I

There are five major rivers in the territory occupied by Deng Youzhang, and he accounts for 60% of the island's main rivers.

But why did the indigenous people establish their country in the central plateau?

Because the precipitation in the central plateau is more uniform, and the western area occupied by Deng Youzhang, except for farming along the river, is all tropical grassland with distinct rain and drought.

In the grassland area, you can only graze!

Deng Youzhang's class returned to Wangxiang City and soon received news from Li Luosheng from the north. The messenger said: "Governor, Li Zhi County has conquered the Mahevatanana tribe. According to the chief there, one can go directly to the capital of Imelina country, a large city with tens of thousands of people, along the Beqibuka River. It was built right by the river. By the way, Li Zhixian felt that the name of the river was too difficult to pronounce, so it was renamed Beiqi River from now on."

"I know," Deng Youzhang said, "When you go back to resume your duties, ask Li Zhixian to hold a meeting here in Wangxiang City before the rainy season comes, and say that all the city lords will come."

In fact, there is a river that leads directly to the capital of Imelina, right next to the village where they originally lived.

Deng Youzhang sent people to explore, and small groups of troops were able to pass along the river. But it was troublesome to bring the luggage, because there was a section of the river that was very fast and there were cliffs on both sides, so boating upstream required the use of trackers. If people carry food on their backs, it would be too difficult to cross mountains and ridges, and no one would want to take the risk.

In the next two months, the city lords of the seven cities, as well as the assistant officials in the city, returned to Wangxiang City one after another.

Deng Youzhang said: "Brothers, you have received my letter, which has made it very clear. The angel left in September last year, and the court estimates that he will send someone next year. What do your Majesty and the ministers say? We definitely can’t figure it out. Maybe, just replace me as the governor.”

"Why should the country send someone to be the governor of the territory we have worked so hard to build?" He Wenpeng sneered, "If the court changes the governor, I will be the first to stand up and oppose it!"

Li Luosheng said: "Blatantly disobeying the emperor's order is absolutely unacceptable."

He Wenpeng asked: "Can you bear it?"

Li Luosheng smiled and said: "All the indigenous tribes have already married us, and the indigenous chiefs can only listen to us. How many people can the court send? If the governor comes, it will be easy to provide for them. We can do whatever we need to do!"

"Yes, yes, that's how it should be!" Wang Yuan laughed.

These guys are already discussing how to oust the Governor.

Deng Youzhang said with a smile on his face: "Don't think things are so bad. The imperial court may not send a governor. But even if it doesn't send a governor, it may still send someone to supervise it. After all, we have gold mines here. Before the imperial court sends someone, , we have to speed up our territory expansion.”

Li Luosheng asked: "What country of Imelina do you want to destroy?"

"Yes, we will send troops after the rainy season next year to fight from your side," Deng Youzhang nodded. "I heard from the tribes who migrated here sporadically that there are countless people in the capital of Imelina. If there can be enough to support three people there, Fifty thousand people means that the farming conditions are better than here. When the time comes, the capital will be moved directly... No, the governor's palace will be moved there."

It is necessary to move the ruling center, otherwise it can only be settled in a corner.

Antananarivo is located on the central plateau of the island, where all rivers originate. Build the governor's palace there, and as long as you can build strong inland ships, you can send troops in all directions along the river.

…

Antananarivo.

The king had a long name, Andrea Mavagi Navalona.

Compared to his subjects, the king's skin was paler. Because he was of Arab descent, there were books in Arabic writing in the palace, and they had even learned how to make paper.

There were even black slaves in this country, brought here by the Arabs to farm the land.

As for when the Arabs came here, some say it was the ninth century AD, while others say it was the thirteenth century.

But it is very interesting that they do not believe in religion and do not use Arabic in their daily communication. Arabic and Arabic writing, as well as Arabic astrology, are only used during sacrifices, and civilians are not allowed to get involved, and if found, they will be executed.

The architecture of this country is even more interesting. The houses built by the people have a very obvious Southeast Asian style...

"Your Majesty, outsiders from the west have occupied the Mahevatanana tribe in the north." The minister brought news from the border.

The king...the name is too long and is shortened to Andrea. The king said disdainfully: "Outsiders are not scary. A few decades ago, the Portuguese also landed in the east and built two cities. But were they driven away by my grandfather? My grandfather told my father that I My father also told me that the firearms used by outsiders will malfunction on rainy days. The God of Storms will protect us. As long as the enemy dares to come, we will fight on rainy days!"

The minister hesitated to speak, and finally said: "Your Majesty is wise."

King Andrea added: "Compared to outsiders, the domestic tribes are the ones that make people worry. Why haven't all the tributes been paid this year? I just increased the tribute a little."

The minister said: "The tribute is still a bit high. In fact, it can be reduced slightly."

"It can't go any lower, I'm already very merciful," Andrea said.

This king imposed excessive taxes and in another time and space, he directly split the country into four small countries. It was not until more than a hundred years later that his descendants reunified the country and began to engage in maritime trade with India. Immediately, the son of the unifier expanded his power to the entire island and established the Kingdom of Madagascar.

Facing the expansion of the Chinese, the king didn't pay attention at all. He felt that he was invincible - his world was the entire island.

In fact, neither King Andrea nor the Chinese expanding to the west knew that there were other outsiders on the island.

The French had already arrived, and earlier than the Chinese, they established Duofan Castle in the southeast, and relied on the castle to continuously penetrate and expand. However, the number of French people is very small, with only a dozen or so permanently stationed, and Fort Dovan is more like a supply depot.

French merchant ships docked here, waiting for the trade winds and ocean currents to reach southern India.

In the autumn of this year, a tribe in the south rebelled, and nearby tribes responded.

King Andrea was furious and gathered eight thousand troops to attack, and personally led the troops to kill him. His elite troops had iron weapons, not just bronze weapons as Deng Youzhang thought. They even had trebuchet troops.

For the indigenous tribes, such a powerful army is simply impossible to resist.

The tribes and nobles who led the uprising were slaughtered. All ordinary people, including the elderly, were killed, and young men, women, and children were used as slaves. Most of the other tribes and nobles who responded were also killed, and then the food was taken away. It is estimated that many people will starve to death.

It is one of the most important grain-producing areas on the island!

Another year passed, before the officials sent by the imperial court arrived, Deng Youzhang led his army and set off.

They passed through the northwest grassland and came to the city of Majunga where Li Luosheng lived. There are more than 300 musketeers, 200 cavalry (Adopted Son Cavalry), 150 cold weapon infantry (Adopted Son Legion), and more than 2,000 indigenous auxiliary troops.

The northern tribes of Imelina all surrendered. They had long been dissatisfied with the king's tyranny, and some even joined the Chinese army.

King Andrea finally panicked and ordered all tribes to send troops.

Although this guy is cruel, the majesty of the king is still there, and more than 7,000 tribal soldiers have been gathered one after another. He also recruited soldiers in the capital, and together with his troops from the direct jurisdiction, he managed to collect more than 20,000 soldiers.

Andrea said to the ministers and tribal leaders: "Don't panic, outsiders are afraid of rainy days, we just need to wait for it to rain."

Everyone was speechless. It’s raining during the dry season!

The climate here is a tropical plateau, with very little rainfall in the dry season and temperatures generally not exceeding 30 degrees. It is cool and dry, very suitable for fighting.

Under the king's insistence, the Imelina army did not take the initiative to attack, and never thought of setting up an ambush halfway. Just waiting in the capital, and asking the priests to pray for rain, they wanted to give the Chinese army a hard job.

The priest is also a wonderful person. He knows what the king is thinking and naturally speaks according to the king's wishes.

The priest used Arabic astrology to observe the sky at night, and used humans and animals to communicate with the gods. Then he said to the king: "The gods have come with revelations, and the king's army will definitely win."

Andrea asked: "Want to win in the capital, or send troops to win on the road?"

The priest was a little confused about what the king wanted to do, so he asked: "Does your Majesty want to send troops?"

Andrea said: "The chiefs of the various tribes have been quarreling these past few days, which gives me a headache. I want to take the initiative to lead troops to fight to the north. Calculate the dates and find out which day is the most suitable to go on the expedition."

So the priest began to divine again and determined that it would be best to send troops after seven days.

Neither the king nor the priests thought that they would lose, because they had never encountered an opponent on the island.

More than 20,000 indigenous soldiers marched toward the north in a mighty manner.

The more than 7,000 tribal soldiers came with their own dry food. They were heavily taxed by the king and were already in dire need of food. They consumed a lot on the road and in the capital, and they began to run out of food within two days of leaving.

King Andrea was very interesting. He felt that providing rations to the tribesmen was a waste. But now that there is a war, we have to provide food and grass, so we ask the ministers who are proficient in mathematics to calculate the rations of each soldier, and then provide food and grass according to the minimum standard.

The minister responsible for distributing grain deducted grain and grass behind the king's back, so he probably wouldn't starve to death.

Even before the war started, more than 7,000 tribal soldiers were complaining, and their morale plummeted after they were hungry.

Andrea felt that she was very smart and could save a lot of food, so she ordered this method to be promoted. He recruited many civilians as soldiers inside and outside the city, and the rations of those militiamen were also distributed according to the standards of tribal soldiers.

The two armies met in a river valley. More than half of the soldiers of Imelina's army were so hungry that they could hardly move.