"As early as the Zhengde period, the Western navigator Magellan led the fleet to complete the round-the-world market, proving that the world is a round ball." Liu Fan pointed to the globe and said, "The Portuguese, that is, the Franco-Magellan of what we call the Franco, set off from Spain with an expedition ship, five ocean-going ships sailed in the stormy waves of the Atlantic, sailed along the coast of Africa, bypassed the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, passed through the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the west coast of the Americas, and finally reached the strait at the southern tip of the South American continent and re-entered the Atlantic. After more than three years, he finally returned to Spain in September of the 12th year of Zhengde. The voyage took a huge cost, from 5 ships carrying more than 200 people at the time of departure, to only 12 people left when they returned, and most of the crew, including Magellan, died on the way to the voyage! In honor of his feat, the strait at the southern tip of South America was named the Strait of Magellan! ”

Hearing Liu Fan's words, everyone was even more shocked, and even Chongzhen couldn't help but sigh: "This Magellan is a warrior!" ”

Liu Fan continued, "Magellan proved with his life that the earth is a round sphere, and also provided Westerners with unprecedented new horizons, and since then the Western world has set off a huge seafaring boom. Until now, except for these countries near Daming and Daming. Most of the world became colonies of Westerners. England is also known as the "empire on which the sun never sets", which means that wherever the sun shines, there is the territory of the British Empire. ”

"The sun never sets on the empire" Chongzhen couldn't help muttering, Liu Fan's words were not even mentioned by Chongzhen, let alone these "house girls" in the palace, hearing Liu Fan say such a shocking news, everyone's eyes looking at Liu Fan were also full of surprise.

Tian Shuying was the one who paid the most attention to Liu Fan among the people, and when she saw Liu Fan standing in front of everyone and talking eloquently, her eyes were full of brilliance, and finally she couldn't help asking, "Are these Westerners stronger than our Ming Dynasty?" ”

Hearing someone ask, Liu Fan couldn't help but look towards the voice, and saw a girl with bright eyes and delicate facial features looking at him curiously, Liu Fan couldn't help but smile at the girl and explained: "To say that it is strong, it is indeed very powerful, but these countries have a fatal shortcoming, that is, the territory is small and the domestic population is insufficient. If you want to invade a populous country like Daming, you still can't catch it! ”

When everyone heard this, their hearts were relieved and they secretly rejoiced. At this moment, he heard Liu Fan's voice turn and continued: "But don't be too happy, India, a country as powerful as the Ming Dynasty, is also Tianzhu in ancient times, and now it has been invaded by the British, and a large part of the country has been lost. It is foreseeable that in the near future, Daming will have the same experience! ”

Chongzhen couldn't help but interrupt: "Okay, Jimin! Don't say these discouraged words if you are rarely happy today! Find something good to say! Aren't you familiar with the customs of Western countries? Tell me what these other places are like."

Liu Fan replied aggrievedly: "But Your Majesty, these places have now become colonies of these countries, and if the ministers want to introduce them, they can only talk about their invaders!" ”

Chongzhen said helplessly: "Then talk about those places that have not been colonized!" ”

"Except for the well-known Japan, Korea, Houjin, Mongolia, Vietnam, etc., there is no country in the world that is not a Western colony!" Liu Fan said with an innocent face

Chongzhen originally wanted Liu Fan to be in the limelight and prove that he was not looking at the wrong person, but how did he know that Liu Fan was so inflexible, he glanced at the Tian family's father and daughter, and said helplessly, "Okay!" Then you can even talk about the colonists! Let everyone also increase their knowledge and get to know the outside world! ”

"Alright! In fact, those Westerners have nothing to talk about, Westerners mainly believe in Catholicism, and under the influence of religion, the West believes that bathing is a blasphemy against God, so most Western aristocrats only take a bath twice from birth to death, that is, when they are born and when they die. Its level of civilization is slightly better than that of the Tunguska savages. Liu Fan explained

"Only two showers? That's disgusting, isn't it? The women covered their noses and said, as if they really smelled the bad smell.

Liu Fan spread his hands and said, "That's it!" So let's introduce you to the products of these places! Then he picked up the globe and pointed to it and said, "This is the South Seas, which everyone knows as the Luzon region." The climate here is hot and abundant, not only has a large number of tropical fruits, but also is very suitable for growing rice, which can reach three crops a year in a favorable climate, so the natives here do not even have to work, just lie down and sleep without starvation. It is now a Dutch colony. And here, North America, there are two magic crops here, namely corn and potatoes, corn is a very high yield per mu crop, do not need too good care, the yield per mu can reach five or six hundred catties, especially can be interplanted with wheat, does not affect the harvest of wheat. Potatoes are even more powerful, and they can even be planted in inferior fields such as mountains and dry lands, and the yield per mu is not a problem, and the taste is also very good! It is now a colony of England and France. And here South America! South America is rich in silver, and every year the Spanish colonists plundered tens of thousands of taels of silver from this area, and the Spanish treasure ships brought back to China. And here, the Australian continent..."

Everyone was completely attracted by the scene described by Liu Fan, and with Liu Fan's little introduction, they let out bursts of exclamations from time to time, looking at the globe in Liu Fan's hand was like seeing mountains of gold and silver. Especially the three men, with Liu Fan's introduction, their breathing slowly became short, and the huge wheezing sound sounded like a broken bellows.

In the end, Liu Fan summed up and said: "It's a pity that these places have basically been occupied by Western countries, and there is no way to seize these places from these powerful colonists with the current strength of the Ming Dynasty!" Because we don't have warships in the Ming Dynasty, we can't go on ocean voyages! ”

Liu Fan's words smashed into the hearts of the three of them like a heavy hammer, looking at the gold mountain in front of him that could not be obtained, and the huge gap almost made the three of them collapse. The three of them stared at Liu Fan with red eyes, gritted their teeth and said, "Is there really no way?" ”

Liu Fan was startled when he saw the red eyes of the three of them, and finally said helplessly, "There is really no way!" ”

"Alas!" The three of them sighed in unison, not speaking.

Looking at the silence of the four men present, Queen Zhou was a little anxious, and quietly walked to Chongzhen's side and whispered to him, "Your Majesty!" The banquet is waiting for you to announce the start of the party! ”

Chongzhen immediately woke up when he heard this, secretly said that he was a little out of shape, glared at Liu Fan fiercely, and coughed dryly, "Okay, since the story is over, let's get to the point!" I declare that the banquet is now open! ”