Planting Chaos in the Ming Dynasty (6)

For the Ming, Joseon was the most trustworthy of all the barbarians.

Unlike the Wa, they never formed wokou pirate bands to attack the Ming coast, and unlike the Jurchens, they never formed bandit gangs to plunder.

When a new country was founded, they even handed Ming the right to choose its name outright, and whenever a new king ascended the throne they dutifully asked permission, even if only formally.

They had served Ming steadfastly for decades and never once opposed it.

And Joseon was a country that staked its life on accepting Ming culture and scholarship, so in a sense Joseon's scholars were more diligent than any Ming scholar when it came to serving Confucius and following his example.

Even so, a deep suspicion of Joseon had taken root in one corner of Xuande Emperor's heart and showed no sign of disappearing.

"The Yongle Emperor and the Hongxi Emperor always told me to keep watch over Joseon. I wonder whether I can really trust them... I am not sure."

There were always several eunuchs and palace maids in the emperor's quarters in the Forbidden City.

But Xuande Emperor treated them as if they did not exist and sorted out his thoughts by speaking to himself.

As one grand minister—whose name sounded like that of a salt-pan slave from some miserable backwater—once said, the eunuchs and palace maids in the emperor's chambers were nothing more than machines for the emperor's convenience...