Southern Ming, my destiny is too abstract

Chapter 115 Watasi has long been a Ming Dynasty citizen
Ayutthaya, which means invincible in Sanskrit, was a country with this name when Xuanzang traveled west to India.

Siam, a country that believed in Buddhism and had far more exchanges with India than with China, naturally got this name.

The Han people also called it Dacheng.

To the north of Ayutthaya is the Hua Hin River, to the southwest is the Chao Phraya River, and to the east is the Pasak Canal. The entire capital of Siam is a small island in the lower reaches of the Chao Phraya River.

In the center is the nine-meter-high royal palace of Siam, surrounded by pagodas and stilt houses where civilians live.

The Royal Palace of Siam is divided into the Front Palace and the Royal Palace.

The front palace was built by Naresuan to restore the country and is usually the residence of the Crown Prince of Siam.

After Nalai ascended the throne and redecorated the palace with extravagance and luxury, he moved from the royal palace to the front palace for a temporary residence.

Yamada Nagamasa looked at the golden paintings and copper tiles on the main hall of the front palace and listened to the story of his Japanese companion beside him.

"The treasury has become increasingly wealthy over the years, and King Narai plans to cover the railings with copper sheets and the bricks of the stairs with tin."

Yamada Nagamasa's face was expressionless as he commented calmly, "He has no ambition."

The Japanese companion nodded in agreement.

Previous generations of kings had been busy pacifying and defending against the barbarian enemies from all directions. Even Nalai's usurping father, King Prasathong, had dug a canal.

Only King Narai, during his five years on the throne, focused entirely on maritime trade to gain wealth, and neither took charge of civil affairs nor military affairs.

All the money earned was spent on luxury.

Even when dealing with Siam's arch-enemy Toungoo, the Ming Dynasty secretly let the Crown Prince Jin of the Ming Dynasty lead the way.

Prior to this, Papilaja had conquered Hongsha from Madubha to support the Crown Prince of Ming.

Nalai told them not to cross the Nujiang River, but to join forces with the Ming Dynasty and march straight to Pegu.

I'm afraid of losing too many soldiers.

The same was true of the Arakan Rebellion, which was difficult to decide between the Dutch and the Ming Dynasty.

He neither refused the Dutch invitation nor dared to really rebel against the Ming Dynasty.

If Papilaja were to lead the troops and join forces with the Dutch to capture the eight cities of Madurai, they would be able to control Hongsha together with Arakan.

Achieve the strategic goal of blocking the Ming Dynasty in Shanghongsha.

By then, at least there will be Ma Duba's Ming Dynasty subjects as hostages.

Now Tudama is dead and the Dutch are defeated.

Siam was left in an awkward position above the wind.

If we can't win the war, we will lose a lot of money.

Yamada Nagamasa sighed and said, "If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place."

"Even if the Ming Dynasty accepts us again, Zhu Cixuan will use all his ships to fight against the Dai Qing and the Dutch."

"The already struggling maritime trade is likely to become even more cost-effective than it actually is."

King Narai was not only afraid that the Ming Dynasty would occupy the upper hand like the Mughals did.

He was even more worried that his maritime trade revenue would be delayed by the Ming Dynasty.

During this period, Mataram in Java closed its port, the Qing Dynasty in China banned sea trade and relocated people, and the shogunate in Japan closed its doors to the outside world.

Maritime trade in Southeast Asia and the East China Sea was almost cut off.

The Siamese royal family's main trading partners were India and Persia, and even the Ottoman Empire and Europe.

The Ming Dynasty occupied Hongsavady, which was flourishing with trade, and it made Siam very embarrassed.

Even the Dutch and the Spanish did not want a new trade route from China to emerge in Hongsavadi.

Siam, which made a fortune as a middleman in China's trade with Europe, also didn't want to do that.

You cannot act as a middleman and make a profit from the price difference.

The countries in the east have cut off their maritime trade, and the countries in the west have Pegu to share profits. Siam, which has already lost 30% of its revenue, is expected to lose half of it in a few years.

The tribute demanded by the Ming Dynasty was an even heavier burden.

Yamada Nagamasa commented: "Nalai should reduce his spending and wait for the Ming Dynasty to return to the Middle Earth in a few years, or he can take advantage of the unique spices and woods of Siam in Hongsha Anza and get a share of the profits from Zhu Cixuan."

Yamada Nagamasa thought for a moment and asked, "Have the Han people from Gai Street still flocked to Maduba recently?"

The Chinatown in the royal capital is on both sides of the Milk Street River.

Siam was better than Toungoo. It was not a complete serfdom, but it was also very feudal.

As dependents, farmers had no goods to exchange, and then Han immigrants filled this gap.

Formed a merchant class for Siam.

The big city relies on waterways, so the riverside is full of Han people's residences and shops.

Another Japanese said, "At the beginning of the year, the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty pacified Xia Hongsha, and the Han people tried to go and rely on the Ming Dynasty."

"In the past six months, Matuba has been thriving, and more and more Han Chinese have gone to Bago. Nearly one-third of the Han Chinese in Nai Street have left, and even nearly a thousand Han Chinese in Thonburi have moved to Hongsa."

Except for the 3,000 Han Chinese near Ayutthaya, the remaining 10,000 Han Chinese in Siam were mainly concentrated in Thonburi.

Many of them were doing business for the royal family, but now they have basically been siphoned off by the eight major companies in Malaysia.

Yamada Nagamasa sighed again: "Not surprising, although the Siamese people are not opposed to foreigners."

"But after all, they are people and countries with the same origin, so they are more worthy of trust and following."

Upon hearing this, the other Japanese suddenly fell into melancholy.

The shogunate closed the country and expelled Catholics.

They have a country that is difficult to return to.

Although China was ruled by barbarians, the Ming Dynasty continued to survive.

The group of Japanese chatted for a long time and finally waited for the Prime Minister of Siam and his brother.

Yamada Nagamasa and the Siamese king's father-in-law beside him met Apracha with deep eyes and high nose.

The three of them chatted for a while and then walked into the Shibi King Gate together.

Before the Japanese and Persians entered the hall, they heard the singing of poems.

Yamada Nagamasa saw King Narai watching the shadow play intently, and he and Alapacha stopped one after another.

When a country is prosperous, its culture will flourish.

After participating in maritime trade, poetry began to flourish among Siamese nobles.

King Narai specially asked the sacrificial officials to write a Zen poem to dub the shadow play.

After the shadow play was over, Nalai, who looked neither happy nor angry, asked the eunuch to reward him with an ingot of gold before he looked the minister in the eye.

"Papilaja and Mapi from Maduba have sent back a message. Zhu Cixuan asked me to first request the title and make up for the tribute owed, and then discuss other matters."

The Japanese and the Persians looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.

It would be better if it is peace rather than war.

Yamada Nagamasa was a businessman who traveled between Japan and Siam. Every time he passed through Ryukyu, he learned about the Ming Dynasty's enthronement and tribute.

"Your Majesty, should we request an enthronement and send a gift to make up for the tribute? Then, since Siam cannot send troops quickly enough, we should send another generous gift to apologize to the Ming Dynasty."

Nalai's calm face revealed a trace of pain:
"My son Mapi consulted the Han people in Maduba, and it is indeed true. The Han people in Nai Street also said so."

"In addition to sending troops to assist the Ming Dynasty in conquering the Malacca states and providing food and fodder, these three gifts cannot be neglected either."

Paying tribute to the Ming Dynasty was not a big loss, but a huge loss.

The gifts that Siam had previously sent included ivory, sappanwood, agarwood, incense, pepper, etc.

Many times, the spices weighed tens of thousands of kilograms.

The Ming Dynasty gave some silk and porcelain, and later even used banknotes in return.

In the past, the Ming Dynasty at least had return gifts. Even if the tribute was a huge loss, the envoys could still make a profit by buying and selling some goods.

Zhu Cixuan now treats the tribute purely as protection money.

If you don't pay the protection fee or pay less, the Ming Dynasty will raise an army to attack you.

Nalai really didn't want to pay.

But who can blame Ma Duba for having an army of 100,000 now, and Zhu Cixuan leading the troops personally?

He had previously destroyed Hongsavadi with only 20,000 men, and now 100,000 men were enough for him to rule both the land above and below the wind.

Nalai held his forehead and said, "We'll take some gifts from the national treasury, and you can add some, and then let the local nobles and chieftains make up the rest."

Yamada Nagamasa immediately looked at the Siamese Prime Minister Aphracha.

Most of the rice tribute to the Ming Dynasty is already borne by the local governments. If this batch of taxes is added, I am afraid there will be some unrest in the local areas.

Apalacha was obviously unaware of the situation, or perhaps he knew but did not care about the thoughts of the local noble chieftains.

Foreigners in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of External Affairs possessed trade resources, forming a delicate balance with the local nobles who controlled the military and civilians. Foreigners were rapidly promoted, monopolizing important official positions and political power.

He was a thorn in the eyes of the nobles.

Muran people like Apalaza never guessed the hostility of pagans.

Yamada Nagamasa lowered his head with mixed feelings.

These Western Murans are good at business, but they are completely unaware of the surging public opinion in the East.

The Japanese shogunate closed the country to the outside world and expelled and persecuted Catholics.

The root cause was the Shimabara Rebellion, which broke out due to excessive taxes levied by a believer named Amakusa Shiro.

The shogunate believed that European missionaries were behind the incident and began to persecute Christians on a large scale.

The Muran people are the same as the shogunate, their disputes over faith always outweigh public opinion.

The reason why Yamada Nagamasa was able to hold a high position was because the Persians allowed him to do so because they saw that he had no faith.

"Send the slaves to suffer, and let the Ming Dynasty bear the infamy."

Nalai, who controls the finances and the military, is preparing to further weaken the local forces.

After arranging the compensation, Nalai hesitated for a long time and said, "Sending troops, food, and money is easy to do."

"There's one thing I'm having trouble making up my mind about right now."

"Zhu Cixuan is preparing to go to Thonburi to take a boat north to the East China Sea. He asked me to go to Thonburi to receive the title."

"Only after the Siamese affairs are dealt with can he go north with peace of mind."

When the Siamese ministers heard this, they were all stunned.

The Chinese Hongmen Banquet and Japanese myths and legends flashed through Yamada Nagamasa's mind.

His younger brother Yugashi entertained eighty bandits and killed them with his wisdom.

His brother Ugas originally pretended to surrender and wanted to hold a banquet to kill the emperor, but ended up falling into a trap and dying.

Apraja's cousin, Asbadi, a high-ranking military official, immediately objected:

"Your Majesty, no."

"Caesar of ancient Rome was stabbed in the back by his ministers when he attended a meeting of the Senate."

"Zhu Cixuan is leading thousands of troops. How can Your Majesty guarantee his safety?"

A Japanese officer objected: "This is a major event, the enthronement of a king."

"The Ming Dynasty is most concerned about this matter. If the Joseon Dynasty's Ryukyu and Annan are not granted titles, they will be classified as enemy countries by the Ming Dynasty."

"If the king declines politely, that would give Zhu Cixuan ammunition to raise an army."

Nalai nodded. "That's what Pabhiraja and Maphi said."

"Zhu Cixuan was very petty. He considered Pingdali's reception of the exiled imperial court an insult and massacred the Mang royal family."

"Even if I let Zhu Cixuan pass through the big city and enthrone me in the capital, it's not safe with his thousands of soldiers and horses."

The Persian was speechless for a moment.

According to Zhu Cixuan's glorious battle record.

The exiled bodyguards were used to capture the city of Ava, and the Rakhine mountain people were used to capture the city of Mrauk U.

The several thousand elite Ming troops he was going to bring north actually entered the big city.

The fish is also the knife.

As long as Zhu Cixuan is allowed to board a ship in Thonburi, King Narai's life will no longer be in the hands of Siam.

Life and death all depend on Zhu Cixuan's thoughts.

Nalai shook his head and sighed, "I don't have a choice. I'll take the guards from the capital and have Noe lead the troops from Bra County to protect the city."

"With water transportation, Ayutthaya is not far from Thonburi and can provide assistance to me at any time."

"And there is Papilaja who has returned. He also has an army of 10,000."

Nalai boosted his confidence: "By then, Thonburi and Ayutthaya will have 50,000 troops."

"Zhu Cixuan, who is determined to go north, shouldn't do anything rash."

The safety of the country and the life of the king depend on Zhu Cixuan's decision.

The Siamese Prime Minister wanted to refute.

But I couldn't say anything more.

In the face of the powerful Zhu Cixuan and the Ming army, any action would be futile.

Nalai, determined, ordered, "Send the grain from Ayutthaya to Moulmein."

"Mawlamyine also withdrew its defenses, allowing Zhu Cixuan to march east to Thonburi, and the Ming army to march south to Malacca."

……

After finishing the meeting, Yamada Nagamasa returned to the Japanese village in the southeast suburbs outside the city with his Japanese colleagues.

This was built by Yamada Nagamasa himself beside the Chao Phraya River. There were 3,000 Japanese in the village alone.

The sources are also very complicated.

There were Japanese merchants like Yamada Nagamasa who stayed in Siam because the shogunate issued a closed-door policy, which meant that Japanese people abroad would be executed if they returned to their country.

There were Japanese believers who were driven out or escaped because of the shogunate's massacre of Catholics.

There were also many Japanese ronin warriors who lived in Siam and were recruited by the king into the royal guard.

Thirty years ago, he was expelled for interfering in King Prasat Thong's fight for the throne.

Five years ago, he was reused again for helping Nalai seize the throne.

The village chief, Yamada Nagamasa, summoned leaders of all ranks, including Japanese merchants, samurai, and Catholics.

The small church was packed.

When the Japanese heard that King Narai accepted the harsh conditions of the Ming Dynasty, they felt relieved that they would not have to go to war.

Someone noticed something was wrong with Yamada Nagamasa: "Yamada, are you worried that Nalai will go to Thonburi and be imprisoned and killed by Zhu Cixuan?"

"Actually, Nalai is right."

"If we don't let the Ming army in, they will immediately launch an attack on Moulmein."

"And as long as the Ming army enters the country, Siam will be unable to resist."

"Nalai and Siam had no choice, and neither did we."

"Whether Zhu Cixuan forgives Nalai or not, we Japanese will just have to change our king, or pledge allegiance to the Ming Dynasty directly."

"Those Persians who have inherited the position of Prime Minister for more than fifty years are the ones who are truly deeply bound to King Prasatthorn and King Narai."

Yamada Nagamasa shook his head: "I know all this."

"I'm wondering if I should just serve the Crown Prince of Ming directly, just like those Han Chinese."

The others looked at the village chief in surprise.

Yamada Nagamasa hesitated and said, "In fact, after living in Siam for decades, I no longer have any hope of returning to Japan."

"But isn't this the Crown Prince of Ming coming?"

"He's heading north to join up with Koxinga in the East China Sea."

Yamada Nagamasa looked at his companions, who were lost in thought. "You should know that trade between Koxinga and Japan has never been cut off."

"Guo Xing Ye's mother is one of us Japanese. To submit to the Crown Prince, to submit to the Ming Dynasty, is to submit to Guo Xing Ye."

"Even if I can't return to Japan completely, at least I can visit my country through trade."

Some Japanese businessmen were immediately moved.

Yamada Nagamasa looked at the Catholic priest again and said, "The Persians and the merchant princes of the Nanyang Sultanate have always wanted the King of Siam to convert to Mulan Christianity."

"How can you be safe then?"

"The Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty truly believes in Western gods. It's better to go to him than to stay in Siam, where Buddhism is low-class or Mulan is high-class."

"Even the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty is so ambitious that he wants to unify Southeast Asia. How can Japan stay out of it?"

"With the Crown Prince of Ming, might the shogunate be able to lift the divine ban?"

Yamada Nagamasa finally looked at the leader of the ronin warriors:

"The Ming Dynasty lies beside Siam. If Siam launches an attack, it will be courting death."

"Without war, you might as well follow the Ming army north and serve under Koxinga. You'll earn more money than in Siam."

Two in one
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(End of this chapter)