As an emperor with long-term plans, Zhu Yunying sometimes doubted whether some of his plans were too far ahead, and he even wondered if he needed to focus on the present.

For example, regarding Ryukyu, Zhu Yunying wasn't particularly interested in enfeoffing members of the imperial clan there. It wasn't that he thought the people of Ryukyu were particularly submissive; it was simply that Ryukyu was too small and impoverished. If he were to enfeoff members of the imperial clan there, he probably wouldn't receive gratitude, but rather a reputation for mistreating them.

Moreover, as a central dynasty, the Ming Dynasty sometimes needed to be mindful of its influence. The annihilation of all the countries surrounding the Ming Dynasty was clearly not a good thing; it would cause tension and anxiety among some neighboring countries, and might even instill a sense of resistance in them.

In fact, this kind of consciousness is quite strong in Southeast Asia and the Indochina Peninsula.

Although the main rivers and mountain ranges of the Indochina Peninsula extend from China, hence the saying "mountains share the same veins, waters share the same source," those people may not agree. In fact, the civilization of the Indochina Peninsula is quite ancient, and its languages ​​are indeed rich.

Since the Han Dynasty, there have been numerous records about the Indochina Peninsula, which have continued to appear throughout subsequent dynasties. They also sent envoys to China or engaged in trade with the Central Plains dynasties.

During the Tang Dynasty, the influence extended to the Indochina Peninsula after the Nanzhao Kingdom submitted to the Tang. During the Song Dynasty, some Indochina Peninsula regimes also came to the Central Plains dynasties, but they did not truly submit. The Yuan Dynasty, however, established a Pacification Commission there, which significantly increased its influence.

Zhu Yunying was quite familiar with these things, largely because he had been paying attention to this land for a long time, and one could even say that he was determined to acquire it.

Over the years, Zhu Yunying has indeed made a lot of preparations. Many people only saw the trade between the Ming Dynasty and the countries of the Indochina Peninsula and Southeast Asia, and saw some of the benefits.

However, the Ming Dynasty did not only engage in trade. It did obtain a considerable amount of gold and gems from these places, and over the years, some ships also brought back some valuable timber and other precious materials from those places.

What many people don't know is that the Ming Dynasty's Imperial Guards also traveled with many merchant caravans, and the Siyiguan (Foreigners' Bureau) carefully cultivated many local people who had a lot of goodwill and belonging to the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, prospecting for mineral resources is something that should be done. Zhu Yunying knew that the Indochina Peninsula also had many mineral resources, such as copper mines, which had much richer reserves than those in the Ming Dynasty. However, for the Southeast Asian countries at present, mining is indeed quite difficult.

As for things like the indigenous people captured from Southeast Asia farming in Liaodong, those are actually minor matters.

Ultimately, although these places also had some regimes and some states, they were still less civilized and much weaker than the central dynasties.

"Historically, it seems that Annam was destroyed during the reign of Zhu Di," Zhu Yunying muttered to himself as he looked at the secret report. "It seems that this year is indeed a turbulent time, an absolutely suitable year for rebellion. Not to mention Goryeo, Annam is the same. If it weren't for me, Zhu Yunwen would have been forced into rebellion by his fourth uncle."

Remembering something, Zhu Yunying found it amusing. "Speaking of which, I could become Emperor Taizong in the future, barring any unforeseen circumstances. This temple name is indeed suitable for me. Fourth Uncle, he spent his whole life thinking about a legitimate title, but his unworthy descendants made him Emperor Chengzu, proving once again the fact of rebellion."

That's how it was historically. Zhu Di's original temple name was Taizong. However, during the Jiajing era, his temple name was changed to Chengzu. This was naturally a grand ceremony for Jiajing, a testament to his political maneuvering.

However, all of this is no longer relevant to Zhu Yunying for the time being. Judging from the current situation, the imperial lineage of the Ming Dynasty has already undergone tremendous changes. Perhaps some of Zhu Yunying's descendants will be incompetent, but it's unlikely that a bizarre emperor like the "Gatekeeper Emperor" will emerge, a phenomenon rarely seen in thousands of years.

"This really presents us with a difficult problem. There are so many things to do this year." Zhu Yunying rubbed his temples, looking somewhat troubled. "We've tied up a lot of troops in Goryeo right now, and launching an attack on Annam immediately would make fighting on two fronts quite difficult. Not to mention, we also need to consider some things in the Northwest."

In fact, Zhu Yunying was well aware that the Northern Yuan was also 'rebelling' at the moment.

As the only son of Emperor Zhaozong of Yuan, Borjigin Elbeg was considered relatively lucky. When Zhu Yuanzhang launched a surprise attack and captured Yingchang, Emperor Zhaozong's son, Maidelibala, was captured and enfeoffed as the Marquis of Chongli by Zhu Yuanzhang.

However, in order to win over Ayushiridara, who had already inherited the Khanate, Zhu Yuanzhang also returned the Ribala he had bought to the Northern Yuan.

As legitimate descendants of the Yuan dynasty, they were also taken back from Enke Khan, a descendant of Ariq Böke, and the Kublai Khan family was restored to power. However, this ruler did not fulfill his duties as Great Khan well and was of poor moral character. He was cruel and lustful. Because he heard his sycophantic ministers encouraging him to covet his daughter-in-law's beauty, he actually killed his eldest son and took his daughter-in-law for himself.

In addition, the Tatars were defeated by the Ming Dynasty again a few years ago, and Maidibala, who had originally relied on the Oirat tribe to regain the Khanate, absurdly wanted to seize military power from the Oirat. This undoubtedly provoked the Oirat King Ugchihashha. Last year, Ugchihashha led his Oirat troops to attack the Khanate, and Maidibala, who was supported by the tribes, was assassinated.

The Kublai Khan family, which had finally managed to restore the dynasty, lost the Khanate again, resulting in heavy losses for the orthodox faction in Eastern Mongolia. The Oirat Mongols began to rise, and many tribes on the Mongolian Plateau had no choice but to submit to them.

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