Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 559 Yangon
As long as the other party was willing to listen, Jia Lian would speak very seriously, regardless of whether it was real or just for show.

Let’s first talk about the problems encountered at home. They are all veterans in the officialdom and are well aware of the various drawbacks. They are also well aware of the purpose of Emperor Chenghui’s reforms, but they decide whether to support or oppose based on their interests.

Zhao Feng can be considered a reformist, so he agrees with Jia Lian's point of view that changes must be made in the country. Failure to do so would be chronic suicide, and something big would happen sooner or later.

Only after reaching this consensus can we discuss why we should develop industry and commerce, create employment opportunities, and ease internal conflicts. This is the same as the original intention of external expansion to ease conflicts.

Taking Hebei and Shandong as an example, because King Dongping brought a large number of people to the north, a large number of people immigrated to Liaodong, which greatly eased the social contradictions in the capital area.

"If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will." This sentence still applies to this era.

The landlords controlled a large amount of land and needed people to cultivate it. After the population transfer, the landlords' attitude towards their tenants was bound to change.

By the same token, the coastal mountainous areas of Fujian and Zhejiang, the mountainous areas of northern Guangdong, and southern and western Hunan all have a large population and limited land, and internal conflicts can be alleviated through the use of overseas immigration.

After all, when people have free time, they have to do something, especially when they are hungry.

The climate in Southeast Asia is hot, with three crops a year. The natives are lazy, and if it were the Chinese immigrants, they would really want to work themselves to death in the fields.

These places have been occupied now and have been justly acquired, and will become the territory of China in the future.

As for foreign countries, Jia Lian analyzed the current world situation and took advantage of the time window to rapidly develop industry. Thirty years later, my country may not be a maritime power, instead of being lame on one leg like it is now, strong on land but weak on the sea. Jia Lian also analyzed the importance of sea power. The West started plundering the world through the great geographical discoveries, while my country took the precious metals plundered by the West into its pockets through trade. This situation is doomed to be unsustainable, because without sea power, others can attack at any time, and the long coastline cannot be defended everywhere, right?

Jia Lian also mentioned the layout of Australia: "Brother Xianyun, I hope that during your tenure, you will not change the immigration policy towards Australia. As the saying goes, if you do not accept what God has given you, you will be blamed. This is a great gift from God to me, China. If you miss it, a hundred years later, you and I will be sinners in the history of the nation."

Zhao Feng repeatedly stated that he would keep it in mind and would not easily change the policy for Guangdong and Guangxi. He just asked about what to do in Guangxi.

Jia Lian told him clearly that he should not consider Guangxi at present, because the world market is so small that it is not enough to take care of Guangxi. Of course, one thing that can be considered is that Guangxi is rich in tropical fruits. After finding a long-term storage and transportation method, it can be transported to the north by sea. This is a good business. If the storage and preservation cannot be solved, then don't act rashly. Another point is that because Wang Ziteng immigrated from Guangxi in large numbers, Guangxi is still generally stable. There is no need to toss.

Guangxi is a place that cannot even be ranked among the top in modern times. Jia Lian does not think that his intelligence is better than those of modern officials.

As the position of governor was yet to be determined, Jia Lian handed over the duties of governor to Zhao Feng on behalf of him and then led his troops to Southeast Asia.

This time, Jia Lian went to Jiaozhi first. Before that, something happened. The King of Annan sent an envoy to Beijing to ask for an imperial decree. This incident dealt a heavy blow to Wang Ziteng. Emperor Chenghui issued an order that the King of Annan be renamed the Duke of Annan County. The entire Annan was divided into two states, the north and the south. The prefects were appointed by officials sent from the interior. The county magistrates at all levels were recommended by the Duke of Annan County and approved by the court. In the two states, Wang Ziteng occupied one state as his fiefdom, and the Duke of Annan County occupied another state as his fiefdom. This is really not the emperor's fault for being unfaithful. It was really because the Wang family was too lame and had not been able to deal with the north.

It feels like after the Wang family occupied the south, the entire upper class quickly became corrupt, with no ambition at all, and they only thought about how to get more benefits.

When Jia Lian led his troops to Saigon, the Wang family was scared half to death and thought that the imperial court had sent troops to suppress them.

As a result, the messenger came to report that Jia Lian came for supplies.

Looking at the endless fleet on the sea, anyone would feel uneasy.

Jia Lian really came here for supplies and to trade.

Wang Ziteng came to see Jia Lian specially. When the two sides set up a tent on the dock to drink tea and talk, Jia Lian knocked lightly.

"Although it is a fiefdom, the prince has no hostages in the capital. Why is that? We cannot take your majesty's tolerance as luck. If your majesty is not here, where will the Wang family be?"

This is where the last bit of affection between the in-laws comes into play.

Wang Ziteng reacted quickly and immediately said that he would send his second son to Beijing and at the same time send out a hundred ships to cooperate with Jia Lian in the battle.

Jia Lian explicitly rejected Wang Ziteng's troops and warned him to fend for himself.

After intimidating and warning Wang Ziteng, the fleet headed straight for Lijiaopo and Penang, joining a part of the South China Sea Fleet that was waiting there in advance.

Cai Shiba, the former boatman youth, has now grown into a captain and is qualified to meet Jia Lian.

When Jia Lian saw the excited Cai Shiba, he felt quite emotional. The Tanka people have lived on the sea for generations, and many of them have seen the end of their lives since they were born.

If it weren't for Jia Lian, young people like Cai Shiba might have married a wife, bought a boat, and continued to live and multiply on the water with their family.

Cai Shiba now appears as a minor general, which is a change of fate that he could never have imagined before.

The initial batch of Tanka youths are now playing a role in various positions in the Nanyang Navy, including three lieutenant generals and dozens of garrison commanders. It can be said that they are in the right position at the right time and have a promising future.

After some encouragement from Jia Lian, Cai Shiba patted his chest and said that he would fight bravely and carefully in this battle and make new achievements.

After a brief rest and replenishment, the fleet crossed the strait and arrived at Penang, where Churchill's courier was already waiting.

Churchill replied that he hoped to be allowed to send three British warships to accompany them. You could say it was for surveillance or observation, but he could not rest assured that it could not be done.

Understandably, I would be worried if I were in their place. There are hundreds of ships, including 30 third-class battleships. Suddenly appearing in Mumbai, with more than a dozen warships of the Indian fleet, should I fight or not?
To be honest, the British have not figured out why the navy of the East has developed so rapidly. It has only been six or seven years, and they can already send warships to visit Europe.

In this regard, the British side analyzed that the University of the South had carried out great voyages two hundred years ago, and it was not surprising that it was just picking up the skills it had lost.

Such a large empire has no shortage of money, people or technology, and it also has a certain foundation for offshore navy. If it really wants to develop its navy, it would be strange if its progress is slow.

In general, Jia Lian's sudden move to attack Burma frightened the British. Fortunately, Churchill received the letter in advance, otherwise warships would have to be transferred from Africa.

Having already lost North America and now India, there is no need to think about any development with Britain.

After the armistice in North America, Britain turned its attention back to Europe and India, and secretly supported Prussia against France.

Seeing that France was burdened with heavy debt, it was just one step away from defeating its old rival.

In such a situation, it would be strange if the British were not sensitive.

But the British could never have imagined that after Louis XVI was sent to the guillotine, Napoleon suddenly emerged and made the entire European continent kneel down and tremble.

Jia Lian really didn't care about Churchill's request. Anyway, for the time being, Jia Lian had no intention of seeking India. The main reason was that the place was a quagmire. The British could let tens of millions of Indians starve to death. If the East did so, the governor would be criticized by political opponents. This is also a difference in the underlying logic of Eastern and Western cultures. One is about morality and has moral requirements for officials. Even if they don't treat local people as human beings in private, they still have to do superficial work. The other is very clear that they are not human beings, so let them starve to death.

No matter how bad you have done, as long as God forgives you, everything will be fine.

If the British want to follow, let them follow, Jia Lian agreed to the request.

When the fleet appeared off the coast of Myanmar, Jia Lian was not moved at all when he saw the chaos at the port through the telescope. Perhaps it was because he was not informed, and the scene did not look like it was prepared.

I don’t know if we can destroy the country this time, but Yangon must be taken. Since we did not continue to go north to fight a war to destroy the country, should the King of Burma say thank you?
So, is it not too much to lease Yangon for 200 years? Is it not too much to give priority to renewing the lease after it expires?

If that time really comes, even if only a squadron of six warships is stationed in Burma, the British will sleep with one eye open.

Without the plunder from China in the 19th century, Victoria would have been of no use and Britain’s dream of becoming the world hegemon would have been impossible to realize.

Of course, there is also a possibility that Europe will form a coalition to attack, but it is unlikely to happen in our lifetime, and Jia Lian will not give them this opportunity. The navy is weak and defenseless, so the Battle of Rangoon is a foregone conclusion.

After the battleships launched a fierce bombardment on the dock, three thousand soldiers landed on the dock under the cover of the ship's guns.

After the troops were deployed, more than 10,000 Burmese king's guard troops arrived late and tried to launch an attack to retake the dock.

The Burmese defenders, who only had a few matchlock muskets, completely collapsed before they could even get within a hundred meters of their defensive positions under the intensive fire from percussion cap rifles.

When the subsequent landing troops launched pursuit, Chinese people who spoke Chinese kept running out and shouting to the pursuing troops: "Follow me, I will lead the way for you."

These people are the result of the Xue family caravan’s past efforts!

The landing army was small in size, with nearly 20,000 men. It took only one day, while half of the men were still ashore, to break into the palace and control all key points in the city.

The most crucial thing is that the casualties were almost negligible, with only three people killed and more than a hundred injured.

The Nanyang New Army was an elite force that Jia Lian had devoted all his efforts to build. Almost everyone had two guns, one long and one short. They used long guns for long range and revolvers for short range. They were not under much pressure to deal with the opponents who were mostly armed with cold weapons.

A large number of Burmese princes and nobles were captured at home, and after interrogation, they could not help but feel a little regretful that the King of Burma was not in Yangon.

The thing is, after the Yunnan governor adopted a defensive strategy, the Burmese army's attack was blocked. The Burmese army thought they had captured six counties and had the upper hand so they could propose negotiations.

Unexpectedly, the governor of Yunnan ignored them and killed the envoy directly, and displayed his head to the public.

The Burmese king was furious upon hearing the news, but then calmed down and thought that the East was a big country and that Myanmar could not defeat it if they continued to fight. They still had to negotiate, but before the negotiations, they should win a few more battles to increase their bargaining chips. For this reason, the Burmese king went north, ready to personally command the army and capture a few more cities.

Who would have thought that just five days after leaving Yangon with the elite main force, Jia Lian led his men to attack from the sea.

On the first night, the sound of gunfire continued in the city, and the people of Yangon hid in their homes and trembled. It can be said that the people were as happy as they were when the Burmese king celebrated his victory a few days ago, and now they were as terrified.

Well, the Burmese king must not have read Han Fei's book, otherwise he would not dare to start a war. Throughout the long history, there were many such people, and eventually they all disappeared in the long river of history. However, the territory of Dongda expanded from the Yellow River Basin to the Yangtze River Basin, and finally reached the sea. In short, this land is suitable for farming.

When daybreak came, the smell of gunpowder still hung in the air. The people, who had not slept well the previous night, quietly opened the door a little and looked out.

The streets had not changed much, and the shops had not been looted and set on fire. There were few people on the streets, and only teams of Da Zhou soldiers could be seen patrolling.

It’s not that there weren’t people who took advantage of the situation, but the officers and soldiers of the Great Zhou sent them to see the Buddha.

In order to survive, ordinary people mustered up the courage to go out, only to find that the area that suffered the disaster amid the gunfire last night was the Guiren District.

That’s right, the soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty didn’t rob ordinary people. But the rich couldn’t do anything about it. After coming so far, it would be inappropriate not to get some hard work compensation.

As the chief officer, Jia Lian had no idea how much was robbed, he just marked out an area and determined the scope. He also made clear prohibitions, prohibiting entry into temples, royal cities, government offices, and warehouses.

In a small country like this, it is very easy to determine where the rich live. You can tell by looking at the environment. If the ground is clean and the house is big, it must be the place where the rich live.

The new army also has discipline. The "captured goods" must be attributed and distributed uniformly. Also, women must not be insulted, and captured noble men and women must be detained together. See if you can collect some ransom first, and don't say anything you can't say. In short, anything that can produce benefits must not be wasted. How easy it is for the army to kill people!

The next day, ordinary people were quite friendly when they saw that the officers and soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty did not enter people's houses. In order to make money, the brave vendors carried winnowing baskets, baskets and shoulder poles to sell their products to the officers and soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, they found that the officers and soldiers actually gave them money in silver coins. Everything changed afterwards.

The victors did not restrict people from entering and leaving Yangon. In just a few days, the city gradually regained some of its vitality.

Upon learning that the Burmese king would be gone for only five days, Jia Lian immediately made adjustments and safely arranged a seemingly thin defense line in the north of the city. He waited for the Burmese army to return and fight a direct battle to see the situation before deciding whether to directly eliminate the current Burmese king or support a puppet.

In principle, Jia Lian was inclined to get rid of this Burmese king who was still quite capable and wise, and to support a new king.

At the same time, Jia Lian also visited the local monks and explained why the troops were sent here.

The meeting with the monk representative did not go smoothly. The other party seemed unwilling to cooperate and was even a little arrogant.

In response, Jia Lian did not force her, but said goodbye and left.

There are definitely concerns, and they will wait until the main force of the Burmese army returns and is defeated before coming again. The first time was just to explain the situation. You can't say you hit me and I can't fight back, that doesn't make sense.

There won't be any judge who will come out and make specious arguments, saying things like mutual fighting or something like that.

It can only be said that Jia Lian's restraint worked. At least most of the monks stayed in the temple and did not come out to cause trouble.

Jia Lian waited for ten days before the spies he sent out brought back news that the Burmese army's vanguard had arrived at the outskirts, only fifty miles away.

Jia Lian was quite busy during this period. He emptied the warehouses under his control and transported the spoils directly back to the capital. The most plundered items were the golden Buddhas. Every wealthy and powerful person here had many golden Buddhas. Almost all the officers chose to pay tribute to Jia Lian, who then directly sent them to the emperor. As for the precious metals seized in the warehouses, they were naturally shipped away and handed over to the emperor for disposal. This was to make up for some of the taxes withheld by the emperor and the Ministry of Revenue, and to recover some of the losses.

The purpose of this move is very simple, to shut up those who like to point fingers and say that it is a waste of national funds.

This is how the world is. If someone is working hard, there will definitely be someone else who can talk without any pain.

Wealth means nothing to Jia Lian now.

The officers and soldiers who had made a fortune exchanged their valuables for cash at Xue's Trading Company and entrusted people from the company to take them home.

After this deal, Xue's company made a fortune. Ten ships were used to transport gold, silver, jewelry, and jadeite back home. For this purpose, six navy warships were hired for escort, three of which were British warships. They did not expect to have such a big deal. They did not want to accept the order, but they thought too much and reluctantly accepted the employment.

The British warships that were hired completed their mission when they arrived in Saigon. When they returned, they exchanged the spoils of the hire for goods and made another huge profit.

These are all stories for later. The Xue family has shown what it means to be rich and powerful.

After the guard troops came into contact with the main force of the Burmese army, they retreated after a brief and fierce exchange of fire. The Burmese king discovered that the Zhou army did not defend the city, but went out of the city to form a battle array in the field. He immediately ordered the main force of the Burmese army to use the elephant soldiers as the vanguard and launch a fierce attack on the Zhou army formation.

The progress of the battle was beyond the Burmese king's understanding. This army was obviously not at the level of the Yunnan border garrison. Everyone there was armed with matchlocks, and the numerical advantage was not obvious. In addition to the terrain advantage, the Burmese army could still gain the upper hand in the fight. This time it was different. The opponent did not give you a chance to fight in close combat. The dense artillery fire was fierce and the bullets were like raindrops.

That was not all. There were also many and powerful rockets that shot up into the sky, like the grim reaper falling from the sky, slamming into each formation and making deafening explosions.

The first to collapse were the elephant soldiers. The frightened elephants turned around and ran away, disrupting their own formation.

Under the command of the drumbeats, the Zhou army advanced forward slowly and in an orderly manner. During the attack, there were constant sounds of gunfire, artillery fire, and rockets. Whenever there was a large-scale formation, this set of moves was used.

A few elite Burmese troops rushed to the front of the formation about ten steps away, but were stopped by revolvers.

After a day of fierce fighting, the Burmese army was badly defeated. The Zhou army pursued them for twenty miles, then stopped and retreated to clean up the battlefield.

The next day, the monks took the initiative to visit Jia Lian. Their eyes were clear and there was no arrogance in them.

(End of this chapter)