Sun Kewang, the Minister of the Concierge Court of the Ming Dynasty, walked into the Qianqing Palace with a leisurely step.
"Sun Qing, you are here, please give me a seat." Zhu Hengjia has always been very polite to this former opponent and now minister, letting him sit and talk to him.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Sun Kewang sat down on the ground without asking the emperor why he had called him. Accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger. Only by talking less and doing more can you live longer.
"Qing Sun, our negotiation with the red-haired ghost has broken down again. The governor named Matsolko is very stubborn. He insists on imposing heavy taxes on Ming merchant ships passing through the Strait of Malacca. He refuses to lower it at all. He is really angry. Die for me!" the old emperor said angrily.
"These red-haired ghosts are so hateful! They dare to exploit Ming Dynasty merchant ships. I wish I could eat their flesh, drink their blood, and sleep on their skin!" Sun Kewang's expression was equally angry. Ministers must always maintain a high degree of consistency with the emperor. The emperor Whoever you love, you will love; whoever the emperor hates, you will hate, so that you can live well.
Seeing that he hated the red-haired barbarians more than himself, the old emperor immediately found his confidant. Seeing that his expression softened a little, he said, "Sun Qing, according to my original intention, I wish I could attack the Netherlands immediately and destroy this country." If you think about it carefully, you can’t fight. On the one hand, the national treasury is empty and expanding the navy will be too expensive; on the other hand, the people have finally lived a peaceful life, and if there is a war, the people’s livelihood will inevitably suffer."
"What your Majesty said is that we can't fight. The Red-haired Ghost Navy is quite powerful. It will take time to expand the navy. In the short term, we still need to hide our strength and bide our time." When he heard the old emperor said that he couldn't fight, Sun Kewang immediately started to hide his strength and bide his time.
Zhu Hengjia smiled, "I have an idea. There are many small countries in Malacca, and many of them are vassals of the Ming Dynasty. Although it is not appropriate to fight the red-haired ghosts directly, can we support a pro-Ming force to fight them and disturb Malacca? You can’t live in peace. Then negotiate with them and ask them to give the Ming merchant ships entering and exiting the Malacca Strait the same tax rate as the Red Maoyi merchant ships?”
Brilliant! What Ibrahim of Johor asked us to do is expected to come true!
Sun Kewang was ecstatic in his heart and praised it profusely: "This is a wonderful plan! Your Majesty is so talented and powerful. He must have great wisdom. I am listening attentively."
"I can't say that I have any pearls of wisdom. I just have a rough idea. I will tell you and discuss it with Sun Qing."
Zhu Hengjia paused and said: "I think the only forces suitable to fight against the Red Haired Barbarians near Malacca are Aceh, Brunei, Johor, and Perak. Aceh is a vassal of the Rumi Kingdom (Ottoman Turkey). If Aceh is supported, It is equivalent to handing over the Strait of Malacca to the hands of the Lumi Kingdom, which cannot be done. Therefore, we can only choose among the three countries of Brunei, Johor, and Perak. I have not decided which country to choose, and Sun Qing will make plans for me."
Just when I was worried about how to speak to the old emperor and help Ibrahim's father plot to usurp the throne, His Majesty had plans to intervene in the affairs of Malacca. Someone would give him a pillow as soon as he fell asleep!
Sun Kewang was so happy that his heart was trembling. He calmed down and calmly guided the old emperor to his own thoughts.
"Your Majesty, the country that has the best relationship with our country is Brunei Darussalam. This country is located on the north coast of Borneo (Kalimantan Island), with Bandar Seri Begawan as its capital. It was called Bo Ni in ancient times. Wang Manaragana once personally led his envoys to visit our founding ancestor in the Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, he died of illness and was buried in Nanjing, leaving the tomb of King Bang Ni. He has always been loyal to the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Hengjia nodded, "I have also heard about the Boni Kingdom. How about choosing it?"
"This country is indeed loyal to the Ming Dynasty, but most of its land is forest and is often harassed by barbarians. Its land and population are the smallest among the three countries. Moreover, there are Johor and Perak as barriers between the country and the red-haired ghosts, so there is no deep conflict with the red-haired ghosts. , may not be willing to do this," Sun Kewang said.
"Well, what about the Perak Sultanate? I hope that country can give the red-haired ghost a bolt from the blue. Hahaha!"
"Your Majesty, Perak's domestic tin mines are very rich by selling the ore to the Western Barbarians. But a few days ago, the Sultan Muzaffar of Perak heard that the Ayutthaya Dynasty of Siam was going to attack him, and he planned to unite with the red barbarians to deal with Siam. The red-haired ghost was allowed to build a castle on Pangkor Island. At present, the relationship between the country and the red-haired ghost is acceptable.
After hearing this, Zhu Hengjia frowned, "In this case, I can't count on the country of Perak. What about the country of Johor?"
"Your Majesty, the Kingdom of Johor is a direct descendant of the Sultanate of Malacca, also known as the Hurong Kingdom. It is very powerful. The country has a feud with the Aceh Kingdom and the Grand Franco Kingdom (Portugal). They once united with the red-haired ghosts to defeat the Grand Franco Kingdom."
Zhu Hengjia became anxious when he heard this, "Then the Johor country is also an ally of the red-haired ghost. What's wrong?"
Sun Kewang, however, remained calm and said, "Your Majesty does not know something. The Johor Kingdom has always regarded itself as the orthodox Kingdom of Malacca and has always wanted to take back Malacca City, its former capital. But after the red-haired ghost defeated the Francois, he stayed in Malacca City and refused to leave. and often invaded the territory of Johor. There are deep conflicts between the two countries."
"It's good if there is conflict," the old emperor breathed a long sigh of relief.
"God helps His Majesty succeed! There was civil strife in the Kingdom of Johor. The powerful minister Rajya Sabha expelled Sultan Abdul Jalil III and sent his son Ibrahim to pay homage to the Ming Dynasty and seek to establish himself as the Sultan of Johor. I thought this was a terrible move. It’s easy to make good use of the resources,” Sun Kewang said suddenly.
Upon hearing this, the old emperor shouted as if his tail was being stepped on, "Expelling the emperor with his ministers is a conspiracy to usurp the throne. Anyone who can rebel against the ministers and traitors will be punished. Our Ming Dynasty is the kingdom of heaven, and we pay attention to political principles. How can we Can we support such rebellious officials and traitors?"
"Your Majesty, if Abdul Jalil III is willing to make Rajan Bajja the crown prince, wouldn't he be a rebellious traitor?" Sun Kewang said suddenly.
"Hahaha", Zhu Hengjia laughed loudly, "Sun Qing is confused. Nabagja has usurped Jalil's throne. How can Jalil be willing to make him the prince?"
"Your Majesty does not know that Abdul Jalil's only son Raja Bakar was the Sultan of Pattani. After he was expelled, he fled to Pattani. The old Sultan is eighty-two years old this year, and his only son Bakar
Carl is already sixty and has no grandsons, only a few granddaughters. He really wants his granddaughters to inherit the throne of Pattani. However, although the country does not allow women to be kings, there are many restrictions. Both Pattani and Johor are
I belong to the Ming dynasty. If His Majesty canonize his granddaughter as the daughter-in-law of the King of Pattani in exchange for the appointment of Rajya Praja as the crown prince of Johor, this will definitely happen! Moreover, Rajya Praja is the son-in-law of the old sultan.
He is the son-in-law, and being established as the crown prince of the King of Johor is also in line with the country's tradition."
"That's it." Zhu Hengjia thought for a while and said: "Sun Qing, you said that Naraja Bajja sent his son Ibrahim to come to our Ming Dynasty to pay homage. Let's do this. He will be admitted to the palace. I want to see him."
