When it comes to the wax moon, the weather is cold and freezing, but the streets and alleys of the capital are lively.

Approaching the end of the year, the earth is frozen, the people have leisure, how to get to walk on the street, prepare for the New Year's goods at the same time to pass the last time of the year, the market can be seen everywhere with those gentry and magnates who take their families to the street, the people in the neighborhood are in a hurry, the downtown of the capital is crowded with vendors, selling most of the things related to the New Year.

Of course, New Year's pictures are indispensable!

In the land of the capital, there will always be good things, and there are in demand everywhere in the world, but all the good sales will be transported to the capital, which is a great business opportunity.

Since the colorful New Year paintings produced in Tingzhou became famous in the south of the Yangtze River, more and more people began to pour the New Year paintings, but more of them were copied and imitated.

After several years of technical improvement, the imitation of the color gilt New Year paintings in various places has been similar, from the appearance alone, even Shen Xi, the inventor, is difficult to judge the authenticity, but as long as you touch it carefully with your hands, it will be clear, the outside layer of the fake New Year paintings is easy to fade, and the authentic Tingzhou New Year paintings will not fade for a long time.

Because the Tingzhou Chamber of Commerce has not really developed into the capital, even if there are genuine Tingzhou New Year paintings, they are also shipped by merchants, and most of the profits are earned by these people.

Shen Xi is about to celebrate his second Spring Festival in the capital.

When he first arrived in Beijing last year, his goal was to take the examination after the beginning of spring, and he didn't have the heart to prepare for the New Year's goods.

Without Xie Yun'er here, Shen Xi always felt that something was missing, but fortunately, Lin Dai's heart knot was untied, and the two spent more time together on weekdays, and the two of them finally stayed the same as before.

But it is only a childhood sweetheart's lover, and it has not developed into a husband and wife with eyebrows.

Shen Xi felt that the time was almost ripe to harvest Lin Dai, but he didn't know why, so he couldn't bear it for a while, even though he knew that Lin Dai was almost defenseless against him.

On the fourteenth day of the lunar month, Shen Xi told Zhu Houzhao about the "History of the Five Dynasties", which was actually the "New History of the Five Dynasties" compiled by Ouyang Xiu in the Song Dynasty.

Because of the continuous disputes of the five generations, the ministers killed their gentlemen and their fathers abounded, full of gloom, far less majestic and magnificent or ups and downs than the "History of the Tang Dynasty" or "History of the Song Dynasty", Zhu Houzhao dozed off from the beginning of the class, and Shen Xi told a few stories intermittently in the middle, involving the sixteen states of Youyun, Zhu Houzhao was not very happy to listen.

In Zhu Houzhao's opinion, you can't play with me, it's useless to say more, I don't want to see you, you have nothing to do with me.

Shen Xi did not continue to use his own ways and methods to transform Zhu Houzhao, and the two of them now get along in a very strange way, not like a monarch or a teacher and student, nor like a friend...... You talk about yours, I sleep with mine, don't interfere with each other during class, don't care how I play after class, and don't run to my dad to complain.

But Zhu Houzhao was relatively polite to Shen Xi, and basically did not escape Shen Xi's class, but for other lecturers, it was easy to have the situation that the prince was not there during the lecture and waited alone in the lecture hall.

Shen Xi came out of the East Palace and returned to Zhan Shifu, and before he could finish cleaning up and getting off work, Xie Qian was already waiting at the door with a smile on his face.

Xie Qian, as a member of the Cabinet Auxiliary Political University, rarely walked around the yamen below, because he usually only needed to stay in the cabinet and wait to read the recital and draw up the vote. But the number of times Xie Qian looked for Shen Xi was too frequent, so that Shen Xi had the feeling that he was followed by Xie Qian wherever he went.

"Shen Xi, your one-year evaluation period is almost over, right? After a while, do you want to go home to save your family? Xie Qian asked knowingly, looking concerned.

Shen Xi thought to himself, it is the traditional rule of the imperial court to return to my hometown and my relatives at the end of the one-year examination period for new jinshi students, you Xie Qian will not want me to do things and prevent me from returning to my hometown, right?

Shen Xi saluted respectfully: "Exactly." What did Elder Xie Ge command? ”

"It's nothing, don't think about it......" Xie Qian habitually snorted, but soon he changed his words, "I'm fine, but ...... The court has important things for you to do. ”

Shen Xi frowned when he heard this, and thought to himself, "Am I that important?" It's like the court can't turn normally without me. ”

Shen Xi said: "What does Elder Xie Ge send, although he is blunt. ”

Xie Qian shook his head and sighed softly, "Remember the weird text I asked you about some time ago? Later, I found out that it was the text of the Buddha machine, and by comparing it with the manuscript written by the Buddha machine person before, I probably knew that they were going to pay tribute to me****...... This dynasty was in its prime, and Siyi surrendered, haha. ”

Shen Xi knew that the Buddha machine was the common name of the Ming Dynasty for the Spaniards and the Portuguese.

Historically, however, it was the Portuguese who first arrived in coastal China.

At the beginning of the Age of Discovery, almost a history of Portuguese exploration, Enrique led the discovery of a series of islands in Europe and Africa, established colonies on the west coast of Africa, and then reached the Cape of Good Hope by the navigator Diaz, and Vasco da Gama successfully reached Guri on the west coast of India ten years later.

But so far, the footprints of the Portuguese have not been to the Far East, and there is no such classification as the Buddha machine text in the Siyi Pavilion, because historical records show that the Portuguese fleet did not arrive at the coast of China until the eighth year of Zhengde, and it was called "Buddha Luo Jiren" in the thirteenth year of Zhengde.

It is only the twelfth year of Hongzhi, which conflicts with the historical record of the Portuguese's overseas colonial expansion, and Shen Xi can only understand that perhaps because of his appearance, under the butterfly effect, the Portuguese arrived on the coast of China and took the initiative to contact the Ming Dynasty.

Shen Xi said: "I don't know what this has to do with students? ”

Xie Qian had a cunning smile on his face: "The fleet of the Buddha is in Quanzhou Mansion at this time, which is in Fujian, Your Majesty wants to find someone to receive these envoys and discuss the matter of paying tribute...... That's a good job! ”

Good for your mother's head!

You calculated with your toes, the Portuguese want to pay tribute, which is a great thing, indicating that the prestige of the Ming Dynasty has spread thousands of miles away. In order to show the pride of the **** great country, you have to find someone to collect tribute, and then take it back to the court to show off, and prove to the people what a glory it is to be a Ming man!

But if the Portuguese don't give gifts and run away in boats, what will you let me do after them and ask for tribute?

The Age of Discovery, pioneered by the Portuguese, was accompanied by colonial expansion, and those navigators with wolf ambitions basically invaded wherever they went.

For example, when Vasco da Gama first arrived in India, he was warmly welcomed, and he returned to Portugal with a fleet full of spices and precious stones, and the net profit from the voyage was 60 times the cost of the voyage. But only three years later, da Gama led his fleet to India for the second time, intercepting merchant ships along the way, killing people and destroying mouths, bombarding Guri, and forcibly occupying Goa and Cochin.

In addition, as far as Shen Xi knew, the Portuguese had harassed the southeast coast of China in order to open the border defense of the Ming Dynasty, and later saw that the Ming Dynasty was not as easy to bully as those African and Indian natives, so they changed their tactics and occupied Macao by bribing local officials and foreign merchants to occupy Macao and obtain trade rights with the Ming Dynasty.

Now these Portuguese have just arrived in Daming, with the pride of "God's envoys", with the attitude of "mine is mine, yours is still mine", you let me go and ask them for tribute, it is better to let me go to death.

Shen Xi said: "Xie Ge Lao may not know, this Quanzhou is in the southeast of Fujian, Tingzhou is in the west of Fujian, and it is not a ...... to go back to Tingzhou from the Ganjiang River."

Xie Qian's old face suddenly darkened: "Listen to the meaning of your words, this is to resist the emperor's order!" Shen Xi, what are you doing to you as an old man? This is the emperor's mission, after you go out, you are the minister of the Qincha, others want but can't, you're good, you actually push back? ”

Shen Xi complained bitterly in his heart, since he became an official, he was called by Xie Qian's envoy, he thought that he would be able to be quiet for a few months when he returned to his hometown and province, and he could just relax his heart, maybe he could also visit Tang Yin, Wen Zhengming, Xu Zhenqing and other Jiangnan celebrities, and arrange an errand for Tang Yin to make a difference in the future.

It's good now, even the people who returned to their hometowns and provinces have remembered Xie Qian, and his name is Qincha. But if it was an ordinary imperial errand, Shen Xi naturally couldn't ask for it, but now he asked him to ask for tribute from a group of Portuguese who were called navigators and were actually pirates.

Shen Xi said: "Students are afraid that they will not be competent. The students are good at English writing, not Buddha Jiwen, even if they see these people, they can't communicate with them, in fact, this errand, Xie Ge Lao sent others as well. ”

Xie Qian said angrily: "The matter is so decided!" Your Majesty will give you preferential treatment, depart before the end of the year, and arrive in Quanzhou Mansion by mid-February at the latest. It's best to come back before the end of May......"

The words are conclusive, and Shen Xi is not allowed to have any chance to refuse.

Shen Xi shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Even if he doesn't give the royal flag, the emperor should give him the imperial seal, so that he has the right to act cheaply in the local area, but now it's good, just Xie Qian came over and told him, let him "drop by" the emperor's errand......

I'm afraid that I have a life to go and not come back!

Shen Xi said: "Xie Ge Lao, it's not the students who push and shove, this Buddha is far away in the Obaro continent, and I have no diplomatic relations with our dynasty, this time he arrived on my southeast coast with a fleet, and he has the advantage of armor and firearms, I go if the other party is willing to obey my great tomorrow, if I don't agree, this ...... What should I do? ”

Xie Qian obviously didn't think about the problem too complicated.

In fact, Xie Qian knew that the "Buddha Machine" was still after receiving the transcript from the Fujian local office, because the "Buddha Machine" had no contact with the Ming Dynasty, and the language was not comprehensible, and the dialogue between the two sides was actually translated through a third country, and the letter submitted by the other party was to pay tribute according to the meaning of the local official, but the real intention was not clear.

Only Shen Xi secretly slandered himself: A group of robbers on the sea will pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty?

"It's just a few ships, I have a lot of resources and a strong army, how can I be threatened by a few little Buddha people?" Xie Qian held the idea of **** going to the country, but Shen Xi's words still aroused his vigilance, "That's it, I'll go back and mention it to Your Majesty, see what Your Majesty means, you go back and prepare, and leave in a few days." ”

"The student's one-year assessment ......"

"Hello, since you have been let go back to your hometown, naturally your assessment will be passed, and you will continue to be your errand after you come back."

Xie Qian said angrily, "But you are also disgusting enough to be a lecturer in the East Palace, Bachelor Wang doesn't stare at others, but only stares at you, you have to reflect on it after you go back this time, and come back to see how you can teach the prince well." ”

Shen Xi heard this, he went back this time not because he was able to return to his hometown and province after the expiration of the evaluation period, but because he was "assigned" because of poor teaching, and as for seeing the Portuguese, it was "guilty of meritorious service".

Shen Xi thought to himself: "I'm just going back to my hometown to visit relatives, you need to bluff and scare like this?" ”

Xie Qian is not a servant who can only play tricks after all, after hearing Shen Xi's analysis, he also realized that these Buddha people may have bad intentions, so he hurriedly went back to make some suggestions to Emperor Hongzhi to prevent trouble.

Shen Xi began to worry about his trip to provincial relatives.

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PS: The second update is here!

Although the Son of Heaven supports Jiao Niang, but our books can't be too far behind, the Son of Heaven wiped his tears and begged for a monthly ticket...... Good luck guys, have mercy on me, poor pond fish! (To be continued.) )