First Minister of Ming Dynasty

First Minister Section 610

potato!

Zhang Ximeng recognized it almost at a glance, this is a good thing... The young man in charge of sending this batch of things to Beijing is called Ma He, nicknamed Sanbao, and is Zhu Ying's subordinate.

Chapter 844 The Emperor's Grandson Accompanying Read

The appearance of potatoes surprised people, but this Ma Sanbao surprised Zhang Ximeng even more.

What the hell is Zhu Ying doing?

Why did potatoes come out suddenly? Could it be that his fleet went to America?

Zhang Ximeng decided to inquire carefully, and the breakthrough point of the matter was in this little Ma Sanbao.

Ma Sanbao's ancestors were Semu people, who arrived in Yunnan with the Mongolian army.The situation is somewhat similar to Chahan Timur's home.It's just that Ma Sanbao's father and grandparents were not so simple. They all traveled thousands of miles to return to their hometown to worship in holy places.

Because he successfully completed the feat and returned to his hometown, he was highly respected by the people in Yunnan.

After Zhu Ying entered Yunnan, she also heard about the situation of the Ma family.

Because according to the truth, the Ma family is considered a powerful and powerful person, and it needs to be dealt with severely.For example, the Sanbao eunuch in history was like this. Their family was captured, and the young Sanbao eunuch was tortured and sent to Yingtian as a slave. Later, he was distributed to Yan Wang Zhudi, and only then did the following legend come into being.

Doing this is also in line with the history of the early Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang hated eunuchs interfering in politics very much, so he chose some eunuchs from semu people.

As Lao Zhu's godson, Zhu Ying respected his father and got some young eunuchs to give to Zhu Yuanzhang, which is also reasonable.

However, because of being with Zhang Ximeng, it was too embarrassing for Zhu Ying to deal with the children.

And even Lao Zhu is adjusting his strategy. There are fewer and fewer eunuchs in the palace. Where female officials can be used, female officials are used, and some heavy physical work during the day is handed over to the guards.

At this time, there were less than five hundred eunuchs in the entire Yingtian Palace, and many of them were old people from the Great Yuan Palace.

Although it is impossible for eunuchs to disappear for a while, they cannot form much influence.

Back to Ma's house, Zhu Ying talked with Ma Sanbao's father and brother after learning about their family's experience.

According to common sense, you serve as subordinates to the Mongols, and many people hope to confiscate their property, or even distribute them thousands of miles away.But considering that you have not done too many evil things, your reputation is not bad, and you have certain talents.

I can give you a way out.

To put it bluntly, it is to act as a guide, assisting Daming to open up and find a way.

Speaking of which, this was already ten years ago.

Zhu Ying also spent a lot of effort in order to manage the south.

He arranged for people to follow the Ma family's fathers to take the Silk Road and arrived in Persia. Dashi made a full circle.Then, with the help of a sea merchant's ship, they arrived at Quanzhou Port, and they were considered to have returned to Daming.

After this experience on land, Zhu Ying arranged for people to go by sea again. This time, not only the Ma family, but also the Fang family were invited to help. He gathered ten ships and set off from Daming to sail west... This time they But I have traveled many places, including Southeast Asia, Tianzhu, Persia, all the way to the Red Sea.

The continuous exploration made Zhu Ying very excited.

Moreover, their nautical discoveries also provided strong support for Xia Zhifeng's theory of the circle of the earth.

Just before Xia Zhifeng put forward the theory of the circle of the earth, the fleet funded by Zhu Ying had set off and sailed around the world... This time they went south along the coast of Africa, crossed the Indian Ocean, sailed into the Atlantic Ocean, and then entered the Pacific Ocean.

After three years, he finally returned to Daming.

Thirteen ships went out to sea, and only eight returned.

More than 100 people were buried in other places, and the loss was not insignificant.

But even so, Zhu Ying felt that she had made a lot of money.

In fact, in the past few years, Zhu Ying, Fang's family, and even Hua Yun have all been funding the exploration... Zhang Shuning and the others have used a lot of materials to compile the charts of the sea country.

Although some things are outrageously wrong, the problem is that there must be a reason for being outrageous. Otherwise, when it comes to overseas, it is either Sanxian Mountain with evergreen grass growing on it, or the big Kyushu outside of Kyushu... It is completely out of thin air. Even worse.

All in all, the country has been established for more than ten years, and Zhang Ximeng has called for foreign development and development for more than ten years. As his best brother, how can Zhu Ying not work hard for his elder brother's proposition!

It is no exaggeration to say that Zhu Ying almost took this as his mission.

The eldest brother is a sage of the world, and what he said can never be wrong.

Let me, my little brother, prove it for him!

It was this strength that supported Zhu Ying to broaden her horizons and understand the situation in Luzon, which led to the proposal to plant sugar cane.

Overall, the external exploration has achieved remarkable results.

At least the people of Ming Dynasty had a great wealth of knowledge, gained a new understanding of the overseas situation, and brought back a lot of novel things by the way.

But again, the price paid is also obvious.

Not to mention how much money was spent, how many ships were lost... the loss of personnel alone is quite huge.

For example, Ma Sanbao's father and eldest brother went to sea a year ago.This time they want to bring back something rare, which is potatoes!

Sailing ahead, they found the thing and even ate it.

They decided that this thing would change Daming.

But it's a pity that the local natives regard potatoes as their lifeblood, and they are strictly guarded against sticking to them, and they are not allowed to take them out at all.

You can't take away raw potatoes, and you can't take seedlings. Whoever dares to move will kill you.

Ma and his son really played their lives. They arranged 120 people, all equipped with armor and sharp blades. After they landed in America, they first pretended to be a trader, and then made a decisive move to snatch a few bags of potatoes and prepare to take them back to Daming.

But they didn't expect that the local natives attacked wildly and killed them from all directions.

After nearly a day of fighting, more than 40 warriors died in battle.

Ma Sanbao's elder brother was captured, his hands and feet were cut off, he was hung on a tree branch, and died of bleeding.

Papa Ma was also injured, they boarded the boat and escaped for their lives, and finally escaped.

However, due to lack of medicine on board, Ma's injuries worsened and he died on the way.

What I brought back was only a white porcelain altar containing ashes.

After understanding what happened, Zhang Ximeng also understood why Zhu Ying asked the little Ma Sanbao to bring potatoes to Beijing.

"Your father and brother are heroes!"

Zhang Ximeng put his arms around Ma Sanbao's shoulders, and said softly, "Little guy, do you have any plans? What do you want to do in the future?"

"I want to go to sea!" Ma Sanbao said decisively.

Zhang Ximeng was taken aback, "Your father, and your elder brother...do you still dare?"

"Dare! I want to avenge them!" The little guy gritted his teeth, with flames in his eyes.

When Zhang Ximeng saw it, he really had a bit of head and horns, no matter what, he regarded this kid as the future eunuch of the Three Treasures... Oh, by the way, this little guy won't need to be stabbed for the rest of his life.

"You want to go to sea and take revenge. It's not a trivial matter. You need to study and practice martial arts, and you need to have all-powerful abilities... How about it, do you want me to arrange a few people for you to teach you?"

Ma Sanbao rolled his small eyes, and suddenly said: "I know martial arts!"

"Oh? Really?"

"Yeah!" The little guy seemed to look around, pointing to the sword on the wall, "I can play with that!"

Zhang Ximeng took off the sword happily, led Ma Sanbao to the open space behind, and handed the sword to him.

The little guy took the sword, without any haste, first saluted Zhang Ximeng, and then danced it seriously.

Regardless of the child's young age, every move is well-organized and neat. Zhang Ximeng immediately knew that it must be Zhu Ying's handwriting.

Although the kid didn't say anything, his intentions can be seen in this arrangement.

Or to put it more simply, Ma Sanbao's father and brother helped the Ming Dynasty to get the potatoes, and for this credit alone, it is not too much to reward him with a title.

"Good practice."

Zhang Ximeng smiled and encouraged: "Little guy, I will lead you to a place, help you find a master, and arrange a classmate for you by the way."

Ma Sanbao happily agreed that he lived in Zhang's mansion for two days, and Zhang Ximeng took some time to take him to the manor outside the city.

As soon as the two of them arrived at the door, they found a little guy sitting on a rock, gnawing on steamed buns, and holding a green onion by his hand.

This wild way of eating did not match the silk padded jacket he was wearing, but it was inexplicably harmonious.

The little guy is the emperor's grandson Zhu Xiongying.

Obviously, his appearance is a bit inconsistent with the status of the emperor's grandson, but I'm sorry, the little guy has not been sick for almost a year, and even Zhu Biao has lost his temper.

Perhaps their Zhu family is like this, they should be stocked, the more delicate, the more prone to problems.

After all, Lao Zhu is in excellent health after all the hard work, so it can be seen that this is what should be done with this kid.

Seeing Zhang Ximeng coming, Zhu Xiongying stood up quickly and trotted to meet him.

"Grandpa Grand Master."

Zhang Ximeng smiled, "How about it, honestly, did you do your homework? How about the homework your master left for you?"

Zhu Xiongying smiled and said, "Master said, children are not given homework until they are eight years old. Master is so kind!"

Zhang Ximeng was startled, and then smiled helplessly: "I will tell her later, not every child is a gifted child... So, your little one will have homework soon!"

Zhu Xiongying's face collapsed in an instant, "Grandpa, you can't bully children!"

Zhang Ximeng smiled, "I never bully others, I always exchange for equal value... It's true that I leave homework for you, but I arranged a little partner for you."

With that said, Zhang Ximeng pulled Ma Sanbao over.

As soon as the two children met, the difference came out.

Ma Sanbao is a few years older than Zhu Xiongying, but his body does not look like a few years old...Ma Sanbao has strong features, a high nose, prominent cheekbones, and a burly figure, which can hold several Zhu Xiongying .

But Zhu Xiongying was not afraid, instead he asked curiously, "Can you farm the land?"

Ma Sanbao was stunned for a moment, then said: "I can learn!"

"Then how about I teach you? Look, I grow a lot of vegetables and fruits here, and there is rice over there... Grandpa Huang is building a winery. He said that we can't waste the grapes, and we can make wine next year. "

Zhu Xiongying was still a bit of a social cow. He pulled the huge Ma Sanbao around the yard, and he really gave a slap in the face.

At this time, Lao Zhu also came out. When he saw Ma Sanbao, his eyes lit up.

"This kid is not bad, he will be a strong man in the future!"

Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "Since the lord has taken a fancy to it, why don't you accept it and be a companion for His Royal Highness!"

Chapter 845 The Zhu family's ancestral talent

Potatoes were definitely something that Zhang Ximeng had been thinking about for a long time, but when they were delivered to him suddenly, it was a lie to say that he was not happy.It's just far from earth-shattering and exciting.

Even Zhu Ying funded and completed the circumnavigation of the world, but it did not set off a big wave in the Ming Dynasty.

It stands to reason that this is an even more exciting victory than piercing through the Western Regions. Why is there no movement?It's totally unreasonable!

Celebrating, building temples, rewarding, erecting monuments, conferring titles... from top to bottom, everything is moving, this is the pomp that should be there.What is it if you take it with you?

Zhang Ximeng didn't want to do this either, and there was really nothing he could do.

In fact, people often have an illusion that certain historical events have changed the direction of the world and are worthy of special mention. Heroes who have accomplished feats should pay homage to them.

But in fact, in history, there are inevitably some discrepancies.

What's more, it is the descendants who continue to elevate and dig and enrich, so that certain events have enough status.If you look at what happened, the focus of people's attention seems to be not on this at all.

For example, Columbus discovered the New World, so he should praise it!But I'm sorry, until Columbus died, he thought he discovered India, and there was no new continent. He just crossed the ocean and came to the far east.

Indeed, sailing westward from Europe, through the ocean, can indeed reach India, but it must cross the Americas, cross the Pacific Ocean, and sail into the Indian Ocean to do so.

And Columbus only completed a short section.

The deeds of discovering the New World are constantly being praised, elevated, and even written into textbooks, making people worship.That is to develop a new continent, which provides infinite wealth, and even on the new continent, a city on the top of a mountain, a country of lighthouses, has risen, and this country has the right to speak and has a huge ability to export culture.

Then the act of discovering the New World, which is the beginning of everything, becomes different.

As for Columbus, he really didn't think it was so great. He just wanted to make a fortune in India, and he didn't succeed, so he died in a daze with wrong cognition.

On the side of the Ming Dynasty, the situation is also limited.

After completing the circumnavigation, it just proves that the ground under his feet is round.

Only Xia Zhifeng and those scholars who are interested in astronomy and geography really care about this matter. For ordinary people, the earth is round. That's right, don't you have to work in the fields tomorrow!

Is it possible to get something for nothing if you know that the earth is round?

Of course, Zhang Ximeng didn’t feel that ordinary people were shallow and needed criticism... In fact, only the crops, wealth, and even the vast living space brought by the New World completely changed Ming Dynasty and made people realize the value of sailing around the world.

At that time, people will look back at history, invite out the heroes of the early years, commemorate them wantonly, and be grateful to Dade.