The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 150: Keep the clouds clear and see the moonlight

Guangzhou, west side of the Guangdong and Guangxi Governor's Office.

It was just dawn and Lin Tong was awakened by the noise outside before he even opened his eyes.

He couldn't help but feel a little strange. He was living in an inn built by the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi specifically for foreign envoys. Who would dare to make noise here?

Not long after, Lin Tong received a message that Mr. Cai, the military advisor of Li Shiyao, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Mr. Tong, the Manchu clerk under the command of the Guangzhou General, were coming to visit.

Lin Tong's face suddenly showed a look of surprise. This must be the result of the Myanmar war report, and it was almost the same as Longtou's guess.

"Longtou, you are truly a god!" Lin Tong put on his clothes, but did not go out. Instead, he bowed to the south and said respectfully.

My loyalty to Mo Zibu increased even more.

When Lin Tong walked out to the lobby, he was about to pay his respects when Master Cai and Tong Bi Tieshi immediately came over to him affectionately, shouting that it was not allowed. The three of them pulled and tugged for a long time before they sat down.

Master Cai looked around pretentiously, with an apologetic look on his face, "Oh, I was negligent!

This small inn is so shabby, how can it be home to such a loyal minister? Come, pack Mr. Lin's luggage and move him to the best inn across from the government office."

Just as Lin Tong was about to come out to stop them, the pen-taker named Tong clapped his hands, and two graceful little beauties came over. They were petite and delicate, no more than fifteen or sixteen years old.

"Mr. Cai is right. This is all our negligence! Mr. Lin has been in Guangzhou for several months, and no one has made his bed or taken care of him. This is all my fault!"

This pair of beautiful women were raised by my old man. Today, as an apology, I will let them take care of Mr. Lin's daily life."

Lin Tong looked flattered, but he felt extremely happy in his heart.

Damn it, he has been in Guangzhou for three or four months, and after meeting him once, Li Shiyao threw him aside and ignored him.

This is the current post house. It looks like it was provided by the Guangdong and Guangxi Governor's Office, but in fact Lin Tong had to pay for it himself, otherwise he would not be provided with hot water or hot tea.

But now, the clouds have finally cleared and the moon is visible. Lin Tong can now confirm that it must be Longtou who has deduced everything about this war.

Master Cai looked at Lin Tong, but his mind had already flown to someone he didn't know and had never met.

What kind of person is this Prince Hexian? How could he analyze this battle completely on paper based on just a little information?

As the advisor who also assisted Li Shiyao in handling military affairs, Advisor Cai knew clearly how difficult it was.

This kind of ability is almost the same as being able to predict the enemy's movements, plan strategies within the tent, and win battles thousands of miles away. Even if it is not Zhang Liang, it must be at least Guo Jia and Guo Fengxiao.

Master Cai really hopes to have the opportunity to meet this extraordinary person from Southeast Asia.

Tong Bi Tieshi had a different feeling. He was an old Manchu from the Tonggiya clan.

Therefore, he understood better than Master Cai what kind of earthquake would be caused when the news of the deaths of Manchu generals like Mingrui and Guanyinbao reached Beijing.

I don’t know how many heads will fall, but at least Erdeng’e is dead.

He also understood that with the emperor's temper, he would definitely continue to fight, and fight hard. But if that happened, the Eight Banners stationed in Guangzhou would be in danger!

Although his master, Guangzhou General Yang Ning, seemed to be a responsible person, he also dispatched a thousand Guangzhou Eight Banners soldiers to Kunming last time.

But they were all just show-offs, and were a long way from the real Eight Banners warriors like Mingrui and the Eight Banners stationed in Beijing.

If they were really transferred to Burma, wouldn't every family in Guangzhou be in mourning, with widows everywhere?

Therefore, in order to truly understand the situation in Myanmar and gain as much support as possible, Guangzhou General Yang Ning, who had always been given money by others, started to "bleed" for the first time.

Li Shiyao was no ordinary person. He had received the battle report for several days, but he had never met with Lin Tong. He insisted that Master Cai and others take turns to entertain him and show goodwill. Only after Lin Tong was moved to tears of gratitude did he meet Lin Tong again.

When they met, he chatted and laughed with Lin Tong like old friends.

For Li Shiyao, this was already an extremely extraordinary move. If it were an ordinary day, Li Shiyao would not even bother to look at such a poor man from Nanyang.

"Daf! Your lord, Master Mo Wu, is truly a man of talent. The defeat of this army will probably shock the world.

I dare not imagine how furious His Majesty will be after receiving the urgent message from eight hundred miles away.

I wonder if you have ever guessed what will happen next?"

When it came to the formal question-and-answer session, Lin Tong quickly stood up and answered, "In reply to the governor, a ship carrying the Hexian tin mine arrived in Guangzhou the day before yesterday, and my lord also sent a letter.

My master said that given the temperament of His Majesty the Great Qing Emperor, this matter will never be let go.

The Fourth War is imminent, and no one can stop it. But I'm afraid that all the civil and military officials in the court are already afraid of the Burmese and will not agree to fight."

This was just nonsense. Li Shiyao certainly knew that with Qianlong's temper, he would not be able to tolerate it.

We also know that Mingrui's death in this battle seemed to have only resulted in the loss of a few thousand men, but in fact the loss of elite troops was extremely serious, which indeed made people in the government and the country somewhat afraid of him.

But, he, Li Shiyao, is a bannerman and the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi!
It was normal for him to know these things, but how did Mr. Mo Wu, a mere overseas survivor and a penniless man, know all this?
How did he know the emperor's temper and who was informing him of this information?

Since ancient times, compared with ordinary people, the emperor has always been shrouded in an image or fog that has been continuously processed and created by people all over the world.

If you are not close to the emperor, you will never know his character. It is like, even if people in later generations have seen the current emperor in various media, can most people clearly know what kind of person he is?
impossible!
Therefore, what Lin Tong said was a common view, but it was not so common that Li Shiyao suspected that Mo Zibu had some spies in other places.

"Then, your lord, did you say anything else?" Li Shiyao continued.

Lin Tong nodded and began to get to the point, "Fifth Young Master said that although the Burmese appear to have won this time, their losses are even more severe.

The two battles of Manjie and Menglong fought by Ming Zhitai dealt extremely severe blows to the Burmese, causing a loss of about 40% of the elite Burmese army and almost crippling them.

At the same time, the Meng bandits fortified their defenses and cleared the countryside in the country, delaying the autumn harvest of at least 300,000 shi of grain.

Another 40,000 to 50,000 shi were seized and burned by the Ming governor, and with the loss of the relocated people, even 600,000 shi were not enough.

This is just a drop in the bucket for China, but for the Burmese, the loss is enormous.”

One shi in the Qing Dynasty was equal to 120 jin, and 600,000 shi was 36,000 tons. Based on Myanmar's output at that time, it was almost equivalent to the output of more than 160,000 mu of fertile farmland.

If we count the taxes collected, the land tax paid by at least 700,000 acres of fertile land accounted for about one-eighth to one-ninth of the annual income of the Konbaung Dynasty and about one-third of the national treasury.

Li Shiyao coughed. Six hundred thousand dan of grain was a lot in the Qing Dynasty, and it could be considered a heavy loss.

So he smiled a little, "If that's the case, then the next battle will be the time when the Burmese will kowtow and beg for mercy?"

But Lin Tong shook his head and said, "Meng, the thief of Burma, will send an envoy to request peace talks now, but he will definitely not agree to the court's conditions.

More importantly, although the Burmese army suffered heavy losses, it was nominally a great victory. If the Meng thief still wanted to admit defeat after such a great victory with heavy losses, then he would have no chance of sitting firmly on the throne.

Therefore, my lord judged that although the Burmese would no longer dare to take the initiative to attack and harass, they would definitely hold on to their natural defenses and take advantage of Myanmar's malaria-ridden areas, hoping to promote peace through war.

On the other hand, the imperial court lost three governors of Yunnan and Guizhou in five years, and even a brave general like the Ming governor died in battle. Malaria broke out in Yunnan and Burma, and the northerners could not bear it. Their fighting determination and morale were probably even worse than those of the Burmese.

If we handle it properly, we might be able to hold on, but if we handle it improperly, I'm afraid..."

"Huh!" Li Shiyao let out a long breath. What Lin Tong said, no, what this Fifth Master Mo predicted, was a very insightful look into people's hearts and was very credible.

And this is what Li Shiyao guessed in his heart, but he didn't know how badly the Burmese were hurt.

The danger and threat posed by the Qing-Myanmar War to the Qing officials was so great that even Li Shiyao felt it was quite troublesome and difficult.

"What is your master's attitude? I heard that his father-in-law, Zheng Zhao, has been elected king by the Siamese."

"I dare not hide it from you, Your Excellency, my Lord definitely wants to fight.

Just like the Ming Dynasty’s invasion of Burma, without the Celestial Empire, Siam would have had no chance of regaining its independence, and even if it had, it would not have been able to maintain its independence.”

Lin Tong told the truth, because there was no need to hide anything at this time. Since he wanted to reach a certain alliance with Li Shiyao, it would be better to be direct.

"Zheng Zhaohe, your lord, how many men can you mobilize? How many Burmese bandits can you contain?"

"We should be able to mobilize 30,000 men. However, although they are proficient in fighting in the miasma jungle, they are very short of weapons. They can only serve as a supporting force, not the main attack force."

Li Shiyao thought about it, and after a moment's silence, he said, "It's good enough to be an assistant, but we must go deep into Myanmar, at least to make the Burmese leader feel uneasy.

Get ready, you might have to go to the capital." Li Shiyao looked at Lin Tong seriously.

"Zheng Zhao wishes to request a title, and your lord desires the fine iron from Foshan. This is inherently difficult, but if I can help you relieve your burden, it might be possible to make things easier.

Remember, you must send someone back now to tell your master that when serving the Celestial Empire, you must do your best and not slack off or try to be cunning.

The imperial court will give him what he wants. If he dares to act cunningly, Hexian's small foundation will be shattered into dust by the thunderbolt!"

. . . .

In March, the news of Mingrui's defeat reached Beijing. The furious Qianlong acted as a desk cleaning master for the first time, and even burst into tears in front of his confidants, expressing his extreme pain.

The bannermen of Beijing, a small community of a hundred thousand, had lost over three hundred men, and every family had a close relative killed in battle. The cries continued from morning till night, the wailing sounding like ghosts.

In May, Erdeng'e and Tan Wuge were escorted to Beijing, and the furious Qianlong interrogated them in public in the Qianqing Palace.

Tan Wuge was still relying on his seniority to bully others, and kept telling Qianlong about his past battle achievements, saying that even if he had no merits, he had worked hard. Although he failed to save Mingrui this time, he also preserved his vitality.

Qianlong was furious when he heard this and cursed "you old dog". He personally lifted up the dragon leg and kicked Tan Wuge to the ground.

He also ordered the imperial guards to whip Tan Wuge 500 times, beating him to death on the spot, leaving him bleeding all over the ground.

Erdeng'e was scared half to death. Qianlong asked him why he didn't save Mubang and why he didn't save Mingrui. Erdeng'e said tremblingly that there was not enough food.

Qianlong was so angry that his eyes rolled back. He personally issued an order to execute Erdeng'e by slow slicing, confiscate his property, and leave his head to commemorate Mingrui.

Erdeng'e fainted on the spot out of fright.

After Tan Wuge was beaten to death, he was dragged to the vegetable market and beheaded with a knife. His entire family was exiled to Yili and was never allowed to return to the mainland unless pardoned.

(End of this chapter)