Meng Yun finally understood everything, even grasping many issues that had previously eluded him.
For instance, when foreign vassal rulers like himself and Chao Phraya Chakri came to the Great Ming to pay homage and meet the Emperor, they would normally receive treatment befitting a prince. Besides accommodation in official guesthouses, there should have been officials from the Court of State Ceremonial and local dignitaries to welcome and escort them throughout their journey.
Yet, here they were, he and Chao Phraya Chakri, having arrived, but that was all. Not only were there no officials from the Court of State Ceremonial or local dignitaries to welcome them, but they even had to pay for their own lodging.
Strictly speaking, this was a problem on the Great Ming's side. Even if he turned back to Burma and ceased tribute, no one could fault him.
However, did Meng Yun dare to turn back to Burma?
Putting aside the fact that Meng Yun had already thought of Emperor Yongli, even without that, just the thought of Zhu Erdan amassing troops in Annan was enough to make Meng Yun have no intention of returning to Burma.
If he shamelessly stayed in the Great Ming, even if the Great Ming decided to eliminate Burma, he, as the King of Burma, might at most be granted a title like "Marquis who submitted." But if he remained in Burma…
With this thought, Meng Yun could only take a deep breath and secretly ponder how to deal with the upcoming situation.
Compared to Meng Yun, Chao Phraya Chakri, who had spat countless times on his way back to his courtyard, summoned his trusted followers that very night and instructed them: "Send someone back to Siam immediately. Have Nguyen Phuc Anh's relatives and friends pack their bags and completely sever ties with them."
"Also, prepare Siam's fish-scale and yellow registers and send them over by express horse."
After a moment's thought, Chao Phraya Chakri added: "From now on, everyone, at any time and any place, must be careful with how they address me. All correspondence and official documents must be in Chinese characters, and I must be addressed by my Chinese name: Zheng Hua. The titles Chao Phraya Chakri and Pothisat (Rama Tibodi) are strictly forbidden from now on."
However, when Zheng Hua's words fell silent, all the accompanying Siamese ministers were utterly bewildered.
Coming to the Great Ming and adopting a Chinese name could be somewhat understood. Even severing ties with Nguyen Phuc Anh was something these Siamese ministers could comprehend.
The problem was, what was the point of preparing the fish-scale and yellow registers and sending them over by express horse?
"Fish-scale register" was a collective term referring to both the fish-scale maps and the yellow registers.
The fish-scale register, also known as the fish-scale atlas, fish-scale maps, fish-scale atlas, fish-scale registers, or cadastral maps, was a land registration book in ancient China. Houses, mountains, forests, ponds, and fields were arranged sequentially and depicted with their corresponding names, forming a comprehensive register of private land. They were named "fish-scale" because the maps resembled fish scales.
The yellow register, on the other hand, referred to the tax and labor yellow registers. This was adopted by Siam from the Great Ming as a census and labor registration system. The yellow register was organized by household and recorded in detail the place of origin, name, age, male population, property, and assets. Households were categorized by occupation into three main classes: civilian, military, and artisan. Four copies were made, with one sent to the Ministry of Revenue, and the Provincial Administration Commission, Prefectures, and Counties each keeping one copy. The copies sent to the Ministry of Revenue were bound in yellow paper, hence the name "yellow register" or "census yellow register." As the government relied on the yellow registers to levy taxes and labor from the populace, they were also known as "tax and labor yellow registers."
In essence, the fish-scale registers combined with the yellow registers represented a nation's land and population information. If the King of Siam, Zheng Hua, presented these to the Ming Emperor, it would essentially signify Siam's voluntary submission and integration.
After a long period of bewildered stares exchanged among his trusted followers and ministers, Prince Isaraphap (Rama II) tentatively asked, "Father, why do we need to prepare the fish-scale and yellow registers? Is Siam truly going to request integration?"
Zheng Hua glanced at Prince Isaraphap and nodded, saying, "Your previous Chinese name was Zheng Fo. From today onwards, your name is Zheng Qin."
Prince Isaraphap remained bewildered. He had asked if his father intended to request Siam's integration, yet his father was changing his name again?
Seeing Prince Isaraphap's bewildered expression, Zheng Hua slowly explained, "The name Zheng Fo was originally used when dealing with the Qing Dynasty. If you use the name Zheng Fo again now, it might anger the Ming Emperor."
"Also, you asked just now if I intend to request integration. I tell you, yes, but it might not succeed."
"If it succeeds, the Kingdom of Siam will cease to exist. Our Zheng family, including all the officials and nobles present, might retain their noble status for three generations. If it fails, Siam will also cease to exist, and none of us will meet a good end."
Upon hearing Zheng Hua's words, including Prince Isaraphap, who had just been renamed Zheng Qin, the Siamese dignitaries were even more perplexed.
Zheng Qin could not help but ask, "Father, are you perhaps overthinking things? Not to mention whether Siam needs to request integration now, but even if it does, why would there be a possibility of failure leading to national annihilation? And as for us, why would we not meet a good end?"
Zheng Hua looked at Zheng Qin, whose face was full of bewilderment, and all the Siamese nobles, big and small. All he felt was despair, and only despair – why did I have such a foolish son? Why do I have such a group of fools under me who cannot see the situation clearly?
After a period of silence, Zheng Hua looked at Zheng Qin and asked, "Why did His Highness the Prince of Qin of the Great Ming mobilize three armies from the entire Left Military Governor's Office, along with an entire South China Sea fleet, for the conquest of Annan?"
Without waiting for Zheng Qin to answer, Zheng Hua answered his own question, saying, "The last time we conquered the Portuguese occupying Macao, we outwardly deployed the forces of one army, but as you all know, the actual situation was different."
"According to intelligence, the forces mobilized by the Prince of Qin for the conquest of Portugal were actually less than a thousand men. They started fighting in the morning and completely dealt with the Portuguese in the afternoon."
"Of course, you could argue that it was because the Portuguese forces were too small. But think about it, to suppress over two thousand Portuguese soldiers and their warships, how much force would we in Siam have to deploy? What price would we have to pay?"
"His Highness the Prince of Qin is personally leading the campaign in Annan. It should only require one army to solve the problem. What are the remaining two armies for?"
"In fact, only the Sixth Army of the Ming and the South China Sea Fleet are currently attacking. The other two armies have not been deployed. To put it bluntly, they are watching both Siam and Burma."
"The reason I asked you to prepare the fish-scale and yellow registers is actually a desperate attempt to survive. I intend to request integration before the Prince of Qin advances into Siam."
"As for Burma…"
At this point, Zheng Hua could not help but let out a chuckle, mocking with a hint of schadenfreude, "There's no need to worry about their fate. If our situation in Siam is nine deaths with one life, then Burma's situation is ten deaths with no life, unless they can make His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming forget the existence of Po."
The Siamese dignitaries did not understand what Zheng Hua was gloating about. Burma's situation was ten deaths with no life, but their situation in Siam was also nine deaths with one life. With such a slim chance of survival, why was he acting so happy?
Zheng Hua could indeed be so happy.
After all, when one is in a bad situation, seeing others in an even worse situation can make one feel a little better, can't it?
However, Zheng Qin was still somewhat unwilling to integrate.
If he merely became a vassal state of the Great Ming, he would still be the King of Siam, and although he would have to pay tribute to the Ming Emperor every now and then and be regulated by the Great Ming in many aspects, he would still be the supreme ruler of a nation, facing south.
If he integrated completely, he would become a disreputable idle prince of the Great Ming, not only losing all real power but perhaps one day receiving a three-foot white silk noose or a bowl of "Jian Ji" poison.
Comparing the two, which was more appealing?
After silently weighing the options, Zheng Qin tentatively asked, "What if we, like Nguyen Phuc Anh, have all the Siamese people resist the Ming army's attack… Father, have you forgotten the incident of Emperor Xuanzong abandoning territory?"
Zheng Hua let out a cold laugh and said, "Then look at what Nguyen Phuc Anh and his subordinates did. Nguyen Phuc Anh's wife, children, and family, except for Nguyen Phuc Canh, along with the wives and children of Annan officials, are all in Siam, aren't they?"
"If we do as Nguyen Phuc Anh did, where will I send my wife and children? Besides, did Nguyen Phuc Anh succeed in inciting the people of Annan to resist the Great Ming army?"
Zheng Hua's question silenced Zheng Qin and the other Siamese dignitaries once again.
Did Nguyen Phuc Anh succeed?
If one said he did not succeed, then a large number of Annanese rebels were incited by him and occasionally attacked the Ming army.
If one said he succeeded… wielding spears, sabers, or even farming tools as weapons and charging at the fully armed Ming army, did the outcome need further explanation?
After all, Siam was adjacent to Annan, and these Siamese dignitaries were not completely unaware of the situation in Annan.
The Great Ming army's so-called "unblemished record" basically applied to those Annanese people who could prove their affiliation with the Ming Dynasty – whether they were from the former Ming era who ended up in Annan or those who fled to Annan during the Qing Dynasty. The Ming army could indeed achieve an unblemished record.
However, those Annanese rebels who attacked the Ming army… were basically all captured, and then empty villages were subjected to an unblemished record.
After a moment of silence, Zheng Qin bowed and replied, "I will have someone return to prepare the fish-scale and yellow registers."
…
When the Kings of Burma, Meng Yun, and Siam, Zheng Hua, and others, with their respective hidden agendas, arrived at Jinan Prefecture, the year had already reached the end of the fifth year of the reign of the "Sacred Emperor," and the sixth year of Zhu Jinsong's enthronement was fast approaching.
However, even after Meng Yun and Zheng Hua arrived in Jinan, the Great Ming court remained silent, as if they were unaware that two vassal states were coming to pay homage.
Having no other choice, Meng Yun and Zheng Hua each dispatched envoys to the Court of State Ceremonial to submit their credentials, hoping that Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, would grant them an audience amidst his busy schedule.
This time, someone finally paid attention to Meng Yun and Zheng Hua.
After all, they had found the Court of State Ceremonial. The Court of State Ceremonial of all previous dynasties was eager to be busy, as the busier they were, the more they could prove that "all nations paid homage," and the more qualified they were to declare a prosperous era. Those shameless Qing who boasted about being "all nations paid homage" and a "prosperous era of abundance" were, after all, a minority.
Furthermore, it was only reasonable to respond since Meng Yun and Zheng Hua had both sent people to submit formal credentials.
The key was that it was useless for the Court of State Ceremonial to pay attention to them. After the Court of State Ceremonial forwarded the credentials to Zhu Jinsong, the Ming Emperor merely said faintly, "Let them wait."
And then?
Then they would slowly wait. When Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Great Ming felt a little better, and when the official duties in the Great Ming court lessened, they would naturally arrange for their audience.
After all, being too eager makes for a poor bargain. For such people who fear power but not benevolence, they must be handled with a strategy of "training a hawk," otherwise, they would truly not know who is the son and who is the father.