Some people in the court began to impeach Zhu Hao, accusing him of sending troops to quell the Japanese pirates and pirates in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, but in fact he sent a fleet to Nanyang, regardless of the Ming Dynasty...
The words were said in a very unpleasant way, almost as if he wanted to beat Zhu Hao into a national traitor.
Previously, people from the Yili Sect felt that Zhu Hao's behavior was betrayal, and finally seized the opportunity, so they became ruthless and wanted to destroy Zhu Hao at once.
Morning meeting.
It took five days for Zhu Si to participate in the court meeting again. As soon as it came up, a bunch of people stood up to attack Zhu Hao, which made Zhu Si look impatient.
After the instigator Jia Yong also came out to make a concluding speech, Zhu Si couldn't help but said: "Even if it was Zhu Hao's idea to send the fleet on a long voyage, do you dare to ask him if he was wrong to do so?"
Jia Yong said: "Your Majesty, this is disregarding the safety of our Ming soldiers and deceiving the imperial court..."
"Who did he deceive?"
Zhu Si was angry and interrupted Jia Yong, "If you can also take a fleet to sea and bring back 400,000 taels of silver and 20,000 taels of gold for me, you can do whatever you want! Otherwise, don't tell me these nonsense!
"
Jia Yong was originally filled with indignation, but after hearing the emperor's words, he was speechless for a moment.
It was also the first time that the ministers present knew that the tribute paid by the ocean-going fleet to the emperor actually included silver and gold, and the amount was quite large. It was almost as much as the entire investment in shipbuilding and other matters before the Ming Dynasty, and this was just
The harvest of a trip to sea.
"I don't look at what anyone has said or done, I only look at the results. If you can't even figure out the gains and losses of doing something, and you only focus on attacking others and denying other people's achievements, in my opinion, this is a sign of incompetence.
I will only despise him and will not adopt any of his opinions! Retreat from the imperial court!"
Zhu Si didn't care about going to court, but as soon as he came today, some ministers bothered him about Zhu Hao. He didn't want to stay any longer and walked away directly.
The remaining ministers were lined up in the court. You looked at me, and I looked at you. They were helpless.
We elected a vassal prince to take over the position of emperor, but his true colors were revealed within three years?
This is choosing a foolish king!
…
…
Zhu Hao met Guan Jing and Lu Bing at the Ningbo Shipyard. Neither of them took anyone to the capital to deliver tribute.
Guan Jing acted calmly, behaved like a general, and looked mature and sophisticated. On the other hand, Lu Bing was still like a child, with a tiger-like head and a tough brain. He liked to look around when he had nothing to do, and he was unsure.
In fact, the more mature of the two is Lu Bing. He received a much better education than Guan Jing, but he always likes to show his youthful and energetic side, which makes people look down upon. In the end, he is always plotted by him. In fact, he is the
He is the brains of the fleet.
"...The ocean is boundless. We walked along the ocean current for twenty days, thousands of miles without a trace. It was not until the twenty-sixth day that we discovered the island marked on the chart. We replenished water and food there, and then continued
Setting off eastward, it took more than twenty years before we found land.
"That piece of land is really big. There are many barbarian tribes on the seaside. Some tribes have money all over the ground. They all use it for decoration... It's really a waste of natural resources..."
Lu Bing talks a lot. He has grown a lot during this trip to America, and he seems to have become a little adult for a while.
Silver was not a common currency in the Americas. In other words, before the New World was discovered by Europeans, trade mainly relied on barter, and there was no so-called currency.
In addition, the storage of silver in the Americas is extremely amazing, and the purity of natural silver ingots is high, making silver a treasure in the Ming Dynasty, but a dirty thing in South America.
"You should have arrived in the central area of the New World. There are not too dense tribes there. In fact, you should go a little further north..."
Zhu Hao knew that the first place Lu Bing and the others arrived in the New World was Acapulco, which was a seaport city in southern Mexico in later generations. It was the main port for trade between the Americas and the Philippines from the 1650s to the early 19th century.
The supply islands were the Hawaiian Islands. He originally gave some advice, but then he thought that it was useless to say that everyone had returned now.
"Where's the chart I gave you? Have you marked all the key points in the voyage that you were asked to record?"
Before Zhu Hao sent the fleet to sea, he gave detailed charts and briefly drew a map of the Americas.
Guan Jingdao: "Sea navigation is simpler. We follow the compass and the stars in the sky to guide the direction, and follow the wind and ocean currents. There are almost no major mistakes on the way. But after arriving in the New World, the coastal areas are full of hills and dense forests. We can't go ashore.
Encountering tribes from afar, they would fight every time, making it impossible to go deep.
"Those tribes had no fighting power. We captured all the ones we could. However, there were too many people and we couldn't take the old, weak, sick and disabled, so we left them where they were because there was no other use except wasting food rations..."
Most of the tribes in Central America are primitive tribes that live on raw materials and drink blood. The weapons they use are basically stone tools, not even bronze ones, let alone iron ones.
Guan Jing and the others were armed with muskets and cannons, and even with ordinary swords, they could easily defeat these primitive tribes.
When Guan Jing said this, he felt somewhat helpless.
I feel like I didn’t learn anything else when I went to the Americas. All I did was bully the weak. I captured some young indigenous people to supplement the labor force, but found that I couldn’t communicate or assign tasks. It took me several months of comparisons to get the general idea.
Meaning, I feel quite regretful now, as it seems to have no other purpose than consuming food.
Zhu Hao nodded: "Seize the time to rest. All returning ships will be sent to the shipyard for maintenance. Once they are completely repaired, we will go to sea... about ten days and a half!"
"So fast?"
Lu Bing was very curious.
Lu Song, who had just come in, heard the news and his expression suddenly became cautious. He knew very well that Zhu Hao was in a hurry to leave.
Now that Lu Bing and others are waiting back, the purpose of exploring the road has been achieved. At the same time, taking advantage of the fleet to bring back a large amount of property, it is undoubtedly very attractive to those who want to follow Zhu Hao to go to sea and make achievements. Taking advantage of this trend
Take the team out with all your strength. If you don't leave now, it won't be easy to leave later. On the one hand, people are distracted. What's more frightening is that the emperor's order may come at any time.
"You still want to go? Are you in a hurry?" Lu Bing didn't really want to go to sea.
He was young, and he had been pampered in his youth. He had been wandering away for nearly half a year and could not even sleep well. After finally coming back, he wanted to see his mother and family.
Now I only see my father, and I have never even been to the capital. I am about to drift at sea for a few more months, and I am naturally reluctant to do so.
Lu Song understood the general outline and said: "This is a military order. You must not disobey it. Go and prepare."
After Lu Bing and Guan Jing left, Lu Song explained the current personnel preparation situation to Zhu Hao clearly.
"Mr. Zhu, how long will it take for us to come back after we go to sea this time?" Lu Song asked.
Zhu Hao said: "One year is still needed."
"One year..."
Lu Song was obviously reluctant to part with everything he had in Ming Dynasty.
Although he didn't know what Zhu Hao's plan was after he went to sea, he had a vague feeling that Zhu Hao might not be as gentle as he is now when he comes back from his return trip. There would be a huge problem whether Zhu Hao would be able to integrate into the Ming Dynasty's officialdom system.
"Where are we going?"
Lu Song asked, looking at the map of America hanging on the wall.
Zhu Hao pointed to the position between the two continents on the map, which was the territory of later Mexico. This era had entered the end of the rule of the Aztec Empire. Zhu Hao knew that the enemies he would face in the past were not those countries established by indigenous peoples.
, but were called the Francons by the Ming Dynasty, but they were actually the Spanish colonial army.
"There are iron mines and coal mines here, but more importantly... there are people here."
Zhu Hao said, "The indigenous people can provide us with sufficient manpower and material support. They are now almost at the end of their rope. If we don't get over, they will become extinct within a year or two."
"Extinction?"
Lu Song didn't quite understand.
Zhu Hao nodded: "It is true extermination, which is equivalent to genocide, because there are people like us who want to conquer them, but those people treat them extremely cruelly and enjoy hunting the heads and skinning of indigenous people. We must do it
Yes, it was in the past that we fought side by side with them to fight against the invaders and brought them under the rule of my Ming Dynasty."
Lu Song smiled bitterly and said: "I heard from Lu Bing that those people don't even understand our language. It's very difficult to talk to them, and there's no way to find a local guide. I'm afraid it won't be that easy."
Zhu Hao smiled and said: "Language is just a means of communication. As long as our fleet passes by, I have a way to achieve absolute military suppression. And when we get there, I believe the people in the fleet will not be in a hurry to leave. Because of that
...It is a complete treasure house, with everything you need.”
Only profit can attract a group of people to follow you.
Zhu Hao understood that after arriving in America, although it could not be said that there was wealth everywhere, he basically had everything he wanted.
There is no need to bring hundreds of thousands of people there, even if that many people are brought there, it will still be enough to feed them, because that is the main production area of corn and sweet potatoes.
There are important people, we are still in the age of people drinking blood, and weapons are backward. The Spanish invaders can destroy a city-state with a few hundred people. Who doesn't want to start a big fight in such a place? Wait for a firm foothold, open the mines, and make weapons.
When you come out, you don’t necessarily need to conquer the Ming Dynasty. You can conquer Europe first.
Zhu Hao also wants to build ships there.
This requires his reserve of knowledge and technology, as well as human support, which depends on whether he can establish relationships with the indigenous people.
If he is really allowed to bring up a civilization, he may be his assistant in conquering the entire world.
…
…
The fleet was reorganized.
There are a total of thirty-nine large ships and eighty-six medium-sized ships, excluding small ships.
Zhu Hao calculated that there were about 40,000 people who could be brought out to sea, including 5,000 officers and soldiers drawn from various coastal guards, and then 5,000 militiamen formed by young people who had performed well in military training.
Most of the rest are recruited craftsmen and a small number of farmers and fishermen. They basically take care of their families. Zhu Hao will also bring his own family papers, but Zhu Niang and the others are not included. This trip will take a long time and the journey will be very long.
It's dangerous. Even if the fleet encounters a typhoon, everything will be over.
"Are we really leaving? How long will we have to go?"
Zhu Hao returned to his private residence and Sun Lan was already packing his things, although there was nothing to pack.
Zhu Hao said: "It's possible in one or two years, or even three to five years."
This statement is different from what he said to Lu Song.
Closer to the truth.
After going overseas, if you can develop outside, you must first stack up your strength before discussing whether to return to the Ming Dynasty.
And even if you come back then, you won't be able to be an obedient citizen.
Zhu Hao was tired of being a courtier, and with his current status in the Ming Dynasty, there was no challenge for him to be a courtier.
Either conquer the Ming Dynasty, or become a brother country with the Ming Dynasty, it will be Zhu Hao's choice at that time.