The twenty-eighth year of Longqing's reign.
It was a dreadful year for the people of Da Yue.
In this year:
In January, Jinghai Country, a tributary state of Da Yue, accused the prefect of Da Yue's border prefecture of humiliating their ruler, seeking unlimited tribute, and arbitrarily killing its citizens. Jinghai declared that it was severing its ties with Da Yue, refusing to pay tribute, and breaking away as a vassal state.
In the same month, Jinghai mobilised an army of 100,000 troops and invaded Yulin County of Da Yue.
In February, the news reached the capital, causing Emperor Longqing to be furious. He ordered the formation of a southern expedition army of 200,000 troops to launch a punitive campaign against Jinghai Country.
At the same time, he issued a decree to levy a 'Pacify the Bandits' tax on all prefectures and counties to fund the southern expedition force.
