Chapter 116 The beginning of civil strife
Since ancient times, the war on the grassland has been almost familiar. The Han, Tang and even the Ming Dynasty have fought arduous battles on the grassland. I don't know how much it cost. But in the end, the Han people still could not gain a foothold on the grasslands.
But what great war was fought against the South?
Only the Qin Emperor sent 500,000 people to conquer Lingnan. Apart from that, there is almost nothing else.
But what is the result?
From the Spring and Autumn Period, the land of Wu and Yue was the edge of civilization in the Central Plains. So far, the Central Plains Dynasty has penetrated deep into Yunnan.
Even for this dynasty, to be fair, Yunnan is easier to fight than Mongolia. If Yunnan is conquered, millions of soldiers and civilians can be resettled. And after more than ten years of operation, it can provide taxes to the court. However, even if Mongolia is conquered for many years, it may not be pacified, and even if it is briefly pacified, it cannot remain like this. This is historically verifiable. Even if there can be long-term peace and stability, it is simply a dream to expect Mongolia to make any financial contribution.
Therefore, no matter from which aspect, the Northern Expedition is not as good as the Southern Expedition.
This memorial letter by He Xi was not actually read by Zhu Yuanzhang. But let Zhu Yuanzhang convince others. Because Zhu Yuanzhang had already understood that the ocean was the future of the Ming Dynasty. But operating the ocean will still encounter a lot of resistance.
He Xi always had to face pressure from the court.
After He Xi finished these tasks, he frowned slightly and thought to himself: "What should Java do?"
With the Ming Dynasty's strength in Nanyang, it is impossible to destroy Java. But even after a big defeat, Java is still number one in Southeast Asia in terms of strength. Because Java produces a lot of grain, has a large population, and produces iron, and other factors, it can be eliminated without a big defeat. of.
And if this conference is held on Hexi, Java will be the most affected. Because Java will lose the tribute from various countries.
Because many small countries in Southeast Asia paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty on the one hand, and Java on the other.
The Ming Dynasty paid tribute to make money. But to pay tribute to Java, a lot must be paid. Gein, Ming Dynasty just wants a name. But for Java, tribute is one of their modes of governance. For those remote places that are difficult to rule directly, let them pay tribute. As long as they pay money every year, they will not interfere much.
Will Java admit this fact?
He Xi was worried. However, it still needs to be done. At worst, there will be another fight.
Every time it is delayed for a period of time, Ming's power in Nanyang will become stronger.
But He Xi never imagined how much impact the defeat of the Western King would have on Java.
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The King of the West did not dare to return to Manchu Boyi.
Majapahit is both the name of a Javanese dynasty and a place name. The land of Longxing in the Majapahit Dynasty. Southwest of Surabaya. Very close to Kediri. Even after the collapse of the Majapahit dynasty, the descendants of the dynasty maintained in Kanyiri for a long time. However, the Kanyiri dynasty at that time was just a small country and no longer had a strong influence on Java.
But even so, Kediri has a special place in Javanese history. Historically, the Netherlands established a war against Java for hegemony. The rebels are centered on Kageyiri. It cannot be said that there is no reason.
However, that is a story for another day.
King Xi did not dare to leave his territory in West Java, but sent envoys to plead guilty to King Wulu. Explain the situation. And begged to negotiate peace with Ming Dynasty. All losses were borne by the king of Zezi.
But he was flatly rejected by King Wulu.
King Wulu was so angry that he ordered the King of the West to come to court immediately and prepare to go out in person to unite the entire Java army and march westward to Old Port.
After King Xi heard the news, he was stunned.
He felt deeply malicious. I even feel out of breath.
In this battle, he lost a lot of men. About 10,000 soldiers did not return to his command, perhaps because they died in battle. But more often than not he became a deserter. And as mentioned earlier, Majapahit was essentially a slave-feudal dynasty.
Not all of the armies under the King of the West were under his direct control.
The so-called vassal of my vassal is not my vassal. The subordinates of my subordinates are not my subordinates. Same thing. This time the King of the West lost face, and even the nobles in the King of the West's territory were likely to make a new choice.
He has seen the Ming Dynasty's army.
Although the number is not large. But he didn't know how to do that cannon that looked like the power of a god.
He repeatedly reviewed the game and played it a hundred times, but it was probably difficult to win. The only way to win is to lead Ming's fleet to waters that Java is familiar with but Ming is not familiar with. That is to say, let Ming invade Java.
But when it comes to that point, will it be useful even if we can win the battle?
Of course it is useless. What is gained is not worth what is lost.
If you can't beat him, just bow your head to prepare for the future. Anyway, according to King Xi, the Ming Dynasty had no intention of destroying Java.
King Wulu has been in power for more than thirty years and has made great achievements in domestic and foreign affairs as well as military affairs. He can even be said to be one of the most accomplished kings in Java. If he doesn't understand the reason. Do not know what to do. King Xi couldn't believe it.
So the most likely thing.
Just this one thing was not for Daming. But for him.
Yes, King Wulu is old. But this old lion decided to solve the biggest hidden danger in Java before his death, which was the coexistence of the two kings of the East and the West.
The East King is his biological son and the heir that King Wulu wants, while the West King is an expedient measure to appease the nobles of West Java due to the laws and realities of Java. Now the King of the West was defeated and his prestige fell to the bottom. This is a good opportunity to start.
It is said that we should use the strength of the whole country to conquer the old port in the west. No, it was not Old Port they were fighting, but West Java.
Java is divided into three parts, West Java, Central Java, and East Java. The capital of Majapahit was located to the east, adjacent to Central Java and West Java. This also illustrates the interests of Majapahit’s core ruling group.
This is also why King Wulu can arrange for his son to be the King of the East.
The interests of West Java are actually tied to King Wulu and Queen Wulu. The so-called West Java nobles do not recognize the inheritance rights of the East King. In order to maintain the unity of Java, King Wulu gave in.
Now he felt there was no need to give in.
King Xi wanted to understand all this, and for a moment he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. Don't know how to respond.
King Xi is also a weak player.
After all, he is not the son of King Wulu, but the son-in-law of King Wulu. Sons cannot be chosen. A son-in-law is optional. King Xi himself was from a noble family in West Java, and he married the princess only after going through many layers of selection.
Finally, he became the King of the West. Become a representative of the West Java nobility.
But even so, King Xi has not come up with any solution yet.
First of all, although King Wulu is old, he has accumulated power for decades, and even the nobles of West Java are in awe of him. In the name of the Western Expedition, King Wulu arranged the Majapahit army and the East Java army in West Java.
He couldn't find a reason to refuse.
After all, Old Port is to the west of Java.
How can we attack Old Port without coming to the west?
King Wulu, although they are all excuses, they are also impeccable.
After all, Java has been strong for nearly a hundred years and cannot be said to be invincible, but it has never been defeated so miserably. Intellectually speaking, peace is naturally good for everyone. But in terms of public opinion, they naturally want to continue fighting.
Even if the King of the West does not support it, it is impossible to refute King Wulu's decision.
Unless the plate is flipped and the swords are drawn. Otherwise, King Xi had no choice.
But before the defeat of Old Port, it was okay to flip the plate. After all, if King Xi didn't have the power to flip the plate, how could King Wulu give him the position of heir? But things are different now.
In the previous defeat, the loss of soldiers was still second. The most important thing is reputation. Many people who originally supported King Xi became neutral. Even go to the opposite side. After all, in Nanyang, everything is based on strength.
People without strength will not be respected.
This is why there has always been a tradition in ancient China that the prince did not prepare soldiers. King Wulu had no good intentions from the beginning when he asked King Xi to take charge of the war against the Ming Dynasty.
Now it's just the end of the picture.
King Xi secretly thought: "Maybe there is only one way. But once I use this method, there will be endless troubles."
