In the summer of the 10th year of Hongwu's reign, the imperial ocean-going fleet went to sea again, and two small and medium-sized fleets were ordered to complete the important task of circumnavigating the world. With a complete world chart, there was obviously a high probability that it could be completed.
In the past two years, envoys from overseas countries have seen with their own eyes the vast territory of the Ming Dynasty, the dense population, and the strength of the army in the name of paying tribute. After returning to the country by boat, they soon returned with more treasures.
Even some countries where the fleet had no access sent envoys after hearing about it. Zhu Biao specially selected some scholars and Taoist priests who were talented in language translation, and asked them to take the Four Books, Five Classics and Taoist classics to spread overseas on the fleet.
As for business matters, Zhu Biao no longer needed to make special arrangements. The Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs had already seen what huge profits were, and the preparations were complete. The kilns in Jingdezhen almost never stopped firing.
Not to mention private merchants, most of them have already gone to sea on their own, but there are still some valuable goods that have been waiting for the imperial trade fleet. Although they have to pay an escort fee, there is no need to worry about their safety.
With the development of sea trade, more and more merchant ships came and went, and pirates naturally followed the trend. There were remnants of Japanese pirates, Koreans and even Nanyang people. Of course, there were also Ming people, and there were even quite a few. Even if you were trading without capital, you had to behead someone. .
Nowadays, the most rampant person is named Chen Zuyi, a native of Chaozhou, Guangdong. He gathers and plunders in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. It is said that he has hundreds of ships and thousands of followers under his command. Even Zhu Biaoju in the palace has heard about it.
I heard that Marquis Jinghai ordered his subordinates to encircle and suppress them, but they escaped repeatedly. To say that there was no problem would be insulting, but I don't know how many martial arts were mixed into it.
In the Wuying Hall, Zhu Biao looked at Wu Zhong who had rushed back with an ugly expression. Wu Zhong was trembling a little, but he still replied firmly: "The Wu family has won the trust of His Highness and has been able to achieve great achievements in the imperial court. My uncle entered Juehai Kingdom. My Lord, my father is in charge of the Ming Dynasty Navy. I can say that his kindness is as great as the sky and the benefits are as vast as the earth. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of going through fire and water for you!”
"When I came here, my father told me not to say a word to conceal the truth about Chen Zuyi's affairs. Your Highness, Ming Shang, must know that this involves a wide range of things. My father does not dare to specialize in it, but my family has absolutely nothing to do with it." There is no money or treasure stored in it, please be aware of it, Your Highness."
Zhu Biao sneered and said: "You are so loyal, you are such a person who has been through fire and water, should I reward Marquis Jinghai?"
After saying that, he slapped the table and shouted sternly: "If you really consider yourself a loyal minister of this palace, you should have reported secretly to me long ago, instead of waiting for the news to reach my ears before rushing to defend you!"
"Without confiscating the money, did you accept all the favors? You were so smart that you thought you could use this as an excuse to get away with it. I entrusted your father with a heavy responsibility, but I didn't expect that he would become a wild man!"
"Why, you feel that you have done a great job in eradicating the Japanese pirates, and you start to dislike the fact that Marquis Jinghai's title is too low, and you want to have a double family?"
At this time, Wu Zhong no longer dared to say any more quibbling words. He just kowtowed heavily. Within a few moments, blood overflowed from his forehead, and he was extremely frightened.
Even though the Wu family was in great power and Marquis Jinghai had strong soldiers and horses, the tree was big and attracted the wind, and there were many people inside and outside the court who were eyeing him. Otherwise, they would not have taken the risk to let Chen Zuyi go in order to gain support from all parties.
I thought that if I couldn't hide it any more, I would protect the interests of all parties and give an explanation to the court by crushing Chen Zuyi to death, but I didn't expect that the prince would be so angry.
"Okay, that being the case, why don't I be a man of beauty? It's in the interest of the king and his ministers. You don't have to go back to the sea. You can immediately set off to work under the command of the Marquis of Xiping. As for your father, the court will soon recall him to the capital to serve as Duke Jing Haigong. He was promoted to the Shangzhu Kingdom and was granted a salary of three thousand stones. I wonder what the public opinion of the young country will say?"
"I beg you, Your Highness, to calm down... Your Highness..."
Zhu Biao ignored him and waved his hand to drag him out. He turned a powerful marquis into a powerless duke. I really don't know whether it was a reward or a punishment.
There were very few people in the Ming Dynasty who could command the navy, and the Wu brothers were the most useful. Wu Zhen was able to quell the Japanese invasion in just a few years. Although he had help from other aspects, his own coordination ability is also very commendable. of.
He has made great contributions to the imperial court, and his promotion to the rank of Duke is long overdue. The main reason for the delay is Zhu Biao's deliberate suppression. Although the title is good, if you look at it, in today's Ming Dynasty, almost all Dukes and above have been In the capital camp and the governor's office, apart from Li Wenzhong in northern Xinjiang, the highest person who could command the local army was the marquis.
This is the general trend, and for this reason, the martial arts warriors' sources of money have almost been cut off, so they decided to invest in non-capital businesses at sea.
Pirates can never be wiped out, Zhu Biao knows this very well, but trade has just begun, and many small countries are still in the wait-and-see stage, so the warriors must not be allowed to kill the goose and lay the eggs.
Zhu Biao circled several generals who had been promoted during the suppression of Japanese troops, and appointed Liao Yongzhong, Marquis of Deqing, as the new navy commander, and then sent them to the imperial court to finalize the matter.
Liao Yongzhong was credited with capturing Chen Yexian in Bacaishi and Taiping, defeating the barbarians Hague and Chen Zhaoxian, Dingjiqing, conquering Zhenjiang, Changzhou and Chizhou, and fighting off the Jiangyin pirates.
Originally, he and his brother Yun Guogong Liao Yong'an gathered troops and entrenched themselves in the water village of Chaohu. Later, when his brother pursued the victory in the battle to regain Yixing, he rushed too hard and ran into enemy reinforcements. Unfortunately, his ship ran aground and he was unfortunately captured.
Faced with Zhang Shicheng's surrender, he would rather die than give in. He was imprisoned for eight years and died of illness. His loyalty was commendable, and the imperial court named him the founding auxiliary of the country, the official of Xuanli, Guanglu doctor, Zhuguo, and Yunguogong.
After Liao Yong'an was captured, Liao Yongzhong took over the military power of his brother. In the Battle of Longwan, he chased Chen Youliang to Caishi. The battle resumed. Liao Yongzhong led his troops and shouted loudly that they were trapped... He was bleeding profusely. He turned around three times and killed too many people. , the thieves were defeated.
During the Battle of Poyang Lake, Liao Yongzhong even made a comment, which Zhu Yuanzhang gave him in his own handwriting as "a general with extraordinary merit and a powerful army with great wisdom", and was allowed to have it hung on the lintel with a painted plaque.
In fact, when Zhu Biao chose to rectify the navy and eliminate Japanese pirates along the coast, he first thought of Liao Yongzhong. However, after being knighted at the founding of the People's Republic of China, this man of both wisdom and courage suddenly became arrogant and extravagant. He built mansions in the capital, far exceeding those of ordinary marquises. Under the regulations of the mansion, he later accepted beautiful concubines and even made friends with civil servants, so he lay down and immersed himself in glory and wealth.
Zhu Biao wanted to use him but couldn't, so he had to promote Wu Zhenlai. However, since he appointed Wu Liang to be in charge of the ocean, he deliberately tried to polish him and Liao Yongzhong. In fact, no matter what Wu Zhen did, he could only relinquish the power of the navy. This happened two years ago.
It's just that it used to be a decent ending, but now it was promoted and brought back to the capital directly. Wu Zhen would know the difference in the next few years.
In the autumn of the 10th year of Hongwu's reign, King Silunfa of Lucchuan accepted the title of the Ping-Mian Xuan Comfort Envoy entrusted by the Ming Dynasty. However, just a few days after receiving the order, he suddenly sent 100,000 troops to attack Jingdong, Jinzhawei and other places.
Mu Ying, who had expected it, immediately ordered the local defenders to fake defeat, thereby luring the enemy deeper. Silun was suspicious and wanted to restrain his subordinates, but he was unwilling to miss the opportunity to expand the results and establish prestige.
Coupled with the temptation of his uncle Zhao Xiaofa, he finally fell into the trap carefully prepared by Mu Ying. In a narrow mountain pass, a new type of artillery and mines, like thunder and fire, first appeared on the southwest land. Appear majestic.
…………
(End of chapter)
