The fleet that sailed to the Western Ocean this time was more than quadrupled in size compared to the fleet that Zheng He used to sail to the Western Ocean in history.
This is the different national conditions of Ming Dynasty today.
The economy of the Ming Dynasty today is not comparable to that of the Yongle period, especially in terms of shipping.
Although many sea-going ships were built during the Yongle period, they still did not receive such support as Zhu Ying had for several years. Both the government and the private sector had already made huge profits.
These profits prompted more investment in the shipbuilding industry.
When an industry begins to undergo crazy involution in the market, then this industry must be thriving.
Government and private shipyards are thinking about transformation to a higher level of technology every day so that seagoing ships can be stronger and more durable.
After all, it is very common to encounter storms on the sea. If the ships built by any company will not suffer major damage after experiencing the storm, then this shipyard will definitely receive more orders.
The status of shipbuilders is also rising rapidly. For example, the monthly salary of a master craftsman today has reached 20 yuan. This was unprecedented in the past. Even those craftsmen did not expect that it would be like this. worth.
It is precisely because of the skyrocketing wages that more people are pouring in to serve as apprentices. Quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes. There will always be some geniuses who will emerge and reform shipbuilding technology.
Therefore, under the fleet led by Li Jinglong this time, although there are no previously exaggerated five hundred treasure ships, there are actually two hundred treasure ships.
Zheng He, on the other hand, only had sixty-three treasure ships.
The number of people, scale, and military strength carried by them are completely different.
Li Jinglong's government had a total of 520 ships, while Zheng He's voyages to the West were about more than 300 ships each time, which is completely incomparable.
This time Li Jinglong had nearly 50,000 men, including more than 15,000 main elite soldiers, and the rest were various types of entourage.
In fact, this fleet, even the horse boats, are several times larger than the original ones. The full load can be 100,000 people, but only half of the people are loaded. The reason is that they carry a large amount of supplies.
Just the various types of food that can feed 50,000 people can last for about two years. Among them, tea, silk, porcelain and other trading goods have a huge amount of goods.
Among them, there are more than 30,000 matchlocks. The Gunpowder Department's latest artillery is fully loaded with all the treasure ships, and there are countless ammunition.
The most exaggerated thing is that the horse boats carried more than 3,000 horses.
Even after landing, they can quickly pull out three thousand cavalry.
Taking into account the weather, he did not carry heavy armor, but mainly leather armor that was specially made.
Each ship is equipped with a team of three to ten doctors, depending on its size.
It can be said that every detail has been noticed.
After that, there was another very exaggerated thing, which was the caravan following the Ming fleet.
The number of merchant ships is naturally not comparable to that of the government, but there are nearly three hundred ships, and each ship is loaded with a large amount of cargo.
According to the accompanying regulations, these merchant ships are also subject to government control.
In other words, there are more than 800 ships and nearly 60,000 people sailing to the Western Ocean this time. Its scale is the largest in the world.
Regarding the importance attached to this voyage, Zheng He had no possibility of comparison with Li Jinglong in terms of status.
Cao Guogong's title is placed here, and he is Zhu Yuanzhang's nephew. Of course, he cannot be compared to Zheng He.
Three months ago, after the imperial court decided on this voyage, it had been distributed overseas through Di Bao.
As far as all countries in the Nanyang region are concerned, they have already received the news.
The Ming Dynasty, the Kingdom of Heaven, will send the noble Duke Cao Guo to lead a fleet to patrol the world.
This is a very important matter for the entire Nanyang region at present.
The monarchs of these countries only heard about the Ming Dynasty from other people's mouths
How powerful and prosperous it is, this feeling is very imaginary and has no concrete actual support.
Even those who heard the specific number felt that it was a bit too exaggerated.
This time, the size and number of personnel of the fleet were directly published in the Di newspaper.
This is the confidence of Ming Dynasty. I will tell you in detail how many ships and how many people I have arranged to come over. If any country has any bad intentions, you can just let it go.
Half a month later, above the sea, the night sky was filled with stars, and in front of us was an unobstructed view of the sea.
The huge fleet sailing on this sea of stars is as small as an ant.
Li Jinglong stood on the deck, feeling extremely emotional.
He used to think that the Ming Dynasty was very big, but when he really saw the vast and boundless sea, he felt a little sad.
"Mr. Cao Guo, it's late at night, why are you still on the deck? It's because the night on the sea is so beautiful that you can't sleep, hahaha."
A burst of hearty laughter came from behind Cao Guogong, and a middle-aged man in rich clothes walked out with a big smile.
The person who came was none other than the current commander of the Ming Dynasty Navy, Yu Tongyuan, Marquis of Yuexun.
During this voyage to the West, Yu Tongyuan served as deputy commander, in charge of naval affairs.
"Marquis Yuexun must be able to see such beautiful scenery on the sea often."
Li Jinglong turned around and said with a smile.
I originally thought that the sea was very boring, but I didn't expect to be accompanied by such beautiful scenery, which is one of the joys of life.
Yu Tongyuan said: "How can I see it often? I have only gone to sea once or twice. This is only possible due to the orders of His Highness Taisun. This time I go to the West and I can see it every day."
"No matter how beautiful this beautiful scenery is, you will get tired of looking at it every day."
There was a flattering tone in Yu Tongyuan's tone. Putting Cao Guogong's identity aside, the key was to gain His Majesty's respect. Being able to serve as the commander-in-chief of this expedition to the West showed that His Highness Taisun also valued him very much.
From the status of the navy, the promotion mainly lies in His Highness Taisun. There was no response for more than twenty years. In the past few years, with the support of His Highness Taisun, Yu Tongyuan has truly gained real power.
It's just that there are too many capable soldiers now, and Yu Tongyuan is also worried that one day he will be demoted.
Today's Daming Navy is an oil and water department. It collects a lot of bribes from the sea alone, and they are usually overseas, and the government has almost no jurisdiction over them.
"Marquis Yuexun came just in time. I'm always worried about something. Can we have a drink?" Li Jinglong greeted.
Naturally, Yu Tongyuan didn't get what he asked for: "It's what I want, but I don't dare to ask for my ear."
At Li Jinglong's order, the guards immediately brought drinks, and the cook was also woken up to cook some dishes to go with the wine.
This treasure ship is different. It is the one that Zhu Ying once took to the Japanese country. Compared with other treasure ships, it is not only three-thirds larger, but also the level of luxury of firearms and decoration is not comparable to other treasure ships. It is equivalent to royal customization. .
If it weren't for Li Jinglong's relationship with the imperial family, this treasure ship wouldn't have been able to go to sea. He wouldn't have dared to ride on it if he wasn't of a high level.
Yu Tongyuan is considered to have benefited from Li Jinglong.
"This voyage to the West is a very arduous task. When the time comes, we will have to rely more on the Marquis of Yue. If anything goes wrong, His Majesty's grandson will have no way to explain it."
Li Jinglong said with some worry. After all, it was his first time to go to sea, and it was such an important matter. While he was excited, he also felt a lot of pressure.
In fact, Li Jinglong didn't know much about overseas, especially among these small countries.
This time, Li Jinglong had a political mission on his voyage to the West. To put it simply, he wanted to have a political influence on many countries and even intervene in local conflicts.
Before coming, the imperial court had prepared documents and seals, and Li Jinglong could use the name of Ming Dynasty to carry out some canonization matters.
"Actually, Duke Cao Guo doesn't have to worry about this. When he gets there, he will know that there are not many strong ones in these small countries."
"I'm not familiar with the West, but as far as Nanyang is concerned, the only strong one is Zhenla. Now it's just at the end of its war effort, and its national power is constantly declining."
"However, the current Princess Zhenla is the Dan Concubine of His Highness Taisun. Duke Cao still needs to think more about this. According to what His Highness Taisun conveyed, it is to protect Concubine Dan's face without causing our Ming Dynasty to suffer. .”
"To sum up, in fact, according to His Highness Taisun's intention, it is to strengthen the influence of our Ming Dynasty, specifically on the word "enlightenment". "
"We can actually follow the path of Annan and try our best to encourage these countries to set up Chinese schools and learn the writing and language of our Ming Dynasty. I think His Highness Taisun will be very interested in these things."
Before the food and wine were served, Yu Tongyuan, the Marquis of Yuexun, expressed his thoughts.
This made Li Jinglong's eyes light up. He didn't expect that Yu Tongyuan would think so deeply when he was confused.
"The ancients said that if a group of three people is together, I must be my teacher. What I heard today from Marquis Yue Xun was like a revelation." Li Jinglong felt that his thoughts suddenly became clear.
Yu Tongyuan, the Marquis of Yue Xun, waved his hands repeatedly and said: "Gong Cao Guo is ridiculous. I can only show my shame in front of Duke Cao. For example, our current navy has increased a lot because of the support of His Highness Taisun. I feel bad in my heart." I’ve always been worried.”
"The more His Highness Taisun attaches great importance to me, the more I cannot live up to the Emperor's favor. I can only carefully consider His Highness Taisun's intentions."
"It's the feedback from the navy. Whether it's Annan or Champa, His Highness Taisun has requested the continuous expansion of the Hua Chinese School. Naturally, I have taken it to heart."
Li Jinglong also began to ponder in his heart, what should be done to make His Highness the Grand Sun more satisfied.
From now on, the Ming Dynasty will have to carry out the wishes of the Taisun. Only by gaining the respect of the Taisun can one be rich and powerful.
At this time, wine and food were also delivered.
Yu Tongyuan's eyes lit up immediately when he looked at the wine jar that was delivered.
"Is this Hero Lie?"
Li Jinglong smiled and replied: "It seems that Marquis Yuexun is still a good drinker."
Yu Tongyuan couldn't wait to open the seal, and said at the same time: "I had the honor to drink this heroic spirit once before, and I really remember it fresh. It's just a pity that the annual production is too small, and it is not sold outside the country very much. I can only There is a reward from His Majesty."
"I have been thinking about it, but there is no chance. Others have hidden this wine. Today I am finally lucky enough to drink it again."
Heroic Lie is the main wine of Zhuying Royal Chamber of Commerce. It is brewed with the best raw materials. It takes nearly a year to make the wine, and then it needs to settle for half a year before you can drink it.
These wines are only given as a reward from the palace, which can be regarded as enhancing the royal majesty and belong to the royal family.
Yu Tongyuan looked at the seal on the wine seal and knew that it was absolutely authentic.
You must know that a jar of wine like this, which is only two kilograms, is sold for a sky-high price of one thousand guanbao banknotes outside.
Even at such a price, it is priceless but not marketable.
Anyone who can get this wine will not care about this thousand-guan treasure banknote at all, so there is no reason to sell it.
Even if Yu Tongyuan is a marquis, he can hardly drink it.
Li Jinglong smiled and said, "Normally, I don't have such a heroic spirit. This time, His Majesty has rewarded me with twenty jars during my voyage to the West. It is used as entertainment on the road."
"Although the wine is good, it tastes a little bit worse if it is enjoyed by one person. Now that we have the Yuexun Marquis to drink with us, we will have a lot more enjoyment on the road."
Li Jinglong obviously also wanted to have a good relationship with Yu Tongyuan, the Marquis of Yuexi.
Although he had trained a lot in the early years, he was very unfamiliar with water warfare. Yu Tongyuan, the Marquis of Yuexun, had been engaged in water warfare for a long time with his father and elder brother when he was very young, and he had rich experience.
The weather is a little cooler.
It is already the beginning of winter, and only at this time can ocean-going treasure ships sail with the help of monsoon winds.
After all, today’s sea-going ships still need to rely on wind power to travel.
For a treasure ship as big as this one, the manpower is completely insufficient.
Although there is no concept of monsoon in the Ming Dynasty, navigation technology is currently the best in the world.
Today's fleet travels using sea channel needles combined with ocean-crossing star-finding techniques.
During the day, you use a compass to navigate, and at night, you use stargazing and water compass orientation to maintain your course.
Even if you encounter a dangerous environment with huge waves reaching the sky and huge waves on the sea, you can still fly with high clouds and sails and stars galloping day and night.
This is a navigation technology that only the Ming Dynasty can possess at present.
"This time His Highness Taisun also made a secret confession about Timur's detention of my Ming envoy."
"According to His Royal Highness Taisun's order, it is not only to collect information about Timur now, but also to bring back all our envoys."
After three rounds of drinking, Li Jinglong finally expressed his inner sorrow through the strength of his drinking.
What he was worried about was not the affairs of these small countries in the Nanyang region at all, but the matter of dealing with the Timur Empire.
Timur dared to detain the Ming envoys, so he naturally did not worry about the Ming coming to cause trouble, and there was not a big difference in military strength with the Ming.
If Timur insists on not letting him go, Li Jinglong has no way to deal with it.
After hearing the words, Yu Tongyuan, the Marquis of Yuexun, was silent for a while. He also knew something about Timur's empire.
Then he picked up the wine glass and said, "You don't have to think so much, Mr. Cao Guo. As the old saying goes, the boat will naturally straighten up when it reaches the bridge. No matter what the situation is, we won't know until we arrive."
"If it really can't be done, then there is nothing we can do. Don't think so much now, just drink first, drink."
Li Jinglong also understood this truth in his heart and raised his glass to drink together.
The first stop on the voyage to the West was naturally Champa.
This is due to the influence of the monsoon path.
At this time, Zhu Yunqi, who had already taken the vassal status in the city, had of course already received the news.
King Wu is Zhu Yunwen's title, and this can be regarded as Zhu Yuanzhang's last love.
In Prince Wu's Mansion, Zhu Yunwen was gathering people to prepare to go to Champa Port to greet him.
