The old king of Srivijaya, who was in his sixties, looked at the rebels outside the city with almost despair.
He was too humble and cowardly in the face of the Ming Dynasty, which caused the Ming Dynasty to gradually control the Straits of Malacca, and the domestic nobles lost a lot of profits.
This is the third rebellion.
In the first two suppressions of rebellion, he killed one son and exiled another.
This time, it was his nephew Charishipala who led the rebels to the royal city. Not only did the local lords join the rebels one after another, but even Prime Minister Srivijaya, who went to suppress it, was persuaded to surrender halfway.
The old king has already deserted his family.
"Uncle, commit suicide!" Chalisapala came to the city with a shield and shouted.
The old king angrily rebuked: "Idiot, do you think you are brave? The vassal states under our control have long been looking forward to the war between Srivijaya and the Ming Dynasty. Many vassal states will not only take the opportunity to become independent, but also join the Ming Dynasty coalition. You will become one of the three
Foqi the last king!”
Charishipala was too lazy to argue. He retreated a distance, drew his sword and shouted: "Attack the city!"
The attack and defense of the royal city lasted for six days, with both sides suffering heavy losses. Finally, a royal guard officer turned against him, led the rebels into the city, and strangled the old king to death.
When the rebels besieged the capital, the merchant ships from various countries docked at the outer port of Jambi left the port one after another to avoid harming the fish in the pond.
The nearest major port to Jambi is the Malacca Port controlled by the Ming Dynasty.
Three explorers and six second-generation officials encountered war as soon as they arrived in Malacca.
While they were still looking for a berth, a small boat arrived. The official of the Ming Dynasty boarded the deck and said: "The Srivijaya fleet may come and kill you, and your ship has been requisitioned!"
Wang Chongdu was surprised and said: "Srivijaya came to attack the Ming Dynasty harbor?"
The official explained: "There is a clan rebellion in Srivijaya and usurping the throne. The old king is probably in danger."
Since there is a war, it is not safe on the ship.
The six officials' sons were all nobles, so Wang Chongdu forcibly sent them ashore and took them to see the Ming Governor of Malacca.
The governor's name is Zhu Song, and he has three sons.
The youngest son is still named Zhu Xi, but it is estimated that he will no longer be able to found Neo-Confucianism.
Zhu Song did not like fighting, he preferred to engage in construction and education. He personally supervised the construction of the Malacca Castle and Harbor, and even built a school outside the castle.
The military here is under the charge of Navy Admiral Yang Yao.
"Alas, although King Srivijaya is a barbarian chief, he is also sensible," Zhu Song sighed. "This king often exchanges letters with me and gives me many gifts every time, but he unexpectedly encounters such unbearable things."
Yang Yao was too lazy to accompany the governor and went straight to the topic: "We occupied Malacca, and there were many complaints from the nobles in Srivijaya. The rebels this time were led by those nobles. The land in Malacca is barren and cannot produce much food, so this battle must be fought
A quick battle is needed. But before the usurper has completely controlled the navy, we send out troops to fight as quickly as possible to kill the Srivijaya warships in various ports."
Zhu Song nodded and said: "Malacca needs to purchase food from outside, and the war really shouldn't drag on for too long. I don't understand military affairs, so I will send troops according to Admiral Yang's strategy."
Yang Yao continued: "Please ask the governor to write letters to the various countries in Southeast Asia, especially the Najava Kingdom. This country has only been independent from Srivijaya for a few decades and has been suppressed by Srivijaya. They will definitely be willing to help us fight the war."
"It should be like this if it is combined vertically and horizontally." Zhu Song followed the good advice.
The two continued to discuss the details, and Yang Yao said goodbye and left to prepare for the war.
Zhu Song wrote more than ten diplomatic letters in one go and sent them to various countries in Nanyang. Ming Dynasty did not have to fight alone in Nanyang. It could lead a group of small countries to attack Srivijaya!
In the countries of Southeast Asia, the three Buddhas have been suffering for a long time.
After writing the diplomatic letter, Zhu Song no longer paid attention to the war, but thought about how to lure Han people to reclaim wasteland.
Although the land in Malacca is barren, rice can still be grown in some places, but the natural environment must be artificially improved.
Starting from scratch is very hard work!
In another time and space, the Portuguese colonized Malacca, and immigrants from all over the world were mainly engaged in business. Only Chinese immigrants were willing to open up wasteland and colonize, and the Chinese quickly became farmers in Malacca.
Zhu Song didn't understand what a tropical monsoon climate was. He only knew that it had the same rainy and hot weather here.
Those dense forests can be cut down, and the wood can be sold for money. The forests can be cut down, and canals can be dug to facilitate drainage and fertilizer preservation during rainy seasons.
Those swamps can also be drained of stagnant water, and rice can also be grown.
Zhu Song even personally visited dozens of miles of surrounding land and had already spotted several areas of land that could be cultivated.
This approach is different from normal overseas governors.
He had no interest in opening up new territories or fighting wars. He only wanted to cultivate land and build things.
"Governor, there are several scholars outside, all of whom are from famous families..."
After Zhu Song heard the origins of those second-generation officials, his scalp went numb and he prayed in his heart that nothing would happen in his jurisdiction.
Wang Chongdu led six people to pay homage, and Zhu Song went out to greet him personally.
The two sides had a brief exchange, and Zhu Song said: "There is going to be a war here. Please stay in the city."
Lu You said: "Governor, don't worry, we are not powerless."
"I've been very good at bow and horse since I was a child!" Bai Shihou said in a very awesome voice.
Wang Chongdu quickly and quietly gave Zhu Song a wink.
Zhu Song politely stopped him: "Conquests at sea are different from those on land. The young gentleman is proficient in bow and horse, but it is difficult to display all kinds of skills on a ship."
The six people still wanted to ask for a fight, but Zhu Song changed the subject and stopped discussing the matter with them.
…
Yang Yao led the fleet to take the initiative and attack Langya Xiuguo next to Malacca (Kedah and surrounding areas).
It was a country established by South Indians, but the people at the bottom belonged to the Malay aborigines. After the decline of the Chola dynasty, Langyaxiu first broke away from the Cholas and established itself, and then became a vassal state of Srivijaya.
Killing the Langyaxiu fleet will solve Malacca's worries.
Although Yang Yao was the admiral of the Malacca Navy, he only had twelve large and small warships in his hands. He temporarily recruited some armed merchant ships, and a total of more than forty ships rushed towards Langya Xiu.
No fight!
When King Lang Yaxiu heard that the old king of Srivijaya was killed and saw the Ming fleet coming towards him, he immediately declared independence from Srivijaya and requested to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.
It dropped directly.
Yang Yao accepted Langya Xiu's surrender and took Langya Xiu's shabby fleet to the outer port of Jambi in Srivijaya.
He underestimated the hatred of the Srivijaya nobles and the army towards the Ming Dynasty!
The usurper Tsalisapala unexpectedly won the support of most of the nobles and the army.
The Srivijaya navy quickly assembled and did not attack Malacca directly, but raided the neighboring country of Chapo!
The navy of the Chapo Kingdom hurriedly responded to the challenge and was beaten to a pulp.
Having solved his worries, Srivijaya immediately sent his troops to attack Malacca, and collided with Yang Yao's fleet which had returned from Lang Yaxiu.
…
Bai Shihou stood on the Malacca Castle and observed the battle within the strait with a telescope.
The huge disparity in the number of warships between the two sides made Bai Shihou worried: "Srivijaya probably has hundreds of warships, but the Ming Dynasty only has a hundred or so warships (including the merchant ships and the Langya repair army). This fight is really difficult.
.”
"The Chinese warships are bigger." Lu You said.
Fan Chengda said: "There are so many ants that they can kill an elephant."
While a few people were talking, the battle had already begun.
On the Ming fleet side, only fifteen warships actively responded to the challenge. That is, the warships under Yang Yao and the three ships of the treasure-hunting trio.
Other temporarily recruited merchant ships, as well as the newly surrendered Langya water repairmen, all acted timid. They began to slow down all the way, and then cruised outside the battlefield, obviously ready to escape at any time.
The ocean current at this time flows from southeast to northwest, but the average flow speed is only 2 knots. The Sriwijaya Navy is in a downstream position.
However, the monsoon wind blows from northwest to southeast, and the Ming Navy is in the downwind position.
"Boom boom boom boom!"
The fifteen Ming warships lined up in the battle line had already started firing their cannons.
The Srivijaya navy could only take the beating passively. They furled their sails, rowed their oars frantically, and rushed along with the ocean current. The method of attack was very obvious. They took advantage of their large number of ships and rushed close to engage in a boarding battle.
Hundreds of Srivijaya warships came to attack, and the Ming Dynasty recruited merchant ships and Langyaxiu friendly troops. They were so frightened that they quickly retreated further away, without any thought of engaging in battle.
Yang Yao was too lazy to care about those guys. Taking advantage of the favorable wind, he commanded fifteen warships to draw an arc, all sailing towards the left wing of the enemy fleet. While maneuvering to change positions, he continued to fire at the enemy.
As a result, the Sriwijaya Navy soon became chaotic.
The right wing of the Srivijaya fleet was getting farther and farther away from the Ming Dynasty fleet. They felt that they could not catch up, so they simply stopped chasing Yang Yao and instead went after the merchant ships and the Langya Xiu navy.
The usurper Charishipala quickly discovered this problem, but he had just killed the king and established himself, so he was unable to effectively command the right-wing fleet and watched more than one-third of the ships sail away from the main battlefield.
He ordered the remaining ships to speed up their oars and outflank them.
However, the Ming fleet ran too fast downwind, and during the outflanking process of the Srivijaya fleet, the overall formation became increasingly chaotic, and there were even several huge gaps.
Before the close encounter, more than ten Sriwijaya warships had been sunk by artillery, and more than twenty other warships were seriously flooded and unable to move.
"Change of formation. Herringbone formation, rush over with me!"
Taking advantage of the enemy's encirclement, Yang Yao used his ship as a spearhead and charged straight towards the enemy's ship from neutral position.
The Srivijaya navy was overjoyed and rushed to meet him one after another.
The side guns and bow guns continued to fire. After the two sides got closer, the Ming Navy actually used an ancient weapon - the racket!
A thick wooden pole nearly ten meters long, with an iron-wrapped hammer head at the end.
Using the kinetic energy gained from falling heavy objects, the racquet stick is swatted at the approaching enemy ship. When a big ship hits a small boat, the racquet stick is particularly powerful, just like swatting a fly!
Some small ships of the Srivijaya Navy even lost their combat effectiveness after being hit by a bat.
This strange water warfare weapon has only appeared in inland China, and its design idea comes from the tangerine used for agricultural water extraction.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the naval forces of the Eastern Jin Dynasty were beaten with racquet sticks by the rebels and were unable to parry. Then, the naval forces of the Southern Dynasties used racquet sticks to fight against the Northern Dynasties, and finally the two sides used racquet sticks to fight against each other.
Chen's navy in the Southern Dynasties even organized building boats to approach the city wall, and directly smashed the city wall with large rackets...
The Srivijaya fleet has never seen an alternative weapon like the racket, and Sriwijaya's ships are not as strong as the city wall. They suddenly encountered a close combat and were hit by the racket, which made them stunned.
At the same time, the Ming Navy was still using firearms.
The musketeers aimed at the enemy's small bosses and fired from time to time "Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles" - this name was given by Ju Ming, but it was actually a honeycomb rocket.
From the perspective of the six second-generation officials, the outcome of the battle is already very clear.
The ships on the right wing of Srivijaya ran to pursue the Ming Dynasty's "servant army" and were far away from the main battlefield. The remaining Srivijaya fleet, during the encirclement process, was mobilized by the Ming navy and was thrown into chaos.
It was divided into seven or eight strands and scattered everywhere.
Fifteen Ming warships, in the gap between several enemy ships, rushed straight towards Srivijaya's main ship.
Moreover, under the combined attack of artillery, rockets, muskets, bats, and catapults, the Ming warships were invincible.
As a sharp Ming Dynasty ship, the bow even has a sharp collision angle.
"Stop them and seize the ship!"
Seeing that the Ming fleet was getting closer and closer, Charishipala finally panicked and ordered all nearby ships to rush to intercept it.
It's simply too late.
Many of these Srivijaya ships were the private property of the nobles. Seeing that the war situation was unfavorable, they suddenly had the idea of conserving their strength and were unwilling to lose their money to a new king who had just usurped the throne.
More than half of the nearby enemy ships actually retreated instead of advancing, allowing the Ming fleet to rush towards the king.
"Back off, back off!"
Charishipala also chose to retreat and led more than 20 directly affiliated ships to temporarily avoid it.
This behavior of the king was regarded as an escape, which caused the morale of the Srivijaya fleet to plummet. They still had more than 400 warships, but they all opened their sails and took advantage of the wind to escape to the southeast.
Everyone can see it.
Although the Ming Dynasty warships were few in number, their hulls were strong and tall, and they had a variety of weapons. They were simply not something that Srivijaya's small boats could compete with. Even if they rushed up to besiege them, it would be difficult to gain any advantage.
Without the Mongolian Navy to send a wave of technology, the Nanyang Navy at this time is actually very backward!
"We won, hurry up and catch up!"
The temporarily recruited merchant ships and the Langya Repairman fleet were originally beaten and kept running away.
At this moment, they found that all three Buddhas were retreating, and they suddenly gained courage, and started to follow the Ming Dynasty navy in a downwind battle.
"How magnificent!"
The six second-generation officials watched with excitement, and Wang Lianqing was even imagining a "Malacca Naval Battle Map".
Yang Yao led his troops to chase him for dozens of miles, and one after another Srivijaya ships surrendered.
These are the private fleets of nobles, and they are not willing to follow the new king all the way to the dark side.
After a full day of pursuit, Yang Yao gave up the remaining enemy and went back to blockade the outer port of Jambi, intending to take advantage of the situation and capture the capital of Srivijaya.
When the news came out, Boni, Jianyili and other Srivijaya kingdoms declared independence one after another and beat up the lost dogs. They spontaneously encircled and suppressed the remaining Srivijaya fleet that had escaped. Even the Chapo Kingdom, which had suffered serious losses, rolled up its sleeves and started to work.
Yang Yao landed with more than a thousand sailors and followed the river from the outer port to Jambi.
The defenders surrendered without a fight.
The main reason is that the new monarch's foundation is too shallow, and the army is unwilling to die for loyalty.
Srivijaya destroyed the country, but the Ming Dynasty only captured its capital, Jambi.
The remaining Srivijaya territory was divided into more than ten states, large and small. Those local nobles took the opportunity to stand on their own and sent envoys to Malacca to request the Ming Dynasty for canonization.
