There was silence in the annex hall as everyone listened intently to the two professors, “Khmer Empire, also known as Funan and Chenla, is lorded over by General Guo Ziyi.”

“And here, the Lord of Siam is none other than Chang Yuchun. He was a famous general of the Ming Dynasty, and his accomplishments are no less than any of the other envoys.” Professor Li spoke with great enthusiasm, “In the fifteenth year of Emperor Shun of Yuan’s reign, he submitted to Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He was known for his bravery and prowess in battle, which earned him the nickname of ‘Chang Hundred Thousand’, because he was said to be as effective as a force of hundred thousand troops. Unfortunately, he died of illness at the tender age of forty, where he was posthumously granted the title of ‘Prince of Kaiping’ and given the posthumous name ‘Zhongwu’. He was then conferred the highest honour of a burial in the Imperial Ancestral Temple!”[1]

Professor An continued, “He defeated the famous Yuan general known as Bayan of the Merkid at the Battle of Quzhou.[2] He also crushed the barbarian Haiya at the battle of Caishiji. He even participated in the battles against Zhu Yuanzhang’s rival, Chen Youliang, where he went on to eliminate them and capture the Yuan Dynasty’s capital back then. He deserved every bit of the highest honour that was conferred upon him…”

None interrupted him as he continued, “The next person is Lord Ma Fubo of Bagan. Bagan is the ancient capital of Birmania. I won’t repeat what has already been mentioned of him. He might not have been as reputable as some of the others over here, but his exploits were by no means any...