The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 796 I will clean up this blood feud.

Chen Rensheng tightened his leg wrappings and checked the loading status of the rifled gun to ensure it could be fired at any time.

At this moment, a glutinous rice ball was handed to him from the side. Chen Rensheng's eyes lit up, and he took it with great care. Then he took a small gourd from his waist.

The gourd was filled with the finest honey. Chen Rensheng used a small spoon from the gourd to scoop out a small dollop of honey and carefully spread it on the rice ball. Then he handed the gourd to Chen Shaozhang, who had brought him the rice ball.

Although the two share the same surname, they are not related, and they are not even from the same clan.

Chen Rensheng was born in Anping Prefecture, Tainan, in southern Fujian. His great-uncle was Chen Jie, a former lieutenant general in the army who defected from the Qing Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty. His seventh-generation ancestor was the famous Chen Yonghua, the Ming Dynasty's Zheng Dongning Commander.

Chen Shaozhang was from Panyu County, Guangdong Province. He was a native Cantonese speaker and a cousin of Chen Shaowen, the Earl of Nanhai, within five degrees of kinship. His sixth-generation ancestor was Chen Zizhuang, one of the Three Loyalists of Lingnan, who was posthumously granted the title of Prince of Nanhai and the posthumous name Wenzhong.

"This Xiaozhanzhou is great in every way, except for the lack of rainfall, which makes it impossible to grow rice. It's really difficult to eat rice!" Chen Shaozhang couldn't help but mutter to himself.

They were the second group, which came to the Greater and Lesser Zhanzhou in response to the imperial court's call a few years after Mao Xiangsheng returned to Nanjing for the second time to accept the post of Grand Protector of Zhanzhou.

Chen Rensheng ate the honey glutinous rice ball in small bites, savoring every last bit. He even carefully licked every finger that held the rice ball clean before nodding in agreement.

Southerners can't live without rice, and even the word "rice" has different meanings in the North and South in a narrow sense.

In the North, "eating" refers to a meal, such as lunch or dinner, rather than a specific type of food.

But it's different in the South. If you're going to eat something, it has to be rice. Noodles, buns, steamed bread, and dumplings don't count as rice. Even if he ate a whole roast chicken, roast goose, or roast suckling pig tonight, he still doesn't count as having eaten rice.

"I've got it all figured out. I heard that when people went to Beihezhou, they didn't even have steamed buns or pancakes to eat at first. They ate fish when they lived by the sea and wild cattle when they lived by the mountains. Many people reportedly felt nauseous at the sight of meat."

Meat has become a lowly commodity, while a bowl of whole wheat or oatmeal porridge has become a tonic, something only eaten when you're sick. Hahahaha!

As the two spoke, the soldiers around them laughed.

Ten years ago, Dayu lacked sufficient transport capacity to Beihezhou, making it impossible to bring food. Most of the initial travelers were also not skilled in farming, resulting in a severe shortage of staple food and causing many embarrassing situations.

Many people still claim with certainty that someone they know died from overeating meat.

In Dazhanzhou and Xiaozhanzhou, since the steam engine began to be used, the straight-line distance from Nanji Island is only about 900 nautical miles, or about 1,600 to 1,700 kilometers.

Even if you reach the easternmost part of the city, such as the Gold Mountain (Melbourne) area, it's only 1,500 nautical miles, or 2,700 to 2,800 kilometers away.

This distance would be considered very far on land, but it's nothing for sea transport.

Therefore, supplies are relatively plentiful on Greater Jalan (Australia), and Lesser Jalan (New Zealand) can also provide them.

The reason Chen Rensheng and his men were eating less rice was actually because of the recent tense war situation. When large ships came from Nanji Island, loading rice was not the first option.

After finishing the rice ball, someone threw over a shriveled orange. Chen Rensheng took it without peeling it and put it directly into his mouth to gnaw on it.

The taste was hard to describe, a mix of sour and bitter, but Chen Rensheng wasn't eating it for the taste; he was doing it to replenish his vitamins during this tense pursuit.

He walked to a large rock and looked down the mountain. There was a vast plain stretching as far as the eye could see, with low bushes growing in patches. A cool breeze blew by, and the branches and leaves of many alfalfa-like wild grasses and bushes began to sway merrily.

In the distance, the lakes resembled pieces of jade, clinging to the earth, where various wild animals leaped and frolicked joyfully.

“What a wonderful place!” A short second lieutenant from Liaozhou, Shanxi (later Zuoquan County) standing next to Chen Rensheng couldn’t help but exclaim.

"The Jinghe Plain has a pleasant climate, flat terrain, and decent rainfall, making it the perfect place to grow wheat."

If this were my hometown in Shanxi, with such a large plain, it would surely have prospered as much as Taiyuan Prefecture.

The Tranquil River Plain mentioned by the lieutenant is the Canterbury Plain of New Zealand, located in the southeastern part of New Zealand's South Island.

In later generations, this place produced 80 percent of New Zealand's wheat and other crops, making it one of the few places on the island suitable for farming.

New Zealand's area is actually larger than most people in later generations think; the South Island alone is comparable to Shanxi Province.

Moreover, New Zealand's climate is even more pleasant than that of Shanxi, with summer temperatures rarely exceeding 24 or 25 degrees Celsius and winter lows above freezing. It also receives more rainfall than Shanxi, resulting in more fertile land.

It has particularly favorable conditions for animal husbandry, making it one of the most suitable places for animal husbandry in the world.

The reason why New Zealand is perceived as a small, sparsely populated, and desolate country in later generations is actually because there are too few white people and too many good places. In addition, New Zealand is far from Europe, so not many people are willing to go there.

If this land were in China's hands, with a population of ten or twenty million, it would definitely be a different kind of prosperous and wealthy place.

"Lieutenant Yan likes this place so much, would you be willing to settle down here?" Chen Rensheng joked with a smile.

For a Cantonese person, Xiao Zhanzhou Island (New Zealand Island) is not a good place because rice cannot be grown there and the climate is too dry. That's why Chen Rensheng made such a joke.

But Lieutenant Yan nodded solemnly. For him, a native of Shanxi, Xiaozhanzhou Island was simply a dream destination.

The land is fertile, the temperature is neither too hot nor too cold, there is no endless yellow sand like on the Loess Plateau, and it is also suitable for animal husbandry. It is practically a replica of Shanxi, just like the lush and fertile Shanxi of the Han and Tang dynasties.

"Battalion Commander, my family is already on their way south. If I could achieve some more merits in this battle, that would be wonderful. Being a garrison commander on the Jinghe Plain would be enough for me in this life!"

Chen Rensheng was deeply shocked. He had thought that Lieutenant Yan had decided to stay in this run-down place out of patriotism.

"Don't worry, Lieutenant Yan, you'll definitely make a name for yourself in this battle. If you're short a few kills, the brothers will chip in the rest." Chen Rensheng said, pointing to Chen Shaozhang.
"I can also exchange a few words with the deputy battalion commander, so you can just wait to become the garrison commander."

Lieutenant Yan was overjoyed, knowing that they were sons of noble families in Lingnan, with valuable titles of imperial vassal in their families. Even the Grand Protector Mao treated them with favor, so they were indeed influential.

The unassuming 20-year-old Shanxi lieutenant repeatedly expressed his gratitude, and the two Chens were also deeply moved and admired his spirit of dedication.

This is probably what they mean by "one man's poison is another man's honey."

Knowing that the two Chens came from a prestigious group in Lingnan, Lieutenant Yan was eager to make their acquaintance. He hesitated for a long time, about to say a few more mushy words of thanks, when he suddenly caught a whiff of something.

Chen Rensheng only saw the second lieutenant from Shanxi leap up and jump onto another large rock like a hungry wolf, his nose twitching to the left like a hunting dog.

A breeze just blew in from this direction.

"Battalion Commander, pick five good men to come with me. I think I've spotted them," Lieutenant Yan said in a low voice, then drew his short knife and gently reached out to his left.

Five minutes later, Chen Rensheng and Chen Shaozhang also smelled a odor, which seemed to be the smell of excrement.

After passing through a thicket of bushes, the group arrived at a depression two or three meters in diameter. The smell grew stronger, and there were obvious signs of human disturbance on the ground.

Lieutenant Yan did not immediately draw a conclusion. He carefully dug away a clump of loose sand and found a large lump in the pit.

Lieutenant Yan stuck a finger in and stirred it around, then brought his finger to his nose to smell it and examined it carefully with his eyes.

Chen Rensheng felt a churning in his stomach; he had almost vomited because from his angle, it looked like Lieutenant Yan was about to suck his finger.

Fortunately, Lieutenant Yan did not do that. After observing carefully, he plucked a leaf and wiped his fingers.

"It's 100% human excrement, and I think they must be living a very difficult life. Many of the wild vegetables and even tree bark here are indigestible."

Hearing Lieutenant Yan say that, Chen Rensheng no longer felt disgusted. He also came over to take a look and poked at it with a twig.

"It hasn't completely rotted yet. These barbarians haven't gone far. They've taken women, children, and their belongings with them, so they can't go very far either."

Ah Zhang, let's each take thirty men and search in the east and west. Twenty days later, we'll circle back to the mountainside of Jintai Mountain in the north and meet here.

If these people are spotted along the way, fireworks will be set off as a signal.

The Maori people of New Zealand are really in trouble in this timeline.

Historically, at this time, there were only about three thousand prisoners exiled from England in Oceania, and only one or two hundred regular naval soldiers guarding them.

With such a small number of people, how could they dare to bare their teeth in the face of the 400,000 or so Aboriginal people in Australia and the nearly 200,000 Aboriginal people in New Zealand?

So these British used the same tactics they had used in Africa: they instigated conflicts between the various indigenous tribes and sold them more powerful firearms, hoping to make these natives kill each other.

This tactic worked in Australia, but failed in New Zealand.

Because the indigenous people of Australia are basically primitive, their language consists of syllables that express emotions and is not strictly speaking a language. They have no concept of mathematics, and their production surplus is extremely limited. A tribe of three to five hundred people is considered large. Therefore, they are easily defeated by a lower-dimensional attack.

However, the Maori people of New Zealand had already entered a patriarchal clan society by this time, roughly equivalent to the early Xia Dynasty in China.

Moreover, these Maori people have a strong xenophobic tendency. Maori means "their own people" in their language, and outsiders are all called devils by them.

The arrival of the English, ironically, spurred rapid progress in Maori society.

By the time the English realized something was wrong, the Maori had rapidly evolved into a slave-owning dynasty within about twenty years, developing the concept of a king and even producing a powerful leader commanding tens of thousands of people. More importantly, through the arms sold by the English, the Maori had mastered the skill of using firearms and even learned how to dig trenches.

Therefore, when the English conquered the Maori people in history, they suffered considerable losses, which prevented them from fully controlling these natives.

But Dayu was different. The abundant food from Nanji Island (Java Island) and the abundant human resources of Dayu meant that the Chinese population in Oceania had already reached 150,000 and was still increasing rapidly.

Therefore, the Great Yu had enough power to eliminate or assimilate these natives, leaving them no room to adapt or even evolve.

Among these tasks, eliminating the Maori people of Xiaozhanzhou, who had developed a social structure, became the primary task of Mao Xiangsheng, the Grand Protector of the Zhanzhou Protectorate.

As for the natives of Dazhanzhou, not only were their fighting capabilities very low, but Mao Xiangsheng did not even consider them human beings. They were directly classified as livestock, and there was no need for an army. The immigrants could solve the problem by organizing their own slave-catching teams.

"Great Protector, news has come from Chen Rensheng's company in Jinghe Battalion that they have discovered the presence of the natives!"

In Jinghe City, Grand Protector Mao Xiangsheng personally led his troops to pursue them there.

He was determined to achieve his goal in one battle, so he mobilized more than two thousand soldiers, almost half of the entire Zhanzhou Protectorate, in addition to two or three thousand Han Chinese volunteers as auxiliary troops.

Upon hearing the report, Mao Xiangsheng couldn't help but touch the long scar on his face. Whenever it was windy or rainy, or when he was emotional, the wound would itch incessantly.

More than a decade ago, when he first arrived in the Great Continent, he recruited a group of natives captured by the English as his confidants. However, when the country faced difficulties, these brave and skilled natives turned against him.

This stab was caused by the tribal chief rushing into his bedroom.

If Mao Xiangsheng hadn't had the habit of keeping a pistol under his pillow, and hadn't seriously injured the tribal chief with a single shot, he probably wouldn't have just gotten a long scar on his face, but his head would have been smashed into a rotten watermelon.

And those natives he once wanted to recruit are now the Maori he is hunting down.

"Chen Rensheng and Chen Shaozhang were both descendants of heroes. After graduating from the Whampoa Military Academy, they were willing to come to Zhanzhou and have been working there for almost five years. When they said they had found it, they must have found it."

Mao Xiangsheng slowly said that, in fact, the two heroes were selected by Emperor Mo Zibu himself from the army. They were called battalion commanders, but in reality, the battalion had more than a thousand people. There were only three battalions in the entire Zhanzhou Protectorate.

"Order that three hundred men remain to guard the three cities of Jinghe, Jinlong, and Dongtang, while the rest set off to encircle Jintai Mountain!"

Xiaozhanzhou South Island was the fiefdom that Mao Xiangsheng had reserved for himself, because the main cities of Dazhanzhou would be directly governed by the imperial court and divided among vassal kings.

Of course, the emperor had promised that this prince would be his son-in-law.

Bei Dao was reserved by the descendants of Huang Zongxi, or more precisely, by prominent families in eastern and northern Zhejiang, mainly the Huang family of Yuyao.

Huang's daughter entered the palace as Consort Zhuang and gave birth to three sons, including the eighteenth prince, Mo Zhouqin. Huang from Yuyao then invested in a partnership with Mao Xiangsheng, all in the hopes of securing a good piece of land for the eighteenth prince, Mo Zhouqin.

Xiaozhanzhou North Island is just right, not too big or too small, with fertile land and a pleasant climate. Over the past ten years, the Huang family has provided manpower, material resources, and firearms to this territory, amounting to more than five million silver dollars. Apart from the emperor, this has been Mao Xiangsheng's greatest contribution to the development of Xiaozhanzhou and North Island.

Therefore, Mao Xiangsheng reserved Xiaozhanzhou Island and Nandao Island for himself, even using the place name exactly as his hometown, Xiangyin County.

These so-called Jinghe, Dongtang, and Jinlong are all towns under Xiangyin County. Even the Southern Alps, the main mountain range of New Zealand's South Island, have been replaced with Jintai Mountain, the hometown of Mao Xiangsheng.

Well, it's not bad. The climate is nice, and it's about the size of Shanxi Province. For a Hunan native who defected from the Manchu militia without any help and had to rely entirely on his own hard work, this is the pinnacle of his life.

Mount Kintai (Southern Alps) is the largest mountain range on New Zealand's South Island, stretching across the entire island. Its highest point is nearly 4,000 meters, with a huge drop. The summit is covered in snow, while the base of the mountain is spring-like all year round.

It's less like the Alps and more like the Hengduan Mountains in China.

The last Maori tribes gathered at an altitude of over 1,000 meters in the Jintai Mountains, a mountain range about 300 kilometers long, which provided them with final protection.

Chen Rensheng and Chen Shaozhang have reunited. They tracked down these guys by examining the excrement of a large tribe with a population of over three thousand.

With a whoosh, a huge rock was launched from somewhere, whistling through the woods. Lieutenant Yan roared and raised a large shield made of fine steel to protect himself.

With a thud, the enormous impact nearly knocked Lieutenant Yan to the ground, causing the incredibly strong Shanxi man to feel a tightness in his chest and almost choke on his breath.

'Thump! Thump-thump!'

Three rapid cannon shots rang out as the Qi Wuyi Cannon, a primitive grenade launcher derived from the Tiger Crouching Cannon, opened fire from three directions.

All that could be heard was the sound of wood breaking and screams, and then the thing that launched the large stones, probably a catapult, went completely silent.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

On the hillside, having lost their weapon to suppress the Jinghe Camp, the Maori were helpless and could only let out bursts of grief and anger as they charged down the mountain, relying on their terrain and numerical advantage.

But the soldiers of the Jinghe Battalion below were already prepared. Powerful heavy smoothbore muskets and large-caliber horn guns capable of firing shotgun shells quickly opened fire, and many brave Maori were shot down before they could even reach the Jinghe Battalion soldiers.

Chen Shaozhang, who was not carrying a gun, quickly put on his armor with the help of his auxiliary soldiers. The Maori did not have many iron weapons; their main weapon was a two-handed weapon called the Tai'aha spear.

This thing is made of hardwood or whalebone, with one end sharpened to be used for stabbing, and the other end flattened so it can be used as a blunt weapon.

This is the fourth wave. More than 3,000 Maori people have charged up the mountain in three waves, but they have all been driven back. The mountains and forests are filled with cries of agony. So, although these strong natives still dare to charge, they are already somewhat afraid.

Just then, Chen Shaozhang roared and led more than a hundred Jinghe Camp soldiers dressed in cloth-covered iron armor to charge out.

This improved cloth-covered iron armor, with its embedded steel plates, is exceptionally sturdy and can even withstand stray bullets; it is impenetrable by hardwood tips or whalebone.

On a 30-degree slope, Chen Shaozhang, wearing armor weighing over 30 kilograms, leaped two or three meters high, then darted through the forest as if he were not wearing any armor at all.

A Maori warrior brandished a whale bone spear and thrust it forward. Chen Shaozhang neither dodged nor evaded. With a clang, the spear struck the steel breastplate, breaking the bone spear into several pieces. The Maori warrior's hand, which was holding the spear, was struck by the immense resistance and turned blood red.

Chen Shaozhang raised his left hand and struck hard, his arm driving his waist, the mace whistling as it slammed into the Maori warrior's temple with a thud.

Suddenly, it was as if some dye had sprayed out of the Maori warrior's head, turning his entire head blood red in half a second. He stiffened and twitched for a moment before falling straight down.

“@#￥%!” A painful cry rang out, and behind this native warrior, a younger warrior who looked somewhat like him appeared.

Tears streaming down his face, he wailed and thrust a spear at Chen Shaozhang's abdomen. Chen Shaozhang, showing no mercy, returned the thrust with his right-hand goose-feather saber.

With a snap, the tip of the hardwood spear broke off, and Chen Shaozhang was unharmed.

'Thud!' The young native warrior cried out in pain as his spear fell to the ground with a thud. He gripped the blade of his goose-feather saber with both hands, as if trying to stop it from stabbing any further.

His face was contorted in agony, his mouth was wide open, and he was panting heavily. Blood slowly stained his teeth and began to trickle down the corners of his mouth.

"Haaah!" Chen Shaozhang was incredibly strong. He shouted and violently swung his steel goose-feather saber.

The native warrior's abdomen was a bloody mess, his intestines rotten into a heap. He made strange panting sounds, and blood gushed out with each breath. He involuntarily knelt down.

Chen Shaozhang kicked him away, and then retrieved his goose-feather saber with several severed fingers attached.

A pair of blood-red eyes stared at Chen Shaozhang with hatred and venom as a third native warrior appeared before him.

This one is even younger, probably only twelve or thirteen years old, because there aren't many facial lines on his face. According to Maori custom, this means he is not yet an adult.

Chen Shaozhang's heart sank. He held a hammer in his left hand and a knife in his right, and with heavy steps, he approached step by step.

As the giant in red iron armor approached step by step, the natives felt their hatred and resentment turn into fear and dread under the terrifying pressure.

He gripped the wooden stick, hunched over, and retreated step by step like a cat with its fur standing on end.

Chen Shaozhang's mind was in turmoil. All the classic texts he had read and the principles of conduct he had learned throughout his life were swirling in his mind.

'Today I pity him, but who will pity my children and grandchildren tomorrow?'

'When the Tartars killed my ancestor, the Prince Wenzhong of the South China Sea, did they show even a shred of pity?'

"I will clean up this bloodshed myself, so that my children and grandchildren will never have to suffer like this again!"

Thinking of his obedient son, Chen Shaozhang roared to the sky and rushed over like a whirlwind, smashing the slender arm with a hammer and severing the thin neck with a knife.

Shouts of battle echoed throughout the forest as over seven hundred soldiers from the Jinghe Camp attacked from above and below, defeating more than two thousand Maori men in just one hour.

The Maori people fled in panic to higher mountains, and cries of distress filled the air.

"Set off a signal fire to locate the enemy!"

"Bite them down!"

Chen Rensheng, as the commander, did not rush to the front line. He knew very well that they had now defeated the last resistance of the local people. As long as they held on, these people were doomed!
(End of this chapter)