Tuwang, perhaps for thousands of years, China has long been accustomed to the posture of being high in front of the vassal barbarians, and people may humbly learn from the Westerners, but for the barbarian chieftains of the Southeast Asian princely states, there is nothing worthy of their respect. It is precisely because of this that that lofty posture that has always affected everyone.

Under the whole world, it is not the king's land!

In other words, whoever the place belongs to? For the Chinese, this is all Chinese territory. As for those earth kings, if they did not get the permission of the Ming Emperor, that is, canonization, then their rule would be illegal. It will never be recognized by the officials and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.

It is almost a matter of course, since it has been decided to occupy this small island as a stronghold, then it is simply neat, and there is no need to consider the thoughts of the natives.

This is the place of Daming!

On the day the fleet landed, the fleet held a flag-raising ceremony on the island, and the sailors who accompanied the ship quickly set up a stronghold in the wasteland near the mouth of the river, but in just three days, this temporary stronghold formed a simple fortress with multiple guns.

So much so that when the King of Johor, Mahmud Sultan, came here, he simply couldn't believe what he saw in front of him when he was on the elephant cart.

"Your Majesty, it seems that the Ming people want to occupy this place and not leave!"

As the prime minister of the kingdom, Mehaji immediately said with some nervousness, although especially when he saw that the entire estuary was full of ships of the Ming Kingdom, the cold sweat suddenly broke out. As for Mahmud, as the Sultan, although the Portuguese defeated the Dutch together, defeated the Portuguese army in Malacca, and burned their stronghold at the mouth of the river, purging the Portuguese power here. Make the country stronger. But Mahmoud knew very well that the so-called power was only relative to the surrounding princely states. Far from being comparable to China.

In fact, even after more than 200 years, once upon a time, the visit of the Ming fleet and the strength it showed were still shrouded in the hearts of these natives.

As the Sultan of the Kingdom of Johor, Mahmoud naturally remembered that the Kingdom of Johor came from Malacca, and it was only when the Ming Dynasty gave the edict and the seal that the Kingdom of Malacca had gained a foothold between the threat of Siam and Beyi. It can be said that if there was no canonization of the Ming Emperor back then. There would have been no Kingdom of Malacca when there was no Malacca, and of course they knew this very well.

And now, in the face of such a large fleet, Mahmoud only has a feeling of fear left in his heart. lest an official who accidentally offends the Ming Dynasty.

It is precisely because of this that when meeting with the officials of the Ming Dynasty, they did not dare to put on the king's shelf, for these sultans whose ancestors were only Arab merchants, they became sultans by swords and the spread of religion, they knew very well what the strong man was, and knew better how to submit to the strong.

Of course, they know better how to use the support of the strong to themselves, just like the Kingdom of Malacca used the support of the Daming, of course, the most fundamental reason why the officials of the Daming supported them at that time was because the religion of those officials was the same as them, and if it were not for the support of the Daming officials, how could Allah envelop the South Seas. How could they exterminate the so-called "Buddha Kingdom", and use the deterrence of the Ming fleet to make those natives convert to religion, so as to willingly accept their rule.

Because of this, the shadow of the strong has always shrouded their hearts. Even after two hundred years, they dare not forget.

"The little king of the lower state see the heavenly official."

Although hundreds of years have passed, the records of the past still remain in the royal palace, and since the Yongle period, successive generations of sultans have been well aware that one day their descendants will always deal with the officials of the Great Tomorrow Dynasty, after all, the heavens are too far away to help them, and the Celestial Empire is too close.

Perhaps some Ming officials will open up to them because of their religion and support them to consolidate their rule here with missionary work. But not all Ming officials think so.

"The king is exempt."

In the face of the respect of the earth king, Qu Dajun did not show the slightest disrespect, but still only followed the basic oriental etiquette of up and down, of course he was up, and the other party was down.

After all, in the traditional concept of the Celestial Empire, even ordinary people of the Celestial Empire are superior in front of these feudal barbarians. What's more, he is still a dignified Ming four-grade official, and when these earth kings see him, it is reasonable even if they kneel. Now to be so polite to them is already to give these natives face.

As early as the first year of Yongle, Bairi Missula accompanied the Beijing official Yin Qing to my Ming Dynasty to meet Chengzu and pay tribute to my Ming Dynasty. Since the Kingdom of Johor comes from the Kingdom of Manraka, then the Kingdom of Johor is a vassal of my Ming Dynasty, I don't know what the king thinks? ”

Asking how it is, in fact, it is unquestionable, and in this regard, Mahmoud dares not to be willing at all, and even for him, this is the time to hug Daming's thigh.

If it hadn't been for this golden thigh back then, I'm afraid there would have been no matter of the Kingdom of Malacca. Now that he has another chance to report this thigh, how could he refuse.

"What the heavenly official said is very true, Xiao Wang and Xiao Wang Zushang have always intended to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty in order to canonize it, but this day is far away, so that every time it can't be done, it is really a pity, today to be able to see the heavenly officials, to see the army of the Heavenly Empire, it is really the luck of the little king."

Although he is a sultan, in essence, the Mahmoud family, who established the kingdom by doing business and preaching, is still a merchant in his bones, as a businessman, Mahmoud naturally knows how to please these people, of course, he knows better how to survive among the strong as a weakling, just like his grandfather and father drove out the Portuguese with the help of the Dutch, and now, he can also use the Ming to restrain the Dutch.

As a merchant, the most advantageous choice for him and himself was between the Dutch and the Ming. Survive with the help of the contradictions between them. And not stupidly just choose one side.

Of course, there is a premise for this. The premise is that Da Ming is strong enough, if Da Ming just came to a warship this time, he wouldn't even have such an idea, but now, in the face of such a powerful fleet, he naturally had the idea of hugging this thigh. After all, they showed far more power than the Dutch. It is completely in line with the advice left by the ancestors - Da Ming is very powerful!

Under the influence of this mentality, Mahmoud naturally tried his best to please the heavenly official in front of him, just like a businessman, constantly flattering the other party there. In the face of the other party's compliments and flattery, although he was a little fluttering, Qu Dajun's heart was very calm, and he did not forget the purpose of this trip.

"When I want to come to the king, I have seen my Ming fleet, since then, my Ming fleet and fleet will often come and go to the Western Ocean, and this Temasek has my Ming people, and it is behind the waterway, in order to facilitate the replenishment of fresh water and food for the fleet, so I intend to lease this place, I don't know what the king thinks?"

Mahmoud, who was still bent on sincerity, looked at this heavenly official in some surprise, what was going on? If he remembered correctly, according to his ancestors, although the Ming Dynasty was powerful, he never tried to get anything here, let alone establish a stronghold here.

But just when he wanted to resist, he immediately thought of the Portuguese, and of Malacca, when the Portuguese came here, they had mentioned the demand to cede a piece of land to build a fortress. After rejecting their demands, Malacca became history and the Kingdom of Malacca was completely wiped out. And his ancestors had to settle for Johor, and if it weren't for the help of the Dutch, they probably wouldn't have been able to drive out the Portuguese at all. If it weren't even for the dense rainforests that stopped the Portuguese, how could his ancestors possibly establish the Kingdom of Johor here?

Now that the Great Ming Kingdom is here, they have made the same request.

Should I refuse, or should I accept it?

If the request of the Great Ming Kingdom is refused. I'm afraid that what happened to the Kingdom of Malacca back then will be repeated here. How could Johor's strength alone stop their attack?

Now what?

"Honorable Heavenly Official, it is not that our princely states are unwilling to lease this place to the Celestial Empire, but because when this place was occupied by the Portuguese, we and other princely states had to borrow troops from the Netherlands to drive them out of this place, and then the Dutch agreed with our country that this land should not be rented to other countries, and if they wanted to rent it to other countries, they had to consult with them......

Just when Mehaji thought that he would be able to stop all this by introducing the Dutch, he saw Qu Dajun, who was originally kind, suddenly said sharply.

"I have to discuss with him, is Johor a vassal state of the Netherlands? As the suzerain of Johor, why do I need the consent of others to lease this place? Dutch? It's just a wolf ambition! How can these Western rulers believe it? ”

After staring at Mehaji and sneering, Qu Dajun said again with history,

"When the Portuguese exterminated Malacca, Malacca sent an envoy to my Ming Dynasty for help, although I Ming had the heart but was powerless to help, just because I Ming had no stronghold in Nanyang, no fortress, naturally powerless to help, today I Ming set up a stronghold here, naturally can be a barrier to Johor, if someone invades Johor in the future, I can provide protection for the country, and what the country needs is just to lease this desert island to my Ming, as my Ming trading station here, this island is so desolate, what is the use of Yuer?"

Although he has the traditional thinking of the Celestial Empire, Qu Dajun is also learning, learning the method of Westerners first establishing a stronghold through negotiation and eventually encroaching on each place they go, which is the safest, most effective, and least costly expansion compared to the Chinese-style army pressure on the territory.

In the past, China always blindly tried to suppress it by brute force, which always provoked the other side to resist. Just like Annam and other places, instead of using brute force, it is better to use the deterrence of power to force the other party to agree to cede part of the land like the Westerners. Then they continue to encroach on each other with their strongholds.

"Of course, although my Ming is strong, but I will never overwhelm people with power, if the king is willing to rent this land to our country, I am willing to pay a generous rent every year, I don't know what the king thinks?"

Is it possible to refuse?

Even Mehji knew that refusal was very likely to pay a price, not to mention that the dozens of Ming warships on the estuary had directly shown their strength, and the number of Ming soldiers even exceeded that of Johor.

Fight?

What to fight?

Perhaps the price of the struggle is a repeat of the tragic situation of Malacca's annihilation, and if they agree to their demands, they will have additional benefits in addition to security guarantees.

Thinking of the sultanates that the Dutch had perished in Java and other places, and knowing that those pagans would sooner or later transfer their target to Mahmoud in Johor, after a moment of contemplation, he immediately said with a smile.

"It is really a blessing for Xiao Wang that the Heavenly Empire can be willing to rent the barren land of Xiaobang, how can Xiao Wang refuse, as for this rent, please don't mention it again."

Although he is so polite, for Johor, which has no benefits, Mahmoud naturally hopes to get some benefits.

"How could I have ever had a relationship with my vassals to oppress people?"

Qu Dajun is naturally unwilling to take advantage of others on this issue, if he has learned anything from Westerners, it is that he can get unexpected returns with appropriate money, and using power to overwhelm people is just a temporary quick attempt, but it will also make "legitimacy" questioned.

On the contrary, paying rent not only gives legitimacy, but also makes the other party feel humiliated, just like the Portuguese and Macau, even in the Ming Dynasty, they can also use the lease to gain a stronghold.

How much does Temasek rent?

No more, no less. If there are more, it seems that he is incapable, and if there is less, it will make the other party feel like he is calling Huazi, and in the end, Qu Dajun still made a number that made Mahmood, the Sultan of Johor, extremely excited.

1,000 dollars!

When he heard that 1,000 yuan was equal to 1,000 taels of silver, Mahmoud almost immediately asked to write down the covenant, even if he was reserved for a moment, he still immediately agreed to sign the covenant, of course, in the covenant, in accordance with Mahmood's request, it was clearly written that the Ming Dynasty's responsibility to protect Johor, of course, also included the perpetual rent of Temasek Island, and naturally there was also a rent of 1,000 silver dollars per year.

When Mahmoud left, he was even more proud that he received a large reward, just a dozen glass mirrors...... These are all valuable things.

He even felt like he was taking advantage. If these officials of the Ming Dynasty said that they would give him more than a dozen mirrors. Maybe he will directly agree to sell this desert island to Daming.

Sure enough, it was just like what the ancestors said. It's really the kingdom of the Celestial Empire, and it's very generous.