readsfreenovel Chapter 540 Rebuke
Chapter 540 Rebuke
When Zhu Youlang was transferred to the Qian Dynasty by Mangda, many ministers were delighted when the news came out. Zhu Youlang was under control, which also meant that the Qian Dynasty had one less trouble.
But after learning the details of Mangda's coup, Meng Jun was deeply displeased and said to his ministers: "Myanmar once recognized the former Ming as its suzerain and swore never to betray. Today, these people betrayed their suzerain and killed him. This shows that the system of suzerainty and tribute is very inappropriate!"
Meng Jun urgently ordered Han Xiong to escort Zhu Youlang and his family safely to Beijing. At the same time, to prevent any of his subordinates from misinterpreting his meaning, Meng Jun also sent the censor and more than ten officials from the Ministry of Rites, and ordered the Qingluan Guards to escort along the way. In this way, with the three-party escort, there would be no problem of the ship sinking halfway.
Meng Jun then issued another imperial edict, severely rebuking Mangda: "Myanmar was once the Xuanwei Division, originally granted by the Heavenly Dynasty. Although Zhu Youlang's country has been destroyed, it is only the will of heaven. How could he be deceived by you natives?
Zhu Youlang is still the celestial empire to you, how can you disrespect it? You are so rebellious, ravaging ministers, slaughtering innocent people, defying the laws of nature, this is an act that is infuriating to both humans and gods!"
When the imperial edict reached Burma, Mangda and his ministers were terrified. Mangda felt very aggrieved and said to his ministers: "The emperor of the Central Plains is so overbearing. It was them who made me take action, and it was them who were blamed afterwards!"
Meng Jun's imperial edict was like a fuse that blew up the powder keg inside the Burmese court.
With the support of the ministers, Mangda's younger brother Mangbai launched a palace coup on July 11, tied up his brother Mangda, and threw him into the river to drown.
Afterwards, Mangbai proclaimed himself the new king of Myanmar. After becoming the new king, the first thing Mangbai did was to quickly send envoys to the Qian Dynasty.
Mangbai wanted to put the blame for the deaths of Zhu Youlang's ministers on his brother. Even if the Qian Dynasty wanted to put the blame on him, it couldn't be Mangbai's head. As long as he could settle the Qian Dynasty's affairs, he could be a king in peace.
After issuing the edict, Meng Jun looked at the map of Myanmar and became restless. Yes, he wanted to mobilize troops again.
After fighting for so many years, Meng Jun got tired of it and fell in love with fishing, but after not experiencing the battlefield for a long time, Meng Jun missed the taste of the battlefield. Sometimes in his dreams, he could still feel the feeling of riding a horse across the battlefield.
But Meng Jun had just said to his ministers, "I want to use military force against Burma."
The ministers were like water in a frying pan, they exploded. A large number of nobles were usually drowsy during court sessions, but now they heard that the emperor was going to mobilize the army, all of them were excited and eager to try.
However, many civil officials expressed their opposition, which was like a shower of cold water, instantly cooling the heated atmosphere.
Chief Censor Chen Zilong spoke first, cupping his hands and saying in a clear voice: "Your Majesty, the people's livelihood in the country has just been stabilized, and General Zhao is still using troops outside the Great Wall. If we start another war in the southwest at this time, I am afraid we will not be able to bear the heavy burden. I hope Your Majesty will think twice."
However, Li Weitai, the Minister of Revenue, was worried about the logistics supply. He said: "Southern Yunnan is a land of mountains and rivers. The Burmese army is familiar with the terrain and may not be easy to fight. Moreover, it is inconvenient to supply food and grass for a large army. Besides, they are also prepared. If a war breaks out, in my opinion, it may not be settled in a short time!"
The civil officials' opposition mainly focused on two points. First, the world had only been stable for a few years, and they hoped that the emperor would trouble the people less. These were the old sayings.
The second reason is that Myanmar and Yunnan are adjacent to each other and the area is mountainous, making food transportation and logistical supplies inconvenient. Civil officials were worried that this expedition would be a long and tiring one and if it ended up in a protracted war of attrition, it would deplete national strength and affect people's livelihood.
Moreover, if the Qian Dynasty, such a large empire, wins against a small country like Myanmar, it is only natural and will not increase Meng Jun's prestige. But if it loses, even if it is not a defeat, as long as it does not win, it will be a complete black history.
To use Yang En's words to persuade Meng Jun privately, "If your majesty attacks Myanmar, you will not be able to maintain peace for long if you win, and you will lose your prestige if you lose!"
Yang En meant that in the past, during the Ming Dynasty, the country was exhausted by the repeated rebellions in Annan. Now Myanmar is also a country after all. It is not easy to quell the destruction of the country. Even if it is destroyed, if immigration cannot be carried out to fill the border, then this border area will be the source of chaos.
In the court, the issue of whether to go to war with Burma sparked a heated discussion. On the one hand, the nobles actively advocated and agreed with Meng Jun's idea of starting a war. On the other hand, the civil officials were worried that the country's economic burden would be too heavy, leading to hardships for the people.
Meng Jun is not worried about the empty treasury now. The salt and iron monopoly has just raided the homes of a large number of salt merchants and sea merchants, and the money has not been used up yet. Moreover, the salt and iron monopoly can now contribute 10 million taels of taxes to the court every year.
In this regard, Meng Jun couldn't help but sigh that when a system is just beginning, it is also the most honest time. In the past, during the time of Zhu Yuanzhang, the annual salt tax revenue could reach more than 10 million taels of silver.
However, during the Jiajing period, this figure had dropped sharply to just over one million taels. This huge gap not only reflected the decline of imperial power, but also exposed the serious problem of officials taking advantage of the situation and enriching themselves.
As for the use of military forces, there is no shortage of money, soldiers, or generals. Meng Jun now understood why in all dynasties, the most foreign military operations were made at the beginning of the founding of the country.
Just when Meng Jun decided to send troops to Myanmar, Mangbai's letter of apology had just arrived in the capital. In the letter, Mangbai completely whitewashed his ascension to the throne, saying that it was because his elder brother accidentally fell into the water and the ministers supported him, so he had no choice but to temporarily manage state affairs. Then he blamed Mangda for the killing of former Ming ministers.
However, the incident of Mangbai killing his brother caused a sensation in Myanmar. Moreover, Meng Bian left a part of the Qingluan Guard in Myanmar, and reported the details of Mangbai's coup to the country.
Mang Bai's act of regicide and self-proclaimed emperor was even more despicable in Confucian culture, which gave the Qian Dynasty a good opportunity to criticize Mang Bai from a moral high ground.
Before the Qian Dynasty sent out its troops, newspapers had already begun to criticize Mangda for murdering ministers of the Heavenly Dynasty, Mangbai for murdering his brother and usurping the throne. They then quoted classics and made long speeches, declaring that the Qian army's dispatch of troops was just and that it was a righteous army to avenge the people and punish the criminals.
For this war against Burma, Meng Jun had an idea about the selection of the main general. In fact, Meng Jun wanted to appoint Li Dingguo as the commander to pacify Burma, but Li Dingguo was disheartened and repeatedly refused Meng Jun's call.
Therefore, after much thought, Meng Jun decided to use Wu Sangui, who had been sitting on the bench in the capital for several months. One of the main reasons for using Wu Sangui was that more than 30,000 of Wu Sangui's subordinates were still on the Yunnan border.
Using Wu Sangui is convenient and fast. The army no longer needs to travel long distances. The soldiers and generals are familiar with each other and can form combat effectiveness immediately.