The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 12 The Franks
Even though the Chaozhou Wei family was in the Minyue area, they had the seniority to go to Southeast Asia.

In the early Ming Dynasty, their family owned their own ports, docks and inns between Chaoshan. They had more than 20 large ships that could run to the old port, and they could even build their own ships.

However, the maritime bans and severe crackdowns on maritime smuggling during the Ming and Qing dynasties dealt a heavy blow to the Wei family's shipping industry.

Up to now, the Wei family has almost no power in Chaozhou, but in Nanyang, their descendants are spread far and wide, making them one of the most powerful Chaozhou families in Nanyang.

Ou Zibu walked with Hong Ahan towards the east side of the north city where Qing merchants gathered. It was easy to find that this place was very different in all aspects from the west side where Mingxiang people were the majority.

It turns out that although they are all Chinese, there is still a gap between the Mingxiang people and the Qing Dynasty immigrants with braids on their heads, which is almost visible to the naked eye.

The Mingxiang people, who kept the Ming Dynasty clothing and tied their hair, always felt a sense of superiority when looking at the Qing Dynasty immigrants.

Even though they could not return to their hometown, they were still proud of the choice made by their fathers and ancestors, and considered themselves heroes who refused to yield to the barbarians. After the Qing Dynasty immigrants shaved their heads and changed their clothes, they were already barbarians.

The Manchu immigrants were somewhat wary of having too deep a connection with the Mingxiang people. After all, the Qing Dynasty's rule of keeping the head but not the hair, and the subsequent high-pressure and terrorist policy for more than a hundred years, were still very lethal.

Even during the Qianlong period, Emperor Qianlong himself had sideburns, not to mention the rat tail. His yin-yang hairstyle almost covered his forehead, but the people were still very sensitive about braids.

After more than a hundred years of white terror with shaving hair and changing clothes, ordinary people have long forgotten what their ancestors wore. In this "prosperous age" where they can barely survive, they numb themselves and don't think about the things that make them hungry and cold.

Some people even regard their compatriots who still uphold the traditions of their homeland as traitors.

Therefore, Qing Dynasty immigrants would only come together with Mingxiang people when offering sacrifices to Mazu and worshipping Guan Gong.

Ou Zibu was in the attic of the Wei family, a wealthy family in Chaozhou, and he sighed as he looked at the Foreign Merchants Guild Hall and the Fujian Guild Hall in the distance.

The Foreign Merchants Guild Hall was originally called the Daming Guild Hall and was built by Chinese in Hoi An during the Ming Dynasty.

When the Ming Dynasty fell, the early Chinese merged with the large number of Ming and Xiang people who moved south in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Because they insisted on wearing the clothes and customs of their homeland, they lost the right to return to their motherland to trade, and gradually evolved into local tyrants in Hoi An.

The trade routes to the mainland were handed over to the newly arrived Qing Dynasty immigrants, and the Ming Guild Hall could no longer support itself and had to be handed over because all the Mingxiang people who were willing to lose their country and homes were already in Annan, so there was no need for a guild hall.

However, the Manchu immigrants did know something. They did not offend the Ming Xiang people by changing the Ming Guild Hall into the Qing Guild Hall. Instead, they chose the (Nan) Yang (Qing) Merchants Guild Hall, such a strange name.

However, the fate of the Foreign Merchants Guild was obviously different from that of the Ming Guild Hall.

In the past, during the Ming Dynasty, after the opening of the sea in Emperor Longqing's reign, the imperial court supported or at least tacitly approved of going to Southeast Asia, and the Ming Guild Hall even played a semi-official role.

When Chinese who went to Southeast Asia committed crimes in Hoi An, some guild halls would report them to the local prefectural and county governments for punishment. If someone committed a serious crime in their hometown and fled to Southeast Asia, the government would occasionally write to the Daming Guild Hall to help arrest him, which gave the guild hall a semi-official nature.

But during the Qing Dynasty, they strictly enforced maritime bans, calling the people who went to Southeast Asia "villains" and completely abandoning them.

The guild hall, an institution with a vague official nature, has completely lost its most important function.

The Nanyang immigrants no longer had a reason to unite together, and all they could do was take care of their own hometown people.

At present, only the most powerful Fujian Gang has established the Fujian Association, but soon the Chaozhou people, Guangzhou people, Qionghai people, and the Hakka people of Jiayingzhou will follow suit.

Historically, by the time the guild halls of the five Qing Dynasty merchants in Hoi An were established, the Qing Dynasty immigrants in Hoi An had completely separated and lived their own lives.

. . . .

Grandpa Wei, the leader of the Chaozhou gang, did not come to greet Ou Zibu in person, but sent his younger brother Wei Haikun to entertain Ou Zibu.

This is not because Grandpa Wei has any taboos or looks down on Ou Zibu, but because a group of strong men of unknown origin have recently arrived and occupied Champa Island, about 20 nautical miles east of Hoi An.

The Wei family has a large amount of goods stored on Champa Island and has hundreds of clansmen. It is the most important foundation of the Wei family, so they naturally cannot watch it being occupied by strong men. Grandpa Wei has already taken people to negotiate.

Well, in this situation, it is quite a courtesy to let his own brother entertain Ou Zibu.

In fact, even if the Wei family doesn't like him, Ou Zibu doesn't care.

Because his choice to come to the Wei family was very meaningful. Although they were all Ming Dynasty survivors, there were still differences between the Mingxiang people in Hoi An, the Mingxiang people in Jiading, and the Qinghe people in Zhenbian.

The former fled to Southeast Asia out of fear after the Shaowu regime in Guangdong was destroyed and Shang Kexi massacred Guangzhou.

The latter, the Mingxiang people of Jiading and the Qinghe people of Zhenbian, were the rebels led by Chen Shangchuan, Yang Yandi and others who went south after seeing that there was no hope of restoring their country.

The two have completely different compositions and are geographically separated by thousands of kilometers, so the connection between the two sides is not close, and the Guangnan Kingdom of the Nguyen family is also preventing them from getting close to each other.

As for the Ou family, it goes without saying that the Hexian regime cannot be considered Mingxiang people strictly speaking.

So Ou Zibu was very worried. If he went directly to seek refuge with Luo Aye, Luo Aye might, for the benefit of the people of Hui'an Mingxiang, say on the surface that he would send him back to Hexian, but secretly reveal his whereabouts to Zhang Fuluan.

He was even sent directly to the Guangnan military camp to create the illusion that he had an accident.

The probability of this happening is very small, but it does exist.

When Ou Zibu went to the Wei family in Chaozhou, it was like letting everyone know.

It is impossible for Grandpa Luo to come to the Wei family to ask for someone. If something happens to Ou Zibu, Grandpa Luo will definitely not be able to explain himself.

At the same time, the Mingxiang people in Hui'an City were in an absolutely dominant position, which ensured that the Wei family would not dare to do anything to Ou Zibu.

Unless the Mingxiang people and Qingshang in Hoi An City unite because of this trivial matter, but now it seems that this possibility has been ruled out.

A high-standard welcoming banquet with 28 dishes in total, including all kinds of delicacies from all seasons, ended.

Both Chen Guangyao and the three Pei family members finally relaxed from their long-term nervous tension. After eating and drinking, the four of them went to rest. However, Ou Zibu couldn't sleep, so he accompanied Wei Haikun to drink tea.

It's been almost a month since I traveled here. I've been running all the way here, but I only have four people under me. I'm still a long way from accomplishing anything big.

He recalled his position in the family. Ever since he came to Hue and was not smart enough to help his father Ou Tianci to find out the news from the Guangnan court, Ou Zibu's position in Ou Tianci's eyes began to decline rapidly.

Otherwise, as the fifth prince of Ha Tien, marrying Nguyen Thi Yuan, a girl from the royal family, Ha Tien would never have sent only 300 taels of silver as a betrothal gift.

From the initial procedures of asking for the name and Najib to the wedding, no one from Ha Tien showed up.

I guess in Ou Tianci's heart, Ou Zibu has already been killed!

I wonder if after this incident is reported back, it can slightly improve the image of Ou Zibu in Ou Tianci's heart.

Ha Tien can't go back. Not only can she not go back, she probably won't be able to get much help. So, will these four little cats go to join Taksin?

At this time, the Burmese had not yet attacked, and Taksin and the Ayutthaya Dynasty of Siam had not yet felt the crisis of national extinction, so they would not take the small surrender too seriously.

Now that I'm in Siam, my safety is guaranteed, and I might even be able to get a small official position, but what's the point? Where is the way out?
Just when Ou Zibu was having a headache, there was another noise outside the Wei family's gate. Several Wei family men ran over speechlessly to inform the second master Wei Haikun.

"Second Master, the Fulangsha bandit from Maluanba is here again!"

"Again? Last time you tricked us into sending two ships to India, promising great wealth, and ended up leaving us penniless. Now you dare to come again, thinking I'm some easy prey!"

Wei Haikun, who was accompanying Ou Zibu, stood up in extreme anger and said, "Fuck his ancestors! I'm going to pluck all the red hair off his head today!"

After saying that, Wei Haikun bowed to Mo Zibu and said, "Fifth Master, I'll be right back."

French? Indian?
Ou Zibu smelled an unusual smell. Could it be related to France’s colonies in India?

"Please wait a moment, Master. I have learned French, so I can be an interpreter."

(End of this chapter)