Cardinal Mazarin was appointed Prime Minister of France again.
When this news reached the diplomatic corps, the Chinese officials felt it was outrageous. A guy who had caused two noble rebellions and inspired two people to revolt was actually fine. He was reinstated as soon as the rebellion was put down.
Taking a river boat to Paris, the mission heard a lot of discussions on the way.
The traditional nobles and common people hated Mazarin deeply. Officials and businessmen celebrated him. As long as Mazarin continued to be prime minister, they could make money without any scruples.
"This city is called Rouen, where France's Joan of Arc was burned to death." Charles pointed to the city by the river.
"Saint?" Zhang Ruifeng subconsciously thought of the White Lotus Sect.
Charles then began to tell the story of Joan of Arc, which made everyone sigh and regard Joan of Arc as a "French female queen".
Prince Charles continued: "From Port Grace by the sea, along the Seine River to Paris, all the cities passed along the way are the most prosperous and prosperous Rouen. It was once the capital of the Principality of Normandy and has always been the focus of competition between Britain and France.
Not only was Joan of Arc burned to death here, but a Rouen priest also announced the excommunication of the British king. Jews accounted for more than one-fifth of the entire city's population. Although they were expelled many times, the Jews grew stronger and stronger.
Come more and more. I like Rouen because it’s a badass city and there’s a lot of fun in the neighborhoods.”
The ship docked at the river port, and the main envoys did not get off the ship. They only sent people to purchase food and drinks.
Pan Wei and Cai Yuncheng, along with several civil and military officials, went to the city to inquire about various information. The military attachés observed the city's defense system, while the civilian officials learned about the local customs and inquired about the special products and prices here.
The navy and half of the guards remained at the harbor, and only five hundred guards followed to Paris.
A large group of Chinese landed ashore, causing an instant sensation in the city of Rouen, with citizens rushing to watch.
Cai Yuncheng asked: "Your Highness, which industry is the most prominent in this city?"
"Wool spinning," Charles explained, "every year a large amount of wool is shipped from England and Spain and spun into various woolen materials in Rouen. The grain produced in France is gathered in Rouen and shipped to the seaport for England."
In Europe at this time, French industry was far stronger than that of Britain, and France was also stronger in the woolen textile industry.
Everyone entered a tavern, and the customers inside suddenly stopped talking and turned to look at them in surprise.
Some people even came over to chat: "Are you from India?"
When Prince Charles was about to correct him, Cai Yuncheng secretly kicked him. So everyone remained silent and pretended not to understand French.
The conversationalist was very disappointed and sat back to continue drinking."
"These people must be from India!"
"No, it's from China. I heard someone said that the Emperor of China sent an envoy to visit His Majesty the King."
"Your Majesty the King? Hey, you should pay a visit to the Queen Mother. I don't know if the Queen Mother is free. She might even be lying on the Prime Minister's bed."
"When the king comes of age, he will definitely execute the prime minister."
"That's possible..."
The mission asked several French translators, who at this moment translated in a low voice into Latin, and the Latin translator translated into Chinese...
Pan Wei and Cai Yuncheng looked at each other in shock.
Could it be that the Queen Mother of France really had an affair with the Prime Minister of France?
This kind of rumor had already spread throughout France before the popular uprising in Paris.
After listening in the tavern for a while, everyone headed to the industrial area. There are a large number of wool textile workshops here. In addition, wine making, pottery making, leather making and other industries are also very prosperous.
Of course, there are many red light districts.
After wandering around for a long time, Rouen felt to Cai Yuncheng like a large county in southern China.
It is densely populated and has developed industry and commerce, but its disadvantage is poor sanitary conditions.
There is only a rudimentary drainage system here, and domestic sewage is basically poured into the Seine River. What's even more frightening is that occasionally you can see feces and urine on the street, which are poured from the second floor - residents facing the street defecate in wooden barrels at night, and in the morning
Get up and fall directly into the street.
Pan Wei asked Charles: "Your Highness, is this the same in Paris? Are there no farmers to collect excrement?"
"Isn't this the case in China?" Charles asked.
Pan Wei could only explain: "In China's big cities, farmers go from house to house every morning to collect filth. Residents in the city put their filth in buckets and sell it all to farmers to take away."
Charles was even more puzzled: "Farmers are not fools, so why would they buy useless excrement and urine?"
"Well, you'll know that when you go to China," Pan Wei didn't bother to explain. He turned to Cai Yuncheng and said in Chinese, "It seems that the so-called European powers are nothing more than that. Even the big cities are covered in shit."
Cai Yuncheng said: "The farmers here don't seem to know how to use excrement and urine to fertilize."
The feces and urine in various cities in China are hot commodities, and ordinary farmers cannot receive them at all. To divide areas based on neighborhoods and cross the boundaries to grab other people's predetermined feces is purely an act of looking for a fight.
Two days later, the mission arrived in Paris.
The Queen Mother Anne, the Queen Regent, put on her gorgeous brocade costume and eagerly awaited the arrival of the Chinese envoys at the Louvre.
Louis XIV, who had just turned fifteen, was also looking forward to this meeting. He had heard too many stories about China and yearned for that distant eastern country.
Historically, the Chinese wind spread violently throughout Europe, and it was Louis XIV who brought it about.
This French king was obsessed with China to the extreme.
He even built a "Porcelain House" for his favorite mistress in the Louvre Museum. Its shape imitated the high tower of Baoen Temple in Nanjing. Although the "Porcelain House" was only one storey high, the exterior coatings were all colored glazes.
(Ceramics cannot be made, only a layer of colored glaze paint can be painted). The house is covered with ceramic tiles (actually painted pottery tiles), blue and white porcelain vases are placed everywhere, the furniture is all Chinese style, and lacquerware must be used, and the bed is covered with
Embroidered drapery imported from China.
The emergence of this "porcelain house" amazed the nobles and businessmen throughout France.
As a result, Chinese-style architecture, furniture and decoration quickly spread in France and then to other European countries.
But Europeans feel that Chinese-style architecture has flaws, especially interior design. Europeans believe that Chinese interior design lacks integrity and the decorations are messy and disorderly. Therefore, the porcelain house built by Louis XIV for his mistress tried to avoid the "Chinese-style"
"Defects", even the blue and white porcelain bottles must be arranged neatly and symmetrically, which is simply good news for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder...
A pagoda-shaped porcelain house with colorful glazed exterior, covered interior with colored pottery tiles, neatly arranged vases, and a large bed with curtains inside... Why does it feel a bit like a tomb?
Although the aesthetics are more underworld, the legend is even more outrageous.
At that time, someone also wrote a novel and published it. The author expressed his fantasy about the porcelain house. He described Louis XIV's mistress as a Chinese princess. The original words were "the undisputed most beautiful and proudest princess in the world."
There is also a description in the novel. Louis XIV dug a canal in the Palace of Versailles, took the Chinese princess on a boat trip, and asked: "What do you think of this luxurious territory?"
The Chinese princess replied: "In the Chinese Empire, wealth is just an ordinary thing. Therefore, my father always preferred simple and clean houses to such magnificent palaces."
Louis XIV smiled slightly, jumped to the river bank, and knocked the ground three times with his scepter. As the scepter hit the ground, a porcelain castle appeared in the garden. The Chinese princess was overjoyed when she saw the porcelain house, and she stayed in France and became Louis XIV's wife.
lover……
At this moment, Louis XIV has not yet met his "Chinese Princess".
This guy is wearing a pair of high heels and a pair of stockings on his legs. The stockings may not be accurate, they should be called woolen tights. The high heels are paired with tight stockings. Hundreds of years later, the proper women's clothing boss is now a European aristocrat.
Our normal attire.
He wore a gorgeous robe on his upper body, which reached to the ground and trailed behind his buttocks.
In order to facilitate walking and show off the beautiful legs, one side of the robe was lifted up and placed on the shoulders like a quilt. The lining and surface of the robe were actually Yun brocade bought from China.
"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother asks you if you are ready?" A maid knocked on the door.
Louis XIV looked at himself in the mirror and said in a tone of great anticipation: "I'm ready. Is the Chinese envoy coming?"
The maid replied: "I heard that we have disembarked."
"Very good!"
Louis XIV pushed the door open and ran happily with his scepter in hand. After running a few steps, he felt that he should be reserved and show his majesty, so he stopped to adjust his robe, walked slowly on high heels, and showed off his legs in a pair of pantyhose
part curve.
River port.
French Prime Minister Mazarin personally brought people to greet him, and the musketeer d'Artagnan was also there.
Mazarin saluted with incomparable grace and said with a kind smile: "Welcome distinguished Chinese guests to Paris."
The notorious Mazarin was indeed tolerant and kind, and he was not pretending. He was always humble in words and deeds, and always kind to others. Even when facing civilians, he was not arrogant, let alone angry. If you offended him, you would
If you cannot threaten his status, he will most likely forgive your sins with a smile.
The outside world's evaluation of him is: "He is easy to forgive the mistakes of his enemies, but he is also easy to forget to give benefits to his own people."
This guy is extremely stingy with his subordinates and officials, and never gives them a dime.
Overtly and covertly, he was greedy to the point of death and left behind a fortune of 200 million livres after his death, which was equivalent to two years of France's total tax revenue and equivalent to six and a half years of the French royal family's income...all of which were confiscated by Louis XIV.
French version of Heshen!
"Bang bang bang!"
The salute sounded, and the musketeers also fired blank guns into the sky.
Then the band started playing music, and several carriages more luxurious than those of the Portuguese royal family stopped in the open space by the river.
The palace guards unrolled the rolled carpet and stretched it from the pier to the carriage. The distinguished Chinese guests did not have to step on the dirty ground, they could step on the carpet all the way to the carriage.
The luxury of the Portuguese royal family pales in comparison to the French royal family.
