The 30th day of the first lunar month of the 19th year of Yongle was a festive day for the Ming Dynasty.
Today, more than two hundred treasure ships led by Zheng He, the eunuch of the Imperial Envoy, assembled in Taicang for their sixth voyage to the West.
And the hundreds of corrupt officials from Jiangsu and Zhejiang who were escorted by the purple-robed captain who had hindered the smooth assembly of the treasure ship were about to arrive in the capital.
Thousands of miles away in Taicang Port, more than two hundred treasure ships lined up in an orderly manner.
These treasure ships vary in size.
In the middle of the team, there are sixty-three huge ships with a length of forty or fifty feet. There are four floors of wooden attic built on the hull. Nine masts more than ten feet high stand on the bow, and hemp ropes as thick as arms are connected to them.
Twelve canvases provide power for the ship at any time.
And around it, there are hundreds of ships moored, ranging from fifteen to thirty feet.
Some of these ships were filled with cargo, some had land on them, and some were filled with sergeants.
There were more than 20,000 people in total going out to sea this time.
There are more than 10,000 sergeants on board the ship, including 3,000 uniformed guards, who are responsible for the safety of the fleet. The remaining people are cooks, washers, and coolies.
The weather is good today and there is only a slight breeze blowing in Taicang Port.
The sun refracted on the water, and the bright Ming Dynasty flag on the bow of the boat fluttered in the breeze.
More than 5,000 Zhenhai Guards sergeants have all been dispatched to guard the entire perimeter of Taicang Port.
Even so, there were still tens of thousands of Ming people who spontaneously came outside the port, looked at the mighty Ming fleet, and waved their hands vigorously.
Zheng He stood on the bow of the largest treasure ship, looked up at the sun, and then lowered his head to adjust the compass at hand.
"Weigh anchor!"
As this sound rang out, more than two hundred burly men at the stern of the ship, dressed in thin and powerful clothes, dragged the rope in their hands hard at the same time, slowly pulling the large anchor weighing more than a thousand kilograms from the bottom of the water.
Pull up.
"Shake the oar!"
Seeing the hemp rope of the anchor being pulled out by more than ten feet, Zheng He ordered again.
On both sides of the rear of the treasure ship, there were more than twenty wooden oars of five or six feet each. They began to slowly lift up, moved forward five or six feet, then slowly entered the water, and slowly moved backwards.
Stroke slowly.
The huge treasure ship slowly sailed away from the port with all the wooden oars shaking at the same time.
The elite sergeants of the sea guard around the port, with serious expressions, performed a solemn gaze salute towards the slowly moving fleet of ships.
The people on the periphery, watching the treasure ship moving slowly, were already dancing and cheering.
A man brought his children to watch this spectacular sailing ceremony, but unfortunately there were so many people that the children could not see the ships in the distance.
The man picked up the child, put it on his shoulders, and began to chase and run with the movement of the treasure ship.
Zheng He, who had already sailed away from the port, looked back at the crowds of people on the shore, raised his arms, and waved vigorously toward the shore.
Immediately, a deep voice sounded on the ship.
"Raise the sail!"
...
In the capital, Dongchang Changgong Lin Shangli, dressed in a bright blue flying fish suit, with Xiao Lizi and prison warden Du Shaoqin standing next to him, came to the official road in Daxing on the outskirts of Beijing.
Behind him, more than 300 Dongchang captains in soap uniforms, holding the handle of the standard saber at their waist with their left hand, stood straight and lined up to look at the end of the official road.
A strong gust of wind blew everyone's hair out of their official hats, still mixed with the chill of winter.
The dust on the official road was blown up by the gusts of wind, like thick gray fog, shrouding everyone in it.
But no one moved. Everyone looked towards the end of the official road, expecting the person they were waiting for to appear.
"Da da da, da da da", a rapid sound of horse hooves came from the rear of the team.
Lin Shangli turned around, and through the dust in the field, he faintly saw two figures, galloping towards them on horses.
"Listen to the sound of horse hooves, it should be the iron paws of the imperial army's horses." Du Shaoqin beside him cocked his ears and narrowed his eyes slightly to look behind.
Xiao Lizi put his hand on his forehead and fanned the dust in front of his eyes: "It looks like they are wearing a python robe, so it must be a python robe. They also wear official hats, I can see clearly."
"Python robe? That's for a high official in the court. Instead of riding in a sedan, the two of them were riding horses on this dusty official road. What kind of wind are they doing?" Lin Shangli frowned slightly.
Du Shaoqin showed a strange smile on his face, looked at Lin Shangli and said: "Master Factory Lord, do you think we happened to meet two thieves who stole the imperial army and horses, and also stole two python robes of the imperial court officials?
?Wait for them to come over and see how I can take them down."
As he spoke, Du Shaoqin raised his arm, swung it back and forth a few times, and did a few squats up and down, as if he really wanted to take action.
Seeing his behavior, Lin Shangli couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Even if you are really two thieves, you don't need to move your muscles in such an exaggerated way.
Besides, even if they are really thieves, it is okay for them to steal military horses, ride on them and run away, but where can they steal the python robes that only high officials in the court have? Even if they steal them, they still wear them and show off in the market, for fear of others
Do not you know?
Seeing the 300-strong team of lieutenants in front of them, they rushed over with their horses and whips. Are all the thieves today with well-developed limbs and no IQ?
"I think you, the prison warden, will have to work hard for a few more years." Lin Shangli glared at Du Shaoqin, but Lin Shangli didn't feel well.
Angry way.
"Don't worry, Mr. Factory Master, I will definitely take good care of the prison." Thinking that Lin Shangli was praising him, Du Shaoqin stopped and hurriedly replied.
Lin Shangli was startled and almost spit out a mouthful of black blood in anger.
This guy can only be a prison warden.
In the blink of an eye, two figures had crossed the dust and arrived in front of everyone. However, they were not only wearing python robes, but also had golden pheasant robes on their chests.
This is a civil official uniform that only second-rank officials in the imperial court are qualified to wear!
And those who immediately came were none other than Wang Changlian, the Minister of Rites, and Li An, the Minister of Punishments.
With a smile on his face, Lin Shangli pouted towards Du Shaoqin and said, "Commander Du, the little thieves are here, won't you go and capture them?"
Du Shaoqin's face flushed, he pretended not to hear, scratched his ears and turned away.
Seeing Lin Shangli, the two of them jumped off the horse, holding the reins in their hands, still with their hands clasped in fists, and said with a smile on their faces: "Master Chang Gong is looking forward to the return of his beloved, so he set off from Dongchang in the middle of the night.
Bar?"
Although the Sixth Department is large, it is only in the imperial court. Lin Shangli, the official of the Dongchang factory in front of him, is the chief eunuch and the eunuch, the most famous person around the emperor. And the Dongchang has great power to sit in the Sixth Department and observe the affairs of the Sixth Department.
.
Even though they were the ministers of the six departments, the two of them still bowed respectfully to the official of Dongchang who was lower than themselves.
"Two lords, I am here to greet my beloved general. What are you doing, you who are so tired?"
Lin Shangli returned the gift and said with a smile.
