Aceh Navy, and its firing rate was two to three times that of the other side. Moreover, a single shell could put the Aceh warship, which had a fragile structure, in danger of sinking.

The shells fired by the Acehnese warships could hardly damage the oak hull of the caravel.

As a result, after three days of fierce fighting, most of the superstructure of the caravel, including the mast, was riddled with holes and had almost lost all its ability to sail, but the gun deck could still fire.

During the three days, the Aceh fleet did not attack the carrack once, but 160 of its own ships were sunk or seriously damaged and out of control.

The huge losses caused the Sultan to collapse. He ordered the abandonment of all out-of-control ships and withdrew from the battle in a panic with the remaining forty warships that could still sail. He then completely gave up his ambition to capture Malacca.

These two battles fully demonstrated the huge gap in combat effectiveness between the Aceh army and the Portuguese army. Moreover, the Aceh people were already known for their toughness in Southeast Asia, and they had a strong national strength and sufficient foreign aid, so their combat effectiveness was second to none...

The current Sultan of Aceh, Muda, is the second son of the old Sultan. He personally experienced the two disastrous defeats ten years ago and has a deep impression of the strength of the Portuguese army.

So he was very curious and wanted to see what the Celestial Empire's army looked like, which could defeat the Portuguese and the Spaniards, who the Ottomans said were ten times stronger than Portugal.

As a result, this military parade opened his eyes and made him realize that there are always better places to go!

He saw that among the 300 Chinese warships on review, at least 100 were more powerful than the Portuguese sailing ship in the Battle of Yazi.

The Chinese army is also extremely strong, and all the soldiers seem to be cast from the same mold...

And it is said that these are not the regular troops of the Celestial Empire. I really can't imagine what the imperial army of the Celestial Empire would look like? Would they be heavenly soldiers and generals that could fly in the clouds?

No matter what, he now firmly believed that the Celestial Empire would return to the throne of the Lord of the South Seas, just as everyone had become accustomed to over the past thousand years.

Therefore, Damu willingly accepted the title bestowed by the Celestial Empire and changed the name of the Sultanate of Aceh to the Governor-General's Office of Aceh.

~~

As for the island of Java, which has the most dense population and more developed economy, there are currently three major countries, one large and two small.

Among them, the Banten Kingdom, which controls the Sunda Strait, is a mortal enemy of the Sunda Kingdom. Neither side dares to fall behind in such a matter. If they are negligent for a moment, and the other side uses the power of the Celestial Empire to destroy them, wouldn't they be caught in a dilemma?

So the kings of both sides came obediently, and each of them was given the title of the Grand Commander. Now they both became ministers of the Celestial Empire, and it would be even more difficult to destroy the other side in the future...

There is also the former overlord of Java Island, the Bajang Sultanate, which is now weak. The former vassal, the Matram tribe, is growing stronger and stronger, and it seems that the change of dynasty is unstoppable.

Therefore, in the eyes of King Ariya of Padang, it was no big deal to surrender to the Celestial Empire, change the Padang Sultanate to the Governorate of Java, and still be the hereditary Governor of Java. But if the throne was usurped by the Lord of Matram, it would be a tragic ending of the country's destruction and the family's ruin.

Even a fool knows how to choose.

ps. I was finally notified today that there are beds available, and I can finally go to register for hospitalization tomorrow. During the epidemic, it is too troublesome to be hospitalized, and the hospital area for hospitalization this time is very far, so I have to get up early tomorrow morning, and it will probably take a whole day. So I'm going to sleep now, and then I'll take a day off tomorrow, I hope everything goes well...