Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 217 Wu Lingxuan

On March 1878, , Li Wencai first arrived in Kelantan by boat and met with Chen Zongbai, the local commander of the National Defense Force. He left Kelantan on the morning of the next day and arrived in Songkhla in the afternoon.

Songkhla City was built on the southern edge of Songkhla Lake and was one of the earliest immigration destinations for Chinese in the Malay Peninsula.

After Wu Rang assumed the post of Lord of Songkhla in 1775, he implemented a policy of encouraging commerce. A large number of Southeast Asian Chinese businessmen established commercial bases in Songkhla, reselling rice and timber produced in Annam, Cambodia and other places to Malay natives. They then purchased peppers, tin, iron and other mineral resources from the Malay Peninsula and transported them to the mainland, earning considerable profits from the transportation price difference in the middle.

The busy commercial trade brought a lot of tax revenue to the Wu regime. In the areas controlled by the Wu regime,
Whenever a foreign cargo ship arrived at the dock, it had to pay taxes based on the size of the ship and the weight of the cargo. Large ships carrying a lot of cargo had to pay five or six hundred silver coins, while small ships had to pay two hundred to three hundred silver coins. Newly arrived Chinese had to pay one silver dollar in taxes, and Chinese who lived in Songkhla but had not become naturalized citizens also had to pay one silver dollar every year.

After deducting various financial expenditures, the commercial taxes established in coastal areas could bring the Wu regime more than 100,000 silver dollars in revenue each year.

The Wu regime handed over a portion of the collected taxes to the Thai government every year, and most of the remaining income was used to build coastal port facilities. So when Li Wencai looked at the Songkhla port from the boat, what he saw were merchant ships lined up together.

After getting off the boat, Li Wencai was greeted by Wu Jin's eldest son Wu Chong, and got on a four-wheeled carriage and drove to the City Lord's Mansion.

In the Songkhla City Lord's Mansion, a building complex covering an area of ​​more than 5,000 acres, Li Wencai, accompanied by Wu Chong, met Wu Jin, the current lord of Songkhla City.

Wu Jin was about forty years old, wearing a white Ming-style suit, and had an elegant temperament. When Li Wencai first met him, he thought he was a well-educated scholar.

"I have heard of General Li's reputation for a long time. Today I see that he is indeed extraordinary. It is a blessing for me that General Li can stay in Songkhla for a while."

Wu Jin smiled and praised.

"I have little reputation on the battlefield, and I don't deserve such praise from the city lord."

Li Wencai waved his hands and did not take Wu Jin's praise seriously.

"Lord Wu, Wencai came to Songkhla on the orders of Lord Mei to assist your army in training. Please introduce the situation of your army to Wencai."

Li Wencai sat down, put the tea brought by the servant aside, and asked.

"General Li is concerned about public affairs, and I will not waste the general's time." Wu Jin saw that Li Wencai was not in the mood for small talk, so he waved his hand to send the attendant away, and said to his second son Wu Shian, "Shian, you come and introduce the situation of the Songkhla troops to General Li."

"Son, I understand." Wu Shian bowed to Wu Jin and said, "Songkhla governs eight provinces. Except for Perlis, Terengganu and Kedah which are controlled by the British, Kelantan is managed by your army. In the remaining four provinces, Yala has 1,000 troops stationed, Pattani has 800 troops stationed, Taogong has 1,200 troops stationed, and Songkhla has 2,500 troops stationed. However, only 2,000 of the four garrisons obey the orders of the City Lord's Mansion. The 500 Thai troops stationed in Songkhla are the troops sent by the Thai government to Songkhla to monitor us. The garrisons in the other three provinces are all composed of local Malays, and their commanders are also local leaders. The garrisons in the three provinces have always obeyed their commanders and have always disobeyed the orders of the Songkhla City Lord's Mansion. They will only be more obedient when the City Lord's Mansion allocates military pay for the troops."

"So, the City Lord's Mansion can only control two thousand troops?" Li Wencai asked.

"Indeed."

Wu Shian said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Two thousand people won't hurt."

Li Wencai took a sip of tea and said indifferently, "Lord Mei has transferred fifty officers from Annan to assist me in training your army. The commander of the Kelantan garrison, Captain Chen, has also agreed to transfer thirty mid-level officers to serve under me in a few days.

The National Defense Army attaches great importance to assisting your army in training. I believe that after the serious training of more than 80 officers, the combat effectiveness of your army will be greatly improved. "The combat effectiveness of the Han National Defense Army is convincing, but the weapons and equipment of the Songkhla Army are backward. Can General Li convey a message to Lord Mei to allow the National Defense Army to sell a batch of your army's standard muskets at a low price to equip the Songkhla troops? "

"Songkhla has many merchants passing through, and the tax revenue is huge. City Lord Wu should have no shortage of money to buy weapons, right?"

Li Wencai smiled.

"It is true that Songkhla has many merchants, but most of the merchant ships that stop at Songkhla's Yanan Port now belong to the British. We are afraid of causing dissatisfaction among the British Straits Settlements officials, so we have never dared to collect taxes from British merchant ships. Therefore, Songkhla's coastal port tax revenue is much lower than before, and the Thai government has continuously increased the tax rate Songkhla pays. After a busy year, we only have 20,000 to 30,000 silver dollars left in tax revenue."

Wu Jin explained with a wry smile.

"The sale of weapons to foreign countries requires the approval of His Royal Highness the King of Han. I will truthfully report the difficulties faced by City Lord Wu to Lord Mei. As for whether the higher-ups will agree to sell weapons to Songkhla at a low price, that is not something I can guarantee."

"I understand that General Li has done Songkhla a great favor by delivering the message for me. Regardless of success or failure, I will remember General Li's kindness."

Wu Jin was excited when he saw that Li Wencai agreed to help facilitate the sale of weapons from Han to Songkhla.

Wu Jin's expression seemed a little strange to Li Wencai, but after thinking from Wu Jin's perspective, it was easy to understand his feelings.

Songkhla is sandwiched between Thailand and the British Straits Settlements. Both Thailand and the British Straits Settlements wanted to annex Songkhla and did not want to see Songkhla's development threaten the two countries' rule over the Malay Peninsula. Therefore, the Straits Settlements expressly prohibited British merchants from selling weapons to Songkhla. Thailand itself had limited access to weapons from the West, and would not sell weapons to Songkhla.

Under the arms blockade of the two countries, the number of weapons and equipment of the Songkhla army has always been very low. Most soldiers still use cold weapons such as bows and arrows, long swords as combat equipment. The small number of muskets purchased at high prices can only be left idle in the armory as discarded weapons due to improper maintenance, and cannot exert their due combat effectiveness.

Old colonizers such as Britain, France and the Netherlands were experienced in colonial expansion. The Lan Fang Republic in the East Indies chose to rely on the Dutch to maintain the survival of the company due to the lack of channels to obtain advanced weapons. The Annan and Wu regimes gradually declined in national strength due to the blockade of French and British colonists, and were finally annexed by the colonizers.

The National Defense Force established a country in South America, avoiding the danger of direct armed annexation by Britain, France and other countries. If Li Mingyuan had chosen to establish a country in Southeast Asia, he would have faced a joint stranglehold from Britain, France, the Netherlands and even Spain, making it more difficult to develop.

After agreeing to help Wu Jin pass the message, Li Wencai reached an agreement on behalf of the National Defense Forces and Wu Jin to transfer Chinese refugees to Songkhla, Kelantan and other places. Then, having completed his mission, Li Wencai did not forget what Wang Dashan had asked him to do, and directly asked about the situation of Wu Jin's daughter.

"My daughter, Wu Lingxuan, has just reached the age of 18. If I am lucky enough to catch the eye of His Royal Highness the King of Han, I am willing to marry my daughter to His Royal Highness the King of Han."

Without considering his daughter's opinion, Wu Jin immediately agreed after listening to what Li Wencai conveyed.

"His Royal Highness the King of Han is wise and brave. If your daughter could marry him, it would surely be a great story."

Li Mingyuan has never married since he founded the Chinese country in South America. If Wu Lingxuan marries Li Mingyuan, it will not only solve the hidden danger of the lack of heirs in the Han Kingdom, but will also be of great help to the stability of the Songkhla regime.

Li Wencai was aware of the importance of this matter. If he could do it well, it would immediately leave an impression on Li Mingyuan, which would be of great benefit to his future development in the Han Kingdom of South America.

Considering the reputation of unmarried women, Li Wencai sent several Chinese women with him to meet Wu Lingxuan with a cabinet camera, planning to send the photos they took back to South America for Li Mingyuan to review.

(End of this chapter)