Twenty years of peace.

An ocean-going fleet returning from Europe arrived at the Fuzhou Harbor Wharf, the capital of Qi State, as scheduled.

'Taiping' is the name of the current era.

Today, the legacy of the previous emperors is determined from the same time, and the era name is no longer changed as frequently as the previous emperors. And the Qi State is an overseas vassal state, and the era itself has to follow the suzerain.

The King of Qi and Jinshang are brothers, and the State of Qi is also the most important vassal state of the Great Song Dynasty overseas.

The bilateral relationship is close!

As for the dirtiness between the emperor and the king of Qi, it was all in the past, and the wind blew away!

As for the connection between the Great Song Dynasty and the Western world, this trip to Europe is not the first time that it has opened the world, but it is the first time that the two sides have traded by sea on a large scale.

In recent years, the connection between the East and the West has really become much closer, and the Great Song Dynasty has become more and more meticulous in its connection and cognition of Tianzhu, Tianfang and the Nestorian world, and the envoys of Chinese and foreign countries do not know how many times.

But the Great Song Dynasty and Europe are separated by a heavenly world.

The Seljuk Empire, which had been defeated at the beginning, was already crumbling, and the small states under its jurisdiction had risen, although they had not yet reached the point of collapse, but they were also visibly dying.

Sanjar himself had no heirs, so he had to use his nephew Maheim, who was formerly known as the Western Qarakhani.

This greatly touched the stability of the Seljuk Sultan's position.

No one in the royal side was convinced of Maheki, especially Kias-al-Din Abu Shejoa Muhammad II, who controlled the Crescent, as a branch of the Seljuk Sultan's family, with an ambitious desire to challenge the legitimacy of the Sultanate.

Not to mention the bright stars of Sanjar, who were defeated and captured when they went south to defeat the nascent Gur dynasty four years ago, and were pressed to the throne as an exhibit during the day and kept in a cage as a protected animal at night.

Life was not miserable, but the local authorities in the Seljuk Empire never saw anyone negotiate with the Gurs.

On the contrary, Ma Heimu, the designated heir of Sanjar, has become a hot figure, but he has a name and no real power in his hands, so he is a perfect puppet candidate!

Without mentioning this, let's just talk about the current situation in the heavenly world. The rising Gur, the declining and internally divided Seljuks, and the apocalyptic Fatimids (Egypt) showed that the chaotic world could no longer afford to be the middlemen of the Silk Road.

The Western Liao and the Byzantine Empire shared the 'pressure' of the Celestial People to a certain extent, but the former's long land transportation cycle and cost determined that it could only become a supplement to the trade between the East and the West, but could not become the main body.

The latter's relationship in the heavenly world could not be a righteous and bright organization of a shipload of silk porcelain, which was imported into Europa in an endless stream.

Therefore, it is necessary to explore the sea road!

At least in Zhao Xuan's eyes.

He has been an emperor for so many years, and he has even been in power for more than ten years, the country is rich and the people are strong, the government is harmonious, and there is no resistance in the world, how can he be able to bear the 'restless' heart?

Because no one wants to be an unknown emperor.

Especially those heirs of the Ming monarch and the hero, no one wants to be evaluated by Lao Tzu's heroes. can look at thousands of years of history, and the descendants of the Ming monarch are the most stressed.

Zhao Xuan is very Alexander. Although his reign was short, he was very arrogant in sweeping away all threats around him, whether on land or on the sea.

And he always remembers his father's teachings, which can be described as 'Taoguang and obscure' for more than ten years.

For such a long time, his only action was to collect the flower thorn in the river, and the latter saw that the Seljuk backers were not tough, and he was no longer facing the great pressure from the east all the time, so he simply jumped ship.

As for the other bits and pieces, such as some initiatives in Japan and the South Seas, such as exploration and immigration to Australia, this is not a matter in his eyes.

Recently, Zhao Xuan finally revealed his fierce true colors.

He was ready to knock and knock the Gur people, because the latter had already entered the Northern Tianzhu, and his influence was expanding rapidly, so how could Zhao Xuan, who had already regarded Tianzhu as a bag, endure it?

In addition, the Seljuks are really not the same, after Sanjar was captured, there was no real leader in the entire Seljuk Empire - Sanjar could not suppress the powerful faction within him when he was there, but he could still become a banner and a qualified spiritual leader.

What is Ma Heimu? He's a puppet.

The situation of the entire Tianfang World made Zhao Xuan feel a little itchy when he saw it, so he wanted to beat them hard, so as to build a piece of land on the Tianfang Peninsula for trade.

Similarly, adhering to the foreign strategy of long-distance friendship and close attack, Zhao Xuan also had a heart for Europa. He had to connect not only with it, but also with it, and this 'Age of Discovery' was completely played.

From the beginning of Zhao Jian to the complete implementation of Zhao Xuan, twenty or thirty years before and after, the 'Great Voyage' was finally born in the hands of the Chinese.

Few people in this era will realize the greatness of this achievement, but for future generations, it will be a great decision that will really affect the course of world history.

From sending an ocean-going exploration team to reconnoiter the east coast of Africa, to the existence of Bowang Point - this is the name of the imperial court, and the name is determined by the name of Zhang Qian's marquis back then, and the meaning is self-evident.

The whole process took no less than five years to get the exploration ship to cross the Cape of Bowang and enter the west coast of Africa, to the successful contact of the exploration ship with the Europeans, to enter the European coast, and then to transmit the news back to the Central Plains.

Now it's finally time to harvest the fruits.

The opening of the sea passage between the east and the west is really of great benefit to today's Great Song Dynasty.

Whether it's military, political, or economic interests......

"It's finally back!"

Wang Cai stood on the deck of the ship, watching the Fuzhou wharf that he hadn't seen for two years becoming more and more prosperous and lively, and he couldn't help but smile on his face.

More than 20 years have passed, and the veteran captain Zhang Bao sank to the bottom of the South Pacific Ocean with an expedition ship more than ten years ago.

The Pacific Ocean is not peaceful.

Blind to the first emperor for such a good name.

At the beginning, he obeyed orders under Zhang Bao and only felt boring during the voyage, but now he has become a veteran of the maritime department of Qi State.

Yes, Wang Cai has jumped out of the Central Plains and is an official in the State of Qi.

This kind of behavior is normal in the Central Plains today, so if you can't get something from your hometown, go to the overseas feudal countries to find it. The latter treats all kinds of local talents with sincerity and preferential treatment.

As for why Wang Cai, who was an official of the foreign domain, would go west with the imperial court's fleet, this is also very simple, and Qi Guo is also very curious about the east-west sea route, and wants to get a piece of the pie.

Naturally, someone in Fuzhou responded, but the king of Qi did not show up, but the twelve-year-old crown prince of Qi led a group of officials to greet him in person. It can be said that it has given enough face to the fleet.