The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 877 This is the true Han Dynasty
There are very significant differences in human capabilities.

For example, among Mo Zibu's sons, although he had more than twenty sons, only three were truly capable of independently expanding the territory.

The eldest son is Da Lao Sen, the fourth son is Han Wang Mo Zhou Zhe. Then the fifth son is Yan Wang Mo Zhou Zhen, and the tenth son is Liao Wang Mo Zhou Shen, who together can be counted as one.

Therefore, Mo Zibu had long ago chosen his eldest son, Da Laosen, as his successor and sent him to Anxi, the most challenging region.

After the fourth son, Mo Zhouzhe, was sent to Europe for a trip, Mo Zibu immediately appointed him to Hanchuan Province (lower Myanmar).

Mo Zhouzhe's Han vassal state occupied almost two-thirds of Hanchuan Province, with more than eight million people under its jurisdiction and an area of ​​nearly 300,000 square kilometers, which is about the size of three Zhejiang Provinces. He also served as the admiral of the Outer South Seas (Indian Ocean) Fleet.

This series of re-employments was intended to allow the Han vassal state of Mozhouzhe to monitor the British Indian government and block the migration routes of Indians to Southeast Asia and even the mainland of Dayu.

The fifth brother, Mo Zhouzhen, and the tenth brother, Mo Zhouzhao, who were less capable but still competent, went to Beihezhou and the Caucasus region respectively.

As for the remaining sons, the best they could do was send them to Sumatra, Australia, or Luzon, where the locals had little ability to resist, or have them assist their brothers. They were basically not capable of doing anything else.

Mo Zibu accepted the children's mediocrity, but some children could not accept their own mediocrity.

Prince Yan, Mo Zhouzhen, was like that. He couldn't be considered mediocre, but to be able to stand alone in Beihezhou, fight against Spain and conquer Mexico in the south, and advance eastward into the Great Plains to block the Canadians and Americans was still a bit beyond his capabilities.

Prince Yan, Mo Zhouzhen, was good at employing people and governing, but his international vision and strategic judgment were problematic, making him somewhat like a reverse version of Napoleon.

Napoleon was a military genius, while Mo Zhouzhen was a skilled domestic administrator. Their shared short-sightedness in strategy and diplomacy made them equally brilliant.

Before Mo Zhouzhen decided to take Mexico, some people advised him that if Yan Fan took Mexico, all he would gain would be people and wealth. Even if the emperor was willing to give him the territory, the crown prince would not agree.

Since the benefits aren't significant enough, there's no need to rush into action against Mexico. Everything should wait until the court has coordinated things and formulated a strategy before proceeding.

Mo Zhouzhen disagreed, seeing Napoleon's overthrow of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Therefore, disregarding the strategy devised by Mo Zibu, he first ignited all the contradictions in New Spain, making the people unable to bear it and eagerly hoping for the appearance of a savior before Da Yu sent troops, and insisted on taking New Spain now.

Of course, although the timing is wrong, it will not cause too much damage to the overall situation.

Because Mo Zhouzhen, who had previously been stationed in Beihezhou, leveraged his father-in-law Wu Wenchun's position as the Grand Protector of Beihezhou to intervene in the development of Beihezhou and proposed many very effective measures.

Governance is Mo Zhouzhen's forte, so although the entire Beihezhou Protectorate only has four million people, its mobilization and combat capabilities are not low.

The most crucial of these were two laws: the Equalization Law and the Horse Archery Law.

The Pingzhun Law appeared as early as the late Spring and Autumn Period during the reform period of various vassal states. Later, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Sang Hongyang integrated and developed it, establishing the Pingzhun government agency specifically for stabilizing prices and coordinating procurement.

Mo Zhouzhen's stabilization law, unlike Sang Hongyang's, did not include all output under its jurisdiction. It only targeted agricultural products, or more precisely, grain.

The Protectorate General of Beihe Prefecture sets a basic purchase price for grain every year. If the market price is lower than this price, the Protectorate General will purchase the grain; if it is higher, it will be traded on the market.

To put it bluntly, this is the same grain purchase system that the Republic of later generations also implemented. It's just that the minimum purchase price for grain in the Beihe Prefecture was relatively high, so farming in Beihe Prefecture over the years has definitely been profitable.

This not only attracted a large number of Chinese to colonize North Carolina, but also made Warmwater Harbor (Vancouver), Sunrise Fort (Seattle), and Jingning City (Portland) the main gathering places and granaries for Chinese in North America.

This also allowed the Protectorate to establish a stable military system based on this, and most of the soldiers conscripted during this period came from here.

Secondly, there was the method of mounted archery, a policy similar to that of King Wuling of Zhao's adoption of nomadic dress and mounted archery.

Riding is divided into horse training, horse breeding, horse riding, and veterinary medicine; archery is divided into rifles for infantry, carbines for cavalry, and revolvers.

It may not seem special at first glance, but it is actually quite unique because this is the method used by the Protectorate General of the Northern Hezhou to select talent.

All immigrants to the Northern Hezhou Protectorate were required to learn all these skills, and an annual evaluation was held to award titles such as Fengjielang, Xiaojielang, and Zhongjielang based on their performance.

Each title corresponds to a specific tax rate and also has restrictions on the profession.

For example, if you come to San Francisco to pan for gold, and you fail the test—that is, if your horsemanship, spearmanship, and other skills are deemed unqualified—then you are only fit to work on someone else's estate.

You're not eligible for the lucrative gold panning job yet; you'll have to pass the test to qualify.

After being able to pan for gold, one still had to find time to practice horsemanship and marksmanship, because the tax rates varied from Fengjielang to Zhongjielang.

When Fengjie Lang exchanges gold sand and gold leaves for deposits at Fuxing Bank, he has to pay a 10% tax. If he remits the deposits back to China, he has to pay about 15% more.

For Zhongjielang, the tax on currency exchange is 6%, and the tax on remittances is 11%. Each upgrade in the credit rating means a significant amount of money can be saved.

Moreover, in this land where gold rush and colonization coexist, a man without at least the strength of a Fengjie Lang (a military officer) and without obtaining the waist token symbolizing his military power would be regarded as an easy target or even a fat sheep wherever he went.

Getting beaten up or having your things stolen are the least of your worries; many times, you might even lose your life.

Stimulated by these two policies, the Chinese immigrants in North Hezhou not only have a solid foundation, but also possess a strong sense of martial virtue.

Although there are only four million people, under extreme conditions, at least one or two million armed Han Chinese can be mobilized to fight.

In Yuyang City, Prince Yan Mo Zhouzhen, Prince Chen Mo Zhoujin, and Marquis Lafayette, the Chancellor of Zhongshan, jointly held a grand banquet.

Mo Zhouzhen, in his capacity as the head of all the vassal states of Beihezhou and the Grand Protector of the Beihezhou Protectorate, presided over the banquet.

This is the fourth banquet this month, and all the guests are the army that is about to march south. They will be collectively referred to as the Hezhou Army.

The banquet featured a wide array of delicacies, including many noodles, pastries, and steamed dishes prepared by renowned chefs, all of which were exceptionally delicious.

"Brothers, come and try it! This steamed dish is truly authentic, made by a master chef from Mianyang Prefecture!" Xiang Zunhua, from Mianyang Prefecture in Hubei Province, which later became known as Xiantao, shouted joyfully.

Mianyang is located in the Jianghan Plain, rich in produce and famous for its delicious food. The so-called "three steamed dishes" are steamed fish, steamed meat, and steamed vegetables.

There is no shortage of food in Beihezhou, and it is even easier to eat meat than in Shenzhou Chixian, but there are very few people who can cook well.

Because most of those who crossed the ocean to this place thousands of miles away were poor people.

If someone has the skill of cooking, whether they are a cook or a female cook, they can easily find work in their hometown and will generally not choose to risk their life on a ship at sea.

So over the years, there has been an abundance of rice, flour, cooking oil, and meat in Kitagawa Prefecture, but whether people eat well is a matter of opinion.

If you're lucky, some people in the manor or village might know how to cook, then you'll be in for a treat.

If you're assigned to a group of poor guys who can't cook, your meals will be either stale roasted food or a hodgepodge of stews year after year. You'll end up with a sour face after every bite.

Almost everyone at this table is from Hubei, and those around them are mostly not from Hubei, but from Henan, which borders Hubei. Their tastes are all pretty much the same.

Under the constant urging of Prince Yan, Mo Zhouzhen, to drink, they ate to their hearts' content, pledging their loyalty to Mo Zhouzhen and vowing to quickly subdue the new Spaniards.

Mo Zhouzhen also valued these soldiers. Although he had the Three Guards of the Prince of Yan, whose soldiers were recruited directly from the soldiers and generals of the Great Yu who were about to retire, there were only a few thousand of them. If it came to a real battle, he would still have to rely on these soldiers.

"After we finish this battle, leaving those Westerners with corpses strewn across the fields, we'll turn their heads into a mound of skulls, seize their land, wives, and daughters, and finally bring their parents and brothers over to enjoy this kind of good food every day!"

In front of the soldiers, Mo Zhouzhen revealed his true feelings for the first time. It turned out that Mo Zhouzhen, who had always appeared as a rational and obedient child by his father's side, was actually a Han chauvinist.

But this is actually normal, because Wu Wenchun, the father of Mo Zhouzhen's concubine Wu, was a typical Han supremacist.

After being conquered by Mozibu, these Annamese people, seeing the empire growing stronger and stronger, immediately began to feel anxious and insecure.

They feared that one day their identities would be revealed, that they were not Han Chinese, and that they would fall from their status as the first class in the empire.

Their response is the most common and effective one: to act even more fanatical than the real Han Chinese, and to speak and act more like the Han Chinese themselves.

This has become a typical cultural phenomenon in the Great Yu Kingdom. When dealing with people from Asahi Anlai, if you insult their mother, you might just exchange a few curses. But if you call them barbarians instead of Han Chinese, you're guaranteed to fight them to the death.

Meanwhile, Wu Wenchu's first wife disappeared during the chaos of the Xishan army led by Ruan Wenhui. His current wife, whom he married after the founding of the Great Yu Kingdom, is none other than the sister of the famous Han general Dong Jinfeng. In other words, Dong Jinfeng is actually Mo Zhouzhen's brother-in-law. With such connections, it's hard for him not to be a Han loyalist, but he usually hides it so well that Mo Zibu hasn't noticed.

In March 1809, before Mo Zibu could deliver the order for the cuckoo prince Mo Zhouyao to go to New Spain to assist Mo Zhouzhen, and before Mo Zhouyao was even on his way to the Eastern Islands, the Hezhou army of Beihezhou marched south.

Watching the army set off, Chen Wang Mo Zhoujin, who was preparing to command the navy to provide support, looked at Mo Zhouzhen with some worry. He felt like he had been tricked.

"The Crown Prince once instructed us that the situation in New Spain is complex, and that we should prioritize winning hearts and minds and proceed cautiously step by step. But now we're attacking directly. Won't that be dangerous?"

What Mo Zhoujin really wanted to say was, wouldn't their acting on their own displeasure their elder brother, the powerful Prince Yan? You, the Prince of Yan, have a powerful mother protecting you, and your father dotes on you too, but I don't.

“My elder brother’s methods are moderate and peaceful, like a king’s army. If we follow his strategies, we will be invincible and leave no future troubles. But it will not benefit us.”

That's quite blunt of him. Mo Zhouzhen pointed to the distant mountains and rivers, "Such a beautiful land should be inhabited by those with virtue."

Westerners slaughtered the natives of Hezhou and occupied this land of abundance, but they did not manage it properly. After two hundred years, the mountains and rivers are not secure and the people are not loyal. This is a precious land that Heaven has bestowed upon you and my brothers!

To manage this place well, what we lack most are people from China.

If we follow your method, brother, most of the benefits for this person in New Spain will still go to the original inhabitants. So what will we offer to attract people from our homeland to settle here?

When Mo Zhoujin heard what his fifth brother, Mo Zhouzhen, said, he began to understand.

For the eldest prince, the ideal scenario would be to conquer the city first and win hearts and minds later, taking New Spain slowly and steadily.

This way, he wouldn't cultivate a powerful vassal state in northern Mexico, and since his son was a member of the Bourbon family who ruled over a large number of Westerners, he could still secure his throne in Mexico.

But he and Mo Zhouzhen couldn't do it. Without fighting bloody battles in New Spain, where would they find fertile land and strong tenant farmers and serfs to attract Chinese to settle in this area?
"Thirteenth Prince, Father is sixty-one years old this year. Although he is in good spirits and health and is in the prime of his life, can he still hold power for another ten years?"

I doubt it. When I went back last year, I discovered that my father had already considered abdicating the throne because my eldest brother was growing up and becoming more powerful.

If the emperor did not want to cause a bloodbath in the royal family like Emperor Shizong of Han killed Guangwei, the crown prince, with Jiang Chong, or Emperor Taizong of Tang killed Hou Junji, the father-in-law of Li Chengqian, the best way would be to abdicate directly after a few years and become a carefree retired emperor who does not have any power.

"When Father retires, will we still have so much support? No matter how good my elder brother is, he has his own son to take care of. Can he compare to when Father was alive?"

Mo Zhoujin fell silent. These words struck a chord with him. No matter how close his elder brother was, could he be closer than his father?
"Don't worry, I'll take full responsibility if anything happens. Even if my elder brother blames me, I'll go to Nanjing Yingtian Prefecture to apologize to him." To put the thirteenth prince's worries at ease, Mo Zhouzhen even started to take on all the responsibilities.

Who is he? He's a Han chauvinist!
Although taking New Spain would not bring great benefits to Yan, it would bring great benefits to the Han nationalists, as it would cultivate a large number of loyalists who support Han nationalist ideology.

Mo Zhouzhen trembled with excitement whenever he thought that future historical records would describe him as the Prince of Yan, Mo Zhouzhen, for his contributions to the Han people in expanding their territory and establishing Hezhou, second only to his father in driving out the Tartars and expanding their territory.

"Fifth Brother, I'll listen to you. Let's go and slaughter New Spain, killing hundreds of thousands of them to make room for us Han people."

Mo Zhoujin decisively chose to follow Mo Zhouzhen. If he didn't express his opinion after all that had been said, he would be too ungrateful.

Big brother, you mean I should have the navy to control Fifth Brother in the future? That's for the future, not now.

In April 1809, a chicken-eating contest was in full swing in New Spain.

In October 1808, six months earlier, an army supported by European whites in New Spain stormed Mexico City and massacred a portion of the native white forces who supported the independence of New Spain.

However, just two weeks later, Gabriel Yermo, a large white plantation owner, and Governor Pedro Garibe led their army to retake Mexico. A large number of white people from Europe were killed, and their armed forces were almost completely dismantled.

Subsequently, Pedro Garibaldi defeated the revolutionary government of the Republic of Mexico, which was established by Mexican revolutionary Ignacio Allende, located more than 300 kilometers north of Mexico City.

In this battle, the Mexican army was completely routed, Ignacio Allende was captured, and eventually executed in Mexico City.

The remnants of the Mexican Republic broke out to the Yucatan Peninsula and successfully joined forces with the local Maya people.

In March 1809, the Viceroyalty of New Spain sent 3 troops to attack the Yucatan Peninsula again, and the colonial government won a Pyrrhic victory.

The Maya lost more than thirty villages and fifty to sixty thousand people. Although the colonial army of the Viceroy of New Spain won the victory, it suffered more than three thousand casualties and heavy losses.

Just then, the Marquis of Blancaford in Chihuahua to the north suddenly opened the border, allowing the army of Da Yu Hezhou to march south.

The Marquis of Blancaford, who had already sided with Mozhouzhen, not only became a collaborator but also stockpiled large quantities of grain, water, and mules in Chihuahua.

This is very important because when the Da Yu Hezhou army marched south, the roads were difficult to travel, and often the soldiers had to carry supplies themselves.

With food and water from Chihuahua, the Hezhou army could choose to carry the vast majority of its weapons, which had a significant impact on the subsequent war.

In mid-May 1809, the Hezhou Army, personally commanded by Ye Mingyue, the Duke of Jiaoyang, captured Queretaro, a major town 5 kilometers north of Mexico State, and successfully seized the Queretaro Pass, an important passage into Mexico City.

On June 17, the Hezhou army, numbering 6, besieged Mexico City.

On June 20, Mo Zhouzhen refused to even offer a token surrender and directly ordered an attack.

Of course, Mexico City wasn't given away for nothing.

The city was chosen as the capital by the Aztecs because it was easy to defend and difficult to attack. After the Spanish conquered the city, they began a two-hundred-year period of fortification and renovation.

The Hezhou army lacked artillery, as it could not be transported by land. Therefore, it chose to launch a concentrated attack from all four sides, while also taking the opportunity to besiege the enemy's stronghold and intercept reinforcements.

In early July, Hezhou's army defeated more than 30,000 New Spanish militiamen who came to relieve the siege of Mexico City in the southwest. Mexico City completely lost its external support, and more than 100,000 people, including the elderly and children, were trapped in the isolated city.

In late July, Chen Wang Mo Zhoujin led the Dayu naval fleet to defeat the New Spain fleet off the west coast of Nicaragua.

One Spanish fleet was sunk, two were severely damaged, and more than 700 officers and men were lost. They fled in panic to Colombia in the Viceroyalty of New Granada, leaving the Viceroyalty of New Spain completely without naval protection.

Subsequently, Mo Zhoujin led the fleet north and defeated General Mollores' Mexican rebel army in Oaxaca. He recruited more than 10,000 mixed-race whites and, with their help, organized more than 30,000 laborers to transport the navy's 24-pound guns ashore.

In September, Mo Zhoujin arrived in Mexico City with fifteen cannons and joined forces with Mo Zhouzhen. The two brothers, one in the south and one in the north, launched a fierce attack together.

Fifteen days later, several sections of the Mexican city walls collapsed, and Mozambique once again rejected the surrender of Pedro Garibaldi, the governor of New Spain, revealing his true intentions.

It was only then that the people of New Spain realized the kind of villains they had messed with.

Mo Zhouzhen, fearing that his soldiers might not be able to fight freely, directly encouraged the Hezhou army soldiers, saying:
"More than two hundred years ago, during the Ming Dynasty, the Spanish massacred tens of thousands of Han Chinese in Luzon, and Manila was covered in blood. Today is the time for revenge."

"The Spanish killed millions of Aztecs here; it was a world where the strong preyed on the weak."

"It's strange, it's because they fell behind. Falling behind means losing everything!"

With a roar, blood and fire were a stark sight under the blazing sun, and severed heads, like ripe fruit, rolled all over the ground.

There was little reporting on this matter in later generations; it was only mentioned vaguely in some documents.

The only remaining evidence is that many of the famous nobles and landowners of New Spain in history have never appeared again, and there are no records of them at all.

For example, the Gabriel Ylmo family, the largest estate owners in New Spain, seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving behind countless legends about their family treasure.

At the same time, the number of mixed-race people in Kitagawa Prefecture will experience a very rapid increase in the coming years.

Moreover, most of these mixed-race children are of Chinese and Western descent, just as the Han Chinese men of Beihezhou suddenly acquired tens of thousands of eligible Spanish spouses.

Of course, taking Mexico City does not mean taking New Spain.

The total number of Hezhou troops entering Mexico was only about 40,000, which could basically only guarantee the control of the land route from Mexico City to the north near Yan Province, and the safety of the seaport from southwest Mexico City.

Since Mo Zhouzhen has chosen the Han-centric approach, he must bear the consequences of it.

(End of this chapter)