Forty-eight years of Qianlong

The capital of the Brunei Sultanate is called Brunei City, which was called "Boni City" in the official records of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

This is a city called the Venice of the East by the Spaniards.It is located on the west bank of the Brunei River, and there are various wooden houses on the water along the river.In the urban area, the main body of most houses is built of stone, especially the huge palace and mosque of the king, with exquisite reliefs all over the exterior, and a layer of gold plated on the Middle Eastern style dome.When the morning mist hangs over the Brunei River and the sun shines on the domes of palaces and mosques, the city looks dreamlike.

On the outskirts of the city—that is, near the mouth of the Brunei River, there is a stone wall built with large stones to protect the palace and the main body of the city.This stone wall was built by a Chinese in the late fourteenth century.He filled dozens of large ships with stones and sank them at the mouth of the Brunei River, then filled them with soil as the foundation, and built a stone wall and fortress on it.

Maybe it’s been a long time since the days of peace. When the dark fleet of the Northern Navy appeared at the mouth of the Brunei River, the people on the river bank didn’t react at all. It wasn’t until a rumbling cannon sounded that everyone reacted and was frightened. Scattered and fled.

Regardless of the fact that the Kingdom of Brunei is called the "Spice Empire" by Westerners, its territory has shrunk significantly, and its combat effectiveness is even worse.During the royal turmoil in the 2000th century, the Sultan at that time could only turn to the Spanish Governor in Manila. After that, the Spaniards only used more than [-] people to defeat the Brunei army and conquer the city of Brunei.

When Brunei sent an envoy to come in a small boat and boarded the boat to inquire about the purpose of coming, He Xiwen came up and threw out the joint charges of more than a dozen Chinese businessmen and a confession with the fingerprints of Betty. The list was as long as seven or eight pages, listing a large group of people including Raja Hasim of Sarawak, and the name "Muhammad Tajuddin" at the end made the envoy stunned and his heartbeat soared.

This person is none other than the current crown prince of Brunei and the actual controller of state affairs.You must know that the No. 18 Sultan is now 82 years old. He handed over power to his son a few years ago and retired to the second line to support his life.

In fact, some of the domestic dignitaries supported the Iban pirates to plunder everywhere. It was almost a half-open secret, but this matter could not be admitted even if killed.

However, no matter what the emissary explained, He Xiwen said in a nutshell, in a nutshell, the crime of condoning pirates and robbing Chinese businessmen is unforgivable, and the sultan, the crown prince, and the Brunei dignitaries in the confession must be brought back to Bacheng to confront them face to face.

The envoy was anxious, and suddenly remembered an old incident, and immediately pleaded with He Xiwen: "Your side is Chinese, and our Sudan also has Chinese blood, we are all one family!"

He Xiwen and several of his subordinates looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing, thinking that this was simply dragging the monk and calling him brother-in-law-marriage indiscriminately.

Seeing this, the envoy quickly explained: "You don't know something. Brunei was founded 400 years ago. At that time, there was a Huang Zongbing who came from Quanzhou, Fujian."

Well, the messenger really didn't make it up.I think the reason why Brunei was able to rule the roost at the beginning of the founding of the country, occupied the entire coastal area of ​​Borneo, and even controlled Manila, Sulu Islands and part of Mindanao, and became the so-called "empire" was precisely because of the "Mr. soldiers" help.

The name of this person is Huang Senping, a native of Quanzhou, Fujian. During the Hongwu period, he took his family to the south of Borneo and established an independent Chinese regime in the Duanshou River Basin with bare hands. ".

Later, he intermarried with the Boni Sultan at that time, formed an alliance, and jointly defeated the invading Sulu Sultanate, saved the regime that was almost subjugated, and finally became one of the two regents.

Since Huang Senping's younger sister married the younger brother of the Sultan at that time, and this person became the second Sultan of Brunei, counting from the third generation of Sultan, all subsequent royal families have the blood of the Huang family.

Huang Senping missed his homeland in his later years, so he brought hundreds of relatives and subordinates back to China to pay tribute, and was warmly entertained by Emperor Yongle Zhu Di. However, due to fatigue, he died in Nanjing Huitong Hall that year.According to his last wish of "burying China with his body" before his death, Zhu Di ordered him to be buried in Yuhuatai with "royal ceremony" and bestowed the posthumous title of "Gongshun", but the name on the tombstone is "Boni King Manaraganana".

After Huang Senping's death, Zhu Di appointed his son Huang Kelsun as the next "Boni King", and sent a special minister to escort him back to China. Not only was he exempted from his annual sacrifice, but he even wrote a poem "Boni Changning Zhen Guoshan Poetry" by himself. The monument is erected on the hill outside Brunei.Afterwards, the Huang family assisted the Sultan of Brunei at home, and called the Boni King to the Chinese. Until the Wanli period, they remained unchanged.

However, in the vicissitudes of life, things are different.After the Wanli sea ban, the exchanges between Brunei and the Central Plains Dynasty were cut off; coupled with the gradual Islamization and Malayization of the Huang family, they also gradually withdrew from the Brunei political arena.The former glory of the Huang family only exists in folklore and the genealogy map of the Brunei royal family, and the stele has disappeared.

He Xiwen couldn't help being surprised when he heard the envoy's narration, and he admired the "Boni King" in his heart.But he soon realized that he was the Governor of Borneo appointed by Zhao Xin, who destroyed "countless" countries and ruled the entire big island, wouldn't he be more awesome than Huang Senping!
Thinking of this, he said triumphantly: "Your envoy is so ignorant! My Beihai Town was founded by King Zhao, the clan of the Ming Dynasty. His Highness worshiped the heavens, expelled the barbarians from the West, swept Liuhe, and unified the world. Since the sultan has Chinese blood and was canonized by Emperor Chengzu, why don't you come to visit me on a boat?! You colluded with the Dutch, sheltered pirates, robbed and killed Chinese businessmen, how can I have a relative like you in China? !"

"This"

Huang Zhong and the others at the side shouted in unison: "Say!"

At this point, the sweaty emissary already knew that this f*ck was here to find fault, and it would be difficult.When he was close to the fleet, he observed carefully. The decks of each ship were full of soldiers holding muskets, and the muzzles of the cannons pointed at the royal city behind them.

"Master He, please wait a moment, I will go back and report to the Sudan."

"Your envoy, go and come back quickly, I only give you one day."

After the envoy returned to the palace to report, Crown Prince Muhammad Dajuddin and a group of rajas realized that something was wrong.However, it is definitely impossible for him to go to Bacheng with his father to confront him, and he dare not even board a boat to meet him.
Although Brunei is far away from Java, he has heard a lot about what Beihai Town has done over the years.Recalling that Beihai Town, which appeared as a Chinese, captured Bacheng and dealt with the Dutch severely, all the regimes breathed a sigh of relief.Especially after the West Java War, the Dutch completely got out of Malacca, and the sultans felt very happy.

Unexpectedly, a wolf left, but a tiger came instead.A few days ago, the three sultanate regimes of Sanfa, Pontianak and Nambawa were suddenly abolished, which surprised all the sultanates in various parts of Malaya after hearing the news.

Good guy!These short-haired Chinese are even more ruthless than the Dutch!The Dutch are just monopolizing trade and collecting taxes, while the short-haired Chinese want to do it all!

After Muhammad Dajuddin heard about this a few days ago, he was planning to send people to contact the surrounding sultanates, intending to temporarily put aside their disputes and hug together to keep warm. Unexpectedly, the Beihai Navy killed them in a blink of an eye.

Retreat to the upper reaches of the Brunei River, and gather the local aborigines to gather troops to fight Beihai Town?Don't be ridiculous, the tens of thousands of Dutch troops can't win. Tajudin really doesn't think he can create miracles.

He had no choice but to ask his father, the old Sudan, for advice.The old sultan listened to his son and his subordinates with a blank expression, twisting the mechanical swan clockwork in his hand; it was a gift from the Spaniards. Its body and wings were all gold, and many gems were inlaid.

"Give them Sarawak. Don't the Chinese like gold, there are gold mines there."

Dajudin was taken aback.It is said that Sarawak in this year is not the state of Sarawak that goes all the way to the capital of the Kingdom of Brunei in another time and space, but a very small area including Kuching and Shilongmen.And with the decline of the Brunei Sultanate, it currently only retains weak control in the coastal areas; in the interior, conflicts between the Iban and two other indigenous tribes continue to hunt each other.

The old sultan put down the plaything in his hand and said slowly: "Since they use the Iban people as an excuse, then give them Sarawak and tell Hasim to go to the mountains to take shelter and come back after the limelight passes. My old sultan I don’t want to hide in Tibet anymore. The palaces and temples here were built with great difficulty by successive sultans. If they are destroyed by war, you and I will be ashamed of our ancestors.”

"Okay, father." Dajuddin sighed.

However, both father and son underestimated He Xiwen's appetite. He Xiwen laughed when he heard the envoy said that he would cede Sarawak as a condition. He asked someone to take out a map made by the Dutch and light it with a stick The area above said: "Sarawak, Sibu, Bintulu, Labuan, I want these four."

The envoy was shocked, and pointed to Labuan Island stuck in the mouth of Brunei Bay, saying, "This is a desert island!"

Huang Zhongtong on the side heard the words and said: "We will build a dock here to park warships to facilitate the fight against pirates."

The envoy looked at Huang Zhongtong, and said in his heart that it would be difficult for you to fight pirates in the future, but it would be very convenient to fight us.The door of the house was occupied by a group of powerful enemies, how will they live in the future!

What he didn't know was that He Xiwen wanted Labuan Island not only to build a military port to control Brunei Bay, but also to use it as a springboard to enter the Sulu Sea.In addition, Zhao Xin allocated the Palawan Island in the northeast of the Sulu Sea to the Sendai Fan, and controlled Labuan Island, which could also play a role in monitoring the Sendai Fan.

He Xiwen's calculation was very clear. The three sultanates in the west were deposed, and three areas were occupied in the north. The next step is to get rid of the Machen sultanate in the south and the Kutai sultanate in the east. In this way, Borneo will be Basically in the bag.As for the native forces in the interior, we will take care of them later.

In fact, it would take a long time for Beihai Town to annex Borneo. The coastal areas alone would not be able to do it in 20 to [-] years, which is enough for He Xiwen to fight for it all his life.

Faced with the threat of shooting if they disagreed, Mohammad Dajuddin and his son called a meeting of their ministers to discuss. After weighing again and again, they still did not have the courage to start a war with the Beihai Navy outside the city. In the end, they had to reluctantly agree to cede the four areas claimed by the other party; but they It also requested that Beihai Town provide military asylum to Brunei.

On January 1794, 1, He Xiwen signed an agreement on the "Nanhua No. 5" on behalf of Bei Haizhen and Muhammad Tajuddin. The Brunei Sultanate agreed to cede the four islands of Sarawak, Sibu, Bintulu and Labuan. area in exchange for Beihai Town's military asylum.

The two parties agreed that Beihai Town will send military officers to train 1000 new troops for Sudan, and sell a batch of weapons including flash cap percussion guns and 12-pound guns; the trading ships of both sides will enjoy half the customs duties in the ports controlled by each other treatment.

In addition, the Sultanate of Brunei is not allowed to send personnel to carry out missionary activities in the area under the control of Beihai Town. Once discovered, Beihai Town has the right to arrest immediately and punish according to relevant laws.

"Brother, it would be a pity if such a good town is destroyed by artillery fire!"

"Yeah, I don't know what's going on in that palace. Brother, why don't you tell King Zhao that you can give this place to our brothers."

After the agreement is signed, it's time for the Beihai Navy to leave.Hard-core confidantes Huang Zhongtong and Liang Wenying accompanied He Xiwen to the deck, looking at the resplendent palace behind the stone wall in the distance, they couldn't help expressing emotion.

Huang Zhongtong glanced around and saw that the soldiers on duty were standing far away, so he persuaded in a low voice: "Wenying, it's better to keep this kind of joke in your stomach in the future!"

Liang Wenying has been with He Xiwen for more than ten years, and he has a good friendship with Huang Zhongtong. He has no scruples about talking in private, so he said nonchalantly: "Brother Huang, are you thinking too much? Our brothers worked so hard to build this building for him." Da Dao, why don’t you live in the earth king’s palace?”

He Xiwen couldn't bear it anymore, turned his head and stared fiercely, and scolded softly: "You know what! The emperors have been the same since ancient times. Lord Ruan still called us brothers and sisters back then. Look at the later. Remember, committing crimes Taboo things must never be done, and you are not even allowed to mention them! I still want to go back to Guangzhou to buy a big house, and go back to retire in the future!"

Liang Wenying let out an "Oh", but she was quite disapproving in her heart.Beihai Town occupies such a large area, what's the matter with letting those who fight in the country live better?
Huang Zhongtong decided to change the subject, so he said, "Brother, Xiyang is almost finished studying, right?"

"Hurry up! It's been two years in the blink of an eye. He wrote last time that he will go with the ship to a place called Jinmen to stay for half a year. What is the internship period?"

The two were talking about He Xiwen's eldest son, He Xiyang.He Xiwen has two sons, the eldest son He Xiyang and the second son He Xiyang.If you don't know this and just listen to the name, you will think that the three of you are brothers.

After He Xiwen joined Beihai Town three years ago, Deng Fei sent He Xiyang to study at the Junior Military Academy in Beihai Town because he was worried that he would become a "family slave of three surnames". Other family members moved to live in Ganlingao.

He Xiwen is not stupid, of course he knows the intention of Deng Fei's move.However, Deng Fei also drew a big picture, saying that after three years of military school, he will be a lieutenant, and he will be a first officer on a ship for two years, and he will be a trainee captain for another year, and he will definitely be promoted.In the future, as long as you don't make big mistakes and take one step at a time, sooner or later you will become the commander of the squadron just like Zheng Wenxian and the others.

That's enough, He Xiwen thinks that if the old man can be a first-rank governor and the eldest son can be the commander of the squadron, he will be satisfied. The youngest son is only five years old this year, and he will be allowed to take up a civilian job in the future.As long as my family follows King Zhao closely and takes care of the precious land of Borneo for him, three generations of wealth will be within easy reach.

Liang Wenying interjected, "Where is the Golden Gate? The name sounds really nice."

He Xiwen said: "It's a hundred and eight thousand miles away from us, on the other side of the sea."

Liang Wenying suddenly said: "A few days ago when we went to Xinbutou, people from the military control committee put up a sign there to recruit miners. Could it be for this reason?"

"Nine times out of ten. I heard that the climate there is neither cold nor hot. The area is much larger than Borneo, and it used to be the territory of the Spaniards."

Huang Zhongtong fell into deep thought when he heard this. He has been spying on various places in Nanyang for the past two years, and the situation of all parties is basically clear.Beihai Town is grabbing territory from the Spaniards on the other side of the sea, will it affect Nanyang?