Entry

Cheng-hua: Year 10, Month 8, Day 5

15 Sep 1474

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Imperial orders were sent to Li Hao, the king of the country of Annam, warning him not to lightly deploy yi troops or engage in disturbance on the borders. At this time, the grand defender and other officials of Yun-nan had memorialized: "Fu Subprefecture in Guang-nan Prefecture borders Xuan-guang and other areas under Annam. Recently on the pretext that some soldiers and civilians had gathered together and engaged in plunder, the Annamese unexpectedly deployed 10,000 yi soldiers, crossed the border and attacked the border stockades, alarming and scattering the residents." The Emperor issued orders which read: "I have been informed by the memorial from the grand defender and regional commander of Yun-nan that Huang Zhang-ma and other soldiers and civilians from Xuan-guang Guard and Bao-le Subprefecture in your country had gathered people together to engage in evil and that your officials deployed troops to pursue and capture them. These troops crossed the borders of the two prefectures of Guang-nan and Zhen-an and because they attacked the border stockades, the people were alarmed and fled. I hold that doing evil to the people and engaging in robbery cannot be tolerated under the law, while violating the borders and acting tyrannically is of course forbidden. I have already ordered that the grand defender and regional commanders of Yun-nan and Guang-dong/Guang-xi coordinate with the three offices and arrange firm defence of the borders to guard against the unexpected. If the above-mentioned bandits are found within our borders, they will be immediately captured and sent back to your country. They will not be harboured. You, king, must manifest my supreme will and sternly warn Xuan-guang, Bao-le and other guards and prefectures that they must swiftly apprehend the above-mentioned bandits so that the area can be pacified. They must not permit the sudden deployment of yi troops or allow them to cross the border, where they will engage in violence and cause fright and concern among good people. In this way, the people of both places will be able to live in peace and there will be no further calamities. You, king, should respect these orders and not be remiss in their implementation!"

Xian-zong: juan 132.2a-b

Zhong-yang Yan-jiu yuan Ming Shi-lu, volume 45, page 2487/88

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Preferred form of citation for this entry:

Geoff Wade, translator, Southeast Asia in the Ming Shi-lu: an open access resource, Singapore: Asia Research Institute and the Singapore E-Press, National University of Singapore, http://epress.nus.edu.sg/msl/reign/cheng-hua/year-10-month-8-day-5, accessed January 22, 2019