Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

During this pilgrimage, Li Zong was prepared to offer up the four northern territories.

He knew that Korea could not possibly resist the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty were to be angered, it would be a great disaster for Korea, especially for their Yi royal family.

So after much hesitation, he finally decided to make the pilgrimage.

But I was really uneasy, wondering if I would be able to go back.

However, his worries soon disappeared.

Although the Ming emperor was busy with the change of leadership, he still summoned him to the palace for an audience.

First, they questioned him about why he was so late for Hajj; after he apologized, they were pleased with his pilgrimage and promised him:
"Prince Ren's visit to the capital to pay homage is sufficient proof of his loyalty."

"The Ming Dynasty will not mistreat its loyal subjects. Draft an imperial edict!"

Looking around, he instructed Huang Lijie, the head of the Court of Colonial Affairs who was accompanying him, to draft an imperial edict, bestowing upon King Sunin Yi Jong a python robe and granting the title of Duke of Sunin County to Crown Prince Yi Wang, who had persuaded Yi Jong to come to court.

He said to Li Zong and his son Li Wang:
"From now on, the Crown Prince of Joseon will also be a Duke of the Ming Dynasty, possessing a ducal fief."

"This fiefdom, like Korea, is a peninsula, and its area is about twice that of a normal duchy."

"I will exchange this territory for the submission of the four northern territories."

"The Ming Dynasty will never mistreat its loyal ministers!"

He drew a circle on the map and granted the Baja California Peninsula to the Crown Prince of Korea.

This land is approximately 500,000 square miles, which is indeed the size of two duchies. However, it is arid and mountainous, making it difficult to develop.

What makes this particularly difficult is that the land borders Mexico. For North Korea to acquire it, it would have to contend with the Spanish colonists in Mexico—

This was actually Zhu Youjian's intention: to integrate the forces surrounding the Ming Dynasty in order to deal with the conflict between Eastern and Western civilizations.

While Korea was relatively weak compared to the Ming Dynasty, it was not weak compared to the Western powers at the time. In terms of both population and national strength, it was comparable to many Western countries.

As long as we mobilize our resources for colonization, we may well become one of the great powers in the future.

Zhu Youjian (Emperor Yongle) greatly desired a strong Korea, using it to provoke his subjects in the Ming Dynasty.

Look, even a small country like Korea could become rich and powerful through maritime trade, let alone the Ming Dynasty!
In this way, the Ming Dynasty would not be able to abandon the ocean and re-establish the maritime ban.

Following this line of thinking, Zhu Youjian was very kind to the King of Joseon, which reassured Yi Jong.

With a wave of his hand, he bestowed upon the emperor 500,000 square li of land, which made him fully realize the power and influence of the Ming emperor.

Although this land is far from North Korea, requiring crossing the ocean to reach it.

But it belonged to the Li family and was bestowed by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

This means that even if they are overthrown in North Korea in the future, they will still have a way out.

Therefore, Li Zong immediately decided:
We must surrender the four northern territories, and also send out the Guanghai territory.

He said to the emperor with tears of gratitude:
"Your Majesty's kindness is deeply appreciated by your subject."

"In addition to the four northern territories, I am willing to offer Guanghai Territory as well, to become an inner vassal state of the Great Ming."

This was somewhat unexpected for Zhu Youjian, because he did not expect that Li Zong would actually offer up the land voluntarily.

However, thinking of the title of Prince Gwanghae, which he had bestowed upon him on Jeju Island, he understood why Yi Jong acted this way:

This was clearly an attempt to expel Gwanghaegun's lineage from the Joseon royal family and completely eliminate any possibility of them vying for the throne.

Even Li Wang's motivation for pushing the four northern territories to submit was the same: he wanted to turn his two younger brothers into Ming nobles, thus depriving them of the opportunity to inherit the throne. These calculations were crystal clear to Zhu Youjian, who was adept at political maneuvering.

He used this point to push for the submission of the four northern territories.

After controlling these four territories and Jeju Island, the threat posed by Joseon to the Ming Dynasty could be ignored.

This made him feel more at ease using North Korea, and pointing to the map, he added:

"There is a peninsula in the west of America, and another one in the east, which is called Cloud Flower Land."

"This place is very similar to North America as Korea is to the Ming Dynasty. I originally intended to grant you this land."

"It's just that it's too far; you have to go across Mexico or take a boat around South America."

"Once the canals in Central America are completed, we'll see if we can grant you that title."

Revealing his intention to divide the Florida peninsula, Zhu Youjian lowered his voice and said to them:
"When the world is at peace, people will surely multiply."

"The reason why the Ming Dynasty expanded overseas was to relocate the surplus population who had no land."

"North Korea will face this problem sooner or later. In order to prevent the landless starving people from rebelling, we must prepare in advance."

“Even if there is no land to cultivate overseas, it is better to let them die on the ship of migration than to rebel on the mainland.”

"These are all lessons from my own experience; you must keep them in mind."

These words were quite cold, and the ministers who heard them couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

However, Li Zong and Li Wang were even more excited after hearing this, because they knew that the emperor was having a heart-to-heart talk.

Joseon was a small country, and the Yangban nobles were even more greedy, resulting in a severe conflict between people and land. Compared to the Ming Dynasty, Joseon had even less land available.

If it weren't for the two Japanese invasions and the two chaotic invasions that reduced the population, people would probably have rebelled long ago, and the country wouldn't be as peaceful as it is now.

However, now that the Jurchens have been driven westward by the Ming Dynasty and Japan has stopped attacking Korea, it is certain that the population of Korea will increase after peace is restored, so it is indeed necessary to make preparations in advance.

Even though they would have little chance of obtaining Yunhuadi, the Ming Emperor's intentions and the attitude he conveyed reassured them greatly.

Look, the emperor is being so open and honest with us, and has even granted us such a large territory. The Ming emperor doesn't even care about the small piece of land that is Korea.

They didn't need to worry too much; they only needed to obey the Ming Emperor's orders.

Once they calmed down, the Korean king and his son were no longer so afraid.

They presented tribute to the Ming emperor, and also offered beautiful women selected from the imperial family—

Originally, they were supposed to select women from among the common people, but because of Consort Zhao's affair, they dared not choose women from other families to offer.

Otherwise, if the Ming emperor had granted them another viscount or baron title, how much direct territory would they still have in Korea?
Now, Korea has been granted more than just the four northern territories; many families that received titles from the Ming Dynasty also possess their own territory.

If it weren't for the Ming Dynasty's continued support, some local families might have already rebelled, which is why Li Zong had no choice but to come to pay homage.

If he doesn't come, the Ming emperor only needs to issue a reprimanding edict, and some families will rebel against him.

The Ming Dynasty was a force they could rely on, not an enemy.

This is actually why Zhu Youjian wasn't worried about Korea; he already planned to fragment Korea like Japan. Neither country could achieve centralized power, so they posed any threat to the Ming Dynasty.

The primary task of the Ming Dynasty's future ministers stationed in these two locations is to maintain their state of division and prevent any forces from uniting.

The King of Joseon will likely become more like the leader of the Joseon fiefdoms, leading Joseon nobles to expand overseas as a vanguard in the confrontation between the Ming Dynasty and the West. (End of Chapter)