Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1052 Mandala System

When the rocket engine was shut down, the plane began to descend below the clouds - Pontianak had arrived. Such destructive hypersonic speeds were only suitable for use in the sea and uninhabited areas. If a rocket were used to approach Pontianak's airspace, Lan Fang Airlines would receive as many claims as a room.

After descending below the clouds, Pontianak City came into view.

Looking down from the sky, it is hard not to notice the location of Pontianak City. At the junction of the green rainforest and the blue sea, dense skyscrapers rise abruptly and sparkle.

This group of skyscrapers is not much inferior to the metropolis in Nanzhili, at least in terms of average height. And because there is no need to consider the height comparison with Zijin Mountain, nor the need to match the visual perception of the old city, the skyscrapers here are particularly tall and upright, and some of them can even compete for the top few in the world's tallest building rankings.

But what is different from all the cities Shangluo has seen before is——

“So there are no suburbs in Pontianak?”

This surprised him. All the cities he had seen before, even the abnormal city of Constantinople, actually had a transition from suburbs to urban areas. But Pontianak had no suburbs at all. The concrete forest of skyscrapers was separated from the tropical rainforest outside by only a city wall.

The huge city wall not only separates the city from the rainforest, but also separates the city from the open sea: the wall extends all the way to the sea, enclosing Pontianak's coastal waters and Pontianak's harbor.

[This city has a story. This shows that the city of Pontianak was not naturally grown, but was built based on specific needs. But combined with the local situation, it seems easy to understand. Do you know the 'Mandala System'? ]

"Oh, I know. It's a political model of the Southeast Asian cultural circle, right?"

【Yes. The Mandala system is a loose regime that relies on "rituals" instead of administration or feudal contracts. Although the rule is loose, in Southeast Asia, where islands are scattered and rainforests are dense, this is the only way to connect the many already loose settlements. Other governance methods are not suitable in terms of cost. The iconic feature of the Mandala system is this huge "port city".

【The Mandala system will naturally form a large city near the capital. This large city is not supported by the agricultural population and suburbs, but is created out of thin air. The name of the Ayutthaya Dynasty in Siam’s history, Ayutthaya, means "big city" in Siamese. "Angkor", where Angkor Wat is located, also means "big city" in Khmer.】

"So this is what the Lan Fang Company is doing in Southeast Asia?"

【I think this is very appropriate. You see - why does the Mandala system need such a model? Because the king at the center of the Mandala must collect resources from various secondary centers in the name of worshipping gods. Only in this way can legitimacy be established. What the Lan Fang Company did in Southeast Asia is actually no different from those Mandala countries in the past. In the past, those Mandala countries worshipped gods, and the Zhendan that Lan Fang worshipped was also a god, right? It is also reasonable for Lan Fang to build a huge city "to worship Zhendan" according to the same rules. 】

"Not only is it reasonable, but it's also very efficient, right? I would like to interview Guo Xing himself. After all, the Zheng family, who established this system in Nanyang, must have their own long-term plans."

【Why do you ask them this? 】

"Because it's time to close down." The Ninghe landed in Pontianak.

Shangluo once again felt the influence of the "Mandala System" on Pontianak's urban construction. Although the area is so large, Pontianak's airport is still an offshore airport, which was built by reclaiming land from the sea. Pontianak wanted to build such an airport on the sea, leaving such a large area of ​​undeveloped land outside the city wall unused.

Along the long sea bridge, Zheng Shijie's convoy to meet them drove all the way to Pontianak City. Shangluo and Zheng Shijie sat in one car, separate from the others.

On both sides are pale blue shallow seas. Container ships pass under the sea bridge and head to the nearby Pontianak Port to line up under the countless gantry cranes. Cities outside the port area have all retained golden beaches by the sea. Winter in Kinai is the peak tourist season in Pontianak, where tourists from the two capitals and 13 provinces can enjoy the equatorial sunshine.

The "equatorial sunshine" here is not an adjective, but a precise description. Because the Equator Monument is in the city, and the equator passes through the city. The sun is directly overhead all year round, and the temperature is usually not lower than 25℃ when it is "lowest". The highest temperature is usually stable at around 30℃, and it is rare to see a scorching heat of more than degrees, so there is no need to worry about heat stroke.

There are golden beaches all year round, and air conditioning is required all year round. The temperature is similar all year round, so you can wear summer clothes all year round without having to prepare winter clothes.

"This place is really nice." Shangluo looked at the beach outside. On the beach in the distance, the row of parasols and lounge chairs were almost full, and the business here was indeed good.

"Of course." Zheng Shijie said proudly, "I am proud to provide high-quality tourism services and other needs for the people of our country. Although the three metropolises of Pontianak, Sin Chew and Sunda Java under Lan Fang's rule have their own strengths, they were all born to serve the people of Kinmen."

"Is it because of the Mandala system?"

"Shangluo, you actually know this word? I remember it's not taught in the textbook. This is a word used when studying the pre-modern colonial history of Southeast Asia from a modern perspective."

"So you guys are really building a country according to this model?"

"If anything, we didn't take the initiative to do so," Zheng Shijie replied. "But if you were to build the whole in Southeast Asia with the purpose of worshipping a 'god', you would definitely build it like a mandala system and establish a number of 'port cities'. Pontianak in Borneo, Xingzhou in Malacca, and Sungai Srei in Java were all built in this way."

"Then why don't you expand a little bit? I mean, you can expand the actual control area a little bit, fill in more colors on the map."

"Ah, Shangluo, you asked a very good question." Zheng Shijie replied, "In fact, many people from Kinai would have this question - why do we only establish point-like city-states in Southeast Asia and not expand the scope of governance. My answer is: the natives are not worthy of enjoying our administrative services. It's that simple."

(End of this chapter)