"We have been traveling eastward for almost two months, passing through the South Caucasus, Hezhong, and the Western Regions. Then we finally entered the Central Plains of the Ming Dynasty and arrived in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province."
"This is an ancient city. It is said to have a history of thousands of years. Historically, it was called Chang'an. It was once the capital of the powerful Tang Dynasty. It is said that our ancestors originated from the grassland province of the Ming Dynasty and were very powerful. As a result, they encountered
The powerful Tang Empire was finally defeated by the Tang Empire and had to move westward."
"After all, we Turks are actually a tribe that originated from the East!"
Sitting in the four-wheeled carriage, Ali Pasha put down the pen in his hand and looked outside through the carriage window.
In the past, Xi'an was not called Xi'an, but was called Chang'an, Haojing, etc. Many dynasties in history had their capital here. It is truly a city with a long history.
With a trace of expectation, Ali Pasha carefully observed this ancient city.
Xi'an City is the most important city leading to the west from the Ming Dynasty. It is also an important starting point for the Silk Road and the trade road. It is also the starting point for the Ming Dynasty to immigrate to the Western Regions, Hezhong, and Nanyun Province.
With the Ming Empire's external expansion and continuous development over the years, the ancient city of Xi'an has also begun to glow with new vitality.
Like most Ming cities today, the original ancient city walls have restricted the expansion and development of the city. Most of the new buildings, factories, workshops, etc. are distributed in new areas outside the city walls.
The city of Xi'an is no exception. At this moment, Ali Pasha, Moses and others have just entered the scope of Xi'an New District.
Spacious, flat cement roads connect the four directions. On both sides of the road, you can see a large number of houses under construction. These houses are all made of reinforced concrete structures. Some are still under construction and some have been completed.
These built houses have whitewashed exterior walls and glass windows, which look very beautiful. The glass reflects dazzling light under the sunlight.
Looking at the land in the distance, there are huge chimneys reaching into the sky, billowing black smoke, and the roar of machines and the busy voices of workers can be heard from factories and workshops.
The road was very busy with four-wheeled carriages coming and going. These four-wheeled carriages were loaded with various parts, goods, etc., and they were constantly going to and from major factories.
The people of Ming Dynasty on the street were all in a hurry and seemed very busy, as if they didn't have any time to stop for a moment.
Take a closer look at these Ming people. They all have rosy faces and are in good spirits. They are also wearing good clothes. The older ones are relatively simple. As for the young people, all of them have short hair and shaved beards.
Wear new fashionable clothes.
"Sell newspapers~ sell newspapers~"
"There is a bumper harvest of food in various parts of the Ming Dynasty. This year's food is enough for us Ming people to eat for five years!"
“Egyptian Canal stocks soared, reaching as high as 130 taels of silver per share~”
"Good news, good news, the Beijing-West Railway has been built to Taiyuan, and it will be able to reach our Shaanxi province next year."
"The Xi'an Stadium has been completed and will host the Xi'an Football League at the end of the year!"
From time to time, you can hear the newsboy shouting, and one after another, people come up to buy the newspaper in his hand.
There are also many shops on both sides of the road. Through the glass windows of these shops, you can see a dazzling array of products on the ground of each shop.
The flow of people on the street is very large, there are many people coming and going, and there are also many customers in each shop. The business is booming and it looks very busy.
Take a closer look at the people on the street. Most of them are Han Chinese, with dark eyes and black hair. You can see them everywhere, but there are also many people with various other faces.
You can also see a lot of people with blond hair, blue eyes, and high nose bridges, but basically they are all women. They all look like maids, following their masters and responsible for serving their masters.
Or he is holding a child in his arms, purchasing goods in the Ming dialect that is not very fluent, and the child in his arms can be seen at a glance that he is a mixed-race descendant of the Ming people.
"Is this the Central Plains region of the Ming Dynasty?"
Ali Pasha watched carefully.
The four-wheeled carriage they were riding in was also moving forward continuously. The people in the Ming Dynasty around them were not very curious about Ali Pasha and others. They just took a look and didn't look at them any more. After all, people from all over the world are not everywhere in the Ming Dynasty.
It is rare, and as for Xi'an, it is even more so.
Because of Xi'an's geographical location, slaves coming from the west basically have to pass through Xi'an, so there are many foreign slaves in Xi'an.
In the past, there were slaves from the Western Regions and Transoxiana, and later slaves from the Ottoman Empire, Persian slaves, Caucasian slaves, and now the largest number of European slaves, etc.
It is very common here in Xi'an. Many wealthy families even have dozens or hundreds of slaves. As for ordinary people, many of them bought these female slaves as concubines, bed warmers and so on.
Foreigners are very common here, and they are all slaves or concubines with low status. Some are not even concubines, but just maids and servants in the family. Often, their status is only achieved by giving birth to children for their masters.
will be improved.
"Dang~dang~"
While Ali Pasha, Moses and others were watching with great interest, a sound of bells came from the bell tower, which immediately attracted the attention of Ali Pasha, Moses and others.
They all raised their heads and looked at one place.
"I didn't expect that there was a clock in Ming Dynasty!"
When Moses saw the bell tower, he couldn't help but open his eyes slightly.
Clock towers, clock towers and the like are naturally not uncommon in Europe. In important places in some big cities, there are basically clock towers, bell towers and the like to tell everyone the time on time.
However, in the Ottoman Empire, clock towers and bell towers were rare. Only the capital had a bell tower.
Moses looked at the clock tower carefully. The time was marked with Arabic numerals. He could clearly see that it was six o'clock in the afternoon. Then he looked at the sky. The sun was setting and the sky in the west was red.
The night in the east has gradually begun to cover the earth.
"It's six o'clock sharp, hurry up and adjust the time."
Looking at the street again, you can see many people standing under the clock tower. Each one rolled up his sleeves and exposed something on his hand. Then he looked at the clock tower and then at the thing in his hand. It seemed that
Compared.
And often around these people, other people will cast envious and jealous glances, as if the person wearing this watch has an unusual identity. Some people even stare at the thing in their hands.
"What are they carrying?"
Moses, Ali Pasha and others suddenly became curious.
"Go and ask, what are they holding?"
Ali Pasha ordered to the followers around him.
Soon, someone who was proficient in Daming dialect hurried to a person's side, asked curiously, and then hurried back to report.
"Sir, the thing they wear on their hands is called a watch. It is the same as the one on the clock tower. It is a machine that can be used to calculate time. However, this watch is very small and can be carried anywhere."
"watch?"
"Same as the clock tower above?"
When Ali Pasha and Moses heard this, they couldn't help but widen their eyes slightly. They looked at the clock tower and the watches on the hands of those people.
"How can it be done so delicately?"
Moses was shocked because he knew the bell tower and bell tower were huge structures with many machines inside.
The Europeans have never thought of making it very small and very fine, but they have always been unable to do so in terms of craftsmanship and have not been able to produce a satisfactory finished product.
But who could have known that in the far east, the people of Ming Dynasty could actually do this and make clocks so small that they could be carried anywhere.
"It's incredible. I will definitely buy a few and take them back to take a closer look."
Moses shook his head and made up his mind.
It was getting late and they arrived in Xi'an. Ali Pasha, Moses and others also decided to rest here for one night in Xi'an before continuing eastward tomorrow.
We found a good inn and tasted Xi'an's delicacies. Ali Pasha, Moses and others all had full stomachs.
Arriving in the Central Plains region of the Ming Dynasty, the food here did not disappoint. Everyone was full, and some of the entourage even ate so much that their tongues almost swallowed it.
“Da Ming’s food is really unforgettable!”
Both Moses and Ali Pasha couldn't help but sigh.
Although they were upper-class people in the Ottoman Empire, they naturally had no worries about food, but the food in the Ottoman Empire was actually very monotonous. Even the best beef and mutton were simply roasted, boiled, and stewed. In comparison,
, there are so many varieties here in Daming, and the food they make not only looks good, but also tastes great.
After eating and drinking enough, night has completely fallen.
They originally thought that this Ming city, like their capital Istanbul, would become pitch black at night.
However, in fact, Xi'an really becomes lively at night.
I saw buildings one after another, and thousands of lights began to light up. Through the glass windows, it seemed like countless fireflies gathered in the sky, lighting up the buildings.
In the bustling streets, bright whale oil lamps are lit in each shop. Under the reflection of glass lamps, the lights are bright and magnificent.
At the same time, there are special night lights everywhere on the street. The night lights are lit to illuminate the street. Together with the lights of the nearby shops, the street becomes brightly lit, just like daylight. Looking at it from a distance,
It's like a straight giant dragon, extending all the way.
The streets were crowded with people, extremely noisy and lively. It was even more lively and crowded than during the day.