For the civil and military officials in the imperial court, the formation of a massive navy signifies an imminent and grand voyage. This is clearly not an easy task for many, as it involves the interests of numerous individuals.

Since there's no way to stop this now, it's crucial to seize the initiative, or rather, to fight for the interests of our own interest group.

It was obvious to anyone with eyes that this fleet of 150 large ships indeed had a large navy as well as some infantry.

With such a fleet setting sail, it's likely that some small foreign countries in Southeast Asia and other regions would be powerless to stop it.

There are some insightful people in the Ming Dynasty court who are aware of the complexities of the Southeast Asian countries. They know that there are large countries like Annam, as well as countries like Majapahit and Ceylon.

This means that it cannot be purely military action, even though the policy of not conquering foreign countries had been abolished in earlier years. However, over the years, the Ming Dynasty has actually had quite a few interactions with some countries outside its borders.

In the view of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunying, the best approach was to use military force as a backing, striving to subdue other nations without resorting to arms, and to establish an international order centered on the Ming Empire. Certain diplomatic interactions also required specific consideration. In short, the Ming Dynasty did not actually reject the use of force.

Chang Mao stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, the Duke of Qian reported earlier that the remnants of the Mongol Yuan dynasty are waging wars everywhere. Timur has previously married the daughter of the royal family of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, Kheir Khoja. They also previously captured the Delhi Sultanate in northern India and massacred more than 100,000 local soldiers and civilians.”

Xia Yuanji couldn't stand it any longer and said, "Duke Kaiguo, we still have the Duke of Liang training troops in the northwest to guard against the Oirats. India is still far away from our Great Ming, so the imperial army does not need to treat it as an enemy."

Chang Mao couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Why can't we? Those people are, after all, Mongols, and they are inherently aggressive. Although the Mongol Yuan dynasty is now weak, there are still many tribes that can fight back. Everyone says to take precautions, but are we going to wait until they become powerful before we start preparing?"

Sitting on the dragon throne, Zhu Yunying listened as he remarked on the interesting places in India that had been under constant rule.

From the time of the Lesser Mauryan Dynasty onwards, there were constant invasions from foreign tribes. Greeks, Parthians, Sakas, and Yuezhi came in turn, while Arabs, Turks, and Mongols were not to be outdone.

The northern Indian subcontinent has long been ruled by countless other peoples, who established several powerful dynasties there.

The Timur that Chang Mao just mentioned, if nothing unexpected happens, will establish the Timurid Empire, which will then conquer the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, Transoxiana, Khwarazm, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, and the Greater Ilang region.

He has indeed conquered the Indian subcontinent and is now preparing to attack the rising Ottoman Empire.

This implies that he was a great ruler, and perhaps after conquering these regions, his next target would be the Ming Dynasty.

After all, this person also had a dream: to revive the Mongol Empire, which was definitely an ultimate dream.

Therefore, we must be wary. The Ming Dynasty was indeed very powerful, but that doesn't mean all kingdoms were weak in its presence. Moreover, even if some dynasties seemed less powerful than the Ming, they might still disobey the Ming's rule or deliberately antagonize it for their own interests.

These are all things that could happen, and these events also mean that the Ming Dynasty might need to make preparations.

After all, the land of China has experienced numerous invasions by various foreign tribes throughout history. Being ruled by foreign powers is something we must never forget.

It has only been over thirty years since the Mongols were driven out, and only recently that the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, which had been lost for nearly four hundred years, have been recovered.

These are matters that not only Zhu Yunying needs to pay attention to, but all officials of the Ming Dynasty also need to take seriously. They cannot assume that there are no worries. Because somewhere, some seemingly weak tribes may be developing and might become a major threat to the powerful Ming Dynasty.

While many people were still debating whether or not to worry about some things in northern India, Bao Zhao could no longer sit still.

Holding his ivory tablet, Bao Zhao said, "Your Majesty, the imperial army is highly likely to encounter the pirate Chen Zuyi during this voyage to the Western Ocean. He controls the shipping lanes in the South Seas, and it is said that he commands a hundred warships and ten thousand pirates, having plundered tens of thousands of passing ships. Some vassal states in the South Seas even pay tribute to him!"

This caused quite a stir, as Chen Zuyi was a well-known figure, and many people in the imperial court had heard of him.

In particular, some military officers derived some of their benefits from the Nanyang fleet. As for Chen Zuyi, he was lawless and not only entrenched himself near Malacca for more than a decade, but also frequently plundered and captured more than fifty coastal towns.

This person was actually from Guangdong. In his early years, he committed a crime and fled with his family to Old Port, where he served as a general under the command of the Mana Zhe Wuli of the Bolin State.

This refers to Palembang and Srivijaya in Indonesia. After the death of the local chieftain, this guy proclaimed himself chief. He was also known for his "extreme arrogance, robbing any passing ships of their cargo."

He didn't care whether the passing ships belonged to small Southeast Asian countries or the Ming Dynasty. As long as they caught his eye, he would investigate. If they were Ming Dynasty ships, that was even better, because larger ships meant they could carry more cargo, allowing him to plunder more wealth.

Therefore, many Ming Dynasty fleets also suffered greatly from this. However, the Ming Dynasty navy actually had few options when facing such a powerful pirate group.

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