Chapter 1130 Craveyo's Journey to the East - The Expansion of the Northern Route of the Silk Road
After a conversation with Claviyo, Yun finally figured out what kind of country Castile was. But he immediately had another doubt: "As far as I know, the Iberian Peninsula is located in the Mediterranean Sea. People in nearby countries should have black hair and eyes, but your hair is brown, Quijano's hair is brown, your eyes are light blue, Quijano's eyes are dark blue, why? Will that be the case?”
"Dear Your Majesty, my mother is from England and my grandmother is from Switzerland, so the color of my hair and eyes is different from that of ordinary Castilians. The same is true for Quijano." After three times and four times, the color of my hair and eyes is different. Now, no matter how much knowledge Yun showed about Europe, Claviyo would not be surprised and answered calmly.
After that, Yun asked about the situation in Europe. Although he can't reach out to Europe yet, it would be good to listen.
"Your Majesty, France is now at war with England. This war has been going on for many years...; the situation in Central Europe is also chaotic. The Habsburg family that controls Austria has always wanted to obtain the king of Germany and even Rome. The title of Imperial Emperor, they are even more ready to move after King Wenceslas IV of Bohemia was deposed from the title of King of Germany four years ago...; Eastern Europe is relatively stable. But only relatively. Since King Wenceslas IV of Poland twenty years ago After Dwiga married King Wladyslaw II of the Kingdom of Lithuania, the two countries established a federation. At the same time, they suppressed the Hungarian and Livonian Knights, and competed with the Golden Horde in the east..."
It was very painful for Yun to listen to this paragraph. He couldn't understand many of the proper nouns in it. For example, he could only roughly understand that "Wenceslas IV" was a personal name. In addition, there were differences in the grammar and pronunciation of ancient and modern English. The difference was that he had to stop frequently to ask Kraviyo to speak a few words in Khorezm, and Fu An would translate them to him.
Clavijo said something about the situation in other parts of Europe, and then turned back to his own country: "Our country has now occupied a large island in the Mediterranean called Sicily, and has pushed eastward into Anatolia and the Ottoman Empire. Countries compete at sea."
"Although the Ottoman Empire was divided into four by Timur and temporarily lost the ability to continue attacking westward, it was unwilling to give up the existing areas and actively held on to them while fighting a civil war."
"... Our country also has two allies on the sea, Venice and Genoa. Your Majesty, Venice is the hometown of Marco Polo. These two countries..." Clavio wanted to continue, but at this moment, he was suddenly interrupted by Yun : "What did you just say, the two countries Venice and Genoa?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The expression on Yun's face was uncertain. He originally had no idea about summoning these Western countries today, and his hand could not reach that far yet; but Claviyo mentioned Venice and Genoa, which woke him up from his slumber. Some memories deep in his mind made him suddenly realize that summoning Castile's envoy today would be fruitful.
After that, Yun picked up a pen and paper and started to write something, muttering a few words from time to time, but not talking to anyone else. Fu An and others saw that His Majesty knew so clearly what he was thinking about, and did not dare to say anything; Claviyo and Quijano saw this , did not dare to speak, and everyone in the room stood quietly.
After a while, Yun came back to his senses, put down the pen and paper in his hand, and raised his head to face Claviyo.
"I just heard from Fu An that because your homeland is hostile to the Ottomans, you two went to Samarkand to join forces with Timur to deal with the Ottomans. I also know that you think this war is the best.
The result was that the Ming Dynasty was defeated in Yiwu and retreated to the east of Jiayuguan, while Timur gave up and continued to conquer the Ming Dynasty."
"But this is only from a military and political perspective. From an economic perspective, don't you think it would be a better outcome for Ming Dynasty to defeat Samarkand?"
"Dear Your Majesty, what do you mean?" Clavijo asked.
"The Ming Dynasty defeated Samarkand, established friendly relations with the White Horde and Blue Horde, and also established friendly relations with the Golden Horde. Haven't you noticed that a trade route has been opened?"
Yun said to the two of them using inductive language.
"A trade route, Your Majesty refers to the trade route that starts from the mainland of the Ming Dynasty, passes through the northwest of the Ming Dynasty, Yilibaili, the Blue Horde Khanate, the Caspian Sea, the Golden Horde Khanate to the Black Sea?" As he spoke, Kara
Vieux's breathing became rapid. Not only him, but Quijano's breathing also became rapid.
Trafficking goods from the East to the West is very profitable. Even in the early days of the opening of the new sea route, the price of a complete piece of porcelain shipped from Guangzhou to Europe was almost equivalent to the same weight of gold; before the opening of the new sea route, due to transportation difficulties, the price
It’s more expensive, and the net profit is more than a hundred times higher in one trip!
The trade route described by the Ming emperor in front of him is feasible. First of all, after this war, the Ming Dynasty's tentacles will at least extend to the Syr Darya River Basin, bordering the two khanates of Blue Tent and White Tent. As long as this is obtained
The two khanates and the Golden Horde agreed that this trade route was open. The Golden Horde did not dare to offend Venice and Genoa, and the blue and white khanates did not dare to offend the Ming Dynasty. This trade road could definitely be opened.
At the same time, after leaving the territory of the Ming Dynasty, we almost arrived at the Aral Sea. The Aral Sea is not far from the Caspian Sea, and it only takes a short land journey. Crossing the Caspian Sea is the Caucasus region, which seems to take a long land journey. But here
There are also rivers, and the Volga River flows into the Caspian Sea. At the same time, the Dnieper River is also very close to the Volga River, but it flows into the Sea of Azov, and the Sea of Azov is part of the Black Sea. So west of the Caspian Sea, you only need to walk
There is a small section of land route between the Volga River and the Dnieper River, and the rest is all waterway. This means that the cost of this trade route can also be reduced!
The cost is not high, and the road is guaranteed to be accessible. How can you not make money by doing business through this trade route?
At the same time, Yun also provided another means of transportation to further reduce the cost. "Do you two know about the tram carriages that we in Ming Dynasty use now?"
"Dear Your Majesty, we know. We have heard that the Ming Dynasty relied on this kind of transportation to transport a large number of troops and weapons to Yiwu in a short time." Claviyo said with an envious tone. Although they passed by
After analysis and understanding, they know that the maintenance cost of this kind of transportation is not low. Both the wooden rails and the iron sheets need to be replaced regularly, but the huge convenience in transportation still makes them envious.
"I have decided to let the entourage you brought learn how to make tracks and special carriages. In the future, we will also build rail carriages between the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea, and between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea (he forgot the Volga River and the Dnieper River) to facilitate transportation.
More convenient.”
"Thank you, His Majesty the Emperor!" Claviyo said excitedly. Originally, after leaving the Ming-controlled area, most of the routes were by water, and with the addition of rail carriages, the cost was even lower.
Yun said in a bewitching tone: "There are many waterways on this road, and there are rail carriages. The cost of this trade route is no more than the cost of taking the sea route from the southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty to Tianfang, and then passing through the Dashi Peninsula to the Mediterranean Sea.
How much higher."
"Moreover, half of this trade route is in the hands of you Europeans, while the sea trade route is completely in the hands of the cannibals."
"So, I hope that when you go back, you can report this trade route to your king and persuade him to open the road to the west of the Caspian Sea, while the Ming Dynasty is responsible for the road to the east of the Caspian Sea."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, the Emperor. We will report this matter to our king when we return. He will definitely be willing to open up this trade route!" In fact, why do they need him to beguile? How could they not report such a profitable trade route?
To Enrique II?
And as long as the Europeans know the news, even if Enrique II is unwilling to get through it, the Venetians and Genoese will fight for their lives to get through it. Clavijo has no doubt that they will even seize colonies and establish ports on the coast of the Caspian Sea in the future.
, in order to control this trade road flowing with golden water!
"Okay." Yun said with a smile: "It just so happens that I am sending an envoy to the Golden Horde. You should go with me."
"This," Clavi hesitated slightly. He also wanted to see the Central Plains and didn't want to go back. But Quijano had already promised: "Your Majesty, I will lead our Kingdom of Castile on an envoy immediately.
Part of the team will go with your emissary to the Golden Horde."
"Alonso, aren't you going to visit the mainland of Ming Dynasty?" Clavijo asked.
"Go to the mainland of the Ming Dynasty and see where making money is important!" Quijano said in Castilian: "Purchase some Ming Dynasty goods from Yiwu, go to the Golden Horde, and then return to Europe. There is no need to go back.
Castile can be sold for dozens of times the price in Constantinople! If you continue to the west, the price will be even higher!"
"Although I am a viscount and have inherited the title, I don't have much money, otherwise I wouldn't be willing to go to the East. If I seize this opportunity, my family wealth will be increased dozens of times and I can marry an earl.
As the daughter of a marquis, I might be able to raise my title to a higher level. If I'm lucky, I might even be able to marry a countess and a marquise, and I'll die with no regrets."
"And I may have another chance to come to Ming Dynasty in the future, so there is no rush now."
As he spoke, he turned to Yun and asked: "Dear Your Majesty, I hope you will allow me to purchase Ming Dynasty goods in Yiwu City."
"Of course you can." Yun agreed with a smile.
After listening to Jijano's words, Claviyo still said: "Dear Your Majesty, I hope to go to the mainland of the Ming Dynasty to have a look. I will not follow the envoy you sent to go to the Golden Horde. Please allow your Majesty."
"Yes." Yun was a little curious about his decision: "You can actually refuse the temptation of making a lot of money." But he still agreed.
In fact, Claviyo hesitated for a long time, but he finally decided to give up this opportunity to make money. Of course, in addition to the fact that he wanted to go to the Central Plains to have a look, the other reason was that he didn't have much money in his hands.
Yiwu couldn't buy much when shopping, and he didn't make much when he returned home.
And he always felt that he could get better opportunities in the Central Plains than he did now. The emperor of Ming Dynasty had a deep understanding of Europe and even spoke English, which was a great surprise to him. Who knew that he would not have a bigger opportunity after going to the Central Plains?