Chapter 5: Sweeping Across the Land

  Let's go back to the era of Yongle Emperor, under Zhu Di's rule, the country was at peace and prosperous, with projects such as book compilation, capital relocation, and maritime expeditions proceeding in an orderly manner. At that time, China was one of the most powerful countries in Asia and even the world. If we consider that the Eastern Roman Empire was on its last legs, the Hundred Years' War between England and France was still ongoing, the Habsburg family was strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and the Holy Roman Empire was fragmented, it seems we can also remove the word "one of" from the previous sentence.

  We often have a question, that is how to get the respect of other countries and their people, to be proud in the world. The answer is very simple - a strong country.

  Tomorrow is a typical example in this respect.

  Since the mid-Yuan Dynasty, after the decline of national power, the Mongol Empire that once spanned Eurasia had become an empty shell. The Yuan emperor became a nominal ruler, and many countries no longer came to pay tribute, even cutting off contact.

  A sick tiger is not even a tiger, let alone a cat.

  Since Zhu Yuanzhang took over, he worked hard to develop production and the national strength gradually became stronger. By the time Zhu Di succeeded him, the Ming Empire rose to great heights and its reputation spread far and wide.

  Then those envoys from various countries who had been "missing" for a long time appeared one after another, making offerings and paying homage. However, you must not take these superficial rituals seriously. You should know that after they make offerings and pay homage, there will be returns, namely the bestowal of "silk, gauze, gold, silver, and other precious things". If a country is not prosperous and has no money, do you think they would still come to pay homage to you?

  Previously, we mentioned that during the Hongwu period, Korea became a vassal state of the Ming dynasty. Since then, whenever Korea wanted to establish a crown prince or a new king, they had to inform the Ming emperor first and obtain his permission and formal investiture before it could take effect. In the first year of Yongle, the newly enthroned King Yi Bang-won sent an envoy to China to pay tribute, and this practice remained unchanged for over two hundred years afterwards.

  After Zheng He's voyage to the Western Ocean, many Southeast Asian countries also came to pay tribute, but some of these countries had a very special way of paying tribute.

  It is said that tributes can be paid by sending a high-ranking official as an envoy, but the envoys of some countries are actually their kings!

  According to statistics, during the Yongle period alone, envoys from Southeast Asian and African countries related to Zheng He's voyage to the Western Ocean came to China more than 300 times, with an average of over 10 times per year, a grand occasion unprecedented in history. The delegations from Brunei, Malacca, Sulu, and Kalamantan were all led by their kings whenever they visited China, and these kings' visits were not like those of today's heads of state who stay for two or three days before leaving. They would often stay for one or two months, bringing with them hundreds of delegation members to enjoy good food and entertainment before departing. It was more like a sightseeing tour group than an official delegation.

  What's even more astonishing is yet to come, in this series of events, as many as three kings died of illness during their visit to China, and what's even more unbelievable is that they were so enamored with China that they all expressed a desire to be buried on Chinese soil in their wills. The Ming government respected their wishes and gave them a grand burial according to the rites for princes.

  As a monarch of a country, after death, you would rather be buried in a foreign land in China than return to your hometown, which shows the attraction of the Great Ming Dynasty back then.

  In addition, the three countries of the Ryukyu Islands at that time: Chūzan, Sanzan and Hokuzan also sent envoys to China to pay tribute. Among them, Chūzan was the strongest and came first, while Sanzan and Hokuzan were also very active, not only paying regular tribute but also sending many official children to China to study advanced culture.

  Another Asian country that is also worth mentioning in terms of tribute is Japan, which has had a lot of dealings with China in modern times.

  Among the countless tributary envoys at that time, there was also a Japanese presence. In the first year of Yongle, the actual ruler of Japan, Minamoto no Yoshimochi, sent an envoy to China to pay tribute. At that time, many countries paid tribute, and most were peaceful and uneventful, but Japan's tributary mission encountered problems.

  What was the problem? It turned out that at that time, the Ming government allowed foreign envoys to carry weapons, but these Japanese tribute groups were different from others. Not only did they wear swords themselves, but they also often carried large quantities of weapons into the country. After completing their diplomatic mission, they even privately sold the large number of warrior swords they had brought with them in the market, and made some extra money on the side (probably because they didn't have anything else to sell). According to today's customs and business administration, this behavior is carrying prohibited goods beyond reasonable personal use, and selling without a business license, and should be punished. Minister Li Zhigang suggested that the violators be arrested and detained for two days to teach them a lesson.

  On this matter, Zhu Di showed an enlightened attitude, thinking that the Japanese had taken great risks to come so far and therefore approved their public sale of arms in the market (foreigners came to pay tribute, braving dangers...it is not appropriate to obstruct them).

  Some friends may have noticed that in the previous text, we did not say the King of Japan or the Emperor of Japan, but used a term - the actual ruler. Because later we will have a lot to do with this country called Japan, here is an explanation of why it is called that way. Next, we will temporarily leave the Ming Dynasty and enter Japanese history.

  In Japan, the emperor was always the supreme ruler, but the emperor's actual reign was not long, and real power often rested in the hands of ministers who owned land and soldiers, they were the true rulers of this country. By the 13th century, with the occurrence of an event, this tendency further deepened.

  This event is the famous Genpei War in Japanese history. The two families of Minamoto and Taira were both well-known samurai families in Japan. At that time, the leader of the Minamoto family, Minamoto no Yoritomo, defeated the Taira family with the help of his brother, the legendary figure Minamoto no Yoshitsune, and gained control over Japan.

  Minamoto no Yoritomo was a famous politician in Japanese history, and Tokugawa Ieyasu later idolized him. In order to better control the government, he established a shogunate outside of Kyoto as a base for samurai rule. Since the shogunate was built in Kamakura, it is called the Kamakura Shogunate in Japanese history. Minamoto no Yoritomo also gave himself a special title - Sei-i Taishōgun, which is the origin of the Shogun in later Japanese history.

  The Minamoto no Yoshimochi who came to pay tribute during the Yongle era was indeed the shogun of Japan at that time. Of course, in the historical records of the Ming and Qing dynasties, there is no mention of a "shogun" of Japan. As for this general with a complicated origin, all Chinese history books uniformly refer to him as the "King of Japan", which is also reasonable, after all, no matter how messy or complicated the titles are, it's still Japan's own business.

  It was for this reason that Japan's national politics and issuance of edicts (including the declaration of war) were carried out by the shoguns or regents who held actual power (such as Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was not a shogun but a kampaku).

  Of course, except for those brothers who launched the First Sino-Japanese War and the invasion of China (after the Meiji Restoration, the Emperor had already grasped real power).

  But at that time, in front of the powerful Ming Dynasty, Japan still showed a relatively friendly attitude, although this friendship was only superficial and temporary.

  In the third year of Yongle (1405), a Japanese envoy was sent to pay tribute to the Ming court. At that time, there were many Japanese pirates along China's coast, who frequently robbed and killed people, setting fires everywhere. Zhu Di was furious and severely interrogated the Japanese envoy, instructing him to take a message back to the King of Japan (the Shogun).

  Take good care of this matter. In today's diplomatic language, it should be said that if Japan does not take care of it, all the consequences will be borne by the Japanese side and so on. If Zhu Di speaks straightforwardly according to his character, it is equivalent to saying that if you don't take care of it, I'll take care of it for you.

  At that time, the Japanese general was a clever man. He understood the meaning of Zhu Di's words and immediately dispatched troops to eliminate those who were causing trouble. He also captured twenty ringleaders and handed them over to China. Zhu Di was very satisfied with this outcome, and he also gave face to the Japanese general by allowing him to take these people back to Japan for punishment.

  But Zhu Di did not expect that when the envoy arrived in Ningbo, he felt that these people were too troublesome to bring along, taking up space and consuming food, so he solved them locally, still using a relatively special method - "steaming to death".

  This incident shows that Japan was very aware of the situation at that time.

  But the good times did not last long, and soon after, the Ming Dynasty sent an envoy to Japan, but the Japanese shogun privately detained the Ming envoy. After that, Japan stopped paying tribute to the Ming Dynasty, and the relationship between the two countries fell to a low point.

  Generally speaking, most countries at that time had a very harmonious relationship with the Ming Dynasty. In the northwest of the Ming Empire, various Western Regions also restored contact with the Ming Dynasty and began to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.

  At this time, the Ming Dynasty, although its territory was not as large as that of the Yuan Dynasty, it had already reached Mongolia in the north, the Western Regions in the west, controlled the Jurchen in the northeast, and owned Tibet in the southwest. It also had Korea and Annan (now Vietnam) as vassal states, and its influence and control extended far and wide to all corners of the world.

  Such a vast territory, such great influence, at that time the Great Ming had already become a powerful empire comparable to Han and Tang.

  The people under the rule of the Great Ming Empire finally got rid of war and wandering, no longer fearing the invasion of alien tribes, because this powerful nation was enough to make them proud and say:

  I am a subject of the Great Ming.

  The Conspiracy of the Southwest Border

  Although the Ming Empire was very powerful, there were still some troublesome neighbors who brought a little trouble, and the earliest place where trouble appeared was Annan.

  Annem (now Vietnam), also known as Jiaozhi, was part of China during the Han and Tang dynasties. By the Five Dynasties period, the Central Plains were in chaos, and no one had time to govern it, so Annam became independent but remained a vassal state of China with close ties. During the Ming dynasty's Hongwu era, Zhu Yuanzhang once conferred titles on the king of Annam, Chen Shi, and relations between the two countries were good. From then on, Annam followed Korea's example in paying tribute to the Great Ming court, and whenever a new king ascended to the throne or other major events occurred, they would report to the Ming emperor and only confirm their legitimacy after receiving formal investiture.

  However, during the Jianwen Emperor's reign, Annam's tranquility was disrupted by a shocking event that occurred within its borders. Due to someone timely blocking the news, Ming China remained completely unaware of it.

  In the first year of Yongle, the king of Annam sent envoys to pay their respects as usual. Zhu Di and officials from the Ministry of Rites were surprised to find that in the tribute documents, the king of Annam was no longer surnamed Chen but Hu. The document also claimed that the Chen family had no descendants, he himself was the nephew of the Chen family, and was enthroned as king by the people, requesting investiture from the Ming emperor.

  This document seemed to be flawless, and the matter appeared to be reasonable, but Zhu Di, with his rich political experience, felt that there must be a problem, so he dispatched officials from the Ministry of Rites to Annan to investigate the truth.

  The official dispatched was named Yang Bo, who arrived in Annan with his retinue. For some unknown reason, he made a circuit of Annan and upon returning to the court verified that what the king of Annan had said was true without any fabrication.

  Zhu Di then believed him and formally invested him as King of Annam.

  So Annan's secret was continued to be covered up.

  In hindsight, this Yang Bo either committed a formalist error or accepted bribes.

  But the truth will eventually come to light.

  In the second year of Yongle, a minister of Annam named Bùi Bá K? suddenly appeared in China and said he had an urgent matter to report to the emperor. He was immediately sent to the capital, where after being received by Zhu Di, he finally spoke out the truth about the Annan incident as a witness.

  Originally during the Jianwen Emperor's reign, Annam's Chancellor Lê Quy Ly suddenly revolted, killing the original king and his supporting ministers. Afterwards, he changed his name to H? Hán Th??ng and passed on the throne to his son H? (H? above, mutual below). He then designed a scheme to deceive the Ming emperor, cheating him out of a title.

  Pei Boqi was indeed a first-class loyal minister. His words brought tears to the eyes of all who heard them. He also wrote a letter, which contained several moving sentences: "I, your humble servant, dare to emulate the loyalty of Shen Baoxu, and with sorrowful cries, I beg that you will send out an army to avenge my lord's death, to continue the legacy of the deceased emperor, to eliminate the treacherous and evil ones, and to restore the Chen dynasty. Even in death, I will not be forgotten!"

  Pei Bohai spoke eloquently, but the effect was not very good. Zhu Di was a seasoned politician who had experienced many political storms and was also skeptical of this statement. Moreover, from Pei Bohai's letter, it is clear that his intention was to borrow the Ming army to conquer Annan, which was a big deal, and Zhu Di would not have sent troops just by listening to one side of the story. Therefore, Zhu Di did not take immediate action, but arranged for Pei Bohai to stay first and discuss later.

  However, in August of the same year, another unexpected visitor broke Zhu Di's silence.

  This man was Chen Tianping, the younger brother of the former king of Annan, and he also came to the capital and confirmed what Pei Boyu had said.

  This put Zhu Dian in a difficult position. If what the two men said was true, then this would be a serious political incident and troops would have to be sent out. But who could guarantee that they were not lying? The current King of Annan already had the power in his hands and would naturally deny Chen Tianping's statement. How could the truth or falsehood be determined?

  Moreover, the most important issue is that Zhu Di had never met Chen Tianping before, and to him, this so-called Chen Tianping was just a person with an unknown origin. If he were to listen to his words, send troops to escort him back to his country, and finally confirm that he was an imposter, the great Ming Empire would lose face and it would be difficult to restore order.

  This is indeed a political conundrum.

  However, Zhu Di was Zhu Di, and he came up with a brilliant idea that solved the problem.

  At the end of each year, various countries would come to pay their respects in advance, to wish the Great Ming a smooth and peaceful new year, with national prosperity and people's safety. Annan was no exception, and at the end of this year, Annan's envoys came to the capital of the Ming Dynasty as usual, to pay tribute to Zhu Di, but they never expected that a good show was waiting for them.

  The ministers came into the palace, just about to make their obeisance, when Zhu Di, seated on the throne, suddenly spoke up:

  "Take a look at this guy, do you still recognize him?"

  At this time, Chen Tianping stood up and looked at the envoys who came from Annan.

  After seeing the visitor clearly, the ministers were shocked and lost their color. Out of habit, they immediately knelt down, some even wailed and cried.

  Baebeogeun, who was standing by, was also furious. He stepped forward and rebuked the envoys, saying that they knew the current king was a usurper, but still served him, which made them unworthy of being human ministers. His words struck at the heart of the matter, leaving the Annan envoys terrified and unable to respond.

  The old Zhu Di immediately understood the truth of the matter from this scene, he slammed his hand on the table and severely scolded the Annan envoy for colluding with the treacherous ministers to deceive the great Ming dynasty.

  After understanding the situation, Zhu Di immediately issued an edict, severely criticizing the current King of Annan Hu (above big below mutual), and indicating that if this matter did not have a satisfactory reply, he would make him look good.

  The harsh words of Zhu Di were effective, and the reply from the current king of Annan, Hu, quickly arrived in the capital. In his letter, the king made a deep self-criticism, stating that he was only temporarily occupying the position and had not dared to change the national title or calendar era. He had now vacated the position and sincerely awaited Chen Tianping's return to inherit the throne.

  This answer was very satisfactory to Zhu Di, who also magnanimously declared that if he could do so, not only would he not hold him responsible, but he would also give him a fiefdom.

  Then, Zhu Di immediately arranged for Chen Tianpeng to return home.

  Although that's what he said, Zhu Di was a very astute person who knew well that verbal agreements and written documents were unreliable (thanks to his early experiences), because in those years he himself had never abided by these things.

  To ensure the smooth progress of things, he arranged for Shi Men and Guangxi General Huang Zhong to lead 5,000 people to escort Chen Tianping back to the country. According to Zhu Di's idea, Chen Tianping's succession was already a foregone conclusion.

  But what happened afterwards can be described in one word: shocking.

  After Huang Zhong escorted Chen Tianping to Annan, the Annan army actually set up an ambush under Huang Zhong's eyelids and killed Chen Tianping, and also killed the Ming dynasty envoy along the way, blocking the road and preventing the Ming army from advancing.

  The news reached the capital and Zhu Di was enraged, truly enraged.

  How dare you!

  It's one thing to be hypocritical, but to actually dare to kill the heir to the throne in front of the Ming army and even kill all the envoys sent by the Ming court at the same time!

  No revenge for this grudge, what's the use of the Great Ming! What's the use of raising troops!

  Annan Pingding War

  Killed Chen Tianping, Hu's father and son were at ease, all the descendants of Chen's family were killed, and they also took the opportunity to get rid of the Ming Dynasty envoy. He knew that the Ming Dynasty would come to settle accounts with him, but he had already arranged for troops to defend himself and set up checkpoints in key positions.

  As long as we occupy a favorable position and drag it out for a few more years, the Ming dynasty will have to recognize our status.

  This is the Hu father and son's abacus of intention.

  Although they were beaten like an abacus, they also understood that the Ming dynasty's anger and attack was not a joke, so they trained their troops day and night, set up defenses, and prepared to respond.

  But contrary to their expectations, after more than three months, there was no movement from the Ming dynasty side. Could it be that they thought the place was too remote and were unwilling to come?

  The Hú family, who had a lucky psychology, did not have much joy for long. The news of the war came, and the Ming army had officially set out to prepare for the attack on Annan.

  This was all within the expectations of the Hu father and son, so when their subordinates reported on the military situation to them, the two still pretended to be calm, indicating that all defensive preparations had been made and there was nothing to fear.

  The reason why the father and son can still pretend to be calm is that they don't know that the Ming army will attack them in three months.

  That's because there were too many troops and they needed time to mobilize.

  How many troops need to be mobilized for several months?

  Three hundred thousand.

  Of course, according to the military's habit, there is also a claimed number. This time, the Ming army had 300,000 men, while Annan claimed to have 800,000. When the Hu father and son heard this number from their subordinates, they almost fainted.

  The commander of this large army was General Zhu Neng, a man we have introduced many times before. Letting him go on the expedition shows how much importance Zhu Di attaches to this matter. Zhu Di hopes that Zhu Neng can carry forward his fearless spirit after the Jingnan campaign and solve the problem once and for all.

  Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Zhu Neng probably didn't expect that not only would he fail to complete the task, but he wouldn't even catch a glimpse of Annan's shadow.

  Ming army's action plan was to divide into two routes, one route with Zhu Neng as the commander-in-chief, marching from Guangxi, and the other route led by Mu Sheng, marching from Yunnan.

  This is a time-honored military strategy, whenever attacking Annan, it must be attacked from two routes, Guangxi and Yunnan, which has almost become a fixed routine, used from ancient times to the present.

  But unexpectedly, Zhu Neng fell ill on the way and died after emergency treatment failed. This is not surprising, as it took three months for the army to march from Guangxi. Along the way, Zhu Neng's energy was almost exhausted in that earth-shaking battle, and it was too much to ask him to participate in another war, he should have rested.

  Zhu Neng's position was vacated, and the one who replaced him was not an outsider. This person was Zhang Yu's son, Zhang Fu, whom Zhu Di called "the first meritorious subject of the Jingnan campaign".

  It was a daunting task, as Zhu's sudden death had caused many to worry about the prospects of war, and whether this man with far less prestige than Zhu could fill the position of commander-in-chief.

  Fortunately, at this critical moment, Zhang Yu seemed to have possessed Zhang Fu's body. Zhang Fu inherited Zhang Yu's excellent tradition and in this war, he was not fighting alone.

  After taking over the commander position, Zhang Fu faced distrustful gazes from his subordinates and convened the first military meeting. During this meeting, he elaborated on the combat guidelines and plans, with steps so meticulous and precise that they won the admiration of his subordinates. At the end of the meeting, Zhang Fu said: "In the past, when King Ping (Chang Yuchun) died en route during a campaign, King Qi Yang (Li Wenzhong) took over and greatly defeated the Yuan army! Although I am not talented, I am willing to follow in the footsteps of my predecessors and live or die together with you all. I vow to defeat Annan!"

  After stabilizing the morale and making sufficient preparations, Zhang Fu led his troops from Guangxi's Pingxiang to officially march into Annan. At the same time, Mu Sheng marched from Yunnan, and the Ming army launched a two-pronged attack, advancing towards the heart of Annan.

  It turned out that the confidence of Annan's Hu father and son was unreliable, Zhang Fu led his troops to enter the territory like no one, breaking through the two passes of Anluo and Jiling, attacking forward all the way, and joining forces with Baihe and another route Mo Sheng's army.

  By now, the Ming army had broken through the outer defenses of Annam and entered the interior. Now standing in front of Zhang Fu was the key town of ?? Bang.

  According to historical records, at that time Annan had two capitals, east and west, with a population of over 7 million. The territory was also home to many rivers, and the Annan army deployed defenses along the rivers, refusing to engage in battle with the Ming army, hoping to exhaust them.

  Zhang Fu saw through Annam's plot and sent General Zhu Rong to defeat the Annam army at Jialin River, establishing a solid foothold. Then he joined forces with Mu Sheng, preparing to attack the nearby city of Dombang.

  Although Do Bang was a stronghold of Annan, with solid defenses, it seemed not difficult to conquer in the face of the superior Ming army. This was the view of most generals at that time. However, these generals did not seem to have noticed that historically, underestimating the enemy often led to serious consequences. Fortunately, Zhang Fu was not one of them. He sent out many scouts to investigate the situation inside the city, and his intuition told him that this city was not so simple.

  Zhang Fu's feeling was correct. This city of Mandalay was not only more solid than the Ming army had imagined, but also had a secret weapon within its walls - elephants.

  The Annan army estimated that its own combat strength was insufficient, so it domesticated many elephants and prepared to release these huge objects when the Ming army attacked, ambushing the Ming army. Fortunately, Zhang Fu did not underestimate the enemy and grasped this situation in time.

  But even Zhang Fu, who had mastered the elephant's emotions, did not have a good way to deal with the giant elephant. The animal's skin was thick and solid, and it was enormous in size. On the battlefield, in the heat of the moment, ordinary swords and spears seemed to be useless against it. What could be done?

  At this time someone gave Zhang Fu an idea that could restrain the elephant, but from today's perspective, whether or not this idea was mentioned seems to make little difference.

  The clever plan was to find a lion to attack the elephant, because lions are the kings of all beasts and would certainly scare away the elephant.

  Let's put aside whether this view holds true in zoology for now and just ask: where can you find lions?

  Everyone knows that China does not produce lions, and the few rare lions are all imported from foreign countries. According to the "Book of Later Han", during the reign of Emperor Zhang of Han, the country of Yuezhi once presented a lion as tribute. Later, the Parthian Empire also presented one, but the number of lions obtained through this method must have been small, and at that time there was no artificial breeding technology, so it's likely that they died out gradually. Even if there were still lions during the Ming Dynasty, they should have been protected like giant pandas are today, how could they be used for fighting?

  What to do? There are no lions, but the elephants are alive and waiting in the city. Can't we just draw a few lions to fight?

  That's right! If there isn't one, just draw it!

  You didn't read it wrong and I didn't write it wrong. Zhang Fu used his painted lions to fight battles back then.

  Zhang Fu is not a fool, he also understands that it's impossible to compete with giant animals like elephants using wooden and paper-made things, no matter how well they are painted, after all, they are just paintings and can't be taken as real. As an excellent general, Zhang Fu has already prepared a complete set of countermeasures to attack the heavily guarded city of Duobang.

  It doesn't matter whether it's a real lion or a fake one, what matters is whose hands it's in and how it's used, because ultimately the outcome of war depends on the commander's wisdom and quality.

  Zhang Fu's hundreds of thousands of troops settled outside the city of Duobang, but they did not attack for a long time. The nerves of the people inside the city also slowly relaxed from their tense state, and even some of the soldiers on the city wall began to greet the Ming army soldiers at the edge of the city. Of course, this was a provocation, and in their view, their strategy was about to succeed. The Ming army had been staying here for a long time, and supplies would inevitably not keep up, while attacking the city was not guaranteed, leaving only one option: retreat.

  The defenders of Annan did not know that the reason why the Ming army was slow to attack was very simple: the longer a knife is sharpened before cutting people, the sharper it becomes, and the more lethal it will be when used.

  It was indeed so, at this time Zhang Fu organized a dare-to-die corps and prepared to attack Duobang City. He was waiting for nothing but a good opportunity.

  After a long wait, the Ming army launched an attack on the city of ?a Bang in the depths of night in December. In the battle, the Ming army fully demonstrated its leadership and pioneering role in fighting, with Commander Huang Zhong holding a torch and leading his troops to cross the moat first, opening up a path for the advancing troops. Commander Cai Fu personally set up a cloud ladder and was the first to climb onto the city wall of ?a Bang. The heroic actions of these two high-ranking military officers greatly boosted the morale of the Ming army, with soldiers competing with each other in bravery, breaking through the outer city in one fell swoop. The Annamese soldiers were caught off guard, unable to comprehend how the normally tranquil Ming army had suddenly transformed into a fierce tiger, and their defensive lines collapsed under such a ferocious attack, with soldiers fleeing in all directions.

  The flames of war spread to the inner city, and at this time, the Annan army finally brought out their trump card, elephants. They drove the elephants to attack the Ming army, hoping to turn the tide of defeat, but Zhang Fu had already prepared a countermeasure.

  Considering that the painted lions, although majestic, could only scare people and might not be able to scare an elephant, Zhang Fu also prepared many horses and covered their eyes with lion skins (painted). When the elephants appeared, he drove the horses forward. Although by nature, horses would never dare to confront elephants, but with their eyes covered, they would charge forward even if a dinosaur came. At the same time, Zhang Fu heavily used firearms to attack the elephants, which might not have been very lethal, but had a significant intimidating effect.

  Under the effect of Zhang Fu's several moves, the elephants of the Annan army were frightened and turned to flee in a hurry, dispersing the Annan army behind who were preparing to take advantage of the situation. After losing all hope, the Annan army completely lost its courage to resist, and the Ming army captured Duobao City in one fell swoop.

  The victory of the Ming army in the Battle of Tot Dong had a heavy blow to the resistance will of Annam, and then the Ming army advanced all the way, successively capturing Dong Do and Tay Do, and in May of this year (the fifth year of Yongle), captured the entire territory of Annan, captured the father and son of the Hu family, and escorted them back to China, and Annan was thus pacified.

  After the pacification of Annan, Zhu Di once issued an edict to search for the descendants of the Tran Dynasty, but there was no result. At this time, more than a thousand people from Annan petitioned the Ming government, stating that Annan was originally Chinese territory and the Tran family had no descendants, hoping to be incorporated into China and become a county of China.

  Zhu Di agreed to this proposal, and in June of the fifth year of Yongle (1407), Annan was changed to Jiaozhi, and a governor's office was set up, making it part of China. Thus, after the Han and Tang dynasties, Annan once again became Chinese territory.

  The resolution of the Annan issue brought peace and tranquility to China's southwestern border, but the Ming government still had a greater worry that plagued it for over a hundred years, like a nightmare that could not be shaken off.