One day later, the Ming Dynasty's Invincible Fleet began to officially land at the Kulumbo Port pier.
In the morning, the cannons roared on the pier and the flags were fluttering. Zhang Yanling, fully armed, led the generals to stride off the ship. Dozens of princes and ministers of Ceylon, headed by Prince Kled, greeted him at the pier to express their welcome.
At exactly the same time, two transport ships docked. After building a wide gangplank passage, war horses came out of the cabin one by one and climbed up along the gangplank. A total of one thousand cavalry were assembled within half an hour.
At the command, Zhang Yanling got on his horse, and under the escort of a thousand cavalry, he entered the city of Colombo along the Pier Avenue.
The people in Colombo stood silently on the streets, looking at this group of uninvited guests from afar, looking at this group of foreigners who had brought them nightmare-like killings and pain in the past few days, the humiliation and hatred in their hearts could not be concealed.
, completely revealed from the eyes.
But they didn't dare to make a mistake, because they knew that the Ming soldiers and horses in front of them were by no means good. They could do anything. They once wanted to carry out a massacre and kill all the people in the city.
The people of Ceylon are not good people by nature, but when they encounter these evil gods, they can only hide their hatred and anger in their hearts.
Zhang Yanling turned a blind eye to the hatred shown in the eyes of the people, and rode arrogantly through the long street on horseback, looking aloof.
When walking past the location in front of the palace, Zhang Yanling saw the collapsed Tooth Relic Tower. Under the scorching sun, there were still many people carrying wood and stones here to search for the remains of the Tooth Relic. The sacred relic of the Tooth Relic was packed in a brocade box and placed on the top of the tower.
It was sealed among the masonry. After the pagoda collapsed that day, everyone searched everywhere, but there was no trace. These people had been rummaging here for several days.
Seeing Zhang Yanling and others walking past, pointing and showing disrespect, these people were even more angry. But when they saw the other party riding a tall horse, their armor and weapons shining brightly, and they all had expressions of solemn look on their faces,
But he could only stare angrily, and spat if he dared.
The soldiers and horses were stationed in the camp in the west of the city. This is where the Folangji people originally garrisoned, but it was not damaged. The surrounding environment is not bad. After all the Ceylonese people within the area have moved away, Zhang Yanling's plan is to build
Isolate with walls and build a city within a city. This way, security will be guaranteed. In the future, shops, inns, government offices, etc. will be built in the city. This will be a transit port protected by Ming soldiers and horses.
At noon that day, Prince Kled led all the princes and ministers to host a banquet in the palace for Zhang Yanling and others. Zhang Yanling went happily. Although the eyes of some people at the table were full of hostility and the atmosphere was awkward, Zhang Yanling was chatting and laughing and didn't take it seriously.
Zhang Yanling talked about the prospects of the Ceylonese people and painted one pie after another.
Zhang Yanling said that the Port of Kulumbo will become the largest trade transit port in Southeast Asia, where merchants and cargo ships from all over the world will dock. The resulting cargo transshipment, food and tourism consumption, transportation and horse expenses, etc. will all be huge.
Considerable income. Zhang Yanling also said that Ceylon’s unique products, such as the most famous cat’s eye stone, red sapphire, local tea, gum, curry, etc., will be sold to the world unimpeded, bringing in large amounts of gold.
silver.
Zhang Yanling also said that as long as Ceylon abides by the treaty with the Ming Dynasty and becomes a loyal vassal of the Ming Dynasty, in the future the Ming Dynasty can pass on farming, smelting, textile and other technologies, so that the large amounts of fertile land in Ceylon can generate money. Even the Ming Dynasty can
Help the country of Ceylon arm its troops, sell weapons and armor at low prices, etc. Help the country of Ceylon build a strong military force.
The prince also said that he knew that the people of Ceylon worshiped the Buddha devoutly. It was a pity that the sacred relics of the Buddha were destroyed, but he could get the relics for the people of Ceylon to worship. If possible, he would give all the sacred relics to the people of Ceylon.
All the sacred objects of Buddhism were brought to the Kingdom of Ceylon. In this way, the whole world would regard Ceylon as the center of Buddhism and come to pilgrimage and worship.
The princes and ministers of Ceylon at the banquet knew that many of the words of the prince were just bragging and could not be realized at all. However, they still couldn't help but have extremely longing in their hearts. If one day, Ceylon could become a military power, a center of Buddhism, and a maritime trade center.
A cargo transfer center is a place where merchants from all over the world gather. It can also produce a large amount of goods and sell them all over the world. What will it be like?
At the banquet, Zhang Yanling also expressed his position on the candidate for the king of Ceylon. He said that he believed that Ceylon now needs a mature and prudent king to stabilize people's hearts. He was optimistic about the peace and calmness of Prince Kled. Zhang Yanling said,
He suffered
The Emperor of Ming Dynasty was authorized to handle the affairs of the Nanyang countries with full authority. This also included the formal procedures for canonizing the kings of the Nanyang countries. He had the right to canonize the new king of the Kingdom of Ceylon. He looked forward to the early decision of the king of Ceylon to avoid the situation of being leaderless.
.
This statement completely ended the dispute within the Kingdom of Ceylon over the selection of the king. Originally, there had been disagreements within the Kingdom of Ceylon over the selection of the new king in the past two days. Prince Kled had the support of many people, and he himself also intended to ascend the throne.
However, all other powerful figures believe that Prince Keled is old and the Kingdom of Ceylon should elect a young member of the clan to be the king. The two sides are arguing and it is difficult to reconcile. At this moment, Zhang Yanling's words directly put the matter out of suspense.
Kled was extremely happy. With his strength and reputation, he was actually not qualified. But with the endorsement of the Lord Protector of the Ming Dynasty, there was no suspense about the matter. Kled was originally a soft-bodied person, and when Fo Langji was around
, he cooperated very well with the Folangji people. Now when he cooperates with Daming, his mentality has seamlessly changed, and he really has both sides.
For Zhang Yanling, stabilizing the situation as soon as possible and stabilizing the Port of Coulombo is the first priority. Relying solely on force to suppress the opponent is actually the last resort. The show of force is only a deterrent. In fact, most things still happen after that.
In principle, it is still to use barbarians to control barbarians, and let agents help them manage local people. Because no one is more familiar with local people and knows how to manage local people than they are. This has been proven by practice. Give local collaborators enough
If they have interests, they will abandon their position and follow them like birds. The temptation of power and interests is a common rule all over the world.
Reconciliation was quickly reached within the Kingdom of Ceylon. Of course, the recognition of the Lord Protector of the Ming Dynasty was the main reason. Prince Kled also made some adjustments in the internal distribution of power and interests, which quickly gained him unanimous support.
Even if there are people who are dissatisfied, they can only choose to support it in this situation. As long as the corresponding benefits are distributed, there is nothing unacceptable.
On the morning of the next day, a simple but grand enthronement ceremony was held in the palace. Zhang Yanling was invited to attend and read out the edict of canonizing the prince issued on behalf of the Ming Empire. Then Prince Kled ascended the throne as the king of the country, and the ministers paid homage and was honored as the Kingdom of Ceylon.
The new king.
After the enthronement ceremony, the treaty between the two parties was officially signed. This treaty was later known as the "Treaty of Kulumbo" and was considered by later historians to be a milestone treaty in the Ming Dynasty's overseas colonization.
Because the importance of the country of Ceylon is self-evident. If we say that Manchuria is the chokepoint of Southeast Asian trade, it is an important checkpoint for the expansion and defense of the Ming Dynasty. Objectively, it plays a role in consolidating the traditional power of Southeast Asian countries.
If so, then the location of Ceylon Island is an advanced base of the Ming Dynasty in the Indian Ocean, South Asia and the Middle East after leaving the Strait of Malacca.
With the deep-water wharf base of the Port of Kulumbo, the Ming Dynasty's tentacles will be extended further, both in military and trade. The Indian continent, the countries in the central and eastern regions, and then the African continent and Western Europe. Here is the Ming Dynasty Chongqing
The first stop to the new world.
Not only that, the content of this treaty is also unprecedented. The previous agreements signed with the Nanyang countries were mainly based on benevolent and peaceful measures. After all, the Nanyang countries are traditionally friendly to the Ming Dynasty, and they were deeply influenced by the Ming Dynasty, which means that the Ming Dynasty
The vassal country is a country that Taizu of the Ming Dynasty promised not to attack. It has a more cooperative relationship with the Southeast Asian countries.
However, starting from the Kingdom of Ceylon, the Ming Armada's methods were more cruel and ruthless, and the concept of colonization was formally introduced. For example, the treaty stipulated that the Ceylonese must allow Ming merchants to purchase land and cultivate crops in Ceylon. It also stipulated that the Ming Dynasty
Various privileges for merchants and common people to come here. The establishment of quarantine zones at ports, the issuance of access cards, and the implementation of a hierarchical system of quarantine control. These are all characteristics of colonization.
Of course, Zhang Yanling hopes that the methods used will be softer and the appearance of the food will be as unsightly as possible. These require some specific considerations in the future.
Carry out obedient education for the local people, and focus on delocalizing and pro-Ming education for local children. Instilling in them a sense of respect for the Ming Dynasty from an early age is what Zhang Yanling wants to do.
The treaty was signed, and both civil and military officials were happy. Zhang Yanling ordered someone to pass the order, and the warships in the port fired hundreds of cannons to celebrate the good relations between the two parties and the new king's accession to the throne.
After that, he presented a generous gift as a personal gift to congratulate King Kled on his ascension to the throne. It included ten altars of Qiulubai, a fine wine from the Ming Dynasty, four pieces of silk from the Ming Dynasty, and some tea and medicine. There were also twenty war horses, and twenty sets of armor and weapons.
, presented to the King's Guards as an arm.
Klie was also generous, and distributed Qiulubai, silk tea and other items to the ministers, and all the ministers were happy. You know, the wine of the Ming Dynasty is a rare thing here, and Qiulubai is the top quality wine in the Ming Dynasty. Here
, it is even more precious.
That night Klie hosted a banquet for the ministers and the people. The people laughed and laughed happily, and the Ming warships in the bay used signal flares as fireworks in response to the occasion.
Who could have imagined that in just a few days, such drastic changes would occur in the country of Ceylon. The Folangji people ran away, the king of Ceylon was replaced by a new one, and the people began to rejoice again.
The unlucky ones are the thousands of Ceylonese soldiers and civilians who were killed in the past few days. They may never have imagined that their deaths would lead to the current situation. It is really unbelievable.