Chapter 988 - Prey Nokor

Along the way, Ping Qiusheng patiently worked on Quark, hoping to make his meaning clear: the slave trade need not be confined to the Bantam region. Whether Southeast Asian or fair-skinned varieties, the transmigrator group would welcome all comers. As for how to procure more slaves—that was entirely a matter of Quark's own methods. Before they even entered the city, Quark was already eyeing the roadside refugees and seeing rolling silver coins and precious commodities.

Just then, a man wearing a square scholar's cap boldly approached. Trembling slightly, he asked in Guangzhou Mandarin whether the group hailed from the Great Ming. Upon receiving an affirmative answer, the man introduced himself: a Guangdong native who had been curious about learning from childhood. Having heard that various Western nations possessed remarkable skills—able to forge "red barbarian cannons" and craft telescopes—he had traveled thousands of miles by merchant ship to the Southern Seas to explore. That was five years ago now. Recently, homesick for his native land, he had taken passage to this place. But with war raging in the north, ships traveling further northward had grown rare, and he had been unable to find passage home.

The man's name was Feng Shengyue. Perhaps desperate to return, he spoke many flattering words, expressing that he was neither useless nor mere deadweight on a merchant ship. Ping Qiusheng thought having someone familiar with local conditions might prove useful.

"Are you well-acquainted with local customs?" Ping Qiusheng inquired.

"I have wandered these foreign lands for five years. Though I dare not claim knowledge of everything, I understand something of these Southern Sea nations. The customs here? I even speak the language. This territory belongs to the Chenla kingdom—Cambodia. The locals call Ming Chinese merchants 'Zha Kun,' hence the place name. There were once quite many overseas Chinese merchants, but when war erupted in the north, maritime trade grew difficult. Many returned home earlier. Recently the northern fighting has intensified; merchant ships fear becoming entangled and dare not venture north. Having just arrived from Malacca, I too have been unable to find a northbound vessel."

"We won't be heading north for now either. We're continuing on to Siam."

"Surely after Siam, you'll eventually return home. Why not take me along? I came all the way from Malacca and have observed quite a bit that might prove useful to you gentlemen."

Ping Qiusheng reasoned that Southeast Asia was unlikely to harbor Ming spies who had specifically journeyed here. Having someone acquainted with local conditions by his side couldn't hurt. He agreed to take the man in. Feng Shengyue was overjoyed, hastily taking his leave to pack his belongings. They arranged to meet at the city gate.

"If you don't find us at the city gate, simply go to the dock and look for our ships. The ones flying the red, white, and blue flag."

The Nine-Dash Flag's color scheme—red, white, and blue—was quite eye-catching. As long as Feng Shengyue paid the slightest attention, he would spot it.

Their destination was Siam. Besides trading for rice, they also hoped to recruit Japanese from the local volunteer corps. Ever since the merchant Yamada Nagamasa—who had maintained unusual relations with Edo—had died under mysterious circumstances, the volunteer corps of Japanese immigrants and converts he once commanded had scattered to avoid the king's suspicion. If they could now recruit some of these men on the condition of returning them to Japan, it would prove invaluable for future Japan trade at Jeju Island and other Northeast Asian strategies. Though Ping Qiusheng possessed some knowledge of Siamese history, the conspiracy theories surrounding these events remained murky.

Japanese in the seventeenth century were spread throughout Southeast Asia—their history of voyaging to the Southern Seas did not begin only in the twentieth century. The predicament of too little land and too many people had exploded in Japan much earlier and more severely than in China. Large numbers of Japanese had been scattered across Southeast Asia since the sixteenth century, serving as merchants, craftsmen, and mercenaries. Though they could not match the Chinese in commercial operations, they were renowned as fighting men. Many notable events of the era had obscure Japanese mercenaries lurking in the shadows. The English, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese—even the petty rulers of Southeast Asian states—had all hired them.

For a state severely lacking military strength, hiring Japanese as shock troops was obviously sound strategy—not merely in Southeast Asia, but Taiwan and Jeju Island could similarly benefit from Japanese mercenaries.

Before long, the group arrived at the city walls. These gates were constructed entirely of black stone, their architecture distinctly Khmer—quite reminiscent of the Angkor Wat style Ping Qiusheng had encountered as a tourist. This was still Lower Cambodia, and the inhabitants remained predominantly Khmer. The Vietnamese would not extend their influence here for several more years.

Prey Nokor's scale was considerable—larger, at least, than any county seat on Hainan Island. This was, after all, the viceroy's residence and the political and economic center of Lower Cambodia.

Why bother paying respects to this viceroy? In Ping Qiusheng's assessment, this location represented the key junction of the Mekong Delta. Regardless of how the future unfolded, it would certainly become a population center—otherwise, Saigon would never have developed in the later era. Where population gathered, various demands followed. And when it came to dumping commodities, no one in this timeline could compete with the transmigrator group. Lingao's reach could not yet extend this far; Operation Engine would likely require two more years to complete. During that time, they couldn't simply cede all business to the Dutch. Moreover, even Dutch shipping capacity couldn't fully satisfy the transmigrator group's needs. More trade was always preferable.

Feng Shengyue was already waiting at the city gate. His luggage was simple—a single bundle and a straw hat. Ping Qiusheng noticed the hat on his head was Lingao-made. Had Lingao's straw hats already traveled this far?

He asked where the hat came from. Feng Shengyue seemed quite surprised that Ping Qiusheng had taken interest in such a humble item. He had purchased it at a Chinese shop during his travels and had worn it for over a year now. Though still intact, it had grown dirty and tattered.

"Take good care of that straw hat. It's quite meaningful." Elder Ping said with deliberate significance.

Feng Shengyue was utterly baffled and could only mumble vague responses.

Passing through the bustling main street, the group arrived before the viceroy's palace. It didn't appear particularly large—by Chinese standards, it would qualify merely as a wealthy household's residence.

The viceroy's palace served as both his living quarters and the center of governance. Some external administrative offices were situated within. Feng Shengyue proved extremely familiar with local conditions; slipping inside to find someone, he quickly located an interpreter.

Ping Qiusheng watched him jabber and gesture with the interpreter for some time before the interpreter departed inside. Feng Shengyue looked confident, smiling as he announced: "Elder Ping, the viceroy will receive us shortly."

"That easily?" Though Ping Qiusheng had estimated their chances of securing an audience were good, he hadn't anticipated such swift success.

"It's nothing unusual—the viceroy actively welcomes merchant visits."

Merchants requesting audiences with the viceroy was commonplace. As long as he wasn't occupied, he generally didn't refuse—regardless of their purposes or whether he could accommodate them, merchants invariably presented gifts. This constituted a significant source of income for His Highness the Viceroy.

The announcement complete, the interpreter returned and invited them inside.

"Leave all weapons and blades. Only five persons may enter," the interpreter announced.

After hasty consultation, Ping Qiusheng brought Feng Shengyue and three Special Reconnaissance soldiers inside, with the rest waiting outside. Everyone surrendered their daggers but kept their pistols carefully concealed.

Of this group, except for Feng Shengyue, everyone carried pistols. The Special Reconnaissance soldiers had submachine guns. Should anything go wrong, once gunfire erupted and those outside rushed in, they need not fear even an ambush of a hundred or two hundred men.

Obviously, the hypothetical ambush failed to materialize. Negotiations proceeded in a cordial atmosphere and reached an eminently satisfactory conclusion. After receiving the Australians' fine gifts, Viceroy Chan Chai was delighted to provide all manner of conveniences for expanding the Australian goods market—including authorization to establish a trading post. He even expressed interest in participating more deeply in the enterprise: he was willing to supply whatever goods the Australians required and equally willing to distribute Australian merchandise—especially Chinese sundries.

Southeast Asian nations of this era possessed uniformly backward handicraft capabilities. Daily necessities depended entirely on Chinese merchants importing from the Great Ming. Even the Spanish colonists of Manila—those supposedly civilized Europeans—relied on Chinese merchants for their daily needs. When Chinese ships arrived late, life for Spanish ladies became unbearable.

The reason Viceroy Chan Chai displayed such enthusiasm stemmed from necessity. With ever more Champa refugees flooding in and the Nguyen sharpening their blades to the north, how long he might remain Viceroy of Prey Nokor was uncertain. He understood that Champa could not withstand Vietnamese assault. Once Champa fell, Prey Nokor's conquest was merely a matter of time. Thus he rather meant to grab what he could and withdraw. The Australian goods presented hope for substantial profit. If he could amass a fortune trading with the Australians, when the time came to retreat to Phnom Penh, whether or not he retained the viceroyship wouldn't matter. After all, Prey Nokor possessed rice and timber in abundance—rather than letting it benefit the Vietnamese for nothing, better to trade it to the Australians. At least the Australians were willing to pay in money and Australian goods.

Ping Qiusheng's delegation likewise obtained everything they sought: trade permission, duty-free anchorage, authorization for Australians to purchase land and construct trading posts, freedom to hire workers, and more.

Per his request, the viceroy also drafted a letter to the Cambodian king requesting that Japanese who had recently fled into Cambodia be gathered and escorted to Prey Nokor for departure—completely resolving the Japanese question within the Cambodian kingdom.

Ping Qiusheng used the mirrors and daily necessities he had brought for trading, exchanging them for two boatloads of rice. Viceroy Chan Chai indicated that while current rice stocks were not large, gathering more presented no difficulty. When the fleet returned for resupply, he could prepare additional quantities. As long as the Australian gentlemen had demand, rice here was plentiful. As for local products—whatever the Australians desired, he could organize supply.

Everything proceeded smoothly, and the fleet departed in an atmosphere of mutual satisfaction. Fully loaded, the fleet turned northwest. Ping Qiusheng intended to proceed directly to Bangkok rather than Phnom Penh. If he could complete both the rice and Japanese recruitment missions in Bangkok, then Phnom Penh held little appeal—it possessed neither significant trade resources nor lay on their necessary route.

(End of Chapter)