The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 48 There is no perfect plan

Wang Runzhi took more than 300 men from the Wang family and headed southeast on five small coastal boats.

It is about 85 kilometers from Nakhon Si Thammarat to the Thien Phra Si Ayutthaya Monastery in Ngari. If you travel by land, it will take at least four to five days because the road conditions are not good.

But taking the sea route is much better. Although the journey is a little longer, there is occasionally a north wind in winter, which can save a lot of effort.

Especially when traveling by land, both people and horses and mules need to rest, but this is not necessary on the sea. As long as the sea surface can be seen clearly, the boat can move forward.

Therefore, traveling by sea not only only takes about three days, but is also much more relaxing.

Wang Runzhi played with the fine steel dagger in his hand. He knew what his father Wang Chunfa was thinking.

The Wang family has been rooted in Luokun for sixty years, but these sixty years have not been peaceful.

Because Nakhon Si Thammarat is located on the periphery of Siam compared to cities like Bangkok, Kamphaeng Phet and Ayutthaya.

Generally speaking, those who serve as Zhao Meng (city lord) in such places need to manage the people themselves.

However, the Wang family started out in commerce, and had some inherent deficiencies. They were not very good at fighting, and because they lost their hair early and the place was remote, they did not attract many people from Chaozhou to settle in Luokun.

When my great-grandfather Wang Laihu was alive, the Siamese royal family was still very powerful, and the Wang family had a close relationship with the Siamese royal family. If they encountered trouble with the indigenous people, they could ask the royal family for help, so their status was relatively stable.

However, in the last two or three decades, the Siamese royal family has produced three generations of incompetent rulers, and its prestige and control have greatly declined. At the same time, the royal family has also become estranged from the royal family.

Therefore, in order to consolidate their rule, they had to gradually open up power to the indigenous people below.

By the time Wang Runzhi's father, Wang Chunfa, succeeded to the throne, the indigenous people had already gained a lot of grassroots power.

There are 210,000 people in the entire Luokun Prefecture, but the Wang family and their Chaozhou compatriots have less than 20,000 people. The situation has been reversed.

However, he was protected by the King Chao Mongkut, who was bestowed by the Siamese royal family. Even so, the problem was not big, because opposing the royal family was equivalent to opposing the King of Siam, and that would lead to punishment.

But in these years, with the rise of the Bugis people, Muslimism began to spread again.

This led to many lower-class people in Luokun, where there were originally not many Muslims, converting to Islam over the past few decades and being united by religion.

That's a bit troublesome.

The current situation is that the Wang family and the 40,000 to 50,000 indigenous people who still believe in Theravada Buddhism are of the same faction.

The 150,000 to 160,000 Muslim natives headed by Ziyad Ali are one faction.

They controlled a lot of power at the grassroots level, and sometimes the royal family had to negotiate with Ziad Ali or other religious leaders before collecting taxes.

Seeing that his position was about to be lost, Wang Chunfa came up with a vicious plan to divert the trouble away.

He appointed Ziad Ali as the lord of Sakdina in the Bambalawa area near Songkhla, and asked him to take away tens of thousands of people who were most eager to cause trouble, promising that he would allow them to become independent as long as these areas were developed.

He also secretly hinted that Songkhla next door was a fat sheep of moderate size, and asked them to attack and harass Wu Rang, a Zhangzhou native, and they could split the proceeds 50-50.

Faced with such a good thing, Ziad Ali, who had long wanted to be independent, would of course agree.

As soon as Wang Chunfa sent Ziad Ali away, he immediately increased the exploitation of the 100,000 indigenous people who remained and had converted to Islam. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was exploiting them to the point of squeezing them dry.

This is not because Wang Chunfa himself wants to be extravagant and extravagant. If you think so, you are underestimating him.

Every bit of oil that Wang Chunfa squeezed out of the natives turned into food, weapons, and various types of warships stored in Luokun City outside the port.

Wang Chunfa was waiting. When the Burmese arrived outside the city, Zheng Guoying came out and raised his arms to call for help. The entire Wang family followed the dragon.

As for Luokun, Wang Chunfa knew that it would definitely be occupied by Ziad Ali.

But Wang Chunfa didn't care, because after he put all his fortune into supporting Zheng Guoying, he would be accepted by the new Chaozhou faction.

Ziad Ali only had a base of less than 100,000 people. Even if he sold all his wealth, he could only send out 7,000 to 8,000 peasant soldiers. It was impossible for him to be a match for all the Chaozhou people.

You should know that in Siam at present, there are at least 40,000 to 50,000 Chaozhou men with some martial arts skills, without having to recruit farmers.

Once we have a leader like Zheng Guoying, the energy that is unleashed is enormous.

When the Wang family returns to Luokun again with the help of their Chaozhou fellow villagers, they can shout "I, Wang Chunfa, am back again" and severely purge those natives who once disobeyed the Wang family, recreating the situation when the Wang family just guarded Luokun.

Although Wang Runzhi felt a little uneasy, you couldn't say that Wang Chunfa's plan was not feasible. You could even say that at the moment when the Wang family was about to collapse, this was a shrewd and genius design.

In history, just as Wang Chunfa had imagined, the Wang family participated in the army led by Taksin to expel the Burmese. In turn, Taksin personally led the troops to quell the rebellion of Nakhon Si Thammarat and returned Nakhon Si Thammarat to the Wang family.

However, Songkhla Wu Rang, who was diverted to other places due to the disaster, was in a miserable situation.

"Master, we'll be there soon. I'll get off the boat first and notify Aliang to come and greet us."

While Wang Runzhi was daydreaming, the fleet was almost reaching its destination, Wang Wubing, the head of Wang Runzhi's servants, whispered.

The Wang family did not completely abandon Ziad Ali to "herd the sheep", but left more than 20 people to guard a small port on the seashore.

While monitoring them, they also asked these natives, who were already somewhat rebellious, to pay taxes quickly.

Wang Runzhi nodded. Although Ziad Ali and others had not yet made up their minds to resist, and they had no weapons, it was always better to be cautious.

Wang Wubing is 23 years old this year. He is a bald and strong man with thick hands and feet. He comes from a family of Tanka fishermen.

My grandfather's generation went to Siam to make a living and was eventually noticed by the Wang family. Three generations of our family worked as servants and guards in Wang Runzhi's family.

Although Wang Wubingsheng looks rough, he is actually very cautious. There are 300 sailors on the five offshore ships, but he only took 50 people off the ship.

The sky was a little gloomy and the harbor was very quiet. There was almost no one to be seen, let alone even a trace of smoke from cooking fires. This was extremely unusual.

Wang Wubing reached out and picked up a broken piece of wood. After taking a closer look, he realized it looked like a door bolt. The marks of varying depths on the board must have been made with a knife.

Soon, Wang Wubing smelled a faint smell of blood. He coughed lightly, and the musketeers behind him immediately hid behind a broken ox cart and began to load. Two sword and shield men guarded them.

Wang Wubing led more than ten elite soldiers, armed with Thai swords with lotus heads, and slowly searched the house where the smell of blood came from.

This type of Thai sword is only about 70 centimeters long, which is good for poking and stabbing the opponent's wrist and other parts in a small range. It is a powerful weapon for close combat.

The smell of blood became stronger and stronger, and intermittent groans were heard. The guard beside Wang Wubing gently pushed open the straw door, and the groans suddenly stopped.

The house was completely bare, and almost everything except a bed had been emptied.

"Ah Shui, what's wrong with you, Ah Shui? Who hurt you like this?"

Wang Wubing rushed over in a flash. The person emitting a strong smell of blood was a young man lying on the bed. He was one of the twenty-five people guarding this small port.

Wang Wubing hurried forward to check. A Shui's knees were smashed by a blunt object, and the tendons at his wrists were also torn.

"Captain, this was done on purpose. They smashed Ah Shui's knees and then moved him to the bed."

Someone soon discovered something was wrong. It was impossible for Ah Shui, whose legs could not move at all, to lie down in bed by himself.

Seeing that it was Wang Wubing and others who came, a blush appeared on A Shui's pale face. He wanted to say something eagerly, but because he was too excited, he couldn't utter a word.

"Bring me some coconut milk!" Wang Wubing shouted gravely. Coconut milk is made by mashing coconut meat and coconut juice, adding a little alcohol and a large amount of cane sugar. It can quickly restore a person's physical strength.

Finally, after swallowing two big mouthfuls of coconut milk, Ah Shui was finally able to speak.

"Ali, that beast has rebelled. He brought hundreds of people to attack us. Aliang and the others have been captured. Hurry, hurry and rescue them."

Wang Wubing's face was as gloomy as water. He quickly asked someone to send Ah Shui, who had fainted again, to the boat, and he himself went to Wang Runzhi to report.

“A Shui was left behind intentionally, apparently to lure us to rescue people.

"There are no fewer than 40,000 to 50,000 natives who followed that scoundrel Ziyad Ali here. If they were determined to stage a plot, they could mobilize at least 3,000 to 4,000 men. Granted, their weapons are inferior, but their numbers are ten times ours."

Wang Wubing was a good subordinate. He reported all the situations, but did not make any decisions. Instead, he waited for Wang Runzhi's judgment.

Wang Runzhi looked at Ah Shui being carried onto the boat in the distance, then looked at the servants of the Wang family who were waiting for his words, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings.

The Wang family is not known for their martial ethics. If they retreat without caring about their fellow villagers, it will probably greatly affect the morale of the servants, and they will be unable to hold their heads up in the future.

More importantly, if Ziad Ali and his gang were indulged this time, his father Wang Chunfa's attempt to divert the blame would become a joke.

This is not diverting trouble, it is clearly letting the tiger go back to the mountain!
"Fuck him! He dared to kill someone from our Wang family. I will make sure he dies without a burial place." Wang Runzhi cursed viciously:

"These dogs only have hoes and harpoons, and barely any knives. We have knives and muskets, so why worry that we can't defeat them?"

"Yes, anyone who dares to kill our people must be killed, otherwise these dogs will cause chaos in the future." The servants of the Wang family around all echoed in unison.

Wang Wubing also nodded. He felt that it would not be a big problem for three hundred elite soldiers with complete weapons to fight against thousands of farmers. Moreover, the consequences of not fighting would be more serious.

"Young master, let's leave twenty people here to watch over the ship." Wang Wubing suggested, and Wang Runzhi immediately agreed.

"Third brother, you stay. I have a feeling that Ziad Ali is deliberately trying to lure us there. There must be some conspiracy.

You wait here. If we don't return within three days, you should go to Luokun immediately, abandon the big ship, and ask Master Zhao Meng to send a large army to rescue us."

. . . .

The port was not far from the Ali Tianfang Temple, only twenty miles away. The Wang family servants, anxious and filled with anger, moved quickly and arrived at the town where the Tianfang Temple was located in a little over an hour.

The town, like the port, was filled with an eerie silence, with only the occasional sounds of chickens and ducks walking or flapping their wings. There wasn't even a dog.

The 270 servants of the Wang family were divided into six groups, each group including musketeers, sword and shield soldiers, and double-sword melee soldiers. A few who could use bows and arrows even climbed onto the roof to occupy the commanding heights.

They coordinated their actions with great skill, even better than the pirates under Mo Zibu's command.

Cold sweat dripped from Wang Runzhi's head. He was very nervous now. Everything was too weird.

But Wang Wubing was very calm. He gestured to stop, preventing the servants from continuing to search inside the town.

He took out a torch wrapped in linen, dipped it in a jar full of tung oil, and handed it to the servant beside him.

"Burn it for me! I don't believe that none of them, tens of thousands of them, will stay here."

Wang Runzhi nodded and said, "Yes, we can't go in. There are tens of thousands of these local dogs. If we hide a few thousand of them in the town, we can ambush them."

The fire quickly started. The houses of these indigenous people were basically made of wood, and the roofs were covered with straw, including in the bedrooms, which made them very easy to ignite.

Sure enough, after the fire set fire to the outermost houses, screams of terror were heard immediately.

"Boom, boom, boom!" A drumbeat sounded, it was the natives' battle drums.

"Line up, musketeers, get ready!" Wang Wubing shouted, causing Wang Runzhi, who was facing an emergency situation for the first time, to stagger.

Under Wang Wubing's loud cursing and shouting, the Wang family servants quickly formed a battle formation.

As the drumbeats grew louder and more rapid, countless natives in tattered clothes, holding sharpened sticks, hoes, harpoons, and dung forks, rushed out of the town shouting wildly.

"Allah! Allah!" The war cry resounded all around.

"Bang, bang, bang!" Unfortunately, they were greeted by a group of fairly organized musketeers. A large number of the natives who rushed out in a dense crowd fell down in an instant, and their momentum of charging was halted.

One round, two rounds, three rounds, the blood of the natives splattered all over the ground, and countless people were lying on the ground crying and screaming.

Before the smoke had completely dissipated, Wang Wubing gave another loud order. The sword and shield soldiers rushed forward and used their shields to block the harpoons, hoes, etc. that were stabbing at them, and pushed the natives to stagger.

This was the moment he had been waiting for. Wang Wubing seized the opportunity, shouted loudly, and rushed into the crowd with dozens of servants holding double swords, hacking and killing.

They were skilled in swordsmanship and aimed at the vital points. The natives soon couldn't hold on and hundreds of them were killed and forced to retreat by dozens of people from the Wang family.

However, the natives were more numerous after all. After killing one group, another group rushed up under the instigation.

Wang Wubing's mind was extremely clear. When he saw the natives coming up with reinforcements, he immediately stopped the servants who were still trying to chase them and retreated back to the formation.

By the time these natives rushed up again, the musketeers had already reloaded their guns and immediately fired two rounds of volleys. This time the casualties were even greater than last time, after all, there were so many people.

Then it was the same old routine, the sword and shield warriors defended and slowed down, and after the deceleration was completed, the two-handed sword warriors pounced again, killing the natives and making them cry for their parents.

After this cycle repeated three times, the Wang family servants suffered almost no casualties, but the natives suffered hundreds of casualties. They no longer dared to move forward and each of them ran away on two legs, regretting that their parents had not given them four legs.

But even though he won the battle, Wang Wubing was not happy at all. He picked up a dying native and took a look. Damn, he was only about fifteen or sixteen years old and so skinny.

He randomly grabbed another native who was still spitting blood foam from his mouth. The native's face was covered in blood, and his dead fish-like eyes stared at Wang Wubing. The gray hair on his head looked particularly conspicuous. He was at least in his thirties or forties.

Wang Wubing, who was unwilling to give up, took two quick steps and grabbed a native who was already dead with his intestines ruptured and took a look.

Oh no! He's still a little boy.

"Captain, we've found Aliang and the others, but they've been killed long ago!" A servant of the Wang family ran towards Wang Wubing crying.

Wang Wubing quickly ran over and saw that in a corner of Tianfang Temple Square, there were more than twenty heads piled up like coconut shells. They were Aliang and his men.

They were beheaded and appeared to have been dead for some time.

"Young Master, Aliang and the others sent back a message asking us to collect taxes. Who informed Zhao Meng?" Wang Wubing grabbed Wang Runzhi's chest with his bloody hands.

Wang Runzhi's eyes widened in fear, his mind churning. "It's the third steward, Akong. His nephew has been working for Aliang."

Akong is a native and is highly regarded by Wang Runzhi's father, Wang Chunfa.

"The head of the third steward's nephew is not here." A servant shuddered.

"You bastard!" Wang Wubing was furious.

"We've fallen into a trap. This is a decoy. Nakhon Si Alam is in danger! Ziad Ali and his men have already been heading to Nakhon Si Alam for several days."

Wang Runzhi screamed in pain, and recalled his father Wang Chunfa's attitude towards the Muslim indigenous people in Nakhon Si Thammarat after Ziad Ali left. He suddenly felt scared.

"Quick, return quickly. We can't let Ziad Ali into the city. Our families are all in Nakhon Si Thammarat!"

(End of this chapter)