golden scales

In the end, Zhu Hezhi left all 5000 taels of silver in Sweden, and used part of the silver to purchase all of Descartes's lifetime works, and invited Descartes' former students, friends, and colleagues to Daming to translate these works.

The remaining part is managed by King Christina of Sweden.Anyone who is willing to come to Daming to study Cartesian philosophy and scientific thinking can get travel expenses from this silver.

If such a generous decision is placed in later generations, it will easily be regarded as self-assessment.However, in the current world, it takes eight to nine months, or even longer, to go from Daming to Europe one way.If you send someone to ask for instructions and wait for a reply, the day lily is really cold.

What's worse, doing so can easily make the emperor feel that this person is useless and has no arbitrariness in decision-making.

King Jing's approach was indeed recognized by Zhu Cihong, and he privately lamented that the title of a prince was not wasted in vain.If King Jing really brought back 5000 taels of silver, then Zhu Cihong would really be dumbfounded.

Daming's 5000 taels of silver, in Europe where money is tightened, is a huge sum of money!Even the king of Sweden was very excited when he took over the amount of money-because the silver yield was also a huge sum of money, and the king had the right to control the silver.

King Jing brought back gifts from the royal families of various countries from Europe, ranging from small glass balls to large sailing ships, as well as a large number of skilled workers.These workers may not know a single letter, and the things they make may not be able to catch the eyes of the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty, but the stones of other mountains can be used to drill jade, and their ancestral techniques can broaden the horizons and thinking of the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty.

These are the things a prince should do.

When Zhu Cihong met Jing Wang Zhu Hezhi, it was the day he returned to Daming, and he looked exhausted, so the interview time was not long.Later, Zhu Hezhi asked to see him several times—he was nominally the emperor's nephew—and Zhu Cihong did not meet him due to time constraints, but only gave him a banquet to express his acceptance.

If Zhu Hezhi said earlier that he wanted to go to America, Zhu Cihong would have arranged a time for a private interview and asked about the specific plans.

In the clan's mansion, Zuo Zongzheng and Zhu Yujian went to Portugal as the king of Tang Dynasty.Live in Europa.You Zongzheng and Zhu Changjie are teachers in charge, and they don't care about the affairs of the clan mansion.Zhu Yihai, a member of the Youzong family, is in charge of the Royal Library. He immerses himself in ancient and rare books all day long, and loves not to think about "Lu".Where are you willing to meddle in other people's business?

The only way King Jing can really go is Zhu Shenxuan.

Zhu Shenxuan took the gifts Zhu Hezhi brought back, two Ottoman scimitars, and [-] catties each of Indian agarwood and sandalwood.

Zhu Hezhi was only in charge of missions, and he had no legacy from Jing Fan. Where did he get the confidence to send such an expensive gift?

Because he is taking the most important world business route at the moment.

When Zhu Hezhi set off, he didn't realize that the future was full of business opportunities, so he didn't make any special preparations.However, the huge fleet attracted other small business travelers as the ship sailed on the sea.Worried about the threat of pirates, these small business travelers proposed to go with King Jing's fleet.This is common at sea.And in the case of too much deviation in strength, it will never be free.

The small merchant ships are full of loads, only goods but no money.Zhu Hezhi didn't care about it, and took these merchants to Nanyang, exchanged them for silver from the Dutch and Portuguese, and then continued westward.I bought a lot of Indian specialties and various spices at the Indian port.

When the fleet left the Indian Ocean and entered Africa, Zhu Hezhi sold spices in exchange for gold and gems.When he arrived in Lisbon, the prices of all goods had increased by more than ten times.In the blink of an eye, he became a rich man of a generation, enjoying the huge profits from sea trade in the age of great voyages.

After returning home.Zhu Hezhi already had the money to build his own Jingwang Mansion, and gave gifts to those who helped him.This feeling of getting rich made him very addicted, and he was even more curious about the legendary new world full of gold and silver.However, if he wants to build an ocean-going fleet with his current financial resources, it is simply a dream.

So Zhu Hezhi thought of raising money from relatives, and only then did he come up with the idea of ​​fighting the autumn wind.Not just borrowing money.It's also an excuse.I am also a vassal at any rate, what if the emperor does not allow it?Now it is considered to be liberalized, and the vassal king can do limited activities outside the country. In the past, the vassal king of the country could not even leave the city casually.

Of course, the above are all Zhu Hezhi's rhetoric.

Zhu Cihong wanted to meet Zhu Hezhi.When preparing to discuss the voyage with him, I accidentally got some other news.

The spies sent by Dongchang to their counterparts in Europe pointed out in the report: Jing Wang Zhu Hezhi had more than normal contacts with Swedish King Christina.It even hinted that King Jing's decision to leave a huge amount of silver in Sweden and entrust it to Christina was based on this abnormal relationship.

This report was included in a stack of reports at the beginning, but Zhu Cihong didn't have time to pay attention to it at all.For Emperor Ming, the European issue was too far away, and it was not where the core interests of Ming were at present.It's just that now that it's been revealed, it can't be left alone.

So Zhu Hezhi was passed into the palace and received by the emperor himself.

"What kind of person is the King of Sweden?" Zhu Cihong asked.

Zhu Hezhi didn't doubt him.He knew that His Majesty the Emperor was a master of military affairs, and Tessie's most famous military strategist was King Gustav II of Sweden.

"Returning to Your Majesty, the Swedish King Christina is now the daughter of Gustav II. Her father died in battle, and she was appointed king. Therefore, she came to the throne at the age of six. The coronation was held in October of the year when the minister arrived in Sweden. Courtesy." Zhu Hezhi was dressed in court clothes, and his figure was invisible, but his face was sharp and angular, and his skin was dark, which showed that the long voyage had also brought indelible changes to his body.

"Shouldn't women be called queens?" Zhu Cihong asked as if chatting.

Zhu Hezhi smiled: "That should be the case. It's just that she was mistaken for a man when she was born, and she was educated like a prince. Her father took it very seriously, so she came to the throne in the name of 'King' instead of 'Queen' .”

"Well, he came to the throne at the age of six and was crowned only two years ago, so he shouldn't be very old, right?" Zhu Cihong seemed to be very gossip.

"Should be twenty-seven this year." Zhu Hezhi said.

"Hey, it happens to be the same age as King Jing." Zhu Cihong said.

Zhu Hezhi's face froze, a little embarrassed, and said: "Your Majesty, I am 25 this year..."

"Oh, is that so?" Zhu Cihong leaned back and said in a deep voice, "Then why did you tell King Christina that you were the same age as her?"

Zhu Hezhi blushed.

He originally planned to learn Thai and Western languages ​​on board, but he didn't have much motivation. He only learned a little Latin and French-because Descartes was French.

After arriving in Sweden, Zhu Hezhi had to rely on the Ming Dynasty to communicate with others.

This officer graduated from the University of Economics and was educated by Tang Ruowang and other Jesuit priests. There was no obstacle in communicating with European nobles.Not only is the language proficient, but even the etiquette is flawless, which surprised the nobles in European countries who received Zhu Hezhi.

Zhu Hezhi naturally attached great importance to him.

It's just that they don't know that this person is a secret agent of Dongchang, and that King Jing's every move, word and deed in Europe are under Dongchang's control.

Including a picnic with King Christina, the two joked.

"Is Tong Shi lying about it?" Zhu Cihong added.

"No..." Zhu Hezhi felt a little parched, "It's because I was frivolous and frivolous at that time."

Zhu Cilang brought the topic back, and said: "You have done a good job in the mission to Taixi. I didn't call you here today to settle old scores. I just want to make sure that you intend to sail to America to meet the queen. Is there any connection."

Fortunately, Zhu Hezhi's skin was tanned at sea, otherwise it would be as red as boiled shrimp.His longing for the New World was precisely because he knew that there was a Swedish enclave in America called New Sweden, which King Christina yearned for very much.

"It's definitely not a personal relationship." Zhu Hezhi denied it, and said, "However, I was inspired by Kremlin's idea of ​​going to America. I think Sweden is a small country, but it is only about the same size as our province. Overseas enclaves have a lot of income. If I have hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the sea and land, why not occupy those unclaimed lands, so as to benefit future generations!"

Zhu He's words so far are half-truths and half-false.He did know that there were Swedish colonies in the Americas after listening to Christina's introduction, but at that time he was not thinking about the great cause of the family and the country, but more about riding horses and whips with the beauty on the picturesque plains.

"After all, you are a descendant of Renzong, and belong to the Tian family. If you exile yourself just because you were rejected by a woman, I don't think it's worth it." Zhu Cihong said.

Zhu Hezhi felt cramped, and he thought he had forgotten it.

As envoys of the mysterious eastern kingdom, relatives of the emperor, and enjoying the title of prince, Zhu Hezhi received the highest standard of courtesy along the way.The Portuguese Governor of Goa even sent him to Lisbon himself before returning to Goa.The kings of Portugal and France also received him in person, and expressed their willingness to do business with Daming.

Charlie Stuart, a member of the British royal family who was exiled overseas due to the British Civil War, also hoped to meet with Zhu Hezhi and ask for help, but apparently he was not qualified.Zhu Hezhi declined his invitation on the grounds that the emperor ordered him to allow no delay, and immediately went to Stockholm by sea.

Such courteous treatment made the young King Jing a little bit elated, and he also looked down upon the royal families of the Thai and Western countries. At one time, he thought their etiquette was too crude, with strong traces of barbarism.

Until he met King Christina in Stockholm.

At first glance, this woman with uneven shoulders made Zhu Hezhi feel full of vitality, not like a flower in a greenhouse at all.

"When I was a baby, the nanny accidentally dropped me on the ground and broke my shoulder bone, so I didn't mean to use my shoulders to despise others." Christina chuckled and whispered: "Although I It does take advantage of this disability to look down upon certain people."

Zhu Hezhi couldn't help but think of King Christina's joke at the first dinner party, which made him so embarrassed that he didn't know how to respond.

Ps:

Ask for a recommendation ticket, ask for a monthly ticket~!