"Zheng He's first voyage to the West, 208 large and small ships, loaded more than 27,800 people."

"Among all the ships, there were 63 large and medium-sized treasure ships, and according to historical records, the large treasure ships at that time were 44 zhang and 4 feet long. (about 140.75 meters now, 18 zhang wide)"

Each large treasure ship was equipped with 9 masts and 12 sails, and was known as "majestic and invincible", making it the largest and most advanced ship in the world at that time. ”

"Zheng He's fleet traversed the countries of the Nanyang archipelago, then reached the Indochina Peninsula, then the Indian Peninsula, and then westward to the Arabian Peninsula, basically passing through more than 30 countries along the way, and reaching as far as the east coast of Africa."

Everywhere he went, Zheng He first visited the local king or chieftain, and then read the edict of the Ming Emperor to him, calling on the local king or chief to "not bully the widow, not to bully the weak, and to share the blessings of peace." ”

"Then they were presented with Chinese almanacs, silk, gold and silver and other gifts, and invited them to visit the country of planting flowers."

"After the visit, Zheng He would trade with local merchants, mainly selling silk, porcelain, ironware, and copper coins made in China to foreigners."

"And mainly exchange local incense, pepper, sumac, ivory, precious stones, pearls, coral, etc."

After the return of the trading Zheng He's fleet, he brought back a large number of items, "the unnamed treasures that were donated and exchanged with each other, amounted to tens of thousands", and obtained huge profits for the Ming court. ”

"After Zheng He went to the West, many countries in Asia and Africa visited China one after another and paid tribute."

"According to incomplete statistics, during the Yongle period, a total of kings or envoys from more than 60 countries visited China 245 times."

"Among them, eight kings of Huni, Manraka, Nibara, Sulu, and Ceylon have visited the country of planting flowers nine times."

"It can be said that Zheng He's activities in the West have expanded the peaceful exchanges between the country and Asian and African countries, and developed political, economic and cultural exchanges between the country and Asian and African countries."

"Until today, Zheng He has a pivotal position in the history of our country and even in the history of world navigation."

Although most of these actions and credits belong to Zheng He, it would be difficult for Zheng He to complete without Zhu Di's support behind him, which is why Zheng He went to the West "seven times", because after Zhu Di's death, no one supported him. ”

"Looking at these influences in the past, such a person should not be controversial."

"But Zhu Di is a very controversial emperor, just because he was incorrect and brutal, so he was criticized."

"Just like Wu Zetian's wordless stele, the merits and demerits of right and wrong, leave it to future generations to evaluate, even if there is no wordless stele, how you should be the emperor, future generations will also evaluate, Zhu Di can rank sixth among the emperors, and we have already given the answer in later generations."

"Just like Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng, people are quite narcissistic, and they also directed and acted to go to Mount Tai to seal Zen, so scared that none of the emperors behind them dared to go again, if they went, wouldn't they admit that they were on the same level as Song Zhenzong? Who dares to go here, our future generations will evaluate him as unworthy. ”

Qin Shi Huang: This is the one who signed the unequal treaty, right? It's really an insult to the noble place of Mount Tai, I don't want to go to this letter of yours.

Li Shimin: What can also be a Zen seal? Who is this disgusting! As far as Miss Zhang said, I'm going to Feng Zen, isn't this admitting that I am on the same level as this Song Zhenzong? I'm not going to go anymore, it's really exciting.

Liu Che: Haha! Boy! You really dare to think, Zhao Kuangyin, how can you, the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, be so talented! Hahaha!

"What I said is almost the same as everyone's discussion, if you think you are doing well, it depends on whether others recognize you!"

"What Zhu Di did after becoming the emperor has its own conclusion."

"However, the evaluation of the ancients by our descendants is often polarized, especially for the rulers of ancient dynasties, and Zhu Di's discussion is similar."

"On the one hand, he unified the whole country, created many firsts, and laid a solid foundation for the development of the country, while on the other hand, he burned books and pit Confucianism, worked hard and lost money to build huge and luxurious palaces for his own enjoyment, and destroyed the lifeblood of the Qin Dynasty."

In addition, like Cao Cao, he fought bravely to kill the enemy on the battlefield, killed Dong Zhuo to protect the Han Dynasty, and his military strength and ability to govern the country were unmatched, on the other hand, he was ruthless and fell "I would rather bear the people of the world than the people of the world bear me". ”

"There is no dispute about which emperor!"

"Zhu Di was originally a vassal king, but he rebelled because Emperor Jianwen cut the domain, and what is surprising is that Emperor Jianwen did not have a task that he could complete, but Zhu Di, who was the target of the domain, successfully completed it."

When Zhu Di first sat on the throne of the emperor, his position was not stable, so he took means of dividing the vassal kings, and he treated the feudal kings who were not strong, "Fu Zhou Wang Hu, Qi Wang Lu, Dai Wang Gui, Min Wang Zhu Zhu old seal", for the military strength of King Ning, Zhu Di did not hesitate to move it to Nanchang in the year of his accession. ”

"After the throne was secured, Zhu Di took measures against each vassal king, and removed the guards and officials of Wang Gui and Wang Rong of Qi in the first year of Yongle and the fourth year of Yongle respectively."

"In the sixth year of Yongle, he cut down the guards of Zhu Yang, the king of Min, and dismissed his officials."

"Yongle cut the Liao King Zhu Zhi for ten years. In the fifteenth year of Yongle, Zhu Lu, the king of the valley, was a concubine, and in the nineteenth year of Yongle, Zhu Lu, the king of Zhou, was guarded. ”

"At this point, the vassal kings were no longer able to confront the central government, and Emperor Jianwen's plan to cut the feudal domain was perfectly completed by Zhu Di."

After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he just set up the capital in Nanjing, Zhu Di lived in BJ for 23 years before the "Battle of Jingjing", and after four years of Jianwen, Zhu Di invaded Nanjing and ascended the throne of the emperor. ”

"Why did Zhu Di choose the imperial city to be built in BJ later, this is also the problem that Zhao Kuangyin chose the wrong imperial city at the beginning, and the establishment of this imperial city also has to consider a variety of factors."

"Nanjing is considered to be the base of Emperor Jianwen, and Emperor Jianwen treats the Jiangnan scholars well and wins their support."

"After Zhu Di usurped the throne, he launched a bloody massacre of Emperor Jianwen's supporters, and the opposition in Nanjing was greater, which made Zhu Di restless."

"And BJ is where Zhu Di started, he has been operating there for many years, and moving the capital to BJ is conducive to rule."

"In addition, in the north at that time, there were remnants of the Yuan Dynasty, as well as Khitan, Jurchen, Tatar and other ethnic minorities who frequently harassed the Central Plains."

"If the capital is moved to BJ, it will be more effective in organizing military forces to resist the invasion of these minorities."

"The biggest advantage is that BJ is surrounded by mountains, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, while Nanjing is in a plain area and there is no danger to defend."

He moved more than 10,000 households from Shanxi to BJ, and also immigrated to BJ from all over the south of the Yangtze River to promote the development of BJ. ”

(End of chapter)