The royal family of the Ming Dynasty had countless marriages between nobles and nobles, and the kinship was quite complicated. From the Ming Dynasty's native Zhongzhou, to Nanzhou, to Dongzhou, and then to Xizhou, almost all the nobles have close relatives with each other.

When Zhang Han heard Yang Zhihe's uncle, he didn't think of who it was for the first time. In his memory, there has never been an uncle who has such a big face.

Yang Zhihe said with a smile: "You are lagging behind in the news of Dongzhou, and you don't know that Lord Monte is now the Count of Monte. A few months ago, Monte sailed directly into the Rhine for the first time with a trading fleet, opening up direct trade between the Ming and the countries of northern Europa. ”

Monte is the younger brother of Zhang Han's grandmother Sophia, and according to the relationship between them, he is indeed the uncle.

However, in Zhang Han's heart, this uncle is just a merchant who failed to study and gradually became dependent on the Zhang family's trade.

In his heart, that uncle Enko was stronger than Monte. Enke was able to do the position of the head in the Ming officialdom as a foreigner, and became a famous bridge and architectural expert in the Ming Dynasty, and his image in Zhang Han's heart was better.

So hearing that this little uncle could become an earl, it still had a great impact on him.

Now that the Great Tomorrow is peaceful, there are few opportunities to make contributions, so there are fewer and fewer knights.

To be canonized as an earl is a great achievement.

Take Zhang Han as an example, although he is the son-in-law of the Duke's Mansion and the emperor's nephew, he is not the eldest son, and he will only have one honorary earl title at most in the future.

He was surprised and asked, "What credit did my uncle make to be made an earl?" ”

Although Yang Zhihe knew that there was another mystery in this, but speaking of it to the outside world, he naturally took out the credit announced by the imperial court to publicize it.

Taking Zhang Han to the front of the globe, he pointed to the Andaman Islands and said: "Now this place has been named Xichang Island by the imperial court, and your uncle is also named Xichang Bo." ”

Zhang Han shook his head and said: "In such a Ming hinterland, even if you persuade the natives to join it, it is not enough to divide the earl according to merit. can have such a result, I am afraid that His Majesty has the intention of reusing my uncle. Could it be that Your Majesty intends to develop private trade? ”

Yang Zhihe knew that Zhang Han was smart, and he was not surprised that he could guess the reason. said with a smile: "Don't talk nonsense if you guess, everything is subject to the will of the imperial court." Your uncle has now arrived in Crete, and if you wish, you can wait for him to come to me. ”

Zhang Han was greatly moved, European countries are very protective of the Ming people, although they are inseparable from the trade with the Ming, but they have only opened a few ports as treaty ports.

For example, Rotterdam, London, Marseille, Rome. In the northern part of Europa, many cities did not trade directly with the Ming Dynasty.

They need Daming's goods, but they are even more afraid that Daming's goods will impact Europa's already weak business.

As the first merchant to break into northern Europe, Monte followed him to northern Europe, and he was able to enjoy the northern European style.

However, in order to follow this route, he and his sisters may have made many promises, including a promise to take them to Rome and Crete for a while.

Speaking of this, Yang Zhihe said with a smile: "Your aunt was invited by Lady Admiral Xu of Crete and was going to go to Crete for a while, so she could bring a few nieces there, as long as you can return before July." ”

When Zhang Han heard the joy, he immediately hugged his fists and said, "My nephew thanked my uncle." ”

At dinner, Zhang Han told his sisters about the next schedule, and the sisters were also quite happy. There is a princess and aunt who take her out to play, and it must be more fun than Zhang Han, a man who takes her out to play.

The matter was arranged, and Zhang Han was here in Gibraltar waiting for their arrival.

What Zhang Han didn't know was that when he was touring in Gibraltar, Zhang Song, the housekeeper who came with him, had already made many arrangements with Yang Zhihe on how to change his character flaws.

Zhang Han's character flaws were already showing when he was eighteen years old. As the son-in-law of the Jiangmen family, his nature is sentimental and indecisive, which gives the whole family a headache.

For the sake of a woman, he lived a depressed life, and even exiled himself.

However, this is not a problem for the Liang Guogong Mansion, even if it is to raise him for a lifetime, it is not a burden to the Liang Guogong Mansion.

But in the family fiefdom, he showed a fraternist mentality, treated the Ming people and other natives equally, and also had an undeserved sympathy for other races, which made Zhang Feng and them a little worried.

In today's world, the Ming people are superior people, and everyone else is inferior, which is the basic national policy and the unswerving line of the entire empire.

Any violation of this tendency is considered dangerous.

Since Zhang Han sympathizes with foreign races and harbors the unreliable idea of universal harmony, the Zhang family intends to change his mentality from the source.

Zhang Han thinks that no one knows what is going on in his heart, but in fact, in the development process of any family, there is a complete evaluation mechanism for the abilities, mentality and other aspects of each descendant.

If they can't grasp the depth of ability of each descendant, how dare the family entrust family affairs to them?

The relationship between the Yang family and the Zhang family is good, both families have developed in Dongzhou, and the relationship has been very close over the years.

Zhang Feng and Yang Zhihe are both married to princesses, and the relationship between the two is naturally different. Therefore, Zhang Feng specially arranged a housekeeper to negotiate with Yang Zhihe, and was ready to use some means to correct Zhang Han's mentality.

Yang Zhihe still admires Zhang Han, but this appreciation is limited to his kindness. The children of a big family, in addition to being kind, should have more excellent qualities, so in general, Zhang Han is not qualified at present.

As a woman, Princess Yongheng actually admires this nephew.

However, the decree of the Ming Sect re-stipulates that immediate family members within three generations cannot get married, so they did not have the idea of giving their daughter to Zhang Han.

Monte and Mont arrived in Crete, although Europe was in mourning because of the great defeat.

But it is clear that Crete is thriving in commerce.

This is mainly due to the fact that the Ming Dynasty has now liberalized steel controls, allowing the sale of steel to countries such as Europe and the Ottomans.

Whether it was the Mamluks, the Ottomans, Hungary, the Papal States, the Holy Roman Kingdom and other countries, they were shocked by the news, and then turned crazy.

In the whole of Europe, the current steel production is less than one percent of that of the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty consumes millions of tons of steel to build railways every year, and the steel production of the whole of Europe combined is less than 50,000 tons.

This is already the result of the huge improvement of Europe's steel refining capacity after getting Daming black technology.

Before stealing the black technology of Daming's steel, the iron production of the whole of Europe was less than 10,000 tons.

Moreover, they do not know how to make steel, they only use low furnace temperature to make iron, their iron sword is as soft as a noodle, after slashing the enemy, the iron sword will be bent, and you need to step on it straight with your feet before you can continue to slash and kill the enemy.

This is not fiction, but historical fact.

Because the amount of steel is so small, only France, England, and Luxembourg have small iron ore mines in the whole of Europe. Iron ore on the Bulgarian side, Europe and the Ottomans are all competing.

That's why they formed a coalition and expanded eastward to rob Ukraine's "largest" Donetsk iron mine.

Now the Ming began to supply steel to Europe, which immediately became the most favored commodity in all countries. When the purchasing envoys of the countries of the whole island of Crete saw a large ship approaching, they would immediately rush up and want to buy a shipload of steel directly.

Under the temptation of steel, even those countries that had just been defeated, regardless of grief and hatred, sent some private merchants to buy the high-quality steel of the Ming Dynasty.

And Daming's steel, even if it is added to the long-distance freight, after arriving in Europe, is still lower than the cost of European local production, and the iron quality is better.

But in fact, the Ming Dynasty rarely shipped steel directly from the mainland to Europe, and most of the steel that arrived in Europe came from the three ports of Goa and Mangalo and Cochin in western India.

It is India's iron ore region, and today the Ming Dynasty has built more than 10 steel mills in the area to help develop the local economy.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty has taken control of the economy of the entire Indian region, turning the entire South Asian region into a de facto colony.

India's abundant minerals, fertile land, and complex ethnic struggles allowed the Ming to rule the region without much effort.

Many small Indian countries are crying and shouting to join the Ming Dynasty, but now the Ming Dynasty has not accepted them.

The main reason is that they have too many people.

The Ming wanted to take advantage of India's population, but he didn't want to bear the burden of these populations.

Most of the goods brought by Monte this time were the goods that were directly negotiated with the major city-states last time, so they only stayed in Crete to replenish fresh water, not trade.

But when they came ashore, they were besieged by the merchants here for the purpose of his shipload of steel.

At this time, Monte showed a treacherous honesty that was different from that of ordinary merchants, and even if the price was increased by 10%, he did not agree to resell the steel to them.

And this move was also appreciated by the representatives of those city-states, of course, at the same time, there were some doubts.

Because an ordinary merchant will not sell at a high price, but he is willing to abide by the contract. Keeping the contract was the basic standard for businessmen in later generations, but in this era, it is so rare.

And at this time, Monte also lost no time in revealing his status as a count. For the sake of the honor of the nobility, he was willing to give up some of the gains and losses in business.

Subsequently, Monte deliberately stayed in Crete for half a month, which was to give the European countries some time to react and observe their reactions.

All he had to do now was to make the other party suspect his identity, and he would have to trade with him.

He is not afraid of the suspicion of the other party, because he himself does not undertake any specific tasks, he just creates a platform for his son.

During his stay in Crete, Monte had already traveled to Milan and was reunited with his "good friend", Maria, the eldest son of Francesco Forza, Duke of Milan.

The Sforza family is a famous mercenary family in the Italian peninsula, and their family has served in the Duchy of Naples, the Papal States, the Holy Roman Kingdom, the Duchy of Milan and other powers.

All their actions come from the temptation of money.

While serving the Duchy of Milan, Francesco abandoned his original wife and married Maria, the daughter of Visconti, then the Duchy of Milan.

In the twenty-fourth year of Orthodoxy, Visconti died, leaving no son, and Sforza justifiably stole power from the Duchy of Milan.

Sforza and Maria had three children, the eldest was sixteen years old, he was a young man full of curiosity about the world, and when Meng Zheng first came to Milan, he was captivated by Meng Zheng's oriental charm and became a good friend of Meng Zheng.

And Sforza's second son, twelve-year-old Rudovic, with black hair and black eyes, even boasted that he was an Oriental.

He was madly fascinated by Daming culture, so he came to Crete at the age of six, where he studied Chinese at the Daming School on the island.

Both brothers are madly obsessed with the East, which is the main reason why Meng Zheng wants to stay in Milan and develop.

Sforza is 64 years old this year, and his health is not very good, and he could die at any time.

Once he died, Maria, the heir who was madly obsessed with the Ming Dynasty, took over the power and could greatly increase the influence of the Ming in the local area.

Moreover, at this time, the Duchy of Milan was the most economically powerful region in the whole of Europe.

The Po Plain is the most fertile area in the whole of Europe, and the Duchy of Milan occupies the most elite area of the Po Plain.

Knowing that Meng Zheng had returned to Milan again, Maria led her escort to Pavia on the Po River to meet Meng Zheng.

When Meng Zheng left Europe, he promised him that he would give him a Count car made in Daming, and he had been longing for Meng Zheng's arrival for the past few months.

When the brand-new Piaget car was lifted off the ship by a crane, Maria felt that Meng Zheng had become his best friend.

"My dear friend, I have prepared for you a mansion with sixteen bedrooms near my family castle as your home in Milan. I hope our friendship can continue forever. ”

Meng Zheng put his hand on his left chest, bowed slightly, and said, "When I arrived in Contarina, I only got the news of your engagement to the princess of the Kingdom of Savoy, please forgive me for not being able to prepare a more beautiful gift for you." However, my wife, she has prepared a gold ornament for your fiancée from the Ming royal family. This ornament with a phoenix motif is worn only by the most noble women. ”

"Your wife, oh my God, you've been married for only a few months...... I'm going to have to pick a wedding gift for you. ”

Meng Zheng hooked his hands, and Duan Qi, who was dressed like a noblewoman, held the hand of a Persian maid and got off the boat.

Her grand dress immediately blinded Maria's eyes, according to his prediction, Duan Qi could buy an ancient castle in Milan, or even change to a large manor.

Duan Qi asked people to give her the gift she had prepared, this is a silk silk gold step shaking phoenix ornament, the gold thread thinner than the hair is twisted into a beautiful phoenix-shaped ornament, and it is also inlaid with various gemstones, this exquisite ornament is unimaginable for Maria at all.

"This piece of jewelry can be exchanged for a city ......," he couldn't help but sigh: "In comparison, the gift I have prepared for you is out of reach, and when we return to Milan, I need to prepare a better gift for your wedding." Madame, you are wonderful. ”

Duan Qi, who has been cultivated all the way by Mengzheng, knows that this is a compliment from Europeans, without the subtlety of the East, and it looks very rude. However, she didn't show it, and saluted shyly: "Thank you for the compliment." “

In this scene, Duan Renzhi on the boat who watched it vigorously pinched his teeth. These buns of dirt buns really don't know any etiquette at all!

Meng Zheng smiled at this time: "Maria, do you remember that I once told you that I wanted to form a football team in Milan?" This time, I brought a group of players from Daming, and I can also help you train a group of players to form the first football team in Europe. Trust me, we're going to be the latest young people in Europe, and there's nothing more obsessive than football. ”

"Of course, I have convinced my father to build a football field in the northeast corner of our family's back garden that can accommodate 20,000 people."

"It's great news and I can't wait to get to Milan."

Just when the General Administration Department was carefully preparing for Monte, Meng Zheng and his wife arrived in Milan and immediately set off a Ming Dynasty trend.

What the General Administration Department did not expect was that they had prepared various countermeasures to prevent all changes, but they did not expect that it was not Meng Zheng who set off this whirlwind of the Ming Dynasty, but Duan Qi, who was born and raised in the Ming Dynasty.

For Europeans, they no longer feel strange to the men of the Ming Dynasty, and now the upper class of society in Europe has begun to popularize the Ming dialect, and on the island of Crete, there are also all kinds of Ming people.

On the contrary, because the women of the Ming Dynasty never show their heads, even if they occasionally make a splash in Crete, there is no distance that does not attract too many people's attention.

Like Princess Yongheng and Lady Xu of Crete, they are all real Ming nobles, but they hardly deal with Europeans.

Duan Qi was the first Ming woman to directly enter the upper class of European society, and because they deliberately integrated, Duan Qi quickly showed the characteristic charm of the Orient in front of Europeans.

In the eyes of the Ming people, Duan Qi is not beautiful, she is a little tall and a little fat, which does not meet the standards of the Ming people.

But for Europeans, the tall, fat, white, tender and charming Duan Qi exudes a deadly charm all over her body.

Each of her clothes is so exquisite, the combination of soft silk, exquisite embroidery, and seductive silk satin makes the women of the whole city of Milan fall in love with it.

In particular, her exquisite jewelry, each of which fascinated countless women, made those noble ladies eager to exchange all their wealth for it.

Upon arrival in Milan, Duan Qi was more popular than Meng Zheng and was accepted by the women of the upper class of European society more quickly.

The adults in the General Administration Department were also depressed, if they had known that the jewelry was so popular, if they had known that women were more acceptable to the upper classes of Europe than men, they would not have taken a detour for decades.

They quickly sent people to Yingzhou Mansion, and sent a telegram from Yingzhou Mansion to Tianfu, asking people to send more Jin Bu Shao jewelry.

Now that Duan Qi has successfully broken into the upper class of European society, this opportunity must be taken advantage of.

Zhang Han, who was in Gibraltar, finally waited for Monte, but after meeting this uncle, Monte did not suggest that he go to Northern Europe with him, but asked him to go to Milan as well.

Because Maria, the son of the Grand Duke of Milan, is about to marry Princess Beaune of the Kingdom of Savoy, Milan has now become an important social arena in Europe.

After trading with the Kingdom of Portugal this time, Monte will also rush back to Milan to attend the wedding.

And when the officials of the General Administration Department who came with him embarrassedly said to Yang Zhihe that he could borrow a few pieces of jewelry from Princess Yongheng for communication, Princess Yongheng was also quite moved by this change.

"I lived in Gibraltar for eight years, but I didn't think about integrating into Europe in this way, because European women can sacrifice their dignity for a few pieces of jewelry. However, I don't want you to do favors with my jewelry. As the princess of the Ming Dynasty, I have more responsibility and obligation than any of you to help the Ming establish a new order in Europe. ”

Princess Yongheng said so, and the staff of the General Administration Department naturally had no reason to object to her willingness to go to Milan in person.

And Yang Zhihe was already full of apologies to Yongheng, after getting married, in addition to enjoying a few years of freedom in the Governor's City of Dongzhou, she has been confined to the military camp in Gibraltar for the following years.

Every year, I can only go out occasionally and go to Crete for a turn, which has always been very boring for Yongheng.

Therefore, without any hesitation, he immediately sent an elite army of 1,200 people, plus Princess Yongheng's own personal 300 guards, to escort Yongheng and several children, as well as Zhang Han and a few younger sisters, to Milan to relax.

Before they set off, a team of forty female officers arrived in Milan in advance to prepare a place for the princess of Daming.

Meng Zheng and Duan Qi, who were in Milan City, never thought that what was originally an ordinary wedding, because of their participation, now caused a snow ball to roll bigger and bigger, and the impact is getting bigger and bigger.

The princess of Daming would come to Milan in person, which was also very shocking to the Grand Duke of Milan, Sforza.

He didn't dare to slack off, and immediately let people vacate the right courtyard of Sforza Castle as the place for Princess Daming to stay.

On June 26, a sea ship flying the Daming dragon flag docked at the river in Pavia.

Countless European people have come here to see the venerable Princess Daming with their own eyes.

Although most of them did not directly see the princess herself, 1,500 cavalry, protecting sixteen cars from Pavia to Milan, still let countless European people see the momentum of the Ming Dynasty.

The princess of the Ming Dynasty, for the first time, appeared in an international diplomatic occasion as an envoy.