The so-called Kingdom of Heaven is actually just a regional name, referring to Mecca in later generations. In fact, it is also called this name now, just because the Kaaba Temple in Mecca is square and used to worship the gods, so the Ming Dynasty calls it Tianfang.

The children's book "Arabian Nights" is derived from this name.

However, Zheng He's words are somewhat misleading, Tianfang can be said to be a nation, or it can be said to be a city, but it is not a country.

Just like the Arab nation, this ethnic discrimination is a predominantly Semitic people, including the Jewish nation.

Almost everyone in later generations knew about this people, but they were not one country, but many small ones.

Zheng He said this to prove the importance of the descendants of the Pu family, but he didn't know that Zhu Zhanji actually knew the details of the West better than him.

Whether it is Mecca, Jerusalem, or Damascus, Zhu Zhanji has been there.

Zhu Zhanji sneered and said, "Heaven...... I know that Timur, the Ottoman Empire, the Mamluks, the Moorish Empire, including the Delhi Sultanate, and the Semitic people have settled down on the small islands of the South Sea, who is the king of this Heavenly Kingdom? How many troops are there? Is the territory as big as a province of my Ming Dynasty? ”

Zheng He's eyes widened, looking at Zhu Zhanji in front of him, and he had a feeling of panic.

He didn't know why Zhu Zhanji had never been to the West, and why he was so familiar with the situation in the West. Even he went to the West last time and knew the location of the Holy City, and the Ottoman Empire and the Mamluks also learned about it last time.

As for the Moorish kingdom, even he had heard of it for the first time.

He didn't dare to hide anything, and said with his fists clenched: "Your Highness, the statement of the Heavenly Kingdom is indeed wrong, and the subordinate was also the last envoy, and I heard some stories from others. ”

Zhu Zhanji leaned on the railing, waved his hand to the people on the shore again, and then turned around and said: "Since the Abbasid Dynasty was broken by the Turks, the Semitic people have been torn apart and fled everywhere. This is the so-called golden age of development, but in fact, it is nothing more than a group of rootless people who have lost their homes. ”

Zheng He was a little confused when he heard this, and couldn't help but ask, "How can Your Highness say this?" What is the Golden Age? ”

Zhu Zhanji didn't bother to explain this word from later generations, so he diverged and said: "Since the Abbasid Dynasty, the Semitic people have never had a strong empire, and the current Timurid state, the Ottoman Empire, and the Mamluk dynasty left this land to the local Muhammad family, who can be called a city-state at most, not a country at all. Therefore, this descendant of the Pu family is useless to my Ming Dynasty, I Ming want to step on the heavens, but it is just a gesture! ”

Zheng He took a deep breath and said as calmly as possible: "Since His Highness does not want the descendants of the Pu family to join the fleet, then the subordinate will not mention this matter again. However, Heaven is a holy land, and it has not offended my Daming, and I hope His Highness will think twice. ”

"Now I know that I am a Ming person...... Zhu Zhanji turned to the side, looked at Zheng He, who seemed to be a few years older for a moment, and said calmly: "Although you are a foreign race by blood, the Chinese nation has never treated me by blood. As long as there are common customs, common language, and common goals, they are my Chinese descendants. If there is nothing to do during the journey, you go to Xie Jin and ask him to find out the "State and Nation" policy I wrote when I was ten years old. ”

"Yes, if Your Highness is fine, the ministers will arrange the itinerary after arriving on the shore."

Zhu Zhanji asked again: "Then what is the second thing?" ”

Zheng He thought about it, hesitated for a moment and said, "The subordinate originally wanted to invite His Highness to worship the Holy Sepulchre of Lingshan tomorrow......"

Zhu Zhanji asked with a little interest: "Lingshan Holy Tomb, which sage is buried?" ”

"It's Sha Shi and my Gao Shi."

Zhu Zhanji had never heard of this name, but when he heard this strange transliteration, he remembered a piece of information he had read about the Shan people in Quanzhou.

During the reign of Tang Wude, the Prophet Muhammad sent four sages to preach in China, and one sage to preach in Guangzhou; Erxian preached in Yangzhou; The three sages Sha Shi, the four sages I Gao Shi preached Quanzhou, and died in Lingshan.

He shook his head and said: "I won't go, I'm not like the Duke of Dian Guo, who believes in both green religion and Buddhism, I only believe in Taoism!" ”

"It's the subordinates who are greedy, and they always want to find the way of the Wan clan family through different explorations."

It's ridiculous...... Zhu Zhanji smiled, didn't bother to tell him, and said: "Although I don't want to see the descendants of the Pu family, I don't exclude other Semitic people, if the Duke of Dian wants to support them, he can also arrange some people to join the fleet." In addition, when you start from Quanzhou, you will take out the information you have collected about the Western Regions, and we will study it together and exchange ideas. ”

Zheng He nodded, answered, and turned away.

Zhu Zhanji sneered, then turned around and waved his hand to the people on both sides of the river, before asking Li Liang, "What do you think?" ”

Li Liang didn't know Zhu Zhanji's intentions, and said softly ambiguously: "The Duke of Dian is too mixed and has too many things to worry about. Non-Ethnic ......"

"Go and call Zhao Yongliang, Sun Lin, and Feng Xiaonian."

Zhu Zhanji didn't bother to analyze Zheng He's mentality with Li Liang, and his impression of Zheng He was greatly reduced now.

Not to mention his loyalty, just as a person, it can be summed up in one sentence, that is, he is a little ignorant of current affairs.

Since he has taken refuge in himself, not to mention that he should be loyal, but at least he can't come against himself. But now, for the sake of a descendant of the Pu family, he dared to ask Zhu Di for an edict behind his back.

Although he is now the Duke of Dian State, the main right is the naval director given to him by Zhu Zhanji. Wanting to make him lose his rights is just a matter of words.

And his greatest achievement is to go to the West, and Zhu Zhanji is not unable to find someone to replace him. Whether it is Hou Xian or Wang Jinghong, they can replace him, and these two are more loyal.

Although Hou Xian is a Tibetan, because he grew up in the palace since he was a child, he has no partiality for his own nationality.

He has been working hard for the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, and has brought all the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the banner of the Ming Dynasty. And has been active in today's southern Tibet, that is, northern India in later generations, and Bangladesh, hoping to make it a loyal subject of the Ming Dynasty.

And Wang Jinghong is a Han Chinese, although he was Zheng He's deputy at the beginning, but now he has developed and is the same fleet envoy as Zheng He.

He does not have Zheng He's compassionate heart, or the mentality of indiscriminate good people, and he is more vigorous and resolute.

Let him replace Zheng He's position, he may not necessarily do worse than Zheng He.

The only thing that Hou Xian and Wang Jinghong are worse than Zheng He is their vision, and their sense of identity in the Western Regions.

Zhu Zhanji's flagship gradually approached the Fashi Wharf outside Quanzhou, but because of the large size of the ship, it would take some time to dock.

Zhao Yongliang and Sun Lin walked through the crowd of sailing soldiers on the deck and climbed the wooden staircase.

Zhu Zhanji first said to Sun Lin and Feng Xiaonian: "After the two of you get off the ship, use the power of the Counseling Department and Jinyiwei to cooperate with each other to find out the movements of the Semitic people in Quanzhou. They borrowed a million taels of silver to find out what they were trying to do. Especially the movements of the descendants of the Pu family, I can check it clearly, didn't they raid the house at that time? Lone wants to know where the money comes from? ”

The two whispered, and Zhu Zhanji said to Zhao Yongliang again: "Yulinwei everyone is waiting to get off the boat, except for leaving 3,000 people to defend the guard, the rest of the people are waiting to blockade Quanzhou, hoping that no one will come to make a lonely mold!" ”

Zhao Yongliang bowed down and clenched his fists and asked, "Your Highness, what level of blockade?" ”

The city gate blockade is divided into three levels, to put it simply, the first level is to set up a card verification, which belongs to the vigilance. The second level is the closure of key roads, targeting specific groups and groups of people. Level 3 is impassable for everyone, regardless of who they are.

Looking at the cheering crowd on the shore, Zhu Zhanji said: "One level is enough, don't let the people panic." Let you come forward, not Xue Lu, you should understand my heart. ”

Zhao Yongliang himself also felt too talkative, and whispered, the three of them glanced at each other, and left a little excitedly. Now that the ship is about to stop, they have to immediately arrange a plan and assign personnel, and the time is pressing.

But if there is something to do, there is merit, so the three of them are in high spirits.

When Zhu Zhanji, the grandson, arrived in Quanzhou, his escort Yu Linwei blockaded Quanzhou, which was a proper measure, and the people would not make a fuss.

But if Xue Lu was allowed to lead the young army of 22,000 people reorganized from the Shenji Battalion, the problem would be serious.

Xue Lu has been fighting all his life, killing people without blinking, and Zhu Zhanji is afraid that he will exacerbate the situation.

Now he just suspected that the Semitic people had some tricks, and it would be overkill to let Xue Lu come forward.

And now is the time for him to go to sea, and he doesn't want to make a big fuss, and the heads of people who really want to be killed are rolling, which makes people more and more disbelieve in the credibility of the imperial court.

He is not afraid that the civil officials will say that he is thirsty for killing, nor is he afraid that Zhu Di will have opinions, because of the Pu family, Zhu Di does not treat these Semites either.

But he is only afraid that this move will affect the lending of the internal supervision and the expansion of the bank, because there is an important link involved, that is, the credit problem.

Since ancient times, the imperial power has been the greatest, whether it is a hundred officials or ordinary people, they all respect the imperial power.

But this respect is based on fear, fear, not trust.

The commercial development of the country, the West has developed to the basis of credit since the ancient Roman period.

But in the East, not to mention the emperor, even a petty official, it is possible to bankrupt a rich businessman.

The official level crushes people to death, the official words are two mouths, and no amount of money is worth a sentence from the upper echelons of the powerful society.

Now the Semitic people have borrowed millions of taels of silver for goods, and if they do it to them at this time, it will only make people think that Zhu Zhanji is crossing the river and demolishing the bridge, defrauding the money and then killing the other party, and then there is no need to pay it back.

So in the future, who will dare to do business with the internal supervisor, who will dare to lend money and goods to the imperial court, and who will dare to deposit the silver in the bank?

If those merchants were allowed to hide their silver in their homes and bury it in the ground, how could the imperial court regulate the country's economy?

Therefore, even if he endures it for the time being, Zhu Zhanji can't deal with them clearly, unless he finds definite evidence, and then he can divide and destroy them.

As for Zheng He, Zhu Zhanji is ready to observe it again, he has become a representative figure of contact between Nanyang and Western countries and the Ming Dynasty. As long as he doesn't have different intentions, Zhu Zhanji can tolerate him.

The ship finally came to shore......

The welcome on the wharf was even warmer than that in Ningbo, and the chief officials of the Fujian Chengxuan Political Envoy Division, the Criminal Prosecution Division, and the Command Envoy Division, including the local parents and officials in Quanzhou, all appeared.

When he was in Ningbo, Zhu Zhanji also strictly ordered the chief officials of Zhejiang to appear, mainly because Zhejiang was closer to the capital, and some chief officials could often go to the capital to see Zhu Zhanji.

But here in Fujian, the mountains and rivers are long, and as soon as they come out, they can only be promoted if they are not summoned by the emperor, and they will have the opportunity to meet the royal family when they are transferred.

Therefore, for the sake of the image of being close to the people, these two places should be treated differently.

All the procedures were arranged by the Ministry of Rites and the internal supervisors, and Zhu Zhanji had only one role, that is, to pretend to be cool and handsome in front of the people and officials.

His height of nearly 1.9 meters stands out from the crowd no matter where he is, and when he came to Fujian, which is short in stature, he is even more amazed by everyone.

Such an image will not disappoint anyone.

He was even more popular than the superstars of later generations, and countless people wept bitterly to see him in person.

Kneeling is a procedure, no matter who it is, they must bow down when Zhu Zhanji passes by. But crying excitedly can very well explain their inner recognition of the Ming Dynasty and the recognition of the Zhu Dynasty.

Those three fats can become great helmsmen, and Zhu Zhanji is not worse than him at all.

And the people of this era are less knowledgeable than those of the great powers of the universe a few hundred years later.

Because the Quanzhou City Bosi is re-established, the conditions here are far worse than those in Ningbo.

At the beginning, the internal supervisor asked Zhu Zhanji to choose a place to stay in Quanzhou, and Zhu Zhanji checked his pen and chose the Fashi Village in the southeast of Quanzhou City, which is also the headquarters of the Third Fleet of the Navy and the command of the embassy in Quanzhou.

Many of the people who moved from Quanzhou to Dongfan boarded ships from here, including conscription and training, and it was also here.

After accepting the visit of hundreds of officials in Fujian, it was inevitable that a banquet would be held in the barracks at noon to welcome Zhu Zhanji.

In Quanzhou, Zhu Zhanji would stay for three days, waiting for the herald ship to arrive in Jiaozhi, and then give the order to the grain ship in Jiaozhi. At the appointed time, the two sides met at the Old Port Propaganda Division.

Before that, Zhu Zhanji's main fleet would first go to Daming Street on Luzon Island to inspect Luzon.

In the afternoon of the same day, Zhu Zhanji was not in a hurry to meet with the Quanzhou businessmen. Because of the sea ban, most of the merchants in Quanzhou today have turned into landlords.

Even the Semitic people gradually changed from merchants to landlords. Of course, it is not that they do not do trade, but they have degenerated into only domestic trade, and they have served as the connecting point between Guangdong and Jiangnan.

The Semites, who included Jews and Arabs, had always been the main force of world trade, and even in this era of sea embargo, they persevered.

Therefore, thirty percent of today's large merchants in Quanzhou are Semitics.

In the past, Zhu Zhanji's understanding of them was only superficial, but from Zheng He, Zhu Zhanji could also see that their situation here was far more complicated than it appeared.

Zhu Zhanji didn't want to see them first until he fully understood the details here.

Others didn't know, but Zheng He had already seen Zhu Zhanji's thoughts from Zhu Zhanji's refusal to see the Quanzhou businessman first.

In Ningbo, in order to avoid suspicion, he ignored officials and became close to businessmen.

But when I arrived in Quanzhou, it was the opposite, and the biggest reason for this was that I had done something wrong.

After returning to Yingtianfu after the Eastern Expedition, Zheng He was crowned Duke as the deputy marshal of the Eastern Crusade, and then it was reported that Taisun was going to go to the West in person, and he was still appointed as the deputy marshal.

A few months after returning to Yingtianfu, he also officially began to take charge of the affairs of going to the West.

In the past, every time he went to the West, he mainly used Quanzhou as a purchasing point and took care of the business of many Semitic people.

Because of the sea ban, these merchants took the trip to the West every three years or so as an important trade channel, and the scale of this trade was several times larger than before, so countless people directly begged Zheng He.

Zheng He was happy to see this happen, including the fact that the Quanzhou businessman would rather borrow money and send his goods to the internal prison, mainly because of his face.

He never imagined that the grandson, who had never been to the West, was more familiar with the situation in the West than he was. In the past four times he went to the Western Ocean, it seems that Taisun has a lot of people in the fleet, and many of the news he has learned have not even been reported to him.

This is nothing, he Zheng He is upright, worthy of his heart, and he is not afraid of the grandson setting up a shadow.

But he made a mistake this time, as the grandson, he knew that the grandson hated the traitor the most, but this time he lent a helping hand to the Pu family.

And his biggest mistake was that he didn't tell him about this matter at first because he was afraid that his grandson would not agree.

Thinking of Taisun's cold gaze, his heart was also cold. More than ten years of trust, because this incident left a knot in the heart.

And Taisun's resolute opposition also let him know that he was not a person inside and outside this time.

Accompanying Zhu Zhanji to meet with officials from all walks of life, he kept wondering why he had made such a simple matter complicated.

After thinking about it, he was horrified to find that it was he who had swelled.

In the past, he was a chief eunuch, and he only led the general military when he went to sea. However, he was promoted to the director of the navy by Taisun, followed Taisun to the east, conquered Dongying, and was named the Duke of Dian State, which made him a little carried away.

He thought it was a trivial matter, and thought that he would not be surprised by the trust of his grandson, but he forgot that this was not a failure to do a good job, nor was it a "trivial matter" such as his own corruption and bribery, but a mistake of principle.

He lived up to the trust of his grandson, and in the harmonious relationship between the two people, he took the initiative to bury a nail.

He regretted it in his heart, but it was too late.

Now, he can only take the initiative to smooth this matter and not let this matter continue to affect their relationship.

Even if he is a very human minister, he is still a minister, and he is still a retainer.

At noon, the hundred officials of Fujian received the wind for His Royal Highness, and in the evening, His Royal Highness set down the imperial meal to entertain the hundred officials. Zheng He had to accompany him in this process.

It wasn't until after dinner that Zheng He left Fashi Village and entered Quanzhou City under the protection of his guards and entourage.

Because the army was stationed inside and outside the city, there was no curfew in Quanzhou today.

When the convoy was about to arrive at the Qingjing Temple, Zheng He heard a shout from the guards. He lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw the shadow of a lantern.

Jia Shiwen, the eunuch who was close to him, trotted over and said, "Grandpa Guo, Ahmet asks to see you." ”

"Hurry up, please ......"

After a while, Jia Shiwen came over with a few Semitic people who were dressed similarly to the Han people, but had a different appearance from the Han people. Before they got close, they all congratulated and said: "Congratulations to Grandpa Guo, I was going to the capital to congratulate you, but later I knew that Grandpa Guo would come to Quanzhou after the New Year, so I was lazy." ”

Zheng He smiled: "We have been friends for many years, so we don't need to be so polite. I'm going to the Qingjing Temple right now, why bother coming out like this on the road? ”

The leading man is almost fifty this year, and he is the Ahmed in Jia Shiwen's mouth. At the beginning, his family had contributed to the chaos of the Ming Dynasty, so it was not liquidated, and gradually developed into the leader of the Semitic people except for the imam.

Even the largest pure temple in Quanzhou City was built by his father.

The wrinkles on his face were covered by a big beard, and only the deep lines at the corners of his eyes revealed his age. "I just came here and met me. Please ......"

Zheng He raised his hand, and the convoy began to move again. He didn't get out of the carriage to walk with them, no matter how good the relationship was, the law of the court could not be lost, otherwise it would be a big disrespect.

After a while, they arrived at the Qingjing Temple, led by the imam Hab, and dozens of people were greeted outside the gate.

Zheng He also saw Pu Rihe in the crowd, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

The Pu family has long since declined, and when Taizu was still alive, no one dared to help the Pu family. It wasn't until the Jianwen period that these Semitic people dared to take advantage of the loopholes of the imperial court decree and bought the men who were still alive in the Pu family as their servants.

As for the women, they have long been tortured to death.

Pu Rihe is also in his forties this year, nominally a servant of Hab, but relying on the wealth that the family used to hide, he is not weak at all among the Semitic people today.

Before coming to Quanzhou, he had already decided to live in the Qingjing Temple during his stay in Quanzhou. After they had greeted him, they led him into the small courtyard that had been arranged for him.

In the worship hall, people took off their shoes and sat on the floor. Zheng He beckoned, and Jia Shiwen took the edict from the hand of a little eunuch and looked at Pu Rihe, who was happy.

"Master Pu, although I asked Your Majesty for your edict this time, this time I went to the West mainly with His Royal Highness, and even His Majesty could not interfere. Now you can go to the sin on you, but you can't go to the West together. ”

Pu Rihe paused for a moment, and his smile froze. "Grandpa Guo, why has it changed again?"

Zheng He sighed and said, "Your Highness doesn't agree, and no one can do anything, so you just accept your fate!" ”

Pu Rihe came to his senses, regained his composure and asked, "But His Highness still has a hatred for my Pu family?" Is there a solution? ”

"It's hard to ......" Zheng He shook his head, ignored him anymore, and said to the imam: "Although His Royal Highness does not agree to accompany the master of the Pu family, he is willing to take others to the West with him, but when he arrives in the Tianfang area, he must bear the responsibility of doing things. ”

The so-called general is the translation, Hab nodded and said, "This is as it should be...... However, His Royal Highness was very important to the merchants in Ningbo, and he received them in the afternoon of the same day, and awarded them medals, why did he not notify me when he arrived in Quanzhou? There is also this award, what are some doorways in the middle, and I hope that Grandpa Guo will not hesitate to give advice. ”