Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1034 1029 [Battle of Malacca]

Jambi, the royal city.

The old King of Srivijaya, who was in his sixties, looked at the rebels outside the city with almost despair.

He was too humble and cowardly in the face of the Ming Dynasty, which led to the Ming Dynasty gradually controlling the Strait of Malacca, causing the domestic nobles to lose a lot of profits.

This is the third rebellion.

In the first two times he suppressed rebellions, he killed one son and exiled another.

This time, it was his cousin, Chalishipala, who led the rebels to the royal city. Not only did local lords join the rebels, but even the prime minister of Srivijaya who went to suppress them was persuaded to surrender halfway.

The old king has been deserted by his friends and relatives.

"Uncle, just commit suicide!" Chalishipala came to the city with a shield and shouted.

The old king angrily shouted, "Fool, do you think you are brave? The vassal states under our control have long been looking forward to the war between Srivijaya and Ming. Not only will many vassal states take the opportunity to become independent, but they will also join the Ming coalition. You will become the last king of Srivijaya!"

Chalishipala was too lazy to argue. He retreated a distance, drew his sword and shouted, "Attack the city!"

The battle for the royal city lasted for six days, with both sides suffering heavy losses. Finally, a royal guard defected and led the rebels into the city, strangling the old king to death.

When the rebels besieged the capital, merchant ships from various countries docked at the outer port of Jambi left the port one after another to avoid being affected.

The nearest port to Jambi is the Port of Malacca, which was controlled by the Ming Dynasty.

Three explorers and six second-generation officials encountered war as soon as they arrived in Malacca.

While they were still looking for a berth, a small boat came by and the Ming official boarded the deck and said, "The Srivijaya fleet may come to attack us. Your boat has been requisitioned!"

Wang Chongdu was surprised and asked, "Srivihara is coming to attack the Ming seaport?"

The official explained: "There is a rebellion in Srivijaya by a royal family member who wants to seize the throne. The old king is probably in danger."

As long as there is war, it is not safe to be on board.

The six sons of officials were all nobles. Wang Chongdu forcibly sent them ashore and took them to see the Governor of Malacca of the Ming Dynasty.

The governor was named Zhu Song, and he had three sons.

The youngest son was still named Zhu Xi, but it was estimated that he would not be able to establish Neo-Confucianism.

Zhu Song did not like fighting and killing, he preferred construction and education. He personally supervised the construction of Malacca Castle and the harbor, and even built a school outside the castle.

The military affairs here are under the charge of Navy Admiral Yang Yao.

"Alas, although the King of Srivijaya is a barbarian chieftain, he is also sensible and reasonable," Zhu Song sighed, "He often exchanges letters with me and always gives me many gifts, but I didn't expect to encounter such an unbearable thing."

Yang Yao was too lazy to share the Governor's sadness, and went straight to the point: "We have occupied Malacca, and many nobles in Srivijaya have complaints. The rebellion this time was led by those nobles. Malacca's land is barren and can't produce much food. This battle must be fought quickly. But while the usurper has not yet completely controlled the navy, we will send troops to fight as quickly as possible and destroy the Srivijaya warships in various ports."

Zhu Song nodded and said, "Malacca needs to buy food from outside, and the war should not be dragged on for too long. I don't understand military affairs, so I will follow Admiral Yang's strategy."

Yang Yao continued, "Please ask the Governor to write letters to the various states in Southeast Asia, especially the Nājapa. This country has only been independent from Srivijaya for a few decades and has been suppressed by Srivijaya. They will definitely be willing to help us fight."

"This is how we should form alliances and make alliances." Zhu Song readily agreed.

The two continued to discuss the details, and Yang Yao said goodbye and left to prepare for the expedition.

Zhu Song wrote more than ten diplomatic letters in one breath and sent them to various states in Southeast Asia. The Ming Dynasty did not have to fight alone in Southeast Asia, but could lead a group of small countries to attack Srivijaya!

The countries in Southeast Asia have suffered from Srivijaya for a long time.

After writing the diplomatic letter, Zhu Song no longer paid attention to the war, but instead thought about how to lure Han people to reclaim wasteland.

Although the land in Malacca is barren, rice can still be grown in some places, but the natural environment must be artificially improved.

Building something from scratch is very hard!
In another time and space, when Portugal colonized Malacca, immigrants from various countries were mainly engaged in business. Only Chinese immigrants were willing to open up wasteland and cultivate land, and the Chinese quickly became farmers in Malacca.

Zhu Song didn't understand what tropical monsoon climate was. He only knew that rain and heat occurred at the same time here.

Those dense forests can be cut down and the wood can be sold for money. After the forest is cut down, canals can be dug to facilitate drainage and fertilizer conservation during the rainy season.

Those swamps can also be drained and rice can be grown.

Zhu Song even personally visited the surrounding area within dozens of miles and had already set his eyes on several pieces of arable land.

This approach is different from the normal overseas governor.

He had no interest in expanding territory or fighting wars, and was only interested in farming and construction.

"Governor, there are several scholars outside, all of them are descendants of famous families..."

After hearing the origins of those second-generation officials, Zhu Song felt his scalp tingling and prayed in his heart that nothing would happen in his jurisdiction.

Wang Chongdu led six people to pay a visit, and Zhu Song went out personally to greet them.

The two sides exchanged a few words, and Zhu Song said, "A battle is about to break out here, so please stay in the city."

Lu You said: "Governor, don't worry, we are not powerless."

"I have been skilled in archery and horse riding since I was young!" said Bai Shihou proudly.

Wang Chongdu quickly winked at Zhu Song.

Zhu Song tried to stop him politely: "Fighting at sea is different from fighting on land. Young master is skilled in archery and horse riding, but it is difficult to display all his skills on a boat."

The six people still wanted to challenge each other, but Zhu Song changed the subject and stopped discussing the matter with them.

……

Yang Yao led the fleet to take the initiative to attack, first attacking the Langya Xiu Kingdom (Kedah and surrounding areas) next to Malacca.

It was a country founded by South Indians, but the lower class people were Malay natives. After the decline of the Chola Dynasty, Langyasu first broke away from Chola and established itself, and then became a vassal state of Srivijaya.

Destroying the Langya Xiu fleet would solve Malacca's worries.

Although Yang Yao was the admiral of the Malacca Navy, he only had twelve large and small warships. He temporarily recruited some armed merchant ships, and a total of more than 40 ships rushed towards Langya Xiu.

There was no fight!

When King Langyaxiu heard that the old king of Srivijaya had been killed and saw the Ming fleet heading towards him, he immediately declared independence from Srivijaya and requested to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.

It dropped directly.

Yang Yao accepted the surrender of Langya Xiu and led the Langya Xiu's tattered fleet directly to the outer port of Jambi in Srivijaya.

He underestimated the extent of the hatred that the Srivijaya nobles and army had for the Ming Dynasty!

The usurper Charishipara actually received the support of most of the nobles and the army.

The Srivijaya navy quickly assembled and did not attack Malacca directly, but instead raided its neighboring kingdom of Japa!
The navy of the Javanese kingdom responded hastily and was defeated.

Having resolved its worries, Srivijaya immediately led its troops to Malacca and ran head-on into Yang Yao's fleet which had just returned from Langya.

...Bai Shihou stood on the Malacca Castle and observed the battle in the strait with a telescope.

The disparity in the number of warships on both sides made Bai Shihou worried: "Sriwiqi's warships may be hundreds, while the Ming warships are only a hundred or so (including conscripted merchant ships and the Langya navy). This will be difficult to fight."

"The Celestial Empire's warships are bigger," Lu You said.

Fan Chengda said: "Ants can bite elephants to death if they are in large numbers."

While they were talking, the battle had already begun.

On the Ming fleet side, only fifteen warships actively responded to the battle, including the warships under Yang Yao's command and the three ships of the treasure-hunting trio.

The other merchant ships that were temporarily recruited, as well as the newly surrendered Langya Navy, all acted timidly. They slowed down from a distance and then cruised around the periphery of the battlefield, clearly ready to escape at any time.

The ocean current at that time was flowing from southeast to northwest, but the average speed was only 2 nautical miles per hour. The Srivijaya Navy was in a downstream position.

However, the monsoon blows from northwest to southeast, and the Ming navy is in a downwind position.

"Boom boom boom!"

The fifteen Ming warships lined up in a battle line have begun firing.

The Srivijaya navy could only passively take the beating. They put away the sails, paddled frantically, and rushed forward along the ocean current. Their fighting style was obvious. They relied on their large number of ships to rush in and engage in boarding battle.

Hundreds of Srivijaya warships came charging at them, and the Ming's conscripted merchant ships and the Langya Xiulian army were so frightened that they quickly retreated to a farther distance, with no intention of engaging in battle at all.

Yang Yao was too lazy to care about those guys. Taking advantage of the favorable wind, he commanded 15 warships to draw an arc, all sailing towards the left wing of the enemy fleet. While moving positions at high speed, he continued to fire at the enemy.

As a result, the Srivijaya navy soon fell into chaos.

The right wing of the Srivijaya fleet was getting farther and farther away from the Ming fleet. They felt that they could not catch up, so they simply stopped chasing Yang Yao and went after the merchant ships and the Langya repair navy instead.

The usurper Charishipara soon discovered this problem, but he had just killed the king and established himself as the emperor, so he was unable to effectively command the right-wing fleet and watched helplessly as more than one-third of the ships left the main battlefield.

He ordered the remaining ships to row faster and outflank the enemy.

However, the Ming fleet was running too fast with the wind, and the Srivijaya fleet's formation became increasingly chaotic during the outflanking process, with several huge gaps appearing.

Before the close combat, more than ten Srivijaya warships had been sunk by artillery fire, and more than twenty others were severely flooded and unable to move.

"Change formation. V-shaped formation, follow me and charge forward!"

While the enemy's encirclement was not yet completed, Yang Yao used his ship as a spearhead and charged straight towards the enemy's ship from an empty space.

The Srivijaya navy was overjoyed and came forward to board the ship.

The broadside guns and bow guns continued to fire. When the two sides got close, the Ming Navy actually used an ancient weapon - the slapping rod!
A thick wooden pole nearly ten meters long with an iron-clad hammer head at the end.

Using the kinetic energy gained by the falling weight, the slapping rod is used to slap the approaching enemy ship. When a large ship hits a small ship, the power of the slapping rod is particularly great, just like slapping a fly!
Some small ships of the Srivijaya Navy even lost their combat effectiveness after being hit by a baton.

This unique water warfare weapon has only appeared in inland China, and its design was inspired by the water-lifting device used for agricultural purposes.

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Eastern Jin navy was beaten to pieces by the rebels' paddles. Then, the Southern Dynasty navy used paddles to attack the Northern Dynasty, and finally both sides used paddles to fight each other.

The navy of the Southern Dynasty Chen even organized ships to approach the city walls and directly smashed the walls with large poles...

The Srivijaya fleet had never seen a weapon like a slapping pole, and the Srivijaya ships were not as strong as the city walls. Suddenly they encountered a close combat and were hit by the slapping poles, leaving them stunned.

At the same time, the Ming Navy was still using firearms.

The musketeers aimed at the enemy's small leaders and fired, occasionally launching "Heavy Rain of Pear Blossom Needles" - this crappy name was given by Zhu Ming, and it was actually a honeycomb rocket.

From the perspective of the six second-generation officials, the outcome of the battle is already clear.

The ships on the right wing of Srivijaya went to pursue the Ming Dynasty's "vassal army" and had already left the main battlefield. The remaining Srivijaya fleet was thrown into chaos by the Ming Dynasty navy during the encirclement and had been divided into seven or eight groups and scattered everywhere.

Fifteen Ming warships, taking advantage of the gaps between several enemy ships, rushed straight towards the Srivijaya main ship.

Moreover, under the combined attacks of cannons, rockets, muskets, rackets, and catapults, the Ming warships were invincible.

As the sharp flagship of the Ming Dynasty, it even has a sharp ram on the bow.

"Stop them and seize the ship!"

Seeing the Ming fleet getting closer and closer, Chalishipola finally panicked and ordered all nearby ships to intercept it.

There was simply no time.

Many of these Srivijaya ships were private property of the nobles. Seeing that the war situation was unfavorable, they suddenly wanted to preserve their strength and were unwilling to sacrifice their capital for a new king who had just usurped the throne.

More than half of the nearby enemy ships retreated instead of advancing, allowing the Ming fleet to rush towards the king.

"Back off, back off!"

Chalishipala also chose to retreat, leading more than 20 ships under his command to take temporary shelter.

The king's behavior was regarded as an escape, which caused the morale of the Srivijaya fleet to plummet. They only had more than 400 warships left, but they all spread their sails and fled to the southeast with the wind.

Everyone can see it.

Although the Ming warships were few in number, their hulls were strong and tall, and they were equipped with many weapons. They were simply not something that the Srivijaya small boats could contend with. Even if they rushed up to attack, it would be difficult to gain an advantage.

Without the Mongolian Navy to provide a wave of technology, the Nanyang Navy at that time was actually very backward!
"We won, let's catch up!"

The merchant ships that were temporarily requisitioned and the Langya Xiu servant fleet had been forced to flee after being beaten.

When they found that the three Buddhists were in complete retreat, they suddenly gained courage, set sail and began to fight a favorable battle with the Ming Navy.

"nice!"

The six second-generation officials were so excited that Wang Lianqing was even thinking of drawing a picture of the Battle of Malacca.

Yang Yao led his troops to chase for dozens of miles, and Srivijaya ships surrendered one after another.

Those were private fleets of the nobles, and they were unwilling to follow the new king to the end.

After a full day of pursuit, Yang Yao gave up the remaining enemies and went back to blockade the outer port of Jambi, intending to take over the capital of Srivijaya.

When the news spread, Srivijaya's vassal states such as Brunei and Kediri declared independence and attacked the fallen. They spontaneously encircled and suppressed the remaining fleet of Srivijaya that had escaped, and even the Kingdom of Japa, which suffered heavy losses, rolled up its sleeves and started fighting.

Yang Yao landed with more than a thousand sailors and arrived at Zhanbi along the river from the outer port.

The defenders surrendered without a fight.

The main reason was that the new monarch’s foundation was too shallow and the army was unwilling to fight to the death for his loyalty.

Srivijaya was thus destroyed, but the Ming only captured its capital, Jambi.

The remaining Srivijaya territory was divided into more than a dozen states of various sizes. Those local nobles took the opportunity to establish themselves and sent envoys to Malacca to request the Ming Dynasty to confer titles on them.

(End of this chapter)