The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 615: New Nanyang Storm

Time flies, winter passes and spring comes, and in the blink of an eye it is the end of summer of 1787 AD.

At this time, twelve years had passed since Mo Zibu defeated the Qing Dynasty on the north bank of the river in Jiaozhi Prefecture, Guangnan, and officially established the country, with the official goal of expelling the Tartars and regaining the country.

The twelfth year of Guangzhong was the fifty-second year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty in history.

Emperor Qianlong, the ruler of the Qing Empire at that time, had completely lost his enterprising spirit. Without his iron-blooded supervision, the Qing Empire's small but elite military force, which was supported by one million people sucking the blood and sweat of 400 million people, quickly collapsed.

When Emperor Qianlong grew old, the missionaries who had opened the eyes of the Qing high-ranking officials to the world and introduced Western political systems and science and technology lost the support of the Qing court and left the Qing Dynasty one after another, either voluntarily or involuntarily.

The only few remaining ones were collected by Heshen, Qianlong's moneybag, who often exchanged poems with Qianlong and studied European paintings, clocks, and sophisticated mechanical manufacturing.

Heshen retained them by offering them high salaries, not because he liked Western science and technology.

It was because he was afraid that Qianlong would become interested in the missionaries' things in the future, so he kept him in case of emergency.

Later, with the fall of Heshen, most of the painters were driven away, except for a few painters needed by the Qing court who were allowed to stay in Beijing because the Manchu royal family liked their European-style imperial portraits.

At this point, the Qing Dynasty rapidly lost contact with the outside world in the decade from 1786 to 1796, marked by Emperor Qianlong's loss of enterprising spirit, began to isolate itself, and the national strength began to decline.

Wait until Jiaqing, the timid little fool, fragile little baby, comes online in a daze.

He remembered Qianlong's warning to him. Both father and son were frightened by the violent French Revolution, so they simply cut off all external contacts of the Qing Dynasty's top leaders.

Jiaqing even buried most of the works compiled by his father Qianlong, which included works by various European scientists, with him, and destroyed a small part of them.

The Manchu and Han ministers below not only did not stop it, but also continued to fan the flames and deceive Jiaqing.

Because the Manchu upper class had long wanted to lie down and enjoy themselves, and did not want to go through another Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong cycle.

You know, every time such a monarch appears, every family in Beijing will be in mourning. Now that Jiaqing does not look like a monarch, they immediately start praising Jiaqing at full speed.

Under their instigation, Jiaqing directly opened the piggy bank left by Qianlong and Heshen. A huge amount of wealth quickly flew from the palace to the homes of every high-ranking bannerman. Everyone spent their money in debauchery and lived a life of debauchery.

As for the Han ministers, they were also frightened by the white terror and literary inquisition during the reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, and naturally would not allow the Qing Dynasty to produce another "wise ruler".

Finally, under the joint efforts of Manchus and Han people, the level of the Qing emperor, royal family members and high-ranking bannermen showed an extreme cliff-like decline.

Jiaqing also passed on his fear of foreign things, regarding everything overseas as a scourge, as well as many strange stories from his childhood trauma and overseas to his son Daoguang.

It's like a little idiot raised an even smaller idiot. The father and son share the same brain, but both generations are confused.

But within about fifty years, the Qing high-ranking officials had rapidly degenerated from knowing about the French Revolution to thinking things like, "Can England border Yunnan?", "Foreigners can't bend their legs after getting off the boat," and "You can't poop without rhubarb."

But in this time and space, the newly born Dayu Dynasty is different. The founder, Emperor Guangzhong, has a long-term vision and is the emperor who is most willing to give up power in all dynasties.

Under his relaxed rule, the Chinese people, who had broken free from the shackles of the Qing Dynasty's rules and regulations, burst out with great enthusiasm.

Because with Emperor Mo, as long as you are willing to risk your life, the benefits you get will truly be yours.

Going to the northwest, going to Southeast Asia, and going to the northeast, in the past eleven years, China has formed the largest population movement in human history. More than 31 million people have left their hometowns voluntarily or involuntarily.

Among them, more than six million went from Henan to Shaanxi and Gansu.

More than three million people went from Hebei and Shaanxi to Inner Mongolia, especially to the Hetao area to open up wasteland.

Three million people crossed the sea from Shandong and Hebei to the Northeast, mainly to the future coal and iron base of Shenyang-Benxi-Fushun.

The number of people coming mainly from Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and eastern Zhejiang, and supplemented by those from all over the country who went to Southeast Asia, reached a terrifying 19 million in thirteen years.

On average, more than 120,000 people went to Southeast Asia every month. If we consider that before the steam engine technology was mature, sailing ships could not go out to sea every month, the number would be even more terrifying.

This scale of population movement has brought about earth-shaking changes.

"You dog, I'm going to hang your ancestors!" Nanji Province, Sishui Prefecture, the vassal state of Jinshi Fangbo, and the leader of Xin'an Junnan.

Wei Da, a man from Xin'an who has a limp in one leg, always prepares a delicious meal on the Double Ninth Festival on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. He sets out eleven sets of bowls and chopsticks and makes it look like he is having a party with many people.

These eleven sets of bowls and chopsticks represent the ten comrades in the Chinese Volunteer Army that Wei Da served in back then, totaling exactly eleven people including him.

And the first words before the meal started must have been scolding Qin Da, "Fuck you, you dog, you married four sisters from a family in Hanchuan Province, all of them are fair-skinned and beautiful, and you don't mind that there is no one to work for you.

Look at what you chose for me, damn dog, I can’t even find anyone at night without a whale oil lamp.”

In the past, Wei Da was injured during the siege of the Yogyakarta Sultanate's army. His knee was shot by a native's crossbow and he had to retire.

At that time, in order to take care of him and give him someone to rely on, since he could not farm with a lame leg, his comrades selected three dark-skinned and capable-looking Yogyakarta women as his wives, and asked them to farm and support Wei Da.

And this choice is actually not wrong.

Because when Wei Da was in the most difficult time, facing the difficult time when he was said to have 500 acres of land but only 30 acres of arable land, it was these three hardworking Yogyakarta women who worked hard to support Wei Da.

So Wei cursed not because he felt that his original choice was wrong, but because Qin spoke righteously, but in the blink of an eye, he broke his hand and retired in Hanchuan Province, and immediately chose four sisters with fair skin who were 70% similar to Han women.

This is so fucking double standard that every time Wei Da thinks about it, he feels like he’s at a disadvantage if he doesn’t curse a few times.

"Captain, you wrote to say you've been promoted to the rank of Major General and appointed Commander of the Yangwu Army of the Beijing Camp. Congratulations!"

The team leader at that time, Huang Renyong, was from Chaozhou and had some connection with the Queen Zheng Shishi's family. He was the only one among these grassroots people who broke through the ceiling.

If a war breaks out again in the future, as long as I am a little luckier, I can retire with the rank of lieutenant general, and then find a few fiefdoms above the rank of earl in Southeast Asia for my descendants, which will not be difficult at all.

"Lao Luo, don't blame me for being scared. It's better not to meet you in this life."

Wei Da toasted his second glass of wine to the deputy team leader at that time, Luo Asheng, the grandfather of Luo Dagang, a fierce general of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in history.

Luo Asheng was from Meizhou and belonged to the emperor's base. At the same time, he had no connection with the military merit system of the Hakka people in Meizhou, so he was absorbed into the Jinyiwei's Shenxingsi.

The Ministry of Punishment, which originally had the power to administer the imperial prison and arrest people, was actually the Criminal Department of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, known as the East Factory.

Moreover, Luo Asheng's position in the Ministry of Punishment was said to be specifically responsible for investigating crimes committed by meritorious officials and nobles, so Wei Dacai said that he hoped he would never see him in his life.

What's the matter? Don't treat baron as a noble.

"Old Hu, you are really honest. You give everything to people as long as they ask, or even without asking. I am so grateful to you. If we can meet again in Tangshan one day, I will kowtow to you."

Hu Quanhuan Hu Xiaojiang did a very good job in Gwangju and was one of the most important Han Chinese vassal states in Silla Province.

Gwangju, to which it belongs, is a place with abundant martial virtues on the peninsula. Historically, during the Japanese occupation of the peninsula, Gwangju's righteous soldiers were one of the few who persisted in resistance. It is not an exaggeration to call them the light of the peninsula.

The reason why the real young general fought with the people in Gwangju was because many people from Gwangju joined the army, had tough personalities, and dared to resist.

When it came to Hu Quan, although it took a lot of effort to suppress this kind of character, there were really many benefits after he really put Gwangju in order.

Because others sold contract workers to Nanyang, which were de facto serfs, while he sold them to help Nanyang vassal officials manage contract workers and suppress the indigenous people. These people had the same status as samurai in Nanyang, so their prices were naturally high. The profit from selling five people was not as much as Hu Quan's profit from selling one person.

Naturally, Hu Quanhuan took good care of his old brother Wei Da who was in Southeast Asia.

If they need samurai who can fight, they will be given to them; if they need farmhands who can farm, they will be given to them; if they need court ladies from the nobility, they will be given to them as well.

It can be said that Wei Da is a Yao person from Andingsi (Du'an) in Si'en Prefecture, Guangxi, who has no background at all and is not even a Han Chinese if you look into it.

These Goryeo warriors from Gwangju played a very important role in being noticed by Geumseok Bo Ma Jin, who exchanged his land for Geumseok Province and made him one of the three princes under Geumseok Fangbo.

After toasting the three most promising members of the team back then, Wei Da teased the two brothers Qin Da and Qin San, and finally poured the rum in his hand onto the ground at the five empty seats.

Of the eleven people there, only Huang Renyong, Luo Asheng, Hu Quanhuan, the three brothers Qin Daqin and him are still alive.

He became a cripple, Qin Da lost his left hand, and Hu Quanhuan was shot in the head and almost died.

The casualty rate is really high, but the profits are also really huge. This is Nanyang, this is colonization!

After he finished his chatter, his black children had been waiting outside for a long time and were extremely greedy.

Nanji Island is rich in products, with four or even five crops a year. There are also a large number of banana trees, sago palm trees and jackfruit trees in the wild, so people will not starve to death even if they don't farm.

But there is a problem, that is, meat, uh, not meat, but it lacks fat.

In this era, unlike in later generations when high-quality shrimps and crabs were considered good things, large pieces of pork and fat lamb that were full of oil and fat and could give people a great sense of satisfaction were the finest delicacies.

Things like shrimp, crabs, and shellfish are purely protein. If you only eat them, you will starve to death due to malnutrition. It is only because of the extreme abundance of material resources in later generations that their prices have been pushed up.

In this era, things like lobsters and crabs are really just something the lowest class of people use to fill their stomachs.

Who would eat these things if there were really fat meat, fat lamb and good beef to eat?

Therefore, even though he was a baron and his family had no shortage of food, his children still liked fatty pork and fatty mutton very much.

"You know the rules, right? Keep an eye on your younger brothers and sisters." Wei Da said to his dark-skinned eldest son.

Although the eldest son still has strong Austronesian features in his appearance, he speaks very standard Nanjing Mandarin.

"I know that the dishes of five uncles must not be touched, because their spirits, who sacrificed their lives for the country, must enjoy the feast with us."

Wei Da then walked out with satisfaction. As soon as he walked out of the living room, seven or eight Korean samurai who were wearing short-sleeved shirts and shorts but were very stubborn about wearing a big black hat surrounded him.

After bowing, they reported, "My Lord, Lord Ma has issued a mobilization order. The Jinshi Fangbo Domain must dispatch at least 300 samurai and 2,000 peasant soldiers."

Ma Jin, the governor of Jinshi, was actually not Chinese, but Dutch.

Well, or according to the identification standards of Chinese people at that time, he was Chinese, but he belonged to the category of Westerners among the Chinese.

Ma Jin, whose original name was Marco, was a major officer of the Dutch East India Company stationed in Batavia.

He followed the emperor in the war to destroy the White Elephant King, and later, together with the current Andai Governor Hawke (Holdyk), became the emperor's internal supporter in Batavia.

After helping the emperor take over the Dutch East India Company, Marco chose to naturalize in the Han Dynasty, was granted the title of Jinshi Fangbo, and changed his name to Ma Jin.

The territory of Jinshi Fangbo was just east of Sishui Prefecture, called Jinshi Prefecture, and it had seven counties under its jurisdiction. Fangbo Ma Jin governed four counties himself, and the three barons under him each governed one county.

However, Ma Jin can only manage the three barons under him and make unified arrangements for sending troops, paying tributes, etc. with the authorization of the court, that is, obtaining the scepter of authority.

Without a staff, one can only receive spring and autumn tributes ranging from two to three hundred silver dollars each year.

Wei Da walked and talked with his retainers, and soon they left the baron's mansion. His barony was actually a county, and the baron's mansion was the county seat.

There were more than 6,000 people in the city, more than 1,000 of whom were Chinese, and the other 4,000 were servants serving them.

Among these servants, more than 3,000 were contract workers from the six provinces of East Asia, and the rest were local natives. Because they were particularly obedient, they were allowed to live in the county town.

"Greetings, sir. I hope you are well."

Most of those who greeted Wei enthusiastically were Chinese people wearing short jackets and robes. Their faces were filled with joy and they looked very confident.

Next to them, kneeling on the ground and not daring to look up, were these people's contract workers.

As for the natives, they had already hidden away when they saw Lord Wei coming, and they didn't even have the qualifications to come over and kneel down to pay their respects.

As Wei Da walked with his samurai, he notified some tough-looking Chinese people along the way to come to the city hall for a meeting.

In fact, under the baron Wei Da, there are still a number of vassals. Perhaps they should not be called vassals, but rather retainers.

Because Wei Da's energy is always limited. Xin'an County has 30,000 households and 200,000 people, including 170,000 indigenous people. The territory is also large, so he cannot manage it alone.

At the same time, Wei Da also needs to give some benefits to his subordinates, promote some talented ones, and give them industries, so that people will be willing to follow him.

Therefore, among the six most important townships in Xin'an County, Wei Da sealed off the four townships that were far away from the county seat and asked these retainers to suppress the local affairs for him, collect taxes, etc.

As expected, the Tokugawa Shogunate is worthy of being the epitome of the feudal system in the Eastern world.

The Chinese Empire's vassal states in Southeast Asia basically all ended up in a state almost identical to the Tokugawa Shogunate, except that their territory, population and output were much larger.

For example, Ma Jin, the Marquis of Jinshi, was equivalent to the emperor's close vassal. Wei Da, a lord, was basically equivalent to a branch vassal of the Marquis of Jinshi. The people guarding the township capital under him were equivalent to the hundreds of Shi Zhixing retainers who served the small vassal.

According to Japanese terms, Ma Jin was the lord of the Kinishi domain with a 2 million koku domain, Wei Da was a branch lord of the Kinishi domain, and the Shin'an domain had a 300,000 koku domain.

However, the system is similar to that of Japan, but Lord Wei, the son of Xin'an Jun, has a special contempt for the Japanese.

The reason why they were dispatched this time was that the Shimazu Sadowa domain, which was granted fiefdom in Aceh, had not been able to completely deal with the Sultanate of Aceh although it had been established.

After the enfeoffment, indigenous rebellions occurred frequently. Two months ago, a small town in a rural area was attacked by indigenous people and more than 300 Chinese were killed in the battle.

Although these Chinese should actually be called the Huazuhe people, they are still one of the most devastating losses since China colonized Southeast Asia.

"Lord Xin'an, His Majesty is furious and has ordered Yang Wujun of the Beijing Camp to march south. The Jinan Fleet of the Navy has also dispatched one third-class warship, two fourth-class warships, and seven fast cruisers to accompany them south.

That's why the Lord sent me to inform Xin'an Jun that he must select the most skilled samurai in searching the mountains and picking up the seas, because this time, a massacre is destined to happen!"

"Oh, that's great! It's Brother Huang's Yang Wujun who's here. Don't worry, please report this to the Lord, and I'll make careful arrangements."

Wei Da was quite excited because his good brother and captain Huang Renyong was one of the three commanders of Yang Wujun.

However, what Lord Wei didn't know was that this time Yang Wu's army went south not only to completely eliminate the Acehnese, but also to explore further south.

After two years of development, the technology of steam sailing ships has basically matured, and it is time to start building a stronghold in the southernmost part.

(End of this chapter)