Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

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This place has a strong commercial atmosphere, is close to Luoyang, and is not as strictly regulated as Luoyang.

Compared to before the capital was moved, Kaifeng's population did not decrease significantly.

"Is this the capital of the Ming Dynasty? It is indeed enormous." Anwari seemed to be in a dream.

Cheng Yu smiled and said, "It's the deputy capital, it's Tokyo."

"The capital of the Ming Dynasty was Luoyang, and it was moved there a few years ago."

The envoys from various countries found it hard to understand why a perfectly good megacity would want to move its capital.

For them, this city was already paradise.

Especially after nightfall, the city and its surroundings are brightly lit, and it seems that even the darkness cannot stop people from going out.

Anwari could hardly imagine how much it would cost to light up a single night!

.....

At the grand court assembly, Cheng Yu, along with Yu Yunwen, Hu Quan, Qian Mian, Zhu Xiaozhong, and others, reported to the emperor in front of all the civil and military officials.

Cheng Yu took out the work report and read it aloud:

"During this overseas mission, I exchanged credentials with a total of thirty-two states."

"Among several of these Southeast Asian countries, the delegation did not travel there in person; instead, merchants delivered their credentials and brought the envoys back to Guangzhou to await their arrival..."

"The navigational clock recorded ports, distances, star charts, latitude and longitude, climate, crops, customs, and political systems along the way... It had a design flaw and became extremely inaccurate after a major storm..."

"We brought back more than 40,000 books from various countries, all of which were carefully selected together with local scholars."

"There are especially many medical books, totaling more than 13,000."

"They also brought back twelve foreign doctors, as well as a large quantity of overseas medicinal herbs..."

"We acquired 425 superior horses from various countries."

"37 horses stayed in Ceylon to recuperate due to illness."

"Another 12 horses fell ill and remained in Guangzhou to recuperate."

"Five others died of illness at sea."

"The rest have been transported to the horse farm in the northern suburbs of Kaifeng. When I left there, there were still 16 horses that were sick..."

"Of the Ming cavalry that took their warhorses out to sea, only half returned home alive, either from sickness or death."

"Some of them may not have died, but stayed in Ceylon because they got sick."

"The mission earned a lot of gold and silver through trade, but the exact amount is currently impossible to determine."

"Because many of these goods were used to exchange for books, scholars, doctors, and horses."

"Not all of the goods from foreign lands that were transported back to China have been sold yet."

"There's also some gold and silver treasure, which was looted from foreign lands..."

"Leaving aside books, scholars, doctors, and horse breeds, and subtracting the salaries of all personnel and the expenses incurred in traveling, the officials of the Maritime Trade Office have already provided a rough estimate."

"The profit from this voyage will be over 100 million taels of silver."

"This is just a conservative estimate; the actual figure may be higher after all the goods are sold."

"In addition, envoys from various countries brought many tributes."

"Actually, it was a return gift after we gave the gift, but it wasn't included in the profit calculation."

"This is also a great fortune. Some kings even gave slaves in return, so it's really hard to calculate its value."

"There are also three Buddhist treasures from Ceylon, the value of which cannot be calculated."

"Five soldiers died in battle during this voyage."

"Eighteen sailors went missing in the storm, one sailor broke his back and became disabled, and two sailors died in the storm while handling the sails."

"An official, two clerks, and six soldiers also died of illness."

"Eight others were seriously ill and stayed in several countries along the way to recuperate. The rulers of those countries promised to take good care of them."

"During this voyage, several warships were damaged due to storms."

"One of them was severely damaged and could not be repaired in a short time, so it was sold cheaply to an Indian merchant, who then used it to purchase Indian ships to replace it."

After hearing the work report, all the civil and military officials showed expressions of surprise.

The conservative estimate of net profit exceeded 100 million taels of silver, not even counting the return gifts from various countries, or the books, horses, scholars, Buddhist treasures, slaves, and the like.

This is pure profit!

Zhao Yuan asked, "The cost of building the ships wasn't factored in, was it?"

Cheng Yu replied, "The cost of shipbuilding was not calculated; only the cost of repairing the ship during voyages was calculated."

"Almost every boat underwent major repairs on the round trip, and these repairs cost a considerable sum of money."

Chapter 3666 Compensation

Zhao Yuan gave the order:

"All the deceased will receive generous compensation."

"The disabled sailor shall be ordered to receive a monthly allowance from the local government, based on the salary of a first-class official in his place of residence."

"The payments will be made continuously for twenty years without any delays; otherwise, severe penalties will be imposed."

"We don't give him the money all at once because we're afraid that if he becomes disabled, others will covet it."

"For those who are stranded in other countries due to illness, their families may continue to receive their salaries as usual until they are brought back to their home country."

"If it is confirmed that the person died of illness abroad, a separate pension will be issued."

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

Chen Dong and Zhang Guangdao stepped forward: "As you command!"

Zhao Yuan asked, "Who is willing to go to Ceylon to serve as governor?"

"Officials of the fourth rank or above can volunteer themselves. As long as they go, they will be promoted immediately and can return to the country to report on their duties a few years later."

There was silence.

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

Cheng Yu stepped forward and addressed the ministers, saying, "The Ceylon port we've captured has a temperature roughly the same as early summer in Luoyang."

"Although there are occasional hot days, they are never much hotter than the height of summer in Luoyang."

"There are no four seasons there, only a dry season and a rainy season."

"The dry season is cool and pleasant, while the rainy season is slightly damp."

"The islanders are skilled in water conservancy, adept at farming, and abundant in produce."

"The people there all practice Buddhism."

Is Luoyang like early summer all year round?

Are the islanders skilled in farming and have abundant produce?

And they believe in Buddhism?

This isn't being exiled to a deserted island, it's a paid vacation!

While everyone was still debating the veracity of the information, an official stepped forward and declared, "I am willing to go to sea and become the Governor-General of Ceylon!"

However, it was Cheng Yu's cousin, Cheng Kejun. Knowing that his elder brother would not lie, he was the first to step forward and recommend himself.

Moreover, this guy was promoted to the fourth rank last year, which just meets the requirements for going to sea as a governor, so the benefits of the promotion can be maximized.

Zhao Yuan nodded and smiled: "Okay, you're the one."

Seeing that the governor-general had been chosen, many fourth-rank officials were filled with regret, wondering why they hadn't thought to rush to snatch him away.

Seeing his cousin appointed governor, Cheng Yu smiled and continued, "Your Majesty, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, many temples and monasteries have been destroyed."

“Sometimes, many eminent monks would be crammed into one temple, and thirty eminent monks could be sent to Ceylon to spread Buddhism.”

"Oh? What's the situation with Buddhism there?" Zhao Yuan asked.

Cheng Yu explained in detail: "Decades ago, when Ceylon seceded from Chola and became independent, there were fewer than ten pure monks left on the entire island, and many Buddhist scriptures had been destroyed by the Brahmins."

"The first two kings invited eminent monks and Buddhist scriptures from Bagan (Myanmar) to promote Buddhism."

"Most of the well-known monks in Ceylon today are from Bagan, and they follow Theravada Buddhism."

A pure monk is a monk who wears robes, observes the precepts, and protects the Dharma.

Although Sri Lanka has a large Buddhist population, during the Chola dynasty, many monks converted to Brahmanism.

"Very few monks can still strictly abide by the precepts, and they all end up in a rather miserable state. After the restoration of the country, they even had to go to Burma to learn from the scriptures."

Zhao Yuan inquired about the situation in Ceylon at length, and finally gave the order:

"The Ministry of Buddhist Registry is hereby ordered to select ten eminent monks from across the country, each accompanied by twenty disciples, to travel to Ceylon to spread Buddhism."

"Tell them that Ceylon is the Lion Kingdom mentioned in Buddhist scriptures."

"Furthermore, each of the major Buddhist sects in the Ming Dynasty must elect a representative."

"The Ministry of Rites carved the golden seal of the King of Ceylon, in preparation for the formal investiture of the King of Ceylon."

"Five additional silver seals were engraved to bestow titles upon the five Mahakasyapas."

"Four of them, Mahakasyapa, were appointed as high-ranking monks of Ceylon within the territories of the island's rulers."

"The remaining one, Mahakasyapa, will be appointed as a high-ranking monk who came from the Ming Dynasty."

"A highly respected monk of the Ming Dynasty, who resided for a long time in the territory under the rule of the King of Ceylon."

"After we have a clear understanding of the situation and have recruited many disciples, we will go to the territories of the island's lords to preach."

When asked about scholars and books, Zhao Yuan continued to announce:

"All scholars from various countries who are willing to reside in the Ming Dynasty, especially renowned scholars from the Seljuks and the Abbasid Caliphate, will be granted an official position in the Hanlin Academy by the Ministry of Rites."

"We selected a group of Hanlin Academy officials and medical officers, and another group of Imperial Academy students and medical students, to work with scholars from various countries to translate tens of thousands of volumes of books brought back from overseas."

"Translation complete, verification required."

"Especially overseas medical books, many contain superstitious and fantastical elements."

"Remove the errors, retain the essence of medicine from various countries, and finally compile a comprehensive medical encyclopedia that integrates Chinese and foreign medical knowledge."

"For matters involving other disciplines, rigorous argumentation and experimentation should also be conducted."

"I've heard of another kind of logic, the dialectics of pre-Qin China, and the logic of Indian tradition, both of which actually have elements of logic."

"But unlike logic, this discipline can also be studied in depth."

Chapter 3667 The Book of Optics

"Cheng Yu just said that he also brought back a copy of 'The Book of Optics' from the Green Clothed Abbasid Caliphate."

“This book can also be studied seriously. It can be used to verify the optics of our Great Ming Dynasty, and after taking the best from each other, it can be published as a book.”

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Yuan instructed that the horses be well cared for and that the fine steeds from various countries be crossbred and bred.

He also had the newly appointed scholars, who were on their internships, copy Hu Quan's records from various countries.

Apart from the key information that is helpful for navigation, everything else, such as local customs and overseas experiences, can be copied down and compiled into a booklet.

Zhao Yuan even planned to have the Hanlin Academy, in conjunction with envoys and scholars from various countries, compile a book called "One Thousand and One Nights".

The stories in the book are drawn from all over the world, from Egypt and Seljuk in the west to Srivijaya and Java in the east.

Any bizarre legends or folk tales can be included.

Even if we don't say anything about encouraging citizens to go overseas, at least it can broaden their horizons.

If this book becomes a bestseller, it will let officials, commoners, and scholars of the Ming Dynasty know that there are countless interesting countries and stories overseas.

Don't be complacent and stuck in your ways!

When the court session ended, Zhao Yuan kept Hu Anguo behind and told him about his thoughts on "One Thousand and One Nights".