Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 703 Zhu Youdong's Risky Move
"Your Majesty, the Ming army now has 15 divisions in Myanmar and 3 divisions in Guangxi. As long as we are determined to break free from the control of the Ming, we can arm 100,000 people with the weapons donated by the Spanish, rely on the mountainous areas north of Hanoi, and block the Ming army. Then cut off the Central and South Railway. By then, the main force of the Ming on the front line in Myanmar will be annihilated by the Spanish due to the interruption of logistical supplies. Then the main force of the Spanish army will enter our country. By then, even if the emperor of the Ming organizes more land forces, he will be powerless."
"Ah..." Le Duy Xin sighed and said, "Nowadays, although Dai Viet is nominally a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, in reality, except for the fact that the Ming Dynasty sends a few thousand soldiers to join in the fun, and sends more than 10,000 civilians to help with logistics, and pays tribute once a year, the rest of the time is basically autonomous. The Ming Dynasty has no garrison or tax collectors in our country. As you said, if we cut off the Central and South Railway and cause the main force of the Ming Dynasty to be defeated, Spain will station a large number of troops in our country. Moreover, I can imagine that the Red River Delta Plain in Hanoi will become a battlefield between Spain and the Ming Dynasty. The essence of our country will be destroyed by war."
"Your Majesty! These are the prices we have to pay for our country's independence!"
"Your Majesty!"
Li Weixin stood up with a firm hand. "This matter concerns the life and death of Dai Viet. We must be extremely cautious . Ladies and gentlemen, although I have never fought in a war, I also know that a farmer with a rifle is no better than a bandit if he is not fully trained! So what if the Spanish gave us arms to arm 100,000 people? The only one that Dai Viet can really fight is the regiment that followed the Ming Dynasty on the expedition to India. But the soldiers of this regiment are still in Burma. Ladies and gentlemen, let's not talk about how we can arm 100,000 people without telling the Ming Dynasty's Jinyiwei after the Spanish arms arrive. Even if the Ming Dynasty's Jinyiwei are all blind and let us successfully organize 100,000 people, these civilians who just got the guns, facing the three battle-hardened Ming Dynasty army divisions in Guangxi at this moment, I am afraid they can't even withstand a single charge from the other side!"
"So, let's put this matter on hold. I think everyone should be patient and wait and see how the war situation in Myanmar turns out."
This small-scale court meeting of the Kingdom of Annan ended. The ministers who attended the meeting came out of the palace and immediately found a secret place to continue the meeting.
"The king has only been in power for a short time, and he lacks the courage to do things."
"Yes, there is no perfect plan in this world. Without taking some risks and making some sacrifices, how can we see Dai Viet's independence?"
"Oh, I really miss Duke Zheng and Duke Nguyen Phuc. Although they were enemies, they were really bold in doing things."
"I won't say much, everyone. The opportunity for national independence is right before our eyes. We can make a quick decision!"
"That's true. The Li people themselves don't love this country. As citizens of Dai Viet, we must stand up bravely!"
Just as a group of Annan ministers were preparing to change their king, on the other side, at the Annan Palace.
"General Ma, this is what happened at today's meeting. It seems that the remnants of Zheng and Ruan are getting impatient."
"I understand. Please rest assured, my king. The Ming army will definitely protect the royal family. If anyone dares to start a rebellion, our army will quickly put it down."
"..." After a moment of silence, Li Weixin spoke up, "General Ma, if a rebellion breaks out in my country, the people behind it will definitely be those emerging merchants who have made a fortune from the booming maritime trade. These people can be said to be the ones who have benefited the most from the Celestial Empire, but they are also the first to betray it. I will not feel bad for such ungrateful people even if the Celestial Empire's army slaughters them all. But..." He took two steps forward and continued in fluent Chinese, "But if maritime trade continues to be interrupted, it will not only be the maritime traders who will be affected. If the livelihoods of my country's farmers and ordinary landlords are also affected, I really can't control the situation."
The General Ma standing in front of Li Weixin at this time was Ma Xianglin, the eldest son of Ma Qiancheng and Qin Liangyu. At the age of 45, he was already a major general of the Ming Army and served as the general of Guangxi, responsible for the stability of Annan and ensuring the logistical safety of the Ming army fighting in Burma.
At this moment, after hearing what Li Weixin said, he glared at him unceremoniously: "Your Majesty, you said this, but what do you dislike about my Ming Dynasty?"
"How dare I? How dare I? It's just General Ma. As vassal kings, we must be loyal to the Ming Dynasty. But to appease the people of our country, we also need something."
"I understand your Majesty's intention. I will report your difficulties to the Lifanyuan."
…
"Your Majesty, on the sixth day of the fourth month of the twenty-third year of the Tianqi reign, an attempted coup d'état took place in Annan . Under the command of the division commander Ma Xianglin, the 32nd Division of the Ming Army smuggled a battalion of more than a thousand soldiers into the Thanh Hoa Palace in Annan in advance. After the rebellion broke out, our army put down the rebellion in just one night. According to statistics afterwards, a total of more than 3,700 rebels were killed, and the mastermind and his family members were arrested. The Annan King, Le Duy Tan, has beheaded all of them."
"Heh, this Li Weixin is quite straightforward in his surrender."
After all the ministers laughed a few times at the emperor's little joke, Ma Shiying said to Chen Zizhuang, "Jisheng, during this period, apart from Annan, there are also people who are restless in other vassal states, right?"
"To reply to the Prime Minister, it is indeed true. Your Majesty, colleagues, since the Western pirate navy broke into the inland sea of our Great Ming last year, many missionaries have successively submitted their letters of credence to many vassal states of our Great Ming. The contents of their letters of credence are basically the same, all of which are requests, uh..."
"Hahaha, there's no need to be shy. You're just asking me to abdicate."
"Your Majesty, the Western bandits have evil ambitions. You don't need to care about such crude tricks."
In general, Spanish diplomats were very active during this period, but the results were minimal.
In Japan, Philip's handwritten letter to Toyotomi Toshihide was torn up on the spot by His Majesty the Kanpaku, who also beheaded the visiting envoy and asked the deputy envoy to send his head back. For the Toyotomi family, the support of the Ming Dynasty is the greatest guarantee for them to maintain their ruling position in Japan. And in terms of the Japanese character, yes, our nature is to submit to the strong. But there is a prerequisite, you have to completely defeat me and my current suzerain. As long as you can do these two things, I will immediately kneel down and lick you. What? You haven't done it yet? Then I will let you see the loyalty of the Japanese samurai.
In addition to Japan, the Spanish also enjoyed the same treatment in the vassal states ruled by the Zhu family. Those with better tempers wrote a righteous reply letter, scolding the Western bandits for their wolfish ambitions and wishful thinking. Those with worse tempers directly killed people to show their position.
The only thing that really had any effect was Sukhothai, the fiefdom that Zhu Youdong left to Rajabhat Buddha's eldest son after Annan, Burma and Siam were dismembered.
Among the three countries, Myanmar has the strongest rebellious consciousness: the Burmese used to have their own kings, and the Ming Dynasty found an excuse to destroy the Toungoo Dynasty. They also cut off a large piece of Burmese land to feed their sworn enemies, the Mon people, and appointed members of the Ming royal family to be kings here. How could they feel comfortable?
Therefore, when the Spaniards landed, the Burmese were the most excited. It was only because the main force of the Ming Dynasty was stationed here that they could not make any noise.
As for Sukhothai in Siam, they certainly wanted to rebel. But their territory was surrounded by Tang, Zhou, and Nanzhang, all of which were absolutely loyal to the Ming Dynasty. Before the EU army arrived in their territory, they could only silently cheer for the Europeans in their hearts.
The only one who actually took action was Annan, although it was suppressed in just one night.
"Your Majesty, although the situation in the vassal states is generally stable now, if this situation continues for too long, I am afraid that the positions of some countries will be affected..."
"The Prime Minister is right." Zhu Youdong then turned his head to the right and said, "Grand Marshal, what is the current progress of my battleship?"
"The main structure has been completed and is currently being outfitted. It is expected that sea trials will begin by the end of this year or early next year."
"It's been too long. I can't wait any longer. At this moment, we must win a big victory to stabilize the morale of the army and the people as well as the hearts of the vassal states."
"Your Majesty." Yan Siqi stood up. "If Your Majesty wants to win a big victory in the near future, it can only rely on the army. After all, the navy has been seriously injured after two consecutive wars. If you force them to fight again, I am afraid that the Yu Tonghai and Zheng He ships will be put into service, but there will be no suitable officers and sailors."
"Although the Privy Councilor's words are unpleasant to hear, they do make sense. I also want to rely on the army to win a big victory and stabilize the situation."
"Your Majesty." Deputy Privy Councilor Zhao Lujiao stood up and said, "Your Majesty, please give us some advice. The army will do its best to help you."
"It's very simple." Zhu Youdong stood up and walked to a map of East Asia hanging on the wall of the conference room. He placed his finger on the position of Myanmar and said, "Don't the Western bandits want to enter the Indochina Peninsula? Aren't the Burmese, Siamese and even some Annan people waiting for the Western bandits to rescue them? I will give them this opportunity. I think the Privy Council can send a message to Liu Zhaosun, asking him to resist step by step and gradually retreat. While stretching the supply line of the Western bandits, all those impatient cats and dogs in Indochina will jump out. Then, when the Western bandits enter the central part of Indochina Peninsula, the main force of the Ming army will encircle them from the north and east and completely annihilate them!"
