Going to the West was a big event for the Ming Dynasty, and it was also a top priority for all nations.

Especially those envoy states that have long-term assistants to the Ming Dynasty, they want to have more trade exchanges with the Ming Dynasty.

According to the current market conditions, countries that have good relations with the Ming Dynasty will be able to get more opportunities for tribute trade, which also represents a large amount of wealth.

The most important thing is that they heard the news that the Ming Dynasty would dispatch 500 treasure ships.

Five hundred treasure ships represent at least tens of thousands of soldiers. In addition to trade, this will also have a huge impact on the political situation in all the areas they pass through.

The strength of the Ming Dynasty's military has been fully demonstrated in a previous military parade. Such a strong force is equivalent to 100,000 troops of some countries.

With sophisticated equipment and powerful firearms, they can even lead to the destruction of some small countries.

If you offend the Ming Dynasty, your entire royal family might be destroyed.

From another perspective, some people with ulterior motives can fully use the power of the Ming Dynasty to inflict great destruction on their enemy countries.

Political schemers can use this to achieve their own ideas.

For example, the eldest prince of the Angkor Dynasty, Tsanrebpiyya, is now facing the risk of succession. If the Ming Dynasty helps him, then what is the need for the general of Lan Xang Kingdom?

Amona, the chief envoy of the Zhenla delegation, did not choose to leave after the Zhenla delegation paid tribute and trade, but stayed in the Ming Dynasty because of his relationship with the Sultana.

When he heard the news of sailing to the West, he suddenly became very excited.

He immediately found Qian Qiu, the head of the Ministry of Rites, and said, "Please help me, my princess Sultana has been canonized as Dan Fei by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Please report that I have an urgent matter and want to see you."

The affairs of envoys from various countries were mainly handled by the Ministry of Rites.

Upon hearing Amona's request, Qian Qiu, the head of the Ministry of Rites, said, "Don't worry, I will report to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince immediately, but I can't decide whether you can see Concubine Dan."

Normally, the Ministry of Rites would not pay much attention to these envoys from small countries.

Your Majesty used to care more about it, but after His Royal Highness the Crown Prince entered the palace, there were new changes to the tribute trade. Except for some supported countries, the tribute trade of most countries returned to normal.

It is no longer the case that the Ming Dynasty is the scapegoat and has to give benefits to these small countries.

In the past, it was for the stability of the border. Now the Ming Dynasty has a strong army and most of the soldiers are eager to establish merit. If your small country on the border is restless, then just attack.

In the 27th year of Hongwu, Zhu Ying conveyed an imperial edict to the border, which meant that from the arrival of the edict, the border generals had the right to maintain the dignity of the Ming Dynasty.

The content of this decree had a great influence. Before this, if the border was in danger, the soldiers at the border were not allowed to go out to fight privately. They had to ask for the court's consent.

If the two countries become enemies, the generals at the border will need to take responsibility.

Now, after Zhu Ying's order was issued, it meant that as long as the generals at the border felt that they were in danger, they could directly send troops to eliminate the threat.

You can report it later.

Of course, if this causes heavy casualties among Ming soldiers, the border generals will also be punished.

It was because of this decree that many generals guarding the borders often sent troops to ensure the safety of the borders, resulting in a strong sense of oppression on many small countries.

The most obvious of these are the Ming Dynasty’s garrisons near Tubo and the Western Regions.

Begging for money is no longer exclusive to the grassland people, but is now also practiced by the Ming Dynasty’s guards.

Under such circumstances, the political status of envoys from various countries in the Ming Dynasty naturally plummeted, and the Ministry of Rites became even more powerful.

After Amona's request reached Kunning Palace, Zhu Ying naturally would not stop Amona from paying a visit.

There was no need for him to participate.

The Zhenla envoy was not worthy of his personal appearance.

…

East Palace, Chunhe Hall.

Ever since Lu and Zhu Yunwen moved away, this place has naturally become idle.

Not only did a group of civil officials including Huang Zicheng leave with him, but Zhu Ying also took along the eunuchs and maids who had previously served Lu in the East Palace.

Then Zhu Yunhuan and Zhu Mingyue moved back again.

Zhu Ying doesn't sleep here now, but sometimes he meets with his ministers and discusses some matters here.

"Your Highness Amona pays respect to Her Majesty the Dan Princess."

Zhu Ying asked Sultana to meet with Amona in the East Palace, which was also giving her enough face.

After seeing Sultana, Amona immediately kowtowed according to the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty.

Sultana didn't change much: "Uncle Amona, please get up. There's no need to be so polite."

Looking at Amona, Sultana showed great enthusiasm.

On the way from Zhenla to Ming Dynasty, Amona took care of me all the time, which gave me the opportunity to meet Zhu Ying.

And Amona is considered to be Sultana’s maternal family.

"Empress Dan, I came to see you this time mainly because of the trip to the West. Empress Dan should know something about this matter."

Amona felt relieved when he heard Sultana's tone.

Although Sultana had become the concubine of the Ming Crown Prince, his previous relationship still existed and he did not feel much aversion to her, so he asked tentatively.

Sultana was not stupid, he certainly knew what Amona meant by this.

After a slight hesitation, he said in Khmer: "I know what you mean. You want Daming to help Big Brother, but I can't interfere with this."

"I am now pregnant with the blood of the Ming Dynasty's grandson. I belong to the Ming Dynasty. I don't want the grandson to have any other ideas because of what happened in Zhenla."

Here Sultana suddenly stopped.

She pondered in her mind about Amona.

Zhu Ying had told him before that they would let their children inherit the Angkor Dynasty, but it might be difficult to rule if they only relied on the Ming army.

Amona was a very good candidate. He was a noble of the Angkor Dynasty, but because he was not valued, he was sent to the Ming Dynasty to conduct tribute trade.

Along the way, Sultana learned that Amona was very talented and managed the entire delegation in an orderly manner, and also avoided many dangers.

Thinking of this, Sultana touched her belly and said to Amona again:

"This is the child of me and the Crown Prince. He has the most noble blood in the world. If he is a boy, the Crown Prince promised me that he would become the king of Cambodia when he grows up."

"Uncle Amona, if you are willing to assist my child, then after this, you will have supreme power instead of being sent to the distant Ming Dynasty as you are now."

Amona suddenly felt suffocated. He had not expected that he wanted to persuade Sultana to help Zhenla.

Now Sultanah wants to swear allegiance to the baby in her belly and let her child become the king of the entire Khmer.

Amona subconsciously wanted to refuse, but when the words came to his lips he couldn't say them.

He knew how powerful the Ming Dynasty was now and how powerful the Ming Crown Prince was.

If the Ming Crown Prince really wanted to attack Zhenla, Zhenla would now have no ability to resist.

Not to mention that Zhenla is now extremely weak due to internal and external troubles, even in its most prosperous period in history, it would have been impossible to defeat the Ming Dynasty.

With only a few hundred Ming treasure ships, the entire Zhenla region could be easily conquered.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty had a very strong influence in the Nanyang region. When the Ming Dynasty conquered Zhenla, other countries did not dare to intervene.

"What if Her Royal Highness the Princess is not pregnant with a boy?" Amona felt her throat a little dry, and asked with a slight tremor in her voice, and changed her address from Concubine Dan to Her Royal Highness the Princess.

Sultana smiled and replied, "The Crown Prince has promised me that if I don't give birth to a boy this time, he will continue to help you give birth to a child, even if it's three or four, until you give birth to a boy."

"If I can't give birth to a boy in this life, then there is really nothing I can do."

"Are you willing to bet with me? Uncle Amona is only thirty-six years old this year. You still have a long time to wait."

"As long as my child is born and it is a boy, I will let him worship you as his teacher, and you will teach him from a young age."

"When he is ten years old, I will ask the grandson to help me conquer Zhenla. By then, the whole of Zhenla will be under your jurisdiction. As long as my son comes of age, he will be crowned the king of Cambodia."

Sultana said this in a calm tone, but behind this calm tone was an incomparable strong self-confidence.

There was one thing she didn't say: What if she couldn't give birth to a boy? If she only gave birth to a girl, she would be the queen of Cambodia.

At this point, Amona had nothing else to say.

He paid homage to the Sultanah according to the etiquette of paying homage to the King of Chenla, and said: "I am willing to submit to you, the mother of the future Khmer king. Please allow me, a humble person, to serve the Khmer king until he comes of age and inherits the entire Khmer."

Amona is very excited now.

Because according to Sultana, as long as the boy was born and did not die, the Ming Dynasty would send a large number of troops to conquer Zhenla.

Before that, all the affairs of Zhenla will be handed over to him for jurisdiction, and he will control the real power of Zhenla.

No one can stop such a **.

By the time Sultana's children had grown up, Amona would be almost dead of old age, and his life would have been worth it.

As for whether it was possible for the Ming Dynasty to conquer Zhenla, that was not within his consideration.

He could not imagine any possibility that Zhenla could resist the Ming Dynasty.

"Very good. I believe that with the help of Uncle Amona, my child will be able to control the entire Khmer in the future and continue the existence of the Angkor Dynasty."

"The Ming Dynasty is the strongest backer of the Angkor Dynasty. All the lost territories will be returned, and the Zhenla Empire will return to its most powerful period."

Sultana said happily.

These things had nothing to do with her before, but now it's different.

After she became pregnant, ever since Zhu Ying told her that their child would become the heir to Cambodia, Sultana has always been thinking about this.

Sultana, who was originally not interested in politics, also began to take it very seriously.

Sultana was very happy whenever she thought that the baby in her belly would become the Khmer king.

"Your Highness, what arrangements should we make for the eldest prince?" Amona asked respectfully after a brief moment of excitement.

Sultana thought for a moment and said, "I will ask the Crown Prince about this matter."

The idea of ​​letting Amona assist her son was a sudden one for her and she had not yet told Zhu Ying about it. Now she needed to get Zhu Ying's consent.

Amona replied respectfully: "I am waiting for good news from Her Royal Highness the Princess."

After finishing this, Sultana returned to Kunning Palace and told Zhu Ying about her thoughts.

After listening to this, Zhu Ying smiled and said, "Since you think Amona is useful, then use him. Now is an opportunity."

"Well, I will arrange for Amona to join the fleet sailing to the West, and let him take some gifts to Zhenla, so that he can go to Zhenla to lead our children."

"I will ask Duke Cao to assist in this matter. If this person can succeed, under the influence of the Ming fleet, he will naturally be able to gain a lot of say in Zhenla."

"If you don't even have this ability, you can't help our children."

Sultana snuggled in Zhu Ying's arms: "I'll do whatever you say."

Then she asked tentatively, "But what if I can't give birth to a boy?"

Zhu Ying said domineeringly: "So what? This means that Cambodia will usher in a queen's rule in the future."

The industrial base limits the territory that an empire can directly rule.

After careful consideration, Zhu Ying discovered that only the feudal system could expand the Ming Dynasty, or in other words, expand the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Population is also a major factor influencing the premise.

Not to mention 60 million, even a population of 200 or 300 million would not be enough for the Ming Dynasty to directly rule the world.

This is a very realistic problem.

The most important thing is that Zhu Ying did not think that after his death, his descendants would be able to continue his idea of ​​continuous expansion. It would be very good if they could preserve his territory.

There has never been a dynasty in this world that lasts forever.

It would be in the interests of the Ming Dynasty today to emulate the feudal system of the Western Zhou Dynasty and establish a large number of overseas vassal states.

As for hundreds of years later, Zhu Ying couldn't care less.

It was at this point in time.

Zhao Xiangxi, Chen Muyue, and even Princess Xiangzi of Japan, were all about to give birth.

Champa Princess Ananiyya is only two months away from her due date.

Chen Muyue gave birth to a daughter and Zhao Xiangxi gave birth to a boy.

Princess Xiangzi of Japan also gave birth to a boy.

According to the generation ranking system established by Zhu Yuanzhang, the son born to Zhao Xiangxi by Zhu Ying was named Zhu Wengao.

The son of Princess Kōko of Japan is named Zhu Wenri.

Since Chen Muyue is a girl, there is no need to follow the generation order, so she is called Zhu Xingxue.

At this time, Xiangzi and Zhao Xiangxi's thoughts suddenly began to stir.

The matter of Sultana is no secret in Kunning's backyard.

Obviously, the sons of Princess Xiangzi of Japan and Zhao Xiangxi of Goryeo had the same opportunity.