The Chinese characters that have long been used as the orthodox script of Vietnam and the Chinese cultural ideology they carry have become the biggest obstacle to the consolidation of French colonial rule in Vietnam. Writing reform is often the most direct and effective means to reconstruct national identity and ideology. In order to eliminate the difficulties of language communication, manipulate the ideology of the Vietnamese people, establish a culture of slavery, and shape Vietnam into its permanent colony, the French colonial government took a series of measures to promote the Chinese script written in the Latin alphabet to ban Chinese characters, thus severing the cultural ties between China and Vietnam until later generations.

And Sun Hui knew that it was not too difficult for him to conquer Vietnam, but to completely incorporate Vietnam into the territory of the Song Empire, he would have to do similar work.

If not, the final result of the Song Dynasty's occupation of Vietnam is likely to be the same as that of the Ming Dynasty in history.

In the end, the Ming Dynasty really launched a war, hoping to destroy a certain country, only this time against Vietnam. But the outcome was very modern—a swift occupation, followed by a difficult reign in an endless revolt, and the nightmarish financial pressures that followed, culminating in a reluctant withdrawal.

As far as the comprehensive strength of the Ming Dynasty is concerned, especially compared with the relative strength of the surrounding countries, there is no doubt that its strongest era is the Yongle era, but with the strength of Yongle and the size of China, it cannot take a small Annam, and has to end hastily after 28 years of hard support and countless resources. As far as common sense is concerned, it is indeed an incomprehensible thing.

In fact, behind this impossibility is based on the understanding and recognition of the West's plundering experience - it was an era when there was no United Nations, no international law, no journalists, no public opinion, and an era in which military superiority could be used to do whatever it wanted. So on the surface, people may not be able to understand the Ming Dynasty's conquest of Vietnam, but it is implicitly incomprehensible: why can't the Ming people conquer Vietnam in the same way that the Europeans of the same era conquered the Americas? In a more subtle heart, people did not understand why the Ming people did not kill all the Vietnamese as the Spanish conquistadors did with the Indians.

The answer to the question lies in the direct distinction between the European conquerors and the Ming, and between the South Americans and the Annamite.

The difference between the European conquerors and the Ming is very obvious, and if you look at the history of the Age of Discovery, you will find that all the navigators, adventurers, conquerors, etc., who are now worshipped as gods, before they got on the ship, and even before they went ashore, their true identity was that they were ruffians and hooligans except for the lonely poor. They go out into the world in gangs, and personally, they are driven by the dream of making a fortune, in other words, their purpose is to rob; As far as the country is concerned, it is either not known about it in advance, or it is also in the mentality of beating the rabbit, and all its political and economic costs are limited to a boat and some provisions, and to put it bluntly, it is a purely commercial investment, which does not involve any domestic political and moral issues. So even if the operation is financed by the state or the crown, the aim is to recover the investment of its employer through conquest and robbery.

In contrast, the background of the Ming people's actions against Annan is completely different. The Ming Dynasty sent troops to Annam because of the change of viziers and dynasties in Annam, then a vassal state of China (at least nominally), which challenged China's suzerainty and threatened the stability of the entire Southeast Asian region. As the protector of the Annan Dynasty and even several surrounding countries, the Ming Dynasty had a political responsibility to punish usurpers and maintain the situation in the region. In other words, the nature of China's dispatch of troops to Annam is political, not economic. This doomed the European strategy of conquest in South America—killing, robbing, and importing slaves—otherwise not only would it not be possible to achieve the goal of stabilizing the surrounding areas, but it would also be impossible to account for it at home.

And the gap between the South Americans and the Annamite is probably greater than the gap between the Europeans and the Ming Dynasty. First of all, in terms of the level of development of productive forces, South America, whether it is the Aztecs, Mayans, or Incas, basically benefited from the level of the late Stone Age, which is several eras different from the invading Europeans. At that time, the Annam people were not only basically at the same level of development as China's productive forces, but also roughly the same as China in terms of the use of weapons. Second, in terms of the level of social development, the South American nation is basically at the level of a slave state, and it is estimated that its political ability is roughly similar to that of the early Shang period and even the late Xia period. The people of Annam are basically the same as China politically and religiously, they also follow Confucianism as orthodoxy, there is also a court built on the basis of Confucianism, there is also the imperial examination system, and so on. On the surface, it is even very likely that the Yongle Emperor thought so, and since Annan had such a huge similarity with China in terms of political and culture, it should be easier to integrate into the embrace of the motherland. But the problem lies precisely here, precisely because the Annam people have the same culture as China, so they also have the same strong self-esteem and pride as China, and the autism that stems from the concept of family, which is the inevitable result of the long-term nourishment of Confucianism. An alliance is easily formed between the two robbers, because they speak of profit; It is difficult for two Confucian scholars to be friends because they both have quite serious autism. Therefore, it is this similarity of cultural backgrounds that determines the repulsion between Annam and the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, in fact, at the beginning, it was already doomed that the Ming Dynasty would never be able to conquer Vietnam.

"If you conquer Vietnam in this way, it will also be a big change in history, right?" Wang Linlin asked.

"Of course, the history of the whole of Southeast Asia will change." Sun Hui nodded, "Next, we will affect the course of European history." ”

"The impact on Europe has already begun, right?" Ye Chuchu looked at Sun Hui and said.

"Already affecting Europe?" Wang Linlin couldn't help but be stunned when she heard Ye Chuchu's words.

"Yes, Linlin, think about it, Kublai Khan did not conquer the Song Dynasty, and after retreating to the grassland, where will he point the finger?" Xiao Tiantian reminded Wang Linlin.

"Understood." Wang Linlin suddenly realized, "If he goes all out to the west, he will destroy Europe, right?" ”

"It's hard to say yet, but of course it's possible." Sun Hui turned to look at the copper globe that Ye Chuchu made for him, and gradually fell into contemplation, "The development of history is a great ...... of chance."