Di Ming

Chapter 507 "Demon King Zhu Yin, retribution has come!"

The Ming army returned in triumph, truly returning laden with spoils.

Firstly, politically, Zhu Yin's installation of a puppet dynasty in Burma meant that the Ming Dynasty controlled Burma. Burma had effectively become a colony of the Ming Dynasty.

The jade mines, gold and silver mines, seaports, and vast amounts of land belonging to royalty, nobles, and temples in Myanmar were all nationalized by the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yin essentially plundered Burma. The wealth of the royal family, nobles, temples, and wealthy merchants was almost entirely swept away.

Burma was rich in gold and silver. The gold and silver seized alone were worth hundreds of millions of taels of silver. Most of Burma's gold and silver fell into the hands of the Ming army.

There were also a large number of elephants, oxen, and warhorses, which could only be transported back using captured foreign ships.

The number of prisoners exceeded 100,000. Apart from the Burmese prisoners that Hao Yunlai brought back to Yunnan, Zhu Yin brought 60,000 to 70,000 prisoners on the ship.

The labor shortage needed for the construction of major projects such as Chang'an and Luoyang was partially solved.

Fortunately, a large number of warships were captured, otherwise Zhu Yin would have had to worry about transportation capacity.

Myanmar is also known as the land of gems. In addition to vast amounts of gold and silver, Zhu Yin also acquired mountains of various jewels, the value of which is incalculable.

According to the agreement with Caiwei, all the gold, silver, prisoners of war, grain, livestock, weapons, warships, and other items obtained in the war would belong to the national treasury and be the public property of the imperial court.

However, the wealth, such as gems and antiques, belongs to Ningyin Trading Company. Mines and trading companies acquired through war are also to be managed by Ningyin Trading Company.

The success of this trip to Myanmar also brought Ningyin Trading Company a windfall.

With this latest confiscation, the Ming Dynasty's treasury now holds over 200 million taels of gold and silver! Enough to pay the Shimonoseki indemnity owed to Japan by the Qing Dynasty.

During the mid-Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the total amount of gold and silver that survived was approximately equivalent to a little over one billion taels of silver (including gold and silver artifacts).

However, the gold and silver he brought back from Japan and Burma were worth over 100 million taels of silver, which is equivalent to increasing the amount of gold and silver in existence in the Ming Dynasty by 10%!
However, wealth isn't gold and silver; it's supplies like grain and cloth. If we're being truly serious about improving the lives of the Ming people, only oxen are truly useful. Everything else is hardly real wealth.

In theory, if the money supply increases by 10%, prices will rise by far more than 10%, and hyperinflation will be inevitable.

In particular, much of the gold and silver in the Ming Dynasty was hoarded or stored as gold and silver artifacts, and did not participate in circulation. At most, 30% did circulate. This meant that hyperinflation was even more severe.

If Zhu Yin were to spend all this gold and silver, the people would suffer! It would mean the court was using the vast amounts of gold and silver acquired through war to plunder the true wealth of its own people.

So what should we do? First, we can't spend money recklessly; we need to control the budget. Second, we need more anchors to hedge our positions.

China still had a small-scale agricultural economy with limited productivity, especially food supplies were scarce, and many people starved to death in bad years.

In ancient times, when food was of paramount importance to the people, grain was the hardest currency and the most suitable anchor for gold and silver.

Where will the increased grain reserves come from to offset the surge in the national treasury's gold and silver reserves? They will come from overseas, of course.

Therefore, Zhu Yin would not let go of the colonial cause. He wanted to do what the foreigners had done.

He ordered Lin Pei, a veteran of the Jinghai Navy, to lead 2,000 elite troops and 10 warships to occupy Goa, India, and plunder the colonial achievements of the foreigners in India.

He then ordered Zhou Desi to lead 1,000 elite troops and 5 warships to capture Chittagong, control the mouth of the Ganges River, and establish a stronghold.

Zhu Yin planned to use Chittagong as a springboard to conquer what would later become Bangladesh, and then use Bangladesh as a springboard to conquer Gurkha (Nepal).

He ordered Zhang Naiding to lead 1,000 elite troops and five warships to occupy Madras and Buriged, two key coastal locations in southeastern India, and establish strongholds there.

He ordered Li Jiayi to lead 1,000 elite soldiers and five warships to occupy Ceylon.

Zhu Yin did not provoke the Mughal Empire, which was on the rise at the time.

At this time, the Chittagong area was not yet part of the Mughal Empire's territory. Occupying this strategic location would not immediately trigger a war with the Mughals.

Furthermore, southern India at this time was not yet Mughal territory, so it was safe to establish strongholds there.

Of course, war with the Mughals was inevitable. The Mughals' continued expansion would eventually lead to the annexation of South India and Chittagong.

But the Mughals were no pushovers; they were a military superpower even stronger than Burma, a nomadic empire established by Turkicized Mongols.

At this time, it was not advisable to start a war with the Mughals; it would have to wait at least a few years. Zhu Yin also appointed Cao Xin as the governor-general of South India, in charge of the three generals Lin Pei, Zhou Desi, and Li Jiayi, preparing to take over the entire South India.

Wang Huaizhen was appointed Governor of Palembang, leading 3,000 elite troops to be stationed in Palembang, while also exercising control over Sumatra, Kalimantan, Suruk, and Malacca.

He gave Cao Xin and Wang Huaizhen two tasks: to transport at least one million tons of grain back to China this year!

Whether they rob, forcibly seize, or build manors, he doesn't care; he only wants food and other supplies!
Next year, this number will double, reaching two million shi each!

What if the Indians and Southeast Asian natives lacked food? Easy, they could stop eating rice and noodles and eat sweet potatoes and potatoes, which were already available.

Or, I'd rather starve to death.

Zhu Yin also gave an order to Mangda, the puppet king of Burma: From now on, he shall pay one million shi of grain every year!
His goal was to reach an annual grain supply of ten million bushels from overseas colonies within five years, and twenty million bushels within ten years!
As for how many natives in the colonies will starve to death... isn't that a good thing?
This would be a good opportunity to purify the indigenous population. Even if it meant committing genocide like the Spanish and Ansar, it wouldn't be out of the question if necessary.

...

Zhu Yin truly lived up to his name, acting with great ferocity. Taking advantage of his great victory, he established more than a dozen colonial outposts in India and Southeast Asia, appointed two governors and twelve garrison commanders, and stationed a full ten thousand elite troops there.

Given the strain on military resources, this was a monumental undertaking of territorial expansion, demonstrating the fervent enthusiasm for the Ming Dynasty's colonial endeavors.

From Burma to the south of India, from Malacca to Kalimantan, Zhu Yin initially established the prototype of the Ming Dynasty's colonial empire.

Zhu Yin also issued the "Firearms Prohibition Order," which strictly controlled firearms in colonial strongholds and prohibited natives from contacting, mastering, or imitating firearms.

Any native who dared to possess firearms without authorization was considered an anti-Ming element and sentenced to "treason".

Having made all these arrangements, Zhu Yin returned to China with peace of mind.

……

Before Zhu Yin had even set off to return to the capital, a coup was brewing in distant Nanjing.

A coup d'état was launched by monks who were accused of hating and persecuting Buddhism and who had been forced to return to secular life.

Zhu Yin was far away overseas, and the outcome of the battle was unknown. No news of a major victory had yet been received. The monks, whose temple property had been confiscated, whose ordination certificates had been revoked, and who had been ordered to return to secular life, could no longer contain themselves.

From the end of last year to May of this year, 90% of the temples in the Southern Dynasties were closed, 90% of their property was confiscated, and as many as 300,000 monks and nuns were forced to return to secular life. In the Jiangnan region alone, the number was no less than 100,000.

Among them, those who harbored extreme hatred for Zhu Yin and harbored rebellious intentions numbered well over ten thousand!
It was nightfall on the first day of the fifth lunar month.

In a secluded manor outside Nanjing, a group of former monks and nobles are having a secret meeting.

Under the dim light of the lamp, the room was littered with cups and plates, and amidst the strong smell of alcohol, stood a group of bloated and smug "high monks and great masters."

A middle-aged monk at the head of the table wiped the grease from his mouth, drank another cup of Jinhua Amber Red wine, let out a burp, and reeked of alcohol as he said:

“Amitabha! Of the five who persecuted Buddhism—the Three Wu and One Zong, and Langdarma, the Tibetan king—did any of them have a good ending? Not a single one.”

"As the saying goes, retribution is inevitable; every sip and every bite is preordained. Is Zhu Yin destined for a good end?"

"Nine days from now, on the tenth day of the fifth lunar month, will be the anniversary of the death of Emperor Taichang at Xiaoling Mausoleum. Emperor Taichang and his ministers will surely go to Xiaoling to offer sacrifices. This is our only chance! First, kill the treacherous officials Xu Wei, Shang Yang, Xu Xiaobai, Ding Liyang, Zong Qin, and others, then control Emperor Taichang, and then surrender to the Beijing court! At that time, the gentry and ministers will definitely support us!"

"The Demon King Zhu Yin is far overseas, beyond our reach. Even if he manages to return alive from Myanmar, he will be deserted by all, a tiger fallen into the plains."

“Amitabha, this is not advisable!” Another ‘high monk’ shook his head and said, “We must not surrender to the Beijing court. Master Yuankong, don’t forget that Zheng Guowang of the Northern Dynasty is also a demon king who persecuted Buddhism! If the Northern Dynasty agrees to persecute Buddhism, it will also be an enemy of Buddhism and the instigator of the persecution of the Dharma!”

"The Northern Dynasty has a devil like Zheng Guowang, how can we submit to him? It would be better to unite with the gentry and noble families of Jiangnan and establish a new emperor in Nanjing! Our conditions are: restore the temple property and pay homage to the Three Jewels!"

"Excellent! Excellent!" The monks nodded in agreement. "On the tenth day of the month, the anniversary of the death, we should first kill the treacherous ministers such as Xu Wei, and then control the foolish emperor Zhu Changluo."

"Demon King Zhu Yin, your retribution has come!"

...

P.S.: I was too busy today and could only update a short chapter. Sorry! I'll definitely make up for it! Thank you all for your support, goodnight!
(End of this chapter)