big song poppi

Chapter 592 0589 [Champa]

The sun sets in the west.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the boundless sea golden, reflecting the dazzling light, as if you were on endless gold.

Looking out over the sea, Zhu Da said with emotion: "Your Majesty is not lying to me. This vast sea is really covered with gold."

At this time, a replacement official stepped forward with duck steps: "President Yang, President Zhu, dinner is ready."

Hearing this, the two walked towards the cabin cafeteria.

Dinner was thin porridge with boiled fish and shrimp. It was not that the crew was being harsh, but the harvest from this voyage was too much, so much that the merchant ship could not hold it all. No matter whether it was spices, gems, or gold and silver, they did not want to give up. When they were returning, they could not bear to see the spices rotting all over the mountains.

Finally, after discussion, Monkey and Zhu Da decided to sell some of the grain.

After all, a stone of corn is only a little over one string of coins in the Central Plains, but here, it can be exchanged for a bag full of spices such as nutmeg and bay leaves. One can easily make hundreds of strings of coins by simply selling it back to the Central Plains and reselling it.

Who can resist hundreds of times the profit?

To the extent that many crew members secretly saved money and sold the saved rice to local natives in exchange for spices and other items.

Monkey and Juda did not stop this.

It's not easy for everyone to go out to sea, risking death in the belly of fish, and you can't even allow the people below to make a little money?

Of course, the two monkeys were not completely blinded by money. They knew that the food they left behind was enough for them to survive until Yazhou.

Moreover, they would stop at the port of Champa on the way to replenish food.

Looking at the rice porridge, fish and shrimp in the bowl, Zhu Da felt nauseous.

Although seafood is delicious, no one can stand eating it every day.

Seeing the expressions of the two superiors, the cook who served the food chuckled and said in a low voice, "The bean sprouts and garlic sprouts on the two warships next door have grown a while ago. I specially asked someone to get some, and I will fry them for you two gentlemen later."

Upon hearing this, Monkey and Zhu Da's eyes suddenly lit up.

Being able to have a meal of stir-fried seasonal vegetables on the boat is a ultimate enjoyment.

"Well done, here's your reward."

The monkey praised him and took out a silver bean from his arms and threw it over.

The cook caught the silver bean and said with a smile, "Thank you for the reward, sir!"

A small dish of stir-fried bean sprouts with garlic shoots was eaten up by the two of them, but the boiled fish and shrimp were hardly touched.

After dinner, it was getting dark.

After enjoying the cool evening breeze for a while, the monkey returned to his cabin.

The cabin was not big to begin with, and now it was filled with baskets of gems, leaving only the bed for lying down.

After lighting the oil lamp, Monkey took out a pen and paper and began to write his sailing diary.

This was Han Zhen's request, to record every day's observations and situations in detail.

Not only he needs to write about it, but Zhu Da and the brigade commanders of the two escorting Shenzhou warship groups also need to write about it.

After returning, the navigation log must be submitted to the court for backup and review.

Han Zhen naturally trusted Monkey. The reason for this was to establish rules first so that the officials of the Ocean Trade Institute could develop habits.

……

Five days later.

The ocean-going caravan successfully arrived at Linyi Port, the southernmost port of Champa.

Jiaozhi is the general term for Vietnam in the Central Plains. In fact, there are three small countries and dozens of scattered small tribes in the Vietnam region today.

They are Dai Viet, Champa and Chenla during the Ly Dynasty.

Before the Five Dynasties, Dai Viet was part of the Tang Dynasty.

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Wu Quan, the son-in-law of the governor of Jinghai Army of Southern Han, rebelled. He sent troops to kill Jiao Gongxian, defeated the Southern Han army at Bach Dang River, split off the land of Jiaozhi, and established the Wu Dynasty.

However, Wu Quan had a short life and passed away after only seven years in office. His twelve sons fought fiercely for the throne, and eventually the Wu Dynasty split into twelve separatist regimes.

In the next fifty years, the Jiaozhi regime changed constantly, and the throne changed even faster than during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

In the second year of Dazhong Xiangfu during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty, Li Congyun, a former minister of the Le Dynasty, took the opportunity to seize the throne and established the Li Dynasty, calling himself the Kingdom of Dai Viet. Because he accepted the enthronement from the Zhao Song Dynasty, he was also called the Kingdom of Annan in the Central Plains.

To put it bluntly, Annan is a Han country. Whether it is Wu Quan or Li Gongyun, they are all Han people, not to mention the ministers in the court.

But the Champa Kingdom is completely different. It is a real Southeast Asian indigenous people. Although there are Han people in the country, they account for a very small proportion.

There were more than 300,000 people in Champa, but only a thousand Han people, and these Han people had long been barbarized.

Influenced by India, Brahmanism became the state religion of Champa. After absorption and reform, a unique caste system was formed.

Logically speaking, Annan should be close to the Central Plains, and barbarians like Champa should be excluded.

However, the reality is quite the opposite.

The previous generations of Annan monarchs were committed to expanding their territory and repeatedly invaded the territory of Zhao Song. However, Zhao Song was constrained by the Liao Kingdom and Western Xia and had no time to deal with Annan.

This gave people in Annan the illusion that the Zhao Song Dynasty was weak and could not withstand a single blow.

After tasting the sweetness, in the ninth year of Xining, Annan launched a large-scale invasion of Zhao Song, captured Yongzhou, and massacred more than 100,000 civilians.

For a time, the government and the public were shocked.

This time, Zhao Song could no longer tolerate it. After paying a price to stabilize Western Xia and Liao, it sent 300,000 troops to join forces with Champa and Zhenla to encircle Annan.

During the period of expanding territory in Annan, it not only harassed the borders of Zhao and Song, but also did not spare its two neighboring countries. It even captured the capital of Champa at one point, forcing Champa to move its capital.

Therefore, when Zhao Song proposed a joint attack on Annan, Champa and Zhenla agreed without any hesitation.

The Zhao Song Dynasty was indeed weak. It could not defeat the Western Xia or the Liao Dynasty. Even to suppress domestic rebellions, it had to dispatch its most elite Western Army.

But isn’t it easy to deal with those barbarians in Annan?
As soon as the Zhao Song army of 300,000 arrived, they immediately defeated Annan and made them cry for their parents. Even the crown prince of Annan was killed in the battle.

According to the strategy proposed by Wang Anshi, the Song army should have made a concerted effort to attack Huanglong and destroy Annan in one fell swoop. However, the Song army was not adapted to the humid and hot environment of Annan. Many soldiers suffered from acclimatization and malaria broke out in the army.

So much so that the number of soldiers who died from malaria was twice as many as those who died in battle.

In desperation, Zhao Song had to withdraw its troops and accept Annan's peace talks and compensation.

After this battle, in order to prevent retaliation from Annan, Champa clung to the Song Dynasty, paid tribute every year and maintained good relations.

Even though Zhao Song was driven to the south by Han Zhen last year, Champa did not stop paying tribute.

As an important node in ocean trade, Linyi Port is naturally extremely prosperous.

There were many merchant ships traveling back and forth between the south and the north, and merchants from more than ten countries including the Arabs, Srivijaya, Java, and Brunei gathered here.

Of course, the largest number of merchants came from Qi, followed by the Arabs. The remaining small countries only had one or two merchant ships.

The appearance of the ocean-going merchant caravan caused a sensation at the port. The two escorting Shenzhou warships and two merchant ships transformed from Shenzhou were like giant beasts, riding the wind and waves, giving off a strong sense of oppression.

The large banner with the word "Qi" on a black background and golden patterns fluttered in the wind, making a rustling sound.

More than a hundred merchant ships followed behind, making a huge movement.

This scene shocked the merchants from countries like the Arab Empire, while the merchants from Qi State held their heads high and their pride was evident in their words.

Soon, the fleet entered the port.

Monkey and Juda walked down the deck and onto the dock.

"I meet Mr. Yang and Mr. Zhu!"

As soon as he got off the boat, dozens of merchants from the Central Plains came up to greet him.

Seeing that these people recognized him, Monkey was surprised and asked, "Are you citizens of the Great Qi, or merchants under the rule of the pseudo-Song?"

Having been away from Qi for nearly ten months, he urgently needed to know the domestic situation.

Upon hearing this, the merchants looked strange. One of the middle-aged men replied, "Reporting to Mr. Yang, Your Majesty has unified the world, and there is no longer any fake Song Dynasty."

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"So fast?"

Monkey and Zhu Da were stunned and looked at each other.

They knew that the Pseudo-Song Dynasty was weak, but after all it still controlled the entire south and had the natural barrier of the Yangtze River behind it.

As a result, in less than a year, Your Majesty destroyed the pseudo-Song Dynasty and unified the north and the south. This speed is simply appalling.

After coming to his senses, the monkey was filled with ecstasy and asked again: "What about the north?"

The middle-aged man said proudly: "Your Majesty is so brave that the Jin people cried for their parents. In just one month, Yunzhou was recovered. Now Yanyun is in hand, and Yelu Dashi has also returned. He is fighting the Jin people on the grassland."

"Your Majesty, long live the victory. Great Qi, long live the victory!"

Zhu Da shouted excitedly.

The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun have been an eternal pain for the people of the Central Plains since Shi Jingtang ceded them to the Liao Kingdom.

Whether it is Guo Wei, Chai Rong, or the Zhao family, their biggest goal in life is to take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

This is also why, after Zhao Ji used money to redeem Youzhou from the Jin people a few years ago, the ministers in the court and the people in the capital celebrated wildly.

Although I redeemed it with money, it was inferior, but at least I got it back.

Therefore, when Han Zhen recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun with absolute force and in a manner that pleased the people, one can imagine how excited the people of the world were.

When the Shengjie Army under Wang Bing's command and the people in Taiyuan City learned that Han Zhen was coming, they felt nothing but admiration and no longer had the slightest hostility.

Taiyuan’s reaction is actually a microcosm of the entire world.

"Your Majesty, long live the victory. Great Qi, long live the victory!!!"

At this time, the soldiers and crew of the fleet also learned the news, and they were all excited and cheered.

The thunderous cheers seemed to break through the sky, causing the people of Champa and merchants from various countries to look horrified.

Just then, a young man in gorgeous silk clothes walked over, escorted by a group of warriors.

The monkey and Zhuda recognized this man. He was the new leader of the Bintonglong tribe. His name was very difficult to pronounce, Jayaharavarman I.

However, this person was proficient in Chinese studies and even gave himself a Chinese name, Zhao Ke.

The Bintonglong are the southernmost and largest tribe in Champa, ruling over a province including this port.

In the early years, when Annan attacked Champa, the then leader of Bintonglong took the opportunity to revolt, break away from Champa and proclaimed himself king.

Later, after many negotiations, Bintonglong abolished his title of king and was incorporated into Champa again.

If we have to make a comparison, they are quite similar to the native barbarians in Lingnan. They nominally belong to the Champa Kingdom, but in fact they are local emperors. They do not pay tribute or taxes and have a high degree of autonomy. In order to appease the Bintonglong tribe, the Champa king has to bestow a large amount of rewards every year.

In recent years, Annan and Champa have not been doing well. The king of Annan is getting old, and his sons have begun to fight overtly and covertly, and are now almost fighting for the throne.

The Champa Kingdom was also in a bad situation. Seven or eight tribes under its rule were bewitched by Zhenla and rioted one after another.

The Champa king Indravarman II sent troops to suppress the rebellion, and at the same time sent people with rewards to appease the Bintonglong and other tribes.

Leader Bin Tonglong was no barbarian who had never seen the world. When he proclaimed himself king in the early years, he sent envoys to Zhao Song and met the emperor in the palace.

The last time Monkey led the fleet and passed through Bintonglong, Zhao Ke's reaction was indifferent.

The attitude is very clear, neither close nor distant.

After all, the Zhao Song Dynasty was still there at that time. Although it was driven to the south, it was still a behemoth that Champa needed to look up to.

But now it is different. Zhao Song is gone and Qi has taken its place.

So this time, Zhao Ke appeared extremely enthusiastic and personally went out of the city to greet them. He bowed respectfully and said, "My humble servant Zhao Ke, I am honored to meet you two gentlemen."

The monkey cupped his hands and said, "Dato Zhao, you are too polite."

Datuk comes from ancient Malay and is equivalent to the title of nobility in the Central Plains dynasty.

The language of Champa is Malay-Polynesian.

In later generations, Malaysia often used Datuk to confer titles on people who had made outstanding contributions to the country.

Zhao Ke said with a smile: "You two gentlemen have been exhausted from the journey. I have already prepared a banquet in my house. I hope you will show me your kindness."

The monkey and Zhu Da looked at each other, and then said, "In that case, we'd better obey your command respectfully."

This port is an important hub for ocean trade. Since Zhao Ke took the initiative to get close to them, the two of them naturally would not refuse.

"Please, gentlemen!"

Zhao Ke was overjoyed and quickly invited the two into the city.

The county town is close to the port, with a city wall only ten feet high. It is slightly larger than the town villages in the Central Plains, and has a population of about three thousand.

All the way to the mansion, Zhao Ke called over a few beautiful women to accompany him.

Although she was said to be a beautiful woman, Monkey and Zhu Da simply couldn't bring themselves to eat her because of her dark complexion and rough skin.

Zhao Ke personally poured them a glass of wine and said apologetically, "There was unrest under my rule earlier, and I was busy dealing with it. I hope you two gentlemen will not blame me."

"You're welcome, Dato."

The monkey smiled and let the matter go.

Soon, the dishes were served.

Looking at the table full of dishes, Zhu Da's appetite was aroused.

Zhao Ke was a smart man. He knew that they had been adrift at sea for nearly a year and that they were probably about to vomit from all the fish and shrimp, so he ordered the chef to prepare seasonal vegetables from land, as well as chicken, duck, pork, beef, etc.

(End of this chapter)