The port of Chenla.

Compared to Champa, this place seems a bit more desolate.

At first glance, even the ships at the dock do not appear densely packed.

This is mainly because merchant ships coming from the West are basically heading for the Ming Dynasty, and after passing through Malacca, there is no need to detour to the port of Zhenla. It is more convenient to go directly to Champa.

This is also because the land connecting Siam to Malacca blocks the sea route.

Of course, this is only relative to Champa’s unique location, and the tax revenue generated by the port every year is still very considerable.

However, most of these taxes will not enter the Zhenla treasury, as they have already been taken by the nobles.

No matter how much tax revenue the port generated, all that was reported to the royal family was a loss, and all the money was pocketed by the nobles.

This situation is not just in the ports, but in almost all areas.

This is also the reason why Chanle Popiyya wanted to carry out reforms earlier.

He knew very well that if this continued, Zhenla would perish on its own without Siam's attack, and social contradictions had reached a point where they could no longer be reconciled.

Reform means changing the law.

Reform is never easy at any time, and failure is normal.

After Long Dongqiang met his adoptive father, he immediately began to prepare to organize people to seize the port.

"You listen to everything the old eunuch says. Brother, do you know how many soldiers they have? We only have so many people, and many of them are workers at the docks who only know how to work. You can ask them to move things or farm, but how can you ask them to take up arms and kill people?"

"We only have 700 men at our disposal, but you have 2,000 Zhenla soldiers stationed at the port. They are all equipped with armor, weapons, and even muskets and cannons. What can we use to fight them?"

"I don't know what the eunuch said to you, brother, but if we attack the port, we will definitely be courting death. No matter how rich you are, if you die, you will have nothing."

"Brother, listen to my advice. Don't follow that old eunuch. He definitely has no good intentions."

Long Dongqiang wanted to organize people to seize the port, but was strongly opposed by his younger brother Long Dongsheng.

But coming from Long Dongsheng's mouth, it seems to make some sense.

Upon hearing this, several core members of the Cao Gang nodded slightly, agreeing more with Long Dongsheng's statement. Although the Cao Gang had come to the Zhenla Port now, everyone's financial resources had become richer, and it was different from the past when they were barefoot. There was no need to risk their lives.

Long Dongqiang stared into his brother's eyes and asked, "Xiao Sheng, you are an adventurous person. You would be the first one to go at any time. Tell me, is it because your brother is your adopted son that you have a gap in your heart, or do you think your adopted father is harming us?"

"I have always known that you have a lot of opinions about my adoptive father, but if it weren't for his help, would our Cao Gang still be what it is now?"

"I think you must have heard about the current situation of the gangs in Champa. No matter how powerful they are, they can still cause a lot of trouble under the attack of the Ming government and the army."

"If there is no godfather to show us the way, what other way out will our Cao Gang have except to disband? Maybe you think that even without the godfather, we can still come to Zhenla, right?"

"But you see, apart from our Cao Gang, who else has moved to Zhenla? Without a permit from the government, no gang can leave. Now almost all of them are in Champa. Even those who are still there are just barely surviving."

"When my adoptive father got the news, he came to meet me in person. Don't you think about what kind of person my adoptive father is? He is someone close to the current Ming Dynasty Crown Prince. Everyone who sees him has to give him some respect. What's more, my adoptive father is also an official in charge of the army."

"What is there in our Cao Gang that is worthy of your concern? Is it money or personnel? What is left on your side is just the gratitude I have shown you over the years. If this gratitude is used up, there will be nothing left."

"Xiao Sheng, you have studied before, so you should understand some principles. If we don't take this opportunity to make contributions, the Cao Gang will never be able to land."

Long Dongqiang's words silenced everyone present.

Long Dongsheng, who loved to refute, did not speak at this time, but lowered his head slightly.

If he were to be honest, he did despise Li Youwei because of his identity as a eunuch. Even though he had become a commoner, in Long Dongsheng's heart, he was still the scholar and a learned man.

The fame and honor of a scholar is a pride that is engraved in Long Dongsheng's bones.

Seeing that no one was talking, Long Dongqiang glanced around and said, "We are outnumbered, so it is impossible to directly confront the Zhenla soldiers. But I think everyone has had many encounters with the soldiers at the port and should have a better understanding of their situation."

"The entire port is now under the rule of the Fian family. They are extremely greedy, which gives us a lot of room for development. Sometimes, you don't have to force your way through."

Long Dongsheng's eyes lit up and he said, "Brother, do you mean to kidnap Sianggla?"

Sianggla is the eldest son of the Fian family and the governor in charge of the entire Zhenla port.

Long Dongqiang nodded: "Just kidnap him and we will control the entire port."

The Zhenla port is different from the government. It is completely ruled by the aristocracy, and those soldiers are equivalent to the nobles' private soldiers.

If Siangela was kidnapped, these soldiers would definitely be cautious.

Siangela is a fat man weighing more than 200 pounds. He has simple hobbies: greed for money and lust.

After Long Dongqiang made his plan, he immediately started to act.

Long Dongqiang pretended to invite Siangla out for a drink at a restaurant at the port, under the pretext of discussing business.

Siangela was obviously very interested in such things. He knew that the Cao Gang was going to give him money. Siangela was always satisfied with the Cao Gang's understanding.

The port was the territory of his Fian family, and Siangela did not think much about it. After all, the soldiers patrolling everywhere were his people.

He went to the appointment with only two guards.

Long Dongqiang ambushed two hundred people in the restaurant.

Things went smoothly, mainly because Siangela never thought that the Cao Gang would attack him.

When something went wrong with the soldiers, the Cao Gang had already taken control of Sianggla.

People who are greedy for money and lustful are generally very timid.

As the threat from the Cao Gang was small and he was afraid of being harmed, Siangela agreed to all the conditions.

It was easier than expected, and the Cao Gang took control of the entire port.

The original port soldiers surrendered directly under Siangela's order.

Li Youwei also received the news soon.

He smiled and patted Long Dongqiang on the shoulder and said, "Very good, now it's up to your father."

In fact, for the Ming Dynasty, the Zhenla port has no significance at all. The navy can take it with just a few ships.

But Long Dongqiang took control of the port in advance, which is a great achievement.

His merits cannot be ignored in the Ming army.

This also gave Li Youwei room to operate.

On the third day, Jin Kaishan arrived at the Zhenla port with 20,000 naval forces. He thought he would encounter resistance, but unexpectedly the port had already been taken.

This is naturally a good thing for the navy, because once a battle begins, there will always be casualties.

The key point is that General Li is here.

"Li Jianjun really has a good adopted son."

At the dock, the navy had taken over the port. Jin Kaishan looked at Li Youwei and Long Dongqiang and said with a smile.

In Jin Kaishan's view, this operation was naturally Li Youwei's attempt to find a way out for his adopted son.

Jin Kaishan also had some understanding of the Cao Gang's affairs. After all, he had been stationed in Champa for a long time and had to deal with them.

But he didn't expect that Li Youwei would come to Zhenla Port in person to give Long Dongqiang such a gift. It was obvious that he really valued this adopted son.

Li Youwei is the navy's military supervisor, so Jin Kaishan will naturally give him face.

"Hurry up and come over to meet Commander Jin." Li Youwei shouted to Long Dongqiang behind him, with a hint of scolding in his tone.

Long Dongqiang knew that this was his adoptive father giving him some advice, and he was overjoyed. He quickly came over and bowed: "I am Long Dongqiang, the humble servant, and I pay my respects to Commander Jin."

If Li Youwei didn't speak, Long Dongqiang wouldn't even be qualified to come and pay a visit.

Now with Li Youwei's care, things are completely different.

"No problem. Boss Long has made contributions regarding the port. I will definitely report this to the Ministry of War and give Boss Long credit for his contribution." Commander Jin said with a smile.

But these words made Li Youwei frown slightly.

With just a call of "gang leader Long", Long Dongqiang was designated as a gang member.

If this situation is reported, there will be no reward from the Ministry of War. Instead, they will most likely turn a blind eye to it.

"Dong Qiang, Commander Jin has just arrived at the port, you must entertain him well and don't be impolite. If there is anything inconsiderate, you must apologize to Commander Jin."

"We were able to seize the port this time thanks to Commander Jin's help. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy."

As soon as Li Youwei opened his mouth, Long Dongqiang reacted immediately.

He said quickly: "I was able to seize the port of Zhenla with the help of Commander Jin. However, there are some details that I would like to report to Commander Jin. Please come over and discuss in detail."

Jin Kaishan laughed and said, "What a Long Dongqiang! Not bad, not bad."

Jin Kaishan himself did not think highly of this small achievement, but he felt somewhat unhappy that Li Youwei had told Long Dong the news privately.

He himself does not need this small credit, but his brothers do, especially some of his trusted followers.

Now it seems that Long Dongqiang is willing to give up some of the credit, which is in line with his wishes.

After the Chenla port was controlled, the news quickly spread to Angkor, the capital of the Chenla kingdom.

The current King of Zhenla is in a mess.

Just as Zhu Ying guessed, the Zhenla King Canrepopiya had passed away due to illness, and the nobles in the royal capital quickly supported the prince who was only a few years old to ascend the throne.

He then took control of power firmly in his own hands, and all the reforms previously made by Chanlie Popiya were abolished.

However, they never expected that the Ming Dynasty would actually interfere in the affairs of Zhenla.

It was definitely not possible to fight, so an envoy was immediately sent to ask for peace and apologize.

However, the order from the Crown Prince that the Ming army received was to avenge the King of Zhenla. This was due to the request of the Crown Prince's concubine, Concubine Dan. The Ming army stood on the principle of justice rather than invading Zhenla.

When Lan Yu led 20,000 troops to Zhenla, it meant that the Ming Dynasty's war against Zhenla had begun.

It was called a war, but in fact, it was just like a trip for the Ming army.

The city of Zhenla had no intention of resisting at all. As soon as the army led by Lan Yu arrived at the city, the generals defending the city immediately surrendered.

Lan Yu simply took over the cities one by one.

There is nothing we can do about this.

As Zhenla is very close to the Ming Dynasty, it has been greatly influenced by the Ming Dynasty over the years.

Especially after Annan and Champa were annexed by the Ming Dynasty, these nobles became even more fearful.

Secondly, this has a lot to do with psychological tactics.

Before, everyone knew that Ming Dynasty was a very powerful country, but no one had a specific understanding of it.

As the imperial gazettes spread overseas, more and more nobles came to understand how powerful the Ming Dynasty was.

The clearer they understood, the more afraid they were, especially in the past few years when Li Jinglong brought his fleet to Zhenla, which allowed the nobles of Zhenla to come into close contact with the military strength of the Ming Dynasty.

Now that the king is gone, the princess who married the Ming crown prince demands revenge for the king. These nobles certainly don't want to be the first to take action.

Therefore surrender is the best option.

In their view, after the Ming army entered Angkor City, they would simply put some nobles on trial, and then Zhenla would remain the same, and it would not affect their interests.

Even if the Ming Dynasty wanted to rule Zhenla, it would definitely not be able to do without their help.

However, the situation this time was far beyond the expectations of the Zhenla nobles.

When Lan Yu arrived at the royal capital of Angkor, the nobles in the city still wanted to resist stubbornly. However, after less than an hour of artillery bombardment, the people in the city chose to surrender.

They tied up some nobles and handed them over as criminals who had killed the king.

In their view, after the Ming army achieved its goal, they would definitely withdraw their troops and leave, and at most they would compensate them for some of their losses.

Even if the Ming Dynasty sent someone else to be king, it wouldn't matter much.

After Lan Yu entered the city, he arrested thousands of nobles, both big and small.

Because of intelligence problems, Lan Yu really didn't know which nobles were involved in the poisoning, but does it matter?

Did he bring the army here just to investigate the case?

"My Lord, all 1,367 nobles in the city have been arrested. Please let me know."

Lan Yu, who was riding on a horse, heard this and smiled coldly: "All the nobles here participated in the poisoning and murder of the King of Zhenla. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, the whole family should be executed."

"Yes, sir."

The nobles in Zhenla City never imagined that this general from the Ming Dynasty would be so cruel and directly started a massacre against all the nobles in Zhenla City.

They were very regretful at this moment. If they had known this would happen, they would have resisted directly.

Suddenly, the whole Angkor was flooded with blood.