Chapter 97 Java Shock
As the fourth generation monarch of Majapahit, King Wulu took over the throne from his mother at the age of sixteen. In the early stage, he had a powerful prime minister who cleared everything for him, but the prime minister also threatened him. He endured it for more than ten years and finally survived. Only when the prime minister dies can he truly gain power.
Conquering the east and west, they conquered a territory that had never been seen before in the history of Java. Under the banner of Majapahit, countless princes all surrendered. There was only one king in Nanyang, and that was King Wulu.
It's just that people are always helpless.
King Wulu's helplessness was the issue of his successor.
The wife of King Wulu had no sons, but only a daughter. His side wife gave birth to a son. This gave King Wulu a big problem. Who is his successor?
According to Chinese tradition and Confucian etiquette, there is nothing discernible about this. It means that King Wulu's concubine succeeded to the throne. But that's not the case in Java. First of all, we need to know who King Wulu inherited the throne from, his mother.
That explains it. In an aristocratic society like Java, women also have great power. Not to mention, the family of King Wulu’s first wife is not an ordinary person. If he passes the throne to a concubine, the concubine may not be able to sit firmly. And the daughter will definitely die.
But passing the throne to a daughter and son-in-law is in line with Javanese tradition. Naihe, what should I do with my own son?
As a result, King Wulu came up with a set of tricks.
That is to send his son to East Java to marry the local noble leader and marry his daughter. And has the right to inherit the other party's territory. This is the Eastern King of Java, and his son-in-law's family is also very prominent, plus the help of his daughter. This is the Western King of Java mentioned in Ming history.
King Wulu is getting older. People around you also have their own ideas. After all, the social structure of Java is completely different from that of China, and the basis of power lies in the nobles. Although King Wulu has a lot of direct power in his hands, he also needs to have long-term plans.
Therefore, although King Wulu was not dead, the signs of Java's division were already obvious.
That is to say, King Wulu is still here, and he can still maintain the airs of the Majapayi Dynasty in front of him.
However, King Wulu probably didn’t regret it much.
Because, throughout the history of Javanese kings, the succession to the throne is not very stable. King Wulu ascended the throne at the age of sixteen, and it was also in the midst of turbulence. If the prime minister had not suppressed rebellions everywhere, Java would not be what it is now. Of course, if the prime minister had not needed the flag of King Java, he might not be what he is now.
It was precisely because of this kind of internal and external checks and balances that King Wulu had the opportunity to finally seize power.
It was common for the kings of the past dynasties to fight with their brothers.
And as far as the actual situation in Java is concerned. What they call unification is completely different from what China understands.
It is reasonable for King Wulu to want to give his son a large piece of land and become a great nobleman with real power. But he didn't expect that after his death, the East King and the West King of Java started a civil war that lasted for more than 20 years, directly giving the position of Nanyang overlord to Mansika. What he didn't expect was that this civil war would also ruin his dynasty.
King Wulu became the turning point in the Majapahit Dynasty's rise and fall.
In fact, it can also be seen from the Majapahit Dynasty that what Confucianism defended to the death was not really useless at all. The smooth inheritance of power is an important factor in the stability of the regime. However, they are a summary of the past, while He Xi represents the outlook for the future.
As the overlord of Nanyang, King Wulu naturally had his own intelligence network. Therefore, when the Ming Dynasty started to go to war, King Wulu didn't know what was going on. However, envoys from the Ming Dynasty came frequently, and some places were even vassal states of Majapahit. King Wulu would be a little unreasonable if he didn't know this.
After King Wulu knew the reason, he first wanted to know, who did this?
You must know that the war between the Yuan Dynasty and Java directly gave birth to the Majapahit Dynasty, although the Yuan Dynasty was defeated. But he was the founding king of Majapahit, and his backstabbing skills were exquisite, so he couldn't really beat him. This even includes the injuries suffered by the Yuan army due to their inability to adapt to the climate in Java.
Therefore, after that, for a long time, Java's profile in the Central Plains Dynasty was very low, and it paid tribute every year. Moreover, Java and Ming Dynasty are not unrelated. Java also sent tribute. There is official contact between the two parties.
This is actually the reason why Fang Guan relaxed his vigilance in Java.
After all, speaking broadly, Java is also one of the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty.
Because I was beaten. Java has always been respectful but distant from the Central Plains dynasty. Being respectful means not wanting to provoke unnecessary enemies. I don't want to cause another big war. The alienation comes from pride. If you count the population of Java, the native population of Java, it exceeds five million. The combined population of the island states may exceed 10 million.
In this era, with a population of 10 million, it is truly a major country in the world.
That is, when facing the Central Plains Dynasty, it is one level lower. Does such a big country have no face?
And in Southeast Asia, you pay tribute to me, and I pay tribute to you. Changes with strength and weakness. Java's tribute to the Ming Dynasty only recognized that the Ming Dynasty was stronger than Java, and did not mean anything else.
And the people who killed Daming. This is something Wulu would not allow under any circumstances. Not to mention launching an army with the Ming Dynasty. King Wulu is getting older and stronger. Naturally, I don’t think I will lose to the Ming Dynasty who came from thousands of miles away. But he must admit that Ming Dynasty is a powerful country. If he defeats such an enemy, he will also suffer losses. Wouldn't it be in vain to benefit those with ulterior motives?
No matter the princes from various places, the nobles at home, or even neighboring countries. In King Wulu's heart, they were all people with ulterior motives.
There were only two people in Java who violated his prohibition.
Wulu immediately summoned the two kings of East and West Java to his side and asked directly: "Who of you is responsible for Mingren's death here?"
The language spoken in Java is an Austronesian language, which is completely different from Chinese. However, there is no special explanation here.
"Father," King Dong said, "this is not what I want to do. My territory is in the east. If people want to come here, they must come from the west first."
"Father," King Xi also said, "I definitely did not do this. There are many merchants under my command who trade with Ming people. Why should I do such a thing?"
King Wulu looked at the two people with bright eyes after listening to their words.
After a while, King Wulu said: "Let's not investigate. This must be an excuse for Mingren. There is no need to blame others."
King Wulu said this in his mouth, but he was already sure in his heart that this must be done by one of the two. It's just that neither of them would admit it. Once you admit it, it is equivalent to being taken advantage of by the other party. It's very possible that Akito started a fight over this matter before Akito came.
Now I can only insist that it is Akito's excuse.
King Dong said: "Father, this time the Ming people are coming with great force. How should we deal with it?"
King Wulu said: "Fight back. Beasts have their own range. Although Java is small, it is also a powerful country. Ming Dynasty is a tiger. Although the tiger is big, it can only reach out with one paw. If we can't even have one of the tiger's paws, If you can’t handle it, just wait to be eaten by a tiger.”
King Wulu cast his gaze on King Xi and said, "It's up to you to handle this matter. How about it?"
King Wulu still favored his son, feeling that his son would be weak in the future. After all, his position and family fortune must be passed on to his son-in-law. And he also felt that his son was right. Akito's course was naturally from west to east. You should meet the people of the West King first, and then the people of the East King last.
He suspected that it was someone from King Xi who did it.
Moreover, the King of the West's territory is in West Java, which is closer to Malacca and Sumatra, making it easier to mobilize troops.
King Xi was helpless, but he also knew that he couldn't escape. Said: "My son understands."
King Wulu said in a low voice, "Don't let me down."
King Xi knew very well that King Wulu didn't really want to pass on his position to his son-in-law. It's just that the situation forced us to do it. Now this sentence may mean something else.
King Xi secretly thought: "If I lose to Ming people, will you justifiably abolish Chu?"
King Xi raised his head and looked at King Wulu. The young face and the old face were frozen for an instant. Everything was said without saying anything. King Xi lowered his head slightly and said, "I won't let you down."
