The memorial did not mention the infighting among the remaining forces after the fall of Srivijaya, nor did it mention Liang Daoming and others wanting to submit, because these things did not exist.

The memorial we are seeing now is from Palembang, the capital of Srivijaya, which is also the stronghold of the notorious pirate Chen Zuyi. Especially after the fall of Palembang, Chen Zuyi and his gang became extremely arrogant, acting like local tyrants.

But now things are different. The Ming Dynasty's massive fleet is approaching, and they had previously planned to recruit Chen Zuyi. However, perhaps it was precisely because those pirates lacked any sense of awe, and their dominance in Southeast Asia even instilled fear in some small Southeast Asian countries, that Chen Zuyi, the pirate leader, believed that with tens of thousands of men and tens of thousands of ships, he could contend with the Ming Dynasty's navy.

He had no intention of becoming a subject of the Ming Dynasty, roaming the seas and inspiring fear in countless natives. Chen Zuyi was already accustomed to that kind of life; he wanted to dominate the oceans with imposing grandeur. Besides, the Ming fleet looked wealthy and must be carrying a lot of jewels and other valuables; he certainly couldn't let the Ming fleet leave so easily.

These were some pirates. Some people actually thought they were powerful and could rival the mighty Ming Dynasty by making some small Southeast Asian countries helpless.

Chen Zuyi's fickle behavior displeased the Ming Dynasty's fleet, who felt they had to teach this pirate leader a lesson.

Many people in the Ming Dynasty were already dissatisfied with Chen Zuyi. They felt that this pirate had escaped from the Ming Dynasty, not only dominating the Southeast Asia but also plundering some Ming merchant ships, which in itself was a crime.

Now, facing the powerful and well-equipped Ming Dynasty fleet, Chen Zuyi did not surrender but instead considered resistance, which is yet another charge against him.

If they could be recruited into the government, this massive pirate group could be eliminated without bloodshed, which wouldn't be unacceptable.

[I highly recommend the source-switching app for reading books; it's really useful. Download it here: huanyuanapp. Give it a try!]

But Chen Zuyi doesn't intend to do that now, so the Ming Dynasty's fleet won't be so lenient. They'll have to consider annihilating this pirate group, letting the pirates entrenched in the South Seas know the might of the Ming Dynasty.

Ultimately, Chen Zuyi's strength was quite formidable, with nearly ten thousand ships of various sizes and tens of thousands of members in his group. Such a pirate group was indeed powerful, having plundered over ten thousand passing ships, captured more than fifty coastal towns, and even had some Southeast Asian countries pay tribute to them, which was the source of Chen Zuyi's pride.

Ma Sanbao directly conveyed his decree to the three kingdoms of Majapahit, Malacca, and New Srivijaya in East Java. The meaning was quite clear: Chen Zuyi was a traitor to the Ming Dynasty, causing havoc in the region and plundering Ming merchant ships, and must be punished.

Chen Zuyi's pirate group was based in Old Port, which meant that any dynasty that dared to accept or protect Chen Zuyi was making an enemy of the Ming Dynasty.

Ma Sanbao's main point was that he wanted these three Southeast Asian nations to join forces in attacking Chen Zuyi and arresting the pirates. Any pirates who landed should be captured and handed over to the Ming Dynasty fleet for punishment.

The Ming Dynasty did indeed have such confidence, and Ma Sanbao also had such pride.

Although Chen Zuyi's fleet appeared to have tens of thousands of ships, only about a hundred were actually capable of naval warfare. Compared to the Ming Dynasty's fleet, those ships were much smaller and not even in the same league, so there was no need to worry too much.

As for the pirate group, although it appears to have nearly ten thousand members, it is ultimately just a band of thieves with little cohesion, and each member has their own agenda. These snakes and rats in a den will surely scatter and flee in all directions if disaster strikes.

This would mean that the Ming Dynasty's heavenly army had arrived, and those pirates might have already fled at the mere sight of them.

Moreover, sometimes the so-called "ten thousand people" are actually a bunch of ignorant locals, including the elderly, women and children.

Many people understand these things. For example, bandit uprisings often break out, involving tens of thousands of people. However, the number of rebels mixed in is even greater, and the number of people who are actually capable of fighting is probably only a few hundred.

Therefore, Ma Sanbao really didn't take Chen Zuyi seriously. This powerful pirate group that had left the Southeast Asian countries helpless was probably just a minor problem compared to the powerful fleet of the Ming Dynasty, not a formidable enemy.

The powerful Ma Sanbao can now be considered to be conveying the message of the Ming Dynasty: the countries of Southeast Asia must help the Ming Dynasty to combat pirate groups.

Ma Sanbao took these things for granted, and he naturally believed that what he was doing was a benevolent act, which was also demonstrating the might and virtue of the Ming Dynasty, and those foreign countries should be grateful.

After all, Chen Zuyi had wreaked havoc in the region, and those foreign countries in Southeast Asia had suffered greatly as a result. At this time, they should have united as one, offered food and drink, and welcomed the royal army to punish the disloyal.

However, Ma Sanbao did not seem to care about the situation of some foreign countries. Those foreign countries were not the powerful Ming Dynasty. If they could deal with Chen Zuyi, they would not have paid tribute to Chen Zuyi.

The Ming Dynasty's fleet was powerful enough to disregard Chen Zuyi, and might even have simply attacked him and left. But those foreign states couldn't leave. The scattered pirates might regroup, and if the Ming Dynasty hadn't completely destroyed Chen Zuyi this time, he might have risen from the ashes.

Once these pirates begin to retaliate after the Ming fleet leaves, those foreign countries will be in for a rough time.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!