In June of the ninth year of Jianwen.
The cold wind howled, and the sun and moon flags buzzed.
Zheng He tightened his clothes, and every time he breathed out, there would be white mist.
Wang Jinghong came over with a heavy windbreaker and handed it to Zheng He: "The further south you go, the colder it gets."
Zheng He took the windbreaker and looked up at the Sun and Moon Flag: "The wind direction has not changed yet, we still need to go south. The emperor said that if we want to return to Africa, the most convenient way is to ride the west wind back. Let everyone Wear whatever you can, it hasn’t been this cold in a few years.”
Wang Jinghong nodded.
Indeed, since we set sail in September of the fifth year of Jianwen, it has never been so cold whether in the South or West, Africa or South America. But since we left the Amazon River in February, the weather has gotten colder and colder.
A coughing sound came over, Zhang Yu pushed away Kuang Yu who was trying to help him, took a few quick breaths, and said forcefully: "It's okay, we have completed our mission, and we are going home now, and my heart is burning. Tuanhuo, how could I die here?"
Seeing this, Kuang Yu had no choice but to order someone to bring a windbreaker and put it on Zhang Yu.
Seeing this, Zheng He stepped forward and said, "General Zhang, it's windy outside and you're sick, so it's better to stay in the cabin."
Zhang Yu waved his hand, looked at the sea in the distance and asked, "Have you not reached the westerly belt yet?"
Zheng He nodded slightly: "No, it should be in the last two days."
Zhang Yu took a breath of air-conditioning and sighed: "It's June in the Ming Dynasty, but we are shivering from the cold. There are many secrets in this world. Where did the man named Ma Huan go? Can you record these things? , I will tell the supervisors of the Imperial College in the future and tell the world these secrets."
Zheng He said with a smile: "Ma Huan followed Luo Guanying back to their treasure ship to take care of the potatoes. I heard that the newly planted potatoes have sprouted from the ground. How can they stay here?"
"Breaking out of the ground? I'll go take a look too."
Zhang Yu couldn't wait.
Kuang Yu quickly persuaded: "Don't worry, we have planted a lot of potatoes on our treasure ship in the past few days, and they will grow out soon."
Zhang Yu shook his head and said seriously: "In order to find novelties such as potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, etc., many brothers have died. Only by bringing them all back to the emperor can we comfort the brothers who died." The most worrying thing on the return trip is the preservation of these seeds and plants."
"If we bring back dead seeds because of our poor care, how can we be worthy of our damaged brothers, and how can we be worthy of the emperor? Now that potatoes are reborn, we should all take a good look at them."
Seeing Zhang Yu's insistence, Zheng He had no choice but to put down the boat and let Wang Jinghong take care of the flagship. He rowed with Kuang Yu and others and boarded the treasure ship of Luo Guanying and others.
Luo Guanying, Zhao Shiyu, Liang Dafang, Ma Huan and others quickly came out of the cabin to greet them.
Zheng He took Zhang Yu and others into the cabin.
Compared with the cold outside, the interior of the cabin is much warmer, especially the second floor below the deck, which is the warmest, and it is also the new home of a bunch of plants.
A large vat is filled with soil. There is nothing visible in some soils, but seeds have been sown in them. Some soils also have plants growing in them, such as peppers and tomatoes.
On sunny and warm days, these large tanks are lifted to the deck and fixed until sunset. But because we went south, it was too cold outside, so no one dared to take the plants outside.
In order to keep warm, even the wounded soldiers were not required to use stoves, and all were given to these plants, which were more valuable than human life.
"look."
Luo Guanying led everyone to a vat and pointed towards it.
Zhang Yu took two steps and looked at the buds that had broken out of the ground. They were weak and small, but full of vitality.
"well!"
Zhang Yu couldn't take his eyes away and sighed repeatedly.
Luo Guanying looked at Zheng He and Kuang Yu, then at Zhang Yu, feeling a sense of sadness in her heart.
At the beginning of the eighth year of Jianwen, Zhang Yu, Luo Guanying and other people discovered potatoes and rubber trees, Zheng He and his party found peanuts and peppers, and Zhu Neng and his party found corn, tomatoes and other items.
But there is no news about sweet potatoes, pumpkins, sunflowers, pineapples and other crops. Even with the cooperation of the indigenous people, no remaining crops have been found.
But sweet potatoes are a crop that must be brought back. Without sweet potatoes, this mission will not be completed.
In order to find sweet potatoes and other items, navy officers and soldiers, together with the indigenous people, went deep into the mountains and forests to search. This process was extremely difficult and accompanied by sacrifices.
The virgin forest is not so easy to enter. Once you enter, you may never come out again.
In this way, more than 15,000 soldiers searched hard for six months on the South American continent and finally found sweet potatoes and other crops. When the smoke column was lit and the navy gathered, Zheng He and others almost cried.
】
Of the more than 15,000 people, only more than 11,000 successfully joined forces, while the other 4,000 soldiers were never heard from again.
It was originally scheduled to return to the mouth of the Amazon River in October of the eighth year of Jianwen. In order to wait for these soldiers, Zheng He had to wait until November. In the end, due to logistical difficulties, he had to issue a military order to return to the Amazon River and go down the river in the ninth year of Jianwen. Arriving at the mouth of the Amazon River in January of that year, he joined the 2,700 soldiers who stayed at the mouth of the river.
The smoke column from the river mouth rose again and burned for two full months. But Zheng He and others no longer waited for the naval officers to come to join them, so they had to set sail south in March to find the westerly belt and prepare to return to Africa and then home.
When Zheng He's navy headed south from the west coast of Africa to South America, there were more than 26,000 people in Zheng He's navy. However, when Zheng He's navy headed south and prepared to return to Africa, there were only more than 13,700 people left.
This was a voyage and adventure that lost nearly half of its value, and it was a truly tragic voyage.
Zheng He gritted his teeth and resisted, bearing the weight of the loss.
But Zhang Yu couldn't bear it. He was old. He fell ill once before arriving in South America. He was exposed to wind and rain in South America. He maintained a high degree of vigilance and walked through the forest, looking at the dead soldiers. The incompetence of force and the cruelty of the primitive forest have eaten too many of their comrades.
Long-term pressure, life and death, search, and harsh weather have crushed Zhang Yu's body. No matter how strong he is, he cannot withstand the knife of time.
On the way back south, Zhang Yu fell ill.
After Yu Zhen, Kuang Yu and other imperial doctors diagnosed him, they prescribed some medicine and stabilized his condition, but everyone knew that Zhang Yu was aging day by day. This man once stood on the boat, holding a steel knife in his hand, shouting to kill the enemy. The man has now become an old man who cannot even walk steadily.
In terms of age, Zhang Yu is not too old, more than sixty.
But he has experienced too much. He spent the first half of his life living with the Yuan Dynasty, and later with Zhu Di. Later, he was transferred directly to the navy by Zhu Yunwen, and together with Zhu Neng, he became Zheng He's right-hand man, first fighting pirates. , and then the battle against Japanese pirates, three long voyages, riding the wind and waves...
And this voyage has left Ming Dynasty for nearly four years! After being away for a long time, the soldiers were physically and mentally exhausted. If it weren't for the support of returning home, they would have collapsed long ago.
Zhang Yu, who was old and frail and suffering from diseases, looked at the tender sprouts of potatoes, straightened up and looked at Zheng He and others: "The emperor is right, for these crops, no matter how much sacrifice is made, even if the entire navy can only As long as a ship or a person returns and brings back seeds, it will be a lifetime achievement. We must take good care of these crops and bring them back."
Zheng He, Luo Guanying and others nodded solemnly.
Luo Guanying took Zhang Yu's hand and said in as calm a voice as possible: "What achievements are there? We risked our lives to bring these back, not for the sake of titles and rewards, but so that there would be no more hungry people in the world, and that there would be no more hungry people in the Ming Dynasty." The tragedy of dying of hunger in the wild. As long as the people of the Ming Dynasty can fill their bellies, it doesn't matter how miserable and tired we are."
Zhang Yu laughed heartily and said to Zheng He: "Look, this guy has become more and more mature. Is there any chance that he will have a place in the court in the future?" . But boy, you must remember that whether you are an official or a general in the future, you must never dare to have anything to do with the harem."
Luo Guanying looked at Zhang Yu solemnly, reminding himself that he should keep a distance from the concubine Luo Yan'er in the future to avoid becoming a relative of a powerful sect, which would lead to a fatal disaster.
No one would say this kind of advice easily, because it is thankless and easy to offend others.
But Zhang Yu said it.
Luo Guanying was filled with gratitude and said seriously: "General Zhang, don't worry, wandering all over the world, I, Luo Guanying, am no longer the unruly young man I was before, only thinking about climbing up. Now I see through it, a person should leave a presence when he is alive. Evidence. We sailed to Africa and South America and brought back crops that could sustain countless people. This is proof that we are alive."
"After returning home, I asked my brother-in-law for ten acres of land, one acre to grow potatoes, one acre to corn, one acre to grow peanuts... No matter what, I have to watch them take root and sprout in Daming, and the fruits will be eaten. As for the affairs of the court, let them be left to other big shots."
Zhang Yu nodded happily and said with a smile: "It's good that you have this intention. I'm afraid that you will be unable to control yourself when you are in the court. Your talents are not inferior to Zheng He's. You have to work as a common man to farm the land. You are just bending your talents." "
Luo Guanying helped Zhang Yu to another large vat, pointed to the small rubber tree inside, and said to Zhang Yu: "The emperor said that this plant is a rubber tree, but did not specify its use. But now we have a worry..."
Zhang Yu knew Luo Guanying's worries and knew the worries of the entire fleet.
Whether these seeds are alive and transplanted directly onto the ship, they all grow in very hot areas with a lot of rain. What if they cannot survive when they are brought back to the Ming Dynasty?
Zheng He seemed relaxed and said calmly: "The emperor sent us to search for them. He must know that these crops can survive in the Ming Dynasty. We must trust the emperor."
Believe in the emperor!
Zhang Yu nodded slightly, yes, I believe Emperor Jianwen!
Although Emperor Jianwen did not say why he knew everything here, his four years of sailing and adventure told everyone that Emperor Jianwen was right. What he said came true one by one, and the path he pointed was extremely correct.
He is the emperor of all people and the god of all people.
