Compared to Champa, this place seems a bit more desolate.
At a glance, even the ships on the pier do not appear densely packed.
This is mainly because the merchant ships coming from the West are basically bound for the Ming Dynasty. After passing through Malacca, there is no need to go around Chenla Port. It is more convenient to go directly to Champa.
This is also because the land connecting Siam to Malacca blocks the sea route.
Of course, considering the unique location of the city, the tax revenue generated by the port every year is still very considerable.
However, most of these taxes will not enter the Chenla treasury and have already been occupied by the nobles.
No matter how much tax revenue the port had, what was reported to the royal family was a loss, and all the money was pocketed by the nobles.
This situation is not just in ports, but in almost most areas.
This is also the reason why Shenlie Popiya had to carry out reforms before.
He knew very well that if things continued like this, without Siam to attack, Chenla itself would be destroyed, and social conflicts had reached a point where they were irreconcilable.
Reform is change.
Reform is not that simple at any time, and failure is normal.
After Long Dongqiang met his adoptive father here, he immediately began to prepare to organize people to seize the port.
"Then you listen to whatever the old eunuch says. Brother, do you know how many troops they have? There are only a few of us. Many of them are workers on the dock who only know how to work. If you want them to move things, they can also farm.
It's possible, but if they are asked to take up arms and kill people, how is that possible?"
"What we have on hand is only 700 people, but your Chenla soldiers stationed at the port have 2,000 people, and they all have armors, weapons, and even muskets and cannons. What should we use to fight with them?
They fight."
"I don't know what the eunuch said to you, brother, but if we go to attack the port, we are definitely asking for death. No matter how rich you are, if you die, you will have nothing."
"Brother, listen to my advice and don't follow that old eunuch. He definitely doesn't have good intentions."
Long Dongqiang wanted to organize people to seize the port, but was strongly opposed by his younger brother Long Dongsheng.
Just coming from Long Dongsheng's mouth, it seems to make some sense.
Several core members of the Cao Gang heard this and nodded slightly, more agreeing with Long Dongsheng's statement. Although the Cao Gang has come to Zhenla Port now, everyone's wealth has become richer. It is different from the barefooted ones before.
There is no need to risk your life.
Long Dongqiang stared into his brother's eyes and asked: "Xiao Sheng, your temperament is the most adventurous. At any time, you must be the first one. Tell me, is it because of my brother's status as an adopted son that you are allowed to take risks?"
There is a gap in your heart, or do you think your adoptive father is harming us?"
"I've always known that you have a lot of objections to your adoptive father, but without the help of your adoptive father, would our Caogang be what it is now?"
"I think you must have heard about the situation of the gangs in Champa City now. No matter how powerful they are, under the attack of the Ming Dynasty Yamen and the army, how big a storm can they cause."
"If we don't have our foster father to show us the way, what other solution will our Cao Gang have except disbanding? Maybe you think we can come to Zhenla even without our foster father, right?"
"But have you seen that, except for our Cao Gang, who has moved to Chenlai? No gang can leave without a government order. Now almost all of them are in Champa. Even those who are still there are just hanging on.
."
"This time the adoptive father received the news and immediately came to meet him in person. You don't even think about what kind of person the adoptive father is. He is the person who is close to the great grandson of the Ming Dynasty today. No one can show respect to anyone who meets him, let alone the adoptive father.
On his body, he still has the official status of supervising the army."
"What does our Cao Gang deserve for my adoptive father to care about? Is it money or personnel? What is left with my adoptive father is just my filial affection for several years. If this affection is used up, then
There is nothing left.”
"Xiao Sheng, you have also studied. You should understand some truths. If we don't take this opportunity to make contributions, Caobang will never be able to get ashore."
Long Dongqiang's words silenced several people present.
Long Dongsheng, who liked to refute the most, did not speak at this time, but lowered his head slightly.
Asking himself, he did despise Li Youwei because of his status as an eunuch. Even though he had become reckless, in Long Dongsheng's heart, he was still the scholar and scholar he was back then.
The reputation of a scholar is the pride engraved in one's bones.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Longdong Qiang glanced around and then said: "We have few people, so it is naturally impossible to confront the Zhenla soldiers directly. But what is the situation of the soldiers at the port now? I want everyone to get in touch with it."
I’ve read it many times, so I should have a better understanding.”
"Now the entire port is under the rule of the Fian family. They are greedy and have given us a lot of room for development. Sometimes, we don't have to do it forcefully."
Long Dongsheng's eyes lit up and he said, "What do you mean, brother, to kidnap Siangla?"
Siangla is the legitimate son of the Fian family and the governor in charge of the entire Chenla port.
Long Dongqiang nodded: "As long as you kidnap him, you will control the entire port."
The port of Chenla is different from the government. It is completely ruled by the aristocracy, and the soldiers are equivalent to the private soldiers of the aristocrats.
If Siangla is kidnapped, these soldiers will definitely take action.
Siangla is a fat man weighing more than 200 pounds. His hobbies are simple, greedy for money and lustful.
After Long Dongqiang made the plan, he immediately started taking action.
In the middle of winter, he pretended to ask Angla out for a drink in a restaurant at the port, in the name of discussing business.
Siangla was obviously very interested in such things. He knew that Caobang was going to give him money. Siangla had always been very satisfied with Caobang's understanding.
The port was the territory of his Fian family, and Siangla didn't think much about it. After all, the soldiers patrolling everywhere were his.
He just brought two guards and went to the appointment.
And Long Dongqiang ambushed two hundred people in the restaurant.
Things went smoothly, mainly because Siangla never thought that the Cao Gang would attack him.
When something went wrong with the soldiers, the Cao Gang had already taken control of Siangla.
People who are greedy for money and lustful generally have very little courage.
The threat in Caogang was small, and Siangla, who was afraid of being harmed, agreed to any conditions.
It was easier than expected, and the Cao Gang took control of the entire port.
The original port soldiers surrendered directly under Siangla's order.
Li Youwei also received the news soon.
Smiling, he patted Long Dongqiang on the shoulder and said, "Very good, the next step is to look after the father."
In fact, for the Ming Dynasty, Chenla Port was of little significance at all. The navy could take it with just a few ships.
But Long Dongqiang took control of the port in advance, which is his merit.
Meritorious service cannot be ignored in the Ming Dynasty's army.
This also gave Li Youwei room to operate.
On the third day, Jin Kaishan arrived at Chenla Port with 20,000 navy troops. He originally thought he would encounter resistance, but he did not expect that the port had already been captured.
This is naturally a good thing for the navy, because once a fight starts, there will always be casualties.
The key thing is that Li Jianjun is here.
"Jianjun Li really got a good adopted son."
On the dock, the navy had taken over the port. Jin Kaishan looked at Li Youwei and Long Dong and said with a strong smile.
In Jin Kaishan's view, this kind of operation was naturally because Li Youwei wanted to find a way out for his adopted son.
Jin Kaishan also knew something about the Caobang affairs. After all, he had been stationed in Champa for a long time and had to deal with them.
But he didn't expect that Li Youwei would come to Zhenla Port in person and give such a gift to Longdong Qiang. It was obvious that he really valued his adopted son.
Li Youwei is the supervisor of the navy, so Jin Kaishan will naturally sell his face.
"Why don't you hurry up and see Commander Jin?" Li Youwei shouted to Long Dong behind him, with a hint of scolding in his tone.
Long Dongqiang knew that this was his adoptive father trying to remind him, and he was overjoyed. He hurriedly came over to bow to him: "Long Dongqiang, a common man, pays homage to Lord Commander Jin."
If Li Youwei didn't open his mouth, Longdong Qiang wouldn't even have the qualifications to come and pay him a visit.
Now that Li Youwei is taking care of him, it's completely different.
"It's easy to say that Gang Leader Long has made a contribution to the port matter. I will definitely report it to the Ministry of War and record the merits of Gang Leader Long." Commander Jin said with a smile.
But these words made Li Youwei frown slightly.
With the word "Long Gang Leader", Long Dong was forcibly identified as a gang member.
If you report this situation, there will be no reward from the Ministry of War, and it will most likely turn a blind eye.
"Dong Qiang, Commander Jin has just arrived at the port. You must treat him well and don't lose etiquette. If you have any inconvenience, you must apologize to Commander Jin."
"To be able to seize the port this time, Commander Jin's help is indispensable. Otherwise, how could you have been so relaxed?"
As soon as Li Youwei opened his mouth, Long Dongqiang reacted immediately.
He quickly said: "The villain got the help of Commander Jin to seize the port of Zhenla. There are just some details. I would like to report something to Commander Jin. I would like to ask Commander Jin to come and talk in detail."
Jin Kaishan laughed and said: "What a strong winter, not bad, not bad."
Jin Kaishan himself looked down upon this small contribution, but he felt somewhat unhappy that Li Youwei had told Longdong the news privately.
He himself does not need this small contribution, but the brothers under his command do, especially the confidants who follow him.
Now listening to this meaning, Longdong Qiang is willing to give up some of the credit, which is in line with his wishes.
After the port of Chenla was controlled, the news quickly spread to Angkor, the capital of Chenla.
The current King of Chenla is in a mess.
Just as Zhu Ying guessed, King Shenle Piya of Chenla had died of illness, and the nobles in the royal capital quickly supported the several-year-old prince to ascend to the throne of king.
Then he firmly controlled the power in his own hands, and all the previous reforms made by Lie Po Piya were nullified.
However, they never expected that Ming Dynasty would interfere in Zhenla's affairs.
Fighting was definitely not possible, so envoys were immediately sent to plead for peace and apology.
It's just that the order the Ming army received from Taisun was to avenge King Zhenla. This was due to the request of Concubine Dan, the concubine of the Taisun. The Ming army was standing on the basis of justice, not an invasion of Zhenla.
.
When Lan Yu led 20,000 troops to Chenla, it meant that the Ming Dynasty's war against Chenla had begun.
It was said to be a war, but in fact, for the Ming army, it was just like traveling.
The city of Chenla showed no intention of resisting. As soon as the army led by Lan Yu arrived at the city, the generals who defended the city immediately surrendered.
Lan Yu just accepted the cities one by one.
This is also something that can't be helped.
As Chenla is very close to the Ming Dynasty, it has been greatly influenced by the Ming Dynasty over the years.
Especially after Annan and Champa were returned to the Ming Dynasty, these nobles became even more fearful.
Secondly, this has a lot to do with psychological tactics.
Previously, we all knew that Ming Dynasty was a very powerful country, but we didn't have a specific understanding.
As the capital's newspapers spread overseas, more and more nobles became more aware of how powerful the Ming Dynasty was.
The clearer it became, the more afraid it became, especially in the past few years, Li Jinglong led the Western Fleet to dock in Chenla, which allowed the nobles of Chenla to have close contact with the military strength of the Ming Dynasty.
Now that the king is gone, the princess who married the grandson of the Ming Dynasty demands revenge for the king. Of course, these nobles do not want to stand out.
Therefore surrender is the best option.
In their view, after the Ming army entered Angkor Thom, it was nothing more than a trial of some nobles, and then Chenla would remain as it was, without affecting their interests.
Even if the Ming Dynasty wanted to rule Zhenla, it would definitely not be possible without their help.
However, what happened this time was greatly beyond the expectations of the nobles of Zhenla.
When Lan Yu arrived at the royal capital of Angkor Thom, the nobles in the city still wanted to resist. However, after less than an hour of artillery bombardment, the people in the city chose to surrender.
They tied up some nobles and handed them over as criminals who killed the king.
In their view, after the Ming army achieved their goal, they would definitely withdraw their troops and leave, and at worst they would have to compensate them for some losses.
Even if Ming Dynasty sends someone else to serve as king, it doesn't matter much.
After Lan Yu entered the city, he immediately arrested thousands of nobles, large and small.
Due to intelligence issues, Lan Yu really didn't know which nobles were involved in the poisoning, but is this important?
Did he bring the army here just to investigate the case?
"Reporting to the Duke, the 1,367 nobles in the city have all been arrested. Please inform the Duke."
Lan Yu, who was riding on the horse, heard the words and smiled coldly: "All the nobles here participated in the poisoning and murder of King Zhenla. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, they will be executed."
"As commanded."
The nobles in Chenla City never thought that this general from the Ming Dynasty would be so ruthless and directly started a massacre of all the nobles in Chenla City.
They regretted it very much at this moment. If they had known this, they might as well have resisted directly.
Suddenly, the entire Angkor was bleeding like a river.