1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 427 The Great Qi Kingdom
"Why do you only call yourself king, not emperor?" Qi Dajiang asked curiously.

"Officials in Hanzhou believe that I have not yet made great contributions and high morality, so I cannot be an emperor for the time being." Qi Tian said with a smile: "Besides, based on traditional Chinese etiquette, Ming Dynasty already has an emperor, and our Hanzhou As an immigrant country that originated from Ming Dynasty, it cannot proclaim itself emperor."

"Then, do we in Hanzhou want to respect Daming as the suzerain, become its vassal state, and kneel down to worship the emperor of Ming?" Qi Dajiang asked in a deep voice, his face froze.

"That's not the case. Daming is Ming, and our Hanzhou is Hanzhou. The two have nothing to do with each other. We only respect the emperor of Ming Dynasty in terms of traditional etiquette and culture, and even in the hearts of many people." Qi Tian explained: " Our Hanzhou will continue to develop independently in the future, there is no suzerain country, let alone a vassal state of any regime."

"That's good." Qi Dajiang smiled, "I thought that after finally developing Hanzhou, we have to put ourselves under the control of Daming. Then we have worked hard for several years, isn't it just a marriage for others?" Clothes! Those scholars are also pedantic, and the slaves in Liaodong have established rules and regulations, and they are called emperors, but we can’t get the title of emperor.”

"Second brother, calling the emperor and building an empire is very famous, but it is not beneficial to the development of our Hanzhou. With 9 people, it is still not as good as some kingdoms in the Nanyang region. Therefore, our Hanzhou is still declared in the name of the kingdom. When we are strong enough to dominate Nanyang and dominate the powers in the next few decades, The title of emperor and empire will naturally fall on our heads."

"I think that under your leadership, Hanzhou can definitely do it." Qi Dajiang said: "At that time, our Hanzhou, oh no, our Great Qi State, will become a country comparable to the Ming Dynasty back then. Hehe, how did those old gentlemen approve of your idea of ​​using Qi as the country name?"

"Menghougong and the others originally opposed this country name." Qi Tian shook his head and said: "They think that using a surname as a name may make them less stable and difficult to last, such as Han Zhaowei in the Warring States Period. But Prime Minister Pan and the others Officials in Hanzhou agree, saying yes, Qi, which symbolizes the unity of Hanzhou and the co-creation of China. In addition, we are from Shandong, which belonged to Qi in ancient times. Some people say that Qi belongs to Jinde and is the five elements. The beginning of the rotation. Didn’t the founding slaves establish the country as Qing, which belongs to the virtue of water, to restrain the virtue of fire. And our Daqi is Jinde, which happens to restrain the virtue of Qingshui. Therefore, our Hanzhou will be called Daqi from now on! "

"Great Qi Kingdom is so good, it's much stronger than the Hanzhou Huaxia Kingdom you proposed." Qi Dajiang nodded and said: "In the future, our Daqi Kingdom will be able to build a strong and prosperous country with one heart and one mind. The Qi family can also be passed on to all generations."

Qi Tian smiled, but did not answer, there is no dynasty in this world that can last forever.What he can do now is to work hard to lay a solid foundation for Hanzhou and open up more living space for the Chinese nation.Even if there are unworthy descendants and prodigal families in the future, it will still leave enough room for the Han people to develop.

"...fourth brother, if you become king, I..., when I see you in the future,...do I want to bow down to you?" Qi Dajiang asked anxiously.

"Daqi wants to restore the ceremony, and any official kneeling ceremony will be abolished in the future." Qi Tian sighed slightly in his heart, and said: "From now on, in public, you and I will be monarchs and ministers. In private, we will still be brothers."

"...How to arrange after uncle's death?"

"A posthumous gift to the King of Lu, hereditary in the country."

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"In view of the current increase in naval ships in Hanzhou, there is some confusion and unclear responsibilities in the entire management and subordinate relationship." He Yunfeng looked at the naval officers present with a serious expression on his face, "Therefore, Under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, the Military and Political General Staff are now making the following adjustments to all ships under the Navy's jurisdiction"

"The Beihai (now Timor Sea) Fleet of the Navy was established. The ships under its jurisdiction are the professional warships Qiming, Yangming, Shengming, armed merchant ships Pioneering, Yangwu, Yangwei, Yangbo, and the affiliated Flying Fish Express. Three ships, a total of ten large and small ships. Combat and active areas, Hanzhou Jianye Port to Timor Island, Java Island, Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Xinsheng Island and other waters. The commander of the fleet is Qi Dajiang, the commander of the Navy concurrently."

"The Weiyuan Fleet was established. The ships under its jurisdiction were the professional battleship Jinghai, the armed merchant ship Tuoye...and six ships. The combat and activity areas were the eastern part of Hanzhou, Weiyuan Island, and Midway Island (now Palauco) Rolle Island) and other waters, the commander of the fleet is Niu Jinmin."

"The Ryukyu Fleet was established, and the ships under its jurisdiction were the professional battleship Jingbo, the armed merchant ship Yongjin...and six ships. The combat and activity areas were the Ryukyu Islands where Hanxing Island (today's Miyako Island) is located, and Luzon. , Daming and other sea areas. The commander of the fleet is Luo Rucheng."

"Establish the Hanzhou Exploration Fleet. The ships under its jurisdiction are the Flying Fish Clippers, Flying Fish No. 6, Flying Fish No. 7, and Flying Fish No. [-], and the transportation and supply ships Yongxin and Yongchang. The mission of the fleet is to explore and find the route between the east and west of Hanzhou. As well as Yijian settlements, the commander of the fleet is Dong Fengshan."

"All the dedicated cargo carriers and immigration carriers in the original navy fleet were stripped off from the navy and handed over to the newly established Hanzhou Ocean Shipping General Trading Company, and their personnel are also temporarily under the jurisdiction of the trading company."

After announcing the Hanzhou Navy ship reorganization order in one breath, He Yunfeng looked back at Qi Tian, ​​waiting for his further instructions.

"The purpose of setting up the three major fleets is to rationally deploy all of our Hanzhou's maritime armed forces and better protect our Hanzhou's maritime rights and interests. As we all know, the sea is long and the communication cannot be timely. It is necessary for each fleet to actively cooperate with each other according to their environment and surrounding situations. Make timely and limited responses. However, each fleet is divided into three divisions, and it is not for you to fight alone in the area where you belong and develop in isolation. Our number of ships is still very small. Facing such a vast sea area, only a dozen ships The ships, the three fleets, are simply unable to fully protect the rights and interests of our Hanzhou."

After speaking, Qi Tian looked at the many core officers of the Hanzhou Navy present, smiled slightly, and continued: "However, as the population of our Hanzhou gradually increases and our shipbuilding capabilities increase year by year, our ships will also Slowly increasing. Although the war with the Dutch East India Company is over, the main task of our Hanzhou navy has changed from destroying Dutch merchant ships to full-scale immigration affairs. However, the construction of professional warships in our navy will not stop. The speed of one or two new ships will be added to the fleets of the Navy. Moreover, our warships will be built larger, with stronger firepower and stronger protection.”

"Our future opponent in Hanzhou has not changed, it is still the Dutch East India Company. During the three years of war, the main force of our Hanzhou navy has hardly faced the Dutch warships. In addition to our weak sea power, there are also Our naval officers and soldiers lag behind the Dutch in all aspects of sea combat. But I hope that after ten years of development, our Hanzhou Navy will be able to compete with the Dutch at least in partial naval battles in the next war. The Dutch will fight head-on, and they can completely control the sea in Hanzhou."

"Therefore, in the next ten years, the Hanzhou Navy will not only assist the Hanzhou Ocean Shipping General Trading Co., Ltd. to complete the annual immigration task, but also practice the latest maritime tactics and narrow down the technical battles with the Netherlands, Spain and other Western maritime powers. There is a gap in level. Ladies and gentlemen, our Hanzhou is surrounded by oceans, and our major business interests in the future will also be overseas. The connections with many territories and the mainland of China are all based on ship exchanges. Therefore, you now have a heavy responsibility to strengthen Hanzhou and develop it. Han Zhou, communication and outreach depend on you."

"We will live up to the commander's expectations! We will live up to the expectations of Hanzhou!" The main officers of the navy present agreed in unison.

"Hanzhou is limited by the small population base, and the navy's manpower is also weak." Qi Tian continued: "From now on, the three fleets of the navy might as well recruit more pirate forces from the South Seas, Ming Dynasty, Japan, and even the Korean waters. My Hanzhou After the battle with the Netherlands, it must have attracted the attention of many pirate forces. If they want to have a good background, I, Hanzhou, will be their best choice."

The officer of the Hanzhou Navy nodded in agreement.Four years ago, they began to recruit pirate forces active in the South China Sea, and one to two thousand people came to vote one after another, which greatly enriched Hanzhou's sea power.However, over the past few years, hundreds of sailors have been lost due to various risks such as sea waves, epidemics, etc., and the number of sailors trained by ourselves is limited, and the needs of other maritime departments such as fishing, transportation, and exploration must also be taken into account. The overall quantity has been in short supply.

For this reason, those immigrants from Hanzhou who have only had a few months of offshore fishing experience will be quickly recruited to serve as temporary sailors on naval warships or transport ships, and then weed out sailors who are suitable for sailing from the cruel sea wind and waves .Nearly half of the sailors on all the ships in Hanzhou have not been at sea for more than three years. This is one of the reasons why the overall combat effectiveness of the Hanzhou Navy is not high.

Compared with the size of the Navy, which will continue to expand, the Marine Corps, the main marine force in Hanzhou, only maintains the current size of eight companies.Among them, six companies are fully staffed, and two companies are only equipped with officers and non-commissioned officers. They belong to shelf companies, and the total number of people is only more than 920.

Considering that Xinsheng Island needs to moderately intervene in the affairs of countries such as Annan, Cambodia, and Champa, Hanzhou will station two full-scale companies, supplemented by more than 300 township soldiers, to maintain Hanzhou's local force.

Because Hanxing Island has to face the complicated situation in Japan, Ming Dynasty and other countries, two full-scale companies were also stationed there, supplemented by more than [-] local township soldiers, to maintain the due force projection to the area.

Zhenhaibao (formerly Dili City) in the north of Timor Island and Weiyuan City on Weiyuan Island (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea) each stationed a full-scale company, supplemented by local township organizations to ensure the safety of the two places .

The remaining two shelf companies that are not full of size are deployed in Jianye Mansion in the north of Hanzhou. If reinforcements are needed in various places, they can quickly go to support after replenishing soldiers.

With a population of 9 in Hanzhou, it is still a bit difficult to maintain nearly [-] officers and soldiers of the navy ships and marine corps.Moreover, all walks of life in Hanzhou are in a state of shortage of people, and some officials even demand that the two overseas territories of Timor Island and Weiyuan Island increase the number of natives captured, and transport them back to the mainland to fill agriculture, mining, and construction. And among the countless infrastructure constructions that have emerged in Hanzhou.

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"Unexpectedly, the urban construction of Hanzhou not only has a reasonable plan and a strict layout, but also has a huge overall scale!" Cornelis van der Lin, the governor of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia, led a few entourages, in several Under the protection of the Hanzhou patrol police, they are visiting Jianye City.

In order to observe the founding ceremony of Hanzhou, Governor De Lin came to Jianye City of Hanzhou on an armed merchant ship three days ago.On the second day of his arrival, he had a polite meeting with the young ruler of Hanzhou, and the two sides reaffirmed the peace between the East India Company and Hanzhou, and the commitment of both parties to maintaining the maritime order of the entire East Indies. will.Regarding the future market opening and bilateral trade, Governor Durling was surprised that the other party seemed to be more enthusiastic about it than he was.

The young ruler of Hanzhou suggested that the two sides should not interfere in any way or impose restrictions on trade exchanges, allow goods to be imported and exported freely, and cancel cumbersome port entry and exit procedures and various taxes and fees.

From this point of view, Hanzhou has an urgent attitude towards the import of foreign goods. This must be because this barren continent cannot provide all kinds of production and living materials that Hanzhou people need.That being the case, wouldn't it just be possible to take advantage of the East India Company's commercial and maritime transportation advantages, control Hanzhou's trade dominance, and then incorporate Hanzhou into the East India Company's colonial system.

"I think the Hanzhou people have their unique professional advantages in urban construction." Governor Delin said: "The construction of our Batavia City Hall has been stagnant for more than three years. Can we hand it over to them to rebuild?" Design and construction. Also, can their materials that can strengthen buildings be imported so that we can further strengthen the defenses of various business station strongholds?"

"Governor, I don't think the Hanzhou people will pass on that kind of building reinforcement material to us." A senior business representative shook his head and said: "The importance of this kind of material for strengthening city defense facilities is self-evident. They We will definitely keep the manufacturing secret of this material.”

"Then we have to find ways to obtain this kind of building material manufacturing method." Governor Delin said: "We need to build our strongholds in the East Indies as strong as the fortresses of the Hanzhou people. Even, We can also spread this technology to our mainland in Europe and turn our United Provinces into a huge fortress.”

The next day, March [-], the governor of the Dutch East India Company, Batavia Dering, witnessed an oriental ceremony for the enthronement of a monarch, which was also the formal establishment of a regional power.

In the morning, Pan Qifeng, the Prime Minister of Civil Affairs, and other officials from relevant departments, held a ceremony to worship heaven and earth instead of Qitian.After the ceremony, Qi Tian wore Ming-style filial piety, and at the newly built altar in the east of the city, offered sacrifices to the ancestors of the Qi family and various gods.Doing so is not only to comfort the ancestors, but also to demonstrate the sacred status of the royal power granted by heaven.

After these two steps are completed, the whole ceremony can be regarded as the beginning.

Afterwards, officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs informed the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors that the new king was about to take the throne in three places, the Temple of Heaven, the Temple of Agriculture, and the Taimiao, which were built in imitation of Beijing in the Ming Dynasty.At this point, the bell and drum of the enthronement ceremony officially sounded. Accompanied by the majestic bell, Qi Tian, ​​wearing a special Ming-style prince's dress, climbed to Chengtian Gate (imitated the Beijing Fengtian Gate of the Ming Dynasty) to pray.At this time, the officials of Hanzhou who had been waiting in front of the original commanding mansion could enter the commanding mansion under the guidance of the relevant officials.

But this does not mean that they can go to meet the new king at this time.In fact, they had to line up on both sides of the road in an orderly manner according to their official positions, waiting for King Qi to finish his prayer.After King Qi finished praying and entered the Chengtian Hall (formerly the main hall of the Commander's Mansion) through the road paved with red carpets, the Hanzhou military and civilian officials could enter the hall to congratulate one by one.

Later, representatives from the Dutch East India Company, the Kingdom of Mataland, the Kingdom of Banten, the Kingdom of Johor, the Kingdom of Aceh, and the Kingdom of Wihali congratulated Qi Tian.

In the end, the secretary and supervisor of King Qi's Mansion read the edict to all the military officials and the people of Hanzhou. So far, Qi Tian's status as the supreme ruler of Hanzhou-King Qi can be regarded as truly justified.

The Daqi Kingdom of Hanzhou was born.

(End of this chapter)