The information Zhao Pu had gathered from maritime merchants was even more detailed than what appeared on the light screen, and far closer to present reality.
Zhao Kuangyin listened with clear interest. He paid no attention at all to the bickering between the chancellor and the monk. After a moment's thought, something seemed to click.
"So from Mingzhou Port, sailing south is longer and more dangerous… but the profits are several times greater than going north?"
"Exactly," Zhao Pu confirmed.
"There is also another trade route. From Liuqiu, ships can follow the chain of small islands to the northeast and eventually reach Japan."
"This route is the middle option. It takes longer than sailing north directly from Mingzhou, but far less time than heading into the southern seas. And the islanders along the way are simple folk. They are not like the Kunlun peoples of the Wu lands, so merchants do not need to risk their lives."
Zhao Kuangyin felt as if he finally understood.
No wonder later generations placed so much importance on the island, yet no one at court had ever raised the issue. It turned out that from Liuqiu there were three possible maritime routes, and not a single one was truly peaceful.
But even without considering what they had seen from the future, Zhao Pu's explanation alone made the island's value obvious.
"If we open the seas to trade, this place must be brought into Song territory."
"I shall follow the example of Emperor Taizong of Tang. We will build a Song navy, suppress the sea raiders, and guard against what may come."
As for exactly what they were guarding against, everyone inside Guangzheng Hall instinctively let their gazes follow the island chain stretching from Liuqiu toward the upper right.
The Japanese archipelago lay long and narrow like a snake, its head angled toward the lands of China as if ready to strike.
At that moment, the light screen above shifted again. A map marked "Ming" slowly unfolded. The relaxed voice of the descendant returned and continued the explanation.
---
[Lightscreen]
["Of course, the whole 'non-conquest country' thing was never meant to be taken too seriously. That title is basically like the immunity tokens Zhu Yuanzhang gave his founding generals. Nice to look at, not meant to be used."
"A so-called non-conquest state just meant he didn't feel like fighting at the time. Once someone started pushing their luck, whatever ancestral injunction Old Zhu left behind would be about as useful as toilet paper."
"Old Zhu hadn't even been dead two years when Hu Jili of Annam usurped the throne. A descendant of the former royal house, Trần Thiêm Bình, fled to Ming."
"The Yongle Emperor stepped in to 'restore justice.' He ordered Hu Jili to return disputed lands and sent Ming troops to escort Trần Thiêm Bình back to the throne."
"Then halfway there, the Ming escort and Trần Thiêm Bình were ambushed. Yongle blew up in fury and launched a full invasion. The Hồ dynasty collapsed, Annam was annexed into Ming territory, and the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration was established."
"So yeah, Yongle clearly didn't treat his father's sacred instructions as sacred at all. Same as those immunity tokens from the Hongwu era. Fine for hanging on the wall, but if you actually tried to use one…"
Old Zhu: "You're seriously pulling that out?"
"The conquest of Annam also scared Ming's neighbors. At the time, Joseon had territorial disputes with Ming in the Tumen River region and occasional clashes."
"Some of the more ambitious voices were already shouting about crossing the Yalu and marching west into Liaodong."
"But when Yi Bang-won saw what happened to Annam, he immediately cracked down on the hawks. Those calling for war were arrested or executed, and any thought of fighting Ming disappeared overnight."
"We'll talk about all this in more detail later, though, so stay tuned."
"That's it for today's episode. Next time we move forward from here and talk about the fall of Song, the fracture of the Mongols, the death of Yuan, and the rise of Ming."]
---
[Server Chat Log]
[ConquerAfterNap: "Sad, though. Annam was lost after the Tang fell and wasn't reclaimed until Judy (Yongle) took it back. Then his descendants lost it again a few years after he died."
"Hundreds of years ago now. All we can do is regret."
KnightShiftOver: "The 'Not to Be Invaded' list was just a list of 'Reserved Lands' in Old Zhu's eyes. But ancient China was bad at cultural integration. Even Joseon (Korea), the Ming's 'Firstborn Son,' never stopped nibbling at the borders."
VictoryNeedsWifi: "Yi Bang-won (Taejong of Joseon) was a savage. His life story feels a lot like Li Shimin's."
BattlePending: "Still not quite the same. He was the fifth son. His four older brothers mostly died peacefully. If this had been Li Shimin, he'd have wiped them all out."
"And when Korean dramas made Yi Bang-won sworn brothers with Judy… come on, really? At best he'd qualify as a foster son. Judy might not even dare accept him. What if he studied the classics too well and started quoting: 'A true man lives between Heaven and Earth…'"
Judy: "You get one chance to rephrase that. How much did you drink?"
GeneralLoading: "But honestly, the 'non-conquest' thing can't be blamed entirely on Hongwu. Everyone knows Yongle never liked listening to his father anyway."
"In the end, whether to conquer or not, the Great Ming holds the final right of interpretation. If the treasury is full, then it becomes: 'We only said we wouldn't conquer. We never said we couldn't campaign or punish. And since ancient times…'"
"And speaking of Japan, I actually feel like defending Old Zhu a bit. During the Hongwu era he mainly misunderstood who Japan's real boss was."
"Even modern people don't always get that right without looking it up."
BornToQueue: "By Chinese standards, someone like Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who could enter court wearing sword and shoes and be praised without being named, should have forced the emperor to abdicate already. Yet when he sent tribute to Ming, he still used the title 'Sei-i Taishogun.' Getting rejected wasn't that strange."
"Old Zhu probably thought that once he accepted tribute, Yoshimitsu's next step would be asking Ming to help him seize the throne. So he kept recognizing Prince Kanenaga as King of Japan and treated Yoshimitsu as a rebellious subject."
IShowedUpTho: "Poor Prince Kanenaga. He'd already been crushed by the Muromachi shogunate in 1359. By 1367 Yoshimitsu was basically Japan's supreme ruler. Yet in 1369 Hongwu was still issuing orders telling Kanenaga to control the pirates. By 1381, when Hongwu was demanding answers again, Kanenaga had been exiled to the countryside farming for nearly ten years."
"Meanwhile Yoshimitsu patiently waited until Hongwu died. In Hongwu year thirty-five he finally received an imperial patent recognizing him as king, and during Yongle's reign he really did help suppress the pirates."
LegendIfLucky: "Honestly, good thing Ming's loyal minister Ashikaga Yoshimitsu lived long enough."
BuffedByLuck: "Oh, and one more thing. Compared to Sado's gold mines or the Konomai mine, Kagoshima's Hishikari mine with its two hundred sixty tons of reserves absolutely dwarfs them."
Li Shimin: "No wonder this Yongle Emperor praises me so much. I am quite envious of the Hongwu Emperor for having such a son. Also... are these 'Joseon' people still making trouble?"
Zhao Kuangyin: "This is a great lesson. As the Master of Song, I shall not forget the importance of the islands."
Zhang Fei: "Hongwu! Come out and chat! Don't be shy!"]
---
The Ming Palace
Empress Ma smiled and shook her head.
"It seems Chongba's Record of Ancestral Instructions needs more thought again. Perhaps…"
The Ming emperor immediately stiffened.
"I will never abolish that book!"
"Look at Tang. Princes slaughtering one another. Look at Song. The throne changing hands again and again. Even Yuan had brothers fighting within the walls."
"I wrote those ancestral rules for the sake of our Great Ming… Ming dynasty!"
The ancestral code had taken six years to complete after its initial compilation, with further additions in the ninth year. Empress Ma had always doubted how effective it truly was.
But since the emperor insisted, she did not argue. Instead, she pointed at the screen.
"In that case… why not ask the Taizong of Tang and the Taizu of Song directly what they think?"
"Fine, I'll ask!"
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted, chin raised.
"I've got something to ask anyway. Just how exactly is that name of Biao'er supposed to be read?"