I'm really not doing business

Chapter 1064 Luo Qianjin, the bravest in the army!

The Ming Dynasty suffered from a severe case of Wokou (Japanese pirate) trauma syndrome, which was very evident in the Ming Dynasty. The entire Ming Dynasty was extremely sensitive to the pirates.

For example, England issued a letter of privateering, which actually had little to do with the Ming Dynasty, since it was the West that suffered the most. However, to this day, the Ming Dynasty still refuses to communicate with England and has formulated a series of policies to make things difficult for England.

Upon hearing that Annam was showing signs of becoming like the Japanese pirates, and that not only was Da Nang closed, but Annamese were also allowed to attack Ming merchant ships, the entire Ming Dynasty reacted quickly and was somewhat alarmed.

Most importantly, even Shen Li, the Grand Minister of Rites who had always opposed it, began to write a proclamation, which meant that the Ming Dynasty's military action against Annam had passed the moral review of the Ministry of Rites.

The war machine of the Ming Dynasty began to turn rapidly. After the overwhelming victory in the last Pingbo War, no one in the entire Ming Dynasty, inside or outside, believed that the Ming Dynasty would lose.

Gao Panlong sighed as he looked at the large pile of excited newspapers in front of him. Everyone was advocating for the punishment of Annam, for letting Annam know the terrible consequences of allowing pirates, and for the great benefits that the Ming Dynasty would gain after the war. All of this was an expectation for the war.

Grand Minister Shen Li's concerns were valid; the Ming Dynasty was indeed in danger.

On the one hand, the Ming Dynasty's unconditional favoritism towards the poor and laborers led to social division and intensified conflicts. On the other hand, the court frequently used foreign wars to divert attention from these conflicts. If this approach succeeded, it would be fine, but if it failed, it would truly cause a cataclysmic upheaval.

"What if we lose?" Gao Panlong sighed as he looked at the visiting card that Gu Xiancheng had sent him.

Gao Panlong was different from Gu Xiancheng. Gu Xiancheng was stripped of his academic title and never employed again because of cheating in the imperial examinations, which even implicated his family. Gao Panlong fared much better; he was just a troublemaker and did not receive any punishment from the court.

Gao Panlong didn't want to have too much contact with Gu Xiancheng, mainly because he was afraid that if Gu Xiancheng was struck by lightning, it would implicate him.

Gu Xiancheng sent his visiting card with only one purpose in mind: he wanted to discuss with Gao Panlong the military action against Annam, mainly because he opposed the war.

“If we had the theory of contradictions in scholarship and the theory of class, we wouldn’t be so stupid.” Gao Panlong threw the visiting card aside. He didn’t intend to see Gu Xiancheng, much less to jump out and oppose the war at this time like these lowly Confucian scholars.

Such a base scholar is someone who opposes for the sake of opposing.

If the pedantic scholar is right, he will arrogantly say, "See, I told you it would be like this." If the pedantic scholar is wrong, he will pretend he never said such a thing and avoid the topic altogether.

Gao Panlong used to be a lowly scholar who was oblivious to the world around him and had a rather naive understanding of national affairs. However, after his theories on the contradictions in scholarship and class theory, he broke free from the ranks of lowly scholars and became a member of the conservative faction of the Ming Dynasty.

He wanted to oppose the war in his own way. He organized his thoughts and wrote a miscellaneous article in an attempt to stem the tide of the war. However, his article sank without a trace, and there was no response or even discussion.

This is why pedantic scholars like to stick together. As long as they stick together, even the voices of a very small minority will be amplified countless times. Eventually, these few voices become the majority, and finally, they become a unified voice.

When Wan Shihe was alive, he explained this change in public opinion, calling it the mob mentality or the echo chamber effect.

The Echo Wall is the circular wall surrounding the Imperial Vault of Heaven in the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. If you put a hundred people inside and they all shout different things, the loudest voice will gradually drown out the others, and then the others will unconsciously echo the loudest voice.

In just a short time, everyone's voices will become one.

This is a kind of human herd mentality, or rather, most people do not have enough judgment to judge the right or wrong of the information they receive, but subconsciously follow the 'loudest' voice so as not to appear out of place. The final result is that public opinion can be overwhelming.

In the end, everyone involved in a large-scale movement gradually becomes a mob.

In matters of public opinion, banding together becomes the best approach. One person's voice isn't loud enough, but when people band together, even if there aren't many, their voices will grow louder. Ultimately, by following the crowd, public opinion will be shaped into the way they want it to be.

In response to this phenomenon, Wan Shihe made one decision: the official gazette must, absolutely must, become the loudest voice in the Ming Dynasty.

The imperial gazette was inherently authoritative, being issued by the emperor and representing the will of imperial power and the decisions of the court.

To maintain its authority, the official gazette must first and foremost be truthful and never lie. Secondly, in addition to not going against the emperor's wishes, it must not have any inherent bias. Even if the court is wrong, it must explain it clearly and openly, rather than covering it up.
Fairness and impartiality are the guiding principles of the official gazette. It is precisely because of this rule established by Wan Shihe that the official gazette has always been the loudest voice in the Ming Dynasty.

Gao Panlong's voice was treated as background noise due to the echo chamber effect. Soon, under this public opinion, Gao Panlong even wondered if he was overthinking things or making a mistake.
Unbeknownst to Gao Panlong, his miscellaneous reports were sent to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Despite his busy schedule, Zhu Yijun still had Li Yougong specifically tasked with compiling public opinion reports. He wanted to read articles by conservatives, reformers, and even a few well-written articles by lowly Confucian scholars, and present them to the emperor.

"Gao Panlong's article is still excellent." Zhu Yijun finished reading Gao Panlong's article. Although the article did not cause any ripples, his argument was very complete. It took courage to say such a thing under such public opinion.

Zhu Yijun removed Gao Panlong's name from the list of lowly scholars and placed him in the category of conservatives.

Gao Panlong summarized the military tactics used against Annam from ancient times to the present: Annam is easy to conquer but difficult to govern.

Annam never gained any real advantage from the Song Dynasty. Duke Zhang Fu of Yingguo conquered Annam in two campaigns, each lasting between three and six months.

But why has Annam, which is so easy to conquer, experienced so many resurgences?
Gao Panlong provided the answer: easy to fight, but difficult to cure.

It would be easy to conquer Annam. Annam lacked iron and coal, its weapons and equipment were obviously outdated, its people were not united, and there were many internal factions that were constantly fighting each other. If the Ming army marched in, military victory would be very easy.

But political victory is extremely difficult.

Gao Panlong raised a point that no one else had mentioned: the royal palace in Thang Long (the capital of Annam) used yellow tiles, not the blue tiles of Korea or Japan. Blue tiles were for princes, while yellow tiles were for emperors.

This is the system of etiquette, and the yellow tiles of Thang Long Palace are a true reflection of the contradictory and complex inner world of the Annamese people.

On the one hand, they were powerless to resist the military conquest and cultural interference from the north; on the other hand, they were unwilling to truly submit.

Throughout Annam's history, the kings submitted to the Chinese dynasties and called themselves kings, but within Annam itself, they called themselves emperors.

Of course, is this the real reason why Annam repeatedly refused to truly submit throughout history? Gao Panlong believes not.

Leaving aside previous history, let's just talk about the issue of Annam rebelling again after the establishment of prefectures and counties during the Yongle era. Was it really because the officials sent by the Ming Dynasty were too inhumane, leading to the people being forced to rebel and ultimately driving the Ming people back to the Ming Dynasty? Gao Panlong believes that it is not.

Although he had never been to Annam, he had been to Guangdong and Guangxi, where he saw a large number of Annamese people who came to the Ming Dynasty to cut sugarcane. These Annamese people were simply not capable of carrying out this act of resistance.

Annam at that time had no capacity to manufacture weapons and equipment on a large scale or in large quantities. Annam was extremely short of iron, and the Ming Dynasty sold iron pots to Annam. Even those inferior iron pots could cost three taels of silver each.

Gao Panlong pointed out incisively that there was a mole within the organization.

This is not his deduction or assumption, but a fact.

Before the Wanli Reforms, there were already a large number of Han Chinese landlords in Annam. These Han Chinese from Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong arrived in Annam, became the ruling class, and annexed land.

After the Wanli Reforms, the scale of these Han Chinese landlords increased several times over.

Maritime trade, voyages to the Western Ocean and Southeast Asia have always been key interests that the imperial court and the southeastern regions fought tooth and nail for. During the Yongle era, Annam was gained and then lost again, which was due to the struggle for control over maritime trade interests.

Gao Panlong is a conservative, not a capitulationist, and certainly not a contemptible Confucian scholar.

His meaning was clear: it would be very easy for the Ming Dynasty to achieve military victory, but to achieve political victory, it would need to face two difficulties: first, the will to resist of the Annamese people, and second, to find ways to prevent internal traitors from seizing the fruits of victory.

To make his argument more convincing, Gao Panlong also specifically mentioned how, after the Yongle Emperor, powerful and influential figures in Jiangnan coveted the shipyards.

Especially during the Zhengtong era, these powerful and influential figures attempted to take advantage of the young emperor and the uncertainty of the country to convert government factories into private workshops on several occasions. However, Empress Dowager Zhang refused to sell them, citing the ancestral heritage, and the schemes of these powerful and influential figures failed.

The Longjiang Shipyard and a host of other government-owned factories were left to decay silently.

It's not uncommon for insiders to steal the fruits of victory.

This time, Annam's reaction was a bit strange. The Annamese, who were poorly dressed and starving, had no shipbuilding capabilities whatsoever. As a result, Annam was not only able to close Da Nang, but also to launch attacks on Ming Dynasty three-masted merchant ships. This raises a question.

Where did the Annamese get their ships? Where did they get their armor and weapons?
Gao Panlong's report expressed his hope that the Ming Dynasty could achieve both military and political victories, rather than launching a military campaign, winning several major victories, and ultimately ending up with a disastrous and chaotic outcome.

"Let's forward it to the official gazette." After some consideration, Zhu Yijun decided to forward Gao Panlong's article to the official gazette for nationwide publication.

Zhu Yijun was willing to call Gao Panlong a Mahayana winner-winner, who not only pursues military victory but also political victory, and seeks great and genuine victory, rather than small or embellished victories. This is the Mahayana winner-winner philosophy.

Gao Panlong genuinely wanted the Ming Dynasty to win, so that its heartland could continue to be peaceful and prosperous. Only in such a stable world could someone like him, a man of opinion, thrive.

"The Nanjing Tribute Selection Case?" Zhu Yijun sat up abruptly. The Nanjing Tribute Selection Case was the fifth major case handled by Zhu Yijun during the Wanli era. This matter was rarely discussed in the newspapers because the case was complicated, 621 families were exterminated, and no one dared to discuss it openly.

After reading the signature, Zhu Yijun confirmed that it was written by the Ministry of Rites, because this miscellaneous report was personally written by Gao Qiyu, the Minister of Rites.

Gao Qiyu summarized the entire selection of tribute officials case from beginning to end. In fact, there was one point that was never made clear from the start: why the result of the selection of tribute officials case was treason and a political case.

Everyone knows that this case, which has affected a wide range of people, is a political case, but the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Rites had not explained why it was a political case or why it was considered a treason case before. This time, Gao Qiyu has made it clear.

The Imperial Examination Controversy prevented the formation of powerful families of scholars who had passed the imperial examinations. The opposing faction behind the Controversy aimed to change the examination system to ensure generations of wealth and status, but the Controversy shattered this dream of perpetual prosperity.
In the article "Examination of Jinshi Families", it is found that 96% of the Jinshi families could not escape the nightmare of the curse that wealth does not last three generations. Out of a total of 2088 Jinshi, only 51 families have lasted for three generations, and the rest have not.

The essence of the selection of tribute students was to use various means to ensure that the sons of successful candidates in the imperial examinations became successful candidates themselves.

By the 22nd year of the Wanli reign, among the 2088 verifiable Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), 46% came from humble backgrounds, with no ancestors who had ever passed the imperial examinations at the county level, provincial level, or metropolitan level.
Those whose families produced scholars (xiucai) but not provincial graduates (juren) or imperial graduates (jinshi) accounted for 2%; those whose families produced provincial graduates (juren) but not imperial graduates (jinshi) accounted for 50.5%.

The proportion of descendants of those who passed the imperial examinations to become Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest level of the imperial examinations) was no more than 1%.

Even this 1% only appeared after the Hongzhi era. For example, Yang Tinghe and his son Yang Shen, who tried to force the emperor to abdicate, had almost no descendants of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) before Emperor Xiaozong's Hongzhi reign.

In other words, becoming a Jinshi in the Ming Dynasty was an upward social mobility, mainly based on personal talent and diligence, and it was a matter of personal struggle. More than half of the Jinshi were children of Juren (successful candidates in the provincial examinations).

The essence of the selection of tribute students was that, unable to monopolize the palace examination, they resorted to monopolizing the selection of local candidates for the imperial examinations to control the output of successful candidates.

For example, during the selection of tribute students, it was found that there was a kind of document called "official examination papers" in the entire Southern Court. These official examination papers were not anonymous or cross-verified. Although the provincial examinations varied from place to place, a total of 10% of the candidates for the provincial examinations were reserved for the children of these official examination papers.

The families of officials were composed of descendants of officials, scholars who had passed the imperial examinations, and those who had passed the provincial examinations, as well as wealthy merchants, influential figures, and local gentry who were renowned for their virtue and integrity.

For example, during the investigation, it was discovered that in Wangjiang County of Anqing Prefecture, there was a rule that people of humble origin and cold household registration were not allowed to take the provincial examination in Anqing Prefecture.

Those who are considered "white-collar and cold-registered" are those whose families have not produced any scholars, graduates, or successful candidates in the imperial examinations within three generations. They are not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations.

There were no specific written regulations, but in practice, the candidates for the county-level examination needed to be vouched by other candidates, but other candidates would not vouch for those who were not commoners; the local county government would not issue travel permits to candidates who were going to take the exam, etc., in order to achieve the goal of monopolizing the imperial examination.

After the selection of tribute officials, no one dared to do it again. After all, His Majesty really killed people. The selection of tribute officials resulted in the extermination of 621 families. In the Ming Dynasty, there were only about 8,000 households that could be considered local gentry, powerful and influential.

At the end of his article, Gao Qiyu stated directly: "Those who conceal their extravagance are terrified upon hearing the news, and there is much criticism. If the common people do not hear the details and simply follow the crowd, it may harm the benevolent heart and virtue of the sage ruler."

Some people wanted to seize the path to advancement for themselves, and His Majesty took the blame and prevented it from happening. Those who were prevented from doing so would naturally be dissatisfied. But the common people followed these powerful and influential figures in spreading rumors. So who was His Majesty doing all this for, and for what purpose?
"I fear this might offend Your Majesty's benevolence and virtue." Zhu Yijun smiled as he put down the miscellaneous newspaper in his hand, shook his head and said, "This Gao Qiyu, I thought he was unwilling to share the burden of the Crown Prince, that he was planning to change his way of life and not be a lone minister anymore, but he ended up writing such an article."

Gao Qiyu became Minister of Rites, Junior Minister of the Imperial Clan, and a member of the Western Study. He was already qualified to choose his own path. If he hadn't chosen the path of a sovereign minister but instead pursued the path of an upright and outspoken official, Zhu Yijun wouldn't have stopped him. But unexpectedly, Gao Qiyu still chose the path of a sovereign minister.

Li Yougong considered for a moment and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, when Wang Wencheng was alive, he said that Gao Zongbo could only be a minister alone. This 'alone' means that he could only be Your Majesty's minister."

Your Majesty has misunderstood Wang Chonggu's words. Your Majesty's understanding of a loyal minister is someone like Wang Guoguang, who is cautious and independent, unwilling to form cliques or curry favor with the powerful, and who dedicates himself to the country. That is uprightness, not solitude.

A loyal minister is one of the six evil ministers; he only serves his superiors and will not offer advice or correction even when the emperor is wrong.

If Gao Qiyu were the Grand Minister of Rites, he wouldn't have obstructed the emperor's use of force like Shen Li did; instead, he would have tried to make the reasons more convincing.

This is the difference. Strictly speaking, Gao Qiyu should be considered a corrupt official rather than a clean one. Such a minister, who is almost flattering and openly praises His Majesty for killing so many officials in the newspapers and official gazettes, saying that His Majesty did a good job, killed them well, and killed too few, is rare since ancient times.

"So that's what it is..." Zhu Yijun frowned. Only after Li Yougong spoke did the Ming emperor realize that Ling Yunyi's choice to leave Gao Qiyu in the capital was not without reason. What Ling Yunyi valued was Gao Qiyu's independence.

If the emperor is a foolish ruler, then Gao Qiyu will almost certainly become a treacherous minister like Cai Jing or Yan Song, because such a powerful minister is truly useful.

Fortunately, Zhu Yijun himself felt that he was at most a tyrant, but not quite a foolish ruler, so Gao Qiyu might still have a good ending.

Zhu Yijun read through almost all the miscellaneous newspapers from Shuntian Prefecture, Yingtian Prefecture, and Songjiang Prefecture. The two most frequently mentioned topics were naturally the military campaign against Annam and the article "On China" by Le Nguyen.

Li Yashi's writing on China was far too obsequious. His phrase "transcending the cycle" directly established the Ming Dynasty's status as a transcendent entity, rather than a regular civilization. Li Yashi's views left the scholar-officials speechless, unable to find a rebuttal.

Finally, the Ming Dynasty officials and scholars gave Li Yashi a severe dressing-down, saying that Li Yashi was an ungrateful wretch who could not be tamed even after twenty years of trying, and that he still wanted to leave the Ming Dynasty.

In response to these questions, Li Yashi said that he returned to Taixi to practice his principles, and that this process would inevitably expand the influence of the Ming Dynasty. He was not a traitor.

The enemy of the Ming Dynasty, the enemy of China, has never been the barbarians, but itself.

The benefits of this transcendence of cycles are numerous, but the drawbacks are also obvious. In times of great upheaval, it is particularly vulnerable. For example, the Western Jin Dynasty's migration of non-Han peoples into the Central Plains led to widespread devastation. Furthermore, the factional struggles and conflicts between civil and military officials during the Song Dynasty provided an opportunity for non-Han peoples to exploit the situation.

China's enemy has always been itself. To be more precise, an extended period of order can make people forget the horrors of disorder.

After two hundred years of stable order, the primary issue for the Chinese to consider is how to maintain the vitality of the main body of this order, namely the imperial court and its officials, rather than criticizing him as an old, useless barbarian.

Zhu Yijun looked at the miscellaneous newspapers in front of him and felt a surge of anger. Weren't these scholars and officials of the Ming Dynasty usually so eloquent?! They were insulted by a Western barbarian and couldn't even retaliate. It was simply unbelievable! They were all just idle people who grew up eating nothing!

Facts speak louder than words. The reason the scholars couldn't win the argument was because what Li Yashi was doing aligned with the mainstream values ​​of the Ming Dynasty, showcasing his courage and integrity. It was his unwavering courage to pursue and spread the light, even unto death. It's normal that the scholars couldn't win the argument.

On June 17, Zhu Yijun convened another court meeting, which was still focused on military action against Annam.

"Your Majesty, I have drafted a proclamation and humbly request Your Majesty's review." Shen Li stepped forward immediately after the court meeting began, stating his position.

His reasons for opposing the war were very clear: the joint survey conducted by Wang Jiaping and Wan Wenqing. This reason could not convince Shen Li, could not pass the moral review, and could not even convince the officials of the Ministry of Rites who were not involved. It would be even more difficult to convince the soldiers and generals who were going to fight.

Soldiers are not machines; they are living, breathing human beings. They must clearly understand why they are fighting and for whom they are fighting in order to truly win the war.

His reasons for supporting the war are now clear: Annam is becoming like the Wokou (Japanese pirates), which the Ming Dynasty will never allow.

"I have already reviewed it, and I will proceed as the Grand Minister of State has suggested." Zhu Yijun said solemnly, "The Grand Minister of State is loyal to the emperor and devoted to the country. He has already persuaded me, but Annam's provocations cannot be tolerated."

Previously, Zhu Yijun had really intended to give up and continue to negotiate, hoping to get the four major families to conduct a joint survey and at least secure the right to free navigation, making Da Nang an important transit port for the Ming Dynasty. For this, Zhu Yijun was even willing to accept temporarily halting the trade with foreign tribes in Annam.

But when Annan provoked them by launching privateering operations, war became the only option, and events always unfold in unexpected ways.

"Your Majesty, there are three key points in this battle. The first is Lang Son, beyond which lies the vast Red River Plain, a densely populated area of ​​Annam. The second is Hai Duong City at the mouth of the Red River. Hai Duong City and Quang An City are located on the north and south banks of the Red River respectively, forming a strategic defensive position, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and also the maritime gateway to Thang Long City."

"Thirdly, there is Da Nang. This is the main road connecting the north and south of Annam. Taking Da Nang will cut Annam in half." Qi Jiguang stood up and spoke eloquently in front of the map.

Annam's terrain is long and narrow from north to south, resembling a carrying pole. Da Nang is located at the shoulder of this carrying pole, with the Red River Plain at one end and Champa in the Mekong Delta at the other.

This time, the Ming Dynasty's offensive differed from its past focus on land-based advances; instead, it primarily employed naval attacks.

The heavy responsibility fell on Hai Duong, Quang An, and Da Nang. The Ming ground forces were mainly deployed in Lang Son to draw the Annamite garrison. After capturing Da Nang, Hai Duong, and other cities, they would advance south again.

"Within three months, we will take Thang Long City and replace the yellow tiles of the Thang Long Palace with blue tiles." Qi Jiguang introduced the objectives of the first phase of the campaign.

The first phase, lasting three months, aimed to replace the yellow roof tiles of the Thang Long Palace and eliminate Annam's disloyalty.

The second phase was to occupy the entire Red River Plain, to subdue the rebellious, to suppress bandits, and to destroy the Mo and Nguyen families; the third phase was to march south to Champa.
The latter two phases did not have set deadlines or specific goals. Instead, they were fought and observed. The minimum expectation was to capture Da Nang and ensure the free navigation of Ming Dynasty merchant ships.

After explaining the overall objective, Qi Jiguang went on to explain the difficulties of specific combat operations. In fact, he explained these things in a very simple and easy-to-understand way, but most of the court officials present did not know much about military affairs and only had a superficial understanding of his explanation.

"General Qi is absolutely right." Zhu Yijun nodded repeatedly and said, "Whether it is Chen Lin or Luo Shangzhi, they are both seasoned veterans, so I will not interfere."

Zhu Yijun maintained his consistent attitude towards military affairs, refusing to engage in micromanagement. This was an ancestral instruction from Zhu Yuanzhang. As an emperor, he did not have the ability to see and hear things from afar, so the General of the Southern Expedition and his advisors would make decisions based on their own considerations.

In fact, the map reveals the Ming Dynasty's determination to conquer Annam. The map is so detailed that it is comparable to a map of the Ming Dynasty's own territory.

Over the years, the Ming Dynasty has never stopped surveying the terrain of Annam and has also collected a great deal of intelligence through merchants who travel to Annam.

Moreover, the Guangzhou granary held 11 million shi of new and old grain. The scale of the granary alone was enormous. These granaries were not built in a day or two. The storage of grain was extremely troublesome and complicated. Construction began when Wang Jiaping was the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and continued for a full 15 years.

Zhu Yijun was certain that the people of the Ming Dynasty had been waiting for this day ever since they lost Jiaozhi during the Xuande era.

If you were to ask Qi Jiguang, after forty years of fighting in the north and south, when was he most at ease during battle? It would be after the Wanli Reforms, when His Majesty personally took charge of military affairs.

Generals like Qi Jiguang, Li Chengliang, Li Rusong, and Chen Lin no longer had to worry about the direction of the imperial court affecting the war situation.

In his treatise on war, he strongly advocated logistical support. Firstly, it is indeed the essence of war. Secondly, His Majesty is very good at this. Although His Majesty is not good at fighting, His Majesty can ensure that the Ming army is fully paid and can fight with peace of mind. This is the great grace of the Emperor!
Qi Jiguang believed that no one could match the fully-paid Ming army. He could clearly say: "The Ming Dynasty is invincible!"
This time, there were no dissenting votes in the court meeting. No one opposed the use of force against Annam; it was all Annam's own doing.

"Report! Your Majesty, a victory report!" A courier carrying a vermilion letter tube ran into the imperial study, took the tube off, and shouted, "General Luo Shangzhi, who is leading the southern expedition, has achieved a great victory and dealt a heavy blow to the enemy near Gusu Island in Annam!"

Zhu Yijun checked the sealing wax of the letter tube, opened it, read the victory report, and said with a smile, "Luo Shangzhi, Luo Qianjin, are the bravest in the army!"

Luo Shangzhi led the vanguard to fight well, and the cooperation of the Annamese was also important. The Annamese really believed in a legend that small boats could use "wolf pack tactics" to deal with large ships.

As a result, nearly three hundred small boats from Annam, in the waters near Gusu Island, were completely unable to capture a fast sailing ship and two five-masted ocean-going vessels from the Ming Dynasty.

In the first battle, the Ming Dynasty captured more than 1,600 rebels.

However, what worried Luo Shangzhi the most was that 1,100 of these 1,600-plus prisoners were actually people from the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)