"I left Blue Sky Town today and I don't know whether I should be happy or sad to meet people from the Ottoman Empire here."
"Both these sisters are descendants of nobles, but they were sold here as slaves. They were bought by the most ordinary Ming people, washed and cooked for others, and gave birth to children. Although their descendants look like us Turks
There are almost no differences in the world, but they never consider themselves Turks. They speak Ming dialect, write Ming characters, and abide by the secular system of the Ming Dynasty. They have nothing to do with our Ottoman Empire and the Turks."
"The Ming Dynasty was vast and sparsely populated. Their rulers came up with such an effective way to increase the population. Maybe in another hundred or two hundred years, the whole world will be filled with Ming people."
On the four-wheel carriage walking east, Ali Pasha put down the pen in his hand and looked out of the carriage window.
There are snow-capped mountains in the distance, alpine grasslands, nearby streams, dense forests, and patches of golden wheat fields, with sheep and cattle living freely.
It is also a fertile land, but unfortunately it does not belong to the Ottoman Empire or the Turks.
The team of Ali Pasha and Moses continued to move forward, and Moses, as a Jew, kept recording in detail what he saw and heard along the way.
"Food is extremely cheap in the Hezhong area of the Ming Dynasty. There is a lot of meat and precious horses, but the profit margin of food is relatively low, and transportation is a big problem. I heard that the people of the Ming Dynasty are building railways. If you can take a train from the Hezhong area in the future
Once we arrive at the West Pole Port, it will also be a good business to sell the grain from the river area to Europe."
"As for precious horses, they are needed all over the world. The price of horses in the Hezhong area is also very low. You can buy a good horse for less than twenty taels of silver."
"But I found out that the people of Ming Dynasty have strict management of horses and do not allow them to be sold abroad. Otherwise, this business will definitely make a lot of money, very profitable."
"Here in Lantian Town in the Western Region of the Ming Dynasty, we were lucky enough to meet two Ottoman Empire people. They were sold here. I heard that the price at that time was more than thirty taels of silver. The price was so high, compared to the horses in the Hezhong area.
Be valuable."
"It is said that if women with good looks and good figures are sold to the Beijing-Tianjin area of the Ming Dynasty, some of them can even be sold for hundreds of taels or thousands of taels of silver."
"The slave trade is definitely a hugely profitable industry, especially women who are very popular in the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty people have formulated policies to increase the population and need a large number of women to give birth to children. Perhaps in the future, slaves obtained from Europe can be distinguished.
, to sell at a higher price.”
"Also here, I ate something called raisins. Grapes are dried directly and can be stored and transported for a long time. It is said that they are very popular all over the Ming Dynasty. They are a sweet snack that is loved by young and old. The price is relatively high.
."
"But in the Ming Dynasty, only Turpan in the Western Regions produced raisins. But in Europe, especially in the Mediterranean region, the grape planting industry is very developed, and most of the grapes are used to make wine."
"Although wine is equally popular in the Ming Dynasty, wine is not easy to transport and carry. Maybe we can consider processing the grapes into raisins and selling them to the Ming Dynasty."
In Moses' mind, he was always thinking about how to make money. He had traveled to many places and was well-informed. He could see business opportunities in small things.
The convoy continued eastward along the constructed concrete road. After a few days, they arrived at an oasis on Tianshan South Road, where they prepared to rest for the night.
"Great Lord, I thought I couldn't find MSL in Ming Dynasty, but I didn't expect to find it here."
Ali Pasha, who was sitting in the four-wheeled carriage, was drowsy. The long journey was indeed a test for an elderly man like him. Although the Ming Dynasty cement road was very flat, sitting in the four-wheeled carriage
It was also very comfortable, but it was still a bit overwhelming for him.
Knowing that he was going to rest here, he habitually opened the car window. When he saw the familiar dome in this oasis, he became energetic and hurriedly got out of the car and walked inside.
Entering this oasis, Ali Pasha, Moses and others soon discovered that the people living here seemed not to be from the Ming Dynasty, because the people here looked very different from the Ming Dynasty people, but they looked more like them
.
"Seliangmu~"
This oasis is relatively large, the size of a small town. When guests such as Ali Pasha and Moses came in, the residents of the small town came to greet them very warmly.
Seeing Ali Pasha's clothes, they also inferred that Ali Pasha was a devout believer, and took the initiative to say hello to Ali Pasha.
"Seliangmu~"
Upon hearing this, Ali Pasha and others responded politely, and the distance between them suddenly became much closer.
Ali Pasha revealed his identity to them, and soon Alimu, the respected imam in the town, also hurriedly came to greet him.
The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was not only the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, but also the Caliph. He had extremely high prestige among the MLS, even for people as far away as the Western Regions.
Ali Pasha and others, as envoys sent by the Ottoman Sultan to the Ming Empire, may not mean anything to ordinary Ming people, but for MLS like them, they are still worthy of respect and need warm hospitality.
In the mosque in the center of the town, after Ali Pasha and others finished praying, everyone sat on the floor and started discussing passionately.
"I never expected that I could meet believers of the Lord in the far east. This is really a joyful thing."
Ali Pasha spoke Arabic, which is a common language in the MSL world. Anyone who is knowledgeable can understand Arabic, because for them it is the language of the Lord.
"I never expected that I would be lucky enough to receive distinguished guests from far away."
Alimu is older, already in his sixties, and is surrounded by many prestigious young people in the town.
"I have walked thousands of miles from Xijigang in Nanyun Province of the Ming Dynasty. I have not encountered any MSL along the way. I thought there were no believers in the Lord in the Ming Dynasty."
Ali Pasha looked at the mosque in front of him. It seemed to have a long history and was not built in a short period of time.
"Here in the Western Region, there are many followers of the Lord."
"But to the east, after passing Jiayuguan, it is basically a place owned by the Han people. There are very few believers among the Han people. However, you can still find temples for worship in the capital of the Ming Dynasty."
Alimu nodded after hearing this, thought for a while and said.
"That's great!"
"I thought the Emperor of Ming Dynasty did not allow believers of the Lord to live in Ming Dynasty. Many missionaries who wanted to come to Ming Dynasty to preach were killed by the people of Ming Dynasty."
"Whether it is our MSL or the European Christian world, there is no exception. The great Sultan was very angry about this."
Ali Pasha nodded with satisfaction, and then he quickly noticed that in this small town, there was a school built next to the temple, a Ming Dynasty school, which was a little different from other places.
"I know about this."
"The Emperor of Ming Dynasty issued such an edict to restrict the spread of various religions within the Ming Dynasty and vigorously promote the education and dissemination of Han culture."
"Presumably the Prime Minister has also seen the school next to it. This is a school established according to the requirements of the Ming Dynasty government. When our children reach a certain age, they have to go to school to learn Mandarin and Chinese characters. When they reach a certain level, they have to take the imperial examination.
take an exam."
Alimu nodded and said.
"Why could the Emperor of Ming Dynasty do this? Why should he restrict the spread of the Lord's glory?"
When Ali Pasha heard this, he asked very puzzledly. In his opinion, nothing was more important than this, but in the Ming Dynasty, the situation was different.
"It is to restrict the spread of all religions, and the Emperor of Heaven will treat this equally."
"There is no distinction between us MSLs. We pay the same taxes, and we are also protected by the laws of the Ming Dynasty. There is no difference from the Han people."
"Since the Western Regions came under the rule of the Ming Empire, our lives have improved a lot. There are no more wars and horse bandits, and we can live in peace and contentment."
Alimu emphasized.
"However, when they vigorously promote their schools, isn't this eroding us?"
Ali Pasha looked at the school next to him. The school was very beautifully built, and a statue of Confucius could be seen in the middle of the school.
"This is a gift from the Emperor of Ming Dynasty. It is a gift from the Emperor of Ming Dynasty to all the tribes living in the territory of the Ming Dynasty. The Emperor of Ming Dynasty will treat us equally and will not deliberately target us and impose heavy taxes on us like the Mongols in the past."
"Not only do we have schools here, but there are such schools in almost every town in Ming Dynasty. Only education can make people prosperous. This is also for our own good."
Alimu said very plainly. At first, he was opposed to it, but after learning that all tribes were like this, he naturally had nothing to say. What's more, if you study, you can take the imperial examination, and you can become an official if you have fame.
, this was something that was unimaginable before.
"You said every town in Ming Dynasty has such a school?"
When Ali Pasha heard this, he couldn't help but stand up and looked at the school next to him. He was shocked.
"Yes, now the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty are vigorously promoting education and attaching great importance to education. They require that every town and town must build a school and carry out unified education. I heard that how much money is spent on this every year.
Ten million taels of silver."
Alimu nodded solemnly.
"The Ming Dynasty had such a large population and such a vast territory."
"Every township needs to build a school. How many schools will be built?"
"How many talents can be educated each year?"
Ali Pasha, Moses and others looked at each other, completely dumbfounded.
This was the first time they knew that there was such a country that attached so much importance to education, spending tens of millions of taels of money a year to develop education, and even requiring every town and town to build schools.
At the same time, they also know clearly that since ancient times, schools have been a place to produce talents. Only when people receive education can they understand the etiquette, justice and integrity and become truly promising people.
The Ming Empire attached great importance to education and vigorously opened schools. It is conceivable that there were countless schools in the Ming Empire, which could educate countless talents every year.
How could such an empire not be powerful?
In comparison, the Ottoman Empire was too far behind.
Of course, it is not just the Ottoman Empire, it can be said that no country in the world can build schools on a large scale like the Ming Empire, attach great importance to education, and spend such a huge amount of wealth to build schools and educate the next generation.
In most countries and regions, it is normal to be illiterate, but here in the Ming Empire, the Ming people are trying to eradicate illiteracy.
If this continues, perhaps within a few decades, there will be no illiterates in the entire huge Ming Empire.