Chapter 104: Zhu Man, Prince of Zhongxian County
After the last thing is settled. The army sailed down.
The entire fleet has more than a hundred large and small ships.
Among the more than 100 ships, one-third are ships of various Ming Dynasty merchants. It was entrusted by the imperial court to transport logistics supplies. Two-thirds of the remaining ships are used to transport personnel. The other third is for transporting things that cannot be transshipped by merchants. For example, some grain, grass, gunpowder, etc.
This time we went south, not directly across the South China Sea, but to the west. Head south along the coastline.
When they docked at the port of Annan, the Annan people raised provisions by 5,000 dan. It can be regarded as this time that he responded to Ming's call. He Xi did not transport it, but directly entrusted this matter to the subsequent companies. Let them transfer.
Arrive at Champa.
Champa sent several warships and more than a thousand soldiers. There was also a small noble leader who boarded the ship and visited He Xi and Lu Zhongheng.
As mentioned earlier, Champa is a Hindu country. He Xi made some observations and found that these more than a thousand soldiers were more like slaves than soldiers. After all, private soldiers can be very powerful if they are powerful, and they can be even more fat if they are fat. Some are even indistinguishable from farmers.
He Xi could only accept it.
After all, if they were to go into battle, they would probably be no match for the Javanese. On the other hand, being a civilian husband is no problem.
Along the way, Siam, Chenla and other countries came to help. But there are only three to five hundred people, just for the purpose. Everything is included in the logistics, and the further south you go, the more perfunctory these countries are. I just don't want to offend Ming. And Java is out of reach. Just for show.
If Ming wanted more, there was none.
It took me nearly two months to wind my way southward before finally reaching the Dragon Tooth Gate.
This is where Singapore will be in later generations. The reason why it is called Dragon Tooth Gate is because there is a huge stone that looks like a dragon tooth in the channel here. It was used by maritime traders as a marker of waterways. Therefore, this strait is called Dragon Tooth Gate. It is the strait between the main island of Singapore and the Malay Peninsula.
Once here, the entire fleet stopped.
King Mancijia and Yang Yu had already been on the island and made considerable arrangements to welcome the army.
Singapore was one of He Xi's options in Nanyang. He had already introduced it to Yang Yu when he sent Yang Yu south. After King Mancijia fell to the Ming Dynasty, Yang Yu also discovered that only this place was in the interest of everyone.
First of all, the port in Malacca, Mansika, is actually quite good, with a population of tens of thousands and abundant supplies. It would be best if the army stayed here. It's a pity that King Mancijia doesn't think there is anything good about it.
After all, with the defensive capabilities of Malacca City. The Ming army broke through in minutes.
King Mancijia was probably restless in front of the Ming army. There is no sense of safety at all.
Even if the Ming army has no other intentions, it does not prevent some careerists from wanting to use the Ming army to rise to power. Therefore, King Mancijia would never agree.
And Singapore. That's right here at Dragon Tooth Gate.
First of all, the port is good. In later generations, Singapore was a world-class port. Being able to serve as a world-class port means that it has good congenital conditions. Even if there are modifications later. There must also be the potential for transformation.
The draft of ships of this era is not at all of the same order of magnitude as that of ships of later generations. The potential of a world-class port in later generations would be perfect for housing large armies.
Secondly, this is a traffic artery after all. Connecting the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca. It is also inhabited. However, there are not many people there, and it is just a larger village in Daming. It was estimated that there were only a few thousand people. After all, there is no human habitation at all, and all infrastructure has to be started from scratch.
And then, this is an island. Although, it finally gave King Mancijia some false sense of security. There is some distance between full thorn plus. Even if King Mancijia turned to the Ming Dynasty, it did not mean that he wanted to dedicate his country to the Ming Dynasty.
Yang Yu thought about it and agreed.
After all, Ming Dynasty in Nanyang needs the support of local countries, among other things. You can't be in a food-rich place like Nanyang, and all the food must be shipped from China, right?
Let’s not mention these.
As soon as King Mancijia arrived, He Xi exchanged a few words with him, then stood facing south and north and said, "King Mancijia has received the order."
King Mancijia was stunned and didn't know what was going on. It was Yang Yu who reminded him to kneel down to receive the order.
The king was full of thorns and felt aggrieved. He surrendered to the Ming Dynasty because of the situation, but the noble princes suffered this kind of injustice. How can I live in my heart? But the Ming army is at the port at the moment. He had no choice but to kneel down and receive the order.
He Xi said: "The emperor is entrusted by heaven, and the edict says: I heard that within ten steps, there must be loyal ministers. The South Sea is far away, how can there be no loyal ministers? King Mancijia -----,"
Yang Sansan wrote some words of praise. Finally, he said: "I will give you the surname Zhu and the name Man. I will grant you the title of Prince Zhongxian. All the etiquette will be the same as that of the Prince. I admire this."
This imperial edict was written by He Xi first and later.
The imperial edict cannot be said to be forged, but it did not go through the cabinet and was stamped by various departments. Placing it in the Central Plains is at best a target, but how did King Mancijia know this? There is absolutely no problem in fooling the Nanyang people.
He Xi didn't mean to do this. News is delivered very slowly these days. When he went to Nanjing to request an order, there was bound to be some debate in the court. By the time the process was completed, many things would be too late.
Before coming, He Xi had asked for full power from Zhu Yuanzhang. He Xi can just handle Nanyang affairs by himself. Although this imperial edict had been reported before it was issued. But this matter is somewhat taboo.
However, He Xi didn't care. As long as he can open up the situation in Nanyang. This is a trivial matter. If he can't win the situation in Nanyang. The impact he received was much more serious than forging an imperial edict.
King Mancijia, no, now it is Zhu Man, the king of Zhongjun in Da Mingxing, who does not understand court etiquette at all, nor does he understand the political meaning behind this imperial edict. He was even immersed in the humiliation of kneeling down to receive the order. But Yang Yu was shocked.
As soon as this imperial edict came out, Zhu Man became a member of the clan.
It can even be said that he is the one with the highest status among all the people in front of him. The only one who can control him is the Nanjing Zongren Mansion. The previous King of Mancijia was still a king. They are princes on one side, but in the Ming Dynasty system, they are barbarians from outside the territory. Many people find it annoying to look at them more than once. But now the Prince of Daming County has an extraordinary status. It should be noted that there are not many clans in the Ming Dynasty today, and they can almost be counted. During the reform of the Ming Dynasty clan system, the position of the county king was almost eliminated. Only one of the prince's sons will inherit the throne, and the others will have to find their own way out. Or assist your brother. He won't be made a prince anymore.
The only prince is probably King Jingjiang.
Even though King Jingjiang hated Zhu Yuanzhang, he was still able to act tyrannically within the court system. Almost all officials did not dare to do anything to King Jingjiang. After all, Zhu Man doesn't have enough confidence now, so he naturally doesn't dare to do this. But in terms of status, he is already comparable to King Jingjiang.
It’s almost like reaching the sky in one step.
As for the Mancijia Kingdom, no, the Daxianzhongjun Kingdom will be the territory of the Ming Dynasty from now on. A war against the territory of the Xianzhongjun King is almost equivalent to a war against the Ming Dynasty.
This canonization is simply an unbreakable covenant written into the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty.
Yang Yu instantly understood He Xi's intention, but was still frightened by He Xi's boldness. I think this is incredible.
The reason why Yang Yu found it incredible was that people in the Ming Dynasty generally looked down on foreign countries in this era, thinking they were barbarians and clowns. But He Xi is just a fair measure of the strength of Canada.
Yes, Canada has a small population. I don’t know if there are millions. After all, Canada itself has no demographics. Needless to say, with such a scale, army, and finance. Not much better.
But Ming Dynasty needs full of thorns.
Ming Dynasty needed a firm ally in Nanyang. Also needs a place to stay.
But Man Cijia was forced to surrender to the Ming Dynasty after all. In He Xi's view, once something changes, King Mancijia will defect to Java without hesitation. Or anyone else.
So how can we make King Mancijia follow the Ming Dynasty wholeheartedly?
That’s betting big. But what kind of big bet should be made?
