Concerned about a sudden attack by gunboats on the Ming coast, the emperor began to speed up his layout in the South China Sea.

Although this would come after the Spanish conquest of Luzon, plans had already been made, with the focus being on the Malacca region.

Yes, it is a region, much larger than the Malacca area occupied by the Portuguese. It includes Temasek (Singapore) and part of the land of the Malacca Sultanate.

The emperor's plan was to build a solid naval base in Temasek, with sufficient naval and land forces stationed there to fully control the entry and exit of ships in the Strait of Malacca.

The favorable conditions for implementing the plan are the maritime trading group's operations in Borneo and the fact that Mekong Province has expanded to the southernmost tip of the Indochina Peninsula. Pontianak can serve as a relay port for the navy, and it is not far away to sail directly from Mekong Province.

Although the Portuguese were in decline, it would not be difficult to defeat them and seize their strongholds in Asia.

But the emperor was still inclined to cooperate, giving the Portuguese some preferential treatment and then jointly managing their Asian strongholds.

For example, Malacca is a key shipping hub; and Galle in Sri Lanka holds a monopoly on the cinnamon trade.

Of course, if the Portuguese were naive, don't blame the Ming navy for taking the initiative. It's much easier to seize it from the Portuguese than from the Dutch.

The reason why the emperor did not want to turn against the Portuguese was that he wanted to maintain stable trade with Europe.

As for the Western barbarians in Asia, the Spaniards were already the target of imminent elimination, and the Netherlands, Britain, and France might all become enemies of the Ming Empire in the future.

Although formal war with the Netherlands, Britain, and France was unlikely, conflict seemed inevitable, and it would not be surprising if trade was affected.

Having the Portuguese selling to Europe would ensure a stable export income. The Portuguese must have been salivating over the possibility of monopolizing trade with the Ming Dynasty.

Although monopoly was not what the emperor wanted, it would not be unacceptable if it really came to that.

The key is still based on the control of the entire South China Sea. The navy still needs to occupy many key points to ensure Ming Dynasty's exclusive control over the South China Sea.

As for the vast oceans beyond the South China Sea, the emperor felt that he could take a long-term view. After all, the world was so big, it wouldn't be too late to wait another thirty or fifty years before seizing them.

It was almost spring, and the expedition to Luzon had entered the countdown. The emperor issued a secret decree, asking Shen Yourong and other naval generals to discuss and decide the time of launch, and to submit a secret report when setting off, without having to ask for permission in advance.

The weather at sea is unpredictable, and the exact date of the monsoon is uncertain. Acting with the camera is ideal.

As for the merchant ships that Li Dan was about to dispatch, they could rush to Dongfan in advance, load the cargo, and wait for departure. For Li Dan, who was about to become the Governor-General of Luzon, he did not care about the waste of money by making the merchant ships wait for ten days or half a month.

There was another military operation in the spring, which was the recapture of Qiantao commanded by Sun Chuanting.

Given the Ming army's combat power, this was not a difficult task. However, to maintain a stable garrison for a long time would require careful management and a large investment of funds.

The deployment of over 10,000 soldiers was based on this consideration: they were both soldiers and pioneers of land reclamation. Choosing spring to launch the operation also ensured that spring plowing would not be delayed and that a harvest could be had in the autumn.

The construction of infrastructure, including building cities, setting up forts, paving roads, etc., will take two to three years to make Qiantao the Jiangnan of the Great Wall and a solid backing for advancing to Zhongtao and Houtao.

And it is more convenient to migrate people from disaster-stricken Shaanxi to Hetao for reclamation, and later to Henan, than to migrate to Liaodong, and it can also be regarded as an effective means of disaster relief and disaster prevention.

However, when the latest information was delivered to the imperial desk, the emperor fell into a long period of thought after reading it.

Tiger Dun Rabbit is going on a westward expedition!

This information was not surprising to the emperor. He had already made up his mind to strengthen the military strength of the nine important border towns only after pacifying the Liao Dynasty.

Of course, the time is not certain. Especially for the tiger rabbit, the thinking is not too normal.

"Xun Xiong Tingbi is summoned to the palace for an audience."

The emperor ended his contemplation and began to give orders to the palace servants.

Hu Duntu's strategy of unifying Mongolia by pacifying the country first and then repelling foreign aggression, coupled with his conversion to the Red Sect, earned him the desertion of his friends and relatives among the left-wing Mongolian tribes.

After the Khorchin was defeated, it was supported by the Ming Dynasty to rise again; under the pressure of Huduntu, the five Inner Khalkha tribes surrendered to the Ming Dynasty; the expedition against Naiman and Aohan forced these two Otogs to surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

After much trouble, Huduntu's Chahar tribe has been reduced from eight Otog to only six.

It was actually predictable that Hu Duntu would turn his attention to the right wing of Mongolia and continue his great cause of unifying Mongolia.

The right wing of Mongolia was weak, and Huduntu could annex it to expand its strength and restore his position as the overlord of the Mongolian Khan; he could also seize the "market reward" of the Ming Dynasty to the right wing of Mongolia and obtain supplies of food and fodder.

Obviously, Hu Duntu did not see the Ming Emperor's plan and underestimated the emperor's insidiousness.

The emperor had long wanted to abolish the market reward system and replace it with free trade, where everyone gets what they need. The reason it was kept was to serve as bait for the tiger-dun rabbit.

After Huduntu launched a sweeping attack on the right-wing Mongolian tribes and defeated them, the emperor stopped rewarding him and made him work for the Ming Dynasty for free, forcing the right-wing Mongolian tribes into the arms of the Ming Dynasty.

Not long after, Xiong Tingbi hurried over and entered the hall to pay his respects.

"Mr. Xiong, please stand up without any formalities." The emperor raised his hand and signaled the palace servant to pass the information to Xiong Tingbi.

Xiong Tingbi reviewed the intelligence and pondered for a long moment before bowing and saying, "Your Majesty, I believe this is a golden opportunity to subjugate the Mongol tribes. I should issue an order to all border garrisons, ordering them to step up their defenses."

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!