Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 378: Candidate for the Governor-General of Central and South China
Luo Jifutu finally chose execution by shooting, which might be the fastest way to sever the central nervous system under current technical conditions.
On July 12, the remaining 60,000 troops in Bangkok surrendered their weapons and walked to the location designated by the Ming army outside the city to surrender.
On July 13, after bidding farewell to his wife and children, Raja Buddha calmly went up to a temporary platform outside Bangkok, and then Luo Xiong was chosen as the executioner.
On this day, Luo Xiong wore a 21st century style green military uniform, which was currently only used as a formal dress, and walked calmly onto the execution platform.
He took out his pistol very skillfully, then turned his head to look at Zhu Youdong who was sitting in a higher position. After getting Zhu Youdong's nod, he quickly put the muzzle of the gun close to Luoyafutu's temple and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
After a gunshot, Luo Jifutu, who was originally sitting upright, fell on the execution platform. His body twitched twice quickly, and then there was no movement.
When the gunshot rang out, Zhu Youdong's heart seemed to be grabbed by something and stopped beating briefly.
"Ding~ System announcement, Kaiyang killed Lianzhen, and Lianzhen's talent was obtained by Kaiyang."
The cold machine voice, in different languages, almost simultaneously rang in the minds of Zhu Youdong, Tokugawa Yoshinao, Datar, and Philip, four travelers who had already opened the system. Rudolf and Yiplashim also suddenly felt that the Lianzhen Star on their backs had completely lost its sense.
Thousands of miles away, Zhu Youdong didn't know how other travelers would react when they heard the news. But at least now, he didn't feel any joy in his heart. He only felt a slight sadness.
And when he came to his senses and saw the Siamese people who were watching the execution around him, still kneeling and crying bitterly in the face of the black muzzles of guns and bayonets of thousands of Ming troops who were maintaining order, he felt inexplicably irritated in his heart.
It seems that winning the hearts of the Siamese people is an extremely long process.
"Boya."
"I am here."
"I didn't have time to go on this expedition, and I didn't bring any of the court officials with me. So, I have to trouble you for a while. You don't have to rush back to Taiwan for the time being, but help me do something first."
"I obey your orders, Your Majesty."
"What we need to do at this stage is to write letters to the Siamese garrison commanders in Saigon and Phnom Penh, and then have the Siamese Prime Minister Supachai and their general named Lan Ya use the seal together. I don't want any more unnecessary casualties."
"As you wish."
"The next step is to write letters to Chen Shiji, Xiong Tingbi, Ahua Nalong, the Mon chiefs, the Laotian envoys, the Johor Sultan, the King of Chenla, and the King and powerful ministers of Annan, asking them to come to Bangkok."
"As you wish."
"Write a letter to the King of Zhou in Kaifeng and the newly appointed King of Tang in Nanyang, asking them to send their respective princes over. Well, have them escort and transport them along the way, and have the two vassals contact Cao Sanxi. Forget it, write a letter to Cao Sanxi as well, asking him to take full responsibility for this matter."
"Eh? Well, I obey your command."
In the next half month, Zhu Youdong naturally tried to appease the Siamese royal family with kind words, saying that he would never kill innocent people. Then he contacted the princes and ministers of Siam. Finally, he visited many counties in Siam under the protection of a large army.
Siam is located in the tropics, and its rice is harvested three times a year, so the Siamese government used to collect taxes three times a year. The land rent is indeed very low, 15% tax. In addition to the land rent, farmers also have to bear military service: Siam has a small population base and a lot of arable land. The vast majority of farmers rarely have the problem of having too many sons in the rural areas of the Ming Dynasty, where the family property is divided and each family cannot live independently. Therefore, in such a country, it is impossible to get enough soldiers by recruiting soldiers. The only way is to implement a compulsory military service system for all people.
Apart from that, the peasants had very little to bear. The main reason for this was that the country of Rajabuddha was conquered by Naresuan not long ago. After Rajabuddha ascended the throne, although he had to suppress some opposition parties, he was ultimately working on a blank sheet of paper. Therefore, Siam's commercial taxes were extremely high and collected over a wide range. The large amount of commercial taxes was enough for the country to not have to snatch more things from the peasants.
Although in the past two years, Siam had to go to war with the Ming Dynasty and provide a large amount of food to Japan. However, Siam also obtained a large amount of real gold and silver from Japan. With this inflow and outflow, in the past two years, in addition to the increase in military service, each prefecture was required to provide 300 strong laborers to fill each factory. The land tax did not increase!
After traveling around Siam for more than two months, His Majesty the Emperor had a greater appreciation for Rājastha.
But after the appreciation, Zhu Youdong was forced to grit his teeth and offer more benefits to win the hearts of the people.
He publicly promised that Siam would be tax-free this year and next year. Even after the tax was restored in the third year, the tax rate would remain unchanged at 15%. At the same time, the compulsory military service system would be abolished. He also promised that every factory worker would take home at least three silver dollars.
After pleasing the peasants, he used the imperial examination system to win over local intellectuals: as long as you pass the Chinese proficiency test held in the Ming Dynasty, you will automatically be qualified to participate in the imperial examination. In this way, it is possible to become an official in the Ming Dynasty in the future. Yes, it is possible.
The Emperor's attitude towards the business community is divided into two categories: those who engage in industry are not favored in any way while those who engage in pure buying low and selling high are promised further tax incentives...
In short, over the past two months, Zhu Youdong visited 27 of the 55 prefectures in Siam . While letting hundreds of thousands of Siamese people see the majestic ceremonial guard of the Celestial Emperor, he also let them see the emperor's reasonable, amiable and people-friendly side.
In September 1618, leaders of various forces in the Indochina Peninsula, as well as Chen Shiji, Xiong Tingbi and others arrived in Bangkok one after another. On September 23, the crown prince of Zhou, Zhu Gongyao, and the crown prince of Tang, Zhu Youjian (the succession of Tang kings had been completed, and Zhu Youjian was promoted from the eldest grandson of Tang king to the crown prince of Tang king) also arrived. Zhu Youdong, who received the news, returned to Bangkok.
"Your Highness, I, Xiong Tingbi, pay my respects to His Majesty. After many years of absence, the Emperor has finally ascended the throne."
"Hahaha, now it's my fault. I've been asking Mr. Xiong to run around for so many years. Not to mention my coronation ceremony, even my wedding, Mr. Xiong couldn't attend it."
"I dare not. Serving the emperor is the duty of a subject."
"Mr. Xiong, let's not waste time on this. Let me get straight to the point. This time, I want to move Mr. Xiong further away."
"Your Majesty, do you want me to be the governor of the entire Indochina Peninsula to intimidate the barbarians here?"
"Hahaha, it really is my Mr. Xiong. How about it? Are you willing to take on such an important task for me, Mr. Xiong?"
"Your Majesty, I am not afraid that my post will be farther and farther from Beijing. But I know my temper. I am too strict and harsh. Such a character is useful in intimidating barbarians during war. But now? The war here has ended. If someone like me is allowed to be in charge here, I am afraid... I think Sun Kaiyang is more suitable for such a position. After all, Kaiyang is much more gentle than I am."
"Hahaha, Mr. Xiong, this is why I chose you instead of Mr. Sun."
"I don't quite understand, please enlighten me, Your Majesty."
"It's very simple!" Standing up, Zhu Youdong looked outside the door, his eyes gradually becoming stern: "Although I have been touring Siam for more than two months, I have mainly appeased the people and local forces. But! Most of the people in the entire Indochina Peninsula are those who fear power but not morality! Blindly being gentle will only make these guys have thoughts that they shouldn't have. When the time comes, rebellions will break out, which will be a disaster for our Ming Dynasty and the local people. Only when a minister like you is in charge here, some ambitious people here will not dare to act rashly. In this way, it is the greatest responsibility to the country and the local people!"
