In the twenty years since Chengshun, the biggest thing for the Chu Empire was the successful manual diversion of the Yellow River. In comparison, other things were trivial.
After all, the influence of other things is difficult to compare with the artificial diversion of the Yellow River.
The successful diversion of the Yellow River will directly benefit people in several provinces and benefit at least tens of millions of people.
The three provinces of Henan, Anlu, and Jiangbei, which have been severely affected by floods, will greatly reduce the impact of floods, and local grain production will inevitably increase significantly.
At the same time, due to the injection of water from the Yellow River and the construction of a large number of artificial rivers in advance, Shandong has irrigated canals and connected the original water network, which can make local water resources more abundant, increase local food production, and increase the number of inland rivers. Shipping capabilities.
The positive impact caused by many aspects is unprecedented, and for the Chu Empire, which is in the stage of rapid development, this is undoubtedly another shot in the arm, allowing the empire to continue to move forward at great strides.
This matter was lively for a long time, and it was not until October entered the late autumn that it gradually calmed down. Luo Zhixue also turned his attention away from the northern region and turned to the southern region.
Not the southern provinces of the mainland, but the Nanyang region.
The southern provinces in China are doing well now, with excellent industrial and economic development, and good weather in agriculture, with no major problems.
What attracted Luo Zhixue's attention was the affairs in the southern region.
The governor of Guangdong sent back a report in October. This report said that anti-Chu incidents had recently broken out in the northern region of Annan, that is, in the area controlled by the Zheng family of the Annan Kingdom.
The local natives attacked many business houses of imperial merchants and carried out vandalism, smashing and looting, resulting in the casualties of more than ten imperial people. Although Zheng stated that she would intensify the suppression and arrest the mob to give the empire an explanation.
However, after more than a month passed, instead of arresting the mob and giving an explanation to the empire, the Zheng family failed to suppress the riot. Even the Annan Zheng family troops who went to encircle and suppress mutiny.
In just over a month, the local rebels expanded to 30,000 to 40,000 people, and spread to central and even southern Annam.
Over the past few months, rebellions have broken out one after another in the northern and southern areas of Annan, with rebels appearing one after another!
The situation in Annan was so turbulent, and the local rebels still maintained a very strong anti-Chu attitude. This naturally aroused great concern in the Chu Empire.
The governor of Guangdong, who was responsible for some affairs in Annan in the last few days and also directly administered the colony of Guangning County in Annan, noticed something was wrong and immediately reported it to Jinling.
In fact, the governor of Guangdong has also requested the military's cooperation to increase the garrison in Guangning County and Cam Ranh Bay, and at the same time dispatched some troops to the Thang Long Concession and other concessions in Annan to protect local expatriates and diplomats.
As for how to deal with this matter in the future, the governor of Guangdong has a very firm attitude and will give them a resolute blow. In addition, it is also recommended to take advantage of this opportunity to completely capture the Annan area and fully control Annan.
However, this kind of thing is tantamount to direct war with the vassal state. Naturally, the governor of Guangdong has no right to make his own decision and can only report it to Jinling. …
After all, the Annan region is actually a vassal state of the Chu Empire, the kind that has been canonized by the Eight Classics.
However, it is worth noting that the 'King of Annan' conferred by the Great Chu Empire was not the Zheng family or the Ruan family, but the nominal monarch of the northern and southern regions of Annan today, namely Li Weiqi of the later Li Dynasty.
However, today's Annan Kingdom is actually the same as in the early weekend period of China. Its Li Dynasty monarch has long had no actual power and is just a puppet controlled by the Zheng family.
However, the king is the king and the ministers are ministers, and some righteousnesses still need to be explained.
The Annan Kingdom is an official vassal state of the Great Chu Empire, and after so many years of infiltration and control by the Great Chu Empire, its northern region has almost become a puppet state of the Great Chu Empire.
The Da Chu Empire had a series of powers such as military passage rights, customs jurisdiction, fully open markets, and extra-legal jurisdiction in the Annan Kingdom. At the same time, its Guangning area and Cam Ranh Bay were directly ceded to Da Chu. empire.
Then the Chu Empire had varying numbers of concessions in its capital Thanglong and several other coastal ports to facilitate trade.
From this perspective, the Chu Empire's control over the Annan region was very strong, at least from an official level.
Whether it is the head of the Zheng family or the Ruan family, they have always been extremely submissive for the past ten years, holding the thigh of the Chu Empire and calling for daddy to win favor every day.
Under such circumstances, if some rebels or mobs appear in the local area, they will spread their anger on the Zheng family and the Ruan family, or even send troops to directly destroy the Zheng family and the Ruan family, and then directly draw these places into their own territory. .
If this is not done well, it will make many vassal countries fearful.
After all, the Chu Empire now has more than one vassal state. Now the entire Nanyang Peninsula, including Annam, Myanmar, Siam, Cambodia, the Kingdom of Aceh and many other indigenous kingdoms, are all vassal states of the Chu Empire.
It's just that the degree of penetration of the Chu Empire into them is different.
If the food in Annan is too ugly, it will easily arouse the mentality of these vassal countries. People will think: I have treated you like a dog, so what do you do... you have to force me to death... ...Male Gobi, I don’t want to live anymore, I want to fight you to the death!
However, it is reasonable for the governor of Guangdong and other high-ranking officials in the empire to want to annex the Annan Kingdom, and Luo Zhixue is also very interested in this.
After all, the Annan region has been the territory of the empire since ancient times. This is not just a matryoshka doll of various theories, but a real reality.
After all, during the Ming Dynasty, the Annan area was still a territory directly under the jurisdiction of China, the "Jiaozhi Chengxuanzhengshisi", and the "Chengxuanzhengshisi" was actually a provincial-level administrative unit during the Ming Dynasty. This will be said for later generations. , in fact, is the 'Cochin Province'.
In other words, the Annan region was originally a province of the Ming Dynasty, but later the local indigenous people resisted too fiercely, and the Ming Dynasty was unable to consume it, and was eventually forced to abandon the place and withdraw its troops.
Although the direct rule of the Ming Dynasty in the Annan region only lasted for twenty years, this was enough for many expansionists of the Chu Empire to regard Annan as China's ancient territory, and then naturally demanded to recover it. . …
Not only some local officials, but also many senior officials in the central government think so.
However, the mentality of some people is not just to expand the territory, but also brings some conflicts of spirit.
Many people feel that the Chu Empire's expansion in other directions is already very impressive, far exceeding that of the previous dynasty, but its expansion in the south is lagging behind, not as good as the Ming Dynasty.
Although the empire has established a lot of vassal states in Nanyang, no matter what, these vassal states are not its own territory. To talk about vassal states, the previous dynasty also had a lot of vassal states in Nanyang.
The previous dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, actually established a province on the Nanyang Peninsula, extending the Ming Dynasty's home territory to the hinterland of the Nanyang Peninsula.
In addition, even after Jiaozhi Province was abolished, decades later, the Ming Dynasty took advantage of the civil strife in Annan and used the remnants of the Mo family to create an Annan capital commander and envoy, directly turning the Annan Kingdom from a subordinate state into a dependent territory.
Therefore, nominally speaking, the Annan region was the direct territory of the Ming Dynasty for a long time, at least in name.
Not just a vassal state!
This is also an important reason why many officials want to conquer the Annan region and bring it under direct rule.
The Chu Empire is so powerful, it can't be inferior to the Ming Dynasty in the affairs of the Nanyang Peninsula...
Many people say that we must have what the previous dynasty had, and we must have what the previous dynasty did not have. Our Da Chu is the most powerful, and our territory must also be the most powerful...
A large group of ministers all want to expand and annex the Annan Kingdom, but how to do it is a problem.
Again, the Annan Kingdom is a vassal state of the empire, and it is still a very submissive vassal state. If it is not operated well, it can easily cause trouble.
Not to mention outsiders, even the people of the empire may think that being popular is too ugly.
Then a group of ministers discussed it seriously for a long time, and finally came up with a solution, that is, King Annan who was canonized by the Chu Empire was only the monarch of the Li Dynasty, and had nothing to do with the Zheng family, Ruan family or anything else.
However, the power of the Li Dynasty monarch has long since fallen away, and it exists in name only... Theoretically speaking, most of the Annam area no longer belongs to King Annam.
Since this is not the territory of a vassal state, there is no problem for Chu to take it from the barbarians.
Luo Zhixue directly refuted this reason... Everyone in the world knew that when Annan requested for canonization, it was the Zheng family who took the lead, and the monarch of Li Dynasty was just a puppet.
The Chu Empire recognized this puppet before, but there is no reason why it should not recognize it now.
The most important thing is that Zheng and Ruan are really obedient... They hold their thighs and call daddy every day. Dad wants Quang Ninh to be sent directly to Quang Ninh. Dad wants to fully open the market, so he will fully open the market, dad. There are a bunch of decommissioned second-hand matchlock guns and cold weapons in the warehouse that cannot be sold, so they just buy them at high prices without saying anything...
Now they are being revolted by a mob. As a father, you do not help, but instead add insult to injury. This is a bit unreasonable.
Although the emperors and ministers of the Great Chu Empire were thick-skinned, they didn't care much about these things. Anyway, they just wanted to expand and expand the empire's territory to the hinterland of the Nanyang Peninsula. It would be best to expand all the way to Jiujiang Longfu in Cambodia. Above. …
However, if the appearance is too ugly, other vassal states may not be able to sleep well, and may cause some trouble.
Therefore, if you want to take advantage of the opportunity to expand, you must find a suitable opportunity and a suitable reason.
And this, to be honest, is a bit embarrassing for the monarchs and ministers of the Great Chu Empire!
The Chu Empire has been established for many years and has expanded countless times. That time, I didn’t just fight when I wanted to. Even if I had to find any excuse, I would just find a reason. How had I ever tried to find a reasonable reason like this? ah.
The monarchs and ministers of the Great Chu Empire have no such experience!
This person wants to expand, but also wants to save face, a typical example of being in charge and standing at the same time...
So after several discussions, there was no good result.
While the senior leaders of the Chu Empire were discussing how to annex Annan, the situation in the Annan region continued to be turbulent.
The rebels in the northern part of Annam were very loud and quickly spread to the areas controlled by the Nguyen family in southern Annam.
These rebels not only include the lower class people, but also a large number of local indigenous troops who have rebelled and joined. They also require the support of some local dignitaries.
They want to resist the rule of the Zheng family and the Nguyen family, and also want to expel the strength of the Chu Empire, restore their so-called independence, and rebuild a unified Dai Viet Empire.
It is normal for the local indigenous people to have strong anti-Chu sentiments. After all, the Chu Empire is not just a boy who is good at making money, but also a handsome man and a beautiful woman who is loved by everyone.
In fact, it's just the opposite. The people of the Dachu Empire actually don't have a good reputation overseas. They are almost hated by everyone and shouted at by everyone.
Those merchants, especially the early armed trading companies, would do anything for money and had no regard for the life and death of the indigenous people. The sailors and armed personnel they hired were all desperate for money rather than their lives. What they did in Nanyang was very cruel.
Even the ordinary immigrants of the empire may have been submissive and honest poor people at home, and could be trampled by anyone who looked at them. However, after they moved to Southeast Asia to settle down, they all turned into demons in the eyes of the natives.
Because the young immigrants who went to Nanyang were organized and trained as militiamen, and they could receive free weapons.
The most important thing is that the so-called free land granted to these immigrants by the Chu Empire in its overseas territories... was previously cultivated by indigenous people...
Now these immigrants from the Chu Empire came and used muskets to expel the original natives.
Otherwise, where did the land they cultivate come from?
This process is very bloody.
Therefore, don’t think that after people from the Chu Empire go overseas, people will think you are a civilized person from a civilized country and look down upon you. They will be eager to eat your flesh and blood.
The Da Chu Empire's overseas colonial expansion based on the basic principle of land grabbing was actually fighting for the living space with the local indigenous people.
Either you die or I die, cruel and bloody. …
As much as the Indians hate white people, the natives of Southeast Asia hate the Chu people!
Of course, these generally only occur in the overseas territories directly under the Chu Empire, that is, territories that are directly incorporated under the rule of the empire, establish administrative rule, and carry out large-scale immigration, such as the Malacca area and the central and eastern areas of Sumatra!
In the large areas of vassal states, the Chu Empire generally plundered economic interests through commercial means. Some of them only leased land, but did not carry out large-scale agricultural immigration. It was a kind of commercial colonization.
But commercial colonization is equally lethal.
And this has to be said about the comprehensive open trade agreement that the Chu Empire forced the Southeast Asian countries to sign.
According to this series of agreements, these indigenous vassal states fully opened their markets to the empire, and the tariffs were determined by the empire. Well, it was basically equivalent to nothing... Even the small amount of tariffs collected were basically used to repay the empire's various indemnities.
When these vassal states fully opened their markets to the Chu Empire, a large number of industrial products from the Chu Empire entered them and then plundered local wealth.
During this process, the livelihoods of countless local indigenous people were affected, and even the interests of powerful people and businessmen were greatly affected.
In the Annan region, since the market was fully opened to the Chu Empire, the local handmade textile industry and iron-making industry have been completely destroyed. The homespun cloth and iron products they hand-produced cannot compete with the machine-made cloth and industrial iron products of the Chu Empire. .
Countless employees have lost their source of income!
Countless dignitaries and businessmen engaged in this industry have gone bankrupt and lost money.
This is why many Annan indigenous dignitaries support the rebels, because their interests have also been greatly harmed.
Otherwise, why do many places, especially indigenous countries in India, West Asia and other places, impose trade restrictions on the Chu Empire? The industrial products of the Chu Empire are too lethal. Once they are liberalized, the industrial products of the Chu Empire will Entering their market, their local handicraft industry will be destroyed in minutes...
At the same time, under the comprehensive open market policy, the Annan region's foreign trade was basically monopolized by the Chu Empire. Although they exported many products to the Chu Empire, such as wood, grain, etc., because the trade was monopolized, their exports of these products The price is very low.
Moreover, even the customs in the Annan region were directly controlled by the Chu Empire, and the customs duties were used for compensation. The Annan authorities had no way to obtain fiscal revenue from the customs duties.
This unbalanced trade led to the almost complete bankruptcy of the handicraft economy in the Annan region. At the same time, because the rulers, the Zheng family, wanted to pay compensation, they had to purchase a large number of old weapons from the empire to maintain their rule. Protection fees.
This has also led to increasing tax pressure on the people in the Annan region. A large number of people, especially farmers, have gone bankrupt and sold their children.
The tragedy that occurred in a colonized country can be seen in the Annan Kingdom.
However, the local rulers, the dignitaries headed by the Zheng family, continued to spend huge sums of money importing large amounts of luxury jewelry from the empire for enjoyment.
The combination of many circumstances led to great public dissatisfaction in the Annan Kingdom area, and eventually an anti-Chu wave emerged... and then the anti-Chu wave further evolved into a rebellion. …
If you look at it from the perspective of the local people, this rebellion is a just battle for the Annan people to fight against the tyranny of the Zheng family and resist the colonization.
It is precisely because of this that it was able to attract the support of the middle and upper classes of local society in a short period of time and was able to gain such momentum.
The so-called rebels in many places are actually created by local dignitaries and generals of the indigenous official army. The so-called mob...in fact, there are not many real mobs, and some mobs cannot generate such a big momentum.
In such a chaotic situation, the Chu Empire had something to do. When the court was clamoring for reasons to annex Annan, and when it was still impossible to make a decision, the two actual rulers of Annan, namely Zheng Zheng in the north, However, none of them, including the Ruan family in the south, could sit still...
Damn it, these rebels are not only against Chu, they also want to resist Zheng Ruan's so-called tyranny.
They wanted to send troops to encircle and suppress them at first, but instead of encircling and suppressing the rebels, the troops they sent several times turned into rebels... This made them completely unable to sit still.
If we continue to send troops to encircle and suppress them, it is estimated that there will be more and more rebels.
But it was no good if we did not send troops to encircle and suppress them. The rebels began to attack the city and seize territory, and their offensive became more and more fierce. The rebels in the north had already reached the vicinity of Thang Long.
The Zheng family, the actual ruling family in northern Annam, was completely defeated in just a few months. Now it can only hold a few territories such as Thang Long, and other places have been occupied by rebels.
And if this situation continues, Shenglong will be finished sooner or later.
At the same time, the situation of the Ruan family in southern Annan is not much better. These rebels are too powerful...
What to do in this situation?
What else can I do? Just call daddy...
So, in November, the Zheng family in northern Annan took the lead in asking for help from the empire, asking the empire to send troops to help them suppress the rebellion, and said that the conditions were easy to negotiate.
Just ten days later, envoys from the Ruan family also came over to ask for help. They also asked the empire to send troops to help them suppress the rebellion. Their conditions were even simpler. They said directly, "Dad, you are interested in this place. Just tell me, I will cede it to you directly."
Before the empire could discuss the reasons for annexing Annan, the two actual ruling families of Annan came to ask for help.
This is also the reason why the empire's senior officials finally found a suitable reason.
This is not what we want to annex them, but what they are begging me to annex them...
Of course, the Dachu Empire still pays attention to its reputation. The people from the feudal affairs department of the Ministry of Rites and Education discussed with the people of these two families and revealed that they would take the Annan area into the direct territory of the empire, and then in Annan The idea of setting up a province.
Of course, the empire will not treat you two badly. It will definitely give you two titles when the time comes. It is impossible to be a king. There is no such thing as a king of the opposite sex in the Chu Empire, but it is still possible to be a marquis or even a duke. .
Prosperity and wealth are indispensable to you.
After hearing this, the envoys of the Zheng family and the Ruan family opened their mouths half-mouthed... Damn, I came here to ask for help, but you wanted to rob my home...
The first discussion naturally ended on bad terms.
But the empire is not in a hurry... just take it slowly. As for the rebels against Chu, let them be arrogant for a while. After the empire has settled the diplomatic affairs and determined the general direction, it can deal with them in a minute.
When the envoys from the Annan family returned to discuss countermeasures.
Rebels in the Annan region continue to act!
At this time, in order to force the Zheng and Ruan families to agree to the empire's conditions, they secretly sold a lot of weapons and ammunition to the rebels.
The rebels from all over the country, who have received support from many parties, are so powerful that they are continuously attacking cities and territories. Even the rebels in the north have reached outside Thang Long City!
Under such circumstances, the Annan, Zheng and Ruan families finally couldn't bear it anymore.
It is better to become a noble with no real power in the Chu Empire after betraying the country than to have the whole family killed by the rebels!
As a result, representatives of the Zheng and Ruan families formally signed a treaty in Guangning County, Guangdong Province in December, announcing their official submission to the empire.
Historically known as the "Treaty of Quang Ninh".
