After entering the East China Sea, the mighty naval fleet stopped briefly in Taicang Prefecture, and then headed south in the north wind.
Ma Huan holds a booklet in his left hand and a writing brush in his right hand. He sits under the side of the ship and quietly writes down what he sees, hears and feels during the voyage.
William and Adam came over and sat next to Ma Huan.
Ma Huan put the brush aside and said to William with a smile: "You didn't plan to stay in the Ming Dynasty to preach, so why did you decide to return to Venice?"
William hugged his knees, looked up at the sails of the treasure ship, and sighed: "This is the most magical land I have ever seen, silk as smooth as jade, crystal clear glass, beautiful colored glaze, and powerful and invincible sergeants , the hard-working people, the bustling and huge city... I like it here and would like to live in the Ming Dynasty forever."
"Then why?"
Ma Huan was a little confused.
William smiled and stepped on the deck: "The people of the Ming Dynasty have their own beliefs and strength. They respect Taoism and Buddhism more. If I want the scriptures of God to be recited here, my efforts alone are not enough. I want to go back and find my brothers in the sect, tell them about the greatness and prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, everything that happened here, and let them return to the Ming Dynasty with me."
Ma Huan chuckled.
William asked strangely: "I have always been curious, why is the Ming Dynasty not afraid of us coming to preach? Even when dealing with the government, they are not at all vigilant and prepared?"
"You are here to preach. What you are holding are scriptures, not swords and guns. Why should we be on guard?"
Ma Huan asked back.
William asked in surprise: "But we are missionaries and we promote the teachings of God..."
"so what?"
Ma Huan tilted his head and asked.
William's eyes were full of doubts. In the territory where he grew up, wars between religions broke out from time to time, the most famous of which was the Crusades.
Different religions and different beliefs create fundamental contradictions.
Different sects hold different scriptures and carry the same weapons, killing heretics one after another in order to conquer more territories and gain more believers.
But people here don't seem to care at all about Western sects entering the Ming Dynasty.
Ma Huan saw William's doubts, shook the book in his hand, and said: "Priest, you came to the Ming Dynasty. In your opinion, it is God's arrangement, but in our opinion, this is the Ming Dynasty's arrangement. You still If you don’t understand this great dynasty of ours, nor the people who have lived on this land for generations, the Chinese civilization has been so long that you can only see this life but not the past, I would like to give you a suggestion.”
"You are an upright and kind friend, please tell me what to do."
William said sincerely.
Ma Huan said calmly: "China has the uniqueness of Chinese civilization. It is like an all-encompassing sea. It can accommodate the giant river of Taoism and the golden light of Buddhism. Of course, it will not refuse the construction of mosques and temples. It will not prevent Catholics from coming here to preach. The sea will not reject rivers, but no matter what rivers reach the sea, they will become part of the sea and no longer pure themselves..."
William frowned and thought: "You mean, any sect that comes here will become its own culture?"
"That's right."
Ma Huan said seriously: "For any foreign sect or doctrine to gain a foothold in China, there is only one way, and that is to be assimilated by China and become a kind of thinking and power that is in line with the Chinese people."
William looked deeply at Ma Huan and seemed to understand the meaning of "Chineseization of the sect". The people here are different from the people in his homeland. In their mainstream culture, Buddha cannot dominate, and Tao cannot dominate people's hearts and truly exert its dominance. What works is another doctrine, not a sect. Its name is:
Confucianism.
Whether it is Buddhism, Taoism, or other sects, it seems that at this point, they have to make certain changes in conjunction with Confucianism.
There seems to be an invisible mysterious force here.
Ma Huan stood up and stretched: "In a word, priest, it's time for you to read."
William stood up and bowed to Ma Huan solemnly, which was the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty.
"what about me?"
Adam couldn't help but feel a little depressed when he saw William about to enter the cabin.
William turned back, looked at Adam calmly, and said, "Just think about how to bring the goods back. The captains are gone, and the remaining crew members are the captains. If they are the captains, they should complete the mission, return to Venice, and exchange The captain’s agreement back then.”
Adam puffed out his chest and shouted, "I'm the captain!"
Zheng He in the distance heard the sound, glanced at Adam, and said to Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng: "There are many people in the far west. When the emperor talked about these people, he was full of murderous intent, but It’s a bit puzzling that they don’t care about the existence of Adam and William.”
Zhang Yu moved his wrist and said: "The emperor once said that there are enemies of the Ming Dynasty deep in the sea. I believe these enemies are related to the West. However, judging from the expressions of William and Adam, they are not the opponents of the Ming Dynasty. "
Zhu Neng nodded in approval: "But William also said that there are firearms in the West, which is not good news for us."
Zheng He looked at William's back and whispered: "The navy's mission is to defend and protect the Ming Dynasty from the sea. If the west is really a potential enemy of the Ming Dynasty, then the old port is too important to us. "
"Perhaps this is why the Emperor asked us to bring a large amount of cement to the Old Port."
Zhang Yu's feet moved.
There is a large amount of cement piled up in the cabin.
Zhu Neng picked up a piece of melon and fruit and said: "Old Port is stuck on the shipping route, but after all it is still not as good as Sumatra. If there is a chance..."
Zhang Yu coughed and reminded Zhu Neng: "It's better not to say these words."
Zheng He just shook his head slightly, noncommittal.
The location of the Old Port is superior, but from the perspective of the nautical chart, it is indeed not as advantageous as Sumatra. It is the entrance that truly limits the East-West Sea Channel, while the Old Port can only be regarded as limiting the outlet of the East-West Sea Channel.
Although the effect is similar, the geographical scope of the Xuanwei Division in Jiugang is limited after all. If Sumatra can really be captured, that island will be under the control of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty can completely build a real island on that island. The provinces stationed more troops and firmly controlled Nanyang.
But this kind of thinking can only be thought about. Overthrowing a country without reason and occupying it without reason will damage the prestige of the Ming Dynasty and intensify the panic of the Southeast Asian countries against the Ming Dynasty. In the long run, it is extremely detrimental. thing.
Unless there is a really solid reason.
Capital.
Because Zheng He left with the main force of the Ming Dynasty Navy, and with the remaining naval fleet, how to ensure the safety of the Ming Dynasty's coast became something Zhu Yunwen had to consider.
Without the Dabao Ship and Zhongbao Ship, the Dafu Ship became the main force of the navy.
Although the Dafu ship cannot be compared with the treasure ship, it can also be equipped with four divine machine cannons, supplemented by other firearms, and its combat power is sufficient to face many threats in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.
The important thing is not the lucky ship, but the soldiers.
After careful consideration, Zhu Yunwen transferred Chen Hui, who had performed well in the Battle of Qiuba Mountain, back to the capital as deputy navy commander, and Geng Bingwen's eldest son Geng Xuan as naval staff general.
Chen Hui has military exploits, is decisive in his work, does not procrastinate, and has rich experience in leading troops. There are not many problems in being the deputy commander-in-chief of the Navy.
Geng Xuan's identity is unusual. He is not only the former military governor Qian Shi, but also Zhu Yunwen's brother-in-law. Zhu Biao's eldest daughter, Princess Jiangdu, married Geng Xuan, the son of Changxing Marquis Geng Bingwen, as a princess in the 27th year of Hongwu.
Zhu Yunwen chose Geng Xuan not because he was a relative of the emperor, but because he was smart and followed the rules but was not conservative. During the Beijing Army training, Zhu Di, Xu Huizu and Tie Xuan recognized his performance.
Of course, in order to ensure that these two generals on horseback understood the navy and could command it, Zhu Yunwen ordered the navy commander Li Jian to select elite soldiers to assist the two men and teach them naval combat tactics.
Longjiang Shipyard is still manufacturing treasure ships, but it will take two months to complete the fastest treasure ship, and these two months are winter again. Under the hunting northwest wind, it is difficult for Japan or the Southeast Asian countries to withstand the wind. Entering Ming Dynasty just gave Ming Dynasty a safe time.
Zhu Yunwen has ordered the shipyard to speed up the progress, strive to complete the sea trial of the treasure ship before the end of the year, and take advantage of the north wind to enter the old port, preparing to pick up the old port guard sergeants in the spring and realize the first rotation of the old port garrison.
The situation in Nanyang is relatively stable. There are not many things for Zhu Yunwen to worry about, but there are some problems in Yunnan.
Zhu Yunwen received an urgent report from the Yunnan Dusi and Mu Sheng that Yunnan's eight hundred Dadians had killed the Ming envoys to appease the Ming Dynasty, set up checkpoints to prevent soldiers and civilians from crossing the road, and requested an order for conquest.
This time there were no differences within the imperial court. Whether it was the cabinet or the Ministry of War, they all agreed on one word:
beat.
Babai Dadian, translated as eight hundred big places. According to Mu Sheng and others, the tribal chief of Babai Dadian has 800 wives, and the 800 wives manage the 800 villages, also known as the Kingdom of 800 Daughters.
The cabinet believed that the eight hundred enemy chiefs despised the Ming Dynasty's promotion and killed the Ming Dynasty envoys and deserved to die.
The Ministry of War believed that the eight hundred enemy chiefs were against the imperial court, so they should kill the chickens to scare the monkeys and kill him with the power of thunder.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army believed that the eight hundred enemy chiefs deserved to be defeated.
Only Zhu Yunwen believed that the Ming Dynasty must be cautious. After all, if the enemy chief was killed, eight hundred more widows would be born. Before the war started, could a single sergeant be chosen as the vanguard...
As a result, Xu Huizu covered his face, Tie Xuan rolled his sleeves, Xie Jin turned his head, and Yu Xin stared.
The situation in Yunnan is really not a big deal. After all, she is an eight hundred daughter-in-law, not an eight hundred heavenly soldier and general. Besides, Mu Sheng also has a lot of tiger squatting cannons in his hand. He can hit them one after another, let alone the eight hundred. Dadian, even Myanmar, can be defeated...
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