The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 219 The Prince Consort is Right
Wu Shizun is not as simple as he seems.

The so-called reputation of a hermit is actually the biggest signboard created by the Wu family.

After hundreds of years of continuous development by the Wu family in Bien Hoa, by the generation of Wu Shizun, the Wu family, who had specialized in studying "Mencius" and "Shangshu" for generations, had become one of the leaders of the entire Guangnan literati.

Especially in the south of Qui Nhon, he is the only leader who deserves it.

As the head of the Wu family, Wu Shizun's status at this time was similar to that of Sima Hui, the Water Mirror Master who lived in Jingzhou during the Three Kingdoms period.

Sima Hui was in Jingzhou at the time and was well-known throughout the world. He could praise people to the sky with just one word, or throw them to the ground with just one word. He also creatively came up with the trademark of Sleeping Dragon and Phoenix Chick, which has been famous for thousands of years.

Wu Shizun was in a similar situation in Jiading at this time. Anyone who could get a word of praise from him would immediately become a learned and noble person. He said that anyone with questionable character or lax academic research would be disgraced.

The three famous Vietnamese Gia Dinh men, Zheng Huaide, Wu Renjing and Li Guangding, all studied under Wu Shizun and paid homage to him as their teacher.

At the same time, the Bianhe Wu family is a famous noble family of the Han people in Nanjing, Annan. They claim to be descendants of the Taiyuan Wu family, and their founder is Wu Hun, the Annan governor during the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty.

Moreover, this family is not just the so-called wealthy family in the Ming and Qing dynasties who only took the imperial examinations, they are real local tycoons.

Historically, when Nguyen Phuc Anh fled south, Wu Shi Tuan's nephews Wu Ren and Wu Xing organized an army of more than 10,000 people. Among them, Wu Xing eventually married Nguyen Phuc Anh's sister and became the most famous general of the Nguyen Dynasty.

However, when they met someone like Mo Zibu, they immediately felt awkward.

If Wu Shizun was still in Bien Hoa, Mo Zibu's trick would have no effect unless a large army was deployed to wipe him out.

But Wu Shizun spent most of his time in Jiading, and now he was under the control of others and was immediately captured.

"Uncle, Lord Zhongxin of Phan Chieu and Lord Shanquan of Nhan Long Yi have been captured by the Ha Tien soldiers. What should we do?"

Seventeen-year-old Wu Ren hurried in and shouted. Thirteen-year-old Wu Xing had already grown into a strong and muscular man. He was furious when he heard this.

Huang Zhongxin from Phan Thiet and Nguyen Shan Quan from Nhan Long were both local celebrities. They came to Gia Dinh to give lectures at the invitation of Wu Shizun. If they made any mistakes, the responsibility would definitely fall on the Wu family.

"Mo Zibu has just arrived, so it's impossible for him to know so much. It seems that someone is planning this for him, perhaps the Li brothers.

Li Guangding came to the mansion a few days ago in a pretentious manner, wanting to do a Chengmen Lixue, but I didn't expect him to turn around so quickly today!"

Wu Xing scolded angrily, while Wu Ren shouted at the guards at home to gather and then protect Samurai Jun to fight his way out.

But Samurai Zun was holding a pen and writing slowly without even raising his head.

It was not until the brothers Wu Ren and Wu Xing made him unable to concentrate that he put down his pen, raised his head and glared at the two brothers sternly.

"Da Lang, you knew that I invited Huang Zhongxin and Ruan Shanquan here. Today, they are in trouble because of me, but instead of trying to save them, you want to take me away.

Are you trying to ruin my moral character and damage the reputation the Wu family has built over two hundred years?"

"You will be punished by confining yourself to your room for five days and copying Mencius ten times!"

Seeing that his uncle was angry, Wu Ren quickly knelt down to apologize, and then went to solitary confinement in disgrace.

"Silang, have you ever seen that it was Li Guangding who gave advice to Young Master Mo Wu?" Wu Shizun looked at Wu Xing again.

Wu Xing slowly shook his head, then knelt down with a plop. "My nephew spoke without thinking, please punish me, uncle."

Wu Shizun walked over and pulled him up. He had high hopes for this nephew who was both talented in literature and martial arts, and regarded him as the next generation successor of the Bianhe Wu family. Therefore, he did not punish him directly, but began to teach him.

"The Li brothers' family fell into poverty, but they did not change their aspirations. Even with their shabby clothes, they studied hard.

After his parents died, he went to live with his aunt and regarded her as his mother, being more filial to her than his cousins.

Whether it's pretense or genuine, if you remain consistent for ten years, that's virtue. This is a sign of great fortune in the future. How can you just baselessly complain about others behind their backs?"

"Shi Lang knows he was wrong." The young Wu Xing was taught another lesson and said with shame, "But uncle, there's a lot of noise outside now. What should we do?"

Wu Changzun finally showed a look of anger on his face, mainly because he thought of the deeds of my King Mo as a loyal and righteous son-in-law, to which he, Wu Changzun, also contributed a lot, and suddenly his face became a little embarrassed.

"The Hexian Mo family is indeed a merchant family. How could this Mo Wu be so insidious!" After cursing a few words, Wu Shizun waved his hand.

"You don't have to worry. I think the Pei family will be here soon."

Mo Zibu's grandmother's maternal family, the Pei family, is also in Bianhe, which is about 80 kilometers northeast of Jiading. It is considered the most prosperous place besides Jiading at that time.

The Wu family is the largest family in Bianhe, and the Pei family is second. The two families compete with each other, but most of the time they are closely connected and often intermarry.

Wu Shizun's grandmother's surname was Pei, and she was the great-aunt of Mo Zibu's cousin Pei Jiannan. So if we really want to talk about our relationship, I, King Mo, have to call Wu Shizun uncle.

Sure enough, not long after, the doorman came to report that someone from the Pei family had arrived, and it was the patriarch Pei Hengren.

Now Wu Shizun had no choice but to leave the study and respectfully call Pei Hengren his cousin.

. . . .

Pei Hengren has been very proud of himself recently!

In Hexian, he strongly supported Mo Zibu and almost arranged for Ou Tianci to marry him on the spot, which was considered a great contribution to Mo Zibu.

If he can deal with Wu Shizun this time, his contribution will be even greater, and he will have to be given at least the title of Marquis.

"A Zan, are you not scared?" Pei Hengren walked to the main seat in a carefree manner, speaking in the tone of an elder.

The Pei family has been suppressed by the Wu family for so many years. Now that there is such a good opportunity, there is no need to be polite.

Wu Shizun had no way to deal with Pei Hengren. No matter how famous you are, you cannot cross the line of respecting your elders. This is one of the cornerstones of Confucianism.

So he could only say tactfully, "Fifth Young Master, there must be a better way. We are relatives after all. It seems a bit too undignified to do this."

"Hey!" Pei Hengren waved his hand. "In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures are required. This is an urgent matter."

Wu Shizun couldn't help but twitch his lips. Damn, if Mo Wu hadn't come so quickly and directly, he would have run back to Bianhe and wait and see what was going on before coming out.

For a big and noble family like the Wu family, betting is not the most important thing, but stability is.

Anyway, no matter who controls Jiading, he will need the descendants of the Wu family to help him with administration, unless he wants to be a bandit.

Even a corrupt official like Zongshi Yan had to give preferential treatment to the Wu family. Zongshi Yan repeatedly summoned Wu Shizun to serve as an official, but Wu Shizun refused to even meet him and kept using Zongshi Yan to improve his reputation, but he could only endure it.

"By the way, my nephew asked me to bring you a message." Pei Heng knew what Wu Shizun was thinking without even looking at his expression.

Because Pei Hengren himself is the patriarch of a local clan, his way of thinking is the same as that of Wu Shizun.

Therefore, without waiting for the warrior to ask what he was saying, Pei Hengren spoke directly.

"My nephew said that he doesn't have the ability to be a moral sage, but he does have the ability to engage in moral kidnapping, and it's very powerful!"

"If he's really desperate, then he'll just have to grab something and run."

Wu Shizun pondered it carefully for a few seconds before he could barely understand what moral kidnapping meant. He even had to admit that this word was really fucking appropriate.

"Leave? Where else can the Fifth Young Master go?" Wu Shizun was a little worried in his heart, but on the surface he pretended to be indifferent.

Pei Hengren took a sip of tea, squinted his eyes and looked at Wu Shizun, then said in a low voice:
"Go to Siam, go to Lower Burma, and not go alone, but after scraping the land three feet, take all the Mingxiang people and Han people like the Pei family with you, and go together."

Warrior Zun couldn't hold it any longer, and he suddenly stood up.

The land of Jiading was snatched from the Zhenla people only about a hundred years ago. The Champa people to the east still have a king and a queen and have not completely surrendered.

If Mo Zibu really transported away the 70,000 to 80,000 Mingxiang people and 30,000 to 40,000 Han people in Jiading, this place would become a dead zone.

Naturally, a Han Chinese family like the Wu family could not survive independently in this place. This is not moral kidnapping, this is called cutting off the source of the fire.

What's even more terrifying is that when someone else said this, Wu Shizun knew that he was purely threatening, but Mo Zibu was not.

Because the Mo family has many ships and territories in Siam and Burma, if Mo Zibu really wants to do this, he will definitely be able to do it.

Seeing Wu Shizun stand up, Pei Hengren put down his tea bowl and stood up as well, saying, "Of course, we won't go this far unless it's absolutely necessary.

"Now the government is corrupt, civil unrest is everywhere, and with the Mo family's entry into Jiading, the situation is already a done deal. Ah Zun, if Mo Wu doesn't want to be condemned to eternity, then you certainly can't be one either."

Wu Shizun could only nod his head. Pei Hengren's words were the absolute truth. Mo Zibu did not deserve to be called a sinner, and Wu Shizun was even less worthy of it.

"Then please lead the way, uncle. I'm going to meet this loyal and righteous prince consort."

. . . .

"I would like to inform you that every year the six battalions and two garrisons of Gia Dinh, a total of eight battalions, pay over 100,000 taels of silver in taxes and labor service to Hue, but what do they get in return?"

"We have been disciplined more strictly!"

Mo Zibu took a ball of lime and wrote and drew on the black wooden board, trying his best to incite people.

"Ever since my uncle, Chen Gong Dading, was unjustly killed by the imperial court, no one from our Eighth Battalion has served as the garrison commander of Jiading.

They would rather send a greedy and foolish person like Ruan Futan than promote the virtuous leaders of the Eighth Battalion.

It's not even just about garrisoning, the same is true for the people under the garrison. Among the six camps and two towns, only Ha Tien Town is still controlled by my father. The rest of the commanders of the army and camps are all northerners from Hue.

Over the years, we have fought desperately to suppress the resistance of the Cham and Zhenla peoples, and reclaimed wasteland through great difficulties. Most of the money we earned was handed over to the court, but we have not even received a high-ranking official position.

Even among the scholars, many northerners look down on people like us from the Eighth Battalion.

The Bianhe and Pei families, a prominent Han family with generations of nobility, were repeatedly insulted as southern barbarians and had to use connections to seek a fifth-rank official position.

You must know that in Hue, children from the Zhang and Cai families can have such official positions as soon as they are born.

My fellow countrymen, you don’t think this is fair, do you?

Wu Shizun had just walked to the door and before the guards could announce anything, he heard Mo Zibu shouting and fanning the flames inside. He stopped and thought for a moment.

Isn’t it said that this prince consort is a brave general on the battlefield?

Why does this sound a bit similar to Zhang Fuluan's style? They both have a clever mouth that can speak directly to people's hearts and deceive the public.

Pei Hengren chuckled and said, this is what is called a man of both civil and military talents. Mo Zibu is not such a person, so he would not serve him.

Damn it, with just this mouth, if he continues to add fuel to the fire, even without Wu Changzun’s intervention, all the scholars in the south will be persuaded by Mo Zibu.

Wu Changzun didn't wait for the guards to announce it, but stepped straight in and asked loudly, "So, according to your Majesty, are we, the Southerners of the Eighth Battalion, going to rebel against the imperial court from now on?"

When Mo Zibu saw that it was Pei Heng who was accompanying him, and the guards had received the instructions and deliberately did not stop him, he immediately knew who it was.

He ran over with a big laugh and grasped Wu Shizun's hand, "Uncle, you've come just in time. I was discussing current affairs with the other sages."

While speaking, Mo Zibu pushed Wu Shizun down on his main seat and continued to seduce him.

“Of course I won’t rebel against the imperial court, but from my nephew’s perspective, we reclaimed the land of the Eight Camps, so we should be in charge of it.

For example, when reclaiming wasteland, whoever reclaims the land will naturally own it.

It's fine if the imperial court takes the rent and labor service, but we have to be the officials of the Southern Eighth Battalion!"

Wu Shizun was very anxious. He was now being pressed down on the main seat by Mo Zibu, and all the scholars who were on good terms with him were present. If others saw this, they would think that it was Wu Shizun who had suggested it.

But just as he was about to struggle, he felt a strong force on his shoulder. Not only could he not move at all, but the big hand also pinched him, causing him severe pain.

"Uncle, what do you think?" Mo Zibu slowly looked at the warrior Zun who was held down by him.

"My nephew feels that my uncle is the most virtuous of the Southern Eighth Battalion. He should be the guardian of Jiading, so that the people will be convinced!"

Warrior Zun looked up and saw that Mo Zibu's eyes were emitting murderous light, hanging in the air like two red lanterns, and the whole person was like a white-browed tiger with hanging eyes, ready to devour its prey.

In an instant, Warrior Zun felt the coldness of death for the first time in his life, as if the Ox-Head and Horse-Face had begun to emerge from the darkness.

"Zun is old and frail, so how can he be a garrison commander? However, as the prince consort said, the south should be governed by a southerner."

(End of this chapter)