The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 205: He Jijun and others in Burma

In the ninth month of the lunar calendar, the temperature in Southeast Asia finally began to drop slowly and became very pleasant.

Generally, at this time, as the weather turns cooler and the busy farming season ends, it is the best time to fight.

But if there is no fighting, it will be a rare day of relaxation.

Chonburi City returned to its former tranquility as Taksin and Mok Si Bu, who had met there, both returned.

Relying on his past achievements and skills, Mo Zi Bu, who was still afraid of being ambushed and hacked to death by Zheng Xin's men before setting off, successfully lured Zheng Xin and the Siamese people into a trap.

According to the agreement, Mozibu gave up his control over Lower Burma and handed it over to Siam in exchange for Siam's recognition that the Andai region belonged entirely to Mozibu.

It cannot be said that there is no cost. Although Mo Zibu did not station troops in Lower Burma, he was reluctant to place his limited talents in a place that he could not completely control at present. But after all, it was an area of about the same size as the Chao Phraya Plain.

So once the news came out, although there was still some time before the handover, Mo Zi Bu still needed to summon the three marquises and five earls to Thonburi to meet Taksin and have a face-to-face meeting. He also needed Taksin to promise to protect his vassals in Lower Burma.

But everyone in Zheng Xin's faction cheered loudly, they were so proud.

Naturally, many people were not happy with Mo Zibu's side, and every day someone came to the Luokun Palace to challenge Mo Zibu to a fight.

At some point, the soldiers started writing blood letters to ask for battle. Within five days after the news spread, Mo Zibu received hundreds of letters, from regimental officers like Wu Wenyong to soldiers below him.

However, seeing the excitement among the crowd below, I, King Mo, laughed heartily in the palace. This is what is called having a strong military morale.

Let them get angry first, and after they’re done being angry, direct that anger towards attacking Guangnan.

At the end of September, just as Mo Zi Bu was preparing to hold a republican conference in Pattani to rally people's hearts and then carry out large-scale conscription, news came from Thonburi.

Zheng Xin personally sent Zheng Mosai as an envoy to tell Mo Zibu his final decision.

First of all, Mok Tsot can retain his title of Chao Phraya Andai, and he will always be Chao Phraya of Siam.

The annual salary of the nobles, the granted house in Thonburi, and the corresponding privileges can be retained and passed on to descendants.

Secondly, Siam inherited the shogunate system of Lower Burma and even retained the name. The first general appointed by Mo Zi Bu, Suki, could serve until the end of his term.

Third, Zheng Xin will use five forms of food, livestock, ships, laborers, gold and silver to support Mo Zibu with manpower and material resources equivalent to no less than 300,000 taels of silver over three years.

Fourth, Taksin knew that Mozibu was unwilling to accept the Qing Dynasty's enthronement, so he specially authorized Mozibu to send envoys to the north to pay tribute in the name of King An Dai along with the Siamese delegation.

At this time, when Siam paid tribute to the Ming and Qing dynasties, it did not go alone, but would bring a number of small countries around it to act together. Some of these small countries were not even as big as a county in the Central Plains and were basically controlled by Siam.

There are many benefits to doing this. For Siam, the tribute at this time can be regarded as an economic activity that benefits one side unilaterally.

If there were more small states, they would naturally not have the money to organize large ocean ships to sail north. Then Siam could take their share and make more money, get more scarce strategic materials, and of course, rewards from the central dynasty.

At the same time, for the central dynasty, it would always be more prestigious if more countries came to pay tribute, as long as you didn't come every few months.

Therefore, the envoy's quota given by Zheng Xin means that the envoy can earn about 10,000 to 20,000 taels of silver every year.

Finally, Zheng Xin showed the greatest sincerity, and there were two people accompanying Zheng Mosai.

The tall man was none other than Broken Sword Phraya Chen Lian, who had been cooperating with Mo Zi Bu in battle for a long time, and the other was Huang (Luan) Zhen, whom he rescued from Ayutthaya.

"Alian, Azhen, why are you here?" Mo Zibu greeted them with a big laugh.

In fact, Mo Zibu is not without factions in Siam, such as Chen Lian and Huang Zhen in front of him, as well as Zheng Mincheng and Phraya Songkhalok.

There are also several Minnan merchants and small nobles who are not from Chaozhou, and even Khun Aphayebudi, who is now regarded as the general of the royal guard by Taksin, can be counted.

However, Mok Tse-tung had no intention of getting deeply involved in the political struggles of Siam, so they did not really become a faction. Generally, they would contact the de facto Prime Minister of the Thonburi Dynasty, Chao Phraya Phetchaburi Zheng Mincheng.

The most capable among them are Chen Lian and Huang Zhen.

Chen Lian was a martial arts expert and had first-class command ability. He was from Chenghai, which is the Shantou people in later generations.

Chenghai is considered a major faction among Chaozhou people, and therefore has a great influence within Chaozhou.

Huang Zhen was not very good at commanding battles, but his ancestors had always been high-ranking officials in Siam, and both his father and grandfather were high-ranking tax officials in the south of Ayutthaya.

Therefore, Huang Zhen was trained to be an official since he was a child. He has strong administrative skills and is also quite experienced in economics.

Although his command in battle was not so good, he was able to unite the people. This was evident from the fact that he was able to stabilize the morale of the troops when the southern part of Ayutthaya was besieged by the Burmese army for dozens of days.

Chen Lian cupped his hands and said, "The battle on King Zheng's side is almost over. There's no point in staying here. I heard that the king wants to fight back to Guangnan, so Chen Lian brought two thousand brothers and came to ask for shelter."

As soon as Mo Zibu heard this, he knew what was going on. Chen Lian was originally the most capable general around Zheng Xin because he was a good fighter.

But politically, he was a bit too rough, and couldn't make it in the first place. In addition, he was often sent to cooperate with Mo Zibu, so he was even more marginalized.

With his pure military style, if you ask him to be a Phraya in Prachuap Khiri Khan, he will probably be suffocated to death. He himself is unwilling to be inferior to Tong.

Perhaps Zheng Xin also realized this, so he simply sent Chen Lian to Mo Zibu.

Although Zheng Xin would lose a general, it would not be a big loss considering that Siam would not fight a big war at the moment. On the contrary, it would make Mo Zi Bu feel that he was very considerate.

Well, it is indeed very kind. Chen Lian and the two thousand Shantou people under his command are still very strong in combat. They are also used to Mo Zibu's command, which is a great reinforcement.

Another person is Chen Lian's cousin Chen Hui, who has been appointed by Taksin's Queen Wu Xuan as the head of the palace ladies-in-waiting. This is a key position that allows her to know big secrets at any time.

Chen Hui seemed to hate Chen Lian very much. The two of them had almost no contact, but blood was thicker than water after all, and there was no knot that could not be untied, not to mention her love for Mo Zibu.

As for Huang Zhen, he was almost Taksin's most staunch supporter of Mo Zi Bu, but he was also marginalized by Tong and others, so much so that he couldn't even get a Phraya. "Your Majesty, Huang Zhen is not alone this time. Of the over 3,000 people you rescued in Ayutthaya, over 2,000 of them are willing to come and join you."

Mo Zibu couldn't stop smiling. He was in dire need of talents now. Now that he had Chen Lian and Huang Zhen, it seemed that there was nothing to regret in giving up Burma.

"I lost Lower Burma, and everyone thought I didn't know how to value treasures. But today, I've gained you two. Lower Burma is nothing more valuable than this!"

Mo Zibu laughed out loud, his joy was beyond words, without any pretense, he was truly very happy.

Chen Lian and Huang Zhen looked at each other and bowed together. Their originally slightly uneasy mood turned into gratitude.

"Your Majesty, your praise is unmerited. However, we two are willing to follow you from now on, no matter how hard we try, even if it means death."

"Great!" Mo Zibu pulled them both up, "Alian will stay with me and we will immediately form the Chenghai Group.

Ah Zhen, your task is more important. I am about to recapture Jiading, but Tuva and Myeik are in need of a suitable envoy."

. . . .

In Hexian, Baima Town, A Biao was lying leisurely on a recliner, with three or four little kids running around him.

At first they were playing the game happily, but then they started fighting over the game, and then the brothers and sisters started fighting.

A Biao was so annoyed that he had to get up and limp along the edge of his field.

The harvested rice stalks were piled up like mountains in the fields. One of his wives was arguing fiercely with a merchant, apparently complaining that the price was too low.

Rice straw is a good fodder for livestock. As the number of mules and horses in Mo Zibu's army increased, the demand for rice straw also increased. Most of these merchants worked for the army.

A Biao limped over slowly. Naturally, few of those who could travel around doing business were good people. They were very good at finding faults and lowering prices.

So A Biao lightly brushed off his shirt, and when his hand passed across his right chest, a tinkling sound was heard.

This is a medal that King Mo Zibu gave him after he retired.

Medals originally evolved from family crests in Europe. They did not exist in ancient China. Most of them were gifts of clothing, houses, and ornaments, such as gold and silver fish bags, gold and jade belts, etc.

But these things were still a little difficult for Mo Zibu at the moment. He did not have a special agency such as the Imperial Clothing Bureau, and was unable to make complicated high-end robes such as bestowed robes.

Even the few flying fish suits and bright red embroidered yisas currently available were all made by craftsmen from the Dongning Palace who fled to Southeast Asia after the demise of the Ming Zheng regime and were taken in by Ha Tien.

So after thinking about it, I think the medals that are not yet formed in Europe are more useful.

Anyway, you just hammer the copper ingot into a round shape, add some patterns, and at most add some worthless jade and gems, which is similar to making copper coins.

It saves time and effort and is also eye-catching.

Abiao's medal is a copper plate with a piece of jade carved in the shape of a sun embedded in it, and the four big characters "Jin Yao Yuan Cong" are engraved on the back.

Jin Yao is the Friday, which comes from the Seven-Luminary Day Recording System and can be understood as Friday.

The first major battle that Mo Zibu faced was the battle of Rong City with Beizheng, which happened to be a Friday.

Therefore, all the soldiers and generals who participated in that war received a medal with the title of Yuancong.

This is A Biao's most cherished treasure and his greatest source of pride.

When he thought of himself as King Yuancong, even though he did not hold any official position now, he felt as happy as if he was riding on clouds.

When the merchant saw A Biao's medal and his limp, he couldn't help but feel awe and raised the price by 20%.

A Biao was satisfied and received admiring looks from the surrounding farmers. Looking at his wife's proud look, he walked slowly away with the feeling of being a master.

However, things seemed a little imperfect. Before he could finish showing off his masterly aura, three gongs sounded in the distance, and the town's villagers came over with a group of people.

The leader was wearing a brand new military uniform, a large black hat, and a well-made flintlock pistol at his waist.

On the ox cart behind him were dozens of rolls of high-quality Songjiang cloth, and other snacks were spread everywhere, attracting children from several villages to gather around the ox cart, laughing and begging for food.

The most eye-catching thing was the seven or eight girls following the ox cart.

They look slightly different from Chinese people, but not much. If you don't know in advance, you can't even tell them apart. They are very different from the three Bangladeshi women that A Biao brought back.

Ah Gang, covered in red and decorated with ribbons, saw Ah Biao, who was standing on the roadside with difficulty and looking a little embarrassed. He immediately jumped out of the car and gave a retro cross-arm salute, raising his hands high to his chest.

"Old officer, how are you?"

This was also one of Mo Zibu's military reforms. At that time in Europe, they had not yet developed their own military salute, so Mo Zibu took the lead and stipulated that when soldiers met each other in normal times, they would perform the crossed-arm salute as a greeting.

A Biao hurriedly saluted with his arms crossed. When he retired, there was no military rank system, but Mo Zibu still gave military ranks to retired personnel like A Biao after the ranks were determined.

Therefore, A Biao retired with the rank of Shaowei, which allowed him to meet officials without kneeling, assist in collecting taxes, and serve as an instructor for the villagers during the slack season, which was a not-so-small benefit.

"Old officer, please get on the cart!" A Gang personally came down to help A Biao, who had difficulty walking, get on the ox cart.

A Biao's blood rushed to his cheeks, and he was the first to board A Gang's ox cart. Seeing the medal swaying on A Gang's chest, he couldn't help but reach out and touch his own.

The two friends who had grown up together faced the rising sun, shed the ignorance of country boys, sat upright with a sense of vigor, and walked side by side towards the village amid the cheers of the villagers.

(End of this chapter)