In the first year of Yongle, this was an ordinary year for the people of the Ming Dynasty, but for the ministers, this was a year when they were gradually restrained.

They have been indulged since the thirty-first year of Hongwu, and finally ushered in the end of the carnival.

Not only was the number of acres inspected by the Taxation Department, but also because Zheng He's move to the East caused dissatisfaction among the coastal merchants, the officials below ran for this, and the officials in high positions were helpless.

At this moment, they can only stare at the every move of the Lower Eastern Fleet, hoping for the diplomatic failure of the Lower Eastern Fleet.

If the diplomacy of the Lower Oriental Fleet succeeds, and the Ming Dynasty succeeds in setting up a city port division on Hideki and Sado Island (Treasure Island), then the smuggling trade with Japan will probably be cut off directly in the future.

You must know that although there is no ash blowing method, the amount of silver mined in Japan every year is still not less than one million taels.

Most of this silver was earned by smugglers, who also poured into Japan with large quantities of copper coins.

Such a move made the Ming Dynasty, which was already suffering from a shortage of money, even worse, after all, the scale of silver in the early Ming Dynasty was not large, and it could not support a currency market for the time being.

Therefore, for Zhu Gaoxu, cracking down on smuggling and maintaining official trade were the most beneficial policies for the imperial court.

Because of this, he had to consult the letters sent by the fleet almost every day.

The Lower Oriental Fleet took 600 carrier pigeons, so even if he was in Nanjing, he could keep abreast of the latest situation of the Lower Oriental Fleet.

Facts have proved that the Ming Dynasty's navigation skills are not bad, and with the help of the Ming Dynasty's astrological technique and the longitude and latitude taught by Zhu Gaoxu, the Lower Eastern Ocean Fleet successfully arrived on Jeju Island in Korea on the 10th day of May.

"Woo-"

In the early morning, when 150 tall ships appeared in the southwest of Jeju Island, the rapid sound of horns suddenly sounded.

The few Korean defenders on the island went on guard, but the tools they used to defend Jeju were old-fashioned trebuchets and ballistas, and few firearms existed.

Compared to them, the Lower Oriental Fleet, which consisted of one hundred and fifty large ships, was quietly moored at sea at the moment.

Viewed from across the sea, they seem to be connected in series to form a movable island, with a mysterious aura and mighty energy, giving Jeju Island's few defenders a strong sense of oppression.

"Presumptuous! This is the fleet of angels, how can you be so rude! ”

At the port of Seogwipo on Jeju Island, Senator Choi Jeong-do, dressed in a Jeongsanpin official uniform, reprimanded the group of defenders guarding the island, telling them to lay down their weapons and wave flags at the naval fleet.

In a short time, twenty 200-loading sand boats were lowered from the fleet and then driven towards Seogwipo.

Choi Jeong-do waited in Seogwipo with more than a dozen Licao officials, and after about two quarters of an hour, the 20 200-grain sand boats entered Seogwipo and successfully docked.

On the ship, Zheng He, Cui Jun, and Zheng Jun landed in Seogwipo with more than 400 soldiers, and the guards of Jeju Island were sweating profusely with such a scale of guards.

It's just that compared to the vigilance of the guards, Cui Zhengdao stepped forward with a smile and knelt down, and said with Hongwu Zhengyun: "Licao Senator Cui Zhengdao, see the angel ......"

"No need to be polite." Zheng He helped Cui Zhengdao up, then glanced around Seogwipo, and sighed:

"It's a good place here, but the port is too shallow, and our ships can't dock, so we can only use this kind of small sand boat to replenish."

"Xiaosha Boat ......" Hearing Zheng He's words, Licao's officials looked at each other, knowing that their main warships were only 200 and 400 materials.

Due to the distance, they could not feel the enormity of the Lower Eastern Fleet at all.

But it doesn't matter, since the Ming Dynasty set up the Ping Wa Shui Division, the coastal Wa Kou have almost been wiped out, and the smaller the power of the Shui Division, the more convenient it is for them.

Thinking of this, the officials of Licao showed smiling faces one after another, and Cui Zhengdao, who was one of the six Caos of the imperial court, also flattered:

"May I ask the angel, can you sell some of the commercial goods that went to Japan this time to North Korea?"

As a senator of Yeejo, Choi Jeong-do was also tasked with the task given by the lord of the country, Yi Fangyuan, that is, to obtain some of the things that North Korea needed from the Lower Oriental trade.

In addition, major North Korean businessmen also bribed Choi Jeong-do to help buy goods.

That's why he greeted Zheng He so warmly.

In the face of his enthusiasm, Zheng He seemed to be prepared, and directly took over a book from the officials behind him.

"This is a trade book for the East, and if North Korea has the necessary goods, even if I open my mouth, I will definitely not keep it."

"Thank you." When Cui Zhengdao heard this, he impatiently took the document from Zheng He's hand.

It's just that when he opened the book, the names and prices of the goods on it made him gasp.

Blue and white, bean green, white porcelain and other porcelain are all sought-after aristocratic goods in North Korea, not to mention brown sugar, raw silk, bow horn, rice paper, and wolf hair.

For the resource-poor North Korea, almost every commodity in it is a pinching of their life, and the only problem is that they don't have enough money.

If the goods of the Lower Eastern Fleet were to be sold at the price they offered, the amount would be 2,170,000 yuan.

Such an amount is by no means something that the DPRK can eat.

"Do angels need anything?"

Cui Zhengdao did not rush to trade, but asked Daming what goods he needed.

"The imperial court sent me through Jeju Island, mainly to buy horses."

Zheng He said his intentions without thinking, after all, in this era, the only goods that North Korea can import to the Ming Dynasty are horses.

The Yuan Dynasty made many places to raise horses in Goryeo, and Jeju Island was one of them.

Compared with the embarrassment of North Korea, the goods that Daming can import to North Korea can be said to be full of flowers.

In this era, no country can unilaterally dump goods on the Ming Dynasty.

"We can bid fifty horses for a total of five hundred."

Cui Zhengdao tentatively spoke, but Zheng He frowned and said, "This amount is too small, Your Majesty's will for me is to buy a thousand horses." ”

"A thousand horses ......" Hearing this number, Cui Zhengdao was very helpless.

In the face of this dazzling Daming goods, they have no other choice but to sell horses, after all, North Korea lacks copper, and even more so copper money.

Only by selling horses and subsidizing a certain amount of copper coins can they buy the goods they want.

Cui Zhengdao turned around and discussed with the officials of Licao for a while, then turned around and said, "One thousand horses, fifty thousand guan, plus our country's forty thousand guan, we hope to buy goods worth ninety thousand guan." ”

"Yes, please Senator Choi draw up a note for me, and in addition, our army needs to get some water from Jeju Island." Zheng He's head.

Hearing this, Cui Zhengdao also breathed a sigh of relief, and continued to put on a smiling face: "It's just some water, please take care of yourself." ”

"Okay." Hearing this, Zheng He looked at Cui Jun and Zheng Jun, and when they saw this, they divided a hundred people to fetch water.

At the same time, Cui Zhengdao also drew up a note.

They each bought ten pieces of blue and white porcelain, fifty pieces of bean green, and other things such as bow horns, raw silk, and brown sugar were bought as much as they could, until they spent 90,000 yuan, and Cui Zhengdao reluctantly handed over the slips.

Glancing at the merchant's sliver, Zheng He stamped it with his seal, and then sent a sand boat full of water to the fleet to bring back the goods.

From early morning to dusk, the goods of the Ming Dynasty landed in Seogwipo one after another, and were escorted to the Yamen of Jeju Island by Choi Jeong-do and others.

The two parties agreed to go to Mumafu to select horses the next day, but this time the direction of horse transportation was no longer to go to Jiangnan by sea, but to go north to Liaodong by sea.

That way, you don't have to wait until autumn.

Cui Zhengdao didn't have any opinion on this, but invited Zheng He and them to a banquet that night that they thought was luxurious.

After three days of trade, when a herd of 1,000 horses was sent to 10 horse ships and transported to Liaodong, Zheng He also set sail with his fleet.

Using the resources they could produce, they managed to get back a thousand horses and 40,000 copper coins.

Squatting on the deck, Zheng He inspected the 40,000 copper coins, looking at the Tongbao copper coins such as 'Zhizheng', 'Zhiyuan', and Hongwu' written on them, it is not difficult to imagine what kind of smuggling channels they were used to trade with North Korea.

"I don't really understand, aren't the North Koreans losing money by doing this business?"

Zheng Jun, who was standing on the side, frowned and asked, and when the veteran Yang Li heard this, he said without waiting for Zheng He to speak:

"It seems to be a loss, but the 90,000 guan of goods are brought back to Seoul by them, or smuggled and sold to Japan, and they can basically be sold for 1230,000 kan."

"So much?" Zheng Jun was speechless, you must know that his Yulu is only a thousand stones, and after folding, it is at most 400 yuan.

If these 90,000 guan can become 1230,000 guan, then the extra 30,000 or 40,000 guan can almost be compared with some ordinary government taxes.

"It would be nice if we did all the business ourselves." Zheng Jun opened his mouth in pain, but Zheng He chuckled and said, "We have made a lot of money." ”

"The cost of those goods sold to North Korea is only more than 26,000 yuan."

"With this sum alone, the imperial court not only harvested a thousand good horses, but also earned back more than 14,000 copper coins."

Speaking of this, Zheng He also got up and looked into the distance: "The amount of trade in North Korea is not large, and the real purpose of going to the East this time is still Japan." ”

"Now the cargo on the ship, only Japan can eat it."

Zheng He's self-confidence made Cui Jun, who had not spoken on the side, question: "Can Japan eat so many commercial goods?" ”

"Don't underestimate them." Yang Zhan looked at Cui Jun questioning, and couldn't help but say:

"Although Japan is a small country and hangs alone on the sea, since the reunification of the north and the south, the number of mouths in the country has exceeded 10 million, and there are silver mines to help it, although the people are barren, but the nobles are very rich."

Yang Zhanhei has been in the Japanese for many years, and naturally has a grasp of the general situation of the Ashikaga shogunate.

In terms of wealth alone, Japan's land guardians and nobles are definitely a relatively wealthy group of people around the Ming Dynasty.

Going to the East and setting up a Japanese market to do business with these people.

"Bell... Clang... Bell ......"

When Zheng and the others were discussing trade with Japan, a huge bell suddenly rang on the ship, sending out a deep and distant echo, which made people feel ancient and solemn.

"It's going to rain, let's go back to the cabin first."

Zheng He closed the box full of copper coins, greeted everyone, and returned to the ship's room.

After a while, dark clouds drifted in from the west, bringing with them not only the rain, but also the wind and the waves.

In front of nature, Rao is the largest fleet in the history of mankind, but it also seems very small.

On this vast sea, the waves hit several feet high, and people were frightened to see.

Every attack of the waves was like the slapping of a giant beast against the warship, causing the ship to jolt left and right in the waves.

At night, the icy sea breeze howls like the eerie howl of ghosts at night.

Despite having experienced several such storms, the soldiers in the cabin still chose to hide in the corner, their hands tightly gripping the handrails, looking nervous.

The fleet marched against the wind and waves, and each time the crashing waves flew into the air, they were quickly blown away by the strong winds.

The rain curtain of water was blown until the next morning, and the bad weather did not pass.

Zheng He walked out of the cabin and was almost blown away by the strong wind, but fortunately he had a rope tied to him, which gave him the opportunity to grab the guardrail.

Against the strong winds, he looked to the east according to the compass.

From afar, a dark cloud covered the entire sky, and the ocean was pitch black, except for the deep waves foaming at the white foam from time to time.

The waves on the surface of the sea rolled, as if it were an army in battle, marching bravely, roaring, and doing its best.

It's just that in that thick dark cloud, Zheng He seems to see a glimmer of light.

He wiped the rain from his face and made sure he was not mistaken, before returning to the cabin.

It was only a few breaths away, but he was already soaking wet.

But even so, he still had a smile on his face when he returned: "This storm will soon pass, we have already seen the light ahead, and we will be able to get out of the storm safely in three hours at most." ”

"It's too dangerous for you to go out like this."

Yang Li, who came in a hurry from other cabins, saw Zheng He's embarrassed appearance, and hurriedly ordered someone to go up to change his clothes.

It's just that in the face of Yang Li's worries, Zheng He smiled and said: "Your Majesty and Your Highness have entrusted me to go to the East, I naturally have to do my best, how can I let the fleet lose its way because of greed for life and fear of death?" ”

"If something happens to you, then we can't argue." Yang Li smiled bitterly, and Zheng He also knew what he meant.

In the final analysis, the Lower Dongyang fleet was mainly composed of military attaches from the East Palace, and he was the only one who was from the Yan Mansion.

If something happened to him, the military attache of the East Palace would definitely be suspicious.

He didn't think about it so much before, he just wanted to find out the direction for the fleet, but now he thinks about it and is a little afraid.

"I know, and it won't be like that in the future."

After changing his clothes, Zheng He also sat down with a smile on his face.

It's just that even though he had promised, Yang Li still sat beside him for a moment, for fear that he would run out of the deck again.

In this kind of 'surveillance', the sound of wind and waves outside the ship began to become quieter and quieter, and gradually, sunlight actually came through the cracks in the door.

"Woo-"

The trumpet sounded, and everyone stood up happily.

The sound of the horn meant that they had successfully walked out of the storm, and everyone rushed out of the cabin and onto the deck.

The warm sunlight shone on them, sweeping away the gloom of yesterday.

The navy soldiers cheered, and some threw down their nets and organized the brethren to swim in the sea.

In the midst of cheers, Zheng He walked up to the bow of the boat, holding the guardrail with both hands, and looking at the blue sea.

The churning waves on the surface of the sea are sometimes blown into a thousand water sculptures, and sometimes they show a sparkling sea, and the whole sea sparkles in the sunlight and waves.

Zheng He put on glasses made of smoke quartz, glanced at the sun's position roughly, and then judged his approximate position based on the compass and latitude and longitude.

Judging by the fact that yesterday's storm formed from the southwest, they should have been blown to the northeast.

If they hadn't deviated from the course, it was estimated that they would soon be able to reach Hizen Province on the Japanese island of Kyushu.

If they deviate from the course, they should be able to see Tsushima in the afternoon.

With apprehension, Zheng He stood on the deck and waited for a long time, until an island appeared in the northeast, and Zheng He roughly understood his position.

"All the fleets were steering southeast for three minutes, and we deviated from the course."

After seeing the islands and reefs, Zheng He knew that his party had deviated from the course.

From last year to this year, he has been learning sailing with Yang Zhan and them, and now after a few days of operation, he can also deal with basic sailing problems.

Under his orders, one hundred and forty treasure ships, warships, and horse ships began to turn around and head south towards Chikuzen Province, Japan.

On the deck, Zheng He invited Yang Li, Yang Zhan and others to take the map painted by Zhu Gaoxu and filled in by the Japanese Kou.

He pointed to Chikuzen Province and explained: "Japan is currently under the control of the Ashikaga shogunate, and the local system mainly uses the "stone high system" to indicate the area of the fief. ”

"The stone of the country before the construction is more than 300,000 stones, and normally it has at least 200,000 people under its jurisdiction, and the annual income is 150,000 stones, and about 20,000 soldiers and horses can be mobilized."

"Now the guardian of Chikuzen Country is Shao Er Zhenlai, they are fighting with the Ouchi family, as long as we send someone to inform us of the news of our arrival in advance, the Shao Er family should not come to provoke us without a long eye."

"In addition to replenishing fresh water for trade, the main purpose is for them to send people to their national capital to report the news and purpose of our arrival to Ashikaga."

"Therefore, I am going to send two hundred guards and three generals as envoys to Kyoto by land."

Zheng He still remembered that Zhu Gaoxu said that he would show force and then diplomacy, and it would be difficult to talk about the practice of fighting again.

Therefore, he did not intend to show the enemy's weakness, but to lead the fleet directly into Chikuzen Bay, so as to demonstrate the strength of the Toyo Fleet.

"Understood, I'm willing to go to its capital."

Hearing this, Yang Yu opened his mouth, but Zheng He hurriedly shook his head and said: "There is no need for the Marquis of Chongming to go in person, it is enough to choose a thousand household officials." ”

"The Japanese have been repeated, and they have slaughtered my envoys before, and this move is not only for us to trade, but also to ask for the guilt of the first master."

"If the Ashikaga family rebelled and slaughtered the mission again, it would be too late to regret it."

Yang Yu dared to go to Kyoto, but Zheng He didn't dare to let him go, who knows if this Ashikaga shogunate would also go crazy and kill the envoys.

Although they treated Daming politely after ascending to the throne, Zheng He had to guard against it.

If Yang Li is really killed, then Yang Zhan, the real helmsman of the Oriental Fleet, may not be good.

"It's a very small matter, and I don't need my father to go there himself."

Yang Zhan was also worried about Yang Li's safety, so after Zheng He spoke, he stopped Yang Li's thoughts.

Seeing this, Yang Li could only sigh helplessly, and the Lower Oriental Fleet was also under the command of Zheng He, heading towards the Fukuoka region of Chikuzen Province.

Their appearance quickly attracted the attention of Chikuzen fishermen who were fishing in the offshore waters.

When the island-like Shimoto-Tokai Fleet appeared, the Chikuzen fishermen on the fishing boats were shocked.

"Bell... Clang... Bell ......"

The melodious and quaint sound of the bell echoes on the surface of the sea, signaling the arrival of the Shimoto Fleet and reminding the fishermen to take shelter.

"Run!!"

Amid the hoarse shouts, the Chikuzen fishermen kept sliding the battered fishing boats, and before they even had time to collect their nets, they fled to Fukuoka Port.

It was not only them who discovered the Ming army, but also the soldiers and horses of the Shaoji clan in Fukuoka.

The melodious sound of the bells and the rapid sound of the bells formed a symphony, and the whole of Fukuoka began to be on urgent alert.

As the head of the Shoji clan, Shoji Sadayori, who was the guardian of Chikuzen Province, heard the rapid sound of the bell and immediately climbed to the observation deck in Fukuoka.

In just an instant, he was shocked by the size of the Lower Oriental Fleet.

A fleet of 140 treasure ships, warships, and horse ships almost filled the waters off Fukuoka.

They are calmly anchored at sea, seemingly close to the port of Fukuoka, but very far away.

"The head of the house! It's the official ship of the Ming Dynasty! ”

Hurried footsteps sounded not far from the observation deck, and a dozen or so retainers in armor ran towards the observation deck.

Seeing this, Shao Erzhen Lai also scolded: "What are you panicking, you must first figure out their intentions!" ”

"Yes!" The retainers responded, and Shao Er Zhenlai also sent a retainer to the Ming fleet with a servant who was proficient in Chinese.

However, as soon as they arrived at the port, they saw a "warship" heading towards the port of Fukuoka.

The thousands of defenders of Fukuoka watched nervously at the "warship" until it came to shore and stepped down three tall, "expensive" silk cloths.

"We are envoys sent by the Ming Dynasty, is the head of the Chikuzen country here?"

"I'm Fukuoka Nobuyoshi, a retainer of Chikuzen Province, so what is the purpose of your visit?"

Hearing the man led by the three speaking Kyoto dialect, Fukuoka Nobuyoshi also walked out of the debris of the port wearing armor and came to them with seven or eight soldiers.

When Fukuoka Jingyi, who was less than four feet tall, walked in front of the Ming army, who was more than five feet tall, the difference in height between the two sides was as high as one foot.

Such a gap made the three Ming soldiers look at each other, but they still took out a national letter and a book in their sleeves.

"This is the letter of state that the Sho Envoy handed over to the lord of Chikuzen country, and this is our trade book."

"If the lord of Chikuzen agrees, the bell can be ringed in the port, and we will send 200 people to escort the envoys ashore to have a good conversation with the head of the house."

With that, the three Ming soldiers stood up and turned around and walked onto the sand boat, which the Japanese regarded as warships.

After a short time, they rowed out of Fukuoka Port, leaving behind only Fukuoka Jingyoshi with his credentials and trade papers.

When the Ming army was completely far away, Fukuoka Jingyi hurriedly took the national letter and trade books and ran towards the Shao Er Clan's pavilion.

From the mouths of the three Ming soldiers, he knew one thing, that is, the Shaoer clan was about to usher in a fortune......

"Ming Taizong Record": "In May Jiashen, Zheng He led the navy to arrive in front of the building, the Japanese saw my warship, and were frightened and said: "Since ancient times, there has been no Han army to the front of the building, and now the king is here, and the real heaven is mighty." ”

(End of chapter)