Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 549 Southeast Asia Strategy
After the morning court session ended, the officials dispersed to return to their respective offices, though whispers of discussion could still be heard on the way.

The return of the Yuanwang ship to China this time made Wang Dayuan a great figure. After nearly two years at sea and sailing more than 100,000 li, he not only found Lizhou and the exotic breeds that His Majesty had mentioned, but more importantly, he also brought back tens of millions of taels of gold and silver, which greatly replenished the national treasury of the Ming Dynasty. This achievement was truly extraordinary.

His Majesty was generous with his rewards and bestowed great favors upon them. He first held a special banquet to welcome Wang Dayuan and others, and then conferred the title of Marquis of Bowang upon Wang Dayuan at the grand court assembly. He even said something that made all the civil and military officials envious.

"Since ancient times, when a wise ruler reigns, he is always assisted by ministers who can assist him. There are also those who are resolute, wise and courageous, who broaden the horizons of the country. The powerful Han and the great Tang dynasties are no exception. Only by having a broad vision of the world can one have a calm and composed mind."

"In the past, the mighty Han Dynasty had Zhang Qian, who spent thirteen years exploring the Western Regions; the Tang Dynasty had Chen Xuanzang, who spent over ten years traveling to India; and now our Great Ming Dynasty has Wang Huanzhang, who has traversed over ten thousand miles of sea to survey Lizhou. These are all the eyes and ears of the king, the scouts of the nation. With such talents, how can we worry that the Great Ming Dynasty will not prosper!"

These words were a blatant compliment to Wang Dayuan, revealing His Majesty's lofty ambitions. He aimed to emulate the powerful Han and Tang dynasties, not only striving to match them but also aspiring to surpass them.

At the same time, since the conquest of Fujian this year, His Majesty's emphasis on the ocean has been fully demonstrated. He truly has "ambitions for the four seas." Building a navy, developing maritime trade, exploring the ocean, and expanding maritime territory—any achievement in these four areas would be a great accomplishment. Wang Dayuan today is the best example of this.

Those court officials who aspired to make meritorious contributions naturally made plans in their hearts, wondering whether to involve their family members or simply volunteer themselves. If all else failed, they could recommend some relevant talents to His Majesty, who would surely value them. Even if they couldn't enjoy the feast of merit, it would be good for them to get a share of the pie.

Meanwhile, on the other side, after the morning court session, Lu Jin first sent someone to deliver a message to Li Shanchang, telling them to work in the cabinet and not to wander around. He said he would meet with them later when he had time to discuss the promotion policy for the new crops.

Then he sent someone to summon Wang Dayuan and Chen Youliang, the two chief and deputy scouts, as well as Zhang Chao, Wang Zong and other officers of the Yuanwang ship, to go to the Yunxiang Hall in the back. Lu Jin wanted to meet with them privately and ask them questions.

The group dared not delay and quickly followed the guards to Yunxiang Hall. After exchanging greetings, everyone offered them seats. Only then did Lu Jin put down his teacup and speak to Chen Youliang first.

"Both you and Mr. Huanzhang are envoys to explore the ocean. This time, only Mr. Huanzhang was granted a title. But don't worry, Mr. Huanzhang is just a special case. Your title will be conferred at the end of this year, along with all the generals in the army. The title I promised you still stands."

Chen Youliang still harbored some resentment. The two had gone to sea together, but Wang Dayuan had already achieved great success while he hadn't even made a ripple. However, upon hearing Lu Jin's words, his resentment vanished, and he quickly cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is overthinking it. I have absolutely no desire for credit or resentment. As for Your Majesty's previous promises, I naturally believe in Your Majesty."

Lu Jin nodded and immediately changed the subject, asking, "Currently, among the naval commanders, Bai Guangtai travels between Shandong and Liaodong to defend against Japanese pirates and transport military supplies; Fang Guozhen is clearing out pirates and thieves along the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian; Sang Shijie and Miao Youzhen are busy training naval soldiers and preparing to establish a naval academy."

"On the contrary, what job do you want to do next? I will give you three choices: either continue to follow Mr. Huanzhang around, or go to Southeast Asia to help the intelligence agency. I heard a few days ago that Li Bin and his group want to open a new mansion on the east coast of Borneo. There may be a war to fight there."

"Or if you don't want to go to Southeast Asia, you can stay in China. After New Year's Day next year, Guangzhou, Fujian, Shandong, and Liaodong will each build a new government-run shipyard. You can go there to inspect and supervise the construction of the shipyard. Which of these three jobs do you choose?"

Chen Youliang was caught off guard by Lu Jin's sudden question. He frowned and thought it over carefully before asking back.

"Your Majesty, if we go with Mr. Huanzhang, will we still be heading to Lizhou next year?"

Lu Jin glanced at the group and nodded immediately. “From now on, the route from Daming to Lizhou must be fixed. There must be at least one round trip every year. Before others are familiar with this route and can take over from Mr. Huanzhang, we need to make at least two or three more trips to Lizhou before we can go to other places.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Youliang immediately said, "Then I will not go with you. I have already gone with you this time. In terms of stargazing and navigation, I am not as good as Mr. Wang. In terms of commanding ships and fighting, there are Captain Zhang and others. I am just going to broaden my horizons."

"Now that my knowledge has broadened and I've tasted all the local delicacies of Lizhou, there's no point in going there again. It's not like I'm going to some other place. Supervising the construction of the shipyard is also meaningless. I can neither dig pits nor build houses. I wouldn't even know if I was being fooled."

"How about I go to Southeast Asia? I remember there are only a few indigenous tribes on the east coast of Borneo, a Brunei Kingdom on the west coast, and a Sulu Kingdom in the north. Such a large island only has two kingdoms, and the rest of the land is unclaimed."

"Your Majesty, if you give me a few ships and an army, I will conquer the east coast of Borneo and turn it into the territory of the Ming Dynasty!"

Lu Jin immediately laughed and said, "That's fine too, but it's not very interesting to just fight a few indigenous tribes. If you have the ability to pacify the entire Southeast Asia, I will raise your title by one level in the future. It's not impossible for you to become a Duke or a Prince."

Upon hearing this, Chen Youliang's eyes lit up. In the chaotic end of the Yuan Dynasty, he had thought about vying for the throne. He, Chen Youliang, had no shortage of opportunities to become emperor. But now, after returning this time, he heard that Lu Jin had personally led a large army on a northern expedition, destroyed the Yuan Dynasty in one battle, and recovered Yanyun, Liaodong, and southern Mongolia. Lu Jin had also pacified Guanzhong in Shaanxi. This year, even Sichuan, Fujian, and Guangdong and Guangxi were all recovered.

Lu Jin was practically divinely inspired. From the moment he raised his army, he won almost every battle. Even though he started his rebellion three months later than Liu Futong, Lu Jin developed the fastest among all the rebel kings. In just three years, he pacified most of the country and destroyed the Yuan Dynasty.

With this record, he was comparable to Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu. Lu Jin even managed to make it seem like he was "destined by heaven." Otherwise, you can't explain why, out of so many rebel kings, Lu Jin so easily destroyed the Yuan invaders and pacified the Central Plains. It seems that Chen Youliang really didn't have the destiny to be emperor.

As a result, Chen Youliang naturally gave up his ambition to dominate the world. Since becoming emperor was out of the question, and now he had the opportunity to make contributions, he might as well make more military achievements and become a prince or duke. Wouldn't that be the same as sharing the fate of the country and passing on wealth and honor to his family?

He used to be just a Tanka fisherman, and later a minor official in the county government. Now he has the opportunity to become a duke, marquis, general, or minister, which is a complete turnaround for him. Except for not being able to become the emperor, this duke or marquis title is pretty much the highest he can achieve. What more could he ask for?

Thinking of this, he immediately cupped his hands and replied, "Thank you for your high regard, Your Majesty. I will do my utmost to turn the South Seas into the territory of the Great Ming." Lu Jin nodded and then said, "Well, it's good that you have this ambition, but there's no need to be too hasty. I have a general idea about the strategy for the South Seas."

“Now, Makassar has become our stable base in Southeast Asia. It is also adjacent to Majapahit and Srivijaya in Java. It has established a foothold in a key location. After you arrive in Southeast Asia, first wipe out those small indigenous tribes on the east coast of Borneo. Then I will continuously relocate Han Chinese people there.”

"You must first wipe out the pirates in the vicinity and protect our immigrants. At the same time, you must also urge the immigrants to cultivate more land. The climate there allows for two or even three harvests of rice a year. By cultivating more land and accumulating more grain, we can gain a foothold in the local area."

"At the same time, we also need to let the intelligence agency find out the details of the Sulu Kingdom. After you occupy southeastern Borneo, the next target will be the Sulu Kingdom."

"The Semu people of Sulu and the Semu people of Fujian are of the same blood. The reason why they were prosperous in the past was entirely due to the Persian merchants from Fujian who took care of them. Every time they passed through Southeast Asia, they would go to Sulu to replenish their supplies and take away goods."

"Now that I have wiped out all the Semu people in Fujian, I have also ordered that Ming Dynasty merchants be prohibited from going to Sulu for supplies and trade. As a result, without commercial taxes and trade, the decline of Sulu will only take one or two years."

"I have already sent envoys to negotiate with the King of Brunei. We will first jointly blockade the Sulu Kingdom, and when the Sulu Kingdom is weakened, we will take advantage of its weakness and kill it!"
"When the time comes, the Ming Dynasty and Brunei will send troops together to destroy Sulu. They can get a larger share of the spoils, but the land of Sulu will belong to the Ming Dynasty afterward."

"In this way, from now on, there will only be two countries left on the entire island of Borneo: the Ming Dynasty and Brunei. Compared with the Ming Dynasty, Brunei is just a tiny country. I will think of a way to make Brunei surrender its territory to the Ming Dynasty. If that doesn't work, we can buy it with money."

"If he knows what's good for him, he'll obediently hand over the territory. If he doesn't, we'll just send troops to destroy Brunei, and then the entire island of Borneo will belong to the Ming Dynasty."

"After taking over the entire Borneo, we will then send troops to destroy the small states of Luzon and Manila in the north, and bring the entire Luzon archipelago under our control."

"As for Majapahit and Srivijaya on the southern island of Java, Srivijaya is now on the decline. It is estimated that when we have occupied all of Borneo and Luzon, Srivijaya will not be far from being destroyed. If it is destroyed on its own, we will take advantage of the situation and bring all of Srivijaya's territory into the Ming Dynasty. If it is not destroyed, we will send troops directly."

"In that case, only Majapahit in Java will remain among the islands of Southeast Asia. We can then concentrate all our efforts to destroy him."

Chen Youliang nodded repeatedly as he listened. It was the first time he had heard Lu Jin personally analyze the situation and deploy military strategies. Lu Jin's approach was to start with the easy and then move on to the difficult. He first wiped out the indigenous tribes on the east coast of Borneo. Those tribes did not even have a country or a city. Like Xinjin Prefecture, they were just villages with stilt houses. A regiment of armored soldiers could easily wipe them out.

Once they have established a foothold on the east coast of Borneo, they can leverage the strength of others, join forces with Brunei to destroy Sulu, annex Sulu's territory, and then use both military and diplomatic means to swallow up Brunei as well, thus controlling the largest island in Southeast Asia, Borneo.

Then, continuing with the easier tasks first, they annexed the small city-states of Luzon, and then went back to destroy Srivijaya in Malacca and Majapahit in Java, thus bringing the entire South Seas islands under the Ming Dynasty's control.

This approach is gradual, logical, and highly feasible.

Chen Youliang couldn't help but admire Lu Jin in his heart. No wonder Lu Jin was able to develop so quickly, destroying the Yuan Dynasty and pacifying the world within three years. His grasp of the strategic situation was too precise. His plans were also steady and methodical, progressing step by step with a steady pace. With such a mind, it's no wonder he became emperor.

At the same time, he was secretly on guard, thinking that he must not think of rebelling under the emperor's nose, otherwise, with Lu Jin's strategic vision and management skills, he could easily destroy him, and he would be no match for him at all.
Suppressing his unrealistic thoughts, Chen Youliang asked again, "Your Majesty, now that we've occupied all the islands in the South Seas, what about those small countries in the Indochina Peninsula? Are we not going to leave them alone?"

Lu Jin quickly waved his hand, "Don't try to bite off more than you can chew. Although those countries in the Indochina Peninsula are also small countries, they cannot be regarded as the same as the small countries in the South Pacific islands."

"The plan I have laid out, including who to attack first and who to attack later, and how many troops to use, has all been calculated. The weakest countries in Southeast Asia are the three small countries of Luzon, Manila, and Mayi. Each of these three countries can only muster a maximum of ten or twenty thousand soldiers. The Ming Dynasty can easily wipe them out by sending one or two divisions."

"Bona and Sulu should be considered medium-sized countries. Each of them can field 30,000 to 50,000 soldiers. It will take some effort to conquer them. Moreover, we must have a foothold in Southeast Asia to provide the army with a stable base and sufficient supplies. That is why I asked you to occupy the east coast first and stockpile as much grain as possible."

"The strongest are the Majapahit and Srivijaya of Java. Srivijaya has been declining in recent years, but the Majapahit are extremely fierce. They can field an army of hundreds of thousands."

"With the strength of the Ming Dynasty, defeating Majapahit is certainly not a problem. However, the local people are unruly. If we only defeat them without achieving complete success, there will be endless troubles in the future, which will not be conducive to future rule. Therefore, I told you to leave Java for last, concentrate all your strength, and achieve success in one battle. Either don't fight at all, or if you fight, make sure they can never recover!"

"As for those small countries in the Indochina Peninsula, they are different. Take Annam alone, for example. The Mongol Yuan Dynasty sent 400,000 to 500,000 troops to conquer it several times, but they suffered heavy losses and failed to gain any advantage. Annam uses a system of universal conscription. When they go crazy and don't care about their lives, they can pull out hundreds of thousands of troops. Do you think it's so easy to fight them? You think you can gain any advantage if you go there?"
"For a country like Annam, even for the Ming Dynasty, it is a national war. It cannot be resolved in one or two battles. We must be prepared for a protracted war, exhausting Annam with the national strength of the Ming Dynasty, and adding many policies to completely pacify Annam. This is not something that can be accomplished overnight. I have other plans, so you don't need to think about this."

"You just need to figure out how to manage the South Seas. I can offer you a reward right now. If you take all of Borneo and conquer the Luzon Islands, I will make you a Duke. If you destroy Srivijaya and Majapahit and bring Java and Malacca into the Ming Dynasty, I will make you a Prince. You only need to do these few things, and you don't need to worry about anything else."

Upon hearing this, Chen Youliang nodded. After listening to Lu Jin's words, he realized that those small countries in the Indochina Peninsula were indeed not easy to deal with. He then put Annam aside and quickly cupped his hands, saying, "Your subject understands."

(End of this chapter)