Zheng Yuan was the eldest son of the distant branch of Quanzhou's "Nanwai Zongzhengsi" (the organization that manages royal family members), but he became a "shipper" (sailor) due to his family's downfall. He is proficient in Champa language and Dashi language (Arabic), and he is also good at "gazing at the stars and identifying the sea" - he can find the channel in the vast sea through the starboard (ancient navigation tool for measuring latitude).
One day, he went to Champa (today's Vietnam) with a merchant ship and was robbed by the pirate "Jin Ya Lao". The other party actually had a "God's Arm Bow" made in the Song Dynasty - apparently someone was smuggling arms. Zheng Yuan took advantage of the chaos to rescue the Champa prince, and learned that behind "Golden Tooth Lao" was Pu Shougeng's deputy, intending to monopolize the Champa spice trade.
After returning to Quanzhou, he pretended to be a "special envoy to occupy the city" and infiltrated the Shipping Department in the name of "tribute spices". He discovered that Pu Shougeng was secretly funding the pirates so that he could monopolize overseas trade when the imperial court implemented the "sea ban." Zheng Yuan joined forces with Quanzhou fishermen and Arab businessmen to form a "convoy": fishing boats were converted into "fishing boats" and equipped with improved "shooting poles" (ancient naval warfare weapons that can ram enemy ships), and they repelled pirates many times.
In the end, he publicly presented evidence of arms smuggling by Shanghai bandits at the "Wind Praying Ceremony" hosted by Song Xiaozong. Pu Shougeng was dismissed from office, and the imperial court resumed its functions as "Shishi Ship Division". Zheng Yuan did not become an official, but wrote "Annals of the Nations in the South China Sea", which recorded routes, products, and customs. He also left behind the famous saying that "the sea is the gateway to the world and is not the private property of one family", which became an enlightenment book for later generations of navigators.
