Entry
Yong-le: Year 15, Month 2, Day 10
26 Feb 1417
It was ordered that the Feng-cheng Marquis Li Bin take on the seal of "General for Subduing the Yi" and the post of regional commander and proceed to subdue Jiao-zhi. The Imperial instructions to Bin read: "Jiao-zhi has always been Chinese territory and its people are all the children (赤子) of the Court. I am worried about the pacification and concern myself about it day and night. You have long experience in feudatory matters, are very loyal and respectful of orders. This is noted in my heart. Thus, I am assigning you this important commission. You should become daily more like the worthies and gentlemen, and act like the generals of old. Weigh the situations on all sides before deciding policy and ensure that there is a method in your planning. In this way, you will be properly carrying out your commission. Imperial orders were also sent to the Minister of War Chen Qia, as follows: "I have now ordered the Feng-cheng Marquis Li Bin to proceed to pacify Jiao-zhi, to settle the frontiers and to calm the troops and the people. You are familiar with the situation of the people there and thus you are also to proceed and provide temporary assistance until you are summoned back to the capital."
Tai-zong: juan 185.2a-b
Zhong-yang Yan-jiu yuan Ming Shi-lu, volume 13, page 1983/84
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/yong-le/year-15-month-2-day-10, accessed January 22, 2019