The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 332 Heaven Never Ends the Road of Loyalty and Righteousness
"Decisive battle. Hehehe!"

After receiving Huang Tingbao's order, Ruan Wenhui couldn't help but sneered a few times. He looked at the two brothers Fan Wenxing and Fan Wencan beside him and said:
"Mo Wu's southern troops fought in the Siamese Restoration War and assisted the Northern Kingdom in destroying the White Elephant King. They are elite soldiers who have fought in hundreds of battles and destroyed nations.

On the other hand, our elite troops from the three prefectures were almost wiped out in the last battle of Shunzhou. Now, all we have recruited are bandits and local tyrants from Thanh Hoa and Nghe An, and many of them are even farmers.

If we hold on to the fortified city and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out, we still have the strength to fight.

"And now the Mo bandits have stationed their troops on Jade Emperor Mountain. Although they only have 20,000 or 30,000 men, they have the advantage of terrain and are backed up by powerful cannons. We cannot possibly attack them."

Fan Wenxing laughed bitterly, "We lost Xijing too quickly. If not, if we had delayed for another three months, the rainy season would have arrived. By then, the roads would have been muddy, and we would have had to walk 800 miles to supply 100,000 men. That would have been the end of the Mo bandit. No matter how many large ships he had, it would have been useless."

Nguyen Van Hue fell silent. The most important thing about his battle plan of fortifying the city and luring the enemy into deep territory was that Xijing could not be lost. As long as Xijing was there, the traitor Mo's southern army could not cross the Majiang River.

But now the Majiang defense line has been breached, and they are the ones who are in a passive position.

"Wu Wenchu!" Thinking of this, Ruan Wenhui couldn't help but gritted his teeth and growled.

In his opinion, it was Wu Wenchu's sudden move south from Dianbianfu that broke the balance and was the biggest help for the Mo bandit to cross the river.

"It's meaningless to talk about this now. Third General, are we sure we want to return?" Fan Wencan asked in a low voice.

Nguyen Van Hue nodded slowly and said, "We have no choice but to return to the army. The soldiers below recognize Huang Dinh Bao, not me, Nguyen Van Hue."

Fan Wencan's eyes widened. "Even though you know you're going to die, are you still going?"

"Shen, go find Li Guangcai and tell him I won't break my promise. After the mission is accomplished, he will receive not a penny less of the two hundred thousand taels. I will also help him speak on behalf of Li Zhitai of Guangdong and Guangxi, and I will definitely help him get promoted to the rank of a third-rank Green Camp guerrilla."

Li Guangcai was also a genius. He was about to take his people away, but when he heard Ruan Wenhui's conditions, he immediately hesitated.

"Although the king has summoned us, there is no place for us in Xing Tang anymore. Zhou Yuanquan and the Tanka Second Company General haven't even been awarded the rank. We've been away from the king for over five years. Even if we go back, I'm afraid we'll barely be able to get a seventh-rank pacification envoy."

After hearing what Li Guangcai said, the pirates below looked at each other. Some of them knew in their hearts that Li Guangcai was simply greedy for Ruan Wenhui's 200,000 taels of silver reward.

Because of the system, I, King Mo, can reward Li Guangcai with a piece of land and let him become a mountain king, but it is impossible to give him a reward of two hundred thousand taels of silver.

Since you have given 200,000 taels to someone like Li Guangcai, what about the meritorious officials in other camps?
Then, wouldn't we have to negotiate rewards before every battle, and not fight if the soldiers and generals don't get them?

What Mo Zibu has been avoiding over the years is a direct link between warfare and money, so he would never offer a price of 200,000 taels of silver. Not to mention 200,000 taels, 50,000 taels, or even 30,000 taels, Mo Zibu would not give it.

"Big Boss, you decide. We'll just accept you anyway. Besides, who would have the patience to fight with the natives for land in Southeast Asia when we can go back home and be the master? Besides, we don't even know how to farm!"

Li Guangcai's trusted relatives began to stir up trouble, but what they said was not that wrong, especially since Li Guangcai's troops had been away from the Xingtang Army for six and a half years.

Now they cannot feel the vitality within the Xing Tang Army, nor do they believe that Mo Zibu can counterattack.

Under such circumstances, Nguyen Van Hue's 200,000 silver reward and Green Camp guerrilla title were indeed much better than staying in Southeast Asia to farm.

"Okay, then let's help capture Ruan Wenhui one last time!" Li Guangcai pretended to make this decision with great difficulty.

"Don't worry, I only want 80,000 taels out of the 200,000 taels, and I'll share the rest with everyone."

According to the rules of the pirates, the boss or the big boss takes more than 50%, which is the norm. The more ruthless ones take 70% to 80% for themselves, and the rest is distributed to the subordinates. Now Li Guang only takes 40%, which is really conscientious.

So opinions were quickly reached, and these pirates who had separated from the Xing Tang Navy chose to continue staying with Nguyen Van Hue.

This is also consistent with Li Guangcai's character in history. He had no persistence and would just follow whoever gave him more benefits. In the end, he offended both sides and was disliked by no one.

. . . .

On the other hand, Huang Tingbao was not that stupid. He would not lead these tens of thousands of people to directly attack the Xing Tang Army on Yuhuang Mountain. That would be no different from committing suicide.

Even though you have city walls protecting you, you still can't withstand the artillery fire. It would be better to just hold on in the city and avoid the attack from above. At least you have the city walls to hide behind.

Zhao Kuo, a man with military honors for three generations and a beggar among beggars, first abandoned the northern city of Qinghuaneizhen, which was covered by the artillery of the Xing Tang Army, and moved all the baggage to the southern city. He then ordered the army to begin strengthening the camp outside the city.

The inner town of Qinghua was not big, and Huang Tingbao had more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians under his command, so it was impossible for all of them to live in the city. There were camps stretching for several miles outside the city.

Now Huang Tingbao has moved almost everyone to the camp outside, and then put on a challenging attitude, waiting for Mo Zibu to abandon Yuhuang Mountain and take the initiative to fight him.

. . . .

Deng Chenchang rushed over from Shannan Town again. Although he was tired, he was very excited because he felt that he was about to have a successful career.

Mo Zibu was also very happy because Deng Chenchang was indeed very useful. Not to mention anything else, just in conquering Xijing, Deng Chenchang's contribution was not much less than that of Ye Xianchun, Wu Wenchu and others.

The Annan scholars from humble backgrounds that he recruited really helped Mo Zibu a lot.

"Your Majesty, I have invited a great talent who can pacify the people of Beihe. Please take the time to meet him." As soon as they met, before the greetings were over, Deng Chenchang shouted loudly and carelessly.

Mo Zibu knew in his heart that this guy had introduced his old loser friends again.

Deng Chenchang has made considerable contributions these days, but he has also been using nepotism to try to get people to work for Mo Zibu.

When I, King Mo, looked at this guy, I seemed to be able to imagine what he would have encountered in history. This man is indeed talented, but he is very unwise and often does things that cross the bottom line of the monarch.

Before they had even taken over Beihe, Deng Chenchang had already stuffed more than 20 people into Mo Zibu's lap, and hinted to Mo Zibu, both explicitly and covertly, that he should trust them and give them official positions.

"Anyone who can be recommended by Lord Deng will surely be a great talent who can stabilize the country!"

Mo Zibu looked very happy, with a kind expression on his face. Anyone who saw him would feel that he was indeed very happy and that he was very fond of Deng Chenchang.

"Ru Bangping is proficient in both civil and military affairs, and is well versed in accounting. He can be a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue." Ru Bangping is Ru Xingzhen, and Bangping is his courtesy name.

"A Chang is well-read, knowledgeable about government affairs, and good at comforting people. He can make officials and soldiers work attentively. He is also my family member. I will accompany him as a civil servant for now. In the future, I will help you guard major towns like Thanh Hoa and Nghe An!"

Achang is Mo Canchang, and I, King Mo, even treat him as one of my own tribesmen.

Hearing Mo Zibu's praise and promise, Ru Xingzhen and Mo Canchang were moved to tears of gratitude.

"I bow to thank the king and am willing to serve you even if it means death!" Ru Xingzhen knelt in front of Mo Zibu and paid homage. He never dreamed that the profit this time would be so huge that he would soon jump from a down-and-out scholar to a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue.

What is this equivalent to? It is equivalent to a temporary worker in a township government in later generations becoming the director of the Ministry of Finance overnight. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a step to success.

Mo Can often heard me, King Mo, affectionately call him Ah Chang and say that he was the head of the family, and he became so excited that he trembled all over.

"Your Majesty, if we count from the Mo Kingdom's great ancestor, I am indeed your nephew's grandson. I would love nothing more than to be able to stay by your side and listen to your teachings."

This one was even more powerful, and immediately called himself Sun Chen.

Deng Chenchang couldn't help but twitch his cheeks. It was indeed he who recommended Ru Xingzhen and Mo Canchang, but in fact, the two of them were not very close to him. His close allies were among those who were recommended to Mo Zibu in the beginning.

But Deng Chenchang couldn't say anything, because it was indeed he who recommended these two people, and they had made great contributions. He couldn't just stand up and say he didn't want the reward.

Humph, Mo Zibu sneered in his heart, playing tricks on me, King Mo, right? He naturally knew that these two people were not Deng Chenchang's true close friends, so he deliberately did this to cut them off from Deng Chenchang and silence him.

As for the other people recommended by Deng Chenchang, they are now all given minor official positions. Mo Zibu plans to slowly examine them. Only after he is sure that they have talent and their relationship with Deng Chenchang is not unusually close, will he let them go out to make meritorious contributions and then promote them.

The poor families in Beihe are very important political resources, and we cannot allow all of them to be disciples of Deng, Chen, and Chang.

Deng Chenchang did not have much high-level political experience at this time. He just felt a little regretful and suffocated by having his mouth blocked, but he did not realize that this was Mo Zibu's intentional act.

Therefore, he quickly let go of the slight discomfort in his heart, and began to intentionally or unintentionally let Mo Zibu continue to meet with the talents he recommended.

Mo Zibu chuckled inwardly once again, but put on a curious expression on his face. "I can't help but be curious about the person who was recommended by Lord Deng. Okay, let him in now."

Not long after, a tall, very fair-skinned Annan Confucian scholar was led in. He was dressed appropriately and walked with a steady gait. Judging from his temperament, he did not look like a poor student.

Mo Zibu was very surprised. How come Deng Chenchang had friends from high-ranking families?
"I, Chen Shaochang of Haiyang, pay my respects to the Great King of Benevolence!"

Mo Zibu was even more certain that this man named Chen Shaochang was definitely not from a poor family, because he did not use the Han-Vietnamese accent, but the standard Nanjing Mandarin.

Wow, in Annan, this is the standard configuration of the top families!

Not to mention Annan, it is extremely rare to find people in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian who can speak Nanjing Mandarin without any accent.

Seeing Mo Zibu's strange look, Deng Chenchang stroked his beard and chuckled, "Your Majesty, Chen Shaochang was born into the Haiyang Chen family. His ancestor was the grandson of King Xingdao, King Wenhui, whose taboo name was Chen Guangchao."

It turned out to be a high-ranking family. Mo Zibu laughed and said, "So you are the descendant of a hero. Please take a seat."

Deng Chen often saw that Mo Zibu was not very interested, so he immediately stood up with his eyes narrowed and bowed to Mo Zibu, "Your Majesty, the founding head of the Haiyang Chen family is Chen Feng."

"Chen Feng, is he the Commander Chen who tried to assassinate Li Loi but failed?"

For the sake of legal principles, Mo Zibu has been sorting out historical materials after the Ming Dynasty recovered Annan in recent years, so he immediately understood why Deng Chenchang said that this person could take over the Anbei River.

"Indeed, Mr. Chen, whose name is Feng, is my ancestor. Mr. Chen, whose name is Ting, who sacrificed his family for the country and went to Qinzhou alone, is my great-uncle." Chen Shaochang immediately admitted with a smile.

Mo Zibu suddenly stood up, bowed to Chen Shaochang, and said with some emotion: "So you are the descendant of my ancestor. Today, we meet, regardless of the relationship between the ruler and the subject, and we should reminisce about the friendship between our ancestors and our comrades."

Chen Feng, a native of Zhiling County, Haiyang, Jiaozhi, was initially a general under Hu Jinyao. When the Ming army recaptured Annan, he was the first to respond to Zhang Fu, Duke of Ying, and led the Ming army to conquer Liangjiang and other prefectures and counties.

Later, he tried his best to suppress the resistance of the Mang people and was successively promoted to the commander-in-chief of the Right Guard of Jiaozhou and the commander-in-chief of the Jiaozhi Commandery. He was the chief officer of the local guard of the Ming army in Jiaozhi.

In 1427, Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty abandoned Jiaozhi. After the Ming general Wang Tong and others evacuated, Chen Feng, the prefect of Hue Du Weizhong, the councilor of Jiaozhi's provincial administration Liang Ruhut and other local people were forced to surrender to Le Loi.

But they did not really surrender. In the following year, 1428, Chen Feng and others secretly gathered thousands of people who were loyal to the Ming Dynasty and plotted to start an uprising in Haiyang.

While Chen Feng sent messengers to the Ming Dynasty to ask for help, he also prepared to assassinate Le Loi with a powerful crossbow when he was on inspection in Haiyang.

As a result, the messenger he sent out was caught by Le Loi's general Huang Yuanyi, and the matter was leaked. Le Loi took the initiative, and Chen Feng, Liang Ruhut and others hastily launched a rebellion, but were soon defeated and killed.

The Chen family was also implicated by Chen Feng, but they managed to survive by relying on their flourishing branches and leaves, and their descendants continued to do well.

Chen Ting of his family was also a captain of the Jiaozhi Guard, and he made great contributions in suppressing the riots. The Ming army's retreat was extremely hasty, and even a captain like Chen Ting was unaware of it.

By the time the news of the Ming army's retreat arrived, that bastard Wang Tong had almost run to Guangxi.

Chen Ting was loyal to the imperial court in Jiaozhi and was a thorn in Le Loi's side. Therefore, he did not dare and did not want to stay in Jiaozhi, so he led more than 90 members of his family to chase the Ming army.

As a result, Le Loi hated him deeply and personally ordered a hunt and killing. Chen Ting was caught up by the Le army only 20 to 30 miles away from Fangchenggang County (Port). Most of Chen Ting's family of more than 90 members were killed, and only a few people followed him into the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

"Captain Chen's entire family has suffered misfortune. This is not only a misfortune for the family, but also a great misfortune for the country. My ancestor was the inspector of Jiaozhi's northern city. When Emperor Xuande abandoned the land, hundreds of members of the Mo family also died."

Chen Shaochang couldn't help but grit his teeth when he heard Mo Zibu say this, "Xuanzong's abandonment of Jiaozhi has cut off the imperial court's favor with Tiannan, completely losing face, and has also made it so that those who come after him will never again mention returning to their country.

Among the loyal and righteous men who were willing to rebuild the Jin Ou with Jiaozhi, there were more than just the Mo and Chen families who were killed by the bandit Leline. I am afraid there were tens of thousands of them.

My Chen family was the largest clan in Jiaozhi, with more than 1,300 members. After the Ming Dynasty withdrew, only a hundred or so of them were killed by Le Loi, and we have not recovered to this day.

It was only after seeing the king's edict that I realized that there are still people in the Mo clan who have not forgotten to help Jiaozhi return to their country. Your entire clan is truly loyal to the Han Dynasty!"

"Zhu Zhanji is narrow-minded and has none of the heroic spirit of his fathers and grandfathers. He has brought great suffering to us, the Han people of Tiannan." Seeing Chen Shaochang gritting his teeth, Mo Zibu couldn't help but curse.

He still couldn't understand why Emperor Xuanzong would think of abandoning Jiaozhi when Le Loi was clearly not a capable person.

When Chen Shaochang heard what Mo Zibu said, he was cheered up. As expected, King Mo wanted to bring Jiaozhi back to Han. That was the opportunity for the Chen family, so he raised his hand.

"Fortunately, Heaven never forbids the path of loyalty and righteousness, allowing Your Majesty to obey Heaven's command and lead two hundred thousand brave men here. The Chen family of Haiyang is willing to follow Your Majesty to reconquer Jiaozhi."

Mo Zibu laughed and walked down, holding Chen Shaochang's hand. "How do I settle Jiaozhi? Please teach me, sir."

Chen Shaochang bowed humbly and said, "How to pacify Jiaozhi is already in your Majesty's mind. How dare a commoner ask for advice?"

"However, after the Ming retreat, although Le Loi slaughtered many loyal and righteous people, he failed to completely eradicate the rebellion. If the king can make use of these people, it will surely reassure those who are loyal to the country and prevent them from making mistakes."

Mo Zibu thought about it for a moment and understood why Chen Shaochang came.

Although these noble families in Beihe did not know that Mo Zibu would make widespread accusations in Beihe, they certainly understood that the best thing for Mo Zibu to do was to promote a group of humble families to replace the noble families.

Therefore, in order to maintain their own status, some high-ranking families who did not care whether they were from Yue or Han, such as the Chen family of Haiyang, took the initiative to come out and join the Han Dynasty.

"Hahaha, sir, you are here to be Guo Wei!" Mo Zibu laughed. Anyway, he would not wipe out all the noble families, so he could indeed use someone with a background like Chen Shaochang as a valuable asset.

"Guo Wei is the king's teacher. How dare a commoner compare with him? A thousand gold pieces of horse bones are enough for me now." Chen Shaochang also replied with a smile, still hunched over, and spoke in a very convincing manner.

"I have another story to report to Your Majesty. My fellow disciple Ning Xun is serving as a staff officer in Huang Tingbao's army. He wrote to me saying

Huang Tingbao had no ambition. His family was detained in Tokyo by Prince Jingdu, and his subordinates kept roasting him on the fire. He was worried day and night, thinking that he would die without a burial place.

Therefore, this time he deployed his troops in the wilderness, not because he was absolutely sure that he could resist the king, but because..."

Mo Zibu was delighted and held Chen Shaochang's arm again. He continued, "It's just that he can't bear this tremendous pressure anymore and is ready to go all out and do a one-time deal."

"The king is wise!" Chen Shaochang was not flattering him, but praising him sincerely. It seemed that there was indeed a reason why this king could dominate the southern part of Tiannan.

"Okay, then I will do as Huang Tingbao wishes." Mo Zibu laughed. He had actually considered the possibility that Huang Tingbao might have this problem a long time ago, but he was not sure.

"Sir, you are indeed a man of great talent, and you were recommended by Lord Deng. I am still short of a Dali Temple official, so I hope you will accept my position."

"Your Majesty, I bow to thank you for your grace." Chen Shaochang was overjoyed. This trip was not in vain. He started as a Dali Temple Minister. It should not be difficult for him to become a Grand Secretary in the future.

It was worth it that he gave up his beautiful and virtuous cousin and married the ugly man Deng Chenchang.

(End of this chapter)