It is no wonder that Gushi Hatun thinks so, because since ancient times, the vast ocean has been an insurmountable moat for people, which not only blocks the pace of human exploration, but also blocks the space of human imagination.

Zheng He's voyage to the West was certainly a brilliant feat, but it did not liberate the wings of the Ming monarch's thoughts. The great voyage that arose in the West brought fundamental changes to the world.

The most shocked were Emperor Zhengde and Yang Tinghe, because the Ming Dynasty has always regarded itself as the superior kingdom of the Celestial Empire, and always has a proud mood when mentioning Western countries, thinking that they are barbarians.

Unexpectedly, it was what they thought was a barbarian outside the country, and the vastness of the land could not even be compared with the Ming Dynasty. Even Yang Tinghe's deep-seated notions were somewhat shaken.

Emperor Zhengde, who had always been exposed to Zhang Zhijie's ears, was the first to come back to his senses and asked in a deep voice: "Zhijie, is the territory of the Spanish Empire really so vast?" How could they have such a vast territory? It was possible to build an empire on which the sun never sets! ”

Zhang Zhijie listened to it and groaned: "In fact, Spain itself is equivalent to the size of a province in our Ming Dynasty!" Spain was able to build such a huge empire because of the seafaring, in the process of proving that the world is a sphere, they continued to discover new continents, and constantly occupy, so they built a huge empire! ”

"Does the Emperor remember Portugal? They first occupied Manraka, and then sent a fleet to Daming, in fact, they had bad intentions! ”

After hearing this, Emperor Zhengde suddenly said: "I see, the Portuguese also wanted to occupy my land, but you were attacked head-on, and even drove out of Manchuria!" ”

Zhang Zhijie said with a smile: "It's true, but don't underestimate Portugal, even if the minister leads the sailors to defeat their fleet, but the territory of Portugal is far bigger than the Ming Dynasty!" ”

The Portuguese fleet was beaten by Zhang Zhijie with the sailors, and even extorted so much silver by Zhang Zhijie, but he didn't expect that the land occupied by Portugal was even bigger than that of Daming.

This made Emperor Zhengde feel very uncomfortable, and what kind of Spain, thinking of this, he suddenly got up and shouted: "Hey, Zhijie, I remember that you once captured a lot of foreigners in Luzon, are you Spaniards?" ”

Zhang Zhijie said with a smile: "Your Majesty, yes, it's the Spaniard!" They are occupying territory all over the world, and if it weren't for the fact that Chen happened to go to sea with the sailors, I'm afraid they would have occupied Luzon! ”

Yang Tinghe was a little dazed and said, "What's wrong with this world?" He followed him to Tianjin, and felt that the whole person was confused, and his deep-rooted concepts were strongly impacted.

Zhang Zhijie said in a deep voice: "Because this world is undergoing unprecedented drastic changes. The rise of firearms changed the world, and Western-made warships were able to sail the oceans, armed with powerful firearms, and could conquer the lands they discovered! ”

"Ships equipped with new guns are very powerful and change the mode of naval warfare. The kind of backward warships armed with trebuchets and bows and arrows are powerless in the face of warships equipped with new artillery! ”

"A few of these new warships can easily defeat hundreds of old warships by flying kites! Moreover, the improvement of the musket also showed great power, and the Westerners relied on this continuous conquest! ”

"Firearms will continue to develop, and the distance between them and traditional bows and swords will become larger and larger. If we don't pay attention to this, when the Westerners' warships come to our doorstep one day, what will we use to resist? ”

"Therefore, it is not advisable to close the country, only by opening the door of the country will we find that the world is far bigger and more exciting than we imagined!"

Emperor Zhengde nodded and said: "Zhijie, what you said is that the Ming Dynasty will no longer close off the country, and I will definitely attach importance to firearms!" ”

Zhang Zhijie's discussion was in full swing, and these Englishmen were taken aback. The Englishmen could not understand what these Ming men were saying, and they assumed that these people, knowing that they were pirates, were arguing about what to do with them.

Seeing that these Ming people had come up with a result of their discussion, the Englishman asked cautiously: "Although we used to be pirates, we only plundered the Spaniards, we came to the Ming Dynasty to do business, please don't kill us!" ”

The interpreter carefully translated the words of the English, and Emperor Zhengde suddenly forgot about these Englishmen.

Emperor Zhengde smiled and asked, "Zhijie, what should these English people do?" ”

Zhang Zhijie said with a smile: "They said that they came to Daming to do business, if they didn't bring anything, only muskets and artillery, then they came to rob, if they brought goods or gold and silver, then their words are credible!" ”

Tang Jing on the side smiled dryly: "Your Majesty, Lord Admiral, there are indeed a lot of gold coins on this English warship!" ”

Emperor Zhengde smiled when he heard this: "So it's really not far away to come to Daming sincerely to do business, as long as you come to do business sincerely, then I am welcome!" ”

Zhang Zhijie smiled: "Let them all go!" Although these Englishmen came with gold coins, neither Emperor Zhengde nor Zhang Zhijie would look at these gold coins, and they would not do anything to kill chickens and take eggs.

Tang Jing immediately ordered these Englishmen to be released, and the Englishmen who were being held in the distance were also released. These Englishmen didn't expect to be let go so easily, and their faces were full of surprise.

"The gold coins and ships that belong to you will be returned, and you remember that looting is not allowed in the eastern seas. As long as you abide by our rules, we are all welcome to come to trade, and if you dare to rob, you will be investigated to the end and brought to justice! Zhang Zhijie said in a deep voice.

After listening to the translation, the Englishman who took the lead bowed very gentlemanly and said: "Dear lord, you can rest assured, we will definitely do business in accordance with the rules and regulations, and we will never violate the rules here!" ”

"Then, you're free!" Zhang Zhijie said lightly. The Englishmen all cheered, they thought it would be good to save their lives, but they did not expect to be freed so easily, and they returned the ships and gold coins to them.

They felt that it was really a good place for trade, so rich, so gentlemen, and it was a civilized and powerful country.

The Englishman who took the lead bowed very gentlemanly and said: "Praise you, honorable lord, thank you for your kindness, I will spread the civilization and richness of the Ming Empire, so that more people will come to trade." ”

(End of chapter)