Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

There was a heavy rain in the spring of the third year of Yongle. The subsidence problem of the Nanjing Imperial Palace was fully highlighted as a design flaw. Not only the palace was flooded, but also the yamen offices in the lower imperial city. Then water entered.

In view of the continuous improvement of the financial situation, and considering that the emperor who returned from the expedition could not look too ugly, some roads in the imperial city were simply renovated with cement.

For modern people, cement roads cannot be compared with bluestone roads in terms of aesthetic sense. But for people of this era, cement roads mixed with fine sand pounded into powder form, Under the sunlight, it looks like a miracle.

– At least that’s what these European visitors thought.

They were accustomed to gravel roads in Europe, and now a straight, wide and beautiful road was in front of them. It was difficult for them to imagine how the Ming Dynasty did it.

In particular, this road has no trace of paving at all, and there are no cracks in the middle, as if there is such a big road naturally.

In the Presidential Reform Affairs Office of the Ming Dynasty, Jiang Xinghuo was sitting on an updated carved rosewood chair. Behind him was a huge and abstract map of the country, mountains and rivers, highlighting the vastness and prosperity of the Ming Dynasty. Although the geographical location above For someone like Jiang Xinghuo who knows the correct location of various places, this is already outrageous.

Cigarette smoke curled up inside the room, and the light and shadow through the window lattice danced on the somewhat old brocade carpet, successfully creating an atmosphere that was both solemn and mysterious.

To be honest, I still have to thank Zheng He.

If it weren't for Zheng He's official trade voyages to the West and large-scale purchases to increase trade volume, which drove down the prices of Nanyang specialties, such as various wooden furniture and incense, how would Jiang Xinghuo be willing to purchase them?

"I hope that the change in the attitude of the Timur Khanate will allow Zheng He to go to the Middle East to establish a trading post as soon as possible, so that he can bring back some Persian carpets."

Jiang Xinghuo thought as he rubbed the carpet that was almost bald with his shoes.

With the sound of the announcement of the diesel train, the court envoy of the Spanish Kingdom of Castile, Roberto Gonzalez Clavijo, and the Bavarian knight Johann Hiltberg stepped into the pulsating heart of the empire.

Although their steps were slightly hesitant, their eyes could not hide their awe and strong curiosity towards Jiang Xinghuo.

The experience of taking a boat all the way south from Guanzhong to Henan, and then south to Huguang, has made these Westerners who consider themselves well-informed fully aware of the narrowness of their horizons.

Because when they were amazed at a prosperous city, the accompanying officials told him that this was just a small county town, and there were thousands of cities of this size in the Ming Dynasty.

When they arrived in Nanjing, a city with a population of over one million, they simply could not imagine why a city could accommodate a population equivalent to that of a Western country.

The unexpected prosperity of the Ming Dynasty shocked them deeply. Especially the further they went southeast, the more they discovered that, unlike the Timur Khanate, the Ming Dynasty not only had a larger territory and a larger population, but also it was not a In a complete agricultural society, some new factors were born in it. In the intellectual debates of scholars, in the bargaining of merchants, in the eating, drinking and playing of citizens, these factors that they cannot explain are unique in the world. , they have never seen it.

Later, when they learned that this was the new atmosphere brought to the Ming Dynasty by the national master named Jiang Xinghuo, they became more and more curious about this national master who was called an immortal in the local stories of the Ming Dynasty.

Jiang Xinghuo stood up and nodded slightly to show courtesy.

To these Westerners, his eyes were as calm as a deep pool, yet they seemed to be able to penetrate people's hearts.

"Welcome to Ming Dynasty."

Clavier bowed and saluted, and responded in the slightly stiff Chinese he learned from Fu An: "Dear Master, on behalf of the Kingdom of Castile, I would like to express my most sincere greetings to you. We have come all the way. Not only to show off our country’s style, but also to establish long-term diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty.”

On the side, Hiltberg bowed with one hand on his chest in the manner of a knight: "Warriors of Bavaria salute you! Although we are strangers, we have heard about the prosperity and power of the Ming Dynasty for a long time. Seeing it today, it is indeed worthy of its reputation." .”

Jiang Xinghuo smiled slightly and motioned for the two of them to sit down.

He did not ask the question "Who is stronger, Ming or Tamerlane?", but asked: "Have you all read "The Decameron"?"

"The Decameron" is the representative work of the Italian writer Boccaccio. It is a collection of short stories that depicts the lives and love stories of Florentine citizens during the Black Death. It reflects the customs and moral concepts of Western society at that time. This work came out fifty years ago, but given the current background of severed trade between the East and the West, it is obviously unlikely that it would have spread to the Ming Dynasty.

Spain and Italy are only separated by Sardinia and Corsica, so "The Decameron" was spread to Spain very early. On the contrary, the Bavarians, who are full of martial arts, don't like to read these things.

Claviyo looked at Jiang Xinghuo with surprised eyes, and then said: "Of course, this is a good work. Almost all the palace members I know have read it."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded and took out a few story novels from the drawer.

"Water Margin", "Journey to the West", "The Legend of Shushan Swordsman".

"This is a popular storybook novel in the Ming Dynasty. I give it to you. If you are interested, you can read it."

Claviyo took it, flipped through it briefly, and asked: "So it seems that the unknown person should be Boccaccio of the Ming Dynasty?"

Jiang Xinghuo didn't have the nerve to say "I did it", so he nodded.

The Chinese language is vast and profound, and it may take some time for them to understand the meaning of the pen name of this great writer "Anonymous".

"There are many good literary works in the West, and there are also some in the East, or even more. Unfortunately, in today's world, precisely because of the difficulty in communication between the East and the West, not only goods cannot be exchanged, but culture is also difficult to exchange. It is really a pity."

If the First Northern Expedition severely damaged the Tatar tribe and only had an impact on the Oara, Tatar, Uliangha, Korean and other forces surrounding the Ming Dynasty, then from an overall geopolitical perspective, the Ming Dynasty defeated Timur The Khanate's expedition was even more significant.

Because the Timur Khanate, as the second most powerful country in the world today, punched the Ottoman Turkey and kicked the Mamluks, it firmly occupied the vast land from the Middle East to Central Asia, and a Timur Khan who was hostile to the Ming Dynasty country will inevitably hinder trade and exchanges between the East and the West, because they are middlemen.

But now that the Timur Khanate was attacked head-on by the Ming Dynasty and fell into a short-term civil strife, its attitude towards the Ming Dynasty has undergone a fundamental change. This is also a good time for Jiang Xinghuo to lay out the world.

The Industrial Revolution inevitably required great geographical discoveries to dump industrial products.

The prerequisite for the Ming Dynasty's great geographical discovery was to first communicate with the East-West trade channel, which was not smooth, and then to open up the Americas.

The route from east to west has many countries and supply points along the way. It is much more stable than traveling across the Pacific Ocean halfway across the world, and can directly bring greater economic benefits.

The current Ming Dynasty has initially completed its control of Nanyang. It has obtained excellent ports and fleet bases in Annam, Champa, Luzon, Srivijaya and other countries, and has eliminated many pirates who have been entrenched in Nanyang for many years through joint strangulation.

Therefore, the trade routes east of the Manchuria Strait can be said to be under the control of the Ming Dynasty.

The size of this trade area is enough for Ming Dynasty to conduct dumping in the future.

But this does not mean that Ming Dynasty can block the Malacca Strait and engage in "isolation" at sea.

Because as the overall production capacity increases, there is always a limit to external dumping. Once the limit is reached, there is no way to dump internally, thus destroying the cottage industry in the small farmer economic system. This is what Jiang Xinghuo does not want to see.

Therefore, we must not be satisfied with the status quo and must continue to expand externally.

Of course, there is an episode here, that is, Zheng He's fleet encountered a little trouble when it left the Manchurian Strait and continued westward to the states in southern Tianzhu. It was stuck collecting tolls between the Manchurian Strait and Tianzhu. The Kingdom of Ceylon was not too happy.

Considering that further west is the territory of the Timur Khanate, which also has a fleet, and the two countries are currently in a state of hostility, Zheng He returned from Tianzhu fully loaded with local goods after selling his goods this year. There was a little friction with the Kingdom of Ceylon, which was used to setting up cards to collect taxes here. After returning, I told Jiang Xinghuo about it.

"Small hiccups, small troubles, small frictions, these are actually not problems. As long as the person who caused the problem is solved, it will be fine."

"If it doesn't work, change the king of Ceylon. Isn't it because they resist the invasion of South Tianzhu? They are composed of two tribes? If this one is disobedient, replace the other one."

This was Jiang Xinghuo's advice to Zheng He at that time.

However, in the final analysis, the Kingdom of Ceylon that blocked the Ming Dynasty from opening up the east-west trade routes was just a scabies disease. The real obstacle was the Timur Khanate.

As long as the Timur Khanate is stuck in the middle, the Ming Dynasty's fleet can certainly force its way through, and there is nothing terrible about engaging in a firefight with it, but what about the merchant ships?

Nowadays, in the maritime trade of the Ming Dynasty, in addition to Zheng He's fleet that opened up routes and trade on behalf of the official government, there are also many private merchant ships. It is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to escort them every time, so the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty can only sail in Manchuria. Activities within the safe trade zone east of the Caribbean Strait cannot go further west.

If trade routes cannot guarantee absolute safety, then no matter how much goods are transported, they will be used to deliver food to people. Therefore, solving the Timur Khanate's obstacle is of great significance for opening up trade between the East and the West.

But now after the war, Khalil of the Timur Khanate has already shown his goodwill to the Ming Dynasty and sent envoys to talk to Jiang Xinghuo about opening up sea trade channels and coastal ports.

It was with this foundation that Jiang Xinghuo would discuss further matters with these two Westerners to lay out the West. Otherwise, there would be no basis for discussion at all.

Jiang Xinghuo gently moved the inkstone in his hand, and the topic gradually turned to the world situation: "Two distinguished guests, in today's world, the situation is unpredictable. Although my Ming Dynasty is located in the East, I am always paying attention to the general trend of the world. I don't know what the two of you have in mind. What’s your vision of the world today?”

After listening to this, Claviyo and Hiltberg first looked at each other, and then began to carefully understand every word that the National Master said.

They already knew that the Master had a very thorough understanding of the world, so they were definitely not asking about the superficial world situation.

If it is the world situation on the surface, as far as the currently known world is concerned, it must be from west to east: the Holy Roman Empire and other European countries, the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the Mamluk Dynasty, the Aries Dynasty, Timurid Dynasty The Erhanate, the Delhi Sultanate, the South Tianzhu Kingdoms, the Nanyang Kingdoms, and the Ming Empire.

Jiang Xinghuo knew all this, so the question he asked was actually how they, Westerners, viewed the current world structure that Jiang Xinghuo wanted to change with Ming Dynasty as the center.

Regarding this issue, the two people have different ways of thinking because of their different life experiences.

Unlike Klavyo, a professional diplomatic envoy, Hiltberg did not come to the Timur Khanate on his own initiative. In fact, he was a prisoner, and a second-hand prisoner.

Hiltberg's family has been a member of the Duke of Bavaria's personal guard for generations, so when he was fifteen years old, he participated in the famous Battle of Nicopolis as a knight's squire, which many people called " During the "Last Crusade" war, Hiltberg became a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire. Suleiman, the eldest son of Baziyed I, selected him as an attendant of the Ottoman Guards.

At the age of twenty-one, Hiltberg followed Suleiman to the battlefield. During the Battle of Ankara, all the armies were defeated. Only the Ottoman Guards in the central position almost stayed in place and fought bloody battles to the end. For a moment, Hiltberg was captured during the breakout and became Khalil's attendant. His fate was much better than that of Baziyed I, who was reduced to a circus clown.

Although Hiltberg is now free, his many years of wandering still make him cautious: "The Ming Dynasty is the most powerful empire I have ever seen. I believe that after the Ming Dynasty defeated the Timur Khanate, It will sweep across the world like the Mongol Empire."

Jiang Xinghuo smiled.

Just listen to this. There is only one Mongol Empire in the world. That is because the Mongols can ride on ponies, rely on endurance beyond human limits, and can carry cattle and sheep on expeditions. This is the basic military system of the Han Dynasty. It's impossible to do it. For pure cavalry, thousands or tens of thousands of cavalry can attack thousands of miles without any problem, but any further distance is impossible.

And with the development of ship technology, expeditions like the Timur Khanate are destined to become the swan song of history.

Trade by sea is much more convenient and low-cost than by land. Even in modern times, bulk commodity logistics does not rely on air transport. It is mainly transported by sea. The advantages of sea transport are so great that it is irreplaceable. .

Therefore, the future of Ming Dynasty must be mainly on the ocean.

Jiang Xinghuo comforted the two Western European visitors with words that he did not necessarily believe: "The Ming Dynasty had no intention of conquering the Timurid Khanate (today's Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia), and had no interest in conquering the Aries Dynasty (today’s Iraq and Iran) and the Mamluk Dynasty (today’s Egypt and Syria). As for the even more irrelevant Byzantine Empire and even these kingdoms in your west, the Ming Dynasty had no territorial ambitions.”

Both of them were smart people. After a moment of silence, Claviyo said tentatively: "I heard that the Ming Dynasty just sent an army to conquer Mongolia. Is it true?"

"It did."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded and said, "Not only Mongolia, but also the Ming Dynasty and surrounding tribes and countries have a 'tributary system'. Any country or tribe that offends the dignity of the Ming Dynasty will be punished by the Ming Dynasty." When I was there, I may have seen people with different clothes and dark skin being paraded through the streets. These were the prisoners sent by Mu Sheng, the Marquis of Xiping, who had just conquered 800 Dadian."

Babai Dadian is a magical tribe. The reason why it has this name is because the chief of this tribe has 800 wives, and each wife has his own village.

The geographical location of this tribe is located south of the Chief Envoy of Yunnan, and the Hongwu 21st Office began to pay tribute. Lao Zhu casually named the Xuanwei Envoy and asked him to pay tribute once every five years.

The reason why he was severely beaten by the Ming Dynasty was because the chief was arrogant and regarded the surrounding tribes as his own. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he sent eunuchs to summon the Three Proclaimers and Six Comforts but was blocked in 800 Dadian, so Zhu Di asked Xiping Hou Mu Sheng to lead his troops to conquer, and Babai Dadian became honest after being beaten severely.

Claviyo raised his eyebrows slightly and asked: "So, will the Ming Dynasty bring this unique relationship to the West?"

Jiang Xinghuo shook his head: "No, those of you who have experienced it should know better than us. There are not many Armenians and Georgians, and they still believe in Christianity. But even so, relying on the complex mountains, the Timur Khanate cannot To completely annihilate them, we can only let them go. The world is so vast. Although Ming's power is the best in the world, it cannot be completely projected to all corners of the world. It is enough to be able to manage Mobei, the Western Regions, the East China Sea, and Nanyang. Not bad.”

"Then what does Ming want?"

Very good, Claviyo also learned "what do you want" from Fu An, and his Chinese seems to be very authentic.

Jiang Xinghuo replied sincerely: "——Free trade."

Claviyo's face darkened.

He wanted to say, do you think we Westerners don’t want to trade with the Ming Dynasty?

You must know that all the flagship products of the Ming Dynasty, such as silk, tea, porcelain, etc., are in short supply and cannot be produced by Westerners. These products are sold at sky-high prices in the West and people are rushing to buy them.

Unfortunately, because there is no Suez Canal and no way to bypass Africa through the Cape of Good Hope, if you want to trade between the East and the West, you can only transfer it by land and then ship it into the Mediterranean and sell it to Western countries.

Claviyo sighed: "But between the Mamluk Dynasty and the Aries Dynasty, we cannot trade directly and freely at all."

"Tell me, how did you arrive in Samarkand?" Jiang Xinghuo suddenly asked.

Clavijo set out from Spain, so his route was actually the trade route from the West to the East in this era.

Claviyo pondered for a moment and said: "Our mission set out from the home port of Cadiz, then from Corsica on the Mediterranean to South Italy, and then crossed the Greek coast from the Kingdom of Naples to the island controlled by the Knights Hospitallers. base at Rhodes, then sailed north along the coast of Asia Minor to Constantinople.”

Spain - Corsica - Italy - Rhodes - Constantinople.

Jiang Xinghuo's journey map had already appeared in his mind, which was actually from the northwest corner of the Mediterranean Sea to the southeast corner.

"and after?"

"Later we took the Black Sea. At that time, the Greeks of Trabizon had already surrendered to the Timur Khanate. Then we arrived at the Caucasus Mountains, passing through the territory of the Armenians and heading south. Then we followed the Timur Khanate's post route eastward. We arrived in Samarkand."

"It's been a tough journey."

Jiang Xinghuo smiled and said, "Then do you think there is another way from Spain to Daming?"

"Take the territory controlled by the Mamluk Dynasty?"

"No, think again."

Claviyo's eyes lit up: "Master National Preceptor, is there anything you can do?"

"The solution is simple."

Jiang Xinghuo said calmly: "Go all the way south, along the coastline, and go to the end."

"Oh my God, that's the land of the devil, the domain of Satan. No one can get through there."

For Western Europeans of this era, even the Spaniards in the southwestern corner of Europe, traveling south along an endless road was unimaginable.

"The Ming Dynasty will pass."

"If everything goes well, we will be able to reach your country by this time next year. You can choose to go home with the Ming Dynasty's fleet, or go back slowly the same way you came here in three or four years."

Claviyo was stunned for a moment. He wondered if there was something wrong with his ears.

His first reaction was that this was impossible. After all, in his opinion, no one had ever walked this route in history. He even said no whether going all the way south led to hell or some indescribable place. That's right, if this road is blocked and it's too late to turn back, then they will have no choice but to stay on the ship and starve to death.

The main reason for this is that although the world at this time is in an era of turbulence and initial changes, on the eve of the Age of Discovery, in general, the European continent is still suffering from feudal separatism and the conflict between religious power and royal power. Troubled by conflicts, wars and alliances between countries are complicated. Although the dawn of the Renaissance has begun, people in Europe still have not gotten rid of the haze of the extremely conservative Middle Ages. It can be said that Europe experienced comprehensive degradation in the Middle Ages, rather than progress. of.

In fact, Hiltberg's experience reflects this very well. The fact that the last Crusade returned with a great defeat can itself be regarded as the degradation of the war strength of the medieval knight class. In Hiltberg, In the era when Berg was born, the Ming Dynasty was fighting against the Northern Yuan Dynasty with hundreds of thousands of people. However, the actual combat drills of the European knights in the past have been replaced by more ornamental individual duels. Most of the knights have He was trained to be good at fighting but lacked an overall view of the overall situation. He basically never fought any large-scale battles.

Because of this, the fragmentation of Western Europe and the haze of the Middle Ages have led to long-term stagnation in the technological level of various countries. Take the shipbuilding industry as an example. During the period of geographical discovery, the main ships used by Western Europe were nothing compared to the fleet of the Ming Dynasty. Small sampan.

As for a small sampan trying to cross the ocean, you can imagine how difficult it is.

Therefore, for Western Europeans, it is simply unimaginable to travel from the southern continent to the east along the coastline.

But it is impossible for Western Europeans, but it is not difficult for Ming Dynasty.

Zheng He's second voyage to the Western Ocean has fully verified the fleet's ocean-going capabilities. Under the guidance of Jiang Xinghuo, the hull and navigation and positioning technology have been improved, and it can completely circumvent the Cape of Good Hope.

The current Ming Dynasty can completely replenish and repair east of the Manlajia Strait, and then wait for the wind direction to be favorable, and then resupply in South Tianzhu. After signing a peace contract with the Timur Khanate, the coastal ports of the Timur Khanate can also be used. Regarding supplies, the Aries Dynasty is now ostensibly surrendered to the Timur Khanate, so the ports of the Aries Dynasty (Iran and Iraq) are also available for supplies.

In this case, the supply is completed at the port controlled by the Aries Dynasty. With the tonnage of the Ming Dynasty fleet, it doesn't matter even if there are not many places in Africa that can be supplied along the way. It can completely go around a big "U" to Spain in one go.

Being big means you can do whatever you want.

"Can I come with the boat?"

This invitation was extremely tempting to an adventurous Spaniard.

"certainly."

The discovery of the Cape of Good Hope is not a secret. It is a matter of time. The Ming Dynasty's fleet bypassed the Cape of Good Hope and went to Europe to dump goods, which meant that Europeans knew that they could go to the East along this road.

But what’s the use of knowing?

Not to mention that the Ming Dynasty could collect tolls on the eastern section of the Strait of Malacca. By the time the broken European ships sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, the Ming Dynasty would have already established strongholds and military bases, and they would also collect tolls on the western section.

"How can it be?"

Hiltberg, the Bavarian warrior, was still in disbelief and said with a wry smile: "That place is tens of thousands of miles away from us."

Jiang Xinghuo smiled slightly: "Believe it or not, no one can stop Ming Dynasty's goods from going to the West. If you can't talk about free trade, there are always many countries in the West that can talk about it. Yinggelan, Fafa Who can’t do it in Langxi?”

Claviyo asked thoughtfully: "Master National Preceptor, what do you mean, if the Kingdom of Spain can form an alliance with the Ming Dynasty, then we can have priority in getting the right to sell Ming Dynasty products? We have many coastal ports, and according to the national Master Shi’s route, the Kingdom of Spain is actually the closest.”

Clavijo was a little excited because the Kingdom of Spain was in the northwest corner of the Mediterranean Sea and the trade hub was in the southeast corner of the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, in the past, the Spaniards could not even drink soup.

Blessings are where misfortune lies, and misfortunes are where blessings lie.

Unexpectedly, things turned around, and this route was the one that the Spaniards could grab.

You know, Ming Dynasty will definitely not enter the interior of Europe for sales, so it will be sold to coastal ports, and whoever can get these unique and in-demand goods first will be able to resell them and make a lot of money!

"That's not what I meant. The Kingdom of Spain is not large enough to form an alliance with the Ming Dynasty. To be precise, there is no empire in the entire West that can communicate with the Ming Dynasty on an equal footing."

Jiang Xinghuo picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea, and said slowly: "But I can help the Spaniards get more benefits from free trade. The premise is that if the Spaniards are willing to join the Ming Dynasty's trade and currency system, just like Annan and Zhan That’s what cities and other countries do, but the contract can be a little less harsh.”

Claviyo and Hiltberg looked at each other, and then Claviyo spoke on behalf of the people: "Master National Preceptor, as you said, the world today is in a period of unprecedented change, and the territories of the great empires With the continuous expansion, exchanges between countries are becoming more and more frequent, which brings both opportunities and challenges. We in the Kingdom of Spain have always strived to explore new roads in the vast ocean and seek more cooperation possibilities. If we can follow I will do my best to convince our Spanish royal family when the Ming Dynasty signs a trade contract."

Hiltberg then added: "Your Excellency, although Bavaria (Bavaria is the largest and richest region in modern Germany) is a landlocked country, our chivalry has already spread all over the world, and it is closely connected with its northern neighbors. The country has good neighborliness, trade is absolutely no problem, and we are in the center of the West, so it is very convenient to transport goods wherever they go."

Hiltberg then flattered him again: "In this era of change, we firmly believe that only by emphasizing both force and wisdom can we remain invincible. The prosperity of the Ming Dynasty is the best example. I believe that the lords of Bavaria will See that."

Jiang Xinghuo slowly raised his head, with a trace of amusement in his eyes: "What the two distinguished guests said is absolutely true. Our country upholds the concept of free trade and is very willing to develop together with Western countries."

"Today's exchange is just the beginning. There is still a long way to go. You two can visit Nanjing first. I will ask Fu Shaoqing to accompany you on the tour, and then arrange for you to go to the west with Zheng He's fleet."

Clavijo and Hiltberg said goodbye and left.

In fact, from the perspective of Westerners in later generations of this world, the world in the three years of Yongle was at a turning point. The old order was gradually disintegrating and new forces were quietly rising. As one of the most powerful countries in the world at that time, Ming Dynasty , under the leadership of Jiang Xinghuo's reforms, its foreign policy, economic development, culture and art have reached unprecedented heights. With the opening of direct sea routes from east to west, the world trade and monetary order centered on Ming Dynasty is also quietly established With.