Nowadays, many large and small kingdoms have emerged in the direction of Nanyang and the Southern Continent. Half of them are "close vassals" of the Ming Dynasty, and some are established by important ministers authorized by Zhu Cixiang, such as the Zheng family of Quanguo Gong, the Zhu family of Chengguo Gong, The Ma family of Guiguo, the Shen family of Chongguo, the Kong family of Yanshenggong, the Zhang family of Yingguo, the Xu family of Dingguo, the Wei family of Tongguo, etc. all have their own feudal states.
Zhu Cixiang originally wanted to get a kingdom for the Wu family, but was firmly rejected by Wu Sanfu, Wu Sanmei, Wu Ake and others... The old Wu family had already lost blood playing in the vassal town and could no longer afford the vassal state. Their family just wants to live safely and securely as relatives of the emperor!
The old Wu family did not want a vassal state, and Zhu Cixiang certainly did not force it. He also knew that the Wu family were all stupid, clumsy, and knew how to serve as soldiers to collect rent, and could not run a country at all. If they were forced to found a country, they would definitely lose their money. No return.
As for the other vassal states established around Nanyang and the Southern Continent, most of them are not doing well. That is, the Sulu Kingdom of the Zheng family, the Surabaya Kingdom of the Shen family, the Lionai Kingdom of the Wei family, and the Xijiang Kingdom, Makassar Kingdom, Bali Kingdom, and Lanfang Kingdom invested by several princes of the Zhu family (you can tell by the names) (given by Zhu Cixiang), as well as the Luzon Kingdom where Emperor Chongzhen invested his capital, the Phuket Kingdom of Zhu Cizhao, the Malacca Kingdom and the Palembang Kingdom that occupied the strategic point of Malacca, oh, and the large and loose United Kingdom of the Southern Continent. is profitable.
All other countries are all losing money!
Of course, these countries may not necessarily continue to suffer losses until they are defeated. But long-term losses are foreseeable... So by the fifty-second year of Hongxing's reign, the word "traitor" already had two meanings in the Ming Dynasty. One was treason. Selling the motherland; one is selling part or all of the country it holds!
You worked so hard to invest and build your country thousands of miles away, and then you lost everything, and you weren’t allowed to resell it? Is this justified? This is a limited liability country! Investors cannot be allowed to bear unlimited liability, otherwise who would dare to invest?
So now there are not only loss-making traitors, but also even worse cases of bankruptcy and subjugation... In the past twenty years, several countries have been subjugated!
That is the real loss of money, and sometimes even the loss of old life. It is a complete human tragedy!
As the saying goes, founding a country is risky, so you need to be cautious when investing!
In addition to "selling the country", there is also the business of "selling the city"... Because it is too risky for one company to invest in a country, many groups invest together. Investors usually don't just take shares without participating in management - investing in a vassal country is extremely risky, and except for a few countries where gold can be mined or that happen to be at the throat of trade, even if other countries can make profits, the return on investment is low. Quite limited.
The reason why there are still people who are willing to invest in it one after another is because investing in a country can bring unexpected benefits in terms of monetary returns.
For example, the possession of political power from generation to generation, or the effect of three nests of cunning rabbits - although under the leadership of Zhu Cixiang, the political struggle in the Ming Dynasty was generally relatively mild (after all, the increase was large and sufficient for distribution), but who would Can you guarantee that it won’t become bloody again in the future?
Therefore, for those rich and powerful, it is always beneficial to have the opportunity to acquire a piece of territory overseas. Even if future generations die in the Ming Dynasty, overseas branches can still continue to have a good reputation...
Therefore, those wealthy and powerful people who invest overseas will not only invest money but not acquire land. They usually organize groups of underachievers in their families to spread their business. A family may not have so much capital to invest in one country, but even if they have capital, they still have to spread their investments! Therefore, several dozens of companies often invest together, and the one that invests the most becomes the leader of the country and seizes the best land to become the capital. If you invest less, you can become a city lord with less territory.
Of course, this "city lord" refers not only to the lord of the city, but also to the lord of the castle - some of them are lucky and can make money by investing in a city with a large population. In most cases, it is a manor castle. Although you can't make much money, it is still a place to settle down. If it really wants to develop for decades or hundreds of years, these city lord families will have a solid foundation. Even the Ming Dynasty cannot mobilize troops to eradicate them.
However, it is not easy to be the master of these manors and castles. How can it be so easy to go abroad and become a master? There are not a few people who go abroad and become a grandson, and then come back dejected!
Therefore, the large-scale sales of castle estates at a loss can happen almost every month... Selling the city is much more common than selling the country.
Due to the trivial terrain and numerous islands in Nanyang, it is easy to separate and rule, and it is also on the east-west trade and spice trade routes. Therefore, it has become a key area for the Ming Dynasty's powerful and local tycoons to invest in the construction of the country and city.
If there is investment, of course there will be losses...
In addition, the southern continent and its surrounding areas, which are relatively close to Nanyang, are also a focus of investment. Because Southern Continent follows an "open franchise" model, everyone is welcome. And there are no terrible tropical diseases, so the wealthy and powerful people in the Ming Dynasty, including various princes, will build one or several castles and estates in the southern continent as a retreat... This matter is somehow left to the British East India Company , Daming Porto Company, Pacific Trading Company, Mancini Tea Company, Yiguandang Trading Company, Shachuanbang Trading Company, these profiteers have found a way to make a fortune - providing one-stop city construction services!
As long as they are willing to pay, they, the businessmen, can take care of everything else... Of course, it is impossible for profiteers to guarantee the profits of the city lord, and they have to bear the risks themselves.
Therefore, with the participation of all parties and the display of their magical powers, Nanyang and the Southern Continent are now full of small countries and city-states. Although it is developing rapidly, it is also causing chaos. Conflicts often occur between small countries, city-states, and estates.
On the seas of Nanyang, there are often pirate ships backed by various small countries and city-states attacking each other... It's like the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period, just short of annexing each other.
Of course the Ming court wanted to take control of it, but it was constrained by the inability to reach it and the complicated relationships in various aspects, so it was not easy to do so - the people fighting here were not barbarians, they were all the Ming Dynasty's "own people", and maybe they were relatives!
Therefore, Zhu Cixiang has been thinking about setting up a "general agent" in Nanyang and the Southern Continent, and let this general agent deal with a lot of troublesome things.
Zhu Cizhao was originally the best candidate for the general agent, but after his wife died, he became completely discouraged and didn't care much about things. And his grandson Zhu Yijin was "used" by him and could do nothing but eat, drink and have fun!
Letting him be the general agent will definitely complicate things.
So Zhu Cixi had no choice but to find someone else!
"Brother," Zhu Cizhao smiled bitterly and thought deeply, "the south is so big... can one alliance leader manage it?"
"Big?" Zhu Cixiang thought to himself: It's not as big as America and Central Asia!
Zhu Cizhao continued: "And...are the four countries of Siam, Annam, Laos, and Chenla considered Nanyang? They are the ritual vassals of the Ming Dynasty. If they fall under the leadership of the Nanyang Alliance, will they be willing? Nanyang Can the alliance leader control them again?"
Zhu Cihong said: "You are right, Fourth Brother... Siam, Annan, Laos, and Chenla cannot be under the jurisdiction of the Nanyang Little League."
Zhu Cizhao added: "In addition, we also have some territory in the Little Western Ocean and the African continent... These territories are not big. Isn't it appropriate to set up a separate alliance leader? Why not put it under the banner of the Nanyang Alliance Alliance."
Zhu Cixiang nodded, "That's okay! But isn't the Nanyang Little League in charge a little too much?"
"Then take away the Southern Continent," Zhu Cizhao said. "The Southern Continent and some nearby islands are almost self-contained, and the Southern Continent United Kingdom can be allowed to govern the states. As for the leader of Nanyang, Malacca can The Kingdom of Luzon and the Kingdom of Luzon take turns acting."
"Okay!" Zhu Cixiang said with a smile, "That means there are four small alliances in Xinzhou, Western Regions, Nanyang, and Southern Continent. Together with the general alliance of Ming Dynasty, Tianmeng will be the five major alliance leaders!"
