Since you have decided to submit to the Ming prince and want to obtain a piece of land, you should try your best to show your loyalty and value.
At Lin Deyuan's suggestion, Jayaharavarman changed his Chinese name.
"阘" is usually pronounced as dū.
But if it has something to do with Buddhism or Brahmanism, then it must be shé.
Therefore, he changed his surname to She and his given name was She Yehe.
Zhu Kang greatly appreciated this and praised She Yehe's loyalty many times in front of the prince of Champa.
As a result, the princes of Champa changed their names one after another.
Anyway, it doesn't cost anything to change your name. You can just ask Zhu Kang for a name. Han Chinese names are only used to deal with Han people. They do whatever they want in private, just to make the Ming prince happy.
After resting for two days in Bintonglong, Zhu Kang announced his decision to conquer Chenla.
She Yehe took out a simple map and said: "If Your Highness wants to conquer Chenla, don't get entangled with them in the forest. From here, capture the towns along the way and kill them all the way to their royal city of Angkor, forcing the Chenla army to come and fight on their own."
.Otherwise, they will tangle in the forests and mountains until the hot rainy season comes."
Zhu Kang pointed to the Mekong River Delta: "Aren't you going to attack here?"
She Yehe shook his head and said: "There are forests and swamps everywhere, there are only many indigenous villages, and there are no decent towns. When we send troops, we should go around the mountains further north."
The Mekong Delta was developed step by step from the upstream.
It was probably around the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty that cities and towns gradually began to appear, and trading ports developed after Zheng He's voyages to the West.
The Mekong Delta's agricultural development was the result of the efforts of Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants.
First, the Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam resettled immigrants and turned the land that was relatively easy to cultivate into farmland. Then the Qing army moved south, and the Ming Dynasty survivors fled overseas and turned the swamps and mangroves that were difficult to cultivate into fertile farmland.
"How long will it take for the rainy season in Chenla to come?" Zhu Kang asked.
She Yehe said: "Three to four months. It's hot and humid, and soldiers can easily get sick."
Zhu Kang nodded: "Then we must fight quickly."
She Yehe said: "I am willing to lead the army as a vanguard and open the way!"
Zhu Kang was afraid of wasting time and said: "I will give you another thousand elites."
Of course it's not "give", but a thousand Ming troops working together as a vanguard.
She Yehe led the army and set out the next day, followed by Zhu Kang and his army.
Two days after entering the border of Chenla, Sheyehe occupied a small town and asked Zhu Kang to send troops to station there and transfer some subsequent grain and grass there.
A merchant named Song Shunming often went to Zhenla to trade, and he was always with Zhu Kang.
When they came to the small town to camp, Song Shunming accompanied him and said:
"The powerful and wealthy people in Chenla like to capture or buy savages as slaves. The savages actually own land, know how to farm, and pay taxes. But they are not allowed to enter the city, or even go near the edge of the city."
"A young and powerful savage can be sold for dozens of bolts of cloth. But outsiders cannot catch them casually and must obtain the permission of the local nobles. They call their master Batuo and their mistress Miba, which actually means parents. Savage
You can marry yourself, but you are not allowed to have sex with rich people."
"If a Han Chinese who is a guest in a wealthy family in Chenla cannot help but sleep with the maid of the family, the master will not sit with the Han Chinese. If a slave escapes, he will be tied up like a dog when he is caught..."
This maritime merchant named Song Shunming actually knew little about Zhenla.
The "savages" he calls are actually the "untouchables" of Chenla. After all, the state religion here is Brahmanism.
Moreover, there are two types of untouchables in Chenla. One type is civilized and can understand the official language, and only these can be slaves. The other type is the savages from the mountain tribes, who cannot even understand the official language. Such tribesmen
A lower status than ordinary pariahs.
Song Shunming continued:
"Many merchants from different dynasties claimed that the people of Zhenla were too dark-skinned. In fact, this statement was spread from rumor to false."
"The upper-class people in Zhenla have very white skin, while the lower-class people are tanned because of hard work. There are also scholars here. I don't know what books they read. They will tie a white rope around their necks, just like the clothes of the Confucian scholars in the Ming Dynasty.
To distinguish one’s identity.”
"When girls in Chenla are about ten years old, they have to invite monks to help them remove their virginity, which is called a 'blanket.' Every April, girls who do not have a 'blanket' must declare to the government, and monks will come to remove it.
They lost their virginity. This family has to prepare gifts, otherwise the monk will be very angry."
"I heard that a girl's virginity is not broken by sexual intercourse, but by monks who prick it with their fingers..."
The more Zhu Kang listened, the more outrageous he became, and asked: "Is this what you paid attention to in Zhenla?"
Song Shunming smiled awkwardly.
Zhu Kang asked again: "How are the people of Zhenla doing?"
Song Shunming said: "Zhenla, like Champa, believes in Brahmanism and divides people into three, six or nine grades. If the father is a craftsman, the son can only be a craftsman. If the father is a military household, the son can only be a craftsman.
Military households. They have become accustomed to it and don’t know how to resist. There are even some who have been beggars for generations. However, as more and more people believe in Buddhism, Buddhists don’t pay much attention to these things.”
Zhu Kang nodded: "It seems that Buddhism is better."
Song Shunming said: "The power of Buddhism has become more and more powerful in Chenla. More than half of the temples built in recent years are Buddhist temples. Not only the eminent monks of the two religions often fight, but the believers of each religion also kill each other. Dozens and hundreds of people are often killed or injured in the fights."
"Report!"
"Our vanguard encountered an ambush. We suffered hundreds of casualties and defeated thousands of enemy troops. We beheaded more than 400 people and captured more than 200 prisoners."
"How many casualties were there among the Ming soldiers?"
"One person was seriously injured, sixteen were slightly injured, and no one was killed."
"I understand. I will reward Sheyehe with a precious sword and thirty pieces of fine silk to commend him for his bravery and fearlessness!"
Zhu Kang became more and more satisfied with this She Yehe. Although he was an ambitious person, it was good as long as he could use it smoothly.
Of course, being ambushed could kill thousands of enemy troops, so those thousand Ming troops must have played a role.
At this moment, She Yehe turned back frequently while walking on the road, looking at the thousands of Ming troops who had joined forces to fight.
The fighting power is too terrifying!
Of course, ambush does not mean hiding on the roadside, which will definitely be discovered by the scouts exploring the road.
Thousands of Chenla troops were hiding in the mountains and forests more than ten miles away, and only a few soldiers were sent to observe secretly. After the Ming army passed by, they came out of the mountains and forests - it was said to be an ambush, but in fact it was more like a surprise attack.
Facing the surprise attack, Sheyehe's army hurriedly responded, and one unit even collapsed on the spot.
But the thousand Ming army was calm and composed, instantly changed from a marching state to a fighting formation, and even countercharged to defeat the Chenla army.
This battle happened yesterday, but the more She Yehe thought about it, the more terrifying she felt.
Such a Ming army is invincible. From now on, we must be honest and obedient, and we must not offend His Highness King Yu.
With the help of a thousand Ming troops, Sheyaha fought more and more fiercely, and did not stop until he advanced dozens of miles east of the city of Viyadapura.
This was once the capital of the Funan Kingdom, located on the banks of the Mekong River a hundred miles southeast of Phnom Penh.
…
Suryavarman II was in the city, looking at the messenger with a gloomy expression.
The messenger knelt on the ground and said: "I met King Yu of the Ming Dynasty two hundred miles north of Bintonglong. He refused to talk to me and just arrested me and imprisoned me. Seven days ago, he finally summoned me. He said a lot...
A lot of bad words..."
Suryavarman II asked: "What will he do before he is willing to retreat?"
The envoy said: "First, your Majesty should send an envoy to Luoyang to plead guilty, and the envoy must be a member of the royal family; second, cede the Prenogo area to the Champa Kingdom, and the Ming Dynasty's prince Yu Wang will be the king of Champa in the future.
"
Prenogo, also translated as Priango, means "forest of the kingdom".
That is, later Ho Chi Minh City and its surrounding areas.
There are swamps and forests all over there, with only some uncivilized tribal villages.
For Suryavarman II, it did not provide much tax revenue or even much military resources, so ceding it would not make him feel bad.
But this will damage his prestige!
After much thought, Suryavarman II decided to fight.
He now has unprecedented military strength, with more than 200 war elephants alone and a mountain cavalry unit.
To be continued...