prosperous age

Chapter 1069 1160 Thoughts of All Parties

"These courtyards have been carefully cleaned and prepared for the commanders."

Deng Zilong entered the residence of the envoy, inspected it carefully, and arranged the courtyards of several commanders of the South China Sea Navy.

As for where the other subordinates lived, they were allowed to arrange it themselves; Deng Zilong was too lazy to care.

His personal soldiers have already moved his luggage off the ship. He will stay here for a long time, and the ten warships he owns will also remain in the old port to serve as a guard force here.

"Sir, the heads of the Zheng family are outside the mansion asking to see you. They said they have prepared a welcoming banquet for you."

At this time, a personal soldier came up to report.

"Please ask them to come in and rest for a while. I still need to take a good look around here."

In the big mansion of the Shi family, Deng Zilong reserved the best courtyards for Yu Dayou, Wang Zhao and other commanders of the South China Sea Navy. He temporarily chose only a smaller courtyard.

But this is only temporary. After the army leaves, as the master here, he will naturally choose the best yard for himself to live in.

Jiugang will not appoint a prefect like the prefectures and counties in the inland Ming Dynasty. Even if people are sent here in the end, military control will still be implemented here. The South China Sea Navy will still be in charge. Just like Dongfan Island and Luzon, they are under the jurisdiction of the South China Sea Navy.

According to Yu Dayou's plan, at least one complete garrison would be dispatched from the inland to Jiugang and its surrounding areas.

To put it bluntly, the Ming Dynasty would immigrate more than 20,000 military households here, set up five thousand-household units, and have more than 5,000 combat soldiers.

Including the docks and sailors, the number of troops here may exceed seven thousand.

Deng Zilong did not go directly to meet the family patriarchs. He still needed to think carefully about how to treat these people.

At the dock for a while, although both sides were very cordial, Deng Zilong was not a pure reckless man. From the faces and eyes of those people, he could tell that they were not as happy about Daming's arrival as expected.

The reason can be known with a little thought. It is nothing more than that they were the local emperors in the old port city. The days of their tyranny were gone with the arrival of the Ming army, so they could not help feeling unwilling.

However, Deng Zilong didn't mind their attitude.

You may be dissatisfied in your heart, but as long as you don't openly oppose it, these families will still be retained.

Old Port has always been an important trading port in Southeast Asia. Due to its geographical advantages, most Western goods were shipped to Southeast Asia in the early years, and then sold to various parts of Southeast Asia and even the Ming Dynasty by Chinese merchants.

Although the Old Port now faces competition from Malacca City, it is a place of foreigners after all, and not many Chinese go there by sea.

For merchants from the Ming Dynasty going to Southeast Asia, this was still the preferred trading place.

Then the goods were sold from the old port to Malacca City and then to the West.

As for Luzon, the overseas territory that has been occupied by the Ming Dynasty, the merchants in Old Port are actually not worried at all.

Luzon is located there. Unless the Ming Dynasty's maritime merchants can find a sea route to the east, the demand for Luzon will not be that great. They can only trade with the Spaniards, transport goods to America via the sailing ships, and then transfer them to Europe.

In terms of actual value, Luzon's status is actually very insignificant and has no effect at all.

It was because of Lin Feng’s disturbance that the South China Sea Navy had the opportunity to go to Southeast Asia.

Once the meat is in your mouth, you naturally cannot spit it out.

Stationing troops in Luzon can also deter the Spaniards there from expanding their territory uncontrollably in Southeast Asia.

The expansion that is truly beneficial to the Ming Dynasty is actually the restoration of the Jiugang Xuanwei Office, which is the bridge connecting the trade between the East and the West.

The Ming Dynasty’s goods could be continuously shipped to the old port and then distributed to various parts of the West.

The territory of Dongfan Island acquired by the Ming Dynasty during its first external expansion was more to ensure the security of the eastern coastal areas, expand the Great Wall on the Sea, and build Dongfan Island into a barrier.

Deng Zilong took advantage of this free time to take a good look at the three best courtyards. The main house here was the courtyard where Shi Jinqing, the first envoy of Jiugang, lived, and the other two were where his son and daughter lived.

The two had once fought fiercely for the position of Xuanwei Envoy of Jiugang, but in the end Zheng He chose to give the position to Shi Erniang according to Shi Jinqing's wishes.

It is worth mentioning that although Shi Jinqing was a Cantonese, after he became an overseas Chinese in Srivijaya in Southeast Asia, he chose to convert to Islam and become a Muslim.

After helping Zheng He eliminate the South China Sea pirate Chen Zuyi and sending envoys to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, he was appointed as the Envoy of Jiugang by Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty and became the ruler of Srivijaya.

At this time, Srivijaya had already split, and after Shi Jinqing was appointed as the envoy of Jiugang, he always called himself the "King of Srivijaya" in Southeast Asia.

After Shi Jinqing's death, his second daughter Shi Erjie ascended the throne as queen. His son Shi Jisun competed with Shi Erjie for the throne. Shi Jisun sent envoys to the Ming Empire to request for enthronement. Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, who was unaware of the situation, issued an edict ordering him to succeed the post of Envoy of Jiugang according to the Chinese custom of "the son inherits the throne after the father's death".

But after Zheng He went south to understand the actual situation, he recognized Shi Erjie as the leader of Jiugang. Later, Shi Jisun sent envoys to Japan and other countries to seek support, but they did not get any support.

Shi Erjie's rule in Jiugang lasted until 1440, the fifth year of Zhengtong, when Jiugang came under the rule of Majapahit and the Srivijaya Kingdom was finally destroyed.

The reason why Zheng He chose Shi Erjie as the leader of Jiugang was in accordance with Muslim customs.

In Muslim inheritance thought, the basic principle is that the estate disposed of according to the will shall not exceed the total net assets of the deceased, that is, one-third of the assets after paying off the deceased's debts and deducting burial expenses. This part of the estate is used to help neighbors and friends who have helped the deceased in various ways.

The remaining part will be distributed among the legal heirs according to their respective shares. When distributing the estate, priority will be given to the heirs who are mainly female relatives, while the paternal heirs only have the right to participate in the distribution of the "remaining property" after the "division of property".

In other words, in the Muslim community, female relatives enjoy priority in inheritance, and it was based on this custom that Shi Erjie was able to inherit the position of leader of Jiugang.

Of course, in reality, most of the Han people who went to Southeast Asia chose to convert to Islam and become Muslims. In fact, the fundamental reason was not that they really believed in this sect, but there were other reasons.

Starting from the 13th century, Islam was introduced into Southeast Asia along with commercial trade.

Before Islam was introduced to Southeast Asia, the region was deeply influenced by Indian culture, and various religious beliefs such as Buddhism, Hinduism, primitive religions, Taoism, Confucianism, etc. coexisted.

Sumatra Island is located on the southeast side of the Eurasian Plate and faces the Indian Ocean to the west. Since ancient times, it has been an important channel for Indian and Arab merchants to enter Southeast Asia.

The superior geographical location here attracted merchants and travelers from the East and the West. During the frequent trade, the earliest Muslim merchants brought Islam to this land and spread it widely among the local residents.

With the continuous growth of commercial trade activities, new coastal commercial cities have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

The Suwendara Pasir Sultanate, as the first Islamic state established in Southeast Asia, marked the earliest center for the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia.

After its founding, the Suwendala Pasir Sultanate's status as a commercial transit point in Southeast Asia was further enhanced, attracting Muslim merchants from all over the world to engage in business activities or preach.

The prosperity of commerce made the Suvendara Basai Sultanate increasingly powerful, attracting the attention of many surrounding non-Islamic countries.

The leaders of these non-Islamic countries realized that the reason why the Suvendara Bashar Sultanate was so powerful was because of its conversion to Islam.

They firmly believe that only Islam can help them achieve national prosperity and people's wealth.

Therefore, they chose to convert to Islam in order to gain this powerful power.

At the same time, the economic prosperity of the Suvendara Bashar Sultanate attracted many famous Muslim religious scholars from Arabia and Persia to live there.

They carried out academic activities to spread Islam here, which deeply influenced the surrounding residents. These residents were attracted by the powerful charm of Islam and came to listen to the teachings.

Their conversion further accelerated the spread of Islam in surrounding areas.

After a long period of struggle, Islam gradually gained a dominant position in Southeast Asia.

The rise of Islamic countries naturally affected the overseas Chinese living here. They either actively or passively joined Islam because this way they would not be excluded by society and could obtain some business conveniences, tax benefits, etc.

Therefore, as the Nanyang Chinese developed over several generations, their behavioral habits have gradually become Islamic and have deviated from Han Chinese customs.

Deng Zilong originally wanted to show off to these local bullies and let them know how powerful he was, so he deliberately dragged his feet.

To be honest, Shi Jinqing's original courtyard was not as good as the courtyard where Shi Erjie lived. This was the conclusion Deng Zilong finally came to.

While Deng Zilong was still strolling in the backyard, the patriarchs of the thirteen families had been waiting in the living room in the front yard for a long time.

Being left aside by Deng Zilong, they did not dare to show their dissatisfaction even though they were unhappy. They could only gather together and whisper.

Because he was worried that the Ming army outside would hear him, he kept his voice very low.

"I think this Deng guy will do it on purpose."

"I've seen it long ago. The Ming Kingdom has no good intentions in coming to Jiugang this time. What should we do now?"

"Keep your voices down."

Mr. Zheng then said, "What I am most worried about now is that the Ming Kingdom will not follow the old rules and let us elect a new envoy.

From now on, we in Old Port will only be merchants and heads of large families, and we will no longer be able to manage the city."

"Isn't it said in the Ming Dynasty that civil officials are more valuable than military officials? Why don't we talk to those businessmen and raise some money to smooth things over with the Guangdong Provincial Government, and ask them to help speak for us."

The head of the Lin family, who ranked second in strength in Jiugang, spoke.

"We can give it a try, but I heard that the civil officials are even more greedy than the military officials. I'm afraid we'll let a wolf into our house in the end."

After hearing the opinion of the head of the Lin family, someone soon expressed a different view.

Yes, the customs of the Ming officialdom have been spread by Ming maritime merchants, and the merchants here in Jiugang have already known about them.

"We ask them to propose that the old port should follow the old system and publicly elect envoys. There is no need for the court to send officials to manage it. We will pay tribute to the court every year."

The head of the Lin family immediately said, "Also, we will set aside a piece of land on the seashore to build a military camp and a dock for the South China Sea Navy patrolling here to stay.

Anyway, they can come at irregular intervals, but the Ming army cannot be stationed in Jiugang all the time."

"Let's welcome General Deng today. Everyone go home and think about it. We'll get together again tomorrow to discuss it."

Mr. Zheng said, "Although you don't want the Ming army to move in, but from what I've seen from Mr. Deng's arrangements, it's clear that he wants to live here permanently.

I’m afraid you guys will be disappointed.”

"What if I really want to stay here permanently?"

Someone else spoke.

“There’s nothing we can do. You’ve seen so many warships today. If they fall out, they can just capture the Old Port City.

There is a saying passed down from our ancestors that he who knows the times is a hero. We still have to know the times at this time.

Mr. Lin’s suggestion is good. We can give it a try, but we shouldn’t hold out too much hope.

Also, when you return home, inform your families and never argue with the Ming army.

He left us here to scare the monkeys. I am afraid that some people will not know the current situation and become the chicken that scares the monkeys. "

Mr. Zheng spoke.

"Are we too cowardly? Should we find the elders in the church and contact those around us?"

"Don't do that, contacting them would be like inviting a wolf into your house.

Especially Aceh, they have been eyeing us covetously for a long time. If we give them the opportunity to intervene, it will be easier said than done. I am afraid the situation will be even worse than it is now."

When someone proposed to contact surrounding forces through the Islamic Church to put pressure on the Ming Dynasty, the complex regional relations in Southeast Asia became apparent, and no one was willing to do so.

The old port was once a commercial port, and the wealth accumulated from commercial trade was so great that it had long made the surrounding forces jealous.

Introducing other people would be even more troublesome.

If they are not careful, it could easily lead to a war between the Ming Dynasty and them. At that time, Old Port would really become a battlefield, and their family's hundreds of years of foundation would be destroyed.

Everyone shuddered at the thought of such a scene.

"Everyone, please be careful and don't act rashly. Otherwise, don't blame me for not warning you."

Having said that, the head of the Zheng family emphasized his tone, revealing his threat.

While they were talking, Deng Zilong finally finished looking around the house, walked slowly from the back to the front yard, and met these owners.

Soon, with the warm welcome from these people, they left the mansion and went to the largest restaurant in the Old Port City for a banquet.

One side deliberately put on airs while the other side was trying to please them. Although the atmosphere was not very warm, it was not dull either.

What Deng Zilong actually didn't want to see the most was that these families thought that the Ming army was easy to bully and contacted external forces to intervene in Jiugang.

So, be neither cold nor indifferent from the beginning and keep your distance from them.

The advantage of doing this is that it lets them know that when it is necessary to take action, he will be ruthless and eradicate the problem completely, so that they will fear him from the root.

Causing chaos in the Old Port was not what he needed.

The old port is still the trade hub and important port of Nanyang. This was the plan that Wei Guangde had decided early on.

By collecting taxes in the old port, the huge annual military expenditure of the South China Sea Navy is met.

It is impossible for the southeastern coastal provinces to always provide large amounts of money and food to the navy.

Dongfan Island and Luzon achieved self-sufficiency through reclamation, while taxes from the old port supplemented the money of the South China Sea Navy.

To stabilize them and make them gradually accept it is Deng Zilong’s primary task.