Chapter 686: The Outsourcing Contractor for Aggression and Expansion Business

In the capital Thang Long, Emperor Le still had a few supporters — Thang Long was close to China and more deeply influenced by Confucian thought, and there were quite a few bookish pedants who truly regarded Emperor Le as the Emperor of the Great Viet!

But here in Thanh Hoa Prefecture, the Trinh clan's old stronghold, people knew only the Trinh and knew nothing of the Le!

So if the Trinh lord Trinh Trang wanted him to hang himself from a beam in the Thanh Do Prince's mansion, he would simply have to obediently string himself up.

If he strung himself up, at least he would die cleanly; if he did not, he would be beaten half to death and then strung up anyway — that was how his father had died. These days, he did not know what was wrong with him, but the moment he closed his eyes he dreamed of his father Le Duy Tan, beaten black and blue, then hoisted up alive...

The previous Trinh lord, Trinh Tung, had stood to one side roaring with laughter — where was the slightest semblance of a subject and minister?

Even a treacherous minister, even a Cao Cao, could not be so utterly devoid of decorum, could he?

And these days Le Duy Ky had also heard whispers that the Ming Prince of Yunnan, who had occupied Thang Long, had come to Annam bearing a secret edict from the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming to uphold justice.

Oh, that is, to uphold justice for the Le king!

In the future one could no longer openly murder a sovereign; if one had to kill, it must be done in secret!

But Le Duy Ky felt not the slightest gratitude toward Zhu Cilang, because he knew that the Zhu Emperor's meddling would very likely get him killed. He might have been able to drag out a few more years of life; now he might well die at any moment.

Because Trinh Trang, like his father Trinh Tung, was a ruthless man who feared neither heaven nor law! Killing an emperor or two — he would not so much as furrow his brow.

So Le Duy Ky, having learned from the lesson of his father Le Duy Tan's gruesome death, was utterly obedient to Trinh Trang — a model filial son! Oh, more filial than a filial son; at least Trinh Trang's own son was far more filial!

How could Trinh Tac compare with him? Trinh Tac could hold his chest high before his father, and he often talked back to the old man... Old Trinh had only gotten Trinh Tac in middle age and spoiled him beyond measure; he could not bear to make him hang himself.

If anything happened to Trinh Tac, would the old man not weep himself to death?

But Le Duy Ky was not worth nearly so much... The last time Trinh Trang spoke of chastising the Nguyen lord, Le Duy Ky had kindly reminded him that the Truong Duc ramparts would be hard to take, and that had infuriated old Trinh, who cursed him out in front of the ministers and told him to abdicate at once!

How could Le Duy Ky dare say no? He immediately yielded the throne to his son Le Duy Huu, and he had to do it joyfully, without the slightest hesitation.

Even so, his life still hung by a thread; at any moment a noose could end it.

Just as he was waiting for death without a word of complaint, good news — oh, it should be called bad news — arrived. His son Le Duy Huu had somehow died in the army... Le Duy Huu had no son to succeed him, and Le Duy Ky had no other sons, so he had no choice but to return to the furnace and become emperor again.

But Le Duy Ky still lived in terror... He had no son, but he did have nephews!

Perhaps Trinh Trang would hang him because of the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming's meddling, and put one of his nephews on the throne — Le Duy Ky's nephews had no blood feud with the Trinh clan, after all!

The very thought of being hanged made it hard for Le Duy Ky to breathe, but he dared not refuse to see Trinh Trang, nor even dare to walk slowly; panting all the way, he reached the great hall.

Upon entering the hall he first looked at the ceiling... no hanging rope!

Good, good...

"This subject, the Marquis of Hoai Khanh, Vo Cong Duc, greets the Governor-General!"

Someone saluted Le Duy Ky, though without kneeling — only a bow with clasped hands.

Le Duy Ky was startled, looking at a military officer before him dressed in a Ming python robe. "You say you are..."

"The Marquis of Hoai Khanh, Vo Cong Duc!"

"Then who is the Governor-General?" Le Duy Ky asked again.

"You!" Trinh Trang said irritably from the side.

Oh, another abdication... The emperor was gone, and now he had become a Governor-General; who knew how many more days he had to live?

Le Duy Ky looked pitifully at Trinh Trang. "Prince of Thanh Do, We — no, I mean, to whom should I yield the throne?"

"Yield the throne?" Trinh Trang glared at him. "Yield what throne? You are the Governor-General of Annam, appointed by the Great Ming!"

"Me? I am Governor-General... it seems there was such a thing." Only then did Le Duy Ky breathe a sigh of relief, though he did not dare go sit on the imperial throne, and instead stood talking with Trinh Trang. "Then do I still serve as emperor?"

"Serve as what?" Old Trinh's eyes glared. "Even the Ming Prince of Yunnan cannot be emperor, and you still want to? That Prince of Yunnan wants to make you a city lord — Lord of Thang Long City. Do you want to go?"

City lord?

A city lord who truly had authority? Or merely the master of Thang Long Prefecture's city?

Tears welled in Le Duy Ky's eyes — the Ming Prince of Yunnan was truly a good prince! It was a pity he himself was not fated to enjoy his kindness.

"I do not want to go!" Le Duy Ky said through gritted teeth. "I am perfectly fine here in Thanh Hoa; I am not going anywhere..."

"Not going is not an option!" Trinh Trang said coldly. "The Prince of Yunnan has said that from now on our Trinh clan, the Nguyen of Quang Nam, the Mac of Cao Bang, and the Vo of Tuyen Quang shall jointly govern Annam and jointly protect you, the Le king!"

Was this real?

Le Duy Ky was stunned. What day was today? How could such a good thing happen?

No, no... impossible. Trinh Trang must be testing me.

"I will not go!" Le Duy Ky said. "I will stay with the Prince of Thanh Do."

"Hmph!" Trinh Trang snorted. "Stop pretending... I will not keep you any longer. I have already drafted a memorial to the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming, requesting enfeoffment as Marquis of Thanh Hoa. Once it is granted, I will let you go!"

Could he really leave? Le Duy Ky, eyes brimming with tears, looked at the grim-faced Trinh lord.

Trinh Trang snorted again. "You too shall submit a memorial, requesting enfeoffment as King of Annam... You can no longer be Emperor of the Great Viet. From now on, at most you will be King of Annam!"

"King even within the country?"

"Of course!" Trinh Trang said through clenched teeth. "In the future there will be Ming officials in Thang Long protecting you... Could you still shut the gates and play emperor?"

What? Ming officials to protect him as well?

Le Duy Ky was wild with joy inside!

Now all was well — he would not die... A true lord of a prefecture, with endless wealth and honor to enjoy!

Long live the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming, long live, long live for ten thousand years!

In his heart he was already shouting "ten thousand years"!

The memorials of Le Duy Ky, Trinh Trang, and Vo Cong Duc, along with another memorial from Zhu Cizhao, were quickly sent by sea to Guangzhou, and then rushed by 600-li express relay all the way to Nanjing. About twenty days later, they lay upon Zhu Cilang's imperial desk.

The Zhu Emperor himself found it somewhat hard to believe... Was Annam truly returning to the fold?

Although it had been raised from a Governor-General's office to a kingdom, and had shifted from internal territory to external vassal.

Yet the Great Ming could now dispatch a Regent to Thang Long, and the Regent could bring troops and take responsibility for protecting the King of Annam!

This meant that Annam had become a true vassal state of the Great Ming, and its ruler could no longer call himself emperor!

Moreover, with a garrison and a Regent in place, the King of Annam could rely on the Great Ming for survival, which in turn made him the Great Ming's representative in Annam.

Perhaps in the future Annam will become as submissive as Joseon, even if it cannot yet be turned into a vassal state administered as commanderies and counties. But considering Annam's national strength and their record of repeatedly resisting the northern dynasty, becoming a loyal vassal state is still a very good outcome.

With this vassal state, the Great Ming will henceforth be able to use it as a rear base and continue expanding in Southeast Asia.

Thinking this far, the Zhu Emperor gently set down Li Weiqi's memorial, then looked with a smile at the senior ministers attending the joint Two-Palace conference before the throne.

"Excellent... Annam has been wrangling with us for two hundred years, and now it has finally submitted!" Zhu Cilang said with a laugh. "Since Annam has submitted, the gate to our dynasty's southward advance has been thrown wide open."

He paused. "Since the Le King is to return to Thang Long, exchanging Thang Long for Champa is no longer suitable. We shall exchange Xin'an Prefecture for it instead. Henceforth the southern Nguyen will have a coastal foothold in the north, and can maintain contact with Phu Xuan by sea. If necessary, troops can also be dispatched from Xin'an Prefecture to rally to the throne, and the grand arrangement of four lords jointly safeguarding the Le King will be settled."

The Le King will be delighted — from now on, four masters will dote on him together...

Zhu Cilang continued: "As for the Prince of Yunnan, his merit this time is not small, sufficient to offset his past faults. Order him to lead his troops south by sea to pacify the kingdom of Champa. After Champa is pacified, he shall be reassigned as Commandery Prince of Rinan and Military Commissioner of the Tranquil Sea Army, garrisoning the land of Champa. And the land of Champa shall be established as the Tranquil Sea Army defense command!"