When Louis arrived in Guangzhou, it was already the end of April.
The first time he arrived in Guangzhou, Louis was stunned.
At this moment, the east side of the Pearl River outlet is densely populated with warships. They are the Ming Dynasty Navy which has just returned from the triumphal battle.
Zhao Jun went to the capital, but the Ming Dynasty's military reform and the order to increase the number of naval forces had already been sent here. Located in Guangdong is the Nanyang Fleet, with a defense range as far as the Nanyang Protectorate. Over in Fujian, there is the Oriental Fleet.
There will also be a Beiyang Fleet in Tianjin.
The total number of naval and naval forces is 60,000, which can accommodate fleets from three directions.
Other guards may be resistant to military reform. After all, reducing troops means reducing power.
But the naval division was overjoyed. They were increasing their troops and giving them money.
What followed was an even busier shipbuilding scene.
Louis could clearly see that there were many Portuguese Carracks and Calais battleships mixed in among them. Are they the trophies captured here after the expedition fleet was defeated by the Ming fleet?
And here at the Pearl River Estuary, there is an endless stream of maritime trade companies and other private merchant ships. The Nanyang Protectorate has been established, and heading to Cochin and Malacca is a new opportunity for maritime wealth.
The Guangzhou that Louis saw also had a population and prosperity far exceeding that of Lisbon.
As the younger brother of the King of Portugal, he came to submit the letter of surrender. This news had already been sent back by Yang Bo's clipper ship.
So under the arrangement of Tongyi Bureau, Louis will intuitively experience the vastness of the Ming Dynasty.
This time, he didn't need to walk so fast to catch up with the Longevity Ceremony.
The route arranged for him was naturally to sail all the way. First to Guangxi, then to Huguang via Lingqu Canal, then after entering the Yangtze River, go down the river, and then via the canal to Beijing.
In Guangzhou, he will stay for two days. First, the governor of Guangdong will confirm the credentials and surrender he brought.
After confirming that everything was correct, Louis slowly started his journey to the Ming Dynasty, and the express delivery arrived in Beijing first.
At this time, the Ming Dynasty was holding trials for each province before the Holy Grail of Chess.
After the Ming Dynasty entered a relatively stable state both internally and externally, one obvious change was that the original Ministry of Rites and the current Ministry of Rites and Communications began to take on many new tasks.
Chess tournaments are the best, after all, they don’t require a special venue.
However, "Ming Pao" has already published that starting from next year, Ming Dynasty will hold a sports meeting every four years.
Running, long jump, high jump, weightlifting...
A new profession is about to emerge: athlete.
This was understood by the people of the world as the emperor's desire to continue to cultivate the martial spirit of the people of the Ming Dynasty. Only some officials knew that this was also a channel for absorbing the dismissed soldiers.
Compared with ordinary people, soldiers who have been trained in the army have stronger physical strength.
As for whether this can become a specialized profession, it all depends on how big the seed can grow.
At present, the first priority is the emperor's attention.
If you can get those medals in the sports games that are said to be made of gold, silver, or bronze, it will also be a local honor.
To put it in the words of the emperor in this year's New Year's message: The Hetao has been restored, the grassland in the northern border area is thousands of miles away, and there will be countless cattle and sheep in Ming Dynasty. It will take ten or twenty years, starting from the primary schools in each county and the middle schools in each prefecture, to strive for the concession.
Children in the Ming Dynasty can drink fresh milk from cows and sheep, so that the people of the Ming Dynasty can eat more meat and stay strong.
Higher, faster and stronger, this is the meaning of holding sports games.
This naturally had to be a series of projects, and here came the benefits of group herding supervision. And the huge market of the Ming Dynasty was an important part that made the Mongolian herdsmen think that it was much better to herd cattle for the Ming Dynasty than for the Han Dynasty.
Naturally, we can’t produce any milk powder in this day and age, but since the Qun Mu Supervisor is an enterprise, with stations everywhere just like Tongyi Bureau, it’s not too much to raise some cows to supply the surrounding areas, right? It’s not too much to raise some cows, sheep, and pigs for meat, right?
If the cattle, sheep and horses were raised in large numbers and spread throughout the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty, Jin Jialu would be able to follow the herd supervisors, eagerly staring at the dung produced by these animals, and do a good job in the fertilizer industry.
So, it wasn't just a "fun" idea.
That was just the most eye-catching gimmick, and it was actually paired with the entire project of "strengthening the people's body."
The sports meeting is a new activity, and another new activity of the Ministry of Etiquette is the establishment of the Music and Arts Department.
This can't help but remind people of the Jiaofangsi that existed in the two capitals, as well as the brothels and Goulan that spread throughout the prosperous towns of the Ming Dynasty.
To be honest, it is impossible to ban this thing.
Zhu Houcong did not intend to solve these problems in this era, but for the purpose of cultural export, it is very important to create a new outlet for outstanding literary and artistic talents, regardless of gender.
This Department of Musical Arts is the "national team" in Beijing. Musicians, dancers, singers, actors... They serve exclusively for the important ceremonies of the imperial court.
In local areas, it has a somewhat "company" nature. According to the plan, all provincial cities and prefectures will also plan such areas in the future, including theaters, teahouses, restaurants, shops, and of course brothels and hook-up bars.
Zhu Houcong could probably imagine how the local folk art troupe would develop to generate income. Although there would be management in the end, it would eventually become a more level and classy place for banquets and discussion of major events.
But it doesn't matter. Why not gather more talented literary and artistic talents, take out more money from the wealthier officials and businessmen, and remit it to the finance through taxes for distribution?
The most important thing is that in the system of Quyi Department, the Ministry of Etiquette will gradually gather outstanding people such as writers, painters, calligraphers, musicians...
Coupled with this is the relaxation of the Publishing Department in the publishing and printing of literary and artistic works, and the opportunity for national teams, local folk art teams, and private groups to perform in surrounding vassal states along with future caravans.
Along the way, Louis was accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Rites, learned a little Chinese, and saw local discussions about these new things that were very different from the past.
In his opinion, these are things that only nobles can enjoy.
And is the Ming Dynasty ready to allow all citizens to have the opportunity to enjoy these? To what extent has the Ming Dynasty's wealth reached?
Of course, the Ming Dynasty was not so wealthy, and today Yang Shen is just mumbling about it every day.
He just muttered, after all, the emperor made it very clear: apart from the extra expenses in primary and secondary schools, wouldn’t everything else be for the rich to spend their money? Moreover, the opening of border markets has made the dignitaries and common people of foreign vassal countries yearn for it.
If you can’t come to Daming, you will still find ways to buy some good goods from Daming. Wouldn’t the border market tax increase?
It hasn't worked yet, but this is indeed the truth.
Fortunately, Portugal's credentials have arrived in the capital, and Yang Shen's mood has improved a lot these days.
The people in the capital still don't know the specific situation, but the advisers are all excited.
In the naval expedition, a lot of money was spent on building ships and recruiting troops. However, after this battle, can that small Western country really lose so much money?
Zhu Houcong asked for 10 million taels of silver, and Alfonso exceeded the quota. Two million taels of gold could be exchanged for 12 million taels.
"Only ten million taels." Zhu Houcong reminded Yang Shen, "It is Alfonso's responsibility to deliver the compensation. It is very important for him to leave some for him to gain a foothold in Portugal, which will help the Nanyang Protectorate continue to make profits later.
Besides, it is difficult for all these ten million taels to be gold or silver, and it is impossible to take them all out at once."
Yang Shen also understood this.
If he was asked to directly take out 10 million taels of silver from the Ming Dynasty, it would be better to kill him directly.
Portugal, on the other hand, was no more than the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Even if it occupied some places outside the territory, it was no more than a province.
Yang Shen was overjoyed to be able to agree to such a large amount of compensation.
The officials and gentry of the Ming Dynasty who were well-read in history would naturally be familiar with the matter of reparations.
Back then, didn’t Zhao and Song have to bear the burden of annual coins every year?
Unexpectedly, Ming Dynasty can actually enjoy such benefits now, and it comes from a small Western country thousands of miles away, with which it usually has little to do with.
Taking this opportunity, Zhu Houcong naturally taught them again: "I used to be obsessed with the Great Wall of Nanyang, all because of this. Nowadays, long voyages are much safer than in the past. Although Portugal and Spain are small countries, they have traveled thousands of miles to traffic goods, and the income
The benefits are far beyond your imagination. No, even though I opened my mouth, the Portuguese master still agreed. It can be seen that if we settle the accounts and continue to transport goods from Malacca to sell them one by one, we will still make a profit in the long run."
What he wants is not to emphasize his foresight, but to remind: "The Ming Dynasty does not need much Western goods. From now on, they will probably have to mainly exchange gold and silver for Ming Dynasty goods. In the past, there was a shortage of gold and silver, but from now on, hundreds of dollars will be spent every year."
Tens of millions of gold and silver entered the Ming Dynasty. You need to carefully consider the issues I mentioned before. If prices soar due to this, the people will suffer. You must think about how to control the flow of extra silver into the people."
Malacca, Guangzhou, Ningbo, and many border cities, with the Ming Dynasty's current influence and richness of products, there really are not that many needed things in the surrounding areas.
Apart from gold and silver, there are probably only bulk commodities such as grain, timber, and ores.
If there were more gold and silver and they were all piled up in Ming Dynasty, it would definitely cause prices to rise.
Therefore, even if it is more expensive, if we can buy more grain and wood from the surrounding areas, supply them to the national treasury and the internal circulation system of state-owned enterprises, and bear the necessary losses, it is still an economic war.
The emperor temporarily put aside his intention to use troops abroad, and the feeling of daily classes among the important ministers of the Ming Dynasty returned.
By this time, Li had returned to Seoul.
Of course, he did not dare to persuade Li Yi, but euphemistically stated that the Ming Dynasty was worried that North Korea would misunderstand that the Ming Dynasty wanted to intervene in the dispute for the North Korean crown prince, so he asked him to come back. He also did not send great scholars to give lectures in North Korea, otherwise it would seem to support North Korean scholars.
Lin faction.
The war on the border with North Korea had already begun in Jiuliancheng. Li Yi learned from Li the practice of the Emperor of Heaven to tie up the clans and ministers who did not want to fight for power in the form of a royal enterprise, so he was very happy to prepare to follow this practice.
It is true that the old faction of Xun cannot continue to entrust them with important responsibilities, lest they support him to take the throne and then hijack the government. However, using them to make money from border trade with the Ming Dynasty and tying them up with interests is a way to strengthen his royal power.
At the same time, he also sighed to the people of the Shilin sect: It’s not that I don’t want to ask the superior country to help Korea develop culture and education, but the situation in the court is such. If a great scholar is really sent to the court to give lectures, I’m afraid that the government will disrupt the situation in the court.
The theory that the military front is directed at North Korea. If foreign aggression is present, what will happen to North Korea?
The old Xun faction must be won over, and the Shilin faction, which is now much weaker, must also be encouraged.
Naturally, the Shilin sect knew this: this was a good excuse for the already extremely powerful Shizi sect to continue to secure its position and suppress the rest of the group from speaking out unanimously.
But now, this excuse does not exist. Ming Dynasty is only prepared to do business with North Korea and accept five international students sent from North Korea every three years.
Ming Dynasty did not bother to care about North Korea's internal affairs.
At this time, in May, Queen Wen Ding finally gave birth to a child safely.
It's a boy.
The crown prince who was adopted under the name of Queen Wending and raised by her but was always treated "very poorly", her biological second son Li Xuan, was briefly "appreciated" by the Emperor of Ming Dynasty.
…
The battle for the crown prince in North Korea entered a new stage, and Louis finally disembarked in Tongzhou.
On the pier, a group of people were waiting to greet him.
What they greeted was not Louis, but another middle-aged man.
"Brother Ziming, are you okay?"
Although they were also stunned by Louis' magical costume, when they saw someone wearing official robes, they just paid attention and saluted, and they couldn't ignore the person they greeted.
Seeing the group of people approaching excitedly, Louis asked the Ministry of Etiquette official beside him doubtfully: "Who is this person?"
All the way to the capital, he was convinced that the Ming Dynasty was really big and prosperous.
Along the way, Changsha, Wuchang, Nanjing, Huai'an... which one is not a big city much bigger than Lisbon?
Therefore, his mentality is also changing. It is his brother who needs to compensate, so what can he do?
"Yan Lun and Yan Ziming." The official of the Ministry of Rites replied with a smile, "Anyone who has a good idea, they are commenting on the top ten talents of the capital recently. Pipa, pot throwing, flute, sanxian, Cuju... Of course there are also chess and go. This Yan Ziming has become famous.
He hasn't lost a single game in a long time. This time around, he stopped traveling south and returned to Beijing to win the Holy Grail."
"Go..."
The official of the Ministry of Rites smiled and said nothing.
He estimated that many of the scholars who came to greet Yan Lun had already participated in the handicap to guess who would win the championship, and among them, Yan Lun's real old friends were probably only a few.
If it were in the past, how could there be so many young scholars interacting with Yan Lun?
On the contrary, some people who already have official positions will occasionally invite Yan Lun to play chess to pass the time and learn both skills.
But now that the emperor wants to organize the Holy Grail of Chess, this hot topic is worth participating in.
Next year will be the National Examination again, and the number of scholars in the capital has begun to increase. Although the literary style in the capital is already as good as that of Jiangnan, and there are more capable people in the new learning. But I arrived in the capital early, studied hard, and studied the new learning.
There are fewer people, and more people gather together to socialize.
Louis just walked on the straight road from Beijing to Tongzhou, and saw a stable cart pulled by horses driving on the rails.
Passing by the canal densely packed with boats and the pier outside the east wall of the capital, I saw the grand stadium standing there and the grand theater to the south of the grand stadium that was bulldozed after the military parade last year and started to be built. My eyes and ears were dizzying and absorbing.
Noisy.
How many people are there in this capital city of the Eastern Empire?
He was looking at the people of the Ming Dynasty, and on the way from Tongzhou Pier to the entrance of the Huitong Hall, the people of the Ming Dynasty were also looking at him.
As the younger brother of the King of Portugal, the Duke of Beja, although he came here to submit a letter of surrender and sign a peace treaty, he could not lose his noble dignity.
Therefore, he is wearing a formal dress that shows his status.
First the top hat, then the ruffles around the neck. The top is a velvet tight jacket and a cloak - although it is already May and the weather is a bit hot.
On his waist, his crotch bag is more conspicuous than his belt. Because his feet are also wearing tight pantyhose, his crotch bag made of wool is even more eye-catching.
The people in the city were no more reserved than the scholars at Tongzhou Pier, and they burst into laughter.
"Where do these barbarians come from? They are shameless!"
"Hey! Don't tell me, if a girl wears his socks..."
"What's that on his neck? Is this barbarian a pheasant?"
"..."
The great nobleman from Portugal could not understand everything, but he knew that it was an expression of scrutiny and ridicule.
No way, pantyhose don't cover the crotch.
The church considers the crotch bag to be immoral. After its rise decades ago, the crotch bag is now popular throughout Europe. Don’t these Easterners think it highlights male virility?
Louis entered the Huitong Hall, and his strange clothes quickly became the joke of the day in the capital.
From the perspective of the restrained Eastern culture, the barbarian actually exposed the shape of his penis - even though it was wrapped with a layer of cloth - but it was bulging and eye-catching. How is it different from an animal?
"Your Majesty, you don't need to worry about it." The official of the Ministry of Rites was also happy all the way. After all, he had a sense of superiority. "Your Majesty has a decree. Your Majesty's envoy has come in a fine dress. This is a sign of attaching importance to this audience and the conclusion of a peace treaty. Enter the palace on the day of the meeting.
, it’s just as good as it is.”
He was not just talking nonsense, because he was worried about alarming the Holy Emperor, so he made it clear in advance.
But the emperor's opinion shows: His Majesty also wants to open his eyes.
Zhu Houcong really wanted to see what the full attire of the European nobles of this era looked like. They always stayed in the palace and dealt with government affairs. Apart from the vulgar happiness and family happiness, they didn't have much other fun.
Besides, everything has a reason and deep meaning, and it is worth talking about when the time comes.
After two days, it will be the day of the meeting.
Louis finally arrived in front of the glorious and magnificent palace of this Eastern Empire, after the court officials had already gone in to pay their respects.
He waited quietly, feeling uncomfortable.
In these two days, he already knew what a court meeting was.
Officials of the empire, big and small, met with the emperor in the main hall regularly, paid homage to him to express their importance, reported work and discussed state affairs.
In addition to officials, there are also their nobles.
In other words, it is one of the most crowded places.
On such an occasion, Louis would submit a letter of surrender to the Emperor of the East.
As a loser, this is what he must bear, and it is also what the Eastern Emperor should enjoy.
In the past two days, he also understood what dressing up like this meant in the East.
The East is reserved, and clothes should cover up as much of the sexual characteristics of the body as possible.
But how could such a reserved Easterner keep attacking such a vast territory?
"Pass! The Portuguese envoy is here to see you!"
The voice came, and the official from the Ministry of Etiquette who accompanied him stretched out his hand: "Please."
In the Forbidden City, under the watchful eyes of the imperial guards and court officials, Louis slowly moved forward.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed that many people wanted to laugh, but they held back.
Looking at the total number of people, probably over a thousand, wearing Ming Dynasty civil and military officials in official robes of various colors and patterns, Louis felt even heavier.
The number of João's court officials was far less than this.
And this is only a small part of the civil and military officials of this huge empire, the small part working in their capital.
After coming to this land in person, he often couldn't help but think: Forty years ago, how arrogant Joao II and the King of Spain were, allowing Pope Alexander VI to draw that line, and let the two countries use this line to build a future.
to carve up spheres of influence?
After the Battle of Tiu, Portugal relied only on five large warships and 13 small and medium-sized ships, with a total of more than 1,500 armored soldiers and more than 1,000 sailors, and defeated more than 20,000 people and 200 sailors.
The combined forces of Egypt, Gujarat, and Kalikut, with many large and small warships, proudly penetrated deep into the Spice Islands after becoming unmatched in the Indian Ocean.
The price of entering the sphere of influence of this Eastern Empire was too heavy, and every step Louis took was difficult.
In this silence, Zhu Houcong sat on the throne and looked at him.
Unlike what Louis thought, Zhu Houcong just knew that with his arrival, the story of the ocean was already changing.
Today is just the beginning, but the officials of the Ming Dynasty inside and outside the palace still don't care much about what is happening on the other side of the sea.
Wooden battleships will continue to gallop for centuries, but steam engines and iron armor will change too much.
Zhu Houcong's eyes were also attracted by Louis' crotch bag, and he saw this outfit.
It is indeed funny, but if you are not careful, things in the future will make people unable to laugh.