The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 664: Do You Still Dare to Look Down on the Talents of the World?

Amid the roar of gunfire and the howling of people and elephants, Chen Qiuze saw for the first time the person he had been thinking about day and night and wanted to get rid of.

Then, Chen Qiuze saw what a hidden master was.

Meng Yun surrendered without any scruples, shirtless, leading a tall goat and accompanied by dozens of Konbaung Dynasty officials.

Chen Qiuze took a closer look. The goat was very clean, with fur as white as cotton. It was obvious that it had been washed and waiting long ago.

"The king is not a Han Chinese, so why should he perform Han rituals?" Chen Qiuze said with a teasing look at the Burmese King Meng Yun.

Meng Yun remained calm, holding the goat in his left hand and the straw in his right. He knelt a few steps to Chen Qiuze, then said with his head on the ground, "My family is a descendant of Meng Huo, a great nobleman in the Ji Han South. Naturally, I can perform the Han ritual of baring my flesh and leading a goat."

Chen Qiuze was shocked, not because Meng Yun found his ancestor so quickly, but because he had his followers translate his words into Burmese, but Meng Yun spoke directly in Mandarin with a southwestern accent.

Before this, I had never heard that Meng Yun could speak Chinese. Wow, he learned it so quickly and hid it so well.

Chen Qiuze narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly, "You said you are the descendant of Meng Huo, then you are the descendant of Meng Huo. What if I don't admit it?"

"I've heard that Governor Chen is a pillar of the nation, and that His Majesty's favor towards him is unparalleled. I believe he must be aware of the benefits to the court if I am willing to acknowledge that I am a descendant of Meng Huo, and that the Burmese all migrated south from Yunnan and have been Chinese since ancient times.

Your Excellency is loyal to the emperor and patriotic, and you understand the righteousness of the cause. You will not interfere, right?"

At this time, the fact that the Burmese came south from Hexi and Longyou and were the descendants of the Bailang Qiang had not been confirmed, so it was generally believed that they were a mixture of the remnants of Nanzhao and the Pyu people of the Pyu Kingdom.

So, don’t say it, even if Meng Yun insists that his family is a descendant of Meng Huo, you really can’t be 100% sure that he is not, unless there is genetic means in later generations to prove it.

Chen Qiuze was silent for a moment, and immediately understood the benefits of Meng Yun admitting that the Burmese came from Yunnan and were willing to return to the Han family.

After more than ten years of development, especially with the advanced farming techniques and water conservancy construction techniques brought by Han immigrants, the Burmese population has also increased rapidly.

Currently, in Lower Burma south of Ava alone, out of a total population of seven million, there are more than four million Burmese, more than one million Han Chinese, and more than 800,000 people of other ethnic groups.

Among these more than four million Burmese, only about 300,000 are truly influential. Apart from them, the rest of the Burmese are just slaves.

This is not caused by the Han people raising serfs in their manors, but the Burmese have been doing this since ancient times.

In the Konbaung Dynasty, except for a very small number of nobles (literati) of about tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of free people (common people), the rest were slaves.

If we can win over the Burmese scholars and the Chinese class, even if we don't give them Chinese identity, at least we can give them a quasi-identity to give them hope, then Hanchuan Province will be stable.

And it is completely affordable, but it is only 300,000 people. Let them join forces with the Han people to rule Hanchuan. The delta where the Yiluo River meets the sea has only been developed at most 20%. There is still a lot of room.
Some of them could also be sent to the Kingdom of Arakan, the Kingdom of Manitou (Manipur), or even Chittagong in Bengal, to rule these areas for the Chinese region and build a firewall to separate them from the Indians.

Most importantly, they are willing to do so. This is a win-win situation.

Chen Qiuze was tempted, because this was the situation he wanted to achieve, control the majority, accept a small part, and spend twenty to thirty years completely assimilate this area.

But shouldn't he be the one who takes the initiative to plan all this, and Meng Yun should be reluctant to accept it? How the hell is it the other way around?
Seeing that Chen Qiuze was a little hesitant, Meng Yun gritted his teeth and reduced his demands again.

"This time, there are many people who do not understand the current situation and are causing trouble. They can be excluded. Therefore, the court only needs to accept 200,000 people."

Duan Tingdewen followed suit and said to Chen Qiuze with a hint of threat, "Your Excellency, I dare to remind you that this military expedition was actually a private action of yours truly. Our king has not rebelled, nor has he committed any disobedience.

Your Excellency has mobilized an army of 100,000 strong and powerful men to attack the innocent vassal state. This is unacceptable to His Majesty.

Sir, please don't think about hiding it. Lord Luo can cover it up for you temporarily, but he can't cover it up for you forever.

But if Your Excellency can agree to our request, then we will cooperate with Your Excellency and prepare a new memorial before Your Majesty sees the previous ones, stating that it was Mao Wen and others who kidnapped our king, rebelled and usurped the throne, and that Your Excellency is here to quell the rebellion.

Please think twice, Your Excellency!"

Chen Qiuze was shocked, but what surprised him was not that what he did was a bit over the red line and not decent, which might cause dissatisfaction of the emperor.

When Chen Qiuze was planning these things, he had considered everything carefully, including the possible criticism he might face.

He was surprised by the intelligence of Duan Tingdewen and his familiarity with the political system of Dayu. For a foreign minister to understand this, he was definitely very capable.

And what he said was right. If these people cooperated with him in putting on a show, although he would certainly not be able to fool the emperor and the prime minister, he could give an explanation to the middle and low-level officials and the people of the world.

With this explanation, Chen Qiuze's merits definitely outweigh his faults. At least he won't be stabbed by his opponents at the critical moment.

However, when Chen Qiuze looked at Meng Yun and Duan Tingdewen in front of him, he couldn't breathe a sigh of relief. He should have been the winner and in control of everything, but he was arranged by two barbarians.

What the hell is this?
However, despite all his complaints, Chen Qiuze appeared to be delighted. He immediately agreed to Meng Yun's proposal and ordered Meng Yun to put on his clothes and lead the vassal soldiers into the city to control the situation. He then had someone plant a large flag with a white background and a red sun and moon on the top of Ava City.

On the other side of the Jinsha River, the Pyu people, who were still barely holding on, immediately collapsed when they saw that Ava had been captured.

Mao Wen could no longer control the situation, and the 80,000-strong army immediately turned into 80,000 pigs.

After finishing all this quickly, Chen Qiuze felt empty inside. He looked at the staff around him and sighed softly.

"There are so many talented people in the world. Even these two barbarians have such intelligence. I shouldn't underestimate the heroes of the world.

It seems that this victory wasn't due to my foresight, Chen Qiuze, but rather to China's national strength, which is a million times greater than that of the Pyus. That's why they were completely powerless to fight back, and no matter how many mistakes I made, I could achieve my goal."

After saying that, Chen Qiuze suddenly lost some interest in all this. He walked slowly towards the Amorapura Palace in the city. After sealing the treasury and preparing for the rewards, he would write a letter to His Majesty to report everything clearly.

Chen Qiuze has both merits and faults, so let Your Majesty make the final decision.

On the battlefield, the moment the red sun and moon flag with a white background was hoisted on the top of the Ava city wall, the battle was declared over, and all that remained was the mopping-up.

The Han army chased the Pyu people and fought them all the way. The Pyu people were unable to break free and the battle lasted until the afternoon of the next day. The Pyu people were defeated in six battles, with blood and corpses everywhere.

More than 4,000 of the 80,000 Burmese soldiers were killed in battle, more than 2,000 were trampled to death, nearly 30,000 were injured or seriously injured, and thousands were captured. Thousands also jumped into the Jinsha River, and the river was littered with floating corpses.

Mao Wen and other culprits found a way to survive in the chaos. Chen Guangtai was anxious to stabilize the situation and sent only a small number of pursuit troops, so these people escaped in the chaos.

However, they had not gone far when the Governor of Nanzhong, Mo Gongbai, personally led 30,000 Nanzhong garrison troops to the scene and arrested Mao Wen and others.

Compared with ministers like Chen Qiuze, as the eldest son of the emperor's elder brother, Duke Cai Mo Zihuang, Mo Gongbai has been guarding Nanzhong for eight years. It goes without saying that he is in a high position and has great power. The key is that he also has the power to act at his own discretion.

Although the Mogongbai troops stationed in Kunming and Dali could not be mobilized, the garrison troops in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Upper Sichuan (Upper Myanmar) could be mobilized within the country without the need for imperial edicts.

In other words, Mo Gongbai can mobilize the Guizhou garrison in Guizhou, and he can mobilize the Yunnan garrison in Yunnan. The same applies to Shangchuan. As long as the transfer is not across provinces, he can make his own decision.

The Ministry of War even specially assigned a military doctor to Kunming for Mo Gongbo so that he could respond quickly.

Therefore, when he learned that Hanchuan Governor Chen Qiuze had gone to attack Ava, Mo Gongbai immediately rushed from Kunming to Jinshachuan (Myitkyina), and then mobilized 30,000 troops from Shangchuan Town and began to march towards Ava.

Mo Gongbai was still very experienced and knew that it was not difficult to defeat the Pyu people, but the difficult part was to prevent these people from running into the mountains of Upper Myanmar and hiding.

So while he was marching, he also issued a letter to the various tribes in Burma, asking them to search strictly and prevent anyone from escaping into the mountains and forests.

With the help of these local thugs, it was no surprise that Mao Wen and others were arrested.

By the time Shangchuan's 30,000 garrison troops arrived near Ava, the situation was completely stabilized. Reassured, Chen Qiuze began to send troops and work with the ministers appointed by Meng Yun to eliminate the stubborn people everywhere.

This is really a joke from hell. Meng Yun, who was regarded as a support by the rebellious Piao people, turned out to be the one who betrayed their most capable person. In order to protect himself, Meng Yun can do anything now.

A few days later, messenger Chen Qiuze went upstream to the border between Shangchuan and the area controlled by the Burmese king, and met the Governor-General of South China, Mo Gongbai.

At the same time, Mo Gongze, who felt more and more that he was being used, also followed the messenger north. He wanted to meet his cousin who was always known for his steadiness and was the most trusted by the emperor's fifth uncle, and ask him if he had done anything wrong.

"Go back and tell Earl Hua Ting that I killed Mao Wen and the others for him. No one will be left alive. The bodies can be handed over to him, but I need him to submit a petition to His Majesty himself, requesting that Ava be renamed the capital of Shangchuan Province."

Since Chen Qiuze was crossing the red line, he naturally didn't want a survivor like Mao Wen to say anything nonsense when he surrendered in Nanjing, so Mo Gongbai took the opportunity to make a request.

Jinshachuan (Myitkyina) was too poor and tiny to be a provincial capital. This meant that Hanchuan Province had grown considerably, while Shangchuan Province was still a makeshift organization. His governor-general also served as the governor of Shangchuan, while the provincial governors under him had to handle many duties, including serving as provincial inspectors, superintendents of education, and even prefects of Jinshachuan Prefecture.

The entire Shangchuan Province was actually just an envoy's office that managed the southwestern chieftains.

However, if the provincial capital of Shangchuan could be moved to the fertile and densely populated city of Ava (Mandalay), with this land, the imperial court's offices would be able to get rid of the situation of needing the support of the chieftains, and Shangchuan Province would be revived.

After sending away Chen Qiuze's messenger, Mo Gongbai and Mo Gongze met. Mo Gongbai looked at the young mixed-race handsome face and knew who the real person was without any introduction.

"He is indeed the son of my third uncle. He is so handsome and charming, and he is even better than my father!"

"Aze has met you, brother. I've heard of your great name for a long time. Seeing you today, I can see that your demeanor is truly incomparable to that of a younger brother like me. Chen Zhitai treats me like a monkey, but when facing you, I have to be respectful and respectful."

Mo Gongbai waved his hand and laughed twice. He felt a great favor for this cousin who could speak authentic Cantonese and had very good manners.

"Aze, please don't mind me. Hanchuan Province is located on the border of the country. It is extremely important, but it lacks someone to take charge. Originally, Chengguogong Zheng Miao could have done something, but he was badly betrayed by Dong Jinfeng and just lay down.

So Chen Zhitai is devoted to serving his country, but has no support, so he can only look for opportunities everywhere. Just when you arrived, with the imperial flag in hand, he naturally wants to take advantage of it."

Mo Gongbo had a good impression of Chen Qiuze. He was a close relative of the royal family. To him, how could he not like a minister who disregarded his own life and property and was willing to work wholeheartedly for the benefit of the country?

As for the fact that things went wrong, it was because Chen Qiuze was not capable enough. At that time, he would just go to the Meridian Gate and it would not cause much loss to the country.

But if it succeeds, like this time, there will be many benefits.

At the same time, Mo Gongze didn't really hate being used.

He was actually quite happy in his heart, at least he had done a good thing for the Han people in Hanchuan. He was just a little worried. Anyone would be nervous if they got involved in these things without knowing the emperor.

So after getting to know Mo Gongbo a little, he immediately asked cautiously, "I just arrived in Fatherland and I've already caused such a big incident. Will Your Majesty be unhappy?"

Mo Gongbai knew what he was worried about and quickly waved his hand, "No, without your imperial flag this time, it would be a bit dangerous.

Since Chen Qiuze was unable to mobilize the people of Hanchuan to serve as his escort, he could only take unexpected risks. How could he be as relaxed as he is now?

Besides, even if there is something wrong, for the sake of Uncle Lu, you will just be scolded at most when you arrive in Nanjing.

Of course, remember, don't raise the imperial flag anymore, and don't delay on the way. Hurry and go to Nanjing to meet the emperor."

Mo Gongze finally felt relieved. He simply said to Mo Gongbo, "Brother, I won't go to Southeast Asia. I'll go directly to the capital through the inland."

Mo Gongbai thought about it and agreed. If one went from Nanyang to Nanjing by sea, the total distance traveled by land and water would be at least 12,000 to 13,000 miles.

From here, you can go through Yunnan and Guizhou into Huguang, and then go down the river. It is only more than 6,000 miles, which not only saves half the distance, but is also not as dangerous as the sea.

"That's great. I'm going to Guiyang soon, so we can talk all night long."

. . . .

Nanjing, Forbidden City, Wenhua Hall.

Mo Zibu came back and saw ten volumes of Meng Yun's memorials, or to put it more bluntly, letters asking for help.

Of course, before he saw these letters for help, Meng Yun was captured, and the last memorial sent by Chen Qiuze, indicating that it was Maung Win, a member of the Konbaung Dynasty royal family, who rebelled and Chen Qiuze was going to quell the rebellion, also arrived.

Also arriving at the same time were memorials submitted by Governor-General of Nanzhong Mo Gongbai and Governor-General of Hanchuan Chen Qiuze.

Mo Zibu took a closer look and said to Lin Tong, the Cardinal Minister of the Inner Court, "Chen Qiuze is still too young. He doesn't need to be so radical."

Lin Tong smiled and said to Mo Zibu, "The capital is 20,000 miles away from Nanyang. Most officials in the court have no idea what the situation is like in Nanyang. Even if they knew, they wouldn't feel the pain firsthand.

Then out of instinctive sympathy, they will definitely not support Chen Qiuze. Even if the situation is urgent, there will still be voices of opposition.

When Hanchuan Province was first established, Huang Zhen, the Marquis of Huang Lao, and Pegu, the Marquis of Su Ji, both wrote to the court several times, requesting that troops be sent to resolve the Pyu issue, but their requests were ultimately rejected.

So this time, I support Chen Qiuze's decision to execute first and report later."

Mo Zibu nodded. Lin Tong didn't actually say it very clearly. This was not just out of sympathy, but was also mixed with the struggle between various factions in the court.

And the most important reason was that the court was quite opposed to spending tens of millions of silver dollars every year to promote foreign colonization.

In their view, the problem can be solved without resorting to force, so they would rather delay it and avoid resorting to force to avoid another budget deficit.

Mo Zibu knew clearly that by the time the empire had reached this point, the population had lost 20 million, and now it was basically in a period of balance again.

That is, life in the country was still manageable, and the people did not have a strong desire to colonize overseas. At the same time, the subsidies led by the imperial court could no longer be carried out.

Especially now that the Northwest War is about to begin, most of the subsidies will have to be cut, otherwise it will be difficult to gain full support from the court and outside the court for the Northwest War.

Of course, how to cut and how much to cut will have to be discussed in a meeting of cabinet ministers, six ministries, the Ministry of Clan Affairs, and the Internal Court Transportation Bureau.

Well, Mo Zibu quietly put the memorial away. He still needed to think carefully about how to deal with Chen Qiuze. After all, although the method was not very acceptable, the thing was done.

"You and I may seem like king and subject, but in reality, we're family. If we have something to say, we can just speak directly to each other. How could you think of using such a method to defile yourself?"

Mo Zibu really didn't understand why Lin Tong protected Chen Qiuze. In fact, part of the reason was that he was desecrating himself.

Lin Tong wanted to use this moment as a stain and retire at the prime age of 45.

“Your Majesty, I was born a servant of the Mo family, and my life was saved by the Emperor, so in the eyes of outsiders, I am your Majesty’s true minion.

Four years ago, I retired from the position of Prime Minister because I had to make concessions to the outer court. Your Majesty took pity on me and appointed me as the Cardinal Minister of the Inner Court.

However, I have held this position for four years, and I have been in fear for four years. If I continue to do this, I will have my own followers.

I know Your Majesty is afraid of my suspicions and is reluctant to dismiss me. I am also worried that retiring at such a young age would undermine Your Majesty's discernment and magnanimity. Therefore, I have decided to discredit myself, so that from now on, I can retire."

Four years ago, Lin Tong lost the position of Prime Minister because Mo Zibu had to make concessions to the outer court.

Because he wanted to make concessions in exchange for the foreign court not stopping him from shifting financial resources toward the foreign invasion and the wars in the northwest and northeast, as well as making large-scale adjustments to the imperial examinations, taxation, and other aspects.

But if the outer court does not stop it, Lin Tong, a servant of the Mo family, will become the prime minister and firmly control the outer court. What will happen? It will be the same as the Manchu royal cabinet.

Therefore, Lin Tong immediately resigned from the position of Prime Minister. Even Zheng Jinshui, who was promoted to the position, was just a clay Buddha in the cabinet and rarely expressed his opinions.

After Lin Tong took office as the Cardinal Minister of the Inner Court, pressure immediately came upon him.

Lin Tong, who was born as a slave of the Mo family, was the emperor's confidant and founding hero. After serving as the prime minister of the outer court, he became the cardinal minister of the inner court.

He has been in the most powerful position in the world for a long time, so it is hard for him not to have cronies. Moreover, many of those who come to get close to Lin Tong have ulterior motives.

Therefore, Lin Tong simply contaminated himself and got rid of himself first, so as to avoid having too many followers and being too powerful to be controlled, which might harm him at any time.

"Okay, then you can go to the Sanzhong Temple Imperial College and be the principal. The fourth batch of rubber has been introduced to Nanyang.

The research and development of planting technology and vulcanized rubber are the responsibility of the Sanzhongci Imperial College. You should supervise them."

Mo Zibu thought for a while and said that rickshaws had begun to appear in Nanyang at this time. That was because rubber had been introduced to Nanyang for almost six years and could be harvested soon.

Moreover, the rubber originally imported from South America has been turned into vulcanized rubber that can be used to make tires, gloves, etc. through Mo Zibu's personal intervention and experiments, and is now ready for mass production.

"Rubber is a material with a wide range of uses and great economic value. If Nanyang can have another industry like this, it will increase its appeal and encourage more people to go abroad even when the imperial court cuts funding for overseas travel.

It's just right for you to manage this. This is no small matter, it's a major national policy!"

(End of this chapter)