Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

According to the agreement reached between Huaxia and Siam in the 20th year of Wucheng, the prince of Siam went to Guangzhou on February 21st of Wucheng, and then went up the Pearl River to Wuchang through southern Jiangxi and Hunan. The one-way journey is expected to take four about a month.

Of course, the prince's pilgrimage did not affect the military preparations of the two armies. The two countries that had reached a division of interests have entered a state of war one after another, and everything is being prepared intensively.It's just that there is no impenetrable wall in the world, and the Siamese's actions can't be hidden from the eyes of their old opponents. Therefore, King Daningen of Burma quickly convened a military meeting to discuss how to deal with it.

However, at this time, the Toungoo Dynasty has entered the stage of the end of the world, and it has the disadvantages of all dynasties in the end of the world. The most obvious one is party struggle.Various factions have different understandings of the upcoming war. Among them, the Northern Royal faction, which advocates that the northern Xia army is the main force of the invasion, and the Southern Royal faction, which advocates that the southern Siamese army is the key to the war, disagree, so that Burma's defense plan is split into two parts. The two almost identical parts weakened Myanmar's own defense before the war started.

Even more tragic.Due to the insistence on the absolute political superiority of the Burmese, the ethnic conflicts within the Toungoo Dynasty were very intense. Without external causes, this contradiction could be temporarily suppressed by the glamorous Toungoo Dynasty. However, when Siam and After the news of China's coalition crusade spread in Myanmar, the chieftains of the Mon and Dai tribes who had lost their shackles quickly set off many riots. As a result, the Burmese royal army was exhausted and unable to gather to deal with the upcoming invasion.

Even the pirate chieftains of the Han nationality in southern Myanmar who nominally belonged to the common vassal of China and Myanmar also saw the advantage, and pieced together a force of more than 5000 people. Invasion of forest areas.As a result, the governor of Mawlamyine, Myanmar, not only could not stop it, but also lost both battles in the field. In the end, he had to besiege the city of Mawlamyine, and thus handed over the entire Upper Tanasarin to the former Western 36.

Since the Upper Tanah Sarim area is the only gateway for the Siamese army to advance westward, the Burmese royal court did not dare to neglect after receiving the report, and immediately dispatched general U Don Sheng with 15 soldiers and horses to deal with Mawlamyine. City and then moved eastward to block the Mesok Pass to prevent the Siamese army from entering Burma.

However, the army went ahead without food and grass, and the maintenance fee for the 15 army was by no means something that the Ava royal court could easily afford, not to mention that recruiting soldiers and horses in the rainy season itself would have a destructive effect on agricultural production in the coming year. Therefore, under the premise that the war may be protracted, King Daninger must raise more funds.

There is no money in the Burmese state treasury, but it does not mean that there are no nobles in Myanmar, but it is a centuries-old tradition in Myanmar that the nobles and monasteries who own a large amount of land do not pay taxes.And increasing the burden on ordinary people can't turn into cash immediately, so the Ava royal court can only put their ideas on the European businessmen in Shalian.

"Mr. Mourning of the British East India Company, Sir Philip of the French Royal East India Company, I think you have received a request for a loan from the King of Burma." The senior businessman who is speaking can stand here and talk freely. "A total of 250 million silver coins is not unacceptably large, but in my opinion, we should not place bets on the loser. If there is no Chinese behind this war, we may still try Participate, but now, we should unanimously reject the demands of the Burmese, otherwise what awaits us may lead to more serious consequences in addition to the loss of borrowed funds.”

"In fact, we should have known a few years ago that it is impossible for the Chinese to abandon Burma." Mourning of the British East India Company stroked his beard and responded with a solemn expression. "And once the Chinese set foot in Myanmar, then we must withdraw. The Chinese who have tasted the huge benefits of monopolizing a country's business will never just because one of us is their ally And give up this amazing wealth."

"Yes, I admit that the Chinese Empire will not recognize the trading rights of the French Royal East India Company in Burma." Sir Philip did not shy away from this situation. After all, the Sun King who advocated the Xiafa Alliance has passed away, and now the owner of the Palace of Versailles It was Louis XV, the spendthrift king, so in this case, the Xiafa alliance has quietly changed. "At most, we can retain our trading qualifications like Xiamen and Heni, but the pricing power of commodities will fall into the hands of the Chinese Empire."

"This is still the best result without offending the bottom line of the Chinese people." Mourning added. "Once we help the Burmese king, not only will our branch in Shanlian be wiped out, but even other stores in India will be blocked and attacked by the Chinese, and our losses will be great. .”

"It's just that if we refuse to provide funds to the king of Burma, the king of Burma will expel us first, and the Chinese will not provide any help." A senior businessman of the Dutch United East India Company told another troublesome fact. "Instead, they'll cheer for not having to do it themselves."

"In any case, we must maintain our presence in Than Lien." Sir Philip narrowed his eyes and thought for a while before saying his own suggestion. "We can sell weapons in stock to the king of Burma at the lowest price to help him hold off the Chinese and Siamese, but this is just a normal trade that can be explained to the Chinese. We can do nothing other than other aid. If Therefore, the Burmese king expelled us, so we joined forces to defend Shalian with arms. Thinking about it, under the threat of the Chinese and Siamese armies, the Burmese king would not have the strength to continue fighting with us."

"Defend Shalian with arms?" Mourning smacked his mouth and shook his head. "We have shown the most power, and the less likely the Chinese will keep us. It is better to try to implore the Chinese to use Shalian as a free trade port similar to the mud. As long as this result is achieved, if the Burmese really want to attack, we will Take the initiative to retreat."

The senior businessman of the United East India asked in confusion: "Free trade port? Doesn't that mean that the Spaniards, Portuguese, Danes, and Swedes can enter?"

Mourning explained: "Perhaps only in this way, the Chinese will let us stay at ease."

"In this case, why don't we join the Chinese side?" For Europeans, it is very common thinking to be in the company of the victors, so even if there has just been an unhappiness, as long as they are tempted by the expected spoils, they can avoid it. Without scruples, he took refuge in his old enemy as a matter of course. "In this way, we can even ask the Chinese Empire to divide Myanmar."

"Then we will be out." Sir Philip replied for Mourning. "Today's Chinese Empire is as greedy as a dragon for jewels in its sphere of influence, and it will never allow a third country to try to divide it. Moreover, in the long run, of course the Chinese will win this war, but specifically, The Chinese and Siamese may not be able to win all battles, so when the war is likely to be long-term, we don't have to place premature bets."

"Speaking of which, we should hope that the Chinese will shed their blood in the rainforest of Myanmar." Mourning sighed. "Of course this is an extravagant wish, but as long as the king of Ava can effectively use the artillery and firearms that we have sold at low prices in the past few years, it is still possible to teach the Chinese enough lessons."

"You two, I have different views on the process after the outbreak of the war." The senior businessmen of the Dutch United East India Company heard this, but they had different opinions. "In fact, we already know that the Arakanese surrendered to the Chinese Empire a few years ago, so the current Burma will be attacked from three directions. If you count the Mon and Shan people who are fighting the royal army However, the power of the Burmese king is scattered in multiple directions, and it is impossible to stop the attack of the Chinese and Siamese, so maybe the war will end with the victory of the Chinese side in a short period of time."

"It's possible, but such a result is too unfavorable for us." Mourning murmured. "Then we have enough reasons to support the Burmese king as much as possible without touching the bottom line of the Chinese."

"I support it, but the Burmese must not be given loans." Sir Philip laughed. "As it happens, the East India Company of the French royal family has twelve field cannons and [-] muskets in the storehouse in Shanlian. As long as the Burmese can give them three-tenths of the original price of tin ore, the company will sell them to them."

"The United East India Company can sell eight field guns and three hundred barrels of gunpowder, as long as the Burmese have three thousand pieces of teak."

Mourning applauded: "Then it's settled, just tell the Burmese that 250 million silver coins cannot be prepared in a short time, so we can only provide low-priced arms and commodities as support."

Although Shalian’s European merchants had good calculations, they ignored all kinds of ills when a dynasty came to the end of the world. The Toungoo courtiers who were used to fighting with each other pocketed the materials that should have been provided to the king at a low price, and then sold them at a low price. It was sold to the country at a price that was [-]% higher than the original price, and the courtiers made a lot of money once they entered and exited, but the financial situation of King Daningen was even more embarrassing.As a last resort, Myanmar, which has no foreign debts, had no choice but to increase taxes on ordinary people, thus entering an extremely terrible vicious circle.However, what is even more frightening is that the military pay that was so hard to raise was also corrupted by officials at all levels, so the recruited soldiers could only eat the worst food. The war has not yet started, and the morale is already ten one.The only reason for the existence of the Taungoo Dynasty is the rainy season. The two countries that have carried out combat preparations step by step have no intention of trekking and fighting during the rainy season. This has allowed the Toungoo Dynasty to spend the last few months of peace.