Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 227 Yao and Shun
On August 11th, the seventh year of the Apocalypse, it was more than a month since the beginning of autumn. The autumn wind in the capital was already slightly cool, and the sky was covered with dark clouds early in the morning.

Suddenly there was a thunder, and large raindrops fell sparsely on the ground, and soon became denser and denser, gradually reaching the sky and the earth.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the diffuse water vapor blocked the view. Not a single pedestrian could be seen in Qingchengfang, where the Tenth Prince's Palace was located. Two miles away to the west, the tall palaces in the imperial city became increasingly blurred in the rain, and gradually disappeared.

Since moving out of Xu Qin Palace on November 25 last year, Zhu Youjian has not been to the Forbidden City where he was born and raised for more than nine months.

Although his childhood memories are not beautiful, Zhu Youjian often dreams of returning to the Forbidden City recently. Because even though he had no information, he had heard that the emperor's brother's condition was getting worse and worse after autumn, and he became more comatose and less awake every day.

Zhu Youjian's feelings for this royal brother are very complicated. From a family perspective, he and his brother Zhu Youxiao had a deep brotherhood, but from a family and country perspective, Zhu Youjian was quite disapproving of his brother's imperial career.

Zhu Youjian asked himself that if it were him, he would definitely be much better than his brother. Sometimes he would even think arrogantly that not many of his second ancestors could beat him. Of course, he would never reveal a word of this kind of thought even in front of Concubine Tian.

Recently, Zhu Youjian often dreams about an incident seven years ago, when he was less than ten years old, and his brother, who was five years older than him, had just ascended the throne.

"Can I do this, officer?"

"When I do it for a few years, I'll do it with you."

Because the rain was so heavy, Zhu Youjian's Baohe crown uniform was still wet, and the square dragon patches on his chest and back were wrinkled. This made him feel very embarrassed, and at the same time, an unknown thought flashed in his heart. omen.

Since the coronation ceremony, Zhu Youjian has always behaved like this, so-called "disheveled clothes, no servants, sitting not leaning to the side, not looking away, not speaking quickly, and not smiling."

"There is a decree, King Xuanxin comes to the palace to see you!"

"Xu Banban, change my clothes." Zhu Youjian spoke calmly, with no emotion or anger on his face, even though there was a turmoil in his heart.

He was inherently stubborn and suspicious, but at this time he could no longer think too much and could only bite the bullet and move on. Cold sweat gradually broke out from Zhu Youjian's back, soaking the jade-colored dark lining.

Even according to Guan Ningjun's treatment, this is enough to provide a year's monthly salary to more than 300,000 troops. If it were the Dongjiang Army or other armies from Jiubian, it would be more than that.

King Xin's sedan chair crossed the moat and entered Donghua Gate, went all the way west to Wenhua Hall and the Cabinet, entered Huiji Gate, and then went north to Huangji Gate. The three main halls under construction appeared in front of Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian felt sour in his heart, fell to his knees and grabbed the ground with his head, and cried sadly: "My dear brother, my emperor is safe."

Over the past two years, Emperor Tianqi invested more than 5 million taels of silver into the three main halls, and there is still more than 1 million taels in arrears waiting for the Ministry of Works to repay.

"Your Highness, there is someone coming from the palace with an order." Xu Yingyuan, the eunuch in charge of Prince Xin's Mansion, suddenly walked in with joy on his face.

Fortunately, when he arrived in front of the Xinuang Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youjian saw that the British Duke Zhang Weixian and the bachelors Huang Liji, Shi Fenglai and others were kneeling there, and he felt at ease.

The Ming sedan continued northward. After passing the Qianqing Gate, Zhu Youjian was asked to get off the sedan and walk. A young eunuch had already held an oilcloth umbrella for him.

The three main halls of the Ming Dynasty were destroyed by fire many times. The last time was in the twenty-fifth year of Wanli. After that, they were rebuilt intermittently and stopped due to various reasons. It was not until February of the fifth year of Tianqi that construction was resumed. It is now almost completed.

This was a conversation between the young Zhu Youjian and Emperor Tianqi who had just ascended the throne. When he grew up, recalling it often gave him chills down his spine.

This person is an old friend of Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch of the East Factory, and it is obvious that he has better information than his master Zhu Youjian.

After entering the Dong'an Gate, the towering walls of the Forbidden City and the moat more than ten feet wide were already in sight, but Zhu Youjian suddenly became nervous...

"I accept the decree!" Zhu Youjian, who was dressed in a protective uniform, kowtowed deeply, with a hint of uncontrollable excitement in his tone.

Zhu Youjian sat in the prince's sedan chair out of Qingchengfang, crossed the Yuhe River, and entered the Dong'an Gate on the outer wall of the imperial city. Due to the heavy rain, Emperor Tianqi granted permission to King Xin to ride on the carriage in the forbidden area.

Zhu Youjian didn't know much about the imperial court's financial situation at this time. He was happy to see that the three main halls were almost completed. He had the impression that this place was just a construction site. This was the first time he saw the three main halls in good condition up close, but he didn't know that his brother had already owed him millions in debt, which did not include the wages owed to the border troops.

However, to this day, Zhu Youjian often can't help but wonder, is this the legendary prophecy?

After entering Xinuang Pavilion, King Xin Zhu Youjian saw the emperor's brother lying on the imperial couch from a distance, his swollen face as pale as transparent, and he was obviously seriously ill.

After a long while, a voice as breathtaking as a gossamer floated over from afar: "Fifth brother...come closer..."

Zhu Youjian hurried forward on his knees, only to hear the twenty-two-year-old emperor say again on the dragon bed: "Come, my brother will be Yao and Shun."

~~~
"Jinhe is really the country of Yao and Shun!" Ruan Siqi, the envoy sent by Lord Ruan of Annan, said to Xu Xinlan with emotion.

Although this Ruan Siqi has the same surname as the leader of Guangnan, he is not actually a member of Ruan Fuyuan's tribe. His ancestors were survivors of the Song Dynasty in the late Southern Song Dynasty. After the Battle of Yashan, they fled to the Hue area, which was still part of the Champa territory at that time.

After arriving in Hue, generations of the Nguyen family were engaged in maritime travel and often went to Guangdong, Fujian and other places for business. They can still speak fluent Chinese to this day.

After Hue was occupied by the Hou Le Dynasty, the Ruan family became the people of Annam. By the generation of Ruan Siqi's great-grandfather, the Ruan family had many contacts with Portuguese maritime merchants in Haojing.

After that, Nguyen Hoang, the founder of the Quang Nam Kingdom, came out of Hue and gradually became a separatist state. Ruan Siqi's father introduced Portuguese maritime merchants who were skilled in the manufacture and use of firearms to Ruan Huang, and thus he became a royal merchant and could freely enter and leave Ruan Huang's residence.

After Ruan Huang's son Ruan Fuyuan succeeded to the throne, he called himself Renguo Gong and began to establish central government agencies such as the Shechai Department, the Generals and Officials Department, and the Lingshi Department. At the same time, Nguyen Phuoc Yuan refused to pay taxes to Lord Zheng of Bac Ha, who held the king of Later Le Dynasty hostage, and the dispute between Zheng and Nguyen was officially put on the table.

Under the military pressure of Lord Zheng, Guangnan State became more dependent on overseas trade than in the past. Because of this, Ruan Fuyuan did everything possible to win over Zhuyin shipowners such as Araki Sotaro, who was good at dancing. At the same time, he also paid more and more attention to the Ruan Siqi family, which traveled extensively overseas. After Araki Sotaro brought Ruan Fuyuan the credentials and gifts of the Jinhe Kingdom, the sixtieth-year-old leader of the Guangnan Kingdom did not take it seriously at first. Mainly because the Jinhe Kingdom was unknown, and the ten small cannons looked ordinary. Lord Ruan didn't quite believe what Araki Sotaro said about the Jinhe Kingdom.

However, praise for the Weiyuan Cannon quickly spread from the front to Ruan Fuyuan's ears. The soldiers at the front strongly requested that the army be equipped with more such lightweight cannons, which attracted the attention of Lord Ruan.

Nguyen Phuc Yuen was born in a state of sorrow and could be regarded as a great leader of the Quang Nam Kingdom. He immediately approached the Portuguese around him and asked if they could build the same cannon. As a result, the latter said that to achieve the same power, the weight must be increased by at least half.

Now Lord Ruan believed that Araki Sotaro's words were true. Ruan Fuyuan quickly ordered people to prepare letters of credence, prepare return gifts, and sent Ruan Siqi as envoy to Jinhe Kingdom to discuss the establishment of communications and trade between the two countries.

Ruan Siqi arrived in Tamsui a month ago, when the palace of Jinhe Kingdom had just been repaired. Although it is said to be a royal palace, its area is actually not as large as that of Huangji Palace, only about half of the latter. The building height is only half of that of Huangji Palace, but it is divided into five floors.

The Jinhe Palace is made of brick and stone, and it only took half a year to be repaired. Because its appearance is white with five elements of gold, it is called the White House by the people of the Jinhe Kingdom.

The reason why the traditional wooden structure of the palace was not used was firstly to save large wood, shorten the construction period, and reduce costs, and secondly to prevent fires. Lin Hai did not want to build another palace. Instead of spending this money again, it would be better to build an extra Galen.

Ruan Siqi met with Queen Jinhe in this slightly shabby palace, and then was arranged by Lin Hai, who was pretending to be the Prime Minister of Jinhe, to visit the Firearms Bureau, and then watched a grand military parade in Keelung. The navy and army and The Garrison Department all participated in the parade, with a total strength of more than 10,000 troops.

Afterwards, Ruan Siqi proposed that he wanted to go on a private tour. Lin Hai pretended to go to the White House to ask the Queen for instructions. Then he handed over the task of leading the delegation to the new director of the Household Affairs Bureau, Xu Xinlan, and temporarily arranged for him to be a Shaoqing of the Protocol Department of Jinhe State. title.

Xu Xinlan was instructed by Lin Hai to lie to Ruan Siqi that the number of Jinhe Kingdom's citizens was 500,000. After taking him around Wanhua, he took a boat to Yilan so that the envoy could feel the size of the Jinhe Kingdom's territory. .

In fact, there are currently only two settlements in Jinhe Kingdom, and the other places are still uninhabited areas or indigenous people, but Ruan Siqi has no doubts about the half-million people. In addition to the distance from Tamsui to Yilan, the main factors that played a role were the military strength and the production capacity of the Firearms Bureau that he saw with his own eyes.

After all, the standing army under the Ruan Lord did not exceed 30,000, and although the total population under his rule was only one million, it was the result of militarism in the face of strong external pressure. The people of Guangnan had been exploited and made miserable.

However, the people of the Jinhe Kingdom rarely have anything to offer, and everyone seems to have a glowing face, so Ruan Siqi sighed to Xu Xinlan about "the land of Yao and Shun".

"Master Ruan is overly praised. The founding of Jinhe is still short and we cannot deserve such a high reputation." Xu Xinlan replied humbly, twirling her beard.

"Xu Shaoqing is too modest." Ruan Siqi said and added, "Ruan's ancestors were also from the Tang Dynasty, and he had read the Six Classics since he was a child. "Book of Rites" has a saying: 'The journey of the great road, the world is the commonwealth.' The government of the country deserves the words "the world is for the common good."

"Oh? Why do you see that?" Xu Xinlan was more curious about what this overseas Tang native who was familiar with Confucian classics thought of the Jinhe Kingdom. As far as he was concerned, his political experience in recent months could be said to be refreshing for him.

"Every family in your country has land, and every child goes to school. As the saying goes, 'If you don't take away a hundred acres of land, a family of several people will not be hungry.' I would like to teach you the preface, and apply the meaning of filial piety and brotherhood. I will not give it to those who are white." "You are responsible for the road." Isn't this kind of government the rule of law?"

Ruan Siqi did not always have a favorable impression of the Jinhe Kingdom. For example, female protagonists were in charge of the country, female officials were more common, and the schools were open to both men and women. This gave him a feeling that the world was upside down and yin and yang were reversed. He also highly suspected that the customs of the Jinhe Kingdom were shallow and the people's hearts were debauched. .

What's more, he also vaguely felt that there was an affair between Queen Jinhe and the Prime Minister...

At this time, the so-called Prime Minister of Jinhe was having a good chat with his adopted brother Ou Zuoji in Keelung.

Ozuoji arrived in Keelung yesterday. This time he only went to Sulu, Makassar and Java. However, he was delayed in Java for a long time, mainly to meet Sultan Bin Laden Langsang of Mataram.

The Mataram Sultanate was a country that emerged from the interior. It had just conquered coastal areas such as Surabaya, Madura, and Cirebon a few years ago, and allowed the monarchs of these small countries to continue to be feudal lords there.

Ozuoji had only dealt with the prince of Sulumayi (Surabaya) before, and this time it was through this person that he presented the powerful cannon to Bin Laden Langsang. After waiting for more than two months, he got the opportunity to meet the sultan.

It is more than 600 miles from Surabaya to Baghsad, the capital of the Mataram Sultanate. It took Ozuoji another month to go back and forth, so he did not return to Keelung until August.

"Zuo Ji, is it going well for you to go to Japan?" Lin Hai asked after seeing Ou Zuo Ji. He had grown a little taller after half a year.

Ou Zuoji was one of the few people who knew the lotus shearing plan in detail. He knew very well what Lin Hai was most concerned about, so he immediately replied with a smile: "Thanks to my second brother, everything goes well. The only one is the horse-playing blue king." He's so arrogant that he wants me to kiss his boots. Why the hell won't he let me kiss his princess?"

"Second brother, don't say that. Those boots are so noble. Most people don't have the chance to kiss them." Lin Hai also laughed when he heard the words. He then explained, "I heard that the King of Madalan has a title called Susu Hunan. It means the most noble boots, only the princes of other countries have the opportunity to kiss them."

Bin Laden Langsang's personal name is actually Sultan Agung, and the title Susu Hunan is what he intends to pass on from generation to generation. The so-called most noble boots actually refer to the largest feudal lord, which can be freely translated as the King of Kings, or The term "co-owner of the world" is used, which is more familiar to the Chinese.

This person's arrogance is not unfounded. With a population of three million, the country of Mataram Sudan is undoubtedly the most populous country among the Southeast Asian island countries. It is also the world's largest rice exporter. Extreme mobilization can pull out Three hundred thousand strong men went to the battlefield.

Of course, the combat effectiveness of the Malta Blue Army is far inferior to that of several major powers on the Indochina Peninsula, and their logistical organizational capabilities are also very low. After all, they have not received the love education from the center of civilization (Wude Highland).

Otherwise, with the population base of Java Island, how could the small country of Holland, thousands of miles away, bring the entire island under its rule in future generations? It should be noted that the countries in Indochina only fell on their knees before the two powers of Britain and France.

"Second brother, when are we going to form an alliance with the Blue King of Ma Da to deal with Red Hair?" Ou Zuoji then asked.

"Don't worry, Ma Da Blue King is too arrogant. We have to let him suffer some losses under Red Hair first, otherwise he will definitely not take our brothers seriously." Lin Hai said with a smile, "Anyway, this guy has a lot of people and food. , I’m not afraid that he can’t afford to lose.”

While brothers Lin Hai and Ou Zuoji were discussing the Dutch shearing plan, a large returning ship slowly stopped at the Batavia port thousands of miles away.

A long-faced ghost with a mustache emerged from the tail cabin. He was the founder of the Batavia throne, Jane Peterszohn Cohen, known as the Butcher of Banda.

This person will take office on September 1627, 9 AD and serve as the VOC Governor of East India for the second time. In the calendar of the Ming Dynasty, this day is the 30nd of the eighth month of the seventh year of Tianqi, the day of Zhu Youxiao's great success in the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)