Tracing China: Through history, dialogue between ancient and modern

Chapter 190 Zheng He Wishes to See the Navy of Future Generations
Many people may have a misconception in this episode of the program about Zheng He, the pioneer of ancient navigation.

Such a powerful fleet.

More than 100 ships and a huge team of nearly 3 people could walk sideways on the sea nearly a thousand years ago.

For any small country, it is a crushing dimensionality reduction blow.

In fact.

Zheng He encountered many, many problems.

First of all, there are internal problems. The eating and drinking of so many people is a big problem in itself.

There are also the crew's illness, psychology, discipline and so on.

Then there are external geographical factors. These ships are not comparable to modern large cargo ships. They rely solely on manpower and wind to move forward. It is also a huge problem to maintain their routes in the sea.

At the same time, there are no various modern positioning and navigation aids.

It is absolutely a miracle to be able to sail thousands of miles relying solely on old-fashioned compass instruments and incomplete maps.

What about facing the terrifying storm at sea and so on?

But the most troublesome thing is the pirates in ancient times, especially the Japanese pirates. These Japanese pirates are all dead demons, killing people like hemp, and doing all kinds of evil. They are simply a group of powerful ghosts on the sea at that time.

To overcome so many problems, it has to be said that Zheng He is absolutely extraordinary.

in the program.

Time flows faster.

The fourth voyage to the west sailed back to the east.

half a year.

The beautiful partner Bailu also recorded all the difficulties faced by the entire fleet.

22 sea storms, including 7 hurricanes, 5 storms...

There were 738 illnesses at sea, among which diarrhea was the most serious, which claimed hundreds of lives, and the second most serious was skin disease, which also caused people to get sick almost every day, in addition to high fever, hypothermia, headache, malaria and so on.

Material problems at sea have plagued the team 52 times. It is common to live in tight clothes on board, and often face small food distributions, and meat is at least pitiful.

The problem of banditry at sea, there have been as many as 48 naval battles, large and small. Maybe this fleet is too luxurious. When traveling along the way, small boats will be attacked from time to time, especially when returning to Southeast Asia. After various fierce battles, in the end, they had to face the problem of Japanese pirates.

Regarding the problem of ships at sea, even if they were frequently repaired, nearly 24 ships were damaged when they returned to their home port due to technical and material reasons. Every ship sank made Zheng He feel extremely distressed.

These ships are all the property of the Ming Dynasty.

This voyage to the West cost a lot.

As for making some money?

Lin Feng didn't know, even if there were, they were probably pitifully few.

at the port.

Lin Feng and Bai Lu were about to bid farewell to Zheng He.

Looking at the blue ocean, they couldn't help but sigh. The powerful Ming Dynasty fleet will completely disappear in the near future.

Dongfang Huaxia, which may once have sea power, will also introduce the qualifications to compete for the ocean.

This is the regret in the hearts of countless people.

"You two, don't you intend to enter the capital and have a conversation with Emperor Yong Le?" Zheng He asked.

"No need, the person we want to talk to is you, the pioneer of sailing." Lin Feng said.

"I'm just following the emperor's orders and using the wealth of the people to travel the overseas world. Even if there is no Zheng He, there are other people leading the team." Zheng He is humble, and it is absolutely impossible to achieve his achievements with another person!
For example, when selling cigarettes in Humen, if it weren't for Lin Zexu, would he have been able to sell cigarettes successfully?

For example, when attacking Japanese pirates, if it was not Qi Jiguang, would a different person still be able to keep the safety of the coastal cities?
Zheng He's achievements in this life are actually not small.

Lin Feng also made a summary for him.

The mission and achievements of Zheng He's voyages can be summed up in four aspects:
The first is to promote court diplomacy to stabilize the international order in Southeast Asia.

Before Zheng He's voyages, the international environment around China was turbulent, mainly manifested in mutual suspicion and competition among countries in Southeast Asia.

At that time, Java and Siam were the two largest countries in Southeast Asia.

They expanded abroad, oppressed some neighboring countries, threatened Managa, Sumatra, Champa, Chenla, and even in Sanfoqi, and even killed Ming Dynasty envoys, and intercepted missions that paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty.

Another pirate is rampant, running rampant in Southeast Asia and South Asia, very arrogant, and the sea lines of communication cannot be guaranteed.

These unstable factors, on the one hand, directly affected the safety of the southern part of the Ming Dynasty, and on the other hand, greatly affected the international image of the Heavenly Kingdom Shang Dynasty, which was not conducive to the stability and development of the Ming Dynasty.

In this situation, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty adopted a peaceful policy of "safety in China, peace in the outside world, equal treatment and sharing of peace".

Sent Zheng He to lead the fleet to the Western Seas to mediate and ease the conflicts between countries and maintain the safety of maritime traffic through various means, so as to link the stability and development of the Ming Dynasty with its surrounding areas, trying to establish a long-term stable international environment and improve Ming Dynasty. The dynasty's international prestige.Therefore, it can be seen from the mission of sending Zheng He in the Ming Dynasty that it was a mission to achieve peace.

Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas to mediate conflicts, quell conflicts, and eliminate estrangement were beneficial to the stability of the surrounding areas, maintained the stability of Southeast Asia and South Asia and maritime security, and improved the prestige of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, it can be seen that Zheng He's fleet has strong military strength, but it is not used for aggression and expansion, but for peaceful purposes.Under the international environment at that time, it was difficult to achieve peace without the backing of strong military strength to wipe out thousands of Chen Zuyi and tens of thousands of Ariel Kunaier.

Someone commented:

"The Chinese, the navigators of the east, are calm and docile. They don't remember past grievances, are generous, and never threaten the survival of others. Although they claim to be benefactors; they are fully armed, but they never conquer foreign races or build fortresses."

The second merit is for the safety of the court.

At that time, threats to the safety of the Ming Dynasty mainly came from two directions:

Japanese pirates on the eastern sea.

The remnants of the Mongol and Yuan forces in the north and the Timurid Empire in the northwest.

Japanese pirates first appeared in the late Yuan Dynasty, when a civil war broke out in the Japanese country, some warriors and ronin went to our coasts to rob in order to survive, and they were very rampant in the period of Zhu Yuanzhang in the early Ming Dynasty.

At that time, the Ming Dynasty had just been established, and the country was still unstable, so we concentrated on making peace within the country.

National defense was also forced to adopt a passive defensive strategy, setting up guard posts in the coastal provinces, building the Great Wall and sending troops to the border in the north.

During Zhu Di's period, both land and sea posed a serious threat to the security of the Ming Dynasty. He changed his passive defense strategy, took the initiative to take the initiative, moved the capital on land, and conquered Mobei himself.

The Zheng He boat division was formed in the sea direction to deter and attack Japanese pirates and anti-Ming forces, and implemented a strategic outflank from the sea to strategically contain the northwest direction, thereby reducing the pressure on the northern part of the Ming Dynasty.

The third achievement is to develop overseas trade and spread Chinese civilization.

The mission of Zheng He's voyages to the West was mainly for political purposes.
Such as tribute trade.This kind of trade is the basic form of Zheng He's voyages to the West, which has the nature of a feudal suzerain.It was through this form that these small countries recognized the suzerainty of the Ming Dynasty, which was the political purpose of the tribute trade.

At that time, all countries actively paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty. On the one hand, they were protected by the Ming Dynasty, and on the other hand, they received generous rewards.

According to statistics, during the 22 years of Yongle's reign, envoys from Asian and African countries related to Zheng He's voyages came to China 318 times, an average of 15 times a year, which is unprecedented.

In addition, 4 kings from 7 countries including Brunei, Managa, Sulu, and ancient Maralang led delegations in person. At most, 18 national tribute missions came to China at the same time, and 3 kings were visiting During this period, he died of illness in Huaxia.

There are also official trade and private trade, which are important ways for the Ming Dynasty to expand overseas trade.

In addition to carrying gifts for rewards, Zheng He's fleet also had local goods, such as copper coins, silk, porcelain, and ironware.

This kind of trade can be bought and sold with Ming Dynasty copper coins, and most of them are bartered.The most influential is the high-five pricing method.

The last one is to open up the ocean business and pave the Asia-Africa sea route.

Zheng He opened up the intercontinental route between Asia and Africa, paving the way for the great voyages of Westerners.

When the navigator Da Gama of the Portuguese country circled the Cape of Good Hope along the west coast of Africa and arrived at the coast of East Africa, the local people told that the Chinese had come here several times decades ago.

With the help of the Arabian navigator, they arrived at the Peacock Kingdom smoothly along the route opened by Zheng He's fleet.

In addition, some marine surveys have been carried out in the Western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and a lot of marine scientific data has been collected and mastered.

"Zheng He's Nautical Chart" was drawn through a large number of marine surveys.

This kind of ocean survey activity is more than 1872 years earlier than the ocean survey conducted by the "Challenger" of the country where the sun never sets from 1876 to 400, which was the earliest recorded in the world.

Finally, there is a strategic layout of the navigation area.

According to his mission and ocean knowledge, Zheng He chose Champa, Managa, Old Port, Guri, Khorumos and other places as the key areas for ocean development in the vast overseas, which is conducive to expanding overseas transportation and trade. scope.

It can be said.

Zheng He started his life at the age of 30 and devoted himself to the sea for 28 years. He was already 60 years old when he sailed to the West for the last time.

This time he never came back, and died overseas at the age of 62. He will forever rest on the path of peace he blazed.

Among the brilliant Chinese heroes, Zheng He sailed before the Westerners, and surpassed the Westerners in navigation technology. Even after a thousand years, he has always attracted the attention of the whole world.
……

Such high praise and evaluation.

Zheng He seemed a little flattered, and couldn't speak smoothly.

"Senior, what wish do you have? If this junior can do it, it is undeniable." Lin Feng asked.

"I, I want to see the future generations, China's sea power." Zheng He said with a serious expression.

"it is good!"

"At that time, we had aircraft carriers, submarines, destroyers, amphibious landing ships, frigates, supply ships..."

When Lin Feng spoke modern words that Zheng He could not understand.

The sea outside the port.

Suddenly, gigantic monsters made of steel appeared one by one.

They seemed to descend from the sky, mighty and extraordinary.

That giant aircraft carrier, like a prehistoric behemoth, seemed to be able to swallow the ocean, which made Zheng He dumbfounded.

Busy people in the port also showed expressions of doubt about life, staring at the sea in the distance.

Modern steel behemoths, affixed with eye-catching Chinese flags, traverse the waves.

This is the real cannon.

There is also the super submarine hidden in the sea. When it floats up, it looks like a real dragon in the water, trying to soar into the sky.

"Good, good, good!"

Zheng He's eyes lit up and he shouted three times.

Looking at the sea power of future generations, his wish has been fulfilled, and he has no regrets at this moment.

They also believed in the expressions of the ancients around them.

With such a powerful sea force, it will be enough to deal with any difficulties in later generations.

Some crew members of Zheng He even said with emotion: "My lord, we now also have a big guy like this, which can definitely conquer the rough ocean with ease."

Hearing this, many people showed joyful smiles.

The people on the shore, while looking at the "modern battleship" outside the sea, began to applaud and shout wildly, and the voice lasted for a long time. Everyone was deeply proud of the new China 800 years later.

This scene also made many viewers empathize and cry.

(End of this chapter)