In the summer of the 10th year of Hongwu, the imperial ocean-going fleet went to sea again, and two small and medium-sized fleets were ordered to complete the important task of circumnavigating the world. With a complete world chart, it was obviously possible to complete it with a high probability.
In the past two years, envoys from overseas countries, in the name of paying tribute, have seen with their own eyes the vast territory of the Ming Dynasty, the dense population, and the strength of the army. After returning to the country by boat, they soon returned with more treasures.
Even some countries that the fleet had no way to reach were sent envoys after hearing about it. Zhu Biao specially selected some scholars and Taoist priests with talents in language translation, and asked them to take the Four Books, Five Classics and Taoist classics to spread overseas on the fleet.
As for business matters, there was no need for Zhu Biao to make special arrangements. The Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs had already seen what huge profits were, and the preparations were complete. The kilns in Jingdezhen almost never stopped firing.
Not to mention private merchants, most of them have already gone to sea on their own, but there are still some valuable goods that have been waiting for the imperial trade fleet. Although they have to pay an escort fee, there is no need to worry about their safety.
With the development of sea trade, more and more merchant ships came and went, and pirates naturally followed the trend. There were remnants of Japanese pirates, Koreans and even Nanyang people, and of course Ming people, and there were even quite a few. Even if you were trading without capital, you had to behead someone.
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The most rampant person today is Chen Zuyi, a native of Chaozhou in Guangdong. He gathers and plunders in the East and South China Seas. It is said that he has hundreds of ships and thousands of followers under his command. Even Zhu Biao in the palace has heard about it.
I heard that Marquis Jinghai ordered his subordinates to encircle and suppress them, but they escaped repeatedly. To say that there was no problem would be insulting, but I don't know how much martial arts was involved.
In the Wuying Hall, Zhu Biao looked at Wu Zhong who had rushed back with a somewhat ugly expression. Wu Zhong was trembling a little, but he still replied firmly: "The Wu family has won the trust of His Highness and has been able to achieve great achievements in the imperial court. My uncle entered Juehai Kingdom.
My father is in charge of the Ming Dynasty Navy. I can say that his kindness is as high as the sky and the benefits are as vast as the earth. There is not a day that goes by that my ministers don’t think about going through fire and water for you!”
"When I came here, my father told me not to say anything to conceal the truth about Chen Zuyi's affairs. Your Highness, Ming Shang, must know that this involves a wide range of things. My father does not dare to specialize in it, but my family has absolutely nothing to do with it."
There is no money or treasure in it, please be aware of it, Your Highness."
Zhu Biao sneered and said: "A man is so loyal and a man has gone through fire and water, so should I reward Marquis Jinghai?"
After saying that, he slapped the table gum and shouted sternly: "If you really consider yourself a loyal minister of this palace, you should have reported secretly to me earlier, instead of waiting for the news to reach my ears before rushing to defend you!"
"Without confiscating the money, did you accept all the favors? You were so smart that you thought you could use this as an excuse to get away with it. I entrusted your father with a heavy responsibility, but I didn't expect that he would become a wild man!"
"Why, you feel that you have done a great job in eradicating the Japanese pirates, and you start to dislike the fact that Marquis Jinghai's title is too low, and you want to have a double family?"
At this time, Wu Zhong no longer dared to say any more quibbling words. He just kowtowed heavily. Within a few moments, blood overflowed from his forehead, and his heart was filled with fear.
Although the Wu family was in great power and Jinghai Marquis had strong soldiers and horses, the tree was big and attracted the wind, and there were many people inside and outside the court who were eyeing him. Otherwise, they would not have taken the risk to let Chen Zuyi go in order to gain the support of all parties.
I thought that when I couldn't hide it anymore, I would crush Chen Zuyi to death, which would protect the interests of all parties and give an explanation to the court, but I didn't expect that the prince would be so angry.
"Okay, that being the case, why don't I be a man of beauty and meet the interests of the emperor and his ministers? You don't have to go back to the sea. You can immediately set off to work under the command of the Marquis of Xiping. As for your father, the imperial court will soon recall him to the capital to be crowned Jing Haigong.
He was promoted to the Shangzhu Kingdom and was granted a salary of three thousand stones. I wonder what the public will of the young country will be like?"
"I beg you, Your Highness, to calm down... Your Highness..."
Zhu Biao ignored him and waved his hand to have him dragged out. He turned a powerful marquis into a powerless duke. I really don't know whether it was a reward or a punishment.
There were very few people in the Ming Dynasty who could command the navy, and the Wu brothers were the most useful. Wu Zhen calmed down the Japanese invasion in just a few years. Although he had help from other aspects, his own coordination ability is also very commendable.
of.
He has made great contributions to the imperial court, and his promotion to the rank of Duke is long overdue. The main reason for the delay is Zhu Biao's deliberate suppression. Although the title is good, if you look at it, in today's Ming Dynasty, almost all Dukes and above have been
In the capital camp and the governor's office, apart from Li Wenzhong in northern Xinjiang, the highest person who could command the local army was the marquis.
This was the general trend, and for this reason, the martial arts men's sources of money were almost cut off, so they decided to invest in no-cost business at sea.
Pirates can never be wiped out, Zhu Biao knows this very well, but trade has just begun, and many small countries are still in the wait-and-see stage, so the warriors must not be allowed to kill the goose and lay the eggs.
Zhu Biao circled several generals who had been promoted during the suppression of the Japanese, and appointed Liao Yongzhong, Marquis of Deqing, as the new navy commander, and then sent them to the imperial court to finalize the matter.
Liao Yongzhong was credited with quarrying, Taiping, capturing Chen Yexian, defeating the barbarians Hague and Chen Zhaoxian, Dingjiqing, conquering Zhenjiang, Changzhou and Chizhou, and fighting against Jiangyin pirates.
He and his brother Yun Guogong Liao Yong'an gathered troops and occupied the water village of Chaohu. Later, during the battle to recover Yixing, his brother rushed into Taimen while pursuing the victory. As a result, he ran into enemy reinforcements head-on and was unfortunately captured because the ship ran aground.
Faced with Zhang Shicheng's surrender, he refused to give in. He was imprisoned for eight years and died of illness. His loyalty was commendable, and the imperial court named him the founding auxiliary of the country.
After Liao Yong'an was captured, Liao Yongzhong took over the military power of his brother. In the Battle of Longwan, he chased Chen Youliang to Caishi. The battle resumed. Liao Yongzhong led his troops and shouted that they were trapped... They were bleeding profusely. They turned around three times and killed too many people.
, the thieves were defeated.
During the Battle of Poyang Lake, Liao Yongzhong even made a comment written by Zhu Yuanzhang as "a general with outstanding merits and a powerful army with wisdom", and was allowed to have a painted plaque hanging on the lintel of his door.
In fact, when Zhu Biao chose to rectify the navy and eliminate Japanese pirates along the coast, he first thought of Liao Yongzhong. However, after being knighted at the founding of the People's Republic of China, this man of both wisdom and bravery suddenly became arrogant and extravagant. He built mansions in the capital, far exceeding those of ordinary marquises.
Under the regulations of the mansion, he later accepted beautiful concubines and even made friends with civil servants, and then he lay down and immersed himself in glory and wealth.
Zhu Biao wanted to use him but couldn't, so he had to promote Wu Zhenlai. However, since he appointed Wu Liang to be in charge of the ocean, he deliberately tried to polish him and Liao Yongzhong. In fact, no matter what Wu Zhen was like, he could only relinquish the naval power.
What happened in these two years.
It's just that it used to be a decent ending, but now it was promoted openly and secretly, and was directly brought back to the capital. Wu Zhen would know the difference in the next few years.
In the autumn of the 10th year of Hongwu's reign, King Silunfa of Lucchuan accepted the title of the Ming Dynasty's envoy to Pingyang and Burma. However, just a few days after receiving the order, he suddenly sent 100,000 troops to attack Jingdong, Jinzhawei and other places.
Mu Ying, who had expected it, immediately ordered the local defenders to fake a defeat, thereby luring the enemy deeper. Silun was suspicious and wanted to restrain his subordinates, but he was unwilling to miss the opportunity to expand the results and establish prestige.
Coupled with the temptation of his uncle Zhao Xiaofa, he finally fell into the trap carefully prepared by Mu Ying. In a narrow mountain pass, a new type of artillery and mines, like thunder and fire from heaven and earth, first appeared on the southwest land.
