The capital of the Brunei Sultanate is called Brunei City, which was called "Boni City" in official records of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
This is a city that the Spaniards called the Venice of the East. It is located on the west bank of the Brunei River, with a variety of floating wooden houses scattered along the river. In the city, the main bodies of most houses are built of stone, especially the king's huge palaces and mosques. The exterior is covered with exquisite reliefs, and the Middle Eastern-style domes are plated with gold. Whenever the morning mist hangs over the Brunei River and the sun shines on the domes of the palace and mosques, the whole city looks dreamlike.
On the outskirts of the city, near the mouth of the Brunei River, there is a stone wall stacked with large stones to protect the royal palace and the main body of the city. This stone wall was built by a Chinese in the late fourteenth century. He filled dozens of large ships with stones and sank them at the mouth of the Brunei River, then filled them with earth as a foundation, and built a stone wall and fortress on top of them.
Perhaps it was because the peaceful days had been too long. When the black fleet of the Northern Navy appeared at the mouth of the Brunei River, the people on the river bank had no reaction. It was not until a rumble of cannons sounded that everyone reacted and were frightened. Scattered away.
Although the Kingdom of Brunei is called the "Spice Empire" by Westerners, in fact its territory has shrunk significantly and its combat effectiveness is even worse. During the civil strife in the royal family in the 16th century, the Sultan at that time had no choice but to turn to the Spanish governor of Manila. After that, the Spanish defeated the Brunei army with only more than 2,000 people and captured the city of Brunei.
When Brunei sent an envoy to come in a small boat and boarded the boat to inquire about their purpose, He Xiwen came up and presented a joint complaint of more than a dozen Chinese businessmen and a confession signed by Betty's fingerprints. Among them, the person who was behind the division of the stolen goods The list was as long as seven or eight pages, listing a large group of people including Sarawak Raja Hashim, and the name "Mohammed Tajuddin" at the end made the envoy stunned and his heartbeat soared.
This person is none other than the current Crown Prince of Brunei and the actual controller of state affairs. You must know that the 18th Sultan is now 82 years old. He handed over power to his son a few years ago and retired to the second line to take care of himself.
In fact, it is almost a semi-open secret that some of the domestic dignitaries support the Iban pirates in their plundering, but they cannot admit it even to death.
However, no matter how the envoy explained it, He Xiwen summed it up in one sentence: the crime of condoning pirates' robbery of Chinese businessmen was unforgivable, and the Sultan, the Crown Prince, and the Bruneian dignitaries mentioned in the confessions must be brought back to Pakistan to be confronted face to face.
The envoy was anxious, and suddenly remembered an old incident, and immediately begged He Xiwen: "You are Chinese, and our Sudan also has Chinese blood. We are all one family!"
He Xiwen and several of his subordinates looked at each other for a moment, then suddenly laughed loudly, thinking that this was like asking a monk to call him brother-in-law - a random marriage.
Seeing this, the envoy quickly explained: "You don't know something. Our country of Brunei was founded four hundred years ago. At that time, there was General Huang, who came from Quanzhou, Fujian."
Well, the messenger really didn't make it up. I think the reason why Brunei was able to dominate when it was founded, occupying the entire coastal area of Borneo, and even controlling part of Manila, the Sulu Islands and Mindanao, and becoming a so-called "empire", was precisely because of "Mr. Huang". Soldiers' help.
This man's name is Huang Senping, a native of Quanzhou, Fujian. During the Hongwu period, he took his family to Borneo and established an independent Chinese regime in the Broken Hand River Basin with his bare hands. He was respectfully called "Chief Soldier" by the local Chinese and "Raja" by the Malays. ".
Later, he intermarried with the then Sultan of Bali and formed an alliance. They jointly defeated the invading Sulu Sultanate and saved the regime that was almost destroyed. In the end, he became one of the two regents.
Because Huang Senping's sister married the younger brother of the then Sultan, who became the second Sultan of Brunei, so starting from the third generation of Sultans, all subsequent royal families have the blood of the Huang family.
Huang Senping missed his homeland in his later years, so he returned to his country with hundreds of relatives and subordinates to pay tribute, and was warmly entertained by Emperor Yongle Zhu Di. However, due to the fatigue of traveling and traveling, he died in Nanjing Huitong Pavilion that year. According to his last wish to "bury his body in China" before his death, Zhu Di ordered him to be buried in Yuhuatai with "royal rites" and given the posthumous title "Gongshun", but the name on the tombstone was "Bo Ni King Manaragananai".
After Huang Senping's death, Zhu Di appointed his son Huang Kesun as the next "Boni King" and sent ministers to escort him back to the country. Not only did he waive his annual annual payment, he even wrote a poem "Boni Changning Zhenguoshan Poem" by himself. A monument was erected on the mountain outside Brunei City. From then on, the Huang family assisted the Sultan of Brunei internally, and to the Chinese, they were called the King of Bali. They remained the same until the Wanli period.
However, things have changed and people have changed. After the Wanli Sea Ban, the exchanges between Brunei and the Central Plains Dynasty were cut off; in addition, the Huang family gradually became Islamic and Malay, and gradually withdrew from Brunei's political arena. The former glory of the Huang family only exists in folklore and the genealogy chart of the Brunei royal family. As for the monument, there is no trace of it.
He Xiwen couldn't help but be surprised after hearing the envoy's narration, and admired the "King of Bo Ni" in his heart. But he soon realized that he was the newly appointed Governor of Borneo by Zhao. He had destroyed "countless" countries and was in charge of the entire island. Isn't he more awesome than Huang Senping!
Thinking of this, he said proudly: "Your Majesty is so ignorant! Our Beihai Town was founded by King Zhao of the Ming Dynasty clan. Your Highness served the heaven to punish the captives, expelled the Western barbarians, wiped out the Liuhe, and unified the four seas. His achievements were far beyond Past dynasties. Since the Sudan has Chinese ancestry and was canonized by Emperor Chengzu, why don’t you come on board the ship to pay homage to us?! You colluded with the Dutch, harbored pirates, plundered and killed Chinese businessmen, how can I, China, have relatives like you? !”
"this"
Huang Zhong and others on the side shouted in unison: "Speak!"
At this point, the sweaty envoy already knew that this was just looking for trouble, and he might not be able to do anything good. He observed carefully as he approached the fleet. The decks of each ship were filled with soldiers holding muskets. The muzzles of the cannons were pointed at the royal city behind them. They were ready to start fighting if they disagreed.
"Master He, please wait a moment. I will go back and report to the Sultan."
"Your Majesty, please go and come back quickly. I only give you one day."
After the messenger returned to the palace to report, Crown Prince Muhammad Tajuddin and all the rajas realized that something was wrong. However, it is definitely impossible for him to go to Bacheng with his father to confront him, and it is even more impossible for him to board the ship to pay homage. Then it is definitely a sheep entering a tiger's mouth!
Although Brunei is far away from Java, he has heard a lot about what Beihai Town has done over the years. Remember that Beihai Town, which appeared as a Chinese, captured Bacheng and dealt with the Dutch ruthlessly. All political parties breathed a sigh of relief. Especially after the war in West Java, the Dutch completely got out of Malacca, and all the sultans felt very happy.
Unexpectedly, a wolf left and a tiger came. The sudden dethronement of the three sultanate regimes of Samfa, Pontianak and Nambawa a few days ago shocked the sultanates across Malaya when they heard the news.
Good guy! These short-haired Chinese are actually more ruthless than the Dutch! The Dutch just monopolize trade and collect taxes, while the short-haired Chinese want everything from one pot to the other!
After Muhammad Tajuddin heard about this a few days ago, he was planning to send people to contact the surrounding sultanates, preparing to put aside the dispute temporarily and hug together for warmth. Unexpectedly, the Northern Navy arrived in the blink of an eye.
Retreat to the upper reaches of the Brunei River and call on the indigenous people from all over the country to gather troops to fight Beihai Town? Don't be ridiculous, the tens of thousands of Dutch troops can't defeat it. Tajuddin really doesn't think he can create miracles.
With no choice but to ask his father, Old Sudan, for advice. The old Sudan listened expressionlessly to the story of his son and his men, twisting the spring of the mechanical swan in his hand; it was a gift from the Spanish. The body and wings were made of gold and inlaid with many gems.
"Give them Sarawak. Don't the Chinese like gold? There are gold mines there."
Tajudin was stunned after hearing this. It is said that Sarawak in this era was not the state of Sarawak that reached all the way to the capital of the Kingdom of Brunei in another time and space, but only a small area including Kuching and Shilongmen. Moreover, with the decline of the Brunei Sultanate, only weak control is retained in the coastal areas; in the inland areas, conflicts continue between the Iban and two other indigenous tribes, and they headhunt each other.
The old Sultan put down the plaything in his hand and said slowly: "Since they are using the Iban people as an excuse, then give Sarawak to them and tell Hasim to go to the mountains to take shelter first and come back when the storm is over. I am old I don’t want to hide in Tibet anymore. The palaces and temples here were built with great difficulty by successive sultans. If they were destroyed by war, you and I would both be ashamed of our ancestors."
"Okay, father." Tajuddin sighed.
However, both father and son underestimated He Xiwen's appetite. When the envoy heard that the Sarawak region would be ceded as a condition, He Xiwen laughed loudly. He asked someone to take out a map made by the Dutch and light it with a wooden stick. The area above said: "Sarawak, Sibu, Bintulu, Labuan, I want these four."
The messenger was shocked and pointed at Labuan Island stuck at the mouth of Brunei Bay and said: "This is a desert island!"
Huang Zhongtong on the side heard the words and continued: "We want to build a dock here to berth warships to facilitate the fight against pirates."
The envoy looked at Huang Zhongtong and said to himself: It's hard to say whether you will fight pirates in the future, but it would be very convenient to fight us. A group of powerful enemies have taken over the front door of our house. How will we live in the future?
What he didn't know was that He Xiwen's purpose in wanting Labuan Island was not only to build a military port to control Brunei Bay, but also to use it as a springboard into the Sulu Sea. In addition, Zhao Xin assigned Palawan Island in the northeast of the Sulu Sea to the Sendai Domain, and controlling Labuan Island could also play a role in monitoring the Sendai Domain.
He Xiwen's calculation was very clear. The three sultanates in the west were deposed and three areas were occupied in the north. The next step was to take over the Sultanate of Banja in the south and the Sultanate of Kutai in the east. In this way, Borneo would Basically pocketed. As for the indigenous forces in the interior, they will be dealt with later.
In fact, it would take a long time for Beihai Town to annex Borneo. The coastal areas alone would not be able to do so in only ten or twenty years, which would be enough for He Xiwen to fight for his whole life.
Faced with the threat of firing if they disagreed, Muhammad Tajuddin and his son called their ministers for a meeting to discuss. After careful consideration, they still did not have the courage to go to war with the Northern Navy outside the city. In the end, they had to reluctantly agree to cede the four areas requested by the other party; however, they It also requested that Beihai Town provide military asylum to Brunei.
On January 5, 1794, He Xiwen, on behalf of Butterworth Town, signed an agreement with Muhammad Tajuddin on the "Nanhua No. 1". The Sultanate of Brunei agreed to cede four islands: Sarawak, Sibu, Bintulu and Labuan. area in exchange for military asylum in Beihai Town.
The two parties agreed that Beihai Town would send officers to train a thousand new troops for Sudan and sell a batch of weapons including percussion guns and 12-pound guns; trade ships from both sides would enjoy tariff reductions in ports controlled by each other. Half the treatment.
In addition, the Sultanate of Brunei is not allowed to send personnel to conduct missionary activities in the area controlled by Beihai Town. Once discovered, Beihai Town has the right to immediately arrest and punish according to relevant laws.
"Brother, it would be a pity if such a good town was destroyed by cannon fire!"
"Yeah, I don't know what it's like in that palace. Brother, why don't you tell King Zhao and reward our brothers here."
After the agreement was signed, it was time for the North Navy to leave. Hardcore confidants Huang Zhongtong and Liang Wenying accompanied He Xiwen to the deck, looking at the magnificent palace behind the stone wall in the distance, they couldn't help but sigh.
Huang Zhongtong glanced around and saw that the soldiers on duty were all standing far away, so he persuaded in a low voice: "Wenying, it's better for this kind of joke to rot in your stomach in the future!"
Liang Wenying has been with He Xiwen for more than ten years, and she has a good relationship with Huang Zhongtong. She has no scruples about talking in private, so she said nonchalantly: "Brother Huang, are you too worried? We brothers worked hard to build this place for him. On the big island, why don’t you live in the palace of a native king?"
He Xiwen couldn't help it anymore, turned around and glared hard, and scolded softly: "You know nothing! Emperors have been the same since ancient times. Lord Ruan was still calling us brothers back then. Look at it later. Remember, it's a crime. You must not do taboo things, and you are not even allowed to mention them! I also want to go back to Guangzhou to buy a big house, and go back to retire in the future!"
Liang Wenying said "Oh", but she was quite disapproving in her heart. Beihai Town occupies such a large area, what's the matter with allowing people like me to live in a better place?
Huang Zhongtong decided to change the topic, so he said: "Brother, is Xiyang almost finished studying?"
"It's almost! It's been two years in the blink of an eye. He wrote back last time and said that he wanted to go with the ship to a place called Kinmen to stay for half a year. What is it called an internship period?"
The two were talking about He Xiwen's eldest son, He Xiyang. He Xiwen had two sons, the eldest son He Xiyang and the second son He Xiyang. If you didn't know this, just hearing the names, you would think that the three of them are brothers.
After He Xiwen defected to Beihai Town three years ago, because he was worried that he would become a "family slave with three surnames", Deng Fei sent He Xiyang to the Youth Military Academy in Beihai Town. Because his second son He Xiyang was young, he and He Xiyang Other family members moved to Citrus Ao.
He Xiwen was not stupid, and of course he knew Deng Fei's intention. However, Deng Fei also made a big deal, saying that after three years of military school, he would be a lieutenant, work as a first mate on the ship for two years, and then serve as a trainee captain for one year, and he would definitely be promoted. As long as he doesn't make big mistakes and takes one step at a time, sooner or later he will become the squadron commander like Zheng Wenxian and others.
Okay, He Xiwen thinks that I can be a governor with a first-class official position, and my eldest son will be satisfied if he can be the commander of the squadron. The younger son is only five years old this year, and he will be given a civilian job in the future. As long as I follow King Zhao closely and guard the treasure land of Borneo for him, I will be rich for three generations at my fingertips.
Liang Wenying interjected: "Where is Kinmen? It has a very nice name."
He Xiwen said: "It's a hundred and eighty thousand miles away from us, on the other side of the sea."
Liang Wenying suddenly said: "We went to the new port a few days ago, and the people from the Military Control Commission put up a sign there to recruit miners. Is this the reason?"
"Nine times out of ten. I heard that the climate there is neither cold nor hot. The area is larger than Borneo. It used to be the territory of the Spanish."
Huang Zhongtong fell into deep thought when he heard this. He had been spying on intelligence in various parts of Nanyang in the past two years, and the situation of all parties was basically clear. Beihai Town is competing with the Spaniards for territory on the other side of the sea. Will it affect Nanyang?
