The wheel of fortune turned.
East Hundred had enjoyed Divine Land's protection many times.
Now it was time for them to pledge loyalty to Great Ming.
Inside the Ministry of War.
"Presenting land for the Emperor's Investiture of the Gods is the greatest honor they can receive as a vassal state," the Minister of War clamored.
The other ministries also mocked the East Hundred people for failing to appreciate the favor shown them.
Incorporating you into Great Ming was already doing you an honor.
Great Ming had no interest in those barren lands that could not even sustain their inhabitants.
Take the far western lands, for example.
They were simply impossible to garrison.
Across ten thousand li of Gobi desert, even finding water was difficult.
Campaigns over such distances required hauling water along.
The challenge was simply too great.
They were far inferior to the east and south.
Though the south was hot and humid, with too many bugs and epidemics, at least water and food were basically guaranteed.
The rest depended on people clearing and cultivating the land.
However, the situation gradually changed.
The ones changing were those Dwarf Pirates.
The Dwarf Pirates from the Island Country also began sending in massive reinforcements.
Their ambitions had grown as well.
They had discovered that their opponents were very weak this time.
Previously, they had still resisted desperately.
This time, however, the gentry and ministers collapsed at the first touch.
"Strange. Why are you so weak?" A Dwarf Pirate chief seized a minister leading the troops and asked.
"Hmph. Great Ming to the west side wants to seize our land, and you want to seize it too. Either way, the country is doomed, so why resist?" the minister said.
"Hahaha! So that's how it is. Great Ming truly is hypocritical."