Chapter 148: King of Chiao-chih: Are You Talking About Me?

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The chief reason Annam was attacked was that, after the Chen dynasty fell, the dynasties that followed kept doing everything they could to invite trouble, putting on all sorts of shows as if they were afraid the Ming would not strike them.

Old Zhu Di explained, “Once the Chen dynasty in Annam was gone, there was no need for any more dynasties there. Those little monkeys never think twice about the names they choose. Le Ji Li even called his reign era Shengyuan…”

“Shengyuan? Then there really is no need for another dynasty.” Zhu Yuanzhang raised an eyebrow, his ancestral instincts stirring.

“To hell with the Yuan loyalists!”

Zhu Youjian added, “Speaking of which, Jiaozhi in the Chenghua era should be under the Later Le dynasty. Its king is called Le Bangji, and his temple name is Ren Zong…”

“Hm? We’re involved too?” The Hongxi and Yongle emperors, both stout as ever, stared in surprise.

Zhu Youjian nodded and continued, “Le Bangji’s posthumous title is Emperor Xuan…”

Emperor Xuande, Zhu Zhanji, darkened.

He had already thought there was something off about the “Ji” in Le Bangji. And now this man had the temple name Ren Zong and the posthumous title Emperor Xuan? He had managed to offend every Ming emperor in one stroke!

Zhu Youjian finished, “And there’s the phrase ‘the dawn of the Li.’ The Li in the name of his dynasty comes before the Ming.”

“Oh, very well!”

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed in fury. “Those little monkeys have taken the dynastic title, reign names, temple names, and even personal names of our Ming emperors—enough to violate every taboo! Do they really think the ancestors of the Ming won’t manifest themselves?”

Zhu Qizhen, Zhu Qiyu, and Zhu Jianshen all looked displeased.

Emperor Chenghua, Zhu Jianshen, was especially furious, grinding his teeth.

This was no mere failure to observe naming taboos. If word got out in later generations that a tributary state had usurped the names of its suzerain’s former emperors, failing to punish them would be an act of filial impiety.

That place was far from the emperor’s reach, and the accent made translation imprecise. Besides, Le Bangji was only called that at home; in official correspondence, he signed his name Le Jun.

Le Bangji was the third ruler of the Later Le dynasty. The fact that his name ended in “Ji” had struck Zhu Jianshen as odd at the time. Wasn’t it a direct match for his grandfather, Zhu Zhanji?

But the court was consumed by factional struggles, infighting, and open and covert attacks. He had no attention to spare for the matter.

Zhu Youjian mused to himself that the man’s reign era was even called “Daiwa,” which had a connection to Japan, too.

The fellow had stacked every possible buff.

What a dreadful man. Truly dreadful.

It would be hard to justify not beating him up.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood with his hands behind his back and said in a low voice, “Jianshen, send a hundred thousand troops to conquer Jiaozhi. Not a single inch of our Ming territory is to be lost!”

“Use this opportunity to rebuild the coastal navy. Taizu will cover all the military expenses this time!”

At this, the Hongxi and Yongle emperors looked uneasy. The Ming tradition was for the father to spend and the son to pick up the bill.

If your fourth son has to pay, won’t that mean we’ll have to reimburse him?

But we have no money, Grandfather!

The autumn taxes collected from Jiangnan all went into Jianshen’s private treasury!

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“Pathetic!” Old Zhu Di snorted.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and scolded, “Gaochi, they say a broad heart makes a broad body. How come you’re so petty? Does your grandfather need you to pay?”

The importance of sea power went without saying. More than that, in Zhu Yuanzhang’s mind, sea power meant money. If those private merchant fleets in Jiangnan could amass such wealth through small-time ventures, just imagine what the state could achieve by promoting trade on a large scale.

Old Zhu’s plans clinked like abacus beads. Spending silver in the Chenghua era would cost nothing, and even if they did spend, they could use Ming silver coins.

Made of pure silver, expertly crafted, and backed by the founding emperor himself, they would be easy to promote. Who could resist?

Emperor Chenghua’s private treasury held eighty million taels of silver. Exchanged entirely into coins, that would make more than seven hundred million Ming silver coins.

All he had to do was sit down with his grandson and work out a cut, and everything would fall into place.

“Grandfather is right to reprimand me.” The Hongxi Emperor gave a simple-minded chuckle. As long as he did not have to spend money, anything was fine. The Hongxi era had neither seized Japan’s silver mines nor confiscated the estates of Jiangnan’s gentry.

The so-called Yongle Prosperity and Ren-Xuan Governance had both relied on money brought back from voyages to the Western Seas. There was no spare cash to support other eras.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. “Jianshen, go take care of it.”

“Yes, Great-Grandfather Taizu.” Zhu Jianshen nodded. Even before Taizu and the others had confiscated the Jiangnan estates, he had already ordered provisions and equipment prepared, ready to move at a moment’s notice.

The plan was to advance by both land and water.

The water route required ships. Though the shipyard on the Songhua River was slow to build them, that was no great problem; they could simply requisition the private ships from Jiangnan.

The owners behind the private fleets were already dead. Their assets should not be wasted.

[The national fortune of the Chongzhen era has risen. The Hongzhi timeline has opened.]

Zhu Youjian, who had been lounging nearby, suddenly felt a stir in his heart. After a moment’s thought, he cupped his hands and said, “Great-Grandfather Taizu, Ancestor, I need to return to the Chongzhen era first. If any of you wish to return to your own reigns or mobilize troops, you can communicate through the dragon throne and act as you see fit.”

“Understood, Grandson. Go ahead.” Zhu Yuanzhang waved a hand. “Come along, Jianshen. I’ll go to court with you.”

“Very well!”

A crowd of thoroughly disgruntled emperors streamed toward the Gate of Heavenly Manifestation, arguing heatedly as they went and vying for the right to deal with Le Bangji.

Zhu Youjian wore a wry smile.

At this rate, they might well lead the expedition to Jiaozhi in person.

With the small world available, all they had to do was send a delegation to Jiaozhi to demand an explanation. That would spare them the march and let the army appear as if from nowhere.

After thinking it over, Zhu Youjian left the new army’s commander-in-chief and two thousand five hundred men behind.

The special forces were organized in units of one thousand. He thoughtfully left two and a half units to serve as the ancestors’ personal guards, then disappeared from the Chenghua timeline with the remaining five hundred men.

He hoped Le Bangji could take a beating. Otherwise, wouldn’t there be pieces of him scattered everywhere?

…

Chongzhen era.

A barren stretch of land somewhere in North Zhili.

Squads of lightly equipped Ming soldiers, bandoliers of ammunition wrapped around their bodies, hurried back and forth. One by one, enormous black cannonballs—each as big as a human head—were loaded into modified cannons.

“Fire!”

Bi Maokang, visibly excited, gave the order at once.

Boom!

A thunderous blast!

A small hill in the distance erupted, leaving a crater several dozen feet across.

Bi Maokang’s excitement visibly faded. Anxiety filled him, and he lowered his head in shame. “Your Majesty, I have failed you. After many days of trying, the naval guns have reached no greater power than this.”

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly. Reaching this point was already the result of a breakthrough in steelmaking by Fan Jingwen, the Minister of Works, and the resulting improvements to the tools used to manufacture naval guns and ammunition.

For this age, these were unquestionably the finest weapons available. Once light steam-powered cruisers appeared, they would be enough to let the Ming navy dominate the world’s seas within ten years!

Even these early naval guns had already reached the level required to improve the national fortune, which showed just how extraordinary they were. Their power was more than triple that of the European-style cannon.

Their range was over twice as great, making them enormously useful in naval warfare. At present, however, no country possessed ships capable of withstanding their fire.

Before this, even trading companies like the East India Company had to keep their heads down. Now, they had even less room to resist.

Zhu Youjian offered his judgment. “This cannon will do.”

“Your Majesty, I beg you to give it a name!” Delight flashed in Bi Maokang’s eyes as he bowed respectfully.

…