Di Ming

Chapter 484 "After the city falls, the sword will not be sheathed for a single day!"

On that day, the Ming fleet docked and rested in Malacca for a day.

Zhu Yin moved into Silva's luxurious mansion without any hesitation. It was furnished with expensive Persian carpets, and even the candlesticks were made of gold. There was also a complete set of ivory bookshelves and a study filled with Jingdezhen porcelain.

Even the walls are inlaid with amber, agate, gemstones, and coral, making it resplendent with gold everywhere. There is also a huge portrait of the Portuguese king's sword.

In this European count's calligraphy drawer, there were many gold coins casually placed, at least several hundred cruzados, seemingly just his pocket money.

Soon, the colonial authorities' seizures were also recorded. When Kangxi presented the account book, His Highness the Regent couldn't help but show a delighted smile.

Since the start of the campaign, they have made over ten million in wealth by conquering Macau and made an enormous fortune by occupying Malacca!

The gold and silver alone amounted to at least ten million taels of silver in the Ming Dynasty. Most of these were crozados (Portuguese gold coins), lei (Portuguese silver coins), escudos (Spanish gold coins), and eagle dollars. A small portion consisted of gold and silver ingots from the Ming Dynasty, Annamite gold and silver ingots, Japanese gold coins and silver beans, and Siamese silver balls.

Besides gold and silver coins from various countries valued at tens of millions of taels, there were also 200,000 catties of spices, 150,000 bolts of silk, and two large warehouses of porcelain…

The various goods, converted into silver, were valued at three to five million taels of silver.

They hadn't even reached Myanmar yet, and they had already made two fortunes, with the total estimated value at 30 million taels of silver!
As expected, robbing is the fastest way to make money. The Nanjing imperial treasury already has over one hundred million taels of silver.

Zhu Yin was very happy.

This only includes movable property. As for immovable property, the figure is astronomical.

The commercial interests in Malacca, the Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra will also be managed by Caiwei's trading company.

It's time to establish the Great Ming Nanyang Trading Company. With Caiwei's Great Ming Nanyang Trading Company, the East India Company can all die; none of them can exist anymore.

The commercial interests of the entire Southeast Asia region must be monopolized by the Nanyang Trading Company, which represents the commerce of the Ming Dynasty. Foreigners and natives alike must be sidelined.

Zhu Yin immediately wrote a letter to Caiwei, asking her to send people to Xingzhou (Singapore) and Zhenghe City (Malacca) to set up the Ming Dynasty Nanyang Trading Company.

After finishing the letter, Zhu Yin issued another order.

"Issue the order: send 1,000 troops to garrison Zhenghe City. Send 500 troops to garrison Xingzhou."

“Establish Zheng He Prefecture and Xingzhou County (Po County), and conscript 10,000 indigenous people to build Xingzhou City.”

"Call upon all Chinese in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra to come to Zheng He City, register, restore their Ming Dynasty status, and be allocated land according to their population, thirty mu per person..."

"Appease the merchants and residents within the city, and take control of all the treasury documents. Proclaim to all directions that, effective immediately, the Zheng He Strait is under the jurisdiction of the Great Ming. Merchant ships traveling through the Strait that comply with the laws of the Great Ming shall pay eleven percent tax to ensure their safety and unimpeded passage."

……

The natives were clearly intimidated by the strength and decisiveness of the Ming army.

They never expected that the Ming army would come again, and in just half a day they captured Malacca, defeated the powerful Westerners, and killed them all.

Instead of the mutually destructive outcome they had hoped for, they witnessed a one-sided massacre of foreigners!

The next morning, the Sultan of Johor and the Chief of Aceh, having received the news, sent envoys with generous gifts and an extremely humble attitude.

The gifts included gold, ivory, gemstones, and several young girls from indigenous noble families.

Several native envoys prostrated themselves on the ground, expressing their submission and awe in the most respectful language, thankful that they were not foreigners.

Zhu Yin understands Malay and can barely comprehend what the other person is saying, so there's no need for a translator.

He could tell that these natives were not being sincere; they were all treacherous and harboring illusions. This was not surprising, as the natives of Southeast Asia were notorious for bullying the weak and fearing the strong, coveting power but not gratitude. Moreover, they were ungrateful, opportunistic, and their national character was extremely despicable, making them impossible to deal with.

When it comes to bullying, massacring, and plundering Han Chinese, their ruthlessness is no less than that of foreigners. The history of Southeast Asia afterward is a history of the indigenous people being oppressed by foreigners, and then the indigenous people oppressing the Han Chinese. They sought psychological balance through oppressing, massacring, and plundering the Han Chinese.

It won't be just for a few years or decades, it will be like this for the next few hundred years. And it won't be just once or twice, it will be countless times.

The Han Chinese in Southeast Asia suffered oppression from both foreigners and indigenous people. Why then did the Han Chinese continue to migrate to Southeast Asia for centuries?

This is because the Ming and Qing dynasties experienced population explosions and land annexation, resulting in a large number of displaced people losing their arable land. In particular, the brutal rule of the Manchu Qing dynasty led many Han Chinese to choose to leave their homes and go to Southeast Asia rather than remain under Manchu rule.

Moreover, people who went to Southeast Asia rarely had the opportunity to return, and people in China did not know how lowly they were in Southeast Asia. This created an information cocoon, which is why people continued to go to Southeast Asia.

Zhu Yin felt no goodwill whatsoever towards the indigenous peoples of Southeast Asia; in fact, he felt nothing but disgust. These people were all ingrates!

His gaze swept over the reverent messengers, and he spoke in Malay:

"Inform your lord that the Celestial Empire has recovered its former port, thus quelling the sea storms and reopening trade routes. From now on, each side shall safeguard its borders and share the benefits of peace."

"Furthermore, from today onwards, you shall pay tribute to the Celestial Empire. Hmph, it has been a long time since you last paid homage. Do you still have any respect for the Emperor of the Great Ming? From now on, you shall send envoys to pay tribute at least once a year. This is tribute, not trade. Every three years, your own ruler must personally pay homage to the Emperor. Do you understand?"

"Your important matters, such as the appointment of queens, crown princes, the succession of new monarchs, and the death of former monarchs, must be reported to the Ministry of Rites of the Celestial Empire for approval and posthumous titles. There must be no mistakes."

"Keep the gift, beautiful lady, take it home."

The envoys looked at each other, their expressions extremely troubled.

They originally thought that the Ming people were easy to talk to, and that as long as they presented generous gifts and said a few nice words, the Ming people might return Malacca City.

To everyone's surprise, this important figure from the Ming Dynasty not only had no intention of returning Malacca, but also demanded that they pay tribute and pay homage!
How...how can I explain this to the emperor?

"What? You're not willing?" Zhu Yin sneered condescendingly.

"Yes, yes!" The messengers were startled. "We will report your words to our master together."

How could they dare to argue with Zhu Yin? They didn't even dare to look up at him.

The pressure exerted by the Ming people on them was even greater than that exerted by the foreigners.

This seems to be... a fear from the depths of our ancestral memories!

……

Zhu Yin only stayed in Malacca for one day before ordering the ships to set sail north, heading straight for Burma!

Nearly half a month later, on February 25, the massive Ming fleet finally appeared in the Bago Bay.

The historical voyage of a month and a half truly covered eight thousand miles of clouds and moon. Only a navy could accomplish the feat of transporting a well-supplied army from Jiangnan to Burma in just a month and a half.

In fact, only the Southern Ming navy in the entire Eastern world could accomplish this. Over ten years, Zhu Yin possessed more than three thousand ships of various types, of medium size and above, enough to transport two hundred thousand people.

Most of these ships were built by the Eight Banners overseas. A smaller portion were used to plunder foreigners, Japanese soldiers, and pirates.

It is no exaggeration to say that most of the ships in the East were under Zhu Yin's control.

If we were to travel by land, let alone such a large force, even a force of only 20,000 to 30,000 people would take at least two to three months and suffer significant casualties.

As they were about to land, Zhu Yin and his men observed the enemy country through binoculars, all of them eyeing them with predatory intent.

Hmph, the Burmese king personally led an army of 200,000 men in a reckless northward expedition against the Ming Dynasty, but little did he expect that the Ming fleet would take a long detour and arrive right at his doorstep.

The Ming fleet encountered no significant resistance at Bago port. There were only a few Burmese soldiers in the port, who, upon seeing the large Ming fleet, fired a few arrows in panic and scattered like birds and beasts.

"Issue the order!" Zhu Yin said, "Within one day, all soldiers, warhorses, mules, and supplies must land."

"After landing, set up camp and rest for a day. On the third day, head north to attack Pegu City!"

The nominal capital of the Toungoo Dynasty was Toungoo (the birthplace), but its actual capital was Bago.

Bago is only a hundred miles from the sea. An army can reach it in a day.

Because the Bago River is relatively shallow and narrow, and the upstream current is upstream, the fleet could not travel against the current and could only land in the Bago Bay.

At a single command, the massive Ming fleet docked in an orderly fashion, first the soldiers and their horses, then the mules and supplies, and finally the artillery.

How many troops did Zhu Yin bring? The southern expeditionary army totaled 130,000, but in reality, the Shuidong troops, who were closer to Yunnan, traveled directly by land. The 120,000 troops actually followed the fleet to Burma.

120,000 troops sounds like a lot, but it's likely exaggerated.

Among them, the Cuan family chieftain soldiers who surrendered and were reorganized into the Ming army numbered as many as 30,000.

The Japanese troops who surrendered to the Ming Dynasty were divided into five groups, with Zhu Yin and Qi Jiguang each contributing one to the other. Zhu Yin brought 25,000 troops to Burma.

In other words, the Ming army, which was reorganized from just a few surrendered soldiers, numbered 55,000, nearly half of the total!
Of the remaining 65,000 troops, only 15,000 were the most elite Jinghai Eight Banners.

Of these 15,000 Jinghai soldiers, 5,000 are purely naval personnel who cannot engage in amphibious operations but must guard the warships.
Apart from 5,000 purely naval guard ships, the number of Ming troops truly capable of amphibious operations was 115,000, of which 55,000 were surrendered soldiers. The number of completely reliable Ming troops was only 60,000!
Actually, there are risks involved.

However, Zhu Yin still had enough confidence to control the fifty to sixty thousand surrendered troops. Because he had the tiger's teeth!
The surrendered troops of the Cuan family and the Japanese army were used as cannon fodder and the vanguard. Even if they wanted to resist, it wouldn't be easy.

Only by fighting a bloody battle and proving their loyalty to the Ming Dynasty with their lives can they be truly accepted by the Ming Dynasty and no longer be regarded as outsiders.

Within a day, all of the Ming army, except for 5,000 professional naval personnel, landed and set up camp to rest.

At the mouth of the Bago River in Myanmar, the air was thick with the salty sea breeze and the humid scent of tropical vegetation. The nearby Burmese, upon seeing the Ming army, had long since fled in terror into the surrounding jungle.

Zhu Yin looked at the palm groves stretching along the shore and the golden roof of the pagoda in the distance, and breathed a slight sigh of relief. He had finally reached the mainland.

Upon landing, the rampant mosquitoes of Myanmar began to swarm. However, Zhu Yin had come prepared, carrying with him a large quantity of mosquito-repellent drugs developed by Ning Qingchen, giving the soldiers from the northern continent a powerful weapon against mosquitoes.

In addition, it is only the end of February, before the peak of summer when miasma and mosquitoes are rampant, so the soldiers can adapt.

Even the northern soldiers taught by Li Rubai and Zhao Shuai could be dealt with.

The Ming army's morale was high. The Japanese soldiers in the Ming army were especially excited, their eyes shining as if they had encountered a joyous occasion. They had already learned that as long as they achieved merit in the campaign against Burma, they would receive military pay.

It is time to serve His Highness the Regent, the "people of the world," to the death.

The next day, Zhu Yin led the main force northward. The vast army meandered along a tributary of the Irrawaddy River. Tiger Tooth, of course, had already scouted and planned the most advantageous route for the march. No guides were needed; Tiger Tooth's understanding of Burma's intelligence over the years was even better than that of the Burmese king.

The map of Myanmar drawn by Huya is so detailed that it shows every river, every jungle, and every tribe.

As the dry season was drawing to a close, the river was still shallow, the rice paddies on both banks were cracked, and occasionally, withered villages could be seen.

A sense of heat and unease hung in the air. From the jungles and tribal villages on either side, countless eyes seemed to be watching, filled with fear and dread.

The vanguard captured several Meng hunters. These Meng people had dark skin, were shirtless, wore simple skirts around their waists, and their eyes were full of fear.

When the interpreter approached to ask questions, they were initially hesitant to speak until Zhu Yin ordered his men to give them some dry rations and salt. Only then did one of them finally stammer out a sentence.

“My lord… there aren’t many soldiers in the capital (Bago),” he said in Meng. “The Burmese king took all the ‘tiger soldiers’ and ‘elephant soldiers’ with him.” He pointed to the north. “Only the old, weak and slave soldiers remain in the city.”

Another older Mon hunter even revealed a hint of secret pleasure, whispering, "Is the master a nobleman from the Ming Dynasty? The Burmese have oppressed us Mons for far too long..."

As they talked, they exchanged strange glances.

Zhu Yin listened calmly, knowing full well that Myanmar was not a monolithic entity.

The Bago Sultanate, established by the Burmese, conquered numerous surrounding tribes, including the Mon, Shan, and Karen, through military force. Many of these tribes were originally chieftains under the Ming Dynasty, belonging to the Three Xuan and Six Wei regions.

These conquered peoples are different from the Burmese; they are now watching coldly, even hoping for the Burmese's defeat.

After a short rest, the Ming army continued its march. The closer they got to Bago, the more tense the Burmese villages along the way became.

Upon seeing the Ming army's banners, the natives hurriedly hid in their bamboo houses, locking their doors tightly. Occasionally, small patrols of Burmese would peek from afar, but upon witnessing the Ming army's imposing presence, they would quickly disappear into the dense forest.

It is evident that Myanmar's domestic situation is indeed quite weak, as the main force of the army has already marched north to attack Ming and has penetrated hundreds of miles into Yunnan.

Waves of Burmese messengers, in a panic, rushed north to report to Bago, warning the Ming army of a large-scale invasion and urging the royal city to prepare.

Ming scouts quickly reported that Pegu City had learned of the Ming army's attack and was urgently reinforcing its walls and gathering the surrounding Burmese troops. The area around the capital was in a state of high alert and tension.

However, with over 100,000 Ming troops about to besiege the city, the Burmese royal court, with its depleted military strength, was powerless to stop the Ming army's advance!
The attack on the Burmese king is a must! We must mobilize the Burmese army to return and provide reinforcements from afar!
……

Bago.

The capital city, established during the reign of Mang Yinglong, is now shrouded in panic and doubt.

The city walls, built of bricks and stones, were not particularly tall, but the moat, fed by fresh water, was quite wide.

Myanmar is known as a Buddhist country, and its royal city, Bago, is also known as the City of a Thousand Pagodas. Within the city, hundreds of pagodas pierce the sky, the tallest being the Shwedagon Pagoda, which shines brightly in the sunlight.

The golden domes of the palace shone like pagodas. The streets, which should have been bustling, were deserted, with only monks in orange robes calmly carrying their alms bowls.

Bago, the royal city of Myanmar, is one of the most prosperous megacities in Southeast Asia today, with a population of over 100,000, including more than 3,000 members of the royal family and nobility, and over 10,000 monks.

The commander of Bago was the younger brother of King Mangyeong of Burma, named Mangyeong Chok, and was known as the Black Elephant Prince.

Prince Black Elephant stood on the palace terrace, gazing south with a furrowed brow. The capital had fewer than ten thousand soldiers capable of fighting, most of whom were hastily conscripted peasants and slaves, poorly equipped and poorly trained. Almost all the elite troops had been taken north by his elder brother.

“The Ming people… how could they come from the sea? Without any prior notice?” Mang Zhuo muttered to himself, his tone filled with disbelief.

Burma and the Ming Dynasty had been at war for many years, with most battles taking place in the mountainous areas along the Yunnan border. They never imagined that the Ming army would bypass the entire Indochina Peninsula and strike directly into the heartland by sea.

This was completely beyond his knowledge.

A noble general angrily pounded on the railing: "The Ming army are despicable raiders! Buddha will punish them!"

But many lower-ranking officials and tribal chiefs looked fearful. Several Shan chieftains who had been conscripted huddled in a corner, talking in hushed tones.

"The Burmese have come to this?" A chieftain's lips curled into a barely perceptible sneer.

Another, older chieftain looked around warily. “No matter who wins or loses, life will not be easy for us Shan people. But… if the Burmese really lose, perhaps we can reclaim some of our former territory. It would be best if the Burmese were to suffer a crushing defeat.”

While preparing to defend the city, the Burmese royal court dispatched messengers to Yunnan to report the military situation to the Burmese king and request reinforcements.

Currently, not only is the capital city short of troops, but the entire country is defenselessly vulnerable, and the other major city, Ava, is also sparsely populated. In any case, the army must return to reinforce the capital; it can no longer remain in Yunnan, the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

Otherwise, what's the point of occupying all of Yunnan if we've lost our homeland of Myanmar? In that case, Yunnan won't last long!
Even if we take a step back, the families and property of the army's generals and soldiers are all in Myanmar. Even if the king continues to fight in Yunnan, where will the army's morale be?

Withdrawing troops and returning to reinforce the area is the only option!

They thought the division of the Ming Dynasty into North and South presented a golden opportunity to attack it, believing the Ming would be too preoccupied to care about anything else and would obediently relinquish the entire Yunnan province. Who would have thought that just a few months later, a massive Ming fleet would suddenly cross the sea!

Even though the Ming Dynasty was divided between the North and the South, it was still terrifying once it got serious!
Thinking of this, the Black Elephant Prince and other Burmese dignitaries felt both fear and bitterness.

Hopefully, it will come again!

Panic gripped the city. The wealthy and nobles began secretly burying their treasures, while the common people hid in their homes praying to Buddha statues. A sense of impending doom hung in the air.

More than ten thousand monks in the city chanted sutras daily to ward off disasters and calamities. Noblewomen wept incessantly.

Abandoning the city and fleeing seemed like an option. But Pegu was the royal city; how could they abandon it? And once they lost the city's protection, where could they escape to? Their situation would only become more dangerous.

At this point, the most reliable course of action is to hold out and wait for reinforcements!
Soon, Prince Black Elephant issued an order: "All able-bodied men in the city, including monks, shall participate in the defense of the city!"

……

The second year of Taichang, the twenty-fifth year of Wanli, the 959th year of the Burmese calendar, at the end of February.

More than 100,000 Ming troops approached the walls of Bogu City.

More than three hundred years had passed since the Yuan army conquered the Pagan Dynasty in Burma, and the Central Plains army once again attacked the Burmese capital.

When the Burmese saw the imposing and overwhelming Ming army, they were all intimidated and terrified.

With the Ming army so powerful, can the capital really withstand it?

Many people tried to escape the capital, but it was too late. The Ming army had already surrounded the capital.

The Ming army deployed in formation on an open area outside the city. Zhu Yin stood on horseback at the front of the formation, observing the Burmese capital. The Burmese flags on the city walls were in disarray, the defenders appeared panicked, and there were even many monk soldiers.

There appeared to be tens of thousands of people guarding the city, densely packed together, but the vast majority of them didn't even have armor.

There were also cannons on the city wall, which were foreign cannons, but there were only a few dozen, and only a few heavy cannons.

The army numbered at most five thousand, including some musketeers and even foreign mercenaries, but their numbers were not large.

Zhu Yin knew that in history, Myanmar had actually experienced a temporary decline this year due to its defeat in Siam.

How far had it fallen? Not only did Siam regain its independence and King Naresuan launch a counterattack against Burma, but rebellions also broke out within Burma itself. The King of Arakan declared independence, the Duke of Ava declared independence, and the Marquis of Nghe Ngum occupied Toungoo and proclaimed himself king.

As a result, Myanmar was left with only its southern half of its territory, plunging into a brief period of decline.

However, due to the butterfly effect and the chain reaction in Southeast Asia, Myanmar has not declined or experienced domestic rebellion. Instead, it has become stronger with the help of foreigners.

"It seems the intelligence was accurate," Zhu Yin said to Li Rubai beside him. "The defending forces are weak and their morale is low."

"Issue the order to post the proclamation."

Li Rubai laughed and said, "We can take them down in one battle. The Burmese think they can hold out, but they don't know the power of our artillery. One shot can destroy miles of land. They won't even last a day."

"One shot can destroy miles of land?" Zhu Yin curled his lip. "You're really exaggerating. My cannons aren't that powerful."

Qin Liangyu laughed and said, "Since the Burmese king's army is not returning, we can hardly be considered to be fighting a war."

Zhu Yin did not immediately order an attack on the city. Instead, he first sent a team of envoys with interpreters to loudly proclaim a proclamation, denouncing Mang Yingli for breaking faith and invading the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and declaring that the heavenly army had come to punish and punish him!
Doing this is certainly not about subduing the enemy without fighting, but rather a gesture, and even more so, a declaration of Myanmar's grave crime.

This is tantamount to telling Myanmar: I am attacking you because you are guilty!

A commotion immediately broke out on the city wall.

Mang Zhuo appeared on the city wall and loudly retorted in Burmese, his words nothing more than defending royal authority and cursing the invaders. But most of the nobles around him looked timid.

Even the monks were unable to remain calm. Yet, they continued to perform rituals to curse Zhu Yin and the Ming army!
Zhu Yin's expression was rather grim. The Ming army was at the city gates, yet Mang Zhuo dared to insult and curse him. Did this man truly believe he could defend Pegu?

Zhu Yin looked indifferently at the Burmese capital, his eyes turning a leaden gray.

"The Burmese are going too far," Zhu Yin said coldly. "Attack the city. After the city falls, the sword will not be sheathed for a single day."

The Burmese army has repeatedly invaded the Ming Dynasty from the north over the years, massacring many people in Yunnan. It is time to intensify the reckoning.

Do you really think the Ming Dynasty is easy to bully? Your butcher's knife is fast, but mine is even faster!

As soon as the order was given, the Ming army's war drums began to beat loudly, and the bugle calls, unique to northern armies, rang out.

"Uuuuuu——"

"Boom! Boom!" The deafening roar of the Ming army's cannons echoed!

(End of this chapter)