Expedition to Europe

Siam has always been the granary of Southeast Asia.

The superior climate and abundant rainfall make Siam naturally advantageous for developing agriculture. The rice produced here enjoys a high reputation all over the world. Siamese people do not need to risk their lives to go down the mines, do not need to go to work from nine to five, and can live a life that makes people in neighboring countries envy and hate just by cultivating a dozen acres of land at home.

Because of the compromise between Britain and France, Siam was once the only country in Southeast Asia that remained independent. If there were no annotations to the previous sentence, this would be an achievement that Siamese people should be proud of. But in fact, everyone knows that Siam can maintain its independence not because of the country's strong strength like Lan Fang, nor because of the people's unyielding will like Switzerland, but purely because Britain and France look down on it, which has allowed Siam to survive to this day.

From the perspective of the British and French, attacking Siam is almost certainly a losing business. Siam has no resources to show for itself, and even if it does, it has not been explored yet. The only thing worth mentioning in the country is rice, but rice is not without substitutes. The British and French are not used to eating rice, so Siam is now a chicken rib for the British and French. Siam's only role is to serve as a buffer zone between the British and French colonies.

Before Lyautey came to the Far East, this situation had existed for nearly a hundred years, and it had even reached the point where it should have been. When other regions in the world were fighting for colonies, Siam was forgotten in the corner of the world.

But living in this world, no country can survive alone. It is either to enslave others or to be enslaved by others. This situation will still exist even in the 21st century, but by then, the means of "enslavement" will be more concealed, not as blatant as it is now.

The current king of Siam is 33-year-old Rama VI, who also has a Chinese name called Zheng Bao. Among the 77 children of the fifth-generation king, Rama VI ranks 29th.

If Julie knew how many brothers and sisters Rama VI had, she would definitely be grateful to Qin Zhiyuan.

If Rama VI showed a certain degree of pro-China, Qin Zhiyuan would not think of targeting Siam, but the fact is that since Rama VI ascended the throne thirteen years ago, Rama VI has implemented policies to restrict the political rights of the Chinese, suppress the Chinese economy, and prevent the spread of Chinese culture.

How could Qin Zhiyuan tolerate this!

Speaking of which, among the Southeast Asian countries, the proportion of Chinese or Chinese people in Siam is the largest. Among the more than 6 million people in Siam, nearly 500,000 are Chinese or Chinese people. This is the largest ethnic group besides Thais, and they should obtain a social status that matches the population base.

Before Rama VI, the social status of the Chinese in Siam was quite good. Although it was not superior, it was not deliberately suppressed. It was basically treated as a citizen.

After Rama VI came to power, perhaps because the situation of the Qing Empire was getting worse and worse, or because of the instigation of some ambitious people, the social status of the Chinese in Siam was getting worse and worse, and the economic level was also suppressed. Whether it was doing business or buying a house, the taxes to be paid were much higher than those of the Thais, which made many Chinese miserable.

After the establishment of Lan Fang, as the only country in Southeast Asia with a Chinese majority, many Chinese went to Lan Fang from Siam to make a living. After seeing the strength of Lan Fang, these immigrants from Siam demanded to fight back to Siam, which finally led to Qin Zhiyuan's attack on Siam.

After reaching a cooperation agreement with Leo Tai, the attack on Siam can be said to be a natural outcome and can be launched at any time.

Of course, this also requires an opportunity, or a reason. It is not possible to launch a war of annihilation for the reason of "rice is delicious" as Qin Zhiyuan said, which is really unreasonable.

Padok is a small and inconspicuous city on the Malay Peninsula. Many people may not be able to find this place even with a map. But if we talk about the location of Padok, it is the Kra Isthmus that many keyboard warriors in the 21st century have been obsessed with.

There is no doubt how important the geographical location of the Kra Isthmus is. If a canal is really dug here, the Strait of Malacca will become a chicken rib.

Qin Zhiyuan doesn't care about the Kra Isthmus. Let's not talk about whether it is necessary to dig it. The current Lion City is not the anti-China pioneer Singapore in the future. In the process of Lan Fang's establishment of the country, the Chinese in Lion City gave Lan Fang all the help they could, asking for money and giving people. No matter from any aspect, Qin Zhiyuan has no reason and necessity to target Lion City.

Padok is a small city. Like other cities in Siam, Padok has a large number of Chinese living in it. The ratio to Thais is about ten to one, of course, Thais are ten. At the same time, like many Southeast Asian regions, the Chinese are smart and hardworking, which makes the Chinese have a relatively wealthy life, which makes many Thais envious and jealous.

Yongding Village is a small village in Padu. It is a village established by Chinese. Because the first generation of Chinese came from Fujian in the Republic of China, they used the place name of their hometown as a synonym for their new home.

Yongding Village has no nominal village chief. The Zheng family is a big family in Yongding Village. The patriarch of the Zheng family, Zheng Hanxue, is the person in charge in the customary sense.

The Zheng family is a large family with a population of nearly a thousand and is quite influential in the local area of ​​Pado. The local Chinese in Pado have always followed the Zheng family. Zheng Hanxue is quite prestigious in the local area of ​​Pado. Even the local magistrate of Siam wants to Whatever you do, you must discuss it with Zheng Hanxue first.

But that was only in the past. Since King Rama VI succeeded to the throne, the status of the Chinese in Siam has gone from bad to worse. The same is true here in Pado. Local officials have levied more and more taxes on the Chinese villages. Although Zheng Hanxue argued hard, the effect was It was always not good, and I had no choice but to give in at every step under the pressure of the local officials.

Zheng Hanxue came back from Pado that day. As soon as he got home, he held a meeting in the ancestral hall.

The ancestral hall is a special place in the Chinese gathering area. It is not only a sacrificial hall for worshiping ancestors, but also a conference room for discussing family affairs. It is also a execution hall for enforcing family laws. Since King Rama VI came to power, the Cheng Clan Ancestral Hall has increasingly served as a conference room. Unfortunately, the situation has become more and more gloomy, and the time for joyful gatherings has become less and less.

Zheng Hanxue is in his fifties. He is thin and has an elegant temperament. He wears a long gown and has a literati temperament. He speaks very slowly and enunciates clearly. He gives the impression that he is calm and dependable. However, in recent years, this This feeling becomes less and less, as the temples There are more and more gray hairs in the corner, and Zheng Hanxue feels more and more powerless: "——Starting from next season, our local tax and personal tax will be increased by 10%. It was supposed to be increased this season. I Anyway, it’s finally been pushed to the next season.”

Zheng Han learned to speak slowly. After he finished speaking, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes in silence. His expression was exhausted, and there was unspeakable sorrow in his brows.

The agricultural tax in Siam was originally a land tax. After Rama VI came to power, Siam began to impose a head tax on the Chinese. This tax was only on the Chinese and Thais did not have to pay it. This differential treatment is not only reflected in agricultural taxes, but is even more serious in commercial taxes. There are no less than a hundred types of taxes in Siam, most of which are set up for Chinese people.

"Are we going to raise taxes again? This damn thing is not going to make it possible for people to live. It was just raised half a year ago, and now it's going to be raised again. Do we have to hand over all the food we have worked so hard to grow to them for them to be willing to do it?" Immediately there was an impetuous shouting.

"Didn't we say that we were going to reduce taxes a while ago? Why did it become a tax increase again?" The more mature person wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Regarding this tax reduction, this only happened because of the rise of Lanfang.

Lanfang is a country composed mainly of Chinese people. Since its establishment, Lanfang's aggressiveness has made neighboring countries cautious in dealing with Chinese people. God knows whether his personality will become "irritable" because of a trivial matter. The Lanfang people will hold on to it, so when it comes to treating the Chinese, the British, French, and Americans have all relaxed, not to mention Siam.

It is estimated that Rama VI also knew that his various policies against the Chinese had aroused strong dissatisfaction among the Chinese in Siam, so some time ago, Rama VI stated that he would cancel some taxes on the Chinese and relax restrictions on the Chinese. , which alleviated the dissatisfaction of the Chinese in Siam to a certain extent, but unexpectedly, King Rama VI’s words were still ringing in his ears, and now what was waiting was a tax increase, which really disappointed Zheng Hanxue and the others.

Read the original article in Liu#9@书/吧!

"What else can you do? It's just an act of defiance! Even if the king decrees a tax reduction, by the time we get to our place, I'm afraid it's already been a year and a month. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. These local officials who have been fattened by us will not be willing to reduce taxes. ? "Some people are arrogant. Although they don't say it explicitly, some people still complain about it.

"Let's not talk about the past. What we are talking about now is this matter. What do you think?" Zheng Hanxue opened his eyes and slowly scanned the audience. All the anger, doubts and weirdness immediately disappeared. In terms of authority, In fact, Zheng Hanxue is still powerful enough.

"What's your opinion? Either hand over and continue to endure the exploitation of those doggy officers, or don't hand over and wait for the officers and soldiers to come and encircle and suppress -" Shi Cai answered immediately in a strange and eccentric manner.

"I won't hand it over! If I hand it over this time, there will be another time. We can't bear it anymore!" Some people advocated toughness.

"Let's put it off first. Let's call all the patriarchs of Pado to discuss it together. If we can bring him together, the Siamese people may not dare to do anything." This is a mature and prudent tone.

"That's right, Lan Fang won't let the Siamese bully us -" Others want to use external help.

"Oh - it would be great if Brother Feng was still here." Someone suddenly said something in the corner.

Brother Feng, this is Zheng Lingfeng, the eldest son of Zheng Hanxue. Three years ago, Lanfang had just raised the banner of establishing the national flag. Zheng Lingfeng ignored Zheng Hanxue's obstruction and went to Lanfang to participate in the battle of Lanfang's founding of the country. Now the name "Brother Feng" is used in Yongding Village. Taboo, no one dares to mention it.

"Don't mention that beast!" Zheng Hanxue was furious.

"Dad, dad—elder brother is back—" Zheng Hanxue's youngest son's voice suddenly came from outside the ancestral hall door.

Zheng Hanxue suddenly stood up from the chair. His movements were so large that he even brought the chair down. The hand holding the crutches was showing blue veins and trembling slightly!

This is his biological son. Don't look at the "beast" you say. It's a lie to say you don't care.