On the other hand, the ostentation and extravagance of Zheng He's voyages to the West was so great that it could not be compared with it even many years after the beginning of the era of great navigation. According to records, during Zheng He's voyage to the West, there were as many as 27,800 soldiers accompanying him, and there were only 62 large ships, of which the largest "treasure ship" was about 150 meters long and 60 meters wide. It is no exaggeration to say that it was the maritime overlord of the world at that time.
Zheng He
Then the question is, why did Judy let Zheng He go to the West? The most important question is, why didn't Ming Empire, which had maritime hegemony at that time, develop into a maritime power? You know, every time Zheng He goes to the Western Ocean, his fleet will make new geographical discoveries and the routes will be extended accordingly. So at that time, there were traces of Zheng He's fleet passing along the coast of Southeast Asia, Indian Ocean and Red Sea. In this case, the Ming Dynasty at this time should follow the trend and develop into a country with sea power. But why didn't it happen in the end?
On this issue, there are generally three opinions: First, Judy sent Zheng He to the Western Ocean to find the whereabouts of his emperor Zhu Yunwen; The second is to pay off Zhang Shicheng's residual strength overseas at the end of Yuan Dynasty. The third is to develop maritime trade.
Of course, the first two statements are very unreliable. Why? First of all, if Judy is only looking for him or repaying the residual strength left by Zhang Shicheng overseas, he doesn't need to spend so much money. And even if he or Zhang Shicheng still exists at this time, it is impossible to pose any threat to Judy, so smart Judy can't spend such a high price to do these things.
Zheng he's voyages
Finally, it lacks credibility. Why?
As we know, during the period of Zhu Yuanzhang, the policy of maritime prohibition was generally exclusive to maritime trade. By Judy's time, people's free trade activities were completely banned. Although Judy relaxed the maritime ban policy and exempted the customs duties on the goods brought in by the tribute trade, he did not fundamentally change the maritime ban. Therefore, in this way, Judy let Zheng He go to the Western Ocean, not for the so-called maritime trade, but for other considerations.
So, what is the consideration?
Zheng he's route map to the west
In the author's opinion, Judy's biggest purpose in letting Zheng He go to the West is to re-establish a new tribute system in as wide a geographical scope as possible, and to explore and appease as many "foreign brothers" as possible according to Confucian norms. You know, after Judy succeeded to the throne, in order to control the whole country and stabilize the northern region, she put forward the slogan of "Huayi Family". This slogan is indeed much better than Zhu Yuanzhang's "integration of China and foreign countries", because "integration of China and foreign countries" avoids the question of who will take the lead, so it sounds more inclusive.
In order to realize this slogan, Judy began to take corresponding actions. Among them, the action at sea was to take advantage of Zheng He's voyage to the West to adopt the policy of Huairou, while on land it was realized by means of personal expedition to Mobei and force. Whether it is softening or being tough, the purpose is the same, which is to rebuild the order of China people and foreigners, to be a real "master of the world" and a real "Tiankhan". So, this is Judy's purpose of letting Zheng He go to the West!