Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 1219 Strategy and Cooling

Since the matter of the Southern Border was handed over to Huang Zhiting, Gao Pragmatism has not been worried about it much, but has only learned from various reports received or detected by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

It was not that there were times when he wanted to fine-tune Huang Zhiting's arrangement, but he endured it in the end.One is that Huang Zhiting's handling has no major flaws, and the other is that he attaches great importance to the rule of employing people without doubt. In addition, he firmly believes that one must be faithful to one's words, including his own wife. Say".

Almost from the time Gao Yuan was born, the situation in the southern border has settled down.

From the perspective of Gao Pragmatist's plan, this period of stability may not be short, ranging from three to five years to seven or eight years.

It's cool to open up the territory, but it's not enough to conquer the territory, and it must be able to establish a long-term and stable rule before it really falls into one's own pocket.Alexander's conquest looked great, but as soon as he died, it fell apart and the empire was not unified.

Of course, the reason why Alexander the Great's death had such serious consequences had a lot to do with him having no heirs at the time. Although Gao Wushi was not a "great emperor", he already had an heir now, and he was still the eldest son. The most legitimate successor in law.

However, there is no guarantee that he will be able to ensure that his foundation is stable, and even he himself cannot ensure this. What can really ensure this is to keep Jinghua always vigilant, not blindly or aggressive.

A person like Li Shimin, he had to settle down and develop himself first when he was in the Weishui Alliance, not to mention he was pragmatic and pragmatic.Besides, the family is the emperor, and Jinghua's rule in the southern border is not justifiable, so be careful.

However, he also knows that Huang Zhiting is now staring at two targets, one is Arakan further west of Myanmar, more precisely Chittagong in Arakan, and the other is the Malay Peninsula further south from Siam.

Chittagong was targeted by Huang Zhiting himself, and Gao Pragmatism did not suggest anything, and even rarely mentioned it.

The reason is not complicated. If you want to hit Chittagong, there is almost only one road by land, and the opponent is easier to defend. If you want to go by sea, Arakan itself is a country founded on the navy, not only the fleet strength is not weak, but also the coastal defense is definitely relatively complete.If there is a war, what kind of losses will be caused to the fleet, no one dares to say that it can be predicted in advance.

Secondly, Chittagong is adjacent to the Kingdom of Bangladesh, and Bangladesh has been conquered by the Mughal Empire for nearly ten years. If Jinghua suddenly uses the sword on the "side of the bed" of the Mughal Empire, it is difficult to guarantee that this desire for expansion will be in the Will the empire in the strongest period announce the Eastern Expedition as soon as its brain is hot?

The Mughal Eastern Expedition itself does not make Gao Shishi so scared. After all, the current superior force of the Mughal Empire is actually cavalry.Therefore, the great Jinghua retreated a little to the east, retreated to the mountainous areas of western Myanmar to fight mountain warfare with the Mughal Empire, and had wolf soldiers as "instructors" or "model troops" as a garrison army, not afraid to play with the Mughal Empire in the mountains One play.

But not afraid does not mean that there must be one. The Mughals are an empire. The land area is about 400 million square kilometers, which is not much smaller than the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, it is different from the Ming Dynasty. It is still under the rule of the third emperor Abak Underneath is the heyday, and the national power is very strong.

In short, the Mughal Empire should not be too afraid of tug-of-war now, and although Gao pragmatism can claim to be not afraid, at least it suffers - the war in Jinghua cost his own money, while the southern border countries just Coming out of the war, how much surplus is there?Even if you don't post it backwards, it's well managed.

So whether it can be won is one thing, and whether it is worthwhile is another. It is not worthwhile to risk a war with the Mughals for the sake of a mere Arakan kingdom.Chittagong sailors are an asset, but they are not absolutely irreplaceable. At least after the Ming Dynasty opened the sea for so many years, Gao Wucheng is now recruiting sailors in the southeastern coastal provinces, which is not as difficult as in the early years.

Another target of Astragalus is the Malay Peninsula, and the appearance of this target has a lot to do with Gao pragmatism.The main reason is that when Gao Wuzhen explained the situation in the South China Sea to her, he repeatedly emphasized the importance of the Strait of Malacca.

"The car travels half a hundred, and the ship travels a thousand miles". At this time when the transportation is backward, the advantages of shipping are self-evident.The Strait, as an important maritime traffic route and a shipping hub, is bound to be a battleground for military strategists.

The Strait of Malacca is the mouth of Asia, like a gateway.When the ocean age is coming, whoever controls here will be the overlord of the Asian ocean.

As early as the early [-]th century, Daming and Malacca formed a relationship similar to a strategic alliance. The Kingdom of Malacca became a regional power with the support of Daming, and Daming established a nautical transit station in Malacca, with Malacca as the center. The tributary circle, and then control the route from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, became the empire that controlled the Asian oceans in that era.

In 1403, Zhu Di, who had already ascended the throne, inherited the tributary system and diplomatic thought in Chinese history.As soon as he came to power, he immediately dispatched envoys to the Quartet, announced the rotation of the imperial throne, and reaffirmed the influence and control of the empire overseas.Immediately, envoys from Ryukyu, Japan, and Siam successively paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty, and established the relationship between the vassal and the canonization.

At this time, the Kingdom of Malacca was called Manlajia by the Ming Dynasty.It was on the strategic channel and was highly valued by the Ming court, and it was soon incorporated into the tributary system of the Ming Dynasty. In October 1403, Zhu Di dispatched the eunuch Yin Qing to Yumanlajia and presented him with a gift to the king, "I am overjoyed by Limi Sula, and sent an envoy to accompany Qing to the tribute prescription", which set a precedent for the imperial pen of the Yongle Dynasty.

Ming Chengzu also personally wrote an inscription to Manlajia. The inscription praised Mantaka and his king: Wang Haoyi is good at thinking about the dynasty, and I wish Bine County Yihua style.However, what is "Huafeng", Baili fans Su La actually didn't care much at the time.What he cares most about is to get rid of Siamese rule immediately, which is the essence of his friendship with Ming.

At the beginning of the founding of the country, the Kingdom of Malacca was surrounded by powerful enemies, and Baili Misura fought for a living space with a soft figure.On the one hand, it has a good relationship with the Kingdom of Siam, and pays 40 taels of gold to Siam in exchange for temporary peace. On the other hand, it forms an alliance with the kingdoms on the Indonesian archipelago to the south. At the same time, Ming is the suzerain state and establishes a suzerainty whose political significance is greater than that of substantive jurisdiction. relation.

In 1406, Baili Misu led his wife and more than 540 accompanying officials to visit Daming with Zheng He's fleet. This was the largest foreign mission to visit Daming since the Ming Dynasty.During this visit, Bailimisula received courtesy from the Ming court.On the 25th and 28th day of the seventh lunar month, the first day of August, the first day of September, and the fifteenth day of September in the lunar calendar, Ming Chengzu entertained or rewarded the mission. Jiangyi held a farewell banquet.Such standard treatment was unique among the kings who received visitors from other countries in the Ming Dynasty.

In 1411, Bai Limi Sula visited China for the second time. In 1414, on the return journey of Zheng He's fourth voyage, Bairimishula led a delegation to visit Daming for the third time.

It is self-evident that Malacca has important strategic significance to the Ming Empire. Controlling the Strait of Malacca means that the Ming Dynasty will have long-term sea and border peace.Daming's control of the Straits of Malacca was achieved through the establishment of close suzerainty relationships and ocean shipping transit stations.

For the next century, Malacca maintained a close relationship with the Ming Dynasty.Among Zheng He's seven voyages to the West, he visited Malacca six times.

The establishment of the Malacca shipping transfer station means that Daming has established a strategic buffer zone based in Southeast Asia, and the South China Sea at that time has truly become Daming's inland sea.

However, with the death of Zhu Di, Daming's maritime strategy was greatly reduced, and the sea began to be banned. The "transit stations" in Malacca and other places lost their meaning and gradually collapsed. Until now, only the Guangdong Navy has occasionally sent ships to patrol the south, and the role is almost only to show exist.

And when the Daming strategy contracted for more than a hundred years, the Portuguese came.

The Portuguese got the impression of a relatively real China starting from Malacca, and the steps towards China also started from Malacca.

After Da Gama's fleet arrived at Guri in the present-day Kozhikode area of ​​Kerala, in the southwestern Indian peninsula, they systematically collected geographical and cultural data about Asia on a large scale, with the main target being the Ming Dynasty in the Far East.

After Portugal occupied Goa, they paid more attention to Ming Dynasty.Gorea, a historian who has lived in India for half a century, said that he met Chinacota at that time, which means "the fortress of the Chinese", because the "white with long black hair" Chinese also had many "official factories" in India. .

In 1508, King Don Manuel I of Portugal asked Admiral Ségra: "You must find out about the Qin people (i.e. Chinese, Ming people), where did they come from, how far did they travel? When did they arrive at Raja or other places where they trade? What goods do they bring? ... Are they Christians or pagans? Is their country big? Is there more than one king in the country? neighbor?"

In 1512, the Portuguese who conquered Malacca bought five Daming ship owners and began to plan a plan to go to Daming.

In 1517, the Portuguese officially reached the southeast coast of the Ming Dynasty, and around 1557, they occupied Macau by means of fraud and bribery.

Of course, the Portuguese colonists took a fancy to the wealth of Daming, and they imagined that Daming would fall into their hands as easily as Malacca. Although they waited for hundreds of years to come to the coast of Daming, they found that this empire was not something they could swallow, but The occupation of Malacca did indeed start the most glorious history of the Portuguese maritime empire.

In addition to encountering a powerful foreign enemy, another important reason for the demise of the Malacca Dynasty was internal decline and disputes.At that time, the titular suzerain, the Ming Dynasty, had long ignored sea power, and they showed indifference to the fall of Malacca.

The Ming court learned that Malacca had been occupied in 1520, nine years after Malacca fell into the hands of the Portuguese.In the past nine years, the Portuguese have already crossed the South China Sea and entered the coast of Guangdong.

If it weren't for the presumptuousness of the Portuguese, and the messenger of the Prince of Malacca, Prince Bintang, Mohammed, came to Yanjing and sent a letter of assistance from Malacca to the Ministry of Rites, the fact that Malacca fell into the hands of the Portuguese, the Ming court might even have been kept in the dark. inside.

At that time, it was the Zhengde Dynasty, and it happened that Emperor Zhengde had lost the ability to solve the matter at that time-he died after being ill for three months.However, at the suggestion of a group of ministers at that time, the court finally responded to the fall of Malacca: Flangji (Portugal) was not allowed to pay tribute, and Pires, the Portuguese envoy to Daming, was deported to Guangzhou in the spring and summer of the same year. , and was thrown into prison as a hostage for the return of Malacca territory.

In the face of repeated requests for help from the Malacca court, the Ming court declared that Portugal should return Malacca, otherwise the embassy will be detained until it is returned to Malacca.

This kind of way of detaining envoys to deal with the armed occupation of the Portuguese is nonsense in the eyes of Gao pragmatism. It is not only incompetent, but also a manifestation of lack of international ocean view.

However, after all, Daming had no military presence in the Nanyang area at this time, and its tributary relationship with these Nanyang countries was only a political commitment to each other, and it was completely pale.To be precise, when the kings of Zheng He's fleet disappeared in the South China Sea, Daming's weak diplomatic rhetoric and negotiation could not save the fate of Malacca's demise, let alone spread the voice of the empire to the four seas.

In order to spread the voice of China to the four seas, it is necessary to have a strong fleet, and it is also necessary to effectively master Malacca.

What Huang Zhiting was most impressed by was the fact that Gao Wushi marked the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean on the map at that time: "Winning Malacca is the beginning of Jinghua's control of the two oceans."

Huang Zhiting has always been committed to a high and pragmatic strategic vision, so she believes in his words. Since then, she has been thinking about how to win the Malay Peninsula-yes, she will not only win one like the Portuguese. Malacca City, relying on this stronghold to control the entire strait.

If she wants to take it, she will take it with the land, and the entire Malay Peninsula must be firmly in her hands.

As for the truth, just like the ancient Chinese dynasties, the cultural tradition in the bones is the winner-takes-all.In later generations, foreign educators mentioned the shortcomings of the Chinese students they brought with them. They said that the Chinese students are too determined to win and lose, and if they don't take the first place, they feel that they have failed.

In fact, this is also a manifestation of the spirit of winner-take-all, and even the tribute system is inescapable of this kind of thinking.

What is the spiritual essence of tribute?
That is, Lao Tzu is the number one in the world, "You wait and do not serve as a concubine".

Even if Huang Zhiting is a woman, she is also influenced by this culture. Therefore, in her understanding, Gao Pragmatism wants to control Malacca, that is, to win the Malay Peninsula.

Her husband wanted it, and the southern border was handed over to her. Of course, she began to plan the Malay Peninsula wholeheartedly.

Gao Wushi guessed what she was thinking from her move Gao Ruichu to Siamnan. Although he agreed to this transfer as always, he still hoped to cool his wife's mind a little bit.

After thinking for a long time, he went to the table, sat down, and began to write a letter.
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(End of this chapter)