Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 377: Conversation between Kings
"Long live!"
"Long live the emperor!"
"Long live the Ming Dynasty!"
On July 13, 1618, Zhu Youdong's ship, escorted by the fleet led by Li Guozhu, sailed into the Gulf of Siam and landed at the Port of Bangkok. Instantly, the morale of tens of thousands of Ming soldiers suddenly exploded, and the entire coast was filled with enthusiastic cheers of "Long live the Ming Dynasty". The sound was so loud that the Siamese soldiers who were hiding in Bangkok could not help but stick their heads out from the parapet and look towards the coast.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."
"Hahaha, everyone, please stand up. Thank you for your hard work."
"It is our duty to serve the Emperor."
After the collective greetings between the monarch and his subjects, Zhu Youdong walked up to Luo Xiong and patted him on the shoulder. "Well done. On my way here, I happened to encounter the communication ship here turning back. Wow, a thousand soldiers fighting against an enemy fifty times their size, and keeping them from making an inch of progress in three days. Hahahaha, I think it won't be long before your name appears in the six major newspapers. You'll be famous this time."
"Hehe." Touching the back of his head foolishly, Luo Xiong said, "Your Majesty, I almost died for my country..."
"I know." Zhu Youdong's tone also lowered: "Have the remains of the sacrificed soldiers been recovered?"
"We have already collected them all. They were cremated a few days ago. I will send their ashes back to their hometowns one by one."
"Okay, that's exactly how we should do it. I will personally write thank-you letters to the families of these soldiers when the time comes."
After doing all this, Zhu Youdong, surrounded by his ministers, entered the army's temporary tent outside Bangkok.
After sitting in the main seat, Zhu Youdong nodded to Zhao Lujiao and said, "General Zhao, what is the current battle situation? Can you tell me?"
"Yes. Your Majesty, now, the remaining Siamese army of about 60,000 people are hiding in Bangkok. Our army of more than 70,000 and 50,000 Mon troops are stationed outside the city. In order to prevent the main force of the enemy in the city from attacking one point, thus causing a break in one point and then the whole line to be broken. Therefore, I gave up the defense line east of Bangkok and focused on defending the west and north. As for the south, there is General Li's fleet stationed there, and the bandit chieftain can do nothing."
"Did you attack the city?"
"Well, speaking of this. Your Majesty, when we let the Siamese king's returning troops into the city, the Siamese king sent an envoy. He said that he knew that Your Majesty was on the way here, so he asked us not to attack the city for the time being. When the emperor arrived, he would tie himself up in front of the emperor."
"Eh?" Zhu Youdong couldn't help but twirled the little beard that had just grown on his chin: "So you listened to the other side and didn't attack the city?"
"I am a minister of the Emperor, not of the King of Siam. Of course, I will not fall for this delaying tactic. After confirming that the King of Siam had entered the city, I also organized a large-scale offensive. However, the enemy's defenders were tenacious and had sufficient firepower. So we were unable to break in."
"Okay, I understand. In that case, send an envoy into the city to tell Naraja Buddha that I'm here. Haha, no need, he's already here."
Luo Zhifutu came very straightforwardly, bringing two followers, driving a four-wheeled carriage, and waving a white flag. Zhu Youdong, who sensed that the other party was getting closer and closer, certainly would not lose his momentum. He quickly issued an order: open the camp gate and let the other party in.
Finally, eighteen years after traveling through time, Zhu Youdong finally met his colleagues and competitors.
"You bold thief chief, why don't you kneel when you see our emperor!"
"Zhao Shuai, forget it."
Waving his hand, Zhu Youdong looked intently into Luojifutu's eyes.
After the two time travelers stared at each other for a while, Luo Zhifutu spoke first: "Your Majesty, Emperor of Ming, I hope to talk to you alone. Of course, if you are worried about your safety, you can tie me up first."
When the accompanying translator translated this into Chinese, he was naturally angrily rebuked by the Ming officials in the big tent. But Zhu Youdong just smiled and said nothing.
King versus king, one versus one. Logically, in order to maintain momentum, it should be like many of the amateurish writings before the time travel, and they should just wave their hands and say something like: Why are you tying me up? Am I afraid of you? Then they can talk to each other alone.
But Zhu Youdong observed the other party carefully for a while and felt that the other party had strong muscles and was full of strength.
Although he had a famous martial arts teacher since he had Cheng Zongyou as his bodyguard, as a regent or emperor, he was very busy all day long, and he practiced martial arts only occasionally - his current personal combat power was only slightly better than that of a weakling.
Therefore, demeanor and momentum are not important. The key is to follow your heart.
After making up his mind, Zhu Youdong said to the translator: "Tell your king that I am willing to talk to him alone. However, for my own safety, I will not only tie him up, but also put him in a cage!"
After Luo Zhifutu was tied up tightly by Man Gui and Huang Degong with a smile and walked slowly towards an iron cage, Zhu Youdong blushed: "Ahem, Fang Zhenghua, Luo Xiong."
"I am here."
"After everyone leaves, the two of you will lead the eunuchs and a team of soldiers to guard 50 meters outside the tent. Anyone who dares to get within 50 meters of the tent will be killed without mercy!"
"I obey your order."
After everyone left and Zhu Youdong went out to check in person, he re-entered the tent, carried the chair to a place about five meters away from the cage, sat down, and then spoke in English: "Shall we beg in?"
"Wow, your English is much better than Tokugawa Yoshinao's. As expected, the Chinese accent is much more standard than the Japanese."
"Thank you very much. I've been here for 18 years and I've almost lost everything. I just found someone in the Jesuit order who speaks English on the way here to help me catch up."
"No more jokes. I'm really uncomfortable with your two generals. The sooner we finish talking, the sooner I can get free. Now, let me introduce myself. I'm Luo Jifu Tu. Before I traveled through time, I was an agricultural student and an amateur Muay Thai master."
"Well, Zhu Youdong was a doctor before he traveled through time. Ah, a Muay Thai master, it seems that my caution was right."
"Haha, that's right, but it's not necessary. The situation is like this, and I came out of this country on my own initiative so that the people of this country will no longer suffer from the war. I never thought of leaving alive when I got here. Why would I assassinate you and then let your soldiers massacre the city to vent their anger?"
"That makes sense. But I still feel more comfortable talking this way."
"That's right. If we were in each other's shoes, I would treat you the same way."
"Yes." Zhu Youdong nodded and stared into Luoyafutu's eyes and said, "Tell me, what is your last wish?"
"First, treat my family well. Second, treat my people well. Third, treat my body well. The rest..." Luojafutu lowered his head, was silent for a while, then raised his head and forced a smile: "No more."
After a moment of silence, Zhu Youdong said, "First, after you die, I will give your family a province in Siam to provide for them. Well, you are the royal family of Ayutthaya, so give Ayutthaya to your son."
"no."
"So what do you want?"
"Please don't get me wrong, I don't think you're too stingy. On the contrary, Ayutthaya is close to Bangkok, located on the main transportation route between Siam's inland and coastal areas, with a prosperous population and economy. Giving such a fertile land to the royal family of the fallen country... is definitely not a good thing for them. So, if you really don't intend to kill my family, please give them Udon Thani. It's a mountainous basin, and it's not easy to get out, but it's still comfortable to live a small life behind closed doors."
"Of course, I don't know as much about the various provinces of Siam as you do. Let me ask someone to find out later. If it is true as you said, then I will give Udon Thani to your son."
"Thank you very much."
"Then let me say the second thing. Siam has only been around for more than 30 years since Naresuan's restoration. So after you die, I will divide the country. It is said that you have divided into more than 50 provinces (75 provinces in the 21st century). I will leave a few provinces for the Thai people. The others will be given to the Mon people and the Lao people."
“What about the Burmese?”
"Haha, I don't even have time to guard against such a warlike nation, how can I let him become stronger?"
"That's right." After nodding silently, Luo Zhifu said, "You can't possibly give all the more than 40 prefectures to the Mon and Lao tribes, right? Are you going to directly govern Siam?"
"It's too far." Zhu Youdong shook his head. "The Hengduan Mountains are difficult to cross. So I'm not interested in direct jurisdiction for now. As for fiefdoms, I will make my relatives kings here."
"Humph, aren't you afraid that another hero from my Thai tribe will kill all your relatives in the future?"
Zhu Youdong shrugged indifferently at Luoyafutu's provocation: "If I let my army stay here for more than three years, and they still can't stabilize the situation and win the hearts of the people, then let them be killed."
"Yeah." Nodding, Luojafutu smiled: "That's right, Siam is divided into several parts, and my descendants are still here. The people will naturally compare with each other. If the new occupiers don't treat the people well, I'm afraid their rule will not last long."
"So, I have actually accomplished your second request in some way. As for the third request, don't worry. After all, you cooperated with my personal expedition and didn't ask me to go into the mountains and forests. So, as long as your family can afford it, you can build a tomb as big as you want. And I can also write the inscription for you personally. Don't worry, it will be all good words. You know, when a victor praises his opponent's bravery and strength, he is actually flattering himself."
After seeing Luo Zhifutu nod his head in confirmation, Zhu Youdong stood up, his expression suddenly turned stern: "However, I heard that you Siamese looted the civilians of Qiongzhou Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty during your occupation of Hainan Island. Humph, in this battle, you kill me and I kill you, there is nothing to say. But looting civilians, that is unacceptable!"
"...When I was dealing with Zhenla and Annan, I really didn't pay too much attention to military discipline. Soldiers need to vent their anger after winning a battle. But before attacking Hainan Island, I still asked them not to infringe on Ming civilians. However...I didn't manage them strictly before and suddenly issued several orders. This is indeed my fault."
"So, I agree to all three of your requests. But I will execute all the officers and soldiers who robbed the people of my Ming Dynasty. Do you have any objections? "
"……No."
"Okay." He bowed deeply to his colleague earnestly: "Now, please tell me what kind of death you would most accept? If necessary, I will personally send you off."
