Chapter 625 The rules of the world are made by the strong Sometimes I really have to admire those people who live to an older age. They can always avoid a lot of troubles to a certain extent. But some people always feel that these old men are troublesome, and always feel that these old men are the biggest obstacle to their lives. It is for this reason that many people simply do not see one thing clearly, which is to live longer and experience more things. They will always be able to see more things, and if more people can see such things, then everyone will be able to get better treatment. In fact, many people simply don’t understand why the Ming Dynasty would do this. It is obvious that these gangsters can rush forward and overwhelm everyone else, and it is obvious that they can all realize how powerful the Ming Dynasty is now. It is obvious that you don't have to do anything to let everyone know that by following the Ming Dynasty, you can get a better status. But why did they still obey Xia Yuanji's orders to use force here and knock down everyone after being injured? In addition to letting these people know how powerful the Ming Dynasty's military force is now, there are actually deeper reasons. The reason why the city of Mandala is important is not necessarily because of how rich it is, but because of its territorial waters.

The city of Mandala is located in the northernmost part of the country of Srivijaya, facing the sea. To the left is the future Strait of Malacca. Although there are not so many countries here now, it still controls a channel. If a military port is built here in the future, the entire Malacca Strait will be able to be controlled by the Ming Navy. In the future, no matter if it is the three teams or the warships of other countries who want to pass through here, they will be within the strike range. This is the most important geopolitical advantage. This is also the real reason why Chen Han must let the Ming Navy take over this place this time, because this place is indeed quite important. Because this place has great strategic significance for the future westward expansion of the Ming Dynasty, this is why Xia Yuanji's first requirement after arriving here was to take over this city. Because this city is so important, even more important than the capital of the country of Srivijaya today. Because this capital is located in the inland area, it is unlikely to have the same strategic significance as the city of Mandala. The common people in the city of Mandala also discovered one thing, that is, for some reason their city is always visited by Japanese pirates and pirates first. They used to be proud of thinking that because their city was relatively wealthy and developed at a relatively high level, it could even be compared with the capital, and this was what they were proud of. But Chen Han wanted to tell them something that would make them feel helpless and sad. It was because you guys didn't see that the greatest strategic significance of this city was that it controlled a strait. The strait is long and narrow, and there are no good supply points along the way. Although Chen Zuyi and his men occupied this place at the beginning, they could be said to be rampant within the Strait of Malacca. But why did a pirate king like Chen Zuyi still have to cooperate with Sanfuqi, a relatively uncivilized country? Because he knew very well that he was a pirate and he was not good at farming and had no food to eat. Pirates were majestic on the sea, but they could not eat fish all day long. He has to eat food. Without staple food, he will starve to death. Especially people like Chen Zuyi who came from the Central Plains dynasty to Nanyang to become the king understand that farming is the real first factor. Farming is not just as simple as farming, it is more about productivity. As long as people in an area can farm, it means that the quality of the people in this area is quite high and this place is valuable. Because being able to farm means being able to control the weather, and being able to farm means that your country has strong management and organizational capabilities. If you can grow crops well, it means that your country can at least continue to develop. Although Chen Zuyi was a pirate, he understood this point very well. There were other small countries along the way to Malacca, and there were also some small countries in Myanmar to the north. Why did Chen Zuyi often plunder those small countries without any courtesy?

Because even if those small countries occupy relatively good land, those places are covered with dense rainforests, full of miasma, and full of all kinds of poisonous insects, snakes and ants, which are not suitable for farming at all, and the weather is too hot. Although the weather in Srivijaya is too hot and its area is relatively long and narrow, one advantage is that it has plains and people can farm there. Although its resources are not abundant and its yield is not high because it is very hot, the ability to farm can provide relatively sufficient food, which means that this place is relatively stable. Unlike those small countries in the north, he exploited them to the utmost. But he was relatively polite to the small country of Sanfuqi. He was not kind-hearted, but because this bastard was very far-sighted. This is also the reason why he can be the boss, because under his management, many places can really show a unique temperament. According to the original history, this group of pirates was finally captured by Zheng He who was sailing to the West during the reign of Emperor Yongle, and then his head was chopped off. If this bastard had not wanted to sneak attack Zheng He's fleet, he would not have been caught. They thought Zheng He was just an ordinary eunuch, but they did not expect that Zheng He was a brave and resourceful military strategist who had fought on the battlefield. When he encountered such a person, of course he would fail. Although he is the Pirate King, he can only deal with ordinary small countries. If he really encounters a behemoth like the Central Plains Dynasty, he can only be like a rural army facing an elite team. There is no comparison. It is for this reason that Chen Han wanted the navy to immediately control the strait after arriving at this place. This is because no matter whether it is a ship coming from the West or a ship coming from the East in the future, as long as it transports goods to the West, it must pass through this strait. It is so important. Therefore, the city of Mandala is very important, not because of how good its people are, not because of these things, but because the importance of this city is so great that it must be firmly grasped in the hands. We must keep getting them all into our own hands and control them, so that the people here will not resist, let the people live a good life, and let them follow the footsteps of the Ming Dynasty. This is what Chen Han wants to do, and this is what the Ming Dynasty should do, not just the gains and losses of a city or a place. It doesn't matter if a small country is in your hands. They are a so-called unconquerable country. The reason why we have to occupy them now is not because the Ming Dynasty must expand southwards. It is because they themselves have internal strife. We in Daming Bay say that as China, we must curb those rebels. We must clamp them all down and not let this trend blow southward. This is what we have to do, but the purpose is to contain the Strait of Malacca, operate here for dozens or hundreds of years in the future, build it into the largest seaport, and make the border line of the southern territory of the Ming Dynasty into a huge dam on the sea. With the Indochina Peninsula in their arms, they can't rebel even if they want to. With wolves in front and tigers behind, they have no way to resist. Let this huge war oppression always loom over the Indochina Peninsula. In this way, they will be obedient. Without this kind of oppression, these little brothers will rebel. The reason why the previous Central Plains dynasties could not be contained was because there was no way to extend the supply lines. Once the civil officials opened their mouths, war was no small matter, and too long a supply line could easily drag down a big country. This is true, but what is more? These civil servants have no pioneering and enterprising spirit. They just want to firmly hold on to their inherent territories, exploit the common people on these territories, and expand their families. This is a selfish idea. But as some people say, people are selfish, and you have to respect their selfishness. If you really want to manage these officials well, you must have strict laws. Of course, what is the most important thing about the law? It is fairness. If a law is unfair, those officials will not be convinced, and even if more people are killed, there is no way to curb this greedy atmosphere. Because people are selfish and they all want to create a future for themselves. Chen Han is very clear about this, so now he wants to contain the Strait of Malacca so that no matter how the land is developed in the future, it will not be lost. In this way, he can go out to sea or do whatever he wants in the future.

Because this sea area is so huge, no matter how hard you try to kill or fight them, the pirates will always appear. As long as there are caravans traveling on the sea, there is no way to stop the pirates. Since there is no way to stop them, I will first use force to make this area my territory. In this way, even if a small group of pirates appears, I can destroy them all in the shortest time possible. This is what the Ming Dynasty must do, and it is also the Ming Dynasty’s top priority now. The reason why Chen Han entrusted all these matters to Xia Yuanji was that Xia Yuanji had worked with him on reforms before and knew very well what Chen Han was focusing on, which was definitely not just about the gains and losses of a little bit of land. So at this time Xia Yuanji sent out Liu Baihu and Wang Dahai without mobilizing too many troops, but now he used the most powerful weapons for this purpose, so that the people here can see that if you guys want to go against us. Whether you can fight against our weapons depends on whether you have the determination. If there is any, you can come and try it, but when we sit down to negotiate in the future, we will ask for a huge price. If you think you can do it, others can still do it. After taking over the city of Mandala, the navy from other parts of the Ming Dynasty will have a place to dock, instead of just one or two large ships that cannot be docked at ordinary ports. It is because this place cannot support the basic needs of so many naval operations. Naval operations require a lot of money to support them. Why should a port be set up in Annan? After the establishment of the port of Annan, in order to develop commerce under such circumstances, many ordinary people of the Central Plains dynasty heard that the Ming Dynasty had set up a port in Annan. I was not satisfied with the fact that the people there had become wealthy, and I thought that I would be better off using so much time to improve my own country. Chen Han could understand the desire to let the common people here live a better life, but he could never follow such advice, because now it would just be giving away some rotten meat to the small countries in Southeast Asia to eat. Let them know that there is meat to eat if they follow the Ming Dynasty, so that they can truly follow the Ming Dynasty in the future, instead of just suppressing them with force. It's not just the vassal system implemented at the beginning of the founding of the country. To put it bluntly, that vassal system means that when you are strong, they are willing to follow you because they feel that they cannot defeat the Ming Dynasty. When you are weak, you will see what they will think. They will come out and eat you first because they have suffered too much injustice before. If they now build a port in your home in this way. Then mobilize our advantages, what advantages? Commercial advantage: Our material costs are very low, and our finished products are very valuable when they are sold here. Then, more and more people here will do business with us, and many more traders will emerge. After these businessmen gain profits, they will cultivate their own power and become representatives of their own interests in the court. With these interests represented, they will instinctively protect their own interests, but where do their interests come from? Since he came from the Ming Dynasty, they would instinctively move closer to the Ming Dynasty because this was the source of their interests. Only with such a source of interests could they truly follow the Ming Dynasty. What they think is that you are their source. If the source is gone, I will also be gone. So I instinctively want to help you. From this perspective, only then can we truly ensure the stability of these relationships in the southern part of the Ming Dynasty. It is not just the so-called Chinese system which is superficial and cannot last long. Only by truly cultivating the interest groups within a country and tying them to the interests of the Ming Dynasty can they truly follow you. Why would they follow if there is no interest driving them? They will even sit on the mountain and watch the fight between the two tigers, watching your Ming Dynasty being broken into pieces, so that they can gain benefits from it. This is the real rule of this world... (End of this chapter)