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Chapter 926 The Answer is in Myanmar 4
"Hahaha, this young man is teachable! Yes, that's exactly what I want to say. Although Myanmar is not as vast and populous as the Ming Dynasty, there are countless ethnic groups within it. Some of the largest ethnic groups have established their own countries and have been hostile to each other for a long time.

Before Toungoo unified Myanmar, there was also a kingdom called Ava in Upper Myanmar, which was founded by the Shan people. It fought with the Pegu Kingdom founded by the Mon people in Lower Myanmar for decades, but was eventually defeated by Toungoo.

Although the country was destroyed, the people were still there. The Shan people in Upper Burma retreated to the northern mountainous area, nominally submitting to the Toungoo Kingdom, but in fact they were recuperating and accumulating strength. The Mon people in Lower Burma were the same, except that there were more plains here and no place to run or hide, so their situation was even worse.

This can be clearly seen from the battle of Thanlyin Port. They would rather support foreigners as leaders than be subjects of the King of Toungoo. This is such a deep hatred that no one can eliminate it in a short time.

In fact, in addition to the Shan in the north, the Burmese in the middle and the Mon in the south, there is a fourth major ethnic group in Myanmar. You may not have noticed who Philip was employed by as a Portuguese soldier?

Yes, he was employed by the King of Arakan, a country founded by the Arakanese people, who were good at sailing and were well-known in the waters east of the Indian peninsula.

Their king was obviously not a king who would keep the status quo. He hired the Portuguese to occupy the port of Thanlyin to test the strength of the Toungoo Kingdom. If he could not even capture the port, he would lead the Arakanese army to march southward in a big way.

Hong Tao was so happy about Wang Sheng's sudden inspiration that he slapped the table and his laughter resounded throughout the hall. Even the gecko guarding the door couldn't help but peek in, wanting to see who could make the emperor lose his composure like this.

With such cooperative students, the teacher immediately opened up and focused on explaining Myanmar's ethnic composition and political structure. These situations were not all from memory, but mostly from what he heard from Nguyen Xiangjiang.

"I understand. His Majesty wants the navy to learn from the Portuguese and unite with the Mon people to resist the Toungoo Kingdom. Or cooperate with the Arakanese to deal with the Toungoo Kingdom together!"

Zhu Haiou understood everything at this point. In fact, it was not difficult to understand. At the beginning, the six major tribes of the left and right wings of the Mongolian Desert were enemies of the Ming Dynasty. It was because the emperor took advantage of their internal contradictions to win over one faction and attack another faction, and eventually it became the Inner Mongolia Special Region. Now the only question is who to win over and who to attack!
"Wang Sheng, what do you think? Don't rush to answer, think about it slowly. Wang Chengen, bring some snacks!" Hong Tao did not answer directly, but turned his gaze to Wang Sheng with hope.

"Your Majesty is so frugal that I feel ashamed..." Wang Sheng had no appetite for the roasted sweet potatoes, roasted corn and hot cocoa tea that Wang Chengen brought to him.

As the scale of cultivation grows, these things are becoming more and more popular among the people. They are neither stale nor precious. If you want to eat them, you can see them every day in the officers' canteen.

But as the emperor of such a huge empire, it seems a bit shabby to take these ordinary foods as snacks. Besides, it is a bit embarrassing. If it comes to self-discipline, there are probably few people in the whole Ming Dynasty who can compare with the emperor, especially those who are in high positions.

"Tsk, stop talking nonsense and answer my question!"

Hong Tao really wasn't trying to be frugal in front of his subjects. He always had the same attitude towards food: the simpler the better. Corn and sweet potatoes are easy to store and can satisfy hunger. They don't need to be cooked on the stove. They are cooked in a short time and can be eaten right away. The taste...at least it's not bad.

"...Uh...As the saying goes, people in the same boat are enemies. The Arakanese are good at sailing. If we support them, we might become strong enemies. I think the Mon people are more suitable. Most of the land they live in is plains with no shortage of water, which is the most suitable for growing rice and sugarcane."

Wang Sheng was hit hard right after he slapped his hands. He quickly retracted his attention and focused on the Myanmar issue again. After eating half a corn, he carefully gave the answer. "What about you?" Hong Tao threw the question back to Zhu Haiou while chewing the corn.

"...I think what the governor said makes sense." Zhu Haiou didn't think much about the food. He just ate it. Hearing this, he stopped chewing the corn beans and nodded vigorously.

"That's bullshit. If you want to eat it, just eat all the corn beans!" He was criticized again before he could finish his words.

"What is the purpose of the navy's capture of Thanlyin? The enemy of my enemy is my ally. They have forgotten such a simple truth! Thanlyin can attract the attention of Toungoo, but the Arakanese are the biggest threat to Toungoo.

If we can find a way to get the Arakanese king to challenge the dominant position of the Toungoo Kingdom in Myanmar, the threat from Yunnan will be significantly alleviated. If we can also get the Shan and Pegu people involved and have a Burmese Three Kingdoms story, we may be able to rest easy for decades to come.

Have you ever thought about whether the navy, as the only arms supplier to Toungoo, Arakan, Ava and Pegu, can make more money faster than just operating the port of Thanlyin and waiting for rice and sugarcane to mature?
In addition, the navy can also actively help Cambodia and Ayutthaya to train their armies, provide armor and swords, and encourage the King of Ayutthaya to take revenge on Toungoo. When they are tired of fighting, they will naturally be honest. "

The following paragraph is the main idea that Hong Tao wanted to say. In fact, it could be finished in ten minutes, but it took almost two hours with all the roundabout questions and guidance. In the end, he had to say it himself, without hiding his ugly face and sinister thoughts at all.

"Your Majesty is wise and wise. We all understand. We will go outside the palace and wait for Prime Minister Austria to discuss the loan!"

Fortunately, Zhu Haiou was not a pushover, and his eyes lit up as he listened, his pupils turning square. He did not feel that the emperor's face was ugly or sinister at all, but admired him even more.

It turns out that the navy has so many ways to make money. I was so stupid. I have wasted a lot of time and energy fighting pirates in the past two years. I don't know how much income I have lost.

Inspired by the emperor, looking around the Southeast Asia, we can see that everything is glittering with gold. Except for the conflicts between Cambodia, Ayutthaya, and Myanmar, the countries and ethnic groups on many islands in the Southeast Asia do not seem to be in harmony.

In the past, when I heard about someone fighting someone else or someone destroying someone else, I would just feel annoyed, because every time a leader or king was replaced, the navy had to send a fleet to announce the rules.

It's different now. Those little kings have immediately become potential customers. Not only can we not annoy them, but we must also pay attention to their needs at all times. It doesn't matter whether they buy weapons and services or not. We should first make ourselves familiar with them. Who knows, big deals may come to us one day. This business can't be said to be without capital, but it's almost like picking up money.

It was precisely because of these potential customers that Zhu Haiou was no longer afraid to borrow money from the Sun Moon Bank. Can this be called borrowing? This is to make money together with the Sun Moon Bank. As long as the emperor allows, the navy can always find a lot of sea merchants willing to invest, and the interest rate is lower than that of the Sun Moon Bank!
"Wait, this matter can only be negotiated with Sun Moon Bank, and it is not allowed to expand. The navy is still a military, and military law must be strictly followed. If anyone in the military interferes with the business, whether directly or not, if I find out, there is only one way out, and that is death. Remember!"

It is one thing to guide senior generals to think strategically, but the nature of the military is another. Hong Tao firmly does not want to see anyone in the military take the opportunity to interfere in business or use information advantages to cash in.

(End of this chapter)