Li Jinglong felt that the eldest prince was too unmanageable. How could he ask for help without paying some benefits? He just asked for it.

Through his subordinates' inquiries, Li Jinglong probably already knew the current situation in Zhenla and understood the predicament of the eldest prince of Zhenla.

Li Jinglong would naturally choose to help the great prince of Zhenla.

Whether considering it from the perspective of the Ming Dynasty or from the perspective of the Crown Prince, Li Jinglong's goal was to help the eldest prince of Zhenla inherit the throne and thus stabilize the interests of the Ming Dynasty.

Since it concerns the interests of the Ming Dynasty, of course the matter must be discussed up front. It is in the best interests of oneself to negotiate the terms at this time.

After hearing what was said, the translator on the other side actually thought that the Duke of Ming Dynasty did not hear it clearly, so he translated it again immediately.

When the translator next to Li Jinglong heard this, he of course knew what Duke Cao meant. After getting Li Jinglong's nod of agreement, he explained his idea in a more direct manner.

After hearing the translation, the Zhenla prince realized his own rudeness and quickly stood up to apologize to Li Jinglong.

Li Jinglong waved his hand and said, "Zhenla has always been a friendly country to our Ming Dynasty. Now that problems have arisen in Zhenla, we will naturally not sit idly by. Regarding some of the trade between our two countries, perhaps we can also talk a little bit today."

"After the eldest prince becomes the King of Chenla, the policy between the two countries can continue to be implemented."

The current Zhenla prince had no intention of objecting at all, and said that as long as he could inherit the throne smoothly, the Ming Dynasty could agree to any request.

Li Jinglong naturally did not ask for too much. This business was about long-term benefits, so he proposed several exchange plans between the two countries.

First of all, it concerns the merchants of Ming Dynasty.

Ensure the protection of the interests of Ming Dynasty merchants after they come to Zhenla.

For example, in terms of taxation and tariff concessions, Zhenla should negotiate with the Ming Dynasty, enjoy the right to free trade, and provide trading ports for the Ming Dynasty.

It is provided to the embassy stationed in the Ming Dynasty to negotiate and handle the relations between the two countries.

If a citizen with Ming household registration triggered the law in Zhenla, Zhenla did not have the power to directly detain and deal with him. It had to be verified through the Ming embassy and implemented by the Ming embassy stationed in Zhenla.

The people of the Ming Dynasty should enjoy the privilege of leasing land, houses and permanent residence in trading ports.

These treaties, which may seem unequal in the eyes of later generations, are not really seen as having any special meaning by the current Prince of Zhenla.

He thought that the Ming Dynasty would propose some unacceptable conditions, but it turned out to be just this.

As the most powerful country in the entire Asian region, Ming Dynasty merchants would receive honorable treatment wherever they went. This was inseparable from the silk, porcelain, and tea brought by Ming Dynasty merchants.

The goods of the Ming Dynasty have always been the best-selling commodities in the world and have always been sought after by aristocrats all over the world.

The eldest prince of Zhenla agreed immediately and agreed to all of Li Jinglong's requests without any hesitation.

Li Jinglong was not surprised either.

In fact, these demands were not his own idea, but were set by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who asked him to sign these treaties with the Ming Dynasty with other countries if possible while traveling in Southeast Asia and the West.

"I heard that Siam has been constantly invading Cambodia recently. This behavior is very rude to me."

"Chenla is a country with friendly diplomatic relations with our Ming Dynasty, and the eldest prince's sister is the consort of our Ming Dynasty's crown prince. The next stop of our Ming Dynasty's ocean-going fleet is to Siam. If the eldest prince has any ideas, I can help you."

Seeing that the Zhenla prince agreed so readily, Li Jinglong immediately gave some suggestions.

Siam is now ruled by the Ayutthaya Dynasty. Ayutthaya is the name of the Ming Dynasty, and they call themselves the Ayutthaya Dynasty, which means the invincible dynasty.

The present-day Siam is Thailand in later generations.

Angkor, the capital of Cambodia, is very close to Siam. In addition, due to the strength of Siam in recent years and Cambodia's defeat on the battlefield, Cambodia has already considered moving its capital.

Li Jinglong's words undoubtedly touched the heart of Zhenla. The eldest prince of Zhenla, Canlie Popiya, said happily: "Is the Ming Dynasty willing to help Zhenla?"

The Ayutthaya Dynasty was a newly established Siamese dynasty, which was established only eighteen years earlier than the Ming Dynasty.

Unlike Cambodia, which was already decadent and declining and had sharp social contradictions, the Siamese dynasty had very strong vitality.

But it is undeniable that even Siam has to act according to the wishes of the Ming Dynasty.

Li Jinglong was fully capable of intervening.

Siam had very close tribute exchanges with the Ming Dynasty, and the relationship was generally good.

This is a good example of Siam's contribution to the Ming Dynasty. Mainly through tribute trade, Siam could purchase a large amount of silk and porcelain from the Ming Dynasty every year.

Siam's regional location was very advantageous. They could purchase silk and porcelain from the Ming Dynasty, and then sell these commodities, which had huge profits in the world, to Central Asia and even further away to India through the Gulf of Momata and the Amman Sea.

It was thanks to the Ming Dynasty's goods that Siam, as a middleman, made a lot of money from the price difference.

Every year, Siamese envoys would request the Ming Dynasty to give them more opportunities to pay tribute.

The Ming Dynasty's tribute was subject to strict restrictions. Not every country could come if they wanted to. Even if they did, they would not be given the opportunity to trade in tribute.

The most Siam did was conduct tribute trade six times in the 17th year of Hongwu. The rest depended on the Ming Dynasty's intention.

Now the huge revenue of the Ayutthaya Dynasty comes entirely from the tribute trade with the Ming Dynasty.

Often, a shipload of Ming Dynasty porcelain and silk could almost cover the tax revenue of Siam’s own territory for an entire year.

This is also why Li Jinglong dared to speak like this.

As a duke of the Ming Dynasty, he only needed a word to reduce the frequency of Siam's tribute, even to once every few years.

As long as it is not a border country of the Ming Dynasty, it actually has no great significance to the Ming Dynasty.

It's mainly a difference in supply and demand.

Although agarwood, ivory, and rhino horns from the Nanyang region are good, they are not necessities for the Ming Dynasty.

And there were many countries that provided these things to the Ming Dynasty, far more than just Siam.

In the past, the Ming navy rarely came to Southeast Asia, but its strength was also well known in the region. In Southeast Asia, no country dared to offend the majesty of the Ming Dynasty.

For the eldest prince of Cambodia, Canrepa Piyya, if the duke from the Ming Dynasty was willing to mediate the war between Siam and Cambodia, his throne would be greatly stabilized.

Those noble ministers who usually act arrogant and look down on him will also be truly loyal to him.

Li Jinglong did not directly answer the question of the Zhenla prince, but instead said: "The eldest prince's sister, Princess Sultana, is one of the most beloved concubines of my Ming Taisun."

"Back then, the Princess of Annan was also the concubine of my Ming Dynasty's Grandson. Just because she missed her hometown, my Ming Dynasty's Grandson was willing to send tens of thousands of troops to escort her home to visit her relatives."

"Regarding the issue between Zhenla and Siam, as a Duke of Ming, I am not qualified to get involved without permission. If I interfere in the war between the two countries without the permission of the Ming court, I will be held accountable."

"But if the eldest prince can get in touch with his sister and tell the Crown Prince about the difficulties Zhenla is facing, then I think His Royal Highness will definitely help Zhenla and put pressure on Siam."

"As long as I, the Ming Dynasty's grandson, speak, Siam will dare not disobey. Even if their king disagrees, the Siamese nobles will support it."

It took me nearly three quarters of an hour to translate such a long passage, but at least I managed to translate it without any errors.

Actually, this is not the translation's fault.

Following Li Jinglong were naturally the Nanyang translators from the special department of the Ming Dynasty's Jinyiwei.

But these days, it’s not like we learn something very profound, it’s mainly about daily oral communication.

This side is fine, the key is the Zhenla side.

Translators from Zhenla often went to the Ming Dynasty to study.

The Chinese characters used in today's world do not have phonetic symbols, so it is extremely difficult to learn them and one can only learn them half-heartedly.

Chinese characters are fine, after all, they are ideographic characters, but Chinese is really difficult.

There is no concept of Mandarin in the Ming Dynasty today. Nanjing dialect is considered semi-official language, but the ministers in the court come from all over the country.

Normally when Daming communicates with himself, there are still some things he doesn't understand.

What’s more, he is an outsider.

There is no way around it. The territory of the Ming Dynasty is too large, and the dialect varies from place to place. It is a huge torture for foreigners who want to learn Chinese.

The Zhenla translator, sweating profusely, finally finished his story.

After the eldest prince of Zhenla understood the meaning, he expressed his gratitude again.

Then he said, "My father is now seriously ill and cannot get out of bed, so I hope that while the honorable Duke is in Zhenla, he can attend my succession ceremony."

Li Jinglong naturally accepted the invitation.

After all, Zhenla agreed to the Ming Dynasty's request.

The news that the Duke of Ming agreed to support the eldest prince of Zhenla to inherit the throne legitimately soon spread throughout the ports of Zhenla.

Samit was very regretful at this moment. He wondered why he didn't wait for a day and wrote to the king so eagerly.

It's definitely too late now.

After receiving the news, the king would inevitably choose to end his life.

At the same time, the nobles who wanted to compete with the Grand Prince of Zhenla for the throne were panicked.

With the support of the Ming Dynasty, the originally weak Prince of Zhenla now has a powerful backer.

On the third day.

In the palace of Angkor, the capital of the Kingdom of Zhenla.

The King of Zhenla, who was lying on his deathbed, received a letter from Samit.

The content of the letter was very normal, and naturally there was no intention to ask His Majesty the King to commit suicide to allow the eldest prince to ascend the throne.

Of course Samit would not let anyone catch this handle, he just treated it as a normal message.

Just by seeing this, King Huer naturally understood.

"I am going to court. Prepare clothes for me immediately."

"Call all five ministers here. I have something important to announce."

At this moment, the King of Zhenla suddenly seemed to be more energetic and gave instructions to his attendants.

The attendant heard the slightly strong voice and thought that the King's health had improved, so he hurried to convey the King's order.

The great hall in Angkor Thom is where the king holds court.

Normally, the king would hold court once every three days to handle government affairs.

It was just because Hu'er was seriously ill that he had attended court only a few times in the past one or two years, and each time was for a very short time.

now.

Suddenly, he sat down again in the Five-Spice and Seven-Treasures Palace in the main hall, with a treasure tent hanging over it, which was slightly concealed.

The treasure tent had poles made of colored wood and walls made of ivory and gold. It was shaped like a small house, and when it moved, it shone with golden light like ruby.

There was a golden incense burner in front of him, and two guards stood on both sides.

The King of Zhenla, Huerna, was dressed in a Gubei Chaoxia robe, with a colorful dress wrapped around his waist and hanging down to his calves. He wore a golden flower hat on his head, a pearl necklace all over his body, leather boots on his feet, and a golden king's pawn on his ears.

The five ministers of the Zhenla Kingdom, Guluozhi, Gao Xiangping, Poheduoling, Shemoling, Diranduolou, and many minor officials, came to pay homage to the king in accordance with the king's instructions.

There were more than a thousand guards at the gate, all wearing armor and holding weapons.

The solemn guards brought a solemn atmosphere to the palace meeting.

The five ministers looked at each other. Although the news from the port had not yet been received, they had roughly guessed the key.

Among the five ministers, Gu Luozhi and Gao Xiangping supported the third prince to succeed to the throne.

Po He Duo Ling supported the twelfth prince, but the twelfth prince was young and had no competitiveness.

As for Shemoling and Diranduolou, they remained neutral and did not help anyone.

The so-called Five Ministers are actually similar to the Six Ministries of the Ming Dynasty, in charge of land, money, military power, construction, and punishment.

The king called the ministers into the hall and they went up the steps. After entering the hall, the ministers knelt down, clasped their arms with their hands, and sat around the king.

When meeting the king, kowtow three times at the bottom of the stairs.

"I called the ministers here this time because I felt the call of Sakyamuni and am about to go to the Pure Land of Paradise in the West."

"So today's announcement is mainly about the successor to the throne."

"According to the instructions of the Buddha, after I go to the Pure Land of Bliss in the West, the eldest prince, Canrepa Pitya, will become the new king of Zhenla. All ministers should respect the eldest prince as they respect me."

"The eldest prince is currently at a coastal port, receiving the distinguished duke from the Ming Dynasty. I have sent someone to convey my order."

"In the succession ceremony, the noble Duke of Ming will also participate. I hope you will not lose face for Zhenla."

Before Hu'er could finish his words, Gao Xiangping had already started to kowtow at the bottom of the stairs, indicating that he had something to say.

Gao Xiangping was mainly in charge of the military power of Zhenla, and his status was similar to that of the Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty.

He is the third prince's uncle. If he wants to speak at this time, he naturally wants to give the third prince a chance.

Before this, the King of Zhenla, Hurna, had also raised the issue of determining the identity of the heir to the eldest prince of Zhenla, but Gao Xiangping forcibly rejected it for various reasons.

But today, when Huer saw this scene, he chose to ignore Gao Xiangping's actions, pretending he didn't see it and not giving him the chance to speak.