I, Jiajing, successfully cultivated immortality

Chapter 376 officially sets sail!

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and when it was just dawn, the vicinity of the pier in the capital was already crowded with countless people who came to watch the fun, and all kinds of voices intertwined together, making it appear chaotic.

As for those officials and wealthy households, they also got the news early and booked the best viewing positions through various channels.

At this moment, the thirteen treasure ships that are about to set sail are quietly berthed by the pier. The largest ship is 44 feet long and [-] feet wide. The hull has four floors. The bow is high and the stern is high, and an additional ram angle is installed at the bow.

In terms of power, the combination of hard sails and rotating sculls is adopted. There are nine masts on the ship, and twelve sails can be hung on them. In addition, the shipyard has optimized the structure. Therefore, the sailing speed is faster than before. Great improvement.

The national flag of Ming Dynasty is hung on each ship, combined with the 25 newly equipped cannons, it looks majestic.

And all of this, Yin Ding Shichang of Shuntian Prefecture appreciated it flawlessly, because as early as a few days ago, after receiving the order from the cabinet, he began to get busy. At this moment, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was listening to the report of his subordinates.

"My lord, the area around the pier has been checked, and no suspicious person has been found!"

Hearing this, Ding Shichang was a little relieved, and immediately asked.

"By the way, are the people from Wucheng Bingma Division in place? Why didn't I see anyone?"

"My lord, the people from Wucheng Bingma Division said that they are already on their way!"

When Ding Shichang heard the words, he couldn't help being furious, and immediately vented all his grievances about not having a good rest in the past few days on Wucheng Bingma Si.

"Damn it, it's like this every time. Are the people from Wucheng Bingmasi deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?"

"Or, the people from Wucheng Bingmasi don't take this official, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, seriously at all?"

"Every time I'm slow, last time too, this time too!"

"If something goes wrong later, I must report to them and let your Majesty punish them for their crimes!"

After Ding Shichang finished cursing, the resentment accumulated in his heart dissipated a lot immediately.

After Ding Shichang vented his emotions, the subordinates on the side mustered up their courage and explained to Ding Shichang.

"My lord, the soldiers and horses of the five cities are responsible for the security of the entire capital, so..."

However, before the subordinate finished speaking, Ding Shichang coldly interrupted him.

"I don't care about these, I only look at the results!"

When Ding Shichang said this, he looked his subordinate up and down, and asked back.

"Also, are you from Wucheng Bingmasi?"

Seeing this situation, the subordinate didn't dare to talk anymore, so he had to stand aside resentfully.

On the pier, countless people were commenting on the thirteen treasure ships docked near the pier.

"This boat is really big!"

"Hey, what is the flag flying on the ship? It's pretty pretty?"

"Where, why didn't I see it?"

"Here, there it is, look."

Looking in the direction pointed by the visitor, I saw a blue flag hanging on every treasure ship.

The flag is blue as a whole, and there are thirteen stars embroidered on it. Among the thirteen stars, two stars are slightly larger. In the center of the flag, there is also a dragon with its teeth and claws embroidered, and its dragon head corresponds to the flag. The sun and the moon that exist at the same time on the sky are extraordinary, as if they want to swallow the sun and the moon in one gulp.

Not only the common people, but even the officials and wealthy households were quite curious about the flags flying on the treasure ship, but soon, some officials who knew the news stood up to explain the confusion to everyone.

"This was designed by the cabinet before His Majesty, the flag of my Ming Dynasty!"

"Flag?"

Seeing that there were still doubts on everyone's faces, the official continued.

"The so-called national flag represents the flag of our Ming Dynasty. You see, the thirteen stars embroidered on the flag represent the two capitals and thirteen provinces of our Ming Dynasty. The two larger ones represent South Zhili and North Zhili."

After the official's explanation, everyone present also understood the meaning of this flag.

"I heard that this flag was designed by Xiaoge Lao Yan Shifan himself. His Majesty was very pleased with this and even rewarded him!"

"Yeah, I've heard about it too, it's said..."

Just as everyone was discussing intensely, a shrill voice sounded from a distance: "Your Majesty is here!"

After the voice fell, the bustling and noisy crowd suddenly became quiet.

Immediately afterwards, no matter whether it was a high-ranking official or an unknown commoner, they all knelt down on the ground in unison.

Jiajing rode on the dragon chariot, his eyes swept over the people on both sides of the road one by one, his expression was deep, he didn't know what he was thinking, while Lu Fang followed Jiajing's dragon chariot respectfully.

Behind Jiajing's dragon chariot, the five members of the cabinet followed closely. At this moment, their expressions were the same as Lu Fang's, full of respect, but the difference was that they all looked at the ground very intently. .

After a while, the dragon chariot arrived at its destination, and Jiajing got off the dragon chariot with the support of Lu Fang.

Next, someone who didn't know shouted long live, and immediately after that, the atmosphere at the scene was quickly lifted.

"Long live, long live, long live!"

All the people present looked solemn, and bowed solemnly three times in the direction of the emperor!

Seeing this situation, Yan Song and the others were full of surprise on their faces, and they looked at each other, as if to say: "What's going on, this was never rehearsed before!"

But soon they reacted and knelt down on the ground together with those people.

Wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, Jiajing quietly looked around at the countless people kneeling at his feet. After a long time, Jiajing withdrew his gaze and said slowly.

"Well, get up!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After receiving Jiajing's consent, many people at the scene slowly got up from the ground.

Afterwards, Jiajing stepped onto the steps, looked at the many subjects in front of him, and said loudly.

"Today is the day when the fleet sailing around the world officially departs, and I will personally send them off!"

After Jiajing's words fell, Gu Yan, who was not far away as the commander of the fleet, felt extremely flattered. He never thought that he would receive this honor and be able to be sent off by the emperor himself!
Although the cabinet had sent someone to notify him before this, but what happened before him was so illusory that he couldn't help suspecting that it was a dream.

Immediately afterwards, Gu Yan pinched his hand extra hard, and the pain from his hand told him that all this was true!
Gu Yan knew that his mission this time was not only to complete the voyage around the world, but more importantly, to find the two crops called sweet potatoes and corn that His Majesty described.

As long as he finds these two crops, the people of Ming Dynasty will no longer have to suffer from hunger!
When Jiajing said this, he seemed to have a feeling in his heart, and then added.

"There is a way, change will lead to success, change will lead to stagnation, change will prosper, change will lead to decline, change will lead to life, change will lead to death!"

"Everything is always changing, and the policy of the imperial court is the same, changing with the specific situation."

"In the early days, our Ming Dynasty had two major worries. One was the Japanese pirates along the southeast coast, and the other was the Tatars entrenched in the north who harassed our Ming border from time to time. In order to guard against Japanese pirates, the imperial court promulgated a sea ban policy!"

"Now, the Japanese pirates on the southeast coast have been eliminated, and the imperial court has also taken advantage of the trend to lift the sea ban. Next, it is foreseeable that the sea trade will become more prosperous, and the lives of ordinary people will be better and better!"

"This is the promise I made to you as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, as your father-in-law. My Ming Dynasty will officially make changes at this very moment!"

After Jiajing's words fell, the atmosphere at the scene reached a climax. Countless people were moved by the emperor's words and wept bitterly. Just like before, they all knelt down on the ground and shouted long live.

After the atmosphere at the scene had subsided a little, Jiajing waved his hand to signal the crowd to be silent, and then stretched out his finger to point to the flag hanging on the treasure ship.

"I know that many of you are quite curious about this flag."

"Now, I can tell you clearly that this flag is the flag that represents me, the Ming Dynasty, and even more so, the flag that represents the hundreds of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty!"

"The cabinet will issue a corresponding resolution soon. This flag representing my Ming Dynasty will be hung at the gate of the government office. This flag is not only a symbol of the Ming Dynasty, but also a symbol of you. .”

Afterwards, Jiajing turned his attention to the thirteen treasure ships docked near the pier, and said loudly.

"They are all the heroes of our Ming Dynasty, and they are the ones who are about to make great contributions to our Ming Dynasty. Their achievements will be enough to be recorded in the annals of history and will be sung by future generations!"

In this way, amidst the warm farewell, the fleet sailing around the world officially set off.
-
Many historians are arguing endlessly about when the Ming Empire began and entered the age of great exploration.

In my opinion, the sign that the Ming Empire officially entered the era of great navigation was the moment in February 1561 when Emperor Jiajing officially sent a fleet of circumnavigation overseas, and this announced the arrival of a new era. ———Stavrianos "General History of the World"

(End of this chapter)