Among the Beijing divisions, Zhu Qizhen has been waiting for a long time.

Since Peng Qing went to sea, his heart has been full of hope and at the same time extremely worried.

If a country wants to be rich and strong, it cannot ignore the ocean. Wealth comes from the sea, and danger comes from the sea.

Zheng He spent his entire life and traveled to the West seven times, and his understanding of the ocean is deeper than that of all people.

Although at the beginning, the imperial court started to go to the West, the original intention was not to dominate the sea, but to have other purposes.

As for this purpose, everyone who knows it understands it......

When the ships of the Ming Dynasty went abroad for the first time, when those small countries saw such a huge treasure ship for the first time, the degree of shock can be imagined.

After Renxuan, in order to recuperate, the imperial court had to give up going to the West.

What they didn't know was that the Age of Discovery was coming for the West.

Thousands of miles away, in the Franco-Rang countries, a child named Columbus has fallen to the ground.

In another forty years, he will sail across the ocean to the American continent.

Maybe in a few hundred years, people will be very sorry.

Since the Ming Dynasty has a world-leading navigator like Zheng He, why did he stop exploring the ocean?

Peng Qing's going to sea not only carries the hope of the Ming Dynasty, but also carries the hope of countless descendants.

However, in the ocean, the danger is abnormal, and there has been no news for two years, which makes people can't help but wonder, are they still alive?

For Zhu Qizhen, going to the West must be put on the agenda, even if Peng Qing has been killed, the Ming Dynasty's exploration of the ocean cannot be stopped!

The imperial court will continue to send people to the sea, twice if it doesn't work once, and three times if it doesn't work twice...... One day, the ships of the Ming Dynasty will appear in any corner of the world.

Under the whole world, it is not the king's land.

On the shore of the land, it is not the king's minister!

In the previous life, the son of heaven has long disappeared in the long river of history, and now what he wants to do is to build the Ming Dynasty into an empire on which the sun never sets.

The three auxiliary ministers of the cabinet and the officials of the Ministry of Rites were all waiting in the Fengtian Temple, and finally, Huaien trotted into the hall with a puff of smoke.

"Your Majesty, someone is here!"

"Xuan!"

Zhu Qizhen couldn't help but sit up straight, and his face became solemn.

Under the escort of the brocade guard, Peng Qingmai stepped into the hall.

In the main hall, everyone was stunned.

They originally thought that Peng Qing, who had returned from a long voyage, should be in high spirits, like a general who had returned triumphantly.

What catches your eye is a person who is unkempt, black, and shaped like a withered weed.

His steps were slow, and his figure was a little slumped, but he tried to straighten his spine.

In just two years, the whole person is completely unrecognizable, and he seems to be twenty years old.

Many people were shocked, and the smiles on their faces gradually disappeared.

Zhu Qizhen looked at Peng Qing, his brows furrowed slightly, Peng Qing in his memory was a fair-skinned and elegant person, but today......

"Minister Peng Qing, long live my emperor!"

Peng Qing came to the temple and bowed.

His voice was hoarse, but full of energy.

Zhu Qizhen's heart fluttered, and he hurriedly said: "The Qing family is exempt from courtesy, give me a seat!" ”

Huaien moved the Jindun, Peng Qing sat down, and then said: "Your Majesty, the minister has something that he wants to dedicate to the emperor." ”

Zhu Qizhen suddenly came to his senses, this person has suffered a lot of hardship, but he has not complained, the first thing that comes to mind is to have something to offer.

No wonder Belin often sighed, and said that her achievements today are all due to the good teaching of Peng Qing, a teacher.

Zhu Qizhen asked, "What did the Qing family offer?" ”

Peng Qing took off the burden from behind him, and when he opened it, it was a picture.

"This is the waterway from the Ming Dynasty to the wooden bones, thanks to the grace of the saints, the ministers and others have fulfilled their mission!"

Everyone couldn't help but be shocked, Peng Qing went to sea this time to explore the shipping lanes in the Western Ocean for the Ming Dynasty.

Unexpectedly, he actually arrived directly at the Mugu Dushu.

This is the farthest place Zheng He's fleet has ever been!

After two years of sailing, he endured the loneliness of being far away from his homeland all the time, and had to deal with all kinds of risks that were coming at any time, and he never forgot his mission.

Exploring the waterway is easy to say, but if you want to do it, none of the ministers present dare to guarantee that when you are adrift in the vast sea, you will not suddenly go crazy.

In an inconspicuous corner, Hanlin Tang Xiaozhong buried his head low, for fear that others would know about his existence.

At the beginning, he insisted that there was no problem with the nautical charts preserved by the Hanlin Academy.

Outcome...... If it weren't for luck, he and his accompanying crew would have been buried on an isolated island.

He knew better than anyone the value of this chart, and at this moment, he only felt that his face was hot, as if he had been slapped ten thousand times in the face of the public.

Zhu Qizhen couldn't help but be moved, and his eyes couldn't help but burst into tears.

With this chart, the Ming Dynasty can officially start going to the West.

From now on, batches of ships will go abroad, carrying the hopes of countless people, to all corners of the world.

The empire on which the sun never sets, begins with this chart.

His eyes were red, and he said excitedly, "Take it, I will take a look!" ”

Huai En had already stepped forward, bowed down, and carefully took the map in Peng Qing's hand and presented it to the emperor.

Zhu Qizhen stared at every line inside, from Jingshi to Tianjin Wei, along the coastline of the Ming Dynasty to the south, he saw Annam, Luzon, Siam, Java, Sumatra, Manraka, Ceylon, Kochi, Guli...... All the way to the distant African continent, which is the end of the trip, the wood and bones are bundled.

Here, too, was the end of Zheng He's fleet.

Peng Qing does not have a treasure ship like Zheng He, but he can accomplish such a feat, this trip is not easy, which makes people very emotional.

Seeing this, Zhu Qizhen couldn't help but sigh: "Let's take a look, all of you, look at how vast the world outside is!" ”

Wynne took the chart and handed it to Cao Nai, and the others came forward one after another.

The Ming Dynasty prides itself on the Heavenly Empire, and its territory is vast enough to make people proud of it, but in front of Zhu Qizhen, everyone learned that the so-called Heavenly Empire is just a corner of the world.

Peng Qing not only marked the route, but also marked the local customs and specialties of the countries along the way, which is clear at a glance.

Under this map, there is even a line of inscription.

"If you want your country to be rich and strong, you can't ignore the ocean. Wealth comes from the sea, and danger comes from the sea. Once the king of another country captures the South Seas, China is in danger. China's fleet is invincible, and it can be used to expand business, subdue foreign lands, and make it dare not covet the South Seas. ”

This passage is the original words of Zheng He, and no one knows the importance of the ocean better than Zheng He.

However, after Renxuan, the Ming Dynasty was in decline, although it also had plans to go to the West, but it was helpless and powerless, so it had to give up.

After so many years, Zheng He's painstaking efforts have long been forgotten, and now, when the whole dynasty re-realizes the importance of the ocean, and when they see this passage again, everyone's eyes can't help but moisten.

Peng Qing was very determined, and said: "The ministers went to sea this time to comfort the Quartet, and the Western countries all admired the emperor's kindness, so on the return trip, they sent envoys to pay tribute. The ministers are good at advocating and bringing envoys from thirty-two countries to pay homage to the emperor, and they are willing to make friends with me from generation to generation! ”

Thirty-two countries!

Above the main hall, everyone was moved.

Everyone's first reaction was that Peng Qing was lying!

The coming of all nations is a gratifying and congratulatory event.

Although the quality of this so-called country is a little worse, this thing can still be gilded after all.

Zhu Qizhen smiled, his heart was already happy, and he said happily: "Very good, the Qing family is really hard work!" ”

Peng Qing hurriedly replied: "The minister does not dare to take credit, this time I went to sea, relying on the emperor's holy virtue, as well as the people on the same ship. ”

Zhu Qizhen naturally didn't believe that Peng Qing's success came from his own holy virtues, and these words were just like long live, they were all.

However, it doesn't matter whether he believes it or not, what matters is that the Manchu Dynasty and the people of the world believe it.

Therefore, when Peng Qing said this, Zhu Qizhen nodded secretly.

In fact, for the so-called tribute, behind the seemingly glamorous surface, there is actually intrigue.

At the beginning, the royal driver personally conquered the civil fort, which was made by the Warat people when they came to pay tribute.

At the beginning of the design of the tributary system, it was quite necessary for the Ming Dynasty to stabilize the countries in the world, for example, during the Yuan Dynasty, a horse farm was established in Jeju, North Korea, and the Ming Dynasty naturally never allowed the horse farm of the Korean country to raise countless good horses.

Because war horses are the most precious strategic materials, the war horses of the Ming Dynasty are, of course, the more the merrier, and once the vassal country has more horses, it is inevitable that there will be other attempts.

Therefore, at the beginning of the establishment of the tributary system with the Korean State, Emperor Taizu stipulated that the Korean State must pay tribute to the war horses on time, and the horse breeding farm set up by the Mengyuan people in the Korean State eventually became the place where the Ming Dynasty raised horses, and the Korean State had to pay tribute in full, but there were almost not enough war horses in the country, so that the top nobles had to use ox carts to travel.

Not only that, but in the tribute system of the Ming Dynasty, it seems that the Ming Dynasty is suffering, and the vassal states offer the treasures of various countries, such as the Japanese country sending the Japanese sword, the Korean country offering war horses and ginseng, and the other countries have different specialties.

But it is Da Ming who really holds the pricing power.

In the eyes of Daming, are your horses worth money?

Isn't the Japanese knife of the Japanese Kingdom just a knife, how much can it be worth?

Give you a tael of silver, love or not, don't pull down!

And the Ming Dynasty's gifts to various countries are still their own prices, you can't buy my silk on the market, my porcelain is even more powerful, there is no one hundred and ten taels of silver, you can't find it with a lantern.

Emperor Taizu started by expelling the northern captives, and he never suffered the loss of others in his life, and the tributary system he designed was roughly like this, receiving real goods from the vassal state, enriching himself at a lower price, and at the same time, giving silk, porcelain, and other items that were relatively rare for the vassal state.

It seems that this is a loss-making business, but in fact, silk and porcelain are just luxury goods, and the medicinal materials, war horses, and swords of various countries are real materials, which have been enriched into the army of the Ming Dynasty.

Even exotic beauties can enrich the harem.

And the pricing power is completely controlled by the Ming Dynasty, in this case, the so-called tributary trade, the vassal states seem to take a big advantage, you see, you take worthless horses, knives, medicinal materials, in exchange for my Ming rare silk and porcelain, it seems that my great tomorrow son Long En is vast, and virtue is all over the world.

As for why the tributary system always gives people the feeling of taking a huge advantage, the reason depends on who has the right to speak.

Of course, the tributary system is not completely without its problems, and sometimes there are times when it collapses.

At the beginning, the Warat people completely turned against the Ming Dynasty, because the Warat people and the Ming Dynasty traded with each other, and they urgently needed an iron pot for cooking and a large amount of tea, but the Ming Dynasty thought that the iron pot was an iron tool and could not be given to you.

Even if you are given more silk and porcelain, the people of Warat will freeze to death in the cold desert that day, they don't need silk, they will freeze to death if they wear silk.

As for the cattle and horses they brought, the pricing is also the final word of the Ming Dynasty, so that every time the mutual market, the conflict between the two sides continues, and when the conflict is over, go home to gather soldiers and horses, and they want to rob them, and the two sides have a big fight.

After the fight, he returned to the negotiation table and continued to trade with each other, Daming still refused to sell the iron pot, thinking that this was a capital enemy, and the Warat people thought that I wanted to cook rice to eat, no pot could not be done, there was not enough tea, and the meat was difficult to digest, I took so many cattle and horses, and you sold me this?

Why are our cattle and horses worthless, your silk and porcelain are so valuable, don't mention culture to me, culture can't be eaten!

So, it was another mess.

At the same time, overseas countries are gradually coming back to their strength, no, the silk and porcelain rewarded by the Ming Dynasty are good, but are they really worth so much silver?

As a result, the smuggling industry flourished, and people found that even if someone risked killing their heads to smuggle, the price of the smuggled silk and porcelain was actually lower than the price of silk and porcelain exchanged for tribute, and there was a huge room for arbitrage.

Zhu Qizhen knows the doorway best.

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty, starting from Zhu Yuanzhang, none of them are simple, the creation of this set of tributary system, itself takes into account the weakening of the vassal state, and the original intention of strengthening oneself, can cover up this purpose, the Ming Hanlin who mastered the pen, and at the same time carried out continuous polishing, but always showed the appearance of a victim.

As for how people will understand and interpret it later, people who revise history don't care, and in general, I have suffered a loss.

I have so many expensive treasures, in exchange for worthless war horses, Japanese knives, medicinal herbs, spices, ivory, and beautiful women who have paid tribute from the Korean state, and the pants I lost are gone!

Zhu Qizhen retracted his thoughts, as for whether the tributary system is good or not, it must be improved later, at least it can show the status of my kingdom tomorrow.

For example, the envoys of the thirty-two countries who came with Peng Qing were very face-saving.

Although the water content of these countries is very large, and some of them are just a small amount of land, they are willing to take the initiative to join them, which shows that they are very sincere.

Zhu Qizhen nodded, and said with a straight face: "Peng Qing's family went to sea, made great contributions, awarded the Dongge University Scholar, and sent the envoy to patrol the sea, and the head of the town of the West!" ”

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ps: About going to the West, I've always wanted to write something seriously, but I feel that the content is empty, because this is a book, not a history book, so this part may be streamlined, and the plot will be the main thing later.