In 1402, in June of the 4th year of Ming Jianwen, Zhu Di, the King of Yan, invaded Nanjing, emperor Jianwen disappeared, and in July, Zhu Di ascended the throne as emperor, and in the following year, that is, in 1403 AD, he changed his name to Yuan Yongle. The Yongle Dynasty was the most prosperous period of the Ming Dynasty in the past three hundred years, according to the "History of Ming", the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di ''Rui Yi Tong Siyi'' made the Influence of the Ming Dynasty on the surrounding countries reached the highest level during the Yongle period, of which the most well-known and most popular for posterity was the Western Ocean led by the Eunuch Zheng He of the Three Treasures.
After Zhu Di succeeded to the throne, the main direction of attack on the outside world was the north, which was also the most important strategic direction after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di was enfeoffed in Beiping when he was a prince, and for a long time he confronted the steppe peoples outside the Great Wall and guarded the northern frontier of the Ming Dynasty. Of course, there are also troubles in the south, as early as the Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang period, the southeast coast of the Wokou, pirates rampant, intercepting and looting the property of merchants who went to sea, and even armed to go ashore to rob, the small country of Annan also repeatedly attacked the ming Dynasty inland, the south is not peaceful.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang's measures against these hazards were not severe, and for the Wokou and pirates, Zhu Yuanzhang first issued a ban on the sea, and then only allowed the coastal guardhouses and ordinary people to take self-defense actions against the Wokou and others who came ashore. For Annan, Zhu Yuanzhang only "rebuked with a letter", and under Annan's attitude of ignoring it, there was no further military action. For Zhu Yuanzhang, the newly established Ming Dynasty still tried its best to cultivate and recuperate, especially to vigorously restore the ruined economy and people's livelihood in the north.
And although Zhu Di put the main strategic direction in the north, it does not mean that he did not care about the situation in the south, he was usurped the throne, so he had to do better than Zhu Yuanzhang, in order to have some explanation for the people of the world, and he had to attack the grasslands without distraction, nor could he let the troubles on the southeast coast involve energy, and zheng He's voyage to the west that will forever be recorded in the annals of history began in this context.
First: clear the sea frontier, stop the Wokou forces beyond the land, and eliminate the pirates from the sea routes
From the second year of Yongle onwards, the Ming Dynasty's coastal shandong to Fujian and other local health centers were constantly attacked by the Wokou, and after landing ashore, the Wokou burned and plundered, and all kinds of evil deeds were committed, and the lives and property of the coastal people were seriously threatened. In addition to the Wokou, pirates on the southeast coast also cut off the sea passage of friendly exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and Southeast Asian countries, robbed merchants and emissaries from various countries to travel to and from the Ming Dynasty, and privately carried out maritime trade activities.
Zhu Di's strategy for dealing with the Wokou was to restore exchanges with Japan that had been interrupted for more than twenty years, allow the Ashikaga Yoshiman shogunate, which was representing Japan at the time, to send a delegation to pay tribute, trade, and study in the Ming Dynasty, and to send Zheng He to lead a water division to Japan, and while deterring Japan, order Ashikaga Yoshiman to cooperate in the attack on the Wokou:
''Let him suppress himself and rule by the laws of his own country''
In an attempt to eliminate the emergence of the Wokou from the roots, the Ashikaga Yoshiman shogunate, which had been granted permission to communicate and trade with the Ming Dynasty, began to take the initiative to send troops to eliminate the Wokou after signing the "Survey and Trade Treaty" with Zheng He.
With the cooperation of the Japanese authorities, the Wokou no longer had to worry about it, it was nothing more than a matter of time for the liquidation, and as for the pirates, Zheng He, who had been authorized by Zhu Di, was resolutely eliminated. Chen Zuyi, a giant thief in the South China Sea, gathered more than 10,000 troops and swept across the South China Sea, whether it was the merchant ships and official ships of Southeast Asian countries, or the official ships of the Ming Dynasty, he did not land and robbed them:
''He who is very strong, whoever returns to the merchants, robs of his possessions''
After the robbery, there was not even a single living person left, and the coastal countries could not take him, such a giant thief just used it to demonstrate, and also used Chen Zuyi to open a smooth channel for communication with Southeast Asian countries.
In the fifth year of Yongle, on the way back from the Western Ocean for the first time, Zheng He took advantage of Chen Zuyi's psychology of coveting the massive treasures in Zheng He's fleet, accepted Chen Zuyi's fraudulent surrender, surrounded Chen Zuyi's main force with absolute superiority in warships and military strength, killed more than 5,000 pirates under Chen Zuyi's command, burned 10 enemy ships, captured 7 ships, and captured Chen Zuyi. He was then escorted back to the Ming Dynasty, where Zhu Di beheaded Chen Zuyi in front of the emissaries of the countries who had suffered greatly, which not only eliminated the sea passage, but also made the Southeast Asian countries that had no way to do anything about Chen Zuyi sincerely submit.
Second: strike by force, ban pirates under the official command of some countries, and deter Southeast Asian countries from complying with the order established by the Ming Dynasty
King Ariel of Ceylon Hill (present-day Sri Lanka) has long instructed the country's army to pretend to be pirates and wantonly rob other countries of merchant ships and property, and the surrounding countries have always dared to be angry but dare not speak out based on their inferior strength, Zheng He knew this situation when he first went to the West, but it was not as easy as pirates to use force, Zheng He only advised Ariel to give up robbery, but the profit of being a pirate was high, Ariel Ku Nair was not only reluctant to give up, but also because he was worried that Zheng He would intervene on behalf of the Ming Dynasty and prepare to murder Zheng He.
Ariel's behavior was detected by Zheng He, but because the other party was the lord of a country, Zheng He could not attack him without Zhu Di's consent, so he avoided going to other countries, and only after returning to China did he seek Zhu Di's advice and get permission to use force, and when Yongle went to the West for the third time in the seventh year of the seventh year, he once again led the fleet to Ceylon Mountain, and after the persuasion of Ariel Ku Nair was rejected again, and Ariel Ku Nair took the lead in attacking Zheng He's fleet, Zheng He's fleet defeated the other side's army and captured Ariel Ku Nair.
Ariel was brought back to the Ming Dynasty by Zheng He, and for him, Zhu Di did not take the same method as Chen Zuyi, killing Chen Zuyi, all countries agreed, but killing the king of a country may not be able to make all countries recognize, although this king went everywhere to rob other countries. Zhu Di only told Ariel some big truths, and then let him go, but with Zheng He's fleet at any time to destroy the Army of Ceylon Hill, Ariel ku nair did not dare to commit any more crimes, and the sea route around South Asia was opened.
In order to consolidate the deterrent power of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He's fleet was also allowed to interfere in the internal strife of other countries and settle disputes between various countries, at that time, Siam (present-day Thailand) and the surrounding Champa (present-day southern Vietnam), Sumatra (in present-day Indonesia), Andmanga (in present-day Malaysia), the strongest, for a long time to bully the weak, but Champa, Sumatra, And Mansaga (before the Ming Dynasty was under the jurisdiction of Siam) The three kings of the three countries were all ming dynasty canonization, Zhu Di came out and issued a letter of state to warn Siam:
Champa City, SumenTa Thorn, Man Thorn Jia and Er were ordered by the court, and Andrew wei detained his tribute envoys and seized their seals. Heaven has a manifest path, blessings and good deeds, and an annan li thief can be a precept. He was the emissary who returned to the city, and also gave Sumen the thorn and the full thorn to add the seal. From now on, we will follow the law and follow the law, protect the border and be good neighbors, and enjoy the blessings of peace forever.
And let Zheng He on the second voyage to the West, led the fleet to interview Siam, urging the Siamese king to obey the things specified in the Ming Dynasty's state letter, Zheng He's huge fleet came to Siam, obviously with a warning meaning, the Siamese king faced the threat of force of Zheng He's fleet, acknowledged the new order with the surrounding countries to Zheng He, and joined the Ming Dynasty's tributary system, Shi Zai: "In September, the lieutenant Zheng He made his country, and his king sent tributes to the former sin". With the support of the Ming Dynasty, these small countries, which were on the sea routes, were able to achieve peace and stability.
When Zheng He went to the West for the fourth time, the Ming Dynasty's Sumenta King Apidin was being harassed by the "False King" (his brother was the former Sumenta Thorn King, who was killed by Abidin), and because the Ming Dynasty did not recognize his throne and did not receive the reward of the Ming Dynasty, he attacked Zheng He's fleet in anger, and Zheng He fought back:
''And lead the crowd and their soldiers into battle.'' Su Gan stabbed and fled, chased to the country of Muang Bo Li, and his wife was taken prisoner, and was dedicated to the line of action''
。 Zhu Di beheaded Su Gan's thorns, and also Su Men's stabs for peace.
Through zheng he's fleet was violated several times based on the guidelines formulated by the Ming Dynasty, defeating and capturing small countries and kings dissatisfied with the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty's deterrent power against the coastal countries in Southeast Asia was greatly strengthened, the order formulated by The Yongle Emperor Zhu Di was observed by all countries, the envoys and commercial activities of Zheng He's fleet could be carried out smoothly, and there were fewer and fewer troubles from the southeast Asian coast that needed the Ming Dynasty to worry about, indirectly supporting Zhu Di's military operations to conquer the grasslands.
Third: Cooperate with the Battle of Annam launched by The Yongle Emperor Zhu Di to contain Annam from the sea
In the first year of the Founding of the Ming Dynasty, the father and son of Li Jiyan and Li Cang, the ministers of the Annam Dynasty, killed the Ming recognized king Chen Shi and established themselves as kings. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, Li Jiyan, under the pretext of re-establishing the Chen clan as king, lured Zhu Di to send Chen Tianping, the grandson of the Chen clan, who had fled to the Ming Dynasty, and ambushed Zhu Di on the way to send a Ming army to escort Chen Tianping to the south, captured Chen Tianping, and brought him back to China for execution, completely angering the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di.
In July of the fourth year of Yongle, Zhu Di sent Zhu Neng, the Duke of Chengguo, Mu Cheng, the Marquis of Xiping, and Zhang Fu, the Marquis of Xincheng, to lead a large army to attack Annam, but after Zhu Neng's illness died, he changed Zhang Fu to commander. At this time, it happened that Zheng He's fleet was preparing to go to the West for the first time, and when Zhang Fu attacked Annam by land, Zheng He's fleet had been cruising in the sea around Annam and Champa (present-day southern Vietnam, which was not part of Annam at that time), for more than four months, guarding the protected country of Champa, while also holding Annam from the sea, to cooperate with Zhang Fu's attack.
From the above points, it seems that the main strategic purpose of Zheng He's fleet to go to the West (including the lower East to japan) was to solve the invasion that had been suffered along the Ming Dynasty's maritime frontiers, and to open up communication channels between Southeast Asian countries, to incorporate them into the tributary system stipulated by the Ming Dynasty, and to implement the order established by the Ming Dynasty throughout Southeast Asia. The Ming Dynasty's sea defense line was too long, and everywhere it was possible to be attacked by Wokou and pirates, and Zhu Yuanzhang's ban on the sea only prohibited the ming dynasty's internal maritime merchants from opening up to the outside world, but it could not prevent The Ming and pirates from coming ashore.
Zhu Di sent Zheng He to lead a powerful fleet of sailors to open up sea passages, allowing countries to trade with the Ming Dynasty through official channels, prompting the officials of various countries to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty to fight against the Wokou and pirates, and the strong force of Zheng He's fleet also made the countries dare not provoke the Ming Dynasty and were willing to obey the order formulated by the Ming Dynasty, which was actually an active maritime defense strategy.
Allowing countries to pay tribute is to bring reasonable and legitimate benefits to all countries, the armed deterrence of Zheng He's fleet is to remind countries not to be half-hearted, one hand stick and the other hand sweet dates, the surrounding coastal countries in fear and make them ecstatic tribute, take the initiative to prohibit illegal activities against the Ming Dynasty that may occur within the countries, coupled with Zheng He's fleet from time to time along the sea passage patrol, the headache of the Wokou and pirates will naturally disappear, at least in the Yongle years.
And the great troubles along the coast of the entire Ming Dynasty were basically eliminated under the effect of Zheng He's fleet going to the Western Ocean, Zhu Di could also stare at the enemy on the northern grassland that he never forgot, Zhu Di personally conquered the grassland once was a national mobilization, hundreds of thousands of troops went out on the expedition, hundreds of thousands of logistics personnel accompanied the army, such a military operation needed stability in the rear, Zheng He went to the West was to cooperate with the stability that Zhu Di needed, when the entire coastal countries in the East China Sea and the South China Sea obeyed the rules set by Zhu Di and were willing to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty. Where is the reason for instability in the coastal areas?
As for Zheng He's voyage to the West is to labor and hurt the people and money, Xiaobian personally believes that Zheng He's envoys are making money, going out is to send a lot of property everywhere, but back will never be empty boats back, Zhu Di Northern Expedition to the grasslands, southern expeditions to Annam, internal repair canals all need a lot of money, only rely on the Ming Dynasty's taxation may not be able to support the huge expenditure, only Zheng He's fleet can bring him back a certain supplement, Southeast Asian products in the Ming Dynasty is still very marketable and valuable, of course, Zheng He's main mission is to deter countries, Stabilize the sea frontier.