Di Ming

Chapter 386 The Great Tubo Kingdom Emerges Out of Nowhere!
Although Konishi Yukinaga led his army to surrender to the Ming Dynasty by imperial decree, he was a daimyo from a merchant background, so of course there were conditions attached.

Shen Weijing, acting as an intermediary, verbally conveyed President Konishi's terms. Konishi stated:
He could disarm and lay down his arms, which was the bare minimum. But he wanted the entire army to be sent back to Japan after they were disarmed and laid down.

Furthermore, under the pretext of selling weapons, armor, and warhorses at a 30% discount, they demanded that the Ming army pay them 300,000 taels of silver.

Fifty thousand shi of military rations were allocated for the journey home.

At the same time, Konishi also requested that Japanese soldiers of the rank of Hatamoto samurai or above be allowed to retain their samurai swords.

Zhu Yin burst out laughing when he heard Xiao Xi's conditions. Did this guy think war was a business transaction? He was actually haggling!

I want to eat shit.

“Shen Weijing,” Zhu Yin said directly, “I will not agree to any of these conditions. Either he refuses to surrender and is all killed by the Ming army, or he himself is imprisoned and sent to Beijing, where he will suffer the same fate as Shimazu, Kato, and others.”

"Either he must surrender unconditionally, without any conditions. All I can do is treat them as prisoners of war."

“I’ll only give him half an hour to consider. Once that half hour is up, it will be time for the final battle. By then, even if he wants to surrender unconditionally, it will be too late.”

Shen Weijing laughed and said, "Good, I will go and tell Konishi Yukinaga right away. The Grand Coordinator is really straightforward. Rest assured, the morale of the Japanese pirate army is already gone. Konishi Yukinaga is trapped in the Huangtan Forest and is at his wit's end. He has no right to negotiate with us."

Shen Weijing returned to the Japanese camp and said to Konishi Yukinaga, "The Ming Dynasty does not agree to any of your demands. It has stated that you must surrender unconditionally and has only given half an hour to consider. After half an hour, we will launch a decisive attack."

Konishi Yukinaga slumped onto a stool, his forehead beaded with sweat. He glared with his toad-like eyes and said with utter resentment:

"Isn't there any room for maneuver? Our army has more than 45,000 men, and it's a complete army. Can't we even get some concessions?"

"That's not how you do business!"

Shen Weijing sneered, “Sir, this is not business, this is war! Zhu Yin is not a businessman; he is a young nobleman with a heart of stone and decisive ruthlessness. If you do not surrender, he may at most expend more effort and lose more Ming soldiers, but he will not lose any merit. Why should he agree to your conditions?”

"Zhu Yin is a star deity reincarnated, known to every woman and child in the Ming Dynasty, a genius of all time. He passed the imperial examination with top honors at the age of twelve, led a large army to quell the Mongol rebellion at fifteen, was ennobled at sixteen, and now leads an army of over 100,000 and has been appointed as the military commissioner of Goryeo. Would such a god-like figure do business with you?"

Shen Weijing calmly drank a cup of tea, crossed his legs, and continued:
"Your Excellency's surrender, though it will inevitably make you a prisoner, will still be better off than that of Shimazu Yoshihiro and Kato Kiyomasa. Those men are now living a life worse than death, unable even to commit suicide. Even if you don't care about the lives of tens of thousands of your men, you should at least cherish your own life."

"To be honest, Japan has no future. When I entered the Ming army camp this time, many generals were hoping to cross the sea and conquer Japan and destroy your country for military merit."

"Japan has split again. The Emperor and the Imperial Court are in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and the Japanese army in Goryeo has been cut off from the sea route. At this point, the Japanese army in Goryeo, which is isolated overseas, is actually doomed. The forces of Ukita Hideie, Kuroda Nagamasa, Tachibana Muneshige and others in the south, together, have less than 100,000 troops. Sooner or later, they will all be wiped out."

"Once all 200,000 Japanese troops in Goryeo are wiped out, how many soldiers will Japan, already weakened, have left to fight? Can a divided Japan still stop the Ming Dynasty's cross-sea expedition? What the Mongol Yuan Dynasty couldn't do, the Ming Dynasty might be able to do as well."

"In my personal opinion, the Ming Dynasty will inevitably conquer Japan within a few years. At that time, Japan will cease to exist, and figures like Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu will become prisoners."

"Rather than being a prisoner then, it would be better to surrender to the Ming Dynasty now. Perhaps that would give you a way out. Even if you don't get rich and powerful, at least you can be free. With your abilities, it wouldn't be difficult for you to become a wealthy merchant again."

Antonio, drawing the sign of the cross, said, “My lord, the Lord’s mercy tells us that we cannot put up a pointless resistance and needlessly throw away the lives of our soldiers. I know your honor and courage as a warrior, but your surrender for the lives of tens of thousands shows even greater courage and responsibility.”

He knelt on one knee, solemnly performed a knightly salute, and said in a devout tone:
"My lord has fulfilled the greatest responsibility of a general and is worthy of the honor of the nobility. I suggest that my lord surrender with dignity."

Konishi Yukinaga paced back and forth, his face growing increasingly bitter, and he almost fell over by the tree roots on the ground.

Suddenly he stopped, turned around, chopped with his right hand, and said in a tearful voice, "Pass on my order: surrender unconditionally!"

He had given up any hope of getting away with it and dared not make any more demands.

……

When news spread that Konishi Yukinaga had led his entire army to surrender to the Ming Dynasty in accordance with the imperial edict, the Ming army cheered and their morale was greatly boosted.

The surrender of over 45,000 Japanese troops was tantamount to their complete annihilation, resulting in another major victory for the Ming army, without any losses on the part of the Ming forces. Otherwise, if the Japanese pirates had resisted to the bitter end, the Ming army would have suffered at least several thousand casualties.

Upon receiving the surrender document, Zhu Yin immediately convened a military meeting with Qi Jiguang to accept the Japanese surrender. Zhu Yin then sent a letter to the Japanese army, ordering them to immediately disarm, surrender their weapons, hand over their flags and horses, and then line up to surrender.

Konishi Yukinaga and his entourage were terrified, but forced by circumstances, they had no choice but to comply.

More than 40,000 Japanese pirates disarmed and surrendered, obediently leaving the Huangtan Forest. Konishi Yukinaga personally came to the Ming army's banner and presented the battle flag and katana on behalf of the Japanese army.

Because Konishi Yukinaga surrendered voluntarily, he received better treatment than Shimazu, Kato, and others. He was simply under strict guard, but not bound.

Immediately, the Ming army escorted the Japanese soldiers towards Yizhou City. Along the way, many Japanese prisoners of war wailed and cried, their cries echoing through the air.

Strangely, although the prisoners cried together, they maintained good order, their marching formation remained neat, and even the officers at all levels were still playing their roles.

"My lord," Xu Wei said softly to Zhu Yin, "the captured Japanese pirates are still not to be underestimated. Should we kill them all?"

He was still uneasy about so many Japanese pirate prisoners.

Zhu Yin smiled slightly: "Don't worry, sir. They will soon be scattered and sent back to the country in batches to be government slaves. Besides being used by Qingchen's medical school, they will also be used for repairing the Yellow River and doing hard labor. After a few years, not many prisoners will survive. It would be a pity to kill them all, since they can be used as livestock."

The army then escorted more than 40,000 prisoners back to Yizhou City. They then reorganized the prisoners, dividing them into groups of over a thousand and separating them into different prisons.

That very night, hundreds of prisoners committed suicide by running into the wall. But many more remained obedient.

The Ming generals were all surprised. The Japanese army was tough on the battlefield, so why did they turn out like this once they surrendered?
Zhu Yin knew that Japan had always been one to fear power but not to cherish virtue. If you couldn't overpower them militarily, they would become extremely arrogant. But once you truly subdued them, their beliefs would crumble, and they would become like dogs again.

This is because the Japanese pirates had a weak sense of right and wrong, but their concept of strength and weakness was deeply ingrained.

This was true in later generations, and it was also true in ancient times.

With the surrender of tens of thousands of Japanese pirates under Konishi Yukinaga, the Japanese army lost more than 100,000 men in Uiju, and the total strength of the Japanese army in Goryeo fell below 100,000, with only 90,000 left at most.

Zhu Yin and Qi Jiguang entered Goryeo in just one month and wiped out more than half of the Japanese army, their offensive was as fierce as a tiger.

Everyone knew that the victory in the Goryeo campaign was already secured and there was no suspense.

Next, we will head south and fight the remaining Japanese troops in Anju!
……

After dealing with Konishi Yukinaga, Zhu Yin and others submitted memorials to report their victory, which was a necessary procedure.

After Zhu Yin and Qi Jiguang, among others, communicated, they submitted memorials suggesting to the court how to utilize the Japanese prisoners of war.

They were simply dispersed and demoted to government slaves, then forced to perform heavy labor, essentially treated like livestock.

King Yi Yeon of Goryeo visited Zhu Yin again, requesting that Zhu Yin order the execution of all tens of thousands of Japanese prisoners of war to prevent future troubles.

Of course, Zhu Yin rejected him again.

Li Yin was indignant and went to see the Imperial Inspector Qian Shizhen again.

"Lord Qian, did you impeach Zhu Yin in this memorial?" the King of Goryeo asked expectantly. "Lord Qian is an Imperial Inspector, a high-ranking and powerful official. The Emperor will certainly not remain indifferent upon seeing your memorial."

"Why is Your Highness in such a hurry?" Qian Shizhen sneered. "I will impeach him naturally, but not now!"

"Right now, Goryeo is still fighting against the Japanese pirates, and there are still nearly 100,000 Japanese pirates in the south. The war is not over yet. If we impeach him now, do we not care about the overall situation?"

Li Yeon said with great frustration, "The Japanese pirates have suffered repeated defeats, their morale is low, and they are already doomed and vulnerable. Even if the Celestial Empire changed its commander and sent anyone to replace Zhu Yin, they could still achieve a great victory."

"Such great achievements should be shared with others."

Qian Shizhen shook his head, looking at Li Yeon with a hint of disdain, "Such a major battle, concerning the life and death of your country, how can Your Highness speak of it so lightly?"

"Although Zhu Zhihu is arrogant and autocratic, he is indeed skilled in military strategy. Who doesn't trust him in Goryeo? I trust him too. But if we replace him, can you guarantee that the Japanese pirates won't turn the tables? What will Your Highness say then? As the ruler of a country, does Your Highness not know what is important and what is urgent?"

Li Yan blushed and could only leave dejectedly, cursing Qian Shizhen in his heart once more.

……

It was already late at night in the military headquarters when Kangxi brought some more intelligence.

One of the documents was intelligence from the palace. The news of the great victory at Uiju had not yet reached Beijing, so the court was naturally unaware of the war in Goryeo.

This intelligence has nothing to do with the effects of the good news.

Instead, someone was spreading a folk song that said:

"The Tiger of Jiangdong, both learned and martial, has wings that cannot be bound, and in the year of Dingyou, it will devour its master."

This folk song is extremely malicious, almost explicitly stating that Zhu Yin was ambitious.

Who the hell is so despicable?

I'm fighting a war in Korea, and you're spreading rumors and slander in the capital, as if you want to stir up trouble.
Huya discovered that this malicious "folk song" was not created by Zheng or his political enemies, but by some big businessmen and tycoons. The specific mastermind behind it is still unknown and the investigation is ongoing.

According to Huya's analysis, they were after Ning Caiwei's business. Over the years, Ning Yin Trading Company had infringed upon the interests of many powerful figures, but Ning Caiwei had her own protectors, leaving them helpless. They could only exploit the emperor's apprehension by spreading rumors that they would rebel.

If they fall, they can take a slice of Ning Caiwei's business.

For money, they turned against meritorious officials of the state. They were even more despicable than the Zheng family, who launched a political struggle for the throne.

Fortunately, before the folk songs spread, Huya deliberately released more folk prophecies, alluding to Zheng's plan to support Zhu Changxun, or to the Grand Secretary Wang Xijue's plot to depose him, or to Zhang Jing's plan to rebel, etc. Huya deliberately released so many rumors and spent money to fuel the flames, which indeed covered up the "folk prophecies" targeting Zhu Yin.

Although that vicious folk song is still circulating, Huya deliberately spreads many folk songs, each targeting a specific person, so that folk song has little effect.

"My lord," Kangxi said angrily, "your prestige is rising higher and higher, your military achievements are growing ever greater. Even if you don't rebel, you'll be forced to. These kinds of absurd folk songs are impossible to guard against. If we resolve this today, what about the future? Isn't your rule about guarding against thieves at all times? Perhaps..."

Kangxi gritted his teeth, "Why not take advantage of the opportunity to command troops in Goryeo and rebel directly?"

"Rebel directly?" Upon hearing this, Zhu Yin and Xu Wei both shook their heads.

There are only two possible outcomes for those who rebel: abandon everything and flee overseas; or be suppressed and exterminated.

It is absolutely impossible to succeed.

Raising an army in rebellion is not that easy.

Zhu Yin was very clear-headed.

Decades later, the late Ming Dynasty was a chaotic era. The court was extremely weak, on the verge of collapse, and riddled with problems. Emperor Chongzhen continued to make mistakes and disastrous decisions. Even so, it took seventeen years for a large-scale peasant uprising, in alliance with the Manchus, to finally unite and destroy the Ming Dynasty.

Despite this, the Southern Ming dynasty survived and persisted for nearly twenty years, almost turning the tide and overthrowing the Manchus.

It was still the 21st year of the Wanli Emperor's reign. The imperial court's strength and foundation far surpassed those of the late Ming Dynasty, and on the surface, it was still a time of peace and prosperity. However, their own strength was no match for the peasant army combined with the Manchus.

Rebellion at this time is nothing short of suicide.
He secretly influenced and controlled tens of thousands of Ming troops, including both cavalry and infantry, who were the most elite forces in the Ming Dynasty.

However, if he were to raise the flag of rebellion himself, the Ming army willing to follow him would at most consist of 15,000 troops led by Xiong Tingbi, Cao Wenzhao, Mao Wenlong, and Zhao Shuaijiao, at most.

Even these four people might not all dare to rebel with him.

As for generals such as Qin Liangyu, Li Rusong, Li Rubai, and Xiao Ruxun, although they were his subordinates, greatly influenced by him, and had a good personal relationship with him, they certainly would not follow him in rebellion.

Not only would they not, but they would most likely participate in the suppression under imperial decree. At most, they would only show up out of consideration for past relationships, going through the motions but not putting in any real effort, secretly turning a blind eye. Even if they maintained neutrality, they wouldn't dare.

Rebellion is not only a crime punishable by the extermination of one's clan, but also a subversion and betrayal of the relationship between ruler and subject, and of etiquette and moral teachings. How many people would disregard these weighty consequences and follow him in rebellion without hesitation?

He wasn't a recognized prince or member of the imperial family, making his rebellion far more difficult than that of the Prince of Yan or the Prince of Ning. When the Prince of Yan rebelled, many people watched from the sidelines or even secretly pledged allegiance, resulting in various instances of leniency on the battlefield. Even when the Prince of Ning rebelled, many remained neutral and secretly supported him.

As for himself? He had no clan affiliation and didn't even have the qualifications to raise an army to seize the throne.

The Wanli era was not a chaotic period. If a rebellion were to break out, countless people would distance themselves from him, some even willing to trade their entire families for wealth and power. At that point, even his servants and guards might not be reliable.

Do you really think that by showering them with food and clothing and doing everything you can to win them over, they'll dare to rebel against you without hesitation? Human nature isn't that simple. That's rebellion!

The truly reliable ones were only a few, such as Lancha and Kangxi.

Even the Jinghai Army and the Eight Banners overseas, though they usually obey orders and act as if they were extensions of their own arms, would not be followed by everyone if they were to actually raise their flags in rebellion; internal divisions were still possible.

An Lushan was extremely adept at winning over the hearts and minds of the army and the people, and was revered as the "Sage of Hebei." Before his rebellion against the Tang Dynasty, he had a very good reputation and high prestige. He painstakingly built up his power over twenty years, controlling half of the Tang Dynasty's elite troops. However, his rebellion soon disintegrated. If it weren't for the aging and incompetent Emperor Xuanzong making a series of bad decisions, he should have been suppressed after his major defeat at Jiashan, and his rebellion would have ended in failure after only five months.

Even with a military force as strong as An Lushan's, without Emperor Xuanzong's repeated assistance, his rebellion would have failed within months. Could it be that my current strength surpasses An Lushan's?

“We must not act now,” Xu Wei said. “In the next few years, my lord must be patient. Of the three options, the best one should be considered first.”

"As long as our lord can handle the situation well and knows when to advance and retreat, it is perfectly fine to delay for a few more years."

Zhu Yin said, "Don't worry, sir, I can endure it. I won't act until the time is right."

After saying that, he opened the second intelligence report. Upon reading it, he couldn't help but frown.

This intelligence comes from Myanmar, but it doesn't concern Myanmar; rather, it concerns intelligence about the snow-covered region bordering Myanmar.

In addition to gathering intelligence on the Toungoo Dynasty and various chieftains in Myanmar, Huya's organizations in Myanmar and Yunnan also need to keep an eye on intelligence in the snowy areas.

The intelligence report stated that about four years ago, a Han Chinese scholar named Gu Bingqian accompanied a caravan to Lhasa and then to Sangzhuzi, the capital of the Tsangpa Khan, where he became the Tsangpa Khan's military advisor.

Gu Bingqian was from Southern Zhili. He passed the county-level imperial examination at the age of thirteen and was very proud of his talent, but he failed the provincial-level examination seven times. His last attempt was in the sixteenth year of the Wanli reign. Before the exam, he swore an oath at the Wenchang Temple:
"A feudal lord may only have seven tripods, and a zither may only have seven strings. If I fail the exam for the seventh time, then Heaven is unjust and Heaven is blind. I shall go far away to the Central Plains, abandon my Confucian hat and my writing brush, and serve the barbarians."

Sure enough, in the provincial examination of the sixteenth year of the Wanli reign (1588), the same year Zhu Yin passed, Gu Bingqian failed again. In his anger, he burned all the Four Books and Five Classics, then went west to Guanzhong, and then followed a caravan on the Tea Horse Road to Tibet.

Why go to Tibet? Because he had become acquainted with a lama who came to Han China to spread Tantric Buddhism, learned the Tibetan language, and learned from Tibetan monks that there was a Tsangpa Khan in Tibet who claimed to be a descendant of the Tibetan king (in fact he was not), and was also the most powerful noble in Tibet at the time.

Thinking he had a good understanding of Tibet, Gu Bingqian went to Tibet and found the most powerful Tibetan Khan: the ruler of the Tsang region.

He told the Khan that the Khan was a descendant of the Tibetan king and should unify the entire Tibetan Empire, rebuild the Great Tibetan Empire, and then wage war against the Ming Dynasty to take control of the Central Plains.

He said that as long as Tsangpa Khan listened to his advice, he could help Tsangpa Khan unify Tibet within five years, move the capital to Lhasa, and become the common ruler of all Tibetans. Within twenty years, he could conquer the Ming Dynasty.

This man was truly capable. Zangba Khan had never met anyone like him before, and after a long conversation with him, he listened to his every word.

Gu Bingqian proposed strategies such as establishing an official system, formulating laws, minting silver coins, standardizing weights and measures, uniting with the Gelugpa sect, secretly allying with the Bon sect, training serfs, recruiting monk soldiers, mining and smelting iron, increasing temple taxes, establishing military farms and producing salt, attracting refugees, and forming alliances with the Gurkha in the south, the Mu clan of Lijiang in the east, and the Qinghai Mongols in the north.

All of these were accepted by the ambitious Zangba Khan.

In just four years, the power of the Tsangpa Khan became even stronger. He destroyed the Shaqawa clan, the Drikungti Monastery, the Lhagari King, the Guge King, and other tribes. The population of his territory increased to more than 700,000, and his army increased from 20,000 to 60,000, all of whom were cavalry.

On Gu Bingqian's advice, Zangba Khan abolished the "Jiegor" system, which directly governed the lords, weakened their power, and restored the system from the Great Tubo Kingdom period. A royal court was established in the center, and officials such as the Grand Chancellor were appointed. The population of his territories was also organized into "Five Towns," which combined military and civilian functions.

Each Ruqin is further divided into twelve Dongdai. Each Ruqin has a commander of ten thousand men, and each Dongdai has a commander of one thousand men, who are in charge of both military and civil administration.

Ruqin and Dongdai were ancient Tibetan systems, essentially no different from "Jieguer," both being systems that combined military and civilian populations in Tibet. However, Gu Bingqian changed the name, using the pretext of restoring the ancient system, and transformed "Jieguer," which was originally the responsibility of the lord, into a territory and population directly ruled by the Zangba Khan.

The chief and deputy officers of Ruchin were all members of the Xinxia clan, a noble family of the Zangba Khan. The chief and deputy officers of Dongdai could be members of other noble families besides the Xinxia clan.

In this way, military and political power in the Tsang region was suddenly concentrated in the hands of the newly established royal court. The Tsangpa Khan was no longer the nominal ruler of Tsang, but the true ruler of Tsang, effectively unifying half of Tibet.

Therefore, the Khan appointed Gu Bingqian as Grand Chancellor and married his daughter to Gu's son, Gu Taishuo, thus establishing a familial relationship. Gu Bingqian, a Han Chinese, suddenly became a powerful prime minister.

Just over three months ago, Zangba Khan followed Gu Bingqian's advice and, under the pretext of arbitrating the conflict between the Red and Yellow Schools of Tibetan Buddhism, led his army into Central Tibet, occupied Lhasa, and successively defeated the various lords of Central Tibet.

On the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month last year, on the advice of Gu Bingqian, Zangba Khan, relying on his strong army and the submission of various lords, ascended the throne in the Potala Palace in Lhasa, calling himself Zanpu and establishing the Great Tubo Kingdom.

In this way, Gu Bingqian spent less than five years persuading Zangba Khan to create the Great Tubo Kingdom, which had been extinct for more than seven hundred years.

Xinxia, ​​despite not being a descendant of the Tibetan king, insisted on being a descendant of Songtsen Gampo. To unify the people, Tsangpa Khan led his ministers to worship at the Tibetan royal tombs and posthumously honored past Tibetan kings, putting on quite a show.

Zangba Khan, who had hailed as a king and moved the capital to Lhasa, lavishly bestowed titles and rewards upon himself after ascending the throne to win over the people. He also sent envoys to contact the Mongol tribes and Qiang people around Qinghai Lake.

"Gu Bingqian?" Zhu Yin felt the name was somewhat familiar. After searching his memory for a while, he finally remembered it.

He was the chief minister of the eunuch faction in history, serving as the chief minister during the reign of Wei Zhongxian.

Gu Bingqian, despite being a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) official, was utterly shameless. He fawned over Wei Zhongxian, kneeling before him at the age of seventy with his son, saying:

"I want to recognize Your Excellency as my father, but I'm afraid Your Excellency will look down on me because I'm old. So let my son be Your Excellency's grandson."

Seeing that Gu Bingqian was so "sensible" despite his advanced age, Wei Zhongxian promoted this "son" to Grand Secretary, making him the head of the civil officials, and he was very powerful for several years.

After Wei Zhongxian's downfall, Emperor Chongzhen purged the eunuch faction, and the prefect ordered the arrest of Gu Bingqian, who had already retired. Gu Bingqian directly offered the prefect 50,000 taels of silver as a bribe, and the prefect released him on the grounds that he was "old and near death."

He lived to be over eighty years old.

This man's shamelessness was representative of the late Ming scholar-officials, and by no means a minority. The moral decay of late Ming civil officials was widespread; they fawned over the powerful for official positions, offering no restraint on imperial authority. However, few were as shameless as Gu Bingqian, comparable to Shi Jingtang.

Zhu Yin never expected that this person had gone to Tibet several years ago and had now become the military advisor of the Tibetan Khan, helping him devise strategies and being highly valued.

If he weren't a time traveler, this person would have already passed the imperial examination. However, due to his own actions, he failed the exam again, and in a fit of anger, he voluntarily went to Tibet to become a traitor!
History is too strange.

The Jurchens were weakened, but the threat from Tibet reappeared, again thanks to the help of Han traitors.

The Later Jin dynasty was in jeopardy, but the Later Tubo Kingdom emerged out of nowhere.

"Take a look at this, sir." Zhu Yin handed the intelligence report to Xu Wei.

Xu Wei's expression grew increasingly interesting as he said:
"I had long suspected that there was a great threat in the southwest. Could it be Tibet? I never expected that the great Tibet Kingdom, which had been extinct for seven hundred years, would actually reappear."

……

PS: Theoretically, it was possible for Tibet to reunify during the late Ming Dynasty. In reality, the difficulty of Tibetan unification was no greater than that of Jurchen unification, and it might even have been easier. This is because the Jurchen tribes were too close to the Ming Dynasty, making them vulnerable to military intervention. The Tibetan Plateau, on the other hand, was relatively isolated and free from Ming military interference. As long as sectarian conflicts were properly managed, unification would have been easier than with the Jurchen tribes. Furthermore, Tibet's population was several times larger than that of the Jurchens, and once unified, it would not be underestimated.

I believe the reason Tibet failed to unify during the Ming Dynasty was related to its distance from Han culture. Tibetan nobles lacked the understanding of Han culture that the Jurchen nobles possessed; they were like frogs in a well, lacking insight and perspective. However, if insightful Han traitors had proactively offered assistance and advice, filling this crucial gap, the situation would have been different.

Actually, I'm still not feeling well today. I gritted my teeth and updated nearly 7,000 words, and now I'm dizzy. Please vote for me and leave a review! Thank you! Goodnight!

(End of this chapter)