This voyage also received the endorsement of the imperial court and strong support from the Imperial Household Department.
My father-in-law is quite interested in Zhao Hao's policy of transferring the crisis outward, alleviating population pressure through expansion, and exchanging space for reform events.
At least this is a good idea. Under the premise that the court does not spend money, it is not a bad idea to let Zhao Hao give it a try. If it really is a way out, wouldn't it be a profit?
Even if Zhao Hao didn't succeed in the end, at least he could contact a few vassal states that had stopped paying tribute for many years, right? Bringing back a few letters and envoys to congratulate the new emperor could also be used to whitewash the new dynasty, which would be of great benefit to improving the reputation of the Prime Minister.
As for the eunuchs, they were much more interested in the voyages than the civil officials, because Ma Sanbao was their senior! Almost all the eunuchs grew up listening to the legendary story of Zheng He's voyages, and regarded the abolition of the voyages as a shameless suppression of the eunuch group by the civil officials. Therefore, they had a very special feeling about this matter.
Eunuch Feng wanted to reshape the image of eunuchs and was very supportive of Zhao Hao's voyage. At Zhao Hao's enthusiastic invitation, he persuaded Zhang Juzheng to send his confidant, the eunuch Du Mao, as the "Imperial Envoy to the Western Oceans" in the name of the young emperor, and boarded the "Eternal Sinner Liu Daxia". On behalf of the Ming Emperor, he toured the Western Oceans and revived the prestige of the Celestial Empire!
How can we, the eunuchs, be absent when going out to sea?
However, Zhao Hao had to bring the eunuchs along on the journey, plus the rewards given to various countries along the way, which would cost at least two to three million taels of silver. Many people in the group did not understand this, thinking that this was just losing money to gain publicity for others.
But Zhao Hao said that the money should be spent because it would bring huge profits!
As mentioned before, the Ming Dynasty had maintained a tribute system of thin give and thick give for two hundred years, which built up an unprecedentedly large sphere of influence. The golden signboard of "the Celestial Empire" had long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in Southeast Asia.
When the Malacca Kingdom was invaded by the Portuguese, the first thing it thought of was to ask for help from the Ming Dynasty.
Champa was invaded by Annan and also wanted to ask for help from the Celestial Empire.
Luzon was invaded by the Spaniards, so I thought of asking for help from the Ming Dynasty...
Because they were all tributary states of the Ming Dynasty. Legally speaking, tributary states were all vassal states of the suzerain state. Recognizing that one belongs to the suzerain state is the first prerequisite for paying tribute. If they don't recognize this, how can they pay tribute?
So when someone bullies me, of course I have to look for my dad. But my dad is not very capable. He has no navy, and he himself has been beaten up by Japanese pirates. The most he can do is to send an envoy and issue an imperial decree to scare people. What's the point of that?
The Ming Dynasty's dominance in Southeast Asia was built by Zheng He's invincible fleet, which sailed to the West seven times! Without warships, cannons, and powerful strength, how can you protect your son from being bullied?
It’s no wonder that his sons recognized him as a foreign father and didn’t come to pay tribute for dozens or even hundreds of years.
The most important purpose of Zhao Hao mobilizing a large army to sail to the West again was to re-establish the golden signboard of "The Celestial Empire" in Southeast Asia!
This golden signboard would be a money-losing commodity in the hands of the imperial court, but if given to him, it could help the Nanhai Group gain a foothold in the vassal states at the lowest cost, develop trade, carry out immigration, and then subtly bring them under the rule of the king.
Especially in this Age of Exploration when Portugal and Spain have been wreaking havoc in the South Seas for many years and the British and Dutch are about to arrive in droves, this golden signboard can make the Ming Dynasty fight at home in the battle for supremacy in the South Seas. How many hundreds of divisions can it defeat? !
As long as we can restore this golden signboard, it’s worth any amount of money!
Moreover, these vassal states at least maintained written contact with the Ming Dynasty, so if you said you represented the Celestial Empire, they would have to believe you, unless they used fleets to prove it and cannons to convince them, as they did with the Ryukyu Islands.
That is certainly very convincing, but the cost is too high and the side effects are too great, so it should not be used lightly.
Instead of forcing proof, it is better to truly represent the court!
Mr. Zhao couldn't help but sigh that the little emperor was such a good tool. No wonder Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao became addicted to it in the future...
~~
In late September of the first year of the Longqing reign, the fleet arrived at the headquarters of the Sanya Water Police Bureau - Bitan Port, which had been renamed Sanya Bay.
This place was originally a place where tribute ships from Champa would dock and it was once prosperous. However, Champa was controlled by Annan and tribute had been cut off for a hundred years. The place became desolate and became a place where Tanka people lived.
Zhao Hao successfully established a relationship with the Tanka people in Bitan Port by attracting the Tanka people in Guangdong. He also successfully asked his father-in-law to issue an imperial decree in the autumn of the sixth year of Longqing, ordering the Tanka people to be released from slavery and become civilians and be included in the regular households on the grounds that the Tanka people had made contributions to resisting foreign humiliation! He fulfilled his promise to them!
For Mr. Zhao, this was just a matter of talking. As long as he could please his father-in-law, he could get it done. After all, the country had been founded for 200 years, and no one could tell what sins the Tanka ancestors had committed. In this era of the collapse of rituals and music and the breakdown of the hierarchy, giving this little grace was really not a big deal.
It's just another footnote to the Prime Minister's implementation of good governance.
But for the Tanka people, this is great news! Although prejudice and discrimination will not disappear overnight, the cessation of institutional persecution is like removing a huge mountain from their heads.
More importantly, their children and grandchildren can finally have hope.
Hope is something that, no matter how slim it is, is the sunshine that illuminates your life, even if you can never touch it. But without it, your life will be dark forever...
Moreover, Master Zhao also established Hong Kong City on Tuen Mun Island and Sanya City in Bitan and Sanyali, actively recruiting boat people to settle down and giving them preferential treatment.
For example, if the Tanka people come to settle in Sanya, as long as they are willing to join the farm directly operated by Sankaisi, they can immediately get a house, 10 mu of farmland per person, and free seeds, cattle and fertilizers. Those who are willing to join the Nanhai Group as crew members will also be given priority and enjoy the same treatment as employees.
As a result, the Tanka people from Fujian and Guangdong provinces flocked to the city. By September of the first year of the Wanli reign, 180,000 Tanka people had settled in the two cities, and more were coming. It seemed that all the Tanka people in the world were within our grasp, and Mr. Zhao was even privately called the "Tanka General."
It is no exaggeration to say that Hong Kong and Sanya have become holy cities for the boat people. Master Zhao, who gave them all this, was directly made into a golden body by the Lianjiang boat people and carried into the temple. Together with Mazu and the Three Mountain Kings, he became one of the many gods they believed in, enjoying incense and worshipped by them day and night.
But all other gods were gone, but Master Zhao was still alive. As long as he spoke, the boat people would take it as the golden rule and would never question it. Even if Zhao Hao asked them to go through fire and water, they would not hesitate at all.
As a result, the Royal Nanyang Shipping Corporation, a subsidiary of the Nanhai Group, suddenly became very powerful, with far more staff than the Royal Shipping Corporation in the north. Of course, the quality was still far behind...
Moreover, with the selfless and hard work of the Tanka people, the construction of Sanya City has made rapid progress. When the long-distance fleet stopped at Sanya Bay for rest, they saw that a port with a complete defense system had been built here.
Cities with good water supply and drainage and improved roads are also under construction in full swing...
~~
After completing replenishment in Sanya, the long-distance fleet sailed to the next stop - Champa.
Champa was built by the Cham people. During the Qin and Han dynasties, it was China's Xianglin County, also known as Linyi. During the Western Han Dynasty, it belonged to the Rinan County under the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration Department, so it has been a place since ancient times...
It became independent in the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty and established the Champa Kingdom. Brahmanism was the state religion, so it was also called "Champa". In the following thousand years, Champa always regarded itself as a vassal state of the central court. Especially after the rise of the Annan regime, it clung to the court more and more, and was once as obedient as Korea.
Later, during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, one of the purposes of the attack on Annan was to rescue Champa, which was occupied by the capital.
But after the prodigal Zhu Zhanji abandoned the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration and withdrew his troops from Annan, the pressure on Champa increased sharply. Its capital was captured several times by the Later Le Dynasty of Annan, and most of its territory was lost.
At present, Champa only controls Bintonglong and has become a vassal state of Annan. The so-called vassal of a vassal is not my vassal, so the Annan regime has always prohibited Champa from paying tribute to the Ming Dynasty.
In fact, the Annan people are worried that Champa will complain to their own father...
But the Champa people never gave up their efforts to restore their national strength and always wanted to restore their capital.
Therefore, the young Champa King Poa was ecstatic about the visit of the Celestial Fleet. Especially with the long-distance fleet, there was also a fleet directly under the Taiwan Garrison, with more than 100 warships of various sizes! Such a powerful force reminded Poa and the people of Champa of the legendary Zheng He fleet, which was invincible in the world.
Poa led his ministers to the dock to greet the angel, knelt at Dumao's feet and cried bitterly, telling of Champa's loyalty and attachment to the Celestial Empire, accusing the Annan devils of their innumerable aggression and atrocities. He also expressed his willingness to submit to the Ming Dynasty in order to preserve the country and the ancestral temple!
Not adding burden to the court was Zhang Xianggong's basic requirement. How could Du Mao dare to make such a decision casually? He had no choice but to pass the buck to Jin Ke, the commander of the Taiwan Garrison.
Jin Ke was much more open-minded and immediately stated that a water police station could be set up in Champa. Anyone who dared to attack the Bintonglong area in the future would be equivalent to attacking the garrison area!
When the Champa King heard this, he was so excited that he signed the contract drawn up by Jin Ke without hesitation, asking his father to love him again.
Of course, this is also a win-win situation. The Taiwan Garrison District was going to set up a water police station in Champa according to the prince's deployment.
Although Champa is not very large, it has fertile land, abundant rainfall and a very developed agriculture. The famous Champa rice comes from here.
Moreover, Bintonglong is located in a strategic location near the sea, with a canal connecting to the sea and convenient water transportation. It can directly reach the Ming Dynasty and all Southeast Asian countries. It is a key node on the route to the West and has always been an important trade and supply port. It is very suitable for establishing a naval base here.
In addition, the establishment of a water police station in Champa was also an important foreshadowing by Zhao Hao for his next step of fully interfering in Annan affairs.
Uh, sorry, it is a serious mistake to say "interfere in the internal affairs of Annan". Because unlike what the public knows in later generations, Annan has become an integral part of Ming Dynasty... at least in legal terms.
ps.Write one more update.