Everyone was waiting anxiously, everyone wanted to see what treasures the Governor of Ceylon would give to Emperor Hongzhi.
Ceylon is a treasure island. It not only produces gems, but is also extremely rich in various resources. It is also a transit point on the Western routes, where treasures from all over the West can be gathered.
"Coming~Coming!"
A small yellow doorman ran over in a hurry, shouting as he walked, and all the ministers immediately looked in the direction of the door.
Soon, Hu Xian, who was wearing a crimson robe, walked up with his head held high. Behind him, the treasure-presenting boy and the treasure-presenting virgin came in a neat line. The gems he held in his hands shone charmingly under the sunlight.
of light.
After receiving the news, Emperor Hongzhi in Fengtian Palace also came out with a smile on his face.
Of course it is a good thing if someone offers you a treasure.
Don't worry about it. Every year, you can collect a large amount of tax from Ceylon Island, plus a large amount of treasures come as tribute every year.
This is completely different from the tribute from a vassal country. Emperor Hongzhi does not need to return the gift. He can accept it calmly. It is like a son paying tribute to his father. As a father, he will naturally cross his legs and enjoy it peacefully.
That’s it.
Well, this is how Emperor Hongzhi felt at this time.
The island of Ceylon is far away from the Ming Dynasty. Whoever rules it is also a rule. In this case, why not be ruled by the Ming Dynasty people themselves?
The entire Ming Dynasty can obtain a steady stream of benefits from the Island of Ceylon.
Not to mention anything else, Silanda was occupied by the Western United Trading Company. From now on, the Ming Dynasty will have a solid bridgehead on the Western side. Whether it is the merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty or the people of the Ming Dynasty, as long as they go to the Western Ocean, there will be a place where they can settle down.
The ground is gone.
Under the attention of everyone, Hu Xian slowly came to the dragon steps, and then knelt down and bowed very respectfully. After the ceremony, he shouted loudly: "The Holy Grace of the Emperor, the Ming Dynasty is mighty, and we, the Western United Merchant Company, are majestic
I have gained a little from the West, so I came here to pay tribute to the emperor!"
After Hu Xian finished speaking, Xiao Huangmen immediately took the gift list and began to read the donated treasure loudly.
"A pair of sapphires~"
As Xiao Huangmen read out, the two boys also stepped forward and bent down, raising the sapphires in their hands high. Then the Xiao Huangmen in the palace also stepped forward to accept their donation on behalf of Emperor Hongzhi.
"Wow~"
"What a big sapphire~"
"It's so pure. These two sapphires alone are priceless treasures~"
When the ministers looked at the two sapphires, Zhang Heling, one of the Zhang brothers, couldn't help but marvel.
When everyone heard this, they were slightly shocked, but they were relieved when they saw that it was the Zhang brothers. It is estimated that only these two brothers would sigh on such an occasion.
But everyone was actually similar to him, and their eyes were dazzled by these two huge sapphires.
The key to such top-quality pure sapphires is that they are so large. It is simply unheard of, let alone seen with my own eyes. Today, I was lucky enough to see two.
“The name of the Treasure Island of Ceylon is indeed well-deserved~”
Someone sighed softly that the island of Ceylon is rich in gemstones. Everyone knew this, but they never expected that such top-quality pure sapphires could be found.
"Two pairs of purple gems~"
Xiaohuangmen continued to read, and two pairs of treasure-presenting boys came forward and raised the purple, fist-sized gems high. Under the sunlight, the gems shone with a charming luster.
The many ministers present were all well-informed people and had seen many kinds of gems. However, when they saw such top-notch gems, they all couldn't help but widen their eyes, and then quickly
My eyes turned red.
As for the ministers who owned shares in the Western United Trading Company, they straightened their backs slightly. This thing is my family's property. There are gem mines on the island of Ceylon, and there are many gems.
Teams of treasure-presenting boys presented various kinds of fine gems. The small yellow gates that accepted the treasures stood together. Under the sunlight, this area shone with dazzling light. The colors were so bright and charming.
, which makes people intoxicated.
"Ten thousand taels of gold~"
Accompanied by Xiaohuangmen's singing, the spirits of all the ministers could not help but be shaken.
I saw a strong man walking with a golden load. The small box inside the load was filled with gold bars. The door of the box was opened, and the golden light dazzled people.
If you say ten thousand taels, it is really ten thousand taels of gold, not an imaginary number.
Each strong man carried a golden burden, and each strong man carried five hundred taels of gold. Twenty strong men carried a golden burden, forming a golden area.
The Island of Ceylon also produces gold, and the Western region produces a lot of gold and silver. But even so, the 10,000 taels of gold in the continent are worth 100,000 taels of silver. The Western United Commercial Bank can be said to be a big spender.
Thousands of taels of gold, coupled with the gems given earlier, may have given away at least a huge wealth of nearly ten million taels of silver.
"Fifty thousand taels of silver!"
Soon, Xiao Huangmen shouted loudly again.
Soon, strong men carrying silver burdens came forward one after another, forming a shining silver area.
"Five hundred thousand taels~"
"These prodigal sons just give them away as they say. It's okay if they mean it. Why should they be so serious about it?"
Zhang Heling's nose felt slightly sore. The two brothers also had shares in the Western United Trading Company. They were firmly opposed to the trading company's decision to donate a large sum of treasures to Emperor Hongzhi.
There are so many precious stones, so much gold, and silver. Why don’t you keep them and distribute them to your own business?
Why should it be given to Emperor Hongzhi?
I mean, just give me a few gems, some gold and silver, and some more animals that the Ming Dynasty didn't have. Even if it's perfunctory, it's not necessary. It's too much.
But no one listened to what the two brothers said. Others also agreed that the gift should be grand and generous, but the two brothers had no choice.
Liu Jin was standing not far from the two brothers. When he heard the words of the two brothers, Liu Jin couldn't help but twitch slightly.
These two brothers are really short-sighted and have no brains.
Without Emperor Hongzhi's permission, would they have a chance to capture Ceylon?
If we don't honor Emperor Hongzhi properly now, if Emperor Hongzhi regrets it in the future and takes back the island of Ceylon, won't their Western United Trading Company suffer losses?
Only if Emperor Hongzhi can obtain sufficient benefits from overseas colonies will he support private colonial activities, and everyone will receive more support from the Ming Dynasty after being overseas.
And if the world is not allowed to see the huge wealth they have gained overseas, how can we encourage more people to go overseas?
As long as more people go overseas and lay down more colonies, their occupation of Ceylon Island will not be conspicuous, and people will not care about it. Even if Emperor Hongzhi regrets it in the future, there is nothing he can do, because
There are too many overseas colonies.
The ruling and opposition parties, the Ming Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, all aspects and forces at all levels have their own colonies overseas. If you, the emperor, take back these colonies, you will offend the Ming Dynasty. Will you still be able to sit on the throne?
Do you think Western United Trading Company is really generous?
There is so much money and treasure that there is no place to go. Do you have to send it to Emperor Hongzhi?
All of this was carefully considered by them in order to obtain greater benefits in the future.
The island of Ceylon is nothing. The Western United Trading Company is now eyeing Tianzhu. After establishing a firm foothold on Ceylon Island, they will slowly plot the entire Tianzhu.
"Silly~"
Not only Liu Jin, but also everyone around him who heard Zhang Heling's words had such words in their minds.
If these two brothers didn't have a sister who was lucky enough to marry Emperor Hongzhi, otherwise...
The treasure offering was still going on, with all kinds of treasures from the West presented one by one, filling a large area in the huge square. Xiao Huangmen felt his throat was dry as he read the gift list.
"Haha, Lao Liu, look, look~"
"Lion, tiger, leopard, elephant~"
Liu Jin was a little drowsy. Liu Jin was not interested in these things at all. He might as well go home and have a good sleep.
At this time, Zhu Houzhao pulled Liu Jin excitedly and shouted out very excitedly.
When Liu Jin heard this, he quickly looked over and saw that behind the treasure-presenting team, carriages were dragging cages one after another. All kinds of beasts and rare birds were locked in the cages.
"This is the lion~"
Like Zhu Houzhao, everyone looked over one after another. Everyone was curious. Lions are considered auspicious animals in China. Many wealthy families like to place stone lions in front of their homes, but real lions are very rare.
Very few people have seen it, and even these people present have almost never seen a lion.
There are no lions here in the Ming Dynasty. Historically, merchants from the Western Regions donated lions, so stone lions were created. Emperor Hongzhi had his own animal garden, which contained various rare and exotic animals donated from various places. However,
Most of them are tigers, leopards, deer, wolves and the like, but there are no lions.
The one walking in the front now is the lion. With its majestic body and huge mane, it is also the first time for everyone to see a real lion.
Even Emperor Hongzhi straightened his back slightly, trying hard to see more clearly.
"Haha, okay~"
"It's really big and fierce. It's bigger than a tiger. I just don't know who is more powerful in a fight between a tiger and a lion?"
"This white tiger is very rare. I didn't expect that there are white tigers here in Ceylon."
"And this is a crocodile?"
"How big are these crocodiles? They are much bigger than our crocodiles in the Ming Dynasty. There are so many! (There were still alligators in the Ming Dynasty, so don't criticize me.)"
"Of course it's big. This may be the Nile crocodile, the largest crocodile in the world~"
"What a big turtle~"
"That's a sea turtle, not a turtle. How could a turtle be so big~"
