The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 61 Balance Strategy
March 1724, 3, Myanmar, Ava (near present-day Mandalay, Myanmar).

The royal palace of the Toungoo Dynasty is located in the center of Ava City, with four gates.The entire palace is square in shape, and most of the building materials are made of wood, just like the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Although the palace is not particularly large in area, its overall layout is very dense.The interior of the palace contains more than a hundred temples, large and small. The colors are mainly red and gold, which look very eye-catching.Looking from afar, it looks magnificent and dazzling.The one in front looks exquisite, with carved galleries and painted columns.

The buildings of the palace are all red walls with golden eaves. They are upward layer by layer, smaller than each layer. The overall look is like pagodas, showing a strong Taungoo style.Most of the palaces are made of teak, which is not easy to crack and corrosion-resistant.

Of course, the abundant teak in Myanmar is also the country’s largest export material. It is basically monopolized by the Burmese trading companies of the Qi State. It flows down the Irrawaddy River and leads directly to Fengning Fort (now Salian City, Yangon, Myanmar) controlled by the Qi State. city), and then shipped to all parts of the world and sold to many princes, nobles, and luxurious homes.

A magnificent banquet was being held in a large hall in the palace.In addition to the royal family members, aristocratic ministers, and senior military generals of the Toungoo Dynasty, the guests present also had an important guest - Qi Weining, the Dan King of Qi State.

A few days ago, Qi Weining came to Myanmar on a merchant ship owned by the Myanmar Trading Company, and went up the Irrawaddy River to the capital of the Toungoo Dynasty, preparing to conduct an inspection of this ancient country and add detailed information to the "Annals of the World" compiled by the Royal Society. and literature.

When the Toungoo royal family heard that Prince Qi had arrived in Ava City, they held a welcome dinner to show their hospitality.

Perhaps in order to highlight the wealth and power of the Toungoo dynasty, and to express their enthusiasm for visiting distinguished guests from the Qi Kingdom, King Daningenai of Burma ordered his attendants to light thousands of oil lamps, lighting up the entire palace and making the palace more visible. Brilliant and grand.

"That is the third brother of the Burmese King. Although he looks relatively simple and honest, he is extremely smart. He is in charge of the finance and expenditure of the Toungoo Dynasty, as well as the printing of coins. ... Well, it is equivalent to that of our Qi State. Heads of the Ministry of Accounts and the Imperial Central Bank.”

"...The uncle of the King of Burma, well, basically doesn't take care of things anymore. He lives an extremely luxurious life relying on the support of the royal family and the wealth he once collected. It is said that this uncle often mixes opium, alcohol, and gravy Mix it with pearl powder and get yourself drunk."

"..."

Liang Shujie, the minister of Qi State in Myanmar, sat next to Qi Weining. While raising his glass to toast the nobles and ministers of the Toungoo Dynasty from a distance, he introduced to him in a low voice the identities of some of the guests present.

"I am an idle prince with no position or power. I can neither influence the political affairs of our country of Qi nor bring them any commercial benefits. Is it not worth it for them to welcome me with such a grand ceremony?" Qi Weining looked at it. All the dignitaries of the Toungoo Dynasty present said playfully.

"The Burmese people naturally come to us, Qi State, to ask for something. I hope that the hospitality given to His Highness will leave a good impression on you. When His Highness returns to China, he can at least put in a good word for them in front of His Majesty and the Cabinet." Liang Shujie smiled. Laughing, he said: "The Manipur War that broke out a few years ago has lasted for a long time and spread to the entire upper Myanmar region. It has seriously threatened the stable rule of the Toungoo Dynasty. It is ridiculous to say that for so many years, it has prided itself on being powerful. When the Burmese army faced the Kingdom of Manipur, they suffered successive defeats and were beaten into a state of disarray. Therefore, Toungoo officials and generals, including the King of Burma, repeatedly requested Qi to sell them more firearms and other weapons. Ordnance and supplies so as to be able to overwhelm the Manipuris militarily.”

"Then are we prepared to provide support to the Burmese?" Qi Weining glanced at the Taungoo official opposite and asked softly.

"We will naturally not assist the Burmese to attack the Kingdom of Manipur." Liang Shujie lowered his voice and said: "On the contrary, our Qi State has been exerting influence in the Kingdom of Manipur through Bangladesh and giving them corresponding support. .”

"Oh, why is that so?"

"Your Highness has never been to the Kingdom of Manipur and may not know much about the situation there. It is said that the Manipur people are the Jiuli branch of the ancient Yanhuang period. Some people even say that they are Han people who moved here during the Tang Dynasty. Miao people. This kingdom worships the culture of the Han and Tang Dynasties, learns Chinese, and claims to be the descendant of the Chinese people. The appearance of the Manipur people is almost the same as that of the Han people, and the local culture is also similar to the Chinese civilization. The people have always had a fascination with dragons. It has extremely high faith, and its symbol of royal power is also the dragon totem." "Really?" Qi Weining couldn't help but become interested after hearing this, "I didn't expect that there is a kingdom similar to the Han people among the forces of Meng and Burma! Then our Qi State is Should we vigorously support it in order to constrain Myanmar and Bangladesh?”

"Your Highness expected it!" Liang Shujie nodded and said: "Since the Toungoo Dynasty was founded more than 200 years ago, it has expanded its power to the surrounding areas. It once destroyed Lanna and Siam, and once occupied the Lancang Kingdom and almost unified it. Indo-China Peninsula. During the Wanli period of the pre-Ming Dynasty, the Toungu Dynasty invaded Yunnan, captured Mubang and Mengyang, and provoked the Celestial Kingdom. It was extremely arrogant. Although the Toungu Dynasty is gradually declining in strength, such an ambitious country , but we must take precautions. Therefore, in the past ten years, our country, Qi, has tried its best to support the Kingdom of Rakhine and the Kingdom of Manipur in order to restrain Myanmar."

"Although Myanmar is weak now, in terms of potential strength, it is still considered a regional power. It needs to be divided and ruled." Qi Weining said with a smile: "When I stopped at Fengning Fort to rest, I saw that Myanmar business companies invited many Mon people. The local leader must be planning something big, right?"

"Your Highness is wise!" Liang Shujie praised sincerely, and then raised his glass to greet Qi Weining.

For this banquet, the Taungoo royal family specially arranged two bands to play various strings, and some graceful dancers danced to the music; the young children of the royal family were crawling around on the carpeted floor. , each of the noble ministers and generals, holding gold bottles filled with strong wine, toasted to each other; the short and fat Burmese king Daninge sat on the throne, reservedly greeting the visiting Qi guests. With sincere regards.

At the noisy and lively banquet, Strachang, the Prime Minister of the Toungoo Dynasty, unsurprisingly once again made a request for firearms procurement and military assistance to the Qi people, hoping to obtain a large number of light 50mm and 65mm artillery for the army to use in the high mountains. The eastern mountainous area received sufficient fire support.

In exchange, the Toungoo dynasty was willing to open more inland cities in the country to Qi merchants and grant more trade privileges. More than a decade ago, the Qi people even proposed leasing the Daguang River on the banks of the Lai River (now Yangon River). (Today’s Yangon City, Myanmar) is not a place that cannot be considered.

Qi Weining watched with great interest as Liang Shujie, with a serious expression, pretended to be a snake with the officials of the Toungoo Dynasty, and they were playing obscure tricks with each other.He wisely chose to stay out of the verbal innuendos sent to him by Toungoo officials.

"Your Majesty, the people of Qi cannot be trusted!" Prince Boyaungden, the third brother of the Burmese King, took a look at the situation over there and whispered to the Burmese King Daninganei: "For so many years, in addition to constantly harassing our Toungoo dynasty, they They have grabbed all kinds of commercial interests, but they are still unwilling to help us improve our domestic financial situation, let alone sell us more firearms, for fear that our military power will be too strong. Moreover, intelligence received from different channels shows that the Qi people They have been secretly supporting the Rakhine Kingdom and the Manipur Kingdom in an attempt to divide our Taungoo dynasty."

"Do you have a way to deal with it?" Burmese King Daningene asked with a gloomy face.

"Qi is not the only overseas merchant who engages in trade in Toungoo." Prince Boyendeng said: "As far as I know, in Shalian, which was occupied by Qi, there are English and French people from Europe. , the Dutch, and our former enemies the Portuguese. I think these Europeans may not necessarily be of the same mind as the Qi people. As long as we pay some price, we can also obtain the advanced firearms we need from them. Even, we can Hire some European professional military personnel for our use in Toungoo. It is said that the Dutch East India Company ceded several of their strongholds to the Qi people. Presumably many mercenary armed personnel were forced to leave. As long as our Toungoo dynasty opens If the conditions are high enough, we can definitely recruit some people.”

"..." King Daning of Burma pondered for a moment, nodded slightly, and said softly: "You can work on this matter. But you must remember that the conveniences granted to Europeans must not offend the people of Qi, so as not to give birth to Unnecessary trouble."

"Your Majesty, please rest assured that I, my brother, should be careful in my actions and I will not offend everyone." Prince Boyendeng said with his hands in hand.

It is said that 20 years ago, Qi State brazenly launched a war against the Toungoo Dynasty on the pretext that its merchant ships were attacked by pirates near the coast of Myanmar.With less than ten warships and more than [-] Bangladeshi garrison troops, the opponent defeated Toungoo's weak navy and captured coastal towns such as Salian, Mora Mian (now Moulmein City, Myanmar), and Pathein. .Then he went up the Irrawaddy River to the capital city of Ava.

In shock, the Toungoo dynasty immediately surrendered and was forced to sue for peace from Qi.The two sides then signed the "Awa Contract", ceding Shalian and a large area of ​​territory south of the Lai River to Qi, opening four cities including Mora Mian, Pathein, Pyay, and Bagan, and paying an indemnity of 50 taels of silver.

After that, the entire Toungoo dynasty feared Qi like a tiger and did not dare to offend it easily.In terms of strength, Taungyu is absolutely inferior to the Mughal Empire next door. If so, how could it dare to start a war and challenge Qi?
If a liger is lying prone on its side, you should be careful and guard against it.

(End of this chapter)