The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 107 Summary and Future

Mo Zibu was also afraid that if he said too much, it would arouse Zheng Xin, especially the Chaozhou people behind him, from suspicion.

But Mo Zibu never expected that just by saying this, the Chaozhou people would already be wary of him.

When Taksin promised the land south of Nakhon Si Thammarat to Mo Tsut Bu, Tong immediately stood up to oppose it and said to Taksin:
“They have indeed done me a great favor, and I shall repay the favor.

But Mo Wu always talked about the Chinese in Southeast Asia, and when he closed his mouth, he wanted to talk about the peaceful paradise for all the Chinese in Southeast Asia, as if Siam was protected by other Chinese.

But everyone knows that for the past hundred years, Siam has been supported by us Teochew people.

We managed Siam's finances, conducted trade, and governed the local area. We even reclaimed the swamps on both sides of the Chao Phraya River into fertile fields.

Now this God-given opportunity has arrived and we are about to reap the fruits, but this Mr. Mo Wu wants to take advantage of all the Chinese people to share the benefits. How can it be so easy!
I think what Mr. Mo Wu said about all the Chinese in Southeast Asia is just an excuse. He intends to use this as an excuse to allow the influence of the Hexian Cantonese to penetrate deeper into Siam. Brother, you must be vigilant.

Zheng Xin looked at Tong's flushed face and understood his current mood.

Because in Zheng Xin's small group, Teochew people and paternal Na Zhen people account for the majority.

If the matrilineal Nazhen want to gain a foothold and not be kicked out of the core circle, they must show that they are better at protecting the interests of the Teochew people than other Teochew people and the patrilineal Nazhen.

However, Zheng Xin did not express his opinion immediately. He wanted to see how others would react.

As a result, not only did Luan Siwarakhan, a Najin, support Tong, but even Zheng Mincheng and even Chen Lian, who could be considered a close Chinese, expressed partial support for Tong's words.

Chen Lian, who had more contact with Mo Zibu, stood up and said, “I have met Mr. Mo Wu. He is a generous and chivalrous man with a very broad vision.

In managing the army, he clearly distinguished between rewards and punishments, and he always kept his word and resolute his actions, which truly showed the style of a leader.

I also believe that he has no intention of taking advantage of others directly, but he can't say that.

Once we accept him, what if others use this as an excuse to come to Siam and ask for benefits?
"In my country, the two provinces of Fujian and Guangdong alone have a population of tens of millions. How can a small country like Siam satisfy all of them?"

To put it bluntly, in the eyes of these Teochew people, if Siam is to fall into the hands of the Chinese, it can only be them, the Teochew people.

They never thought of opening Siam's doors wide and letting everyone share the benefits.

They would rather keep it secret and slowly share it with their fellow Teochews than quickly open the door and share it with other Chinese.

This is a bit like something, an inappropriate but very vivid metaphor.

Siam can be regarded as the Qing Dynasty after the Second Opium War. At that time, it was Britain and France that contributed money and manpower to defeat the Qing Dynasty, so they signed many unequal treaties with the Qing Dynasty and enjoyed the treatment of superiors in the Qing Dynasty.

These are like the Teochews in Siam, although they did not colonize Siam, but they are very similar in some ways.

Now, Mo Zibu, who has proposed to build a paradise for Chinese in the whole of Southeast Asia, is like the United States under the guise of open door policy.

This will naturally cause great dissatisfaction among vested interests such as Tong and Luan Siwarakhan.

Actually, this is nothing. As Chen Lian said, Siam is not big compared to China. If it is opened to all Chinese, there will not be enough space for the Chinese in Fujian and Guangdong alone.

The Chaozhou people have been running the business for hundreds of years and have contributed the most, so of course it would be best for them to circle the business and keep all the profits.

However, none of them expected that even if a Najin like Taksin became king, he would still arouse strong resistance from the Thai people, so that the Chaozhou people alone could not suppress it.

What they could not have imagined was that a behemoth like the Qing Dynasty was about to fall, and that Britain and France would become so powerful, especially Britain, which actually became the first world empire in human history.

Under this horrific disparity in power, the Chinese eventually became second-class citizens, no, they were essentially "fat pigs" being raised.

And when everyone opposed it, even Zheng Xin could not go his own way.

Because his current status is the result of the collective efforts of his fellow countrymen in Chaozhou.

They have invested in Zheng Xin for almost twenty years, or even several years at least, hoping to share the benefits after Zheng Xin becomes the Yi Yin, Huo Guang, or Zhuge Liang of Siam.

Not to mention that now that Taksin wants to be the King of Siam, he needs the support of these Teochew people even more.

“Tong’s words are still too radical.

It is undoubtedly true that we Chaozhou people have made the greatest contribution to Siam, but we cannot make Siam the exclusive domain of our Chaozhou family.

As long as foreign Chinese abide by the rules, the future Siam will still welcome them. The upper limit of these people is Mr. Mo Wu.

I have decided to give Young Master Mo Wu a foothold south of Luokun. He saved my life and is like giving me a new life. How can I not repay him?

Furthermore, we may have some conflicts with the Hexian people in the future, and we must have someone to mediate.”

. . . .

While Zheng Xin was discussing with his confidants, Mo Zibu was also organizing his officers to hold a military meeting. He specially chose a room with white walls painted with lime because it was convenient for painting.

Mo Zibu first drew a situation map of the Pattaya battle. The officers in the room included not only Chinese such as Chen Guangyao, Wu Wenyong and Wang Wubing, but also Annan people.

Europeans including Lieutenant Colonel Bruno, Guard Jacques, Guard Frederick, and Center Guard Baptiste were also present.

"Everyone, brainstorm and share your opinions. Officers above the rank of center guard must offer an opinion. Don't be afraid of making me unhappy. As long as you're not making random comments, the more opinions you offer, the happier I am."

Mo Zibu pretended to be open to advice, and soon someone spoke bluntly. "My Lord, with all due respect, the soldiers were truly brave in this battle. Each company followed the instructions very well, and the victory was glorious."

But this cannot conceal the fact that this is still a fight close to war, but still far from a real war."

Lieutenant Colonel Bruno now does not have much actual command power. He originally planned to directly command Germans such as Frederick of Holstein.

But these Germans did not want to be commanded by the French, and Mozibu did not forcibly intervene, so Lieutenant Colonel Bruno is still a commander without troops.

His current job is to serve as the chief of staff of Mo Zibu's staff officer corps, responsible for assisting Mo Zibu in formulating various military plans, arranging logistics, etc.

After more contact with Mo Zibu, the Frenchman also understood Mo Zibu's temper and was very brave to speak boldly.

Moreover, he did play a significant role in helping Mo Zibu and other officers and staff improve their combat theories and increase their understanding of Europe's top armies.

When the officers heard what Lieutenant Colonel Bruno said, they could no longer bear the complacency of their great victory.

They banged the table and kicked the stools, as if they were going to rush up and beat up Lieutenant Colonel Bruno.

However, Mo Zibu didn't say a word, just looked at them coldly, and they immediately wilted, but still felt a little dissatisfied.

Mo Zibu waved his hand at Bruno, "Bruno, keep going. This is where your rank is the highest. I want to hear your opinion."

Bruno coughed and felt helpless as he looked at the group of Eastern officers with angry faces.

He is now a mere lieutenant colonel without any troops. If he doesn't quickly demonstrate his abilities in some areas and gain a firm foothold, he will probably be kicked out in the future.

“My Lord, the reason I say this is because at present, both the Burmese Army and our army only have two weapons: flintlock rifles and field artillery.

Even the field artillery consisted of flat-firing cannons, with no howitzers capable of indirect fire. The shells they used were only solid bullets, with no canister shells or explosive shells.

Not to mention the small howitzers that can be carried by a few soldiers, the rocket launchers with huge charges that can be used to break the enemy's formations, the rifled rifles specially used by hunters, and even cavalry.

The lack of these equipment and arms meant that our battle with the Burmese army was destined to be an incomplete one.

For example, in the last battle, our army was outnumbered and could only form a thin, large horizontal formation. If the Burmese had been equipped with a large number of shotgun shells, their artillery fire alone would have been enough to crush us."

Originally, Chen Guangyao and the others were quite dissatisfied and angry, but after hearing what Lieutenant Colonel Bruno said, the expressions on their faces disappeared instantly.

Chen Guangyao stood up and said, "Longtou, it is true. We deployed the large horizontal formation too early. If the Burmese army had shotgun shells, we would not be able to get close.

Moreover, I also felt that in this battle, after forming a large horizontal formation of three or four hundred people, the company officers did not play their due role.

They thought of themselves as ordinary soldiers, so much so that after the last volley was fired, the soldiers lost control.”

Wu Wenyong also stood up and said: "We still need cavalry, otherwise the infantry will have no one to protect them before they deploy, and there will be no eyes or ears during the march, and..."

Wu Wenyong took a breath and said in a low voice, "Beihe has cavalry, and there are quite a few of them.

If we don't have cavalry, even if we have a lot of muskets, we will lose our mobility if we are spotted by cavalry, which is very dangerous."

Beihe is the Zheng Lord in the north of Annan. The Nguyen family of Guangnan called the north controlled by the Zheng Lord Beihe.

Mo Zibu's desire to fight back to Annan is currently the biggest carrot hanging in front of everyone in Kunlun Mountain Hall.

The reason why these people followed Mo Zibu wholeheartedly was that they hoped Mo Zibu could fight back to Annan and even unify Annan.

That place has a population of seven million and a territory that is no less prosperous than Siam. Being a king or a lord in such a place is really enjoyable.

Otherwise, if there were really hundreds of thousands of Malay natives in the south of Nakhon Si Thammarat being given the power to rule, they would definitely not have the same strong motivation as they do now.

Wu Wenyong's words quickly aroused the excitement of most people, and Chen Chengji also said:
"During this battle, I discovered that artillery posed a significant threat to infantry formations, but to achieve a significant impact, it also required relatively close range fire.

In this way, if we have a light cavalry unit, we can quickly drive away or even kill the artillery, clearing the way for the line infantry to attack."

Guard Jacques nodded and said, "My Lord, this is a very good idea. When we were in Europe, except when we were in a hollow square formation, the artillery was more afraid of the attacks of the Hussars.

Especially the Hungarian Hussars, who are descendants of the Magyars and are extremely fierce."

"I suggest that the Lord should pay attention to the formation of cold weapon teams in the East, because the industrial scale of Southeast Asia cannot withstand the free firing of lead bullets like in Europe.

At the same time, Nanyang's terrain is mostly mountainous and forested, and the climate is humid and rainy, which also limits the use of firearms. Therefore, the moderate use of cold weapon troops is a very good supplement."

Everyone looked back and saw that it was Peter who was speaking. Peter had recently returned to India to help France stabilize the colonial situation and negotiate with the British.

Mo Zibu laughed and greeted him, "Bishop, I didn't expect you to come back so soon. You must have brought good news."

Peter smiled and said, "After I reported the plan of joining forces with the Lord, His Majesty the King, the Cardinal, and the cabinet members were very interested. They all hoped that the Lord would send an embassy to Paris as soon as possible."

This is really good news. The French foreign aid can be said to be the pillars that Mo Zibu desires most. Without them, many things cannot be carried out with Mo Zibu's current strength.

Especially for the Netherlands, Mozibu needed to obtain the protection of France immediately and establish it in writing, otherwise he would always be worried about being taken over by Batavia.

(End of this chapter)