Gu Yanwu finally withstood the soreness and pain of the Cantonese "anti-heat" weapon, and after taking a long breath, he finally regained consciousness.
He did not forget that he came here today to report to the emperor the letter of surrender from the Burmese people forwarded by Li Dingguo, and to discuss the policy of dealing with Burma. So after he regained his breath, he did not delay and pointed out the topic straightforwardly.
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Gu Yanwu has been Zhu Shuren's confidant for many years, so there is no need to be too formal when dealing with matters in private. He first explained the situation sincerely and concisely:
"Your Majesty, Li Dingguo reported that on the ninth day of last month, during the siege of Bago, Mangbai died in the battle. A few days later, Bago city was destroyed. After that, Mangbai and his sons each occupied the city and asked to surrender in order to cede territory and seek peace. Please, Your Majesty
Holy Judgment, I wonder if we should immediately summon all the ministers from the Ministry of Ceremonies and the Ministry of War to discuss it?"
As Gu Yanwu spoke, he handed over Li Dingguo's report and the Burmese surrender form.
His so-called "immediately summon all the ministers to discuss" is nothing more than a beautiful statement. In fact, of course he knew that the emperor would not immediately summon everyone to discuss, so what would be the effectiveness of your words and my words?
You must first find your most trusted confidants in private to set a tone. After you have a framework, you can then see if there are any objections. If not, you can slowly improve the details of the conditions.
When Zhu Ciyu suddenly heard the good news, even though he was mentally prepared, he was still shocked.
He thought that the Ming army could win, but he did not expect that the victory would be so complete. He actually directly captured Bago, the capital of Myanmar, and killed the king of Myanmar, Mangbai.
Before leaving Nanjing for the tour, his father Zhu Shuren taught him earnestly and told him to give up when he was ready. But now that he heard about such a major victory, he couldn't help but feel a little carried away, feeling that Ming Dynasty could still ask for more.
Zhu Ciyu paced back and forth for a long time, gearing up, and then said to Gu Yanwu in a consultative tone: "Does Mr. Gu Ge think that we can take advantage of the victory to pursue him and kill him while he is sick? This is to break through the capital of Burma and kill the king of Burma! The rest is defeated.
The soldiers are not something to be afraid of, right?"
Gu Yanwu couldn't help but feel a headache after hearing this. Fortunately, Zhu Shuren repeatedly warned and ordered him before leaving the capital, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and remonstrate:
"Your Majesty must not be overjoyed! Although the capital of Burma was destroyed and the Burmese army was wiped out in large numbers, Li Dingguo only conducted three fortified battles in Lashio, Ava, and Bago. The most he could do was cross the border between Lashio and Ava.
There were some field battles during the Jiaoshan period.
Our army of the Ming Dynasty mainly relies on decisive battles in plains, river valleys and fertile lands in order to form an organized system and annihilate the Burmese army. Now that the easy meat has almost been eaten, we still rely on Zheng Chenggong to make roundabout attacks by sea, provide supply and transportation ships, and gnaw unexpectedly.
came down.
In the follow-up, I have exhausted all my clever tricks. My army has disinfectant, tiger balm, and other information about tropical plague prevention and treatment drugs. It is no longer confidential. The Burmese people are mentally prepared and know themselves and the enemy. Naturally, they will not risk their lives like they did at the beginning.
, in an attempt to hold back and trap our army, but now they know that delay is useless.
Thirdly, Li Dingguo was able to severely damage the main force of Mangbai during the Battle of Jiaoshan. He also took advantage of the fact that the Burmese did not know that the latest Ming Dynasty smokeless powder rifles could be used in the rain and humid environment. This was the reason why Li Dingguo was able to seduce the main force of the Burmese army to dare to attack.
Now all these unexpected factors have been exhausted!"
Gu Yanwu's words have two core meanings: in the past, winning was partly based on hard power, and partly based on information asymmetry, deception and sneak attacks.
Now those factors of information asymmetry have been completely wiped out. Those who can deceive or sneak attack have all been stolen. What is left is head-on confrontation, so we should give up when things are good.
Secondly, if we continue to fight, there will not be much fertile land left. How can we compete with the Burmese barbarians in the mountains and dense forests?
What the Ming Dynasty wants at most is some fertile river valleys and plains, which can ensure the food supply for the local rulers in the future. Then it needs to ensure a waterway for the Yunnan-Guizhou region to go to sea in the future. If these two points can be obtained, the remaining vast mountains will really be
There is no need to kill people.
As he spoke, as if to prove his point, Gu Yanwu was still prepared and took out several Western oil paintings he had prepared in advance for the emperor to view.
It is said to be a Western oil painting, but it is actually a painter trained by the Ming Dynasty Academy of Sciences. It uses Western perspective techniques to paint realistic landscape paintings. The main ones are the scenery of the mountains on the border between Yunnan and Myanmar. The purpose is to give the emperor an intuitive feeling.
How terrifying the alpine rainforest is.
After Zhu Ciyu was visually shocked, he recalled the days he had been in Guangzhou and visited the surrounding areas. He saw the rugged area of the Five Ridges around Shaoguan, and finally decided not to be reckless.
However, he was still unwilling to give up at the end, so he followed Gu Yanwu's explanation, pointed to the map and asked: "But even the fertile valley plains along Bago and Ava are not completely occupied by our Ming army now, right?
On the west bank of the Indra River, isn't there still some land in the hands of the Burmese prince named Mangluo? Let Li Dingguo continue his efforts to completely occupy these good lands, or force them to surrender. If they want to surrender, then show sincerity and take these good lands.
Can't we all cede them all to Ming Dynasty?"
Gu Yanwu couldn't help but smile bitterly, and pointed to the map to explain: "Your Majesty, since ancient times, if the border between the two countries is to be long-term and stable, there must be a clear geographical dividing line, and this is one of them. The Indra River is the largest river in Myanmar, with the river as the boundary, and the east
The river valley plain is owned by the Ming Dynasty, and the west bank is still owned by Myanmar, so the loss of border defense will be much smaller in the future.
If we must capture all the plains on the west bank of the river, we must completely wipe out Simeon. Otherwise, if we force the Burmese into the Arakan Mountains and harass them from time to time, the cost of our Ming rule will only rise sharply.
Moreover, if we really force people into the mountains, Mangluo will inevitably collapse. At that time, we will face a lot of chieftain tribes in the Arakan Mountains who are fighting each other. They do not belong to each other, and no one can hold the general responsible for the things they do.
, and will eventually fall into an endless quagmire.
In contrast, if a fertile foothold is left for them on the edge of the plain, then if they want to keep this foothold, they will not dare to offend Ming. If the chieftains of other tribes privately provoke Ming, they will also have to help Ming suppress it, so as not to
Suffered revenge from Ming Dynasty.
And if they can't manage the tribal chieftains below, the Ming Dynasty can directly pick on the weak and directly attack their fertile territories in the river valleys and plains that are easy to attack and difficult to defend, as a blow to force them to contribute to the Ming Dynasty."
Every time Gu Yanwu said something, Zhu Ciyu's expression suddenly became brighter. In the end, he had to admit that Gu Ge's statement was the most mature way of planning for the country with the lowest cost of governance.
"I understand! Leave them some fertile plains in Hexi, that will be Mang Luo's destiny in the future! As long as he disobeys, or his subordinates disobey, I, the Ming Dynasty, will keep an eye on this destiny!
If they are forced to lose all their vitality and only have a hundred thousand strong bones left in the mountains, then it will be inconvenient to blackmail the Burmese!"
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After the emperor finally understood the good intentions of his father and Mr. Gu, the subsequent discussions among the officials of the Ministry of Rites became much easier. Anyway, the tone of the negotiation had been set, and all that was left was specific bargaining.
Based on the battle report sent back by Li Dingguo and the description of the real-time actual occupied area, everyone roughly combined it on the map. Finally, it took a few days to work out the specific conditions for ceding land and transferring control:
First, the Burmese side must re-vomit all the Sanxuan and Liuwei lands that were usurped since the Jiajing period and were originally vassals of the Ming Dynasty, terminate the vassal relationship with those tribal chieftains, and allow these tribal chieftains to return to the Ming Dynasty, and
Let the Ming Dynasty gradually reform and return to its original ways at its own pace.
Perhaps later generations of readers will have no idea about this map, so when converted to the map of later generations, it is equivalent to the entire Kachin State in northern Myanmar, including the part of the territory that was once disputed in history, plus the entire Mu State, and the Shan
The northern half of the country is included in the scope of this return.
Secondly, in addition to the above-mentioned three announcements and six consolations, Myanmar must also ensure that all the land along the Nu River, all the way to Lashio, and the valleys of the Jiaoshan Mountains are handed over to the Ming Dynasty.
Thirdly, the Burmese side had to ensure that the land from Lashio across the Jiaoshan Mountains to Ava was ceded to the Ming Dynasty.
Finally, the entire east bank of the Yinlowaddy River from Awa along the Yinlowaddy River to the mouth of Bago was ceded to the Ming Dynasty.
The waterway of the Yinvalodi River will be used as a boundary river by Ming Dynasty and Myanmar in the future, but Myanmar cannot prevent Ming Dynasty from dredging the river, constructing water conservancy and rectifying shipping. Myanmar cannot unilaterally block the waterway. If Myanmar fails to dredge well, then it will
The Ming Dynasty must be allowed to send personnel to carry out comprehensive dredging.
As for compensation, Myanmar is so poor that it does not exist. At most, it is used as a scary element in negotiations. In the end, since so much land has been cut off, there is no need to pay compensation.
After the conditions were drawn up, naturally a messenger was sent from Guangzhou to Yunnan, and then handed over to Myanmar by Li Dingguo's army. This time the conditions only used the seals of the Ministry of Rites and the Supervisor of Rites, not the emperor's jade seal, because the emperor's decree
It can only be used for the final decision.
So this condition is for Mang Luo and Mang Liti to take a look at.
When Myanmar saw the conditions for ceding land, its first reaction was naturally to be shocked, because too much land had been ceded.
But on the other hand, these lands did not exceed the area occupied by Li Dingguo and Zheng Chenggong's actual military offensive. In other words, Ming Dynasty obtained it militarily first, then occupied it, and then negotiated it. And finally took it away.
, slightly less than what Ming Dynasty had already occupied militarily.
For example, Li Dingguo has now taken over part of the fertile plains on the west bank of the Yinlowaddy River, but judging from the terms of surrender, the Ming Dynasty will not want the land on the west bank in the future. As long as the Burmese agree and stamp their commitment, Li Dingguo will withdraw his troops from the west bank.
Burma's capital Bago and Paidu, the old capital Ava, and the Ming Dynasty all have to be captured, but the third largest city Pyinmana, because it is located on the west bank of the Yinrawaddy River, can be left to Manggro as the future new capital of Myanmar.
From this point of view, since Myanmar no longer has the strength, it seems that it can only agree. After all, in Indochina, until the 18th century, the law of the jungle was still the law of the jungle.
Historically, Myanmar once destroyed the Ayutthaya dynasty of Siam, and was later pushed back by the Thonburi dynasty of Siam Taksin. It also seized the Chiang Mai area in northern Thailand with both capital and profit. This kind of jungle law can be used arbitrarily by force.
It was not until around the 19th century, when the British and French colonists entered, that the strong and the weak began to seize land, and they began to barely talk about international law.
Therefore, it is only the middle of the night in the 17th century, and the Ming Dynasty’s fists are even harder. In addition, Myanmar was indeed seized by the Ming Dynasty before. It is normal for Myanmar to be beaten to the ground and cut off so much land.
The only thing that the Burmese people find unacceptable is the land cession plan drawn up by the Ming Dynasty, because the Ming Dynasty wants the mouth of the Rawady River and Bago, which means splitting the country of Myanmar into two halves from east to west.
After all, the Yinlowaddy River is the mother river of Myanmar. It runs through the entire country. The Ming Dynasty wanted to connect the middle reaches of the Nu River, the Jiaogu Valley Road connecting the Nujiang River to the Yinlowaddy River, and the Yinlowaddy River from Ava to Bago.
If Jiang Quan was captured, wouldn't it mean that Burma was killed by force?
However, the Ming Dynasty has gradually shifted to a maritime power mindset. The grain-producing areas in the valleys of Myanmar are not the most important thing to the Ming Dynasty. What the Ming Dynasty wants is the sea outlet of Yunnan-Guizhou in southwest China, so this contradiction can no longer be reconciled.
Mang Luo really didn't want to betray the country. But at this time, Li Dingguo relied on the personal secret message given to him by Yanwu and deployed another dirty trick. After Mang Bai was killed, Mang Luo and Mang Liti brothers competed for the throne.
If you accept Ming's conditions first, you will recognize whoever is the king of Myanmar. If neither brother accepts it, then he can support Mangbai's other sons and Ming will recognize him as the new king of Myanmar.
This move was so vicious that both sides scrambled to admit it in the end, but Li Dingguo came up with Gu Yanwu's supplementary plan:
Considering that the territory of Myanmar was divided in the middle, with a piece in the east and west, the Ming Dynasty could recognize that Mangluo inherited the power of the main densely populated area on the west bank of the Yinlowaddy River and was the largest successor to Myanmar, which would later be called Western Myanmar.
, the capital is in Pyinmana.
Mangliti inherited the separated Eastern Burma, with its capital at Maodangmei at the mouth of the Nu River. The area it ruled included the Shiwandashan Mountains in the southern part of the Shan State Plateau, as well as the Chiang Mai region of Thailand, and part of northern Laos.
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(Note: It is the area that protrudes from the north of the Thai map in later generations. The Chiang Mai area still belonged to Myanmar at that time. In other words, Myanmar had defeated the Siam Ayutthaya Dynasty earlier and got it. It would take another hundred years in history.
Around the year 1760s, Myanmar destroyed the Ayutthaya Dynasty of Siam and was overthrown by the Thonburi Dynasty of Siam, and Chiang Mai returned to Thailand.
Northern Laos also belonged to Myanmar in the 17th century. There was only one Lancang country in Laos, which was nominally a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, it was beaten by Myanmar and only the surrounding areas of the Vientiane Basin were left. The rest of the country was occupied by some Xuanwei chieftains. The Ming Dynasty once established "
"Lao Military and Civilian Propaganda Department", but in the 40th year of Wanli, because Burma attacked northern Laos and cut off the land passage between Lancang and the Ming Dynasty, it existed in name only)
The Burmese side had no choice. After all, their main force had been annihilated one after another, numbering two to three hundred thousand. Li Dingguo also promised to withdraw from the West Bank land after signing the contract. The Mang brothers had no choice but to sign contracts to inherit Western Myanmar and Eastern Myanmar respectively.
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The terms of the negotiation went back and forth twice, from March to the end of May on the road from Myanmar to Yunnan and then to Guangzhou.
Finally, after the Ming Dynasty confirmed that Myanmar was willing to accept the edict, Emperor Zhu Ciyu officially issued the edict on May 30, which was distributed to Pyinmana and Maodanmian, and Mang Luo was canonized as King of Simeon, and Mang Liti was canonized as King of East Myanmar. As for
Other treaty provisions are, of course, reflected in the final edict and will not reflect the previous negotiation process.
The Ming Dynasty still wanted to save face. When dealing with small countries in Southeast Asia, the final expression of etiquette could not be a "treaty", it could only be an edict issued by the emperor, and then the enemy country "accepted the canonization". The moment the edict was accepted, it was equivalent to accepting the previous conditions.
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PS: I will attach a detailed map later. It is difficult to express the land cessation in words.