Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 105 Zheng He’s First Voyage to the West ([-])
"The lion of the celestial dynasty patrols the sea with treasure ships, clearing the way with kindness and power."

Zhu Di stood up, glanced around at the envoys from the Southeast Asian countries standing next to the civil and military officials, then looked at Zheng He and others, and said loudly.

"You must keep in mind that I do not want anyone from other countries to be slaves, nor do I want an inch of land, a handful of sea water, or a cent of wealth from other countries! What I want is for the Ming Dynasty and all nations in the world to be prosperous together, enjoy peace forever, and live in peace and contentment!"

Zheng He, Chen Xuan, and Wang Jinghong said in unison: "I will keep this in mind."

Zhu Di walked down the stage, came to Zheng He, and said: "Zheng He, I want to tell you one more thing. When you go on a cruise, you should not use force easily. However, if you undermine the prestige of our country, you will not tolerate it."

"I obey the order." Zheng He bowed and saluted.

"Ouyang Lun." Then Zhu Di looked at Ouyang Lun in the crowd and shouted.

Ouyang Lun quickly came out of the queue, bowed and said: "I am here."

"I heard that in order to follow the Ming Dynasty fleet to sea, you specially transferred all the merchant ships under your company." Zhu Di said.

Ouyang Lun said respectfully: "Your Majesty, all 58 merchant ships from the Chen Sihai Freight Company have arrived. The ships are filled with silk, porcelain and other items. Thanks to your Majesty's great blessing, they will definitely be sold at a good price."

"People from various business houses have come to the Southeast Asian countries not only to make money, but also to promote the majesty of China and the prosperous Ming Dynasty among all the descendants of the Chinese people." Zhu Di instructed.

The "companies" he refers to are the many companies under the name of the Ming Dynasty Royal Commercial House.

Ouyang Lun bowed and said, "I will spare no effort."

"Okay." Zhu Di nodded.

Then, he looked at Zheng He and said, "What do you plan to do first after going to sea?"

Zheng He bowed and said: "The first thing I did after going to sea was to verify the authenticity of the locations of the mainland and islands marked on the map of the Great Nine Continents, so as to share your worries for Your Majesty!"

"It seems that you have planned everything well." Zhu Di said happily: "Thinking carefully can get twice the result with half the effort and be foolproof."

"Your Majesty, the Japanese envoy Zu'a has arrived."

At this moment, the eunuch Changsheng walked quickly to Zhu Di and bowed to report.

Zhu Di said: "Send him over."

After saying that, he turned around and climbed onto the podium and sat down again.

At the end of the Hongwu period, after the Japanese Kingdom and the Northern and Southern Dynasties were unified, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the actual ruler of the country, tried to establish contacts with the Ming Dynasty in the name of "The King of Japan, Chen Yuan Yoshimitsu".

However, in the canonization system of the Ming Dynasty at that time, the only person recognized for diplomatic relations was Prince Huai Liang of the Southern Dynasty of Japan (named "King Huai Liang of Japan"), so Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's plan was not accepted.

Soon after, the Japanese businessman Feifu told Ashikaga Yoshimitsu about the interests of good relations with the Ming Dynasty. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was persuaded and sent the monk Zua and the businessman Feifu as Japanese envoys to the Ming Dynasty with more than ten ships of tribute. In the certificate of credence, the Ming Dynasty was regarded as Zhengshuo, and he paid tribute as a minister in order to establish Ming-Japanese trade relations.

Just after the Japanese country sent envoys abroad, Emperor Hongwu died, and the new emperor Zhu Di successfully succeeded to the throne. So many envoys were sent to Korea, Japan, Ryukyu and Nanyang countries to announce that the Ming Dynasty would be changed to Yongle in the following year.

However, before the Ming Dynasty envoy to Japan set off, the Japanese envoy arrived in Ningbo first and was caught by local officials.

After the officials of the Ministry of Rites learned about this incident, they reported: "The story is that when envoys enter China, they are not allowed to carry weapons privately to order the people. It is appropriate for the imperial edict to inspect their ships, and all those who violate the prohibition will be sent to the capital."

The Yongle Emperor Zhu Di had a broad mind and allowed the Japanese envoys to conduct weapons transactions. He issued an order: "The Japanese are ordered to pay tribute every ten years, with only two hundred people and two ships. They are not allowed to carry weapons. Anyone who violates this will be considered a bandit."

Subsequently, Zhu Di issued an edict to confer Ashikaga Yoshimitsu as the "King of Japan" and formally established the Kankai trade as the official trade relationship between Japan and Japan in the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, both the Ming and Japanese sides did not strictly implement the regulations on the time of exploration and trade, the number of ships and personnel.

After all, the trade goods imported from Japan to the Ming Dynasty were mainly mineral products such as sulfur and copper, as well as handicrafts such as swords, weapons, and fans.

"Zu'a, the envoy of the Japanese Kingdom, pays homage to the Emperor of Heaven!" Not long after, a short, fat, middle-aged monk, wearing the black and purple monk's robes of the Japanese Kingdom, came to the ceremony, faced Zhu Di, knelt down and worshiped.

"Get up." Zhu Di raised his hand to signal.

Zu'a kowtowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Zu'a, you promised me to destroy Japanese pirates within a time limit. Have you done this?" Zhu Di asked first.

The main purpose of the Ming Dynasty's exploration and trade with the Japanese shogunate was to hope that the shogunate could suppress Japanese pirates, but the effect was not ideal.

The shogunate was only able to control the survey ships in the early stages of the survey trade. Soon after, the control of the survey ships was first transferred to the daimyo and eventually to the merchants.

After Zu'a stood up, he said respectfully: "Your Majesty, we have wiped out the pirates along the coast of Japan as scheduled. Except for the dead and wounded, all the living poor monks have been escorted to Ming Dynasty for punishment by Your Majesty."

Zhu Di asked: "How does your Japanese country punish pirates?"

Zu'a said bluntly: "Boil him to death in a big pot."

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar at the scene.

Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but look sideways at him, and then looked at each other meaningfully with Monk Dao Yan. Both of them could see the meaning of "Japanese people are uneasy and well-intentioned" in each other's eyes.

At this time, Zhu Di said: "In that case, I will do as you say."

Hearing this, Zu'a hesitated for a moment, and then said decisively: "Your Majesty, there is one more matter that I have to report truthfully."

"Say." Zhu Di said.

Zu Adao: "There are indeed many pirates in our Japanese country, but the biggest pirate in Southeast Asia is not in Japan, but in the Ming Dynasty. His name is Chen Zuyi."

After Zhu Di heard this, his expression remained as usual and he looked very calm.

Zu'a continued: "Chen Zuyi once said, 'The land is under the control of the Son of Heaven, but the sea is my own, the sea dragon Chen Zuyi.'"

"Hmph, this Chen Zuyi is quite courageous." Zhu Di sneered and answered.

Then, he changed the subject, turned to look at Zheng He, and said, "Zheng He?"

"I'm here," Zheng He said hurriedly.

Zhu Di said: "Come to me."

Zheng He stepped onto the podium and bowed before Zhu Di.

"I order you to capture this man alive during the cruise and escort him back to the country." Zhu Di ordered: "I want to personally meet this mixed sea dragon."

Zheng He bowed and said: "I obey the order."

Then, under the signal from Zhu Gaoxu's eyes, he bent down and retreated to Monk Dao Yan.

At this time, the Japanese envoy Zu Agong asked: "Foreign minister, I would like to ask Your Majesty the Ming Dynasty whether these pirates should be boiled to death immediately to commemorate His Majesty's feat of patrolling?"

Zhu Di was slightly surprised and said: "You mean now?"

Zu A Gong claimed so.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Zheng He immediately said: "Your Majesty, I believe that today is the grand ceremony of the voyage to the West. On this auspicious day, we must not go on a killing spree."

(End of this chapter)