why did hongwu feel that a strong military was necessary?\nto increase china’s territory\nto prevent a…

Brief Explanations:

Hongwu (Zhu Yuanzhang) established the Ming Dynasty after overthrowing Mongol - led Yuan rule. The Mongols still had power and influence in the north. A strong military was crucial to prevent them from rebelling and trying to regain control of China. Expanding territory was not his main focus with the military at this stage, spreading Confucian ideas is more of a cultural/ideological effort not related to military strength, and while protecting his position was a factor, the threat of Mongol rebellion was a key external military concern.

Answer:

B. to prevent a rebellion by Mongols