Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 149 Borneo is not suitable for vassal kings.
After the luncheon.

Zhu Di called Zhu Gaoxu and Zheng He to Wuying Hall.

This was the first time Zheng He entered Wuying Palace after returning to Beijing.

He found that the furnishings in the hall were not much different from before, but there was a huge screen on the west side of the hall, with a very large map hanging on it.

"This is the map of the Great Nine Continents."

Zhu Gaoxu saw Zheng He looking at the giant picture in a daze, so he opened his mouth to explain.

"Zheng He?" Zhu Di stopped in front of the map, stood with his hands behind his hands, and asked.

Zheng He bowed and said, "I am here."

Zhu Di raised his right hand, touched the Nanyang waters on the map, and said, "I ask you, where in Nanyang is the key land?"

"Your Majesty, if you talk about the place of lock and key, you should consider how to consider it." Zheng He said respectfully.

Zhu Di took back his hand and said with interest: "Speak more carefully."

Zheng He bowed his hands and saluted, then stretched out his left hand, pointed to the strait between Malacca and Sumatra (later known as the Strait of Malacca), and said: "Your Majesty, please see, this is the best place for both the Western and Southern Oceans." It’s a place of throat.”

"Both Manrak and Sumatra are important ports that control this strait. The former controls the south and the latter controls the north."

Zhu Di nodded and said: "As far as I know, this strait has been the lifeblood of the maritime trade routes between the Western countries and China since the Tang and Song Dynasties."

"What your Majesty said is absolutely true. Therefore, this strait can be regarded as a key place in the Southeast Asia." Zheng He said respectfully.

Zhu Gaoxu knew this and asked: "Zheng He, do you mean to say that there are more than just this place in Nanyang?"

Zheng He bowed and said: "Your Highness Ming Jian, there are indeed more key places in Nanyang than this one."

Having said this, he moved his left hand from the strait between Manlajia and Sumatra to the old port in the southeast below, and then said: "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness, please see, if you want to conquer the Nanyang Islands from north to south, Then the Old Port is an important transit town.”

Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu are not stupid people. Instead, they are the kind of smart people who draw inferences from one case to another.

They didn't need Zheng He to explain too much. Just from the location of the old port on the map and combined with Zheng He's words about "conquering Nanyang", they already roughly understood the reason for Zheng He's words.

The Ming Dynasty fleet led by Zheng He for the first time sailed with about 8000 people.

For such a large team, the materials consumed in daily life alone are a huge amount.

Zhu Gaoxu once calculated with Yu Xin, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Taking food as an example, if each person has one liter of food per day, the entire voyage would consume more than 15 shi of food in a year and a half, which would require dozens of large ships to carry it. .

Because of this, the fleet must have one or more fixed material transfer stations.

On the one hand, it stores materials that are not urgently needed and reduces the number of transport ships.

On the other hand, it can continuously replenish supplies for the main fleet of the Ming Dynasty mission and the branch fleets assigned to various districts.

In addition, the Ming fleet's departure and return relied on ocean monsoons.

As a result, the fleet would need one or more wind-proof anchorages on its way out to sea, where they could stay for a period of time and wait for the monsoon before they could continue their journey or return home.

Moreover, the Ming fleet went on missions and surveys to many areas. In addition to the main fleet reaching some major areas on the main route, some branch fleets were also dispatched to reach other areas along the way.

In order to unify the time when returning to the mainland of the Ming Dynasty, one or more return centralized points need to be established.

For these reasons, it became an important task for Zheng He, Wang Jinghong, and Chen Xuan to establish one or more transfer stations or docking stations during the Ming Dynasty's fleet cruise.

"I am bold enough to ask Your Majesty to set up official factories in the Manchurian and Sumatra countries as a place for the fleet to stop when it goes out to sea for cruises."

Suddenly, Zheng He turned around, faced Zhu Di, knelt down, and bowed to him.

"Get up quickly. This has all the benefits and no disadvantages. How can I not allow it?" Zhu Di said with a smile.

Zheng He stood up slowly and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, you are wise!"

Zhu Di continued: "Zheng He, before you go to sea, I specially gave you the Emperor's Sword. In fact, you should have set up official factories in Manlajia and Sumentala long ago!"

"I dare not take authority without His Majesty's permission."

Zheng He bowed.

"Then how did you solve the problem of material transfer?" Zhu Di asked.

Zheng He answered truthfully: "I took advantage of my relationship with the king of Manlajia to build a large city wall in Manlajia to store money, grain and goods."

"Let's talk about it in detail."

Zhu Di walked to the opposite side of the screen, sat casually on a high chair, and then said to Zheng He with great interest.

Zhu Gaoxu also wanted to know the story of Zheng He and the monarch of Manlajia, so he went to sit next to Zhu Di.

"Zheng He, sit down here and talk."

Zhu Di motioned Zheng He to sit down with his eyes.

"Yes." Zheng He said respectfully.

The eunuch outside the palace had quick eyes and quick hands and quickly brought three cups of tea.

Therefore, Zheng He slowly told the story about him and the king of Manlajia in general.

The first king of Maharaja was named Paramesura. He was originally a prince of the Kingdom of Srivijaya. Because the Kingdom of Srivijaya was captured by the Majapahit Kingdom at that time, he had to flee from Palembang to Temasek.

After that, he fled north. While resting under a mangla tree on the way, he saw a hunting dog cornering a mouse deer. In order to defend itself, the mouse deer burst out with amazing force and kicked the hunting dog into the river. inside.

Paramesura felt that there was an auspicious land under his feet, so he named the place Manlajia, settled here, and gradually established a village.

This village named Manlajia was weak and weak. In order to prevent its place of residence from being occupied, Paramesura was willing to pay 40 taels of gold to the Kingdom of Siam in the north every year.

However, to the south he faced the threat of Majapahit.

Fortunately, not long after, the Ming fleet led by Zheng He appeared in Nanyang.

It was at that time that Shi Jinqing, who was living in the old port, saw the power of the Ming Dynasty fleet and came up with the plan to go to Beijing for help.

Zheng He had to pass through the Straits of Malacca when he wanted to go to the West.

So, in Manchuria, Zheng He met Paramesura, the founder of Manchuria.

Seeing that Managa was weak, Zheng He led his officers and soldiers to eliminate the armed aggression and threats from Majapahit and Siam to Manrak.

After that, he assisted Paramesura in every possible way and developed Managa from a small fishing village into a prosperous trade center.

In order to thank Zheng He and the Ming Dynasty, Paramesura decided to submit to the Ming Dynasty.

In this way, Zheng He naturally built a large city wall in Manlajia, and set up four city gates and a drum tower for patrolling and warning at night.

He also set up a small city called Chongzha in the city wall and built warehouses.The money, food and goods needed for the fleet to sail to the Western Ocean were stored in these warehouses for ready use.

The ships sent by Zheng He to the surrounding areas all gathered in Manlajia when they returned, packed up their cargo, anchored and waited for the wind. Once the south wind became favorable, they immediately lifted anchor and set sail, and set sail back to the mainland of the Ming Dynasty.

"Zheng He listens to the decree. I order you to establish military towns and official factories in Manlajia and Sumatra when you go on a cruise next time, to correspond with the old port capital, and to ensure the peace of Nanyang."

After listening to the story told by Zheng He, Zhu Di immediately made a decision in his heart, then stood up and said.

Zheng He immediately knelt down to receive the order and said: "Wei Chen accepts the order!"

"Stay flat."

Zhu Di said: "I have one more thing to ask your opinion on."

When he said this, his eyes fell on Zhu Gaoxu's face and gave the latter a wink.

Zhu Gaoxu understood, and said to Zheng He who had just sat down behind him: "Zheng He, my father plans to entrust Borneo to my fifth uncle and Java to my sixth uncle. Do you think these two places should be regarded as Zhou and Zhou Dynasties?" How about the place where the Second Chu Domain was founded?"

Zheng He thought for a while and said respectfully: "Your Highness, I have led a fleet to Borneo and Java. I would like to say frankly that Borneo is a vast territory and rich in products. It is really not suitable for a vassal king."

"Let me tell you in detail." Zhu Di said in a deep voice.

Zheng He said respectfully: "Yes."

"As far as I know, the Spice Islands are located in the east of Borneo. They are rich in cloves, cardamom, and pepper. Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, people have been selling spices to China from there. If you control Borneo, and then control the Spice Islands, It will be easy.”

As we all know, spices are something that the high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty and nobles from all over the world like, just like gold and silver.

For Zhu Di, just a spice was not enough to make him possessive of Borneo.

"There is a country named Bo Ni near the sea in the northwest of Borneo. There are records of contact with China in the Liang Dynasty of the Southern Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, Bo Ni was already a big country with its land extending for thousands of miles. In the early days of Hongwu, Taizu The emperor once sent envoys to Gangni."

Zheng He continued: "The Bangni Kingdom that I learned about has jurisdiction over fourteen states. Its capital has a population of tens of thousands. The residents are good at farming. The agricultural products include rice, pepper, coconut, etc. The local area is rich in dipterocarps. Its people Boil the sea to make salt, brew rice stalks to make wine.”

When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he frowned slightly and said, "Zheng He, please focus on the situation in Borneo."

"Yes." Zheng He said respectfully.

Then, he continued: "According to my preliminary survey, Borneo is about the size of six or seven Luzon Islands. Its terrain is gently undulating, the land is fertile, and it is full of rivers, which is suitable for farming. Although the climate there is hot, the rainfall is abundant. Rice is harvested twice a year, and the people are accustomed to it."

When Zhu Di heard this, his eyelids suddenly jumped.

Within the scope of his understanding, a Luzon Island is equivalent to an area of ​​​​Fujian Province. Then isn't Borneo as big as the six or seven provinces along the southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty combined?

Moreover, the rice in Borneo can be harvested twice a year. In such a vast place, it is not a problem to feed millions or even tens of millions of people!

"Boni Country produces copper, iron, coal and other minerals. It can be seen that Borneo must have a lot of various minerals. It is also densely forested and has inexhaustible wood. It is perfect for shipbuilding on the spot."

Zheng He thought about it and said, "Borneo's climate and environment are also suitable for growing spices."

"In addition, there are many grasslands in the high mountain areas of Borneo, and livestock such as cattle and horses can also be raised."

At the end, Zheng He added something special.

When Zhu Di heard about raising cattle and horses, his first reaction was that after occupying Borneo, he would be able to have a cavalry in just a few years.

"Zheng He, what you know is because you personally went to Borneo to investigate and survey?"

Zhu Di wanted to confirm the authenticity of what Zheng He said.

"Back to Your Majesty, I heard that Borneo is a vast territory, so I went up there to survey it."

Zheng He said respectfully: "If my estimate is correct, I should have traveled more than five hundred miles by carriage along a freshwater river. Both sides of the river are farmland full of rice."

When Zhu Di heard this, he was greatly shocked and said: "Okay, there is no need to say any more, I have made a decision in my heart."

Zhu Gaoxu then answered: "Father, since Borneo is so important, I suggest that the next time the Ming Dynasty fleet goes to sea, a military town can be set up on Borneo, leaving several thousand households there. Get building.”

"Zheng He, did you hear clearly what the prince said?"

Zhu Di turned to look at Zheng He and asked.

Zheng He said respectfully: "Return to your Majesty, I heard you clearly."

"Okay, next time you go to sea, remember to handle this matter." Zhu Di ordered.

Zheng He said: "Yes."

"One more thing, how much do you know about the Peacock Peninsula?"

Zhu Di thought for a while and then asked.

"Back to Your Majesty, I have lived in Guli Country for half a month, and I know a lot about the Peacock Peninsula."

Zheng He replied respectfully.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu answered: "Zheng He, my father plans to entrust several vassal kings to establish a country on the Peacock Peninsula in the future. Do you think it is feasible?"

"I think it is feasible, but it will inevitably lead to encounters with the weapons of the countries there." Zheng He said very frankly.

Zhu Di asked curiously: "What do you mean by this?"

Zheng He said respectfully: "Your Majesty, as far as I know, although there are many countries on the Peacock Peninsula, the systems of each country are almost the same."

Zhu Di was surprised and said: "There are such strange things in this world?"

"Your Majesty does not know."

Zheng He said respectfully: "All states on the Peacock Peninsula implement a strict caste system and village community system."

"The so-called caste system, from high to low, is divided into four classes: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Sudra. The king and the monks he recognizes belong to the highest Brahmin class, and the military nobles under the king belong to the Kshatriya class. The ordinary Farmers, craftsmen, and merchants belong to the Vaishya class, while those who are bankrupt or conquered belong to the Shudras.”

Zhu Gaoxu pretended to sigh: "Isn't it a sign of national subjugation to implement this kind of system?"

Zheng He said: "I felt strange at first, wondering why the people in Guli and other countries did not rebel when they implemented this kind of hierarchical system. Later, I found out that people there, from the king to the common people, were all religious and believed in the theory of reincarnation and atonement. From this It can be seen that all the countries in the Peacock Peninsula lack the enlightenment of saints, and the people at the bottom of the country are all ignorant."

"Yes, let's talk about the village community system." Zhu Gaoxu said.

Zheng He said: "As for the village community system, that is, the king of each state usually directly controls one-third of the land in the state, and allocates the remaining land to nobles, churches, and monasteries, and then the nobles lease the land to village farmers. People cultivated the land and collected land rents and taxes as revenue for the king.”

When he said this, he faced Zhu Di, bowed his head slightly, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, in addition to paying land tax to the king, the lower-class farmers in the country also bear various labors such as building canals, roads, temples, fortresses, and palaces for free. In addition to houses, mausoleums, gardens, etc., they are also forced to pay additional taxes, such as taxes on the use of agricultural tools, livestock, oil presses, and looms, as well as taxes on marriages, family sacrifices, and building houses. Therefore, these farmers are extremely poor. .”

At this time, Zhu Di had already understood what Zheng He meant, that is, the Ming vassal king wanted to establish a country on the Peacock Peninsula, and the best strategy was to lead the underlying people there to rebel!

PS: Is it exciting for Prince Ming to go abroad to lead the poor to rebel?

(End of this chapter)