There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 411 Offering Soil
Is Lanfang Kingdom going to offer up its land?

Nie Yu was indeed taken aback at first, but Jiang Wubo quickly offered an explanation.

This offering of soil is not the same as that offering.

Although Lanfang has been established as a nation, it is actually managed internally in the form of a corporate alliance, and even the national leader is selected through elections.

Of course, this election was different from elections in later generations. Although the election in Lanfang Kingdom was called an election, it was actually no different from the abdication system in ancient China.

Take Jiang Wubo, for example. He was the second Grand Minister of the Tang Dynasty in Lanfang Kingdom. Although he was elected, he had previously received the recommendation and entrustment of the young emperor by Luo Fangbo, the "founding Grand Minister".

The final election was more like a formality. Jiang Chengbo left Lanfang and went to the Han Dynasty as an envoy. The head of the state was replaced by Que Sibo, who actually "abdicated" to the Han Dynasty.

Even Luo Fangbo, the first Grand Chief, left a will before his death stipulating that in the future, the Grand Chief of Lanfang Kingdom could only be elected from among the people of Jiaying, Guangdong, while the Deputy Grand Chief could only be elected from among the people of Dapu.

At the same time, only citizens of Lanfang State, that is, the Chinese group of Lanfang Company, have the right to vote.

Therefore, although the Lanfang Republic is called a republic, its essence is still a variant of a feudal state, and it cannot be considered a republic in the true sense.

Needless to say, Dai Yanguo and Heshun General Hall were even more so. The former was a feudal kingdom, founded by Wu Yuansheng, a member of the Heaven and Earth Society who was arrested after the failure of the uprising in Guangdong. The latter, Heshun General Hall, was simply a Chinese company alliance that had not yet completely broken away from the scope of a commercial group.

Nie Yu asked, "So, Lanfang Kingdom and Daiyan Kingdom intend to submit to the Han Dynasty and become its vassal states?"

Jiang Wubo said, "Lanfang and Daiyan are both Chinese citizens, and should naturally be considered vassals of China."

He spoke quite bluntly, expressing his core meaning clearly without any concealment or euphemism. Jiang Wubo was simply going to disregard everything else and take the plunge, becoming a vassal state of the Han Dynasty first.

Unfortunately, Lanfang has faced an unfavorable situation ever since it established its nation in Borneo.

With the Dutch as a formidable enemy on the outside, and various indigenous tribes harboring their own secrets on the inside, even the Chinese companies, which were of the same origin, were engaged in infighting and constant warfare.

Coincidentally, the British merchants who had previously helped Nie Yu buy horses brought news overseas that the puppet Qing dynasty was on its last legs and that rebel forces were rising in the south.

Before Jiang Maobo could react in time, the Dutch had already received the news.

Decades ago, the Dutch made several attempts to invade Borneo and Lanfang, plundering Lanfang's gold mines and Chinese people.

Unable to defeat the Dutch, the Lanfang Kingdom's response was to request tribute and submission from the puppet Qing Dynasty. Although rejected by the tyrannical Emperor Qianlong, they eventually agreed to open customs trade with the Lanfang Kingdom after receiving continuous bribes.

Taking this opportunity, Lanfang declared to the Dutch that Lanfang was already a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty.

The Dutch were still clinging to their old ways of thinking, believing that the Qing Dynasty had destroyed the Ming Dynasty, and that Zheng Chenggong (Zhu Chenggong) of the Ming Dynasty had destroyed the Dutch colonial outposts in Taiwan.

Therefore, the Qing Dynasty was greater than the Ming Dynasty, and also greater than Zheng Chenggong.

The Dutch feared that invading Lanfang might anger the "powerful" Qing Dynasty, so they strategically abandoned the invasion and instead secretly engaged in colonial trade along the coast.

However, the Qing Dynasty, which the Dutch considered "powerful," was currently engaged in a war with domestic rebel forces and was unlikely to pay attention to overseas affairs for several years. This presented the perfect opportunity for the Dutch to invade Borneo and the Lanfang Kingdom.

Historically, the turning point in the decline of Lanfang also coincided with the end of the First Opium War under the Qing Dynasty. Seeing the Qing court's weakness, the Dutch no longer feared the Qing and launched a full-scale invasion of the Chinese community in Lanfang. Nie Yu pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "The Dutch have their eyes on you?"

"..."

Jiang Wubo was momentarily speechless, realizing his thoughts had been seen through.

Wu Dayou was more decisive. Unlike Jiang Wubo, he didn't have as many concerns. He simply followed Queen Daiyan's instructions before her departure and said, "Your Majesty, those red-haired devils are extremely despicable. Upon hearing that our Celestial Empire is at war, they immediately invaded and controlled our northern ally, the Sultan of Sanfa. At the same time, they sent envoys demanding that we raise the Dutch flag, become a vassal state of the Netherlands, and hand over all our gold mines and land. Otherwise, they will attack Lanfang and Daiyan."

Seeing that Wu Dayou had so bluntly stated his position, Jiang Chengbo felt somewhat helpless and decided to speak the truth as well: "Your Majesty, just as the Wu envoy said, Yang Fang and Dai Yan have both been threatened by the Dutch. These Dutch not only demand our gold and property, but also want us to fly the Dutch flag and become vassals of the Netherlands. Although Lanfang is not strong and is a small overseas country, it is still a citizen of the Celestial Empire of China. How can it be reduced to a vassal state of a barbarian country?"

"Well said," Nie Yu clapped his hands in praise upon hearing this, "Does our great Celestial Empire dare to treat a mere barbarian country as its vassal?"

Seeing the emperor's attitude, Jiang Wubo seemed to have seized an opportunity. He quickly rose from his seat, then solemnly bowed and said, "The people overseas of the Celestial Dynasty, who have established the 'Fang Kingdom,' wish to submit to the Great Han Dynasty from this day forward, and forever serve as the overseas bulwark of the Celestial Dynasty!"

Wu Dayou rose and bowed, saying, "The Kingdom of Daiyan also wishes to submit to the Great Han and become its vassal state forever!"

Nie Yu did not immediately agree upon hearing this, but instead fell into deep thought.

Although he regretted the Lanfang Republic in history, regret was one thing, but the Han Dynasty had not yet unified the country, and it was indeed too risky to rush to go to sea to seize territory.

Jeju Island, which was just acquired earlier this year, is a special case. The Han Dynasty plans to use Jeju Island to raise horses and as a training base for cavalry.

Jeju Island is very close to the Jiangsu coast. It is neither too big nor too small in size. The key point is that North Korea does not attach much importance to Jeju Island. Even if the Han army takes it, it will not be a big deal.

Moreover, Nie Yu's choice of Jeju Island was not solely based on its affordability; he also had other, more important strategic intentions.

Compared to Jeju Island, Lanfang and Daiyan, two overseas Chinese countries, were completely different. First, they were not close to the Han Dynasty, and second, their territories were too large.

Having a large territory sounds like a good thing, as it represents territorial expansion. However, Lanfang could not fully control such a vast area. The combined Chinese population of Lanfang and Daiyan was less than 500,000.

It can be said that most of the territories of the two countries were under tributary control.

In addition to this, Lanfang also has a corporate alliance with the Heshun General Hall outside of Lanfang, which is fighting against Lanfang. Now, they also have to add a Dutchman who is eyeing them covetously.

If the Great Han wants to take over the two countries of Lanfang and Daiyan, it must be prepared to deal with the constant troubles from the Dutch, the Heshun General Administration, and the Borneo Sultan.

Nie Yu pondered for a long time before not immediately agreeing: "Our Great Han Dynasty has just been established, and this is the first time we have subdued a foreign vassal state. This matter needs to be discussed further. You may stay temporarily at the Nanjing vassal residence!"

Jiang Wubo and Wu Dayou were somewhat disappointed when they heard that the emperor had not agreed, but since the emperor had not refused, they could only take their leave first.

They withdrew, and then the British East India Company delegation came to pay homage.

……

(End of this chapter)