Southern Ming, my destiny is too abstract

Chapter 42: Demonstrating the Value of Unity

Lower Hongsha, Pegu City.

Located on the east bank of the Bago River.

The Pegu River and the Mitmagha River on the east and west foothills of the Pegu Mountains flow through Pegu County and merge into the Daguang River in Daguang.

Finally it flows into the Madu Bay.

After Madubal and Daguang, Pegu City is the most prosperous place in Hongsavadi.

Four hundred years ago, the Pagan Dynasty collapsed.

Valiliu of Maduba and Duoluoba of Pegu formed an alliance and marriage, and jointly expelled the Hongsha forces from Lower Hongsha.

Variliu killed Doraba and became the king of the Mon people.

He was then killed by his grandson. The Mon tribe changed its queen six times and only after moving its capital to Pegu did it finally stabilize.

With the help of trade, Pegu prospered for a time and built temples and pagodas.

It once became the largest city in Hongsavadi and a religious holy place in the land above the wind.

Two miles outside of Bago City is the most famous Shwedaliang Monastery.

A group of Hongsha people arrived hurriedly.

The Hongsha soldiers outside the temple took off their weapons and let people into the temple.

Bie Daiyun got down from the sedan chair.

Led by a novice monk, they bowed and burned incense to the seven-hundred-year-old reclining Buddha and the tallest Ruimodu Pagoda in Hongsha.

Under the pagoda, a Hongshahou King was making mixed tea and sitting waiting.

Bie Daiyun walked forward and took a seat, looking at the person opposite him carefully.

Governor Sarin of Pindali, brother-in-law of Mangbai and Aung San of Pyinmeet.

Pingdali was famous for his bravery.

After betraying Mang Wen and joining Mang Bai, he started to pretend to be cultured and started wrapping betel nuts and mixing tea.

Aung San mixed the tea with fermented tea leaves, fried onions, sesame seeds, and roasted beans.

He added two drops of sesame oil, poured out a cup and handed it to Bie Daiyun.

Bie Daiyun took the tea, took a sip, and said with a heavy expression:

"The Crown Prince of Ming does not want to conclude peace and has no intention of letting us go."

Aung San's face was also gloomy:

"He just burned Tonggu and annihilated a hundred thousand soldiers. No one would stop so easily."

"Now we can only rely on Dai Qing Gu Lun as Mang Bai said."

Bie Daiyun shook his head: "I can't point fingers at them."

"The Han Chinese New Year is coming soon. In three months, the rain will increase and the weather will get hotter."

"The army of Middle-earth cannot enter Hongshawadi at all."

Aung San was in a bad mood and drank two cups of mixed tea without chewing them.

"Why doesn't the Crown Prince of Ming stop fighting? We have promised him gold and rice!"

"Does he really want to settle down in Hongshawadi and not return to Middle-earth?"

Bie Daiyun replied, "Mang Bai said so."

"The Crown Prince of Ming has an appetite bigger than an elephant and wants everything."

"He predicted that after Mang Bai's defeat, Xia Hongsha would fall into chaos, and he wanted a stable supply of food to Xia Hongsha."

"He used the Hongsha people as his vassal army and conscripted prisoners, not worrying about losses at all."

"How many soldiers did you bring?"

Aung San was appointed as the Marquis of Pyin Oo and stationed in Pyin Oo.

Mangbai led an army of more than 100,000 to besiege and kill the crown prince of Ming in the Xitang River Valley.

He took his navy and 20,000 land forces to garrison Sarin Pyay.

Aung San said in a muffled voice: "There are only 10,000 soldiers and horses."

Bie Daiyun was stunned: "You ran so far?"

"Your army is not entirely composed of Ahmedans. They should not be easily lured into betrayal by the Ming prince and the monks."

"The ones running away should be the slaves and A-Tai."

Most of the Ata farmers are not from the Hongsha tribe, and the land they cultivate is also mountain forest without river irrigation.

Bie Daiyun was not surprised to hear that the army had suffered a crushing defeat and Ata had run back to the mountains.

But as a member of the Hongsha tribe and a slave of the royal family, Ahmudan had little land and paid little tax.

He would not risk his head and run away just to get more land and less tax.

Aung San gritted his teeth and said, "It's the princes and nobles who came from Upper Hongsha."

"Because of the extortion and education of the Crown Prince of Ming, he came to Mangbai for refuge."

"But because Mangbai was defeated and killed, he fled back to Ava with his slaves and took refuge with the old Lord Pagan."

Bie Daiyun was speechless for a moment.

Anyone who heard that the Crown Prince of Ming defeated an army of over 100,000 with only 10,000 soldiers would be amazed.

Everyone will feel fear.

Bai Wenxuan led two thousand Ming troops to attack Ava City, and Pingdali wanted to open the city and surrender.

Zhu Cixuan had 20,000 to 30,000 Ming troops and tens of thousands of Hongsha prisoners.

Who is not afraid, who doesn't want to surrender!
Ten thousand kilograms of gold and fifty million kilograms of rice per year really exhausted the wealth of the nobles of Xiahongsha. But the crown prince of Ming Dynasty refused to let them surrender.

After a long silence, Bie Daiyun spoke:
"How about opening the city and surrendering to the Ming Dynasty, just to save your life?"

Aung San suddenly raised his head and glanced at Bie Daiyun suspiciously.

"You are willing to give up your position as a duke, but I am not."

"Not to mention me, even the nobles are reluctant to give up the land they just acquired."

“Those who fled back to Ava were those who came to Mangbai later and were not eligible to participate in the division of Mon land.”

Aung San said bitterly: "You really surrender."

"All the land, gold and silver shall be given to the Crown Prince of Ming. You shall be spared from death and become a monk."

"It would be better to take some wealth and go to Malacca and Arakan and become a rich man."

Aung San pointed to the Pegu Palace at the foot of the pagoda hill:

"If you want me to surrender, wait until the Crown Prince of Ming captures Pegu."

"With the Europeans' artillery and muskets, I can hold out for half a year and wait for the Qing army to march south. What's the harm?"

Bie Daiyun was silent for a long time before speaking:
"You gathered so many defeated soldiers by the Xitang River."

Aung San's eyes were puzzled, and he said slowly, "Twenty thousand."

He was originally from Pyay County.

Pyay County is the main thoroughfare between Upper and Lower Hongsha.

With the Jinsha River, they will face the Ming army first.

The Prince of Mingguo in Toungoo County, located on the west side of the Pegu Mountains, could also easily cross the Pegu Mountains to attack Pyin Uyeon.

So he led his army south to Pegu, gathered the defeated troops, and increased his bargaining chips.

The army was stationed outside the city and asked Daiyun to come out of the city for negotiations.

Bie Daiyun sighed softly: "That's enough. There are still tens of thousands of people in the city."

"Including the navy, Pegu City has nearly 50,000 soldiers and horses."

"The reason why the Crown Prince of Ming refused to accept our surrender is because he thought that we, the Hongsha people, were weak and not qualified to negotiate."

"As long as we hold on for a month or two, we can make the Crown Prince of Ming realize that we can't take Pegu Daguang without paying a price."

"Show the value of unity, and the Crown Prince of Ming will naturally bow his noble head."

Bie Daiyun drank the mixed tea in the porcelain cup in one gulp.

"Leave Pegu City to you. I'll go to Maduba."

"We can't let the Siamese army enter Xiahongsha, otherwise they will help the Ming Dynasty to besiege the city for half a year or even a year."

"They'd absolutely love to starve us of ammunition and food."

Aung San was somewhat delighted: "Really?"

Bie Daiyun nodded: "I will take two thousand soldiers with me."

Aung San said generously, "I have brought a lot of food and wealth from Pyay. You can take half of it from the treasury of Pegu."

Bie Daiyun did not refuse.

It was decided that after leaving in the afternoon, Aung San's army would take over the city of Pegu.

Bie Daiyun sat on the reclining chair on the sedan chair and left Ruidaliang Temple.

"Sir, you are the Marquis of Pegu, appointed by Mangbai. Are you going to give up your fiefdom just like that?"

A confidant asked.

Bie Daiyun shook his head: "Pegu is a big city."

“But it’s also a place of four wars.”

"In the past, Mangshweti was connected to Pegu and Toungoo, and could see Ava to the north and Arakan to the west."

"Now the Crown Prince of Ming can attack from all sides."

"and,"

Bie Daiyun knocked on the bamboo pole:

"Mangbai massacred the Meng people. This is the Meng's capital."

"Once they hear that the Crown Prince of Ming has defeated Mangbai, they will immediately rise up in rebellion."

Turning his head to look at his confidant, Bie Daiyun continued:

"The Shan people used to be the Xuanweisi of Ava in the Ming Dynasty, and the Mon people were the Xuanweisi of Dagula in the Ming Dynasty."

"They would rather be ruled by the Ming Kingdom than by our Hongsha people."

“By then, even the Mon people in Pegu will be agitated.”

"The four great Toungoo rulers have exhausted their luck. The fifth, Pindali Mangwen Mangbai, and this Aung San, are all incompetent and mediocre with low vision."

The confidant thought for a moment and asked:
"Sir, can Maduba hold it?"

Bie Daiyun shook his head: "I can't defend it either."

"Even with the support of the Dutch, they can't stop Zhu Cixuan."

"We only need to resist for two or three months, demonstrate the value of unity, and wait until the rainy season, so that the Crown Prince of Ming will allow me to surrender."

Go to Malacca and become a rich man?
Without soldiers and power, you are just like a pig, to be slaughtered by others.

Those sultans can also eat pork for the sake of gold and silver.

I'm such a fool, really. I only know that the reason my book didn't pass muster was because of certain characters I wrote. And yesterday, I was so naive I worked until the middle of the night and caught a cold. Everyone, be careful of the flu in winter.

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(End of this chapter)