Chapter 82 Chapter 82: The First Half of the Life of the Great Navigator Zheng He

The story of "Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas" is well-known in China, including women and children. Then, why did Ming Chengzu Zhu Di choose Zheng He as the chief person in charge of this large-scale diplomatic event?What unusual experiences did Zheng He have before his voyages? This matter should start with Zheng He's ancestor Sai Dianchi Shansi Ding Umar. Let’s talk about the name Saidianchi Shansidin Umar first. This name comes from the transliteration of Arabic. "Umar" is a name, which means longevity. Judging from the name, Zheng He's ancestors should be nobles from the Arabian region, which is indeed the case.Umar is not only an aristocrat, but also not an ordinary aristocrat. He is the legendary "holy descendant", that is, the descendant of Muhammad, the founder of Islam.After Umar came to China, he held an important position in the army of Mongolia (later renamed Yuan) by virtue of his outstanding ability and noble status. In 1253, the Mongolian army captured the Dali Kingdom located in the present-day Yunnan area, conquered the local ethnic groups, and established the Yunnan Province in 1276. Umar was appointed to rule Yunnan.

Umar was not only able to help the Mongols conquer the world on horseback, but also had outstanding political talents. Under his governance, the government of Yunnan was smooth and the people were peaceful, and the people were happy. He also won the support of the people of Yunnan and the approval of the central government. Kublai Khan was named "Xianyang King". Zheng He's great-grandfather still continued the title and surname of "Holy Descendants", while his grandfather changed his surname to Ma, following his mother's surname for some reason.Zheng He's father's name was Mahazhi, and he had two sons and four daughters, the eldest son Wenming, and the second son Sanbao, who later became Zheng He.

Both Zheng He's grandfather and father were Muslims, and both had the experience of traveling thousands of miles to Mecca for pilgrimage. The description of overseas customs in the conversation between his father and grandfather made the young Ma Sanbao full of strong curiosity about the outside world. It paved the way for his future ocean voyages. In the winter of 1381 AD, when Zheng He was ten years old, a great disaster befalls the young Ma Sanbao. In this year, the army of the Ming Dynasty invaded Yunnan, which was guarded by the nobles of the Yuan Dynasty, and hit Zheng He's hometown of Kunyang (now Jinning, Yunnan).Little Ma Sanbao was separated from his family during the war, unfortunately he was taken into the Ming camp, and what was even more unfortunate was that he was castrated there and became a eunuch.

A few years later, Ma Sanbao met the noble man in his life—Zhu Yuanzhang's son Zhu Di, the king of Yan. Zhu Di liked this boy very much, so he kept him by his side as a bodyguard.In the "Jingnan Incident", Ma Sanbao followed Zhu Di in the South and North Wars, went through life and death, and made countless contributions. Especially in the battle of Zhengcundian, he took the lead and charged at the risk of death, leaving Zhu Di behind. Very impressed. After Zhu Di proclaimed himself emperor in Nanjing, in order to commend Ma Sanbao for his heroic performance in Zhengcundian (in today's Daxing, Beijing), Yushu Douda gave him a surname with the word "Zheng" and changed his name to "He". He was appointed as the eunuch of the inner palace supervisor, the official reached the fourth rank, and his status was second only to the supervisor of ceremonies.

From then on, Ma Sanbao became the familiar Zheng He. Zheng He not only understands the art of war, has strategies, is brave and good at fighting, but also has excellent diplomatic skills. In the second year of Yongle, Ming Chengzu sent Zheng He to Japan as an envoy. Zheng He led more than 100,000 Louchuan sailors and finally arrived in Dongying after untold hardships. It suppresses bandits on its own, governing with the laws of its own country."The Japanese ruler knew that he was wrong, and immediately ordered the arrest of the leader of the Japanese pirates to ensure that similar situations would not happen again in the future, and formally established diplomatic relations with China and signed a trade treaty.Before that, he had successfully traveled to Siam, which is now Thailand.The experience and experience of engaging in diplomatic activities wrote a beautiful introduction for his future feat of voyages to the West.

In fact, Ming Chengzu had long regarded Zheng He as the first candidate for the "CEO" of the Western Ocean, because when he appointed Zheng He as the eunuch of the inner palace, he assigned him the duties of supervising shipbuilding. one item. During his tenure as the eunuch of the inner palace, Zheng He not only accumulated rich experience in shipbuilding, but also carried out two long-distance sea voyages in the Daming sea area according to Ming Chengzu's intention, increased his navigation knowledge, accumulated navigation experience, and laid a solid foundation for the future. laid the foundation for his voyage to the west.

In the summer of 1405 A.D., Ming Chengzu, who had always been ambitious and eager to be famous all over the world, sent Zheng He, the "Imperial Envoy Chief Eunuch" to lead a huge fleet of more than 27,000 people from Liujiagang (now Liuhe Town, Taicang County, Jiangsu Province) Sail out to sea, sail against the wind, and sail to the remote and mysterious western waters and coastal countries.Relying on his excellent military and diplomatic skills, as well as his profound knowledge of geography and religion, Zheng He successfully completed his missions again and again, and wrote a magnificent and magnificent chapter in the history of Chinese navigation and the history of world navigation. ...