In fact, the same was true in Goryeo. During the years when Yi Seong-gye was in power, the Japanese pirates in Japan did not dare to act recklessly.

Therefore, whether it's Dongri or Fuyue, they must ensure the safety of the Japanese pirates. Otherwise, they should be prepared for a reprimand from the Ming Dynasty, or even for the Ming to send troops. After all, the Ming Dynasty has troops stationed in Busan and Tsushima Island.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty has always had troops stationed at the Iwami Silver Mine, and would never allow anyone to threaten it.

When accepting Japan and Japan as vassal states, the Ming Dynasty promised to protect them and supply them with weapons at low prices. An agreement was also reached, naturally, to completely destroy the Emperor of Japan.

According to the map, Torine and Yamaguchi prefectures were directly controlled by the Ming Dynasty, as Tsushima Island had jurisdiction over them, primarily due to the Iwami silver mine. Kyushu and Shikoku, on the other hand, were mostly under the control of Fugetsu.

Zhu Di was naturally not so generous. He had been operating in Japan for much longer, and many parts of the Fuyue Kingdom were conquered by him. However, his Eastern Japan occupied Honshu and Hokkaido, which he had not yet conquered.

Especially with the upcoming campaign to subdue the Japanese Emperor entrenched in Hokkaido, Fuyue will need to contribute manpower and resources, and the Ming Dynasty will also need to provide some assistance. In fact, Fuyue is not particularly powerful compared to Dongri.

Zhu Yunying was quite generous because he hoped to see his fourth and sixth uncles achieve great things. However, Zhu Yunying knew even better that if it weren't for his grandfather's various intentional and unintentional hints, he wouldn't have been able to be so generous.

Ultimately, it was because Zhu Yuanzhang cherished his descendants very much. He also felt that the Ming Dynasty was a large and powerful family, so he was willing to provide assistance in many situations. He didn't care about suffering some losses himself, as long as his descendants lived well.

Even though Joo Yun-young was 'stingy' and sometimes petty, Old Joo was clearly not that kind of person.

Therefore, Zhu Yunying had no choice but to accept these realities, and being generous seemed only right, given that these were his imperial uncles. Moreover, establishing vassal states around the Ming Dynasty was in the long-term interests of the Ming.

To suffer minor losses for the sake of certain strategic goals, even seemingly small losses in the short term, is not a big deal. Zhu Yunying always convinced himself to take a long-term view and not just focus on immediate gains and losses.

The emergence of the two symbolic vassal states, Dongri and Fuyue, held extremely special significance for the Ming Dynasty. Even if some people might be dissatisfied with this, the situation now seemed irreversible, and they couldn't change anything.

Moreover, many people are well aware of Emperor Ying Shi's personality and style of doing things.

This means they have nothing to be surprised about; they'll get used to it. This is an emperor who doesn't care about so-called imperial authority or face; this is an emperor who needs to obtain tangible benefits.

Even if some people think this is the emperor's 'petty-mindedness,' they have to admit that the Ming Dynasty gained many benefits.

The Emperor Ying Shi seemed to have achieved the ideal of being both a sage within and a king without.

However, his concept of "inner sage and outer king" is not the same as the meaning in "Zhuangzi." It is not the kind of concept where one possesses the supreme virtue of a sage within and applies it outwardly to form the policies of a king.

Both the Hongwu Emperor and the Ying Shi Emperor truly loved their people like their own children. However, towards the surrounding vassal states or barbarian tribes, they generally practiced benevolent rule, genuinely despising them while readily resorting to war and killing.

The Ming Dynasty truly suppressed these vassal states, or those that did not pay tribute, in every way possible, relentlessly. Over the years, it received numerous requests from various tribes and vassal states, leading many scholars to believe that the Ming emperor should rescue them.

But what was the result? Those that needed to be blocked remained blocked, and those that needed to be restricted remained restricted. The Ming Dynasty would not grant those countries various benefits simply because of a sincere and humble letter of state.

Zhu Yunying was in a good mood and led Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Mengwan to worship at the Altar of the God of Earth and Grain. This was a major event for the court and a grand ceremony. Even though at first the old Zhu seemed reluctant to participate, as if he felt that this would steal the limelight from his grandson.

However, he was, after all, the emperor, and also the grandfather. Zhu Yunying only offered a slight word of advice, and the old Zhu, dressed in his imperial robes, enthusiastically led the imperial family members, civil and military officials, to worship at the Altar of the God of Earth and Grain, for this was an absolutely momentous event.

Such a grand event naturally involves more than just worshipping at the Altar of God and Grain; it also requires a grand banquet and so on.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Zhu Yunying was in a good mood and said to his grandfather beside him, "Grandfather, please wait a few more years. In a few years, I think there should be more envoys from vassal states coming to pay homage."

Old Zhu was very pleased and said to Zhu Yunying, "Alright, let's wait. I think in a few years, some of your other uncles should also send envoys to the court to request investiture and tribute. As for Goryeo, I reckon it will be soon too."

Zhu Yunying smiled and said, "That makes sense. Seventh Uncle, Twelfth Uncle, Thirteenth Uncle, and Fifteenth Uncle all asked us, intentionally or unintentionally. Not to mention Seventeenth Uncle, in order to get Goryeo, he even tried to get Yunhong to put in a good word for him."

Old Zhu laughed heartily, then said, "So, it seems that all of your younger uncles have their own ambitions. Looking at them now, only your fifth and eleventh uncles don't seem to have such ambitions. Well, one of them wants to enjoy wealth and honor in the Ming Dynasty, and the other is interested in literary pursuits. We can understand why they don't want to leave."

Zhu Yunying said with a smile, "Actually, Shang Bing and Ji Xi also had their own thoughts, but since they are nephews after all, they probably felt that if their uncles were unwilling to go, it would be their turn."

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