As the Ming Dynasty Morning Post reported that Annan invaded Longzhou, Guangxi, the entire capital began to pay attention to the small country of Annan.
At the same time, in the court hall, a new day of morning worship began again.
"If there is something to do, start the show, if there is nothing to do, leave the court~"
Xiao Jing's voice had just finished shouting when several more officials stood up one after another. They looked at each other and soon the lower ranking officials stepped back first.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report!"
The person who spoke was Jiang Mian, an official born in Guangxi. He is currently a bachelor's degree student at the Hanlin Academy. He is considered a very high-ranking official in the Hanlin Academy. He is also the highest-ranking official in the court among officials born in Guangxi. This person later became a member of the Hanlin Academy in history.
Zhengde Dynasty also entered the cabinet.
"Tell me~"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly.
"Your Majesty, the Annan soldiers invaded Longzhou, the Ming Dynasty, burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil, causing heavy casualties to the people of Longzhou, Guangxi, and blood flowing like rivers. I ask your Majesty to avenge the people of Guangxi!"
When Jiang Mian said this, he gritted his teeth. His fellow villagers in his hometown were slaughtered by foreigners, and he, a Guangxi native, had to stand up no matter what.
If he doesn't even speak to the people in his hometown, who else can explain it to the people in his hometown?
"Your Majesty, I request your Majesty to avenge our people in Guangxi!"
Officials from Guangxi came forward one after another.
Liu Jin looked at these officials from Guangxi and nodded slightly. They were bloody. Thinking about future generations, the Guangxi soldiers were all called wolf soldiers, and they were full of blood.
Moreover, Guangxi has been invaded many times in history by the French who occupied Annan later, but they have never taken any advantage in Guangxi. The Guangxi people would rather die standing than surrender to the foreigners. They are full of integrity.
.
"I already know about this matter. What do you think, dear friends?"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly, then looked at everyone and asked.
Although Emperor Hongzhi himself had already made up his mind to send troops to Annan, it was natural for him to ask his subordinates to bring this matter up, and then let everyone discuss it together. It would be better to discuss it, so that these civil servants would not say anything.
He is arbitrary and self-willed.
Upon hearing this, all the ministers immediately began to think deeply.
Many smart ministers knew immediately that this matter was not that simple. It was not as simple as it seemed because Annan invaded Guangxi and burned, killed, and plundered, so the court had to express something.
In the past, Annan was often dishonest, jumping around like a monkey, and causing trouble from time to time. Otherwise, Emperor Yongle would not have sent 800,000 troops to destroy Annan and set up the Chief Envoy of Cochin.
Generally speaking, as long as it is not too excessive, Guangxi will organize troops to fight back, teach them a lesson, and let them know that they are not to be messed with. It is rare that this matter will be discussed in such a serious manner above the court.
matter.
Moreover, the Ming Dynasty Morning Post was very cooperative in reporting this incident, describing the tragedy that occurred in Longzhou, Guangxi, which aroused strong indignation among the people of the Ming Dynasty.
Although Annan did go too far this time and killed a lot of people in Longzhou, things were not as simple as imagined.
Li Dongyang thought for a moment, and he immediately understood the profound meaning of this. In the final analysis, it was Emperor Hongzhi who wanted to fight. The reason is so simple.
Nanyang has become indispensable to the Ming Dynasty. Trade with various countries in Nanyang, plantations in Nanyang, and travel to Burma, Tianzhu, the Middle East, and Persia through Nanyang.
One can imagine the importance of Nanyang. For Ming Dynasty, this place was not only indispensable, but also must be firmly in its own hands.
We conquered northern Luzon last year, and naturally we have to find a place to attack this year. If we conquer Annan again, we will be able to surround the east and west sides of the South China Sea, and at the same time gain a land bridge to Indochina, which will have a deeper
The first-level strategic consideration was to realize the Ming Dynasty's military presence in Indochina, echoing the Nanyang province of Luzon, and jointly consolidate the Ming Dynasty's position in Nanyang by land and sea.
Annan is located at the junction of the Ming Dynasty and the Indochina Peninsula. It can be used as a springboard for the Ming Dynasty to explore the Western and Southeastern Oceans. Its geographical location is extremely important. By taking Annan and Champa, the Ming Dynasty can more easily control the Indochina Peninsula and nearly control Champa.
, Siam, the Chenla countries, can control Manchuria and Sumatra near the peninsula, Old Port, Kua Wa, Ningni and other countries.
This is very important for the now booming Southeast Asia ocean trade and Southeast Asia plantation economy.
Thinking of this, Li Dongyang stood up and said: "Your Majesty, gentlemen, in the small country of Annan, Yelang is arrogant and does not know his own strength. He kills our people and invades our territory. This is asking for death."
"Annan has been the land of our Ming Dynasty since ancient times. However, in the past, our Ming Dynasty was unable to manage it, so it was occupied by the puppet Li Dynasty. Now that our Ming Dynasty's national power is booming, our army and horses are strong, we should take Annan back and re-establish the Chief Envoy of Jiaozhi."
"Not only can we expand our territory, but we can also protect our people of the Ming Dynasty, and we can also intimidate the countries in Southeast Asia."
There is nothing to say, I must support it.
Not only because this was the will of Emperor Hongzhi, but also because the trading firm invested by Li Dongyang and the Li family also had its own plantations and merchant ships in Nanyang.
Pirates, thieves, and countries in Southeast Asia imposed heavy taxes on Ming merchant ships, which had seriously violated the interests of major Ming merchant houses and plantations, and also violated the interests of the ministers above the court.
Who doesn’t have an investment firm now?
Who doesn’t have shares in Nanyang plantations?
Do you really think that Jiang Mian is completely speaking out for the people of Guangxi? He also has his own trading house, his own merchant ship, and his own plantations in Nanyang.
Even Jiangnan Shilin, who was the most opposed to the establishment of a sea ban and the use of foreign troops in the past, along with the opening up of Nanjing and Songhu, a large number of commercial banks have sprung up in Nanjing and Songhu like bamboo shoots after a rain.
They also have their own huge interests in Nanyang.
So just after Li Dongyang finished speaking, Xie Qian stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I think what Mr. Li said is true."
"The countries in Southeast Asia are afraid of power but not moral, and Annan is even more so. Just because our Ming Dynasty did not accept its tribute last year, they invaded our Ming Dynasty Guangxi with a large number of troops."
"This shows that it was a lie that he paid tribute to our great Ming Dynasty in the past, but it was true that he wanted to get rewards from my great Ming Dynasty."
"It also shows that His Majesty's policy of formulating the treaty of the Ming Dynasty vassal states is actually far-sighted and goes straight to the essence of the tribute paid by the Southeast Asian countries."
"Since this period of time, not only the Annan soldiers invaded our Ming Dynasty, Guangxi, Champa, Siam, Bali, Java, Malacca and other Nanyang countries have also imposed heavy taxes on our Ming merchant ships. Pirates and thieves in the Nanyang region have also
They began to frequently plunder our Ming merchant ships."
"If things continue like this, where will the prestige of our country, the Ming Dynasty, lie?"
"I believe that the Ming Dynasty will not only send troops to attack Annan, but also take this opportunity to teach the Southeast Asian countries a lesson, enhance the prestige of the Ming Dynasty, expand its territory, and protect the people of the Ming Dynasty."
Needless to say, Xie Qian was a great businessman, landowner, gentry, and representative of a large family in the south of the Yangtze River. He used to firmly oppose the opening of the sea and the imposition of commercial taxes.
Nowadays, the Southeast Asian countries are levying commercial taxes on the Ming merchant ships, and there are also pirates and bandits plundering the Ming merchant ships. This has seriously violated the interests of the Ming merchants. In the past, even the Ming emperor dared to do so, let alone these small Nanyang countries.
Therefore, he is also the most supportive of war against the Southeast Asian countries.
This is a good start to the war!
After conquering Annan, occupying Champa, and occupying more islands and land in Southeast Asia, we can open more plantations, do business with more peace of mind, and go to Tianzhu, Ceylon, Persia, and the Middle East.
By fighting against pirates, thieves can also protect the safety of everyone's merchant ships and plantations. This is a good thing that kills two birds with one stone. It will teach the Southeast Asian countries a lesson and see who dares to disrespect the Ming Dynasty in the future.
"Your Majesty, I believe that what Mr. Li and Mr. Xie said is true~"
Li Dongyang and Xie Qian expressed their opinions one after another, and other ministers also stood up one after another, and they all said in unison.
"Even the civil servants have changed~"
Seeing this scene, Liu Jin was also slightly shocked.
Initially, both Liu Jin and Emperor Hongzhi thought that this matter might be difficult to pass in the court. In the past, civil servants were the most opposed to the use of force.
You must know that when the little Tatar prince invaded Shanxi and Shaanxi, Emperor Hongzhi wanted to fight with him, but he met with strong opposition from his ministers.
At that time, there were many imperial censors and Hanlin even wanted to die to oppose the war between Emperor Hongzhi and the little Tatar prince.
But now, not only did no one stand up to express opposition, everyone even advocated that not only Annan should be attacked, but also the Southeast Asian countries should be attacked together, and beaten hard until they were scared and hurt.
Such a huge change also made Liu Jin think deeply.
Sure enough, as the old saying goes, the butt determines the head.
In the past, the reason why these civil servants opposed it was because going to war would not bring any benefit to them, and it would most likely lead to turmoil in the Ming Dynasty, leading to the re-emergence of the Ming Dynasty's military generals and noble groups.
The reason why we support the war now is because everyone has huge interests in Nanyang.
At the end of the past few months, when the major commercial banks and plantations of the Ming Dynasty distributed year-end dividends, all the big bosses in the government and the public received huge profits.
Now that the Nanyang countries are harming the interests of the Ming Dynasty and harming everyone's interests, naturally everyone will not allow it.
A war is necessary, and there are many benefits after starting the war. The land captured can be used to develop plantations, and the captured population can be used to grow sugar cane and rice. It can also clear out pirates and bandits, so that the Southeast Asian countries will no longer dare to impose heavy taxes on the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty, etc.
wait.
In short, we must fight, hit hard.
As for whether we can win the battle, do we still need to doubt it?