Yang Tiansheng finally summed up Chongzhen: "The atrocities of the Portuguese have obviously provoked public outrage in this area. Whether it is Pattani, the Kingdom of Johor, the Kingdom of Aceh, or merchants from West Asia and South Asia, they have little affection for the Portuguese in Malacca.

The Dutch were as hostile to the Portuguese as the British, who were said to have robbed Portuguese merchant ships in the Indian Ocean, while the Dutch had always supported the Kingdom of Johor in retaking the city of Malacca.

Now the Sultan of the Kingdom of Aceh, Iskanda Muda, is preparing to attack Malacca, which is just the beginning.

In Israel's view, the Dutch did not directly participate in the attack on the city of Malacca because of the hostility between Aceh and Johor, and the Dutch also had the intention of using the Acehnese to test the defense of Malacca.

However, most of the weapons and war materials needed by the Acehnese were sold by the Dutch.

The British, though they hated the Portuguese, were more reluctant to allow the Dutch to take the opportunity to seize the city of Malacca, and thus nominally claimed to recognize the Portuguese power over Malacca. However, the British had no intention of helping the Portuguese to defend the city of Malacca, and they did not make any gestures of assistance at all.

In addition, judging by the income of the Portuguese officials stationed in Malacca, the minister really did not see the Portuguese willing to abandon Malacca City.

His Majesty wants the Portuguese Governor's Office of Goa to hand over the city of Malacca to the Ming Dynasty, but the minister feels that there is little hope.

However, after arriving in the Ambuna Islands, he came into contact with the current Sultan of the Kingdom of Johor, Abdul Jalil Shah III.

When the Sultan of Johor met with his ministers alone, he begged his ministers to help him ask His Majesty for help, asking the Ming to help him become independent from the Kingdom of Aceh. ”

After listening to Yang Tiansheng's report, Zhu Youzhen realized that a big battle was about to break out around the belonging of Malacca City.

Although the outcome of this war is still unclear, the right of passage in the Strait of Malacca will inevitably be greatly affected. In this way, Batavia, which controls the Sunda Strait, is obviously important.

After pondering for a while, Zhu Youzhen asked Yang Tiansheng: "Is this Abdul Jalilesha III asking for help from the Ming Dynasty just a lip service, and there are no letters or other tokens?" ”

Yang Tiansheng hurriedly replied: "Abduljalil Shah III is usually monitored by the Aceh people, and even if he meets the minister alone, it is a very short time, so he has no time to hand over anything to the minister. ”

Zhu Youzhen nodded slightly, and then replied: "Don't rush to get in touch with this Sultan of the Kingdom of Johor first, or consolidate the Ming Dynasty's strongholds in the Ambuna Islands and West Borneo Island."

There are already a lot of Chinese who have migrated to Southeast Asia, and it is best to be able to recruit them back to develop Borneo together. If it really doesn't work, some people will be relocated from the country.

If we fail to build a solid fortress in West Borneo, won't you, who already have little advantage at sea, be blocked by Dutch ships?

Daming now wants to put his power into Southeast Asia, but it is obviously inadequate. However, Bo Ni and Siam have always been friendly with our Ming Dynasty, and relying on the support of these two countries, coupled with the stronghold of West Borneo, then we can be regarded as truly gaining a foothold in Southeast Asia.

The Strait of Malacca, while important, is not the time to start at this stage. What we need to do now is to befriend the local natives, and beware mainly of the Dutch, who are the most powerful. If necessary, it was also possible to contact the forces of the Spaniards and the British.

As for the Portuguese, since their reputation is so bad in the local area, we don't have to get too close to them.

For the Kingdom of Aceh, he can try to make friends, even if it sells them some firearms, as long as he can guarantee that Chinese merchants can freely pass through the Strait of Malacca and can trade freely in the Kingdom of Aceh.

As for the Kingdom of Johor, try to build a trading house, whether we want to support the Kingdom of Johor or not, it is always good to have a place at the exit of the Straits of Malacca. Choice of location? The choice is yours. ”

After listening to the emperor's words, Yang Tiansheng didn't approve of it very much. He felt that although the Dutch were strong in the seas of Southeast Asia, the archipelago environment in Southeast Asia was not very suitable for these huge sailing ships.

It is the Southeast Asian pirates and the kind of small boats they use that are more suited to the island-dense archipelago environment.

Now that the Dutch are in the midst of a war with the kingdom of Matalan, there is no energy left to distract from the affairs of the Strait of Malacca.

As for the kingdom of Aceh, although there are many men and horses, land warfare only relies on hundreds of elephants, and water warfare is completely a layman.

If the emperor can let him go, then he can take the opportunity of supporting Johor's independence and occupy the peninsula area near the city of Malacca first. Then it divided the control of the Strait of Malacca with the Acehnese and Portuguese.

Yang Tiansheng hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't help but be tempted and said: "If Your Majesty is willing to let go and support the ministers to give it a try, maybe you don't have to build a city in West Borneo, you can directly build a city in Temasek."

Temasek is located at the tip of the Malay Peninsula and near the southeast exit of the Straits of Malacca, across the sea from Bintan Island, the main jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Johor. The location is much better than Pontianak. ”

Hearing such a familiar name as Temasek, Zhu Youzhen asked a few questions, and sure enough, this small island called Temasek was the location of Singapore in the future.

However, Temasek is now a deserted island of rainforests and swamps, so it is not taken seriously.

Zhu Youzhen thought about it and asked, "How do you want me to support you?" ”

Yang Tiansheng looked at Chongzhen and said boldly: "The minister hopes to get enough cement, as well as the help of the presiding officer who built the Tianjin Fort." In addition, I ask your Majesty to allow us to purchase *, cannons, and *..."

Zhu Youzhen couldn't help but pause, and then replied: "Aren't muskets and * already allowed you to equip them?" As long as you apply, you're good to go.

As for artillery, those below the standard caliber can also apply for equipping. However, guns above the standard caliber must use professional artillery technicians, and the hull must be tested to withstand artillery fire before it can be equipped.

In addition, ships equipped with guns of a standard caliber or higher will be registered by the General Staff, and must be unconditionally requisitioned by the General Staff in the event of war.

As long as you meet these conditions, you can still get these weapons, even if you don't look for me. If you're not satisfied, it doesn't seem to be much of a use to find me. ”

Seeing that the emperor looked surprised and unaware, Yang Tiansheng had to bite the bullet and say frankly: "Back to Your Majesty, the Ordnance Supervisor and the General Staff did reply to the ministers like this.

However, after the ministers made an application, they asked us to go to the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau to pick up the muskets and*.

According to our tests, whether it is a musket or *, the production of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau is much inferior to that produced by the Beijing Ordnance Institute.

In particular, the caliber of the muskets of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau was different, resulting in the matching lead bullets being either too large or too small, and we all had to reprocess them after we took them back.

The same is true of muskets, and the same is true of the *power produced in Jiangnan*, which is less than half of that of the capital, and is very susceptible to moisture..."

Zhu Youzhen stretched out his hand to interrupt Yang Tiansheng's speech, and said to Wang Chengen on the side with a stern face: "What's going on?" You send someone to the Ordnance Superintendent to find out, no, you should ask someone from the Ordnance Superintendent to come and talk to me. ”

Wang Chengen hurriedly agreed, and then quickly went out to follow his inner servants.

Only then did Zhu Youzhen say to Yang Tiansheng: "I don't know much about these things you said, and I'll reply to you when I understand the inside story."

Now, can you talk to me first, what did you hear and see when you went to India this time? What is the current situation in the Indian Ocean? ”

Watching Wang Chengen leave, Yang Tiansheng became down-to-earth. Since the words that offended the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau have been spoken, he is a little indifferent.

After hearing Chongzhen's inquiry, he immediately replied: "The minister went to India this time, passing through the Taungoo Kingdom and the Arakan Kingdom in Burma, and then Chittagong, which was controlled by the Portuguese.

Between the kingdom of Arakan and the Mughal Empire on the Indian continent, there was a small area of chaotic, endemic Bengal. The power of the Arakan kingdom stopped east of Chittagong, while the Mughal Empire ruled west of the Motumuti River.

The central region called Bengal was divided into a number of small princely states, some of which paid tribute to the Mughal Empire, some were subordinate to the Portuguese, and some were friendly with the Kingdom of Arakan.

There is a big river that runs through the whole territory here, called the Brahmaputra River, this river is similar to the Yellow River in my Ming Dynasty, not only the river has a lot of sediment, but also often floods, but the width of this river is several times that of the Yellow River. The produce of this region is dominated by rice and jute, which is of particularly good quality.

Beyond Bengal is the delta of the lower Ganges, which is now owned by the Mughal Empire and is said to have been conquered for only 3 to 40 years. In the delta, a place called Huglie was the trading port of Bengal province under the Mughal Empire, and was home to not only Persian and African merchants, but also Portuguese, Dutch, and British merchants.

Like Malacca, however, the Portuguese were the least reputable of the Europeans, kidnapping children to convert them, extorting heavy taxes from local merchants, and seemingly claiming to be their masters.

It is said that in the northeastern part of Bengal province, there is another region that has not been conquered by the Mughal Empire, called the Kingdom of Ahama, and the capital of this kingdom is in Gargon, but I was unable to visit it due to time constraints.

After leaving Hughle, I headed to the Coromandel Coast, the cotton textile center of South India, where the coastline is straight, but the shore is dotted with sand and sand bars formed by the action of tide and wind, 20-30 meters high, or even more than 60 meters, arranged parallel to the coast, making it difficult for boats to navigate along the coast.

In Masuli Putnam and Nagapatinan, I saw calico printed with various patterns, and it was really beautiful. However, the people here only accept gold transactions, and rarely accept silver. It is said that the Portuguese and Dutch brought silver from Japan to the Ming Dynasty to collect gold, and then came here to buy calico and ship it to Southeast Asia or Europe for sale.

Although the Mughal Empire unified most of the Indian continent, there were still three countries in South India, one called the Kingdom of Nicham Shahi, one called Bijapur, and one called Gokanda. However, the kingdom of Nicham Shahi is adjacent to the Mughal Empire, and it is said that the situation is already precarious, and it may be difficult to exist for long.

Across a strait in South India is the island of Ceylon, the lion country where the Three Treasure eunuchs visited. Pearls and ruby sapphires and opals were abundant, but they have now been overrun by the Dutch and Portuguese.

Although there was a highland kingdom on the island, it was completely controlled by the Portuguese. The Portuguese established the fortress of Gower in the south of Ceylon and the city of Colombo in the southwest, while the Dutch established Trincomalee in the northwest of the island.

Although I still want to go west, Gujarat and Surat, the most prosperous states in India. But the farther west he went, the worse the attitude of the Portuguese and Dutch became. As a last resort, I had to return first. ”