In the afternoon tea party, which is called Xiaoxiao, which was actually promoted by the travelers decades in advance, the participants were greatly happy, both mentally and spiritually.

In the riverside garden, guests sit on wicker chairs with simple lines, in front of a mirror-like marble coffee table and a crystal glass tea set. A bright red, glazed Clark porcelain plate with Bible stories holds a delicate cake.

All this is accompanied by the cool breeze blowing from the Taijiang River around them, and the guests all feel relaxed and happy.

After stripping off their bulky coats and ruff collars and leaving only a cool silk shirt, the two gentlemen, under the banner of "following the customs", tasted the black tea, salt soda, and cold beer of the master with six or seven Manilan merchants.

Black tea is a category of goods that the commercial sector has begun to promote. It was the beginning of the 17th century, and Europeans had not yet learned how to drink tea, and the Dutch and Portuguese, who were the first to sell tea, simply kept the leaves of the plant in pharmacies as medicine.

The lifespan of the traversal is limited, and it will not be possible to wait for the Portuguese princess to marry and go to England to promote afternoon tea in a few decades. Therefore, with regard to tea, a money-absorbing weapon that can trigger the opium trade in later generations, the commercial department has a huge promotion plan, and it is waiting for the new tea to be launched next year.

The black tea that the two gentlemen drink today is the standard European way of drinking with sugar cubes and milk.

The tea was prepared in a set of glassware by a short Filipino servant who had been "commissioned" at the Tracer. After tasting this fresh sugar and milk tea, the guests all nodded their heads, which was originally developed by their descendants according to the taste of Europeans, and it naturally tasted good.

"It's delicious, the true value of this leaf has been overlooked." After drinking a cup of fragrant milk tea, Alonso smacked his lips and said.

"It's the ancient way of drinking tea that the masters here brought from the Ming Mainland, and they are training the servants for free." Fitzel, a thin-faced Spanish businessman in a silk shirt, added: "Most Ming people use that weird way of brewing boiling water, which has been blinding us all along. ”

"Tradition is always important." Viscount Juan then replied, "Only the true nobles have mastered some seemingly inconspicuous and important arts, and it is said that they migrated here from the snow-filled Northlands. ”

"I think there must be a lot of stories between the nobles of the big people and the Ming royal family." At this point, Alonso thought to himself, "I have to write to the priests in the capital of the Ming Kingdom, and the council needs to know the origin of these pirates, especially the pirate king Cao Chuan." ”

After drinking the black tea, the cold salt soda and home-brewed beer also made the guests feel comfortable. In the process, everyone is speculating about the origin of these magical ice cubes. Several businessmen are even discussing the possibility of selling ice in the hot colonies and princely states of South Asia.

The two gentlemen focused their attention on the bathroom in the villa, which was more capable of showing off the power of the country.

Speaking of bathing, the joke "Europeans don't bathe" has a long history in later generations and is well known.

What is the real situation?

In ancient Rome and Greece, the bathing culture in Europe was very developed, and public baths were all over the city, and mixed bathing was common.

Beginning in the early 14th century, the Black Death spread across Europe, killing one-third of Europeans.

This catastrophe became a carnival for the Church, and the Catholic Church began to preach an advanced idea: the dirty body is closer to God, and not bathing has become a symbol of holiness, and those who have enough courage not to bathe for many years will even be canonized as saints, just like the Chinese chastity archway for widows.

In the past, the Romans liked to bathe and bathe for a healthy lifestyle, which was spurned as a sign of weakness, so the Catholics always did not bathe or wash their clothes all year round under the influence of the church, and took pride in it.

The roof leak coincided with overnight rain The ancient Romans were unable to resist the invasion of the Germanic savages due to the perennial use of lead as water pipes, which led to a significant decline in physical fitness and IQ, so the developed bathing culture disappeared under the joint attack of the church and the barbarians.

It was also the beginning of the Dark Middle Ages.

As a role model for the people, the royal families of various countries, when the power of the church was in full swing at that time, and not bathing had become a "politically correct" situation, could only bow their heads and admit that a large number of European monarchs, including the famous Charlemagne and Queen Victoria, trumpeted not bathing as a personal achievement

The aristocracy, on the other hand, needed to use a lot of incense powder in order to hide the smell on their bodies, which is one of the reasons why Europeans had such a strong interest in Asian spices.

However, with the passage of the Dark Middle Ages, with the beginning of the Thirty Years' War, and with the beginning of the Age of Discovery, all these led to the decline of the power of the Catholic Church, the birthplace of all ignorance. Protestant countries like the Netherlands and England, and even Catholic diehards like Spain, have put aside the church's nonsense when it comes to bathing.

The reason is simple: in the heat of Brazil, Peru, Chile, in the even hotter Gold Coast of Africa, in the super hot Philippines and the Spice Islands, you will die without bathing.

In fact, it is basically only the French and Spaniards who believe in Catholicism in all of Europe who have made such a perversion in the ban on bathing. Other countries have been slowly reverting to the habit of bathing since the 16th and 17th centuries, especially in Protestant countries, which resumed even earlier.

Thus, in Europe at the end of the Middle Ages, the French, who later claimed to be the epitome of elegance, were in fact the worst hygienic in all of Europe.

The well-mannered French gentlemen and ladies in the oil paintings are actually dirty people with dirt and lice crawling in their hair, all relying on perfume to solve the problem.

Of course, since it is the so-called "political correctness", then there will definitely be a situation where the official propaganda is set and the people behind the scenes do not admit it.

Don't take a bath, a brain-dead propaganda initiated by the church that goes against the essential needs of human beings, is actually the same as those chastity arches in the East, and there are no coercive measures.

Henry IV's mother insisted on not bathing for the rest of his life, and Henry IV, who was canonized as the Holy Lady Agnès, also did not bathe, but the oil painting of his mistress bathing in the bathtub with his sister has been passed down to future generations.

The same is true for the chastity archway, and countless widows are remarrying every day, but there are only a few arches

This hypocritical style of "political correctness" has been carried forward by later generations of American imperialists, and white politicians in bright clothes shout in front of the camera to eliminate all racial discrimination, but anyone who has been there to study and live there has discrimination or not, who goes, who knows.

At this time in 1628, there were no colonists in East Asia who did not take a bath. Or it can be said that whoever survives is bathed.

East Asia is not a cold high-latitude Europa, the altitude here makes all kinds of germs in the most active state at all times, India, Batavia, the Philippines weather, can kill a person covered in bed bugs and lice in 7 days.

Therefore, colonists like Alonso and Juan, who have adapted to the environment, attach great importance to the bathrooms in the merchant houses.

It wasn't just the running water and toilet that caught their attention, but also the ingenious cast iron system.

Unlike the Celestial Empire, which came from behind closed doors, the European continent countries have been living a tumultuous life for hundreds of years, so the elite class is quite sensitive to various military industrial technologies.

Whether it's tiles or intricate cast-iron pipe fittings, combined with the huge and clever steel machinery they see along the way, the two aristocratic envoys quickly come to the conclusion that the owner of this place has a powerful, mysterious industrial manufacturing ability.

"Dear Juan, what the gentlemen of Manila say about these Ming pirates well, nobles, I am now eager to know." After eating another slice of mango cake, Alonso plans to get to know the pirates from the side.

Baron Juan, with a short beard and light blue eyes, laughed, "Maybe we should go out for a walk," and soon after, the two of them walked slowly south along the riverside promenade outside the merchant house.

"There have been a lot of rumors here, and I'm talking about Macau. So, the relationship between Manila and the big guys, I don't think it can help you. After a short walk, Juan began to slowly organize his language, "You know, sometimes, the same person can be an angel or a devil. ”

"References, just references." Alonso said politely.

"Well, here I must regret to tell you that the gentlemen of Manila are full of affection for the big guys." Juan shook his head at this, "In fact, trade with the Grand Master has saved almost everything. Dear Alonso, the upper echelons, including Governor Juan, will not meddle in disputes between you and the Lords. ”

During this time, the native nobility of Portugal was trying to break free from the control of the Spanish suzerainty and was always ready to establish an independent state, so the relationship between the two sides was quite bad.

However, thousands of miles away in East Asia, the relationship between Manila and Macao is relatively close. In the face of Dutch villains, English thieves, Ming pirates, and the intricacies of East Asian trade, the two sides had to maintain a loose alliance for the sake of the common Catholic faith and for the sake of the common King Philip IV.

However, from the day the first trading convoy of the Grand Commander arrived in the Philippines, this relationship did not work in the face of the crossing nation.