Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The idea of ​​an island chain defense line finally convinced some of his advisors to accept the idea of ​​attacking Japan.

This is because it implies that the emperor's ambitions are limited, and that his actions are primarily for defense.

Cheng Jiming seized the opportunity to say:
Emperor Taizu of Song once said: "How can I allow others to snore beside my bed!"

"Japan is right next to the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty wants to secure its coastal defenses, it must conquer Japan."

"This is for defensive purposes, not because the Ming Dynasty is being unreasonable."

These words drew agreement from Han Kuang and others, who did not want the war to continue indefinitely.

Seeing that his ministers accepted it and nodded in approval, Zhu Youjian pretended to be generous and said:
"If Japan is willing to submit and become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty like Korea, the court may not send troops."

"But if they are unwilling to submit, it means they still covet the Ming Dynasty, and they must be punished."

"The Court of Colonial Affairs sent envoys to reprimand the General Staff and the Navy Department, which formulated a plan to establish naval garrisons and port supply points along the first island chain defense line."

His words were seemingly amicable, but he was already preparing to send troops.

The Tokugawa Shogunate hesitated even to acknowledge the Ming Dynasty as a vassal state, let alone achieve complete unification with the Ming Dynasty in military, economic, ideological, and cultural aspects, like Korea.

Zhu Youjian anticipated that the Tokugawa Shogunate would not accept this condition, and he was prepared to send troops to Japan.

Taking advantage of the Ming Dynasty's advanced firearms and the resulting generational gap with its neighbors, we can defeat them at a relatively low cost and eliminate their ability to threaten the Ming Dynasty.

To prevent the leakage of firearms technology and the strengthening of surrounding powers from continuing to pose a threat to the Ming Dynasty.

His ministers could all guess his idea.

But that's exactly what they wanted: to make the emperor morally bound when he went to war.

That way, if the emperor wanted to wage war against other countries in the future, they could use the same reason to restrain him.

Having successfully persuaded the emperor, Cheng Jiming's prestige among the court officials greatly increased. He then continued:
“Japan, Korea, and Annam are all located near the Ming Dynasty. We should conquer them or weaken their power.”

"Your Majesty's campaign against them is perfectly justified."

"However, there are still some countries far from the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty, I urge you to value peace and abide by the three principles of peaceful coexistence."

Zhu Youjian had no intention of continuing the war indefinitely, and he was accepting of Cheng Jiming's suggestion.

He knew that every empire had its limits. Although the Ming Dynasty possessed formidable firearms under his leadership, it still needed to restrain its military might.

Therefore, he praised Cheng Ji Ming, saying:

"Cheng Qing's point is very good. It is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to be enemies with all countries."

"Within the land of China, the Ming Dynasty reigns supreme."

“All countries must submit to the Great Ming, and only internal vassal states and internally subordinate external vassal states are allowed to exist.”

"Outside of the Central Plains, more independent vassal states are permitted to exist."

"If we encounter civilized countries, the Ming Dynasty can also coexist peacefully with them."

As he spoke, he drew a few lines on the map and said:

"These ancestral lands of China must be reclaimed."

"On land, we should set up a three-sided defense line as Liu Qing suggested."

“On the ocean, three island chains are set up according to the distribution of islands.”

"This is the entire territory of China that the Ming Dynasty needs to completely control, the Ming Dynasty's absolute security zone."

These three sides and three chains represent three lines of defense on land and three lines of defense at sea.

The Ming Dynasty's defenses were all designed around the three borders and three chains.

Having just gained attention, Liu Zunxian said:

"Your Majesty, the Protectorates of Heishui and Andong are located on the distant border defense line." "How should defenses be established in places like Beihai and Hezhong, which were once part of the Han and Tang territories?"

Does the scope of China include them?

Zhu Youjian replied matter-of-factly:
"Since it is the ancient land of the Han and Tang dynasties, it naturally belongs to the territory of China."

“But these places are easy to lose. If you have the means, set up defenses. If not, you can retreat and abandon them temporarily.”

“If we can manage these areas, we should establish remote protectorates. But further west, we can leave them completely unmanaged.”

Pointing to the Caspian Sea, the Ural Mountains, and the Ural River, Zhu Youjian said:
"The Caspian Sea lies to the west of the river, and the western boundary of China is defined here."

“A river originating from the mountains flows into the Caspian Sea from the north; the locals call it the Ural Mountains or the Ural River.”

"This sea, this river, and this mountain mark the western border of China."

“They are thousands of miles away from the capital, and the Ming Dynasty has no need to worry about the places further west.”

“If a nobleman establishes a vassal state outside of China, it can be converted into an outer vassal state and gain more autonomy.”

This idea caught the eye of some nobles, because they did not want to be restricted by the imperial court and be under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty's Protectorate.

However, they did not understand the difference between these outer vassal states and those under the control of the emperor, nor did they dare to ask in front of him.

Moreover, the distance of tens of thousands of miles deters many people, who simply don't want to go.

While it's troublesome to have the Protectorate in charge, there's no need to worry about external enemies.

If they were to establish a vassal state outside of China, the Ming Dynasty would not care even if it were destroyed.

It is likely that the emperor demarcated the borders because those places were too far away for the Ming Dynasty to govern, thus reducing the burden on the court.

This reassured the civil officials who were worried about the emperor's excessive military campaigns. They knew that the emperor was still limited and wouldn't continue fighting indefinitely like Emperor Wu of Han.

Just looking at the distance between the river and the North Sea made them frown. They knew that conquering these places would be incredibly difficult.

Grand Secretary Han Kuang tried to say:
"Your Majesty, places like Hezhong are too far away."

"Should we wait until the drought in the north is over before setting up the Protectorate and defense lines?"

Zhu Youjian didn't want to waste his energy on something that wouldn't yield much benefit, so he nodded in agreement:

“These places are inaccessible by water, so the establishment of the Protectorate and garrison defense lines can wait until the highways and railways are built.”

"Before that, the people were allowed to develop the land on their own. The court would bestow titles upon them based on the land they offered."

This reassured the civil officials even more, as they knew that the emperor would not engage in aggressive westward expansion or massively increase the size of the army.

Therefore, the emperor's vision should be focused on the sea, and what he wanted to expand was the navy.

Sure enough, they heard the emperor say:

"The most important task for the Ming Dynasty in the next ten years is to build the first island chain defense line."

"To connect the first island chain, we first need to conquer Southeast Asia and Japan."

"This all requires a strong navy, so the next task is to build ships."

"I hope to complete the construction of the three-border, three-chain defense line in my lifetime, so as to leave an absolute safety circle for the people of my Great Ming."

The courtiers offered their congratulations in unison, and having understood the emperor's intentions, they were equally enthusiastic about building a three-sided, three-chain defense line.

They were equally worried about the incursions of enemies from the grasslands and the sea.

If the defenses the emperor spoke of could be fully established, they would have left an absolute safety net for their descendants.

At that time, whether we defend ourselves within this safe zone or expand outwards based on it, we will not cause any major trouble.

This is a monumental achievement, one that will last for generations; they too must strive for it. (End of Chapter)