The fleet anchored in the old port for fifteen days, and then continued to set off. At this time, Zhang Xitong had led his fleet to join it. The latest chapter of the Holy Church
After the fleets reunited, they set off from the old port and headed all the way, passing through Aru, Sumatra, and all the way to Nanwuli...
Along the way, business groups are constantly leaving the team, and new business groups are always joining.
When we set off from the Ming Dynasty, there were only more than 300 ships, large and small, warships and merchant ships in total. Now, although several fleets have been divided into carrying out different exploration missions, there are always business groups taking root on the spot and withdrawing from the ocean-going ranks along the way.
The total number of ships in the fleet still increased sharply to 462.
They anchored in Nanwuli for a long time because from here on, they had to cross the Bay of Bengal and needed to replenish more supplies.
Zheng He met with King Nanwuli here and gave him gifts such as gold-woven silk fabrics, gold-embroidered dragon clothes, gold-plated curtains and umbrella covers. King Nanwuli was overjoyed and gave the king all kinds of gifts he could to the Ming Dynasty fleet.
Convenient conditions.
The country's wealthy merchants naturally seized this opportunity and joined the fleet one after another, using the powerful force of the Ming Dynasty fleet to go westward to pan for gold. Fortunately, these merchant ships were completely responsible for all kinds of supplies during the trip and did not add this aspect to the Ming fleet.
burden.
A few days later, everything was ready, and the fleet, which had grown like a snowball to 506 ships, set off.
Their next stop was Mount Ceylon (Sri Lanka). After resting there and replenishing food and water, they then went around the Indian Peninsula to reach the end of Zheng He's last ocean voyage: Little Glen, Kochi and Guri.
The giant ship was riding the wind and waves. Xia Xun, Zheng He, Zhang Xitong and others stood at the bow of the ship, looking at the boundless blue waves in front of them.
Zheng He introduced to Xia Xun: "Going from here is the country of Ceylon. The last time I came here, the king of this country was Ariel Kunel. This man was in his prime. He has not lived long now. The king of this country should still be
He. This person is cruel and greedy. He often allows his subordinates to pretend to be pirates and plunder ships. It is an open secret that he turns soldiers into bandits. However, he denies it. Many people are afraid of his powerful army and can do nothing to stop him.
"
Xia Xun's eyes flashed slightly and he said: "Even so, given the strength of our Ming army, I guess he wouldn't dare to take action, right?"
Zheng He smiled and said: "That's natural. The last time I came here, although Ariel Kunel did not make things difficult for my fleet, he was quite cold to me, so I did not stay here longer. After arriving at Kezhi
, I learned more about the situation in Ceylon after asking people about it.
Ceylon believes in Buddhism. There is a holy mountain in the country. There is a strange imprint on the top of the mountain, shaped like a big footprint. It is said that it is a sacred object used by Sakyamuni to identify his followers. There are many gems on the mountain. Whenever there is heavy rain,
The rainwater rushes down and gathers into a stream, often carrying a large amount of gems washed down in the mud.
Therefore, it is even more revered by believers, and all messengers who come and go must go up the mountain to pay homage. The last time I came here, I didn't understand this. I think the reason why the king of this country was cold to me was because I didn't pay a pilgrimage to their holy mountain, so I received a cold reception. I think,
At that time, we offered to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain as a goodwill gesture to ease the relationship between us."
Xu Hu couldn't help but said: "My father-in-law, why do you have to compromise? The so-called King of Ceylon is so powerful, is it bigger than our fleet of the Ming Dynasty? Let's sail the fleet into the port and aim our guns at the shore to see if the King of Ceylon is powerful.
How dare you despise the Celestial Empire!"
Another navy general also said: "That's right! When I was in Nanwuli, I heard that on this side of the bay, Chen Zuyi is the most powerful, and on the other side of the bay, the King of Ceylon has the most powerful troops. Let's attack Chen Zuyi.
Just like killing chickens and dogs, if the King of Ceylon shows disrespect, he will be captured and kept with Chen Zuyi!"
Zheng He scolded: "We came to the west with the holy edict to make good friends with all the countries in the world, how can we be so warlike? Soldiers are a major matter for the country! Earlier, we established the king of Manlajia and captured the king of Bolin. Although we said
Chen Zuyi has his own way of killing himself, but there is no guarantee that all the countries will not be afraid. If we capture the King of Ceylon again, what will the countries in Southeast Asia think?"
Xia Xun also said: "It is not advisable to act by one's will. It is much more difficult for ordinary people to make friends between countries. ("") As long as two people have the same spirit, they can become friends, but between countries, it is much more difficult for ordinary people to make friends. ("")
There are various interests mixed in, as well as different folk customs. If you want to achieve friendship, you need to be patient. How can you get into a fight just because you disagree?"
After Xia Xun finished speaking, he gently pulled Zheng He. Zheng He understood and walked aside with him. Xia Xun whispered: "Father-in-law, last time, father-in-law heard the news about Jianwen in the Guli area, so he arrived in Ceylon
After the war, I thought, I would take the Shuangyu fleet, pretend to be pirates, and go on the road first, arrive there before my father-in-law, and conduct a secret inspection."
Zheng He said: "Well, after passing Mount Ceylon, the Duke of Guo will walk in front of Zheng He everywhere after that. The Guli area is okay, but we have never been there before. Whether it is the water conditions of the sea or the geography and customs, we have never been there before.
I don’t know at all. Going ahead is tantamount to exploring the road ahead. Risks are unavoidable, so be careful."
Xia Xun smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, I already have an excellent guide, so I don't expect anything big to happen. The Shuangyu guards are arrogant and unruly, and I'm afraid they will cause trouble, so I will take them with me to restrain them. If anything happens,
, they are all pirates, my father-in-law can reject them and have nothing to do with our country, so as not to ruin His Majesty's reputation."
Zheng He understood. The two looked at each other and laughed twice, both of them looked a bit cunning.
Not far away, Zhang Xitong and a group of civil servants were shaking their heads, reciting poems and composing poems. The poems and poems floated in the wind and could be heard faintly. The two of them looked at each other, which was a little funny.
On this trip, the civil servants spared no effort to support the voyage, and the officials who came with the ship also worked tirelessly. In this way, before they agreed with Zhu Di to change the tribute trade to free trade and allow the civil servants to participate in the voyage, they were completely different.
In the final analysis, people are still motivated by interests.
Voyages to the Western Seas are too profitable, and because they are so profitable, some people cannot make money, and even block their way of making money, which naturally leads to crazy opposition.
During Zhu Di's reign, there were countless major projects. Six voyages to the Western Ocean, with hundreds of ships and tens of thousands of soldiers on each trip; five expeditions to Mobei, with hundreds of thousands of troops at every turn; three large-scale expeditions to Annan, thousands of miles away
Moved the capital, built the capital, dredged the Grand Canal, compiled the Yongle Grand Ceremony, and built the Great Wall...
According to the lessons of some emperors who lost their families and ruined their country, the Yongle Emperor was destroyed more than a dozen times. However, Zhu Di's dynasty has always been stable. Even in the later years of Yongle, he dared to spend a lot of money. In the end, he left his children and grandchildren a prosperous era of benevolence and prosperity. It was Zhu Yuanzhang
Did he leave any money he couldn't spend?
Before Zhu Yuanzhang founded the People's Republic of China, the world was in chaos. After driving the Northern Yuan Dynasty out of the Central Plains, the world was already in a mess. Zhu Yuanzhang worked hard for thirty years to recuperate and recuperate, which indeed put the country on the right track and brought the Ming Dynasty close to the level of well-off society, but it was definitely not as good as the Sui Dynasty.
When Emperor Wen was emperor, he was extremely wealthy. After four years of civil war, Zhu Di was not wealthy when he ascended the throne.
After Yongle, Zhu Gaochi only served as emperor for one year. The so-called prosperous era of Renxuan was actually a bit untrue. It was only one year from his accession to the throne to his death. How much impact could he have on the national economy? In just a few months, he could make Zhu Di
The "broken up" Ming Dynasty became rich again?
And Zhu Zhanji only served as emperor for ten years. During this period, there were wars to seize the throne and ping the emperor's uncle. During these ten years, there was Zheng He's seventh voyage to the West, and Wang Jinghong's voyage to the West again. If Zhu Di really
His voyage ruined all his possessions and left a mess. Can Zhu Zhanji still create a "Yongxuan Prosperity" in ten years?
The problem is that Zhu Di failed to achieve a balance between various interest groups. His voyages to the West made the court and the royal family rich, while the common people benefited, leaving behind the most powerful middle class who could influence the government.
Gone to the side.
But this is not the case now. From top to bottom, all classes enjoy the benefits, and it will naturally be possible to achieve the same thing as the Western countries sailing. The whole country unanimously supports it, and the huge civil servant group has changed from opponents of the Western voyages to supporters, and even more
He spared no effort to find numerous theoretical basis for it.
Xia Xun's idea is right. In any case, the civil servant group is the cultural elite of the Ming Dynasty, the main force influencing political and cultural progress, and the backbone of the national process. Throwing them into the opposite direction is definitely a wrong choice.
, only by bringing them in can they become a positive force for progress.
Now, this power has begun to take effect. In the past, if Manchuria was separated from Siam, and Chen Zuyi was captured instead of returning power to the son of the former Bolin king, these civil servants would not have been criticized in the name of morality.
, completely smeared? Not to mention sending officers and soldiers to sea in the name of pirates.
But now, they were leisurely and leisurely. They had no objections to the fleet's actions along the way and were all singing and praising them. Even when the two navy generals just said murderous words, only Xia Xun and Zheng He stood up to express their objections.
Not these bird people who always consider themselves disciples of saints.
In the small cabin, Tang Saier complained to Su Ying with tears in her eyes: "Aunt Ying, I have been locked up for a long, long, long time. When will I let her out?"
Su Ying said: "This time, I won't even speak to you! Although you have practiced martial arts, you are still a girl and lack of strength. How can you compare with those fierce pirates? There are cold arrows and axes on the ship, and javelins are constantly on the ship. If anything happens,
What about hurting you? He promised you to go out with the boat. If something happens to you, how do you ask him to face your mother when you go back and how do you explain to her? "
Tang Saier answered timidly: "I won't dare to do it anymore, why don't I promise to be obedient?"
Su Ying tapped her forehead and said bitterly: "You girl, you are so worried! Okay, okay, I'll go talk to him and let you out as soon as possible."
"Well! Aunt Ying loves me the most!"
Tang Saier broke into a cry and looked at Su Ying flatteringly. Su Ying glared at her, got up and walked out.
As soon as the door was closed, Tang Saier's face was still covered with tears, so she hurriedly climbed to the window, stretched out her hand and pushed it open. She didn't know when the window was stuck, but she got it open. Tang Saier hurriedly went to the toilet
Retracting the line: "It's broken, it's broken, it took so long, the fish must have been decoupled, ah! It's still there! What a big fish!"
After a while, a big fish was dragged into the cabin. Tang Sai'er was holding the lively big fish, just like the boy holding the big red carp in the New Year paintings. The big fish fluttered for a while, and Tang Sai'er couldn't sit still on his knees, and fell down with an "ouch"
.
She had fishing lines, hooks, and actually bait. It looked like she had definitely not been locked in the cabin for a long time.