Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 378 Laying out Wozhou
In the eighth year of Qianxi's reign, it was the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Outside the Di'an Gate of the Imperial City, in the main hall of Zhenwu Temple's second entrance courtyard.

In front of the altar table, Zhu Di was wearing a light blue Taoist robe, sitting cross-legged on a futon and meditating with his eyes closed.

On the left side of the palace gate, Zhu Gaoxu stood there respectfully and waited quietly.

As for Zheng He, Wang Jinghong, and Qingyao, they led a group of guards to guard the gate of the second courtyard.

"Zhenwu" was originally "Xuanwu", the god of the north, and was later regarded as Emperor Xuanwu by Taoism. In the Song Dynasty, in order to avoid the name taboo of Zhao Xuanlang, the ancestor of the Song Dynasty, Xuanwu was changed to Zhenwu.

In the early years of Yongle, when Zhu Di planned to move the capital to Peking, he considered that Emperor Zhenwu was the God of the North, and he was the last emperor to ascend the throne in the north, so he declared that he was the reincarnation of Emperor Zhenwu, as in history.

On the one hand, he named Emperor Zhenwu the "God of Arctic Zhenzhenwu Xuantian".

On the other hand, Wudang Mountain, the training place of the legendary Emperor Zhenwu, was named "Dayue Taihe Mountain", and he ordered the construction of a golden palace and a golden statue in Wudang Mountain, with a cost of millions. It took seven years to build the Wudang Mountain. It was built like a heavenly palace on earth or the human dojo of Emperor Zhenwu.

Subsequently, countless Zhenwu temples sprung up all over the world.

Moreover, Zhu Di ordered the construction of a place called Qin'an Hall next to the Imperial Garden in the Forbidden City, dedicated to Zhenwu.

There are seven small courtyards on the east and west sides of Qin'an Hall, called "East Qisuo" and "West Qisuo", which represent the "Xuanwu Qisu".

Even the statues of Zhenwu are painted between the brackets on the two walls of the Fengtian Hall in the Forbidden City.

Zhu Di also personally composed a piece of music called "Imperial Xuanjiao Movement of the Ming Dynasty", which was specially performed at the ceremony to worship Emperor Zhenwu.

From then on, the false became true and the true came true, and the legend of Wu Xian Sheng spread everywhere in the palace.

As a result, the blind and superstitious people gradually believed in this legend and regarded Zhu Di as an emperor destined by destiny.

In the 16th year of Yongle's reign, after Zhu Di returned triumphantly from his third personal expedition to the desert, he ordered the construction of the Royal Taoist Zhenwu Temple at the original temple site beside Haizi Bridge in Di'anmen, the imperial city, and designated it as one of the nine temples in the capital, where official worship would be performed.

This Zhenwu Temple is located on the east side of the northern end of the central axis of the capital (that is, the east side of Wanning Bridge in later generations). It is a large-scale palace dedicated to Emperor Xuanwu.

The core of Zhenwu Temple, within the second courtyard of the palace, is a main hall with double eaves and a veranda roof and a width of five bays, in which the statue of Emperor Zhenwu is enshrined.

Historically, in the second year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty, the name of Zhenwu Temple was changed to Lingming Mingyou Palace. Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, the imperial court continued to worship Emperor Zhenwu.

"Help me up."

Zhu Di opened his eyes and said something slowly.

Zhu Gaoxu, with quick eyes and hands, quickly stepped forward, knelt down, took Zhu Di's right arm, and slowly lifted the latter up.

"I asked you to come to Zhenwu Temple to see me today. In addition to offering sacrifices to Emperor Zhenwu, I also have something important to discuss with you."

After Zhu Di stood up, he raised his left hand and patted Zhu Gaoxu's arm, and said with a mature and serious expression: "Don't think too much. The reason why I chose to rest here is to have some peace and quiet."

His seemingly casual words of "seeking some peace and quiet" actually reflected his desire to leave Changchun Palace and not want to see things and miss people (Empress Xu).

Of course Zhu Gaoxu understood this, so he immediately nodded in agreement and said, "Dad is right, it is quiet here and is perfect for spiritual practice."

The father and son briefly exchanged a few words, then walked around the statue to the back hall of the main hall.

As soon as he entered the back hall, Zhu Gaoxu saw a huge screen placed by the window on the left side of the hall, but what was painted on the screen was not a landscape, flowers and birds, but a map.

He took a closer look and found that the map turned out to be the map of Donghua Wozhou (North America).

"The important thing I mentioned to you just now is related to Wozhou."

After Zhu Di sat down, he looked at the map and said slowly: "I estimate that in a few hundred years, Ming's enemies will most likely come from overseas."

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu's thoughtful expression, he explained solemnly and seriously.

"After rail trains are laid on the grassland, the nomadic tribes that have tortured the Central Plains dynasties for thousands of years will completely become a thing of the past. When rail tracks are also laid in the northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast, the imperial court's control over the mainland of China will reach an unprecedented level. the height of."

"But even so, after 200 years of dynasty succession, the people will always be unable to survive due to natural and man-made disasters, corruption in government and other reasons. This situation must be inevitable for our old Zhu family."

"However, the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty is unparalleled by previous dynasties. It is no lie to surpass the Han and Tang Dynasties, and it can be inherited stably for two to three hundred years."

"If there really is a day in four or five hundred years when the power of the Ming Dynasty completely declines, and people are unable to make a living in China, they can still choose to go overseas and seek refuge with their vassals to make a living."

"After all, our Ming Dynasty has many pro-vassal states overseas, and there will always be a few that have been inherited and become stronger and stronger. At this time, whether it is an overseas pro-vassal state or a foreign country, the Ming Dynasty is weak. If you are unbearable, you will definitely have a desire to replace him.”

"Although there are frequent battles between the countries in Europe and the West today, in order to seek development, each country will definitely actively learn from our Ming Dynasty's advanced technology and improve it. In time, let alone surpassing the Ming Dynasty, at least there will be a battle against the heavenly soldiers of the imperial court. Power."

"Fortunately, the countries in Thailand and the West have hatred towards each other and have different races, languages ​​and customs, making it difficult to unify them. They can be dealt with by dividing them vertically and horizontally."

"Before I went to sea, I heard Zheng He say that Wozhou is a fertile land with a vast area, sparsely populated areas, and fertile land. There are vast plains within the territory."

When Zhu Di said this, he raised his right arm, pointed at the map, and continued: "Back then, after your mother and I arrived at Wozhou, we found that there really was vast fertile land there, and the climate was mild and livable. The local indigenous people looked like me. Chinese people are almost the same.”

"From my perspective of all the lands in the Nine Continents, only Wo Continent is most likely to give birth to a powerful country strong enough to compete with the Ming Dynasty, or even replace the Ming Dynasty as the supreme power."

His eyes seemed to have traveled through time, seeing the rise of the United States hundreds of years later in history.

"The two of us have to find a way to prevent this from happening. No matter how hard we try, we won't be able to allow foreigners to establish a strong country in Wozhou."

When Zhu Di said this, he turned to look at Zhu Gaoxu and asked, "What good solution do you have for my concerns?"

"My son has actually thought about this concern of his father a long time ago, but he just thought it was too far away. But since my father mentioned it today, my son will take this opportunity to express his thoughts."

Zhu Gaoxu first agreed with Zhu Di's concerns, and then spoke slowly.

"The best strategy is to completely turn Wozhou into a county. In this way, Wozhou will belong to the Ming Dynasty and become an integral part of the Ming Dynasty."

"However, if we want to achieve this goal, without the efforts of more than 100 years and five or six generations, it will be extremely difficult to see results."

"Furthermore, Wozhou is far away from the mainland of the Ming Dynasty, and is separated by the boundless Atlantic Ocean. Even if we use today's steam speedboats that can travel thousands of miles a day, it will take two months to travel day and night. If there are defenders to support If the soldiers respect themselves, the court will fall into the quagmire of war."

"The central strategy is to combine enfeoffment with counties and counties. Establish counties, counties or real territorial guards in key places in Wozhou, and build pro-vassal feudal states in the surrounding area. This can not only check and balance the local guards and the vassals, but also deter foreign countries. Spying or intruding."

"The next best option is to completely enfeoff Wozhou."

When Zhu Di heard this, he stroked his beard and nodded and said: "The strategy is very good. If a hundred years later, the imperial court is strong enough, it can cut down the vassal vassal and then impose prefectures and counties on Wozhou."

"What dad said makes sense."

Zhu Gaoxu then said: "My son is going to have eight sets of "Yongle Dadian" copied, and give one set to each of Chun'er and Tang'er. At the same time, he will immigrate and hold civil servant examinations as planned to provide them with talents. , let them gain a foothold in Wozhou as soon as possible."

"can."

Zhu Di turned his attention to the map again and said slowly: "The dozens of points circled by me with a red pen on the map are the places where Zheng He asked me to set up guard posts. These imperial courts were located in Wozhou and Da You have seen the strongholds on the East Ocean before, and now you can take a closer look. If there are no objections, we will use these guard posts as basic strongholds in the future, expand to the surrounding areas, and make the next layout of Wozhou."

"Yes." Zhu Gaoxu said respectfully.

In December of the third year of Yongle, Zheng He led his fleet to sea for the second time, shouldering the mission of sailing around the earth.

In the autumn of September of the [-]th year of Yongle, Zheng He led his fleet back to the Ming Dynasty and completed the feat of sailing around the earth.

In the summer of the 11th year of Yongle, Zheng He led the Ming fleet to sea for the third time, responsible for opening a new route from the Ming Dynasty to Wozhou across the North Atlantic. Three years later, he successfully completed the task and led the fleet to return.

At that time, the Ming Dynasty fleet set out from Liujiagang, Taicang, took the warm North Atlantic current all the way east, and drifted across the boundless North Atlantic.

The yin and yang officers of Zheng He's fleet sailed steadily and calmly to the east of the ocean according to the guidance of the star-pulling technique.

However, this good luck only lasted for half a year before it was broken by a sudden sea storm.

Seeing the terrifying huge waves capsizing ships one after another, Zheng He and other Ming generals who were riding in the Tianyuan treasure ship could only pray for God's blessing after doing their best to command and dispatch.

Perhaps it was Zheng He and others' sincere worship that helped them receive the protection of the Heavenly Concubine, Mazu, and other gods, allowing them to deviate into a natural harbor formed by an island before a bigger storm came. , avoiding this extremely devastating maritime hurricane.

In order to obtain fresh water and repair ships damaged by storms and waves, Zheng He led his officers and soldiers to disembark and land on the island.

They stayed on the island for several days, and later rescued many sailors from the sea who were hit by huge waves and rushed to the harbor.

Due to the existence of this harbor, the Ming fleet escaped a disaster. Therefore, many navy generals suggested that Zheng He, the commander of the Ming fleet, give this harbor a beautiful name and choose a suitable place on the island to send people. Build a Tianfei Temple.

Zheng He thought that what the generals said was reasonable, so he led people to inspect the entire island and discovered a mountain more than ten miles east of the harbor.

He saw that there were many sandalwood trees on the mountain, so he named the mountain Honolulu, and at the same time named the island at his feet Honolulu Island (Oahu), or Honolulu for short.

After Zheng He traveled around Tandao, he discovered that there is a mountain range in the northeast of the island, extending from northwest to southeast, forming a high ridge, making the island look like half a seashell, and the harbor is like a seashell. It produces pearls, so he named the harbor "Pearl Harbor".

While Zheng He was inspecting Tandao, the sailors he sent out to explore the surrounding waters discovered that there were seven islands of different sizes near Tandao, and there were more than 120 small islands in the surrounding area. It was obvious that the fleet had stopped In an archipelago.

The Ming fleet set off again after resting for half a month at Pearl Harbor. Zheng He led the fleet to sail out of the islands and continue sailing eastward.

When he looked back at Honolulu, he saw that the archipelago was in the sea mist, just like the legendary fairy island on the sea. After discussing with the generals who were traveling with him, he named this archipelago the Eight Immortals Islands.

From west to east, they are Zhongli Island, Guolao Island, Xiangzi Island (Tandao), Xuan Island (Tieguai Li is called Li Xuan), Chunyang Island (Lu Dongbin is also called Lu Chunyang), Xiangu Island, Caihe Island, Guojiu Island island.

Since Tandao is located near the center of the Baxian Islands, and considering that the Baxian Islands are equivalent to a resting place in the Atlantic Ocean, Zheng He later asked Zhu Di to build an acropolis on the island and set up a Tandao Guard. , responsible for garrisoning the Baxian Islands.

In the summer of the 15th year of Yongle's reign, a high mountain that looked like an old man wearing a coir raincoat first came into sight of Zheng He and others, and then the land as far as the eye could see gradually appeared in front of everyone's eyes.

Zheng He led the Ming Dynasty fleet, which lasted a year, and finally reached the deserted Dongzhou again.

The sailors found a calm beach, which was later named Long Beach, and from here they officially landed on the mainland, which was officially called Donghua Wozhou by the Ming Dynasty.

Arriving at Donghua Wozhou for the second time was of great significance to Zheng He, so he named the mountain he saw before landing, which looked like an old man wearing a hat, Xianweng Mountain (Nevada Mountain).

He felt that this mountain was like an immortal from the sky who fell into the mortal world and was specially designed to guide the ships on the sea.

A few days later, when the navy officers and soldiers were resting on an open grassland after landing, a group of indigenous people suddenly rushed towards them holding spears and shouting slogans.

Fortunately, this group of natives had no ill intentions. They just pretended to use force to drive away the Ming officers and soldiers.

Because the last time Zheng He landed in Wozhou was from the east coast, and most of the Wozhou natives he knew lived on the east coast, the accompanying interpreter who only learned the native language of the east coast did not master the language of the west coast natives.

Fortunately, the languages ​​​​of the Wozhou aborigines have many similarities, so the interpreter used his tongue and hands and feet to finally understand the aborigines' meaning.

It turns out that this open wilderness is where the indigenous people graze their cattle, so the indigenous people drove away the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers who camped here.

After the interpreter took out the three treasures of salt, canned food, and kitchen knives that were traded with the Wozhou natives, the natives immediately expressed their willingness to give up the land on the condition that they be compensated with ten kitchen knives, ten jars of canned bacon, and ten kilograms of coarse meat. Salt.

After Zheng He received the report from the interpreter, he not only agreed to the deal, but also gave a military attaché uniform of one hundred households and two general flags, as well as the corresponding tokens to the chief of the Nqata tribe.

The interpreter told the chief of the Nqata tribe that as long as he accepted these gorgeous clothes and tokens that looked mighty and domineering, from now on he would be blessed by the Son of Heaven, the True God on Earth, and the Ming Emperor, and the chief himself would become the substitute. The emperor managed thousands of Muyuan guards and hundreds of households under his command.

Taking into account the special location of this open grassland and the surrounding area, which was close to the port on Long Beach, Zheng He later asked Zhu Di to set up a guard here, named "Muyuan", which means a wilderness place for grazing. .

A few days after the Ming Dynasty fleet was repaired at Muyuanwei (Los Angeles), Zheng He sent several fleets to continue sailing along the coastline to the north, south and surrounding areas to explore and draw maps.

One of the exploration teams heading south later discovered a small country. The local indigenous people called the place where they lived "Mexico" (Mexico). Zheng He left a force of one thousand households to build a site near this small country. After the city, it was named Mo Sike Qianhusuo City, referred to as Mo City (later promoted to Mo City Guard by Zhu Di).

When this exploration team arrived in the middle of the Andes in later times in history, they were shocked to find layers of corn terraces on the high mountains, so they hurried back to report to Zheng He.

When Zheng He arrived here in person, it was evening and he saw the sun and moon appearing in the sky above the mountain at the same time.

He named the mountain Hexu Mountain according to the record in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" that "in the wilderness, there is a mountain named Hexu, where the sun and moon come from".

Since "Uruguay" is a "river where colorful birds live", the transliteration is Wushui, so the fleet called the place south of Uruguay (and Brazil) Wuyang. Zheng He later asked Zhu Di to set up Wuyang Guards here. .

Because there are a large number of redwood forests in Brazil, it was called Chilin by the officers and soldiers. Later, Zheng He asked Zhu Di to set up Chilin Guards here.

As for the land of Chile, it was named Zhili after the local indigenous tribe. Later, Zheng He also asked Zhu Di to set up Zhili Guards here.

Later, this exploration fleet arrived at the southernmost archipelago (Island Tierra del Fuego) in the Great Wilderness (South America). They found that the indigenous people here particularly liked to burn bonfires, and since it was located in the southernmost part of the continent, they decided to Name this place Lihuo Island.

Later, Zheng He asked Zhu Di to set up Lihuo Guards on the island.

Another exploration fleet heading north first discovered a river with golden sand in the shoal, which is where Zheng He later asked Zhu Di to establish the Western Golden Guard (San Francisco).

The officers and soldiers who landed for exploration also discovered a huge canyon (Grand Canyon of Colorado) and a large salt lake east of West Jinwei. So Zheng He named the Grand Canyon "Dahe" and the Great Salt Lake according to the records of "Shan Hai Jing" It is called "Tanggu".

Later, Zheng He asked Zhu Di to set up Tanggu Guard next to the Salt Lake. This guard was named after Tanggu, which is close to the Salt Lake.

At the same time, the officers and soldiers conducted a simple exploration of the huge mountain range (Rocky Mountains) east of the Great Valley, and transliterated the mountain range into the Rocky Mountains after the name of the local indigenous Rocky tribe.

Further north, the exploration team found a huge natural port. On the land near the port, there was an indigenous tribe named Seattle that often lived here.

After Zheng He learned of the existence of this place, he considered that this place was of great strategic significance and suitable for ships to rest and berth, so after returning from his voyage, he asked Zhu Di to establish Xi Yawei (Seattle) here.

In addition, when Zheng He inspected the harbor, he discovered that there was a large island with numerous mountains in the north.

He led an exploration team to visit the island and found that the island has beaches, mountains, lakes, streams and river valleys. The island has crisscrossed valleys, dense forests, and several peaks reaching into the sky. He even met three indigenous people living on the island. tribe.

Due to the rich fur and timber resources on the island, Zheng He later asked Zhu Di to set up a guard on the east coast of the island across the sea, named Evergreen Guard (Vancouver).

The reason why it is named Evergreen is because it is backed by the coastal mountains and faces the strait. There is little snow in winter and the port is almost ice-free. The bay at the foot of the mountain is lined with trees and the scenery is picturesque. It is almost evergreen all year round. name.

Later, the island with rich fur and timber resources was called Evergreen Island (Vancouver Island) by the officers and soldiers stationed at Evergreen Guard.

PS: This chapter should be the one with the most words since the beginning of this book, totaling more than 400 words.

(End of this chapter)