There are no people who make waves, the air in the capital seems to have become better, and when the mansions have done the red and white ceremonies, it will be the month of Layue, Yan Siye and the lord of Nanping returned to the capital the day before the Laba Festival, and then Yan Siye was appointed as the prince and the prince by the saint.

On the twentieth day of the lunar month, Tang Zhi, the king of Gong who had been wandering for several years, returned to Beijing, with two blonde and blue-eyed foreigners by his side.

Tang Zhi entered the palace to accompany Empress Shen for one day, and the next day he brought a cart of treasures looted from overseas to Anguo Mansion as a guest; Yan Hao saw that Tang Zhi's figure was not bad, "Lord Nie has worked hard. ”

Nie Changzheng said with a smile: "The duty is not hard. ”

"Xiaoxiao, come and see, this little person, writhing this, she will dance." Tang Zhi shows off the clockwork doll he brought back from overseas.

"Little jar, how did you go to sea?" Yan Hagi is not a child anymore, and he has little interest in children's toys.

Tang Zhi said with a smile: "It's what you said, our journey is the sea of stars, I can't fly up the stars without wings, and the sea can still be conquered." It happened that day that I was eating seafood at the beach, and there was a big boat going out to sea, so I told the boat owner that I wanted to take a boat. The owner of the ship asked me what kind of goods I was selling? I said I don't sell goods, I just want to go to sea to play. The owner of the ship did not agree, and insisted on letting me carry the goods. I bought some bowls and plates and brought them on the boat, Xiaoxiao, guess what? ”

Yan Hagi thought that in his previous life, the English translation of Huaguo and porcelain was both A, the word "The bowls and plates you brought were very popular, sold for a good price, and made a lot of money." ”

"Xiaoxiao, you are the smartest." Tang Zhi praised.

"Of course." Yan Hagi said proudly.

Tang Zhi talked to Yan Hagi about what he had seen and heard overseas, as well as watercress that was completely different from Jingguo, listening to his narration, inexplicably reminded Yan Hagi of a certain person who had been to the West seven times, so she said: "Xiaotanzi, you can form a sailing fleet, take Jingguo's unique jewelry, jade, porcelain, silk, tea or something, go to small coastal countries, carry out trade activities, exchange ivory, spices and other specialties with them, and also spread Jingguo's civilization by the way." By the way, you can also load some gifts to give to the kings of those small countries, deepen friendships, and also encourage them to pay tribute from year to year. ”

"Xiaoxiao, how can you come up with such a good idea? Why didn't I think of that? "Tang Zhi has no ambitions, and he doesn't want to be an emperor, but he is a prince, so he is afraid that some people will take advantage of this.

Tang Zhi is reluctant to stay in the capital, staying away from the center of power is to show that he has no ambition to seize the throne, but he is not a mud, and he does not want to live a chaotic life. But what he should do, he couldn't figure it out, and he was very confused.

Yan Hao's words were equivalent to giving Tang Zhi a way out, "Xiaoxiao, you can talk specifically about this expedition fleet." ”

"I'll have to think about it." Yan Hagi has limited knowledge of the history of Zheng He's voyage to the West.

"You think, you think, don't worry." Tang Zhi gnawed on apples.

After Tang Zhi finished eating the apples, Yan Hao remembered a little, "Since it is a fleet, there must be no fewer ships, at least twenty or thirty, and it must be a big ship, which can accommodate thousands of people." ”

Tang Zhi was about to take another apple, and when he heard this, he paused, "Xiaoxiao, this is too big." ”

"How can a few small boats show the demeanor of a great power in the Celestial Empire? Besides, the sea is stormy, the boat is unstable, and the turbulence is terrible, and you have to have a big ship, understand? Yan Hagi glanced at him.

"Got it." Tang Zhi nodded honestly and continued to nibble on apples.

Yan Hagi continued: "The ships in the fleet cannot be one, but also the type, size and use, some are used for carrying cargo, some are used for transporting grain, some are used for warfare, and some are used for housing. ”

Tang Zhi nodded again and again when he heard this, and looked at Yan Hao's eyes with admiration, Xiaoxiao is so powerful!

Yan Hagi told Tang Zhi everything he knew, Tang Zhi went to the East Palace and told the prince what Yan Hagi said, but the prince objected, "It's not possible to sail and go on a horse." ”

"Big brother, this is what I want to do, you have to support it, if you don't support it......" Tang Zhi's eyes rolled, "I'll go on a hunger strike." ”

Under Tang Zhi's entanglement, the prince relented, summoned his staff and Fu Zhixing to discuss them, and Tang Zhi wrote a recital and submitted it.

In the early days of the dynasty, Tang Zhi said: "Father, the son of the emperor went to sea with the ship, not only saw the foreign scenery, but also found that the people of those small countries are very fond of our country's silk, porcelain and tea, the son has written on the fold, and also asked the father to see it, and allowed the son to build a fleet, and the son is willing to take the fleet to the West to show the national prestige." ”

The saint smiled, "I'll see." ”

"Thank you, Father." Tang Zhi retreated to King Su's side.

Approaching the end of the year, there was no major event in the court, after the Holy Lord retired from the court, he carefully watched Tang Zhi's twists and turns, and discussed with the prince, and agreed that Tang Zhi would form a fleet, and the Ministry of Industry would convene shipbuilders to build long-distance ships.

In order to ensure the safety of Tang Zhi's navigation at sea, it took a year and a half to build a total of 62 ships, the largest of which was a four-story ship, with nine masts and 12 sails, 44 zhang long and 18 zhang wide, which could accommodate 1,000 people.

In addition to this main ship, there were also twenty escort ships, which were divided into two types, eight small ones, three masts and three sails, twenty-six zhang long and ten zhang wide, which could accommodate 300 soldiers. Twelve medium-sized ships, five masts and nine sails, thirty-two zhang long and fifteen zhang wide, could accommodate 500 soldiers.

There were ten horse ships, ten grain ships, and the rest were all cargo ships. The Holy Lord appointed Gongwang Tang Zhi as the chief envoy, Zhongshu Senator as the left deputy envoy, Bingbu Langzhong as the right deputy envoy, and Nie Changzheng as the commander of the guards, leading 10,000 soldiers and 600 retinues to the West. Among the retinue were five imperial physicians and three cooks.

Before Tang Zhi left Beijing, Empress Shen told him, "If you want to go to sea, the queen mother will not object, but there is one thing you have to remember, you must never marry a barbarian woman." "Empress Shen doesn't want a foreign daughter-in-law at all. Except for the Celestial Empire, the four seas are barbarian.

"Queen Mother, please rest assured, my son will not marry a wife casually." Tang Zhi replied seriously.

Empress Shen sighed secretly, it's not that she won't marry a wife casually, but she won't marry a wife at all. There are few infatuated lovers in the Tang family, but her son is a rare infatuated lover.

Empress Shen was silent for a moment and said, "The sea is stormy, you have to take good care of your body." ”

"The son will, and the queen mother, please take care." Tang Zhi knelt down and kowtowed to Empress Shen.

Coming out of the palace, Tang Zhi went to the Anguo Mansion and said goodbye to Yan Hao, "The overseas scenery is really good, but it's a pity that you can't go." ”

"If you have a chance, when you are familiar with the route, I will persuade you to go to sea with you." Yan Hagi smiled.

"It's a deal." Tang Zhi said with a smile.

On September 12, the 16th year of Changning, Tang Zhi and others left Beijing and began his first journey to the West. In the following 30 years, he made several voyages and visited more than 30 countries and regions, and in the history of later generations, King Gong Tang Zhi was a famous navigator and diplomat.