Chapter 1616: Just Can't Set My Mind at Ease!

Having finished laying out the grand principles of the Heavenly Alliance's organization, the Great Emperor Zhu turned the conversation to the matter of organizing the Heavenly Army. In truth, even in the years before there was a Heavenly Army, joint military operations between the Celestial Court and its tributary states had never ceased — almost every year and every month, expeditionary forces from the Great Ming fought side by side with the armies of vassal states.

Moreover, some sparsely populated tributary states with vast territories would, after obtaining permission from the Great Ming court, recruit soldiers in populous countries such as the Great Ming, Japan, Joseon, and Annam.

It was precisely because of the close military ties now existing between the Celestial Court and its tributary states that the civilized sphere of the Celestial Court had been able to expand so rapidly over the past forty or fifty years — behind every small Hua-Xia tributary state on the fringes of the civilized sphere stood the solid support of the entire civilization!

However, as the United States, the Qing State, the Western Chu State, the Dzungar State, the Malacca State, and the Palembang State — this whole series of frontline tributary states — grew and strengthened step by step, they had already become capable of continuing to develop without military support from the suzerain state and tributary states at the center of the civilized sphere.

Zhu Cilang understood very clearly that such a development was in fact extremely disadvantageous to the civilized sphere of the Celestial Court! On the one hand, the tributary states on the "outer ring" would grow ever stronger through warfare and gradually slip free of the Great Ming's control as suzerain — and might even one day turn their guns around and contend with the Great Ming for the position of Hua-Xia suzerain.

On the other hand, the military preparedness of the Hua-Xia states on the "inner ring" — the Great Ming, Japan, Joseon, Annam, and the rest — would grow more and more lax through prolonged peace and ease. When that time came, a dangerous situation of strong vassals and a weak suzerain would emerge, and internal strife within the Celestial Court's sphere would become unavoidable!

And Zhu Cilang's solution was also very simple: copy the methods of the later American Empire... that is, to give up a perfectly good life, form a military alliance, and with nothing better to do, lead a bunch of underlings around the world looking for soft persimmons to pound.

That American Empire had no strong powers around it at all. In the Americas, the American Empire stood alone as the dominant power; to the north, Canada had hardly any people; to the south, Mexico struggled even to fight a few drug lords; and as for the island nations of the Caribbean, none of them could threaten the American Empire in the slightest.

If it had not gone around the world picking fights, the American Empire's military preparedness would long since have rotted into dregs!

And the Great Ming Celestial Court's current security environment was practically a replica of the later American Empire's — it could perfectly well lie down and not move, and thoroughly enjoy a golden age of peace and ease.

But what about two or three generations later?

Therefore the cannons and rifled muskets of the Great Ming's Heavenly Army must not be allowed to rust... they had to be sent into battle for tempering, and moreover they had to take part in high-level warfare. If one spent all one's days contending with a bunch of trash, one would be dragged into uselessness along with them.

And high-level opponents would have to be sought in Central Asia, the Indian Ocean, and the American continent!

But these places were far too distant from the Great Ming homeland. How would the Ming army get there? How would it obtain supplies? How would it establish a long-term foothold there? These were all extremely difficult problems to solve!

And the Heavenly Alliance and the Heavenly Army were the means to solve these problems.

"Our meaning," said Zhu Cilang, his gaze slowly passing over his eldest son Zhu Hehao and his fifth brother Zhu Cihuan, "is that our Heavenly Alliance must have a Heavenly Army ready at all times to obey the orders of the Heavenly Alliance Assembly and the four branch assemblies... We cannot let frontline tributary states such as the United States, the Qing State, the Western Chu State, the Dzungar State, the Malacca State, and the Phuket State bear alone the military duties and military expenses of resisting powerful enemies. Military duties and military expenses must be apportioned among all the states belonging to the Heavenly Alliance, according to the size of their populations and the amount of their revenues.

Of course, each state — especially the chief presiding states and lesser presiding states of the Heavenly Alliance, as well as the states on the frontier — must still maintain strong armies of its own. Survival or extinction cannot be left entirely to the Heavenly Alliance and the Heavenly Army.

And the Heavenly Army has two uses. First, when a tributary state is at war with a foreign enemy, it fights together with that state's soldiers and people. Second, it carries out the Heavenly Punishment Orders of the Heavenly Alliance Assembly, sanctioning tributary states that violate the *Charter of the Celestial Court Alliance*, or suppressing disloyal traitors within tributary states!"

At these words, the kings and chief ministers of the Great Ming's tributary states present all secretly drew a cold breath... Heavenly Punishment! The very sound of it was terrifying!

"Imperial Brother," asked the King of Qing, Zhu Cihuan, somewhat guiltily, "what exactly counts as violating the *Charter of the Celestial Court Alliance*? And who decides?"

Zhu Cilang shot him a glance and thought to himself: Wanting to "enter Mexico City and scheme to become emperor" is a violation of the *Charter of the Celestial Court Alliance*!

It turned out that this Zhu Cihuan was also a tributary king who actively sought advancement... He had begun as the Commandery-Prince-level "Jiaqing King," and after many years of patient endurance, had finally worn away the "Jia" and become the Prince-level King of Qing. But he and his wife and children were still not satisfied, and had set themselves the grand goal of "entering Mexico City and scheming to become emperor" — wanting to turn the "King of Qing" into the "Emperor of Qing."

Because of this matter, the three brothers Zhu Hehao, Zhu Hekun, and Zhu Hezhen of the United States had made no few secret reports to Zhu Cilang. Zhu Cilang had also secretly ordered Xu Zhengrong, the King of Kyushu, who had close ties to warrior groups within the Jiaqing State, and Xu Laichang, the King of Japan, to send people to investigate — and in the end the truth of the three brothers' secret reports had been confirmed.

However, Zhu Cilang had no intention of sanctioning the Qing State, still less any thought of sending troops to chastise it, and had simply shelved the matter... In any case, entering Mexico City was no easy thing, and it was estimated that Zhu Cilang would never hear this good news in his lifetime.

But the rule that the Heavenly Alliance would sanction the disloyal had to be established while Zhu Cilang was still on the throne!

"What exactly counts as violating the *Charter of the Celestial Court Alliance* — after we send it to our father, we can discuss it slowly!" said Zhu Cilang. "There must always be a method that can win general acceptance... What needs to be settled now is still the grand policy. Because from now on the Great Ming is only the elder brother of the Hua-Xia, no longer the father of the Hua-Xia. Therefore the matter of Heavenly Punishment must be deliberated jointly by the five presiding states of the Heavenly Alliance Assembly — it cannot be decided by the Great Ming alone!"

The five great hooligans, after all, had to deliberate together!

Zhu Cihuan glanced at his fine nephew Zhu Hehao and said no more — in any case, the Qing State was far from the emperor's reach, and its national strength and military power were not weak; it was no soft persimmon for others to squeeze at will... As long as he did not openly raise the banner of emperor, there should be no Heavenly Punishment.

Emperor Zhu continued: "In the past there was no Heavenly Alliance, no Charter, and no Heavenly Army... and so quite a few conflicts between tributary states occurred, and from time to time tributary states or city lords submitted memorials weeping and complaining. We dealt with some of them, but for the most part We smoothed things over. But from now on we have a Charter, a Heavenly Alliance, and a Heavenly Army. If anyone again uses the great to bully the small, relies on strength to oppress the weak, rashly starts private wars, or wantonly slaughters the innocent... heh heh, then let them not blame the Heavenly Punishment for being merciless!"

Zhu Cilang's harsh words came down, and the rulers and ministers of the tributary states below, each harboring their own thoughts, exchanged glances — and one and all put on the appearance of loyal subjects and filial sons.

Emperor Zhu nodded with satisfaction: To know one's faults and be able to correct them — that makes a good child... Of course, internal strife is human nature! So the *Grand Charter of the Heavenly Alliance* would not be drawn up too rigidly. As long as the tributary states and city-states below could find a just and honorable reason, they could attack one another!

However, warfare among the Hua-Xia had to follow rules: it must not harm the common people, must not interrupt trade, must not kill prisoners, must not exterminate the defeated side, and still less must it annex territory without the permission of the Heavenly Alliance Assembly — the Heavenly Alliance Assembly in principle would of course not support annexation, so the result of Hua-Xia warfare could only be the replacement of the defeated state's monarch, not the absorption of the defeated state into the victor... And the transfer of tributary states and city-states would henceforth also be subject to the supervision of the Heavenly Alliance; they could not simply be sold off at will.

Having thought this far, Zhu Cilang glanced at the sky. The sun was nearly overhead, and today's grand court assembly had gone on long enough; the matters of the Heavenly Alliance, the Heavenly Punishment, and the Heavenly Army had all been spoken of.

As for the specific treaties, they would have to wait until after Chongzhen was sent off, and then let Lucky go and negotiate them slowly with the people below!