When Louis arrived in Guangzhou, it was the end of April.

At the first glance of Guangzhou, Louis was stunned.

At this moment, the east side of the Pearl River estuary is densely packed with warships, which is the Daming Naval Division that has not been around for a long time.

Zhao Jun went to the capital, but the order of the Ming military reform and the increase of the naval division had already come here. The Nanyang Fleet was located in Guangdong, and the defense range reached the Nanyang Metropolitan Protectorate. On the Fujian side, there is the Oriental Fleet. There will also be a Beiyang Fleet in Tianjin.

The total number of naval and naval divisions was 60,000, which could accommodate fleets in three directions.

Other guards may be resistant to military reform, after all, cutting troops is cutting power.

But the naval division was overjoyed, they increased their troops and gave money.

With that came an even busier shipbuilding scene.

Louis could clearly see that there were many Portuguese warships of Karak and Calais, which were the trophies captured here after the expeditionary fleet was defeated by the Ming fleet?

And here in the Pearl River Estuary, there is an endless stream of maritime trade houses and other private merchant ships. The Nanyang Metropolitan Protectorate has been set up, and the trip to Cochin and Malacca is a new opportunity for maritime wealth.

The Canton that Luis saw also far exceeded Lisbon's population and prosperity.

As the younger brother of the King of Portugal, he came to submit the surrender, and the news was sent back by the clippers from Yang Bo first.

So under the arrangement of the Tong Post Bureau, Louis will intuitively feel the vastness of the Ming Dynasty.

This time, he didn't need to go so fast to catch up with the longevity ceremony.

The route arranged for him is naturally a boat all the way. First go to Guangxi, then go to Huguang through the Lingqu, enter the Yangtze River and then go down the river, and then go to Beijing through the canal.

In Canton, he will stay for two days, where the governor of Canton will first confirm the letters of state and the letters of surrender he has brought.

Confirming that it was correct, Louis slowly began his journey to the Ming Dynasty, and the express delivery entered Beijing first.

At this time, Da Ming was holding the selection tournament of the provinces before the Holy Grail of Chess.

After the Ming Dynasty entered a relatively stable state inside and outside, an obvious change was that the original Ministry of Rites and the current Ministry of Rites began to reorganize a lot of new activities.

Chess tournaments are the best, after all, there is no need for a special venue.

However, it has been published in the "Ming Pao" that starting next year, Daming will hold a sports meeting every four years.

Running, long jump, high jump, weightlifting......

A new profession is on the horizon: athletes.

This was understood by the subjects of the world as the emperor wanted to continue to cultivate the martial spirit of the Ming people, and only some officials knew about it, and this was also a channel to digest those soldiers who were dismissed.

Compared with ordinary people, the soldiers who have been trained in the army still have stronger physical strength.

As for whether this can become a specialized profession, it depends on how big the seed can grow.

And at the moment, first of all, the attention of the emperor.

If you can win the medals that are said to be made of gold, silver, and bronze in the Games, it will also be a local honor.

In the words of the emperor in this year's New Year's message: the Hetao has been restored, the grassland in the northern border area is thousands of miles, and there will be countless cattle and sheep in the Ming Dynasty. It took ten or twenty years, starting from the primary schools in each county and the middle school in each prefecture, to strive for the children of Daming to drink fresh milk of cattle and sheep, so that the people of Daming can have more meat to eat and be strong and strong.

Higher, faster, stronger, that's what it means to have a sports meeting.

Naturally, this has to be a series of projects, and the benefits of the herd overseers have come. The huge market of the Ming Dynasty is an important part of making the Mengyuan herdsmen think that grazing for the Ming Dynasty is much better than grazing for the Khanting.

In this era, it is natural that no milk powder can be made, but since the herd supervisor is an enterprise, there are stations everywhere like the post office, so it's not too much to raise some cows to supply the surrounding area, right? It's not too much to raise some cattle, sheep, and pigs for meat

If there are more sources of cattle, sheep and horses, and if they are scattered throughout the hinterland of Daming to be raised intensively, Jin Ke La can still follow the herd of herd supervisors, staring at the manure produced by these livestock, and do a good job in the fertilizer industry.

So, it's not just a "fun" idea.

That's just the most eye-catching gimmick, and it's actually the entire "strong people's body" project.

The sports meeting is a new job, and another new activity of the Ministry of Rites and Communications is the new Quyi Division.

This inevitably reminds people of the Jiaofang Division that exists in the two Kyotos, as well as the Qinglou and Goolan that are located in various prosperous towns in the Ming Dynasty.

Honestly, it's impossible to ban this thing.

Zhu Houxi didn't think about solving these problems in this era, but for the purpose of cultural export, it is very important to create a new way out for outstanding literary and artistic talents, regardless of gender.

This Quyi Division is the "national team" in Beijing. Musicians, dancers, singers, singers...... An important ceremony of the imperial court, they served it exclusively.

At the local level, it is a bit of a "corporate" nature. According to the plan, the provincial capitals and prefectures will also plan such areas in the future, such as theaters, teahouses, wine shops, shops, and of course, Qinglou and Goolan are inevitable.

The local quyi team is raised to generate income. What will it become, Zhu Houxi can probably imagine that although there will be management in the end, it will eventually become a more high-level and high-grade banquet and an occasion for discussing major events.

But it doesn't matter, why not gather more high-level literary and artistic talents, take out more money from the hands of richer officials and businessmen, and then remit it to the treasury in the form of taxes for distribution?

The most important thing is that in the system of the Quyi Division, the Ministry of Rites and Rites will first put writers, painters, calligraphers, and musicians first...... Such excellent people gradually gathered.

This was matched by the relaxation of the publication and printing of literary and artistic works, and the opportunity for national teams, local opera troupes, and folk groups to perform in the surrounding feudal countries along with future caravans.

Along the way, Louis was accompanied by officials of the Ministry of Rites, learning a little Chinese, and also seeing local discourse on these new things that were very different from the past.

In his opinion, these are all things that only the aristocracy can afford to enjoy.

And is the Ming Dynasty ready to give all citizens the opportunity to enjoy this? To what extent has the Ming Dynasty become rich?

Of course, Da Ming is not rich to this extent, and now Yang Shen is simply muttering about it in three days.

He just muttered, after all, the emperor said very clearly: except for the extra expenses in primary and secondary schools, isn't everything else for the rich to spend their money? Moreover, the border market is wide open, so that the magnates and people of foreign vassal countries yearn for the Ming Dynasty, and if they can't come to the Ming Dynasty, they will try their best to buy some good goods from the Ming Dynasty. Border city taxes, won't it be more?

It's not working yet, but that's what it is.

Fortunately, the national credentials of Portugal have arrived in the capital, and Yang Shen's mood has improved a lot these days.

The people of the capital do not know the specific situation yet, but the participants are all excited.

The expedition of the naval division spent a lot of silver to build ships and recruit troops, but after this battle, that small Western country can really lose so much silver?

Zhu Houxi asked for 10 million taels of silver, and Alfonso exceeded it. Two million taels of gold, that can be exchanged for twelve million taels.

"Only 10 million taels." Zhu Houxi reminded Yang Shen, "The compensation is still sent by Alfonso, and it is very important for him to leave a little bit to gain a firm foothold on the Portuguese side, which is very important for the continuous profit of the Nanyang Protectorate in the future." Besides, it is difficult for these ten million taels to be gold and silver, and it is impossible to take them all out at once. ”

Yang Shen also understands this.

If he is allowed to take out 10 million taels of silver directly from Daming, it is better to kill him directly.

And Portugal is only a place in the Ming Dynasty, even if it occupies some places outside the territory, it is only a province.

Being able to promise so much compensation is already overjoyed for Yang Shen.

This kind of thing is reparation, and the Ming gentry who have read history books are naturally no stranger.

Back then, Zhao Song, didn't he have the burden of annual coins every year?

Unexpectedly, now Daming can actually enjoy this kind of benefit, or from a small Western country that is thousands of miles away and usually does not deal with it.

Taking this opportunity, Zhu Houxi naturally educated them again: "I used to think about the Great Wall of the Nanyang Sea because of these. Now the voyage is much safer than in the past. Although Portugal and Spain are small countries, they have traveled thousands of miles and trafficked goods, and the benefits have far exceeded your imagination. No, although I opened my mouth, the Portuguese lord still agreed. It can be seen that after settling the accounts and continuing to ship back from Malacca to sell, it is still profitable in the long run. ”

What he wanted was not to emphasize his foresight, but to remind: "The Ming Dynasty does not need much for Western goods, and in the future, they will probably only be able to exchange gold and silver for Ming goods." In the past, there was a shortage of gold and silver, but in the future, millions of gold and silver will enter the Ming Dynasty every year, and you need to carefully ponder the problems I mentioned before. If prices skyrocket as a result, the people will suffer. The extra silver must be thought of how to control the flow into the people. ”

Malacca, Guangzhou, Ningbo, and many border cities, with the influence and richness of products of the Ming Dynasty, really do not have so many things needed in the surrounding areas.

In addition to gold and silver, I am afraid that there are only commodities such as grain, timber, and ore.

If there is more gold and silver, and they are piled up in the Ming Dynasty, it will definitely cause prices to rise.

Therefore, even if it is a little more expensive, if you can buy more grain and timber from the surrounding areas, supply them to the national treasury and the internal circulation system of state-owned enterprises, and bear the necessary losses, it is also an economic war.

The emperor temporarily put aside the heart of using troops abroad, and the feeling of the daily classes of the important ministers of the Ming Dynasty returned.

By this time, Lee had already returned to Seoul.

Of course, he didn't dare to persuade Li Yi, but only euphemistically expressed that Da Mingzi was worried that North Korea would misunderstand Da Ming and wanted to intervene in the dispute between the crown prince of North Korea, so he let him come back. He also did not send Confucians to North Korea to give lectures, otherwise it would be like supporting the Korean Shilin faction.

The border city of Jiulian City had already begun, and Li Yi learned from Li that the Great Emperor had tied up the clans and ministers who did not want to fight for power in the form of royal enterprises, so he was very happy to prepare to follow suit.

It is true that the old faction cannot continue to entrust him with important tasks, lest they support him to ascend the throne and then hold the government hostage. However, using them to make money from the border trade with the Ming Dynasty and tying them up with interests is a way to strengthen his royal power.

At the same time, I also sighed to the people of the Shilin faction: It's not that I don't want to ask the country to help Korea develop culture and education, it's just that the situation in the DPRK is like this. If you really send a great Confucian to give lectures in the court, I am afraid that the court will have the theory that the upper country will disturb the situation in the court and the soldiers will directly target North Korea. If there is a current external threat, what will happen to the DPRK?

The old faction should be co-opted, and the Shilin faction, which is now much weaker, should also be encouraged.

In this regard, the Shilin faction naturally knew in its heart: this was a good excuse for the already powerful Shizi faction to continue to sit firmly in position and suppress the rest of the people to unanimously external affairs.

Now, this excuse does not exist, and Daming is only ready to do business with North Korea, accepting five students sent from North Korea every three years.

North Korea's internal affairs, Daming is too lazy to care.

At such a time, in May, Queen Wending finally gave birth to a child peacefully.

It's the boys.

Wang Shizi, who succeeded in the name of Queen Wending and was raised by her but has always been treated "very thinly", her own second son Li Xiang, and Li ......, the eldest of the existing concubines who were briefly "admired" by the Ming Emperor for a while

The battle for the crown prince of North Korea entered a new phase, and Louis finally disembarked at Tongju.

On the dock, a group of people was greeting you.

They were greeted not by Louis, but by another middle-aged man.

"Brother Ziming, don't come unharmed?"

Although they were also stunned by Louis's magical costume, when they saw someone in official robes there, they just saluted, and they couldn't ignore the person they greeted.

Seeing the group of people excitedly greet them, Louis asked the Ministry of Rites officials on the side suspiciously, "Who is this person?" ”

All the way to the capital, he was convinced that Daming was really big and prosperous.

Changsha, Wuchang, Nanjing, Huai'an...... along the way Which is not a big city that is much bigger than Lisbon?

So, his mentality is also changing. It was his brother who wanted to pay compensation, so what could he do?

"Yan Lun, Yan Ziming." The official of the Ministry of Rites replied with a smile, "Those who have good deeds have been evaluating the top ten in the capital recently." Pipa, pitcher,, three strings, juju...... Naturally, there are also chess and Go. This Yan Ziming has been famous for a long time and has never been defeated. This time the Holy Grail of chess, he stopped traveling south and wanted to return to Beijing to win the championship. ”

"Go ......"

The Ministry of Rites official smiled but said nothing.

He estimated that many of these scholars who came to greet Yan Lun were already involved in guessing who won the championship, and Yan Lun's real history was probably only a few people.

If it was in the past, where would there be so many young scholars and Yan Lun?

On the contrary, some people who already have official positions will occasionally invite Yan Lun to play games to pass the time and learn both hands.

But now that the emperor wants to hold the Holy Grail of chess, this kind of hot topic is worth participating in.

Next year will be the exam again, and the number of scholars in the capital has begun to increase. Although the literary style of the capital has not lost to the south of the Yangtze River, there are more capable people in new learning. But when I arrived in the capital early, there were fewer people who studied hard and studied new learning, and more people who got together to make friends.

Louis thus got on the straight road from the capital to Tongzhou, and saw the smooth cart pulled by horses and driving on the rails.

Passing by the canal densely packed with small boats and the wharf outside the eastern wall of the capital, I saw the Grand Arena standing there and the Grand Theater to the south of the Grand Arena, which was bulldozed and started to be built after last year's military parade.

How many people are there in the capital of the Eastern Empire?

He was looking at the people of Daming, and all the way from Tongzhou Wharf, after arriving at the door of the Huitong Hall, the people of Daming were also looking at him.

As the younger brother of the King of Portugal and the Duke of Beya, although he came here this time to submit a surrender and sign a peace treaty, he could not lose his noble dignity.

As a result, he wears a formal dress that shows his status.

First the top hat, then the placket around the neck. The top was a velvet tight-fitting jacket and a cape – even though it was already May and it was a bit hot.

At the waist, his crotch pocket is more prominent than the belt. Because he was still wearing tight-fitting pantyhose on his feet, his crotch pouch made of wool was even more eye-catching.

The people in the city were no more reserved than the scholars at the Tongzhou wharf, and they burst into laughter.

"Where did this barbarian come from? No shame! ”

"Hey! Don't tell me, if the girl wears these socks......"

"What's that on the neck? Is this barbarian a pheasant? ”

“……”

The great nobleman from Portugal didn't understand it all, but he knew it was an expression of scrutiny and ridicule.

No way, pantyhose don't wrap around the crotch.

Didn't these Orientals think that the crotch vacuum, which was born decades ago and is now popular all over Europe, is very masculine in the Orientals?

Louis entered the Guild Hall, and his fancy dress quickly became the joke of the capital on this day.

In the eyes of the restrained and subtle oriental culture, the barbarian actually exposed the shape of the second child - although it was wrapped in a layer of cloth - but it was bulging, so dazzling, how different from a beast?

"You don't need to care." The officials of the Ministry of Rites were also happy all the way, after all, they had a sense of superiority, "Your Majesty has a will, and your envoy has come in full costume, which is a manifestation of attaching importance to this audience and the conclusion of a peace treaty." Entering the palace on the day of the court meeting is still like this. ”

He wasn't talking nonsense, because he was worried that he would startle the holy driver, he also made it clear in advance.

But the Emperor's opinion makes it clear: Your Majesty also wants to open his eyes.

Zhu Houxi really wanted to see what the full set of European nobles in this era looked like, always staying in the palace to deal with the government, except for those vulgar pleasures and family pleasures, there were not many other pleasures.

Besides, everything has a reason and a deep meaning, and it is worth talking about when the time comes.

After two days, it will be the day of the pilgrimage.

Louis finally arrived in front of the glorious and magnificent palace of the Eastern Empire, after the court officials had already entered to pay their respects.

He waited quietly, feeling uncomfortable.

In the past two days, he has already known what a court meeting is.

Officials of all sizes of the empire regularly met with the emperor of the empire in the main hall, paid homage to him, expressed his important ministers, and reported to discuss state affairs.

In addition to the officials, there were also their aristocrats.

That is, one of the most crowded occasions.

And Louis had to submit a letter of surrender to the emperor of the East on such an occasion.

As a loser, this is what he has to bear, and it is also what the emperor of the East should enjoy.

In the past two days, he also knew what his outfit meant in the East.

The East is subtle, and clothing should cover as many sexual characteristics as possible on the body.

But how could such a subtle Oriental keep attacking such a vast territory?

"Biography! Portuguese envoys to you! ”

A voice came, and the official of the Ministry of Rites who accompanied him stretched out his hand: "Please." ”

In the Forbidden City, under the gaze of the Praetorian Guards and the court counselors, Louis slowly moved forward.

The peripheral eye of his eyes observed that many people wanted to laugh, but they held back.

Looking at the Ming civil and military officials, who may have exceeded 1,000 in total and dressed in official robes of different colors and patterns, Louis's mood was even heavier.

João's court officials were nowhere near as numerous.

And this is only a small part of the civil and military officials of this vast empire, the small part of the people who work in their capital.

When he came to this land in person, he often couldn't help but wonder: how arrogant were João II and the King of Spain forty years ago, who let Pope Alexander VI draw that line and let the two countries divide their spheres of influence without boundaries?

After the Battle of Diu, Portugal defeated the combined forces of Egypt, Gujarat and Kalicut, which had more than 20,000 men and more than 200 large and small warships, with only five large and medium-sized ships, more than 1,500 armored soldiers and more than 1,000 sailors.

And the price of entering the sphere of influence of this Eastern Empire was too heavy, and every step of Louis was difficult.

In this silence, Zhu Houxi sat on the throne and looked at him.

Unlike Louis thought, Zhu Houxi was only clear: with his arrival, the story on the ocean was already changing.

Today is just the beginning, but the Ming officials inside and outside the hall still don't care much about what is happening on the other side of the sea.

Wooden warships will sail for centuries, but the steam engine and ironclad will change too much.

Zhu Houxi's eyes were also attracted by Louis's crotch bag, and he saw this outfit.

It's funny to be funny, but if you're not vigilant, things in the future will make people laugh.

There is one more more.

(End of chapter)