Entry

Imperial orders of instruction were sent to Mo-he Bi-gai, the king of the country of Champa. The orders read: "Recently, the attendant minister Cheng Zhen and others who had been sent by Li Jun, the king of the country of Annam, came to Court to offer tribute. On arrival at the capital, they memorialized that you king, taking advantage of their isolation and weakness, had invaded the four subprefectures of Sheng, Hua (華), Si and Yi. Now, they also say that you have repeatedly sent troops to attack and surround Hua (化) Subprefecture, killing and looting people, livestock and property. Both you, king, and Annam have for many years been fiefs of the Court and you both have fixed borders. How can you raise troops, stir up enmity and ignore my Will that you maintain good relations with neighbouring states and that you protect your own territory? The ancients said: `The proper man does not allow those persons he has cultivated to harm others.' From now on, king, you should fully manifest this idea, attend only to that which you should attend to and firmly warn your chieftains guarding the border that thus must be firm in protecting your fief. Do not further engage in violence or attack neighbouring territories, as this will bring harm to all living things and you will bring calamity upon yourself. The way of Heaven is to bring prosperity to the good and to bring calamity to those who do evil. Both are commonly-seen principles. You, king, should respect and implement these orders." In addition, instructions were sent to Li Jun, the king of the country of Annam, noting: "You should also implement firm defences, and must not seek revenge in order to attain private gain. In this way, both sides will be at peace and this will manifest my Will to look on all equally."