At Xiangjiang Port, Chen Youshan saw the South China Sea Fleet returning and had already arrived at the port. He was not notified in advance of its return. This sudden return made him a little confused.
When the fleet slowly docked, he saw an old warship in the middle of the fleet. It looked like it was a few years ago, and it still had sails. It was the first generation of steam warships. The current steam warships
Battleships have been completely eliminated.
"Whose ship is this? How can it be escorted by the South China Sea Steam Carrier Fleet?" Chen Youshan was full of questions.
When Zhu Zhanzhen and Zhu Zhanji got off the boat, Chen Youshan immediately stepped forward to greet them.
"Weak minister, Chen Youshan, the magistrate of Xiangjiang County, I didn't know that your two highnesses arrived, but I missed you from a distance. Please punish me."
Zhu Zhanzhen looked bad and said coldly: "Gather the craftsmen who built the statue of Tianfei. I will build a new statue next to the statue of Tianfei."
"ah?"
"Zheng He is back."
Chen Youshan's face was full of joy: "Master Zheng He is back?"
But the joy disappeared instantly, because Zheng He was carried down and covered with a white cloth. He knew what this meant.
"This...this..." Chen Youshan was speechless for a long time.
He followed Zheng He in the Zhoushan naval battle and had a very clear understanding of Zheng He's commanding ability in naval battles. Why did Zheng He die in his prime?
I thought he had returned from his voyage around the world and verified Zhu Zhanzhen's conjecture, but I never expected it to end like this.
He also thought about the possibility that Zheng He died of natural causes, but looking at Zhu Zhanzhen's face, if Zheng He died of natural causes, Zhu Zhanzhen's face could not be so embarrassed.
That hateful face is really scary.
He looked like a man-eating ferocious beast. I couldn't say how ferocious his face was, but his whole body exuded the aura of killing people.
"Let the world know that Zheng He is back. Zheng He has completed his journey around the world. There will be two statues in the port of Hong Kong in the future. The concubine will welcome the return and Zheng He will escort him. I will let the whole world and future generations remember Zheng He for all the generations to come.
and."
After that, Zhu Zhanzhen looked at Zhu Zhanji: "Brother, I don't plan to return to the capital. Could you please tell my father that the Hongxi Literature Award will be carried out step by step now. It should not be a big problem. I plan to start the voyage to the west from now on."
Things about the European countries."
"This matter is so serious that it needs to be discussed by my father and the important officials in the court."
But at this time, Zhu Zhanyi made a decision: "Going to a place in the West that we know nothing about is a long way and the future is unpredictable. If the cabinet is allowed to discuss such a thing that consumes national power and may not be successful, they will never do it.
Will agree."
"Zhan Zhen, you know all these principles, but you still..."
"Yes, I know, so I don't plan to discuss it with them. I will discuss it with you, brother, and you have to support me."
Zhu Zhanzhen looked at Zhu Zhanji sincerely, wanting to finalize Zhu Zhanji as an ally.
"But..." Zhu Zhanji still felt that it was too risky to rashly decide to attack the European countries that Zheng He had just discovered.
Zhu Zhanchen gritted his teeth and said: "Hou Xian asked Zheng He to come back first. He is still staying on the island near Europa. He is waiting for me to go over and avenge Zheng He. Eight hundred soldiers are still outside, waiting for our army to rush to help.
Are they regardless of their life and death? Are they allowed to trample on the dignity of our Ming Dynasty and do nothing?"
"Zhan Zhan, that's not what I meant..."
"I understand brother's concerns, but I must fight this battle, and I will prepare from now on. I will try to send the first batch of people there before the year."
What Zhu Zhanji is worried about now is that Zhu Zhanyi is blinded by hatred and insists on going his own way. And based on his understanding of Zhu Zhanyi, Zhu Zhanyi is not good at fighting. He is good at logistics and economics, but he is not good at leading troops in battle.
It's very common. It might not be a good thing if he is allowed to continue like this.
And he himself was about to launch the Northern Expedition, which meant that the Ming Dynasty now had to fight on two fronts, and one of them was a long-term one.
The Ming Dynasty had just launched the Northern Expedition and the Western Expedition. It had only been stable for two years, and it had to do it again. The Northern Expedition was less difficult than before, but this time there was no doubt that half of the Ming Dynasty's financial resources had to be used for the Western Expedition. This made him, the prince,
Very difficult.
Zhu Zhanzhen had predicted his difficulties and his character of weighing pros and cons, so he had a special conversation with him on the boat.
Everyone said that the King of the Sea was so powerful that he would be a serious problem for the prince in the future. The brothers would eventually end up in the same situation as the King of Han and the current emperor. Many people had already given Zhu Zhanji advice and started to suppress Zhu Zhanyi earlier, and even
He is cruel and ruthless, and hopes to get rid of Zhu Zhanchang as soon as possible.
Taking advantage of Zheng He's matter and talking to Zhu Zhanji about it, Zhu Zhanji's meaning was very clear: you support me in the Northern Expedition, and I fully support my eldest brother's ascension to the throne as emperor, and I will never compete with him for the throne and power.
To put it bluntly and harshly, I give up this kingdom and the world, I give it up!
It is true that Zhu Zhanji is good at weighing the pros and cons, and Zhu Zhanzhen wanted to give him the greatest benefit. After that, everyone asked him to look at the situation. When weighing the situation, he had to put this matter first.
Zhu Zhanji said hesitantly: "But the Western Expedition is not that simple. It requires a long-term plan. When I return from the Northern Expedition, I will be with you. If you are not good at conquering, I will do it."
Zhu Zhanzhen was moved by these words, but when Zhu Zhanzhen thought about it carefully, he realized that Zhu Zhanji must also be worried that even though he made a verbal promise, the Western Expedition would inevitably use most of the country's troops.
He felt uneasy with such military power in other hands.
"Brother, don't worry. I'm not a rash person. A two-front war would be detrimental to the Ming Dynasty. I understand that I plan to send some people there first to find out the situation there first."
"Okay, it's good if you can calm down." Zhu Zhanji patted Zhu Zhanchen on the shoulder.
At this time, Zhu Zhanzhen had to take care of Zheng He's funeral affairs first.
As an eunuch, Zheng He had no son of his own and adopted his eldest brother's son as his heir. Now Zhu Zhanzhen wanted to personally deliver Zheng He's body to their house.
Zhu Zhanzhen looked at all the soldiers who came back with Zheng He, and said with tears in his eyes: "Everyone who has completely sailed around the world with Zheng He will have your names in the history books, and there will be no shortage of rewards from the court. Chen Youshan
.”
"Wei Chen is here."
"These few, one by one, have all been arranged. If they are willing to serve in the military, they will be promoted. If they are not willing, they must also arrange their lives. They will live a prosperous and prosperous life."
"Wei Chen understands."
With a thud, a group of soldiers knelt down, but Zhu Zhanzhen never expected that they were not the ones expressing gratitude.
The ragged soldier said excitedly with tears in his eyes: "Your Highness, we have discussed it before. As long as Your Highness does not think we are weak, on the day His Highness's warship sets off, we will continue to be the officers and soldiers on His Highness's warship."
I will lead His Highness to fight against France and Yinggelan, and avenge Lord Zheng He."
"Okay! Okay! Okay! I am a good son of the Ming Dynasty and a good soldier of the Ming Dynasty. Chen Youshan has arranged for them all to enter the military academy. You all will study hard there for a few months. When the army sets out, I will take you with me."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
…
Zheng He's return caused a sensation across the country, and the fact that the world is round became a topic that everyone was discussing.
It turns out that there are many people on the other side of the world. It turns out that the places the Silk Road leads to can also be reached by sea.
"You know? The world is really round."
"I've also heard about it. Is it because the imperial court is fooling people?"
"What are you doing by deceiving you? Can I still make three melons and two dates by deceiving you that the world is round, or what?"
"It is said that Lord Neptune proposed it. Zheng He traveled around the world and came back. Unfortunately, he died."
"It is said that many people want to go to sea now, and various large business houses and families have this intention."
"It is said that Zheng He died miserably and that people on the other side of the world are cannibals."
"I heard that it looks like this, with a pale complexion and blue eyes. It eats people."
"Tsk, tsk, that's terrible."
The news of Zheng He's return became very popular, and the news became half-truth and half-false. Because of Zheng He's tragic death, it was widely spread among the people that the West was full of man-eating evil spirits, and fear arose in their hearts.
.
Compared with Eastern culture, Europe in the fifteenth century was really filthy. Although it was in the Renaissance, the filthiness was the real side. The dark church had huge power.
If something is too dirty or even unspeakable, then do it in the name of God.
Man cannot be forgiven, but God can.
Zhu Zhanzhen finally decided to bury Zheng He's body next to the statue of Tianfei. A huge statue of Zheng He will also be erected here. In the future, everyone will go to sea under the guidance of Zheng He's statue.
"Zheng He, don't worry, I will definitely avenge you."
Zhu Zhanzhen said to Chen Youshan behind him: "Chen Youshan is, how is the convening of the trading company?"
"Go back to Your Highness, everyone is here and waiting for you."
The two of them went down the mountain. Zhu Zhanzhen had only one reason for calling these people, and that was to make money. The next expedition to the Western Seas would consume a huge amount of financial resources.
He has money, but it is still not enough. He needs more money, more resources, and more manpower.
Zhu Zhanji had returned to the capital at this time. You don't need to think about it to know that Zhu Zhanji, Zhu Gaochi and the cabinet ministers must be discussing intensively about Zhu Zhanyi's Western Expedition. Among these people, Zhu Zhanji may be the most important one.
The only person who firmly supports him in starting a war.
Regardless of whether you support this fight or not, I am determined.
The people Zhu Zhanzhen summoned were all prominent people, and most of these people had made a lot of money in the previous maritime trade. The merchants on one side were extremely wealthy, but in front of Zhu Zhanzhen, they all lowered their posture. Everyone
Everyone knows that everyone can make money because of the glory of His Highness.
"I believe you all already know about Zheng He and the truth about this world." Zhu Zhanzhen started simply.
Someone below agreed and said: "Your Highness is truly a god. He sailed around the world and actually returned to the starting point."
Zhu Zhanzhen stretched out his hand to signal them to stop talking. They wanted to compliment him, but looking at Zhu Zhanzhen's appearance, they seemed to be in a bad mood, so they wisely closed their mouths.
Zhu Zhanzhen looked around and said: "My Ming Dynasty has powerful maritime power. Since Zheng He has already visited places, I plan to go there again and let the flag of Ming Dynasty be planted wherever it goes."
"You all have business contacts with the countries in Southeast Asia, and you should have felt the benefits of it over the years. I hope you can fully support me in this trip to sea, and I hope that your trading companies can follow me on the trip."
At this time, everyone hesitated and did not dare to speak. Most of these people had heard about Zheng He. Although they did not know the specific circumstances, they knew that Zheng He should have died tragically during the voyage and was killed by evil spirits from the West.
In a short period of time, the image of evil spirits in the West was described as extremely terrifying. They had never seen people before, and their infinite imagination aggravated the horror.
Zhu Zhanzhen understood that if such emotions continued to ferment, it would be very detrimental to the overall situation, and he must try his best to reverse the situation.
"If His Highness needs our support, I will not hesitate to do so. I am willing to contribute 20% of my personal assets to help His Highness in his Western expedition."
"I can also pay 20%."
This group of people did not hesitate when expressing their stance. After all, the benefits of following Zhu Zhanxun were very obvious. Even if the money was wasted, at least Zhu Zhanxang looked at this matter in terms of face, these people in Guangzhou Prefecture
Business can be protected.
But this is obviously not enough. Zhu Zhancheng wants more than just the money. He has a bigger plan.
He understood that these people were afraid of the unknown in the West.
Fear has never been the driving force for human progress, greed is.
Zhu Zhanchen knocked on the table, the sound was not loud, but everyone fell silent, and everyone looked at the handsome and upright young prince.
"The Concubine Tian entrusted me with a dream!" Zhu Zhanzhen's words made everyone stunned. No one knew why he said such a sentence at this time.
"Just like when she guided me that the world was round, this time she said that she would bless all the ships that set sail in the Ming Dynasty to return fully loaded. She said that there are countless lands, food, and wealth on the sea waiting for us to discover, and that is all
The gift she gave us.”
When others say this, everyone will definitely think that he is talking nonsense, but Zhu Zhanzhen is different. Everyone believes that he has been guided by the Concubine Tian. Otherwise, how would he have thought of such an outrageous thing that the world is round?
Now that there is guidance from the Concubine, do they believe it or not?
People along the coast, especially those engaged in maritime trade, believe deeply in Tianfei. For the fishermen and people along the coast, they can cheat on their wives, but they cannot cheat on Mazu.
Zhu Zhanzhen dared to use Tianfei to speak, and most of them believed it in their hearts.
"The Empress Tianfei said that the land in the west is full of gold and beauties. There are people who have not yet enlightened. They are just rude people like villagers in the mountains. She wants us to build the statue of Tianfei on that land and put the statue of Tianfei on that land.
The light shines on that dark continent, go to the sea, go further."
"Your Highness, tell me, what do we need to do?"
Zhu Zhanzhen waved his hand and showed a simple version of the world map: "First of all, I need people, many people, to come here and help me dig a canal to connect the two oceans."
His finger fell on the map, between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
