It is better to be a peaceful dog than a troubled world.

The country is safe, the people are healthy, Longhan has been three years, and many people in Dahan are enjoying the most wonderful life in this life. Although the Ming Dynasty has only been in existence for three years, it has completely disappeared in everyone's memory. Even those literati, few of them are grateful for the previous dynasty.

Although the new dynasty has only been established for three years, many people feel that it is now a prosperous era of peace and tranquility.

Even Donald, who came from Lisbon, Portugal, in distant Europe, was extremely envious of the life of the Han people. At a time when most of Europe was still walking on roads paved with sand and clay, the cities of the Han Dynasty were almost complete with the popularization of masonry public roads.

The missionaries who had accompanied Donald lamented that it was too extravagant.

But the people of Dahan feel that such a brick and stone road is comfortable to walk on, the shoes are clean, and there will be no dust, so they are happy. Along the way, Donald found that the cities of the Eastern Empire were of a very reasonable size, with a wide stone street that could run six cars in parallel.

And on both sides of the street, there will be a line of evergreen camphor, sycamore or aspen. The beautiful green street trees separate the noisy road, making the bluestone pavement on the other side look particularly elegant.

Thick masonry roads are lined with horse-drawn carriages, tight with small brick pedestrians, and street trees separating the road from the sidewalk in the middle. What amazed Donald in particular was that there were no open ditches on the side of the road, and there was no smell. These Han Empire cities actually had extremely advanced sewer systems, and the ditches on both sides of the road were completely buried underground, so that there would not be the slightest smell that filled the air.

At regular intervals, there will be a lamppost, and at dusk, a special person will come and hang a lantern to light the street lamp. There is also a great deal of praise for Donald, which he has praised many times in his diary, on these wide and beautiful streets. There will be a garbage can every short distance, and there are even public toilets that are free of charge, which makes it extremely convenient for pedestrians, and there are special people to clean and clean inside, which is very hygienic.

This is the same as the bus stop platform on the side of the street, which is far from being in the cities of Europe. Those big cities of Dahan. There are public carriage systems in the city, and many public carriages still use rail carriages, with fixed routes and fixed travel times, and people who want to take the carriage only need to wait at those roadside platforms.

Public carriages, especially those with tracks, have a large carrying capacity, and only two horses are needed to pull a large carriage, and dozens of people can be pulled at a time, but it is very easy. Sit in that public carriage. Basically, there are no big bumps, and sitting on the upper floor, you can even enjoy the city's street view on a clear day.

While waiting for the train on the platform, you can also buy a newspaper or a magazine at the newsstand next to it, the newspaper industry in this empire seems to be extremely developed, and newspapers are very cheap, sometimes there are seven or eight or even a dozen contents for two pennies. But there are a lot of commercials in it, Donald heard. These newspapers of Dahan rely on the advertising industry to make money, so the price of their newspapers is so low, and the major newspapers rely on low prices to compete for subscriptions, and with subscriptions, advertising fees will naturally rise.

In some cities in the south, there are also abundant canals in the city, between the houses on both sides. A canal runs back and forth, making you feel like you've arrived in Venice.

But the biggest shock to Donald was the big cities of the empire, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Yangzhou, Tianjin, and Beijing, all of which had populations of more than half a million people, especially Guangzhou, Nanjing, and Beijing. They are all big cities with a population of more than one million, and the population of a city is even larger than the population of a European country.

The city of Beijing is very large, very large, and there are dozens of city gates.

There are countless streets, alleys, bustling business districts, all kinds of goods, and the city is amazingly clean and tidy, and it is even more unbelievable that there are almost no beggars in such a large city.

The houses here are very high, especially in the commercial area, there are countless buildings with four or five floors, and the big clock tower in the city seems to have broken through the sky.

Just looking at this is enough to shock one at the opulence of this empire.

Anders, the missionary who accompanied him, had lived in Macao for many years, and he had also come to the north and entered the capital. But that was 10 years ago, and 10 years ago, it was just as big, it was populous, but it was a whole other place.

Along the way, Donald heard Anders tell him a lot about what he saw and heard when he came to the Ming Dynasty, such as the city of Beijing is actually a huge chaotic city, with countless beggars and so on, the city is dirty and messy, and the people directly dump garbage on the streets, and even defecate on the streets, and the streets are full of cow and horse dung

But ten years later, when Anders entered Beijing again, he almost thought he was in a different city. It has completely changed, and what was once a slum outside the southern city is now the most prosperous business district in Beijing. The inner city has also completely changed, with straight streets, beautiful street trees, rows of residential houses, orderly streets, and especially the neatness and cleanliness that make Anders feel like a chaotic feeling.

There are no poor beggars in tattered clothes, yellow and hungry faces, and no low-slung shacks built haphazardly. To the east of the capital, another cluster of houses is rising from the ground, and the residential area under construction there has a two-story brick house with a small courtyard, worth more than 1,500 silver dollars.

After hearing this, Donald felt that it was very expensive, and felt that it must be a mansion, more than 15,000 silver dollars, equivalent to more than 250 pounds, this Lisbon, Portugal is a huge amount of money, and the average Lisbon residence may not necessarily earn so much money in a lifetime.

But fifteen hundred silver dollars are only the purchase price of the house. You have to pay taxes, at least more than 200 silver dollars for all kinds of taxes and fees, and then this is just an empty house, you have to live in, you have to decorate, you have to lay floors and paint walls, plant trees in the yard, dig wells, build stoves, build kangs, make furniture, and so on.

Donald was surprised by such an expensive cost of living, how could the people of the Great Han Jingshi afford to live. However, after his inquiry, he got the fact that Dongcheng District was only a newly built outer city, and the housing prices were far inferior to the most prosperous southern outer city, nor as good as the inner east city where nobles gathered, and the inner west city where officials gathered.

There are goods from all over the world, and all of them are cheap. Tea, cane sugar, cheese, grain, and even various spices, etc., have many types of commodities and are cheap.

There are also the largest schools in the world, with the largest number of students, and there are nearly 100 schools of various kinds. There are universities and military academies, as well as various technical schools, as well as various technical schools, as well as many middle and primary schools. It is said that there are no less than 100,000 students in the entire Beijing Division.

There are also many hospitals, pharmacies, clinics, cinemas and stadiums.

At night, the city is even more lively.

Donald felt like he had come to heaven, and heaven could not be better than here.

After meeting with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Donald was placed in the Diaoyutai Hotel, which is said to be one of the most famous hotels in Beijing. It used to be the hotel where the official designated lifter stayed during the Great Han Imperial Examination.

The hotel was comfortable, but Donald did not forget his mission.

Donald had come to establish diplomatic relations with the Han Dynasty and represented the Kingdom of Portugal.

Just last year, the nobles, who had always been dissatisfied with the king of Spain and the king of Portugal, took the opportunity to mutiny, raided and occupied the royal palace of Lisbon, executed the minister of state, forced the Spanish garrison to surrender, and deposed King Fili IV of Spain. Justified João, Duke of Bragança, as the new king, and called João IV.

Both the Portuguese mainland and the overseas territories declared their allegiance to João IV.

Portugal was ruled by the King of Spain for sixty years. Finally independent again.

They chose a good time, the empire of Spain that never sets the sun has sunset, first the independence of the Dutch provinces, the years of war that have greatly damaged Spain's vitality, and then the thirty years of the European war, in which Spain is almost the enemy of most of Europe. The Protestant confederations in Europe took turns to fight, and the wheels fought against Spain, and Spain continued to bleed and lost its national strength day by day.

This was compounded by a decline in silver mine production in the Americas and a shrinking trade in the East. This makes life in Spain worse day by day.

The royal war launched by the Portuguese at this time can be said to have caught the Spaniards by surprise. The Spaniards had been fighting the French in Europe for several years, stuck in it and unable to spare their hands.

Although the Spaniards, like the independent Dutch, insisted on not recognizing their independence even if they could not win the war. The Spaniards also refused to recognize the independence of the Portuguese, and because of Spain's conquest of the pagans in Europe for the glory of Catholicism, the Pope refused to recognize their independence until the Spaniards recognized their independence, which left the Portuguese somewhat alone.

The new king of Portugal, João IV, and the nobles feared that Spain would launch a major counteroffensive as soon as they were freed up. Therefore, they desperately need to find allies.

The Portuguese were the first to look for the Dutch, who, like them, had become independent from the Spanish king and had fought wars for many years. But the Dutch capitalists did not look down on the Portuguese and were unwilling to sympathize with them. These evil vampires have even been eyeing the Portuguese overseas colonies, trying to take advantage of the fire to loot and annex them.

Therefore, although they had a hostile relationship with Spain, they did not want to pay attention to the Portuguese, but wanted to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, and then make a profit.

If the Portuguese wanted to be aided by the Dutch alliance, they would have to accept many of the Dutch's demands for looting.

Joao IV turned to England for help, and King Charles was willing to support the Portuguese, but now that Britain is in civil strife, the parliamentarians and the king are on the verge of civil war, and both sides are preparing to speak by force, how can there be air control over the Portuguese at this time.

The Portuguese went to France again.

In the European war, France took the opportunity to rise, and under the management of the scheming Prime Minister Richelieu, France seemed to have become the biggest winner in the European war. In particular, after the first few stages of the European war, after all sides were exhausted, the French officially sent troops to the war to beat Spain and the Kaiser, and the Portuguese thought that the enemy of their enemy was their friend.

And then the French simply ignored Portugal and didn't bother to look at them. They simply looked down on the Portuguese in their bones.

After João IV became King of Portugal, he ostensibly established diplomatic relations with England, France, and the Netherlands, but in reality, he did not receive the slightest promise or help.

João the regent is exhausted, the diplomatic situation is not good, and the situation at home is just as bad.

Despite their independence, the Portuguese are still not united. The lower classes of the populace insisted on supporting the new king, but many nobles were hesitant because they were related to Spain by marriage. Only a part of the aristocracy was firmly on the side of João IV.

Most of the bureaucrats supported João IV, but the bourgeoisie remained mostly neutral, with the Jesuits supporting João IV and the Inquisition siding with Spain.

João IV was transformed from a duke into a new king, and there was no turning back from the bow. The aristocrats could hesitate to waver, but João IV could not.

So João IV decided to carry the war of independence to the end, and he was ready to recruit soldiers and create a standing border guard. However, whether it is to establish a standing army or to continue the war of independence, it will require huge military expenditures, and it is not realistic to rely on raising taxes on the people, and it is easy to lose the support of the people.

João IV imagined that the Dutch capitalists would take out loans and buy warships and arms from the Dutch, but the Dutch's conditions were so high that they demanded all of Portugal's colonies in the East Indies, including Malacca and Goa.

It was impossible for João IV to agree to such a request, but if he did not, the Netherlands would not lend them money at all, nor would they build warships and sell arms to them.

At this time, a war broke out in the East Indies.

Britain, the Dutch, and the Western Three, who had fought to the death, tried to join forces to suppress the emerging Eastern Empire and protect their trade interests in the East Indies, and they had also invited Portugal, but the Portuguese refused at the time, not wanting to wade into this troubled water, and the Portuguese were planning independence at that time.

And now the news coming back from the East also confirms that they made the right choice at the beginning.

The Anglo-Dutch alliance had just been established and failed.

The counterattack of the Han army was swift and fierce, the Spanish fleet was blocked in Manila, the Dutch fleet was blocked in Batavia, and as for the British, they were blocked outside the East Indies.

The great strength of the Han Empire in the East gave João IV a glimmer of light in the darkness.

Send the king's envoys to the east to establish formal diplomatic relations with the Han and seek help from the powerful eastern empire. (To be continued.) )

PS: Thank you for the tip, thank you! Thank you all for your monthly pass, thank you!