eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 895 Nine Borders of Nanyang
The small Luzon is just an appetizer. The key today is to establish Ming Dynasty’s attitude towards the Southeast Asian countries.

Even though Zhu Houzhao had lived in this era for so many years, he sometimes still had to change some of his ideas.

For example, in 1526, the concept of a modern sovereign state could not be found anywhere in the world. The source of this idea, which was so deeply rooted in his mind that he had not forgotten it for decades, actually dates back to the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.

Therefore, the attacks on the Kazakh Khanate, the Kingdom of Luzon, and the Kingdom of Japan that we are discussing today do not involve so-called aggression, and there is no distinction between justice and injustice.

As for national independence, as one of the connotations of the concept of a sovereign state, it does not exist in the world today.

This is especially non-existent in the East Asian order where China is the suzerain state.

Therefore, the wars against Luzon and Japan cannot be called wars of annihilation, but should be called punishments imposed by the Celestial Empire on its vassal states.

Just like Zhu Houzhao punishing any minister today.

The implication is that they shouldn't resist. How can you resist if the king wants to kill you? There's something wrong with you!
This is the order of East Asia, and the Ming Dynasty is the common ruler here.

In fact, in real history, the letters between the kings of Ryukyu and Korea would compare and show off with each other in the way of "who is more loyal to the Ming Dynasty".

The kings of some small countries in Southeast Asia regarded the titles bestowed by the Celestial Empire as the source of the legitimacy of their royal power.

What Zhu Houzhao had to do today was to make the loose suzerain-vassal relationship, which was mainly linked by the tribute trade system, more substantial.

"Since the Hongzhi period, Westerners have sailed to the East. In less than 30 years, they have invaded Malacca, Siam, and Brunei. These are all vassal states under my rule. I have been thinking about how to deal with this matter. It just so happens that the eldest prince proposed the idea of ​​a great power strategy. In the past six months, there has been a lot of discussion inside and outside the court. What surprised me was that most people in the court supported it."

The emperor's gaze turned slightly and fell on Zai Yao.

This incident was indeed beyond Zhu Houzhao's expectations.
Generally speaking, pure expansion policies are strongly opposed by old-school officials.

They fear that excessive expansion will bring heavy burdens and lead to the decline of the country.

But this time, the voices outside the palace were indeed mostly supportive.

Afterwards, consider the reasons.

One reason was that his status as the eldest prince played a role. He had finally accomplished something that gained the emperor's attention and encouragement, and he was asked to consult more with knowledgeable people. Most of the people around him were officials with strong sense of etiquette, and many of them should have supported him.

The second is that Zhu Houzhao's shaping of the interest structure over the years has played a role. The Ming Dynasty is now a half-continental and half-maritime country, and in terms of social production, it is a half-agricultural and half-commercial country.

A group of meritorious officials and generals relied on profits from maritime trade on the one hand and expansion of titles on the other. Why did they oppose?
The third one is the credit of Bowang Hou Jingyang. Because of him, many knowledgeable people in the Ming Dynasty began to open their eyes to the world, and the first scene they saw was the slaughter and devastation of weak nations by Westerners.

The Ming Dynasty and its vassal states are like lips and teeth. Today, the Ming Dynasty does not care about the life and death of its vassal states. But when it starts to monitor the four borders, what will the Ming Dynasty do when Westerners reach the coast?
Of course, there is a more realistic reason: if the emperor supports you and you oppose, do you still want to be an official?

In addition to these four reasons,
However, opponents have not been able to come up with any arguments that stand up to scrutiny in practical terms.

Especially when there are many supporters, any dissenting voice will often be questioned as a traitor. In such an atmosphere, even if some people have some doubts, they dare not speak out.

Zai Yao suppressed the smugness on his face and said modestly, "Your Majesty has ruled the country for 21 years, and has worked hard and forgot to eat and sleep. All officials are impressed by your heart for the country and the people. I am also grateful to your Majesty. Today, the Ming Dynasty has a vast territory. After the signing of the Ming Treaty, the Ming Dynasty and all its vassal states have formed a unified common market. This contribution is no less than that of the First Emperor, who 'unified the writing system, the wheels, and the customs.' In order to protect this common market, the court should do something."

Yan Song also followed suit and flattered him, "Your Highness, what you said is true and insightful. The market of the vassal states is also the market of the Ming Dynasty. In the future, the merchants and people of the Ming Dynasty will trade and live in Southeast Asia. The Westerners are eyeing them covetously. Rather than being passive in the future, it is better to start building a unified defense now. In my opinion, this can correspond to the nine frontiers of the Great Wall in the north, and be called the nine frontiers of the Nanyang in the south!"

"This statement is really clever, and every Ming citizen can understand it." Zhu Houzhao's eyes lit up. He actually hadn't thought about how to explain the defense strategy of the Nanyang area. The idea of ​​the Southern Nine Frontiers was very good. "At the beginning, the main threat to the Ming Dynasty was in the north, so since Emperor Taizu Gao, generations of ancestors have continuously strengthened the border defense, and eventually formed the Nine Frontier Fortresses.

In the future, the main threat to the Ming Dynasty will definitely come from the south. The vicious Westerners will grab any good things they see. In this case, we should establish the Southern Nine Frontiers!"

"I second the motion." Zhang Cong also began to express his opinion.

After that, Gu Renyi, Wang Tingxiang, Jin Gui, Jiang Yong, Zhou Shangwen and others all expressed their agreement.

The eldest prince Zai'e was so excited by the ministers' voices of seconding the proposal that he had forgotten the spider-web-like defense strategy of 'taking islands as starting points and jumping forward', which was actually first proposed by Zai'e.

"Yan Song."

"The minister is here."

"The treaty also contains provisions for garrisoning troops and joint defense. You should take this opportunity to explain to the vassal states that my intention this time is to strengthen ties with them in case of emergency.

From now on, our Celestial Empire's troops will advance and retreat together with their respective troops and horses, and unite to resist the enemy. Any attack on the Ming Dynasty or any of its vassal states will be regarded as an attack on us as a whole. All countries have the responsibility to send troops, pay salaries, and provide food!"

In the ancient East Asian order, no emperor had ever done such a thing.

However, the practice of a superior country sending troops to a vassal state to help it fight had existed in both the Ming and Qing dynasties. This shows that people of this period thought that this approach was normal.

the only difference,
The Ming Dynasty planned to vigorously build new ports in Southeast Asia and station troops there.

"Bring the map," Zhu Houzhao ordered, pointing to the map and saying, "Fortunately, we have decided on the first batch of ports today. As I said before, Malacca controls a sea route, and the military port here is far more important than Shitang Port. The second is the port of Champa, which is also in the first batch."

Zhang Cong spoke up at this time, "Your Majesty, with so many affairs, I think you should send a capable minister to handle them."

Zhu Houzhao also had this idea, "Let's choose Yan Song!"

====
The fever is gone.

It's just coughing, runny nose, and general soreness, but it's relatively bearable.

(End of this chapter)