Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

Celebrating the Unification of the Nine Provinces

The Azure Wolf and White Deer have lost their martial arts skills.
The downfall of the Yuan dynasty is recorded in history.

Swords and spears laugh on the battlefield after a hundred battles.

The tide has turned, and the flags and drums are raised in triumph.

The map of the vast land is here.
What does it mean when a corner is missing? It means the whole country is united.
Suddenly, news of victory arrived from the southeast.
The royal army has pacified the eastern island.

This poem was written by the Great Khan of Lotus to celebrate his unification of the Nine Provinces after hearing that Prince Chökyi of Qin had pacified Taiwan. The downfall of the Zheng family, who had dominated the seas for many years, triggered a series of political consequences.

King Shoshin of Ryukyu was the first to send a congratulatory envoy, as was customary. Since 1372 (the fifth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty), Ryukyu had consistently used Chinese reign titles and followed the Chinese calendar. Whether under the Ming or Qing dynasties, successive Ryukyu kings requested investiture from the Chinese emperor to formally establish their vassal relationship. When the Great Khan of Lotus destroyed the Qing, Shoshin's father, Shoshi, sent envoys to the Great Khanate to pledge allegiance, and Shoshin himself received investiture from the Great Khan upon his ascension. This time, upon hearing of the royal army's expedition across the sea and the capture of Dongning, the ever-compliant Shoshin was the first among the vassal states to send a congratulatory envoy. Seeing his understanding, Emperor Sultan, who considered himself divinely ordained to rule all, was greatly pleased and issued an edict praising him and ordering the officials to treat him well. However, every gift comes with an ulterior motive; along with the congratulatory envoy arrived Shoshi's accusations against the Shimazu clan of the Satsuma Domain in Japan. Starting in 1609 (the 37th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty), the Shimazu clan sent troops to invade Ryukyu. The brutal Japanese army boiled the resisting Ryukyu people alive in oil. They continued to invade repeatedly afterward, forcing the Ryukyu king to cede the northern Amami Islands to the Satsuma Domain.

When a younger brother is bullied, the elder brother naturally has to stand up for him. At this time, Sultan was enjoying the wonderful feeling of ruling over all nations as the emperor of the Celestial Empire. It was not in the style of this ruthless hero to sit idly by. After receiving Shangzhi's letter for help, he immediately ordered an official to go to Japan to reprimand Emperor Reigen. He actually knew that at this time, the real power in Japan was in the hands of Tokugawa Ietsuna, the fourth Shogun of the Edo Shogunate, but as the ruler of the land, he had no interest in reprimanding a mere shogun.

This war god, fond of territorial expansion, even considered stationing troops in Ryukyu. However, while Shangzhi feared annexation by Japan, he was also wary of the powerful Great Wei Kingdom and unwilling to allow the Wei army to be stationed there. The envoy offered a long string of polite platitudes, such as Ryukyu's poor resources making it difficult to support the Celestial Empire's army. The seasoned Great Khan, understanding the underlying meaning, abandoned the idea of ​​stationing troops in Ryukyu. Nevertheless, he still dispatched a military advisory group consisting of thirty-nine naval and land commanders. The term "advisor" was coined by the Great Khan; it meant they would only help train the army, not participate in combat, and he also took the opportunity to sell them a batch of outdated and obsolete weaponry.

The navy was a money-devouring beast. After the expedition to Dongning, David's treasury was nearly empty, while trade with Japan brought in vast amounts of gold and silver. Deep down, the Great Khan did not want to provoke a war against Japan at this time; this move was merely an opportunity to warn Japan. Sure enough, fearing the formidable military might David displayed in the conquest of Dongning, Tokugawa Ietsuna quickly responded, stating that the invasion of Ryukyu was a private act by the Satsuma Domain, not the intention of the Edo Shogunate, and that he had ordered the Satsuma lord to cease the invasion of Ryukyu.

The second to send envoys to offer congratulations was Joseon. King Yi Jung of Joseon dispatched Grand Secretary Kim Nam-jung to Dadu (Beijing). During the campaign against Dongning, this king sent 10,000 Joseon naval troops to assist in the battle. Surtan remembered his kindness and ordered that Princess Chongyang, Anuer (meaning "Princess Anyang"), born to Consort An-rae, be married to Crown Prince Yi Sun as his Crown Princess. He also promoted Consort An-rae to the rank of Deok-bin, the head of the Nine Consorts.

Intimidated by the lingering effects of the Battle of Dongning, many island nations successively sent envoys to David to pledge allegiance. Envoys from Sulu (southern Philippines), Mataram (southern Java), Devadambula (Bali), Achi (Sumatra), Toraja (Sulawesi), and Katasina (Kalimantan) arrived in Dadu (Beijing). Adding to these were countries that had already pledged allegiance to David: Hiva, Annam (Vietnam), Champa, Lan Xang (Laos), Siam (Thailand), Kampot (Cambodia), Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal, and Ayutthaya (Afghanistan), bringing the total number of vassal states to thirty-six. Besides these vassal states, Japan, Britain, France, the French (both the Great and Lesser French), the Burmese (Russians), and Persia also sent envoys. The sheer number of visits from so many countries kept officials of the Ministry of Rites and other institutions extremely busy.

The Great Khan was extremely dissatisfied with the efficiency of the Ministry of Rites, especially seeing that they couldn't even distinguish between Portugal and Spain, churning out ridiculous terms like "Big Francois" and "Little Francois"! They even used the term "Red-haired Barbarians" to refer to the Netherlands—the word "barbarian" was utterly impolite! With a stroke of his pen, he ordered that "Big Francois" be changed to Portugal, "Little Francois" to Spain, and "Red-haired Barbarians" to the Netherlands. After much deliberation, he felt that as the ruler of all nations, he should establish a dedicated ministry to manage foreign affairs. With another stroke of his pen, he decreed the separation of the Ministry of Rites into an independent ministry to manage foreign affairs. This seventh ministry was named the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The position of Minister was appointed to Wang Jiao, the former Vice Minister of Rites.

Besides establishing a Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Great Khan was also dissatisfied with the development of industry and commerce. Although he encouraged commerce, neither the Ministry of Revenue nor the Ministry of Works could accurately determine the number of businesses, factories, and mines throughout the country. Therefore, he established a new ministry: the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, responsible for registering and issuing licenses to merchants, businesses, factories, mines, and workshops nationwide, investigating and punishing unlicensed operations, reporting registration information to the Ministry of Revenue for tax collection, and supervising the quality of goods, among other things. The position of Minister was filled by Ahai, the former Vice Minister of Works.

The Great Khan considered the David Money Shop to be of great importance and decreed that it be separated from the Ministry of Revenue and placed under the direct management of the Cabinet. He also decreed that "David Money Shop" be renamed "David Bank" and that a Minister-ranking official be appointed as its head to manage its affairs. The first head of the bank was Zhang Baoyuan, the former Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

On August 9th, 1673 (the 29th year of the Qian Yuan era), in the Qian Yuan Hall of the Kingdom of David, the Great Khan of Lotus received envoys from over a hundred countries, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of being honored by a multitude of nations paying tribute. He was particularly pleased with the humble attitude of the Dutch envoy. The Netherlands had always harbored ambitions towards Taiwan and the coastal regions of China, and their exceptionally good attitude this time was ultimately due to the impressive performance of the Davidian navy in the Battle of Dongning!
However, there were also those who refused to submit to the Celestial Empire. The Indian King Aurangzeb declared himself the "Conqueror of the World" and drove out the envoy sent by the Great Khan to persuade him to submit. The Burmese King Mangbai not only refused to submit to the Kingdom of David but also sent troops to harass Yunnan. Tsar Alexei I was the most cunning, sending envoys to offer congratulations while simultaneously invading the northwestern region of the Kingdom of David, particularly the Agankhba myriarchy in the Ezile River (Volga River) basin, forcing the Torgut leader, Tumenpengchuk, to repeatedly seek aid from the Kingdom of David.

After the "tribute of all nations," the man stood before the "Compendium of All Nations" in the West Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, pointing to the location of Moscow and muttering to himself, "Burma and India have little ambition and pose little threat to David; it is Tsarist Russia that is my real concern!" (End of Chapter)