Eighty miles southwest of Xinzhou Port is the location of Guangnan Prefecture, Guangnan Prefecture, Champaign State.
This is the most prosperous city in the northern border of the Champa Kingdom, with more than 50,000 households and nearly 300,000 residents.
This is the fiefdom of a prince of the Champa Kingdom. This person is Bo Guliang, the younger brother of the previous king of the Champa State. Bo Guliang is over seventy this year. As the senior uncle of the Champa State, he is the current king of the Champa State.
Shagubulo respected him very much.
The Champa Kingdom experienced the danger of national subjugation. When the Li family invaded, another king uncle Panluo Chayue and dozens of princes and nobles were captured by the Li family, and a large amount of land was occupied. Laigu Guowang sent his brother Bu Guliang to the Ming Dynasty for help.
, cried out that the Li family invaded and destroyed his country.
Although they were both vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Empire could not favor one over the other. However, Emperor Chenghua still issued an imperial edict, ordering the Li family to surrender the land and not to make any mistakes. Although the later Li Dynasty was angry, they did not dare to offend the host country and had to withdraw from part of the land.
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Nowadays, with Xinzhou Port as the boundary, the land of Guangnan Prefecture in the south was obtained by Uncle Guliang, the old king, who went to the Ming Dynasty to fight for it. Therefore, after Gu Lai's death, his eldest son Shagubulo came to the throne and sealed the land of Guangnan.
Uncle Wang. On the one hand, he was praised for his great achievements, and on the other hand, Uncle Wang was shrewd, good at communication, and guarded the northern border, so he was the most suitable candidate.
Speaking of which, the new king was quite scheming. He was worried that Uncle Wang would not be willing to contribute, so he sealed the northern border area to him. Then Uncle Wang had to rack his brains for his own territory.
There is a way. Because it is related to his own interests.
In fact, Old Uncle Wang does have some abilities. The will of the Ming Dynasty cannot be controlled for decades. Emperor Chenghua has passed away long ago, and even Emperor Hongzhi who came to the throne has also passed away. In the past few years, the connection with the Ming Dynasty has long been severed, and the north
The Li Dynasty was making constant troubles, and there were also bandit-like Francois who came from afar to cause trouble. Ordinary people couldn't handle it.
But Old Wang Shubu Guliang resisted. He signed a contract with the Folangji people. Although the New Port was occupied and used by the Folangji people, he had a share of the income from the Folangji people's trade. With the Folangji people
With protection, the benefits obtained from Xinzhou Port are countless times greater than before.
Moreover, with the Francois as intermediaries, the Li Dynasty did not dare to act rashly. Because if the Li Dynasty attacked Guangnan, the trade would be interrupted. The Francois would definitely not do it.
Some people in the kingdom are talking about the old uncle Bu Guliang losing his power and humiliating the country and ceding the territory. However, in Bu Guliang's view, this is a strategy of driving away wolves and devouring tigers, and using chickens to lay eggs. It is the most clever move.
In any case, Uncle Wang's life has been very prosperous recently. Money has been pouring in, and he is at ease in every aspect. Some of the medicines brought by the Folanji people from their country have made his body feel like a child again.
.Recently, the old tree has bloomed new flowers. The sixteen-year-old concubine he married last year gave birth to a little son for him, which really made Old Uncle Wang ecstatic.
In the evening of that day, when Uncle Bu Guliang, the old king, was teasing his young son in the back house of his palace, the guard of Guangnan City and his army general Sha Xigu hurriedly came to report.
"Why are you here?" Old Uncle Wang was a little tired and was about to take a rest. When he saw Sha Xigu coming, he was a little unhappy.
"I have met the prince in my humble position and have something important to report." Sha Xigugu said.
"What's the important matter? As long as it's not a matter of the sky falling, can't you handle it yourself? Why bother bothering me, an old man?" Old Uncle Wang said.
Sha Xigu took out a letter from his arms and said in a deep voice: "This is a serious matter and I dare not take matters into my own hands. A group of cavalry came from outside the city, claiming to be envoys from the Ming Dynasty. They sent this letter to the city gate.
The guard will report it to the humble officer, who dare not neglect it and come to report it quickly."
"What?" Old Uncle Wang jumped up, his eyes widened and his beard stood up. He snatched the letter away.
"His Royal Highness the Prince of Guangnan of the Champa Kingdom: I am Zhang Yanling, the Protector of the Ming Dynasty. I have been ordered to sail a treasure ship to the Western Ocean and stop at the place where Champa is passing. I am anchored in the new port for preparations. I hereby order someone to send a message to my dear Prince Guangnan.
His Royal Highness understands that there are some small matters to be dealt with in Xingang, so he cannot visit in person. I hope you will forgive me for the lack of etiquette. As soon as the matter here is over, I will go ashore to pay my respects. Personally written by Zhang Yanling, the Protector of the Ming Dynasty."
Bu Guliang was so excited that he almost lost his breath, and the hand holding the letter began to tremble. The Duke of Ming Dynasty is here, is this okay?
He knew this Zhang Yanling. When Emperor Hongzhi passed away, he went to the Ming Dynasty to express his condolences on behalf of the Champa King. The funeral was organized by Zhang Yanling, who was still the Marquis of Jianchang at the time. Unexpectedly, he was already a member of the imperial family.
It’s public.
The old prince was definitely a person who admired the Ming Dynasty very much. In the words of later generations, his spiritual home country was the Ming Dynasty. He was a shrewd person. Now that the Duke of the mother country came, he was naturally overjoyed.
However, Old Uncle Wang's joy did not last long, because he suddenly realized a problem. The official letter of the Ming Dynasty Protector stated that they were stationed at Xinzhou Port, and also said that they had some small matters to deal with and could not go ashore. What could it be?
That was the territory of the Fo Langji people. The Protector of the Ming Dynasty led his fleet to the Western Ocean and collided with the Folangji people. Wouldn't something happen? Old Uncle Wang had heard about Tuen Mun a long time ago.
"Now we are in big trouble." The smile on Old Uncle Wang's face suddenly solidified.
"The Ming Dynasty has come to visit the Duke. Should we go to pay him a visit? They are in Xinzhou Port. Don't get into trouble with the Folangji people. That would be troublesome." Shaxigu was not a fool either. He was also aware of this problem.
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Uncle Wang frowned and didn't know how to answer.
At this moment, the palace steward hurriedly came from the vestibule. Before anyone arrived, he loudly reported.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty. Fernande, the messenger of the Franco Kingdom in Guangnan, is here, clamoring to see the Prince."
Old Uncle Wang spread his hands, looked at Sha Xigu and said, "Sorry, can something good happen? I guess it must be related to this matter."
Old Uncle Wang's guess was correct. Standing in the front hall were the staff of the post office of the Folangji Kingdom in Guangnan Prefecture. The main responsibility of these people was to communicate with Bu Guliang and do some administrative liaison work.
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Fernand, the military attache stationed there, also gave the old uncle Wang a letter full of twists and turns.
"This is a letter from my lord, Lieutenant Governor of Newport, Captain Matthews, to the Prince." Fernand said loudly.
The old prince hurriedly said: "I can't understand your letter, so please ask Mr. Fernand to interpret it."
That's what Fernand did. He read loudly: "Dear Uncle Wang, an unknown enemy ship rushed into our new port today, which is quite hostile. In view of the fact that the garrison in our port is out, Governor Yaxin led the main force to fight
The ship went out to sea, so we were unable to keep the enemy out of the port. Now the enemy has blocked the inside and outside of the port and bombarded our port castle.
, the situation is critical. The lives and property of the people in our country are threatened. In view of the fact that our main force has not returned, the situation is urgent. I am specifically asking for help from you. Please send troops to the port immediately to help me resist the enemy and rescue everyone in our country. Three
I hope to see Uncle Wang’s troops arrive within the next few days. Thank you very much, your friend, Matthews.”
Old Uncle Wang stood there with a wry smile, not knowing what to say.
The good times have come to an end, and now we are in big trouble. Who do you want to help? Or do you want to help neither of them? The old prince's gray beard curled up again, and he was speechless for a moment.
…
In Xingang Bay, the bombing is still continuing. However, the intervals have become longer and the shells have become more scattered. After all, the iron lump is also silver. Now that it has controlled the entire area around Xingang and cut off all escape routes, there is no need to be too anxious.
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Of course, the key reason was what the Protector said: "This heavy artillery is too noisy, it makes my ears buzz."
The Duke thought the cannons were too loud, so he could only reduce the frequency of bombings. Otherwise, according to the tempers of Wang Hong, Zhang Yin and others, they would have to bomb without stopping.
At this moment, the sun was setting in the west, except for the smoke and the noise of gunfire from time to time, Xingang Port was quiet.
On the deck of the flagship of the Star, Zhang Yanling ordered people to set up a table and serve wine and food. Chen Shiyi, Zhang Yin, Wang Hong and others sat together, eating and drinking under the light of day. Of course, more importantly, these people wanted to have a few drinks.
"By this time, the letter we sent to Guangnan Mansion should have arrived, Lord Guo," Chen Shiyi asked.
"We should have arrived early. The prince of Champa Kingdom should have received our trust." Wang Hong said while chewing a piece of fish meat.
"The letter asking for help from the Fo Langji people in the castle should have arrived as well." Zhang Yin chuckled.
"Fo Langji is really good at using crows to send messages. If I had known this, we would have brought some falcons and caught them all," Chen Shi said.
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "Yeah, I didn't think about it. The key is that I didn't know they had such means. But it doesn't matter, the news can't be hidden. I'm afraid the Folangji people in the castle not only asked for help from Guangnan Mansion, but also
The news of our fleet's arrival has been sent to their other bases. We are afraid that we will encounter a head-on enemy in the future."
"Why are you afraid of them? We'll beat them as many as we come." Wang Hong said.
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "I'm not afraid. Regarding the current matter, guess who Prince Bu Guliang will help if he receives letters from both sides?"
"I don't know." Everyone shook their heads.
"Do you think I am unnecessary and don't need to inform the prince at all?" Zhang Yanling said with a smile.
"This... is a bit. We can completely capture the castle. Why should we tell that prince?" Chen Shi said.
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "You don't understand. A strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. We are just passers-by. It won't work if there are no locals to take care of things here in the future. I just want to know the loyalty of Uncle Wang. This is a test for him."
Opportunity. If he is qualified, not only can we defeat the enemy without storming the castle, but we will also soon be able to
The Champa Kingdom has signed many agreements, making this our first overseas trade port. I guess Prince Bugu Liang will withstand this test, and I hope he won’t disappoint me. I don’t want to go to the trouble of finding another one.
Collaborator. If Bu Guliang doesn't know the truth, he won't live long. Hey, I don't like fighting at all."
Everyone looked at Zhang Yanling speechlessly. Zhang Yanling said: "Why are you all looking at me like this?"
"No, it's nothing. Drink, drink." Everyone hurriedly turned around and looked around to talk to him.