Di Ming

Chapter 500 "Old Deng, you're really tired of living."

Zhu Yin stared at the Burmese army, which was collapsing like a house of cards, his gaze cold and icy. The indigenous soldiers, who were being slaughtered in a one-sided massacre, were no different from pigs and sheep in his eyes.

The Ming army's central army drums thundered, launching a final, overwhelming assault.

Zhu Yin ignored the Burmese army's demands to surrender.

He didn't intend to kill those who surrendered; he simply refused to surrender. The Burmese army's military force must be disarmed. No force daring to challenge the authority of the Ming Dynasty should exist in the Indochina Peninsula any longer.

In particular, the Japanese Ming soldiers and the Cuan family Ming soldiers were all killing machines, frantically slaughtering the commandless Burmese army, with heads rolling in.

Of course, their brutal massacres also provoked a backlash from the Burmese army, with people dying constantly.

This was exactly the result Zhu Yin wanted. He wanted to eliminate the Burmese army, and also use this opportunity to weaken the Japanese and surrendered troops. Otherwise, he was not comfortable with too many surrendered troops.

The Burmese army was squeezed into a small space of several miles, with densely packed people and no room to maneuver. They were a huge, dark mass, and were constantly subjected to the Ming army's artillery, muskets, and arrows.

This was hardly a war; it had degenerated into a massacre.

The Burmese army, trapped in a desperate situation with nowhere to escape, could only jump into the swamp in an attempt to escape, but such luck was far too slim.

Finally, the Ming infantry and cavalry were exhausted from the fighting and had to stop. Even the cannons and muskets were red-hot and could no longer fire; with ammunition running low, the horrific slaughter finally ceased.

As the sun sets, its blood-red rays illuminate this scene of carnage, a desolate spectacle akin to hell on earth.

The battlefield was littered with corpses; tattered flags, weapons, and the carcasses of war elephants lay mixed together in a chaotic mess. The smoke of battle had not yet dissipated, and the air was thick with the nauseating stench of blood and gunpowder.

After a day of fierce fighting, 120,000 Burmese soldiers were killed, leaving only 30,000 remnants who fled into the mountains in the north like headless flies.

The Battle of Molo Town ended with a major victory for the Ming army and the complete annihilation of the Burmese army.

The elite forces upon which the Great White Elephant Kingdom relied to dominate the peninsula were wiped out in a single battle. After this war, Burma no longer had the power to resist the control of the Ming Dynasty.

Apart from a few high-ranking nobles such as the Burmese king who escaped, most of the other nobles, ministers, and tribal leaders were killed.

The Ming army captured over a thousand war elephants, more than 20,000 warhorses, over 20,000 Western matchlock muskets, and over 500 cannons.

The Ming army suffered 20,000 casualties, a considerable loss. However, 80% of these casualties were Japanese and Cuan soldiers who had surrendered, while the Han army suffered only a little over 4,000 casualties.

Zhu Yin immediately issued an order that from now on, Japanese Ming soldiers and Cuan family Ming soldiers who had rendered meritorious service would enjoy the same treatment as Han soldiers, be registered as Han soldiers, and be registered in the military by the Ministry of War and the Military Governor's Office. Matters such as provisions, selection, and promotion would be handled in the same manner as Han soldiers.

Upon receiving the order, both the Japanese Ming soldiers and the Cuan Ming soldiers erupted in cheers. Since their departure for the campaign, they had fought several battles in succession, and finally, through their own desperate efforts and the casualties of their comrades, they had changed their status as surrendered foreign soldiers and won the treatment of Han soldiers.

The chieftains of Mubang and Cheli, Dao Nuomeng and Han Jinzhong, came together to the foot of Zhu Yin's chariot banner and prostrated themselves on the ground with utmost respect, saying:
"Your subject, Dao Nuo Meng (Han Jin Zhong), pays respects to Your Highness the Regent. I was previously forced to submit to Burma and serve the Mang clan; it was truly out of my desperation. I beg Your Highness to punish me..."

Zhu Yin looked down at the two chieftains who originally belonged to the Ming Dynasty and said in a detached tone:
"Since you have realized your mistakes and returned to the Celestial Dynasty to atone for your sins, you are still loyal subjects of the Great Ming. Keep your subordinates in check and be ready to be dispatched at any time."

Upon hearing this, both Han Jinzhong and Dao Nuomeng breathed a sigh of relief and kowtowed together, saying, "Yes! We thank the Regent for his forgiveness!"

While the Ming army was still cleaning up the battlefield, Zhu Yin entered the Burmese army and quickly found the royal tent of Burmese King Mangyeong.

Xiao Hei detected Mangyingli's scent in the king's tent and immediately led the Ming army into the mountains to pursue the Burmese king.

Zhu Yin dispatched a full three thousand soldiers to follow Xiao Hei into the mountains.

The third day after the end of the great battle, April 13.

Xiao Hei led his troops and finally captured King Mangyungri, his uncle Dedado, his brother Minye Jueting, Prince Sumon, Grand Chancellor Yeman Nanda, and the Sangha King Zhiguang, among others, in a small tribe.

The Burmese high command was captured in one fell swoop. Only the Western officers, led by Gutt, were not apprehended. It seems Gutt, as slippery as ever, had already escaped beforehand.

Xiao Hei led his troops to capture the Burmese king and his ministers, and escorted them down the mountain back to the Ming army camp in Molo Town. It was already April 15th.

King Mangye Ri and his ministers were escorted to Zhu Yin's military tent and ordered to kneel down, forming a dense mass of kneeling figures on the ground.

Zhu Yin had changed into his princely attire and sat high on the commander's seat, flanked by Ming generals. The Ming commanders coldly observed the disheveled Burmese king and his officials, their expressions filled with satisfaction.

Zhu Yin, with the haughty and aloof air of a victor, said condescendingly:
"Mang Yingli, you have committed treason, invaded the Celestial Empire, poisoned the common people, bullied the weak, and arbitrarily used weapons. In order to seize the throne, you even murdered your father and brother. Your sins are greater than those of Ruo Kaishan, and even the Lancang River and the Nu River cannot wash them away!"

Although Mang Yingli had long heard of Zhu Yin's legendary status, he still found it hard to believe that Zhu Yin was so young. He had actually been defeated by a young man.

After listening to the translation, he looked arrogant and said, "Zhu Yin, you've won, so whatever you say is right. I've lost, so whatever I say is wrong. Now that I'm in your hands, you can kill me if you want, why humiliate me? Can you win forever? My today might be your tomorrow."

Knowing he was doomed, he gave up begging for mercy and decided to be tough to avoid being ridiculed.

Zhu Yin wasn't angry. "Mang Yingli, I want you to tell the Burmese that they have always been subjects of the Celestial Empire, and that Burma was originally part of the Ming Dynasty. As long as you give this speech in Ava City according to my wishes, I will spare your life. You can go to the Central Plains and live as a wealthy man. How about it?"

"I won't say it! The Burmese are the Burmese, not anyone's subjects! My Burma is the Great White Elephant Kingdom, a Buddhist Pure Land, not the territory of the Ming Dynasty! I'd rather die than say these things in public! Zhu Yin, if you're a hero, give me a quick death!"

“There are many kinds of death,” Zhu Yin sneered. “How will you die? Will it be a quick and painless beheading, hanging, or will you be skinned alive, torn to pieces, thrown into a pit of scorpions, and roasted in an iron cage? Or will you be wrapped in gold leaf, burned with sandalwood, eaten by birds, torn apart by water buffalo, and have your anus nailed to a stake, as you do in Burma?”

"If you want a quick death, what will you offer in exchange?"

Whether I am a hero or not is for future generations to judge in history. It is not for you, a ruler of a fallen kingdom, to comment on.

"If you continue to be defiant, not only will you die a horrible death, but your queen, mother, and children will also suffer horrible deaths. Especially your mother, queen, and princess, who may be sent to the army and suffer a fate worse than death. As women, what will become of them? Are you sure you want to refuse me?"

“You…you…” Mang Yingli heard the translator grit his teeth, “Zhu Yin, you are not a hero! You are a devil! A devil!”

"Hahaha!" Zhu Yin laughed loudly, "I am a devil? Who created these cruel punishments? You call yourselves a Buddhist country, yet you have created so many cruel tortures, and you even say that torture can erase the sins of your past life. Isn't this just your rhetoric, these evil heretics?"

"Mang Yingli, if you dare utter another curse, I'll let you see with your own eyes what will become of your mother, the queen, and the princess. I'll give you one more chance; will you refuse me?"

Mang Yingli's expression was ferocious, as if he wanted to devour Zhu Yin, but the fierce light in his eyes gradually died out, like a campfire in the cold night.

Instead, there was a desperate surrender.

"Alright. I agree to your request and will give a public speech in Ava City as you wish. However, I hope you will release them."

“No.” Zhu Yin shook his head. “I can only promise to give you all a quick death and dignity. But you cannot live.”

Mang Yingli remained silent for a while, looking lost and dejected. "We hope for a severed head."

According to the Burmese Sangha Code, there are many types of death penalty, which are extremely cruel. They are euphemistically called "washing away sins," and the high monks mean that "the more painful the death penalty, the more thorough the cleansing of sins."

However, the nobles preferred the swift and decisive "beheading with a golden knife." This shows that they themselves knew that the so-called "torture to atone for sins" was unreliable.

“Okay.” Zhu Yin nodded in agreement. “As long as you cooperate, you will all enjoy the exhilarating pain of being beheaded. But if you don’t behave, I don’t mind letting you personally experience all the tortures you invented.”

The Burmese Supreme Patriarch, Master Zhiguang, said with a sorrowful expression:
"Your Highness Regent of the Great Ming Dynasty, shouldn't the Buddha's compassion and universal light shine upon humanity? This old monk, Zhiguang, as the Supreme Patriarch of Burma, leading a community of 300,000 monks, humbly begs Your Highness Regent..."

"You may wish to live," Zhu Yin said coldly, showing no respect for the Sangha King. "But your scriptures must be revised. Your Buddhist scriptures should teach the Burmese how to respectfully serve their superior nation and their master. Their master is the Ming people."

Zhu Yin had figured it out: the Burmese monastic community could not be abolished. Why? He came to rule and colonize the indigenous people, not to liberate them or bring them comfort.

He acted for the benefit of China and the dignity of the Han people, not as a savior of a foreign race!

Abolishing the Burmese monastic order would be to enlighten the indigenous people, liberate them from their shackles, and cultivate competitors for China.

Zhu Yin wasn't a philanthropist who pursued universal benevolence and liberated wherever he went, so why did he want to remove the shackles from the indigenous people? Wasn't colonialism better? The idea of ​​benevolence towards foreign powers is outdated.

Only by utilizing the Burmese monastic community can China easily rule over its six million natives, making them serve as slaves to the Chinese. At that time, Han Chinese immigrants to Burma will become the upper class, effortlessly controlling this new territory of the empire.

Zhu Yin did not need the indigenous people to be assimilated into Chinese and enjoy the same treatment as other Chinese people in the future. What he needed was for the indigenous people to exist as a cheap labor resource.

Regarding the historical task of colonial expansion, the Ming Dynasty could neither emulate Great Britain nor Tsarist Russia.

The British approach was complete colonization; a colony is always a colony, which eventually led to a colony becoming a small country once it gained independence.

Tsarist Russia's approach was complete localization, turning all colonies into local territory and natives into Russians. As a result, the Russian people did not enjoy the benefits of being conquerors; they remained poor and suffered as before. So what was the point of expansion for the Russian people?

Both of these are extremes and neither is advisable.

The Ming Dynasty should combine the two approaches and take the middle path that best suits China.

For at least a few decades, maintaining the monastic community that deceives the natives is beneficial to the Ming Dynasty. The prerequisite is that Han Chinese immigrants be prohibited from practicing Theravada Buddhism. The monastic community can be allowed to formulate its own code of conduct, forbidding the conversion of Han Chinese.

Zhiguang was undoubtedly a highly talented person to become the Sangha King. He immediately understood Zhu Yin's intention, as if he had grasped a lifeline.

"The Regent is the living Buddha in this world," Zhiguang said in a very nauseating and shameless manner. In order to save his life, he didn't care about the dignity of a high monk.
"The Burmese are descendants of sinners and demons. Because they are born with heavy sins, they need to be purified and atone for their sins generation after generation. Therefore, they not only need the teachings of the Three Jewels, but also a noble and wise master to supervise their atonement..."

Zhi Guang, worthy of being the Burmese Sangha King, quickly devised a theory based on Theravada Buddhist scriptures, claiming the indigenous people were lowly and the civilized people were noble. Moreover, it was presented in a very serious manner and had no logical flaws.

Myanmar is heavily influenced by India, and Brahmanism has always been very popular there. This is also related to Myanmar's strict class system.

Zhiguang's system was not created out of thin air, but had a very solid theoretical and practical foundation. It was simply a matter of replacing the former highest-ranking royal nobles and monks with Ming dynasty people.

After listening to Zhiguang's theory, which was eager to prove his worth, Zhu Yin nodded slightly and smiled meaningfully:
"Excellent! It seems that Master Zhiguang is indeed a great and accomplished monk. From now on, you will remain the Sangha's Chief Monk, and concurrently serve as an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Justice of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yin, of course, would not refuse such a Burmese high-ranking official who was taking the initiative to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty. Not only did he agree to let Zhi Guang, who was called a high monk but was actually a big swindler, continue to be the Supreme Patriarch, but he also gave him the fifth-rank official positions of Assistant Minister of Rites and Assistant Minister of Justice of the Ming Dynasty.

The Burmese monastic community served as both an educational institution (teaching only Buddhist scriptures) and a judicial body (the Sangha Court). The Supreme Patriarch, holding the titles of Assistant Minister of Rites and Minister of Justice of the Ming Dynasty, was thus seen as representing the Ming Dynasty in exercising its power of education and judgment.

Of course, Zhu Yin did not intend for them to switch to teaching Confucian classics. Confucian classics were a powerful tool for enlightening the people, and should not be actively taught to the natives.

So what do the natives learn? Of course, they continue to study Buddhist scriptures.

In Zhu Yin's plan, all people within the territory of the later Huaxia (China) would naturally be Huaxia people (regardless of ethnicity). People from the three Confucian cultural spheres of Goryeo, Japan, and Northern Vietnam could easily become Huaxia people as long as they learned Chinese.

In any other place, only a few elites who rely on Sinicization, naturalization, meritorious service, and other means to gain citizenship can become Chinese.

Only when the Chinese people are at the top can they avoid excessive involution and reap the historical benefits.

Zhiguang was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly bowed and kowtowed, saying, "This old monk thanks the Buddha and His Highness the Regent. On behalf of the 300,000 monks of Burma, this old monk respectfully accepts the Regent's decree..."

The Burmese king and his entourage, seeing Zhiguang's shamelessness, dared not utter a word of mockery, lest they anger Zhu Yin and meet a terrible end.

After Zhu Yin met with the group of high-ranking prisoners, he ordered them to be carefully guarded and then sent back to Ava City.

Then, Zhu Yin led his army south to deal with the Vietnamese army.

Zheng Song certainly didn't expect that he could wipe out the Burmese army so quickly and turn his attention to the Vietnamese army. When Zheng Song learns that the Burmese army has been defeated so quickly, he will definitely regret supporting the Burmese army.

Zhu Yin's army had just left Molo Town when Tiger Fang delivered the latest intelligence.

It's about the Western Allied Forces.

The Western allied forces numbered over 40,000, half of whom were white European soldiers—a significant investment by the colonial empire. Such a large expeditionary force was unprecedented since the Age of Exploration. Their objective was not only to recapture Luzon but also to conquer the Ming Dynasty.

The total strength of the Portuguese Indian authorities was originally no more than eight thousand. Of these, only a little over a thousand were purebred whites, more than two thousand were mixed-race whites, and the rest were Indian mercenaries, black slave soldiers, and Southeast Asian native soldiers.

The military strength was simply insufficient for a distant expedition against the Ming Dynasty.

To replenish their forces, Spain sent another 10,000 troops, Portugal sent another 5,000, and they also recruited another 5,000 mercenaries from the Netherlands, Italy, France, and other European countries, as well as black slaves from the Persian Gulf colonial authorities.

In this piecemeal fashion, more than 30,000 troops were added to the Eastern Expeditionary Force.

A month earlier, the Western Allied Forces had gathered in Goa for training and reorganization, training the Black and Indian soldiers in the Allied Forces.

Adding to the 8,000 troops already in the Portuguese and Indian authorities, the combined forces gathered in Goa exceeded 40,000, of which more than 20,000 were purebred whites.

According to the plan, the coalition forces were to train in India for three months and officially deploy in June. However, due to a certain person, it was suddenly brought forward.

This person is Zheng Song!

Zheng Song had been closely monitoring the Ming army's movements. He received reports from his scouts after the Ming army recaptured Haojing. He also received news shortly after the Ming army attacked Malacca.

The Western Allied Forces arrived ahead of schedule because Zheng Song had previously written to the Portuguese and Indian authorities, asking Calderón (a Spaniard) who had been preaching in Annam for many years to bring back Goa, India.

The letter stated that Zhu Yin, the regent of the Ming Dynasty, who was also the one who seized Manila, also seized Macau and the Strait of Malacca.

They requested that the foreigners send troops ahead of schedule, preferably landing in Burma to attack the port of Bago, which was garrisoned by the Ming navy, and then jointly attack Zhu Yin's main force.

He did this because he had offended Zhu Yin and considered Zhu Yin his greatest enemy. He was willing to use the power of foreigners to eliminate Zhu Yin.

Calderón brought Zheng Zhu's letter to Goa, and only then did the Portuguese and Indian authorities realize that the Ming army had arrived in Burma!
The Portuguese and Indian authorities could no longer sit still and immediately changed their plans to send troops ahead of schedule. Their aim was to take advantage of the fact that the Ming army and the Burmese army were fighting each other and had no time to spare, to eliminate the Ming army's navy left in Pegu, to cut off Zhu Yin's rear, and then to join forces with the Burmese and Vietnamese armies to encircle and annihilate the Ming army.

This is the most effortless strategy.

Therefore, they immediately agreed to Zheng Song's request and dispatched troops more than a month ahead of schedule.

Upon learning of Zheng's collusion with foreigners, Zhu Yin's murderous intent hardened, and he coldly said:
"Old Deng, you're really asking for trouble."

"Zheng Song, you will suffer even more than the King of Burma."

After reading the intelligence, Zhu Yin casually tossed it into the fire and ordered, "Speed ​​up the march! We can't let a single Vietnamese soldier escape back to Annam!"

...

P.S.: Next up is the Vietnamese army. I know everyone doesn't like war, so I'll finish all the war storylines within a week. Now it all comes down to the monthly ticket rankings. Thank you, goodnight! I hope everyone will post more fanfiction in the book review section.

(End of this chapter)