Disaster relief, also known as "waste government", was one of the main political activities of Chinese dynasties, and even in the Mengyuan and Yuan dynasties, the imperial court had to do disaster relief, otherwise it would be disregarding the mandate of heaven.

Relief, loans, relief, soup kitchens, exemptions, dismissals, investment promotions, work relief, and persuasion...... All kinds of disaster relief methods have been recorded in the "Waste Government Rules", which is a compulsory textbook for Ming officials.

Among them, work relief is work for relief, which has appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn Period.

But if they read the "Waste Government Rules" seriously, the officials will know how to provide disaster relief, and there is no need for Wang Yuan to remind them. All the disaster relief methods in later generations were already available in ancient China, and it only depended on the determination and ability of officials at all levels.

Huang Chongde, a Hui merchant, contacted maritime merchants from all over the country this time to buy a large amount of grain from Nanyang and donate it to the southern provinces free of charge.

Then let his son Huang Xu enter Beijing, meet the first assistant Yang Tinghe, and ask for a pair of ink treasures with the content of "righteous business".

No way, Huang Chongde was frightened.

The eight major clans in Huizhou were wiped out by Yang Tinghe because of the two Huai private salt cases, one of which was the Huang family.

Huang Chongde is also from the Huang family, and his grandfather was separated separately, and he was almost served by Yang Tinghe.

Huang Xu asked for Mobao from Yang Tinghe, and came to see Wang Yuan: "Sir, my father asked the students to thank him in person, thank you Mr. for reminding me in advance." ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "Your father is doing a good job, so he doesn't have to worry." ”

Huang Xu was Wang Yuan's early student, and his father, Huang Chongde, was an important business partner of Wang Yuan.

After Huang Chongde's grandfather broke up, the family wealth was not rich, and the business was not big. With the prosperity of the weaving industry in the south of the Yangtze River, Huang Chongde raised funds and went to Shandong to buy cotton and ship it to the south, and gradually emerged. In the Hongzhi Dynasty, Huang Chongde had a keen sense of smell and became the first batch of crab eaters, instantly becoming a big salt merchant, and he belonged to the most hateful hoarders.

After Wang Yuan opened the sea, Huang Chongde first became a mainland supplier, and gradually transformed into a maritime businessman.

Before the implementation of the new salt law, Wang Yuan sent someone to remind Huang Chongde and asked him to honestly obey the imperial decree, otherwise he would cancel the cooperative relationship with the Huang family.

Huang Ying, a Hui merchant who was punished this time, was Huang Chongde's brother, and at the beginning, it was Huang Chongde who took Huang Ying to get involved in the salt business. Now that Huang Ying is beheaded, Huang Chongde escaped instead, and the Huang family in Huizhou instantly looked at Huang Chongde, and his vein also became the new master of the Huang family.

Wang Yuan asked, "You really don't plan to take the imperial examination?" ”

Huang Xu replied: "The disciple is not happy with the career, and it is enough to have a meritorious person." ”

Huang Xu was promoted six years ago, and with his talent and articles, there is a high chance that he can be promoted to the Jinshi. But this kid followed his father in business, and when he was in business, he engaged in mathematical research by the way, and he was a well-known mathematician.

Wang Yuan smiled: "You are not the eldest son, and you can't share too much family property, have you ever thought about how to do business in the future?" ”

Huang Xu replied: "My father promised to give me 30,000 taels of silver as the capital, no matter whether the business succeeds or fails, it has nothing to do with the family in the future." If you lose all your capital, you will go home to assist your brother and be an honest shopkeeper. ”

"What business are you going to do?" Wang Yuan asked.

Huang Xu replied: "Cotton." ”

Wang Yuan was a little surprised: "Cotton? ”

Huang Xu said in detail: "Now there are three kinds of cotton in the Ming Dynasty, namely Lu Mian, Chu Mian and Nan Mian. The cotton cloth woven by Lu cotton is the best, and Chu cotton and Nan cotton are inferior, and they are already in short supply. Since there is not enough cotton in China, why not look overseas? ”

Wang Yuan smiled: "You plan to plant cotton overseas?" ”

Huang Xu said: "The cotton fields take away the grain fields, which hurts the heavens and the peace, and this year's drought in the south has led to a great shortage of grain because of the large planting of cotton, and countless people have starved to death. The best solution is to grow cotton overseas. ”

Wang Yuan asked, "Where is the best place to grow cotton?" ”

Huang Xu said: "After the cotton spinning industry flourished, many businessmen who went to sea tried to grow cotton in various parts of Nanyang. But they all failed, the cotton grown in Nanyang, not to mention that it is not as good as Lu Mian, even Chu Mian and Nanmian are inferior. However, the quality of the cotton produced by Tianzhu is not inferior to that of Lu cotton. In recent years, a maritime business has emerged, that is, from Tianzhu to Daming, and then from Daming to Tianzhu. ”

Wang Yuan asked: "It seems that the Daming Sailor has been fighting Tianzhu for a long time. ”

"Exactly," Huang Xu said, "the 30,000 taels of silver given by my father are all intended to be used by the students to gather the victims to go to sea." The first batch only recruited young and strong, purchased armor, and followed the Daming Sailor to attack Tianzhu! ”

The history of cotton cultivation in India is much earlier than that of China, and there are three major cotton-producing areas in the south, north and middle.

The Great Ming Mariner set his sights on the southern cotton-producing region, which was the territory of the Vijayanagar Kingdom.

Today, there are three major powers in the Indian subcontinent.

First, the Mughal Empire, founded by Babur, is a cousin of King Turpan and Yeerqiang Khan. Babur and Yarkand Khan once joined forces and were defeated by the Uzbek Khanate, and after losing the war, one went south to create the Mughal Empire, and the other went east to create the Yarkand Khanate.

Second, the Sultanate of Bangladesh is the country with the largest population density, the largest grain production, and the most developed economy and culture in the entire Indian subcontinent. Just this year, the capital of Bangladesh was captured by the Mughal Empire, but a powerful counteroffensive was soon organized, and the war entered a phase of see-saw.

Thirdly, the state of Vijayanagar, whose economy is inferior to that of Bangladesh and its military is inferior to that of the Mughals, still enjoys the supremacy of South India.

India's cotton has long been coveted by the Ming maritime merchants, and the textile merchants of the Ming Dynasty are also pushing the sailors to attack India. There is no way, the domestic cotton production is not enough, and the South Seas are not suitable for cotton planting, so everyone naturally looks to India.

This year, the severe drought in the eight southern provinces has reduced the output of Chu cotton and southern cotton on a large scale, and the supply of cotton has become even more insufficient, which has directly contributed to the early implementation of military operations.

The North and South Cotton Textile Merchants Guild and the major maritime merchant guilds have raised funds to buy shares, and partnered with the Daming Sailor to form an organization similar to the East India Company, which they called the "Tianzhu Cotton Association", and Huang Xu planned to take the 30,000 taels of silver given by his father to join the gang.

The money was first used to recruit the young and strong among the victims, build an army of 8,000 people, and follow the Daming Sailor to attack the country of Vijayanagar.

There is no way, the strength of the Vijayanagar country is not comparable to small countries such as Ceylon and Champang.

Relying only on the officers and soldiers of the Daming Water Division, they may be able to win the battle all the way, but it is difficult to complete the substantive occupation, and the subsequent colonial rule is also difficult to unfold.

Portugal had been running India for 30 years, and when it faced the state of Vijayanagar, it only occupied two ports as colonial points.

For the sake of cotton, the textile merchants, the maritime merchants, and the Daming sailors, the three forces hit it off. They have been salivating for several years, and this time the drought in the eight southern provinces has finally prompted everyone to take a substantial step.

In the twenty-fourth year of Zhengde, the "Tianzhu Cotton Association" was formally established, with dozens of shareholders and a capital of nearly 10 million taels of silver!

Originally, it was planned to recruit 8,000 soldiers, but there was too much money, so 12,000 people were simply recruited. They are all recruited from the victims, and the local government is very cooperative, because it can reduce the number of displaced people and reduce their pressure on disaster relief.

Iron and steel factories in Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Fujian received a large number of orders at once, and frantically built armor equipment.

In the winter of that year, the Tianzhu Expeditionary Force was formed in Johor City, with 5,000 smoothbore gunmen alone, and they were armed with steel bayonets.

The training lasted for four months, and in the spring of the 25th year of Zhengde, the Daming sailors landed in Mamallapuran, India. As early as the Tang and Song dynasties, it was an important port on the Maritime Silk Road, but with the development of navigation technology, sea ships could directly cross the Bay of Bengal, and this port city was not so important.

Moreover, the state of Vijayanagar has been peaceful for a long time, the government has long been corrupted and degenerate, the national power is plummeting from its peak, and the walls of Mamallapuran Harbor have not been repaired for hundreds of years.

"Boom, boom!"

Hundreds of naval artillery pieces were aimed at the city wall and bombarded indiscriminately, collapsing many gaps in an instant.

The defenders of the city were unprepared, they had not fought in two hundred years, and they did not know what to do in the face of a surprise attack. In a panic, the high-caste nobles directly abandoned the city and fled, and the defenders also gave up resistance, and this ancient harbor city was occupied by the "Tianzhu Cotton Society".