Chapter 699: Cutting the Territory for Peace and Suppressing Bo Ni
The capital of the Brunei Sultanate is called Brunei City, which was called "Boni City" in 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 densely dotted along the river. In the city, the main bodies of most houses are built with stone, especially
It is the king's huge palace and mosque. The exterior is covered with exquisite reliefs, and the Middle Eastern-style dome is also plated with a layer of gold. Whenever the morning mist hangs over the Brunei River, the sun shines on the domes of the palace and mosque.
, the whole city looks like a dream.
On the outskirts of the city, near the mouth of the Brunei River, there is a stone wall stacked with large stones to protect the royal palace and the main body of the city. This stone wall was built in the late fourteenth century by a Chinese.
. He filled dozens of large ships with stones and sank them at the mouth of the Brunei River, then filled them with earth as a foundation, and built a stone wall and fortress on top of them.
Perhaps it was because the peaceful days had been too long. When the black fleet of the Northern Navy appeared at the mouth of the Brunei River, the people on the river bank had no reaction. It was not until a rumble of cannons sounded that everyone reacted and were frightened.
Scattered and fled.
Although the Kingdom of Brunei is called the "Spice Empire" by Westerners, in fact its territory has shrunk significantly and its combat effectiveness is even worse. In the 16th century, there was civil strife in the royal family. At that time, the Sultan could only turn to the Spanish Governor of Manila for help. After that, the Spaniards only used
After defeating more than 2,000 people, the Brunei army was defeated and the city of Brunei was captured.
When Brunei sent an envoy to come in a small boat and boarded the boat to inquire about their purpose, He Xiwen came up and presented a joint indictment of more than a dozen Chinese businessmen and a confession signed by Betty's fingerprints.
The list ran to seven or eight pages, listing a large group of people including Sarawak Raja Hashim, and a name called "Mohammed 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 the country's affairs. You must know that the 18th 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 himself.
It’s been a long time.
In fact, it is almost a semi-open secret that some of the domestic dignitaries support the Iban pirates in their plundering, but they cannot admit it even to death.
However, no matter how the messenger explained it, He Xiwen summed it up in one sentence: the crime of condoning pirates' robbery of Chinese businessmen was unforgivable, and the Sultan, Crown Prince and the Bruneian dignitaries mentioned in the confession must be brought back to Pakistan to face confrontation.
The envoy was anxious, and suddenly remembered an old incident, and immediately begged He Xiwen: "You are 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 suddenly laughed loudly, thinking that this was like asking a monk to call him brother-in-law - a random marriage.
Upon seeing this, the envoy quickly explained: "You don't know something. Our country of Brunei was founded four hundred years ago. At that time, there was General Huang, who came from Quanzhou, Fujian..."
Well, the envoy really didn’t make it up. I think the reason why Brunei was so dominant when it was founded was that it occupied the entire coastal area of Borneo and even controlled Manila, the Sulu Islands and part of Mindanao, becoming the so-called "empire".
”, precisely because of the help of “General Huang”.
This man's name is Huang Senping, a native of Quanzhou, Fujian. During the Hongwu period, he took his family to Borneo and established an independent Chinese regime in the Broken Hand River Basin with his bare hands. He was respectfully called "Chief Soldier" by the local Chinese and "Raja" by the Malays.
”.
Later, he intermarried with the then Sultan of Bali, formed an alliance, and jointly defeated the invading Sulu Sultanate, saved the regime that was almost destroyed, and finally became one of the two regents.
Because Huang Senping's sister married the younger brother of the then Sultan, who became the second Sultan of Brunei, so starting from the third generation of Sultans, all subsequent royal families have blood from the Huang family.
Huang Senping missed his homeland in his later years, so he returned to his country with hundreds of relatives and subordinates to pay tribute, and was warmly entertained by Emperor Yongle Zhu Di. However, due to the fatigue of traveling and traveling, he died in Huitong Pavilion in Nanjing that year. According to his last wish to "be buried in China" before his death,
Zhu Di ordered him to be buried in Yuhuatai with "royal rites" and given the posthumous title "Gongshun", but the name on the tombstone was "Bo Ni King Manaragananai".
After Huang Senping's death, Zhu Di appointed his son Huang Kesun as the next "Boni King" and sent ministers to escort him back to the country. Not only did he waive his annual annual payment, he even wrote a poem "Boni Changning Zhenguoshan Poem" by himself.
A monument was erected on the mountain outside the city of Brunei. From then on, the Huang family assisted the Sultan of Brunei internally, and was called the King of Bali to the Chinese. It remained unchanged until the Wanli period.
However, things have changed and people have changed. After the Wanli Sea Ban, the exchanges between Brunei and the Central Plains Dynasty were cut off. In addition, the Huang family gradually became Islamic and Malay, and gradually withdrew from Brunei's political arena. The Huang family's former glory has also been reduced.
It only exists in folklore and the genealogy chart of the Brunei royal family. As for the tablet, there is no trace.
He Xiwen couldn't help but be surprised after hearing the envoy's narration, and admired the "King of Bo Ni" in his heart. However, he soon realized that he was the newly appointed governor of Borneo by Zhao, who had destroyed "countless" countries and was in charge of the entire country.
Isn't Dadao more awesome than Huang Senping?
Thinking of this, he said proudly: "Your Majesty is so ignorant! Our Beihai Town was founded by King Zhao of the Ming Dynasty clan. Your Highness fought against the captives, expelled the foreign barbarians from the West, wiped out Liuhe, and unified the four seas. His achievements are far beyond
Throughout the ages, since the Sultan has Chinese ancestry and was canonized by Emperor Chengzu, why don’t we come on board the ship to pay our respects to you?! You colluded with the Dutch, harbored pirates, plundered and massacred Chinese businessmen, how can I have relatives like you in China?
!”
"this......"
Huang Zhong and others on the side shouted in unison: "Speak!"
At this point, the sweaty envoy already knew that this was just looking for trouble, and he might not be able to do anything about it. When he approached the fleet, he carefully observed that the decks of each ship were filled with soldiers holding muskets, and the muzzles of the cannons were even brighter.
He was pointing at the royal city behind him, completely ready to start a fight if they disagreed.
"Master He, please wait a moment. I will go back and report to the Sultan."
"Your Majesty, please go and come back quickly. I only give you one day."
After the messenger returned to the palace to report, Crown Prince Muhammad Tajuddin and all the rajas realized that something was wrong. However, it was definitely impossible for him to go to Bacheng with his father to confront him, and it was even more difficult to board a ship to pay homage. So what?
It’s definitely a sheep entering the tiger’s mouth!
Although Brunei is far away from Java, he has heard a lot about what Beihai Town has done over the years. He thought that Beihai Town, who showed up as a Chinese at the beginning, took over Bacheng and dealt with the Dutch severely, and the political power of all parties was loosened.
In one breath. Especially after the West Java War, the Dutch completely got out of Malacca, and all the sultans felt very happy.
Unexpectedly, a wolf left and a tiger came. A few days ago, three sultanate regimes in Pontianak and Nambawa were suddenly deposed, which shocked the sultanates across Malaya after hearing the news.
Good guy! These short-haired Chinese are actually more ruthless than the Dutch! The Dutch just monopolize trade and collect taxes, while the short-haired Chinese want everything!
After Muhammad Tajuddin heard about this a few days ago, he was planning to send people to contact the surrounding sultanates to put aside the dispute temporarily and join together to keep warm. Unexpectedly, the Northern Navy arrived in the blink of an eye.
Retreat to the upper reaches of the Brunei River and call on the indigenous people from all over the country to gather troops to fight Beihai Town? Don't be ridiculous, the Dutch army of tens of thousands can't win. Tajuddin really doesn't think he can create miracles.
With no other choice, he could only seek advice from his father, the old Sudan. The old Sudan listened to his son and his men's story expressionlessly, twisting the spring of the mechanical swan in his hand; it was a gift from the Spaniards.
The body and wings are made of gold, and are inlaid with many gems.
"Give them Sarawak. Don't the Chinese like gold? There are gold mines there."
Tajuddin was stunned after hearing this. It was said that Sarawak in this era was not the Sarawak state that reached the capital of the Kingdom of Brunei in another time and space, but a very small state that only included Kuching and Shilongmen.
An area. And with the decline of the Brunei Sultanate, it currently retains only weak control in the coastal areas; in the inland areas, there are constant conflicts between the Iban and two other indigenous tribes, and they headhunt each other.
The old Sultan put down the plaything in his hand and said slowly: "Since they are using the Iban people as an excuse, then give Sarawak to them and tell Hasim to go to the mountains to take shelter first and come back after the storm has passed. I am old
I don’t want to hide in Tibet anymore. The palaces and temples here were built with great difficulty by successive sultans. If they were destroyed by war, you and I would both be ashamed of our ancestors."
"Okay, father." Tajuddin sighed.
However, both father and son underestimated He Xiwen's appetite. When he heard the envoy said that the Sarawak region would be ceded as a condition, He Xiwen laughed loudly. He asked someone to take out a map made by the Dutch and light it with a wooden stick.
The area above said: "Sarawak, Sibu, Bintulu, Labuan, I want these four."
The messenger was shocked and pointed at Labuan Island stuck at the mouth of Brunei Bay and said: "This is a desert island!"
Huang Zhongtong on the side heard the words and continued: "We want to build a dock here to berth warships to facilitate the fight against pirates."
The envoy looked at Huang Zhongtong and said to himself: It is hard to say whether you will fight pirates in the future, but it is very convenient to fight us. If a group of powerful enemies occupy the doorstep of our house, how will we live in the future?
What he didn't know was that He Xiwen's purpose in wanting Labuan Island was not only to build a military port to control Brunei Bay, but also to use it as a springboard into the Sulu Sea. In addition, Zhao Xin also wanted to build a naval port in Palawan in the northeast of the Sulu Sea.
The island was assigned to the Sendai Domain, and controlling Labuan Island could also play a role in monitoring the Sendai Domain.
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 was to take over the Sultanate of Banja in the south and the Sultanate of Kutai in the east. In this way, Borneo would
Basically, they are included in the pocket. As for the indigenous forces in the interior, they are left to be dealt with later.
In fact, it would take a long time for Beihai Town to annex Borneo. It would take only one or two decades for the coastal areas to be completed, which would be enough for He Xiwen to fight for his whole life.
Faced with the threat of firing if they disagreed, Muhammad Tajuddin and his son called their ministers for a meeting to discuss. After careful consideration, they still did not have the courage to go to war with the Northern Navy outside the city. In the end, they had to reluctantly agree to cede the four areas requested by the other party; however, they
It also requested that Beihai Town provide military asylum to Brunei.
On January 5, 1794, He Xiwen, on behalf of Butterworth Town, signed an agreement with Muhammad Tajuddin on the "Nanhua No. 1". The Sultanate of Brunei agreed to cede four islands: Sarawak, Sibu, Bintulu and Labuan.
area in exchange for military protection from Beihai Town.
The two parties agreed that Beihai Town would send officers to train a thousand new troops for Sudan and sell a batch of weapons including percussion guns and 12-pound cannons; trade ships from both sides would enjoy tariff reductions in ports controlled by each other.
Half the treatment.
In addition, the Sultanate of Brunei is not allowed to send personnel to conduct missionary activities in the area controlled by Beihai Town. Once discovered, Beihai Town has the right to immediately arrest and punish according to relevant laws.
"Brother, it would be a pity if such a good town was destroyed by cannon fire!"
"Yeah, I don't know what it's like in that palace. Brother, why don't you tell King Zhao and give this place to our brothers."
After the agreement was signed, it was time for Beihai Navy to leave. Hardcore confidants Huang Zhongtong and Liang Wenying accompanied He Xiwen to the deck. They looked at the splendid palace behind the stone wall in the distance and couldn't help but sigh.
Huang Zhongtong glanced around and saw that the soldiers on duty were all standing far away, so he persuaded in a low voice: "Wenying, it's better for this kind of joke to rot in your stomach in the future!"
Liang Wenying has been with He Xiwen for more than ten years, and she has a good relationship with Huang Zhongtong. She has no scruples about talking in private, so she said nonchalantly: "Brother Huang, are you too worried? Our brothers worked hard to build this place for him.
On the big island, why not live in the palace of a native king?"
He Xiwen couldn't help it anymore, turned around and glared hard, and scolded softly: "You know nothing! All emperors have been the same since ancient times. Lord Ruan was still calling us brothers back then. Look at it later. Remember, it's a crime.
You must not do taboo things, and you are not even allowed to mention them! I also want to go back to Guangzhou to buy a big house and go back to retire in the future!"
Liang Wenying said "Oh", but she was quite disapproving in her heart. Beihai Town occupies such a large area, what's wrong with making it easier for people like me to live in the country?
Huang Zhongtong decided to change the topic, so he said: "Brother, is Xiyang almost finished studying?"
"It's almost! It's been two years in the blink of an eye. He wrote back last time and said that he wanted to go with the ship to a place called Kinmen to stay for half a year. What is it called an internship period?"
The two of them 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 didn't know this and just listened to their names, you would think that the three of them are brothers.
After He Xiwen defected to Beihai Town three years ago, because he was worried that he would become a "family slave with three surnames", Deng Fei sent He Xiyang to the Youth Military Academy in Beihai Town. Because his second son He Xiyang was young, he and He Xiyang
The other family members moved to Citrus O.
He Xiwen was not stupid, and of course he knew Deng Fei's intention. However, Deng Fei also made a big deal, saying that after three years of military school, he would become a lieutenant, work as a first mate on the ship for two years, and then serve as a trainee captain for one year.
, I will definitely be promoted. As long as I don’t make big mistakes in the future and take one step at a time, sooner or later I will be like Zheng Wenxian and others, and become the commander of the squadron.
Okay, He Xiwen thinks that I can be a governor with a first-class official position, and his eldest son can be a squadron commander. He is very satisfied. The younger son is only five years old this year, and he will be allowed to take a civilian job in the future. As long as he follows King Zhao closely, he will do it for him.
Look at the treasure land of Borneo, where wealth for three generations is within your reach.
Liang Wenying interjected: "Where is Kinmen? It has a very nice name."
He Xiwen said: "It's a hundred and eighty thousand miles away from us, on the other side of the sea."
Liang Wenying suddenly said: "We went to the new port a few days ago, and the people from the Military Control Commission put up a sign to recruit miners. Is this the reason?"
"Nine times out of ten. I heard that the climate there is neither cold nor hot. The area is larger than Borneo. It used to be the territory of the Spanish."
Huang Zhongtong fell into deep thought when he heard this. He had been spying on intelligence in various parts of Nanyang in the past two years, and the situation of all parties was basically clear. Beihai Town was competing with the Spaniards for territory on the other side of the sea. Will it affect Nanyang?