The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 118 - Undercurrents Beneath the Calm Sea
The tactic of closing the door and beating the dog is effective at any time.

Wu Wenyong first closed the inner city gate, then blocked the four gates of Zhaomeng Mansion, and then started setting fire directly.

Nai Tong was lustful, tyrannical and had no ambition. After entering the city, he and his confidants were busy with plundering, eating, drinking and having sex, and the combat effectiveness of the hundreds of trusted guards under his command collapsed quickly.

In addition, after he obtained the Wansui Buddha City, he was waiting for Kun Luomo, Meng Song and others from Basha, Wankai and other villages to bring him the news that Zheng Xin was leading his army to advance, and then take the thousands of people he had recruited to fight a decisive battle.

He was even waiting for Taksin to send an envoy to Van Sin. As long as Taksin could afford the title and money, he would not mind releasing the people he had detained and who came from all over to join Taksin.

So basically no preparation was made.

But he never expected that Zheng Xin had Mo Zi Bu under his command, who was unreasonable, had large sea ships, and was not afraid of the ruthless Burmese army.

They would choose to come directly from the sea, kill him first, and then deal with the three villages of Basha, Wankai, etc.

In the Wansui Buddha City, Chen Lian, Chen Xu and Wu Wenyong each guarded one side. When they saw people rushing out of the burning Zhao Meng Mansion, they shot them with guns and arrows. When they saw people coming to rescue from outside, they ambushed and hacked them with swords.

There were even more than 30 people guarding the only city gate, specifically to intercept and kill any escapees who wanted to break out of the city.

At ten o'clock in the morning, Mo Zibu also completely controlled the Wansui Buddha Wharf. The fleet docked, and he even pulled the sailors ashore and began to besiege the defenders outside the Wansui Buddha City.

These defenders had little loyalty and fighting power. Except for a small number who knelt down and surrendered, most of them fled in all directions.

The few thousand people in the city were extremely frightened when they saw another non-Siamese army coming. They had already been plundered three times.

Before Mo Zibu could issue any notice to reassure the people, all the people in the city fled in half a day, leaving only a few hundred elderly, weak and sick people who had nowhere to go and hid in their houses shivering.

When Mo Zibu saw this, he lost all interest in entering the city. He chopped off the head of the captured Nai Tongyu at the east gate of the outer city, washed it clean with his own hands, smeared it with fine salt for preservation, and sent it to Zheng Xin by fast horse.

This frightened Kun Zhameng, who was waiting to see the emperor, so much so that he was frightened. He had seen many murders, but he had never seen anyone wash the victim's head so carefully after the murder, just like washing a pig's head.

He was so meticulous that he even believed it when you said Mo Zibu was going to smear fine salt on the human head and then pickle it and eat it on the spot.

Kun Zhameng was trembling with fear until Mo Zibu greeted him with his hand still stained with blood and fine salt, and then he came to his senses.

He felt his legs trembling, and as soon as he got closer, his knees gave way and he fell to the ground.

"Hey, Kun is a meritorious official, why are you kneeling down? I still want to recommend you to the commander-in-chief." Mo Zibu smiled and picked up Kun Zhameng, who was just over 1.6 meters tall.

"I heard Kun is Nazhen, is that right?"

"Yes, my maternal grandfather came to Siam from Chaozhou."

"Then he's one of us!" Mo Zibu laughed and pulled Kun Zhameng's hand.

"If Brother Zhameng can lead us to recapture Basha and the other three villages, then we will have achieved the great feat of capturing the Wansui Buddha!
When the Lord General takes control of the southeast in the future, he can at least become a 2,000-rai lord in Wansui Buddha."

Rai is the unit of land area in Siam. One rai is equal to 2.4 mu, and two thousand rai is equal to mu.

Although these lands are not entirely arable land, there are some river sections with rich fish catches and orchards, but they are still a considerable amount of wealth.

Moreover, when Siamese vassals were granted titles, they would generally be provided with corresponding serfs.

Two thousand rai of land required at least two or three hundred serfs, which was considered middle-class nobility.

The Kunchameng family chose the wrong side during the Tiepibi Rebellion, and now they have lost everything except their title.

Now hearing what Mo Zibu said, he was immediately overjoyed. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed, shouting that he wanted to take Mo Zibu to wipe out the rebels in the three villages of Basha.

So after making a fire and cooking in the military camp outside the city, Mo Zibu ordered Manuel Bonn's naval sailors and marines to go ashore and assist Wu Shiying in staying in Wansui Buddha City, issuing notices to reassure the people while being vigilant against the Burmese people from Ayutthaya.

Afterwards, Mo Zibu personally led his troops to double their speed and attack the three villages of Basha, Wankai and Kelan from the rear.

The three villages are positioned roughly in the shape of a Chinese character "品". Basha Village is the strongest and is in the middle, Wankai Village is in the west near Wansui Buddha, and Kelang Village is in the east, near Chanthaburi.

Mo Zibu took a look and made a decisive decision. He would first attack Basa Village, then turn around and attack Wankai Village. Finally, he would let Chen Guangyao lead 300 people to block the north of Kelang Village to prevent these people from going to Prachinburi Province.

Wang Wubing understood immediately, "Dragon Head's intention is to drive Kun Luomo, Meng Song and the others to Chanthaburi?"

"Right!" Mo Zibu smiled sinisterly, "The Burmese army is willing to give up even a big city like Wansui Buddha. I don't think Ayutthaya will hold out for much longer.

Let’s drive these guys to Chanthaburi now, so that we can ask Chanthaburi Phraya for them later.”

In the early morning of the next day, after abandoning their baggage and running thirty kilometers in ten hours, Mo Zibu's troops rested for a night and immediately launched a fierce attack on Basha Village.

The village was built on the river bank. There were probably hundreds of shadowy bamboo and wooden houses, forming a long strip along the river bend.

Apart from the river, there is no defensive advantage at all, and Mo Zibu is coming from behind, so there is no need to consider this at all.

So Mo Zibu personally led his army to attack from north to south, and reached the bottom in one go.

The main force of the three villages, with more than 3,000 residents and more than 1,000 garrisons, collapsed instantly. Many Siamese people jumped into the water crying while still half asleep.

And there were not only men, but also a large number of elderly, weak, women and children. Looking at the children who were floating in the water in fear and crying non-stop, Mo Zibu could only harden his heart and not rescue them.

The battle was over after an hour. Kun Luomo, who was stationed in Basha Village, fled shortly after the battle began, leaving all his men and supplies in the village.

"Interrogate them one by one. Behead all the core members who participated in the Kunluomo Guard. Leave no one alive!" Mo Zibu wiped the blood from the blade and said to Chen Chengshan, "I'll leave you 300 men. This village is located on a major transportation route. You must defend it."

After saying that, Mo Zibu mounted his warhorse and led the remaining 700 soldiers to the next target, Wankai Village.

. . . .

In Rayong City, a trace of unhappiness flashed across Zheng Xin's face and disappeared in an instant.

But even such a tiny expression was immediately captured by Tong.

"Is the commander worried about the army's situation? Mo Longtou is a man of great foresight and courage, and he is also very popular with the soldiers, so he should be fine."

Tong is not an ordinary person. He knows that even if Zheng Xin is dissatisfied at this time, he is mainly worried. It will definitely be counterproductive to slander him at this time.

But we cannot completely avoid provocation, the level of yin and yang must be high.

Sure enough, Zheng Xin was just worried at first, but after hearing Tong's words, he felt a little unhappy.

You are so good, Mo Zibu. You changed the attack route without informing him. Even Chen Lian got on the boat and left without sending anyone back to report.

Even if it was for the sake of confidentiality, they wouldn't be so strict as not to even inform him, the commander-in-chief.

Moreover, if the information is wrong, Wansui Buddha is still garrisoned by the Burmese army. If they suffer a defeat, not only will they suffer heavy casualties, but their newly established prestige will also certainly be hit.

So when Zheng Xin heard Tong say that Mo Zibu was ingenious, brave and popular, he had no idea that Tong was in yin and yang.

He thought that was what Tong thought, and he suddenly felt even more uncomfortable.

"Tong, you go down and select two thousand people. Choose those who are hardworking, simple and respectful.

"Bring out eight hundred flintlock rifles from the warehouse, divide them into half musketeers, half swordmen, and the rest as elephant soldiers, ready to provide support at any time."

Tong was very happy. He knew very well that Zheng Xin was a little angry, because half of the flintlock rifles in the warehouse were from the inventory of Rayong Province, and the other half were captured and repaired in the Battle of Pattaya.

Among these 800 most advanced flintlock rifles, Zheng Xin originally planned to equip Mo Zibu with at least 400 of them, because Mo Zibu made a lot of contributions in this regard.

But now he is asked to select elite equipment, which is very telling.

However, Tong was still a little young. Looking at his hurried back and the slightly raised corners of his mouth that he couldn't suppress just now, Zheng Xin stood up unconsciously and slowly walked to the window.

He was very uneasy. This historical King of Siam had not yet made the psychological transition from a minister to a monarch.

He keenly sensed Tong's implicit hostility towards Mo Zibu, but he just felt very uneasy about it and had not figured out how to deal with their relationship.

Tong was his companion since he had a runny nose, and he was also the son of his adoptive mother's cousin. He was very close to him and could help Zheng Xin share a lot of burdens, especially non-military ones.

And Mo Zibu is also very important to Zheng Xin now. Not to mention that his army has not yet been formed. Even if it is formed, he will rely on Mo Zibu a lot. Not to mention that the two will soon become father-in-law and son-in-law.

Of course, the king does not need to consider these things, because having two powerful subordinates competing with each other is exactly what the king likes most.

Zheng Xin, who had not yet begun to change his mentality, began to feel a little worried.

. . . .

Outside the military camp, a group of Najins who had had interactions with Zheng Xin in the past and were now surrounding Zheng Xin cheered and went to select young men.

As low-ranking military officers with the same experience and background as Zheng Xin, they would naturally become Zheng Xin's future confidants.

Chu Zhi looked at the cheering Nazhens, walked quickly to Tong and asked, "Brother, I don't understand why we have to be at odds with Mo Zibu?
He's not someone you'd want to mess with, and I think he's quite kind, so there's a chance we could become friends."

Tong smiled faintly, pointed at the Nazhen people in the distance who had just thanked him and were now cheering and recruiting people, and asked Chu Zhi:
"How many of these people do you think are thinking about replacing me in front of the commander?"

Chu Zhi was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly replied, "Probably quite a few."

“I dare say that most of them have this idea.

As for why they are not coming out to fight for it now, it is because I am the only one who can gain a lot of benefits for the Nazhens in front of the commander.

Siam is not big, and the Chaozhou people from the upper country have given the commander too much help, so the commander must rely on them to achieve success.

Otherwise, with our current strength, less than 10,000 soldiers, we would be dreaming to expel the Burmese.

Therefore, once the company's reputation is further established, more Chaozhou bigwigs will come to invest, and they are destined to get at least half of the benefits.

The rest are what we, the close ministers of Nazhen, can share.

And this Mo Zibu has such great strength now. If I don't compete with him, how much can we get from Siam in the future?

I won't fight for it. Now I hope that our close ministers will nominate someone who can fight for their interests.

Don’t forget, strictly speaking, we brothers are not paternal descendants of Nazhen. None of us has an ancestor from Teochew, and we don’t have a Chinese surname.

If I cannot be the spokesperson for these Nazhens, the title of a Luang will be our ceiling in the future."

(End of this chapter)