The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 620: Fame and Success Comes from Horseback

"Taro, don't go. Fighting is for the samurai. We should run this manor well. We have sushi and fried fish for every meal. What else can we not be satisfied with?"

Andai Province, Johor Province, Malacca State, Muar District.

Muar County is located on the north bank of the Strait of Malacca. It is a river estuary plain surrounded by pristine jungle. It is only 30 kilometers away from the state capital, Malacca City, which was once famous during the Dutch colonial period.

The conditions in Muar County are quite good as it was able to be reclaimed from the dense jungle during the colonial era.

The land here is not the kind of extremely loose soil that will be swept away by a layer of red sand when it rains heavily.

The terrain is relatively flat, so as long as drainage ditches are dug and field ridges are built, there is no need to worry about heavy rain.

"Alas, it's too little, too little!" Taro sighed. "Only after leaving my hometown of Penglai did I realize how vast the world is. Only then did I realize how many benefits there are to being a son of the Chinese clan under the Emperor."

This Taro was actually Toru Yamagami's brother, the one who gave his fiancée Anzi to Mao Xiangsheng for breeding in order to obtain the status of a Chinese.

Oh, now their whole family has the same surname as their son, Mao. Although Xingzi still habitually calls Shantaro "Taro", he already has a Chinese name, Maoshan.

What made Yamataro Maoshan sigh like this was not because he felt he had suffered a loss, but because he had gained too many benefits.

Three years ago, with the cooperation of Mao Xiangsheng, they obtained Chinese identity. Shan Tailang Mao Shan took his family's travel permits and went abroad alone.

Then, although he could not speak any Chinese, he was arranged to live in Muar County as a Han Chinese. The government gave him 150 acres of land, of which 20 acres were cultivated land and the rest were virgin land.

Then the farmers' cooperative in Muar County came to him and allowed him to use the cooperative's oxen, farm tools and even the Burmese serfs controlled by the cooperative for free in the first year. He only needed to provide the oxen and serfs with food.

Shan Tailang was indeed very capable, smart and hardworking. For three years, he cultivated the land day and night, and worked as a miner in a nearby tin mine during the slack season. Not only did he successfully develop 150 acres of land, he also created a banana plantation and a sugarcane plantation.

All the fellow villagers who came with him are still working as contract workers. Although their lives are much better than in their hometown, compared with him, they are like heaven and earth.

But precisely because of this, Yamajiro was not satisfied. His horizons had been broadened by the vast territory of Southeast Asia.

"Apricot, it's not enough." Yamataro shook his head. "Eating sushi and fried fish every day is nothing. This is just the lifestyle of ordinary Han people. We still have to keep climbing up."

As he spoke, Shantaro looked at his son Maogui, who had grown tall and strong and could run around, his face full of tenderness.

It is difficult for people in later generations to understand the family ethics of this secondary civilization, and they think it is very distorted, but in the eyes of Yamataro and others, it is very normal.

Not to mention that he doesn't love her, Yamataro loves her very much, and even his family business will be inherited by this child in the future.

Because this is not only his child, but also the foundation of his leap from a lowly Japanese town samurai to the nobility. Only by looking at this child can Yamataro forget his humble origins.

"Agui is already two years old. He will go to school soon and will have a bright future. I am too old. It is too late to learn Chinese characters. I will never be able to practice them well. The best I can do in this life is to be a manor owner.

But Agui is different. He has noble blood and will have a bright future. In the future, our family may rely on this child to become an official or even a noble.

Therefore, I must fight to earn him a good background and money for his future studies in Tangshan."

At this point, Shantaro has actually become a little obsessed. He doesn't treat Mao Gui as his own son, but actually as the starting point of his life.

Watching Mao Gui grow up day by day and have a brighter future, it was as if there was another him, who was not born in poor Japan, but was born a Han Chinese, and had a father to rely on.

This feeling of being born in Rome, even if only a little bit, makes Yamataro, who has suffered in life for more than 20 years, feel extremely sweet.

He fantasized for a moment, but fearing that his appearance would scare his wife, Yamataro used a gentle smile to show that he was not crazy.

"Even if it weren't for Agui, I would still go and rob two native women to help you take care of the livestock at home.

In addition, Mizui Shiro and his friends are not doing well, even their food is being withheld. They asked someone to bring a message to me, asking me to help them out as we are from the same hometown.

I thought that if I could capture a few native women and marry them off, and raise them as our retainers, our labor shortage would be solved.

However, the three of them need a buyout fee of sixty silver dollars, which we cannot afford. We can only rob the Acehnese palace and earn meritorious service on the battlefield to receive rewards."

Good fellow, you are not trying to rescue your fellow villagers, you are trying to make them serfs, or at least tenants. You have even prepared for 'breeding', and your descendants will be tenants for generations to come.

"But..." Xingzi was also very moved, but still said with some concern: "Although this is a good thing, it is good for us and Shuijing and the others.

But on the battlefield, swords are merciless. If you make a mistake, what will happen to me and Agui, who is still pregnant? "

Yamataro was silent for a moment, then said with a hint of reluctance: "Jiro has sent a letter. It turns out that he is the Yamagami Toru who killed the emperor!"

"Ah!" After hearing this, Xingzi was so shocked that she dropped the kettle in her hand. She really couldn't believe that the little boy who played with her since childhood and chased her and called her sister Xingzi was actually the great warrior who killed the emperor.

"This is incredible, incredible, Yamagami Toru is actually Jiro."

Communication was very difficult at that time. When Yamagami Toru left, he was just a volunteer soldier. He himself didn't know that he would be chosen to kill the emperor in the future, so naturally he couldn't tell his brother and sister-in-law.

When Japan was in chaos and his brother went to Southeast Asia, he was quickly sent there to be protected, and the contact between the two was completely cut off.

It was only after Toru Yamagami became a Republican legislator that someone recognized him and told him that his brother Taro was in Muar District.

"Jiro sent a letter asking us to go to Surabaya Prefecture in Nanji Province. He is now a daimyo with a treasury of over 200,000 koku and can appoint me as a retainer with 10,000 koku."

Yamagami Toru still understood the situation. Not only did he not brag in front of his brother, he also said almost half less and was very generous when he was given.

However, Shantaro still shook his head and said, "If I had gone two years ago, I would have gone there. But now, I have 700 koku of land. I still want to rely on myself."

After hearing her husband say this, Xingzi did not try to persuade him because she knew her husband's temper.

In the past, when they were at home, Taro was in charge of all the big and small matters at home, and Jiro was just a little follower. Now the situation is reversed, and the husband certainly cannot bring himself to be a retainer for his younger brother.

However, Taro is better off than Kyoko thought, "Father and mother have been taken away by Jiro, and they are living a happy life without worries about food and clothing.

If I die in battle, you will take Agui with you and go to Nanji Province to seek refuge with Jiro, and he will give Agui the ten thousand koku retainer position he promised him."

"Taro!" Anzi cried out sadly, as if Yamataro would definitely encounter an accident if he went this time.

Just as the couple was about to start being affectionate, hurried footsteps were heard outside the door, accompanied by a shout in the rough Kyushu dialect:

"Taro, come on, let's see what good stuff I got for you!"

After a while, a short and strong man with some difficulty in walking walked in, with a pistol on his left waist and a knife on his right.

"Xingzi is here too, don't cry, why are you crying? It's the most glorious thing for a Han warrior to go to the battlefield and conquer the barbarians.

Taro is so smart, and his swordsmanship, gun swordsmanship, and archery skills are all up to standard. He will definitely be able to return safely."

This short and strong warrior Simon Hikogoro has a very interesting background. He was born into a family of warriors from Hoi An, and was the kind who followed the emperor when he started his rebellion.

He even took the White Elephant King's hand cannon from the White Elephant King's prince when he was conquering the Burmese.

Unfortunately, just when his future was about to take off, Simon Hikogoro injured his leg in the Battle of Ava.

This is not a big deal. He can retire with injuries and make merit. When the emperor establishes a country and rewards him according to his merits, he can at least be made a baron or something.

But at that time, Simon Hikogoro was out of his mind. He thought that he might become disabled due to his injury and was afraid that he would not have money to support himself in his old age, so he secretly hid a golden Buddha the size of a fist.

In the end, the crime was exposed by someone, and Simon Hikogoro was spared from death by helping to capture the White Elephant Prince.

More than ten years later, he moved to Muar Township and became the president of a small cooperative.

As he spoke, Simon Hikogoro placed a set of armor heavily on the table in Yamataro's house.

This is a semi-new set of European chain mail, which was previously loved by European arquebusiers. However, it was eliminated in the era of flintlock guns, and many of them ended up in the East.

"Iron armor?" Yamato was also surprised. "President, aren't we using self-igniting cannons to fight the natives with broken swords and guns? Do we need iron armor?" Yamato said as he invited Simon Hikogoro to take a seat.

When he first arrived in Muar County, he couldn't even speak Chinese. It was entirely thanks to Simon Hikoro's care that he gradually integrated into the community. Even most of the Chinese he spoke was taught by Simon Hikoro.

This is a huge favor. And Simon Hikogoro did not seize the opportunity and fell into disgrace, but that was compared to his former comrades.

In Muar County, among the 70,000 to 80,000 people, Simon Yangoro is the one who has connections everywhere.

Not to mention anything else, just his former colleagues including lieutenant colonels, colonels, and even major generals, viscounts, and barons are quite scary.

Relying on the friendship and compassion of these old comrades in the past, as well as his own good behavior, Simon Yangoro, this cripple, has great power.

"You don't understand this." Simon Yanwulang said slowly: "In addition to the marines of the Nanji Fleet, the brave men of the Yangwu Army also came to quell the rebellion this time.

Who are those people? They are the emperor's warriors, dragons, tigers and leopards. With them around, there is no need for us to use flintlock rifles to defeat the natives.

What we have to do is precisely to clean up after the defeat, to search the mountains and seas from street to street and house to house, to tie up the young men and women of the natives and bring them back to report our achievements, and to kill people with ruthless hands.

In short, it means doing the dirty work that the imperial warriors disdain to do, and being on guard against the occasional warriors among the natives who might stab you.

So this armor might save your life at some point when you let your guard down, and it wouldn't matter whether you have the spear or not."

As expected, Simon Hikogoro was one of the earliest Yuancong warriors and was very knowledgeable about battlefield matters.

Yamataro was no fool, and he understood immediately, "Oh, President, you saved my life again. How can I thank you enough?"

Yamato was so grateful that he was about to kneel down on the spot, but Simon Hikogoro quickly supported him with a look of satisfaction on his face.

He certainly knew that there was some acting involved in Shantaro, but Simon Hikogoro didn't care.

Knowing how to act means that he at least has the intention. He doesn't expect Yamataro to give him much in return, he just wants him to be his younger brother.

"Ahem." Simon Yanwulang coughed a few times, "The commander of the Beijing Camp Yangwu Army, Major General Du, who came this time, is my former comrade.

He was only sixteen years old when he went to the battlefield and fought alongside us. He still remembers the kindness we showed him back then.

So, this time, I didn't bother to beg for mercy, and Major General Du gave us a quota of 300 volunteers."

Yamataro was immediately overjoyed, as volunteer soldiers were auxiliary soldiers.

The three hundred volunteers would usually be equipped with twenty to thirty garrison troops, which were Han reserve soldiers like them, and then each of them would have a dozen followers.

After being formed, they will follow the main force into the battlefield and do the auxiliary work that Simon Hikogoro just mentioned. If there is someone to follow their orders, they can enter the city to plunder.

The income from robbing in the city and robbing in the countryside is completely different.

"President, I'm just waiting for your word. I'll do whatever you say!" Yamataro quickly expressed his opinion.

Simon Hikogoro nodded in satisfaction, “My legs are not convenient for walking, so this time I asked my son Saburo to follow me.

You need to keep an eye on the area below for me, and look after Sanlang. Just let him experience the battlefield, and don't take any risks."

Yamataro naturally agreed readily, and Simon Hikogoro then took out a small triangular flag with a blue background and a white sun, which was the flag of the Yangwu Army.

"Go ahead, take the military flag and go to our cooperative to recruit serfs. These people can endure any hardship as long as we can give them benefits.

In three days, the Governor's Office will be recruiting soldiers, and we must gather all the men by then."

. . . .

December 1787, 12. This was the second day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of the Guangzhong reign of the Great Yu Emperor of China, originally the fifty-second year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty.

The weather has finally turned cooler and the rainy season has long ended. There is a cool breeze on the island of Sumatra, and mosquitoes and other insects are restricted to their lowest level of activity.

Although Emperor Mo Zibu's order had not yet come down, Zheng Miao had already mobilized the army.

This is the current situation in Nanyang. It is too far away, so it must have a certain degree of autonomy and cannot wait for approval for everything.

However, the decentralization of autonomous power will inevitably lead to the increase of local power.

People say that the Prime Minister of Nanyang is actually a local emperor. Although this is a bit exaggerated, it is an indisputable fact that his power is far greater than that of the governors in Central China.

After Zheng Miao issued the mobilization order holding the imperial axe, which symbolized the power of decision, Andai Province and Jiaxi Prefecture of Jiaqing Province were quickly mobilized.

Not only did vassal states at all levels bring their samurai and volunteers to the Xingang area to join the forces, but even the lowest-level Chinese people like Yamataro Maoshan were mobilized.

On December 12, the main army was still gathering in Xingang, and only a small number of troops approached the richest Palembang Prefecture in the southwest. The Chinese in the city directly rose up in rebellion and seized control.

A small number of Jambi natives pretended to resist for a while and then fled the city.

It’s no wonder they didn’t dare to resist. As the former seat of the Palembang Xuanwei Office, there were many Chinese people here before Mo Zibu revived the country.

After more than 10 million people migrated from the mainland in recent years, the number of Chinese in Palembang had long exceeded that of the locals.

However, the commercial tax received by the Sultan of Jambi from Palembang has been plummeting year by year, from the initial 11,000 silver dollars per year to only more than 2,000 silver dollars per year now.

This was a clear sign that the people of Jambi could no longer control Palembang and that the offensive and defensive situation had changed.

Zheng Miao then immediately turned his guns around and began besieging Jambi, the capital of the Jambi Sultanate. Before the siege of Jambi, the battle to clear out the surrounding natives had already begun.

Yamato was wearing the chain mail given by the old president. He kicked the door many times but couldn't open it.

Impatiently, he waved his hand, and the Burmese slave soldiers standing behind him immediately stepped forward and poured a can of kerosene on the house which was made entirely of wooden boards.

Then there was a flash of fire, and bursts of terrified cries were heard from the house. Soon, more than a dozen figures ran out of the house howling.

Shan Tailang Maoshan was holding a samurai sword, and a figure ran past him. The Burmese slave soldier beside him shouted and used something like a lasso to lasso and pull the man down.

Mao Shan then walked over to check and saw that it was a dark and strong man from Zhanbi. Mao Shan curled his lips, grasped the sword with both hands, and stabbed it in.

Then another figure ran by, and Mao Shan's face lit up with joy, because judging from the figure, it should be a woman.

Sure enough, not only was she a woman, she was also very young and had the best reproductive resources.

"Tie them up and let's go to the next village." Mao Shan shouted loudly.

Amidst the screams and cheers, a group of people dressed in black, wearing belts and black flying saucer helmets passed by them.
Behind this team, there are teams of three or four hundred garrison troops composed entirely of real Han Chinese civilians who have crossed the border, not imposters like him.

Their neat military uniforms and coordinated steps left Mao Shan stunned.

This army also saw Mao Shan and his men. A center guard officer ran over and said, "Whoever is leading the group, come forward and answer."

Upon hearing this, Mao Shan took a step forward and kicked the slave soldiers around him hard. These slave soldiers, who were composed of Burmese people, contract workers, etc., immediately knelt on the ground.

Mao Shan was the only one left standing among the dozens of people. He saluted and replied in Nanjing Mandarin: "My name is Mao Shan. I went abroad in the ninth year of Guangzhong. I currently live in Muar County, Johor Prefecture, Malacca State, Andai Province. All those here are slave soldiers from Muar County."

Zhongwei nodded and said, "General Cai Qian of the Louchuan Commandery has issued an order for all the people within a thirty-mile radius of Zhanbei City to gather outside the city.

Order your slave soldiers to follow behind, and you will join the garrison troops and go with us."

Mao Shan was even happier, and ran towards the Zhenjun troops composed entirely of real Han people with a beaming face. The twenty or thirty slave soldiers under his command looked at this scene with envy.

"The vast waves stretch for thousands of miles, the country's territory, exposed to frost, dew and snow, was handed down by our ancestors."

As they marched in unison, someone sang the navy song, which is almost becoming the national anthem, "China's Maritime Borders Are Ten Thousand Miles Long."

Mao Shan was also singing loudly. At this moment, he turned his head and saw a familiar figure. His younger brother, Yamajiro Yamagami Toru, was wearing the colonel's uniform and walking in front of the crowd.

As if they had telepathic connection, Yamagami Toru suddenly looked back. The two brothers' eyes met and they smiled knowingly at the same time.

(End of this chapter)