Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 528 Return from the Voyage
Chen Ce was the first to receive the letter from Yang Yuzhen. When Yang Yuzhen arrived at Guangzhou Port, he sent the letter to Chen Ce at full speed by post.

His own father didn't even send the letter, but he sent the letter to Chen Ce as soon as possible.

Seeing Yang Yuzhen return safely, Chen Ce finally felt relieved.

In the Forbidden City, Emperor Hongzhi also received a letter from the Guangdong Provincial Government, and the six ministries of the Cabinet all knew that the Ming fleet had returned safely from its voyage to the West.

From the beginning of discussing the voyage to the safe return of the sailing team, it has gone through too many hardships and setbacks, but fortunately, the voyage team has finally returned.

This voyage was another great feat in the history of the Ming Dynasty since Zheng He's voyages to the West, and it brought Emperor Hongzhi's reputation to a new level.

At the same time, it also verified that the sailing route researched by Chen Ce was absolutely correct!

Emperor Hongzhi immediately arranged for the Ministry of Rites to prepare to welcome the return of Hong Zhong and others, and at the same time summoned the Cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel to discuss rewards for the heroes of this voyage.

Going to the West is a very dangerous thing. No one is sure whether they can return safely at sea. There are too many unknown dangers to face. How can those who have the courage to go to the West not deserve the reward from Emperor Hongzhi?
On October 15, the Western fleet led by Hong Zhong officially entered the capital from the Grand Canal.

Led by the Ministry of Rites, the Five Military Governorates, the Five Cities Military Command, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and others were all on high alert at the Beijing dock. After the team led by Hong Zhong went ashore, they were led by everyone and headed towards the Forbidden City step by step.

Both sides of Chengqingfang Street were filled with ordinary people.

Yang's father and mother spotted Yang Yuzhen sitting on the horse at a glance, and waved to him excitedly, constantly showing off to the people around them: "My son! That's my son!"

The old couple were extremely excited.

The people on both sides clenched their fists tightly. This was truly magnificent. If there was a next time, they would definitely participate!

Among them were some children of officials. Their fathers had recommended them to go to the West, but they all refused because they were afraid of the dangers outside.

Now they can only watch Yang Yuzhen in prominence with envy.

After arriving at the Forbidden City, the main gate of the Meridian Gate, which had not been opened for a long time, was finally opened. This was the highest standard of etiquette in the empire. Normally, all officials had to go through the side door of the Meridian Gate to enter the palace.

Yang Yuzhen's heart was so excited that it almost jumped out. He had been looking around all the way, but he never saw his "godfather".

If it weren't for Chen Ce, how could he enjoy the glory he has today!
If Chen Ce had not gone against the majority's opinion, how could this feat of sailing to the West have been realized?

However, there was always a group of civil servants who believed that going to the West would consume the country's financial resources, would not be worth the cost, would have no practical benefits, and that the country should not give such high-level courtesy.

For example, today, after Emperor Hongzhi met with Hong Zhong and Yang Yuzhen in the Fengtian Hall, a scholar from the Hanlin Academy wrote a letter to impeach the plan of sailing to the West, saying it was a waste of time and effort and not worth the cost.

There is always a group of maverick officials. Whether they are jealous or envious, they can always sing a different tune of opposition.

Although everyone thinks that going to the West is a great feat, there are still some people who think that the cost outweighs the gain, and that showing off the national strength in a high-profile manner is not in line with China's humble etiquette.

But they never considered the benefits of going to the West, or in their minds, they simply couldn't see what benefits going to the West would bring to the empire.

All they saw was that going to the West was a way to show off the Ming Dynasty's national strength and military power.

However, Emperor Hongzhi turned a deaf ear to the impeachment of these people. On October 16, Emperor Hongzhi convened a small court meeting, and all the six ministries of the cabinet were present. Of course, today was a special day, so Chen Ce naturally had to attend.

Wuying Palace.

As the chief executive officer of this voyage to the West, Hong Zhong was almost in charge of the entire voyage.

The trading countries that Hong Zhong brought this time almost covered the sea areas around Daming, including Champa, Java, Chenla, Old Port, Siam, Calicut, Malacca... Brunei, Sumatra, Aru, Cochin, Greater Kuala Lumpur, Lesser Kuala Lumpur, and Western Soli...

In addition, there are some more distant countries, such as Jiayi, Ababadan, Nanwuli, Ganbali, Ceylon... Zhubu, Bengal, Mecca, Lifa, Naguer and so on.

The Ming Dynasty signed trade agreements with most of these countries, such as rice and wheat from Japan and tea, porcelain, silk and cloth from inland areas.

These countries also provided the Ming Dynasty with yaks, dairy cows, goats, spices, mint and other goods.

The order signed this time is enough to take Ming Dynasty's overseas trade economy to a higher level and allow Ming Dynasty to obtain more overseas market income.

Of course, this overseas trade can not only increase the economic income of Ming Dynasty, but most importantly, it can promote the new currency of Ming Dynasty, allowing the new currency of Ming Dynasty to occupy the market overseas and thus control the overseas economic market.

Hong Zhong brought so many trade exchanges this time. Chen Ce immediately instructed the Ministry of Revenue to ensure the exchange and settlement of currencies in overseas markets, use the Ming Dynasty's own currency for settlement, and force the other party to accept the Ming Dynasty's new currency!

The more Ming Dynasty new currency they hold, the more they will be affected by the Ming Dynasty's economy. The appreciation or depreciation of the Ming Dynasty's currency will affect the economic market of the other country.

In fact, Chen Ce has always emphasized this, and the Ministry of Revenue has always followed Chen Ce's thinking, but they have not yet truly experienced the practical experience of currency control in other countries.

They will understand later.

After today's economic meeting, Hong Zhong said to Chen Ce, "Lord, you asked us to bring a lot of crops, and we brought back a lot of them, some we know and some we don't know... We don't know what they are for."

The ministers of the six ministries of the cabinet didn't know why Chen Ce attached great importance to this. The current agricultural reserves of the Ming Dynasty were sufficient, and the economic crops from the Japanese islands would continue to supply the country.

I don’t know what to do with these crops brought back from overseas, and many of them may not be edible. After all, they have not been tested, and no one dares to be the first to try them.

The second thing Chen Ce valued most during this voyage to the West was the overseas crops. He hurriedly asked Hong Zhong, "Where are all the things?"

Hong Zhong said: "We have taken them all to Taicang and stored them there."

Emperor Hongzhi saw that Chen Ce was excited. He had never seen Chen Ce like this before. He knew that the thing that could make Chen Ce take it seriously was not simple.

"Chun Jian, is there anything special about these crops?"

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "I'm not sure either. I have to go and see for sure."

Emperor Hongzhi did not care about this. What he valued most was the situation of this maritime trade, so he said to Chen Ce: "Okay, go and have a look when you have time. Don't try those crops of unknown origin. If necessary, I will assign a few eunuchs to give you a try."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I understand."

(End of this chapter)