Zhu Yunwen really couldn't dwell on this matter; he could only pretend that nothing had happened.

After all, it wouldn't be good for him if word got out, so only Zhu Yunwen, the king's sister, and Zhao Qingzhu knew about it.

Aside from being ridiculed by Qingzhu, there probably won't be any other impact.

The next day, after that night, Zhu Yunwen was thinking about establishing a good cooperative relationship with Sumatra as soon as possible, signing a series of agreements, and then leaving this troublesome place as soon as possible.

As for the king's sister, Zhu Yunwen did not see her either. It is estimated that she was worried that Zhu Yunwen would target her because of this, so she chose to hide at home and no longer show her face.

And so the matter was dropped. In the following days, the two parties signed a series of agreements regarding the cooperation.

Subsequently, the King of Sumatra hosted banquets of high caliber for Zhu Yunwen on several occasions.

Zhu Yunwen felt that the treatment was a bit excessive, even though both sides were on friendly terms and the cooperation was beneficial to everyone.

However, there is really no need to hold three large banquets in a row. As the saying goes, if something is unusual, there must be something fishy going on.

Therefore, Zhu Yunwen also felt that the King of Sumatra probably had something to ask of him.

In particular, Zhu Yunwen had met with the King of Sumatra several times, and the King of Sumatra seemed hesitant to speak to him. When Zhu Yunwen first came to this place, the King of Sumatra had already shown some signs of this when he heard that Zhu Yunwen was helping Java and solving problems.

Therefore, Zhu Yunwen could no longer hold back and spoke directly to the King of Sumatra:

"Your Majesty, it seems you have something you want to say, but you are hesitant to speak. What is the meaning behind this?"

Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, the King of Sumatra sighed helplessly, then somewhat embarrassedly addressed Zhu Yunwen:

“Since His Highness the Crown Prince has seen through me, I really can no longer hide it. The thing is, Sumatra does have some matters that we wish to request assistance from the Ming Dynasty or His Highness the Crown Prince.” Zhu Yunwen asked with a hint of doubt:

"Oh? Which aspect?"

The king was somewhat embarrassed, but he still gritted his teeth and said:

"Here's the thing: although Sumatra is one of the more powerful countries in this region, we also have a great enemy, which is another country on this island called the Orphan Kingdom."

That orphanage is also very powerful, and more importantly, they are warlike and frequently organize armies to attack our Sumatra Kingdom, posing a considerable threat to us.

We in Sumatra have also been trying to solve this problem, but ultimately, we are a step behind in terms of strength.

Therefore, I wonder if you could lend us the prestige of Your Majesty the Great Prince and the power of the Ming Dynasty to help us resolve this issue? We Sumatra would be eternally grateful and are willing to pay any price.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen smiled inwardly, but maintained a blank expression as he said:

"This matter is not something that our Great Ming can easily interfere with, after all, it is your country's own affair."

In fact, Zhu Yunwen's words were similar to his previous remarks to the Western King in Java, implying that the King of Sumatra would become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.

While conquering Southeast Asia or all the Western countries is not difficult, ruling them all is no easy task.

However, this did not prevent Zhu Yunwen from turning them into vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, because becoming a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty meant that they would have to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty every year and come to court every year.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty also had the right to intervene in the affairs of these vassal states.

Become their boss.

Therefore, Zhu Yunwen still wanted more countries to recognize the Ming Dynasty as their suzerain state.

The king of Sumatra wasn't stupid; he understood that asking for favors always came at a price. It was unrealistic to expect someone to help for free without paying anything in return.

So after pretending to think for a while, he said to Zhu Yunwen:

"If we can gain the protection of the Ming Dynasty, my Sumatra Kingdom will pay tribute every year and come to the court every year. We will recognize the Ming Dynasty as our master and submit to the Ming Dynasty."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen smiled tactfully, even though his goal had been achieved.

However, he couldn't be too direct, so he smiled and said:

"That's not a good idea. It would give people the impression that our Great Ming Dynasty is helping you so that you can become our vassal state."

The King of Sumatra glanced helplessly at Zhu Yunwen, then thought to himself:

Isn't that so? Of course, he wouldn't dare say that out loud.

So he smiled and said:

"Your Highness, you are overthinking this. No one would think that way. The Ming Dynasty is powerful, so it's only reasonable for it to help small countries like ours."

Moreover, we small countries are grateful for the kindness of the Ming Dynasty, and we pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty every year and come to pay homage every year. Under the protection of the Ming Dynasty, it doesn't seem unreasonable to call the Ming Dynasty our sovereign, does it?"

Zhu Yunwen pretended to think for a moment and said:

"That makes sense now that you mention it."

So the King of Sumatra spoke excitedly:

"So, His Highness the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, does this mean he has agreed?"

Zhu Yunwen opened his mouth, sighed, and said:

"Although our Great Ming has always been reluctant to interfere in the affairs of other countries, you have put it this way. If our Great Ming does not help, it would seem as if we are heartless. In that case, we have no choice but to meddle and suffer a loss."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!