After receiving the order, Xu Xuemo, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, did not hesitate, and soon rushed to the hall with a right Shaoqing of Honglu Temple named Xiang Min.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the Nanjing Mansion was changed to the Huitong Pavilion, and later after the Ming Chengzu Zhu Di Fengtianjing was difficult, he set up the Huitong Pavilion in Beijing.

The South Pavilion is responsible for receiving tributary envoys from ethnic minorities in the southwest, as well as those from Southeast Asia and East Africa that have landed on the southeast coast, while the North Pavilion is responsible for receiving tributary envoys from Korea, Japan, and other countries.

In the past, the Huitong Pavilion was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, but for the management of the envoys who came to the court, it was the responsibility of the main and guest department under the Ministry of Rites, so there were many conflicts between the two sides.

Later, in order to solve the problem of unclear rights and responsibilities, finally in the tenth year of Jiajing, Emperor Jiajing personally ordered that the jurisdiction of the Tongguan would be taken under the ownership of the Ministry of Rites.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were a series of officials such as the director of the Governor's Embassy, the ambassador, the deputy envoy, and the secretary, among which the Ambassador, who was responsible for the translation and communication with foreign envoys.

When Xu Xuemo, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, and Xiang Min, the right Shaoqing of Honglu Temple, rushed to the Huitong Pavilion in a sedan chair, Wang Xue, the director of the Huitong Hall, and other officials of the Huitong Hall, hurriedly came out to greet them.

"Xiaguan has seen adults!"

"Hmm."

Seeing this, Xu Xuemo nodded, immediately looked at the head of the hall, and commanded in a deep voice.

"Now immediately bring this official to meet the Rakshasa mission who is visiting the capital this time!"

"Yes, my lord!"

In the face of Xu Xuemo's request, Wang Xue, the director of the Huitong Hall, did not dare to slack off at all, and hurriedly led the way in front.

In this way, Xu Xuemo, the attendant of the Ministry of Rites, Xiang Min, the right Shaoqing of Honglu Temple, and the guards who were responsible for their safety, entered the hall together.

Nils and his party waited at the Huitong Pavilion early.

……

"Hello, honorable Ming official!"

Seeing Xu Xuemo coming, Nils hurriedly got up from his seat and greeted Xu Xuemo in half-baked Daming official words.

In recent days, when he was on the ship, he also took the time to learn some Ming etiquette, and barely knew what to do.

When Xu Xuemo heard this, he nodded, and then spoke.

"This official is Xu Xuemo, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, and I came here this time to remind you of the matters you need to pay attention to before meeting Your Majesty!"

Xu Xuemo's words were soon passed on to Niels's ears word for word through the translation of the general affairs of the Huitong Pavilion.

Nils nodded his head after listening to the translation of the general secretary of the guild hall, indicating that he understood.

Xu Xuemo saw that Nils understood what he meant, and after a pause for a moment, he continued.

"Before you officially meet Your Majesty, you must follow the official next to me and learn the corresponding etiquette before you can meet Your Majesty, which may take several days!"

"In addition, during this period, you must obey the laws of my Ming Dynasty, otherwise, you will be severely punished!"

Xu Xuemo's words, after being translated by the general secretary of the same hall, reached the ears of Niels and his party.

Not surprisingly, Xu Xuemo's words quickly aroused the dissatisfaction of Niels's subordinates.

"Damn, these heretics treat us like uncivilized barbarians, and we have to learn the etiquette to meet their emperor!"

"Yes, that's right, we are the emissaries of the Kingdom of Spain, and this group of heretics dares to treat us like this!"

"These damned heretics should be sent to the Inquisition!"

When Nils heard this, a trace of panic flashed on his face, and he just wanted to say something to dissuade him, and the general affairs of the Huitong Pavilion on the side translated all these words to Xu Xuemo word for word.

When Xu Xuemo heard this, the expression on his face suddenly became extremely gloomy, and immediately, he saw him sneer and said in a deep voice.

"Hmph, just a small state, dare to make a big deal in my Ming land?"

"What you just said, can they represent your country, and if they can represent it, can this official be understood as your Spanish kingdom and want to officially start a war with my Ming Dynasty?"

Xu Xuemo's words, after being translated by the general affairs of the same hall, also fell into Niels's ears word for word, just like before.

"These damned, unspoken idiots!"

Nils thought so, his face dark.

He knew very well in his heart that if this well-prepared meeting with the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom fell short because of these few unabashed fools, then what awaited him in the future would be the wrath of the royal family.

After all, Niels was not only on a long-term trade to buy silk, tea, and porcelain produced in the country, but also on a mission to expand diplomacy for the Kingdom of Spain!

If the country rich in silk, tea, and porcelain was weak, then when Niels returned home, he would persuade the king to send a fleet to conquer the country and spread the glory of Christianity!

If, on the contrary, the country was incomparably powerful, Niels' mission was to be as friendly as possible with the country, and to subtly draw it into the Spanish camp against the British.

And the strength of this country rich in silk, tea, and porcelain in front of him, Nils had already had an extremely profound understanding before this.

After all, before encountering the fleet of the Ming Dynasty sailing around the world led by Gu Yan head-on, Nils never thought that there would be a heretical country with such a powerful fleet!

Immediately, I saw Nils react, and after he reprimanded those subordinates sharply, he looked at Xu Xuemo and explained apologetically.

"This honorable Ming official, these idiots were just complaining just now, please ......"

Xu Xuemo, who was on the side, couldn't help frowning after listening to the translation of the general affairs of the Huitong Pavilion, and interrupted coldly.

"Those words of theirs just now are already offending my Majesty the Supreme Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Your Majesty's willingness to condescend to see you barbarians is already a great gift, and you are not satisfied, and you dare to speak out to slander Your Majesty!"

When Xu Xuemo said this, he paused for a moment, and his tone was full of resentment.

"Hmph, even this official hasn't seen His Majesty much!"

The more Xu Xuemo thought about it, the more angry he became, and immediately, he stretched out his hand and pointed to the few Rakshasa people who had just spoken disrespectfully, and commanded in a deep voice.

"Come on, take a few of them to the official!"

"Yes, sir!"

As soon as Xu Xuemo's words fell, the wolf-like guards on the side immediately rushed forward and controlled all the Rakshasas he pointed out earlier.

It was only at this moment that the previous Rakshasas who had spoken outwardly were alarmed, and at this moment their faces were pale and trembling, and they all looked in the direction where Nils was, and begged for mercy.

"Boss, help us, we know it's wrong!"

"Yes, sir, save our lives for God's sake!"

"Please, Chief......"

Seeing this, the rest of the Rakshasas tried to come to the rescue, but when they saw the swords in the hands of the guards and the increasingly unkind eyes, they obediently shrank back.

Nils saw that the matter was irreparable, so in order not to further intensify the contradictions between the two sides, he had to pinch his nose and admit this fact.

After this, a bitter smile appeared on Nils's face, and he asked.

"This honorable Ming official, what are you going to do with them next?"

After listening to the translation of the general affairs of the Tongtong Pavilion on the side, Xu Xuemo showed an inexplicable smile on his face and said unhurriedly.

"Don't worry, this official will deal with it impartially in accordance with my Ming law!"

After listening to Xu Xuemo's answer, Nils couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

In his opinion, since the Ming official in front of him said that he would deal with it in accordance with the laws of their country, then those people should only suffer a little because of their open-mouthedness.

After that, I saw Nils look in the direction where Xu Xuemo was, nodded, and followed the opening.

"We are willing to agree to your request, and only after learning the corresponding etiquette will we go to meet your Emperor Majesty!"

After listening to the translation of the general affairs of the Huitong Pavilion, Xu Xuemo nodded, and immediately asked.

"How many people are you going to send to meet Your Majesty?"

These words, after being relayed by the translator, reached Niels's ears word for word.

He thought about it for a long time before he responded.

"This honorable Ming State official, we plan to send six people to meet your Emperor Majesty this time!"

After listening to the translation of the general affairs of the Huitong Pavilion, Xu Xuemo nodded, and immediately spoke.

"Well, this official will report this news truthfully!"

When Xu Xuemo said this, he changed his words and added.

"In addition, this official came here this time to follow the order from above to conduct a final inventory of the gifts you brought this time."

"After the inventory is completed and compiled into a list, the official will submit it!"

After listening to the translation, Nils also understood what Xu Xuemo meant, and hurriedly got up from the chair and led the way in front of him.

"This respected official of the Ming Kingdom, please come with me!"

Seeing this, Xu Xuemo did not doubt him, and immediately led his guards and those officials to follow.

Led by Nils, everyone went to the place in the hall where gifts were stored.

The Ming soldiers in charge of guarding saw everyone coming, and they all gave up their positions.

Immediately, I saw Wang Xue, the director of the Huitong Pavilion, and the ambassador of the Huitong Pavilion hurriedly stepped forward, each holding a key and opening the lock on the door.

When the door opened, everyone was greeted by gifts of ivory, spices, gold, books, and other gifts neatly stacked in various categories.

The look of surprise on Xu Xuemo's face only lasted for a short moment before it suddenly disappeared, and in an instant, he came back to his senses, waved his hand violently, and commanded in a deep voice.

"It's time to start counting!"

"Yes, sir!"

As soon as Xu Xuemo's words fell, the officials and guards who were present with him joined the sequence of counting the gifts in an orderly manner.

Those who can participate in this errand are innocent and loyal, so there is no need to worry too much about stealing, and besides, who would dare to do anything about such a big thing?

If there is a mistake in the process of counting, then the officials who handle it will lose their official positions and cause disaster to their families!

It is precisely because of this that not many officials dare to do anything about this.

"One, two, three...... Forty-six, there are forty-six tusks, the number is correct! ”

"There are eight globes and five telescopes, and that's fine!"

In this way, the officials and guards began to count the gifts stored in the treasury in an orderly manner.

Time passed slowly, I don't know how long it was, but I saw a Xu official walk up to Xu Xuemo and report in a deep voice.

"Your Excellency, all the gifts stored in the warehouse have been counted, and the gifts are no different from those recorded on the list!"

"Forty-six ivory, eight globes, five telescopes, six thousand catties of spices, three thousand two hundred and twenty taels of gold, and all kinds of books related to astronomy and arithmetic, a total of 1,392 volumes!"

After listening to the report of his subordinates, Xu Xuemo couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and the gifts in the warehouse at the moment were no different from those recorded on the list, which meant that there was no concealment or concealment in the whole process.

At this point, Xu Xuemo's tasks have been completed, and it is time for the officials from the main and guest departments to take over.

Immediately, I saw Xu Xuemo nodding and commanding in a deep voice.

"Okay, now that the gifts have been counted, then the task of our trip has been completed, and it's time to return to the gift department!"

"Yes, sir!"

Nils on the side saw Xu Xuemo's idea of leaving, and immediately, after hesitating for a long time, he gritted his teeth and expressed his thoughts to the Tongtong Hall on the side.

When the general of the Huitong Hall heard this, he stopped Xu Xuemo, who was about to leave.

"Wait a minute, my lord, this messenger said that he has another gift that he wants to give to His Majesty in his personal name!"

When Xu Xuemo heard this, a look of curiosity couldn't help but appear on his face, and he immediately paused, turned his gaze to the general affairs of the Huitong Pavilion, and followed the opening.

"Oh, in that case, ask him what kind of gift he wants to give?"

After listening to Xu Xuemo's instructions, the general of the Huitong Pavilion relayed his words to Nils word for word.

Hearing this, Nils looked in the direction where Xu Xuemo was, and spoke.

"Honorable Ming official, the gift I want to give in my personal name is a flintlock pistol from the Kingdom of France, which can be used for self-defense!"

Immediately afterward, the general secretary of the Huitong Pavilion translated Niels's words and repeated them again.

When Xu Xuemo heard that the Rakshasa messenger in front of him wanted to give His Majesty a gun in his private name, he immediately fell into a tangle.

After all, in the name of a private person, it is not a trivial matter to give a gift to His Majesty, and Xu Xuemo is not sure whether His Majesty will like this gift or not, in case it makes His Majesty unhappy at that time......

Nils on the side was afraid that Xu Xuemo would not agree with his suggestion, so he hurriedly called a subordinate, and after whispering a few words in his ear, the subordinate left in a hurry, and when he came back again, he already had an extremely exquisite, small and delicate flintlock pistol in his hand.

Nils saw his subordinates arrive with flintlock pistols, his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly looked at the general of the Huitong Pavilion on the side, and continued.

"The gift I would like to give to your Majesty in my personal name is this flintlock pistol, which can be used for self-defense!"

After this sentence was translated by the general secretary of the Huitong Pavilion, it reached Xu Xuemo's ears, and after that, Xu Xuemo took the flintlock pistol from the hand of the subordinate and began to study it carefully.

"Well, this gun is small and exquisite, and it is extremely beautiful, according to the messenger, Your Majesty can also use this gun for self-defense, I think Your Majesty will like this gift!"

Xu Xuemo thought so, and quickly handed the flintlock pistol in his hand back to Niels's hand, and spoke.

"Don't worry, I will truthfully report your request to Your Majesty!"

After listening to the translation of the general affairs of the Huitong Pavilion, Nils also understood what Xu Xuemo meant, and immediately, he saw him salute Xu Xuemo quite respectfully, and said in a deep voice.

"Respected Ming official, I will remember this kindness of yours!" (End of chapter)