Di Ming

Chapter 479 The foreigners will laugh their heads off!
On the highest fortress in Macau, the Portuguese coat of arms and the Spanish Habsburg red and yellow striped flag fly high.

Beneath the two flags, a group of dignitaries from the Macau authorities stared in disbelief at the overwhelming Ming fleet.

Will the Ming fleet suddenly open fire? Or will they attempt a forced landing?

This group of well-dressed dignitaries was led by Jesuit Far East envoy Varian, and the mastermind behind the "piglet selling" (trafficking Chinese people into slavery), Speaker Calvallo (a Jew).

Others included Lieutenant Colonel Duarte, the chief officer; Manuel, the royal judge; Mendoza, the Jewish parliamentarian; Bishop Pereira; Matteo Ricci, the priest; and Li Yerong, the Chinese comprador.

Macau is the Far East headquarters of the Jesuits. As the special envoy of the Vatican and the Jesuits to the Far East, Varian is the highest-ranking official in Macau, not Vasco, the Speaker of the Senate.

Varian is from Naples (in Italy). He has been in the East for over twenty years, spent many years in Japan, and was the archbishop of the Japanese diocese.

Vanderbilt was an expert on the Orient, fluent not only in Chinese and Japanese, but also in Annamese and Burmese. Several years ago, after the Japanese army was completely annihilated in Korea and Japan fell into division again, Vanderbilt left Japan and returned to Macau to begin a more in-depth study of the Ming Dynasty.

His research found that the reason why the Ming Dynasty led Japan to such a miserable state was largely due to one person: Zhu Yin!
This was a legendary figure, a household name in the Ming Dynasty, and in the eyes of the Ming people, he was almost a prophet or a divine messenger.

This person passed the Ming Dynasty's rigorous official selection examination at the age of twelve, and became a military commander, famous general, and high-ranking administrative official of the Ming Dynasty in his teens.

Last year, this man even launched a rebellion, supporting the son of the Ming emperor and establishing a separatist regime in the southern capital, where he was crowned emperor.

He forcibly divided the vast Ming Dynasty into northern and southern halves. This person was also a heretic who hated the Jesuits and the Holy Church; a dangerous element.

Moreover, this person was the mastermind behind the takeover of Manila; it was he who usurped the entire island of Luzon.

The Southern Ming regent who reclaimed Macau, banned missionary work, and expelled missionaries was also this person!

By synthesizing various pieces of information, the shrewd and experienced Varian gradually came to a conclusion: Zhu Yin, the regent of the Southern Ming Dynasty, was the greatest enemy of the Papacy and the Jesuits in the East, an extremely dangerous heretic! He was a devil!

It was precisely because he had been paying close attention to and studying Zhu Yin and the situation in the south that he deduced that this huge fleet was personally led by Zhu Yin to fight in Burma.

His concern was not Myanmar, but his own mission.

With power in the south of the Ming Dynasty falling into Zhu Yin's hands, the plan to establish a grand eastern diocese could no longer be realized. The achievements of the Jesuits in the south over many years were thus destroyed.

Unless Zhu Yin suddenly dies or loses power!
"Gentlemen," Van Lien said, making the sign of the cross with a grim expression, "this terrifyingly large fleet must be Zhu Yin's army. The most reasonable explanation for its presence here is that it is on its way to attack Burma. As you all know, the King of Burma is currently fighting in Yunnan under the Ming Dynasty, leaving Burma vulnerable."

"I'd venture a guess: Zhu Yin's fleet will definitely travel through Malacca, bypass Siam, and land directly at Bago Port in Myanmar. After all... although this route is far, it's actually the fastest route... it saves a lot of effort."

“I agree with the envoy’s judgment,” Lieutenant Colonel Duyate, the chief officer, echoed. “As a naval officer, I agree with the envoy’s view militarily. For the Ming army, which is retaliating against the conquest of Burma, the distant sea route is precisely the route that is most in line with military principles.”

"Such enormous warships are no less impressive than Spanish galleons, and their cannons seem to be more than just for show. If the Ming army's warships and cannons are of comparable quality to those of Europe, then Burma is in danger."

Speaker Carvalho, his face ashen, said, "We can no longer concern ourselves with the affairs of Burma! Gentlemen, tell us what we should do first! With such a massive Ming fleet, can we still hold onto this colony?"

Indeed, although Haojing was nominally a piece of land they had leased, and sovereignty still belonged to the Ming Dynasty, in the eyes of these Westerners, Haojing was their colony!
In Europe, as early as thirty years ago, King João III of Portugal solemnly announced in an edict that Portugal had received "a piece of land gifted by the Chinese Emperor".

Therefore, in the eyes of Europeans, Haojing, which still belonged to the Ming Dynasty, was already their colony.

In reality, the Westerners in Macau were not only Portuguese, but Portuguese even comprised less than 40% of the population; the majority were other European whites. So why was Macau considered a Portuguese "colony"?
This is because the papal decree granted Portugal the power to manage religious affairs in China. Therefore, legally, Macau "belongs" to Portugal. For this reason, the King of Portugal specifically dispatched royal judges to Macau to exercise overseas judicial authority.

Li Yerong, the Chinese comprador standing behind the crowd, suddenly spoke up: "Gentlemen, I can try to pay a visit to the fleet commander. If the commander is indeed Zhu Yin, I can try to persuade him."

Li Yerong was a well-known "Western expert" with a great reputation in the local area. People said he had become sworn brothers with foreigners.

In reality, he was a major comprador. However, his relationship with foreigners was indeed very close. At the same time, he was also a secret human trafficker, selling many Han women to foreigners. There were two thousand white Westerners in Macau, almost all of whom had Han women as wives or concubines; the upper classes even had three or four wives, many of whom were obtained by Li Yerong and given to foreigners.

He also recruited thousands of Han Chinese laborers in Macau. He was very adept at helping foreigners deal with Han Chinese.

He also opened the brothels in Macau, which housed hundreds of Han women, many of whom were infected with syphilis by foreigners and were thrown into the sea after they died.

Li Yerong played a crucial role in the spread of syphilis in Guangzhou.

Fan Li'an turned to look at Li Yerong, who was dressed in a Chinese silk robe, and frowned, saying, "Mr. Li, are you going to persuade Zhu Yin? If Zhu Yin is really on the ship, will he see you?"

He didn't believe that someone like Zhu Yin could be persuaded by someone like Li Yerong. Given Zhu Yin's personality, if he knew what kind of person Li Yerong was, he would only order Li Yerong's execution.

Li Yerong felt a little flattered when he saw a group of foreigners looking at him. He cupped his hands and said:

"Your Excellency, the Han people throughout the South are now hearing rumors that Zhu Yin is a descendant of the Jianwen Emperor. The Jianwen Emperor was the son of the Ming Dynasty's founding emperor..."

Varian interrupted, "I know that. Just say what's important." Clearly, this papal envoy and high-ranking Jesuit official disliked Li Yerong.

In his view, this Chinese man lacked loyalty to his motherland and beliefs, and was only concerned with gold, silver and profit; he was a lost sheep.

This person appears to respect the church and its priests, and even goes to church to attend services, but he has no piety whatsoever and treats the church purely as a business tool.

Li Yerong was a little embarrassed, so he coughed and said:
"Since Zhu Yin is a descendant of Emperor Jianwen, what he wants most is naturally the throne. However, the lineage of Emperor Chengzu has been ruling for two hundred years and is already the legitimate successor. If Zhu Yin really becomes emperor, it will be considered a usurpation, so he will definitely be afraid of the criticism from the people and care a lot about the opinions of other countries."

“If I were to represent the Western countries and promise that they would recognize him as the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and send delegations to the capital to pay homage, he would be overjoyed. Throughout Chinese history, emperors have always valued their reputation and enjoyed the homage of all nations. Zhu Yin wanted to be the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but although he was a member of the imperial family, he was destined to be criticized, which would make him even more concerned about his reputation.”

Li Yerong's tone was full of confidence. He was certain that Zhu Yin would be more than happy to have foreigners recognize his imperial throne and send envoys to pay homage.

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, Fan Li'an's expression shifted, and his attitude towards Li Yerong immediately softened. "That is indeed a good idea! Mr. Li is very thoughtful. It seems that those who understand the Chinese best are still yourselves."

Fan Li'an felt that, although he was known as the "expert on the East," he still couldn't come up with such a method.

Speaker Calvallo was also pleased. "This does seem like a wonderful idea! Indeed, Chinese emperors are very concerned about their image. Li, I think you can persuade Zhu Yin."

Encouraged, Li Yerong became even more smug and laughed:
"If Zhu Yin is in a good mood, I can represent all the countries and ask him to rescind his order and let us continue to occupy Haojing. After half a year, when the Western Allied Forces come east in force, we will not be afraid of him."

"To put it bluntly, they used the promise of recognizing his imperial status and sending envoys to pay homage as bait to lure him into a six-month ordeal." The Jewish merchant Mendoza chuckled. "Arrogant and self-important Chinese emperors are often easily fooled by swindlers… Oh no, Li, I'm not saying you're a swindler…"

Li Yerong laughed and said, "As long as I can deceive Zhu Yin and protect our Haojing, I'd rather be a liar myself."

Varian nodded and said, "Alright, Li, then good luck. We, on behalf of the Jesuits, the Governor-General of India, Portugal, and Spain, appoint you as our peace ambassador to go to the Ming warships and negotiate with Zhu Yin—"

“Li, our demands are simple. We want Macau to remain in our possession, and the annual rent can be doubled. We ask him to rescind the order to take back Macau.”

"If he proposes other conditions, as long as it can protect Macau and the cost is not high, you can agree to them. Okay, now tell us your own conditions, and we will try our best to meet them."

He knew very well that Li Yerong had volunteered to persuade Zhu Yin in order to take advantage of the situation.

As expected, Li Yerong smiled and said, "The special envoy is very straightforward. Then I will get straight to the point. I hope that after the Allied Forces occupy Guangdong and Fujian, I will be appointed as the prefect of Guangzhou."

Fan Li'an inwardly scoffed, but smiled and said, "Li, you're Chinese, so why are you so eager for the Allied Forces to conquer Guangdong and Fujian?"

Li Yerong said solemnly, “Special Envoy, I was originally a scholar, and my talent is no less than that of those officials. But I have taken the imperial examinations several times and have never passed, so I have never had the opportunity to become an official. Is this fair? Why should I care about such a court? The Ming Dynasty has been around for more than two hundred years, and it is time for a change of dynasty. The Xianbei, Khitan, Jurchen, and Mongols were all able to establish their own countries and become emperors, so why can't Westerners? They can do it too.”

Fan Li'an nodded and then asked, "Then why do you believe that the allied forces will definitely succeed? The Ming Dynasty is a world power."

Li Yerong replied, "Although the Ming Dynasty is vast, it has now split into three factions: the Northern Ming, the Southern Ming, and the Western Ming. The Zhu family members are killing each other; is there any hope left?"

"There is a Chinese saying: 'What is divided for a long time will unite, and what is united for a long time will divide; what is at its peak will decline.' The Ming Dynasty unified the country for more than two hundred years, which means it had been united and prosperous for a long time. So what followed was decline and internal strife, and the Ming Dynasty could not be revived. Just like an old person cannot become young again."

"Zhu Yin was a powerful minister, so Emperor Taichang naturally hated him, as did the ministers and the monks. This was internal trouble. The Southern Ming faced Burma to the south and the Northern Ming to the north, which was external threat. With such internal and external troubles, and the situation so precarious, how could it possibly resist a coalition army of tens of thousands with their superior firearms? When it comes to firearms and cannons, who is better than the West?"

“Li,” Matteo Ricci suddenly spoke, “I personally think you may have underestimated Zhu Yin. When I was in Zhaoqing, I heard many Han people, especially ordinary Han people, praising Zhu Yin, saying he was a saint, a living god. He had a very high reputation among the people. Could such a hero and strongman be easily defeated?”

“Mr. Matteo Ricci,” Li Yerong shook his head, “you are still not familiar with Chinese history. Throughout history, China has had many powerful figures who were once invincible, but failed because of their pride and complacency. For example, Xiang Yu, Wang Mang, Sun Ce, Ran Min, Fu Jian, Tuoba Tao, Erzhu Rong, Yuwen Hu, Yang Guang, and Chen Youliang. They were defeated and died just like that. What’s so strange about that?”

Matteo Ricci narrowed his blue eyes, unconvinced by Li Yerong's words. He had been preaching in various parts of the south for the past few years and had heard of Zhu Yin many times, even seeing Zhu Yin's temple dedicated to the child prodigy, where incense was very strong.

As far as he knew, Zhu Yin was a very formidable figure and not so easily defeated.

However, he did not intend to question Li Yerong any further.

“Let him give it a try,” Fan Li’an said. “Li, we don’t have a position like Prefect. If the Allied Forces can successfully defeat the Ming army and occupy Guangdong and Fujian, we can recommend you as the Civil Administrator of Guangzhou and appoint you as the Governor. What do you think?”

"The governor of Guangzhou?" Li Yerong was very pleased. "Great! Although I am not from Guangzhou, I am the most suitable person to be the governor!"

Mendoza urged, "Then hurry up and go, or the Ming army might open fire!"

……

Leaving aside the fact that the foreigners were discussing countermeasures, as soon as Zhu Yin arrived at Hengqin Island and raised the banner, he immediately ordered the blockade of the entire Haojing area.

He was very unhappy. He discovered that Macau was still in foreign hands and had not yet been taken back!
Logically, it should have been collected half a month ago.

Needless to say, it was the foreigners who, relying on their military strength, resisted the Ming Dynasty's orders!

Is this still available?

Previously, Zhu Yin only intended to reclaim Macau, confiscate the property painstakingly built by the foreigners, and then expel them from the country. He did not want to start a massacre.

But since the foreigners have disobeyed orders, bloodshed is inevitable.

As soon as Zhu Yin landed, the local officials immediately confirmed that it was indeed the Regent Prince, and they rushed over to pay their respects.

"Your subject, Yu Anxing, Prefect of Guangzhou, pays respects to Your Highness the Regent!"

"Your subject Chen Kui, magistrate of Xiangshan County, pays respects to Your Highness the Regent!"

"Your subject, Zhang Yangzheng, Deputy Maritime Envoy and Supervisor of Foreign Trade, pays respects to Your Highness the Regent!"

...

Dozens of local officials, both civil and military, knelt before Zhu Yin's entourage, not daring to raise their heads. None of them had ever met Zhu Yin, but they had long heard of him.

Zhu Yin sat upright on a stool and casually waved his hand, saying, "Everyone, stand up and speak! I'm not used to everyone kneeling."

Once everyone had cautiously stood up, Zhu Yin showed no mercy and bluntly asked:

"The imperial court issued the order long ago, why hasn't it taken back Haojing? Does the imperial court have no face left? Foreigners have occupied Haojing for decades, are we going to let them continue to occupy it? What is the Guangzhou Prefecture doing?!"

"Reporting to the Regent," said Yu Anxing, the Prefect of Guangzhou, with a bitter expression, "I received the orders from the court and the governor and immediately led my troops to carry them out. However, the foreigners were unreasonable, saying that this was a breach of contract and a disorderly order, and refused to comply. In the end, we had no choice but to resort to arms."

"However, because Guangxi and Yunnan were previously in dire straits, the imperial court ordered the transfer of Guangdong's only three thousand soldiers to support Guangxi..."

Zhu Yin's eyes widened. "You mean, the entire province of Guangdong, with only three thousand elite troops transferred, couldn't handle a few hundred foreign soldiers? So, without those three thousand elite troops, your vast Guangdong has become a sheep?"

Yu Anxing and the others were covered in sweat, but they couldn't refute him.

Yes, there are only a few hundred foreign soldiers. Even if three thousand soldiers are transferred away, does that mean such a large province as Guangdong is helpless against only a few hundred foreign soldiers? No excuse is respectable!
Zhu Yin was furious. He knew that the military preparedness of the southern provinces was lax, relying solely on the local chieftains' troops to maintain appearances. The combined Han Chinese armies of several provinces couldn't even muster 20,000 soldiers capable of fighting a tough battle!
But he hadn't expected that the coastal garrisons' fighting strength had deteriorated to an appalling degree. Several hundred foreign soldiers had been guarding the harbor for so long, yet they still couldn't take it.

Foreigners will laugh their heads off!
……

P.S.: I'm too busy today, that's all for now. Thank you, goodnight!
(End of this chapter)