Sanbao's face is still filled with his iconic smile, but today, his smile is even stronger.
After floating in the ocean for so long, and now setting foot on his homeland again, you can imagine how excited he felt.
After not seeing him for more than two years, his fair face had turned dark, and his skin had become much rougher due to being blown by the sea wind and exposed to the sun for a long time.
Looking at the Three Treasures like this, Zhu Di felt a sense of apology in his heart.
"My humble minister Zheng He, long live my emperor, and my queen, a thousand lives...!"
"No courtesy." Before the three treasures could bow down, Zhu Di helped him up and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
Xu Miaoyun smiled and said, "Stop standing here and go to the palace to chat."
"Yes, yes, we haven't seen each other for more than two years. Today we, the emperor and his ministers, must have a good drink." Zhu Di laughed heartily.
Sanbao went to Prince Yan's Mansion when he was ten years old. After spending so long with him, he was like a family member. Zhu Di had always been close to and trusted him.
"Your Majesty, I have something urgent to do." Sanbao explained, "Foreign envoys admire our Chinese culture and came to the Ming Dynasty with the treasure ship. I rushed back first to report to the Emperor and to receive the matter."
Sanbao smiled and said, "This harvest has been quite fruitful. In addition to gold and silver treasures, there are also many things that we don't have in Ming Dynasty, and there are also some surprises."
"Oh?" Zhu Di was even more delighted when he heard this and asked curiously, "What's the surprise?"
"Rong Chen is keeping it a secret, and the emperor will know about it soon."
Zhu Di laughed and nodded: "Sure, I'll wait."
At this time, Xiaopang came over and was very affectionate when he saw Sanbao.
Sanbao is Xiaopang's playmate. The two have a deep relationship. They have been separated for so long, and now that they meet again, they have endless things to talk about.
However, Sanbao was busy with something, so he quickly ended the topic and briefly explained the matter to Xiaopang.
Without waiting for Xiaopang to speak, Zhu Di made the decision for him, "Gao Chi, I leave the matter of receiving envoys from various countries to you. It is a matter of national prestige of the Ming Dynasty, so don't be careless."
Xiaopang nodded. Although he was unhappy with me, he would not get angry at this time.
…
Yongqinghou Mansion.
After Li Qing learned that Sanbao was back, he was so happy that he entered the palace directly.
But when he came, Sanbao had already left the palace, and he only saw the fourth child, whom he didn't like to see very much.
"Your Majesty, when will Sanbao come back with his fleet?"
"Within five days." Zhu Di was in a very good mood, "According to Sanbao, many rare things have been brought this time, many of which are not available in the Ming Dynasty. I am really looking forward to it!"
Li Qing said happily: "Although the Ming Dynasty is big, it cannot cover everything. Opening up sea trade and exchanging what is needed will be of great benefit to the Ming Dynasty."
"Well, that makes sense." Zhu Di chuckled, "But what makes me happiest is that I made a lot of money. Damn it, now I can finally start planning for the Northern Expedition."
Li Qing wanted to laugh a little, Zhu Di was really a master who couldn't save money. He didn't spend money when he had it, and his whole body was scratched.
However, the Northern Expedition was indeed important, and it was not easy for him to dissuade him.
The two briefly chatted about the Northern Expedition for a while, and Zhu Di asked, "Didn't you get a map of Mobei before? Where is it?"
"Isn't there any in the imperial court?" Li Qing asked strangely, "I handed it in!"
Zhu Di scolded: "In all likelihood, Qi Tai, Fang Xiaoru and the others will burn them. Don't you have a backup?"
"This...really exists." Li Qing said, "But it will be summarized. I will summarize it again when I go back."
"That's good." Zhu Di felt relieved, "With the detailed map, the march will be much more convenient and we can also save some money."
It's a pity that Zhu Di, a banknote shredder, still cares about money.
Speaking of the Northern Expedition, Li Qing couldn't help but think of a person, Lan Yu.
"Your Majesty, do you have a plan for selecting candidates for the Northern Expedition?"
Zhu Di frowned and thought for a moment, "Zhang Yu is gone, Zhu Neng is gone, Zhang Fu has to look at Annan, and the only one who can barely carry the banner now is the veteran Qiu Fu."
"Qiu Fu?" Li Qing was not familiar with this man and had only met him a few times. "He seems to be over sixty years old. He is bigger than Lan Yu. It would be better to use him than Lan Yu."
"Lanyu?" Zhu Di frowned, "Let's forget it. Lanyu is really good at fighting, but he doesn't have the same intentions as me. If I don't mess with him, it will be enough to give me face."
"This moment is the same as the other moment." Li Qing said seriously, "The emperor's throne has been determined, not to mention Zhu Yunxi, what will happen if Jianwen appears?
The Ming Dynasty is now prosperous, and various vassal states come to worship. Now even overseas countries come across the ocean to come to worship. All the people are returning home. There is no need to worry about these;
Moreover, Lan Yu is already sixty, what ambitions can he have at this age?" Li Qing said, "To say the least, even if he really has ambitions, he can't implement them!"
The reason why Li Qing highly recommends Lan Yu is that his personal relationship only accounts for a small part of the reason. The main reason is that Lan Yu is really good at fighting.
Especially during the Northern Expedition, in the entire Ming Dynasty, there was no one more awesome than Lan Yu.
Zhu Di pondered for a long time and said: "I will think about this. Anyway, it is still early before the expedition, so there is no rush at this moment."
Li Qing didn't want to persuade him anymore, so he just smiled and nodded. There would be another chance in the future. The fourth brother followed Lao Zhu and was suspicious by nature. If he persuaded him too much, it would have the opposite effect.
Moreover, judging from Zhu Di's performance, his rejection of Lan Yu does not seem to be that great anymore.
…
Three days later, envoys from various countries arrived at the post house. Li Qing took the time to meet with Sanbao. Seeing that Sanbao was very busy, he only exchanged a few words.
On the second day, after the morning court, the officials did not leave, but gathered in the Fengtian Temple Square.
Tables had already been set up in the square to entertain envoys.
The ministers were all in high spirits, wearing their official hats and official uniforms without even a wrinkle, and they paid great attention to their personal image.
After the ministers here were ready, the Three Treasures, the Minister of Rites, and the middle-ranking officials of the Ministry of Rites received the news and began to make arrangements to receive the envoys for an audience.
After a while, the first group of envoys, led by Ming Dynasty officials, arrived at Fengtian Palace Square.
Their appearance is not much different from that of the Han people. They have black hair and black eyes, but their skin color is darker. Their heads are wrapped in cloth scarves, and their styles are completely different.
No matter what Ming officials felt in their hearts, their faces did not change and they did an excellent job on the surface.
Zhu Di is still in the future. As the Ming Emperor, there is no reason to wait for envoys. He must be full of force.
Of course, it would be unworthy of a great nation to make people wait for too long. Half a quarter of an hour later, Zhu Di arrived late, and the timing was quite good.
Zhu Di is wearing a brand new dragon robe. He looks more mature and stable in his forties. The bright yellow fabric shows his nobility.
Sanbao first saluted Zhu Di and introduced, "Your Majesty, they are envoys from Java."
Then, he whispered a few words to the envoy, who understood and knelt down to salute: "Greetings to His Majesty the Ming Emperor!"
The accent is quite strong, and I can barely understand the meaning. He obviously worked overtime and memorized it by rote.
"Ping Shen!" Zhu Di looked gentle and waved his hands slightly.
The three treasures were spoken and gestured, and then the envoys thanked him and made peace.
It took a while, but effective communication was finally achieved. Under the guidance of officials from the Ministry of Rites, the Javanese envoy walked aside and sat down.
Then, another group of envoys came in, with dark brown skin and curly hair. The ministers were secretly amazed, but their faces remained calm, showing the demeanor of a great country.
"Your Majesty, this is from the country of Ceylon, also known as the Lion Country. They are paying tribute to the lion this time." Sanbao gave a brief introduction, and then communicated hand-to-hand orally with the envoy.
The envoys saluted, but Zhu Di did not.
Then there are Alu, Sumatala, Nanwuli, Manlajia, Xiaogelan... Some Zhu Di knows about it, and some don't.
The communication between the two parties was not smooth, but they were able to communicate effectively.
The etiquette alone took half an hour. When the envoys from all countries sat down, Sanbao cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the envoys from all countries have sent tributes. Do you want to submit some of them?"
"Yeah, that's fine." Zhu Di nodded and agreed. Firstly, he was also curious, and secondly, it could reflect the importance of going to sea and avoid the noise of civil servants later.
Two quarters of an hour later, all kinds of strange things were brought over.
Sanbao began to introduce: "This is called durian, it smells bad, eat it..."
It smelled bad when he ate it, so he simply said, "It's a kind of fruit."
"This is called a camel bird."
"this……"
…
The ministers were amazed in their hearts, but their faces showed disapproval, as if they had seen the big world.
Until an impossibly tall animal was led in, the calm expressions of the officials completely changed.
High, really high.
From feet to head, it is more than two feet!
Li Qing recognized this guy at a glance and said nonchalantly, "I'm a dear mother, how did you get the giraffe here?"
From a visual inspection, this giraffe is probably not more than seven or eight meters tall, making it a fighter among giraffes.
The appearance of this guy completely overturned the perceptions of the officials. They thought that the elephant was already tall enough. What the hell is this?
Although they were restrained enough, the ministers still couldn't help but look shocked.
Even Zhu Di was shocked and murmured, "What the hell is this?"
The giraffe looked down at everyone, as if to say: everyone here is scum.
However, he has such a silly and cute look that makes people unable to feel disgusted.
Zhu Di smashed his mouth and asked: "Zheng He, what is the name of this thing?"
Sanbao cupped his hands and said: "Back to the emperor, according to the envoy, it is called Jilin!"
Zhu Di was surprised: "Qilin?"
Li Qing was speechless and wanted to laugh, but he had received strict training and held it back.
Before he could speak, Xie Jin stood up first: "Your Majesty, the Holy Ming, recognized this legendary auspiciousness at a glance. This thing must be a unicorn!"
Li Qing held his forehead and wanted to explain a few words, but in front of the ministers and envoys from various countries, it was difficult to pour cold water on him and prevent him from coming to Taiwan.
He was just thinking of countermeasures when over there Jie Jin began to blare, shaking his head as if his mouth was smeared with honey, saying: "Elk body and horse hooves, meat horns and ruffs, brilliant literary colors, red clouds and purple mist...
…It is also a unicorn.”
Zhu Di scratched his head. It seemed different from the unicorn he imagined and the sculptures he saw every day, but it was very similar to the descriptions in ancient books.
In addition, this thing is so tall, doesn't it mean that the auspicious beast can grow so tall?
Gradually, the fourth child grinned.
Upon seeing this, the ministers immediately stood up and congratulated: "Your Majesty has governed the country well, and the heaven has sent auspiciousness to our Ming Dynasty..."
Barabara...
Li Qing covered his face, it was so embarrassing, so embarrassing.
If people hundreds of years from now knew this, they would probably laugh out loud.
While the officials were looking at the 'Qilin' intently, Li Qing came to Zhu Di and whispered: "Your Majesty, this is not a Qilin, but a giraffe, or in other words, a deer with a long neck."
"Deer?" Zhu Di replied softly with a look of disbelief, "I don't know much about education, so don't lie to me. How can a deer's neck be so long?"
Li Qing suppressed a smile and said, "Kilin's meaning here is definitely not Qilin."
Zhu Di frowned and thought for a moment, then said softly: "Qilin appears in this world, showing the power of a great country!
It will be of great benefit to the people, to the officials, and to maritime trade, without any harm."
He hummed: "No matter what this thing is, it is a unicorn now."
Zhu Di pointed at the giraffe and said with a hearty smile: "Li Aiqing, what do you think this is?"
Li Qing was stunned, cupped his hands and said, "Qilin!"
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Li Qing couldn't help but be startled. This scene is so familiar!
————————
ps: I have something to do tonight, so there are only two chapters left (*^▽^*)
By the way, it is true that Zhu Di regarded the giraffe as a unicorn, but the giraffe was brought back by Zheng He from his fourth voyage, hahaha... The "Rui Ying Qilin Picture" is in the Forbidden City.
Another interesting thing is that after Zhu Di called the deer Qilin, Japan also called the giraffe Qilin, and so did South Korea.