The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 119 The Great Effect of Reputation

The next day, Tong came to Zheng Xin's residence with a list of selected officers and soldiers.

But before entering, I saw a crowd of people standing outside the door, looking very happy.

Soon, Zheng Xin came out of the palace, wearing noble ceremonial armor and accompanied by a large number of military guards.

"Tong, you said yesterday that Zibu was resourceful, brave and good at fighting, and it was absolutely true.

Chen Lian sent back the battle report that Zibu had defeated Wansui Buddha and recovered the three villages of Basha, Wankai and Kelang.

I will go there immediately to assist. All matters in Rayong City will be decided by my uncle, Old Master Mosai. You will stay in the city to assist."

Damn, so fast!

Tong was directly messed up in the wind.

It's only been a dozen or so days, and I wasn't sincere when I said you were resourceful, brave and good at fighting. Hey, do you want this kind of thing to really happen?
Tong wanted to curse loudly, but the situation did not allow him to think too much, as everyone was looking at him.

He could only comfort himself in his heart, saying, "Mo Zibu is so good at fighting, the future of the general will be guaranteed."

So, after self-hypnosis, Tong's face instantly flashed with excitement and a smile from the heart.

"Great! Long live the Buddha to our commander! We now have a decisive advantage in the southeast!"

Zheng Xin had been observing Tong's expression. Seeing that he was smiling from the heart and did not show much jealousy or even hatred, he felt that his playmate since childhood was still sensible and felt extremely happy.

"Tong, have the guards been selected? Have the weapons been distributed?"

Tong was cheered up and thought, "So what if you can fight? Can you be as comprehensive and indispensable as me?"
He immediately replied with great joy, "Commander-in-Chief, the selection has been completed. A thousand elite soldiers are already waiting for your inspection."

"No need for a review. Let Kun A Pai Ye Bodi take 500 men, all of them musketeers.

Although Zibu has taken down the Wansui Buddha, he will soon face a counterattack from the Burmese army. These 500 musketeers may not be able to fight in the field, but they will still be of great help in defending the city."

"Damn it!" Tong felt bitter. Well, the thousand guards he had painstakingly selected and equipped were gone before he could even get them warm in his hands. The five hundred elite musketeers were gone, and the commander had given them to Mo Zibu.

Zheng Xin came very quickly, running almost non-stop. The team of 2,000 people hardly made a fire to cook on the way, and they ate dry food all the way and quickly rushed to Basha Village.

"Zi Bu, you are truly my military genius!" Zheng Xin jumped off the war elephant from a long distance away and ran towards Mo Zi Bu with a big laugh.

According to Zheng Xin's original prediction, it would be a good thing for Mo Zibu to lead more than a thousand people to recapture the three villages of Basha. Even if it was just to recapture these three villages, it would take at least two months.

After all, even though Nai Tongyu had just taken control of the Wansui Buddha not long ago, it was still a big city with a population of three or four hundred thousand.

Nai Tong wanted to let the three villages of Basha, which had the geographical advantage, take the lead, and then he would continuously mobilize personnel and supplies from Wansui Fo to replenish them, so that he could definitely achieve a long-term confrontation.

But in the end, Mo Zibu had a unique idea. He first eliminated Wansui Buddha from the sea, beheaded Nai Tongyu, and then attacked the three villages of Basha from behind. It took only half a month to resolve the battle.

In particular, Mo Zi Bu opened up the village of Kelang and forced Kun Rama, Mong Song and others to flee to Chanthaburi, which won the heart of Zheng Xin. This proved that Mo Zi Bu had sufficient political acumen.

However, perhaps he felt that the example of the Military Genius was a bit inappropriate, as Han Xin was eventually killed by Empress Lü.

Zheng Xin immediately grasped Mo Zibu's arm and said, "Zibu is so important to me that I will never betray him, even if I sacrifice my kingdom.

Today, I will let Kun A Pai Ye Bodi lead 500 musketeers under your command, and the rest of the rewards will be given later."

This is also the embarrassing situation of Zheng Xin now. Ayutthaya has not been captured yet. Zheng Xin has no legal basis and does not have a position himself, so he cannot reward the people below him, so he can only wait.

"Commander-in-Chief, now is not the time to discuss this. The people of Wansui Buddha have suffered through war and are already frightened. We have too many soldiers and foreigners to appease.

I also ask the commander to immediately march to the Wansui Buddha Temple with ceremonial guards to reassure the people and prevent them from fleeing to places like Bazhen."

Upon hearing this, Taksin was even more satisfied, so he ordered his attendants to carry out ceremonial guards and decorate the war elephants with flowers and gold foil. The guards and officers all changed into traditional Siamese costumes, wrapped themselves in brocade, and marched from Basak Village to the Long Live Buddha with the sound of gongs and drums.

Along the way, a large number of Siamese people who had fled to the swamps and forests saw their country's army so mighty and well-organized, and they all came out from their hiding places to watch.

Zheng Xin ordered the soldiers to take out rice cakes, dried fruits and other things to distribute to the people, and asked the monks to treat the sick people.

Taksin was already famous in Siam before the Burmese invasion, and the battles of Pursat and Pattaya greatly enhanced his reputation.

Many people came from afar to join him because they believed that he could defeat the Burmese and that following him gave them hope of restoring their country.

Seeing that the Zheng army looked mighty and majestic, did not plunder or kill indiscriminately, and treated the people with great kindness, the news quickly spread everywhere.

Countless people came out from the swamps and forests, carrying their elderly and children, and followed the army back home. Not only them, but many bandits who had gathered in the swamps and forests also came out to join the army.

Most of them were forced to become bandits for self-protection. The largest group among them was Nai Gan, who occupied Yantian Village. He controlled more than 4,000 people and had more than 300 warriors.

When Nai Gan heard of Zheng Xin's reputation, he also led his warriors out of Yantian Village to pay a visit to Zheng Xin, and provided 300 kilograms of fine salt, 15 carts of rice, and 450 kilograms of dried fruits as rewards.

Zheng Xin accepted them one by one, rewarded Nai Gan with dozens of swords and ten muskets, and appointed Nai Gan as temporary officials of Yantian and other three villages.

When others saw that Nai Gan had come out to pay homage to Taksin and had been appointed to official positions, they also came from all over to pay homage to Taksin.

When they reached the outskirts of Wansui Buddha City, there were already tens of thousands of people following Taksin. They came to Taksin's war elephants and cried about the brutality of the Burmese army and Nai Tongyu and others. Taksin comforted them one by one.

Some people also complained that their family members were killed and their property was stolen by thugs when the Myanmar army and Nai Tong wanted to enter the city twice.

Taksin was immediately interrogated and arrested at the city gate and sentenced according to the laws of the Ayutthaya Dynasty.

The incident lasted until dusk, and for the first time, the ravaged people of Wansui Buddha were comforted and felt unprecedented peace of mind.

They were so moved that they burst into tears and cheered loudly. They told each other about the news and called Taksin's army "the mighty army of Phraya."

Afterwards, the people surrounded Zheng Xin and let him sit on a big white war elephant to parade around the city.

When they arrived at the Wansui Buddha Temple in the city, some people among the people clamored for Taksin to be king, because only he could defeat the Burmese and drive them away.

Taksin refused, dismounted his war elephant, and led the people into Wat Phra Kaew to pay their respects. After worshipping the Buddha, Taksin kowtowed repeatedly toward Ayutthaya, tears streaming down his face. "Good man, may the Buddha bless my king. May the Buddha grant me the power of his will, enabling me to lead my army to drive out the Burmese and rescue my king and the innocent people."

After saying this, tears fell like rain and he couldn't sob.

Seeing this, the surrounding Siamese people stopped persuading Taksin to become king and followed him to kowtow in the direction of Ayutthaya. The cheers that had just been deafening turned into loud cries.

Although King Agada was a good-for-nothing, compared to the Burmese who burned, killed and looted, he was undoubtedly like a white lotus. After all, he was one of us.

After the kowtow, the people were afraid that Zheng Xin would leave, so they forcibly stopped Zheng Xin and pleaded with him.

It was not until Zheng Xin expressed his willingness to send Mo Zi Bu to guard the Wansui Buddha and would never abandon the people, and even expressed his willingness to go north to rescue the king, that the people stopped crying and laughed.

Damn it!
Mo Zibu was watching Zheng Xin's smooth movements from the side and was shocked beyond words.

He was sure that many of Taksin's emotions were not fake, and he was indeed sad about the disaster that Siam had suffered.

But at the same time as it was painful, he was able to mobilize the emotions of the people so smoothly and turn them into his own support. It was simply a stroke of genius, as untraceable as an antelope hanging a horn.

Zheng Xin originally came to take over the city of Wansui Buddha, but now it was the people of Wansui Buddha who were crying and begging him to stay.

The difference between the two is huge.

At the same time, Mo Zibu also witnessed for the first time the great use of reputation. He, Mo Zibu, killed hundreds of enemies and was the first to recapture Wansui Buddha City.

But before he could issue a notice to reassure the people in the city, only a few of the elderly, weak and sick were left.

He ordered Wu Shiying to provide relief by distributing porridge, but the people were even more afraid to come out, thinking that Mo Zibu was trying to lure them out and then harm them.

He fought hard in the three battles of Pattaya, Long Live Buddha and Basha Village. When it comes to fighting against the Burmese or Thai traitors, he was definitely no less capable than Taksin.

But these Siamese people quickly attributed all these victories to Taksin.

Moreover, today is only half a day, and because of Zheng Xin's reputation, tens of thousands of people have gathered together, and dozens of local tyrants with more than a thousand people have come to join him. I think by tomorrow, there will probably be even more people coming to join him.

After this incident, Taksin's reputation will spread further, and he will probably soon become the only savior of Siam.

This reputation will bring Zheng Xin advantages that no force can give him.

Sure enough, the next day, a large number of people returned.

Together with Mo Zi Bu, Taksin arranged for the people to return to their homes and encouraged them to prepare for farming. Taksin even personally participated in repairing the canals and bridges that were destroyed by the Burmese.

Five days later, not only did most of the people in Wansui Buddha Palace return to their homes, but all 47 village elders and local officials with titles in the palace also came to Wansui Buddha City to pay homage, and Zheng Xin reappointed them as officials one by one.

Ten days later, people from cities such as Bac Liou and Samutprakarn to the north of the Buddha came south to pay homage to him, offering land and expressing their willingness to become his subordinates.

At the same time, most of the warriors, merchants, civilians and even serfs who fled from Ayutthaya settled down in Vimalakirti.

In just ten days, Taksin acquired a large province with a population of nearly 400,000, and the population was still growing.

On the twelfth day, a group of Chinese from Phetchaburi Province, who were across the sea from the Long Live Buddha, rowed a small boat across the sea to surrender, which completely pushed Zheng Xin's reputation to a new height.

Mo Zibu was extremely envious, and Zheng Xin was also very excited. After entertaining the Chinese who had risked their lives to cross the sea from Phetchaburi, Zheng Xin asked in a drunken state:
"Zi Bu, I am where I am today because of you. If you have any requests, you can tell me today."

As he said this, Zheng Xin sat down, somewhat drunk, and started laughing.

"Today is a good time to get drunk. If it were any other day, this wouldn't happen. You must seize this opportunity!"

Mo Zibu sighed in his heart again, and looking at Zheng Xin who opened his heart to him without any guard, he felt a little uncomfortable.

This person is open-minded, altruistic, and has a sense of family and country, but due to the limitations of the times and his background, he cannot handle the relationship with the people around him well.

For example, this time, Zheng Xin promised Mo Zibu in Basha Village that he would never let him down in the future. After arriving at the Wansui Buddha, he said that everything he has today is thanks to him.

For a leader, such words cannot be said lightly.

If it is said, then a corresponding reward must be offered immediately to complete this great achievement, and it must not be allowed to continue to interfere with the relationship between the monarch and his subjects.

Unless the king wants to get it for free.

But Zheng Xin did not have the ability to reward him immediately, but he could not help but say it out loud with a surge of emotion, and he was not prepared to get it for free to avoid future troubles.

I think when there was no Mo Zibu in history, Zheng Xin must have said these words to the person closest to him and who had made the greatest contribution.

This constantly formed a hint in Tong's mind, suggesting that Zheng Xin's current situation was largely due to his contribution.

Of course, you said it yourself, so how could it be false?

But at the same time, Zheng Xin was influenced by the narrow-minded Chaozhou fellow villager ideology, and invested heavily in his Chaozhou nobles, and took the opportunity to form a Chaozhou group that was difficult to get rid of.

As a result, he was unable to promote a large number of other Chinese and Siamese from the grassroots to form a group to balance the Teochew Party.

It was also impossible to offer a large amount of benefits to satisfy the matrilineal Najin and local Siamese nobles, represented by Tong, who made great contributions to the rise of Taksin.

It is no wonder that he died and his country was destroyed in the end.

Even when Tong was trying to usurp the throne, he did not feel any guilt towards Taksin, the person who had supported him.

Tong even angrily scolded Zheng Xin, asking why he treated their meritorious officials so badly.

Sometimes, human tragedy is often destined from the beginning.

"The commander is drunk. Let's help him go back and rest."

Mo Zi Bu did not answer Zheng Xin's words directly. Instead, he walked outside the house, called Kun A Pa Ye Bo Di in, and helped him help Zheng Xin back.

(End of this chapter)