Southern Ming, my destiny is too abstract

Chapter 114 Inviting them in the name of a meeting

There is only one emperor in the world, and that is the emperor of our Chinese Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Cixuan promised the kings of England and France the imperial crowns, except for the excited missionaries.

The ones who reacted the most were a group of moral gentlemen in the court.

He burst into tears, pulled the cabinet ministers and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and cried out that the country was on the verge of collapse.

In the Confucian tributary system, China is the center of the universe.

In the minds of Ming Dynasty civil servants, the two capitals and thirteen provinces were the whole world.

Therefore, in their minds, Yongli's southern expedition meant abandoning his country and the world, and directly surrendering to the Qing in despair.

Other regions are nothing more than chieftains, vassal states, and dependent states.

The first two submitted to the central court, so there is nothing much to say.

As for the rest of the world, they were vassal states, like the Joseon Dynasty, Annan, and Ryukyu, which had always paid tribute and been enfeoffed.

Countries like Japan and Siam would pay tribute and confer titles on them from time to time.

And the Sultanate of Achchi, which had never paid tribute or been enthroned.

European countries should naturally also belong to the category of Aqi.

Thousands of years ago, the Han and Tang dynasties used this method to take advantage of Rome.

Those kings were not on the same level as the Ming emperor, and should even obey him.

Not to mention the unequal treaties of the late Qing Dynasty, even Ming Dynasty vassal states such as Portugal and the Netherlands had to sign equal treaties with the Ming emperor.

They are all committing treason and insulting the emperor.

It is hard to say, but Emperor Yongli led the royal family to believe in Catholicism and sent Chen Ande on a diplomatic mission to borrow troops.

Is it like believing in the primitive religion of a small country in Southeast Asia, or like borrowing troops from Japan during the Joseon Dynasty, as the eldest brother in the family has the right to treat his younger brother with confidence?

Except for Zhu Cixuan and Chen Ande, all the civil and military officials in the court felt uncomfortable.

Moral gentlemen are even more crazy.

Give the British and French vassal states an imperial crown?
Then my Ming Dynasty would be just like the iron-blooded and powerful Song Dynasty.

It was Chen Ande and Pan Huang who discussed all night and silenced the crowd by saying that the Mughals were Turks and that the position was only that of the Khan of the grassland tribe.

Seeing that the civil servants were still arguing, Zhu Cixuan waved his hand.

The people who danced most happily were sent on the mission together.

Why argue with me about scriptures? Go and argue with the Roman Catholic Church since ancient times.

……

Madubha University.

Zhu Cixuan was entertaining a group of Siamese Han people.

When Arakan rebelled, Johor, Kedah and other countries only instigated it secretly and helped transport some firearms and gunpowder privately.

Siam is openly sitting on the fence.

After Tudharma's death, the Ming Dynasty gathered its troops and horses.

King Nalai sent envoys almost every other day. In addition to his adopted son who converted to Catholicism, he also sent a group of Han people who settled in the capital to come and lobby.

However, during the Age of Exploration and Trade, Siam, which occupied most of the Malacca Peninsula, was the only major power on the route.

It can barely be said that the country is vast and rich in resources.

Siam, located on the east-west transportation route, was the fastest to embrace the world.

To the east is the Ming Dynasty and Japan, and to the west is India, Persia and Europe.

As early as the reign of Naresuan's younger brother, Agada Salad, envoys were sent to the Netherlands.

Since Papilaja came to him, Zhu Cixuan would certainly not give up on incorporating Siam into the Ming Dynasty.

"This university is mainly for teaching various languages ​​and training future envoys."

"Of course, allowing the various southern barbarian tribes to bathe in the king's rule is also a matter of course."

Listening to the prince's introduction, the Siamese Han people nodded repeatedly.

After passing the artillery factory, the Siamese Han finally found an opening:

"Your Highness, since the opening of the sea during the Longqing reign, we have moved from Fujian and Guangdong to Siam. The successive kings of Siam have all treated us well."

"The weather has been unusual this year, and the harvest of hot-season rice this year is indeed much smaller than in previous years."

"King Narai has truly submitted to the Ming Dynasty. Your Highness has ordered him to prepare ships to sail north. He has halted all royal trade, and nearly a hundred ships are anchored in Thonburi, awaiting Your Highness."

Zhu Cixuan glanced at the leader of the Chaozhou people living in Siam.

Since Siam established its capital in Ayutthaya, the Kingdom of Chenla in the east has plundered its people, and the Kingdom of Hongsavadi in the west has destroyed its country.

War inevitably causes casualties and losses.

In addition, Siam is a vast country with a sparse population and an extreme shortage of labor, so it welcomes Han immigrants.

The religious customs brought by the Han people had a profound impact on Siam, and these Han people from Fujian and Guangdong who were good at business accounted for more than half of Siam's business.

There were 3,000 Han Chinese settled near Ayutthaya, the capital of Siam alone, and the total number of Han Chinese in Siam was close to 20,000.

In Chinese settlements large and small, Han Chinese married Aboriginal women, and the number of Tang Chinese outnumbered the native Aboriginals.

Only people from Chaozhou were officials, granted titles, managed state affairs, and in charge of finances.

This Chaozhou leader was the Minister of the Interior of King Narai.

"The Siamese fleet. I heard that it's second only to the Dutch and Spanish in Southeast Asia. When Naresuan was king, I heard that the Ming Dynasty pacified the Japanese pirates on the Joseon Peninsula."

"Write a letter to the Ming Dynasty's Ministry of War, expressing your willingness to be the pioneer of the Ming Dynasty and attack the Japanese island directly."

The Chaozhou leader quickly and modestly stated that the Ming Dynasty was the master of the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

How could Siam, which dared to fight even the Dutch and had to rely on Dutch warships to protect its maritime trade, be compared with the Ming Dynasty?

"King Narai has said that in order to compensate for the unpaid tribute rice, all Siamese ships can be used by the Ming Dynasty."

"As soon as the prince gives the order, we will immediately join forces with the British to attack the Dutch on the Malacca Peninsula from both east and west."

The summer wind was strong, and the waves in the Yundian Bay were rolling. After listening attentively to King Nalai's conditions, Zhu Cixuan shook his head slightly:
"I summoned three waves of Siamese envoys and learned that since King Naresuan restored his kingdom and paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty to request enthronement, and his brother Ekata Salad, Siam has not requested enthronement again."

"King Narai's father even usurped the throne, so the legitimacy of Siam is questionable."

Seeing the Chaozhou leader was stunned for a moment, hesitant and speechless.

Zhu Cixuan waved his hand and said, "Go back and tell King Nalai to request the title first and truly submit to the Ming Dynasty. Then we can discuss the matter of his delay in paying tribute."

The Chaozhou leader blinked.

It is unclear whether the Crown Prince is preparing to forgive King Narae or just wants to delay.

After thinking for a while, the Chaozhou leader had an epiphany.

Isn’t the prince going to head north to the East China Sea to meet up with Zheng Yanping immediately?

Without Siamese ships, they would have to wait for the British to open up the Strait of Malacca before setting off from Malacca.

We can't just leave and then let the Ming army invade Siam.

After the Han people from Siam left, Zhu Cixuan, at the invitation of Huaerkang, left his calligraphy for the Eight Universities of Madhu.

Listening to the sound of waves, I write with a brush.

The eight words "Scientific Development" were written in cursive.

Zhu Cixuan attached great importance to Southeast Asia.

The feudal nature of the Ming Dynasty can be seen through the court officials of the half-destroyed Ming Dynasty.

A big ship is a big problem.

Zhu Cixuan never placed his hopes for the development of capitalism and the industrial revolution on the gentry of China.

There is less strength in numbers.

Using machines for production is not as good as making cattle and horses work harder.

In those days, even if European artillery was slightly ahead of Ming Dynasty artillery, Macau factories, with their cheap labor, could still sell artillery to Southeast Asian colonists. Furthermore, according to Vanderlan, the annual return on the Dutch East India Company's stock was only 40 percent at best.

This was also due to the Dutch monopoly on spices in the Maguru Islands and the huge profits they made by reducing production.

Normally it’s only 20%.

The landlords in the south of the Yangtze River could collect several dou of rent per acre of land every year.

The return on investment from buying land is comparable to that from stocks in the Dutch East India Company.

Who would want to promote production development when they can comfortably exploit the people to make money?

Zhu Cixuan might as well hope that the Han people doing business in Southeast Asia would create some surprises.

The budding of capitalism in the middle and late Ming Dynasty gave rise to a slave uprising comparable to the civil uprising in Shaanxi.

The gentry in eastern Guangdong surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and the three loyal ministers in Lingnan rose up to cover the escape of Emperor Yongli, and the troops were from this kind of uprising army.

Wang Xing, the last general of the Guangdong-Guangxi Governor Lian Chengbi's anti-Qing army, was also a bandit who was forced to rebel in the beginning.

Finally, we visited the Shenwei General Cannon, which was supervised by missionaries.

Zhu Cixuan just formally summoned Papilaja.

After returning to Maduba, he could not rest for a moment.

Making gifts, sending envoys, sending troops to Malacca, and building ten military and civilian pacification offices.

An additional assault battalion was drawn from Wang Yaozu and Mu Tianbo’s army.

Arrange everything.

The Ming Dynasty's diplomatic mission is about to travel to Europe under British maritime escort.

Zhu Cixuan also prepared to go to Siam and take a boat to Yizhou.

"Siam has a population of two million, so we estimate there are 100,000 elite troops."

"If we were to be as aggressive as Toungoo Mangpak, we might be able to have an army of 200,000 men."

Zhu Cixuan reclined in his chair and said, "Since Heaven has instructed you, I do not want the fertile land of Siam to be engulfed in war and deprive the soldiers on the front lines of their fodder."

"Pan Huang and Hua Erkang both agree that you should be the new king of Siam. Since I am willing to accept your advice, I will grant you the throne."

Papilaja immediately knelt down and swore an oath by the gods and Buddhas.

Exactly the same as Adayun of Toungoo.

Zhu Cixuan listened to his oath expressionlessly and pointed his finger at Papilaja: "You said that the noble chieftains in various parts of Siam are dissatisfied with King Narai."

"Apart from them, how many troops does Nalai have that he can mobilize under direct command?"

Papilaja stood up quickly and bowed his head to introduce the situation in Siam.

The situation in Siam itself is more complicated than that in Hongsavadi.

The latter are nothing more than the three major ethnic groups: Mon, Hongsa and Shan.

Although Siam is mainly composed of Thais who migrated from Sichuan and Shaanxi, it does not reject the integration of other ethnic groups.

The word "Thai" itself means people and freedom, which means to break free from the control of the Chenla people and become independent from them.

Siam is not called Siam, but Siam Huk Kingdom.

It was simply because Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty was lazy and omitted a word, so he named the country Siam.

King Uthong of Lopburi married the sister of King Suphanburi, and Siam and Lahut were merged through marriage.

Later, it annexed the Lanna Kingdom of Batu Pahat in the north, the Mon people of Mawlamyine in the west, and the Malays of Malacca in the south.

Precisely because of the complex ethnic groups, there is no main ethnic group like Annan in the east and Hongsavadi in the west.

For this reason, there is no resistance to Japanese-Persian immigrants from the East and the West.

"After the Japanese king banned the expulsion of Catholics, most Japanese Catholics moved to our country."

"King Agatasara was very inclined towards strangers and foreigners from the beginning, introducing new taxes through maritime trade to enrich his treasury."

Let me say this here.

After the annexation of Siam and the establishment of its capital, the Ayutthaya Dynasty had a history of two to three hundred years.

Not to mention before, after Siam was destroyed by Toungoo and restored by Naresuan.

His younger brother Agatasalud succeeded him.

Then there were two or three more bloody struggles for the throne.

The son of Agathasalut was seized from power by a monk named King Songdang who claimed to be his illegitimate son.

King Songdang's cousin, King Prasatthorn, supported a puppet to usurp the throne.

King Prasatthorn's son Nalai also pretended to support his uncle, killed his elder brother and seized the throne.

This has been the case for three generations, so it is no wonder that Papilaja would want to use the Ming Dynasty to fight for the throne.

All I can say is that everything in the world is similar.

India is like this, Siam is like this, the world is just a straw platform.

Papilaja said slowly, "Since then, foreigners have begun to interfere in our Siamese affairs."

"Our country is vast and sparsely populated, especially in the Luchuan Plateau and the mountainous areas of Zhenla. The chieftains do not obey the king's orders."

"It's difficult to actually control it. To preserve military strength, successive kings began recruiting royal guards from outside the Ayutthaya population."

"In the early days of King Prasat Thong's rise to power, many Japanese members of the royal guard opposed him."

"The kings used foreigners to control goods and trade, increase their treasury, and then use the money to control the noble chieftains in the various prefectures."

"They even allow foreigners to serve as important ministers in the country."

Papilaja said angrily, "It's just like that Persian family."

"They immigrated to our country sixty years ago and managed the trade between the Muran merchants and the Southeast Asian and Western Oceans. They became Chao Phraya and served as Minister of the Interior for sixty years. This position was passed down from father to son by that Persian family, and it will continue to be passed down from generation to generation."

Zhu Cixuan finally understood what Papilaja meant by the Siamese people's sentiment.

The Siamese, who are a mixed group of people, are beginning to become xenophobic.

The Han people are easier to deal with. They just integrate into the local community and start small businesses.

Those Japanese, Persians, and even the Makassar people in Southeast Asia basically monopolized foreign trade and financial power.

If they were not xenophobic, Siam might not be the place where the Thais had the final say.

Papilaja affirmed, "Your Highness, besides the royal family, the only people who would help Nalai are the Japanese and the Persians."

"The Japanese have a princess, and the Persians have a prime minister."

"They will never give up such an important position. They even have the final say over the Royal Guard."

"Except for Nalai's two brothers stationed in the area, there are 20,000 troops who can't be called elite."

"The key point is the Royal Guards, who are fully equipped with artillery and muskets."

Zhu Cixuan frowned: "The Portuguese were mercenaries for Siam decades ago, so there must be quite a few of them."

Papilaja thought for a moment and said, "The Portuguese had already withdrawn from the lands above and below the wind."

"Even if there are two or three villages left, it's not too much of a problem. But for the past fifty years, we have been on good terms with the Dutch."

"I am worried that Nalai might ask for help from Dutch mercenaries."

Siam was in tatters. In addition to the foreigners who settled there and meddled in state affairs, every overlord of Southeast Asia would intervene to disrupt the situation.

In the past it was the Portuguese, now it is the Dutch who intervened in two successions of the throne, and in the future it may be the British and the French.

Seeing that the Crown Prince of Daming was hesitant, Papilaja quickly spoke out:
"Your Highness, do not worry about the troops in the capital. Your Highness will go to Thonburi to board a ship heading north."

"Why not summon Nalai to leave the capital and meet him in Thonburi in the name of enthronement?"

"Without the artillery and walls of a large city, he would have brought only the royal guards at best."

"Using the opportunity of conferring the title on him, I will let Nalai meet His Highness alone, and then capture him."

"When the time comes, I will lead an army of 10,000 and assist Your Highness in pacifying the Japanese and Persians."

Two in one
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(End of this chapter)