Chapter 202 Commander Fo Langji kneels down (two-in-one)
Franji spared no effort to open up new routes, with the purpose of finding a new route to China, thereby breaking the Persians' monopoly on eastern trade routes.
However, the Folangji people first found India, and now they have found Manraka.
Moreover, the Folangji people’s occupation of Manraka benefited from the help of merchants from the Ming Dynasty, because the Persians and Siamese controlled the main trade in Manraka. The merchants of the Ming Dynasty chose to cooperate in order to obtain the benefits of Manraka, giving them Fo Langji provided intelligence on Manlajia's military deployment, which enabled Folangji to finally occupy Manlajia.
Businessmen have always been like this. Economic interests outweigh everything else in front of them. Although for the Ming Dynasty, it is obvious that Manlajia was colonized by the Franconian Empire and was not conducive to the interests of the empire.
However, businessmen in the Ming Dynasty would choose to cooperate with any force for their own economic interests, even with their own enemy countries, let alone Fo Langji who came from afar.
For the betrayal of Manlajia, it was not worth mentioning to the Ming merchants who had no national consciousness in this era. They could even betray the interests of their own Ming Empire, such as Shanxi merchants, let alone a vassal state.
Even if the court pursues them, they are not afraid, because these Ming businessmen all have official and gentry backgrounds, and are even protected by local officials because of this, so they will not worry about betraying the interests of the vassal country and being punished by the court.
What's more, Zhu Houzhao really couldn't punish his own businessmen because a vassal country was betrayed by his own businessmen.
But for this reason, Fo Langji knew about the existence of the Ming Dynasty through the Ming Dynasty merchants, and couldn't wait to open trade with the Ming Dynasty. After all, in their understanding, the Ming Dynasty was a country full of gold, and they could get endless benefits by trading with the Ming Dynasty. wealth.
Therefore, the excited Fo Langji people couldn't wait to come to Tuen Mun at the mouth of the Pearl River. At the same time, after the king learned that he knew where the Ming Dynasty was, he specially sent Pires as an envoy to the Ming Dynasty. Only then did Pires arrive. Lin Tingxuan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangdong, therefore sent a memorial to Zhu Houzhao asking him whether he would receive the envoy of Fo Langji.
But although the Flemish Kingdom dreamed of trading with the Ming Dynasty, they did not have awe of the Ming Dynasty. Even when they only thought about making countless wealth from the Ming Dynasty, they did not think about what benefits they could bring to the Ming Dynasty. In essence, they are still primitive capitalists with a predatory nature.
If the Ming Dynasty was as weak as the later Qing Dynasty, they would have forced the Ming Dynasty to cede territory and pay compensation like the British did after China's defeat in the Opium War.
However, the Ming Dynasty is not the late Qing Dynasty after all, not to mention that the Ming Dynasty is still an empire that has taken the lead in industrialization in the world.
“It’s hard to imagine that if our great Emperor Zhengde hadn’t taken the lead in launching modern industrialization, these bandits from the Western capital empire and plundering the world’s wealth would have made Ming lower his proud head, and humbly learn from these bandits and even worship them. ;
Even if it were not the Ming Dynasty, a Chinese dynasty hundreds of years later would encounter such a disaster. Therefore, it can be said that our Emperor Zhengde seized the opportunity before this unprecedented change in a thousand years! And it has preserved our national dignity and self-confidence, so that to this day, we can still walk with our heads held high! Even our poor can put the rich in other countries to shame!
At that time, those arrogant and ignorant scholar-officials were undoubtedly happy. They should be grateful to God for allowing them to have this great emperor, and to His Majesty for allowing them to always be so confident. Otherwise, they would one day find out How sorry my class is for this country! How stupid they themselves are!
However, they were stupid and still despised their Emperor in their hearts at this time. They believed that their Emperor was not a wise king and did not meet the definition of a wise king as defined by Confucian orthodoxy. They were even thinking of using various methods to overthrow this great emperor. of emperors, however In front of this great emperor, they were less worthy of being taken seriously than the Western colonists. Their behavior was like a cricket shaking a tree, or like a frog sitting in a well looking at the sky. They were selfish and did not realize that they were interfering with the entire historical process. Against an entire nation! ”
Many years later, Fang Chuan, a professor at Imperial Central University, wrote this in his book.
Guangdong deputy envoy Wang Hong brought five third-class sailing battleships and ten ordinary warships to Tuen Mun Island.
The commander of Tuen Mun Island at this time was General Andela of Folangji. He had established an official office and a firearms manufacturing base on Tuen Mun Island, and also rebuilt a dock. When the Ming Dynasty's fleet appeared here, Andela also learned the news in advance. At first, he had no fear. After all, they, Franji, had just conquered Manlajia.
"It seems that this ancient empire is not friendly to us. If we want them to respect our great Franji, we must also let them taste the power of our firearms!"
Andra said this after looking at the Ming fleet appearing on the boundless blue sea in the distance.
At this time, Wang Hong, the deputy envoy of Guangdong who was ordered to take back Tuen Mun Island, was also observing Andela and the Tuen Mun Island he occupied with a telescope.
Telescopes are historically a product of the seventeenth century, but in this era due to the emergence of Zhu Houzhao, they have become the most commonly used observation equipment by imperial officers. Therefore, before Andela could see the face of Ming Commander Wang Hong clearly By that time, Wang Hong had clearly seen Andela and the defense on his island.
Wang Hong shook his head. He had to admit that this group of barbarians from the west were really not opponents worthy of his attention. However, he did not understand why the emperor personally ordered him to fight this battle well, and even issued an order. After giving special instructions, he didn't understand why His Majesty the Emperor attached so much importance.
But in any case, because it was the order issued by His Majesty the Emperor Zhu Houzhao and the instructions were given personally, Wang Hong could only treat them with caution.
"The Tuen Mun Island you are occupying now is the inherent territory of the Ming Dynasty. Your current behavior is an act of aggression. Now, we require you to come to our deputy ambassador within half an hour to claim your guilt. Otherwise, we will directly shell you. If you are injured, Don’t regret your life!”
At this time, Wang Hong followed Zhu Houzhao's instructions to show courtesy first and then attack, so he first asked his subordinates to hold a large copper trumpet and shout at the Fo Langji people on Tuen Mun Island.
The Fo Langji people on Tuen Mun Island also had Chinese interpreters around them, so Andra, the commander of the Fo Langji people on Tuen Mun Island, also understood what Wang Hong meant, and Andela immediately became a little angry:
"There are no Chinese residents here, and there is no Chinese territory mark. It is just a new land that does not belong to us. We, the Folangji people, were the first to discover and erect a monument. Naturally, it is our territory! Tell them that we welcome China to Folangji. Trade in the area under the jurisdiction, but the Chinese army is not allowed to come to the area under the jurisdiction of Folangji. This is an act of aggression. They are restricted to leave after half an hour, otherwise they will be directly shelled for the crime of aggression. ”
So, Wang Hong also received the reply from Andela, and couldn't help but burst into laughter for a moment. He didn't understand how this Folangji man could be so shameless. The so-called "all over the world" is not the king's land, and the shore of the land is not the king's ministers. All territories in the world belong to the emperor, and all lords in the world are also ministers of the emperor!
There is no exception for Tuen Mun Island. He can say that the Emperor gave him Fo Langji, but he cannot say that it is his own territory that prohibits people from the Celestial Dynasty from entering.
However, like most Ming Dynasty people of this era, Wang Hong also looked down upon these foreign barbarians in his heart, so he did not intend to explain more and just waited patiently for half an hour to pass. Fo Langji lost patience, and Andra directly ordered the Centipede warship to prepare to launch an attack. However, they found that the Ming fleet was still far away from the range of their own artillery, so they had to quickly sail towards the Ming fleet and prepare to be within the range of the artillery. Launch an attack when you can attack the Ming fleet.
Seeing this, Wang Hong already ordered: "The enemy has taken the initiative to attack. The Beidu, Nandu, and Zhongdu formed a battle line. They took the initiative to meet the enemy first and gave the enemy a severe blow! The Baoding and Yangzhou each took half of the warships. Seal the left and right wings! The Beidu, Nandu, and Zhongdu follow my command and fire!”
Andra actually didn't understand why the Ming Dynasty's warships had such large soft sails and what role they could play. But when he didn't expect that the Ming Dynasty's soft sails were more sensitive than his own centipede ship, they all lined up in an instant. A straight line, what made him even more confused was why these warships didn't just rush up to engage in a boarding battle.
As a result, Andela had to ask secretly: "Could it be that the Ming army's artillery can shoot farther and even more accurately, and can bombard our warships from such a long distance, or do they want to escape? ”
boom!
The sound of fierce shelling answered Andra's question.
As soon as the portholes of the three Daming sail battleships were opened, a total of one hundred and twenty copper-tied iron-core ship-borne guns roared, and live ammunition directly hit Andra's three Centipede ships in a matter of seconds. Flying, there was even one ship that couldn't withstand the high-frequency impact of solid shells and rolled over directly. Another ship also had its mast broken and began to slowly sink into the sea.
Andela's own flagship was also punched with several holes, and seawater spread directly into the cabin.
Guangdong deputy inspector Wang Hongben was ready to intercept Andela's escaping warships, but now Andela had no way to escape. There were three warships he brought with him. One of the three ships sank, and one overturned and was imprisoned. In the sea, his own flagship could not sail, so he could only hang a white flag and surrender.
"This, this is simply too scary. I, Franji, have been galloping on the sea for so long, and I have never encountered such a powerful army. Oh my god, this legendary ancient empire is not only rich in wealth, it also has military power that we can't surpass. , we simply can’t defeat him!”
At first, Andra was confident about how she would ask the emperor of the Ming Empire to punish these rude local officials and apologize to her. At this moment, Andra lost all her confidence. She only felt how stupid she was for actually thinking of being with a person. Such a powerful empire battle.
"God, tell me how many secrets this ancient empire has that we don't know, why their battleships are so powerful and fast, and why their artillery can shoot so far! Why do you favor them so much!"
Andra cried out sadly to herself.
Wang Hong ordered the navy officers and soldiers to rescue all these Fo Lang robots from the sea and the sinking warships, and also fished out the two Franco robot centipede warships that were still completed. After all, these were the Ming Emperor's His Majesty specifically stated the loot to be captured.
"Your Excellency, I am Andra, the commander of the Franji fleet here. Now we officially surrender to you! Your warships force us to surrender. I hope this conflict will not affect the relationship between Franji and your country. Friendship!”
Andela bowed humbly to Wang Hong, the deputy envoy of Guangdong.
"Kneel down!"
Wang Hong was wearing a scarlet official robe of the fourth grade of the Ming Dynasty. He stood majestically on the flagship, the first second-level battleship of the Ming Dynasty. He looked at the commander Andra of Franji who was about to bend into the sea humbly under the hull, and felt calm. Said something.
Andela was surprised and a little angry. He didn't expect that as a noble of Franji, he would actually kneel down to an Easterner. He surrendered and had no choice but to admit that his strength was inferior to others, but he didn't expect that the Ming Empire would The official even insulted himself.
"Your Excellency! I am a citizen of Folangji. I can surrender on behalf of Folangji because I am the commander of this warship, but I cannot kneel down to you because this is my right as a citizen of Folangji! ”
Andra protested.
After the interpreter translated, Wang Hong secretly marveled in his heart, thinking that His Majesty was indeed very knowledgeable and actually knew how the red-haired leader would respond when he asked him to kneel down. Therefore, Wang Hong followed Zhu Houzhao's instructions. Reply:
"Absurd! First of all, you are not a subject of my Ming Dynasty! You have no rights as a citizen of Ming Dynasty! Secondly, you have committed the crime of infringing upon the territory of Ming Dynasty! You are now a criminal. Criminals do not have any political rights, and our Ming Dynasty has extraterritorial rights. Law Quan, all the foreign barbarians who have committed crimes in the Ming Dynasty can only be punished by the Ming Dynasty Law Division! Now I ask you to kneel down, you have to kneel down. If you don’t kneel down, you have no right! , just like him! ”
As Wang Hong said this, he took the fired and loaded flintlock gun from one of his own soldiers, and shot a Fo Lang robot next to Andra, and the Fo Lang robot fell to the ground directly, with blood pouring from his chest. .
Andela was so frightened that he immediately knelt down. He discovered that the Ming Empire not only had sharp artillery, but also its muskets were far superior to the muskets of his own country.
When Wang Hong saw Andra kneeling down, he smiled slightly and said: "Let them all kneel down. Now they are prisoners of war. They will serve the Ming Dynasty for free. The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty decided to fine each of these prisoners of war 10 million taels of silver." ! But the commander wants 20 million taels! These prisoners of war can’t be released until they pay enough money for the Ming Dynasty!”
Because of this, Andela and other Francois war criminals have since become professional colonial plunderers of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Houzhao asked Zhang Yanling to lead a group of water warfare talents to form the Daming Sea Trading Company. At the same time, he also allowed these Francois war criminals to work in Daming Seatrade. After the company served, naturally, the Ming Dynasty began to use the rich colonial plunder experience of these Francois to plunder overseas wealth for the Ming Dynasty.
"Emperor Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty was a ruthless emperor. I don't know how much wealth I created for him, but I know that I paid back 20 million taels, but I found that I could no longer leave this empire because I had already I can’t escape his control over me! I feel very sad for my country of Franji, because he will never be able to compete with this extremely powerful empire!”
Years later, Andra recalled this.
(End of chapter)