In a post house in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, Silone and Ahaya put on Ming Dynasty clothes and stood in front of the mirror and couldn't help but look left and right, and they nodded with satisfaction.
When they came across the ocean to the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty treated them with the courtesy they deserved. When they came from Tianjin, they also stayed in a post house specially designed to entertain foreign envoys, and they didn't need to worry about food and accommodation.
After arriving in Ming Dynasty, they gained a lot of experience.
The size, prosperity and wealth of the Ming Dynasty also opened their eyes. At this moment, they believed deeply in everything Tian Erniu preached.
The people of Ming Dynasty are the people of God, descendants of the dragon. They are deeply favored by God, so they can own such a vast land, such a prosperous city, and such a prosperous life.
And they themselves were exiled to the Golden Continent by the gods because they had blasphemed the gods. They must atone for the mistakes they committed, so that they could, like the Ming Dynasty people, return to the embrace of gods again and become
As rich as the people of Ming Dynasty.
Today, they are going to meet the Emperor of Ming Dynasty.
At this moment, both of them were in the mood of a pilgrim, carefully arranging their clothes in front of the mirror.
The people of the Ming Dynasty said that when meeting the emperor, you must be extremely respectful and not show any disrespect.
"Two ambassadors, it's time for us to set off."
Fu Han, the Minister of Rites, came here wearing a crimson robe.
In order to reflect the importance that the Ming Dynasty attached to the Aztec Kingdom and the Inca Empire in the Golden Continent, Emperor Hongzhi sent Fu Han to come in person and showed great concern for Silone and Ahaya.
"Yes~"
The two nodded, followed Fu Han out of the post house, got on the four-wheeled carriage and headed towards the palace.
The four-wheel carriage drove on the flat concrete road without feeling any bumps. Open the curtains on both sides, and the bustling, noisy and lively scene came into view.
Before coming to the Ming Dynasty, the most prosperous city they had ever seen was Tenochtitlan, even though Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Aztec Kingdom.
But compared with the capital of the Ming Dynasty in front of us? There is no comparison at all.
The biggest thing they felt about the Ming Dynasty's capital was that it was too big.
Tenochtitlan holds the sky and is home to two to three hundred thousand people, but what about the capital of the Ming Dynasty? It is said that there are millions of people here? Such a huge city, such a huge population? It is simply beyond imagination.
The combined population of the entire Aztec Kingdom is not as large as the population of the Ming Dynasty Capital City.
In addition to the huge cities, here? They also have a deep sense of inferiority.
Everyone in the Ming Dynasty wore clothes? The clothes were brightly colored and had exquisite patterns.
But as for them, in the Aztec Kingdom and the Inca Empire, there were very few people who could afford to wear clothes. Very few. Even the nobles mostly just wore some animal skins to cover their shame.
When they first arrived in Tianjin, they were laughed at by countless people as soon as they got off the boat.
In addition, when we arrived in Ming Dynasty, we were very particular about eating.
It needs to be eaten between two sticks. People in the Ming Dynasty thought it was extremely unhygienic to eat directly with hands? It was also extremely barbaric and backward.
They feel so uncomfortable that even going to the toilet is very demanding here.
The toilets in the inn where they live are cleaner than in the kingdom where their king lives? The floor is covered with tiles and is very clean.
And the faucet that releases water when turned? The soap for bathing? The delicacies that are so delicious that they make people swallow their tongues...Everything here in Daming makes them feel extremely inferior.
In comparison, their Aztec Kingdom and Inca Empire were just like the primitive countries, so backward, ignorant and ignorant.
This made them even more convinced that the people of the Ming Dynasty were people favored by the gods. Although they had the same ancestors as the people of the Ming Dynasty, they were expelled and exiled to places like Golden Continent because they had blasphemed the gods.
"Great Sun God, please forgive our sins."
Silone couldn't help but pray to the gods in his heart.
…
In the Jinluan Hall, Emperor Hongzhi and his ministers were attending the morning court.
"Your Majesty, the envoys from the two countries of Golden Continent have arrived in our capital. Please tell us how our Ming Dynasty should treat these two countries."
Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, stood up and saw that he was about to receive envoys from the Aztec Kingdom and the Inca Empire. The relationship between the Ming Dynasty and these two countries has not yet been settled. This is not acceptable.
From now on, should we treat these two countries as vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, treat them as our own people, or simply treat them as objects of oppression.
We want to discuss this carefully, because it will be related to the series of actions of Daming in the future.
"How do you think we should treat it, my dear friends?"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly and looked at the ministers below. In fact, Emperor Hongzhi somewhat understood what they meant.
It's nothing more than fancying the gold and silver of these two countries.
Tian Erniu conquered these two countries in the name of Tianjin Ocean Trading Company, not only this time he brought back tens of millions of taels of wealth to Tianjin Ocean Trading Company.
And according to Tian Erniu's propaganda, in the future, these two countries will mine a large amount of gold and silver every year to atone for their sins. Of course, this money will still go into the pockets of Tianjin Ocean Trading Company, which is equivalent to
It entered the pocket of Emperor Hongzhi and the Crown Prince.
Such a huge wealth, but the Ming court could not get even a single hair from it. This was not acceptable.
So although on the surface it is a discussion about the status of these two countries, in essence it is still a discussion about the ownership of this huge wealth.
Officials like Liu Jin and others certainly hope that this money belongs to the Ming Dynasty. It is easy to do things when the treasury is rich, and they now understand it deeply.
Although the Ming Dynasty's treasury is full and tax collection is sufficient, with tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue every year, the expenditure is now also large.
Emperor Hongzhi built water conservancy projects, built bridges and paved roads, and carried out infrastructure construction throughout the Ming Dynasty. This required money, and a lot of it.
The imperial court's large-scale immigration to Liaodong and Southeast Asia also required a large amount of money.
In short, the more things like silver, the better. No one has too much anyway.
If the gold and silver handed over by these two countries every year can be included in the national treasury, the imperial court's finances will be even more abundant, and it will be able to spend money more lavishly in the future.
Emperor Hongzhi actually saw their thoughts, but Emperor Hongzhi was also short of money.
The navy needs to be built, and the Ming Dynasty's new army needs to expand in size. After the war in Nanyang is over, the next step is to fight in the Western Regions, and to open up the land road to Europe.
This annual military expenditure was an extremely huge figure, and Emperor Hongzhi had a headache just thinking about it.
All of this came from the internal funds of Emperor Hongzhi.
Emperor Hongzhi now has the urge to kill Liu Jin. The military power has been taken back, but all military expenditures come from internal funds. This is like a big mountain pressing on Emperor Hongzhi's head.
Tian Erniu finally got two long-term meal tickets for himself in Huangjinzhou. Emperor Hongzhi has already calculated that the two countries will contribute 20 million taels of silver to him every year, which is enough for military expenditures.
.
He was also very happy in his heart. He had already thought about it. When Tian Erniu and the others came back, he would knight them and solve the major issue of military expenditure for himself. This would be a great achievement.
Well, now, the ministers of the DPRK and China were indeed eyeing this piece of fat, and then the envoys from the two countries met to discuss the status of the two countries.
Of course, this is indeed necessary to discuss.
However, Emperor Hongzhi would not give up the fat in his mouth and would not give up no matter what.
"Your Majesty, these two countries are weak. Tian Erniu conquered them with only 10,000 troops. Although it seems now that they look very similar to us Ming people."
"Although we have always believed that they are descendants of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, they are far apart after all, and they have never accepted the enlightenment of Confucius and Mencius."
"So I think it is not appropriate to treat them as a vassal state."
"Even if we want to treat them as a vassal state, we should only treat them as a vassal state after they accept my Confucian education."
As soon as Emperor Hongzhi finished speaking, a minister immediately stood up.
With the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty and its continuous external expansion, the Confucian scholars of the Ming Dynasty now seem to have a second spring. A large number of people have traveled across the ocean to North Korea, Japan, and Luzon, where they have become respected by everyone.
He was a master who taught Confucius and Mencius and was well received by the major vassal states of the Ming Dynasty.
So here in Ming Dynasty, there is an idea that is slowly spreading among the scholars of Ming Dynasty.
Many scholars feel that there is no chance to get ahead in the Ming Dynasty, so it is better to go to a vassal state. Not only can they be treated politely, but they can also spread the teachings of Confucius and Mencius. Everything they say and do is to practice the way Confucius taught the world.
To put it simply, it is not easy to get along in the Ming Dynasty. It is better to go to a vassal country. Not only can you get along well, have an identity and status, but more importantly, you can also have a taste of Confucius who traveled around the world and spread Confucianism.
in.
"Hmm~"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly, and he deeply agreed with this.
Since ancient times, we have paid attention to the attitude that when the Barbarians and Di people enter China, they will be controlled by Huaxia, and when the Barbarians from China enter, they will be controlled by the Barbarians.
Along with the prosperity of Ming Dynasty, Ming Dynasty also continued to promote Confucianism and Confucius and Mencius in all aspects. This was clearly stated in Ming Dynasty's vassal state agreement.
If you want to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, you not only need to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, but more importantly, you must learn the ways of Confucius and Mencius of the Ming Dynasty, learn Chinese characters, change Chinese surnames, respect Confucius and Mencius, respect etiquette, justice, integrity, etc.
Although the two countries in the Golden Continent look similar to the people of the Ming Dynasty, they are far behind in this aspect and cannot reach the standards of the vassal countries of the Ming Dynasty.
