Chapter 1028: Vassal States

"Are you saying we should abandon Southeast China?" Gaole'er nearly jumped up. "Does the Coalition only guarantee the interests of your Britain?"

"Of course we are not abandoning Southeast China, Gaole'er. You must understand, only if the Coalition can ultimately achieve victory will it be possible for your Southeast China to be taken back, for Folangji's Luzon and our Australia to be taken back as well. Otherwise, we will all lose our interests in Dongtu," Wesley retorted loudly.

Upon hearing this, Gaole'er's expression shifted several times. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly sat down.

Wesley breathed a slight sigh of relief, and his tone softened significantly.

Looking toward the generals of the various nations, he said, "The situation is urgent and does not allow for any more rifts within our Coalition. In order to annihilate the Great Song army, we must be united as one."

The generals nodded one after another.

At present, Britain was the most powerful nation in the Western Lands.

Within the Coalition, the generals of the various nations naturally took Britain as their center.

Most importantly, they also agreed with Wesley's reasoning.

If they abandoned the defensive fortifications they had painstakingly colluded to build during this time and fought the Great Song army in Jiaozhi or Piaoman, it would undoubtedly be equivalent to abandoning their own advantages.

"Gentlemen, our world of light has suffered an invasion from the darkness. Now, every one of us bears the heavy responsibility of resisting the continued spread of this darkness. For this, we must not hesitate to sacrifice our lives. Please also go back and tell your soldiers: this is the front line, and you must protect this place just as you would protect your own countries." Wesley suddenly raised his voice again, speaking with great emotion.

"Long live the Western Lands!"

As his voice fell, one general suddenly shouted.

"Long live the Western Lands!" another general shouted.

"Let us send the Great Song people and their dog king to hell together. We of the Western Lands are invincible!" Gaole'er slammed the table.

Right now, he wished he could swallow the Great Song army in Southeast China whole.

Immediately after, he thought of something else and asked, "Then what about our eight thousand Frankish soldiers in Jiaozhi?"

Wesley turned to look at the map behind him and pointed to the narrow strip of land north of Malacca, saying, "Withdraw them and station them at this position."

Gaole'er nodded.

The number of Great Song troops heading south this time was vast; the eight thousand Frankish soldiers could not possibly withstand the edge of their blades.

Rather than staying in Jin'ou County waiting for death, it was better to withdraw and join forces with the other armies of the Coalition.

Having discussed this matter, Wesley ordered the reinforcement of defenses in the direction bordering the Piaoman Kingdom, while simultaneously dispatching a large number of Tianzhu native troops to the western side to fight alongside the Coalition.

Although the native troops of Jiaozhi and Piaoman had disappointed them greatly, having them was far better than having none at all.

Furthermore, they had managed Tianzhu for many years and considered it deeply influenced by Britain, possessing a shadow of Britain.

This would allow the Tianzhu native troops to coordinate quite well with the British soldiers, and they would certainly not fail like the native troops organized by the Franks.

The meeting adjourned.

Gaole'er immediately sent orders to the Frankish army in Jin'ou, telling them to withdraw through the territory of Siam before the Great Song army had completely occupied Southeast China.

While the Western Lands Coalition was making its response, the steps of the Azure Dragon Army and the Vermilion Bird Army did not stall.

The Azure Dragon Army marched south all the way, taking one Jiaozhi city after another with almost no effort, and brought them under military administration.

The Vermilion Bird Army was the same, as the main Piaoman army had been annihilated.

The entire Piaoman Kingdom was extremely weak, and the cities they encountered had no decent resistance forces at all.

Basically, wherever they went, they could bring that place under military administration.

And at this time, Zhao Xu arrived in Jiaozhi by steamship and went straight to the Imperial Palace in Hanoi.

Qin Shan received this news and returned immediately.

At this moment, he was in Jin'ou County, and the Azure Dragon Army had already taken the entire territory of Jiaozhi.

"Your Highness!"

Returning to Hanoi, Qin Shan went immediately to the Jiaozhi Imperial Palace.

After Yan Wang arrived, he rested there.

Seeing Zhao Xu in the main hall, he immediately performed a military salute.

Zhao Xu returned the salute, a smile appearing on his face. "You have worked hard."

"It is no hardship."

Qin Shan was a man of a dull temperament, and his speech was honest. He laughed, "With battles to fight, the soldiers are all very happy, and they are grateful in their hearts to Your Highness for giving our Azure Dragon Army this opportunity."

Zhao Xu heard this and laughed softly. "The soldiers' fighting spirit is high, which is good. This is just an appetizer; there will be a main course soon."

Qin Shan was stirred with excitement. "Is Your Highness speaking of the Western Lands Coalition?"

"Yes." Zhao Xu nodded.

He had his own reasons for being in a hurry to drive the Westerners out of Dongtu.

In his plan, he wanted to first integrate the resources of all of Dongtu and establish a trade circle with Great Song at its center.

Within this trade circle, Tianzhu was a very important point.

After all, Tianzhu had a population similar to Great Song and was no small market.

But the Westerners had invaded the Southern Region and Tianzhu, and relying on this place as a forward fortress, they harbored evil intentions toward Great Song. How could he establish the East Lands Trade Circle?

And if the trade circle could not be established, the trade of Great Song would be affected.

During this southern inspection, he had seen one Workshop District after another.

These Workshop Districts were bursting with enormous production capacity.

After satisfying the domestic market, if they were not found a market, they would wither like flowers lacking nutrients.

Therefore, he needed a safe and stable region, not a turbulent one.

"Hmph, this general will certainly make them regret coming to Dongtu," Qin Shan said coldly.

Zhao Xu patted him on the shoulder. "Let's not talk about this for now. Before dealing with the Westerners, we should let Jiaozhi, Piaoman, Funan, Nanzhang, and Siam stabilize and return to Great Song."

Qin Shan nodded.

At present, they were implementing military administration in Jiaozhi.

This was fine for suppressing the Jiaozhi people for the time being, but in the long run, it was hard to guarantee that incidents of the Jiaozhi people resisting Great Song's rule would not occur.

It is necessary to think of a long-term method to stabilize the Southeast, while also maximizing the interests of Great Song.

Once, Yan Wang said he wanted to incorporate Jiaozhi into the territory of Great Song.

As for how to incorporate it? He also did not understand.

So he said, "I wonder what perfect solution Your Highness has."

Zhao Xu pondered for a moment and smiled, "Coming south all this way, I have thought a lot; regarding the Southeast Five Nations, and even the countries of the Southern Region, I believe they should be handled this way."

After a pause, he said: "But generally speaking, I believe we cannot be crude; we must boil the frog in warm water to achieve our goal."

Then he told Qin Shan his thoughts.

In the contemporary era, the Tributary System established by the Ming Dynasty was actually very successful.

The most successful among them was the relationship between the Li family's Chaoxian and the Ming Dynasty.

Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang bestowed the country name Chaoxian, and since then, a Tributary System more advanced than the Tribute System was established between Chaoxian and the Ming Dynasty.

Chaoxian's official script was henceforth Chinese characters, its institutions were also copies of the Ming Dynasty, and the monarch of Chaoxian only styled themselves as King, not Emperor.

Only the Emperor of Great Ming was the true Emperor; they were equivalent to vassal kings and vassal states.

This is what a Tributary System is.

Therefore, for the Southeast Five Nations and even the countries of the Southern Region, he also prepared to establish such a relationship.

Great Song would only establish a Protectorate to station troops for supervision, while internal affairs would be managed by their own people, avoiding an increase in the governance costs of Great Song.

At the same time, in Dongtu, apart from Great Song, all countries may only style themselves as Kings, not Emperors.

Great Song will exist as the suzerain state of all countries, and other countries will all be vassal states, honoring the Emperor of Great Song as the sole Emperor, just like the title of Heavenly Khan of Li Shimin.

This is the same principle as the British Commonwealth countries honoring the British Queen as the sole Queen.

But this is not imitation; it is inherently a characteristic of Dongtu.

After establishing this system, he would promote the culture and institutions of Great Song within the tributary circle, using influence to improve civilian relations and make the vassal states feel close to Great Song.

When the time is ripe, he will then incorporate vassal states like Jiaozhi, which were originally territories of Great Song, into Great Song.

As for why not incorporate them all into Great Song?

The reason is also very simple: governing a country requires costs, and once you take them in, you are responsible for them.

If you take them in and a place is dirt poor, asking you for money and grain, do you give it or not?

If you don't give it, they will cause trouble and rebel, and then you will have to go and suppress the rebellion.

But if the vassal states are self-governing, it is simple: whether you eat dirt or meat, or if the people in your country fight until their brains spill out, even if you change leaders, as long as you submit to Great Song, nothing else matters.

Therefore, it is better to let these countries be self-governing while remaining subordinate to Great Song, achieving a state of balance that maximizes interests.

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