Chapter 83 Nanyang Strategy
The situation is compelling.
He Xi was at a loss for a while.
It was an ordinary thing. What was originally a harmless voyage ended up like this.
He Xi regretted a little, but didn't know how to regret it.
Unless he could foresee it, he would have never imagined that such a problem would arise in his position at that time. Even He Xi didn't understand that this wise and powerful king of Majapahit was not a fool. How could he not know the benefits of maintaining a good relationship with the Ming Dynasty.
Yes, the Ming Dynasty is far away in the horizon, and it is beyond the reach of Majago Boyi. But because of this, the Ming court actually hoped that there would be a powerful country in Southeast Asia that could directly connect with the court, rather than deal with the chaotic situation. And his respect for Daming should also win Daming's respect.
This is good for Java.
If it was said that King Wulu was a foolish king, He Xi had no such idea. After all, are you a fool? There are many things in Chinese history, and it is not surprising that China has done some amazing things. Only the King of Java is a British master, which is a bit puzzling.
Did he regard this voyage as a provocation from Ming Dynasty? Or test Nanyang?
In fact, He Xi guessed wrong. Now King Wulu has no idea that such a thing happened below him.
After all, the Majapahit Empire was very different in organization from the Ming Dynasty. Even in the Ming Dynasty, some local generals robbed merchants. As long as things don't get too big. And just stop once. The likelihood of being discovered is also low.
The country of Majapahit began to centralize power. But there should not be too much power left over at the local level. Moreover, the robbery was not done once or twice. There are officers and soldiers in front of you, and this is what robbers do when they turn around. Not uncommon.
It's just that this time things got bigger.
Now, King Wulu, who was thousands of miles away, never thought that he would suffer the thunder of the Ming Dynasty thousands of miles away.
These are all things for later.
He Xi called Yao Guangxiao over to discuss behind closed doors. He also left his newly born child behind.
After He Xi told Yao Guangxiao everything, he first made his own summary. Said: "I have thought about this matter over and over again. In fact, I was too aggressive. I should not risk using my power on the edge of Ming Dynasty's power and in places that are no longer accessible. It is natural to encounter problems."
"We cannot regard the previous luck as inevitable."
"It's just that now you have to pay the price."
This is the result of He Xi's introspection.
Regardless of whether He Xi admits it or not. In this era, Ming's sphere of influence had boundaries. This boundary should be farther than the actual boundary of Ming Dynasty. But not far. After all, with such backward technology, distance itself represents combat effectiveness, or the resistance to launching an attack.
A person traveling hundreds of miles to fight is completely different from a person traveling thousands of miles to fight.
As is the case with a man, so is the army.
In the end, this world is all about strength. How much strength you have, how much territory you occupy. In He Xi's view, it will take about three years for the Ming Dynasty to fully cover the South China Sea and push its power into the Southeast Asia.
These three years are nothing else. It is a shipbuilding cycle.
Perhaps small-scale shipbuilding after all. There may be wood prepared in advance. However, large-scale shipbuilding can only begin after the large wood has been dried in the shade, which takes at least three years.
Today's problem is not that Fangguan was robbed and the expedition fleet encountered problems. This problem is actually not big. The real problem lies in the chain reaction caused by this incident. With the support of He Xi, almost all the nobles of the Ming Dynasty crowded into the Nanyang Shipping. With the help of the tiger skins of the Ming Dynasty and the supply of goods from the Ming Dynasty, they usurped the interests of many other merchants, especially the Huihui merchants. It’s just that everyone dares to get angry but dare not speak out.
Because they are afraid of the power of Ming Dynasty.
After all, as long as you know what a behemoth the Ming Dynasty is. Neither will act rashly. Don't dare to take it lightly.
And in this matter, if Ming Dynasty does not take any action, Ming Dynasty's military weakness in Nanyang will be fully exposed. This is the current dilemma. If force is not used, all interests in Nanyang will be gone, which will affect the situation with the Ming Dynasty, which has just begun to reform. The use of force is obviously beyond our capabilities. Java is a big country. Once there is a change, it will damage the majesty of the Ming Dynasty.
Although the Ming Dynasty has many famous generals, when it comes to naval battles, it really doesn't know who to trust. Can an army thousands of miles away destroy a country of thousands of chariots alone?
Yao Guangxiao thought for a while, and then listened to He Xi's own summary and analysis. He first comforted He Xi and said: "My lord, I'm serious. The affairs of the world have the power to change reality into reality. Of course, an upright teacher is invincible in the world. Then we will But if you really hope so in just a few decades, I'm afraid you won't have any achievements to speak of until you are gray-haired. There are not many people who seek great things in the world from danger. Just remember, if you can afford the price, you may not be unable to do it. "
Then Yao Guangxiao pondered for a moment and said: "Actually, this matter is not an unsolvable situation."
He Xi said: "I would like to hear the details."
Yao Guangxiao said: "If you can draw Java in one battle, you will reach a dead end. With the Ming Dynasty's current maritime military power, it is almost impossible to draw Java in one fight, unless there is Huo Qubing. Li Jing's talent was born on the sea. Otherwise, it is impossible to think about it. Don’t think about it, it’s not something a normal soldier would think about.”
"It's just that if you change your thinking, there will be a solution."
He Xi said: "What do you think?"
"Conquer Java without fighting in Java." Yao Guangxiao said.
He Xi was a little confused for a moment and thought to himself: "If we don't fight Java, where will we do it?"
Yao Guangxiao said: "The army is approaching Nanyang without fighting."
He Xi was stunned at first, wondering what kind of medicine Yao Guangxiao was selling in his gourd. But after hearing this sentence, I couldn't help but say: "Wonderful."
This is obviously a false plan to defeat Guo.
It looks like it's hitting Java, but it's not. The fight was in Nanyang.
The whole problem of the Ming Dynasty was that it had no military presence in Nanyang. If the Ming Dynasty had a military presence in Nanyang, not just relying on so-called soft power, then various Nanyang companies would dare to take a peek at the Ming merchants. Maybe they had the military background, and the Ming Dynasty's interests in Nanyang would expand a lot.
Yao Guangxiao added: "I see that Java is expanding rapidly in the Southeast Asia. Within a few decades, it has been conquering the south and the north. Aren't the small countries in the South Asia afraid? We, the Ming Dynasty, hold the banner of anti-Java, and naturally become the backbone of these small countries. Furthermore, such as Vietnam , Champa, these countries are close to the Ming Dynasty but far away from Java. Your Excellency, you can ask Honglu Temple to send people to summon the envoys of the small countries in Southeast Asia and order them to send troops. Of course, the emperor will not be short of hungry soldiers, and he can compensate for them in other places. "
"In this way, the imperial court only needs to send a capable navy and lead an elite army of 10,000 to 20,000 people to camp in Nanyang. It will be invincible to Java. It would be better to prolong the war with Java."
He Xi said: "Why?"
Yao Guangxiao sneered and said: "In this way, it will not hinder the imperial court's grand plan. We have an elite army of ten or twenty thousand and a capable navy. It will not affect the imperial court's Northern Expedition. After all, if nothing else, it is only the customs fee. By paying taxes, we can afford the Ming Dynasty’s overseas troops.”
"Secondly, if the war is prolonged, Nanyang can be divided into two worlds, one is Java's Nanyang, and the other is Ming's Nanyang. And if the war is prolonged, it will not be Ming Dynasty or Java that can hold on, but Nanyang. There are many small countries. When the time comes, these forces will naturally be regarded as nutrients for the Ming Dynasty to take root in Southeast Asia."
"Finally, when the north has been decided, the imperial court sent out a large number of naval forces. They plowed the court and swept the caves to eliminate this group of ugly people. The Yi Jawa clan will be able to use their land as the foundation of Nanyang."
"In this way, Nanyang is the Nanyang of Ming Dynasty."
He Xi took a breath after hearing this. He didn't know what kind of vicious tricks Yao Guangxiao had used in front of Zhu Di in history. However, this strategy may seem upright, but in fact it is extremely destructive. After World War I, it is still unknown whether Nanyang can become the Nanyang of the Ming Dynasty. But there are hundreds of thousands or millions of people in Nanyang. It can't be called Yao Guangxiao's vicious plan.
Although it is said that in the struggle between countries, all means are used. But with one move, millions of people were bled and corpses were floating thousands of miles away. It still surprised He Xi.
