Pattani, which belonged to Thailand in the time of Chen Shouxu, is one of the southernmost provinces in Thailand. Pattani, Yala and Taogong are called the three provinces of southern Thailand. For most of its recorded history, Pattanii was a vassal state of Thailand until 1785, when it was officially incorporated into Thailand's territory. For a well-known reason, the three provinces of southern Thailand have been the most troubled areas in Thailand, with fires and suicide bombings in an endless stream. The roots were actually planted in the 16th century.

In 1640, the independent kingdom of Pattani actually included what would become Pattani, Yara, Tao and most of the Malay state of Kelantan. The kingdom of Pattani stretches westwards across the Malay Peninsula and has a small stretch of coastline in the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean. It's just that there is no reliable road connecting the two oceans.

To the southeast, on the South China Sea side, Pattani borders the Sultanate of Pahang. On the Andaman side of the Indian Ocean, it borders the Sultanate of Kedah. Because Pattani effectively cut off land communication from north to south of the isthmus, Siam's suzerainty over Kedah is now also highly questionable.

Originally, Kelantan was also a vassal state under the suzerainty of Siam, and the queen before Pattani took advantage of the short time window when Siam was annihilated by Donghu to raise troops to the south and destroy the Kelantan Sultanate. Bounded by the mouth of the Kelantan River, it carved up the land of Kelantan with the Sultan of Pahang. Pattani and Kelantan are the cities with the largest number of Chinese outside of Batavia and Manila.

This day is Qingming Festival. Before dawn, the Chinese in Pattani City had already gotten up one after another. On the big day of ancestor worship, a few days ago, the Chinese in the city Kapitan had notified everyone that a grand public sacrifice would be held. Men and women, young and old, and even children born to slave girls were asked to go to the Chinese cemetery outside the city.

In Southeast Asia, because there are more Chinese men and fewer women in Nanyang, this marriage has become a big problem. Unlike Myanmar, Siam, Chenla, Quang Nam, Japan and other places, Nanyang is all green country. Chinese people cannot marry a local woman unless they give up many traditions. Therefore, if most people in Pattani choose to get married, the solution is to marry a woman from Siam and Chenla. At that time, people said, "It is forbidden for women to marry Chinese, so Fujian and Cantonese people rarely marry so far, and all wives are Siamese women." ”

Of course, in addition to marrying a wife, there are other ways to solve personal problems. On the Batavian side, "the Chinese wives and concubines were mostly slave girls bought from Makassar and Bali, and their skin was not too dark, yellow-brown, and their bodies were short and well-proportioned. As long as they can afford it, they can have as many wives and concubines as they want. When a Chinese died, his heirs would sell his wives and concubines again, leaving only the deceased's favorite one. According to the will, he was given freedom and listed as the main house, and the children born to him were recognized as real Chinese. "The Dutch ghosts can't figure out the difference between wives and concubines in China, and most of the women around men are not wives, but just slave girls.

In Southeast Asia, the Chinese generally kept slaves, and the number of female slaves exceeded that of male slaves. In any case, because of this marital segregation, the Chinese in Southeast Asia have never been assimilated by the green.

There are really a lot of Chinese in Pattani, and it once reached the point of rubbing shoulders with each other. Even though business has been busy lately, and many people have been transferred to various places, there are still more than 1,000 people in the city.

The green guards at the city gate looked at these kafeile who had gotten up early and left the house with a mixture of envy and contempt.

Since there are official written records, Green has made four queens in Pattani in a row, and now reigns for the fourth. He has only been on the throne for 3 years and has just been married, and the prince is a prince of the Sultan of Johor.

The first queen was basically synchronized with Lin Daoqian's arrival in Pattani. At that time, Lin Daoqian's soldiers were not weak, including foreigners, and many people in Southeast Asia believed that Lin Daoqian was the first king of Pattani. It was also for a well-known reason that the Chinese gradually withdrew from the political life of Pattani and changed to professional business.

Because of their intelligence, diligence and cleanliness, Chinese people have become indispensable talents in all countries. Therefore, at this time, the Nanyang Chinese usually had a relatively high economic status in various countries. Taking Malacca as an example, there are a total of 137 brick houses and 583 Ataya houses, of which 81 are occupied by the Chinese. The Ataya is a traditional Nanyang building made of wooden planks, bark and palm leaves. From the real estate, it can also be seen that the Chinese account for a disproportionate proportion of social wealth with a small population.

In the future, because the green is too wasteful in doing things, the sultans of various countries have no choice, in order to develop the economy, they will contract a large part of the coastline of the country to the Chinese. The Malay Peninsula receives abundant rainfall, and rivers and streams that flow into the sea are everywhere. The land contracted by the Chinese was usually bounded by two river estuaries.

Since most of the area is densely forested, the coastline occupied by the Chinese usually includes thousands or even tens of thousands of hectares of land deep inland. The Chinese only need to pay a certain amount of tribute and taxes, and the sultans basically can't control what the Chinese do on their own territory. Of course, the people who can take these lands are not ordinary people, usually the patriarch of a large family, or the head of the church. These people are called "port lords". The reclamation area under the jurisdiction of the port owner is called "the foot of the port". Within the foot of the harbour, the harbour lord has administrative, judicial, taxing, logging and mining, and buying and selling land. In fact, the owner of the port is the emperor of the soil at the foot of the port.

At present, due to the poor conditions, there is not so much demand for products in the market, and the existing production capacity of materials such as sugar can generally meet the needs of Europeans. Unless technological progress or more abundant and cheaper labor reduces the cost of development, most areas remain unsuitable for reclamation. Therefore, this kind of Hong Kong dominance system has only sprouted.

In the country of Pattani, the Lin family was the first batch of Hong Kong lords. Lim has tens of thousands of hectares of land between Pattani and Kelantan. In fact, Lin Tongwen said that he did not know how much land he had in his name, and if he wanted to, he could occupy more land. It's just that under the existing conditions, it doesn't make much sense.

Lin Tongwen's reclamation area is located 50 kilometers south of the city of Pattani, and there are two rivers in the reclamation area, and his estate is located in the middle of the largest estuary. There was a small private port with a certain amount of armed force.

The Chinese got up before dawn, the old and the rich sat on poles, the women were in the carriages, and the young and middle-aged walked all the way south after leaving the city. At a fork in the road, the main road to Kelantan was left. People are muttering about what kind of famous temple Kapitan is doing, and he actually put the place of public sacrifice so far away. It's been more than two hours, and it's not even there.

No one noticed that a few kilometers beyond the coast, there was always a junk ship that brought their whereabouts into the field of view of the telescope. It is Lin Tongwen's boat.

Lin Tongwen lay on the side of the ship, holding a telescope and looking at the land. In fact, he couldn't see anything clearly in his position, Lin Tongwen was very anxious, and shouted loudly at the mast. "Lin San, where have all the people gone?"

"Young master, didn't you just ask me. I haven't gotten to the place yet. ”

Lin San was the best lookout in his fleet, Lin Tongwen dropped the binoculars, and it was useless for him to take them.

There was no turning back when he opened the bow, and Lin Tongwen also knew that he was in a hurry to help now, but he still couldn't calm down his emotions. His series of arrangements and contacts, if the official of Pattani was not aware of it at all, he would definitely not believe it. It's just that the official has no evidence and doesn't know the specific details, and the Chinese are too important to the economy, so the prince of Pattani did not act rashly. But it is conceivable that not far from the Chinese sacrificial procession, there must be people watching them.

Lin Tongwen also knew that no matter what happened to the Chinese on the shore, it would have no impact on the future plan, but he still wanted to try his best to save the lives of more people. It is also for this reason that the launch date is set on the Qingming Festival, which is a tradition that distinguishes the Chinese from other ethnic groups, and the official cannot stop it.

I can't count how many steps I paced on the deck. A voice finally came from the lookout that made Lin Tongwen feel relieved, "Young Master, everyone has arrived." ”

Li Weijing didn't speak, he took Lin Tongwen's behavior into his eyes. The day before yesterday, Li Weijing met with Lin Tongwen in a private Hong Kong. Lin Tongwen told the truth about his plan, of course, Li Weijing has not been able to leave the private port since then. Lin Tongwen promised Li Weijing that after the Qingming Festival, Li Weijing could come and go as he pleased.

Li Weijing saw that the arrow was already on the string, and wanted to make one last effort, "Brother Tongwen, stop now, maybe it's still too late." ”

Lin Tongwen: "Brother Jun Chang, I have made up my mind. Please come here as a witness. When you go back, you can truthfully tell Malacca, to Aceh, and to the Chinese in Johor what you saw today. ”

Li Junchang sighed and stopped persuading. In the Lin family's private port, he has been persuaded many times. If Lin Tongwen was not moved at all when Lin Tongwen first confided in him about his plan, it would be false. In this troubled era, there are a few Chinese who dare to go to the South Seas who are not ambitious. But the little fire in Li Junchang's heart was quickly extinguished by the facts he knew. "Moths to the fire", he made a decision about Lin Tongwen's arrogance.

Lin Tongwen looked at the depths of the sea steadily, "Brother Jun Chang, I want to emphasize to you again, whether you are involved in the matter or not. When we take Pattani, the gates of the city will be open to all Nanyang Chinese. ”

Lin Tongwen turned to face the signal officer on the ship.

Signal officer Hendrick is a young man from New England, and he has really enjoyed the hospitality of Chinese on Lin Tongwen's ship these days.

"Begin, Mr. Hendrik."

"Yes, sir."

The signal flag was simple, and the number 13 was raised on the top of the mast. At the same time, Lin Tongwen fired the 4-door Franc machine on the ship. In the forest on the shore, one hundred and ten soldiers of the Lin family appeared from the forest. At the forefront, there are some Kichidan holding Japanese knives.

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The stern deck of the Long Water. Chen Shouxu's fleet, which had disappeared for many days, was cruising in the open sea south of Pattani. Chen Shouxu had reached the target latitude three days earlier, and in order not to attract attention, Chen Shouxu's fleet avoided merchant ships and fishing boats sailing near shore. Just sent the Adventure to sail into the Lin family's private port at night and established contact with Lin Tongwen. In order to ensure that there were no problems, Chen Shouxu sent a signal officer on the flagship to Lin Tongwen.

Lin Tongwen made the plan very complicated and involved a wide range of aspects. In war, it is very difficult to achieve one-way transparency on the battlefield, and the two opposing sides will always have some understanding of each other's strength in various contacts. Lin Tongwen's various arrangements and arrangements are constantly creating such contacts. Chen Shouxu was not worried that Beitani would receive the news and be prepared. The information that Detective Lin Tongwen heard also objectively helped him, and as the party that took the initiative, it was actually more beneficial to him. He was most worried that Lin Tongwen would not add extra trouble to the Chinese pirates he had recruited.

After meeting the army the day before yesterday, Chen Shouxu deliberately boarded the flagship of the Chinese pirates, called to visit friendly troops, and gave some supplies. In fact, it is for the purpose of assessing the strength of friendly forces.

What Chen Shouxu didn't expect was that this Guangdong pirate named Wang Huizhi was not a leopard. Wang Huizhi cooperated with the Dutch many years ago. After several battles with the Ming government, Wang Huizhi and his subordinates were exiled to Natuna Island. Originally, there were already remnants of Lin Feng's settlement here. The backbone of Wang Huizhi and Lin Feng's remnants were all Chaozhou people, but they soon merged together.

Together, there are a lot of people, and there are nearly 1,000 people in Qingzhuang, who are divided into 7 small and medium-sized junk boats. The boat is quite old, but it can be seen that it is well maintained. The ship's Furlong cannon did not have a trace of patina, and it was wiped cleanly.

These Chinese pirates are also extremely skilled in handling ships, although they are equipped with junk ships that Chen Shouxu does not look down on, but whether they are marching in formation or sailing in the wind, they make Chen Shouxu speechless. Three hours ago, Wang Huizhi had already led the Natuna pirates to set off in advance.

Harris's voice pulled Chen Shouxu back from his thoughts, "Commander, receive Lin's signal." ”

Today, Chen Shouxu did not think about avoiding all the merchant ships, and the fleet approached the coastal waters, but it remained outside the visual range of the coastline, relying on the signal flags of the three sloops to relay the communication from the shore.

"Harris. We headed to the shore and let the notification ships return to the team in turn. ”

"Yes, Commander."

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The Kishitan samurai dispersed the green soldiers who were following the Chinese team, and this was not the time to explain. In the city, Lin Tongwen's uncle quickly calmed down the crowd. The place Lin Tongwen chose was also a port for him, but he didn't have a port here, only two wooden trestles that could directly dock ships with a shallow draft. He has pre-set up five small and medium-sized junk boats waiting by the pier, and the Chinese residents will soon be able to board the ships. Squeeze it a little, anyway, the destination is not far away, and these ships will soon be able to transport people to the Lin family's port.

Seeing that the matter was basically over, Lin Tongwen said to Li Junchang: "I'm sorry Brother Jun Chang, I have to go and make peace with Brother Chen." Brother Jun Chang will wait for a while, and when I get on his warship, you can take my ship home. ”

What can Li Junchang say, this situation can only be left to him. Now he only hopes that Lin Tongwen will not act like the Japanese master Yamada Nagamasa in Siam a few years ago, interfering in the change of the Siamese throne. As a result, the side failed, Yamada Nagamasa himself was poisoned, and all the thousands of Japanese Chechi Dan who were exiled to Siam were expelled and forced to go into exile again. The tragic scene of the wife's separation is not far away.

The ship turned its rudder and sailed to the open sea, starting with Lin Tongwen's ship, and converging and sailing to the location of the main fleet in turn. The more Li Junchang looked, the more surprised he became, this was completely different from the alliance he imagined of a rabble of Chinese and Western pirates.

The battleships moved in each other's directions, and soon approached each other. The strength of the three gunboats was not weak, but when the majestic shadows of the eight battleships clearly appeared in front of him, Li Junchang's body was already stiffened in surprise.

The three notification ships turned left, overtook the fleet at medium speed, and sailed to the position of the lead ship. Lin Tongwen's ship continued to approach the fleet. When he saw the stern of the flagship, the two Chinese characters "Changshui" decorated with reliefs, Li Junchang wavered.

Lin Tongwen was about to transfer to the sampan to connect with the Changshui, but Li Junchang stopped him.

"Brother Tongwen, wait a minute."

Lin Tongwen paused, smiled and turned around, "What do you have to say?" ”

At this time, he couldn't care about face, Li Junchang gritted his teeth and bowed deeply to Lin Tongwen, "Jun Chang is willing to go with Brother Tongwen." ”

Lin Tongwen took Li Junchang's hand, "Why did Junchang make this big gift, let's go together." ”

Li Jun often ignored the complicated emotions in his heart, changed to a sampan with Lin Tongwen, and boarded the deck of the Changshui.

I saw a Chinese in the costume of Captain Hongmaoyi indifferently greeting the two.

Lin Tongwen: "Brother Chen, how long has Wang Huizhi been gone?" ”

Chen Shouxu pulled off his sleeves, looked down at his wrist, "Two hours." How's it going over there in Kelantan? "Kelantan is also a Chinese community.

"There are very few garrisons in Kelantan, and my men will be able to deal with them."

Lin Tongwen: "Can we start?" ”

Chen Shouxu didn't want to wait any longer, it was almost noon, and he only had half a day left.

Chen Shouxu ordered Harris, "Let the Nanhai protect the transport ship, and the rest of the ships will raise as many sails as possible, at full speed." ”

Harris relayed the order downward.

Seeing that Chen Shouxu was busy, Lin Tongwen and Li Junchang dared to climb the stern.

Lin Tongwen: "Brother Chen, my ship can also join the battle. ”

Chen Shouxu: "Brother Lin, fighting is not a joke. ”

Lin Tongwen: "They have also fought with pirates in Java. ”

Chen Shouxu saw him insist, "Okay, let your ship stay with the transport ship." ”

During the Qingming season, Asia has just entered the southwest monsoon period. Ocean currents and monsoons move northward from winter and spring. The southwesterly wind blows from the stern of the port side, which is the most comfortable downwind. Even a junk ship can run up to 6 knots in this kind of wind.

Listening to the sound of cannons in the distance, Chen Shouxu put down his teacup, stood up and said to his navigator, "Harris, the plan has run out. Now, it's our cannon's turn to play. ”