Zhu Hecheng has just turned eighteen and looks quite immature.
He spent his childhood in the Ming Dynasty and his adolescence on the island of Ceylon.
This strange experience made him admire the Ming Dynasty, and then despised Ceylon.
Even during the Ming Dynasty, my family was just a small landowner, but I had no worries about food and drink, and the level of food and clothing was much better than in Ceylon.
The fine linen clothes that were comfortable and breathable in the Ming Dynasty only took several years to wear in Ceylon.
And for him, even though Jidu City is becoming more and more prosperous, it is still far behind the Ming Dynasty's county, lively temple fairs, and delicious candied haws, sugar figures, and pastries.
Although he is the superficial coach this time, Zhu Hecheng is particularly disdainful of the Kingdom of Kandy:
"Second uncle, why do we need so many people for this battle?"
"One thousand eight hundred is enough, these natives are vulnerable!"
Zhu Dingze, like him, was riding on an elephant, looking at the long winding queue, and couldn't help but say:
"Cheng'er, you don't understand!"
"The Kingdom of Kandy can compete with the Portuguese, and the Dutch also take advantage!"
"The people behind the Kingdom of Kandy are not English people?" Zhu Hecheng couldn't help but ask.
"Otherwise, where would they get so much gunpowder?"
You must know that on the Ceylon Road, there is a shortage of iron, coal, and craftsmen. Guns and other things must be purchased from outside.
When the Dutch were in Ceylon, they supported the King of Kandy; after the Dutch, Portugal and England supported him.
"It's the same, so pay attention to it!"
The vast army marched straight towards Anuradhapura.
For an army, the most difficult journey is marching, as there is no road to speak of.
The city of Anuradhapura is made of pure earth walls. Although it has been an old capital for more than a thousand years, the largest building is the temple in the city.
This has always been a reservation for the Sangha people and has never been occupied.
The army approached the city, shocking the small city which was no more than ten feet high.
Before the official attack, they had already surrendered.
"Amitabha!" The monk was wearing a cassock and was amiable. If it weren't for his dark complexion, he would be the same as the Ming Dynasty.
"Master, we are unwilling to kill!" Zhu Ding said seriously: "My king also respects Buddhism, not Brahmanism."
"You see that we look similar, so you should know..."
The Sinhalese are indigenous people of the Indian peninsula. Their facial features are not as deep as those of the Aryans, and their skin is dark and conspicuous.
To say they look similar is sheer nonsense.
However, the skin color and appearance of yellow people are very different from those of Tamil people.
This is enough comfort to the Sinhalese people.
The monk put forward three conditions: protect Buddhism, not massacre people, and not invade private property.
In order to rule, Zhu Ding agreed without hesitation.
Compared with Brahmanism, Theravada Buddhism in Ceylon is more familiar.
Zhu Ding and Zhu Hecheng entered Wuweishan Temple immediately.
In the past, the eminent Indian monk Mahinda, the son of King Asoka of the Mauryan Dynasty, crossed the sea with Buddhist scriptures and created the history of Buddhism in Ceylon. Anuradhapura gradually became the earliest Buddhist holy place in Sri Lanka.
From here, Theravada Buddhism spread to Myanmar, Siam, Cambodia and other places, making it a well-deserved holy city.
It’s just that with the passage of time, this place no longer has its former prosperity.
But for the Kingdom of Ceylon, the aura of the Buddhist holy land is extremely beneficial to its external exchanges.
After bowing devoutly, Zhu Ding let people occupy the entire city and changed its name to Holy City.
From the gold and silver contributed by the nobles, a one-time donation of one thousand taels of gold was made to Wuwei Temple for repairs.
This immediately put the monks at ease, and the nobles and commoners were naturally relieved.
A few days later, the city of Kandy, a hundred miles away, heard about this and sent thousands of troops to meet the enemy. It was rumored that there were hundreds of muskets and more than ten elephants, making it an almost overwhelming army.
This has evolved into a battle over the ownership of Ceylon.
Rajsinghe II of the Kingdom of Kandy is undoubtedly a heroic leader, and the Kingdom of Kandy also has a tenacious fighting ability.
He has always been committed to resisting the Portuguese and Dutch, and never wanted to settle down because the Dutch deceived them.
The Dutch and Portuguese were nothing more than scabies to the Ming Dynasty, and their repeated provocations were just because they were not serious.
As for the Kingdom of Kandy, the Portuguese and Dutch were behemoths.
They tried their best to withdraw from the coast and hid in the mountains, resisting the Portuguese for more than a hundred years.
Now they continue to resist the Dutch for more than ten years.
Rajsinghe II failed to seek help from Chennai (the British trading post), so he had to rely on his own force to attack the Dutch two years ago and regain a lot of lost territory.
For Rajsinghe II, the Dutch were only powerful on the water, but not as powerful as the Portuguese on land.
"Ceylon? Those Tamils again!"
Rajsinghe II was furious.
Although the Sinhalese believe in Buddhism, they believe in Buddhism that has been modified according to Indian characteristics. They also have a caste system, but it is very different from India. The two castes of Brahmin and Kshatriya have disappeared, and the Vaishya and Shudra castes have disappeared.
Luo is divided into more than twenty castes, distinguished by occupation.
But compared to the Hinduism of the Tamils, they appear to be much more equal.
Differences in race, culture, and beliefs made the Kingdom of Kandy particularly hostile to the Tamils who came from the Indian peninsula, thinking that they were settlers.
Perhaps because of the confidence he gained from the Dutch two years ago, Rajsinghe II decided to personally lead thousands of troops to wipe out the Tamils in one fell swoop.
Of course, the city of Anuradhapura, as the northern gateway to Kandy and a thousand-year-old capital, was also the reason why he had to conquer it.
For a time, the small island of Ceylon was already at war again.
Colombo.
As the base camp in Ceylon, the Dutch have been operating here for decades and it is already a stronghold.
"Gentlemen, the King of Kandy is at war with Ceylon. How can we in Colombo miss this battle?"
"As long as Kandy is defeated, it will swallow up its country; if Ceylon is defeated, Ceylon will be ours!"
Hundreds of Dutch musketeers were on alert, waiting for news from Kandy.
In any case, this battle is related to the future of Ceylon.
…
Singapore.
Since it was co-administered with the Ming Dynasty and the Kingdom of Ji replaced the Kingdom of Johor, it has become the most prosperous place in Southeast Asia.
Silk, porcelain, lacquerware, spices from the East, agates, gems, pearls, tortoiseshell, ivory, etc. from West Asia are gathered here.
It can be said that this is a natural port that does not need ripening at all and thrives naturally.
A few years later, due to the negotiations that year, a large number of Chinese began to settle in Singapore, and the population easily exceeded 10,000.
Liquors, inns, boat yards, brothels, shops, the list is endless.
The largest government offices in the city are the Nanyang Navy Mansion and the Dutch Governor's Mansion of Singapore.
The Chinese will return to the Chinese, and the Dutch will return to the Netherlands. If it is from another country, it will be discussed at a joint meeting.
Naturally, taxes are also divided equally.
At this time, a sailing ship with Arabic characteristics arrived in Singapore.
Abdul looked at the port in front of him and was dazzled for a moment.
More than a dozen huge ships docked at the port, swaying slightly in the sea breeze, and there were countless long trestles.
The appearance of the Chinese man in thin short clothes at the pier made him feel a little distracted?
"Is this the Ming Kingdom?"
"Sir Special Envoy, this is Singapore!" The businessman leading the way, wrapped in a white turban, whispered:
"This place was originally ruled by the Dutch, and then the Ming Dynasty joined in and shared half of the power."
"Merchant ships from Persia and the Mughal Empire would dock here for supplies, bringing countless wealth!"
"Oh!" Abdul breathed a sigh of relief: "Great, now we can accept protection!"
Persia, or the Arabs, had lost their maritime supremacy for hundreds of years, at least before being conquered by the Ottomans.
In other words, under the iron heel of the Mongol Empire, the Arab merchants lost their maritime hegemony.
Today's Persian navy can only wander around the coastal waters of the Persian Gulf and cannot sail on the sea at all.
There were only a few Arab merchants who could not give up the interests at sea and had to go to the East to obtain the expensive silk.
Originally, Abdul planned to travel by land, which was safe and secure, but with the help of the English, the Safavid dynasty reoccupied Hormuz in the Persian Gulf in 1622 and expelled the Portuguese.
The journey by sea was shortened to three months, which was far better than the journey on land which started with one year.
For this reason, Suleiman I appointed him as a special envoy and went to the Ming Dynasty to discuss matters in the Amu Darya Plain.
"The northern part of Khorasan is just a remote place that is not worth mentioning. Why bother asking me to go there?"
Abdullah could only complain about this.
Tabriz (northwest of Iran) is thousands of miles away from the Amu Darya River, why should we care so much?
Shah (the Khan) is really crazy!
They encountered rough seas along the way, and were also harassed by pirates. Many sailors were killed, but fortunately the English protected them, otherwise they would have perished.
"Dear envoy, this is Singapore."
When he landed, the English businessman Robert who followed him softly introduced:
"There are tens of thousands of people serving the ships here, and they can supply any supplies. At the same time, anchoring here means entering the territory of the Ming Empire!"
"Oh, that's great!" Abdul said happily: "How long will it take for us to arrive in Ming Dynasty?"
"There are at least 8,000 miles left. If everything goes well, we can reach Beijing in half a month!"
"Uh!" Abdul said in surprise: "So far? Are you kidding me?"
"No!" Robert said softly: "There is a small country to the north of Singapore. It is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. The king is the son of the Ming Dynasty emperor. It is a territory divided by Teli!"
"Why should such a huge empire be divided?"
Abdul wondered: "Isn't it true that the territory is getting smaller and smaller, and won't the entire empire decline by then?"
"Perhaps the Ming Empire is too big!" Robert shrugged.
Due to his special status, Abdul was received by the Governor of the Nanyang Navy upon his arrival in Singapore.
The unique Langfang structure, green bricks and green tiles, tall red doors, long corridors, and strange crescent doors all amazed them.
This is another culture.
A characteristic culture of the Eastern Empire.
Abdul lost his rudeness in an instant and became a very quality person.
The businessman Robert is like a gentleman, careful in his words and deeds, and does not dare to make any mess.
"sit!"
Xiang Guan, the governor of Nanyang, took a quick glance and found that it was really strange to see the Persians and Englishmen mixed together.
Singapore originally only had a branch of the Nanyang Navy stationed there to encircle and suppress pirates.
But with the establishment of the Ji Kingdom, the problems of the Nanyang vassal state, the prosperity of the city of Singapore, and the court's diplomacy towards the Dutch.
Of course, as well as the future occupation of the entire Nanyang, we must take precautions.
The appointment of a governor is currently the most appropriate.
Xiang Guan was the censor of Zuo Qiandu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and had the title of Minister of War. He was very authoritative in the Nanyang region.
The reason why Singapore has developed rapidly is due to him.
Underground ditches, city walls, water storage ponds, and granaries were all the result of his personal supervision.
Otherwise, the Dutch are just exploiting and have no long-term plan.
"I am the special envoy of the Persian Empire, and I will have to meet the Ming Emperor!" Abdul said seriously.
What’s funny is that Robert on the side acted as a translator.
Xiang Guan was noncommittal: "Do you have a certificate of credence?"
"Yes!" Abdul quickly took it out of his arms.
Naturally, Xiang Guan did not dare to look it up, as this was an act of transgression.
Seeing that it was a real one, he hurriedly said seriously: "I can ask the navy to escort you into the capital. Whether I see you or not is the emperor's business!"
"see a visitor out!"
Almost in the blink of an eye, the two of them were sent out of the government office.
The two looked at each other and could only let it go.
Then, it stopped from Singapore to Weiguo, then Qin State Saigon, and then to Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Songjiang, Dengzhou, and Tianjin Prefecture.
Although they only took a quick look at the scenery along the way, the huge empire and the prosperous scene opened their eyes.
"So many people!" Abduk murmured: "The population is several times that of Persia, and the territory is also several times that of Persia. It is far more powerful than Persia."
Robert looked more carefully.
The civilians here are well-dressed, there are no children begging on the streets, there are no piles of garbage, and there is no bucket of excrement and urine dumped out on the street.
Bustling bazaars, abundant goods, and enviable market and purchasing power.
If you bring something that sells well, you can make a fortune by keeping it!
When the two got on the steam train and felt the unparalleled speed, they were stunned.
How important is a means of transportation that runs at a constant speed and tirelessly to a country?
Abdullah thought.
"How many people and goods will be transported on this trip, and how much money will be earned?" Robert looked around curiously.
When I was arrested in Beijing, it was still bright and the streets were crowded with people, making it almost impossible to move.
"Brother, what are you doing?" Robert asked in his fluent Chinese.
"Xiyi people, don't disturb me!" the man said irritably.
But when he felt a big piece in his hand, he immediately smiled: "This is a Go tournament, and the real champion will be decided today."
"Did you see that the one holding the black piece is called Jiang Liu'er, and the one holding the white piece is called Kuroki Hideya. They are Japanese chess players..."
Before seeing the finals, the two entered the etiquette department and received training.
The next day, the two heard scattered stories that the young man named Jiang Liu'er won the championship and, together with Kuroki Hideya and another person, became a close minister of the Ming Emperor.
What's the name of chess waiting for the imperial edict? He looks like a favored minister at first glance.
Zhu Yixi saw this strange combination in front of her.
The Persians and the British were actually together.
“Your country wants to talk about the Amu Darya River?”
"Dear Your Majesty, that is my land in Persia..." Abdul said softly.
"Let's talk about it if we can fight back. Land is never just a matter of words!"
Zhu Yixi refuted directly, and then looked at the British man.
Robert said bluntly: "On behalf of England and the Kingdom of France, I want to sign a contract with you to divide the territory of the Netherlands..."