The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 89 Pattani

The living conditions of the indigenous people of Southeast Asia are actually somewhat similar to those of the herdsmen on the grasslands.

In other words, the initial living environment of human beings all has something in common.

For example, in the South Seas today, most people think that it must be a vast tropical rainforest. The natives can hide anywhere and you will have no way to find them.

Well, maybe it could be done that way in the future during the Vietnam War.

Because humans had already entered industrialization at that time, even if they hid in the rainforest, they could have all kinds of modern items.

For example, various medicines for treating diseases, medicines for driving away snakes, insects, rats and ants, etc., as well as a large amount of industrial food to fill the stomach.

But it is not possible at this time. None of the above conditions exist. Therefore, in Southeast Asia, whether Chinese or indigenous people, if they want to survive, they cannot stay in the tropical rainforest for a long time.

There is not even enough food in the rainforest to feed humans. For example, the fruits that the indigenous people often use to fill their stomachs are completely different in variety from those grown in the dense forest and those cultivated around human villages.

Even the most common banana can be completely different.

So in Southeast Asia, taking Pattani as an example, the area of more than 4,000 square kilometers is almost two-thirds the size of Shanghai, and the population seems to be only 80,000 to 90,000, which is not small in the Malay Peninsula.

But the only area suitable for human habitation is the long strip along both sides of the Pattani River.

The reclaimed farmland and planted fruit trees are all around here, and fishing from the river is also a very important means of livelihood.

Just like in history, as long as the Han army followed the water source when going out of the border, they would definitely find the nomadic tribes.

In Southeast Asia, if you follow the river, you will definitely find natives. Even if they are natives, staying in the dense jungle for too long will still be fatal.

At this time in Southeast Asia, the sultans on the Malay Peninsula were generally divided into two factions.

The largest of these was the Johor Sultanate and its extensions, which were rebuilt on the ruins by the descendants of the Malacca Sultan after the Malacca Kingdom was destroyed by the Portuguese.

The sultanates including Selangor, Pahang, Terengganu, Perak, Kelantan, etc. were all established by relatives of the Sultan of Malacca or the descendants of powerful officials of the Sultan of Malacca.

The other group is the two sultanates of Kedah and Pattani.

The ancestors of the Sultan of Kedah came from Persia, and they were most likely the same clan or even descendants of the Persian merchants (pirates) who plundered Guangzhou during the Huang Chao Uprising.

In Pattani, after Lin Daoqian was killed, the country lost the support of Chinese pirates. Queen Ratu Aungku was unable to balance the internal and external affairs, and experienced wars with Siam and Johor successively, which soon led the country into the abyss of destruction.

After Queen Ratu Aungu died, her daughter Queen Kunlin ascended the throne, but was sidelined within a few years and a larger-scale civil war broke out.

In the chaos, the Orangkaya Maritime Merchant Group, the original powerful class in Pattani, was purged, Queen Kunlin was deposed, and the throne fell into the hands of the Sultan of the neighboring Kelantan.

At this time, the Chinese, who had been dormant for nearly 40 years, suddenly made a move. They brought Siam, which had long been dissatisfied with Pattani's secession, into Pattani's civil war.

Not long after the Sultan of Kelantan took control of Pattani, he was repelled by the joint forces of Chinese and Siam.

It is a pity that Pattani was completely assimilated by Islam during the reign of Queen Ratu Aungku, and Siam and the Chinese were unable to control the nearly 100,000 Pattani natives.

After discussion, they introduced the royal family of the Sultan of Kedah, which had no family relationship with the Malacca Sultanate, and reached an agreement.

The Chinese accepted a Sultan from Kedah to rule over the local indigenous people. The Sultan from Kedah also wanted to grant the Chinese privileges.

Apart from a small amount of taxes agreed upon each year, the Chinese were not required to perform any military service or corvee labor, and they also had the privilege of mining and land reclamation.

Moreover, Pattani was not an independent country, but a vassal state of the Kingdom of Siam, which was equivalent to putting a tight ring on the head of the Sultan of Pattani.

Afterwards, the two sides coexisted peacefully for about a hundred years, and now they can no longer coexist.

. . . .

In Pattani, Sultan Bahadur II was frowning. He had just expelled the Siamese tax officials, saving the gold and silver that had to be paid as tribute to the King of Siam this year, but this still could not save the Sultanate's finances.

Because over the years, the Chinese have used their advanced farming techniques and privileges such as monopoly on mining to basically squeeze the indigenous people out of their livelihood.

The few small tin mines and most of the fertile land in Sudan belong to the Chinese, but they basically do not pay taxes. It can be said that they are a country within a country and have nothing to do with Sultan Bahadur II.

The indigenous people only have a small amount of land, and most of them still live by gathering, fishing and hunting.

With this kind of productivity, even if these 100,000 people were squeezed to death, not much oil could be produced, not to mention that they had to pay a huge amount of gold and silver as tribute to Siam every year.

Therefore, the economy of the Pattani Sultanate has never been good since its independence.

Bahadur II was feeling quite uncomfortable. He was standing on the terrace of the palace, looking at the fertile fields of the Chinese in the distance, and had only one thought in his mind.

That is to kill these tide guys, nationalize their fields and mines, and move all their wealth to the palace, so as to alleviate the kingdom's poor financial situation.

Almost at the same time, in the Chinese estate outside the city, the Chaozhou people, mainly the Wei family, were also cursing.

Wei Daquan's younger brother, Wei Dakuan, was particularly furious. He pounded his fists on the table, making a loud bang. "Without us hipsters, how could his ancestors, Bahadur, have become the Sultan of Patani?" he asked.

He's useless, he can't farm, he can't mine, and now he can't eat, he wants to rob, right? Then let him try!"

However, having said that, everyone in the Wei family still looked a little embarrassed.

They have lived in Pattani for more than a hundred years and have long lost the bravery that their ancestors had when they galloped along the coast of Fujian and Guangdong and could fight against the famous naval commander Yu Dayou.

Their current combat effectiveness is only slightly better than that of the natives. Among the three thousand people, only about two hundred are truly capable of fighting.

But there are more than 80,000 natives, at least 4,000 to 5,000 of them, not to mention that they have hundreds of muskets in their hands. Even if they only have knives, it will be difficult to deal with them.

Their only support, the Ayutthaya Dynasty of Siam, could hardly protect itself and might even have collapsed.

As for the Chinese nearby, there are the Hakka Ye family in Taogongcheng.

Well, communicating in Teochew and Meixian Hakka is probably no easier than communicating with the indigenous people, so there is not much interaction between the two dialects.

Therefore, the Wei family of Pattani actually had few choices. They could either cooperate with Mo Zibu or abandon their family business now and flee to the heart of Siam with their gold and silver and wait for the opportunity.

So after Mr. Wei got angry, everyone knew that they had no choice.

The elder of the third branch of the Wei family stood up and said, "Siam will probably have a hard time sending troops. Zheng Guoying is trapped in Ayutthaya.

But if we wait any longer, the Sultan in the city will take action against us.

They have 100,000 people, and we only have 3,000 or 4,000. Brother, you are the clan leader, so you make the decision."

Wei Daquan nodded and said, "I've made inquiries about Mr. Mo Wu. He's a generous and magnanimous person.

Wang Chunfa is now enjoying his retirement in Ha Tien. He refused to accept Wu Rang's bird's nest business even though it was offered to him. He is also the sworn brother of Ri Kun from the Weijia Puzai Fang, so he can be trusted."

Upon hearing that his brother had made the decision, Wei Dakuan also breathed a sigh of relief.

He was afraid that his brother would cling to the idea of Chaozhou folks, so he quickly gave a wry smile and echoed:
"Actually, being a fan holder for Kunlun Mountain Hall is fine. Zheng Guoying and his men have been doing very well in Siam over the years. Many of the young men who originally followed our Wei family have gone to Siam. If this continues, the Wei family will be left with no one."

"Let's not talk about that. If Zheng Guoying and the others stand up, it will benefit everyone." Wei Daquan quickly stopped his brother from talking.

"Then each family should go back and start preparing. Transport the women, children, and valuables onto the ship. Let the Sultan in the city think we are trying to escape."

The descendants of pirates, led by the Wei family, have taken root in Pattani for hundreds of years, so it is naturally impossible that they have no contact with the indigenous people.

In fact, although their core group is only more than 3,000 people, there are still about 10,000 to 20,000 peripheral members and indigenous people who depend on them.

But because of this, it is difficult to keep the Wei family's every move secret. Many natives eat the Wei family's food, but they are definitely on the Sultan's side behind the scenes.

There were even many who took the initiative to tip off the Sultan, just to receive their property after driving out or defeating the Wei family.

This was a bad thing, but now it has become a point that can be exploited.

Because they were only responsible for luring out Sultan Bahadur's guards and revealing his true colors. After all, the force used to attack the indigenous people did not come from the Wei family.

Sure enough, before the Wei family, which was leaking information everywhere, even started to take action, Bahadur in Pattani City knew the news.

He was afraid that the Wei family would transfer a large amount of wealth, so he issued the mobilization order at an extremely fast speed.

The natives of Pattani had long coveted the Wei family's property, and as soon as the mobilization order was issued, people everywhere were mobilized.

Those who usually sleep until noon and don't like to move are more active than each other when they gather together.

Almost all of them, including their entire families, began to gather in Pattani City.

The strong ones held iron knives and iron spears, while the older ones held wooden guns and wooden sticks.

Besides these capable fighters, the older ones, their hair already greying, still followed along, their weapons in a disarray, full of energy as if they were celebrating a festival. The younger ones were even more excited, shouting and clamoring.

Even the indigenous women and children came chattering and wearing their most beautiful clothes to see off their fathers, brothers and sons.

At this time, the Kunlun Mountain Hall's fleet had arrived thirty nautical miles off the coast of Pattani.

However, Mo Zibu did not order to enter the port controlled by the Wei family, for he was afraid of scaring the natives away.

Because he did not have enough time to clear out the enemy, the Burmese army's siege of Ayutthaya became tighter day by day, and he had to be ready to help Taksin at any time.

Moreover, considering the military strength of the indigenous people of Pattani, there is no need for Mo Zibula to lead the gunboats to fight them. A few hundred elite soldiers will be enough.

(End of this chapter)