In early June, the treasure ship and cargo were ready, and it was finally time to go to sea.
Among the civil servants, except for Xia Yuanji, the rest were quite repulsive to going to sea.
Some of these people were hurting their family interests by going overseas for trade, while others felt that being a businessman was detrimental to their prestige.
Of course, on the surface, everyone agrees: it is unseemly for the imperial court to engage in business.
Zhu Di had already anticipated this and said: "Treasure ships go to sea not for trade, but to promote the country's prestige..."
Barabara...
There were female students behind the scenes who were making suggestions. After Zhu Di gave an impassioned speech, although the civil servants were unwilling, they had nothing to do.
Zheng He's voyage to the West officially begins!
Originally, Zhu Di wanted Li Qing to go with him, but Li Qing was unwilling to travel far away. The trip would take at least two years, which was too long, so Zhu Di didn't force it.
However, as a friend who has known him for many years, Li Qing followed the fleet all the way to see Sanbao off.
In mid-June, the treasure ship fleet set off from the capital one after another, assembled at Liujiagang in Taicang, and then stationed at Taiping Port in Changle to wait for the sea to open.
On the deck, the sea breeze stirred up Sanbao's long hair. The fair-faced boy was now middle-aged, more mature and restrained.
Sanbao is not like other eunuchs who always bend down habitually; he does not have a flattering look, but gives people a gentle and elegant feeling. He always has a smile on his face. No one who doesn't know will know him and the eunuch.
connected together.
"Sir, if I send you off again, I'll have to send you out to sea." Sanbao smiled and said, "Let's stop here!"
Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief and warned: "It's a long journey, so take care along the way!"
Sanbao nodded and said with great reluctance: "I'm afraid we won't be able to see each other for two years after this farewell, so I must cherish it, sir."
While the two were talking, the sails of the ship were raised one after another, and the north wind blew loudly. Seeing this, Li Qing clasped his fists and turned around to get off the ship.
A quarter of an hour later, all the sails were raised, the sailors stirred the turntable, and as the heavy iron chain was wrapped around the turntable little by little, the anchor was also lifted up.
Sanbao stood on the deck, his robes fluttering in the sea breeze, his face was full of joy, and he said loudly: "Let's set sail!"
Half a quarter of an hour later, the treasure ship moved slowly, heading towards the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean.
"Three Treasures!" Li Qing shouted with anger in his Dantian.
Sanbao turned around and responded with a bright smile.
Li Qing was infected by it, and a smile appeared on his lips, "Have a good trip."
Sanbao had a smile on his face and shook his hand vigorously.
………
Li Qing stood at the port for a long time, until the ship, which was comparable to a small aircraft carrier, completely disappeared from sight, then he turned around and rushed back with the seeing-off team.
~
After returning to the capital, Li Qing continued his simple and unpretentious life.
As he grows older, he cherishes the people in front of him more and more. Even the old monk, he will care for him occasionally.
For example: Sometimes I go to the temple to see if this guy is dead.
The floods in western Zhejiang have been properly controlled, dredging and restoring land are proceeding in an orderly manner, book repairs are also in full swing, and everything is developing for the better.
This kind of prosperous atmosphere can be experienced personally.
However, the Ming Dynasty increased revenue almost everywhere without reducing expenditure, and the national treasury was increasingly tight.
With the help of Xiaopang, Li Qing, Xia Yuanji and others, he could barely hold on.
Of course, many civil servants were dissatisfied with the conditions for support.
Because, with the suggestions of several people, the taxes in several provinces south of the Yangtze River were increased.
Although after the Hongwu Dynasty, officials in the Ming Dynasty were no longer monopolized by southern scholars, it was not much better. More than 70% of the officials in the Ming Dynasty came from Jiangnan.
Especially the three provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi are the largest. Together, these three provinces can hold up almost half of the sky.
After this wave of operations, Li Qing's reputation became bad again, and the imperial censors repeatedly impeached him.
But Li Qing didn't care at all and took two days off if he was unhappy. Zhu Di had only one way to deal with the impeachment memorial against Li Qing.
——Stay in the middle but don’t send it out!
Seeing that the impeachment of Li Qing was ineffective, Yan Guan was furious and impeached Zhu Di, impeaching him for destroying Taizu's ancestral system of banning the sea, and impeaching him for wasting money and people on the book repair... The impeachment was very enjoyable.
Zhu Di didn't take it seriously at first, but as Yan Guan became more and more aggressive, he couldn't bear it.
This thing is no less than the cyber violence of later generations. How could Zhu Di, the mighty emperor, get used to these keyboard warriors, so he caught a few typical examples.
He did not punish serious crimes, but only punished them with twenty imperial rods. Unexpectedly, these people were in such poor physical condition that they died after being hit with twenty imperial rods.
Zhu Di deeply apologized for this.
…
Time flies by like a fleeting moment.
In May of the fourth year of Yongle, the Ming army pacified Annan.
Unexpectedly, all members of the Annan royal family died. After they were completely extinct, no one could take over the throne.
Therefore, under the petition of Annan envoys and court officials, Zhu Di reluctantly agreed to include Annan in the Ming Dynasty.
Name: Jiaozhi!
A total of 47 states, more than 150 counties, and a population of more than 6 million were included!
Incorporating Annan into the Ming Dynasty not only enlarged the territory and increased the population, but also provided a transit station for future voyages to the West.
The convenience of obtaining supplies nearby is of great significance.
Zhu Neng fell seriously ill on his way back to the court. Although Li Qing tried his best to save him, he only survived for a few months.
In October, General Zhu Neng died of illness. Zhu Di was deeply saddened and named him King Dongping with the posthumous title: Wu Lie.
In December, Queen Xu also fell ill, and the imperial doctor shook his head.
Zhu Di was heartbroken and ordered Li Qing to cure him.
Li Qing did not disappoint him. He used acupuncture and medicine. After some treatment, Xu Miaoyun was relieved.
However, this female student's health is indeed not very good.
…
Zhu Di's feelings for Xu Miaoyun are no weaker than those between Lao Zhu and Queen Ma.
Zhu Di was worried when he saw that although his daughter-in-law had recovered from her illness, she still looked weak.
"Li Qing, can't you make the queen recover completely?"
"The Queen's illness is not serious. If you take good care of yourself, you can still recover." Li Qing comforted her.
After Zhu Di heard this, he relaxed and said, "That's good. You should be more careful and help the queen recover as soon as possible."
"I obey." Li Qing smiled and nodded.
Unlike Empress Ma, Xu Miaoyun's illness was discovered in time. If she takes good care of herself, she can live for a long time.
"Your Majesty, the Queen's health is not serious. All you need to do is take medicine on time." Li Qing advised, "Don't slack off on government affairs!"
During the days when Xu Miaoyun was ill, Zhu Di was almost at his side, and he could even be called the most affectionate person in the Ming Dynasty!
But he was deeply affectionate, but the government affairs were all on the little fat guy. Li Qing saw it and felt pain in his heart.
Zhu Di nodded in agreement, "Let's go to the imperial study."
"..." Li Qing said with a smile, "The memorials are all in the East Palace, so what's the use of going to the imperial study?"
"East Palace?" Zhu Di narrowed his eyes and hummed: "This kid is a little too arrogant. I sent the memorial to the East Palace while I was still alive. Are you trying to tease me?"
Li Qing was speechless: "In order to save the time wasted in going back and forth, the prince has added a weaving bureau, a porcelain kiln, and a shipping department... There are so many things to do, even if Huang Huai, Jin Youzi, and Yang Shiqi help, it will not be easy;
The prince has worked so hard, and if you continue to find fault with me, Your Majesty, it will be too chilling."
"You will turn to him." Zhu Di said angrily, "Please find out who is the emperor."
There is really no one else to be jealous of his son... Li Qing slandered.
~
East Palace.
Xie Jin, Jin Youzi, Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, Huang Huai, Hu Guang... it was like a small court.
Seeing Zhu Di coming, everyone quickly saluted.
Zhu Di glanced at everyone, his expression became even more unhappy, and he frowned and said: "Xie Jin, I asked you to repair the book, why are you here?"
"Back to the Emperor, the book has been repaired." Xie Jin explained, "The Emperor has not shown up in the past few days, so I have to report it to His Highness the Crown Prince Ming."
The joy on Zhu Di's face flashed away, he glanced at Xiaopang and said calmly: "Prince, should I know about such a big matter?"
When the little fat man saw that I was so angry, his face twitched, and he quickly admitted his mistake: "Father, please forgive me, I have been too busy these days, so I forgot about this."
"Forgot? How could you forget such a big thing?" Zhu Di sneered: "Why didn't you forget to eat?"
"My son..." Xiaopang wiped the sweat from his face, "My son, I know the crime."
Li Qing came to the rescue and said: "Your Majesty, now that the book has been completed, the most urgent task is to give it a resounding name."
"Yes, yes, what Li Aiqing said is absolutely true." Xiaopang said hurriedly, "Please give me a name from my father."
Xie Jin, Yang Shiqi and others also echoed in unison.
Zhu Di's face looked a little better. He pondered for a moment and said, "Let's call it Yongle Dadian!"