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Although Zhu Ciyu nominally took charge, in the first half year of his rule, the general rhythm of the government was still completely in the hands of his father, Zhu Shuren.
Zhu Ciyu was only given considerable autonomy in handling daily government affairs. For example, when attending court meetings every few days, especially at court meetings, Zhu Shuren would sometimes make excuses not to participate.
Anyway, the content discussed at these meetings is nothing more than whether certain governments should provide disaster relief, whether a certain province should allocate special funds to strengthen water conservancy repairs, whether there are any new construction projects in Heilongjiang or Jiuzhou that require additional budget and technical talent support, etc.
Any major event with a yearly cycle will not be discussed and decided at such a court meeting.
This situation is like a group. The original CEO finally does not have to receive a bunch of emails every morning when he arrives at the company, and then waste an hour or two to browse through them and select key points to reply. All these tasks can be delegated to new people.
Zhu Shuren was already tired of doing these tedious mundane tasks and was eager to throw them away. Zhu Ciyu was still full of freshness and energy, so the two of them got what they needed.
Taking advantage of Zhu Ciyu's fresh energy, the three months in the spring and summer of the fifth year of Xiaokang passed quickly and smoothly, and Zhu Ciyu didn't bother with anything.
As time came to May, the Ming Dynasty finally started to take big action this year in accordance with the original plan - that is, according to the rhythm that Zhu Shuren had told his son before, it began to send diplomatic envoys to Burma and Vietnam, and told them
Vernacular Vernacular: Old accounts from four or five years ago.
As we all know, four and a half years ago, when Zhu Changzi had just passed away and Zhu Ciyu had just ascended the throne, there were still three or four small-scale rebellions by careerists in the Ming Dynasty. Some were pretending to be the surviving vassals of the Ming Dynasty, and some were falsely calling themselves Prince Zhu.
.
Although the scale of those rebellions can really be described as pitiful, they could only mobilize a few thousand armed forces at most, and all temporary mobs were included. The longest persistence did not last more than two months.
Put it out immediately.
But the problem of their remnants escaping is still real, and the Ming Dynasty also has evidence to prove that those people either went north to the Hu or south to the Yue.
Daming was just not in a hurry to pursue the case before and wanted to live in peace for a few years. This delay lasted for four years, and now it is time to settle old scores.
In the scorching summer heat of May and June, it is of course very hard work to go to the tropical neighboring countries in the south to argue with each other. We also have to consider the envoy's physical condition and whether he can make it to Myanmar alive in the summer, or whether he will be halfway there.
Death from heat.
Therefore, Zhu Shuren did not directly send officials from the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing to Burma. Instead, he only sent people from Nanjing to Kunming to announce the decree to Li Dingguo, and then authorized Li Dingguo to select two local Yunnan officials and go to Myanmar and Vietnam with their credentials.
The living climate environment and soil and water adaptability of the local people in Yunnan are not that different from those in Myanmar and Vietnam. The envoys departing from Nanjing will leave Nanjing in early May and should be able to arrive in Yunnan in mid-June. Officials departing from Kunming will arrive in Yunnan in early July
I can go to Myanmar.
…
The rulers of Burma and Vietnam were naturally unwilling to yield directly to Ming's sudden questioning.
The current king of Myanmar's Toungoo Dynasty is Mangbai, and he was also considered a relatively powerful king of Myanmar at that time——
In the original history, Mang Bai killed his brother in a coup in 1661 and came to power. The following year, he changed his free-ranging attitude during the period of his late king Mang Dali and took the initiative to launch the Curse Water Disaster, killing more than thirty ministers of Emperor Yongli.
He also killed a bunch of guards and soldiers, and then tied up Yongli and handed him over to Wu Sangui, which shows that he is still a bit ruthless.
It's just that history has completely turned over now. The Ming Dynasty has returned to the Ming Dynasty, and his relationship with the Ming Dynasty had no conflicts before.
However, a person's temperament and endowment are often brought out from the mother's womb and formed by years of accumulated life experience. Since Mangbai is such a ruthless hero, it is destined that he will not become soft just because of the slightest disturbance.
Even though Ming's credential of condemnation was very harsh, the first thing he thought of was "It's midsummer now, and the Ming army is completely helpless against the Burmese army in the tropical rainforest of the Shan State plateau in the south." So even if he was afraid, he was not in a hurry.
It's better to prepare for war first, then recruit foreign aid, and then delay him for a few months to see which way the wind blows.
If there is a chance to stabilize the situation, there is no need to give in. If the wind direction is really wrong, or there is some danger, it is not too late to give in when winter is approaching.
Anyway, the Ming Dynasty is the celestial dynasty, and it values face and quality. From ancient times to the present, I have never heard of a person who submitted a letter to the Ming Dynasty admitting his mistake and surrendering, expressing his intention to change his mind, but it was not accepted by the Ming Dynasty.
Since Daming is so talented, of course he must make full use of Daming's weakness and try to take advantage of it as much as possible.
After Mang Bai understood this truth, of course he would not waste time, so he immediately made several preparations.
He recruited his sons Mangluo, Mangliti and his close family member Dibuti, as well as Vandrief, the commercial representative of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in Bago.
He first told Prince Mangluo: "Immediately supervise the matter personally and have a group of scapegoats arrested. Among them must be some remnants of the Ming Dynasty rebels who entered Myanmar in the past few years.
Find two more chieftains of the Tusi tribe who have been swinging between Ming and Burma in recent years. Then capture the former alive and send them back to the Ming envoys, and chop the latter into pieces and let the Ming envoys take their heads back.
Then he formally replied to the Ming envoy with good words, saying that the fact of hosting the traitors was a temporary mistake and was not intentional. It’s just that over the years, most of the immigrants have disappeared anonymously, and I can only find these few in Myanmar.
, have also been handed over, which shows the sincerity of Myanmar.
However, the Ming Dynasty’s request to cede all the tribes that had surrendered to the chieftains to the Ming Dynasty could not be fulfilled for the time being. I hope that the Ming Dynasty will withdraw this request, and other land cession and apology are out of the question.”
Even if Mang Bai planned to resist, he would not completely deny the Ming Dynasty. He felt that killing a few minor characters among the generals and some disobedient tribal chieftains would give Ming a step down. After all, this price could still be paid.
This is all about face, and there is almost no actual benefit.
Mang Luo did not go against his father's wishes and went ahead with it.
After the frontal diplomacy was stabilized, Mangbai continued his internal armament and attempts to win over other foreign aid.
So he ordered his other son, Maang Liti, to mobilize Myanmar's own army, strengthen the walls and clear the country, and make preparations for war.
Again, he ordered his confidant Dibuti to contact various forces in Vietnam to see if anyone was willing to unite to deal with the Ming Dynasty.
This man can be regarded as a famous diplomatic liar under Mang Bai. Historically, Mang Bai sent him to defraud Duke Mu and Emperor Yongli, saying that he would invite them to drink cursed water and make an oath, and then deceived everyone around Emperor Yongli.
Come and kill.
Now that I have accepted the task of uniting Vietnam, it can be regarded as returning to the old business. It is a coincidence of history.
Today's Vietnam is actually divided into two dynasties and four surnames, and it is also very chaotic internally. It is absolutely impossible to say that all the forces are willing to unite to deal with the Ming Dynasty.
But considering the internal hatred among the various forces in Vietnam. So once some of them defect to the Ming Dynasty, the other part will definitely have to fight against the Ming Dynasty, so it is indeed valuable to unite.
…
After making arrangements for delay, mobilization and finding foreign aid, Mangbai's last piece was his trade relationship with the Dutch East India Company——
Don’t think of Myanmar in the 1660s as a primitive southern barbarian country. At that time, the Toungoo Kingdom of Myanmar already had a standing army of 70,000 people, of which 5,000 used flintlock muskets imported from the Netherlands.
soldiers.
Because the Dutch had already opened a VOC office in Bago Port, Myanmar, as early as 1627. By the time of the conflict between the Ming Dynasty and Myanmar, the history of trade between the Burmese and Western colonists had lasted for forty years.
Long.
To put it bluntly, Myanmar’s exchange model with the West at that time was already close to the Mughal Empire in India to a certain extent. The British, Dutch, and Portuguese were all doing business all year round. They were not like the Ming and Qing Dynasties in history.
To ban the sea like that.
It is precisely for this reason that in the historical conflicts with Burma during the Yongzheng period, and later the Qing-Burma War during the Qianlong period, the Qing army actually suffered several defeats (but people like Agui, Heshen and others reported internally that
Great Victory), because after the Burmese army entered the 18th century, its muskets were definitely much more powerful than those of the Qing army.
Later audiences imagined that the Burmese army relied only on poisoned arrows and war elephants to win, all because of the poisonous whitewashing of Qiong Yao's braided dramas such as "Returning the Princess".
Of course, since ancient times, Europeans have always kept a secret when trading with East and Southeast Asian countries.
Therefore, even though Myanmar has been doing business with the Dutch East India Company for forty years, the muskets they actually bought are basically the products of the previous generation of the Dutch in terms of quality and style.
European colonists were never so kind as to sell the most advanced weapons directly to Asians.
Taking into account the bloody iterations and eliminations during the Thirty Years' War in Europe, as well as the Dutch's battle with the British in the past half century. The majority of the flintlock guns sold by the Dutch to the Burmese king were in 1618, after the Thirty Years' War began.
, there are about four to five thousand pre-war production models that were eliminated by the war.
There are still a few that were eliminated during the first Anglo-Dutch War in 1652. These are considered the best, and there are more than a thousand of them in the Burmese army.
Now, facing the direct threat from the Ming Dynasty, Mangbai had to continue to dig out more rubies, sapphires and other precious jewelry from the Burmese treasury, promised the Dutch a certain amount of mining rights, and tried his best to urgently purchase additional weapons from the Netherlands.
VOC's commercial representative in Bago, Vandrief, was a little embarrassed after hearing about Mangbai's request. Because the trade relations between the Netherlands and the Ming Dynasty were still going well, he didn't want to cause any more trouble.
However, after all, the moral integrity of European colonial adventurers is at the level of domestic slaves with three surnames per capita. How can principles be worth real money and silver to give personal benefits? Mangbai has been dealing with the Dutch for many years, so he chose to give Vandrie a personal gift. The large bribes and jewels brought the Dutch into submission immediately.
Finally Vandrie said privately: "Dear His Majesty the King, you want to get more Dutch muskets, unless you agree to two additional conditions."
Mangbai did not waste much time and asked Vandrief to let go immediately. Vandrief was also rude: "First of all, we in the Netherlands do not want to have a stalemate in relations with the Ming Dynasty, so no matter how many muskets you get, if your country in the future We are really at war with Ming Dynasty, please bite your tongue.
We admit that these muskets were accumulated before the war started because of the trade in the past forty years. Anyway, even if we deliver the goods after your country started the war, we will only admit that they were delivered before the war, or that they were not well-informed. The specific traders don’t know that you are at war with the Ming Dynasty.”
Mang Bai didn't bother to worry about this, and nodded cheerfully: "Okay, I just want weapons, why would I betray you for nothing? Your Netherlands is thousands of miles away, and even if I betray you, I can't get you to go to war with the Ming Dynasty. It’s just that you’re hurting others and not benefiting yourself. Okay, let’s talk about the next condition.”
Vandrief continued to raise the price: "Another difficulty in selling you weapons is that the delivery cycle is too long. If you can wait two years, or at least one and a half years, then we can go back to the Netherlands and slowly place the order before shipping it. .
But I'm afraid that if you are in a hurry, the supply volume will be very limited. I can only find a way to contact the garrisons in Batavia and Palembang as soon as possible to replace some of our VOC's active equipment. Urgently Supplied to you.
But we want to ensure the safety of our trade, so we can only provide a small part, and the price will be very high - the specific amount we can provide depends on your bid. You must know that we have taken a lot of risks in this kind of trade. ."
Regarding this, Mangbai also understood and said that as long as the Dutch tried their best to help him raise the money, the price could be easily negotiated. As for those gadgets that would be delivered in a year and a half, he absolutely couldn't wait, so he would let the Dutch's own armed forces wait. For replenishment after half a year, he can give a small deposit, but it is impossible to pay the full amount in advance.
Vandrief discussed with Mangbai again, and finally set a deposit of 20% for new orders from Europe, with the remaining 80% waiting for cash on delivery in one and a half to two years. As for the spot goods transferred from Batavia and other places, Mangbai must pay the full amount immediately and the goods will be shipped upon payment.
After making this plan, Mangbai finally felt less worried. All he could do was wait, because even if the muskets were transported from Batavia to Bago, it would take more than two months to go back and forth, which was just a little longer than that. It takes more than a year and a half to transfer goods from Europe.
While waiting, he would continue to argue with the Ming Dynasty's diplomacy. If the problem could be solved without ceding territory or giving away vassal chieftains, even if he had to send some gifts to the Ming Dynasty, that would be acceptable.
Unfortunately, Mangbai's attempts at wrangling had no effect. The Ming Dynasty always insisted on ceding territory as an apology, and Myanmar must give up those chieftains on the Shan State Plateau who were wavering between the Ming Dynasty and Myanmar.
In other words, for the sins of the past, the Ming Dynasty only allowed Myanmar to retain most of its direct territories, and those places that even Myanmar itself could only "control" must be handed over to the Ming Dynasty, and then the Ming Dynasty will slowly return to its original territory. .
With the negotiations at a stalemate, Mangbai also fell into hesitation, and time dragged on for more than a month, and it was almost late August.
Just when Mang Bai was hesitating, the news of a gunshot incident on the border shocked him.
That day was approximately the 20th of the eighth lunar month. Although the Mid-Autumn Festival had passed, the scorching heat in the tropical rainforest plateau of Southeast Asia had not completely ended. Mangbai never thought that the Ming army might take action at this time. In his original prediction
Here, the Ming army will have to wait until October to come again no matter what.
Because winter is the coolest in the south, and the rainy season in September on the Shan State Plateau has not ended yet. It is hot and humid. Although it does not rain all the time, even if it only rains once or twice every day around noon,
Hourly heavy rains can also cause mud and moisture, which can lead to the breeding of mosquitoes.
Mang Bai has become accustomed to the setting that "Central Plains people cannot tolerate the tropical humid living environment." This setting has been branded in the hearts of Southeast Asian monarchs since Zhu Di invaded Vietnam. Now the Ming army suddenly attacked and beat the Burmese.
Caught off guard.
Because there were not enough troops deployed at the front, after the Ming envoy suddenly announced that "the negotiations broke down because the Burmese side was not sincere and refused to agree to the conditions of the Ming ultimatum," the Ming army immediately marched straight in, and first achieved preliminary results in intersecting operations in the border areas.
victory.
Because the Burmese army was not fully fortified, Li Dingguo led tens of thousands of elite Ming troops from Yunnan along the Nu River Valley into Burma.
After using cavalry artillery to penetrate several Burmese army camps and fortresses along the throat of the Nu River Valley, Li Dingguo continued to advance rapidly, leaving behind the Burmese army flanking troops on both sides of the Nu River and cutting off their supply via waterways.
channel.
When things got to this point, Mangbai could only admit that he was unlucky, and immediately organized the main force of the Burmese army to prepare to go north to intercept Li Dingguo.