For Ma Sanbao, life's encounters have been nothing short of miraculous.

Back then, he was just an unknown soldier in the Yunnan-Guizhou region, merely a lowly eunuch in the Yuan Dynasty Liang King's palace, which was entrenched in Yunnan. However, when Liang State Duke Lan Yu and Ying State Duke Fu Youde pacified Yunnan and Guizhou, he was taken back to Yingtian Prefecture as a war trophy and thus entered the palace to serve.

At that time, Duke Fu Youde of Ying was only the Marquis of Yingchuan, ranking twenty-eighth in the merit system, and was not considered the most prominent.

As for Liang Guogong Lan Yu, he had just been enfeoffed as Yongchang Marquis at that time. Many people's evaluation of him was that he was only somewhat capable, and it seemed that he could only live under the patronage of the former Kaiping King for the rest of his life.

However, those two are now pillars of the nation, among the few founding nobles of the Ming Dynasty. They are now renowned for their outstanding achievements and are rightfully representatives of the Ming Dynasty's military figures.

Honestly, I've been using a source-switching app to read and follow my favorite books lately. It offers various source switching options and different reading voices. The .huanyuanapp works on both Android and Apple devices.

As for Ma Sanbao, he served the emperor cautiously for a long time and gained the emperor's trust, becoming the chief envoy leading the delegation to the Western Ocean.

Sitting on the spacious Fujian-style ship, Ma Sanbao didn't feel too much of a sway. Now, all he needed to do was patiently wait for news of victory. He had no intention of showing any mercy to the notorious pirate Chen Zuyi.

His Majesty has always attached great importance to the Maritime Trade Office, and has brought back many fine goods from Southeast Asia over the years. However, we also frequently hear news of ships capsizing or being plundered by pirates.

Chen Zuyi was nothing but a treacherous traitor who had forgotten his roots. Years ago, he fled to the kingdom of Balin in Srivijaya and became a general under King Manaja Wuli. After the king's death, he even dared to declare himself king.

What kind of king? He's just a nobody, a bunch of ignorant barbarians. A large army could wipe him out in an instant.

While Ma Sanbao was brimming with confidence, Yu Tongyuan, standing at the bow of the boat, was also full of vigor. His father was Yu Tingyu, the Duke of Hejian, and his two elder brothers were granted the titles of Duke and Marquis, respectively.

Although he couldn't compare to his father and brothers, he had at least achieved some military exploits in his earlier years and had even been granted a title of nobility. Now that he had finally gotten a chance to be reinstated, he absolutely couldn't miss it; he wanted to restore the Yu family's prestige.

After all, the eldest brother had no children, and the second brother was involved in the Hu Weiyong case, which caused him to lose his marquisate years ago. The once-famous Yu family is now actually without a title, which is unacceptable.

Back then, his father and brothers built a water fortress in Chaohu and led the navy to help the late emperor cross the Yangtze River and occupy Yingtian. Now it is his turn to command a large army to fight pirates on the ocean.

Yu Tongyuan remained unmoved as he watched the chaotic array of pirate ships appearing ahead. These pirates were powerful in the eyes of the rulers of those small foreign kingdoms, and many seemed powerless to deal with them. But for the Ming Dynasty, it was a different story.

Previously, Eunuch Sanbao had conveyed the imperial decree, ordering the rulers of the small foreign countries along the route to attack Chen Zuyi. Some rulers did not take it seriously, while others seemed to be facing a formidable enemy and continued to maintain contact with the Ming Dynasty.

After the old kingdom of Srivijaya was destroyed by the Majapahit king of Java, Liang Daoming, a native of Nanhai, Guangdong, was supported by more than a thousand Chinese to become the king of Srivijaya. While fighting against the Majapahit, he also sent his ministers Shi Jinqing and Ma Sanbao to communicate with him.

Kang Kai, the commander of the Ming Dynasty's Heavenly Army, promised to help the new Srivijaya against the Majapahit, and even planned to hand over Palembang to the new Srivijaya after eliminating Chen Zuyi.

We don't need to pay too much attention to those people's petty schemes. The Ming Dynasty doesn't mind supporting some Han Chinese people in Southeast Asia, as long as they don't always dream of becoming too powerful. Of course, some things can't be ignored.

For example, many of these Ming Dynasty citizens who escaped, like Pu Shougeng back then, converted to Islam.

However, there is no need to force things now. The Ming Dynasty still needs to support these people. After all, this trip has brought some guidance from the Emperor. His Majesty still has considerable interest in the Southeast Asian regions.

With more descendants of the Han people and the strength of the Han descendants, Your Majesty will have more support if you wish to do something in the future.

Today we can support Liang Daoming, the Prince of Sanfoqi, and tomorrow we can let Shi Jinqing establish himself. We are not afraid of some people becoming too powerful.

As long as it aligns with the interests of the Ming Dynasty, that's fine. Many people know that the emperor has great ambitions. At this point, all you need to do is assist His Majesty, and perhaps you can achieve great things and bring glory to your family.

Chen Zuyi and his ilk had become so ruthless and fearless after ruling like kings in the small countries of Southeast Asia for so many years that they had lost all sense of discipline and fear. Upon hearing that the Ming Dynasty fleet possessed countless treasures, they began to harbor inappropriate thoughts.

This was also fueled by someone, namely Shi Jinqing, who intentionally passed some information to Chen Zuyi.

For example, the chief envoy of the Ming Dynasty fleet this time was a eunuch who had never been to the battlefield before. Yu Tongyuan, on the other hand, was only relying on his father and brother's merits, and had previously been stripped of his title for committing a crime. Ping An and his men had only fought in a few land battles.

How dare these people take large ships out to sea? Do they really think that naval warfare and land warfare are the same thing? What's more, those people from the Ming Dynasty are also domineering, daring to ask kingdoms like Srivijaya and Majapahit to conquer them.

Chen Zuyi was also full of confidence. The Ming Dynasty's fleet looked big and tall, but so what? It was just a fleet led by a eunuch, and a few soldiers led by generals who only knew how to fight on land. They were not worth worrying about at all.

Although the Ming Dynasty had a large fleet, most of its sailors were new to the open ocean and were experienced in river and canal warfare. Although the Ming Dynasty's ships were large, they were slow and unfamiliar with the terrain. Although the Ming Dynasty's navy was strong, it had not fought for many years, and its soldiers were arrogant and mainly composed of cavalry and infantry.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!