Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 355 Lin Dao is generous

"The Shang clan of Ryukyu wants to submit to the Chinese?"

Back in the forest road of Dadu, they immediately began their busy work without a break.

The first thing was to meet with the long-awaiting envoys from various countries.

"You Ryukyus."

The first person he received was an envoy from Ryukyu. "I remember it's still in a state of division, with three kingdoms standing side by side?"

The earliest record of Liuqiu dates back to Emperor Yang of Sui.

He sent people out to sea to search overseas and discovered the Ryukyu Islands, a series of islands.

Later, when the Tang Dynasty compiled the history of the Sui Dynasty, specifically the "Book of Sui," they officially named this place Liuqiu.

At this time, Ryuchiu was also embroiled in internal strife.

The island, which was not very large, was divided into three small countries that fought each other endlessly.

"His Majesty the Great Emperor~"

The envoy was visibly flustered. "The Shang clan admires the might of the Central Plains and sincerely requests to submit."

At this time, the Shang family was merely a son-in-law of one of the powerful factions in Ryukyu, and had not yet reached the point of establishing the Ryukyu Kingdom.

The Shang family was fortunate to learn of the great changes in China and Japan through traveling merchants, which allowed them to send envoys ahead of time to impersonate the head of Ryukyu in order to seek official recognition.

The original intention was to use the tiger skin of the Central Plains to achieve instant success.

As for the claim of being "inner possession," it's just a nice-sounding way of putting it.

After all, rulers and scholars throughout Chinese history have all enjoyed these vanity projects.

They would flatter and say nice things, and the little things that slipped through their fingers from the Central Plains would be enough for them to enjoy endlessly.

Zhu Yuanzhang in history was just like that.

They were so pleased with Ryukyu that they even sent many people from the thirty-six surnames of Fujian to Ryukyu as slaves.

This fully demonstrates the generosity of the Celestial Empire!
"Inner Attachment?"

Lin Dao didn't know much about Ryuchiu.

Aside from the military base, the only other record is that King Sang was captured when the kingdom fell.

He genuinely didn't know that the Shang family hadn't yet risen to prominence and were still living as someone else's son-in-law.

The information about the Three Kingdoms being in existence was brought back by merchants who went overseas.

"can."

Lin Dao readily agreed, "Since you are so sincere, then I will give you this opportunity to join the inner circle."

"Liuqiu was renamed Ryukyu from then on."

"It means glass and pearl ball".

"The Ryukyu Prefecture is hereby established and shall be under the jurisdiction of the Yizhou Prefecture from now on."

He smiled and nodded to the envoy, "You have also done a good job, securing the best treatment for the Ryukyuans."

"From now on, you are people of the Ming Dynasty."

To be honest, becoming a citizen of the Middle-earth in this era truly deserves the best treatment.

Lin Dao is generous enough.

The envoy was dumbfounded.

They were still dizzy when they were taken away.

His mind was in complete chaos, and he had no idea what to do next.

When the Ming Dynasty sent people to the island to establish a county, both sides realized something was wrong, and as the envoy, he certainly wouldn't have a good ending.

Since that's the case~
"Run away!"

Even when Ryukyu was established as a prefecture, it only covered a mere two thousand square kilometers of land.

Such a small place cannot attract much attention from the forest trail.

However, dealing with the envoy from Ayutthaya next would require Lin Dao to spend more time on it.

“Your king has overthrown the tyrannical rule of the Sukhothai Kingdom, which is commendable.”

What Lin said was exactly the opposite of the truth.

The Kingdom of Sukhothai was actually the most approachable, while the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, which rose to power through rebellion, was brutally oppressive and aggressively expanded.

The reason for distorting the truth is, of course, to exploit them.

"He bestowed upon it the name Siam and issued it the King's Golden Seal."

"Trade is permitted."

The envoy was very satisfied, and flattery was offered to him without reservation.

Unfortunately, Lin Dao was not a Confucian scholar and didn't buy into that kind of thinking at all.

After the envoy finished speaking, he slowly asked, "I've heard that you are at odds with Burma?"

“These Burmese people colluded with the Mongols to resist the Chinese army, committing heinous crimes.”

"I support your attack on Burma."

There is no doubt that this is an attempt to sow discord.

Of course, Lin Dao understood that without benefits and advantages, no one would risk their life for him.

Do you really think that once you become emperor, you can command people to go through fire and water with just a word?
“Follow the example of the Mongols.”

"A male head in Myanmar is worth three strings of cash."

"Unlimited collection."

Without a doubt, Lin Dao was extremely generous.

Those poor bastards in the south have never seen such a high price!

As early as the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, people from Burma intercepted and killed Han envoys.

They continued to harass him, and later even committed a heinous fraud that angered both heaven and man.

In Lin Dao's eyes, their actions were no different from those of the Japanese.

Since their crimes are the same as those of Japan, they should be treated the same way.

He didn't want to send his troops to suppress bandits in the deep mountains and forests, which is why he chose Siam as the security force.

Wait until they're exhausted from fighting each other, then take them all out at once!

The same arrangement was made for the islands further south.

Select a portion of them, bestow upon them a national name and benefits, and use these benefits as bait to arrange for them to launch indiscriminate massacres against the nearby natives, completely eradicating the humanoid creatures in the area.

The local Black population, in particular, was a key target for eradication.

As for the Ming army, there were only two objectives in the first phase.

First, they took over the Luzon Islands and led a group of Goryeo security troops to sweep through the area.

This place will be built into a transit point, from which fleets will depart south, heading straight for Australia... no, it should be Jambudvipa (Southern Continent).

The importance of Jambudvipa (Southern Continent) needs no further explanation.

Moreover, there were only some cannibalistic natives on it at the time, making it easy to clear them out.

Having received a group of envoys from the south and arranged various matters, Lin Dao was yawning with exhaustion.

"We'll talk about the messengers from the west tomorrow."

He returned to his palace and had a good night's sleep.

Now, every time Lin Dao returns to the modern world, he has a vague feeling that someone is watching him.

But no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find a single clue.

In this situation, he now prefers to spend the night in a spacetime world that he has complete control over.

The guards, bound by shared interests, were highly loyal. After a long period of fighting and constant travel, Lin Dao, who rarely had a chance to relax, slept soundly until the next morning.

'Go reheat this porridge.'

The biscuits are too hard, you guys can have them.

"You all stay here and keep watch, I'll go steam some buns for His Majesty."

The voice was somewhat familiar.

Lin Dao, gradually regaining his senses, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Come in."

There was a slight pause outside.

The next moment, Ma Xiuying led a group of palace maids inside.

The eunuchs in the Yuan Dynasty palace had long been released by Lin Dao, who gave them some land to support themselves.

He was unwilling to use Han Chinese men as eunuchs, and he didn't trust Koreans or the like.

In the end, they simply stopped using it altogether.

As for the physical labor that needed to be done by eunuchs in the palace, strong women would take care of it.

Many people have never seen a truly healthy woman.

He was truly a burly man with broad shoulders and a strong waist; his physique and strength were in no way inferior to that of a man.

After recuperating, Ma Xiuying finally arrived in Dadu.

When she arrived, Lin Dao was wreaking havoc in Japan.

We finally met at this moment.

Compared to before, Ma Xiuying's face is noticeably rounder.

She offered to help with dressing and washing, but was refused.

Lin Dao's long military career had long made him accustomed to doing things himself.

He was quick; after dressing and washing up, he went straight to the dining table.

The porridge is a little cold.

The biscuit was a bit hard.

Ma Xiuying's persuasion had no effect, and Lin Dao ate breakfast in a whirlwind.

He took the towel, wiped his mouth, got up, and went to work.

Today he received a group of envoys from the west.

However, most of them were fake caravans, and Lin Dao exposed them in just a few words.

This kind of thing has existed since ancient times.

Merchants from the Central Asian countries who traveled along the Silk Road often impersonated envoys of various small kingdoms to swindle them out of various benefits and privileges.

Many times, people turn a blind eye to things just to save face.

But Lin Dao wasn't buying it.

"Drag him out and chop him."

"If they dare to commit fraud today, they dare to commit murder and arson tomorrow!"

"This kind of person should be eliminated immediately!"

There's also news from the west.

Chen Youliang's advance reached Yumen Pass but he could no longer advance.

It wasn't that their combat strength was lacking, but rather that their supply lines simply couldn't hold out any longer.

Without forest trails accompanying the army, logistical support had to be provided using the traditional methods of the time.

The supply lines are too long; we can't hold out.

The various khanates to the west also had different attitudes.

Some khanates clamored to inherit the legitimacy of the Yuan Dynasty and wanted to overthrow the Ming Dynasty.

Other khanates sent envoys, hoping to make peace with Lindao.

Lin Dao continued his usual practice of sowing discord, generously providing money and goods to encourage them to fight amongst themselves.

"As long as the head is delivered to the Ming army, the money will be settled on the spot!"

He was generous and never stingy with his money.

Being able to buy heads with money is truly the most effective way to cleanse oneself.

China is among the world's richest countries.

The super-rich naturally have to play the game the way the super-rich do.

Before the railway line, which was being built day and night with frantic overtime work, reached the Western Regions, Lin Dao did not plan to launch any military action against the Western Regions.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go, but the Western Regions were too vast and empty.

The Western Regions mentioned here refer to a vast area that extends as far as the Crimean Khanate.

Even if he personally led the expedition and conquered the Western Regions, he couldn't stay there forever.

Without sufficient supplies, the Ming army remaining in the Western Regions is in trouble.

"Just wait."

"Once the railway is repaired, we'll give them a good beating!"

"Let them fight it out themselves first, and then use their heads to trade for industrial products."

Money is of little use to nomadic tribes; they usually barter.

The only use of the reward money for them was to buy various products from Middle-earth.

Lin Dao prepared a large quantity of industrial products for them.

All sorts of glass products, grains and various wines with additives whose ingredients are undetectable in this era, massive quantities of fabrics, and all kinds of handicrafts wholesaled from the Yiwu Small Commodities Market, etc.

We don't have anything to enhance the army's combat effectiveness, but we have plenty of high-end consumer goods.

"Ministry of Rites."

Lin Dao instructed Li Shanchang to "arrange for people to serve as envoys and go on missions to various khanates in the Western Regions."

“Select some clever and quick-witted people. They don’t need to be as capable as Zhang Qian, but at least they should be eloquent and able to incite the various tribes to fight each other.”

Li Shanchang hurriedly bowed.

"Take orders."

After finishing a lot of official business, it was getting dark and time for dinner.

All the meals were prepared by Ma Xiuying herself.

While eating, Lin Dao was still thinking about setting up an agency that combined the Grand Council and the Cabinet to share his workload.

It wasn't that he was lazy; he simply had too many things to do and was completely overwhelmed.

"His Majesty."

During dinner, Ma Xiuying brought up family matters.

"The marriage between Di'er and the daughter of the Duke of E."

"Okay." Lin Dao, who was busy eating, agreed on the spot.

Ma Xiuying served him soup, saying, "I'm thinking that in three to five years, I'll invite renowned scholars and Confucian masters to be my teachers."

"No."

Lin Dao, who had been engrossed in his meal, finally looked up.

"He can only go to military academy!"

(End of this chapter)