Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 521: Psychological Warfare

Li Yuan, who had also read the battle report, was so excited that he pulled Chen Lao Da to talk about the contents of the battle report. Jia Lian, who arrived later, saw that he was happy, so he did not mention the water content in the battle report.

Is there any water in it? Of course there is, but not much. Jia Lian thinks that it is not exaggerated by half, but 30% is definitely there.

Seeing Jia Lian coming, Li Yuan stopped sharing the battle report and stood up to greet him. Jia Lian stepped forward to salute, not daring to be careless.

Li Yuan felt somewhat complicated about Jia Lian's unwillingness to be impolite. If someone is always so polite to you and you can't find any fault with his etiquette, it means he is unwilling to get close to you.

Can a couple who respect each other as guests still be called a couple?
For Boss Chen, being able to have dinner with Li Yuan and Jia Lian is definitely an opportunity for class advancement.

He knew very well that this was not because of his qualifications, but because he was useful now, useful in Borneo. If he returned to his homeland, his name would not be worthy of being heard by the two.

Therefore, we must seize this opportunity and lead the entire family to achieve advanced transformation.

"Mr. Chen is familiar with the local situation. Can you introduce the natives?"

Facing Jia Lian's question, Chen Lao Da immediately perked up and answered after careful consideration: "The natives do not know etiquette and morality, and the strong are kings, so it is difficult to educate them."

Jia Lian was not surprised by this answer and kept smiling, but Li Yuan frowned slightly and said nothing.

Jia Lian saw that Chen Lao Da shrank his neck slightly and said with a smile: "Continue!"

Boss Chen then continued, "My ancestors went out to sea to make a living and settled here. It has been more than 150 years since then, and I am the fifth generation. I can summarize the Spanish governance of the local area in the past as using the few to rule the many. There are many indigenous people, but they are lazy, unable to endure hardships, and unwilling to obey the king. The Spanish supported the Chinese in doing business, and used the indigenous Christians as clerks. When they were short of money, they would ask the Chinese, and when the indigenous people made trouble, they would blame the Chinese. It can be seen how malicious their original intentions were. As the saying goes, those who are not of my race must have different hearts."

Jia Lian did not comment on what Chen Lao Da said. After all, it was nonsense to say that the relationship between him and the colonists was so bad for a leader like him. Otherwise, it would not be the natives who besieged the colony at the beginning, but the Spanish army. Of course, what Chen Lao Da said was true, but he omitted some parts.

Hearing this, Li Yuan could not help but speak up: "When I was in Beijing, I met the British and French envoys and some missionaries. They were also able to abide by the law and were not completely unteachable."

Chen Laoda opened his mouth slightly, wanting to say something but stopping himself. Jia Lian smiled and said, "When the missionaries first arrived in your place, I'm afraid they might even have trouble surviving. As time goes by, trouble will naturally arise. There was a case of Christians in the Ming Dynasty, but Your Highness has never heard of it. This is why Taizu wrote the prohibition of missionaries from preaching into the law."

Some things are very difficult to change under stereotypes. One has to experience them personally and feel the pain first before changing his mindset.

There is one good thing about Li Yuan. Although he does not agree with Jia Lian, he respects him as a person and will not refute his views to his face.

Jia Lian turned to Chen Lao Da and said, "Go on and tell me about the specific situation of the natives."

"Yes! Your Highness, sir, let me share some of my humble opinions." Boss Chen stacked up his armor first before continuing.

At present, there are many indigenous tribes in Borneo, both large and small, and they are constantly fighting each other. The Spanish colonists usually don't care about the wars between them. When they see that a tribe or ethnic group is about to become big, they will secretly take action, either through the hands of the Chinese or the believers, in short, to support the weaker party. If they really can't afford it, when they see that an indigenous dynasty is about to be born, they will personally go out and take the indigenous followers with them to strike hard.

In short, the indigenous people are not allowed to have a force that can unify a certain island, let alone unify all the islands. According to Boss Chen, this is not only true for the Spanish, but also for the Dutch.

Taking the previous siege of the overseas settlement by the indigenous people as an example, the local indigenous believers served as a link, and several surrounding tribes jointly sent troops, while the Spaniards provided weapons.

There is nothing wrong with what he said. The colonizers have always played this way. The most typical example is Rwanda, where they directly used the number of cows as the basis for dividing ethnic groups and created two ethnic groups.

It must be said that the colonists have malicious intentions. They have been playing control tactics to keep the forces of all parties within a controllable range, making it easier for them to manipulate the situation.

To be honest, Li Yuan understood what Boss Chen said very well, because the situation in the court was similar. It was just that the level was higher, and it was about fighting without breaking.

At this time, Li Yuan felt more deeply that the purpose of Jia Lian's banquet for Boss Chen seemed basically clear now.

"Mr. Chen, which of the natives have you a good relationship with?" Li Yuan did not express his opinions on military matters, but he was willing to show his ability in local governance.

The general meaning is that Li Yuan wants to show his strengths and let Jia Lian see that he is worthy of his assistance.

Again, for many things, even if you don't want to fight, the people below will fight for you. When the trend is on the rise, you also want to fight, and it is difficult to give up. A new emperor appoints new ministers, and the people below will naturally fight between the two generations in order to replace the old generation. The imperial power is the most sensitive thing, so many princes in history have died in this way. How about Li Yuan's situation? It has become an instinct to win over talents to fight for the throne. I once ignored Jia Lian, but now I regret it and want to work hard to fight for it.

In short, people are very complicated. Li Yuan's situation is not complicated. Ever since he was old enough to understand, people have been telling him that he is going to be the crown prince.

"Your Highness, yes, there is, but we can't say that the relationship is very good. It's just that this tribe was once powerful, but was later disliked by the Spanish. After the Spanish sent troops to attack them, they never recovered. With no other options, they maintained trade relations with the Chinese. You must know that when they were powerful in the past, their attitude towards the Chinese was also very bad."

Li Yuan was stunned when he heard this, and then he said quickly: "So, when dealing with the natives, we can only talk about benefits. Is there no way to make them loyal like Cao County did?"

Jia Lian was stunned by this statement. Li Yuan said that there was nothing wrong with this statement. The current Cao County is really a die-hard supporter of the Central Plains Dynasty. In order to distinguish between the elder and the younger with Japan, there was even a special discussion, which was recorded in its history. It's just that many people in the peninsula don't learn Chinese now, and can't read their own history books. It's nothing like the first country in the universe today, which shot Li Shimin blind in a TV series and made the American father kneel down.

Old Master Chen was paralyzed and hesitated for a moment: "Your Highness, I'm afraid it's difficult and it won't be achieved overnight."

Li Yuan was not too disappointed, but nodded: "Indeed, the Western Regions were treated well by the imperial court in the past, and they were restrained and given power. Didn't they rebel and threaten the Hexi Region?"

Jia Lian slightly recognized Li Yuan in his heart, thinking that he was not so stubborn and would not try to block both sides.

At this point, Jia Lian had a rough idea in his mind, and said, "Contact the tribes that have not had conflicts with the overseas Chinese recently, and ask their leaders to come over for a talk."

Chen Laoda quickly accepted the task, feeling secretly delighted. He was really afraid that he would not have the opportunity to help Jia Lian and Li Yuan. You know, there were many expatriates who wanted to work for them, and he was just lucky.

After personally seeing off Boss Chen and giving him enough face, Jia Lian turned around and Li Yuan asked, "Sir, are you a little anxious?" Jia Lian smiled and said, "The siege is a long-term matter and we need people to do the work. I plan to arm the local expatriates and leave the work to the natives."

Li Yuan did not ask why the natives did not come. Jia Lian’s attitude was very clear: if they did not come, they would be beaten.

At this time, Li Yuan had a clear understanding of Jia Lian's thoughts. In Jia Lian's mind, Westerners and indigenous peoples should be treated the same. He would talk to them first, and then deal with them if they didn't accept it, such as the Spanish and Dutch colonists. Li Yuan even wondered if the Dutch colonists in Borneo and Java would surrender without a fight if he successfully took over.

At night, Jia Lian did not pursue the fact that the military report was diluted, but pretended not to know. This was also a tacit understanding, and Jia Lian also wanted to seek benefits for his subordinates.

If you are the boss and cannot seek benefits for those below you, someone will naturally replace you.

That night, the Spaniards in the city were in agony, especially the governor and the bishop. If they didn't take the troops, the people would immediately disperse. If they took the troops, the bodies would be easy to deal with, just burn them, but what about the wounded? They had to take care of them, right? If they didn't, how could the people below suppress them? It was okay before when there were no external enemies, and they didn't need to suppress them by force, after all, the tanks of the five-star generals were all out. Now, they really didn't dare.

It took until the early morning to finally take care of the wounded. Even though they didn't have to do it themselves, the governor and the bishop, who hadn't slept much, were exhausted.

Early in the morning, the governor was awakened by his maid and lover, who pointed at the approaching hot air balloon and said, "This thing is coming again, let's hide quickly."

The bishop was awakened by the little boy. Yesterday's bombing made everyone realize that hot air balloons were not as harmless as the bishop said.

Both of them lived in high places, but now they came down and hid in the solid stone house.

Everyone else was looking for hiding spots, but those on the position had no way to hide and could only hold their heads and pray.

Soon everyone discovered that it was a false alarm. The hot air balloon did not drop a bomb, but instead dropped leaflets like raindrops written in Latin.

Most people were illiterate, so if they found a book, they could only give it to the clergy or some civil servants to read it.

Soon the governor and the bishop announced that these leaflets were contraband and that no one was allowed to keep them privately if they were found.

Well, actually the content of the leaflet was very simple. It was to tell them that there were no reinforcements, the Dutch would not come back, and there was no hope of holding on any longer. They should surrender quickly. The army of the Great Zhou Empire was a civilized army that would treat prisoners well. Even if they were enemies, they would be given a chance to survive.

How can I describe the power of this leaflet? For ordinary people, it is very friendly, but for officials like the governor and missionaries, it is very bad.

Ordinary colonists were not worth much, so they had little to lose, but high-ranking officials like the governor would lose a lot if they surrendered. And according to Western rules, people like the governor would have to pay a ransom after being defeated. Therefore, they would not admit defeat until their last hope was gone, because they could pay a ransom after being defeated, and their lives were guaranteed.

It’s different for people at the bottom of society. They are the ones who go to the battlefield. If they die in battle, they die in battle. No one will care about them if they become injured or disabled.

This is an important part of the cultural difference between the East and the West. In the West, if a noble is defeated in a war, he is still a noble, and if a lord is defeated in a war, he can continue to be a lord after paying a ransom.

But in the Eastern Empire, if you lose the war, you will be a prisoner, and the royal family will be the main target of the purge. They will not be kept alive for the New Year. You have to root out the grass. On the contrary, if the people below surrender, they will be replaced by a new emperor. Just look at the so-called Indianization of America. The underlying logic of Western society has not changed, it's just the caste system that has changed its skin. Of course, Trump has come up with a new trick, Caoxianization.

I have to give a thumbs up here, for the western sun. For winning the school!
So, in the eastern land, the defeated party is called the remnants of the previous dynasty.

France is still a monarchy at this stage, and the old revolutionary base has not yet been born. Louis XVI's head is still there.

When leaflets were scattered all over the place, no matter how fiercely the Governor's guards tried to collect them, or how eloquently the priests tried to brainwash people, there were always people who secretly hid them.

As a human being, no one wants to die. Isn’t it good to be alive?
On that day, Jia Lian did not order an attack, but continued to surround the key points outside at night. The Spaniards in the fortress area, especially the lower-level militia, were quietly spreading a message.

The pagans in the East are moderate and will not die if they surrender.

Well, that's the truth, just like conspiracy theories, the more banned something is, the more curious people are, and many people even believe it.

Many things that are commonplace and considered natural in China are very shocking in the West.

I'm going to say something that some people may not like to hear, but for a country that has had a county system for more than 2,000 years, it's not an exaggeration to say that China has far surpassed the rest in terms of experience in governing the country, right?

Jia Lian certainly wouldn't pin his hopes on the flyers, but what can I say? Jia Lian is not in a hurry, so he will use whatever means he can. As long as someone sees it, it will slowly ferment.

When the fight really started, if one person surrendered, there would be one less bullet to shoot at the soldiers. Besides, the explosive packs consumed a lot, and Jia Lian had to hurry to make a batch. He happened to have seized a lot of gunpowder, which would be very good for making explosive packs. The height of the airship determined that as long as it did not fall down, it could bomb without any damage.

The Governor's guards caught a man who was hiding leaflets and immediately dragged him to the square and hanged him on a street lamp for everyone to see the consequences of violating the Governor's orders.

Little did they know that the common people who saw it had other emotions in their hearts besides fear.

Whether it is the governor or the bishop, they must know this: where there is oppression, there is resistance.

The psychological warfare was just a casual tactic of Jia Lian, and he didn't particularly care how much effect it could have.

If you really want to win, you still have to rely on the soldiers below.

On this day, the third battalion sent back a message that they had cleared out eight colonial estates within a radius of 100 miles, five of which had been looted by the natives.

(End of this chapter)