The rise of the poor

Chapter 2166 Let Us Suffocate for Our Dreams (2)

"What? Zheng He's sea charts are still there?! Didn't they say they were burned and lost? Didn't the method of building Zheng He's treasure ship also get lost?!"

When Wang Zhi heard that this world map created by Zhu Ping'an was a combination of documentary materials left by the eunuch Zheng He during his seven voyages to the West, he was so excited that he almost jumped up.

The news he knew, many different versions of the news, all ended up being that all the documents and materials about Zheng He's voyages to the West were destroyed or lost, and even the manufacturing methods and craftsmanship of Zheng He's treasure ships were lost.

Zheng He's voyages to the West left behind only legends, and all the pictures and text materials were lost.

This is Wang Zhi’s understanding.

"Haha, yes, it is generally acknowledged that the documents of Zheng He's voyages have been destroyed. According to historical records, during the Chenghua period, the archives of Zheng He's voyages were stored in the Ministry of War. At that time, the emperor wanted to retrieve the documents of Zheng He's voyages, so he sent eunuchs to the Ministry of War to retrieve them, but they couldn't find them. The eunuchs asked Liu Daxia, the official in charge of the Ministry of War, and Liu Daxia said, 'San Bao's voyages cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians died. What good would it be even if he obtained treasures? Even if the old archives are still there, they should be destroyed. Why are you still asking about it?' Since then, there has been no more documents about Zheng He's voyages, and everyone believes that the relevant information has been destroyed."

Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and told a story.

"Yes, yes, I heard that the nautical charts of Zheng He's voyages were destroyed by an official. But why did you say that the world map you drew was based on the nautical charts of Zheng He's voyages? Doesn't this mean that you are fooling me, Master Zhu? Isn't it?"

Wang Zhi nodded first, then questioned.

"Captain Wang, do you know what position I will hold after I was selected as the top scholar in the Hanlin Academy?" Zhu Ping'an did not answer Wang Zhi's question immediately, but asked Wang Zhi instead.

Wang Zhi shook his head, but he knew that Zhu Ping'an would not speak without a purpose, so he asked, "What is Mr. Zhu's job?"

"I am in charge of the library. This is the royal library. Is there any place with higher-quality documents than this place?"

Zhu Ping'an revealed the answer.

"The Royal Library! Could it be that you, Lord Zhu, have found the lost nautical charts and other materials about Zheng He's voyages to the West here?!"

Wang Zhi stood up excitedly, and the table clanged against the ground with his movements.

The Japanese pirates and Zhejiang Army soldiers at the surrounding tables looked over here and saw that Wang Zhi was just excited and there was no tension, so they continued to eat and drink. They were now used to the sudden surprise at the main table.

"Yes, Liu Daxia did not burn the charts and other graphic materials of Zheng He's voyages to the West, he just hid them. He has a criminal record. Before that, the emperor at that time listened to the eunuchs' instigation and intended to conquer Annan and expand the territory. After hearing this, Liu Daxia hid the military files of Zhang Fu's attack on Annan during the Yongle period in advance. Sure enough, not long after, the emperor summoned Yu Zijun, the then Minister of War, and asked him to retrieve the military files of Zhang Fu's attack on Vietnam that year for reference in his own expedition against Vietnam. As a result, Yu Zijun sent people to check for several days and found that the military files of that year were missing. Without the military files of that year, the emperor gave up the idea of ​​conquering and annexing Annan. Later, Liu Daxia told Yu Zijun about hiding the military files of Zhang Fu's attack on Annan."

Zhu Ping'an took a sip of tea and continued, "Liu Daxia believed that Zheng He's voyages to the West cost a huge amount of money and caused tens of thousands of casualties, but he only obtained some rare treasures, which was of no benefit to the country and the people. Considering the financial constraints of the court at that time, in order to avoid restarting the voyages to the West, he hid the materials of Zheng He's voyages. He also knew that the documents of Zheng He's voyages were very valuable, and he did not want to be a sinner in history, so he just hid them and did not burn them. These documents were hidden by him in a corner of the Hanlin Academy's library and covered up. If I hadn't accidentally discovered this corner in the library, I don't know how long this secret would have been covered up."

"So that's how it is, so that's how it is." Wang Zhi couldn't help but sigh repeatedly after hearing this.

He believed what Zhu Ping'an said.

The time, place, characters and plot that Zhu Ping'an described were all too real and too rich. Besides, it was no secret that Zhu Ping'an worked in the library of the Hanlin Academy. If he wanted to check, he would surely be able to find it out. He could not deceive himself.

The Hanlin Academy Library is the royal library. It is normal to find nautical charts and other materials about Zheng He's voyages to the West in it.

Of course, the most crucial point is that people who are unfamiliar with a field can easily be misled by professionals in related fields.

That’s right, Zhu Ping’an was misleading Wang Zhi.

The nautical charts of Zheng He's voyages to the West were found in the Hanlin Academy Library. These were all fabricated by Zhu Ping'an.

The reason why he fabricated the story that the nautical chart of Zheng He's voyages to the West was found in the library of the Hanlin Academy was to find a suitable reason for drawing the world map himself.

Otherwise, how would a villager who was born and raised here and has never been to sea know what it is like outside the Ming Dynasty, what the ocean is like, and what different parts of the world are like?

That doesn't make sense.

However, this makes sense since we have obtained the nautical charts and related documents from Zheng He's voyages to the West.

That makes so much sense.

The story of Zheng He's voyages to the West has long been known to everyone, and there are countless legends about it. It is no secret that Zheng He visited dozens or even hundreds of countries, and there were dozens of barbarians who came to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute.

Zhu Ping'an obtained the information about Zheng He's voyages to the West, so drawing such a nautical chart was a piece of cake.

In addition, Zhu Ping'an also took advantage of the name of the Factory Guards. The Factory Guards had long been rumored to be very powerful among the people. There was nothing the Factory Guards didn't know, only things they didn't want to know. It was normal for the Factory Guards to investigate the Red-haired Barbarians and other foreign barbarians, and to find out the countries and sea charts behind them from them.

It is normal that the information discovered by the Imperial Guards is stored in the Hanlin Academy's library.

Zhu Ping'an was in charge of the Hanlin Academy's library. It was normal for him to get these materials as he was close to the water.

He was the top scholar in the imperial examination. It was normal for him to obtain this information and integrate it to draw a world map.

Everything makes sense.

"Master Zhu, what do you mean by the Age of Discovery?" Wang Zhi looked at Zhu Ping'an, extremely curious.

You said my dream of opening up the seas to trade is too small, but how big can your Age of Exploration be?!

You can’t just add the word “big” and it will become big!

Wang Zhi was curious but also unwilling to accept it. (End of this chapter)