The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 875 Boss Sen Returns to Beijing

Miguel Costilla, the spiritual leader of the uprising in New Spain, was a true patriot.

After arriving and gaining a thorough understanding of the situation, he keenly perceived the serious crisis facing New Spain.

An invasion from the Seres Empire in the north is imminent, and if they continue to fight the Viceroyalty of New Spain, they may all become slaves of the Seres.

So, outside Mexico City, after Miguel Costilla met with representatives of Governor José Iturigare, he immediately dismissed the troops.

He used this as a condition for expressing goodwill, asking Governor José Iturigare to push for the establishment of a Greater Mexico Congress.

And increase the proportion of native-born white and mixed-race white people in parliament, to at least half of the seats.

This looks remarkably similar to the French Revolution; it's almost a carbon copy of the French Third Estate's demand for power.

Indeed, this is the case. As a staunch supporter of the French Revolution, Miguel Costilla designed his character in imitation of the French Revolution.

He hoped to first convene a parliament to grant political rights to native-born whites, then restrict the power of a small number of European whites, and finally promote the independence of New Spain, establishing a Mexican kingdom or Mexican empire independent of Spain.

If the highest levels of New Spain dared to refuse to convene the Estates-General like the corrupt French aristocracy, then he would once again call on the people to rise up in rebellion.

The idea was good, but Miguel Costilla underestimated the complexity of the New Spain problem.

The white Europeans were not a monolithic group, and Governor José Iturrigare could not possibly have made all the decisions alone, nor could he even have complete control over the situation.

In early February 1809, just as Miguel Costilla reached a preliminary agreement with Governor José Iturigare, a coup d'état broke out in Mexico City.

The resolution to establish a Greater Mexico Congress was met with strong opposition from a large number of white people from Europe and some native-born whites.

Prior to this, New Spain already had a parliament, with the highest authority being the Royal Orndizia, a superior council that functioned as a colonial supreme court. Major cities like Mexico City also had their own city councils.

Miguel Costilla's plan to establish a new Greater Mexico Congress will certainly severely damage their interests.

Therefore, politicians and military personnel led by Gabriel Yermo, a pro-Spanish leader, decided to stage a coup to deal with Governor José, who supported the establishment of the Greater Mexico Congress.

On February 15, 1809, the coup forces seized control of Mexico City, and Governor José Iturigare and nearly a hundred of his supporters were arrested and imprisoned.

Meanwhile, Miguel Costilla, who was in Mexico City waiting for good news from the governor, was also arrested by the coup plotters.

It was only then that Miguel Costilla realized something was wrong.

He wanted to gather an army to defend the agreement he had just reached with Governor José, but the army had been disbanded and could not be assembled so quickly.

Even if they could be assembled immediately, the rebel army would mostly be located south of Mexico City and in the northeastern region bordering Texas, making it impossible for them to arrive in a short time.

Only then did Miguel Costilla, imprisoned, realize that nothing is more useful than having an army.

He originally intended to portray Robespierre in the early to middle period, but fate directly assigned him the role of Robespierre in the later period.

On February 17, the coup plotters elected Field Marshal Pedro Garibe as the new governor of New Spain and he was appointed by the Royal Orndia.

This is exactly what the coup plotters wanted: they opposed Mexican independence, but at the same time, they opposed the nobility brought in from Spain riding on their backs.

What they wanted was for native whites to monopolize high-ranking positions such as Governor-General of New Spain, and most importantly, all seats in the Royal Orndia, the colonial Supreme Court and Senate.

The coup leader, Gabriel Jermo, was very clever. He founded the New Spain Anti-Independence Party and brought in many powerful local white landowners to share in the benefits of New Spain.

These powerful local white plantation owners were actually the biggest behind-the-scenes supporters of Miguel Costilia's uprising, and even Gabriel Yermo was once one of them.

This guy was one of the biggest landowners and one of the richest people in New Spain.

In 1790, when his first child was born, he once freed four hundred slaves at once to celebrate.

Then, in 1797, his second son was born, and he freed another four hundred slaves. Last year, in 1808, on his wife's fiftieth birthday, he also freed two hundred slaves to celebrate with her.

It is said that their family owned at least three million acres of land in New Spain. Not counting the farmers and fishermen who depended on them for their livelihood, the number of slaves on the plantation alone exceeded eight thousand.

After Gabriel Yermo emerged to seize the fruits of the independence movement, the insurgents immediately faltered, with large numbers of native whites leaving the army, which was the main force of the insurgents.

For the past two hundred years, mixed-race white people in New Spain have had a very low social status. They have not received much education, have little knowledge, and even lack a means of livelihood.

Even figures like General Morales were among the best, making it impossible for them to single-handedly lead the revolution in New Spain.

On February 20, they completed their seizure of power, under the banner of loyalty to Ferdinand VII, the Spanish Bourbon king who had been ousted by Napoleon.

Gabriel and others, who were actually engaging in local powerful families taking turns ruling in New Spain, began sending troops to retake the cities occupied by the rebels.

The rebels had been disbanded once before by Miguel Costilla, and the main force of local whites had switched sides, so the uprising was quelled with little resistance.

Only General Morenos and a few remaining troops retreated to the southwestern Pacific coast of Mexico, where they took advantage of the fact that most of the local population were mixed-race whites to entangle with the colonial government forces.

On March 4, the newly appointed Governor-General, Marshal Pedro Garibe, ordered the execution of Miguel Costilla, the spiritual leader of the uprising, in Mexico City.

Dozens of Miguel Costilla's followers, as well as some lawyers, writers, and thinkers who were inclined towards revolution, were also killed.

However, a very small number of revolutionaries escaped, including Miguel Costilla's comrade and deputy, an outstanding cavalry commander, who came from a wealthy white plantation family but was very sympathetic to the lower classes.

On March 15, having just resolved the issue of the insurgents, Mexico City descended into a frenzied internal conflict.

Juan Francisco and other members of the Mexico City Congress, who support the establishment of a Kingdom of Mexico or a Republic of Mexico, plotted a coup to overthrow Governor Pedro Garibe and Gabriel Yermo, who is behind the governor.

However, they made a fatal mistake; the coup was crushed before it could even begin, with members either dying or fleeing.

This immediately caused a split among the wealthy white population, who divided into the Anti-Independence Party and the Federalist Party, fighting each other.

Meanwhile, European whites, unwilling to be stripped of their privileges, also began to take action.

They gathered troops in various places, attempting to enter Mexico City, overthrow the governor, and protect the interests of the Kingdom of Spain in the new Spanish colonies.

Seeing the situation begin to fall into chaos, Ignacio Allende, the revolutionary who had escaped, once again raised the banner of revolution in his hometown of Guanajuato.

He rallied a large number of revolutionaries, directly established the revolutionary regime of the Mexican Republic, declared the abolition of slavery, eliminated heavy taxes on indigenous peoples, and announced that the lands that the colonists had taken from the indigenous peoples would be returned to them.

Finally, after suffering repeated setbacks, the lower classes of New Spain began to be willing to cooperate with the indigenous people.

Inspired by Allende, General Morenos, an insurgent who had fled to southern Mexico, also raised his flag in Oaxaca and declared his allegiance to the Mexican Republic.

In addition, the Maya in Yucatan also raised an army in response.

What a spectacle! A chaotic battle of titans, a PUBG tournament unique to Mexico, has reached its climax.

. . . .

At this very moment, Crown Prince Da Laosen of the Great Yu Dynasty returned to Nanjing Yingtian Prefecture from Yili, the capital of the Anxi Envoy.

Because war is about to break out in Europe again, the Great Yu Kingdom is likely to join the fighting within the next year or two.

Furthermore, if Tsar Alexander I continues to defy reason, then a major war between the Great Yu and the Tsarist Rus' Empire will be inevitable.

On the eve of this earth-shattering event, Asen had to return to his father, Mo Zibu, so the two could have a proper discussion.

Looking at his tall, strong, and composed son, whose every move exuded authority, Mo Zibu truly felt old.

Now, when facing his father, Da Laosen no longer has the same cautiousness he had when he was a teenager or in his twenties.

His position is now very secure, and he will definitely be the second emperor of the Great Yu Dynasty.

Putting aside Boss Sen's achievements over the years, just look at his physique, who can compare!

Over the course of ten years, Asen traveled back and forth between Anxi and the two capitals of the north and south, a journey that would take four or five months at a time. He also visited the heartland of the Persian and Rus' Empires, conducting research in various places.

If it were Zhu Biao, he wouldn't have survived ten times over. But not only did Boss Sen escape unscathed, he also gained two more sons and five more daughters.

The longevity genes of the Mo and Chen families are truly astonishing.

"Fifth Brother still couldn't keep his composure; he was a bit too hasty in this matter."

"If he plunges headlong into New Spain like this, he'll turn himself into an invader in a few months." Upon seeing the report from Kitagawa, Boss Mori couldn't help but sigh.

"If it were you, what would you do?" Mo Zibu waved for his son, Da Laosen, to sit down, and then asked.

"The new Spanish governor's office is acting perversely, not content with plundering the local area. There are plenty of reasons to beat them, so why make us do something like 'opening the door to thieves'? This makes us look like the Manchus entering the Central Plains."

If it is up to me, I will first raise the banner of righteousness, enumerate the crimes of the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the Spanish colonists, and state my position. Then I will summon the revolutionaries of New Mexico to Yuyang City to discuss important matters. Afterwards, I will issue a proclamation in their name to the world, telling everyone in New Spain that our Great Yu Heavenly Army has marched south into Mexico not for territory or wealth, but solely to eliminate tyranny, relieve the people's suffering, and punish the guilty.

In this way, the troops' entry into Mexico would be completely legitimate. Although it wouldn't necessarily lead to Mexican ethnic groups being treated to a feast, it would certainly minimize their resistance.

"Once this is achieved, with the military strength of the New Spain Viceroyalty, Mexico City will fall in no time, and the other states can be pacified with a mere proclamation."

"But in that case, we'll have a legitimate reason to fight, but wouldn't our Great Yu be doing all the work for someone else?" Mo Zibu asked with a smile.

"Father is testing me," the elder Mori laughed, then continued, "How can I let someone else do all the work for me for nothing?"

After the soldiers entered Mexico City, I pushed Ah Zhi to the front desk first.

He is your grandson, the only living descendant of King Louis XVI of France, of noble birth, and also shares kinship with the King of Spain who was deposed by Napoleon Bonaparte.

With such a figure preceding them, New Spain is leaderless. Shouldn't they acknowledge Azi as their leader and establish a kingdom?
If they still refuse, then let's settle for second best: our Great Yu will send troops to help them establish a nation and sign a most-favored-nation treaty.

All I need is for the people of Dayu to have priority in purchasing some of the estates and land owned by Spaniards in New Spain, to enjoy the same treatment as citizens, and for the New Spain market to be open to Dayu. That would be enough.

The European population in that country, including those of mixed race, is only three or four million. Once we open the door, we can bring the proportion of Chinese people in Mexico to three or four tenths of the country's population in twenty or thirty years.

"At that time, seizing power with the backing of the Northern Hezhou Protectorate would be a piece of cake."

"Moreover," Boss Sen smiled and winked, "no one, as long as they are human, can remain unmoved by power."

Since they don't follow Ah Zhi as their master, I'll leave them a government with a power vacuum at the top, to attract all the ambitious ones.

"I'm afraid those Mexicans will start fighting as soon as we leave. After they've taken turns wreaking havoc on the country, we'll launch another campaign of righteous retribution. Then, how could we possibly fail to establish a new China?"

"Hahahaha!" Mo Zibu laughed heartily, "My son will be like Yao and Shun, I have no worries!"

"Elder brother will surely become a wise and sage ruler like Father in the future. Your son congratulates you, Father!" The cuckoo prince, Mo Zhouyao, the Prince of Guo'a of the Great Yu, who was specially chosen by Mo Zibu to accompany him, exclaimed sincerely.

Regardless of whether Boss Sen's method is effective or not, the fact that he was able to come up with this strategy in such a short time is something that not everyone can do.

"This is Ayao, you know his situation." Mo Zibu formally introduced Mo Zhouyao to Boss Sen.

Big Brother Sen nodded. Of course he knew about the 'human deaths' his third uncle had caused outside.

"Originally, I planned to send Ayao to Goa to participate in the Kingdom of England's conquest of India. Now it seems unnecessary, because his future lies not in the East but in the South Continent."

So, after much thought, I've decided to send him to Mexico to serve as regent for your son, Azhi, for a period of time.

On the one hand, he used his position to reassure the Mexicans, and on the other hand, he familiarized himself with how to govern a country like Brazil, since Brazil and Mexico faced very similar situations.

After thinking about it for a moment, Da Laosen realized that it was indeed the case. Although many people knew who Mo Zhouyao, the Cuckoo Prince, was, it was not made public.

Therefore, at this time, Mo Zhouyao's primary identity was still that of a member of the Spanish Bourbon family.

The previous King of Spain, Carlos IV, was his uncle, and the current King of Spain, Fernando VII, who was deposed by Napoleon, is his cousin.

With the close relatives of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty now largely under French control, the identity of the Cuckoo Prince as a Spanish prince is indeed useful in Mexico.

"Father has considered everything carefully, and I have no objections." Of course, Da Lao Sen had no reason to refuse such a good thing.

The cuckoo prince was so excited that he knelt down and thanked the bird profusely, for this was an extremely valuable opportunity to put his knowledge into practice.

If he could bring along the Portuguese nobles who followed him to train them, and also make some money along the way, it would be much easier for them to settle down in Brazil later.

After the cuckoo prince left, Mo Zibu sighed and said to Boss Sen:

“Your fifth brother is capable and ambitious. His desire to become the Grand Protector of the Northern Hezhou Protectorate was somewhat ill-considered. Don’t blame him.”

Mo Zibu could also see that Yan Wang Mo Zhouzhen was giving up his comfortable position as the King of Edo and insisted on going to Beihezhou to establish a kingdom, which was actually a way of challenging the big boss Mori.

It's not that Mo Zhouzhen wanted to compete for the position of Crown Prince, but rather that he always wanted to prove to Mo Zibu and the world that he was no less capable than the powerful Sen.

Big Brother Sen nodded. Now that it was just the two of them, father and son, Big Brother Sen spoke without so much restraint.

"My fifth brother hates himself. He hates that he's not the eldest son. I think if he were in my position, he would definitely do a better job than me."

"Let him cause some trouble in Beihezhou, make some mistakes, learn some lessons. Dad, you're in your prime; with you here, nothing will be a big deal."

Mo Zibu was overjoyed, and he increasingly felt that the patriarch Senzhen was his best successor.

The position of Grand Protector of Beihe Prefecture should not actually be given to Mo Zhouzhen. Last time, when the big boss Sen agreed, Mo Zibu thought it was because he did not realize the importance of this position.

Now it seems that Boss Sen understood perfectly well, and it was precisely because he understood that he agreed.

Since Mo Zibu was still around, it didn't matter if Mo Zhouzhen got the position of Grand Protector of Beihe Prefecture. In any case, when he took the position and when he went to take it was all up to Mo Zibu.

If Mo Zibu were to pass away, and Mo Zhouzhen were still concurrently serving as the Grand Protector of Beihe Prefecture, that would be a real problem.

"Father, on this trip from Anxi, I have discovered that the land of China is quite different from what it used to be. Merchants in various prefectures and counties are clamoring for a higher status."

At the same time, each prefecture, state, and county has some conservative local officials who not only do not support local development but also do everything in their power to suppress those who want to develop the area. The contradictions at the lower levels are very deep!

Big Brother Sen was somewhat worried. In his opinion, Mo Zhouzhen's matter was not a big deal at all. His fifth brother could not cause any trouble, nor would he choose to do so. He was not that stupid.

On the contrary, within the Great Yu, there are many people with conflicting opinions, huge differences between different regions, and numerous contradictions between different social classes, just like a pot of boiling water.

"That's your biggest problem with your personality—you always think everyone's a saint." Mo Zibu wasn't at all bothered by what Asen said; he looked into the distance and said:

“Those who demand a higher status are not businessmen; we should call them capitalists.”

These people set up factories, opened mines, and engaged in agriculture, which greatly promoted the development of productivity.

In many prefectures and counties, the taxes they pay are equal to or even exceed those of land tax and land grain tax, so it is perfectly normal for them to come out and demand status.

Those conservative officials, seeing all this, felt that the biggest reason why small businessmen could compete with them for status and power was because they paid more taxes.

Since that's the case, in order to hold onto power, hey, I'll just stop you from developing!

"Damn it, all these people should be beheaded. The Great Yu has been established for more than 30 years, and their thinking is still that of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. They haven't made any progress." Boss Sen said through gritted teeth, then looked at Mo Zibu.

“Father, then we should gradually raise the status of merchants to match their contributions to the country, and at the same time continue to increase the proportion of tax payment rate and tax revenue in the performance evaluation of officials.”

After Da Laosen finished speaking, he thought he would get the support of his father, Mo Zibu, but Mo Zibu shook his head instead.

"Some of these can be implemented, but I will not directly grant rights and status to merchants, because the power and status that can be granted also means that they can be taken back."

What I bestow today I can take back tomorrow, and even if I don't take it back, you or your son can take it back after you succeed to the throne.

If merchants want status, they must demonstrate their true abilities and fight for it, challenging the old bureaucrats and gentry in every aspect.

Only when they truly stepped onto the stage and demonstrated their ability to rival bureaucrats and gentry could they obtain the corresponding status.

In this process, we can act as guides and judges, but we must never step in to support one side.

Whoever is good to this country and nation, whoever is good to maintaining our rule, will receive the corresponding power and status from us.

Mo Zibu spoke his mind: if you want power and status, that's easy, just rise up and fight.

You don't even fight for yourself, yet you expect me, the emperor, to step forward and endorse you, bestowing power and status upon you, and providing you with nanny-like service? How could that be possible?

Asen fell into deep thought, which was one of his strengths. He wouldn't completely believe anyone's theory, and the same was true of what Mo Zibu said. He had to conduct his own research and summarize before he would believe it.

"It now seems that the separation of powers through parliament is an inevitable trend. The whole world has been affected by the French Revolution, and we cannot remain unaffected."

However, we cannot break the governance system and high-level power structure that China has formed over thousands of years.

Because there are great people in this world who revolutionize themselves, but there are no social classes that revolutionize themselves.

Breaking this system and bringing about the new era's rules is the task of the emerging class; we should just go with the flow.

As Mo Zibu spoke, knowing his son's temperament, he waved his hand, letting Asen find the answer himself.

"Stay a few more days this time, take a look at the files of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and go to various places to conduct actual investigations. After you have a clear understanding, we, father and son, will discuss it again."

(End of this chapter)