Rule over Ming Dynasty

In the center of the French royal palace hangs a two-meter-high ink painting of a landscape, exuding a strong humanistic atmosphere.

The towering mountains are majestic and impressive. The forests are lush on the top of the mountain, and a waterfall is like a line in the deep valley. There are huge rocks and straight trees under the peaks.

In the foreground of the picture, a stream is flowing, and a group of merchants carrying goods are moving along the stream on the mountain path, adding vitality to the quiet mountain forest.

Art has no borders. When traditional Chinese paintings that integrate China's 5,000 years of wisdom appeared on the European market, these amazing landscape ink paintings quickly became popular throughout Europe.

King Louis XII of France was a fan of landscape ink paintings. In addition to this most proud collection, he also had dozens of paintings hanging in other places in the palace.

When Wang Zhi saw this painting, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise slightly.

The original "Traveling in Mountains and Streams" is in the imperial study of the palace. The painting of this imitation is extremely poor. If I had known earlier, I would have brought "The Sound of Pines on the Mountain Road" given to me by Tang Bohu.

"Governor, I bought this from an Arab merchant at a huge price. This painting is the largest in Europe and the painting skills are truly amazing. You never thought that I would buy it, did you?" When Louis XII saw Wang Zhi stop, he immediately introduced the origin of the painting complacently.

Queen Anne of France also stopped, her beautiful eyes shining brightly. What attracted her most about this landscape painting was the beauty of the landscape, which made her fascinated.

Her life was unfortunate. Because too many interests were tied to her, she was forced to become an appendage of politics and suffered two unfortunate marriages in succession.

If she still has any confidence now, it is that she and King Louis XII of France had already made three rules before their marriage.

If her daughter Princess Claude were not still young, she would have taken her daughter to the Duchy of Bourbon to serve as regent instead of staying in this French royal palace that was suffocating her.

In fact, her relationship with her second husband was very dull. After all, he abandoned his first wife and chose her, which showed that this person valued personal interests more.

If she did not have enough benefits, this second husband would leave her without hesitation, so she never pinned her hopes of survival on him.

Originally, she wanted to take her daughter to the Duchy of Bourbon, but after seeing the ink paintings of Eastern landscapes, the distant and mysterious East became the place she most yearned for.

Wang Zhi naturally would not expose the fact that the Chinese painting in front of him was a fake. Instead, he praised it for a few words and then continued to walk inside.

This was not a formal negotiation between the two countries, it was just the Governor of the Atlantic visiting the French royal palace, so the group did not go to the palace, but came to the restaurant.

The banquet has been prepared, and the long table looks particularly grand.

The various tableware on it shines with silvery-white light. The exquisite porcelain naturally comes from the mysterious East, and there is a huge clock placed in the center.

Since the eighth year of Hongzhi, when Ming merchant ships arrived here, a large amount of Chinese goods have poured into Western Europe, so now there are more and more Chinese elements in the royal palace.

For example, the perfume worn by Queen Anne of the United States is also from China, and the fabric of her clothes is naturally the same. She is probably the only one whose clothes are "original".

That’s right. Although the Governor-General’s Office of the Great Western Region of the Ming Dynasty had just been established, elements related to the Ming Dynasty had already spread to every corner of Europe.

"Governor, please take a seat!" Louis XII had a very gentle temperament, and now he was even more respectful to Wang Zhi, the Governor of the Atlantic who had connections everywhere.

After witnessing the terrifying power of the Ming fleet, especially the unheard-of artillery shells, he has made up his mind to cling to the Ming Dynasty's strong thigh.

What Spanish Invincible Armada, what Portuguese Invincible Army, in front of the terrifying warships of the Ming Dynasty, they are all nothing.

Whether for the sake of Ming's commodities or to gain Ming's military support, he had reasons to be friendly with the new Governor-General of the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Although Wang Zhi was not impressed by Louis XII who abandoned his wife, he seemed to be quite respectful to Queen Anne of France, so he invited the queen to take a seat with him.

Soon the fast food plate was brought up. The food on the table was mouth-watering. The air was filled with the aroma of food, and a jar of Oriental girl's red wine was opened, which immediately added the aroma of wine.

"Thank you Governor Wang for your help, otherwise the Italian peninsula would have fallen into the hands of Spain now!" Louis XII saw that Wang Zhi was enjoying his meal, so he took the initiative to bring up the topic.

On the battlefield of the Italian peninsula, France was already doomed to fail, but they did not expect to find such a powerful helper. Not only did they block the Spanish reinforcements, but they also directly crippled the Spanish navy.

Now that the whole situation has been reversed, he only needs to send reinforcements to the Italian Peninsula by sea, and the entire Italian Peninsula will be in his pocket.

Of course, their French navy was originally weak and had been crippled by Spain before, and there were other European forces eyeing them, so he needed to seek Wang Zhi's help.

As long as the Ming fleet ensures that his few broken ships can deliver troops to the Italian Peninsula, he can then take over the Italian Peninsula that he has always coveted and obtain the richest land.

Wang Zhi smiled without comment, but did not even glance at Louis XII, and continued to eat in silence.

cough!
Queen Anne of France coughed and glared at her incompetent husband with dissatisfaction.

Don't talk while eating or sleeping, this is a fine etiquette in China. They clearly knew this before Wang arrived, but her husband still wanted to talk about things in the restaurant.

Louis XII slapped his forehead and realized that according to Chinese etiquette, he could not speak at this time.

Although Wang Zhi was a child from a poor family, he was castrated and sent to the palace when he was a child. He never suffered any hardship when he came to live with Concubine Wan, and later lived a life of luxury.

In particular, he was highly regarded by two generations of emperors. Because he had watched the emperors eat for a long time, when he actually ate, he unconsciously showed the aura of a superior and enjoyed the food slowly and leisurely.

If there are ranks in dining, then everyone else is a younger brother.

Louis XII kept observing Wang Zhi, but was secretly surprised to find that he was simply a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.

Queen Anne of France looked at Wang Zhi's handsome face with her eyes flickering.

After finishing the meal, we moved to another place and it was time to discuss business.

It was no secret that French King Louis XII was plotting to take over the Italian Peninsula. Originally, Louis XII was about to accept this failure, but the appearance of Wang Zhi made him see hope again.

"If you give me the port of Marseilles for the Atlantic Governor's Navy garrison, I can guarantee that no one will dare to mess with you in the western Mediterranean!" Wang Zhi proposed the condition very readily.

Before entering Western Europe, his first clear targets were Spain and Portugal, but he was also prepared to win over France, which had a strong agricultural base.

The Ming Dynasty under the rule of Emperor Hongzhi did not focus on land power. Instead, it was a pragmatic court that was more willing to work for the benefit of the people, so it attached more importance to maritime hegemony that could bring in an endless supply of resources.

As long as the Ming Dynasty can firmly control 70% of the earth's oceans, then 70% of the world's unowned land will be in the Ming Dynasty's pocket.

As for Western Europe, the biggest destabilizing factor, as long as the Ming fleet directly destroyed their fleet, then the entire Western Europe was destined to remain a poor and backward country. That is why the Atlantic Governor's Office would tend to support France, a relatively stable agricultural country, and even make France the first land power in Europe.

When Louis XII heard this condition, he nodded in agreement without even thinking about it.

The two sides soon signed the Ming-French Treaty, through which the Atlantic Governor's Office of the Ming Dynasty obtained the port of Marseilles and at the same time assumed the responsibility of ensuring the smooth transportation of French troops by navy.

"Governor, last time you wrote me an invitation to visit the East, does that still count?" After both parties signed the treaty, Queen Anne of France suddenly smiled while tilting her neck.

When the complacent Louis XII heard this, a look of confusion suddenly flashed across his eyes.

Wang Zhi's expression did not change, so he smiled and said, "Of course! Our Great Ming Emperor is very hospitable. If you can go, he will definitely let you see the prosperity of our Great Ming and let you appreciate the charm of the oriental mountains and rivers!"

"Okay, please make the arrangements. I want to go with Princess Claude!" Queen Anne of France seemed to have made a great decision and said it decisively.

Louis XII's eyes widened. He never expected that the queen would actually plan to go to the Ming Dynasty and take her daughter with her.

A knight nearby noticed Louis XII's reaction and stepped forward to stop him, saying, "No!"

"No?" Wang Zhi's eyes narrowed immediately, and then he looked up and down at the knight in front of him.

Originally, knights were synonymous with strength, but after the title of knight was publicly sold, the reputation of the knight class was ruined. After all, anyone can be a knight.

The man in front of him is called Philip. He was originally the son of a wealthy businessman. After relying on his financial resources to obtain the title of knight, he quickly rose to power through his ability to read people's expressions and words. Now he has become one of the knights of the royal palace.

This time, in order to strengthen the prestige of the French king, he and dozens of other knights were arranged to accompany Louis XII. Now he has seized the opportunity to please Louis XII.

Queen Anne of France frowned slightly and turned her head to look at the knight who tried to stop her with dissatisfaction. Seeing that it was Philip, she looked even more disgusted.

When the knight Philip was asked by Wang Zhi, he naturally could not say that he saw that the king wanted to stop him. He said confidently: "How can I, the queen and princess of France, go to the East to take risks? This is absolutely not allowed!"

"Your Majesty, is this what you mean?" A hint of murderous intent flashed across Wang Zhi's eyes, but he turned his head to look at Louis XII beside him.

Louis XII shuddered all over, as if he was stared at by a tiger: "No, I have no such intention!"

boom!
A stream of blood splashed, shocking the entire audience.

Wang Zhi now had an exquisite silver spear in his hand, with a wisp of green smoke coming out of the muzzle. However, the strong young man Philip had fallen in a pool of blood, with a bloody hole on his forehead.

This……

Louis XII looked at the bloody scene before him and felt unfamiliar with this gentle governor.

"You don't know the difference between the superior and the inferior. You deserve to die!" Wang Zhi said calmly, and then looked at the dumbfounded Louis XII and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, do you mind if I help you clean up the mess?"

Louis XII finally reacted and shook his head mechanically: "No...I don't mind!"

"Your Majesty, this pistol is very useful for self-defense. I hope you can accept it!" Wang Zhi handed the silver gun in his hand to Queen Anne of France, speaking very gently.

Queen Anne of France was not frightened by Wang Zhi's actions. When Wang Zhi's hand touched hers, she blushed and thanked him for the gift: "Thank you!"

Since Queen Anne of France wanted to go to the Ming Dynasty, Wang Zhi simply began to invite European countries to send envoys to the Ming Dynasty.

"Haha... this is really a joke, who would go there?"

"Although I yearn for the East, I have to lead the army there myself!"

"I bet that only the stupid French Queen will go. No royal family in Europe will agree to go!"

……

After receiving the invitation from the Atlantic Governor's Office of the Ming Dynasty, European countries ignored it and did not believe that any country would send an envoy.

"I go!"

Just when everyone was laughing at the joke of the Atlantic Governor's Mansion, a voice suddenly rang out.

Originally everyone was ready to laugh at this idiot, but when they learned the identity of the person who agreed to go, they were all dumbfounded.

Europe is not a sovereign state in the traditional sense. Because their kings are Catholics, each country is often restricted by the Pope and even has to obey the Pope.

Pope Alexander VI, who came to power through bribery, has passed away. The new Pope is Pius III, who had close contacts with the Ming Dynasty several years ago.

It was originally rumored that the newly enthroned Pope Pius III had died of poisoning, but for unknown reasons, the dead pope suddenly "returned to power."

However, everyone can clearly see that the new Pope is closer to the Ming Dynasty, so it is not surprising that he suddenly chose to lead a team to the East this time.

"I'm willing to go!"

"This princess also wants to go there and broaden her horizons!"

"Since the Pope has gone, what do I have to worry about?"

……

Western countries were originally on the sidelines, but under the influence of Pope Pius III, they also sent delegations to the country.

In fact, everyone is curious. They are full of fantasies about the East full of gold. Now they can go to the mysterious kingdom to take a look, so many European nobles are flocking to it.

Especially people have a herd mentality. At first, they were hesitant, but when they saw more and more people going there, they immediately rushed to sign up.

In the spring of the 17th year of the Hongzhi reign, a luxury cruise ship carrying many European royal relatives and dukes set sail from Gibraltar, planning to bypass the African continent and head for the Ming Dynasty, the world's maritime hegemon. (End of this chapter)