On the sixth day of June, the Regent Queen issued an imperial edict to personally welcome the soldiers of the second long-distance fleet back to Kyoto.

The empress, crown prince, princess, and ministers in the court went to Dayu Gate in Dongcheng, Chang'an to welcome the return of the heroes. Even the Ministry of Rites prepared a triumphal music, which was completely the etiquette of receiving the triumphal army back to the court.

Everyone in Chang'an City knows that the He Yun fleet, which had been voyage for more than two years, returned from an extremely distant overseas continent. The distant continent is called Yinzhou, and it is said that it is divided into Northern Yin and Southern Yin. A brief history of China says that after the demise of the Shang Dynasty, many remnants crossed the sea to reproduce and thrive there, so they are called Yinzhou.

And He Yun of the Navy returned from Nanyinzhou.

Therefore, not only the court, but also the people in the city, but also many people spontaneously welcome the long-distance fleet. They are the people of Chang'an, Kyoto and the people at the feet of the emperor. They should have this enlightenment.

Therefore, on both sides of the outer city, there were crowds of people, and they were all welcoming the soldiers of the long-distance fleet. In order to maintain order, the Chang'an Dongchengwei had to send a large number of police officers and police roads.

On the tall and majestic Dayu Gate Tower, Cui Xiuning, dressed in a grand dress, held the little prince Li Zheng, and smiled and looked at the team getting closer and closer in the distance, radiant.

"Zheng'er, they were heroes of the Tang Dynasty and made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty. If you become an emperor in the future, you should also pay attention to the development of overseas development."

"The emperor's eyes must not only focus on the local area, but also on overseas. Taking into account both inside and outside is the only way for the Tang Dynasty to last forever."

Li Zheng said seriously: "My mother's teachings are kept in mind. In China and overseas, there is a combination of yin and yang, and yin and yang will not be self-confidence."

Choi Xiuning nodded, "That's what it means."

On the other side of the moat under the city tower, officials from the Ministry of Rites are carrying out procedures for those who return from long voyages.

Officials of the Ministry of Rites first checked the seals of He Yun and others, and then shouted to the officials of the Ministry of War: "The visitor is indeed He Yun, the governor of the Navy of the Far Aviation?"

Officials from the Ministry of War replied loudly: "The person who came is determined by his appearance and identity. It is the imperial envoy He Yun, the commander of the Navy in Yuanhang, the former captain of the Jinling ship of the Nanyang Fleet, the rank of general, and the first-class viscount."

Officials from the Ministry of Rites asked again: "Is the visitor really the supervisor of the Yuanhang Navy Zhang Xi?"

Officials from the Ministry of War replied loudly: "The person who came has a certain identity. It was Zhang Xi, the supervisor of the Yuanhang Navy, the former chief staff officer of the General Office of the Dongyang Fleet, the rank of general, and the second-class viscount."

An official from the Ministry of Rites asked again: "Are all the returned people verified their identities?"

Officials from the Ministry of War replied again: "All the returnees have been verified when they disembarked, and they are confirmed to be voyagers, etc., and have been registered."

Officials of the Ministry of Rites asked the police department again: "According to He Yun and Zhang Xi, the Yuanhang Fleet lost 258 people and two warships of Class B. Can the police department check the cause of death and the cause of the shipwreck?"

Police officials replied: "After disembarking, all have been investigated. Thirty-seven people died of illness, and 221 people died of hurricanes. Two Class B warships all sank due to hurricanes. This is consistent with what the two reported."

Of course this is just a program, but this program not only shows grandness, but also cannot be omitted.

With so many people, who can guarantee that they were all soldiers of the Tang Dynasty who went to sea? Are there any impostors? More than 200 people did not come back. How did the people die? How did the ship sink?

This has to be passed. This is the rule.

Then, the Minister of Rites left the team, climbed the city tower, and solemnly said to Cui Xiuning: "Report to His Majesty the Queen, the 743 soldiers and other soldiers from Nanyinzhou have arrived outside the city!"

Choi Soo-ning said: "Play music!"

"Abide by the order!"

Then, a few "boom" salutes roared, followed by bells and drums.

Amid the drums and music, Cui Xiuning led the princes and princes and ministers down the city tower and greeted him personally on the red carpet that had been laid out dozens of feet.

This is the highest etiquette to welcome the triumphant success of heroes, which is the so-called welcome.

Seeing this, He Yun, the governor of the Navy of the Long Voyage, immediately jogged and moved quickly. He crawled down and bowed two feet away in front of Cui Xiuning, holding up the governor's seal:

"I am the governor of the Yuanhang Fleet, He Yun, I will report to Your Majesty the Queen! Since the third year of Hongwu, Lai Haotian has blessed you. Your Majesty is blessed and blessed. Fortunately, your Majesty is happy and happy. I will finally return to the Tang Dynasty to pay the imperial edict today, long live long live long live long live long live long!"

Zhang Xi, the supervisor of the Yuanhang Fleet, also stepped forward quickly, knelt side by side with He Yun, and also held a seal.

More than 700 people bowed behind He Yun and Zhang Xi, and shouted: "Long live, long live, long live!"

Many of the returned soldiers burst into tears and cried with joy.

Finally returned to Chang'an!

He set out in December of the third year of Hongwu and returned to Beijing in June of the sixth year of Hongwu. It counts as two and a half years.

Unfortunately, they will never come back. They are buried in the sea without even ashes.

"Prevent your life, you are the heroes of the Tang Dynasty! I am looking forward to your return every day. Today you finally return to the Tang Dynasty!" Cui Xiuning said to everyone and ordered the officials of the Ministry of Rites: "Announce it."

"Abide by the order!"

The Minister of Rites launched an imperial edict and recited loudly: "Since ancient times, a country will prosper, and a good minister will be born in a far-reaching way. However, Zhang Qian, a Han Dynasty, opened the Western Regions... He Yun and Zhang Xi, were under a thousand and tens of thousands of miles of oceans. In December of the third year of Hongwu, he was ordered to sail tens of thousands of miles of oceans, and he was riding on unexpected waves..."

"…He Yun was promoted to the first-class rank, Zhang Xi was promoted to the second-class rank... Those who had the title were promoted to the first-class rank. Those who had no titles were promoted to the third-class rank, and those who had no samurai's reputation were given a warrior's origin... Martyrs were given a pension of 500 silver dollars..."

"…Each soldier is rewarded with one thousand silver dollars...The family of the martyrs is rewarded with two thousand silver dollars...On the eighth day of the sixth month, the Daming Palace will give a banquet to welcome the returned soldiers!"

"The martyrs' spiritual thrones are all in Zhongwu Temple for sacrifice, and they will receive incense forever!"

The ministers were shocked when they heard that ordinary soldiers would reward one thousand silver dollars. This reward was the military pay of ordinary soldiers for decades. His Majesty the Queen is so generous.

This reward and pension were all millions of silver dollars, which was worth the salary of all the nobles in one year.

What many ministers don’t know is that the reason why Cui Xiuning took out millions of rewards and pensions was because the Far-Voyage Fleet brought back a large amount of gold and silver.

According to secret reports from the special agents placed in the fleet, the fleet brought back more than 7 million taels of silver and more than 400,000 taels of gold. The value is equivalent to more than 10 million silver dollars in the Tang Dynasty!

With so much gold and silver harvest, one can give them a million silver dollars to reward them.

After the welcoming ceremony, He Yun and Zhang Xi, who had been bathed and changed their clothes, were summoned to the palace to meet the queen.

"Oh, this Chang'an Palace is so grand. It's simply the Heavenly Palace. This is the palace of my Tang Dynasty." He Yun looked at the majestic and majestic palace with great eyes while walking.

Zhang Xi also said: "Isn't it? Before we sailed, Chang'an City had not been repaired yet, and the court was still in Jiangling at that time. Unexpectedly, when we came back, Kyoto Chang'an became so grand."

He Yun was very moved, "It's not just Chang'an and the Forbidden City, but the Tartars were driven away by His Majesty. The Tang Dynasty opened thousands of miles and became even stronger."

The guard who led them smiled and said, "You probably don't know yet. Your old commander, Taiwei Zheng, has led a fleet to a place called the Persian Gulf in the West. Hearing his Majesty and the Empress, after the army's war is over, it will be up to the navy."

"I also heard that the navy may have to be renamed. It is said that it will be changed to the river guard navy and the navy. Your navy on the sea may have to be transformed into the navy."

"Really?" He Yun and Zhang Xi were both a little excited. For a long time, the navy has been vassals of the Land Division. Could it be that the court really wants to use the navy in the future? The navy will be divided into river navy and navy?

The guard said, "It's probably true, and it won't be groundless. His Majesty the Queen summoned you. Why not ask in front of the Holy Detachment?"

Several people joined through several heavily guarded palace gates before passing through Hanyuan Hall and Xuanzheng Hall, and arrived at Zichen Hall, one of the three halls.

Cui Xiuning summoned two people in the Zichen Palace, the Daming Palace where his ministers specifically summoned him to ask about it.

"My minister He Yun (Zhang Xi) pays homage to His Majesty the Regent Queen! Long live long live long! Hope to His Highness, His Highness, and His Highness, will be blessed with Jin'an!"

The two respectfully bowed to the Regent and the Prince of the State.

"Please calm down. Give it a seat." The Queen's sound like a pearl falling from a jade plate sounded, gentle and crisp, and it sounded like a spring breeze. "Chan'er, the weather is hot, so I'll send you a few iced sour plum soup and iced fruits."

The female guard and the female official immediately brought the seat and presented iced sour plum soup and fresh fruits.

This is the difference between Cui Xiuning and Li Luo. When Li Luo summoned his ministers, they rarely treated them, just because they had something to say. When the queen summoned foreign ministers, she would definitely treat them first.

The ministers all knew that the queen was kind to her subordinates and was gentle and friendly. Only a few ministers knew that His Majesty the Queen was actually a very sharp person.

"You are all old people, don't be restrained, just use it as you please." Cui Xiuning smiled, and he also picked up a cup of iced sour plum soup and took a sip of it with an extremely elegant sip.

The little prince also made an elegant "please" gesture, silently stirring the sour plums and ice cubes in the jade bowl with a silver spoon, and his clear eyes swept across the faces without any trace.

He likes to watch other people's eyes, postures, expressions, and movements like his mother, in seemingly carelessly. He also likes to listen to other people's voices, tone, and rhythms.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The two of them bowed their heads and thanked them, and then they no longer restrainedly picked up the iced sour plum soup to relieve the heat.

They were military generals and old men from the Haidong period. Since His Majesty the Queen had orders, they certainly would not be pretentious.

After the two of them used up the iced sour plum soup, the young prince Li Zheng handed over two slices of watermelons with his own hands.

"Oh, Your Highness, this is impossible to do anything, I will kill you!" The two of them were flattered and hurriedly took the watermelon, crossed their hands and saluted Li Zheng again, and their hearts were very warm.

Although His Highness, his prince is so kind to his subordinates and is condescending to the nobles. He is worthy of being the eldest son of His Majesty and the Empress.

Cui Xiuning smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work this long voyage. You not only found three kinds of saplings, but also brought back so much gold and silver. You are the heroes of the Tang Dynasty."

The two left the seat and bowed, and He Yun said, "Your Majesty the Queen is so serious. How can I take it? Although the voyage is hard and difficult, this navigation chart was originally painted by His Majesty the Queen, and the things were explained clearly by His Majesty the Queen. I just did things step by step."

Zhang Xi said: "I have no great contributions to this. After all, this Nanyinzhou was first found by Taiwei Zheng, the team led by Taiwei Zheng. We will only go there for the second time in Taiwei Zheng's footsteps."

Cui Xiuning smiled and shook her head: "It's the first time, haven't you been there too? You have been to Nanyinzhou twice and almost couldn't come back. I know both the palace and the Majesty."

"Let's talk about the serious matter. Are those three saplings really what I am looking for?"

She herself didn't know those three kinds of trees. Although she had seen the sapling samples, she just looked at them.

He Yun replied: "Don't worry, Your Majesty Queen. I spent a year on the journey back and forth, and almost all the rest of my efforts were looking for these three kinds of seedlings. Those Yin people who learned Chinese translation played a great role this time."

"I have been looking for Yin people everywhere to find out what kind of trees can flow into rubber, what kind of trees can cure diseases, and what kind of trees can make people feel pain. Many people know what the rubber tree and coca tree are, but most people don't know the cinchona tree, nor have they heard of it. Finally, I asked a few wizards in the mountains, and it was difficult to figure out the cinchona tree."

Cui Xiuning was relieved and asked again: "So much gold and silver are you still asking for that Yin family country (Inca Empire)?"

He Yun smiled and said, "It's not just that. There are many small tribes in Nanyin. Although they are not very civilized, there are quite a lot of gold and silver, which is not too expensive. Gold and silver utensils are more common, and they are similar to copper in the Central Plains. There are many gold mines there, but unfortunately I can't bring them back."

Zhang Xi said: "Your Majesty, although the Nanyinzhou is large, it has many tribes. The strongest Yin family and country is definitely not the opponent of a partial army in the Tang Dynasty. As the witnesses of the weak ministers, they simply sent troops to destroy them and occupied the entire Nanyinzhou."

Cui Xiuning shook her head and said, "Nan Yin is too far away, and the sea risks are also great. Even if it occupies there, the imperial court will be out of reach and it is difficult to manage it. Immigration is even more difficult. Besides, they are also descendants of the Yin people, so it is inappropriate to destroy it."

She knew very well that it was easy for Europeans to colonize South America, but it was difficult for Chinese to colonize South America.

Because the distance and sea conditions are too big.

Later South America was one of the farthest places from China, with a total of more than 30,000 miles, almost both ends of the earth.

However, Europe is only about 10,000 miles away from South America, less than one-third of the journey from China to South America.
To be continued...