The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 111 The Matchmaker is Here
At night, Zheng Xin and Zheng Mosai had a secret conversation in the room.

Both of them drank a lot of wine at the banquet just now, so strong tea was served to sober them up.

"Uncle, what do you think of Mo Zibu?" Zheng Xin asked in a low voice after waving away the maid.

Zheng Mosai took a sip of hot tea and did not answer directly. Instead, he said from another angle: "These past few days, I went around the military camp outside the city.

The military camps were like vegetable and fish markets, with small vendors coming in and out freely and the sounds of hawking filled the air.

The soldiers in the army also dug holes in the fences of the camp and slipped out unscrupulously. The officers did not strictly control them when they saw this, and they even took the lead in not staying in the army.

I also counted and found that outside these military camps, there were countless private brothels and wooden buildings with half-closed doors of nearby residents.

The military pay I received a few days ago was probably either spent on women's bellies or on extravagant feasts."

Zheng Xin nodded. "They've definitely been less restrained these past few days. I originally wanted them to follow me all the way, but now that we've finally entered Rayong City, I have to let them relax a bit."

Zheng Mosai chuckled and did not point it out. There was such a reason, but another reason why Zheng Xin relaxed military discipline was probably that he wanted to see the nature of these people and then select those who obeyed the rules and could endure hardships to join the guards.

“But there is one exception, and that is in the two military camps west of the city where Mo Zibu is.

I saw from afar that the atmosphere at the entrance of the military camp was very solemn. Small vendors did not dare to come near to shout, and prostitutes did not dare to show off their clothes nearby.

Soldiers had to use wooden signs to enter and exit, and walk in regular steps. Although there were holes in various places in the camp, no one could leave through them.

When officers and generals entered or left, those wearing white-brimmed helmets at the door had to salute. There was a drill every morning and evening, with the sound of killing deafening.

I peeked through the gap and saw that the infantry drills and ranks were very well organized. This was a strong army that I had rarely seen in my life.

I heard that only the elite troops of the great Western countries use this method of training. In our great country of China, I am afraid that only the old Emperor Qianlong’s Xishan Jianrui Battalion and the Internal and External Firearms Battalion would train in this way. "

After hearing this, Zheng Xin was silent for a long time. Just as Mo Zibu had thought, the most embarrassing thing for Zheng Xin now was that as the commander, the soldiers under his command were not as elite as Mo Zibu's, and the military force he directly controlled could not be compared with Mo Zibu's.

This situation where the host and the guest are reversed will cause problems over time, but Zheng Xin had to admit this reality and nodded slowly.

"I have observed that the officers under Zibu's command, including Chen Guangyao, Wu Wenyong, Wang Wubing, Chen Xu, and the Western Fan general Yake, all possess heroic spirit. They will at least become generals commanding tens of thousands of men in the future.

On my side, I'm afraid only Chen Lianhetong has this ability."

After saying this somewhat dejected sentence, Zheng Xin suddenly looked at Zheng Mosai and lowered his voice, "Uncle, I want to bring Mo Zibu to be my right-hand man and keep him by my side. Is that okay with you?"

Zheng Mosai looked up at Zheng Xin without showing any shock. After a while, he shook his head.

"I'm afraid it's not going to be easy. Uncle understands what you mean, but you and I are both descendants of Chaozhou people. Our ancestors have taken root and run businesses here for hundreds of years. This cannot be changed overnight.

"Serious illnesses are difficult to cure, and the cure should be as gradual as pulling out a thread. Don't rush it."

In fact, Zheng Xin now feels like he has been kidnapped by the Chaozhou Group.

But he didn't care before, because his fellow countrymen from Chaozhou invested in him because they saw that King Agada was wary of the Chaozhou faction, and that the political situation in Siam was chaotic, so there was a possibility of taking advantage of the situation.

So Zheng Xin didn't care at first. As a powerful official, the more core followers he had, the better, and the stronger the interest groups behind him, the better.

But now, as things were going on, Taksin suddenly realized that he had the possibility of becoming the King of Siam, and his identity and role changed instantly.

When he was a powerful official, no matter how much the Chaozhou Group took away, it still belonged to the king. Now that it was his own thing, he naturally didn't want to be a lame king who only relied on the Chaozhou people.

Therefore, Zheng Xin came up with the idea of using Mo Zibu to balance the Chaozhou forces around him.

The Teochew people were of course his fellow countrymen and relatives, and his trusted base, but Zheng Xin could not be completely controlled by the Teochew people. If he only allowed 200,000 or 300,000 Teochew people to be king, he would definitely fail.

In history, Zheng Xin had no choice, but now, he has a little possibility of choice.

Although he said that he should take it slow and easy, Zheng Mosai still couldn't help but stand up and pace back and forth, thinking about Zheng Xin.

The reason why he helped Zheng Xin so much was that as a Teochew, he was trying to cut off the influence of some Teochew people.

That's because, although he doesn't have much blood relationship with Zheng Xin, as Zheng Xin's adoptive father, their relationship is very close.

More importantly, Zheng Xin’s adoptive father had no descendants, only his cousin’s family.

Once Taksin became the King of Siam, his close relative would be the only royal family member, so naturally he would have to consider Taksin wholeheartedly.

At the same time, in Hua Hin, Chaozhou, mainland China, Zheng Xin has a lot of uncles and cousins.

If Zheng Mosai had not considered Zheng Xin, it would be hard to say who would be the king.

Suddenly, Zheng Mosai thought of something. He immediately turned around and looked at Zheng Xin and asked directly.

"Xin, what do you think of Mo Zibu?"

Zheng Xin was a little confused. Didn’t I just ask you this?

But in a flash, Zheng Xin suddenly remembered Mo Zibu's eyes and his daughter Shishi's blushing expression, and he felt a little unhappy.

"Uncle means well, but Shishi is still too young!"

"What's so small about it?" Zheng Mosai's family has been in Siam for five or six generations and has long been accustomed to local customs.

"Every girl here gets married at thirteen or fourteen, and her parents' families can only support her until she's fourteen or fifteen at best."

However, he saw Zheng Xin's reluctant expression, and then he slowed down his voice and said:

"Besides, we're not going to get married right away. Our most urgent task right now is to drive out the Burmese. After that, there will definitely be a lot of separatist regimes to pacify. It will take at least five to eight years.

Even if we drive the Burmese away, I don't think there will be any results for three to five years. Let's make an agreement first, and then we can wait until Shishi is sixteen or seventeen before getting married."

"But Mo Zibu is already nineteen, and in five years he'll be twenty-four."

Zheng Xin now began to worry about whether Mo Zibu would be able to accept it. "That's nothing. Our Zheng family will be a royal family in the future, and so will their Mo family. What's the big deal about the ruler waiting for a few years for a wife of equal status?"

But we can't let Mo Zibu go out and mess around. I think the three daughters of Phraya Rayong are all very seductive and charming.

I'll choose a clever and sensible one and bring her to my sister-in-law to train her, then have her adopt her as her adopted granddaughter and give her to Mo Zibu to put his mind at ease."

As expected, the experienced ones are the most experienced. Zheng Mosai quickly came up with a solution.

Moreover, the sister-in-law he was talking about was not Taksin's mother, Loyang, but Taksin's adoptive mother, who came from the old aristocratic Phraya Chakri family and was originally a candidate for the princess of the King of Siam.

Although she failed to marry the King of Siam in the end, she was still very skilled in training several women.

However, his eldest sister-in-law was childless and had no offspring, so it seemed that she had no role or status in Zheng Xin's life.

But if he could train a woman and send her to Mo Zibu, Zheng Mosai would also have a relationship with Mo Zibu, which would be a win-win situation.

Zheng Xin was also convinced. After thinking for a long time, he finally made up his mind.

"Yes, we can do this. I can see that Zibu is a young hero who has been hurt by love before. He should cherish the person in front of him even more. He is someone he can trust.

Then I'll let my uncle take charge of this matter."

Zheng Mosai nodded and said, "Wait two more days. If no one comes from Hexian, I will go to Hexian to meet Ou Tianci myself.

I believe that if I give him a little hint, he will agree."

Well, Zheng Xin also felt that Mo Tianci had no vision in diplomacy. Maybe this was the reason why he was not afraid of the Mo family stabbing him in the back in history.

However, because of Mo Zibu, he still doesn't quite understand Ou Tianci's background.

. . . .

Hexian, what is Ou Tianci doing?

He was implementing Zheng Xiu's strategy of Duke Zheng defeating Duan in Yan.

At the same time, of course, Lu Tianci knew that Zheng Xin had escaped because there was a Teochew force on Baima Mountain to the west of Ha Tien.

The chief was called Chen Da, and his people included about eight or nine hundred Chinese and two or three thousand indigenous people. They were considered small vassals of Hexian.

Huo Ran, the pirate who came ashore from Zhensen Mansion, also controlled more than a thousand people and surrendered to Hexian.

These two Teochew forces were the ones that helped Ou Tianci understand the Teochew people in Siam, so he knew very well about the affairs of Siam.

But he first had to deal with the issue of the Jiading camp soldiers entering Hexian.

"Father, the situation is not good. I received news that the 800 men coming this time are not from Longhu Camp, where Song Fuqia stayed behind, but from Zuozhang Camp, where Ruan Zhongming has 2,000 men."

However, before the Jiading soldiers entered the city, the eldest son Ou Zihuang quickly ran in to report the matter.

Although he had a conflict with his maternal grandparents, he still had some connections in Jiading, so he knew what happened even before Ou Tianci.

Ou Tianci immediately became alert. Song Fuqia was a low-ranking official with no background, so even if he came to Hexian, he would not be able to cause much damage.

But Ruan Zhongming is different. He is a close confidant of the royal family, Yan, who is guarding Gia Dinh. He has two thousand soldiers under his command and has a strong backing. He is not so easy to get rid of.

"Nguyen Trung Minh is responsible for the defense of Gia Dinh. How could he go out so easily? Did something happen in Hue?" Zheng Xiu, the number one strategist, immediately realized that something went wrong in Hue.

However, Ou Zihuang didn't know this either, and he could only wait until someone came to find out.

. . . .

To the north of Ha Tien City, Nguyen Trong Minh arrived very quickly. Ha Tien and Hoi An, the two commercial centers of Guangnan Kingdom, were both in the hands of the Minh Huong people, and it was impossible for them to intervene easily.

Hoi'an can mobilize three to four thousand soldiers, fully equipped with guns and cannons, and there are also a large number of Japanese and Western people. If there is any movement, major changes will easily occur.

Hexian is a semi-independent vassal state. If forced into a corner, it can even recruit tens of thousands of people, but it cannot be easily moved.

Ruan Zhongming had been coveting it for a long time. He had just received the invitation from Ou Tianci, and then the imperial court issued an edict, which was a godsend opportunity for him.

Therefore, Nguyen Zhongming decisively suggested that he replace Song Fuqia to go to Ha Tien.

After getting permission, Nguyen Trung Minh ordered the camp to be moved without even staying for a short time.

When the soldiers of the Jiading Left Camp under his command learned that they could be stationed in Hexian, they were overjoyed. Without any mobilization, they immediately prepared to set off, bringing their elderly and children with them.

That’s right, at this time the soldiers of the Nguyen Dynasty of Guangnan wanted their families to accompany them.

Therefore, those who followed Ruan Zhongming south were not only two thousand soldiers, but also seven or eight thousand family members, a mighty group of tens of thousands of people, as if they were going to eat at the home of a wealthy man.

Of course, even if Ruan Zhongming was a close confidant of the royal family, he could not be too presumptuous in front of a vassal king like Ou Tianci.

Therefore, he first greeted with a smile, and then took out the imperial edict, asked Ou Tianci to burn incense and set up a table, and read it out in public.

It turned out that all this was Zhang Fuluan's trick. He knew that the royal family member Yong and the military commander Song Wenkui, who were thousands of miles away in Jiading, would not obey his orders to cause trouble for Hexian.

So when he heard that something had happened in Siam, he immediately issued another decree, requiring Ou Tianci to cooperate with the royal family members Yong and Song Wenkui to take advantage of the chaos in Siam to plan to occupy Siamese land and even support agents.

This, Zongshi Yan and Song Wenkui immediately understood.

They were not interested in fighting with the Hexian Ou family or even the Mingxiang people because of the murder of Zhang Fuluan's son.

However, they used the excuse of interfering in Siam and brazenly sent people to Ha Tien to extort money. They were not only interested in it, but also very interested.

Ou Tianci's face also turned dark. What a guy, I just gave you a Zheng Bo defeat Duan Yu Yan, and you are trying to drive a tiger to devour a wolf, right?

Why are you all together?
(End of this chapter)