In the following days, orders from the Imperial Privy Council came to Yangon one after another, outlining the entire plan to capture Annan in detail.
As Luo Wanhua expected, the imperial court would advance in two directions. Ten thousand new troops were led by Gong Xian. They set out from Manmo, half-crossed and half-walked, crossed Changshan, and entered Xuanzhou Mansion of Mo Dynasty.
After Gong Xian arrived in Xuanzhou, he would board the ship again and sail directly to Thanglong, join with Mo's troops, and under unified command, they would go south to attack Qinghua. At the same time, two gunboats departing from Guangzhou escorting ten warships will also proceed directly to Qinghua.
The imperial court has issued an order to Mo Chao, asking Mo Dunrang to gather soldiers who dare to fight, obey the country's orders, and work with the imperial court to attack Zheng Song and investigate him for killing the Yingzong of the Li Dynasty; and asked the Li family to proclaim themselves emperor without authorization and violate the imperial examination system. Crimes such as violating court laws and regulations.
Brother Mo Dunrang, the commander-in-chief of Vietnam, received a copy of Zhu Yijun's decree and almost happily passed it. Because Zheng Song was in a hurry for his northern expedition last year and conquered Shannan in one battle, which frightened the Northern Dynasty into a panic and sent envoys to the imperial court to reiterate his intention of submission:
"I secretly remember that the land and people of this country belong to the Celestial Empire. Since the Chen family was extinct, the Li family inherited it and arrogated the title of emperor. Without asking for orders, the title was arrogated to the Yuan Dynasty. The imperial edict was established and the civil and military officials of Yu, Tang and others were compared... The ministers and others have presented the pass to the annex, and were accepted by Emperor Shizong. Now Li Zheng has raised an army to attack me, not to attack the ministers, but to attack the imperial court..."
However, in the eleventh year of Wanli, the emperor's entire energy was focused on Mongolia and the Western Sea. Annan, a cooked duck, was not included in the strategy focus, so he ignored Mo's plea for help. Mo Dunrang was surrounded by Zheng Song and almost ascended to heaven.
It is a pity that during Mo Jingdian's reign, the Northern Dynasty had strong troops and horses, and was on the offensive side in the conflict with the Southern Dynasty, while the Zheng family of the Li Dynasty was on the defensive. In the fourth year of Longqing, Zheng Jian, the first generation head of the Zheng family, died of illness. His sons Zheng Song and Zheng Hui were engaged in internal strife. Mo Jingdian took the opportunity to attack south. After Zheng Hui was defeated, he led his troops to surrender, which caused Li Yingzong to flee Thanh Hoa and run to Dongshan. Later, he conferred the title of Prime Minister Zuo on Zheng Song and mobilized his generals to fight against Mo Bing.
Zheng Song strengthened his walls and cleared the country, but Mo Jingdian could not attack for a long time. When the food was exhausted, the army withdrew, and the Le Dynasty regained Thanh Hoa. Zheng Song was awarded the title of Taiwei and Duke of Changguo due to his meritorious service, and his power became increasingly stronger. Li Yingzong was afraid of Zheng Song and conspired with his ministers to eradicate him. Conspiracy to betray, Zheng Song killed Le Anh Tong and welcomed Le Duy Tan, the fifth son of Anh Tong, with the reign name Guangxing, as the 16th emperor of the Le Dynasty. At this time, the Li Dynasty had only a little skin left hanging on the face of the Zheng regime.
After Zheng Song unified the south, he planned the Northern Expedition day and night, with both sides attacking without end. After Mo Jingdian's death, Zheng Song fought successively. In the eleventh year of Wanli, he conquered Nanshan in one battle, and Mo Chao was horrified.
Now the emperor's edict has arrived, claiming to attack the Zheng family and bring order to the chaos; at the same time, he accuses the Li Dynasty, almost completely overturning the Annan policy after Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty. Mo Dunrang had been beaten by Zheng Song and was about to be unable to defend Shenglong. Seeing the decree, he felt as if he had escaped from death.
However, the truth hidden behind this edict is actually untenable: based on the theory of supporting Gang Chang, Mo Chao, who usurped the throne of Li Dynasty, captured Emperor Li Zhao, and killed Emperor Li Gong and the Empress Dowager, was the target of attack.
In fact, after Mo Jingdian of the Northern Dynasty of Annan usurped the throne of Li Dynasty, because of his declaration of offering land, Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty pretended to be deaf and mute on the grounds that "the matter of Mo Jingdian's usurpation is difficult to understand" and turned a blind eye to the request of the Annan envoy to ask the court to make the decision. , Mo Jingdian was allowed to pay tribute every three years - the army was weak at that time, and the idea was still to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight.
Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty is no longer the Ming Dynasty during the reign of King Sejong. Because it needs large colonies to relieve the population pressure in the southern part of the empire, it no longer adheres to the vague policy of "Two Annams" and ends up in person.
After Mo Dunrang saw a copy of the official edict and Zheng Song obtained the transcript through intelligence, both of them understood the Ming court's intention: to re-incorporate Annan into the territory and merge it with counties. For the Mo Dynasty, in order to gain the support of the imperial court during the Jiajing period, Mo Jingdian had included a donation of soil and renamed Shenglong "Dongguan".
In the eleventh year of Wanli, Mo Dunrang came to the table again and reiterated to Zhu Yijun that Annan was the land of the imperial court - this was the reason why he was able to obtain the support of the Ming Dynasty when he was about to reach the end of his rope.
Mo Dunjang, who was ready to go into the northern mountainous area to fight guerrillas, was overjoyed for the moment. After seeing the contents of the imperial edict given to the Northern Dynasty, the Grand Lieutenant of the Li Dynasty could not sleep at night. In less than half a month, his hair was half white.
The dispute between the north and the south of Annan and the "Nguyen-Zheng" dispute within the Le Dynasty have already drained the country's war potential. At this time, in both the north and the south, Zheng's martial arts was the most powerful, with only 50,000 soldiers and horses.
With 50,000 exhausted soldiers, Zheng Song couldn't defeat the Ming Dynasty's new army that defeated Mang Yinglong in one battle. As the Ming Emperor's edict to Annan spread widely, Qinghua City has fallen into panic. Emperor Guangxing summoned Zheng Song repeatedly and asked him if he could save Thanh Hoa - if not, should we surrender or run south.
Zheng Song replied: "Your Majesty, there is no need to be nervous. It has been five years since the Ming Dynasty destroyed Burma. Wherever the troops are heading, Laos, Siam, Champa, etc. are all in danger. I will send envoys to express the meaning of dying lips and cold teeth, or It can stop the Northern soldiers."
"Secondly, I heard that the Portuguese barbarians have been annexed by the Spanish barbarians, and that the Ming Dynasty and the Spanish barbarians are at odds with each other. I have sent an envoy to Manchuria to ask for a meeting with its governor, and perhaps to borrow help."
"Third, I ask the emperor to hunt south and head to Dongshan to complete the plan."
"As for the last section, although my court has paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty, the Ming court has not allowed me to pay tribute. It has been fifty-seven years. I would like to send a capable envoy to the capital of the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute - this may reduce the effectiveness of the troops. "
Emperor Guangxing Li Weitan was now eighteen years old. His twelve years as a puppet had long since ripped out his bones, leaving him without any heroic spirit. Hearing what Duke Chang Guo said, he turned pale and shed tears and said: "What Duke Chang Guo said is true. I heard that small matters are big and reasonable, but it is a pity to only have the title of emperor. What a pity? I can even be called the 'Capital Envoy'" , so what’s the harm?”
When Zheng Song heard Li Weitan's words, he glanced at him like a hawk and sneered: "Your Majesty is the commander-in-chief of the capital. Where will you place your ministers?" Emperor Guangxing mumbled and could not answer.
Zheng Song stood up and said: "I know that the troops from the north coming south will definitely join forces with the Mo clan. The Mo clan's rats have long been frightened. When they see the banners of my generals, they can only run away. If they can take advantage of the opportunity to defeat them, they may not be unable to maintain a peaceful situation - —Please make some preparations, Your Majesty, and go to Dongshan first."
...
In September of the twelfth year of Wanli, Zheng Zhongpou, an envoy from the Li Dynasty, arrived in Guangxi carrying tribute. He paid tribute and asked the governor of Guangxi to report to the court and allow him to pay tribute.
In order to obtain the permission of the imperial court, the envoy Zheng Zhongpup drafted a form of worship for Emperor Guangxing, which included: "I am the ruler of Annan, but I am just guarding the land for your majesty... The emperor, father and minister are separated and cannot communicate with each other. Every time I think about it, My heart is full of tears..." etc.
However, the pretty features were for the blind. Wu Wenhua, the governor of Guangxi, informed Zheng Zhongpup that the Li Dynasty in Annan had not paid tribute to the court for many years, and now the army was pressing down on the country. Fang Xu was arrogant, and his behavior was disgusting - he was directly refused entry and ordered to He immediately returned to Thanh Hoa.
Zheng Zhongpou was a Jinshi of the Li Dynasty and was proficient in Sinology. He used various historical records of Fusuyuan people in China to prove that Wu Wenhua was wrong in doing so. He also recited a large section of Taizu's teachings and pointed out that the imperial court's recruitment of troops to attack Vietnam was inconsistent with the ancestors' teachings.
Wu Wenhua sneered after hearing this and said: "During Taizu's time, the shipping routes had not been established, and the ships lacked a thousand materials. The land of Annan was separated from the Central Plains by mountains and the sea. It was difficult to govern. The land was not enough to enrich the country, and the people were indeed not enough to make orders. Taizu only had this. Word."
"However, by the time of the founding of the Ancestor, Annan had never had an envoy from the capital, and I had half of it in the prefectures and counties! Li Li rebelled against the thieves, resisted the heavenly soldiers, and succeeded. The country of Yelang dared to be called a lonely Taoist and a few emperors, how could it be a corner of the emperor? ridiculous!"
"My emperor wants to dominate the inner world, so how can I leave you sleeping soundly beside my bed! You don't have to touch me with your words. Please quickly report back to your master Zheng. He walks with his face tied on his knees and comes here to apologize. He may not be able to retain his descendants. If you continue to be stubborn. If it doesn’t work, once the heavenly soldiers arrive, the species will be extinct!”
Zheng Zhong used tricks such as provoking the generals, begging, and bribing him, but without Wu Wenhua's permission, he could only return crying.
...
At the same time, after more than a year of long journey, the first Ming Dynasty mission led by Count Xu Guangqi finally arrived in Europe.
A total of five galleons, after stopping at Goa, Calicut, Mombasa, Mozambique, and Sofala, then rounded the Cape of Good Hope - this is a major event that the Chinese nation will always record in the history of this era, Xu Guangqi Became the first Chinese to circumvent the Cape of Good Hope in recorded history. [Note 1]
The storm at the Cape of Good Hope taught long-distance travelers a profound lesson. The Chinese mission was bumping up and down in the surging Atlantic Ocean, and Luo Mingjian, who was following the mission, could do nothing but pray for the strength of the Portuguese captain and sailors.
After paying the price of two mission members dying of illness, the mission finally reached the west coast of Africa. The supply points became denser, and the mission also got a chance to breathe. Finally, a full year later, on the seventh day of September in the twelfth year of Wanli, we arrived at the first stop of our visit to Europe - Lisbon.
