Entry

When the envoys from the two countries of Siam and Samudera were returning home after coming to the court to offer tribute, along the way, their boat-men showed them how to purchase the sons and daughters of impoverished people, how to obtain large quantities of private salt, and how to engage in various other illegal activities. When they arrived at Huai-an, someone advised of the matter to the Grand Coordinator and Censor-in-Chief Zhang Zan. Then the escorting Messengers also advised of it. Zan thus sent officials together with the Messengers to investigate. They found that the reports were factual and therefore redeemed the children, returned them to their families, and punished the boat-men. Zan thus memorialized a request that Imperial orders of instruction be sent to the various countries, requiring that when they select envoys, they be required to choose persons who respect propriety and laws. He also requested that activities of a criminal nature be clearly set down and that a prohibition against them be made public. The Censorate re-submitted the memorial and it was approved.