Geert took his quill pen, looked at the Four Treasures of the Ming Dynasty placed on the desk, sucked some ink, and continued to write slowly.
The Ming Dynasty was very big. It took several days to go north from Songhu in the south to reach Tianjin in the north. It is said that there is an equally huge land from Songhu to the south.
The people of the Ming Dynasty were very proud and also very confident. They believed that the Ming Dynasty was the largest and most powerful empire in the world, and only the entire Europe combined was as huge as theirs.
I didn’t believe it at first. I have always felt that Europe is the center of civilization, and the world outside Europe is an ignorant world.
But when I came to Tianjin, I realized that we were wrong.
Tianjin is very large and has a very large population. It is said that the population of Tianjin alone is greater than the population of Spain as a whole, with a huge population of more than six million.
You may think that with such a huge population gathered in a city, then the city must be terrible, with disgusting things everywhere, pungent smells everywhere, etc.
But you are wrong.
Tianjin is very clean. There are many high-rise buildings here and the streets are very spacious. They use a building material called cement, which is a very magical thing.
Add some water and sand and mix it together, and it will become as hard as stone in a few days.
People in the Ming Dynasty used cement to build bridges, pave roads and build houses. Their cement roads were very wide and could accommodate more than ten four-wheeled carriages walking side by side at the same time. They built straight cement roads to connect all directions, making transportation extremely convenient.
It is said that His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty allocated huge funds of tens of millions of taels of silver to build cement roads running north-south and east-west throughout the Ming Dynasty.
Oh, God!
When I heard the news, I was shocked and speechless.
I have said before that the Ming Dynasty was so vast that it could be compared with the whole of Europe. Can you imagine building a road from Constantinople to Lisbon?
The kind of road that allows many carriages to travel in both directions at the same time.
This requires huge funds, huge courage, and more importantly, very advanced construction technology.
This is beyond imagination.
The wealth of the Ming people can be seen just from here. Their emperor was keen on building cement roads, river embankments, reservoirs, bridges, etc.
They shouted a slogan: If you want to get rich, build roads first.
Oh, God, what a rallying cry this is.
In fact, if you come to Daming in person and feel the spaciousness, comfort and convenience of this concrete road, you will agree with it.
It is more than 100 kilometers from Tianjin to Wangdu in Daming Dynasty. If there is no cement road, it may take several days to arrive.
But with the cement road, it only takes them one day to arrive? Morning departure and evening arrival.
Tomorrow I am going to visit the cement factory in Daming. See if I can learn how to make cement. I think if I can learn how to make cement? If I build a cement factory here in Europe, I will definitely become rich overnight.
.
Speaking of wealth? I have to mention the scene I saw in Tianjin Port today.
God? I swear, I have never seen so much gold and silver in my life.
The fleet returning from America consisted of more than fifty large ships. Each large ship was filled with gold and silver. They piled the gold and silver on the dock like hills.
That charming light will never be forgotten in my life.
There is definitely a lot of gold and silver in America. Please believe me, I am definitely not exaggerating.
It is said that the Ming Dynasty conquered two huge Indian kingdoms and asked them to pile up gold and silver into pyramids to atone for their sins.
In addition, we know from the Ming people that they have established dozens of colonial strongholds of various sizes on the west coast of America? Where did they discover thousands of gold and silver mines, and they have tens of thousands of people?
Mining here in America.
If we don't step up the development of America? I think within a few years, the entire America will be occupied by the Ming people.
However, if you come to the Ming Dynasty, you will sadly find that, let alone Spain, even the whole of Europe combined may not be able to compete with the huge Ming Dynasty.
Just here in Tianjin Port, I saw thousands of ships. Their port is very huge and filled with countless ships.
And this is just one port in the Ming Dynasty. There were many ports like this in the Ming Dynasty, including Songhu, Quanzhou, Ryukyu Port, and Guangzhou.
I plan to have a good trip around Daming in the next few days.
In addition, Ming Dynasty also had strong military power.
It is said that the total number of the Ming Dynasty's army exceeds 500,000, including specialized naval units, and they also have a professional Royal Military Academy.
I have seen the artillery and muskets of the Ming Dynasty. They are very advanced, even more advanced than those of us Europeans. I think it would be wiser for us in Spain not to offend the Ming Dynasty.
The powerful Ming Dynasty can send out a fleet of hundreds of large ships to sweep across an area at any time. When I was eating in a restaurant, I heard many people discussing something.
The Ming Dynasty recently won a huge victory in the southern waters of the Ming Dynasty. They conquered the countries in Nanyang that did not obey them. It is said that the amount of compensation alone exceeded 50 million taels of silver, which is approximately equivalent to decades of our Spanish finances.
income.
God, this is such a magical East. There is gold everywhere.
Even if it is not the Ming Dynasty, other countries in the East are also very rich, and war reparations often amount to tens of millions of taels of silver.
When writing this, Gilt paused slightly, his eyes were red, and then continued to write slowly.
If we in Spain can conquer the countries in the east, then getting rich overnight will not be any problem.
It's so rich here.
Today, my friend Mr. Wang Dashan is an ocean captain and navigator. He is very rich.
His house in Tianjin is worth thousands of taels of silver, and he also has a large plantation of his own among the islands in the southern seas of the Ming Dynasty.
Of course he is also a very generous and warm friend.
He invited me to have dinner at a restaurant called Wanghailou in Tianjin.
God, I swear the food there is definitely the most delicious food I have ever eaten in my life. All the dishes I have ever eaten before are just like the smelly rats on the ship in front of it.
Daming’s delicacies are definitely not to be missed. You must try them when you come to Daming.
Of course, the price is also quite expensive.
There were only three of us, me, my Ming friend Mr. Wang Dashan, and my deputy Mr. Pablo. It was just the three of us. We ate twelve taels of silver in one meal.
Twelve taels of silver is almost equivalent to our Spanish ten eight-riel silver coins, which is enough for our average Spanish family to spend for almost a year.
And this was just one meal for the three of us, so you can pretty much get an idea of how expensive it was.
Having said this, I have to emphasize once again how wealthy Ming Dynasty was.
Consumption here in Tianjin is very high.
Because I am not an envoy sent by the King of Spain, I need to pay for all the expenses in Ming Dynasty myself.
Here in Tianjin, even the inn where I live now is still very expensive. It costs almost three taels of silver for 12 of us to stay there for a day.
If we want to stay in the best inn here, a room will cost hundreds of taels of silver.
God, the people of Ming Dynasty are so rich, so rich.
I think I might have to save some money next, otherwise the little silver and gold I brought may not be used for too long.
Porcelain, which is as expensive as gold in Europe, is just an ordinary tableware used in daily life here, and the clothes people wear are very bright in color.
The windows here are all made of glass, and the light is very good. At night, when you look down at Tianjin City from a height, you will be deeply shocked.
This is a city that never sleeps. Night is very special, and everything is splendid and dazzling.
They use a large number of various glass products, and the chandeliers made of glass are beautiful. With whale oil lamps lit, the whole room is as bright as day.
There are many mirrors here and they are very big.
Please believe me, never bring your wife to Tianjin, she will definitely spend the last riel in your pocket here.
The clothes in the store here are so beautiful.
People in the Ming Dynasty also like to take baths very much. When they take a bath, they like to use something called soap. This kind of thing is really good. After taking a bath with it, the whole body feels extremely refreshing, and there is also a light smell.
fragrance.
I want to bring some of this soap back with me when I go back to Europe. It will definitely be very popular.
But there is one thing that I am very confused about.
In Europe, we have always said that taking a bath will make you sick, so we in Europe don't take baths very much, but here in Ming Dynasty, people in Ming Dynasty take baths very much.
They believe that if a person does not take a bath, his body will be very dirty, which will breed various diseases. Taking a bath can clean his body and make him healthier.
At the same time, the Ming people also like to shave off their hair and beards. They are their navigators, and they all have short hair and shaved beards.
They believe that this is not only convenient for life and work, but also healthier. Hair and beards that are too long are prone to breed various diseases.
I'm really conflicted, and I don't know who is right, but judging from my experience in the Ming Dynasty and navigation, shaving off my hair and beard is indeed a good idea.
