The crowded pier instantly left a large emptiness.
On a hot day, just standing under the sun for a while is like stuffing a person into an oven.
The floor paved with bricks and stones was already hot from the sun, and the leather boots seemed to be heated by charcoal fire, constantly tormenting the feet, and the fingertips were covered with sweat in a moment.
At this time, even Dong Ren and others who had been disdainful just now were sweating profusely, and their close-fitting clothes were completely soaked, reflecting in their official robes.
Standing on the deck until now is really torture.
"Hey, that dragon flag?"
Jinbao looked up and saw the dragon flag fluttering in the wind, which was particularly eye-catching.
The five-clawed golden dragon chases the yellow sun, with its tail curling around the white moon. How majestic it is.
The most important thing is the five-clawed golden dragon.
Today, this is a symbol of imperial power.
"Don't worry, Governor, this is not an overstep."
Dong Ren hurriedly explained: "This flag was given by His Majesty. What is the national flag? It symbolizes a country."
"The red background just shows my emperor's virtue of bright fire?"
After hearing the emperor's gift, Jinbao's expression straightened, he looked at it carefully and kept nodding: "The five-clawed golden dragon is naturally the Holy Emperor."
"Yellow sun, white moon, the sun and the moon are opposite each other, it is a clear word."
"Wonderful."
Dong Ren nodded and said: "What the Governor said is true, not bad at all."
"There is nothing more eye-catching than this national flag to declare power overseas. Who wouldn't know it is my Ming Dynasty when they see it?"
"Then I, Luzon, can also hang it?"
"Of course." Dong Ren said seriously: "The governor can hang in Luzon under the control of others and distinguish between internal and external affairs."
"Okay." Jinbao clapped his hands and said happily: "It's great to see this national flag."
After saying this, Jin Bao noticed the blazing heat of the sun and hurriedly said:
"The dock is not a place for conversation. I have prepared a banquet at the Governor's Mansion. Please—"
Jin Bao made the invitation considerately, smiled in his heart, and everyone in the delegation nodded.
The group walked dozens of steps and saw a row of gorgeous carriages, coming up in small groups.
This carriage is slightly different from the mainland. The windows are larger, and what hangs down is just gauze, which is slightly hazy.
Some of the remaining minor officials stayed on the ship, while others bought supplies. There were only four or five people following, which made it seem quite spacious.
However, not long after Dong Ren stepped into the carriage, he felt that he had made a miscalculation.
Good guy, it was an oven just now, but now it has become a steamer.
Seeing that he was sweating like rain, Jin Bao shook his head and said with a smile: "Mr. Dong, Luzon is not as good as the mainland, you'd better take off the shirt underneath!"
"I changed to linen in Fujian. I never thought it would still be so hot."
Dong Ren smiled bitterly.
The so-called linen refers to linen clothing, which is worn daily by ordinary people. It is breathable and sweat-dispersing, so it is the best choice for work.
"Are you still wearing linen? I'm wearing nothing but shorts."
Jin Bao said softly: "To say something disrespectful, if I had to see you, I really wouldn't wear this official robe."
"It's so hot in Luzon that it's hard to withstand anything other than silk and georgette clothes."
As he said that, he opened his clothes and exposed the skin underneath.
Dong Ren had no choice but to say: "The sea is very windy and it gets cold suddenly at night, so I wear two or three layers."
Jin Bao shook his head and said nothing.
In Luzon, the most suitable thing is silk, and it must be a single piece. Another piece will be a burden.
But silk was expensive and could only be worn by high-ranking officials. Ordinary gentry wore gebu, while ordinary people wore linen. The poorer ones were shirtless.
You can only starve to death, not freeze to death.
After a while, the group arrived at the Governor's Mansion.
The mission staff immediately changed out of their underwear, which made them feel a little cooler.
By the time the shaved ice was served, the heat had almost dissipated.
The first thing that came on the table was not dessert, but some bananas, watermelon and other fruits.
It is cut into pieces and inserted with bamboo skewers, which is quite convenient.
Jinbao explained: "The Luzon fruit not only quenches thirst, but is also very sweet. Please——"
Dong Ren, Han Mi and Fan Zheng picked up the bamboo sticks and started eating.
"The yellow and tender ones are mangoes, and the white and tender ones are bananas. They are both sweet and delicious."
Jinbao also changed into his official robe at this time, first making an improved satin robe, wearing wooden clogs, holding a paper fan in his hand, shaking the jade pendant, feeling relaxed and at ease.
The chief envoys, envoys, academic envoys, and navy admirals are all dressed in this way, but the colors, styles and patterns of their clothes are different.
"Try this, coconut milk."
As he spoke, Jin Bao picked up a large piece of bamboo tube and poured it for the three of them himself, revealing the pale white coconut juice.
The three of them took a sip. The taste was inexplicable, but it was just a cool drink to relieve the heat.
Dong Ren breathed a sigh of relief: "Governor Jin, you have taught me a lesson today."
“When in town, do as the Romans do!”
"Mr. Dong, what are you talking about?" Jin Bao said hurriedly: "How am I qualified to teach you!"
"But it's true that when you are in town, do as the Romans do."
Jin Bao smiled and said: "It has been nearly a hundred years since the Western Barbarians established the so-called Philippine Governor's Palace in Luzon. I don't know how many Western Barbarians are in the territory."
"Most of the Western Yi and Fan people believe in Catholicism."
"Therefore, by habit, I have always respected the Catholic Church and always put the Bible on my bookcase."
"I respect the Catholic Church, and it should be reciprocated. It is cautious and prudent. Buddhas and Taoists come in droves, but it is stable. There are no disputes like in the country."
"I heard that in Europe, Catholics and Protestants are constantly arguing and fighting, and they are so noisy just because of something about a god."
Dong Ren shook his head, with a puzzled look on his face: "If you ask me, if there are frequent wars and the people are suffering from disasters, there is a shortage of a bright and holy emperor."
"If this is the case, wouldn't the land be unstable?"
"That's true." Jin Bao nodded in agreement: "Unfortunately, in the Ming Dynasty, the emperor is the emperor, but in Europe, Jesus is considered the emperor, that is, the son of God."
"There are no two days in the sky, and there are no two masters in the country. This Jesus is really in the way." Fan Zheng interrupted, with disdain on his face.
"It's time for me to show my Confucianism as a saint and educate these barbarians."
"I can only perform it in Luzon, so I leave such an important task to you."
Jin Bao said in a deep voice.
Catholicism is crazy about spreading its faith, and Confucianism is also keen on civilizing barbarians, that is, turning barbarians into summer.
Catholicism pursues heaven, and Confucianism pursues sainthood. Both have lofty but unattainable goals.
Universities were founded by Catholics, while Confucians founded private schools in China.
And both have strong political desires.
The Catholic leader is the Pope, and Confucianism is the Confucian school, both of which have been passed down for thousands of years.
Both are extremely exclusive. Catholicism kills Hepingism and Protestantism in an endless chain; Confucianism first deposed hundreds of schools of thought, then suppressed Buddhism and Taoism, canonized gods, and completely became feudal orthodoxy.
Even if the Catholics came to Ming Dynasty, they would still have to imitate Laozi and give themselves the name of God.
At the same time, both of them took the route of the middle and lower classes at the beginning. By the time the rulers reacted, it was already too late and they had no choice but to cooperate.
A typical example is the Roman Empire which established Christianity as the state religion.
Correspondingly, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty dismissed hundreds of schools of thought and only respected Confucianism.
Each has a landmark event.
It’s no wonder that Confucianism is considered Confucianism, as it is so similar to Catholicism.
"Although he is weak, he does his best."
Dong Ren said in a deep voice.
Although this task is somewhat impossible, you have to try it.
When talking about culture and education, naturally we have to talk about Luzon.
Xuezheng said: "Nowadays, all boy examinations are held in Luzon, and there are about 160 places."
"Last year, a famous 20-year-old scholar took the provincial examination in Shuntian Prefecture and became a civil servant. This was the beginning of the great achievements of Lu Song's education."
Dong Ren praised: "The Governor is so good at educating the people!"
"Ashamed." Jin Bao pretended to be reserved and said, "We have been governing Luzon for several years, and now we have achieved something."
In this way, the atmosphere became more and more harmonious.
At this time, in the cabin, dozens of people, men, women, and children, lived in a slightly spacious room, and they all looked confused.
Suddenly, several sailors carried buckets of ice cubes and brought them in, bringing coolness to the hot and humid room.
At the same time, a large amount of fruit was also delivered, and the sweet smell filled the whole room.
Zhu Cixi opened his eyes and distributed the fruit to his young son and grandson first, and then to the adults.
The cool ice cubes exuded air-conditioning, and the heat wave was quickly driven away in the narrow space.
"Dad, where are we going?"
The eldest son suddenly asked, and Zhu Cihong was stunned: "I don't know."
"But you can finally survive, so don't talk too much."
"It's quite nice here in Luzon." The eldest son muttered, "It's far away from the mainland, and it's also very prosperous."
"You've already gone overseas, do you really want to go to Europe?"
The second son curled his lips and said: "It's hard for the Western Yi people to keep their ambitions. We can't go to Europe."
"I guess we might find a desert island halfway and put our family down there."
Zhu Cixiang was silent, this is human nature!
How could Emperor Shaowu put a clue into the hands of those Western Yi people?
Moreover, since we can go to Europe, we can naturally return to the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, it is the best outcome to put the whole family on a desert island to fend for themselves.
They were a family of twelve, divided into four rooms, and then locked them with fences, preventing the second brother Ding Wang and the third brother Yong Wang from communicating with each other.
The narrow cabin has only one small window for ventilation.
From it you can see the bustling docks.
Zhu Cihong thought to himself that Luzon was far enough away, and it was also very prosperous. It was really a good place.
Unfortunately, this is not a place for their family to stay.
Even though they were ignorant, they knew from the communiqués during the Ming Dynasty that Luzon was a governor-general's residence set up by the imperial court and belonged to the country.
He looked around and saw several grandchildren lying at the window, their little faces constantly looking around, full of curiosity.
Through the gap, he could also see the bustle of the dock.
Although this place is nice, it is not a place for them to live.
The entire mission stayed in Luzon for nearly three days, replenished a large amount of fruits and supplies, and left with a full load.
Although it was a large ship with three thousand materials, Jinbao was very polite and directly ordered several thousand-material warships to escort it.
Going south from Luzon is Borneo, where the Wenlai Sultanate is located. It occupies about one-third of the northeastern part of the world's third largest island.
Sarawak and Sabah were both from Wen at this time, especially the Spanish expedition to Borneo, which caused heavy losses, but they survived in the end, and it was far from being as bad as it would be in later generations.
"Wen Lai is also known as Fan Ni. During the Yongle period, its king personally went to Nanjing to pay tribute, and the tributes continued."
Dong Ren stood on the bow of the second floor, holding a telescope in his hand and looking into the distance.
On the sea not far away, sailing ships were basically avoiding and not daring to provoke such a huge fleet.
Once any ship reaches the sea, it will become part of the pirate community.
Although it has a mission, Dong Ren really doesn't mind making some extra money, after all, it's too far away from the Ming Dynasty.
But at this moment, his mind was focused on Wen Lai, who was about to land.
"Now we are also paying tribute."
Dong Ren put down his telescope, and the hem of his clothes was blown by the sea breeze.
"I know." Fan Zheng squinted his eyes and said seriously: "At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Huang Senping, a Fujianese, had made great contributions in suppressing Japanese pirates. Therefore, Taizu gave him the name Senping, and his descendants guarded it in Wenlai."
"Han Cheng is called the general soldier, Wen Lai is called the king——"
Huang Senping led his family to open up wasteland and establish businesses in Borneo, and appeased and guarded the Han people. Therefore, he was called a king by the Wenlai people, but he was actually a prince.
At that time, in the northeastern part of Borneo, the Western King of the Sulu Kingdom was entrenched and constantly attacked Wen Lai. The Huang family led the Han people to help stabilize the situation.
So he married the Sultan's daughter and married his sister to the Sultan's younger brother, Prince Ahmed.
Later, Huang Senping helped his sister-in-law inherit the throne and became Wenlai's second sultan.
Huang Senping's sister and the second Sultan Ahmed had no sons, only one daughter.
She married Sharif Ali, a descendant of the Prophet, and his descendants were the successive sultans of Wenlai.
To a certain extent, the Sudan family has the blood of the Huang family.
As a result, in the Wenlai Kingdom, the Huang family served as the head of the Han people for generations, assisting in government affairs.
This is also the reason why there are more Chinese people in Wenlai.
There is some connection with the Ming Dynasty, but not much.
"Is Xuanwei overseas?" Han Mi suddenly came over.
"Our trip this time is indistinguishable from the Three Treasures Eunuchs of the past."
Dong Ren suddenly smiled.
It is said that Zheng He's voyage to the West was in search of Emperor Jianwen, but they really carried the Zhu family with them.
"Wen Lai has been bullied so much, it's time for us to show up."
Fan Zheng raised his head and said: "The emperor's power is so powerful that the world is so powerful, how dare He Yi to be so presumptuous?"
Han Mi shook his head slightly and chuckled: "That's not necessary. A country like Wenlai is weak and helpless, and there are still some Han people."
"Isn't this a good place to establish a vassal state?"
As soon as these words came out, Dong Ren and Fan Zheng were shocked. They looked at each other and felt that it was very possible.
Not to mention that Han Mi was born in a thousand households of Jinyiwei and knew a lot about the emperor.
Not to mention, Wenlai is so close to Luzon and Qi, the location is good, and there are Han people to help, which is really wonderful.
"Is this really happening?" Dong Ren asked.
"We are inseparable from each other." Han Mi said seriously: "To divide the country into vassal states, Nanyang is the most suitable place."
"In Borneo, which is so big, it is very easy to entrust three or four vassal states. It can save a lot of trouble."
Fan Zheng nodded in agreement: "Your Majesty's disciples are getting older, and if you don't seal the country at home, you can only join the country overseas."
Dong Ren sighed and said: "Annan is the Qin State, and Burma is the Sun Family. These vassal states cannot escape."
"Then let's go to Wenlai to find out the truth for the court."