The reason for choosing to "temper the monkeys" rather than outright eliminating them was that Zhu Jinsong suddenly conceived of a more engaging approach.
What was that saying from World War II?
"The British Empire will never surrender until the last drop of blood of the Indian coolies is shed!"
Just as the British Empire operated in India, so too could the Great Ming in the South China Sea, with a few minor adjustments to the methodology.
Zhu Jinsong had every reason to believe that if given the conceptual framework, Zeng Cheng and his fellow magnates would develop a comprehensive plan around it.
And Zeng Cheng and the others certainly did not disappoint Zhu Jinsong's expectations.
Upon hearing Zhu Jinsong's new strategy, Zeng Cheng and the magnates immediately decided to accept Siam's tributary status, using Siam as a model for the rest of the "monkeys" in the South China Sea.
Firstly, they would learn from the Great Qing's strategy of "reducing population to control the populace" practiced on the grasslands, subtly guiding the "monkeys" of the South China Sea to divide themselves into different tiers, with varying treatment for each tier.
Secondly, they would open up channels for advancement for these "monkeys," giving them opportunities to become "monkeys among monkeys."
For example, through Chinese language proficiency tests and Chinese character proficiency tests, monkeys who passed various examinations could gain improvements in their treatment. If a monkey managed to reach the highest level, they could even enjoy the same treatment as the citizens of the Great Ming.
The true reason why Zhu Jinsong and Zeng Cheng and the other magnates chose to change their approach was due to the intelligence received from Zhu Erdan.
The Great Ming's offensive against Nguyen Phuc Anh was progressing smoothly. At most, within another month, Zhu Erdan would return to Jinan Prefecture with Nguyen Phuc Anh's head. Within three months at most, all the wild monkeys occupying Jiaozhi would be converted into laborers.
However!
The Great Ming army and its people were not well-adapted to the climate and environment of the South China Sea. Epidemics had already occurred multiple times within the army. If not for bringing enough military doctors, the war might have truly bogged down.
On this point, even Zhu Jinsong, the emperor who had transmigrated, had no particularly good solution.
Superficially, the biggest problem in Jiaozhi was the abundance of venomous insects and the ferocity of mosquitoes and ants. However, the impact of venomous insects and mosquitoes and ants on the army was actually the smallest – maintaining hygiene, coupled with the widespread use of lime and sulfur, made venomous insects and mosquitoes and ants not as terrifying as imagined.
On the contrary, what the Great Ming army found most difficult to adapt to was the miasma, swamps, and other complex and fatal geographical environments. Especially without local guides, the Great Ming army had to resort to using artillery to clear the path.
And this was merely Jiaozhi. If the front lines were extended to Burma and Siam, the problems faced by the army would inevitably multiply, and the time required would also increase.
This meant that the Great Ming's national treasury would constantly be depleted of silver.
Although Zhu Jinsong, the emperor of the Great Ming, was not short of money, and the Great Ming's treasury was not short of money, it would be far better to use alternative methods to quickly resolve the issues in the South China Sea and allocate the treasury's silver to social education and industrialization, rather than continuing to fight this way.
Moreover, wouldn't it be more satisfying to have the "monkeys" willingly become laborers than to forcefully conscript them?
Therefore, Zhu Jinsong and all the magnates in the Great Ming court chose to change their approach.
Of course, choosing to change the approach was one thing, but "tempering the monkeys" before changing the approach was another matter entirely.
After all, these "monkeys" in the South China Sea were similar to the monkeys on Mount Emei; they were all untamed creatures. Without properly tempering them, the monkeys would not listen obediently.
As for how long this "tempering" would take...
This matter actually depended primarily on Zhu Erdan.
If Zhu Erdan delivered Nguyen Phuc Anh's head to Jinan Prefecture in a month, the "monkeys" of the South China Sea would have to endure a month of tempering. If Zhu Erdan delivered Nguyen Phuc Anh's head tomorrow, then the "monkeys" of the South China Sea would only need to endure two days.
This maneuver was called "killing the chicken to scare the monkeys." Nguyen Phuc Anh was the chicken being killed, and King Zheng Hua of Siam and King Meng Yun of Burma were the monkeys being scared.
...
Although King Zheng Hua of Siam had already decided to completely sever ties with Jiaozhi and Burma, the Great Ming's Court of State Ceremonial (Honglu Si) directly arranged the Siamese delegation and the Burmese delegation in adjacent courtyards. This inevitably led to some interactions between the two parties.
Similarly, it was also easier for them to obtain intelligence from each other.
For instance, Zheng Hua knew that Meng Yun next door had not been sleeping well. On several occasions, he had woken up from nightmares, his screams almost reaching the intensity of a pig being slaughtered.
Meng Yun also knew that Zheng Hua had sent people back to Siam to retrieve the Yellow Register of Fish Scales.
This made Meng Yun feel very frustrated.
Burma's situation was different from Siam's.
Siam, at most, had been colluding with Nguyen Phuc Anh. If one were to speak of any major crime, it truly could not be counted, because Siam's power was insufficient. Since the Hongwu era, it had always maintained a relatively docile image.
In contrast, Burma...
No, there was no need to contrast. Just the words "forced suicide at Po" were enough to keep Meng Yun awake at night.
After a prolonged period of frustration, Meng Yun simply took out the Yellow Register of Fish Scales he had carried all the way, cast a cold smile at the courtyard where Zheng Hua was staying next door, and then began to read it slowly.
Did you not expect this?
You, surnamed Zheng, only remembered to request tributary status halfway through, while I had prepared to request tributary status from the very beginning!
Of course, whether it was the Yellow Register of Fish Scales that Zheng Hua had sent people to retrieve halfway, or the one Meng Yun carried with him, they were essentially superficial. They were essentially one scroll of the Fish Scale Register and one scroll of the Yellow Register. A complete Yellow Register of Fish Scales would likely require several rooms to store.
As he continued to read, Meng Yun could not help but sigh again, even finding himself reminiscing about the Great Qing – the Great Qing's army was even more burdensome than Burma's army. Even though they were concerned about the Great Qing mobilizing its entire nation to conquer Burma, Burma still had the leverage to negotiate.
For example, during the Sino-Burmese War, Burma offered to pay tribute eight years later as a condition for the Great Qing to withdraw its troops.
In any case, the Great Qing's army could not defeat Burma's army, and after gaining a slight bit of face, the Great Qing eagerly retreated.
As for the Great Qing's constant propaganda about how invincible its army was, and how many times it had defeated or even annihilated Burmese armies on the battlefield...
Nonsense. If the Great Qing's army were truly that formidable, would Burma dare to propose the condition of paying tribute eight years later?
It was simply that Burma had gained the substance, allowing the Great Qing to blow its own horn a bit to save face.
Meng Yun honestly felt that if it were the Great Ming army attacking Burma, he would not dare to propose a condition like paying tribute eight years later.
Sighing once more, and reminiscing about the Great Qing again, Meng Yun simply closed the Yellow Register of Fish Scales in his hands and softly called out, "Someone!"
Meng Yun's trusted eunuch immediately flashed out, bowed, and responded, "Your Majesty?"
Meng Yun grunted and asked, "Is there any news from the Court of State Ceremonial?"
The trusted eunuch replied in a low voice, "Reporting to Your Majesty, there has been no news from the Court of State Ceremonial. Your servant has paid attention, and there has been no movement from the courtyard next door. It seems... it seems the Court of State Ceremonial simply does not care about Burma and Siam requesting tributary status?"
Meng Yun shook his head and said, "It's not that they don't care, but they are preparing to teach us, the Burmese, and the Siamese a good lesson."
Speaking of which, Meng Yun could not help but sigh again and say in a low voice, "The former king was foolish."
Meng Yun's trusted eunuch looked at Meng Yun with a bewildered expression, wondering how this matter could be related to the former king. When the Great Qing entered the Central Plains, if the former king had not handed Emperor Yongli over to Wu Sangui, wouldn't Burma have suffered?
Thinking of this, Meng Yun's trusted eunuch tentatively advised, "After all, these are matters from over a hundred years ago. Why should Your Majesty dwell on the events of that time?"
Meng Yun let out a huff of laughter, his smile even more unpleasant than crying: "Not dwell on it? I wish I could not dwell on this matter, but there is an old saying in the Central Plains: 'Barbarians have no imperial destiny for a hundred years.' Is this not coming true now?"
"Even if the former king had given Emperor Yongli some money and grain, and invited Emperor Yongli to Siam or anywhere else, it would have been much better than handing Emperor Yongli directly to Wu Sangui."
"Now, it is fortunate that the Great Ming has been restored once again, and the three words 'forced suicide at Po' have become a thorn in the Great Ming's side, and Burma has also become a thorn in the Great Ming's side."
Meng Yun's trusted eunuch lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Has Your Majesty not already planned to submit? If the Ming country can gain Burma without bloodshed, they presumably will not..."
Before he could finish his sentence, there was a knock on the door. When Meng Yun's trusted eunuch opened the courtyard gate, he saw an official from the Court of State Ceremonial standing outside, accompanied by a Jianwei (embroidered uniform guard) officer dressed in a flying fish costume.
Meng Yun's heart tightened. As he was pondering their intention, the official from the Court of State Ceremonial and the Jianwei officer directly stepped into the courtyard and loudly announced, "By imperial decree, Meng Yun, King of Burma, kneel and receive!"
Meng Yun immediately fell to his knees. The longer the waiting, the more uncertain Meng Yun felt. After waiting for more than half a month, Meng Yun now just wanted it to end quickly, even if the Great Ming Emperor wanted to kill him.
The official from the Court of State Ceremonial glanced at Meng Yun, unrolled the imperial edict, and read aloud: "By Heaven's mandate, assuming the great lineage... Meng Yun... rules... audience, respectful submission, so decreed."
After finishing, the official from the Court of State Ceremonial expressionlessly rolled up the imperial edict and said to Meng Yun, "King Meng, have you not yet offered thanks and accepted the decree?"
Meng Yun immediately kowtowed and said, "Your subject accepts the decree, offers thanks! May Your Majesty live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"
After offering thanks, Meng Yun got up from the ground, first carefully took the imperial edict, then handed it over to his trusted eunuch, and then, unnoticed, two ingots of silver appeared from his sleeve and stealthily made their way into the hands of the official from the Court of State Ceremonial and the Jianwei officer.
Seeing that the official from the Court of State Ceremonial finally showed a hint of a smile, Meng Yun then said in a low and humble tone, "This foreign subject is ultimately a barbarian from beyond the civilized lands, unfamiliar with the etiquette of the Celestial Dynasty. I must trouble you two esteemed officials?"
The official from the Court of State Ceremonial smiled and nodded, saying, "It's nothing, it's nothing."
After the official from the Court of State Ceremonial finished teaching the rules and took his leave, Meng Yun's trusted eunuch said indignantly, "A mere seventh-rank official, yet he dares to put on such airs. Truly detestable!"
Meng Yun let out a huff of laughter, his expressionless face saying, "When one is under another's roof, one must bow their head. He is an official of the Great Ming. Let alone if he is only seventh-rank, even if he were an official of no rank, it is not someone our Burma can offend."
Speaking of which, Meng Yun could not help but let out a long sigh and say in a low voice, "I do miss the Great Qing and its officials."
Like Meng Yun, Zheng Hua next door could not help but let out a long sigh. In the time of the Great Qing, there were not so many damned rules. When the rulers of various countries could meet the Qianlong Emperor in Zhili, the entire Great Qing court had to be prepared. A few tribute stones could exchange for a large pile of rewards.
Now, it's terrible. Before even meeting the emperor, they have to learn a host of messy rules, such as kneeling, prostrating, rising, approaching, shouting praises, and dancing. It's all so frustrating it makes one want to die.
The problem is, the Great Ming officials do not have so many rules. It is said that ordinary citizens of the Great Ming meeting the emperor also do not have so many rules, at most four bows!
This is simply not treating us, the foreign vassal rulers, as human beings!