The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 173 You Will Be King
The 1769th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty, the first day of June in AD.

Just as the Fourth Qing-Myanmar War was about to break out, Mo Zi Bu arrived in Thonburi.

Today, Thonburi is a city full of flowers, and the newly completed new capital is decorated with precious silks everywhere.

White elephants, which are rarely seen on weekdays, also appeared on the streets one by one, roaring.

Apart from the common people, the largest number of people were monks. It seemed that all the monks in Siam had come to Thonburi.

The reason why so many people came is because today is the day when Taksin was officially crowned as the King of Siam.

During the time when Mozibu dealt with Toungoo and Myeik and successfully paralyzed the White Elephant King, Taksin successively defeated six or seven separatist forces of varying sizes.

The two largest groups were King Agada's brother Chao Phimai and Phraya Phitsanulok in the north.

Among them, Chao Phimai was captured by Ngo Tien Chow and was already a corpse when he was sent to Taksin. This was a tacit understanding between both parties.

Phraya Phitsanulok was defeated three months ago, and the city of Phitsanulok returned to the embrace of Siam.

Phraya Phitsanulok died of a heart attack before the city fell. A small number of his relatives and close associates fled to Vientiane and became dependent on the King of Vientiane.

As for another separatist monk, Phai Van, he was actually not a traditional Siamese, but a religious person who played a cult between Siam and Vientiane.

Only a small piece of Siamese territory was in his hands, and most of the rest belonged to the Kingdom of Vientiane.

Unlike Chao Phimai and Phraya Phitsanulok, Monk Phayvan did not have a strong desire to compete with Taksin for the throne of Siam, so he could be ignored for the time being.

Therefore, except for Tak, Kamphaeng Phet and the semi-independent Lanna Kingdom which were still occupied by the Burmese, Taksin basically recovered most of the land of the Ayutthaya Dynasty, and also gained the Lesser Tanah Ratan area which was taken back by Mok Tsutsu Phet.

It can be said that with the three major achievements of driving away the Burmese army, saving the victims, and recovering the country's territory, Zheng Xin could have established a new dynasty.

So, on the first day of June, with the support of everyone, Taksin rode a huge white elephant to the royal temple on the east side of the palace.

In accordance with Siamese customs, he swore in front of the statue of Sakyamuni to maintain the glory of the Buddha in Siam and protect every Siamese citizen.

Then he ascended the Praveda lotus platform made of fig wood, accepted the congratulations of civil and military ministers, senior monks and the people, and officially ascended the throne as king.

King Taksin's title is 'Songluk Phai Chao Gong Thonburi'

It means the supreme holy king of the Thonburi Dynasty.

The capital of Thonburi was decided and renamed "Kurung Thonburi Sri Mahasaputradu"

Since the word "Tun" means wealth in Siamese, Xindu means the city where gold, silver and treasures blessed by Buddhism gather.

To be honest, it's quite vulgar. As the name of the capital of a country, it sounds too crude and straightforward, but it matches the cultural level of the Siamese people.

In addition, Taksin also officially appointed the queen. Siam's mother, Wu Xuan, the daughter of the wealthy Wu family of Chaozhou descendants in Siam, became the queen, with the honorific title of Gong Luan Zhu Buricha.

The first person to be honored as a meritorious official was still Mo Zibu.

This was a result that went against all odds. It was not that there was no one who opposed it. On the contrary, there were quite a few people who opposed it. However, Zheng Xin still insisted on naming Mo Zi Bu as the chief meritorious official.

And Mo Zibu, the chief meritorious official, was definitely confident in his position. After Zheng Xin listed his contributions one by one, no one could refute it even if it was true.

Therefore, Mozi Bu was promoted from Phraya to Chao Phraya by Taksin, and was called Chao Phraya Sri Maha Andai.

Sri Maha is the transliteration of Sanskrit. Sri can be translated as big, and Maha can be translated as meritorious and auspicious.

Together, they mean one with great merit and great fortune, and are also the name of the Buddhist goddess of good fortune. However, in Mozibu's case, Maha primarily refers to merit.

At the same time, in Sanskrit culture, the title of Sri Maha is generally only held by kings.

Therefore, Chao Phraya Sri Maha Andai can be translated as Prince Andai who has made great contributions, or Prince Andai who is a great contributor.

After conferring the title on Mo Zi Bu, to his surprise, the next person conferred by Taksin was not Tong, but Zheng Mincheng of Phraya Phetchaburi.

The word Chao, which symbolizes the king, was also added before his Phraya.

Zheng Xin's explanation to the outside world was that, firstly, it was to reward Zheng Mincheng for his contribution, and secondly, it was to commemorate and comfort Zheng Mincheng's father.

Phraya Phetchaburi Zheng Tai, the most famous descendant of Chaozhou Najin in Siam, always rushed to the front line in the battle against two generations of Burmese kings, Aomjiya and White Elephant, and finally died for his country.

But Mo Zibu clearly felt that this matter was not that simple. It seemed to be an arrangement targeting Tong.

Well, it’s understandable that Mo Zibu thought so, because he didn’t know that it was his appearance that had greatly changed the timeline.

Historically, the royal family of Nakhon Si Thammarat never recovered after the Malay indigenous riots under their rule, and the Chinese left Nakhon Si Thammarat one after another.

The power vacuum that remained was filled by a Siamese man who originally belonged to a branch of the Nakhon Si Thammarat royal family and escaped the sword of Yamada Nagamasa.

He took advantage of the chaos to escape from Ayutthaya with some guards, returned to Nakhon Si Thammarat, and proclaimed himself the King of Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Also because of the importance of Nakhon Si Thammarat, after Taksin defeated Thepphit, he did not attack Phraya and Phitsanulok like he is doing now, but went south to attack Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Zheng Mincheng of Phraya Phetchaburi suffered a setback in this war. As the commander-in-chief of the army, he was unexpectedly hit by a stray bullet and died in battle despite being heavily protected.

This person is actually very important to Zheng Xin because he can make up for the defects in Zheng Xin's identity.

Because Taksin cannot actually be called Najin. He was a businessman whose father came from the mainland and was the first generation of Chinese born in Siam.

For example, Chao Phimai had previously called Taksin the son of a Chinese merchant, intending to show that he was not Najin of Siam.

So what kind of person is Nazhen?
The family must have been rooted in Siam for several generations, at least the grandfather's generation was born in Siam, and it would be best if he was an official in Siam. Only then would a person with Chinese ancestry be called Najin.

For example, Zheng Mincheng is a typical paternal Najin, and Tong is a typical maternal Najin.

As for Zheng Xin, his current identity is still Chinese.

This led to the Najin group being somewhat ambivalent in following Taksin. The fact that Chao Phimai still had a large number of Najin supporters under his command was a clear proof of this.

Historically, after Zheng Mincheng died in battle, Zheng Xin lost the banner to recruit Na Jin's loyalty.

In addition, Tong's abilities gradually made him an indispensable figure in both civil and military affairs under Zheng Xin, providing a popular foundation for his future rebellion.

In this time and space, Zheng Mincheng did not die in battle. Not only did he divert a large number of Nazhen who originally defected to Tong, but he also had a huge advantage.

That is, Zheng Mincheng's fighting skills are average, but he comes from a prominent family. His ancestors for five or six generations were Phraya, and they have deep roots in Siam. With such a family, he was trained to be a feudal lord to govern the local area since he was a child.

It can be said that in terms of background, Zheng Xinhe Tong is a nouveau riche and the latter is a pauper compared to Zheng Mincheng.

Zheng Xinhe and Tong, both have not received systematic administrative training, and their administrative abilities combined are not as good as Zheng Mincheng's.

Therefore, now with Zheng Mincheng, a young man from a noble family with strong administrative capabilities, Tong's administrative status in the Zheng Xin Group has been greatly reduced.

What's worse is that in terms of military, Tong is completely incomparable to the BUG-like Mo Zibu. He can't even compare with him and is only fit to carry his shoes.

The tragic Tong was originally a man of all talents in literature and martial arts, but under the attack of Zheng Mincheng and Mo Zibu, he was not as good as Zheng Mincheng in governing the country, and not as good as Mo Zibu in fighting a war.

He went from being a man of both civil and military talents to someone who seemed to have mediocre abilities in both areas.

As a result, the person who was originally the second in history has been squeezed to the fourth position.

The only advantage they have is that their family is descended from the ancient royal family of Phitsanulok, and their maternal line is Najin. In terms of origin, they are the most acceptable to the Siamese.

Sure enough, after enthroning Zheng Mincheng, Zheng Xin enthroned Tong as the third person.

Moreover, Tong did not get the position of general of the Imperial Guard that he desired, but was instead given the symbolic title of Wushamuhan, which was roughly equivalent to the Taiwei in China.

His actual position was to be appointed as Phraya Korat, guarding the territory that had just been pacified and originally belonged to Chao Phimai.

Mo Zibu looked at Tong's forced smile and observed a minute of silence for him in his heart.

If he is really locked in the position of Phraya Korat, this guy's future will be clear at a glance.

But that's not necessarily the case. On Taksin's side, there are still few talents who can govern the country. Even with Zheng Mincheng, Taksin is unlikely to waste Tong on the plateau east of Siam for a long time.

After the coronation ceremony, Taksin immediately summoned Mo Zi Bu to the palace.

Mo Zibu looked around and saw many people in the palace whom he didn't know, some of whom even had their braids not cut yet. He immediately realized that these were relatives from Zheng Xin's hometown.

Zheng Mincheng saw Mo Zibu looking around. He was very happy that he had finally defeated Tong once, so he came over and whispered:
"The king was still scolding you yesterday."

"Scold me, what did you scold me for?" Mo Zibu was a little puzzled, but it was definitely not a real scolding. If he was really scolding, Zheng Mincheng would not speak like that.

"You sent people back to your homeland to spread the word, and now everyone in Chaozhou knows that Xin has become the King of Siam.

Look, almost all the Zhengs from Huaburi who are still healthy have come, and Wang is having a headache about how to get rid of them.

Mo Zibu suddenly realized that the insult he received was not unjust.

Not only did so many people come from the Zheng family, but many of them were reluctant to even cut their braids. It seemed that they were actually here to ask for some benefits, or to return to Chaozhou.

For Zheng Xin, such relatives were completely meaningless and instead threatened his already limited finances.

However, when Zheng Xin met him, he had no intention of blaming Mo Zibu at all.

As I said, returning home rich and powerful and showing off in front of relatives and fellow villagers, no one can resist the temptation.

Although Zheng Xin had to pay a large sum of money, he was very happy.

"Zi Bu, come and meet your uncles." Zheng Xin took Mo Zi Bu's hand and introduced him to a group of Zheng Xin's relatives in Hua Hin, including Zheng Xin's uncles and aunts.

There were so many people! Mo Zibu couldn't even remember who was who in the end.

However, Zheng's relatives were also very excited when they saw the living Nanyang Xuande, and they praised him profusely.

"Zi Bu, many of the elders are going home. As their grandson-in-law, you have to send them a nice gift so that everyone in our hometown knows that you, a Chaozhou son-in-law, are also very powerful in Southeast Asia!"

Oh boy, you're waiting here.

As soon as Zheng Xin finished speaking, the eyes of Zheng's relatives lit up, and they spoke auspicious words as fluently as the bannermen in Beijing.

Looking at Zheng Xin's 'eager expectation' eyes, Mo Zibu could only nod in agreement hurriedly.

After sending the relatives away, Zheng Xin nodded at Mo Zibu.

"Hurry up and think of a way to stop paying people to go to Southeast Asia.

You are such a troublemaker! The day before yesterday I actually received a letter from officials from Chaozhou Prefecture asking for twenty thousand taels of silver."

Ah!
Mo Zibu was really shocked. Damn, the officials of my Qing Dynasty are so shameless and only care about money. They are too fierce.

How dare you write a letter directly to an overseas vassal king to ask for money? Do you still want to live?

Mo Zibu could only say, I admire you!
After giving Mo Zibu a little trouble, Zheng Xin finally felt much calmer and started to talk to Mo Zibu about the most important thing.

Although Taksin has now become the King of Siam, there is still one last procedure missing, which is the enthronement by the central dynasty.

Don’t underestimate this process. People in later generations seemed to think that China did not have much prestige in Southeast Asia, but that was after the disasters of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.

Today, the person sitting on the dragon throne in the Forbidden City is the only great emperor in East Asia and even in the entire Southeast Asia.

Although there were occasional challengers, the Japanese had an emperor, and Annan had the Great Southern Emperor, but they could not become the mainstream, and even some people did not support them for internal entertainment.

It can be said that if Zheng Xin in history had successfully sought the throne two or three years earlier, Tong would most likely not have dared to usurp the throne, or at least even if he had usurped the throne, he would not have dared to kill Zheng Xin.

In this time and space, there was no Ou Tianci to give Zheng Xin a bad medicine, and he got the assistance of Mo Zibu, and Siam was not like Ha Tien.

Ha Tien was a vassal of the Nguyen Dynasty of Quang Nam, and the Nguyen Dynasty of Quang Nam itself had no legal system. The legal system was in the hands of the King of the Le Dynasty in Hanoi, so it was basically impossible to enthrone it.

But it was easy for Taksin to handle the matter. He just had to cooperate with the Qing Dynasty to defeat the Konbaung Dynasty, and the enthronement would be a foregone conclusion.

"Zi Bu, do you think the Qing Dynasty can defeat the White Elephant King this time?" Zheng Xin was not sure about the strength comparison between the Qing Dynasty and the Konbaung Dynasty.

The only person he could ask was Mo Zibu, because Mo Zibu's predictions were always correct.

Mo Zibu chuckled, "Father-in-law, in my opinion, Qianlong has lost his mind. What kind of place is Myanmar? It's a place with high mountains and dense forests, and there are more malaria than in our Siam."

He may have mobilized the nation's elite Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners, but those northerners, accustomed to the cool, dry climate of the north, would fall ill and die in large numbers before they could even engage in battle."

As he spoke, Mozibu came to the map and pointed at the two fortresses of Laoguantun and Xinjie, which guarded the strategic location of the Irrawaddy River.

“If I were the White Elephant King, I would definitely build strong fortresses at these two locations and mobilize all the soldiers in the country to defend them to the death. I would never retreat even if I suffered heavy casualties.

As long as it drags on until the hot and humid September and October, the Qing army's combat capability will be greatly reduced due to malaria attacks and transportation difficulties.

Withdrawal of troops and negotiation became the only option."

Zheng Xin showed an excited look on his face. He nodded, but suddenly asked:

"The Qing army mobilized at least 40,000 men this time. The White Elephant King won a tragic victory last time, losing 40% of his elite troops. Can he still hold on?"

"The Qing army had 40,000 soldiers, but due to limited road access and Yunnan's food reserves, only about 20,000 could actually participate in the battle.

Given the White Elephant King's prestige and the strategic locations of Xinjie and Laoguantun, we should be able to hold on."

"Hahahaha!" Zheng Xin laughed loudly. "This time, the imperial court must rely on the two of us. Without us, they will surely be forced to retreat with heavy casualties."

Mo Zibu also laughed. This was a godsend opportunity. The White Elephant King wanted to use the entire country's troops to confront the Qing army. Then Zheng Xin and Mo Zibu could happily poke the White Elephant King's anus.

The two of them should not be able to defeat the Konbaung Dynasty's royal guards, but they can easily defeat the Konbaung Dynasty's second and third-line troops.

If this battle is fought well, not only can a huge amount of money be made from the Qing Dynasty, but the Konbaung Dynasty can also be greatly weakened, and a large amount of gold, silver, treasures and slaves can be looted from Myanmar. It would be simply too good to be true.

"What's the plan? Zi Bu, I can't wait any longer!" Zheng Xin's face flushed red, as if he had drunk fine wine.

"Let's attack from two directions. My father-in-law will lead the army north to recapture Dacheng and Chiang Mai, and then go to Mengjiu to attack Lashio to support the Qing army.

I led the navy from Tanah Ratan, captured Shalian and Yangon, then went upstream and attacked Ava directly.

As long as the White Elephant King is not dead, you and I, the father-in-law and son-in-law, will never be at peace!"

It is impossible to destroy the Konbaung Dynasty, but it is possible to kill the White Elephant King.

And what Mo Zibu said was right. The White Elephant King must be killed, otherwise he would become a disaster when he recovered.

By then, without the Qing Dynasty to contain the main force of the Konbaung Dynasty, he would come back to settle accounts with Mo Zibu, which would greatly distract Mo Zibu's energy and disrupt his plan to take over Guangnan.

Zheng Xinchang took a breath, then said resolutely: "Yes, we must let the White Elephant King follow in Mang Yingli's footsteps. If he is allowed to live, he will definitely invade again after the Qing army withdraws.

Zibu, your forces seem a little underpowered. In addition to Chen Lian's 2,000 men, I will also give you Kun A Pai Ye Bodi's 2,000 men."

Mo Zibu shook his head and said, "No, I have warships. Crossing the Irrawaddy River is as easy as walking on flat ground. Too many soldiers will only affect our speed.

When my father-in-law goes there, it will definitely be a fierce battle to retake Lanna, and Kun A Phayabudi's musketeers will come in handy.

If there are any difficulties in raising military funds, I will go to the Dutch and ask them for a loan."

Of course, Mo Zi Bu would not want Zheng Xin's musketeers because he had better options.

Two hundred British musketeers, authentic Royal Guards grenadier companies, and four hundred Dutch red-haired musketeers, also elite soldiers.

As for the cost, Mozibu agreed to take them on a large-scale plundering of the Irrawaddy River Plain. How much they could rob depended on their own abilities.

"That's great, but the interest rate needs to be lowered."

A look of joy appeared on Zheng Xin's face. His finances were very tight now, and it would be a good thing if he could get a loan from the Dutch.

(End of this chapter)