The port of Tianjin Port was brightly lit that night. The two powerful figures of the Ming Dynasty, the Prince of Ming Dynasty and the King of the Sea, were waiting at the port. The surrounding area was under martial law. No ships were even allowed to go to sea or dock. They were waiting for Zheng He to return.
.
Zhu Zhanzhen couldn't wait any longer. Seeing him anxiously, Zhu Zhanji said: "Fifth brother, I have never seen you so nervous."
"Brother, once Zheng He comes back, everyone will believe me that the world is round, and no one will say that I am hysterical anymore."
"By the way, how come you are so sure that the world is round?"
Zhu Zhanji's question stumped Zhu Zhanchen for a while. He had previously deceived Zheng He by using Tianfei, but Zhu Zhanji didn't believe in Tianfei. What should he do now? Naturally, he would find someone who was dead and had no evidence.
"At the beginning, I discussed with Master Yao Guangxiao why the ship was sailing on the sea. When it was far away, the hull disappeared first and then the mast. In the end, the two of us wondered whether the world might be round."
"Just based on this inference, did Zheng He rush to sail?"
"Isn't this back? It means that the world is really round." Zhu Zhanzhen smiled happily. With such proof, he can continue to promote his new knowledge in the future.
Only by changing your cognition can you change your behavior.
The two of them waited until late at night. In the vast darkness, Guangzhou's Nanhai First Fleet sailed into the port. As the warships sailed in, Zhu Zhanyi couldn't wait to pick up Zheng He.
But there was only one dilapidated ship in the South China Sea First Fleet. When Zhu Zhanzhen saw that warship, he had a bad expectation in his heart.
Although Zheng He did not bring a treasure ship when he set out, he did bring a huge fleet of warships, more than a dozen warships, but now he only returned with one nearly damaged ship.
Maybe it was because the storm was too strong, or maybe I got lost. It's normal after so many years.
Zhu Zhanzhen constantly comforted himself and gave himself a strong psychological hint not to think about bad things.
The battleship docked, and the captain of the fleet, Mu Bin, came down: "I will see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and see His Royal Highness the Sea King."
"No need to be polite, Mu Bin. I'm going to see Zheng He first." Zhu Zhanyi saw that the warship had stopped and was about to rush forward, but Mu Bin stretched out his hand to stop Zhu Zhanyi.
"Mu Bin, what do you mean?"
"Your Highness, please be mentally prepared." Mu Bin saw Zhu Zhanzhen's excitement. He was afraid that Zhu Zhanzhen in this state would suffer a huge psychological gap later, so he boldly stopped him.
"What do you mean?" Zhu Zhanzhen felt a chill in his heart, and even Zhu Zhanji beside him frowned.
"Lord Zheng He has died soon!"
"What? What's going on?"
"Your Highness, don't be upset. I'm just explaining the matter to you first. Let them tell you the details when we get on the warship. I won't have time to ask in detail." Mu Bin saw Zhu who was full of anger for the first time.
Looking at it, a trace of fear actually arose in my heart.
Zhu Zhanyi quickly boarded the dilapidated warship. The sailors and soldiers on the warship, now only thirteen people, all knelt down.
"Where is Zheng He? Where is Zheng He?"
"Lord Zheng He...has difficulty moving...in the cabin."
Zhu Zhanchen walked in quickly.
This cabin was the only one in this dilapidated warship that was relatively clean. Zheng He was lying on the bed with his eyes open. He saw Zhu Zhanzhen and could see the eyes moving in his eyes. He wanted to sit up.
I came, but I couldn't do it.
Zhu Zhanchen stepped forward, and his excited eyes instantly turned to anger.
Zheng He's legs were empty from the knees down, and his left arm was broken at the root. The handsome Zheng He before was gone, and only the tired and disheveled Zheng He was left. Moreover, he was very weak. If his eyes were not open, he would still be able to
Turning around, he was almost a corpse.
A sound of "Ah...ah..." came out of his mouth. Only then did Zhu Zhanzhen realize that Zheng He's tongue was gone and he couldn't even speak.
"What! What! What! What! What happened!"
Zhu Zhanyang roared at the top of his lungs, like a ferocious dragon roaring, which shocked the livers of several people behind him. Even Zhu Zhanji was shocked by Zhu Zhanyang's momentum and was speechless.
Zhu Zhanzhen never expected that Zheng He would become like this.
The accompanying crew immediately knelt in front of Zhu Zhanzhen and Zhu Zhanji, and said with tears in their eyes: "Your Highness, Your Highness, we followed the wind and waves along the route and arrived at the continent of Europa. It is exactly as shown on the map.
There is a continent here, and when we first arrived, a group of people there were fighting, and they involved us, but they were not strong enough under our cannons and were quickly defeated by us."
"But after all, our numbers are limited, so we only occupied a small place and planted the flag of the Ming Dynasty."
"Then their envoy wanted to communicate with us. Unfortunately, we couldn't communicate with each other. It took us a while to roughly understand what both parties meant. The other party's name was France, and they were fighting a place called Ingelland.
, have been fighting for decades.”
"Originally, Master Zheng He did not intend to stay there any longer. He just wanted to replenish supplies before setting off. Who would have thought of King France's treacherous plan?"
"They invited Mr. Zheng He to come and say they wanted to thank Mr. Zheng He for helping them repel the Yinggelan people before. They also expressed their willingness to establish diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty and pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty. Mr. Zheng He went after considering it.
Who would have thought that they would betray their trust and directly arrest Mr. Zheng He."
Hearing this, Zhu Zhanzhen was already so angry that he couldn't restrain himself. This era is now during the Hundred Years' War. According to the time of Zheng He's voyage, the king of France at that time was the famous crazy critic King Charles VI in history.
.
"After Lord Zheng He was captured, Eunuch Hou Xian negotiated with France many times, but the Kingdom of France refused, so Eunuch Hou Xian led us to go to war with France."
"Although our weapons and equipment are better and our combat effectiveness is stronger, after all, our strength is weak and our supplies are insufficient. We won the frontal battle, but we were unable to break into the Kingdom of France. With insufficient ammunition supplies, we were forced to retreat.
Arrived at sea."
"There was no news about Mr. Zheng He for a long time. When I got the news later, it was the Mad King Charles VI who was parading through the streets in a luxurious carriage, and Mr. Zheng He was tied up in a cage without a single strand of hair on his body, and
He put the stolen Ming army flags and weapons together and used them as his trophies to show off in the streets."
This time, it was not only Zhu Zhanzhen, but also Zhu Zhanji, whose eyes were filled with anger. This crazy French king had trampled on the dignity of Zheng He and the dignity of the Ming Dynasty.
"Why did they do this to Zheng He?"
The kneeling man hesitated and said: "According to... it is said that because Lord Zheng He is a eunuch, the mad king is very interested in it, so... just... wants to study it."
Zhu Zhanzhen's eyes were filled with uncontrollable anger. Zheng He had received such humiliation, and now he just wanted to avenge Zheng He.
You can't reason with a madman, maybe only the Ming Dynasty's artillery fire can make him wake up.
"Later you rescued Zheng He." Zhu Zhanzhen's voice was kept low and he tried to stay calm as much as possible.
"It has been many years since Master Zheng He was captured. We sent ships back to seek support but there was no news. Later, Eunuch Xian thought of a way to contact the British Kingdom. The two countries were at war at the time, so he thought of uniting with them.
Unexpectedly, Yinggelan was even more shameful when fighting against France. They pretended to cooperate with us and spent money to buy back Master Zheng He from the King of France, but they did not hand over Master Zheng He to us, but let us
In exchange for warships."
"We had no choice but to exchange him, but by the time Master Zheng He came back, he had been tortured like this. I don't know if it was the French or the English who did it. Moreover, we only have three warships left.
Unable to counterattack."
"Master Zheng He's wounds were not treated in time and maggots were already growing on his legs. Eunuch Hou Xian asked us to take Master Zheng He back to the voyage, but Master Zheng He insisted on continuing the voyage. He believed His Highness's words. This
The world is round."
"Eunuch Hou Xian did not come back with him, but settled on a small island. Together with eight hundred soldiers, he asked us to use a boat to take Lord Zheng He away first. He said that if we walked around, we could
Go back to the Ming Dynasty and ask the emperor to send troops so that those who insult our Ming Dynasty will be punished."
As he said that, the man knocked his head to the ground fiercely, tears bursting from his eyes: "Your Highness, please send troops to avenge Lord Zheng He and avenge the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Zhanchen clenched his fists tightly, and blood oozed unconsciously. Zheng He had suffered so much inhuman treatment over the years, and the shamelessness of Britain and France was beyond what common sense could tolerate.
Zhu Zhanji shouted: "First call the doctor and show Zheng He."
But the people in the fleet said: "Master Zheng He has been getting weaker and weaker since he set off. He can only rest in bed two months ago. There are limited supplies on the vast sea. We have reduced our clothes and diet, but Master Zheng He has difficulty eating."
, it’s been a long time, I just relied on force to hold on.”
Zhu Zhanzhen looked at Zheng He who was speechless and could barely move on the bed. He felt heartbroken and had tears in his eyes. Looking at Zheng He's hopeful eyes, he seemed to understand something instantly.
"Can this ship still be sailed?"
Zhu Zhanzhen's sudden question made Mu Bin stunned for a moment, but he immediately continued: "The hull is old, but it is mainly due to aging, and there is no serious damage. The steam engine has not been used for many years. It relied on sails before. I tried it after I encountered it.
It should still be usable after a while.”
"Immediately order someone to inspect it and leave for Guangzhou immediately."
"Your Highness!!" Mu Bin didn't know why Zhu Zhanchen wanted to drive this ship to Guangzhou at this time.
"Do as I say!"
"Yes...yes."
Zhu Zhanji patted Zhu Zhanyi on the shoulder and said, "Zhanzhen, don't worry, what do you want to do now?"
Zhu Zhanzhen glanced at Zheng He, turned around and said, "Brother, before Zheng He set sail, he believed that Concubine Tian would welcome him back."
He wants to sail the ship to Guangzhou Prefecture and to Xiangjiang Port.
"Your Highness, the ship can be launched."
Mu Bin came back after a while.
Zhu Zhanzhen directly ordered: "The warship sets sail, escorted by the steam carrier battle group, and heads to Xiangjiang Port."
The fleet that had just docked set off again. At the same time, Zhu Zhanji also ordered people to spread the news about Zheng He to the capital. He was going to Xiangjiang Port with Zhu Zhanyi.
Zhu Zhanzhen stayed by Zheng He's side. Zheng He could hardly move now. Zhu Zhanzhen said regretfully: "It's all my fault, it's all my fault. If I didn't say that to you, I wouldn't be like this."
things."
The soldier who just explained the whole process said: "Your Highness, Lord Zheng He has never blamed His Highness. Lord Zheng He followed the route mentioned by His Highness. He often thought of His Highness and always said that it would be better if His Highness was here. Your Highness."
I must also want to see this scenery. After being captured, I lost my tongue and could not speak, so I wrote a letter to His Highness with a pen in my mouth."
Zhu Zhanchen took the letter he handed over and opened it to see that the handwriting was crooked.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Zhujiang County said softly:
The humble minister sees that the sea is vast, and I hope that His Highness can also see it.
It was very brief. It was already very difficult for Zheng He to write these few words at that time.
He suffered so much humiliation, but the dream of a long voyage in his heart still far outweighed the physical hardship, and the scenery of the sea was everything he pursued.
Zhu Zhanzhen held the letter in his hand. Zheng He never blamed him. Even after suffering such physical torture, Zheng He never blamed him. This made him even more conscience-stricken and stayed with Zheng He.
before the bed.
In the early morning of the next day, when it was just dawn, Zhu Zhanji walked onto the deck, only to see Zhu Zhanyi already standing on the bow of the ship.
"The wind is strong on the bow."
Zhu Zhanzhen seemed to have not heard Zhu Zhanji's words, and stood blankly, the sea breeze blew by, and the ice was biting.
"Didn't you sleep all night?"
Zhu Zhanzhen nodded, and Zhu Zhanji said with concern: "Don't be exhausted, the burden you are carrying now..."
"Brother." Zhu Zhanchen planned Zhu Zhanji's words, and Zhu Zhanji looked at Zhu Zhanchen with some doubts.
Zhu Zhanzhen still looked forward, facing the cold sea breeze and said: "Brother, I am going to avenge Zheng He."
"Franci and Yinggelan insulted me, the Ming Dynasty, and my envoys. This revenge must be avenged. Don't worry, my brother has the same idea as you."
Zhu Zhanzhen knew Zhu Zhanji's character well. Franxi and Yinggelan were thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty. It was not an easy task to defeat them. The long distance was doomed to be difficult to supply, which would consume huge amounts of national power.
But there was no reward. When the time came, the ministers in the court persuaded him that Zhu Zhanji was a person who was very good at weighing the pros and cons, and it was impossible for him to ignore the opinions of the court.
Zhu Zhanzhen said meaningfully: "Brother, in the past two years, people have always compared me with you."
As soon as he said this, Zhu Zhanji's expression became serious. The two brothers had not talked about this matter yet, and it did not seem to be a topic that could be put on the table, but Zhu Zhanji said at this time
come out.
"Others always compare us two brothers. What's more, they wish we could have a fun fight. It would be best if we both win and lose and decide life and death."
Zhu Zhanji's expression became solemn and a little embarrassed.
"Brother, we are brothers. Others just want to watch the joke. I still remember the days when I played behind my eldest brother. Others always thought that the two of us would fight to the death, but I never thought about grabbing anything with my eldest brother.
I don’t want to be pretentious, but I want to conquer the West, and I hope my eldest brother will trust me and support me.”
"I have always trusted you and will always support you."
Zhu Zhanzhen shook his head and said: "Brother is smart. You should understand what I mean. I will not snatch anything from you. Once I conquer the West, I will be away all year round. I also hope that eldest brother will not be deceived by anyone and doubt me."
The two of them were silent, the sea breeze blowing.
What the two brothers said was very simple, without any falsehood.
After a while, Zhu Zhanji said: "Big brother won't believe what others say."
The sea is silent and magnificent.
…
A few seagulls passed through the gorgeous orange clouds, standing freely and lazily on the rocks on the shore. Sometimes a few spread their wings and soared, and sometimes they made cheerful calls. They were calm and indifferent, adding a layer of mystery to the ocean at dusk.
feel.
When the ship arrived at Hong Kong Port, it was dusk the day after tomorrow, and the orange sunset covered the sky. Zhu Zhanzhen and others moved the bed where Zheng He was lying out of the cabin.
Zheng He looked at the tallest mountain in front of Hong Kong Harbor under the orange light.
Under the bright rays of the sun, the statue of the Concubine of Heaven is protecting all the ships returning to the port.
Zheng He's excited eyes welled up with tears. His concubine came to pick him up, at the end of the world but also at the beginning of the world.
The hard work along the way seemed to be in vain, and the suffering he suffered had been forgotten. Bathed in the golden glow and accompanied by the chirping of seagulls, he felt unprecedentedly comfortable.
He looked at Zhu Zhanyi. His Highness was no longer the child he was before. He was tall, steady, and heroic. He had the temperament of Emperor Yongle.
Recalling the scene before the voyage, I recalled Zhu Zhanzhen’s words.
Yes, this world is just a ball
Your Highness the Prince of Zhujiang County, Zheng He has arrived.