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284 China as a Sea Power chapter 9 Yuan Naval Campaigns to the South The extension of Mongol power southward into Indochina was undertaken about the same time as the khans consolidated their domination of the Korean peninsula and began to look across the sea towards Japan. In the winter of l257–8, as part of their operations on the perimeter of the Song empire, a Mongol force penetrated into Tongking from Yunnan. The advance guard led by Aju, son of the Mongol commander Urianqadai, scored a decisive victory over the Annamites by defeating their fleet on one of the tributaries of the Red River and forcing their king, Tran Nhut-canh 陳日 焸, to flee to the sanctuary of an island in the sea.1 After long drawn out negotiations, Annam agreed in 1266 to acknowledge the overlordship of the Mongol emperor, but in the following year, when the Mongols gave the Annamese government the “Six Duties” (liu shih 六事) of a vassal state, the Annamites again shied away. These “Six Duties,” similar to those that were given in the same year to the Koreans, were as follows: (1) the rulers of the vassal state must personally proceed to the khan’s court to pay homage, (2) they must leave their sons or brothers as hostage, (3) they must submit a census of the population of their state, (4) they must supply troops and provisions to the khan’s army, (5) they must hand over records of their revenue, and (6) they must permit the stationing of a darugharchi (resident general) with authority over their administration.2 The Annamites refused to accept these terms. The Mongols, preoccupied with their war against Song, could not coerce the Annamites to accept them and had to be content with their nominal acknowledgment of vassalage. As soon as they defeated the Song, however, the newly established 284 1 Yuan Shi, ch. 209, p. 1. 2 Ibid., p. 2. China_Sea Power Chap9.indd 284 2/13/2012 1:25:18 PM Yuan Naval Campaigns to the South 285 Yuan dynasty turned its attention toward the south, particularly to Champa and Annam. The Mongol Invasion of Southeast Asia With the fall of the Song capital at Hangzhou in 1276, the khan and his court once more turned their eyes to the south, this time to the small Indian state of Champa. An army commander in Guangxi wrote to the court that the defenses of Champa were so weak that he could conquer the country with three thousand foot soldiers and three hundred cavalrymen, and navigators told the court that Champa could be easily reached in one day’s sailing from the island of Hainan.3 The court of Qubilai Qan was also interested in Champa because, by it geographical location, it dominated the sea lanes between China and the states of Southeast and South Asia. But Sogatu, who was then governor of Fujian, memorialized the court that there was no need for the use of arms and that, since the Cham king, Indravarman VI,4 had shown indications of desiring to enter into relations with the new government in China, the submission of Champa might be achieved by diplomacy. The Yuan court therefore, early in 1280, dispatched Sogatu, Meng Ch’ing-yuan 孟慶元, and Sun Sheng-fu 孫勝夫 to confer the title of king of Champa on Indravarman.5 Thereafter, the Yuan government began to call upon Champa to fulfill its obligation as a vassal as, for example, when the ship of the Yuan envoy to Malaya was damaged, Champa was asked to provide another vessel,6 and political prisoners were exiled to Champa.7 The first campaign against Japan occupied the attention of Qubilai Qan, but almost immediately after the news of the destruction of the Yuan fleet off the rocky shores of Kyushu, he turned his attention to the south, probably in an effort to retrieve his prestige. Advancing one step, he decided to make Champa into a province of China so that it could be used as a base for his expeditions to the Southern Sea. On 29 November 1281, he issued a decree creating the Ambulatory Department of Champa (Chan-ch’eng Hsingsheng 占城行省) with Sogatu as the minister of the right, Liu Shen 劉深 3 Ibid., p. 4. 4 Yamamoto Tatsuro, Annanshi Kenkyu, Vol. 1 (Tokyo: Yamakawa Shuppansha, 1950), p. 106. 5 Yuan Shi, ch. 209, p. 4. 6 Ibid. ch. 11, p. 10. 7 Ibid., p. 13. China_Sea Power Chap9.indd 285 2/13/2012 1...

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