In the fifth month of the first year of the Yongle reign, Zheng He went to Nanjing to oversee the construction of ships and crack down on maritime smuggling. At the time, the court had strictly forbidden seafaring, yet the ban was repeatedly flouted, with smuggling in Yuexiang the worst of all. For profit, Yuexiang colluded with certain officials to secretly sabotage and obstruct the construction of the treasure ships. Through a twist of fate, Ying Hongwen foiled their plot. After uncovering the truth, he joined forces with Zheng He to destroy Yuexiang's vast smuggling network once and for all. In the end, Ying Hongwen worked with the Longjiang Shipyard to build the largest ship in the world at the time, Zheng He's treasure ship, laying a solid foundation for the success of Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas. Those voyages later expanded the Maritime Silk Road's routes across the globe, reaching 39 countries and regions in Asia and Africa and ushering in a new age of oceanic navigation.
