Jingming

Chapter 423 Louis’ costume was ridiculed
It was late April when Louis arrived in Guangzhou.

The first time he arrived in Guangzhou, Louis was stunned.

At this moment, the east side of the Pearl River estuary was densely crowded with warships. They were the Ming Dynasty Navy that had just returned from triumph.

Zhao Jun went to the capital, but the orders of the Ming Dynasty to reform the military and increase the number of naval troops had already been sent here.Located in Guangdong is the Nanyang Fleet, with a defense range as far as the Nanyang 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 forces is [-], which can accommodate fleets from three directions.

Other guards may be resistant to military reform. After all, reducing troops means reducing power.

But the naval division was overjoyed. They were increasing troops and giving money.

What followed was an even busier shipbuilding scene.

Louis could clearly see that there were many Portuguese Karak battleships and Calais battleships mixed in among them. Are they the trophies captured here after the expedition fleet was defeated by the Ming fleet?

And here at the Pearl River Estuary, there is an endless stream of maritime trading companies and other private merchant ships.The Nanyang Protectorate has been established, and heading to Cochin and Malacca is a new opportunity for maritime wealth.

The Guangzhou that Louis saw also had a population and prosperity far exceeding that of Lisbon.

As the younger brother of the King of Portugal, he came to submit the letter of surrender. This news had already been sent back by Yang Bo's clipper.

So under the arrangement of Tongyi Bureau, Louis will intuitively experience the vastness of the Ming Dynasty.

This time, he didn't need to walk so fast to catch up with the Longevity Ceremony.

The route arranged for him was naturally to sail all the way.First go to Guangxi, then go to Huguang via Lingqu, enter the Yangtze River and then go down the river, and then go to Beijing via the canal.

In Guangzhou, he will stay for two days, and the governor of Guangdong will first confirm the letters of credence and surrender he brought.

After confirming that everything was correct, Louis slowly started his journey to the Ming Dynasty, and the express delivery arrived in Beijing first.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty was holding trials for each province before the Holy Grail of Chess.

After the Ming Dynasty entered a relatively stable state both internally and externally, an obvious change was that the original Ministry of Rites and the current Ministry of Rites and Communications began to organize many new activities.

Chess tournaments are the best, after all, they don’t require a special venue.

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

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

A new profession is about to emerge: athlete.

This was understood by the people of the world as the emperor's desire to continue to cultivate the martial spirit of the people of the Ming Dynasty. Only some officials knew that this was also a channel for absorbing the dismissed soldiers.

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

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

At present, the first priority is the emperor's attention.

If you can get those medals in the sports games that are said to be made of gold, silver, or bronze, 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 grasslands in the northern border area are thousands of miles away, and there will be countless cattle and sheep in Ming Dynasty.We will spend ten or twenty years, starting from primary schools in every county and middle schools in all prefectures, striving to make the children of the Ming Dynasty drink fresh milk from cows and goats, so that the people of the Ming Dynasty can eat more meat and stay strong.

Higher, faster and stronger, this is the meaning of holding sports games.

This is naturally a series of projects, and the benefits of group pastoral supervision are here.The huge market of the Ming Dynasty was an important factor that made the Mongolian herdsmen think that grazing for the Ming Dynasty was much better than grazing for the Khan Court.

Naturally, we can't produce any milk powder in this day and age, but since the Qun Herding Supervision Bureau is a company, with stations everywhere just like Tongyi Bureau, it's not too much to raise some cows to supply the surrounding area, right?It’s not too much to raise some cows, sheep, and pigs for meat, right?
If the cattle, sheep and horses were raised in large numbers and spread throughout the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty, Jin Jialu could still follow the herd supervisors, eagerly staring at the dung produced by these animals, and do a good job in the fertilizer industry.

So, it wasn't just a "fun" idea.

That was just the most eye-catching gimmick, and it was actually paired with the entire project of "strengthening the people's body."

The sports meeting is a new activity, and another new activity of the Ministry of Etiquette is the establishment of the Music and Arts Department.

This can’t help but remind people of the Jiaofangsi that existed in the two capitals, as well as the brothels and goulan that spread throughout the prosperous towns of the Ming Dynasty.

To be honest, it's impossible to ban this thing.

Zhu Houcong did not intend to solve these problems in this era, but for the purpose of cultural export, it is important to create a new outlet for outstanding literary and artistic talents, regardless of gender.

This folk art department is the "national team" in Beijing.Musicians, dancers, singers, actors... they serve exclusively for the important ceremonies of the imperial court.

In local areas, there is a bit of a "corporate" nature.According to the plan, all provincial and prefectural cities will also plan for such areas in the future, including theaters, teahouses, restaurants, shops, and of course brothels and hook-ups.

Local folk art troupes are there to support and generate income.What it will develop into, Zhu Houcong can probably imagine. Although there will be management in the end, it will eventually become a more level and classy place for banquets and discussion of major events.

But it doesn’t matter. Why not gather more talented literary and artistic talents, take out more money from the wealthier officials and businessmen, and remit it to the finance through taxes for distribution?
The most important thing is that in the system of Quyi Department, the Ministry of Etiquette will gradually gather outstanding figures such as writers, painters, calligraphers, musicians, etc.

Coupled with this is the relaxation of the Publishing Department in the publishing and printing of literary and artistic works, and the opportunity for national teams, local folk art teams, and non-governmental organizations to perform in surrounding vassal states along with future caravans.

Along the way, Louis was accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Rites, learned a little Chinese, and saw local discussions about these new things that were very different from the past.

In his opinion, these are things that only nobles can enjoy.

And is Ming Dynasty ready to allow all citizens to have the opportunity to enjoy these?To what extent did Ming Dynasty become wealthy?
Of course, the Ming Dynasty was not so wealthy, and today Yang Shen is just mumbling about it every day.

He just muttered, after all, the emperor made it very clear: except for the extra expenses in primary and secondary schools, wouldn't everything else be for the rich to spend their money?Moreover, the opening of border markets made the dignitaries and people of foreign vassal countries yearn for the Ming Dynasty. If they could not come to the Ming Dynasty, they would try their best to buy some good goods from the Ming Dynasty.Wouldn’t it increase taxes in border cities?
It hasn't worked yet, but the truth is indeed the truth.

Fortunately, Portugal's credentials have arrived in the capital, and Yang Shen is in a much better mood these days.

The people in the capital don't know the specific situation yet, but the advisers are all excited.

In the naval expedition, a lot of money was spent on building ships and recruiting troops. However, after this battle, can that small Western country really pay out so much money?

Zhu Houcong asked for 1000 million taels of silver, and Alfonso exceeded the quota. Two million taels of gold can be exchanged for one thousand two million taels.

"Only 1000 million taels." Zhu Houcong reminded Yang Shen, "It is Alfonso's responsibility to deliver the compensation, leaving him some to gain a foothold in Portugal, which is very important for the Nanyang Protectorate's continuous profits later. Moreover, , it is difficult for these 1000 million taels to be all gold and silver, and it is impossible to take them all out at once."

Yang Shen also understood this.

If he was asked to take out 1000 million taels of cash directly from Ming Dynasty, it would be better to kill him directly.

Portugal is no more than the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Even if it occupies some places outside the territory, it is no more than a province.

Yang Shen was overjoyed to be able to agree to such a large amount of compensation.

The officials and gentry of the Ming Dynasty who had read history books were naturally familiar with the matter of reparations.

Back then, didn’t Zhao Song have to bear the burden of annual coins every year?

Unexpectedly, Ming Dynasty can actually enjoy such benefits now, and it comes from a small Western country thousands of miles away, with which it usually has little to do with.

Taking this opportunity, Zhu Houcong naturally taught them again: "I used to be obsessed with the Great Wall of Nanyang, all because of this. Nowadays, long-distance voyages are much safer than in the past. Although Portugal and Spain are small countries, their income from long-distance voyages and trafficking of goods is huge. The benefits are far beyond your imagination. No, even though I opened my mouth, the Portuguese master still agreed. It can be seen that if we settle the accounts and continue to transport goods from Malacca to sell them one by one, we will still make money in the long run."

What he wants is not to emphasize his foresight, but to remind: "The Ming Dynasty does not need much Western goods. From now on, they will probably have to mainly exchange gold and silver for Ming Dynasty goods. In the past, there was a shortage of gold and silver, but from now on, hundreds of dollars will be spent every year." Tens of millions of gold and silver entered the Ming Dynasty. You need to carefully consider the issues I mentioned before. If prices soar due to this, the people will suffer. You must think about how to control the flow of extra silver into the people."

Malacca, Guangzhou, Ningbo, and many border cities, with the Ming Dynasty's current influence and richness of products, there really are not that many needed things in the surrounding areas.

Apart from gold and silver, there are probably only bulk commodities such as grain, timber, and ores.

If there were more gold and silver and they were all piled up in Ming Dynasty, it would definitely cause prices to rise.

Therefore, even if it is more expensive, if we 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 still an economic war.

The emperor temporarily put aside his intention to use foreign troops, and the feeling of daily classes among the important ministers of the Ming Dynasty returned.

By this time, Li had returned to Seoul.

Of course, he did not dare to persuade Li Yi, but euphemistically stated that the Ming Dynasty had asked him to come back because he was worried that North Korea would misunderstand that the Ming Dynasty wanted to intervene in the dispute for the North Korean crown prince.Nor did they send great scholars to give lectures in North Korea, otherwise it would be like supporting the North Korean sect of scholars.

The border market in Jiulian City has already begun. Li Yi learned from Li that the Emperor of Heaven tied up the clans and ministers who did not want to fight for power in the form of a royal enterprise, so he was very happy to follow this approach.

The old faction of Xun really cannot continue to entrust him with important responsibilities, lest they hold the government hostage again after supporting him to ascend the throne.However, using them to make money from border trade with the Ming Dynasty and binding them with interests was 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 petition the superior country to help North Korea develop culture and education, it’s just that the situation in the DPRK is like this.If we really send a great Confucian scholar to the court to give lectures, I am afraid that there will be rumors in the court that the superior country will disrupt the situation of the court and direct its troops towards North Korea.If there is a foreign invasion, what will happen to the DPRK?
The old Xun faction must be won over, and the Shilin faction, which is now much weaker, must also be encouraged.

Naturally, the Shilin sect knew this: This was a good excuse for the already extremely powerful Shizi sect to continue to secure its position and suppress the rest of the group from speaking out unanimously.But now, this excuse does not exist. Ming Dynasty is only prepared to do business with North Korea and accept five international students sent from North Korea every three years.

Ming Dynasty didn't bother to care about North Korea's internal affairs.

At this time, in May, Queen Wen Ding finally gave birth to a child safely.

It's a boy.

The crown prince who was adopted in the name of Queen Wending and raised by her but was always treated "very poorly", her biological second son Li Xuan, was briefly "appreciated" by the Emperor of Ming Dynasty. …

The battle for the crown prince in North Korea entered a new stage, and Louis finally disembarked in Tongzhou.

On the pier, there was a group of people greeting him.

What they greeted was not Louis, but another middle-aged man.

"Brother Ziming, are you okay?"

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

Seeing the group of people approaching excitedly, Louis asked the official of the Ministry of Etiquette on the side doubtfully: "Who is this person?"

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

Along the way, Changsha, Wuchang, Nanjing, Huai'an... which one is not a much bigger city than Lisbon?

Therefore, his mentality is also changing.It was his brother who had to compensate, so what could he do?
"Yan Lun and Yan Ziming." The official of the Ministry of Rites replied with a smile, "Anyone who has a good idea is commenting on the top ten wonders of the capital recently. Pipa, Tou Hu, Flute, Sanxian, Cuju... Of course there are also chess and Go. This Yan Ziming has become famous. For a long time, he has not lost a single game. This time, he has stopped traveling south and wants to return to Beijing to win the Holy Grail."

"Go..."

The official of the Ministry of Rites smiled and said nothing.

He estimated that many of the scholars who came to greet Yan Lun had already participated in the handicap to guess who would win the championship, and among them, Yan Lun's real old friends were probably only a few.

If it were in the past, how could there be so many young scholars interacting with Yan Lun?
On the contrary, some people who already have official positions would occasionally invite Yan Lun to play chess to pass the time and learn both skills.

But now that the emperor wants to organize the Holy Grail of Chess, this hot topic is worth participating in.

Next year there will be another examination, and the number of scholars in the capital has begun to increase.Although the literary style in the capital is already as good as that in the south of the Yangtze River, there are even more capable people in terms of new learning.But when they arrive in the capital early, there are fewer people who study hard and study new things, and more people get together to socialize.

Louis just walked on the straight road from Beijing to Tongzhou and saw a stable cart pulled by horses and driving on the rails.

Passing by the canal filled with boats and the pier outside the east wall of the capital, I saw the grand stadium standing there and the grand theater to the south of the grand stadium that was bulldozed after last year's military parade and started to be built. My eyes and ears were dizzying and absorbing. Hustle.

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

He was looking at the people of the Ming Dynasty, and on the way from Tongzhou Pier to the entrance of the Huitong Hall, the people of the Ming Dynasty were also looking at him.

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

Therefore, he is wearing the current formal and status-defining dress.

First the top hat, then the ruffle around the neck.The top was a velvet tight jacket and a cloak - even though it was May and the weather was a bit hot.

At the waist, his crotch pockets were more visible than his belt.Because he was wearing tight pantyhose on his feet, his crotch bag made of wool was even more eye-catching.

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

"Where do these barbarians come from? They are shameless!"

"Hey! Don't tell me, if a girl wears his socks..."

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

"..."

The great nobleman from Portugal could not understand everything, but he knew that it was an expression of scrutiny and ridicule.

No way, pantyhose don't cover the crotch.

The church considers the crotch bag to be immoral. After its rise decades ago, the crotch bag is now popular throughout Europe. Don’t these Easterners think it highlights male virility?

Louis entered the Huitong Hall, and his fancy clothes quickly became the joke of the day in the capital.

From the perspective of the restrained Eastern culture, the barbarian actually exposed the shape of his penis - even though it was wrapped in a layer of cloth - but it was bulging and eye-catching. How is it different from an animal?
"Your Majesty, you don't need to worry about it." 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 decree. Your Majesty's envoy has come in a fine dress. This is a sign of attaching importance to this audience and the conclusion of a peace treaty. Enter the palace on the day of the meeting. , it’s just as good as this.”

He was not talking nonsense. He even made it clear in advance because he was worried about alarming the Holy Master.

But the emperor's opinion shows: His Majesty also wants to open his eyes.

Zhu Houcong really wanted to see what the full attire of the European nobles of this era looked like. They always stayed in the palace to deal with government affairs, and except for those vulgar happiness and family happiness, they didn't have much other fun.

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

After two days, it was the day of the meeting.

Louis finally arrived in front of the glorious and magnificent palace of this Eastern Empire, after the court officials had already gone in to pay homage.

He waited quietly, feeling uncomfortable.

In the past two days, he already knew what a court meeting was.

Officials of the empire, big and small, met with the emperor in the main hall regularly, paid homage to him to express their respect, reported work and discussed state affairs.

In addition to officials, there are also their nobles.

In other words, it is one of the most popular places.

And Louis would submit a letter of surrender to the Eastern Emperor on such an occasion.

As a loser, this is what he must bear, and it is also what the Eastern Emperor should enjoy.

In the past two days, he also knew what dressing like himself meant in the East.

The East is reserved, and clothes should cover up as much of the sexual characteristics of the body as possible.

But how could such a reserved Easterner keep attacking such a vast territory?
"Pass! The Portuguese envoy is here to see you!"

The voice came, and the official from the Ministry of Etiquette who accompanied him stretched out his hand: "Please."

In the Forbidden City, under the watchful eyes of the imperial guards and court officials, Louis slowly moved forward.

From the corner of his eye, he observed that many people wanted to laugh, but they held back.

Looking at the Ming Dynasty civil and military officials, whose total number may have exceeded a thousand, wearing official robes of various colors and patterns, Louis felt even heavier.

João's court officials were far less numerous than this.

And this is only a small part of the civil and military officials of this huge empire, the small part working in their capital.

After coming to this land in person, he often couldn't help but think about how arrogant João II and the King of Spain were 40 years ago, allowing Pope Alexander VI to draw the line that separated the two countries. To carve up spheres of influence?
After the Battle of Tiu, Portugal defeated more than 2 people and more than 200 people with only five large warships and [-] small and medium-sized ships, a total of more than [-] armored soldiers and more than [-] sailors. The combined forces of Egypt, Gujrat, and Kalikut, which consisted of large and small warships, proudly penetrated deep into the Spice Islands after becoming unmatched in the Indian Ocean.

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

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

Unlike what Louis thought, Zhu Houcong just knew that with his arrival, the story of the ocean was already changing.

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

Wooden battleships will still ride for centuries, but steam engines and iron armor will change too much.

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

It is indeed funny, but if you are not careful, things in the future will make people unable to laugh.

　There is one more.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)