Recaps

Zhu Ying ordered the Ming navy to destroy the Wa negotiation ship and bombard the Wa Country Southern Dynasty army on Ryukyu. After the Wa forces collapsed and Kikuchi Takemasa was killed, Ming soldiers landed to hunt down the remaining Japanese troops while the [Lifespan Fruit Tree] absorbed their blood essence.

• Feng Sheng reported that Wa representatives were approaching, but Zhu Ying ordered the Ming fleet to fire its Red-Clad Cannons and destroy their ship.
• Zhu Ying directed the fleet to bombard the Wa Country Southern Dynasty army, and the cannon fire killed soldiers and caused widespread panic.
• Kikuchi Takemasa ordered his troops to charge into Ryukyu, but Zhu Ying commanded the navy to keep firing; the retreating soldiers and Kikuchi Takemasa were killed.
• Satto praised the Ming navy's strength, and Zhu Ying then ordered the warships to advance and the soldiers to land for close combat.
• Ming soldiers hunted down the remaining Japanese troops as the [Lifespan Fruit Tree] absorbed their blood essence and Zhu Ying felt increasing exhilaration.

Zhu Ying’s Ming Dynasty navy annihilated the Wa Country Southern Dynasty forces invading Ryukyu, then Zhu Ying promised Ryukyu protection and ordered the three kings to build a naval port. He sailed with the fleet toward Wa Country to destroy both its Northern and Southern Dynasties, while Satto began searching for a port site.

• The Ming Dynasty navy defeated and killed the Wa Country Southern Dynasty soldiers on Ryukyu’s shore after a devastating cannon barrage.
• Zhu Ying arrived with Liu Lei and three thousand Wang Wei Pterosaur Army soldiers, and Ryukyu’s three kings bowed and thanked him for saving their realm.
• Zhu Ying promised Ming Dynasty protection in exchange for Ryukyu’s continued submission and tribute, then declared that he would destroy both Wa Country dynasties.
• Zhu Ying declined Ryukyu’s offer to join the invasion and ordered the kings to dispose of the bodies and build a military port for the Ming Dynasty navy.
• Zhu Ying ordered Feng Sheng to sail the treasure ships toward Wa Country, while Satto dispatched people to find a suitable port location.

Emperor Go-Kameyama learned that Kikuchi Takemasa’s fifty-thousand-man army had been annihilated and that Ming forces had arrived to attack the Wa Country Southern Dynasty. Zhu Ying ordered the Ming fleet to bombard Wa Island’s coast and advance inland, leaving Go-Kameyama and his ministers fearing the kingdom’s destruction.

• A military official reported that Kikuchi Takemasa and the fifty thousand troops sent against Ryukyu had been wiped out, and fishermen had seen Ming dragon banners among the warships.
• A guard warned Emperor Go-Kameyama that a fleet bearing bright yellow flags was approaching the Wa Country Southern Dynasty’s western port, and Go-Kameyama panicked as officials debated fleeing.
• Aboard the Ming fleet, Zhu Ying ordered Feng Sheng to form more than a hundred Treasure Ships and aim their cannons at the shore.
• Zhu Ying commanded the fleet to fire, and more than a thousand Red-Clad Cannons devastated the coastline, destroyed docked ships, and killed the coastal defenders.
• A guard reported the ruined coast to Go-Kameyama, whose ministers urged him to relocate the capital while he despaired over where they could flee.
• Zhu Ying ordered the fleet to advance and resume its bombardment, directing the Ming warships to continue firing inland.

After the Ming Dynasty destroyed the Wa Country Southern Dynasty, the Wa Country Northern Dynasty feared it would be next and sent an envoy to submit to Zhu Ying. The envoy pleaded for mercy in Zhu Ying’s camp, where Zhu Ying heard the Northern Dynasty’s offer but had not yet given his answer.

• Over two months, Zhu Ying’s forces massacred the Wa Country Southern Dynasty, destroyed its imperial palace, and killed Emperor Go-Kameyama and the ruling family.
• Emperor Kōshō and the Northern Dynasty court debated whether to fight or appease the Ming Dynasty, then learned the invasion was also retaliation for Kōshō’s order to steal gunpowder and manufacturing techniques.
• Emperor Kōshō sent an envoy to the Southern Dynasty to offer the Northern Dynasty’s submission and tribute in hopes of avoiding slaughter.
• Feng Sheng brought the Northern Dynasty envoy before Zhu Ying, and the envoy knelt, apologized for misidentifying Zhu Ying, and offered eternal submission and tribute in exchange for mercy.

Zhu Ying rejected Wa Country Northern Dynasty’s offer to become a tributary and launched a full invasion after its envoy admitted Emperor Kōshō had ordered spies to steal Ming gunpowder. The Ming forces conquered the Northern Dynasty and captured its ruler, whom Zhu Ying ordered executed along with his officials.

• Zhu Ying demanded Wa Country Northern Dynasty’s unconditional surrender, Emperor Kōshō’s submission, the disbanding of its troops, and Ming occupation; when the envoy refused, Zhu Ying ordered the invasion.
• Emperor Kōshō rejected Zhu Ying’s terms and ordered Wa Country Northern Dynasty to fight the Ming Dynasty.
• Feng Sheng led the Ming fleet north, and Zhu Ying’s Red-Clad Cannons sank the Northern Dynasty’s fleet and bombarded its coastline.
• Ming forces attacked by sea and land, conquered Wa Country Northern Dynasty, and captured Emperor Kōshō and his officials in the palace.
• Zhu Ying ordered Liu Lei to execute Emperor Kōshō and the captured officials.

Zhu Ying declared Wa Island’s people slaves of the Ming Dynasty, appointed Ryukyu’s three kings to govern the island, and ordered Feng Sheng to keep it under military control. After returning to Ying Tian Prefecture, he reported Wa Island’s conquest to Zhu Yuanzhang, who then ordered the entire captured Sima clan exterminated after hearing that Eastern Jin had fallen.

• After the Ming Army destroyed Wa Island’s Northern and Southern Dynasties, Zhu Ying ordered the Wa people enslaved and made prisoners clear the corpses and ruins.
• Zhu Ying summoned Ryukyu’s three kings and appointed Satto governor-general of Wa Island, with the other two kings as deputies, while warning them to prevent rebellion.
• Zhu Ying ordered Feng Sheng to remain on Wa Island with Ming troops and gave him authority to kill Wa people who disobeyed.
• Zhu Ying returned to Ying Tian Prefecture and told Zhu Yuanzhang that the Ming Army had conquered Wa Island and that Ryukyu’s kings would govern it under Ming supervision.
• Lan Yu reported that the Ming Army had conquered Eastern Jin and captured the Sima clan, and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the entire clan exterminated.

The Ming Army executed Sima Rui and more than a hundred members of the Sima clan in Jiankang, winning the approval of the civilians. Later, Zhu Ying inspected the Lifespan Fruit Tree and heard about the Imperial Guards’ progress capturing dinosaurs and exploring the Prehistoric World.

• Lan Yu, Xu Huizu, and Chang Mao oversaw the execution of the Sima clan as Sima Rui and his relatives begged for their lives.
• Lan Yu denounced the Sima clan’s role in the suffering of the Central Plains, then ordered the executioners to behead them.
• Zhu Ying found that the Lifespan Fruit Tree had grown more than twice as large and that its fruit could now extend a person’s life by fifty years.
• Guo Zhen reported that the Imperial Guards had captured forty thousand Velociraptors, twenty thousand Pterosaurs, and more than a thousand Tyrannosaurus Rexes, while suffering casualties during the dangerous captures.
• Guo Zhen told Zhu Ying that the Guards had built two hundred guarded strongholds across the Prehistoric World and transported treasures and rare medicinal herbs to Ying Tian Prefecture.
• Zhu Ying ordered the Guards to keep capturing dinosaurs, especially Tyrannosaurus Rexes, and to continue searching for treasures and spiritual herbs.

Zhu Ying opened his accumulated treasure chests, gained spirit cultivation resources, a martial art, and fuel engine blueprints, then helped Zhu Yuanzhang arrange the court’s move from Ying Tian Prefecture to Beiping. The emperor and officials flew north with the Pterosaur Army, and Zhu Yuanzhang declared Beiping Prefecture the Imperial Capital.

• Zhu Ying claimed rewards for conquering Japan and defeating the Five Northern Barbarians and Sima clan, opening chests that yielded Spirit Gathering Arrays, Spirit Stones, Vermilion Fruit saplings, the Bloodburning Art, and fuel engine blueprints.
• Zhu Ying decided to place the two Spirit Gathering Arrays in Beiping’s imperial palace and spirit herb garden, while saving six Tier 2 treasure chests for later.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and the ministers agreed to relocate the Ming court to Beiping Prefecture, and Zhu Biao proposed traveling by Treasure Ship before Zhu Ying suggested riding Pterosaurs instead.
• Zhu Ying summoned Liu Lei and the Wang Wei Pterosaur Army, and Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, the officials, and Zhu Ying flew from Ying Tian Prefecture to Beiping City.
• Zhu Yuanzhang arrived at Beiping City, declared Beiping Prefecture the Imperial Capital, and entered the city with Zhu Biao, Zhu Ying, and the officials.

Zhu Yuanzhang presided over the first court session in Beiping after the capital’s relocation, where officials reported on military recruitment, finances, railways, and imperial examinations. Zhu Ying announced a sweeping plan to expand the Ming Dynasty southward and across the world, promising Lifespan Fruit rewards to officials who earned merit.

• Zhu Yuanzhang toured Beiping and praised its modern buildings and grand imperial palace.
• Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Ying held court together in Beiping’s Fengtian Hall for the first time after the move.
• Tang Duo reported that one million recruits were training, Yu Xin said the treasury could cover court expenditures, and Qin Da and Liu Jing reported progress on railways and imperial examinations.
• Zhu Yuanzhang praised Zhu Ying’s role in the Ming Dynasty’s growing power and announced that the empire would begin expanding.
• Zhu Ying set out plans to conquer Champa, Siam, and other southern nations before advancing into Nanyang and beyond.
• Zhu Ying promised Lifespan Fruit rewards to officials with outstanding achievements, prompting them to pledge their support.

Zhu Ying convened the Ming court’s generals and ministers to plan the conquest of Annam, Champa, Cambodia, and Siam as the first step in the dynasty’s expansion. The campaign was set to begin with Annam, and Mu Ying was appointed to lead a newly formed Mountain Battalion for later jungle and mountain warfare.

• Zhu Ying presented a world map and identified Annam, Champa, Cambodia, and Siam as the Ming Dynasty’s next targets for expansion.
• Lan Yu urged the court to concentrate forces against Annam first, and Tang Duo reported that the four kingdoms had a combined population of around ten million.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Ying agreed to send the Cavalry Battalion, Infantry Battalion, and Divine Machine Battalion to conquer Annam before advancing against the other kingdoms.
• Zhu Biao proposed winning local support through commerce and development, while Zhu Yuanzhang demanded victory and authorized massacres to intimidate resistance.
• Zhu Ying ordered the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of War to coordinate supplies and assigned Mu Ying’s troops to support the campaign and train the Infantry Battalion in jungle warfare.
• Zhu Ying reorganized Mu Ying’s Yunnan forces into the Mountain Battalion, named Mu Ying its Great General, and directed him to recruit and train for the later campaigns.

Zhu Ying oversaw the Ming Dynasty’s new railway operations and ordered campaigns across the Japanese Islands and Nanyang, then led the southern expedition that destroyed Annam and began the invasion of Champa Kingdom. The chapter ended with the Infantry and Mountain Battalions capturing Champa Kingdom’s capital.

• Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Ying watched the railway open as trains carried supplies south to Yunnan Prefecture.
• Zhu Ying ordered Feng Sheng to garrison the Japanese Islands and expand against nearby nations, using compliant rulers as puppets under Heart-devouring Pills.
• Zhu Ying arrived in Yunnan Prefecture, and the Ming army invaded Annam, capturing its capital after a brutal two-day battle.
• Zhu Ying ordered Xu Huizu to kill Annam’s captured king, royals, and nobles, then sent Mu Ying and the Mountain Battalion to attack Champa Kingdom alongside the Infantry Battalion.
• The Ming forces defeated Champa Kingdom’s troops and captured its capital almost simultaneously, leaving the city in ruins.

Zhu Ying ordered the conquest of Cambodia and Siam after the Ming army occupied Annam and Champa, while Feng Sheng led the navy’s expansion into Nanyang. The navy seized Java and Sumatra and advanced into Srivijaya, where its campaign left a third of the population dead.

• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao celebrated Zhu Ying’s reports that Ming forces had occupied Annam and breached Champa’s capital.
• Zhu Ying rejected Champa’s offer to submit, ordered Liu Lei to kill the royal family, and dispatched Mu Ying and Xu Huizu to attack Cambodia and Siam.
• Feng Sheng demanded Java’s total submission; after Java’s king refused, Feng ordered the navy to bombard the coast and land troops.
• Feng Sheng’s forces captured Java, killed its royal family and officials, and then split up to attack other Nanyang states.
• The Ming navy captured Sumatra in under ten days and then overwhelmed Srivijaya, where its forces killed inhabitants as they took cities.

During six months of conquest, the Ming Dynasty expanded abroad while railways, steam-powered workshops, and employment drove rapid domestic growth. Zhu Ying’s government transported captives from conquered lands into the Ming world as slaves for construction and shipbuilding, while the Dinosaur Legion continued growing.

• Mu Ying and Xu Huizu’s forces conquered Annam and Champa and advanced into neighboring regions, while Feng Sheng’s navy defeated four major Nanyang nations and began taking smaller ones.
• The Ming court began new railway projects centered on the imperial capital and expanded workshops, where steam engines boosted production and created jobs for commoners.
• At a Beiping Prefecture military camp, Ming soldiers brought fifty thousand captives through the Spatial Portal and prepared them for forced labor across the empire.
• Zhu Ying approved Feng Sheng’s request for more warships and sent captives to the navy’s shipbuilding workshops, while Mu Ying and Xu Huizu transported more prisoners from conquered countries for construction work.
• Guo Zhen continued establishing strongholds in the [Prehistoric World], and dinosaurs were transported daily to enlarge the Ming Dynasty’s Dinosaur Legion.

At an imperial court, Zhu Yuanzhang heard reports of the Ming Dynasty’s military expansion and domestic achievements, then ordered further development of its new territories. In Siam, Zhu Ying led the final assault on the capital, where Ming artillery broke through the city gate.

• Tang Duo reported that Ming forces had occupied Annam and Champa, while Feng Sheng’s navy had defeated most of Nanyang; Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the armies to continue their campaigns.
• Yu Xin reported that railways were helping supply the fronts, while Chen Jing described officials governing the Late Jin Five Barbarians World; Zhu Biao proposed rebuilding Chang'an City, and Zhu Yuanzhang assigned the work to Qin Da.
• Qin Da reported the expansion of workshops and rising wages, Liu Jing reported the imperial examinations and the arrival of more than one million laborers, and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered officials to continue developing Ming territory.
• Zhu Ying arrived above Siam’s capital with the Wang Wei Pterosaur Army and ordered the assault as the Ming artillery and Velociraptor Legion attacked.
• Ming cannon fire battered Siam’s capital until the city gate fell.

Zhu Ying returned to the Ming capital after conquering the southeast, and the emperor and people welcomed him in triumph. He outlined how Ming would govern and develop its new territories, while Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao approved his plans.

• Lan Yu reported Siam's fall, and Zhu Ying ordered the captured Siamese royal family executed before sending troops to conquer Cambodia.
• Over four months, Ming forces destroyed Cambodia and pacified the remaining small nations, bringing the entire southeast under Ming rule.
• Zhu Ying returned to the capital with the Wang Wei Pterosaur Army, where Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, officials, and civilians welcomed him.
• Zhu Ying told Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao that puppets and governors backed by garrisons would oversee the conquered nations and prevent rebellions.
• Zhu Ying ordered officials to inspect and develop southeastern resources, expand trade in tropical fruits, and put prisoners to work on construction projects.

Zhu Ying showed Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao the Lifespan Fruit Tree, then established a Spirit Gathering Array in the imperial palace as the Ming Dynasty expanded. After returning to the Crown Prince's Grandson Hall, he received treasure chests for conquering southeastern kingdoms and gained new cultivation resources, techniques, and a spatial portal he chose not to activate yet.

• Zhu Ying revealed that the Lifespan Fruit Tree held several thousand fruits, each capable of extending a person's life by seventy years, and Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao agreed to preserve and distribute them as rewards.
• Zhu Ying established a Spirit Gathering Array in the imperial palace, allowing Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao to sense Spiritual Energy and improve their cultivation prospects.
• Zhu Biao proposed letting the people cultivate, but Zhu Ying said expansion remained the priority and nationwide cultivation should wait until conditions were ready.
• Zhu Ying and Zhu Yuanzhang discussed the ongoing Nanyang campaign, the navy's progress, and rising Ming tax revenues before Zhu Ying returned to the Crown Prince's Grandson Hall.
• The system rewarded Zhu Ying with eight Tier 2 and six Tier 3 treasure chests for destroying Annam Kingdom, Champa Kingdom, Cambodia, and Siam and killing their royal nobles.
• Zhu Ying opened the chests and obtained Spirit Stones, trees, martial skills, cultivation methods, and a Random Ordinary World Spatial Portal, which he decided to save for later.

Zhu Ying and Zhu Biao planned to tighten Ming control over its colonial states and decided to use Yi Seong-gye’s imprisonment as a pretext to annex Joseon. Zhu Ying appointed his young son Zhu Wendai as Joseon’s future king and ordered Guo Zhen to lead the conquest.

• Zhu Ying approved Zhu Biao’s governor selections for the southeastern nations and helped draft laws placing their resources and tax revenues under Ming control.
• After an urgent dispatch reported that Yi Seong-gye had been imprisoned by his son, Zhu Ying and Zhu Biao agreed to send troops to Joseon and turn it into a Ming colony.
• Zhu Ying told Li Qingchen that Ming forces would invade Joseon and that Zhu Wendai would become king after its pacification; Li Qingchen agreed, and Zhu Wendai accepted his father’s charge to watch over Joseon.
• Zhu Ying ordered Guo Zhen to lead Imperial Guards and troops from Liaodong to occupy Joseon, naming Zhu Wendai as its future king and directing the army to kill anyone who resisted.

Guo Zhen led Ming forces into Joseon, swiftly captured Gaegyeong, and crushed Yi Bang-gwa’s resistance. Yi Seong-gye accepted Ming rule and Zhu Wendai’s future kingship, while Yi Bang-gwa was imprisoned and Guo Zhen remained to garrison Joseon.

• Guo Zhen joined five thousand Imperial Guard Pterosaur Army soldiers with fifty thousand Liaodong troops and marched toward Joseon.
• Yi Bang-gwa’s ministers debated war and peace, and he sent Minister Kim to seek negotiations while preparing for battle.
• Guo Zhen rejected the Joseon envoy’s tribute offer, insisting that Yi Bang-gwa abdicate and restore Yi Seong-gye to the throne.
• Guo Zhen’s forces defeated Joseon’s defenses, broke into Gaegyeong in ten days, and forced Yi Bang-gwa to surrender.
• Guo Zhen announced that Ming would take over Joseon and that Zhu Wendai would become its king; Yi Seong-gye accepted, and Yi Bang-gwa was imprisoned.
• Guo Zhen stayed in Joseon to garrison it and sent a battle report to the imperial capital.

As the Grand Ming Empire celebrated its rapid expansion and new railways, officials reported their achievements at the Hongwu Era 28 year-end court deliberations. Zhu Ying rewarded accomplished generals and officials with Lifespan Fruit that extended their lives by seventy years, and the court looked ahead to further expansion.

• The Imperial Capital Train Station opened, and commoners praised Zhu Ying for the empire’s growing prosperity and convenient rail travel.
• At Fengtian Hall, officials reported on colonial administration, military expansion, workshops, railways, and cultural assimilation across the empire.
• Zhu Ying and Zhu Biao instructed officials to develop capable administrators and impose Central Plains culture and language on colonial territories.
• Zhu Ying named generals and officials receiving rewards for their work and military victories during Hongwu Era 28.
• Zhu Ying awarded the named officials Lifespan Fruit that extended their lives by seventy years, and they consumed the fruit in the hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang held a year-end banquet for the imperial clan, where he celebrated the Ming Dynasty’s growth and praised Zhu Ying’s contributions. As the feast ended, Zhu Su and other princes pleaded for permission to visit the imprisoned Zhu Di and Zhu Shuang, leaving the request awaiting Zhu Ying and Zhu Biao’s decision.

• Zhu Yuanzhang welcomed the imperial clan to Fengtian Hall for a New Year banquet, while Zhu Ying’s trusted relatives Zhu Quan, Zhu Bai, and Zhu Yunteng joined the celebrations.
• Zhu Yuanzhang praised the Ming Dynasty’s expansion and toasted Zhu Ying, then doted on Zhu Ying’s son Zhu Wenxi, who wished for the Ming Dynasty to endure, unite the world, and end poverty.
• Zhu Bai asked Zhu Yunteng about Zhu Yunwen and his brothers, learned Zhu Yunwen had been exiled to Qiongzhou, and asked about Lu clan, but Zhu Yunteng knew nothing.
• Zhu Su knelt before Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Ying and asked to visit his imprisoned brothers Zhu Di and Zhu Shuang.
• Prince Zhu and other feudal princes joined Zhu Su in pleading to see Zhu Di and Zhu Shuang, asking the elder generation to give the imprisoned princes another chance.

The feudal princes visited Zhu Shuang and Zhu Di at the Imperial Clan Court after Zhu Ying persuaded Zhu Yuanzhang to allow one meeting. Hearing how prosperous and powerful Ming Dynasty had become, Zhu Di regretted his past choices, while Zhu Shuang’s hope of release was crushed.

• Zhu Ying supported the princes’ request to visit Zhu Shuang and Zhu Di, and Zhu Yuanzhang allowed a single meeting as a New Year exception.
• Zhu Ying, Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Biao agreed to pursue expansion and domestic infrastructure in Hongwu Era 28, while postponing Zhu Wenxi’s participation in court affairs.
• The feudal princes met Zhu Shuang and Zhu Di in the Imperial Clan Court, where Zhu Shuang asked them to plead for their release.
• Zhu Bai warned Zhu Shuang that petitioning Zhu Yuanzhang would only worsen matters, and Zhu Shuang collapsed in despair.
• Zhu Bai and Zhu Quan told Zhu Di about Ming Dynasty’s industrial growth, military victories, and expanding railways, leaving him deeply regretful.

Zhu Ying reviewed the armaments workshop, Royal Bank, and alchemy hall with Zhu Bai, Zhu Quan, and Zhu Yunteng, then ordered Body Cultivation to spread throughout the entire Ming Dynasty army. He also told the generals that Ming Dynasty would pursue further expansion after the rest period, leaving them eager for the coming campaigns.

• Zhu Bai reported that the armaments workshop could produce one hundred Red-Clad Cannons and tens of thousands of shells each month, while Zhu Ying urged him to maintain safety.
• Zhu Quan reported that Royal Bank deposits had reached eighty million taels, and Zhu Ying ordered branches and lending operations established in Korea, the Japanese Isles, and the southeastern states.
• Zhu Yunteng reported that the alchemy hall had not measured its daily output, so Zhu Ying ordered it to prepare Bone Refining Powder on a large scale and maintain supplies of other potions and dinosaur poisons.
• Zhu Ying ordered soldiers throughout the army, including recruits, the Mountain Battalion, and the navy, to practice Body Cultivation, and Zhu Yunteng promised to expand medicinal production.
• Zhu Ying told Lan Yu, Xu Huizu, Chang Mao, Mu Ying, Feng Sheng, and the other generals that the army and navy would expand after the rest days, with detailed battle plans to follow.

More than twenty foreign nations sent envoys to Ming Dynasty after its recent expansion, and their visitors marveled at the empire’s roads, railways, and technology. In Wenyuan Pavilion, Zhu Ying, Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Biao suspected the envoys had come to obtain cannon and steam-engine technology, and they prepared to restrict their access as the envoys awaited the next day’s court session.

• Foreign merchants and envoys arrived in the imperial capital, where Ming residents mocked them and visitors praised the empire’s infrastructure and power.
• Zhu Biao told Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Ying that envoys from more than twenty countries had arrived and showed them the nations on a map.
• Zhu Ying warned that the envoys might be seeking Ming Dynasty’s cannons and steam engines, prompting Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao to reject sharing those technologies.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered that capital residents avoid the foreigners and that workshops bar envoys without an imperial decree.
• Zhu Biao reported that foreign envoys had already visited workshops and reacted excitedly to the steam engines.

Foreign envoys from several Western nations met Zhu Yuanzhang and sought trade, diplomatic ties, and Ming firearms. Zhu Ying agreed to sell them outdated weapons to profit from rivalries, and Zhu Yuanzhang tasked Liu Jing with arranging the deals.

• Envoys from France, England, Persia, the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and other countries gathered in Fengtian Hall and introduced themselves to Zhu Yuanzhang.
• The envoys asked to establish trade and diplomatic relations and purchase Ming cannons and muskets.
• Zhu Ying offered to sell firearms, prompting the envoys to compete by raising their bids.
• Zhu Ying planned to sell phased-out weapons while Western nations fought over them, and Zhu Yuanzhang added delivery fees for Treasure Ships.
• Zhu Yuanzhang assigned Liu Jing to negotiate the firearm purchases and trade agreements with the envoys.

Zhu Ying laid out the Ming Dynasty’s expansion plans for the year, assigning campaigns across Central and South Asia while ordering railways and colonial development to continue. The court prepared to launch its armies and navy westward as Ming officials took up their duties.

• After leaving Fengtian Hall, Zhu Ying persuaded Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao that selling outdated firearms to rival Western nations would leave the Ming Dynasty dominant.
• At Wenyuan Pavilion, Zhu Ying named the Eastern Chagatai Khanate and nearby Western Region states as targets, assigning Mu Ying one hundred thousand Mountain Battalion soldiers and one hundred thousand Divine Machine Battalion soldiers.
• Zhu Ying ordered Lan Yu, Xu Huizu, and Chang Mao to continue west through Myanmar, the Sultanate of Delhi, and the Bengal Sultanate, while Feng Sheng was sent with one hundred thousand naval troops toward the Persian Gulf to attack the Timurid Empire.
• Zhu Ying ordered Qin Da to extend railways into newly conquered regions and use colonial labor and resources, while Yu Xin and Liu Jing received duties involving army provisions, Western trade, tariffs, and the imperial examinations.
• Zhu Ying assigned further domestic and military duties to the ministers, and Zhu Yuanzhang urged the generals to crush resistance and expand Ming territory.