The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 257 Now I Really Become a Benevolent Duke
Light snow fell on October 1772, the 11th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty. November 22, .

Zheng Sen, the ruler of the Northern River Zheng State, could no longer bear the scolding he received in Tokyo City, so he summoned the best soldiers from the three prefectures of the imperial guard and marched towards Xijing (Yonglu County, Thanh Hoa Province).

What all this actually reflects is that the authority of Lord Zheng began to decline.

This is also the real reason why Zheng Sen's father Zheng Ying chose to go left and become a "royalist".

Because after two hundred years, the officials of Beizheng Prefecture have never been able to escape the control of the three prefecture armies in the court.

Outside the court, high-ranking officials in Beijing and Han provinces formed a complex bureaucratic group by monopolizing knowledge and cheating in the imperial examinations. They even began to interfere in the formation of local garrison troops.

More than ten years later in history, Zheng Sen's son Zheng Kai was unable to suppress the various parties, and the three-government army killed Ruan Zhan, a lieutenant, and held Zheng Kai hostage for money.

Then, the high-ranking families in Beijing and Hanzhou formed their own garrison troops and attacked the city of Tokyo under the pretext of rescuing Zheng Kai.

It is almost the same as the eighteen princes' campaign against Dong Zhuo at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Zheng Ying saw the danger of the situation getting out of control both internally and externally, so he tried his best to cover it up and portray himself as a loyal minister, hoping to use the limited prestige of the Later Le Dynasty to stabilize the court.

It’s a pity that his son Zheng Sen couldn’t see it.

Zheng Sen only saw that under the governance of his father Zheng Ying, the Zheng family was revived. Not only did they wipe out the big bandits like Nguyen Huu Qiu, but even Huang Gongzhi was forced to Mengtiandong (Dien Bien Phu area).

Now he ordered Huang Wufu to go south to destroy the century-old enemy Nan Nguyen, and also to wipe out Li Weimi who claimed to be the son of the Emperor of Tiannan.

Crisis? Where is the crisis?

So in Zheng Sen's view, the Zheng family has been revived in the hands of him and his son. They are so famous and powerful in martial arts. What's the big deal about killing Li Weiyi?
As a result, this killing immediately exposed the problems of Beizheng.

Zheng Sen was even brave enough to kill people, but he didn't have the courage to bear the blame, so he chose to go south to avoid the limelight.

On the first day of the winter month, Zheng Sen arrived in Xijing, and then began to summon the commanders of the four outer towns of Shanxi, Shannan, Xinghua, and Nghe'an, as well as the chief and deputy commanders of Qinghua, to come and join him.

Soon, Duan Ruanchu, commander of Shanxi Town, Pei Shida, commander of Nghe An, and Huang Tingti, commander of Xinghua, arrived with their armies.

A few days later, the remaining lieutenant reported that the troops in Shannan were needed to defend Dingdongjing and it would be best not to dispatch them. Zheng Sen agreed.

In addition, Thanh Hoa Governor Nguyen Pan wrote a letter requesting that he only lead the troops from the outer towns to join the forces, as the troops from the inner towns would be needed to suppress the local situation.

At this time, Thanh Hoa was so important that it was split into two towns, the inner and outer towns, with a chief and deputy governor respectively controlling them.

Zheng Sen agreed, considering that the outer towns were where Qinghua's elite troops were located and that there was indeed a need to suppress the local areas.

So on the fifth day of the twelfth month, Thanh Hoa's commander Nguyen Pan arrived with 4,000 soldiers from Thanh Hoa garrison. By then, almost all of Zheng's troops had gathered in Xijing.

When setting out, Zheng Sen took away most of the best soldiers of the Three Prefectures Army in Tokyo City, a total of 12,000 people.

The outer towns of Nghe An, Xinghua and Thanh Hoa had a total of 10,000 soldiers, all of whom had just suppressed Li Weimi and were in high spirits.

The 7,000 soldiers from Shanxi were originally going to suppress Huang Gongzhi, but now they have also been summoned by Zheng Sen.

So, Zheng Sen brought with him the elite soldiers and garrison soldiers (also called first-level soldiers), totaling 29,000, plus his personal guards, a total of 30,000.

The remaining civilians, young men, etc. were responsible for transporting food, equipment and supplies, and there were nearly 50,000 of them.

This scale is extremely rare in the history of Beizheng.

This scale of deployment was only made when the fighting between the Northern Zheng and Southern Nguyen was at its most intense.

However, with so many people, the cost would be enormous. Assistant Minister Wu Chenshao advised Zheng Sen, "The country is currently deploying troops everywhere, and there is really no time to rest.

"The harvests in the northern part of the river were poor the year before last and the year before last. We have 80,000 soldiers stationed in Xijing, making it difficult for all regions to supply them. This is a waste of money and effort, and is truly unacceptable."

Zheng Sen squinted his eyes and said, "I know how great the demand for military rations is, but the opportunity to destroy the Nguyen clan and unify the South is right before our eyes, so I'm reluctant to give up even a little bit of food and fodder.

Even if the supply from the Beihe River is insufficient, there is still the land of Guangnan. With a hundred thousand lions at my command, can't I still find food in Guangnan?"

Zheng Sen was not a fool. He certainly knew that the supply of military supplies was very tight, but his family was not a king but a tyrant.

As a tyrant, he left the capital without taking his elite troops with him. Was he going to leave them to other people with ulterior motives?

However, after reprimanding Wu Chenshao, Zheng Sen immediately felt the pressure.

The three prefecture armies followed him out of Tokyo, leaving the prosperous place and coming to this remote place of Xijing.

Moreover, Xijing was much smaller than Dongjing, which resulted in many troops from the three prefectures being unable to be stationed in the city. They could only camp in the wilderness, and due to the tight supply, they complained a lot.

So these arrogant soldiers began to make a fuss and clamored for Zheng Sen to give them a reward.

The garrison troops of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An were from the same hometown as the Three Prefectures Army. Seeing the Three Prefectures Army making trouble, they also learned to join in.

When the news came, Zheng Sen dared not neglect it, because Vietnam's Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces have been old revolutionary bases with abundant martial virtues since ancient times.

In China, these two parties are equivalent to the two states of Hexi, Longyou and Youbing, which have always been areas that produce elite troops and love to cause trouble.

In the history of Annan, whether it was a peasant uprising, separatist regimes, or a person with great luck becoming king in Tokyo, the uprising basically started either in Thanh Hoa or in Nghe An.

Thinking of this, Zheng Sen could only reward each soldier of the three prefectures with one string of coins, and the garrison troops of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An with ten strings of coins.

At this time, the currency system in Beizheng was in chaos.

Units such as guan, min, mo, liang and qian are used interchangeably.

One string of coins is roughly equal to one tael of silver. One coin of silver is worth two mo, but one string of coins is only worth sixteen mo.

This is completely a trick used by the government to defraud the people. Through complex conversions, they collect a lot more tax on the surface.

At the same time, the coinage in Beizheng was even more chaotic. The official coins were divided into new and old coins, and the quality of coins from different years varied.

At the same time, there are a large number of counterfeit coins minted by wealthy families, as well as extremely low-quality coins minted privately in collusion with the government, which are not even considered counterfeit coins.

The worst copper coin was only worth two coins of silver.

So, when they heard that the reward was one string of money, the soldiers of the three prefectures started to make trouble again, because anyone who used strings and mo must be given copper coins.

"Damn it!" a squadron official, knife in hand, cursed. "We've traveled hundreds of miles from the capital to protect the king, and all we're paid is this little rubbish. Do you think we're beggars?"

Zheng Sen, who was in the city, heard the clamor outside and felt his heart pounding. Extremely helpless, he could only order the exchange of one string of coins for one tael of silver.

The garrison troops in Shanxi and Xinghua who received the news also became dissatisfied and wanted to offer rewards as well. Zheng Sen had no choice but to continue offering rewards.

Finally, the matter was suppressed by giving silver, with the three prefecture soldiers giving one tael and the garrison soldiers giving five cents.

At that time, Annan lacked exportable products, and domestic silver was extremely precious. Zheng Sen spent 20,000 to 30,000 taels of silver in one go, and he felt so heartbroken that he almost bled.

He felt that he could no longer stay in Xijing and had to go south as soon as possible to transfer the suffering to the people of Guangnan in Hue. So he began to send people to urge Huang Wufu to prepare money, food and supplies.

As Zheng Sen pressed on, the people of Guangnan in Hue finally felt what an occupying force was.

Huang Wufu originally ordered the army to go to the nobles in Guangnan to "borrow" some money, but the soldiers under him didn't care about that.

As soon as they left Hue City, they started looting. If you didn't give them rice or money, they would burn your houses and kill your people.

Pigs, sheep, chickens, and ducks were taken away directly, and even many of the precious oxen were taken away and killed. As for rape, it was even more common.

The Zheng army exceeded its target within 30 days and handed over 130,000 dan of military rations.

But in fact, in the areas controlled by Zheng's army north and south of Hue, the losses of the nobles and the people were at least over 300,000 shi.

Tens of thousands of women were raped, tens of thousands of men were forced to work as soldiers, and five to six hundred people were killed. It was a living hell.

After witnessing the brutality of Zheng's army, the people of Guangnan in Hue began to flee, pouring into the area controlled by Mo Zibu like a tide.

The situation forced General Mo Da to head north. He chose the strategically located Da Nang as the headquarters of the shogunate, and tried his best to delay the impact of the refugee tide on the army.

"General, this is truly tragic. The Beihe soldiers are simply not human beings."

How tragic was it? It was so tragic that even a treacherous minister like Wu Tingshu could not bear to watch it. He came in with red eyes to report to Mo Zibu.

When Mo Zibu went out of the city to inspect, surrounded by civil and military officials, he saw tens of thousands of people outside Tuoyang City, all over the mountains and plains, running towards them with their families.

Many of them fled in such a hurry that their entire family had only a few pieces of clothing. Some of them walked fifty or sixty miles over mountains and hills without eating a single bite, and were almost starving.

Although there were a large number of children, not much crying could be heard because many of them were dying of hunger.

Before they fled, Bei Zheng had already robbed these people of anything valuable from their homes. They fled empty-handed and had no food at all.

A hungry, dazed child stumbled in front of Mo Zibu.

On a winter day with the highest temperature only around 20 degrees Celsius, he was shirtless, covered in dirt, his hair tangled in a ball, like a monkey that had plunged into the mud and been fished out. It was hard to tell if he was a boy or a girl, and even if you didn't pay attention you'd hardly recognize him as a human.

The child was obviously frightened when he suddenly saw Mo Zibu in green clothes. He instinctively wanted to cry, but when he opened his mouth, he was so weak that no sound came out.

A woman not far away, who might be the child's grandmother, also saw Mo Zibu. She was so afraid that she didn't dare to come over to snatch him. She just kept knocking her head in the dirty mud, begging silently.

A cold wind blew. The temperature has been relatively low these days. Even in a typical tropical city like Hue, the temperature is only around ten degrees Celsius in the afternoon.

Along with this cold wind came not only the stench that was blown everywhere, but also the shivering of the crowd.

"It's the Prince Consort, it's the Prince Consort, he's here!" Suddenly someone saw Mo Zibu's flag and the guards behind him.

Following the shouts, a large number of people rushed over. They looked at Mo Zibu longingly, their cries shaking the sky. Even those who could not get up were crying on the ground, as if they had seen their relatives.

Alas! Mo Zibu sighed deeply. Seeing this scene, even though they were Annan people, Mo Zibu still felt that it was a bit too miserable.

"My Lord, help me! My Lord, help me!" At first, only a few people were shouting, but soon it turned into a thunderous request from everyone.

After being brutally ravaged by Zheng's army, the people of Guangnan suddenly remembered the long-standing story of the loyal and righteous prince consort, and regarded Mo Zibu as the upright official and their last hope.

Some scholars and minor officials in the crowd also rushed over, knelt in front of Mo Zibu and complained about the brutality of the Beihe soldiers, asking Mo Zibu to take charge of them.

And I, General Mo, am really trapped now.

If he didn't have this reputation, he could have ignored it, but with this reputation, the sunk cost is too high.

"Zheng Qing and Li Guangxian registered the population, demarcated the camp area, calmed the people, and prepared to distribute food and relief."

"Wu Ren, you will lead the Border Peace Corps to maintain order. Robbery, fighting, and bullying of women and children are strictly prohibited."

"Liu Zhisan, prepare 500 dan of military rations, cloth, salted fish, and dried fruits. Let's rescue the people first."

"Wu Shixiu, send someone to notify Chen Guangyao and Wu Wenyong to expand the alert area."

People still cannot escape their conscience.

If he hadn't seen it, Mo Zibu would naturally pretend it didn't happen, but after seeing it with his own eyes, it would be difficult for most people to be so cruel, not to mention that these people regarded you as their support.

As Mo Zibu issued one order after another, cheers resounded throughout the sky, and countless heads rose and fell in kowtow to Mo Zibu.

The call of Prince Consort Ren De also resounded outside Tuoyang City.

Of course, Mo Zibu would not miss this opportunity. He inspected the relief work everywhere like a lord who loved his people like his own children and had a few cordial conversations with the people.

He also selected about a hundred people who could read and write from these refugees to serve as temporary officials. For a time, he won overwhelming praise.

But after returning to the top of Tuoyan City, Mo Zibu's face fell.

After two years of war, from Qui Nhon to Hue, everywhere has been devastated.

Unless Mo Zibu is willing to start looting directly like Zheng's army, he will not be able to get much food. His current military rations are still waiting for rice from Siam and Jiading.

These refugees outside the city consume at least three or four hundred dan of grain for one meal, which means more than a thousand dan a day, and their number is still increasing.

Every extra day is a burden.

However, Wu Congzhou, the military officer in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, disagreed. He smiled and said to Mo Zibu, "The general's reputation for benevolence will soon spread to Hue and even Bac Ha. By then, everyone will be loyal to him."

When Mo Zibu got close to him, he stopped pretending and said with a wry smile, "People's hearts are good, and that's what I want, but it's of no use at the moment.

Military rations are currently in short supply, and I don’t know how long we can sustain these civilians.”

Wu Congzhou narrowed his eyes, "How can it be useless? General, please look outside the city. The Beihe soldiers have taken away the young men, leaving tens of thousands of women. Isn't this a gift from heaven?"

Hmm? Mo Zibu looked at Wu Congzhou, already having a vague idea in his mind, "Join the army and tell me, how should we use these people?"

“I heard that the land of An Dai, the great general’s home, is rich in products and sparsely populated. There are now over 200,000 Hakka and Minnan people, but there are only 10,000 to 20,000 of them women, and the rest are all men.

There are probably 20,000 to 30,000 women here. Isn't this a match made in heaven? Even if they are children, they can be very useful.

They can help with work at the age of six or seven, are little adults at the age of eight or nine, and are no different from adults at the age of twelve or thirteen.

After they grow up, boys can farm and fight, and girls can get married. They are all the king's labor force!

Moreover, the women of Annan have more or less received some teachings from saints and understand some moral principles. Aren't they a hundred times better than the women of Champa, Cambodia, and Siam? "

It's not that Mo Zibu hadn't thought about this, but he felt that doing so was taking advantage of someone's misfortune. He thought for a moment, then shook his head and said:

"An Dai is thousands of miles away from here. Once separated, we will never see each other again. They are already so miserable. How can I bear this?"

Wu Congzhou looked at Mo Zibu strangely, then immediately lowered his eyes. He could not see the great general clearly.

Look at how he treated the Cham people and the remnants of the Tây Sơn Army. He was very cruel. He beheaded them, captured them as slaves, and treated tens of thousands of Cham women like pigs and sheep, loading them onto ships and sending them away at will.

As a result, only one tenth of the population of Guiren, Fu'an, Pingshun and Pingkang remained. How could they be merciful now?

But despite his inner complaints, Wu Congzhou still cupped his hands and praised, "The general is truly benevolent, righteous, and virtuous.

However, if the general does not allow these women and children to go to An Dai, they will be dead.

Seeing that the war has broken out again, they have lost their fathers, brothers and husbands. In this chaotic world, they will definitely not survive. The general is now allowing them to go to An Dai and have a family. It is a great blessing from heaven."

Mo Zibu thought about it and realized that even if he could afford to raise them, how long could he take care of these women and children?

This era is not the era of later generations where women can live alone. Without the protection of men, no woman can survive. She cannot cultivate the land and her ability to defend herself is basically zero.

Indeed, if I don't make arrangements for them, the fate of these women and children will be extremely difficult.

Wu Congzhou saw that Mo Zibu was still considering it, so he continued to persuade him, "If their fathers, brothers, or husbands are rescued and lucky enough to survive, then we can capture some women from Beihe and give them to them.

If their fathers and brothers are still around, give them some money to buy it, and I think they will be willing to do so.

If they are still with their husbands, then let them serve in the army. If they die, arrange for their wives and daughters to find good families. If they are still alive, the land will be vacant anyway, so just give them more land."

Mo Zibu nodded. People had analyzed the situation to this extent, but he was still being pretentious. It was really ungrateful.

So he immediately asked Wu Congzhou's household officials and the criminal officials under his supervision to handle the matter.

A few days later, the results shocked Mo Zibu, because these conditions, which seemed a bit harsh to him, actually received more praise and cheers.

The women and children who had lost their fathers, brothers and husbands were worried about their future fate. Now that they had received a definite arrangement, they suddenly felt hopeful.

The men who had fled and had nothing left were also willing to let their sisters and daughters marry far away in exchange for money and land after the war so that the whole family could survive.

Even the men whose wives and children were around them felt that Mo Zibu helped them support their wives and children, and that it was a fair deal for them to work hard for Mo Zibu.

In their view, if their wives and children died, there was still a way out, and if they survived, good times could return, so what was there to hesitate about?

This scene completely shattered the last bit of pretentiousness in General Mo Da, which came from the later generations of peace and highly developed productivity.

He realized more clearly that before the productivity explosion brought about by the three industrial revolutions.

For human beings, it is an unprecedented good time to have enough food and drink and not worry about starving to death regardless of disasters or famines.

The ties and affectations of later generations are not worth mentioning at all in this era when human life is slightly better than that of a dog, but definitely not as good as that of a war horse or a plowing ox.

Two days later, the military commander Wu Shixiu and the military officer Ou Long came to report. They believed that these Annan women were very precious and could not be distributed casually.

In Wu Shixiu's words, in the marriage market in Andai area today, even Siamese women are in high demand.

Among the more than 20,000 Champa women who were brought over last time, some of the dark-skinned women have found people to take over.

These Annan women understood some Confucian moral principles, were hardworking and could barely understand a little Cantonese. The food they cooked was similar to that of the Cantonese people, and they were also good at farming, not much different from the Tang women. They were a very valuable resource.

Mo Zibu thought it made sense, so he immediately ordered that these women be rewarded to the soldiers according to their military merits as suggested by Wu Shixiu and Ou Long.

As for whether these soldiers choose to give them to their brothers, relatives, friends, or transfer them at a high price, that is their business.

General Mo Da was in a very good mood because he saved a large amount of military rewards.

Then on the twelfth day of the twelfth month, rice arrived from Siam and Jiading, with 80,000 stones shipped at one time, completely alleviating the food crisis.

Mo Zibu then ordered these grain ships to transport the women and children away, while actively beginning to make preparations for heading north to Hue.

He estimated that Zheng's army was about to move south, so he planned to attack Hue before Zheng's army arrived, so that Zheng's army would arrive more hurriedly.

(End of this chapter)