The purpose of Zheng He's voyage to the West was to promote the virtue of the Ming Dynasty, show off his troops in foreign lands, and show China's wealth and strength. Looking for the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen, Ming Chengzu suspected that Emperor Jianwen had fled overseas and wanted to find his traces, so he ordered officials Zheng He, Wang Jinghong, Zhang Wen and others to build 100 large ships and lead more than 27,000 troops to the Western Ocean.

Zheng He went to the West to target the Timurid Empire, and united with India to outflank the rear of the Timurid Empire and contain its eastward advance. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Timur attacked the Ming Dynasty on a large scale, so forming alliances from overseas was one of the main purposes of Zheng He's voyage to the West, and India, the Red Sea and other places virtually adopted a half-moon-shaped peripheral offensive against the Timurid Empire.

The development of overseas trade and the attempt to colonize overseas countries included tributary trade, official trade and private trade.

Sweeping Zhang Shicheng's old department, Zheng He went to the West because Ming Chengzu sent Zheng He to sweep away the remnants of Zhang Shicheng, a rebel in the last years of the Yuan Dynasty. After Zhang Shicheng's death, his subordinates united with the Japanese Japanese to threaten the security of the coastal areas, and Ming Chengzu sent Zheng He to sweep them out based on security concerns.

To solve the problem of military demobilization, during the Jingyan Change, there was a famine in the Ming Dynasty, and Ming Chengzu stepped up the project of transporting grain from the south to the north, and expanded the demand for the navy and army. After the matter was settled, the demand for the navy declined, and in order to prevent these naval rebellions, Ming Chengzu arranged for them to follow Zheng He to the West.

Zheng He has traveled to more than 30 countries, including Java, Sumatra, Sulu, Pahang, Zhenwax, Guli, Siam, Adan, Tianfang, Zhofar, Kurumus, and Mugudushu, and has reached as far as the east coast of Africa, the Red Sea, Mecca, and possibly Australia. More than 80 years earlier than the Western explorer Vasco da Gama Columbus and others, the Ming Dynasty was ahead of the West in the same period in navigation technology, fleet size, voyage distance, duration, and fields involved, creating a miracle in the world's maritime history.

Zhu Di, the king of Yan, rejuvenated the army of Jingjing, seized the throne, rewarded meritorious soldiers, summoned Confucian scholars from all over the world to edit the Yongle Grand Canon, built a big ship, sent Zheng He to the West six times, sent a large army to attack Vietnam, and built the Beijing Palace, used the five southern provinces to pay taxes, and built the Wudang Mountain Taoist Temple for 14 years, which cost tens of thousands, so that the treasury was empty and the salary was empty.

In order to solve the financial difficulties, Ming Chengzu promoted the Western Ocean and expanded overseas trade. The benefits brought to the Ming Dynasty government by the open policy of Western trade amounted to at least 230,000 taels of gold and 10 million taels of silver, which was more than ten times the income of the Song and Yuan Dynasty cities. In addition, the vassal states that had been surveyed by the Ming Dynasty were able to trade with the three treaty ports such as Quanzhou and Ningbo, and imported Western goods such as aloe vera and gold-encrusted rings into the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, in terms of diplomacy and military affairs, Zheng He's exploits in the West included the overthrow of the Sri Lankan dynasty and the Sumatran monarchy, the punishment of pirates, and the establishment of a small fishing village in Malacca, turning it into a powerful country and a transshipment station for goods.

Influencing the Strait of Malacca, Zheng He's overseas political intervention in the West, in the long run, the most important thing is to manipulate the Strait of Malacca, the main route between China and maritime trade, and choose to support the bandit leader Baili Misura, Zheng He granted him the seal and imperial robe. Baili Misura personally paid tribute to China, making his stronghold in the marshes of Malacca an increasingly prosperous and prosperous commercial center.

Zheng He's achievements clearly prove that China has the potential to dominate the seas and become a maritime empire, and that Zheng He has actively intervened in the internal affairs of Southeast Asia, which is a port of China's economy, trade, and defense.

Zheng He's archives in the West were originally stored in the Ministry of War, during the Chenghua period of Ming Xianzong, the Ministry of War ordered the Ministry of War to check Zheng He's old files, and the officials of the Ministry of War Shangshu Xiang Zhong could not find it for three days, and it had been hidden in advance by Liu Daxia, who was in the middle of the Che Driver. Xiang Zhong asked the officials, how can the archives in the library be lost?

Liu Daxia, who was present at the time, said: "Zheng He's voyage to the West cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the number of soldiers and civilians killed was tens of thousands, even if he obtained treasures, what is the benefit?

Whether a large number of Zheng He's archives were destroyed by Liu Daxia is still a mystery. Zheng He's archives may have been lost in the late Ming Dynasty when Li Zicheng attacked Beijing or when Qing troops captured the city.

Zheng He led more than 28,000 people to the Western Ocean on his first voyage and led 62 ships. Passing through the country of Java, it coincided with the scuffle between the king of the west and the king of the east, the king of the east was defeated, the kingdom was destroyed, when Zheng He's fleet passed through the territory of the king of the east, his subordinates entered the city to trade, and were killed by the king of the west. After that, Zheng He stayed here many times, and this place was also called Semarang by later generations.

In the autumn of the seventh year of Yongle, Zheng He re-became commander-in-chief and commanded a fleet of 30,000 men on his third voyage. On this voyage, one of the largest wars of all voyages finally broke out.

When Zheng He arrived in Ceylon, he brought with him a stone tablet inscribed in Chinese, Tamil, and Persian scripts to stand on the island, but at this time the island was divided into three rival regimes, the most powerful being the hero who had just led the local population to defeat the Tamils.

Particularly wary of China, he flatly rejected Zheng He's request to erect a monument and accepted a tributary relationship with the Ming Empire, believing that Zheng He's fleet had arrived in Ceylon most likely for the remains of the country's sacred relic, the tooth of the Buddha and the tooth of Shakyamuni, and that the shadow of the excitement brought by the Yuan fleet had not yet had time to fade in the minds of the locals.

The first clash between the two sides ended with Zheng He's army being driven back to the ship, and Zheng He's fleet did not stop in the nearby seas, but set sail for India to complete his trading mission.

Soon after, Zheng He's fleet reappeared on the shores of Ceylon and set up a stronghold, apparently to punish Alek for his disrespect to the Celestial Empire. When she failed to ask Zheng He for the treasure, she first led Zheng He into the city, so she sent 50,000 troops to attack Zheng He's fleet.

Zheng He saw the Ceylonese army swarming out, saying that once the thieves and the masses came out, the country would be empty, so he led 2,000 Ming troops to make a detour into the royal city of Ceylon, captured the whole family of Alekhunal, and the Ceylonese army collapsed.

Two years later, he was escorted to Beijing, and the Yongle Emperor ordered the Ministry of Rites to deliberate and elect the sage of his people as the king, and took pity on his ignorance, released and repatriated Yarekunar and his wife, and gave them food and clothing.

In the tenth year of Yongle, Zheng He's fleet set sail for the fourth time, which was the largest of Zheng He's previous voyages, and the fleet alone carried nearly 29,000 soldiers. The goal of this expedition was ambitious and adventurous, because all the countries of the South Sea island had been settled in the first three voyages, and Ming Chengzu now wanted to extend the influence of his empire to the Strait of Hormz in the Persian Gulf.

Zheng He's fleet, which was supposed to be peaceful in the sea territory, was unexpectedly involved in a military conflict in Sumatra during the voyage. This is a complicated dispute over the throne, the king of Sumatra was killed in a battle, the queen announced that she would marry whoever could kill the enemy for revenge, and soon the revenge was taken, the new king had it, but the grown prince did not do it, he killed his stepfather and became the king himself, and the younger brother of the old king, Suganra, led his followers to fight for the throne with the young new king.

The new king asked Ming Chengzu to arbitrate, and perhaps because Ming Chengzu himself was a usurper, he decided to intervene forcefully in the throne dispute, and Zheng He, who was sailing nearby, was ordered to support the young king.

After Zheng He's men landed, he gave him a large number of gifts while trading with the new king, and Su Ganra, who felt the snubbing and hostility, finally couldn't hold it back, and led more than 10,000 troops to attack Zheng He's department, which gave Zheng He a legitimate reason to intervene, so Su Ganra's army was quickly wiped out by Zheng He, and Zheng He's army pursued all the way to Duqi and finally captured Su Ganra and his comrades.

Su Gan was not as lucky as the previous prisoners, after Zheng He completed the voyage back to Nanjing, Su Gan was brought back to China, Ming Chengzu, who was far away, did not want to be close to his own door Su Ma Tra again, after completing the prisoner sacrifice ceremony, Ming Chengzu ordered Su Gan Ra to be executed immediately.

Zheng He arrived in Malin, East Africa, and this time he saw the unicorn, a mythical beast from Chinese mythology. At that time, this event was considered to be a major political achievement of Zheng He's voyage to the West, reflecting the major event that the diplomatic policy of overseas countries had been initially realized in the early Ming Dynasty, and was widely praised by the government and the opposition and the people, and the ceremony to welcome the Qilin was unprecedented.

On the day when the envoy of Malin Kingdom entered Beijing, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di personally went to Fengtianmen to preside over the welcome ceremony, and the civil and military ministers competed to congratulate: "Your Majesty is holy and virtuous, and he is far away." ”

Shen Du, a scholar of Zhao Hanlin, wrote a "Ode to the Qilin of Ruiying", and copied this text on the picture in small letters, and ordered the court painter to draw the image of the Qilin. Minister Xia Yuanji wrote a "Qilin Fu", which described: "The bones are supernatural, the spirit hair is clear, the dragon head is bright, and the phoenix is embraced." The starry eyes are dazzling, and the turtle is shining. The oxtail blows the wind, the body moves and scatters the snow, the horse cries fragrant dust and picks up the wrist, and the meat horn is the jade mountain through the forehead. ”

Take a closer look, uncle, isn't this a giraffe?

To support Malacca, one has to mention Bairi Missoula, who was the founder of the famous Manraka Sultanate. He was the prince of Sri Buddha, who was captured by the Majapahit kingdom, and the prince fled from Palembang to Temasek, where he assassinated the local chief for some reason, and then was pursued and fled to the north. Feeling that this was an auspicious place, he named it Manraka and settled here.

In the long-term impact of Zheng He's overseas political intervention in the West, the most important thing was to manipulate the Strait of Malacca, the main route between China and maritime trade, and chose to support the bandit leader Baili Misura, and Zheng He granted him the seal and imperial robe. He personally paid tribute to China, making his stronghold in the marshes of Malacca an increasingly prosperous and prosperous commercial center.