Old Zhu said with a hint of sarcasm, "So that's it? Remember those three Jurchen tribes over there? You're still itching to deal with them, aren't you?"

Zhu Yunying chuckled, not really caring. "The three Jurchen tribes right now are just a minor matter, not worth suppressing with a large army. They can't cause any trouble. Once we've dealt with Annam and the Oirats, we might as well deal with those savages."

Zhu Yunying didn't have a good impression of the three Jurchen tribes, and he felt they were indeed a potential threat. Ultimately, however, the three Jurchen tribes were really not much different from savages, and were even inferior to some of the defeated Mongol tribes.

The Jurchen people grew increasingly powerful throughout history, and this was due to a series of fortuitous events and even many coincidences.

Some argue that the Jurchens were able to maintain their power by supporting the enemy, while others believe it was Wu Sangui's impulsive act of anger over a woman, or the Ming Dynasty's corruption and internal strife that destroyed its own defenses, the rapid disintegration of peasant armies, and so on. These factors were indeed the reasons why the Jurchens were ultimately able to conquer the Central Plains.

At this stage, Zhu Yunying really doesn't need to care about these things; the threat from the three Jurchen tribes is currently very limited.

Zhu Yunying knew how to prioritize, prioritizing the major threats before considering other matters.

Annam and the Oirat—that was the real issue facing Zhu Yunying.

In terms of political correctness, the Ü-Tsang region also needs to be considered. After all, the Ming Dynasty's control over those areas was relatively limited. Although it began to pacify and recruit people in the seventh year of the Hongwu reign, with the Phagmodrupa Dynasty accepting investiture and Ü-Tsang sending envoys to pay tribute, the situation remained unchanged.

However, there were also some different forces in that region. Tibet had once robbed envoys from Ü-Tsang and almost stopped regarding the Ming Dynasty as its suzerain state. If it weren't for the strong suppression by Deng Yu and Mu Ying back then, they might not have accepted the Ming Dynasty's investiture at all.

Currently, the Ming Dynasty has the Ü-Tsang Guard and a Regional Military Commission there, with a certain military force. The Phagmodrupa Dynasty also established the Ü-Tsang Regional Military Commission, and the Ngari Guge Dynasty had the Orisi Military and Civilian Marshal. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Regent Preceptor was the first to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, so the Kham region under his jurisdiction had the Dorgon Regional Military Commission. During the Yuan Dynasty, Tibet had the Hezhou Guard.

They also appointed imperial advisors and hundreds of officials, which certainly seemed to have some influence.

However, Zhu Yunying was also well aware that the Ming Dynasty's rule and influence over that plateau were actually very limited. Much of the time, it was a matter of investiture; the region was primarily ruled by chieftains or religious leaders.

Zhu Yunying certainly had some ideas, but they were just ideas. The current level of productivity was truly limited, and developing that plateau, or bringing it under complete control of the Ming Dynasty, was actually quite difficult.

Therefore, for now, it is best to only grant them titles and exert some deterrence, so as not to let them disregard the Ming Dynasty too much.

Annam was crucial to Zhu Yunying's plans for Southeast Asia. Zhu Yunying had always had many expectations and ideas about the Indochina Peninsula, and it was essential to control it.

The northwest cannot be neglected either. Although the so-called Silk Road may not have regained its former glory, the remnants of the Mongol Yuan dynasty still wield considerable power there. If they are not dealt with, they will always be a threat to the Ming dynasty.

The Tatars were essentially dealt with by Zhu Yunying, but the Oirats still existed, and they remained a major threat to the Ming Dynasty for over two hundred years. The Ming's military achievements and elite troops were ultimately destroyed by the Oirats.

Annam and the Oirats were clearly a much greater threat than the three Jurchen tribes, a fact that Zhu Yunying had always been well aware of.

Zhu Yunying was quite clear-headed; he knew he had much to do and couldn't afford to be careless. His decisions would influence the fate of the Ming Dynasty, and whether the Ming Dynasty could achieve greater peace and prosperity depended on Zhu Yunying's current performance.

Zhu Yunying needs to work harder during this period. He doesn't expect to achieve everything in one fell swoop, but he should resolve as many problems as possible and strive to leave a more stable empire for young Zhu.

Looking at Zhu Yunying, Zhu Yunying said with a smile, "The Zhongshan Kingdom in Ryukyu is also a troublesome matter. We don't plan to cause any trouble there. In the end, it's just a small place, not worth conquering and bestowing upon our uncles."

Old Zhu laughed and said, "If you were to enfeoff your uncle in Ryukyu, we wouldn't be happy either. That place is too harsh, and it's not even the size of a palm. If you ask us, going there would be like being exiled, it's not worth it."

It's really not worth it. Ryukyu is too small, and Zhu Yunying really didn't intend to hold any official appointments there.

Zhu Yunying didn't really care about the troubles that were happening in Zhongshan. After all, Zhongshan was just too small, and he could deal with it easily.

In fact, Zhu Yunying didn't even need to deal with anything. With the three kingdoms in a state of division, the small Ryukyu Kingdom had some chieftains and the like. This was a case of shallow waters teeming with turtles, and Zhu Yunying could easily resolve these troubles with a little effort.

Of course, according to Zhu Yunying's thinking, Ryukyu was actually not suitable for unification. The mutual checks and balances among them were relatively advantageous to the Ming Dynasty. Even if they were unified, the threat would be limited, after all, Ryukyu's size was really too small.

As for the emperor, he naturally wanted his territory to be as large as possible, and he naturally hoped to achieve true unification.

However, for other matters, and for neighboring countries, the smaller the scale, the better. If things could be handled at will, that would be the ideal situation.

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