The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 833 The Han Banner Spreads Across the Two Seas

At the Avala Palace, groups of guards carried buckets of water to wash away the bloodstains on the ground.

A large number of Georgian nobles in Tbilisi who were close to the Russians were pinned to the ground and hacked to death, including more than a dozen members of the royal family.

The reason they obediently went to the Avara Palace was entirely because Queen Dowager Daryan summoned them in the name of King David XII.

Before these nobles were killed, the Russian Armenian general Lazarev had already fled the Alava Palace in a panic.

That night, after Ge Yunfei secured an alliance with Queen Dowager Darleyan, the Queen Dowager was immediately freed from her confinement.

Her plan to escape the cage was simple: Queen Dowager Daryan summoned the Rakshasa general, rewarded them with wine and meat, and deliberately made a request, hoping that the Rakshasa general would let them leave under the cover of night.

This was of course not allowed. The Rakshasa general decisively rejected the Queen Mother's request, but accepted the wine and meat with a smile. This was called sending the cannonballs back while leaving the sugar coating behind.

But little did they know, the sugar coating was the real bullet.

That night, a group of soldiers, who were of Russian or Armenian serf origin, knew that there would be wine and meat, and they could no longer resist.

These Russians, who usually only eat oatmeal porridge and black bread mixed with sawdust that is harder than a rock, didn't care that dinner time had long passed and immediately began to eat and drink heartily.

At this time, the Russians' living standards were so low that even stewing potatoes was considered a way to improve their lives. With meat and wine, they couldn't control themselves at all, and they even quarreled and made a big fuss over the distribution of meat and wine.

So much so that when the Dayu army finally stormed in and dealt with them with cold weapons, the officer in charge of night watch at the Avala Palace on the mountain heard it and thought it was just the people below having a drunken tantrum.

The rest was simple. Queen Dowager Daleyan's inside agent in the Avala Palace opened the palace gates, and when the Dayu soldiers rushed in, most of the Rakshasa army was still fast asleep.

General Lazarev didn't resist at all and ran straight out of the Avala Palace.

The next morning, the remaining thousand or so Rakshasa soldiers came to attack, but were defeated and suffered heavy casualties by the Dayu delegation, who were positioned on higher ground.

After losing more than a hundred men, General Lazarev left Tbilisi and fled to Batumi on the eastern coast of the Black Sea.

All that's left is killing. Kill all the pro-Russian Georgian nobles, control the rest, and then wait for the Yu army to arrive to win.

The stench of blood permeated the air. The large number of Georgian nobles who had not been killed were terrified, never expecting that Queen Dowager Daleyan would be so ruthless.

In the end, only King David XII of Kaltri-Kakhti remained.

Everyone looked at Queen Dowager Daryan, including Deng Tingzhen, Ge Yunfei, and others.

The Queen Mother, who looked no different from a Slavic woman, stepped forward with a dagger and walked up to David XII, who was bound and unable to move.

"What can I get from my little grandson?" Queen Dowager Darleyan turned around and asked. This little grandson was not referring to her own grandson, but to Ge Yunfei.

Ge Yunfei suppressed his discomfort but had no choice but to cooperate, because he needed to reassure the Empress Dowager.

Deng Tingzhen also gave Ge Yunfei a wink, implying that there were many ways to dissolve such a verbal marriage agreement, but it couldn't be dissolved at this time.

"Tbilisi is impossible, and now is not the time to negotiate. Loyalty will be rewarded naturally."

"The mighty Seris Empire desires from you, and I believe you are well aware of this. Offer your utmost loyalty; His Majesty the King of Liao is a wise and generous ruler, and he will not treat you unfairly."

Ge Yunfei's words were still firm, but they only strengthened Queen Dowager Darleyang's resolve. In her view, the more unwilling the other party was to give, the more it proved how seriously they were taking the matter. Otherwise, the Void Promise would not have been so meticulous.

Queen Dowager D'Aryan lifted King David XII's chin, a hint of guilt finally appearing in her eyes, but it quickly vanished as she made the sign of the cross and prayed softly.

"All bad things are attributed to me, and all good things are left to those who come after me."

As expected of Empress Lü, Empress Dowager Wang is going to take action herself so that her sons will not have to bear the stain of regicide and fratricide!
David XII glared angrily at Queen Dowager D'Aryan, his violent struggles making it difficult for even the guards to hold him down.

“You pathetic fellow, you’ll regret this, you’ll definitely regret this. The Seres won’t treat you as one of their own. They don’t believe in Christ and they won’t treat Christians well.”

I'll be waiting. I'll be waiting in heaven to see your pathetic soul taken away by Satan, to suffer forever in the merciless fires of hell!

Queen Dowager D'Aryan looked at David XII with pity. "Poor child, you do not have the wisdom of your father and brother, yet you were born in a turbulent era."

You have learned the appearance of the Slavs, but you have never seen their souls. You do not know that greed is invariably etched deep within their souls.

As your nominal mother, in these final moments, I want to teach you a lesson: if one day you have no choice but to become someone else's servant, remember to become the servant of the richest person.

It's not necessarily true that the richer you are, the kinder you are, but what's certain is that the richest person could easily give away a little something they don't want, enough for their servants to survive.

The Kingdom of Kalter-Kakhti is this servant, serving the Tsar of St. Petersburg. Not only do we receive nothing, but we also have to take things from our own homes to curry favor with the Tsar.

But serving Emperor Seres in Nanjing means at least we don't have to pay tribute, because the Emperor wouldn't even look at our meager offerings, and might even bestow some gifts upon us, allowing us to live a better life!

After saying this, Queen Dowager D'Aryan prayed to the sky one last time, and then, amidst David XII's desperate roar, she plunged a very precise knife into his heart, killing him instantly.

1803 October.

King Mo Zhouzhan of the Liao Kingdom led an army of 6,000 into Tbilisi and basically took control of the Kingdom of Kartel-Kahti.

Subsequently, Mo Zhouzhan left two thousand soldiers to garrison Tbilisi, while the remaining four thousand, led by nobles who had pledged allegiance to the Great Yu in various places, began to eliminate other nobles who were inclined towards the Tsarist Rus' Empire or who were unwilling to submit to the Great Yu.

But before it was even halfway done, news arrived that Ottoman Turkish troops were beginning to assemble in the western Armenian region.

At this time, although the largest part of the Great Armenian Kingdom, Western Armenia, had been occupied by the Ottoman Turks, the inhabitants were still mainly Armenians.

Historically, the Turks achieved ethnic replacement by killing at least 1.5 million of the more than two million Armenians through the Hamid Genocide (1894-1896) and the Armenian Genocide (1915-1923), with the remainder scattered around the world.

But this hasn't happened yet, so the large-scale mobilization of the Turkish army has first caused panic among the Western Armenians, who think the Turks are targeting them.

For decades, the Turks have repeatedly invaded and seized fertile lands in Western Armenia, and have repeatedly attacked and killed Western Armenians under the pretext of religious issues.

The Turks did not consider the Western Armenians as their own people at all, and the Ottoman Caliph Selim III, far away in Istanbul, was completely unaware of this.

The caliph believed that Western Armenia was already firmly under the control of the Ottoman Empire, and that it would be safe for his army to march on his own territory, since for decades no one had reported any resistance from the Western Armenians to him.

Selim III was even hoping to catch the Great Yu army off guard by surprise.

As a result, when the Ottoman army from the west entered the western Armenian region, the frightened and provoked Armenians began to form militias to resist and frantically sent people to kowtow to Mozhou for help.

His words were so earnest, his attitude so humble, and the situation so tragic that even a ruthless soldier like Gui Han couldn't help but feel sympathy for him.

This is a typical phenomenon at the end of a dynasty. The top leaders are worried and want to reform, but their information is blocked by a large number of corrupt and inefficient officials. They think that the country only has thirty problems, but in fact, there are eighty or even ninety.

As a result, the measures taken by those above based on the judgment of only thirty problems, hoping to save the country, turned out to be nothing more than a disgrace and greater destruction when they reached the local level, which was equivalent to stepping on the gas pedal of the declining empire.

Caliph Selim III of Istanbul could never have imagined that his meticulously planned military operation to establish his authority over the Seres Empire would not only fail to cause much trouble for the Seres Empire, but would instead force millions of onlookers from West Asia to the Seres Empire's side.

"Your Highness, this battle is easy to win. The surrender of the Western Armenians has given us both the advantage of popular support and favorable terrain. As for the timing, I think it is ripe as well."

"This humble general humbly requests Your Majesty's intervention to request aid from His Highness the Crown Prince, asking him to mobilize at least five thousand Anxi troops for you once more. Then we will surely win this battle."

As Gui Han spoke, he couldn't hide the smile on his face. He never expected this. He thought that being sent to the Southern Route Army meant he would never have the chance to make any great contributions.

As a result, at this time, the Ottoman Empire readily offered him a chance to be attacked and to make him perform great merit.

"The manpower in the four provinces of Anxi is already very tight, and the pressure of transporting grain over long distances is even greater. Can His Highness the Crown Prince spare five thousand cavalry?" Mo Zhouqian said with a furrowed brow and some worry.

Although this young man in his early twenties was intelligent and had acquired a great deal of skill, he still retained some of the naiveté and naivety of a college student because he had only recently graduated.

"Your Highness!" Gui Han drawled, "How could military rations be transported thousands of miles from the four provinces of Anxi? We're not going to fight the Ottoman army; the Armenians of West Asia are waiting for us to save their lives. We'll provide the gunpowder and lead bullets, but do you expect us to provide the military rations as well?"

Moreover, there are four or five hundred thousand Dlaimu people on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. They are all subjects of the Great King, and surely tens of thousands of laborers should be sent to undertake the task of transporting goods.”

“Oh, General Gui is right, that makes sense!” Mo Zhouzhan immediately realized. “Please rest for a while, General. I will send someone to Xi’an to deliver a message to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

However, as soon as Gui Han left, Mo Zhouzhen immediately summoned Lin Zexu, who had accompanied him to Tbilisi.

Not believing one person's side of the story is a fundamental requirement for a wise ruler.

"Does Your Highness know the difference between your Liaodong vassal state, Xia vassal state, and Lu vassal state?" After being summoned, Lin Zexu instead began to ask Mo Zhouzhi a question.

With that smug little look, if you dressed him in a feather fan and silk turban, he would truly be a reincarnation of Zhuge Liang.

"Yuanfu means that our Liao vassal state is not like the Xia vassal state, which is within the country's borders and therefore needs to cherish the people's strength and allow them to rest, nor is our Lu vassal state, which actually originated from the west and is quite isolated, so it has little to rely on?"

Mo Zhouzhao was indeed clever, and he immediately gave the answer, which made the eighteen-year-old Lin Wenzhong, who was full of vigor, put away some of his arrogant attitude.

"Your Highness is wise. This is exactly what your Liaodong vassal state is like." Lin Zexu praised, and then continued, "The Liaodong vassal state is actually an imperial outpost that Your Majesty placed in this western territory, a country spanning two seas, and a vassal state guarding the west."

With the Liao vassal state, our Dayu, our China, had a bridgehead to control the Westerners.

This task was originally intended for the Lu family, but the Lu family ultimately had too much Western blood. A nephew like the Crown Prince of Lu could not possibly be as reliable as a biological son, and the same was true for His Highness the Crown Prince. A cousin could never be as reliable as a biological brother.

The Liao territory itself is mostly mountainous and canyonous, and its actual grain production capacity is similar to that of Yunnan, Guizhou and northern Myanmar, with an upper limit of only Shanxi. Therefore, it is impossible for the Liao to complete such a task by its own strength.

Therefore, the empire had to provide strong support, and that is why you were able to obtain this prosperous land of the southern shore plain of the Caspian Sea.

At the same time, since the Liaodong Peninsula was thousands of miles away, it would take more than half a year to travel from Nanjing Yingtianfu to this place, so it was destined that not many Han people would be willing to come here.

Even in Hezhong and Beiting in Anxi, the number of Han people will always be a problem, so how to make good use of the local people is very important.

"Commander-in-Chief Gui is correct. In my opinion, if Your Majesty wishes to secure your position in Liaodong, you must skillfully utilize and fully integrate the local populace. This Ottoman invasion presents the perfect opportunity."

“I understand.” Mo Zhouzhan nodded thoughtfully and said, “So as long as my request is legitimate, Father and my brother will definitely support me.”

Similarly, to achieve this goal, I also need to fully utilize the manpower under the Liaodong banner to strengthen my forces and enable myself to independently handle small-scale incidents.

"Furthermore, Your Majesty should also note that before your arrival, the natives of Liaodong had never experienced the benefits of a powerful empire, nor had they ever been citizens of a great nation for a single day."

This place is a battleground, and the people have always been constantly at odds with the Persians, Ottomans, Rus', and the Transoxiana Turks whom we have wiped out. Ethnic and religious conflicts are particularly prominent here.

This is what is meant by the people of small countries: they are sensitive, fragile, and easily conquered, and also easily seduced by outsiders, unlike the people of our great nation of China who are so confident and emotionally stable.

Therefore, I believe that such people should only be given small favors and that their movements should be closely monitored.

Mo Zhouzhan couldn't help but burst into laughter after hearing this. "What Yuan Fu said makes it seem like the Caucasians are a bunch of orphaned young beasts."

However, as he laughed, Mo Zhouqian's expression turned serious. Although Lin Zexu's words were somewhat harsh, or even nationalistic, they were generally correct.

The indigenous people of the Caucasus have always lived in an environment constantly squeezed by powerful countries, and the more this is the case, the more short-sighted the rulers and even the people become.

Because they can't grasp anything long-term, they don't immediately seize any benefits they may gain. Over time, these benefits often slip away from them.

The biggest manifestation of this shortsightedness is that people will follow whoever provides the benefits and will fear power without appreciating virtue.

This kind of people are unlikely to be grateful if you treat them well, because they will feel that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a chance that will not come again.

To put it bluntly, they don't even have the right to say the Chinese proverb "When will the cycle of revenge end?" which has been criticized by later generations as being too naive.

To dare to say that revenge only leads to more revenge, you need to have a certain future to dare to be so magnanimous.

"Thank you for the reminder, Yuanfu. I understand now. We should be generous in moderation, and expect something in return. We should not be indiscriminate do-gooders. As long as we are better than their former inhuman masters, that's enough. We should focus on our own people and let all Han people be superior here."

"Your Majesty, I congratulate you, and all of China! Your Majesty's wisdom and insight are truly a blessing to the nation and the people." Lin Zexu stood up and bowed.

The Lin Zexu of this time and space is different from the historical Lin Zexu. In history, he served the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Although the Manchu Qing court also valued him, there was always a layer between them, and there was not much trust between the emperor and his minister.

On a personal level, when he was born, his Lin family was already very poor, and they often couldn't even get enough to eat.

In this timeline, Lin Zexu grew up in his youth and had a smooth career, and the Lin family successfully boarded Mo Zibu's ship to expel the Tartars.

Lin Zexu's grandfather, Lin Wanxuan, served as an instructor at the Wenzhou Prefectural School, a position of the eighth rank. Although it was insignificant, it was much better than his grandfather in history, who was just a poor student and heavily in debt.

Lin Zexu's father, Lin Binri, also passed the imperial examination and was currently the fifth-rank Tongzhi (assistant magistrate) of Suzhou Prefecture.

These aren't high-ranking officials, and it's not even fair to call them from official families; it depends on who you compare them to.

Lin Zexu had a deep understanding of the life his family experienced after falling into the abyss. It was only because the emperor needed a large number of Han intellectuals after his victory that the Lin family was able to rise again.

Therefore, at this time, Lin Zexu was a very fanatical nationalist, even somewhat of a Han supremacist.

He feared that King Mozhou of Liao would treat the natives of the Caucasus region as Han Chinese, thus indulging them too much and ultimately destabilizing the country.

Seeing that Mo Zhouzhao was very sensible, he immediately felt much more at ease.

Mo Zhouzhao also gleaned something else from Lin Zexu, who was actually two or three years younger than him: the importance of the Han supremacist group.

These people seem to be somewhat extreme within the land of China; they are not well-liked by the government, the business community, and even the general public.

Look at General Dong Jinfeng of the Imperial Han Dynasty, who has made so many contributions, yet he is still only a military commander. That shows how much he has accomplished.

However, once they arrived in this foreign land, it was these very people who were most determined to implement colonial expansion policies and were willing to come out and occupy land for the country and the nation, even in the face of difficulties.

Having figured all this out, Mo Zhouqian wrote a heartfelt letter to Dong Jinfeng, the governor of Beiting, while simultaneously writing to his elder brother, the crown prince, Da Laosen.

Xi'an City (Bukhara)
Crown Prince Da Laosen remained silent for a moment, then summoned several former French Bourbon noble officers who had been brought by his wife, Princess Charlotte.

Big Brother Sen really didn't expect that the Ottoman Empire's entry into the Caucasus would cause such a huge emotional reaction.

However, when the French officers he summoned heard that the Ottoman Empire had sent troops, they were overjoyed and volunteered to go to the front lines.

"Your Highness, the Ottoman army is a sick army. They may not have the worst weapons, but their tactics and training are certainly the most backward."

"Back in France, our sole criterion for judging the strength of the Ottoman army was its numbers. An Ottoman army of less than 100,000—well, at least less than 80,000—was considered insignificant."

"Yes, Your Highness, and most importantly, the Ottoman Empire has suffered too many defeats, and the warriors who were truly capable of defending the empire have actually been wiped out long ago."

The Ottomans themselves are now too afraid to fight, relying entirely on local warlords and even infidels to wage war; they are utterly insignificant.

After hearing this, Da Lao Sen was relieved. If it was an army of 50,000 that was far inferior to the Rakshasa, then there was nothing to worry about.

"Mobilize them. I will mobilize at least five thousand cavalry from Yiwu and Khotan to go to Western Armenia. You should also prepare yourselves and go together."

Meanwhile, in the Northern Route Army, which was resting southeast of Orenburg, Dong Jinfeng also received a letter from Mo Zhouzhao, which he presented to Yang Kaijia.

"His Highness the Tenth Prince knows what's important. We must strongly support him and plant the banner of the Han people throughout the land!"

(End of this chapter)