“When King Xuan of Qi established the Jixia Academy and gathered scholars from various schools of thought, Plato was also running an academy in Athens by the Mediterranean, where Aristotle studied. So that land was still ruled by wisdom—it’s just temporarily shrouded by the dark clouds of religion right now. We need to break the balance there and let the people there witness the great achievements from the East. This will also be a stimulus for your country and people. Although they will endure some pain in the short term, in the long run, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.”
Standing atop Yueyang Tower, Yun Zheng explained to Hippatia beside him why Tang envoys must possess formidable military power: “Tang people never entrust their fate to others for protection. We have the ability to guard our own destiny. To make a Tang warrior lay down his sword, all his enemies must first be dead.”
Hippatia watched the warships fiercely battling on the lake surface and said with difficulty, “Must you really use warships and cannons to open the hearts of ignorant people?”
Yun Ye sat down and ate a delicious water chestnut. He had no idea how people managed to preserve these things until now. Although eating such things in the dead of winter seemed quite peculiar, the people around him showed not the slightest surprise—the steward of the Yun Family naturally knew what their family master liked to eat.
“I am a general, so naturally the methods I can use are military means. Take good care of yourself. If those fools in Egypt still throw you to fight lions, I believe there’s a very good chance I’ll personally make a trip to Egypt to avenge you. Qing Que would go mad then, and you know I find it very difficult to refuse Qing Que’s requests.”
“That place is too far—your great army cannot reach Egypt,” Hippatia said. Having seen too many fallen monarchs in the Tang Dynasty, she now felt very fortunate that her country was on the other side of the earth.
“Not necessarily. Select a small force for a coastal surprise attack, advancing with lightning speed and indomitable courage—capturing the king and slaying generals in your capital is still achievable. It’s just that your country no longer has a monarch. They’re all under Roman rule, and perhaps in the future they’ll have to accept Arab rule as well. Since they’re already accustomed to submission, submitting once more under Tang’s formidable military force wouldn’t be anything remarkable. Don’t you think so?”
Hippatia turned and left. Although she now considered herself a Tang person’s wife, she couldn’t extinguish her deep attachment to that land.
After watching Hippatia leave, Yun Ye’s formerly smiling face immediately became angular and severe—nothing more than his smile disappearing and his jaw clenching tight.
No one would know what Yun Ye was thinking at this moment. Perhaps in his eyes floated an inexplicable fleet that Tang people didn’t know existed, but Yun Ye knew it had truly existed.
In the fifteenth century, an incomparably massive fleet unrivaled in the entire world rode the strong northeastern monsoon winds and majestically departed from Fujian’s Wuhu Gate. When faced with history’s great choice, it had taken the lead in sailing toward the Pacific Ocean. Even in later generations, people were still speculating endlessly about the purpose of this fleet’s voyage.
This fleet led by Zheng He, over the course of twenty-eight years, made seven voyages to the Western Seas. Their footprints covered Southeast Asia and South Asia, then crossed the Indian Ocean, with their voyage reaching as far as the Arabian and East African coasts.
However, human history had never before witnessed such a large-scale maritime activity with absolutely no economic purpose. It was an almost purely political procession—it sought to bestow favors upon overseas nations to express the Chinese Emperor’s nominal supreme sovereignty over them. What magnanimous and gentle conduct of a gentlemanly nation!
Hegel said the sea invites mankind to engage in conquest and trade. But the Chinese people invited by the Pacific Ocean were actually so-called modest gentlemen who “uphold righteousness without pursuing profit.”
Chinese people, even when they came to the sea, still could not transcend the limited circle of thought and action from the land. History chose the Chinese people, but the Chinese people could not choose history. Just a few decades later, four small sailing ships representing weak capitalism, led by the Portuguese Da Gama, sailed into the Indian Ocean searching for wealth and markets. By then, the massive Zheng He fleet had already disappeared without a trace from the Pacific and Indian Oceans. But Europeans had begun the great exploration of geographical discovery.
This was unforgivable. Yun Ye’s hand gripped the armrest of his chair tightly, veins bulging. He would absolutely not make such a mistake—absolutely not! Since the people on this yellow earth had a new choice, then let it begin with himself.
Behind this fleet would follow countless merchant ships in close pursuit. No matter what methods were used, the fleet’s purpose was plunder and discovery. In Yun Ye’s view, opening trade routes was far more meaningful than circumnavigating the globe.
If swords couldn’t open trade routes, then use gunpowder. In any case, this distant voyage must achieve the expectations and objectives he had long since established.
There was no need to worry about Zhangsun Wuji’s northern route. He understood even more clearly than Yun Ye what profit meant. This time, Yun Ye had not placed any obstacles on the northern fleet’s weapons and supplies. He knew those warriors needed these weapons. The warriors of the Sun God’s nation were still quite valiant—using only cold weapons would likely greatly delay their progress, and Li Tai desperately needed rubber trees right now.
For this mission, the northern fleet actually had a greater chance of success because they didn’t need to circle half the globe to reach South America, whereas Yun Ye’s fleet needed to traverse the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and finally reach the Atlantic Ocean before they could arrive at the other side of South America.
Yun Ye didn’t care who would receive credit for this great discovery. He only cared whether this voyage of the southern fleet could encounter all the nations and peoples of the West. Such a discovery was a hundred times better than discovering barren lands.
Wang Xuance stood behind Yun Ye. When he noticed Yun Ye’s posture gradually changing from a casual stance to one resembling a javelin, he understood that this legendary figure of the Tang Dynasty had reached a decision. He humbly bowed down to await orders.
“On this western journey, charting maps and sea charts is the primary task. Whether you can find the Sun God’s nation is actually not important—it’s there, and if we don’t find it this time, we’ll go look again next time. We’ll find it eventually. What I need is a report on the western situation. What I need is the Tang Dynasty’s understanding of the entire world. We are currently the strongest, so we have the right to redivide the world. The right to establish rules must be held in Tang’s hands.”
“If we encounter obstacles?”
“Kill them!”
After this brief exchange, Yun Ye ordered a halt to this largely meaningless exercise. The people on the ships were all fierce warriors he had carefully selected. To seize this final opportunity to secure a bright future for his descendants, Lai Chuanfeng, though nearing fifty years of age, still strapped on his war blade and stood at the very front.
“This journey’s life and death are uncertain, fortune and misfortune unpredictable. Have you really thought this through?” When inspecting the warriors, Yun Ye deliberately stopped in front of Lai Chuanfeng, who was the commander of all the warriors on this fleet.
“This humble officer is worthless. You’ve given this humble officer countless opportunities, but to this day I still haven’t obtained a real title. The one title I have is merely an honorary lordship—it cannot be passed down generation after generation. So this humble officer plans to use this final opportunity to take a gamble and see if I can obtain a viscountcy.” Lai Chuanfeng gave Yun Ye a dry smile. After the Lingnan Navy underwent a major reorganization, Lai Chuanfeng, who was only marginally literate, could not adapt to those harsh regulations. To avoid disgracing Yun Ye and to avoid holding back the Lingnan Navy, he resolutely chose to return to Chang’an. Because he represented the old-style Lingnan Navy military men—if he didn’t step back, Liu Renyuan would have no way to reorganize the entire fleet.
“Didn’t I submit a title recommendation for you? His Majesty will still do me this favor for a small viscountcy—it will be approved. It should come through this year. Based on your meritorious service, there’s no problem.” Yun Ye was somewhat troubled. He always hoped the veterans around him could live happily. Lai Chuanfeng’s reckless disregard for his life made things difficult.
“Grand Marshal, thank you, but you don’t need to do this. There’s no need to bow to anyone for Lai Chuanfeng’s sake. This humble officer understands—the Department of State Affairs doesn’t get along with you, and there are always petty people causing trouble. But it doesn’t matter. If this humble officer achieves great merit this time, they’ll have no more excuses to obstruct my promotion. His Majesty will see my achievements.”
Hearing Lai Chuanfeng’s words, Yun Ye felt extremely bitter. When he was dealing with Wang Xiaojie, Zhangsun Wuji was also dealing with Lai Chuanfeng. This was extremely fair in political terms. Since the Zhangsun family hadn’t used underhanded forces to deal with Lai Chuanfeng, Yun Ye could only follow these rules and go through proper channels.
All things considered, Yun Ye owed Lai Chuanfeng. Originally, based on his meritorious service, becoming a viscount of the empire was a certainty, and the Ministry of War had already issued the documents. But they were forcibly canceled by the Department of State Affairs during the review process.
“This trip is very dangerous. I don’t approve of you going. If you’re willing, becoming a garrison commander in Mingzhou is still no problem. Why belittle yourself like this? This is also a torment for me.” Yun Ye earnestly tried to persuade him, hoping Lai Chuanfeng would change his mind.
“Grand Marshal, this humble officer was about to suffocate to death in Chang’an. What difference is there between going to Mingzhou and being in Chang’an? In the middle of the night when I wake from dreams, I always fantasize that I’m still fighting on a warship. I can’t sleep at all at home—only when I return to a warship and lie in a hammock can this humble officer sleep sweetly. This is my fate. Even Heaven wants me to live on ships. This lifetime is already set. While I can still swing a blade, I’ll fight one more time. Even if I die, it’s more comforting than dying in bed.”
Before one realized it, everyone had grown old, and life had increasingly lost its meaning. Lai Chuanfeng was a warrior, and a warrior’s proper end should be on the battlefield, not in bed. In this regard, he was more pure than Yang Yueming and Yang Yueli.
The fleet commander was Cheng Chuliang. This youth whom Yun Ye had personally sent to the Lingnan Navy had finally grown into an experienced and fierce naval commander. This time the Cheng family had truly spared no expense. Looking at the boy who had once stood on Eagle’s Beak Cliff with a runny nose, Yun Ye truly didn’t know what to say. Sending him on this mission was purely Cheng Yaojin’s idea.