Siam has always been the breadbasket of Southeast Asia.
The superior climate and abundant rainfall give Siam a natural advantage in developing agriculture. The rice produced here enjoys a high reputation around the world. Siamese people do not need to risk their lives in the mines or go to work from nine to five.
As long as you cultivate a dozen acres of land at home, you can live a life that makes people in surrounding countries envious and jealous.
Because of the compromise between Britain and France, Siam was once the only independent country in Southeast Asia. Without the explanation of the previous sentence, this is an achievement that the Siamese people should be proud of, but in fact everyone knows that Siam
The ability to maintain independence is not because of how powerful a country like Lan Phong is, nor because of the unyielding will of its citizens like Switzerland. It is purely because both Britain and France look down upon it, which is why Siam has survived to this day.
From the perspective of the British and French, attacking Siam is almost certainly a losing business. Siam does not have any resources that can be used. Even if it does, it has not been explored. The only thing worthy of praise in the country is rice.
, but rice is not without substitutes. The British and French are not very accustomed to eating rice, so Siam is useless to the British and French. Siam's only role is to act as an intermediary between British and French colonies.
buffer zone.
Before Lyotey came to the Far East, this pattern had existed for nearly a hundred years, and it had even reached the point where it should have been. While other regions around the world were fighting wars for colonies, Siam was forgotten in the world.
in the corner.
But living in this world, no country can live alone. It either enslaves others or is enslaved by others. This situation will still exist even in the 21st century, but by then the methods of enslavement will be more hidden.
It won't be as red as it is now.
The current king of Siam is 33-year-old Rama VI, who also has a Chinese name called Zheng Bao. Among the 77 children of the fifth-generation king, Rama VI ranks 29th.
If Julie knew how many brothers and sisters King Rama VI had, she would definitely be very grateful to Qin Zhiyuan as a person.
If Rama VI showed a certain degree of pro-China, Qin Zhiyuan would not have thought of targeting Siam, but the fact is that since Rama VI ascended the throne 13 years ago, the policy pursued by Rama VI was to restrict the political rights of the Chinese.
The Chinese economy prevents the spread of Chinese culture.
How can Qin Zhiyuan endure this?
Speaking of which, among the countries in Southeast Asia, Siam has the largest proportion of Chinese or ethnic Chinese. Among the more than 6 million people in Siam, nearly 500,000 are Chinese or of Chinese descent. This is besides the Thai people.
The largest ethnic group outside China should obtain a social status commensurate with its population base.
Before King Rama VI, the social status of the Chinese in Siam was pretty good. Although they were not said to be superior to others, they were not deliberately suppressed. They were basically treated as nationals.
After King Rama VI came to power, perhaps because of the deteriorating situation of the Qing Empire, or because of the instigation of some careerists, the social status of the Chinese in Siam went from bad to worse, and the economic level was also suppressed. Whether it was doing business or buying property, it was necessary to
The taxes paid are much higher than those of Thais, which makes many Chinese miserable.
After the establishment of Lan Fong, as the only country in Southeast Asia with Chinese as the main body, many Chinese went to Lan Fong from Siam to seek life. After seeing the power of Lan Fong, the calls of these immigrants from Siam to return to Siam became more and more popular.
It got higher and higher, and finally prompted Qin Zhiyuan to launch an attack on Siam.
After reaching a cooperation agreement with Lyotey, the attack on Siam can be said to be a matter of course and can be launched at any time.
Of course, this still requires an opportunity, or a reason. You cannot, as Qin Zhiyuan said, launch a war to destroy the country just because the rice is delicious. That is really unjustifiable.
Pado is a very inconspicuous small city on the Malay Peninsula. Many people may not be able to find this place even with a map. But when it comes to the location of Pado, it is that many keyboard warriors will never forget it in the 21st century.
The Isthmus of Kra.
There is no doubt how important the geographical location of the Isthmus of Kra is. If a canal is really dug here, the Strait of Malacca will become useless.
Qin Zhiyuan doesn't care about the Kra Isthmus. Let's not talk about whether it is necessary to dig it. The current Lion City is not the pioneer Singapore of later generations. In the process of Lanfang's founding of the country, the Chinese in the Lion City gave Lanfang the help they could.
Giving money to others and giving people to others, no matter from any aspect, Qin Zhiyuan has no reason or necessity to target the Lion City.
Pado is a small town. Like other cities in Siam, Pado is home to a large number of Chinese. The ratio to the Thais is about ten to one. Of course, the Thais are ten. At the same time, like many Southeast Asian areas, the Chinese
Intelligence and hard work allow the Chinese to live a relatively wealthy life, which makes many Thais envious and jealous.
Yongding Village is a small village in Pado. It is a village established by Chinese. Because the first generation of Chinese came from Fujian in the Republic of China, they used the place name of their hometown as the name of their new home.
Yongding Village does not have a nominal village chief. The Zheng family is a large household in Yongding Village, and Zheng Hanxue, the head of the Zheng family, is the chief in the customary sense.
The Zheng family is a large family with a population of nearly a thousand and is quite influential in the local area of Pado. The local Chinese in Pado have always followed the Zheng family. Zheng Hanxue is quite prestigious in the local area of Pado. Even the local magistrate of Siam wants to
Whatever you do, you must discuss it with Zheng Hanxue first.
But that was only in the past. Since King Rama VI succeeded to the throne, the status of the Chinese in Siam has gone from bad to worse, and it is the same here in Pado. Local officials have levied more and more taxes on the Chinese villages. Although Zheng Hanxue argued hard, the effect was not
It was always not a good idea, and I had no choice but to give in at every step under the pressure of the local officials.
Zheng Hanxue came back from Pado that day. As soon as he got home, he held a meeting in the ancestral hall.
The ancestral hall is a special place in the Chinese gathering area. It is not only a sacrificial hall for worshiping ancestors, but also a conference room for discussing family affairs. It is also a execution hall for executing family laws. Since Rama VI came to power, there have been more and more ancestral halls for the Zheng family.
It is responsible for the function of the conference room. Unfortunately, there are more and more gloomy situations, and the time for happy gatherings is becoming less and less.
Zheng Hanxue is in his fifties, with a thin figure and elegant temperament. He wears a long gown and has a literati temperament. He speaks very slowly and enunciates clearly. He gives the impression that he is calm and dependable. However, in recent years, this
This feeling is getting less and less. With more and more gray hair on the temples, Zheng Hanxue feels more and more unable to do his job: Starting from next season, our local tax and personal tax will be increased by 10%. Originally, this season
It was about to increase the levy. I tried my best to push it to the next season.
Zheng Han learned to speak slowly. After he finished speaking, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes in silence. His expression was exhausted, and there was unspeakable sorrow in his brows.
The agricultural tax in Siam was originally land tax. After King Rama VI came to power, Siam began to levy a head tax on the Chinese. This tax was only on the Chinese and Thais did not have to pay it. This differential treatment was not only reflected in the agricultural sector.
In terms of taxes, commercial taxes are even more serious. There are no less than a hundred types of taxes in Siam, and most of them are aimed at Chinese people.
We have to raise taxes again. This damn thing is making it hard for people to live. They were raised just half a year ago, and now they are going to be raised again. Do we have to hand over all the food we have worked so hard to grow to them, so they are willing to become impatient right away?
Swearing loudly.
Didn’t we say we were going to cut taxes a while ago? Why did we become so old-fashioned about raising taxes again? I want to get to the bottom of it.
Regarding this tax reduction, this only happened because of the rise of Lanfang.
Lanfang is a country composed mainly of Chinese people. Since its establishment, Lanfang's aggressiveness has made neighboring countries cautious in dealing with Chinese people. Who knows if Lanfang, who has a bad temper, will be overturned because of a trivial matter.
People will hold on to it, so when it comes to treating the Chinese, both the British, the French and the Americans have relaxed somewhat, not to mention the Siamese.
It is estimated that Rama VI also knew that his various policies against the Chinese had aroused strong dissatisfaction among the Chinese in Siam, so some time ago, Rama VI stated that he would cancel some taxes on the Chinese and relax restrictions on the Chinese.
, this alleviated the dissatisfaction of the Chinese in Siam to a certain extent, but unexpectedly, King Rama VI’s words were still ringing in his ears, and now what was waiting was a tax increase, which really disappointed Zheng Hanxue and the others.
What else can we do? Even if the king decrees a tax reduction, we will be in a place where the emperor is far away. The local officials who have been fattened by us will not be willing to reduce taxes. Some people are weird.
, although he didn’t say it explicitly, there were still complaints from Zheng Hanxue.
Let’s not talk about the past. What we are talking about now is this matter. What do you think? Zheng Hanxue opened his eyes and slowly scanned the audience. All the anger, doubts and weirdness disappeared immediately. In terms of authority, Zheng Hanxue is still
Powerful enough.
If you have any opinions, you can either submit them and continue to endure the exploitation of those doggy officials, or you can refuse to submit them and wait for the officers and soldiers to come and encircle and suppress them.
If we don't hand it over, there will be a next time. We can no longer tolerate those who advocate toughness.
Let’s delay first and then call together all the clan leaders in Pado to discuss it. If we can bring him together, the Siamese people may not dare to do anything. This is mature and prudent.
That's right, Lanfang won't let the Siamese bully us, and some want to use external forces.
Oh, it would be great if Brother Feng was still here. Someone suddenly said something in the corner.
Brother Feng, this is Zheng Hanxue’s eldest son Zheng Lingfeng. Three years ago, Lanfang had just raised the banner of establishing the national flag. Zheng Lingfeng ignored Zheng Hanxue’s obstruction and went to Lanfang to participate in Lanfang’s founding battle. Now the name Feng Brother is taboo in Yongding Village.
No one dared to mention it.
Don't mention that beast Zheng Hanxue was really furious.
Daddy and eldest brother came back. Suddenly, the voice of Zheng Hanxue's youngest son came from outside the ancestral hall door.
Zheng Hanxue suddenly stood up from the chair. His movements were so large that he brought the chair down. The hand holding the crutches was showing blue veins and trembling slightly.
This is his biological son. Don't look at the beasts he curses. It's a lie to say he doesn't care.
