Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

At the great court meeting, Cheng Yu took Yu Yunwen, Hu Quan, Qian Wei, Zhu Xiaozhong and others to report to the emperor in front of all the civil and military officials.

Cheng Yu took out his work report and read:

"On this overseas mission, we exchanged letters of credence with a total of thirty-two countries. Among them were several Nanyang countries. The envoys did not go there in person. Merchants delivered the letters of credence on their behalf and brought the envoys back to Guangzhou to wait for rendezvous... …”

"Recording ports, mileage, star maps, longitude and latitude, climate, crops, customs, and political systems along the way... The navigation clock has design flaws, and there are huge errors after a big storm..."

"We brought back more than 40,000 books from various countries, all of which were selected together with local scholars. There were especially many medical books, totaling more than 13,000. We also brought back 12 foreign doctors and a large number of overseas medicinal materials... "

"425 horses of excellent breeds from various countries were purchased. 37 of them stayed in Ceylon Island to recuperate due to illness. Another 12 became ill and stayed in Guangzhou to recuperate. Another 5 horses fell ill and died at sea. The rest have died It was transported to the horse farm in the northern suburbs of Kaifeng. When I left there, there were still 16 horses that were sick..."

"The horses that the Ming cavalry took to sea were either sick or dead, and only half returned home alive. Some of them may not have died because they stayed on the island of Ceylon because of illness."

"The mission earned a large amount of gold and silver from trade, but how much it earned cannot be estimated for the time being. Because many of the goods were exchanged for books, scholars, doctors, and horse breeds. Not all the foreign goods shipped back to the country were sold. Come out. There are also some gold and silver treasures that were stolen from Fan Bang..."

"Disregarding books, scholars, doctors and horse breeds, and subtracting the salaries of all personnel and the money spent on travel, the officials of the Municipal Shipping Department have helped with a rough valuation. The profit from this voyage is more than 1 million taels of silver. This It’s just a conservative valuation, maybe more if the goods are sold out.”

"In addition, envoys from various countries brought many tributes. In fact, they were gifts in return after we gave gifts, but they were not included in the profits. This is also a large amount of wealth. Some kings even gave slaves in return. I really don't know how to calculate the value."

"There are also three Buddhist treasures from Ceylon, but their value cannot be calculated."

"On this trip, five soldiers died in battle. Eighteen sailors were missing in the storm, one sailor broke his waist and became disabled, and two sailors were killed while sailing in the storm. There was also an official and two clerks. , six soldiers died of illness, and eight others were seriously ill and stayed in many countries along the way to recuperate, and the kings promised to take good care of them. "

"On this trip, many warships were damaged due to storms. One of them was seriously damaged and could not be repaired in a short time. It was sold to an Indian merchant at a low price and Indian ships were purchased to supplement it."

After listening to the work report, all civil and military officials showed surprised expressions.

A conservative estimate of the net profit is more than 1 million taels of silver, and this does not include gifts from various countries, books, horse breeds, scholars, Buddhist treasures, slaves, etc.

This is pure profit!

Ju Ming asked: "The cost of building the ship was not included in the calculation, right?"

Cheng Yu replied: "The cost of shipbuilding was not calculated, only the cost of repairing the ship during the voyage. On the way back and forth, almost every ship was overhauled, and it cost a lot of money to repair the ship."

Ju Ming ordered:

"All the deceased will be greatly compensated."

"The disabled sailor ordered the local government to pay a sum of money and food every month, according to the salary standard of a first-class official in the place of residence. The payment will be continued for twenty years, and no delay is allowed during the period, otherwise he will be severely punished. Do not give it all at once. After all, I’m afraid that he will be remembered because of his disability.”

"For those who are stranded in various countries due to illness, their family members can receive their salary as usual before being taken back to their home country. If it is confirmed that the person died of illness abroad, additional pensions will be paid."

"The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War, please discuss the rewards for all members of the envoy based on the mission's merit report, and submit a list of rewards for my review."

Chen Dong and Zhang Guangdao came out: "I obey the order!"

Ju Ming asked: "Who wants to go to Ceylon to be the governor? Officials of the fourth grade and above can nominate themselves. As long as they go, they will be promoted immediately. After a few years, they can return to the country to report on their duties."

There was silence.

Ceylon is still too far away, it is the Lion Kingdom in the Buddhist scriptures.

Cheng Yu went out and told the ministers: "The temperature in the Ceylon port we occupied is similar to that of early summer in Luoyang all year round. Although there are occasional hot weather, it is not much hotter than midsummer in Luoyang. There are no four seasons there. There are only dry seasons and rainy seasons. The dry season is refreshing and pleasant, and the rainy season is slightly humid. The islanders know how to build water conservancy, are good at farming, and are rich in products."

Are the four seasons like early summer in Luoyang?

Do the islanders know how to farm and are rich in products? And you believe in Buddhism?

This is not a deserted island, this is a paid vacation!

While everyone was still pondering whether the information was true or false, an official came forward and said, "I would like to go to sea and become the Governor of Ceylon!"

But it was Cheng Yu's clan brother Cheng Kejun. He knew that his brother would not tell lies, so he was the first to come forward and introduce himself.

Moreover, this guy was promoted to the fourth rank last year, which just met the conditions for going to sea to be a governor, and the benefits of promotion can be maximized.

Ju Ming nodded and smiled: "Okay, it's up to you."

Seeing that the candidate for the governor has been confirmed, many fourth-grade officials felt regretful. Why didn't they know to hurry up and grab it?

Cheng Yu saw his brother serving as the governor and continued to speak with a smile: "Your Majesty, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, many temples have been destroyed. Sometimes, many eminent monks are crowded into one temple, and thirty eminent monks can be sent to Ceylon. Spread the Dharma.”

"Oh? What's the situation with Buddhism there?" Ju Ming asked.

Cheng Yu said in detail: "Decades ago, when Ceylon became independent from the Chola Kingdom, there were less than ten pure monks left on the island, and most of the Buddhist scriptures were destroyed by Brahmins. In order to promote Buddhism, the kings of the first two generations came from Bagan (Myanmar) Please go to the eminent monks and Buddhist scriptures. Most of the famous eminent monks in Ceylon are from Bagan, and they believe in Theravada Buddhism.”

A pure monk is a monk who can wear cassocks, keep the precepts, and protect the Buddha's teachings.

Although there are many Buddhists in Sri Lanka, during the Chola dynasty, monks turned to Brahmanism. There are very few monks who can still strictly observe the precepts, and they all have a miserable life. After the restoration of the country, they even had to go to Myanmar to learn Buddhist scriptures.

Ju Ming asked many more questions about the situation in Ceylon, and finally ordered:

"I ordered the Senglu Division to select ten eminent monks from across the country and bring twenty disciples to Ceylon to spread Buddhism. Tell them that Ceylon is the Lion Kingdom in the Buddhist scriptures. Also, all the major Buddhist sects in the Ming Dynasty have Choose a representative.”

"The Ministry of Rites engraves the gold seal of the King of Ceylon and prepares to officially canonize the King of Ceylon."

"In addition, five silver seals are engraved to confer five great Kassapas. Among them, four great Kassapas are canonized to the eminent monks of Ceylon in the areas under the jurisdiction of the island princes. The remaining one, great Kassapa, is canonized to the eminent monks who came from the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty The eminent monk has been living in the territory under the jurisdiction of the King of Ceylon. After he has found out the situation and recruited many disciples, he will go to the territory of the island princes to preach. "

Asking again about scholars and books, Ju Ming continued to announce:

"All scholars from various countries who are willing to live in the Ming Dynasty, especially well-known scholars from Seljuk and Green Shirt, will be given an official position in the Hanlin Academy by the Ministry of Rites."

"Select a group of Hanlin officials and medical officers, and then select a group of imperial students and medical students to work with scholars from various countries to translate tens of thousands of books brought back from overseas."

"The translation is complete and needs to be verified."

"Especially overseas medical books, there are many superstitions about gods and monsters. Eliminate those errors, retain the essence of medicine from various countries, and finally compile a "Ming Dynasty Medical Classic" that integrates Chinese and foreign medicine."

"Things involving other subjects should also be strictly demonstrated and tested. I heard that there is another kind of logic, the dialectics of China's pre-Qin period, and the science of enlightenment from India. In fact, they all have the shadow of logic. But they are different from logic. , this knowledge can also be studied in depth.”

"Cheng Yu just said that he also brought back a "Book of Optics" from Luyi Dashi. This book can also be studied carefully. It can corroborate the optics of the Ming Dynasty with me, learn from each other's strengths, and then publish it into a book."

Immediately afterwards, Ju Ming ordered Haosheng to take care of the horse breeds and cross-breed the horses from various countries.

He also asked the new Jinshi who was intern to extract Hu Quan's records of various countries. In addition to the key information that is helpful for navigation, other customs, customs, and overseas experiences can be copied and compiled into a booklet.

Ju Ming even planned to ask the Hanlin Academy to unite envoys and scholars from various countries to compile a book called "Arabian Nights".

The stories in the book are drawn from all countries, from Egypt and Seljuk in the west to Srivijaya and Jambhava in the east. Any bizarre legends or folk anecdotes can be compiled into it.

There is nothing to encourage citizens to go overseas. At least it can improve the breadth of their horizons.

If this book sells well, it will make the officials, people and scholars of the Ming Dynasty know that there are countless interesting countries and interesting stories overseas.

Don’t rest on your laurels!

When the dynasty dispersed, Ju Ming left Huan Guo behind and told him his thoughts on "Arabian Nights".

Huan Guo asked: "Your Majesty, do you want the Hanlin Academy to compile a collection of novels about supernatural beings?"

Zhu Ming shook his head and said: "No. First, it must show an exotic atmosphere and involve the customs and customs of various countries; second, the wording and sentence making must be appreciated by both refined and popular people, and try to use common language to write the text, so that it can be spoken directly to farmers in the countryside; third, Stories must be positive and praise kindness, kindness, wisdom, bravery, loyalty, hard work, and perseverance.”

Huan Guo said: "How vulgar are the proverbs?"

When the great scholars of the Northern Song Dynasty annotated the classics, their writing was vulgar enough, but for the common people at the bottom, they were still incomprehensible in many cases.

Ju Ming said: "How ordinary people talk, this "Arabian Nights" is written in the same way. Moreover, it must be written in an interesting way."

"This...I'm afraid we can't let scholars write it." Huan Guodao said.

Ju Ming suddenly thought of someone and said with a smile: "The Hanlin Academy compiled all the stories and gave them to Li Bangyan to revise carefully. Regarding the content of each country, if he can't understand it, he can communicate with the envoys from each country."

"Yes." Huan Guo said.

Ju Ming continued: "I have already thought about the beginning. The story takes place in a country in Tianfang (generally referring to the Arab region). There was a cruel king who had to take a concubine every day and kill him when the rooster crows. The people in the country were terrified. They fled abroad. The prime minister could not find the girl and was worried that he would be killed by the king. "

"The prime minister's daughter was so smart that she took the initiative to marry the king as his concubine. And before the rooster crows every day, she tells the king a story."

"The king spared her for one day just to hear the story. So the prime minister's daughter insisted on telling the king stories every night for a thousand and one nights."

Huan Guo was surprised and said: "This book sounds very interesting."