Emperor Ming Dynasty

The beach is soft and the fine sand is soft. Stepping on it is like stepping on a quilt, soft and unconsciously sinking into it.

Seagulls fly in the blue sky, singing from time to time, revealing their mood.

The sea waves were engulfed in a wave of heat, but also seemed to carry some coolness, Zhu Cihong licked his lips, and the sea breeze here seemed to be a little weaker.

"Big brother!"

Picking up the musket, Zhu Ding walked over tremblingly: "There are a hundred of us, except the old and the young, only 30 of us can hold a gun."

"I know." Zhu Cihong nodded with a calm expression.

The third child, Zhu Yong, also came over. It seemed that he was frightened when he was young, and his temper was relatively timid: "There are wild people everywhere here, how can we live?"

"If you have a gun, you can live."

Zhu Cihong said in a deep voice: "Shaowu hasn't finished yet, we still have a chance."

The second child, Zhu Ding, looked at his eldest brother, although his temples were white, but he was full of energy, exuding a different kind of aura.

He was startled: "Brother, do we want to restore the old name?"

"Not for now."

Zhu Cihong said in a deep voice, "It's not suitable at the moment."

After saying that, he made an arrangement, let some female relatives and children together, arrange three or five strong men, and the second child is responsible for protecting them and taking care of the supplies by the way.

Fortunately, there was actually Cinchona cream for malaria in the supplies.

Apparently the so-called Europe is just to keep them safe on the road.

Although the pier is a little deserted, there are still a few wooden houses that can withstand the heat.

"We are short of food and clothing here, so we have to go to that old castle first."

He led thirty people, armed with muskets, and marched towards the wooden fort on the cliff ahead.

The wooden fort is on the top of the mountain, and a winding path goes up from the simple pier to connect.

The Jaffna stronghold, although it looks small, with a radius of hundreds of miles, was snatched by the Portuguese from the Kingdom of Kandy.

The Dutch took their place, and Dao really didn't care about this management. After all, there were too many strongholds, and he would not cherish those who robbed them.

Along the way, the jungle is densely overgrown. Obviously, no one has come here for several months, and the gravel roads are covered with weeds.

After hundreds of steps, a simple wooden fort appeared in front of him.

Moats, suspension bridges, everything is available.

This made Zhu Cihong heave a sigh of relief.

At least preliminary security can be guaranteed.

After stepping in, several wooden houses, a warehouse, a stable, and a stone mill are all there is.

The most important thing is the two coastal guns.

Although the barrels are rusted and there are no shells, its importance is self-evident.

Although a lot of dust has accumulated, it is already considered a shelter.

However, looking from above, there is a lake not far from the wooden castle, which is green and boundless, inhabited by waterfowl, and the waves are rippling, which is very lively.

"It's a great place."

Zhu Cihong looked to the left and right, and a large amount of grass came into view. These are the future arable lands, enough for thousands of people to cultivate together.

The best water to irrigate the land is enough to ensure that there is no need to worry about food and drink.

The family moved in happily, but the problem of food was the most important thing.

"Brother, there is only enough food for three days, and there is still a shortage of salt!" Zhu Ding said in a deep voice.

"There is a lake nearby, catch some fish to eat, there are muskets, you can hunt, and there are many fruits on the mountain, you can also fill your stomach."

Zhu Cihong said softly, and his words were very soothing: "Don't worry, no one will starve to death here."

"No matter how difficult it is, it was difficult when we were in the mountains?"

These words are considered soothing.

At night, in a hut, the lights are bright.

The three Zhu brothers knelt on the ground, their bodies straight.

In front of them, a tablet was erected:
The spiritual seat of Emperor Liezu of Ming Dynasty.

One afternoon, under the auspices of Zhu Cihong, the three brothers expressed dissatisfaction with the Sizong Temple name of their father, Emperor Chongzhen, and decided to change it to Liezu.

This also means that they have officially spread their branches and established a foundation in this overseas place.

The name of Lie Zu can also confuse others.

After all, out of the dozen or so emperors of the Ming Dynasty, there were only two ancestors, Taizu and Chengzu. Who would have thought of Liezu?
When things are done, more than a dozen ancestors will naturally be there.

"From now on, this is our Taimiao."

The three brothers knelt three times and kowtowed nine times.

After the matter was over, Zhu Cilang sighed: "Although I have wronged my father, there is nothing I can do about it."

"Brother, can you also invite the spiritual seats of the queen mother and concubine mother?"

The youngest Zhu Yong said softly: "We haven't worshiped for many years, and we are already unfilial. Let him enjoy the incense now."

"Don't rush this moment."

Zhu Cihong shook his head: "You are still too eager, the most important thing now is to solve the food first!!"

"If people are starving to death, where will the incense come from?"

The next day, in order to completely shock these servants, Zhu Cihong announced his imperial decree and compiled:
"This king is the clan of the Ming Dynasty, and now he is entrusted by His Majesty to run the vassal state here, just like the old things of Qin and Qi."

"As long as you assist me well, it will be a no-brainer for you to be appointed officials and rewards."

"I'll wait to see His Royal Highness—"

The servants knelt down one after another and had no choice but to believe.

After Xinxin, Zhu Cihong, as the king of Ceylon, appointed and dismissed the second Zhu Ding as the general soldier, and the third Zhu Yong as the prime minister, responsible for civil affairs.

Several sons and nephews shoulder heavy burdens and serve as six ministers. Although it is absurd, although the sparrow is small, it has all internal organs.

All in all, there must be an individual unified.

Regarding the army, Zhu Cihong organized the thirty men into three divisions according to the regulations of the county patrol battalion, and appointed and dismissed the corps leaders and division commanders.

Because the number is not enough, they are all reduced to musketeers.

Fortunately, the popularity rate of muskets is very high. Even Orion has a shotgun, so arquebus can barely be used.

After practicing for a long time, the men can already put it on, although the accuracy is not good.

At this time, Zhu Cihong understood that he had to attack.

Looking around on the mountain, within tens of miles, there are only a few small villages.

Obviously, the natives have been scared away by the Portuguese.

Leaving ten men to garrison the wooden castle, he led twenty musketeers down the mountain to the nearest village.

The small island in the mountains was rough and difficult to navigate. It took two full hours and the sun was shining before Zhu Cihong and his party arrived at this village.

A fence the height of a group of people is the protection of the village.

A few bare-bottomed children were playing at the entrance of the village, and women were washing animal skins or washing rice and vegetables in the nearby stream.

In appearance, the woman is short in stature, with dark skin, a small and flat nose, and curly hair.

The clothes on their bodies are made of traditional homespun cloth, with scarves covering their heads, exposing their arms and feet. For Han people, there is no shame at all.

As soon as they saw strangers, women and children holding muskets, they immediately panicked and quickly returned to the village.

And the whole village was also jittery. A large number of adult men held bows, arrows and spears, showing fear.

After a while, a lot of grain was thrown out. Roughly, there were thirty bags, each bag weighing about twenty to thirty catties.

Zhu Cihong saw it, good guy, he was trained by those Xiyi.

Immediately afterwards, there was a burst of murmuring words, which he could not understand.

"Walk--"

Picking up the food, I opened it and saw that it was rice.

Although slender and incomprehensible, it is still rice, right?

There was a harvest on the first day, and everyone was overjoyed.

In the next few days, just walking around, the three or five nearby tribes contributed nearly three thousand catties of grain, which is twenty shi.

For a hundred of them, it was enough for one month's eclipse.

Everyone is satisfied.

The second child, Zhu Ding, said with a smile, "As long as we go shopping once a month, we will have no worries about food and clothing."

"This place is hot and humid, and it can produce two crops a year. I have seen that each village has as little as a thousand acres, and as many as two or three thousand acres. There must be a lot of grain in storage."

Zhu Cihong was not so optimistic, he said in a deep voice, "It's because the natives are afraid of the Western Yi and regard us as them."

"As time goes on, they will definitely find out that they are different, and it will be dangerous at that time."

"Training."

Zhu Cihong stood up, looked at the crowd and said: "From now on, we will train soldiers, within half a month."

"Brother, will you?" Zhu Ding couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"I've read some of Qi Shaobao's "Ji Xiao's New Book".

Zhu Cihong couldn't believe it.

Immediately, he said again: "Nowadays overseas, even women have to practice musketry, and one more person is one more help."

Taking this opportunity, Zhu Cihong named this wooden castle Yanbao.

It means swallows return to their nests.

In fact, it is the meaning of the King Yan family.

And soon, several tribes near the wooden castle communicated with each other, and immediately learned of the disappearance of the Dutch.

After all, they are the ones who know the Dutch best, or the natives of Portugal. There is a big difference between Han Chinese and Westerners, whether it is language, appearance, or clothing.

For a time, evil came to the gallbladder.

After all, Jaffna occupies the best piece of land nearby and occupies the entire lake, which was originally theirs.

The location of the wooden castle is important, and it is a good place to go.

Now that the Westerners are gone, people who don't know where they come from dare to occupy their things, the key is to grab food, it is really abominable.

The three chiefs gathered to discuss major issues.

At this time, the northern part of Ceylon belonged to the residence of the Tamil people, who believed in Hinduism.

Although they are all chiefs and Kshatriyas, they are also divided into high and low.

Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra are just the four major castes, and a large number of sub-castes were born in a certain major caste, and there are tens of thousands of them.

For example, according to the occupation of the nobles, the generals and the lower ten chiefs must be of different sub-castes, civil servants and military officials, food officials and financial officials, etc.

In this way, the three families gathered nearly [-] people and marched towards Yanbao.

The women were terrified, the children wept, and the servants were terrified.

Only Zhu Cihong remained calm.

He immediately asked people to find a few stones of suitable size, and filled them into the rusty gun barrel as shells.

"Brother, will this explode?" Zhu Ding couldn't help but asked.

"who knows?"

Zhu Cilang said casually: "As long as the cannon can fire, we will surely win."

"It's really not good, there are so many muskets, it's okay to guard Yanbao."

I'm afraid that this group of people will not attack if they surround them!

Yanbao doesn't have that much food.

The two hundred or so people were aggressive and climbed up from the bottom of the mountain. They worked extremely hard, resulting in a loose formation.

"It should be killed. If I had found some big rocks, I would have won."

Zhu Cihong regretted it.

Still too little experience.

"Where's the artillery?"

"Brother, do you really want to release it?" Zhu Ding squeezed the fuze, with mixed feelings in his heart.

"Aim for me—"

"How to aim?"

"Just point the cannon at the group of people."

A few people were in a mess, and finally adjusted their direction.

"ignition--"

boom -

The huge recoil caused the artillery to retreat a few feet, and the pressed stones and soil were also shaken away.

As for the stones, they crossed the curve and never went downhill at all, but accidentally hit a few natives who were alone.

For a moment, the entire Yanbao was quiet.

The natives who were attacking were also suppressed.

slam-la-

A large number of natives ran down the mountain without hesitation, without any formation at all.

"It seems that they fear Xiyi like a tiger."

Zhu Cihong laughed loudly, and then directed thirty or so big men to open the door and rush to kill.

Everyone just fired one shot, wounding a few people, and the natives ran away in a panic, holding their heads in their hands.

Half an hour later, Zhu Cihong returned with Sanwu as a prisoner.

The next day, he continued his efforts and directly swept the three tribes.

In this regard, they were very knowledgeable, and although they could not understand the language, they still handed over a satisfactory tribute.

The nearby large and small tribes also donated food, enough for them to eat for half a year.

Dozens of captives were also obedient and began to live as slaves and handmaids.

The first thing to do is to reclaim wasteland.

The lake is also named Yanhu.

In Zhu Cihong's ambition, he planned to reclaim a thousand acres of land.

Everything is so flourishing.

A month later, a ship came to Yanbao.

He is a Portuguese who can speak Chinese.

"I'm from Goa!" the Portuguese smiled.

"Dear King, you have come to Jaffna to reclaim the colony, do you need our help?"

Zhu Cihong was puzzled.

Portugal explained softly that the Portuguese strongholds on the east coast of India were all occupied by the Dutch, and Jafson was no exception.

But the Portuguese had thousands of elite soldiers in Goa, and still controlled the ivory trade in the Kingdom of Jaffna.

Therefore, when the Dutch were fighting with the Kandy Dynasty in Colombo in the south of Ceylon, the Kingdom of Jaffna in the north was already a puppet of the Portuguese, and everything obeyed him.

"In other words, those people were ordered by you?"

The Portuguese chuckled and said, "I thought the Dutchman was back, but I didn't expect it to be a friend from Ming Dynasty. I'm really sorry."

"As the envoy of the Goa Governor's Palace, I am willing to give you the entire Mannar Peninsula as a gift."

Zhu Cihong was startled.

No wonder the Dutch gave up here easily, it turned out that it was because of the Portuguese making trouble.

"As the saying goes, there will be no pies in the sky, please tell me your requirements!"

"It's nothing." The Portuguese said seriously, "I hope to use your connections to strengthen our relationship with the Emperor of Ming."

"After all, you are also the king of the county!"

Zhu Cilang remained silent.

"I need trade."

"Of course." The Portuguese smiled: "Even if you want the Kingdom of Jaffna, we are willing to sell it to you, as long as you can pay a good price."

Under the pretense of a fox pretending to be a tiger, Zhu Cihong took advantage of Daming's momentum to gain a firm foothold in Ceylon.