Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 438: The Situation in Southeast Asia and the Lan Fang Kingdom (6K)

"Commander, good news!"

"The local Chinese organization in Manila has come to reward the troops."

Fang Haiyang's adjutant quickly came up to Fang Haiyang and reported with a happy face.

Fang Haiyang smiled immediately when he heard that.

"Reward the troops? That's a good thing!"

I can’t say anything else about rewarding the troops, but at least it played a significant role in boosting the morale of the troops.

The morale of the Tang army was already high, and with the local Chinese in Manila rewarding the army with such fanfare, the morale of the army would surely rise again, and it would be like adding fuel to the fire.

By then, the Tang army will probably be able to capture Manila soon!
Thinking about this, Fang Haiyang asked subconsciously.

"By the way, how is the Tang Concession in Manila?"

With the war having reached this point, it is only a matter of time before the Tang army captures Manila. There will be no surprises.

Nowadays, Fang Haiyang’s only concern is the safety of the Tang Concession in Manila.

Well, if something happened to the concession during the war, he would have to bear a lot of public pressure, and even be held accountable by the Military Affairs Council and the emperor.

This is something Fang Haiyang absolutely does not want to see!
Upon hearing this, the adjutant said with great certainty.

"Don't worry, Commander. There's no problem in the concession."

"The Spanish instigated the natives of Manila to launch an attack on the concession, but they were successfully blocked by the garrison troops of the concession."

"The concession is still safe for now!"

After hearing this, Fang Haiyang nodded in satisfaction and continued.

"Very good. If that's the case, then we should hurry up and start the siege as soon as possible!"

"After we take over Manila, we can give an explanation to the court!"

Upon hearing this, the adjutant immediately clasped his fists in response to show that he understood.

……

Soon, all preparations for the Tang army's siege were completed.

Cannons were mounted on the artillery array, with the black muzzles aimed towards the direction of Manila city.

The hot air balloon takes off, calculating the shooting parameters while conducting reconnaissance.

The gunners are making preparations for the battle!
However, just as Fang Haiyang was about to order his artillery to fire, a white flag was unexpectedly raised in the sky above Manila.

A Spanish official walked out of Manila and surrendered to the Tang army.

Soon, the Tang army took over the city defense of Manila very smoothly.

Then, personnel were sent to various important cities on Luzon Island to take over the local areas.

And this is why the Tang army chose to accept the surrender of the Spaniards.

Spain has more than one city, Manila, in the Philippines.

After hundreds of years of operation, the entire Philippines is full of traces left by the Spanish.

If the Tang Dynasty wanted to take over Manila smoothly, then the best option would be to accept the surrender of the Spaniards, make good use of the Spaniards' influence in Manila, and then start the Tang Dynasty's rule in the Philippines.

Well, although Fang Haiyang does not have the political acumen, most of the staff around him are graduates of professional military academies.

The military academies of the Tang Dynasty not only teach combat skills, but also politics and other aspects.

Therefore, the staff team can give the best advice.

All Fang Haiyang needs to do is make a decision.

……

With the opening of the sea and the development of industry and commerce.

Compared with the original Guangzhou city, today's Guangzhou is already completely different.

The tall brick and stone walls were demolished.

Instead, a network of asphalt roads runs through the entire city, connecting the urban area with the dock areas, commercial areas, industrial areas and other areas outside the city.

In this era, with the development of firearms and the emergence of breech-loading guns, the role that traditional brick and stone walls can play in wars has become increasingly less important.

However, the tall city walls and narrow gates are a huge obstacle to the development of the city.

Therefore, Li Yi personally made the decision to demolish the city wall.

Guangzhou was the first pilot city to demolish city walls during the Tang Dynasty.

Although people in and out of the court had many objections to Li Yi's decision to order the demolition of the city wall, as a founding emperor, Li Yi's authority was unquestionable.

No one would object to the decisions he made unless they really touched upon someone's core interests.

Therefore, the resolution to demolish the city wall was successfully implemented.

Moreover, Guangzhou at that time was also a large construction site.

In the city of Guangzhou, those low and old bungalows were demolished and replaced by small high-rise buildings.

In addition, many landmark buildings are also under construction.

Among them, the skyscraper named Guangzhou International Finance Center Tower by Li Yi is a representative one.

The building adopts a pure reinforced concrete structure and adopts the latest design. The overall height is 96 meters and there are 33 floors in total.

There are 30 floors above ground and three floors underground.

It is currently the tallest building in East Asia, and even in the world.

Well, historically speaking, humans began to think about high-rise buildings in the late 19th century.

But who says Li Yi is a time traveler?

He is ready to make another historical precedent!

The Guangzhou government intended to take advantage of Guangzhou's location as the first city to open to the outside world and its proximity to Southeast Asia for convenient sea transportation and exchanges with foreign merchants, to build Guangzhou, the first city in the south, into the industrial, economic, financial and cultural center of the Tang Dynasty in the south.

This skyscraper, named Guangzhou International Finance Center, was built for financial development.

Li Yi plans to build the first stock trading center in China and even East Asia in Guangzhou.

Li Yi also supports this.

When Li Yi was conquering the world, he relied on the money and food from Guangdong and the strong soldiers from Guangxi in the early stages, and Guangdong made a lot of efforts.

Now that I am in power, how can I be so ruthless and turn my back on you?
Besides, in the current Tang Dynasty, a considerable number of high-ranking officials are from Guangdong.

Even if Li Yi didn't say anything, they would still support the development of their hometown.

Therefore, under the impetus of various forces, the construction of this true skyscraper began.

It was noon time and the sound of gongs and drums was heard at the construction site of Guangzhou No. 1 Building.

The workers put down their work, came to the construction site restaurant, and lined up for meals.

The food on the construction site was simple, with mixed-grain rice, mixed-grain pancakes, stir-fried cabbage and shredded potatoes. Occasionally there would be a few slices of dried fat in the stir-fried dishes, which gave them some meat flavor.

But even so, the workers still ate very happily.

In the past, they were used to being hungry, so they were not picky about food. As long as they could fill their stomachs and have the energy to work, it was fine.

Of course, there is no limit on staple food.

Guangzhou is close to Southeast Asia and has convenient sea transportation. As large amounts of grain were transported from all over Southeast Asia, the price of grain in Guangzhou also fell.

Therefore, the construction sites in Guangzhou are not stingy with the food. Although meat is generally not available, staple foods are still provided.

Wang Fei squatted in the corner with the bowl in his hand, eating rice in big mouthfuls.

While eating, I occasionally looked up at the huge monster in front of me.

Although I have seen it many times, I still know that this skyscraper was built brick by brick by themselves.

However, every time he watched it, Wang Fei still felt shocked and unbelievable.

“This building is really too tall!”

"If we continue to repair it, we will really reach the sky!"

Wang Fei was shocked.

At the side, Ding Qiang, a fellow villager who came out to work with him, echoed.

“It’s almost capped!”

"I heard that this first building in Guangzhou will have 33 floors in total, 28 floors above ground and floors underground. We have already built to the th floor, it's almost there!"

Wang Fei continued to marvel.

"Brother Qiangzi, what do you think the court wants to do by building this tall building?"

"The Deer Tower built by King Zhou of Shang in the legend shouldn't be this high, right?"

Ding Qiang gave Wang Fei a cold look, slapped him on the back of the head, and began to warn him.

"Think before you speak, kid."

"Comparing the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty with the tyrant King Zhou, do you think your head is too heavy on your neck and want to relax it?"

After hearing this, Wang Fei realized that he had said something wrong.

He quickly slapped himself a few times.

"Hey, look at my mouth."

"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Qiangzi. If it weren't for your reminder, I don't know how much loss I would have suffered."

Ding Qiang's expression eased slightly after hearing this.

"We are from the same hometown and came here together. It is only natural for me to take care of you."

"Don't say thank you so much. Be more careful next time and don't talk nonsense."

Although there is no rule of literary inquisition in the Tang Dynasty now, once someone hears that you slander the emperor, you will still be arrested and beaten with a stick in the government office.

While the two were talking, there was a sudden noise outside the construction site.

Everyone looked outside the construction site and saw a group of students passing by holding banners.

However, it was not a protest or a demonstration, but a celebration of the victory achieved by the Tang Dynasty in Southeast Asia.

Countless people shouted in unison.

"Great Tang will win! Recover Nanyang! Defeat the Western Barbarians!"

"Tang Dynasty will win! Recover our homeland!"

"..."

Wang Fei and Ding Qiang went forward to inquire and found out that the imperial army had just captured Batavia and Manila.

The South Seas land that had been lost since the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty was recovered.

Well, during the Ming Dynasty, along with Zheng He's voyages to the West, the Ming Dynasty had a great influence in Southeast Asia.

Not only did they occupy Annan and set up the Old Port Xuanwei Office in Java, but the Ming Dynasty navy even built city walls and warehouses in Malacca in the Strait of Malacca to achieve actual control over Malacca seafood.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Ming Dynasty was the overlord of Southeast Asia!
However, as Xuande retreated, all these things were thrown away.

From then on, the expansion of the Han people in Southeast Asia lost the support of official forces.

I can only live under someone else's roof!

They were even looted and slaughtered at will.

The Dutch once launched the famous Red River Massacre in Batavia. During the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the Spanish also carried out several premeditated massacres and lootings against the Chinese in Manila.

Even the natives dare to show their teeth to the Chinese!

Due to the lack of organization and intervention from official forces, the history of Han people's expansion in Southeast Asia is a complete history of blood and tears.

More than four hundred years have passed since Xuande's reduction of the border.

The official power of the Han people finally intervened in Southeast Asia again.

From today on, the Central Plains Dynasty will once again take control of the international order in East Asia and Southeast Asia!

Countless people who got the news spontaneously took to the streets and began to celebrate.

Many restaurants even put up signs directly saying free drinks and 50% off on meals today.

Just when Wang Fei, Ding Qiang and others were surprised.

There was also good news coming from the construction site. The imperial court won a great victory in Nanyang and celebrated with the people, and everyone on the construction site had extra meals.

Eat meat tonight! After hearing the news, Wang Fei, Ding Qiang and others couldn't help but cheer out loud, their expressions were very excited.

……

Beijing!

Old Summer Palace, Bitong Academy.

Li Yi held the child in his arms, looking at the chubby little face of the baby in the cradle, his face full of a fatherly smile.

This is the child that Fu Shanxiang gave birth to for Li Yi last year.

I gave birth to a daughter on September 15th. She is just over 100 days old now and is at her most well-behaved and adorable.

Looking at the smiling face of the baby in his arms and the black eyes staring at him, Li Yi felt like his heart was about to melt.

On the side, Fu Shanxiang also watched Li Yi interacting with the child with a peaceful smile on her face, and looked pleased.

"Your Majesty, the little moon has passed the hundredth day. Please give her a name."

The day the child was born was the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, and the moon was full.

So, it got the nickname of Little Moon.

Li Yi reached out and poked Xiaoyue's chubby little face. Looking at the smile on her face, Li Yi was really happy.

Now, his eldest son Li Zai is five years old and almost six years old, which is the time when he is very naughty.

Li Yi often got a headache from being so angry at him.

Now when I see this well-behaved daughter again, I can’t tell you how much I love her.

Luo Caiyu on the side also said with a smile on her face.

"Yes, Your Majesty, it's time to give Little Moon a formal name."

At this time, Luo Caiyu's smile was also sincere.

When Fu Shanxiang was first pregnant, he was a little worried that if Fu Shanxiang gave birth to a son, it would shake Li Zai's position as the crown prince.

But she was no longer so worried after Fu Shanxiang gave birth.

What a great daughter! She is so cute!
After she stopped worrying that the loss of Fu Shanxiang's child would shake the throne, Luo Caiyu also loved Xiaoyueliang very much.

After all, who would hate a porcelain doll that keeps smiling at you when it sees you?

Upon hearing this, Li Yi pondered for a while and then spoke.

“That’s right!”

"The little moon has passed the hundredth day, it is indeed time to give it a big name."

After thinking for a while, Li Yi spoke.

"How about just calling her Jin Yue?"

"Jin means beautiful jade, and Yue means the divine pearl bestowed by heaven upon the virtuous Saint Emperor!"

"Little Moon, you are the beautiful jade and pearl bestowed upon me by God!"

Upon hearing this, Fu Shanxiang spoke softly.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

"I thank Your Majesty for naming Little Moon!"

Li Yi laughed when he heard this.

"Haha, Little Moon is the apple of my eye."

"Of course I have to give her a name!"

After agreeing on a name for his daughter, Li Yi continued to interact with the child.

Just then, there was a knock on the door outside the palace.

Soon, Wang Zhong walked in from outside and strode to Li Yi to report.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

"Great victory in Nanyang!"

"Our soldiers have successfully recaptured Batavia and Manila. The situation in Southeast Asia has been settled!"

Li Yi was stunned at first when he heard this, but then he couldn't help showing joy on his face.

"Ha ha, alright!"

"Okay!"

"After this battle, if we can capture Malacca, we can completely cut off the tentacles of the Western Barbarians reaching towards the East!"

"God bless our Tang Dynasty!"

After expressing his happiness, Li Yi said immediately.

"Send a message to the Military Affairs Council, and have them immediately calculate the military merits and reward the soldiers on the front lines..."

"In addition, the Executive Yuan must also prepare to send officials to manage Luzon and Java..."

It's no use just taking down one place.

More importantly, you need to actually manage and control the place.

And this requires consideration of the governance capabilities of the Tang Dynasty!

Thinking about things in Southeast Asia, Li Yi couldn't help but think of Malacca.

That is what is now the British Straits Settlements!

The locations of Manila and Batavia are very important.

But, nothing is more important than Malacca.

Apart from that, there is the matter of Lan Fang Kingdom.

At the end of the last century, a group of Chinese established a small country in Southeast Asia called Lan Fang, located in Borneo.

It also has a place in Nanyang!
This small country was founded in 1776 and was only destroyed by Dutch colonists during the Sino-French War.

In other words, Lan Fang still exists.

Now that the Tang Dynasty has taken over the entire South Seas, it is time to resolve the issue of Lan Fang.

In the entire Nanyang area, Li Yi could not accept the existence of another flag.

Even if this flag is also a Han flag, it will not work.

After a moment of hesitation, Li Yi began to make arrangements.

"By the way, let's also make some arrangements with Lan Fang Country."

"I have heard that the current Lan Fang governor is a traitor who usurped the country and assisted the Dutch in suppressing the Chinese uprising in Borneo. He oppressed our Chinese compatriots and his crimes are unforgivable."

"Order the Nanyang Fleet to immediately dispatch warships to punish Lan Fang and find a way to take back the land of Borneo!"

Of course, Li Yi was not wrongly accusing Lan Fang.

Liu Asheng, the contemporary general of Lan Fang, was indeed not a good person.

As far as Li Yi knows, between 1850 and 1854, the Dutch and the Chinese in Borneo had conflicts over the ownership of gold mines.

It is known in history as the Corporate War.

Initially, the Dutch invaded Borneo but were defeated by the Chinese.

However, Liu Asheng betrayed his country and brought Lan Fang to assist the Dutch in suppressing the Chinese uprising.

Ultimately, the Chinese uprising failed and Borneo was taken over by the Dutch.

Well, if the Tang Dynasty had not been committed to domestic war at that time, and if the Eight-Nation Alliance had not invaded in 1854, the Tang Dynasty would not have been able to interfere in the affairs of Southeast Asia. Li Yi even wanted to send troops to Southeast Asia at that time.

……

The second year of Kaitai in the Tang Dynasty, the ninth day of the second month in the Western calendar of 1857!

Borneo.

The capital of Lan Fang Kingdom, Dongwanlu!
As news came that the Tang army had conquered Manila and Batavia, the Southeast Asian Chinese in Borneo also fell into a frenzy.

Don’t think that the Lan Fang Kingdom seemed very powerful at that time. They were the only Chinese force among a group of foreign devils.

But a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. How could the Western barbarians allow a country founded by the Chinese to develop under their noses?
There were many attacks both overtly and covertly, and Lan Fangguo was not having an easy time.

If Lan Fang had not used the excuse of submission to open up trade with the Qing Dynasty, claimed to be a vassal of the Qing Dynasty, and used the Qing Dynasty's skin to show its support, Lan Fang would probably have been destroyed just after its establishment.

However, with the decline of the Qing Dynasty, the Central Plains fell into war, the Tang Dynasty was unable to intervene in the affairs of Southeast Asia, and the Western countries began to covet the Lan Fang.

Today, Lan Fang has almost lost its autonomy and, under the leadership of Liu Asheng, the traitorous general, has become a vassal of the Dutch.

In the Grand Administrator's Office, the contemporary Grand Administrator Liu Asheng summoned important officials of the country to discuss matters.

Unlike the jubilation of the Chinese people in Borneo, the top management of the Lan Fang Company felt somewhat depressed.

"I think everyone knows that Manila and Batavia were conquered by Tang soldiers."

"Let's discuss this together. What should I, Lan Fang, do next?"

As soon as Liu Asheng finished speaking, someone stood up and spoke.

"Now that the king's army has recaptured Nanyang, we will submit to him with all our country."

"Otherwise, do we have to resist Master Wang?"

The person who spoke was named Jiang Zuotong, one of Lan Fang's senior executives, but he belonged to the faction in the company that opposed Liu Asheng.

Now, with the Tang Dynasty taking control of Southeast Asia, Jiang Zuotong would naturally take the opportunity to attack Liu Asheng.

When Liu Asheng heard this, he subconsciously wanted to refute.

But when I opened my mouth, I didn't know what to say.

Liu Asheng was different from all the previous Lan Fang generals in that he was an ambitious man.

Although he was the governor of Lan Fang, he colluded with the Dutch colonists and betrayed the interests of the Chinese.

He once borrowed troops from the Dutch to suppress an uprising against him.

They even assisted the Dutch in fighting against other large and small forces under the rule of Lan Fang.

To put it bluntly, he was the Dutch representative in Borneo.

This is also the reason why Lan Fang did not send envoys to request submission after the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

However, as the Tang Dynasty conquered Manila and Batavia, Liu Asheng also lost his greatest support for his dictatorship in Lan Fang.

Only then did he call everyone together to discuss how to deal with the Tang Dynasty.

Liu Asheng took a deep breath and continued speaking.

"After all, the living customs of the Nanyang Chinese are very different from those in our homeland. If we rashly submit, it may cause trouble."

"In my opinion, it is better to maintain the current status quo as much as possible!"

Liu Asheng was not willing to give up the power in his hands, and was also afraid of being liquidated by the Tang Dynasty, so he said this.

However, as soon as he said this, the hall suddenly became quiet.

All eyes were focused on Liu Asheng, as if asking him a question.

you sure?
Even the Dutch were defeated, and even Batavia was conquered by the Tang Dynasty. Do you still want to resist the royal army?

Everyone will follow you to join the Dutch, and there is no problem in cheating their compatriots to gain benefits.

But if you want everyone to follow you and go against the Tang Dynasty and seek death, that is definitely not possible.

However, at this moment, an official came in from outside to report.

"Report to the Grand Commander, something has happened!"

"News came from Sarawak that the remnants of the Dagang Company raised their flags to submit to the Tang Dynasty. Zheng Tong of the Dagang Company sent people to the Tang Dynasty to sue us, Lan Fang, for joining the Western Barbarians and harming our compatriots. We ask the Tang Dynasty to come forward to administer justice!"

When Liu Asheng heard this, he felt like the sky was falling.

He felt great when he betrayed his compatriots, but now that he was being held accountable, he felt as if his backbone had been taken away and was filled with despair.

A face full of despair!

At this moment, Jiang Zuotong in the hall suddenly smashed the cup as a signal and shouted.

"Brothers, Liu Asheng and the Liu family are finished. Come on, capture Liu Asheng and hand him over to the court. Submit your surrender!"

……

PS: I can’t update the content for the 1,000 monthly tickets today, maybe tomorrow!
(End of this chapter)