Dining at a Mu@Si@Lin restaurant was not something that Fernando could not accept, and he was amazed at how a heretic could be granted a duke title in this Eastern Empire! In Europe, it is possible to have a duke title only if the heirs of some large countries and families, such as the Habsburgs, have the title of duke. He also knows that in China this is not the meaning of the heir, but he knows better that the mainstream belief of the Chinese is definitely not Yi@Si@Lan@Religion.

As a result of this unexpected circumstance, the little confidence that had risen in him was extinguished again, when did the Iberian Peninsula be recaptured from the infidels? He knew too well how much trouble these Green Cultists had caused to Europe, and if it weren't for the obstruction of these guys and the Ottoman Turks, all of Europe and North Africa would have been Christian territory. He also doesn't want to think that if it weren't for the Yi@Si@Lan@businessmen playing monopoly and raising prices, the Europeans would be forced to launch a great voyage in desperation?

This matter is not over, our viscount just felt that his title seemed to be a little low, and then he heard Jacob introduce the guests who accompanied the dining, and there was actually the heir of the Duke of the Green Sect, and the heir of the earl, these two were still acquaintances who tested their marksmanship that day. This is not the end, it seems that Jacob's negligence has not only remembered another identity of introducing Jiang Tian until now, that is, this young adult is not only a classmate of the emperor, but also a teacher of the crown prince of his country......

Garcia was also very shocked to tell the truth, but when he turned his head to see that his master seemed to be about to stop again, he hurriedly shouted in his loud voice as surprised: "I didn't expect that in your country you can make a heretic a duke, may I ask if a Christian can also get a knighthood if he has meritorious service in war." ”

His question was tantamount to reminding Fernando that it was said at the outset that it was not limited to religion and race, and that the Arabs or Persians were closer to the Eastern Empire and therefore had the upper hand, which did not mean that Europeans did not have the opportunity to gain respect and benefits.

Jiang Tian didn't care about this guy's talk, and even began to appreciate this seemingly rough guy a little, thinking that it was good that your master still knew that he was such a smart person with you, otherwise he really needed to think of other ways to lure the Spaniards into the bait: "Of course you can, as long as you get enough military merits, you can get the corresponding reward, you must know that Liu Gongzi's family has outstanding military achievements, I don't know how many relatives died in the battle in exchange for this hereditary title, if you talk about military merits, I am afraid that no one is higher than them." ”

Even if he was hostile because of his beliefs, Garcia still cast an admiring gaze at Liu Baokai, which is the respect of a soldier for a soldier. At the same time, I understood why the Arab merchants lied to the Europeans that the East was far away, and that if Spain was in close proximity to such a strong, rich, enlightened and faith-respecting country, and could monopolize all the benefits of the trade, then the Spaniards would try their best to take the benefits of it, and use the nourishment drawn from this great civilization to deal with other enemies.

In fact, the bearded man is not entirely right, any recorded prosperity and cultural, scientific and technological, and productive forces explosion in history of China are inseparable from opening the door to communicate with the world as much as possible, and Chinese gradually improve their own civilization in learning from each other, so that quantitative change can eventually be transformed into qualitative change, whether it is the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, or the Han and Tang Dynasties to communicate the Western Regions, or even the reform and opening up of another generation, it is the exclusive secret of introducing foreign new technologies and new ideas and finally transforming them into suitable for China's national conditions. From religion to erhu and pipa, these were not the first of their kind by the Chinese, but they all became Chinese characteristics in the end. So what some emperors and islands say about maintaining the Han tradition is nonsense, you have to know what is the Chinese tradition? That's eclecticism!

Although holding a snowy silver knife and fork, although eating food that he usually can't eat, Fernando is still preoccupied, even in the face of tender, juicy and meaty grilled lamb chops, he still carefully pays attention to Jiang Tian's every move, for fear that the other party will ask something unexpected when he is immersed in food, you must know that Jacob told him that Chinese are used to discussing problems at the table.

Unfortunately, his plan fell through, and the banquet seemed to be a welcome gesture by the host, who was occasionally looking back on the end of the war that had lasted a few years, in addition to small talk about food and music. Of course, if you don't listen to it, you don't know that even this kind of small talk also contains a lot of information, such as the military strength of the Tatars, the level of productivity of the Chinese Empire, and the level of music, costumes, theater and even food that China has reached, and the more he listens to it, the more he feels that he is an uninformed hillbilly.

Seeing that he had almost eaten, Jiang Tian put away his contempt and asked the guest with a smile: "I don't know if you are still satisfied with today's food?" Personally, I don't think you are used to drinking these rice wines. ”

The Viscount, who could not ignore the table manners, hurriedly said that he was flattered and was very satisfied with today's banquet. Jiang Tian only smiled politely when he heard this, and then said very seriously: "Today we can sit and eat together very happily, but tomorrow we will have a frank and efficient meeting for our respective motherland, I hope that I can see what the Spanish Empire wants from our country, and how much benefit our country can gain from it!" ”

Fernando, who was originally accustomed to the tactfulness of the Chinese, was a little uncomfortable with Jiang Tian's straightforward expression, but it was a moment of stunned work, he understood that this was about to start formal talks, whether his task could be completed, whether he could triumph like a hero, it depended on the next negotiations.

So the Spaniards took their leave, with the Italian interpreter, and they wanted to go back and seriously consider what to do with the troublesome Chinese official. When the guests were far away, Jiang Tian got up and came to the next room, where there were only some light side dishes, and the emperor and the prince who were sitting at the table without moving their chopsticks.

There was no need for Zhang Tao to give up his seat, Jiang Tian sat in front of the father and son with a big grin, so that Liu Baokai and Wu Yuan, who came in together, glanced at each other and then stood aside, because the father of the pervert @ wolf was also standing behind the emperor and serving His Majesty.

Zhang Tao didn't pay attention to Jiang Tian, but turned his head and asked his son: "Does the emperor understand your master's intentions?" ”

Zhang Huan pretended to ponder for a moment: "Erchen feels that Mr. did not talk about the diplomatic relations between the two countries during the banquet this time, but he has forced the other party into a dead end!" ”

The emperor smiled slightly when he heard this, and then turned his head to look at Jiang Tian: "You taught well, and you can think of this subtle means of showing your strength!" ”

Jiang Tian, who ate a little salty, poured himself a cup of tea and took two sips: "It's not just me who can think of it, but only you and I have been passed down by our mentor and know what thoughts are in the heads of these Europa's native buns." Let's just say that today's dish, it is a completely different style from the last banquet for the Japanese, don't look at the little Japan, which is usually half full, but we have been studying for too long and know how to be vassal. These Europeans are still in the stage of drinking and eating meat in a big bowl when they have money, just like these meat today, which is not heavy oil and salt and uses all kinds of spices, but just like that, they think it is a good thing, if you put some exquisite and elegant food, they still think you are stingy. ”

Hearing this, Liu Junding, who was standing behind him, also smiled, to say that Jiang Tian invited foreigners to dinner here is not once or twice, but every time he can open his eyes. It was the knife and fork used for the Westerners to eat this time, which was urgently customized by his Liu family from the silver building. It seems unnecessary, but what Jiang Tian said is very reasonable, that is, it is to show how powerful China is in all aspects, and to show off its wealth in a way that others can understand. It seems that this kind of arrogant behavior is not the same as the life creed taught by Confucianism. But if you think about it carefully, didn't the Gentiles come to the court in the past, and we also desperately sent things to show the wealth of the Celestial Empire? Jiang Tian just changed the form, spending a lot of money but it was impressive, and it also put an end to the situation that some small countries came to cheat and cheat, and the most important thing is to exchange for more benefits through this behavior.

Zhang Tao nodded, the original historical knowledge is not as rich as Jiang Tian's, during this time he also collected some foreign intelligence from other channels, and then he found that things are really as Jiang Tian said, Europe in this era is indeed far from China, if it were not for the frequent wars that gave birth to the progress of weapons, it would be a little stronger than China in this aspect, but just such an advantage was also thrown away by Jiang Tian at once, if there is really anything worth being wary of, that is, Europe has gradually begun to systematically study various scientific knowledge, Although it is still in a state of ignorance in many ways, it is precisely the basis for creating the theory for the Industrial Revolution. This is also the reason why Jiang Tian has always emphasized the blockade of knowledge.

"Since you are already in the chest, I can rest assured that I will boldly hand it over to you, but you have to bring a few students from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to follow up the whole process, and I will leave these tasks to you to complete after they are not trained!" Jiang Tian's plan Zhang Tao was very clear, but he turned his head and saw his eager son again, so he pointed to the prince and said: "In addition, this student of yours also has to be taken with him, let him have a good look at what great power diplomacy is!" ”

Zhang Tao said this as if Jiang Tian was the kind of diplomat who was vertical and horizontal, if it was placed in the Warring States Period, it would belong to the category of the vertical and horizontal family, but in fact, Jiang Tian did not have such a great ability, it was entirely because he happened to understand the historical context and knew that the Spanish Empire was about to decline, so he was ready to use this opportunity to add chaos to Europe and delay the Enlightenment that was poised to continue, and the current Spain still had French suzerainty, if it could prevent the corrupt but European civilization began to progress Louis XIV from ascending the throne, It can also seriously affect the history of Europe, and perhaps by the time the next emperor who can lead European civilization is born, China has already begun the industrial revolution.

In order to achieve this goal, Jiang Tian first wanted to use the Habsburg family, which was about to close the curtain but still had great influence, to contain Britain and France, who were qualified to dominate. In addition, it can also save the Holy Roman Empire, which is about to collapse, help the corrupt and backward Holy See to curb the development of Protestantism, and let Europe continue to go to the abyss in various internal strife. As for the Dutchmen who are about to reach the top, Jiang Tian didn't pay attention to it at all, these sea coachmen can only be regarded as second-class dealers and usurers at best, history has proved that even if you play well financially, as long as there is no real economy to support it, the final outcome is not much better. Besides, the Dutch had many ships, but there were very few standing fleets that could be used for war, because the merchants were not willing to spend a lot of money on a navy that could not be used for business, and as Marx said, the rope that hanged themselves was sold by themselves.

The emperor asked Jiang Tian to take the crown prince to open his eyes, this Jiang Tian can't refuse, if you want this future emperor not to be fooled by some Confucianism who have random ideas, it is necessary to establish his correct governing policy from now on, but Jiang Tian has another question to ask: "Speaking of which, next month is Your Majesty's fortieth birthday, I heard that the palace is going to hold a banquet like the queen mother in the previous two years, I don't know if there is still the content of the famous singers in the capital this time?" ”

Zhang Tao glanced at him: "What do you want to do?" Are you afraid that you are not famous enough? ”

"Don't think about it, it's useless for me to be famous." Jiang Tian sneered: "The key is that there are still such a group of artists in my house who have nowhere to go, if they can show their faces when the powerful gather, maybe they can have a chance to change their fate." ”

Hearing him say this, Zhang Tao had to nod, even if he was a traverser and made a woman from a Qinglou a queen, the social status of these untouchables would still not change, which was indeed a problem that needed to be corrected with all his strength for Zhang Tao, who was accustomed to the greatest proletariat. Holding such art competitions through the royal family can indeed quickly improve their public image.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Tao said: "This is still the old rule, in principle, there is no restriction on the registration conditions, and when the time comes, the best of the best will be selected, if you can enter the top three, those who were originally untouchables will be allowed to leave the country, and those within the four people will have their own rewards." ”

After hearing this plan, Jiang Tian was relieved, even if he didn't need the emperor to release water, he was sure that the women in his house would be in the top three, and when the time came, with the holy decree to allow him to get out of the lowly status, they would not have to doubt their commitment, and when the time came, it would naturally be the marryman who should marry and go home, and he would not have to raise these girls and have no place to place.

Because there is still more than a month before the emperor's birthday banquet, the Jiang Fu Band, which usually practices new songs, naturally does not need to prepare so early. So Jiang Tian ran to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs early the next morning, in addition to waiting for Zhang Huan's arrival, he was also responsible for the opportunity to select students. As a result, before the people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could talk clearly, Fernando and his party had already arrived at the door, so Jiang Tian had no choice but to order a few people who had been screened out to pretend to be reception staff, and they were going to pour tea or something at the negotiation site, and by the way, they also heard what was going on in the diplomatic negotiations. When the arrangement was almost done, Zhang Huan also came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accompanied by Wu Yuan, generally speaking, even if he went out on patrol in micro-clothes, Wu Yuan followed him, in addition to serving the prince at any time, he was also the last bodyguard.

The minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is Hu Jingyi, the former secretary of the Ministry of Rites, who was originally very unhappy with Jiang Tian's accusations that the bird occupied the dove's nest early in the morning, even if there was the emperor's order, in the old man's heart, he still felt that it was just to exchange national credentials with a state to confirm the trade authority, and he could use it so much? But when he saw that the people who acted as the clerk of the meeting turned out to be Wu Yuan and the crown prince, the old man decisively pretended not to see anything, turned his head and disappeared. Of course, there is no second-generation position of officials such as Liu Baokai and Song Yi on this occasion, but because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself is also rushing ducks to the shelves, I don't know how to talk about it, so the composition of this personnel has become Wu Yuan's meeting minutes, and the prince and his classmates are listening on the side, but Song Yi has been busy testing new ships for the navy for the past two days and has no time to rush back, Tian Xuhai, who has nominally become the prince's companion but was excluded from the inner circle, has seized this opportunity.

After the two sides sat down, the Spanish side first submitted the credentials, and after the Chinese translator checked it, confirmed the authenticity of the credentials, and then expressed their respect and greetings to each other's monarchs. The next step was to determine the time and etiquette for the Spanish envoys to meet the Chinese emperor, and to Fernando's surprise, he had already received a reminder from Jacob that the Chinese might ask him to kneel when he saw the emperor. This is a bit unacceptable to Europeans, so he is also ready to bargain with Jiang Tian on this issue, but Jiang Tian did not intend to force him to kneel at all, only said that according to the European etiquette of meeting the monarch, at least one knee should be kneeled. Not to mention that the Spaniards didn't expect this concession, even the interns of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs couldn't help but look sideways, but when they saw that the prince looked calm and had no objections, no one dared to speak out against it.

Just when Fernando thought that things would go smoothly, he saw Jiang Tian holding the terms of trade and said with a straight face: "Mr. Viscount, it seems that your country doesn't know how many goods we export to Europe every year, right?" I don't think your country will be able to pay the full amount of the goods you are asking for a European monopoly on porcelain, silk, cotton, Chinese medicine, mirrors, etc.! ”