prosperous age

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, China long pursued a policy of "closing the country to the outside world," for many reasons.

However, it must be mentioned that the colonial expansion and internal turmoil of Western countries during this period did indeed have a significant impact on the foreign policies of the Ming and Qing governments.

Although "closing the country to the outside world" was more of a proactive choice made by the Ming and Qing dynasties based on their own political, economic, and security considerations, rather than simply a passive response to the chaos in the West.

At this time, Emperor Wanli had already developed a sense of disgust towards news from overseas.

Take Sumatra for example. If the Ming army had not recovered the old port, there would naturally have been no conflict with the Kingdom of Aceh.

At this very juncture, the Ming Dynasty was considering further expansion.

Perhaps, the allure of the harem can indeed extinguish a powerful ruler's ambition to conquer the world.

It seems that the Wanli Emperor had already forgotten his ambition to become a renowned emperor for all time in just over a year.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Chinese emperors were more or less aware that Western countries were aggressively expanding their territories.

However, they did not harbor any ambition for hegemony; instead, they chose the philosophy of "out of sight, out of mind" and opted for isolationism.

This is actually related to traditional Chinese culture, which states that once one has access to the dazzling world, nothing else matters.

The Wanli Emperor had such thoughts because he was already the supreme ruler.

However, the news received today from Old Port has caused quite a stir in the court.

Today, Wei Guangde did not summon his allies to his residence for tea to discuss the current situation in Southeast Asia.

He didn't even bother to sit down or take a look at the several maids that his brother-in-law, Duke Xu Bangrui of Wei, had carefully selected from Jiangnan.

As is customary, after taking a bath, he and his wife went to bed to rest.

"My lord, you've looked worried all day. Is it because of what happened in Old Port?"

The two had slept together for many years and knew each other's habits very well.

Today, Wei Guangde returned to his residence. Although he showed no outward expression, the worry in his eyes was unmistakable.

So, in the dead of night, Xu Jianglan finally asked that question.

“The tiny kingdom of Aceh is not worth mentioning.”

Wei Guangde simply said it.

Are you worried about Fu'an's safety?
There's no need for that. He was on a merchant ship bound for Siam earlier, so he shouldn't have gotten involved in either Old Port or Luzon at this point.

Xu Jianglan said in a relaxed tone.

"Ah."

Wei Guangde vehemently denied having any concerns, but in his heart, he had already realized something that they had previously overlooked.

Although the Ming Dynasty had always been the suzerain of the surrounding vassal states, strictly speaking, it was not a truly qualified suzerain state.

Why do you say that?

Because the Ming Dynasty rarely interfered in the affairs of these countries, and even had very little contact with them.

Aside from situations like investiture, I almost never contact them.

The result was that these vassal states seemed to have gotten used to the existence of the Ming Dynasty, but they were only aware of it.

But now, Ming warships are sailing everywhere, and merchants are constantly going there to trade.

This wouldn't have been a problem in itself, but as they got to know each other better, they started communicating more frequently.

The frequent appearances of the navy, in particular, which were backed by the government, inevitably put pressure on these vassal kings who were used to looking after their own interests.

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty didn't care about them, and they only needed to send a few congratulatory messages every year to appease them. But now the situation seems to be different.

With the increase in merchant ships coming and going, should they also follow the example of Korea and Ryukyu and regularly send ministers to pay homage to the Ming Dynasty?

In fact, seeing the presence of the Ming navy, they began to worry that the Ming court would demand some land, just as it had done with Luzon.

In particular, in the past year, a large number of Ming Dynasty gentry have also gone to their country to buy land and property.

Although they sent silver, these gentry all seemed to have close ties with the navy. Could they be part of the Ming Dynasty's strategy for external expansion?

First, buy the land, then demand control of it, and eventually annex the country entirely?

When Emperor Wanli felt that "the whole world is against us," Wei Guangde also felt it to some extent.

He was used to the Ming Dynasty relying on its strong national power and taking the initiative in its foreign affairs.

This time, the two passive responses made him doubt the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty for the first time.

They usually fawn over the imperial court, but what they really think is worth exploring.

Although he did not share the concerns of these vassal kings, did they believe him?

Incorporating them into the Chinese territory is unrealistic. While Chinese culture has had a profound influence on Southeast Asian countries, it is not absolute.

Just look at how many Islamic countries there are in Southeast Asia, and you'll realize that if it truly had a decisive impact, there wouldn't be so many Western-leaning religious countries.

Are you asleep?

Xu Jianglan's voice reached Wei Guangde's ears again. Although he was somewhat annoyed that she had interrupted his thoughts, Wei Guangde still said softly, "I can't sleep."

"My lord, just say what you're thinking. Although I'm not good at handling state affairs, I can still offer some advice and share some of the burden."

Xu Jianglan said again.

"Hehe, Madam, you don't understand the relationship with the vassal states, and you can't help with that."

Wei Guangde replied.

"Vast states? Shouldn't they obey the imperial court and act according to its orders?"

Xu Jianglan responded upon hearing this.

"Yes, they should listen to the imperial court, but the imperial court has not properly managed their affairs for the past hundred years."

In recent years, their contact with the imperial court has increased, and they probably feel that the court is interfering too much.

Wei Guangde gave a perfunctory answer, but also revealed some of the truth.

"I remember that in the past, the imperial court didn't seem to care about their internal affairs, but only maintained the tributary relationship."

Is it because of the frequent naval exchanges that they've interfered in their internal affairs?

Xu Jianglan asked in a low voice.

"For convenience, the navy requested some port and dock areas from some vassal states to moor its warships, and that was all."

Furthermore, there are significantly more businesspeople doing business with them than usual.

Wei Guangde stopped abruptly at this point.

They only thought about how merchants used to do business and sell Ming Dynasty goods to those vassal states, but forgot that these businesses were originally monopolized by the kings of those vassal states through tribute trade.

It seems that they were not only worried about the Ming Dynasty interfering in their internal affairs, but also about the impact on their interests, which led to their dissatisfaction with the court.

Although they can collect taxes, they lose the monopoly profits of the past, which cannot be compensated by the small amount of commercial tax.

"This is a bit troublesome."

Unable to contain himself, Wei Guangde muttered something under his breath.

"hehe."

A silvery laugh suddenly rang out, making Wei Guangde turn his head to look over.

Although the light was dim, the lady's fair complexion could still be faintly seen.

“My lord, the reason they became vassal states of our Great Ming Dynasty is because they fear the majesty of the imperial court. As long as the navy is present, they will not dare to act recklessly.”

"They'll really get carried away if they lose their navy."

The lady's words reminded Wei Guangde.

The relationship between the Ming Dynasty and its vassal states was not formed naturally, but rather the sense of oppression brought about by the Ming Dynasty's powerful national strength forced them to choose submission.

To disobey is to die.

Do I need to care about what they think?
As long as they remain strong enough, no matter how much dissatisfaction they feel, they can only endure it.

As for those forces that dare to provoke the Celestial Empire, crushing them is enough to make an example of them.

Despite his thoughts, Wei Guangde couldn't help but say, "We just destroyed Burma. If we immediately destroy Aceh as well, won't that leave the vassal states of Southeast Asia vulnerable?"

Xu Jianglan said dismissively, "Husband, you've thought of things."

Whether they are afraid or not is a minor matter. As long as Aceh is destroyed for provoking the Ming Dynasty, the other vassal states will only be more careful in dealing with the court.

Even if I had ulterior motives, I could only think about it, but I would never dare to do it.

Unless the imperial court truly presses them step by step, leaving them with no way out.

Does the imperial court truly intend to annihilate the vassal states of Southeast Asia?

"No, what use are those fertile lands?"

Wei Guangde vehemently denied it.

That's what they say, but it actually reflects the Ming people's understanding of overseas customs: apart from China, everyone around them was a barbarian.

Their output was negligible compared to the wealth of the Ming Dynasty.

The only thing that could attract the Ming Dynasty was its exotic products, things that the Ming Dynasty did not have.

Rare.

In that short time, Wei Guangde had already come up with an idea, a way to resolve the current situation and stabilize the vassal states.

The next day, Wei Guangde started to look at his panda eyes, and he also greatly reduced his usual exercise.

After having breakfast, I went out and arrived at the cabinet. I glanced briefly at the list of memorials sent today.

The only memorial on the desk was a document sent to the palace by the Ministry of War yesterday afternoon, mobilizing the Burmese and Western Naval Forces to Sumatra to intimidate the Kingdom of Aceh into submission.

The outcome of yesterday's discussions was to send troops to reinforce Palembang and force the Kingdom of Aceh to submit.

However, at this point, Wei Guangde's thoughts had changed somewhat.

With the Ming Dynasty deterring the Western Barbarians of Luzon, the swift and decisive annihilation of the Aceh Kingdom would exert even greater pressure on the surrounding vassal states.

The Ming Dynasty could destroy a country in Southeast Asia without using its full strength, and could even take military action against multiple countries at the same time.

Only then will those vassal states truly recognize the strength of the Ming Dynasty and cease their attempts to secretly collude against it.

Although there are no signs of this yet, Wei Guangde believes it is necessary to take precautions.

Show off your strength to dispel the ideas of vassal states.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde took out a notepad, dipped his pen in the ink that had been ground on the reed cloth, and wrote on the paper: "Yaqi is disloyal, the country is destroyed, its land and population are incorporated into the Old Port Pacification Commission."

Wei Guangde put down his pen and stared at the draft bill in thought.

The vassal states submitted to the Ming Dynasty out of fear of its power.

Then let's take advantage of Aceh's provocations to fully demonstrate the power of the Ming Dynasty to the surrounding vassal states.

There's no need to use the South China Sea Navy; the West Sea Navy and the Old Port government troops alone are enough to destroy Aceh.

The Ming Dynasty still has the capability to deal with the even more powerful Spanish.

With this understanding, the countries of Southeast Asia should not dare to harbor any rebellious intentions.

The Ming Dynasty had a navy of four seas, and it was able to fight against multiple countries at the same time with ease.

However, subjugation was only one aspect. Wei Guangde felt it necessary to legislate in the Ming Dynasty to clarify the relationship between the suzerain state and the vassal state.

In this way, the concerns of vassal states about the possibility of the Ming Dynasty encroaching on their land can also be dispelled.

After all, the Ming Dynasty had already occupied Burma, which was different from what some vassal states had previously thought—that the Ming Dynasty was merely teaching the Burmese king a lesson.

Although Myanmar is quite hated in Southeast Asia, they are unwilling to be destroyed quietly.

Their hope was that the Ming Dynasty could teach Burma a lesson, make them behave, and stop their aggressive expansion.

This mentality is exactly the same as the mentality of "fearing both the suffering of one's brothers and the driving of a Land Rover" in later generations.

We're all in the same boat, suppressed by the Ming Dynasty, so we shouldn't be making any underhanded moves.

If something goes wrong, the suzerain state should step in to mediate; there's no need for fighting.

This was inspired by the treaty signed between the Ming Dynasty and three European countries. The Ming Dynasty could also have a common law governing its relations with its vassal states, defining the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and them, and the obligations they needed to provide to the Ming Dynasty, so as not to make them suspicious.

This bill will clearly state that the imperial court will not interfere in their internal affairs, but if it involves Ming people, they will need to be handed over to the Ming government for trial.

This is to protect the basic rights of Ming people overseas.

It wasn't that Wei Guangde wanted to bend the law for personal gain; the Ming people should punish him according to the "Great Ming Code," and it wasn't up to the vassal state to decide.

Secondly, the ports were opened to the Ming Dynasty navy to facilitate naval operations.

The presence of the navy was also a form of protection for them, and a demonstration of the Ming Dynasty's fulfillment of its obligations as the suzerain state.

There was also the opening of markets. The Ming Dynasty opened its markets to goods from vassal states, and the vassal states were also required to open their markets to the Ming Dynasty.
The more he thought about it, the more Wei Guangde hurriedly took out a notepad and began to record his thoughts.

Later, Wei Guangde even had Lu Bu arrange for the Secretariat to retrieve all the documents concerning the demands made by the previous emperors to the vassal states, starting from the Yongle Emperor, to see what promises they had made and what demands they had made to the vassal states.

Ultimately, the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and its vassal states was entirely up to the emperor, and no specific details were left behind.

Now, it's just a matter of supplementing this part of the regulations.

At first, Wei Guangde wanted to find the daily records of the Yongle Emperor, but then he remembered that although Hanlin officials were now on duty to record the daily records, the daily records of the previous emperors were not available.

Yes, but only intermittently, and it was quite troublesome to retrieve them from the inner court.

Well, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, initially established the system of recording daily activities, but abolished it not long afterward.

Perhaps they were worried about compromising royal privacy.

During the Hongwu reign alone, the system of recording daily events was revised up and down two or three times.

It was restored once again during the Hongzhi reign.

However, after Emperor Xiaozong passed away, the daily records were never completed.

Then there's the present. A few years ago, Zhang Juzheng petitioned to restore the daily records of the emperor's activities, still using the old precedent set by the Hongwu Emperor.

In fact, the fact that Lao Zhu both established and abandoned this thing shows that it was a mixed bag, and he eventually gave up on it.

Without the daily records, Wei Guangde couldn't find out exactly how Emperor Yongle arranged things or what he said back then, so he could only look through the old archives from that time and slowly summarize them.

However, the Ministry of War's memorial was not delayed. After the ink dried, Wei Guangde had the reed cloth sent directly to the Directorate of Ceremonial.

The major actions taken by the Grand Secretary in his office naturally did not escape the notice of the other cabinet ministers.

It was said that Wei Guangde was reviewing old archives related to vassal states in the early Ming Dynasty, and when he connected them to the Kingdom of Aceh, people began to speculate.

While not entirely accurate, it's still somewhat related. (End of Chapter)