In the face of Xiao Ruxun's fast-paced and quick thinking, the two generals expressed that they had not kept up with the pace of his thinking. When they came to their senses, they realized that what Xiao Ruxun wanted was probably the status and situation of Yunnan's Mu Palace.
Since the establishment of the Daming Dynasty, the Mu Palace of Yunnan had been in charge of Yunnan. Although the imperial court also had officials in Yunnan, the land of Yunnan was not so much managed by the Daming government, but by the Mu family. When the emperors appointed officials, they would tell them that in Yunnan, they should ask for the opinions of the Mu Palace. When dealing with government affairs, they should never bypass the Mu Palace.
It could be said that it was Mu Ying's credit that Yunnan could be conquered. It was also Mu Ying's credit to govern Yunnan and make it completely subordinate to the Central Plains. It was Mu Ying who tamed the rebellious Yunnan chieftains and made them obediently pay taxes. With the existence of the Mu Palace of Yunnan, Yunnan had not been in chaos since the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, Yunnan had too much of the mark of the Mu Palace.
What Xiao Ruxun wanted to do was nothing more than to make Myanmar the second Yunnan. He wanted the Daming Dynasty's territory to expand southward to the Indian Ocean and get a sea outlet in the south. This was not only beneficial to the fight for sea power in the maritime era, but also beneficial to leaving a glimmer of hope for the Daming Dynasty when necessary. More importantly, he wanted to make use of the convenient location here to actively communicate and trade with the West. He wanted to get all the scientific knowledge they currently had and arm their own army.
It was not that the Eastern army did not have firearms units. These days, the Burmese, Thais, and Vietnamese all had firearms units. They were as elite as the West and had extremely strong combat effectiveness. In order to maintain their dignity and independence, the West did not dare to act rashly. But why did they all become colonies in another one or two hundred years? How strange was it that a Western army of just a few thousand people could conquer a Southeast Asian country?
The difference in weapons brought about by the leap in science and technology was an important factor that made the Eastern army weaker than the Western army. They were arming their troops with science and used various means to enhance the power of firearms, giving them a new look.
In the era when flintlock guns and matchlock guns were the mainstream, the power brought about by technology was not that great. The power of China, the representative of the East, was similar to that of the West. Even if it was slightly behind, it was still better than the West in some aspects. Both had their strengths and weaknesses, but the difference in their combat power was not that great. In those days, the Ming Army would not be at a disadvantage if they fought against any of the Western armies, and it was not difficult for them to win. However, when firearms were developed to the era of flintlock guns, everything changed.
From matchlock guns to flintlock guns, from ignition to fire, from smoothbore to rifled, from front-loading to rear-loading, Western firearms had undergone earth-shaking changes in the following two hundred years. Such changes were not something that China, which pursued empiricism and the idea of craftsmanship, could take the initiative to carry out. During that period, it happened that the Manchurian Qing closed the country and established the country with bows and horses. The only external factor that could push China forward was also isolated.
Not only did China miss the last opportunity to catch up, but the entire Eastern countries also missed this opportunity for all kinds of strange reasons during that period. It made people sigh — it was hard to defy God's will.
Xiao Ruxun would not allow this kind of thing to happen again. In the case that he had the ability to save the overall situation, all of this must be changed. After the war with Japan, he saw the tragic situation of Japan being beaten by the Ming Dynasty Army because of the backward and insufficient weapons. This idea became firmer.
More than two hundred years later, that was the end of the Qing Dynasty Army.
Driven by this idea, Xiao Ruxun's idea of restarting the light of hope in Myanmar became firmer and firmer. Now that there was such an opportunity, he must not let it go. However, he certainly could not do this kind of thing alone. He needed a lot of helpers and a lot of money to do this kind of thing.
The coastal residents of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian had a tradition of going to Southeast Asia a long time ago. They did not have a strong sense of nostalgia, and they also had a tradition of daring to fight. Therefore, they were the best at recruiting immigrants. Among these people, those who had skills were recruited. It would not be difficult for them to make a career in Myanmar.
Reclaiming wastelands, developing mineral resources, opening up trade, as long as the political situation was stable, it would not be difficult to develop in such a place full of gold.
He told this idea to Deng Zilong and Liu Da, as well as some of his trusted subordinates. After getting most of the positive opinions, Xiao Ruxun no longer hesitated and began to make arrangements. For example, he used his relationship with Shi Xing to arrange for his father's retirement, and secretly found a buyer to appraise some precious antiques that his father had sold in the capital for many years and then sell them.
These things couldn't be done in a few days. However, with her father's personal help, it could be done very steadily. Therefore, on the sixth day of the sixth month, under Shi Xing's arrangement, Xiao Ruxun submitted a petition to lead the army to the Kingdom of Dongwu. Six days ago, the official document that the Great Ming Dynasty had delivered to the Kingdom of Siam was already moving southward, heading to the Kingdom of Dongwu before the army.
This time, the imperial court's reply was very fast. They were probably in a hurry to drive Xiao Ruxun away, and the preparation work was almost done. The fleet began to load ordnance, supplies, and fodder early in the morning. The troops that needed to be recruited along the way were also arranged. When Xiao Ruxun submitted the petition, the imperial court began to arrange for the army to board the ships in Tianjin and prepare to set off. The whole process took less than three days.
The Emperor still did not appear, and there was not even a message. A cold imperial edict issued by the cabinet represented the Emperor, or rather, the Emperor was represented. This was very different from the Emperor who had secretly summoned Xiao Ruxun to arrange for the expedition. Xiao Ruxun was very confused, but he could not get any information.
Were the officials going to abandon the Emperor and start to manage the court?
According to the political system of the Daming Dynasty, even if the Emperor was just a mascot, as long as there were enough officials, the imperial government could still function normally. However, the appointment of so many officials and the normal retirement of the officials still required the Emperor's order. If the Emperor did not manage anything, there would be a large number of officials in the court, and there would also be a large number of old officials who should have retired but could not. In fact, in the late Wanli Dynasty, there was indeed such a serious problem of officials, which caused the administrative efficiency of the empire to plummet.
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