Chapter 8 Chapter 142

The fleet stayed at the old port for fifteen days, and then continued to set off. At this time, Zhang Xitong had led his fleet to meet it. After the fleet joined forces, they set off from the old port and went all the way, passing through Alu, Sumatra, and all the way to Namuri. Along the way, business groups kept leaving the team, and new business groups joined in.When starting from Daming, the fleet, large and small ships, warships and merchant ships, all add up to more than 300 ships. Now, although several fleets are divided to carry out different exploration missions, along the way, there are always merchant groups who take root on the spot and withdraw from the ranks of the ocean. The total number of ships in the fleet has increased to 462.

They stayed at Nambuli for a long time, because they needed more supplies to cross the Bay of Bengal. Zheng He met with the King of Nanwuli here, and gave him gifts such as gold weaving weaves, gold embroidered dragon clothes, golden curtains and umbrella covers. condition. Naturally, the wealthy merchants of the country seized this opportunity and joined the fleet one after another, using the powerful force of the Ming Fleet to go west to pan for gold.Fortunately, these merchant ships were completely responsible for the various supplies during the itinerary, and did not increase the burden on the Ming Fleet in this regard.

A few days later, everything was ready, and the fleet, which was as large as a snowball group, set off with 506 ships. Their next stop was Mount Ceylon (Sri Lanka), where they took a rest, replenished food and drinking water, and then bypassed the Indian Peninsula to reach the destination of Zheng He's last voyage: Little Gelan, Kezhi and Guri. The giant ship braved the wind and waves. Xia Xun, Zheng He, Zhang Xitong and others stood at the bow of the ship, and the blue waves in front of them were boundless and vast. Zheng He introduced to Xia Xun: From here on, it is the country of Ceylon.The last time I was here, the king of the country was Alecunel. This man was in his prime, and it has not been too long, so he should still be the king of the country.This man is cruel and greedy, and often allows his subordinates to pretend to be pirates and plunder passing ships. It is an open secret that he is a bandit, but he denies it vehemently.

Xia Xun's eyes flickered slightly, and he said: "Even so, with the strength of our Daming army, he wouldn't dare to strike, right?" Zheng He smiled and said: That is natural.The last time I came, Alie Kunel did not make things difficult for my fleet, but she was quite indifferent to me, so I did not stay here any longer. After I arrived in Kochi, I asked people about the situation in Ceylon. Only then did I learn more about the situation. This Ceylon believes in Buddhism. There is a holy mountain in the country. There is a strange imprint on the top of the mountain, which is shaped like a big footprint. It is rumored that it is a sacred object used by Sakyamuni to identify believers.There are many precious stones on the mountain. During the heavy rain season, the rainwater rushes down and gathers into streams, often carrying a large number of precious stones and washing down in the sand.

Therefore, it is more respected by believers, and all envoys who come and go must go up the mountain to pay respects.The last time I came, I didn’t know about this. I think the king of the country was indifferent because I didn’t pay pilgrimage to their holy mountain, so I was treated coldly. I think that when the time comes, I will offer to go to the holy mountain for a pilgrimage, as an act of kindness to ease the relationship between them. After hearing this, Xu Hu couldn't help but said: "Why should my father-in-law make compromises!"The so-called king of Ceylon is powerful, is it bigger than our Ming fleet?Let's drive the fleet into the port and aim our guns at the shore to see if the king of Ceylon still dares to despise the heavenly court!

Another navy general also said: Not bad!When I was in Nanwuli, I heard that on the 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 army. Capture him and be with Chen Zuyi! Zheng He reprimanded: We have been entrusted with the holy order to come to the west and make good friends with all countries in the world. How can we be so belligerent?Soldiers, the great event of the country!In the previous episode, we set up the king of Manraja and captured the king of Bolin. Although Chen Zuyi has his own way of killing, it is difficult to ensure that the countries will not feel jealous.If we capture the King of Ceylon again, what do you ask the countries in Southeast Asia to think?

Xia Xun also said: "It's really not advisable to act with arrogance. It is much more difficult for ordinary people to make friends between countries than ordinary people."As long as two people are congenial, they can become friends. Between countries, there are various interests mixed in, and there are also different folk customs. If you want to achieve friendship, you need patience. How can it be easy to disagree? Big fight? After Xia Xun finished speaking, he gently pulled Zheng He, Zheng He understood, and walked aside with him, Xia Xun said in a low voice: Eunuch, last time, Eunuch heard about Jianwen in the Guli area, so after arriving in Ceylon, I Thinking about it, he took the Shuangyu Fleet, pretended to be pirates, and went on the road first. He arrived there earlier than his father-in-law and made some secret visits.

Zheng He said: "Well, after passing Mount Ceylon, the Duke of the State will walk ahead of Zheng He in every place after that. It's okay to talk about the Guli area, but we have never been there before. Whether it is the water conditions of the sea area or the geographical customs, it is absolutely the same. I don't know.Guogong is in the front, which is tantamount to exploring the way first, risks are inevitable, so be careful. Xia Xun smiled and said: "It's okay, I already have an excellent guide, so nothing major will happen."The Shuangyu Guards are rebellious, and I am afraid they will cause trouble, so I bring them with me so that I can restrain them.If something happens, they are all pirates, father-in-law can also push it away, since it has nothing to do with my celestial dynasty, so as not to damage your majesty's reputation.

Zheng He understood, the two looked at each other, and laughed twice, both of them were a bit old-fashioned and slippery. Not far away, Zhang Xitong and a group of civil servants were shaking their heads, reciting poems and prose, the poems were blowing in the wind, faintly in their ears, the two looked at each other, and there was something funny about it. This trip, the civil servants spared no effort to support the voyage, and the officials who came with the ship also spared no effort. Such behavior, before Zhu Di made a decision to change the tribute trade to free trade and allow the civil servants to participate in the ocean, is really different people.In the final analysis, it is still profit.

Sailing to the west is too lucrative, because it is too lucrative, but some people can't make it, or 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 West, each with hundreds of ships and tens of thousands of sailors; five expeditions to Mobei, with hundreds of thousands of troops at every turn, three large-scale crusades against Annan, large-scale relocation of the capital, large-scale construction of the capital, and dredging of the Grand Canal , compiling the Yongle Grand Ceremony, and building the Great Wall

Based on the lessons of certain emperors who prodigal and subjugated the country, it is enough for Emperor Yongle to subjugate the country more than a dozen times, but Zhu Di's dynasty has always been stable, and he even dared to spend a lot of money in the late Yongle period. Did you leave him more money than he could spend? Before the founding of Zhu Yuanzhang, the world was in chaos. When Bei Yuan was driven out of the Central Plains, the world became a mess. Zhu Yuanzhang worked hard for 30 years and recuperated. It really put the country on the right track and brought Daming close to the level of a well-off society, but it has not yet arrived. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was extremely rich.Immediately after the four-year civil war broke out, Zhu Di was not rich when he came to the throne. After Yongle, Zhu Gaochi only served as emperor for one year. The so-called benevolent and prosperous age is actually a bit of a misnomer. It was only one year from his ascension to his death. How much impact could he have on the country's economy?In just a few months, he can make Zhu Di's broken Ming Dynasty rich again? And Zhu Zhanji has only been the emperor for ten years, and there are still wars to grab the throne and pacify the emperor's uncle.In the past ten years, Zheng He's seventh voyage to the West, and Wang Jinghong's next voyage to the West, if Zhu Di really sailed and lost his fortune and left a mess, can Zhu Zhanji lose a prosperous world in ten years? The problem is that Zhu Di did not achieve balance, the balance of various interest groups.In his voyages to the West, the rich are the court and the royal family, and the ordinary people are the beneficiaries, leaving aside the most powerful middle class that can influence the government. This is not the case today. From top to bottom, all classes enjoy their benefits. Naturally, it can be like the voyages of Western countries. The whole country supports it unanimously. Spare no effort to find numerous theoretical basis for it. Xia Xun's thinking is right. Anyway, the civil servant group is the cultural elite of Ming Dynasty, the main force that influences political and cultural progress, and the backbone force that influences the progress of the nation. Throwing them to the opposite side is definitely a wrong choice Only by pulling them in can they become a positive force for progress. Today, this kind of power has begun to take effect. In the past, Man Lajia was separated from Siam, and Chen Zuyi was captured instead of returning to power to the son of the former king of Bolin. Discredited in a mess?Not to mention sending officers and soldiers to sea in the name of pirates. But now, they are leisurely and leisurely, and they have no objection to the actions of the fleet all the way, and they are full of praise. Even the murderous words of the two naval generals just now, only Xia Xun and Zheng He stood up to express their opposition. Not these birdmen who have always regarded themselves as disciples of saints. In the small cabin, Tang Sai'er complained to Su Ying tearfully: Aunt Ying, I have been locked up for a long, long time, when will I let her out? Su Ying said: This time, I won't even lie to you!Although you have practiced martial arts, you are still a girl and lack strength. How can you compare with those fierce pirates?There are constant arrows, axes and javelins on the boat, what if they hurt you?It was he who promised you to come out with the boat. If something bad happens to you, how will you face your mother and explain to her after you ask him to go back? Tang Sai'er answered in a flustered voice: "I won't dare anymore in the future, why don't I promise to be obedient?" Su Ying nodded her forehead, and said bitterly: You girl, you really don't worry!Alright, alright, I'll go and talk to him, I'll let you out sooner. Um!Aunt Ying loves me the most! Tang Sai'er smiled through tears, and looked at Su Ying flatteringly. Su Ying gave her a glare, got up and walked out. As soon as the door was closed, Tang Sai'er still had tears on her face, so she hurriedly climbed to the window and stretched out her hand to push it. The window was jammed, but she opened it at some point.Tang Sai'er hurriedly went to recycle the line: "It's broken, it's broken, it's been so long, the fish must have been unhooked, ah!"It's still there!What a big fish! After a while, a big fish was dragged into the cabin. Tang Saier hugged the lively big fish, just like a boy hugging a big red carp in a New Year painting. go down. She has fishing lines, hooks, and even bait. It seems that she has never been locked up in the cabin for a long time.