Chapter 462
Zhao Yu: I'm not pretending anymore.
...
To be honest, for the Song army, which had fought its way out of that monster room in the north, coming to the Indochina Peninsula was simply like bullying a weakling.
It can be said that for the Song army, the real difficulty was never fighting against these backward armies in the Indochina Peninsula, but rather the hot and humid climate and the miasma during the rainy season in the Indochina Peninsula.
As people familiar with history, Zhao Yu and Zhang Chun knew that the Central Plains dynasties had never been unable to conquer the Indochina Peninsula because of insufficient military strength, but rather because they were often troubled by the hot and humid climate and the miasma during the rainy season.
Take the three Mongol conquests of Annam as an example:
The first time the Mongol army entered Thang Long, the heat was unbearable, the rainy season was approaching, food supplies were running out and disease broke out, so they were forced to retreat quickly; during the retreat, they were ambushed and their casualties increased dramatically.
The second time, during the height of summer, heavy rains caused an epidemic in the army, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries. Food supplies were cut off, and the generals discussed retreating. On their way back, they were ambushed while crossing a river, where Suodu was killed in battle and Li Heng died from an arrow poison.
The third time, they were again struck by heat and disease, and many soldiers were unable to advance due to the plague. After a major defeat at Bai Teng Jiang, they withdrew.
In response to these situations, Zhao Yu, along with Zhang Chun, Li Lin, and others, adjusted their marching and combat rhythm, improved equipment and clothing, and developed a series of countermeasures based on the experience summarized by later generations.
Firstly, in terms of marching and combat, avoid the midday heat and choose to operate in the early morning, evening, or even at night to reduce exposure to the scorching sun, shorten the daily march distance, and increase the number of rest camps.
In terms of equipment and clothing, heavy iron armor, leather armor, and even the cotton armor unique to the Song Dynasty were abandoned in favor of lightweight rattan armor. The torso protection only covered the vital areas of the heart; the limbs were left bare and exposed to the wind, and some soldiers even went without armor altogether, wearing only loose-fitting military uniforms that were both sun-protective and breathable. However, they were required to wear leggings and tighten their trouser legs to protect against mosquitoes and venomous snakes. Cloth armor and helmets were replaced with breathable rattan woven styles, and soldiers were also given sun-shading straw hats.
Horses have their manes trimmed short, their saddles covered with linen for sun protection, and they are tied to trees in the shade at midday.
The supply trains carried folding bamboo shelters, which were immediately set up when setting up camp to provide shade for the soldiers.
Each soldier carried a steel canteen and tried to avoid drinking water from the wild.
In terms of logistics and adaptation, temporary drinking water points were set up using water sources along the way. The water was boiled before drinking, and the troops carried refreshing drinks such as fermented mare's milk, plum soup, and mung bean soup.
Most importantly, local guides and soldiers were recruited, and local heatstroke prevention experience was drawn upon.
At the same time, avoid launching large-scale siege warfare during the hottest part of the day.
Furthermore, the Song Dynasty always launched expeditions during the winter and dry seasons, and strictly prohibited military advances during the height of summer.
In addition, the army was equipped with a large number of doctors, and even local herbalists were recruited to join the army. They strictly followed the "Ye Shiyun Medical Canon" to carry out medical treatment and epidemic prevention.
and many more……
It was precisely because of these thorough preparations that the Song Dynasty was able to successfully recover Annam and then easily capture Vijaya, the capital of Champa.
Vijaya is situated on the alluvial plain of the lower Khun River, backed by the Western Highlands and bordered by the southern sea to the east. It was the core of the Champa kingdom that lasted for five hundred years.
This fertile land benefits from the irrigation of the Kun River, with vast stretches of good farmland. The steady harvest of grain each year is enough to feed tens of thousands of people and support the foundation of the capital. Meanwhile, agarwood, timber, and rhinoceros horn from the Western Plains mountains also converge here along the river, becoming rare and precious mountain products for trade with foreign countries.
The coastal port of Shirepinai is an irreplaceable hub on the Maritime Silk Road.
Song Dynasty merchant fleets, carrying silk, porcelain, and light and heavy industrial goods, sailed in and sailed north, laden with Champa rice seeds, spices, and hawksbill turtle shells. Ships from India and Persia also anchored here, unloading exotic treasures and goods at the dock.
Geographically, Vijaya controls the Hengshan Pass to the north, serving as the first line of defense against the southward advance of the Joseon Dynasty. To the west lies Zhenla, which could form alliances with neighboring states, creating a balance of power between the north and south. The inland Kun River is a natural transportation artery, connecting upstream to the hinterland and downstream to the seaport, forming a closed loop for the transshipment of "mountain goods going to sea and ship goods entering the land".
A cluster of Brahmanical temples stood in the city, where divine and royal authority intertwined, embodying the cultural identity of the Cham people and endowing the capital with a sacred majesty.
However, this fertile land ultimately lacked sufficient depth. When the Song Dynasty's iron cavalry marched south and its navy captured the port of Shilipinai, the city walls collapsed, the ancestral temples were burned down, and the glory of the capital for five hundred years vanished into the waves of the sea along with the flow of the Kun River.
After taking control of Vijaya, Li Gang and others replicated all the measures they had taken in Thang Long, including sending Yang Bhumibol Adulyadej and the royal family and clan of Champa to Guangzhou to meet Zhao Yu, freeing the slaves in Vijaya, conducting public trials of the high-ranking officials and gentry in Vijaya, and confiscating their property, etc.
I won't go into the details of the process.
To put it simply, as a typical ancient Southeast Asian country, Champa, although directly connected with the Ly Dynasty in the north, had huge differences in language, culture, customs and social systems.
—Since Champa is located at the southeastern tip of the Indochina Peninsula, it has long been influenced by Indian culture by sea and naturally adopted Hinduism as its core belief, showing little interest in China's Confucian governance philosophy.
Furthermore, the religious influence in Champa far surpassed that of neighboring countries, mainly because, since the founding of Champa, all its kings claimed to be "incarnations of Vishnu," and their ascension to the throne required a grand initiation ceremony presided over by a Brahmin priest in order to gain the people's recognition.
In order to gain the support of divine authority, successive Champa kings would donate large tracts of fertile land, forests, and harbors to temples. In return, the temples would endorse the monarchs, claiming that their rule was ordained by the gods. The two were interdependent, and religious belief was engraved into the very marrow of the state's operation.
As a hub of the Maritime Silk Road, merchant ships traveling to and from Shirepinai Port, whether from the Song Dynasty, India, or the Abbasid Caliphate, were required to pray for blessings and sacrifices to the sea at the port's temples in order to ensure safe passage.
The temple seized the opportunity to control the "blessing tax" of trade, and through the spread of the word among merchants and travelers, it radiated the influence of Brahmanism to the entire South China Sea. Believers included both local people and traveling merchants and sailors.
Furthermore, the script of Champa was created by Brahmin monks, and the scriptures were all kept in temples. The people needed the help of monks for everything from learning to read and write, to weddings and funerals, to farming and praying for blessings.
Therefore, religion is no longer just a simple belief, but a set of life principles that permeate our daily lives, such as clothing, food, shelter, and transportation. Naturally, it is more deeply rooted in people's hearts than other beliefs that only stay at the level of sacrifice.
Such a deep-rooted belief will inevitably give rise to a religious power that is as wealthy as a country.
The first large temple that Li Gang and his party searched caused the army clerk to drop his pen in shock.
The temple's granary was enough to feed an army of 100,000 for half a year; the storeroom was also filled with silk from the Song Dynasty, carpets from Persia, Buddhist statues from India, and boxes of gold and silver coins.
Even more astonishing are the properties owned by the temple.
Half of the docks in Shilipina Port belong to the temple, and merchant ships have to pay a 30% customs duty. The agarwood forest and rhinoceros horn field in the Western Plains are guarded by slaves appointed by the monks. The rare mountain products produced each year are transported to the Song Dynasty and the Western Regions through the port, and the profits have increased dozens of times.
The temple also lent money at exorbitant interest rates to the people and minor nobles of Champa. As the interest compounded, countless people were unable to repay their debts and mortgaged their land and children to the temple, becoming lifelong slaves.
The list of confiscated items included more than 30,000 registered slaves.
These slaves were scattered throughout the temple's fields, forests, and workshops.
It could even be said that the wealth of these temples was several times greater than that of the Champa king's treasury.
It is worth mentioning that in the process of eliminating the ruling class of Champa, the strict hierarchical system of the Pali religion greatly helped the Song Dynasty.
With advice from the locals in Champa, Li Gang and his ruthless associates ordered the two upper-class men, who were among the very few in Champa, to be brought to trial, while the two lower-class men they had oppressed and exploited served as their judges.
Once the latter finds the former guilty, the only punishment is "kill," followed by confiscation of their property and family records, and exile of all the men to remote areas such as the Prince's Continent.
—The emperor and his ministers did not dare to exile these religious figures to the Northeast, fearing that they would bring their doctrines to the Northeast and cause future troubles.
The women were reserved for the court to reward those who had rendered meritorious service. Of course, all the daughters of the Champa royal family and clan, including daughters of high-ranking priests, as well as all the beautiful women, were selected and sent to Zhao Yu.
Soon after, Yang Bu Ma Die, along with the royal family, clansmen, priests, and these women of Champa, were brought to Guangzhou.
Guangzhou has been an important port for China's foreign trade since the Qin and Han dynasties, and it was also the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road.
By the Song Dynasty, Guangzhou had developed into a world-renowned major port in the East.
When the Song army attacked the city, Liu Chang, the last emperor of the Southern Han Dynasty, ordered the palaces and treasuries to be burned.
In the decades that followed, Guangzhou, having lost its status as the capital, saw its city walls gradually collapse and fall into disrepair.
It was only during the reigns of Emperor Zhenzong and Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty that Guangzhou gradually regained its status as a coastal metropolis.
Later, an official named Shi Qixu wrote to the imperial court, stating that Guangzhou had gathered a large number of wealthy Chinese and foreign merchants, but the city's defenses were weak and it was frequently harassed by pirates.
In the fifth year of the Qingli era of the Song Dynasty, after the newly appointed prefect Wei Guan took office, he carried out a large-scale renovation of the inner city based on the old city of the Southern Han Dynasty. He presided over the digging of wells, dredging of the moat, construction of sluice gates in Dong'ao and Xi'ao, and deployment of large crossbows on the city walls to enhance defense.
The area of the inner city that was restored this time extends from Cangbian Road in the east to Huaningli, Liushuijing and Longzang Street in the west, Danan Road and Wenming Road in the south, and Yuehua Road in the north.
Over the following decades, through the continued construction by successive officials, the "three-city" layout of Guangzhou's inner city, eastern city, and western city eventually reached a stable scale.
It wasn't until Zhao Yu ascended the throne and vigorously developed maritime trade, thus ushering in the Age of Exploration, that Guangzhou became increasingly important.
As a result, successive officials in Guangzhou began to expand the city outwards from its original location. Many merchants from various regions of the Song Dynasty, as well as from all over the world, also chose to trade in Guangzhou, or even settle there.
After more than 20 years of development, Guangzhou has now become the most prosperous and important port in the south of the Song Dynasty.
It was precisely for this reason that Zhao Yu traveled south and eventually arrived here.
When the gentry and wealthy merchants of Guangzhou learned that Zhao Yu was coming to Guangzhou, they donated more than 70 million strings of cash to him. They also built a summer palace for Zhao Yu on Baiyun Mountain, which is known as the "most beautiful mountain in Guangzhou". The mountain is rich in vegetation, has fresh air, is surrounded by mountains on three sides and water on one side, and has a very beautiful environment.
Here, Zhao Yu received Yang Bumadie and waited for him to present a letter of surrender.
In fact, the matter had already been basically settled below, and even the two sides had reached an agreement on the surrender document, which was approved by Yang Bumadie and his ministers. For Zhao Yu, it was just a formality.
This is a common international practice.
The most typical example is Li Qiande, who surrendered earlier. He tacitly cooperated with Zhao Yu to complete this charade, and smoothly went to the Wan Guo City in Beijing, the capital of the Song Dynasty, to live a life of leisure and idleness.
Moreover, don't forget that Li Qiande is a lonely old man with no children or relatives and no worries about anything.
Yang Bumadie, on the other hand, had a son, a daughter, and even a grandson, making him far more concerned than Li Qiande.
Furthermore, like Li Qiande, Yang Bumadie also surrendered voluntarily.
The officials of the Court of State Ceremonial had reached an agreement with Yang Bu Ma Die, and Yang Bu Ma Die did not object to the surrender document from the Song Dynasty. The officials below naturally arranged for Yang Bu Ma Die to submit the surrender document to Zhao Yu, thus enabling the Song Dynasty to rightfully occupy Champa.
To be honest, that's what Zhao Yu thought too.
Unexpectedly, just when everyone thought everything was going perfectly, a setback still occurred.
To the utter surprise of Zhao Yu and his ministers, Yang Bu Ma Die, who appeared to be perfectly cooperative on the surface, was actually determined to die and wanted to use his own life to save face for Champa.
In other words, Yang Bu Ma Die wanted to commit suicide in front of Zhao Yu as a way to protest against him and prove that the Champa people were not cowards.
As for assassinating Zhao Yu, Yang Bumadie never considered it.
Of course, this was mainly because he knew that with his old age and ailing health, he could not possibly assassinate Zhao Yu, who was certainly protected by many people.
Therefore, Yang Bumadie wanted to use this method to express his attitude.
Based on this, before meeting Zhao Yu, Yang Bumadie slipped a short knife into his sleeve.
In Yang Bumadie's mind, he was, after all, a king of a country. Even though Champa had fallen, he should still be treated with courtesy, meaning no one would search him. After all, the Song Dynasty was known as a land of etiquette.
To Yang Bumadie's utter surprise, the Song Dynasty showed him no respect whatsoever as the abdicated King of Champa. Before he could even meet Zhao Yu, someone stopped him and made it clear that they wanted to search him.
Yang Bumadie sensed something was wrong, so he stamped his foot and shouted, "Something has happened!"
The next moment, he took out his sword, preparing to commit suicide.
However, Yang Zaixing, the head of Zhao Yu's personal guards, snatched the sword from Yang Bumadie's hand with ease, just like snatching a toy from a child.
Then, Yang Zaixing carried Yang Bumadie into the hall like a chick, and handed Yang Bumadie's sword to Liang Shicheng, asking Liang Shicheng to give the sword to Zhao Yu.
Seeing this, Yang Bumadie simply stopped pretending. Not only did he not kneel, but he stood upright and sternly questioned Zhao Yu: "My Champa has been kind to your Great Song Dynasty. When the Joseon Dynasty invaded your Great Song Dynasty, it was my Champa that extended a helping hand, enabling your Great Song Dynasty to defeat the Joseon Dynasty and preserve its national prestige. Since then, my Champa has paid tribute to your Great Song Dynasty every year and visited the court every year. It cannot be said that we have been disrespectful. Why do you still want to destroy my Champa and sever my legitimacy? Please explain to me, otherwise, why should I fear death?!"
Emperor Zhao Yu and his ministers all remained silent.
A good listener is worse than a good talker.
Yes.
Zhao Yu and his ministers could use the Champa people's plunder of Hainan as an excuse.
But this excuse is not enough to support Zhao Yu's destruction of the country. In particular, Zhao Yu destroyed one country after another. Even a child wouldn't believe this.
Faced with Yang Bumadie's questioning, Zhao Yu no longer pretended. He said, "Looking at the world today, the states are at war with each other, barbarians are rampant, and the people are either drowning in ditches or becoming straw dogs. This is not the fault of Heaven, but because the world has no ruler and the order has collapsed!"
I have received the mandate of Heaven and wield the sword of Heaven and Earth, desiring to melt this divided world into one; desiring that all people under Heaven may share the blessings of one king!
My military might is not for slaughter, but for stopping war; my banners are not for plunder, but for spreading civilization! Standardizing writing will enlighten even the most remote and uncivilized lands; standardizing cart tracks will enable travel between distant regions; standardizing laws will bring peace and tranquility to the people!
I might as well say it bluntly: those who obey me will prosper, and those who defy me will perish!
"The unification of the world is not my wish, but the hope of all people!"
...(End of chapter)