I want to be emperor

In the 20 years of Chengshun, the biggest thing for the Great Chu Empire was the smooth artificial diversion of the Yellow River. In comparison, other things are trivial.

After all, the influence of other things is difficult to compare with the artificial diversion of the Yellow River.

The smooth diversion of the Yellow River will directly benefit the people of several provinces, at least tens of millions of people.

The flood-affected provinces of Henan, Anlu, and Jiangbei will greatly reduce the impact of floods, and the local grain production will inevitably increase significantly.

At the same time, due to the injection of water from the Yellow River, the Shandong area also built a large number of artificial rivers in advance, irrigated the canals, and connected the original water network, which can make the local water resources more abundant, so as to increase the local food production and increase the number of inland rivers. shipping capacity.

The positive impact caused by many aspects is unprecedented, and for the Great Chu Empire, which is in the stage of rapid development, it is undoubtedly another shot in the arm, allowing the empire to continue to move forward with great strides.

This matter has been lively for a long time, and it didn't gradually subside until the late autumn in October. Luo Zhixue also turned his attention away from the northern region and turned to the southern region.

Not the native southern provinces, but the Nanyang region.

The local southern provinces are doing well now, the industrial economy is developing very well, and the agriculture is also considered to be in good weather, so there is no big deal.

What Luo Zhixue paid attention to was the affairs in the southern region.

The governor of Guangdong sent back a report in October. This report said that anti-Chu incidents had recently erupted in the northern area of ​​Annan, that is, in the area controlled by the Zheng family of the Annan Kingdom.

The local aborigines attacked many business houses of the imperial merchants, smashed and looted, causing casualties of more than a dozen imperial citizens. Although the Zheng family stated that they would strengthen the suppression and arrest the mob to give the empire an explanation.

But after more than a month passed, the Zheng family not only failed to arrest the mob to give the empire an explanation, but failed to suppress the riot for a long time, and even the Annan Zheng family army that went to encircle and suppress the mutiny.

In just over a month, the local rebels expanded to 4 to [-] people, and spread to the central and even southern regions of Annan.

In the past few months, rebellions broke out in Annan's northern and southern dynasties one after another, and the rebels appeared one after another!
The situation in Annan was so turbulent, and the local rebels still maintained a very strong anti-Chu attitude, which naturally aroused the height of the Great Chu Empire.

The governor of Guangdong, who was in charge of some affairs in Annan and directly managed the colony of Guangning County in Annan, noticed something was wrong and reported it to Jinling as soon as possible.

In fact, the governor of Guangdong has also asked the military to cooperate and increase the garrison in Guangning County and Cam Ranh Bay. At the same time, some troops were sent to the Thang Long Concession and other concessions in Annan to protect local expatriates and diplomatic personnel.

As for how to deal with this matter in the future, the governor of Guangdong has a very firm attitude, and they must be dealt a firm blow. In addition, it is also suggested to take this opportunity to completely win the Annan area and fully control Annan.

However, this kind of thing is tantamount to going to war directly with the vassal state. Naturally, the governor of Guangdong has no right to decide on his own, and can only report it to Jinling. …

After all, the Annan region is actually a vassal state of the Great Chu Empire, the kind that has been officially canonized.

However, it is worth noting that the "King of Annan" enshrined by the Great Chu Empire is not the Zheng family or the Ruan family, but the nominal monarch of the southern and northern regions of Annan, that is, Li Weiqi of the Houli Dynasty.

However, today's Annan Kingdom is actually the same as the early weekend period in China. Its Li Dynasty monarch had no real power long ago, and was just a puppet coerced by the Zheng family.

However, a ruler is a ruler, and a minister is a minister, and some righteous names still need to be explained.

The Annan Kingdom is an official vassal state of the Great Chu Empire, and after so many years of infiltration and control by the Great Chu Empire, its northern region has almost become a puppet state of the Great Chu Empire.

In the Annan Kingdom, the Great Chu Empire has a series of powers such as military access, customs jurisdiction, full market opening, and extrajudicial jurisdiction. At the same time, its Guangning area and Cam Ranh Bay were directly ceded to the Great Chu. empire.

Then the capital of the Great Chu Empire, Thang Long, and several other coastal ports have various concessions to facilitate business exchanges.

From this perspective, the Great Chu Empire's control over the Annan region is very strong, at least on an official level.

Whether it is the head of the Zheng family or the Ruan family, for the past ten years, they have always been extremely submissive, hugging the thigh of the Great Chu Empire every day and calling their father to fight for favor.

Under such circumstances, if there are some rebels and mobs in the local area, then they will spread their anger on the Zheng family and the Ruan family, and even send troops to directly destroy the Zheng family and the Ruan family, and then directly draw these places into their own territory .

If this is not done well, many vassal states will feel fear.

After all, there is more than one vassal state of the Great Chu Empire. Today, the entire Nanyang Peninsula, including Annan, Myanmar, Siam, Cambodia, the Kingdom of Aceh and many other indigenous kingdoms, are all vassal states of the Great Chu Empire.

It's just that the degree of penetration of the Great Chu Empire to them is different.

If the food in Annan is too ugly, it will easily cause these vassal states to feel cold-hearted, and people will think: I will treat you like a dog, so what are you doing...you have to force me to death... ... Mahler Gobi, I am dead, I want to fight you to the death!

But, the idea of ​​the governor of Guangdong and other high-level empires wanting to annex the Kingdom of Annan is also very reasonable, and Luo Zhixue is also very interested in it.

After all, the Annan region has been the territory of the empire since ancient times. This is not to say that various theoretical nesting dolls have come out since ancient times, but the truth.

After all, in the Ming Dynasty, the Annan region was still directly under the central government of China, the "Jiaozhi Chengxuan Political Envoy Division", and the "Chengxuan Political Envoy Division" was actually a provincial administrative unit during the Ming Dynasty. This is for later generations , in fact, is 'Cochin Province'.

In other words, the Annan region was originally a province of the Ming Dynasty, but later the local indigenous people resisted too much, and the Ming Dynasty was unable to consume it, and was eventually forced to abandon this place and withdraw its troops.

Although the direct rule of the Ming Dynasty in the Annan area lasted only 20 years, this was enough for many expansionists of the Great Chu Empire to regard Annan as the territory of China since ancient times, and then demanded to recover this place as a matter of course. …

Not only some local officials, but even many senior officials in the central government think so.

However, some people's mentality is not simply for the sake of expanding the territory, but also brings some emotional disputes.

Many people think that the expansion of the Great Chu Empire in other directions is already very powerful, far surpassing the previous dynasty, but the expansion in the south is a bit worse, not as good as the Ming Dynasty.

Although the empire has established a lot of vassal states in Nanyang, no matter what, these vassal states are not their own territory. If you want to talk about vassal states, they also had a lot of vassal states in Nanyang in the previous dynasty.

However, the previous dynasty, that is, the Ming Dynasty, established a province on the Nanyang Peninsula in a serious manner, extending the Ming Dynasty's native territory to the hinterland of the Nanyang Peninsula.

In addition, even after the Cochin Province was abolished, several decades later, the Ming Dynasty took advantage of the civil strife in Annan and used the remnants of the Mo family to create a commander of the Annan Capital, directly turning the Annan Kingdom's subordinate state into a territory.

Therefore, in name, the Annan region has been directly under the territory of the Ming Dynasty for a long time, at least in name.

Not just vassal states!
This is also an important reason why many officials want to conquer the Annan region and bring it into direct rule.

The Great Chu Empire is so powerful, it can't even be inferior to the Ming Dynasty in the affairs of the Nanyang Peninsula...

Many people say that we should have what we had in the previous dynasty, and we should have what we didn’t have in the previous dynasty. Our Great Chu is the most powerful, and the territory must also be the most powerful...

A large number of courtiers want to expand and annex the Kingdom of Annan, but how to do it is a problem.

Again, the Annan Kingdom is a vassal state of the empire, and it is still a very submissive vassal state. If it is not handled well, it will easily cause trouble.

Not to mention outsiders, even the citizens of the empire might think that being famous is too ugly.

Then a group of ministers discussed seriously for a long time, and finally came up with a solution, that is, King Annan canonized by the Great Chu Empire is only the monarch of the Li Dynasty, and has nothing to do with the Zheng family and the Ruan family.

However, the power of the monarchy of the Li Dynasty has long since fallen, and it exists in name only... Theoretically speaking, most of the Annan area no longer belongs to the Annan King.

Since this is not the territory of a vassal state, it is no problem for me, Da Chu, to take it from the barbarians.

For this reason, Luo Zhixue directly refuted it... Everyone in the world knows that when Annan requested canonization, it was the Zheng family who dominated, and the monarch of the Li Dynasty was just a puppet.

In the past, the Great Chu Empire recognized this puppet, but for no reason it would not recognize it now.

The most important thing is that the Zheng family and the Ruan family are really obedient...every day they hug their thighs and call Dad, Dad wants Guangning to be sent directly to Guangning, Dad wants to fully open the market, he will fully open the market, Dad A pile of decommissioned second-hand matchlock guns and cold weapons in the warehouse can’t be sold, and people buy them at high prices without saying a word...

Now that the family is being rebelled by the mob, it's a bit unreasonable that you, as a father, don't help, but instead make trouble.

Although the thick-skinned monarchs and ministers of the Great Chu Empire don't care much about these things, anyway, they want to play expansion and expand the empire's territory to the hinterland of the Nanyang Peninsula. It is best to expand all the way to the Jiujiang Dragon Mansion in Cambodia. above. …

However, if the food looks too ugly, the other vassal states may not be able to sleep peacefully, and there may be some troubles.

Therefore, if you want to take the opportunity to expand, you have to find a suitable opportunity and a suitable reason.

And this, to be honest, is a bit embarrassing for the monarchs and ministers of the Great Chu Empire!

The Great Chu Empire has been established for many years and has expanded countless times. At that time, it didn’t just fight if it wanted to. Even if you want to find any excuses, you can just find a random reason and get it done. Have you ever tried to find a reasonable reason? what.

The monarchs and ministers of the Great Chu Empire have no such experience!

This wants to expand, but also wants to face, the typical standing and standing...

So no good results after several discussions.

While the high-level leaders of the Great Chu Empire were discussing how to annex Annan, the situation in the Annan region continued to be turbulent.

The rebel forces in the northern area of ​​Annan made a big noise, and quickly spread to the area controlled by the Ruan family in the southern Annan.

These rebels not only consisted of low-level people, but also a large number of local indigenous troops rebelled and joined, and the support of some local dignitaries was also indispensable.

They want to resist the rule of Zheng and Ruan, and they also want to expel the strength of the Great Chu Empire, restore the so-called independence, and rebuild the unified Dayue Empire.

It is normal for the local indigenous people to have a strong anti-Chu sentiment. After all, the Great Chu Empire was not a boy of good fortune, but also handsome men and beautiful women, which belonged to everyone's love.

In fact, it was just the opposite. The people of the Great Chu Empire actually had a bad reputation overseas. They almost belonged to the kind that everyone hates and everyone shouts and beats.

Those merchants, especially the early armed trading companies, dared to do anything for money, and didn't care about the life and death of the natives at all. The sailors they hired, armed personnel, etc., were all desperate for money. The people, what they did in the Nanyang region was very cruel.

Even ordinary immigrants from the empire may be submissive and honest poor in the country, who can be stepped on by anyone who sees them, but after they went to the Nanyang immigrants to settle down, they turned into demons in the eyes of those natives.

Because these immigrants going to Nanyang, young and strong, will be organized and trained as militias, and they can get free weapons.

The most important thing is that the so-called free land granted by the Great Chu Empire to these immigrants in overseas territories... used to be cultivated by natives...

Now these immigrants from the Great Chu Empire, after they came over, they took muskets to expel the original natives.

Otherwise, where did the land they cultivated come from?
This process is very bloody.

So, don’t think that after the people of the Great Chu Empire went overseas, they would think that you are a civilized country, and the civilized people in a civilized country will look at you high, and they would like to eat your flesh and blood.

The overseas colonial expansion of the Great Chu Empire based on plundering land as the basic principle is actually competing with the local indigenous people for living space.

Either you die or I die, cruel and bloody. …

Indians hate white people as much as Nanyang natives hate Chu people!

Of course, these generally only occurred in the overseas territories directly under the Great Chu Empire, that is, territories that were directly brought under the rule of the empire, established administrative rule, and carried out large-scale immigration, such as the Malacca region and the central and eastern regions of Sumatra Island!

In the large area of ​​the vassal state, the Great Chu Empire generally used commercial means to plunder economic interests, some of which were only leased land, but did not carry out large-scale agricultural immigration, but carried out a kind of commercial colonization.

But commercial colonization is equally lethal.

And this has to be said that the Great Chu Empire forced the countries in Southeast Asia to sign a comprehensive open trade agreement.

According to this series of agreements, these indigenous vassal states fully open their markets to the empire, and the tariffs are determined by the empire, um, it is basically equivalent to nothing... Even if the tariffs collected are basically used to repay the empire's various indemnities.

When these vassal states fully opened their markets to the Great Chu Empire, a large number of industrial products from the Great Chu Empire entered them, and then plundered local wealth.

During this process, the livelihood of the local indigenous people was affected, and even the interests of the powerful and businessmen were greatly affected.

In the Annan region, since the market was fully opened to the Great Chu Empire, the local handicraft textile industry and iron-making industry have been completely sacked. The homemade cloth and iron products they hand-produce cannot compete with the machine-made cloth and industrial iron products of the Great Chu Empire. .

Countless practitioners have lost their source of income!

Countless dignitaries engaged in this business, merchants went bankrupt, and those who lost money lost money.

This is why many Annan indigenous dignitaries support the rebels, because their interests have also been greatly damaged.

Otherwise, why do many places, especially the indigenous countries in India, West Asia and other places, impose trade restrictions on the Great Chu Empire? The industrial products of the Great Chu Empire are too lethal. Once the industrial products of the Great Chu Empire are released Entering their market, their local handicraft industry will be finished in minutes...

At the same time, under the policy of fully opening up the market, the foreign trade in the Annan region was basically monopolized by the Great Chu Empire. Although they exported a lot of products to the Great Chu Empire, such as timber, grain, etc., because of the monopoly of trade, their products were exported to the Great Chu Empire. The price is suppressed very low.

Moreover, even the customs in the Annan region are directly controlled by the Great Chu Empire, and the tariffs are used for compensation. The Annan authorities have no way to obtain fiscal revenue from the tariffs.

This unbalanced trade has led to the almost complete bankruptcy of the handicraft industry in the Annan region. At the same time, because the ruler, that is, the Zheng family, has to pay compensation and purchase a large amount of old weapons from the empire to maintain the rule, it is also for the sake of giving Protection fees.

This has also led to increasing tax pressure on the people in the Annan area, and a large number of people, especially farmers, have gone bankrupt and sold their children.

The tragedy of a colonized country can be seen in the Kingdom of Annan.

However, the local rulers, that is, the dignitaries headed by the Zheng family, still spend a lot of time and wine, and even continue to spend huge sums of money to import a large number of luxury accessories from the empire for enjoyment.

The combination of many circumstances led to great dissatisfaction among the people in the Annan Kingdom, and eventually there was a wave of anti-Chu... and then the wave of anti-Chu further evolved into a rebellion. …

From the point of view of the local people, this rebellion is a just battle for the Annan people to fight against Zheng's tyranny and colonization.

It is precisely because of this that it was able to attract the support of the middle and upper classes of the local society in a short period of time, and it was able to have such a great momentum.

The so-called rebels in many places are actually created by the local dignitaries and generals of the indigenous official army. The so-called mob... In fact, there are not many real mobs, and even a few mobs can't make such a big momentum.

In such a chaotic situation, the Great Chu Empire had something to do with it. When the court clamored to annex Annan with reasons, which led to a delay in making a decision, the two actual rulers of Annan, that is, Zheng Zheng in the north However, the Ruan family in the south and the Ruan family in the south couldn't sit still...

Nima, these rebels are not only against Chu, they also want to resist the so-called tyranny of Zheng Ruan.

At the beginning, they wanted to send troops to encircle and suppress the rebels, but instead of encircling and suppressing the rebels, the troops they sent out several times turned into rebels... This made them completely unable to sit still.

This continues to send troops to encircle and suppress, and it is estimated that there will be more and more rebels.

But it’s useless not to send troops to encircle and suppress. The rebels have begun to attack the city, and the offensive is getting more and more fierce. The rebels in the north have already killed near Thang Long.

The Zheng family, the actual ruling family in northern Annan, was completely defeated in just a few months. Now it can only hold a few territories such as Thang Long, and other places have been occupied by rebels.

And according to this situation, Shenglong will be finished sooner or later.

At the same time, the situation of the Ruan family in southern Annan is not much better. These rebels are too fierce...

What to do in this situation?
What else can I do, call Dad...

Ever since, in November, the Zheng family in northern Annan took the lead in asking the empire for help, asking the empire to send troops to help them put down the rebellion, and said that the conditions were easy to negotiate.

Just ten days later, envoys from the Ruan family also came to ask for help. They also asked the empire to send troops to help them put down the rebellion. Their conditions were even more straightforward. They just said, Dad, that you are interested in the place, and said directly, I will cede it to you.

When the empire hadn't discussed why and why it should annex Annan, the two actual ruling families of Annan came to ask for help.

This is also the reason why the top management of the empire finally found a suitable reason.

It's not that we are going to annex them, but they are begging me to annex them...

Of course, the Great Chu Empire still pays attention to righteousness and integrity. People from the Department of Civil Affairs of the Ministry of Ethics and Education discussed with people from these two families, and revealed that they would take the Annan area into the territory directly under the empire. The idea of ​​setting up provinces.

Of course, the empire will not treat your two families badly, and will definitely confer titles on your two families at that time. It is impossible to be a king. There is no such thing as a king of the opposite sex in the Great Chu Empire, but a marquis or even a duke is still possible. .

Wealth and glory are indispensable to you.

After hearing this, the envoys of the Zheng family and the Ruan family opened their mouths half-open... Nima, I came to ask for help, but you want to rob my house...

Naturally, the first meeting broke up on bad terms.

But the empire is not in a hurry... just take your time. As for the rebels against Chu, let them be arrogant for a while. After the empire has settled its foreign affairs and determined its general direction, it can deal with them in minutes.

When the envoys of Annan and his family returned to discuss countermeasures.

The rebels in the Annan area continue to act!

At this time, in order to force the Zheng and Ruan families to agree to the conditions of the empire, they secretly sold a lot of weapons and ammunition to the rebels.

The rebels from all over the country, supported by many parties, are very powerful, and they are attacking the city. Even the rebels in the north have already killed Thang Long City!

Under such circumstances, the Annan, Zheng and Ruan families finally couldn't bear it anymore.

After betraying the country, it is better to be a nobleman with little real power in the Great Chu Empire than to be killed by the rebels!
Ever since, the representatives of the Zheng and Ruan families formally signed the treaty in Guangning County, Guangdong Province in December, announcing their formal surrender to the empire.

Known as the "Guangning Treaty" in history.