"First of all, this city is really too prosperous. On the way from Castile to the Timur Khanate, I passed through Syria, Iraq, Persia, and finally came to the city of Samarkand. Samarkand
The city also has a population of hundreds of thousands. People from the east, west, south and north all come to Samarkand to do business. A dazzling array of things are traded in the market, which makes Alonso and I linger and reluctant to leave. We are ridiculed by the locals as
A country bumpkin."
"But after arriving in Yingtian, I found that the city of Samarkand was nothing, and the people in Samarkand were just country bumpkins. When Alonso left Yiwu, he had to return through the Central Asian grasslands, the Eastern European plains, and the Black Sea.
Domestically, passing through the city of Samarkand, I asked the Ming Dynasty's vassal state 'Qin' in Central Asia to send me a message, mentioning that the city of Samarkand was under the rule of Qin, because many local residents were killed, and most of the rest were also
They were driven out of the city and replaced by a small number of Seris people, who lived with the majority of Turks and Mongols in the Balkhash Lake area who were not so devout in their belief in Tianfang religion. The Seris also gave these Turks who were not devout in their beliefs a name.
New name: Serbs, which is said to be the name of a people in Central Asia during the Roman Empire..."
"Sorry, my master, I suddenly went off topic. What I want to say is that even the city of Samarkand before it was destroyed is far from Yingtian City. Since this city is located in the easternmost part of the mainland, it is rarely seen.
to the Europeans, even to the barbarians of Eastern Europe; but the variety of goods there is far greater than in the city of Samarkand: countless goods which I have never seen are sold in the market, and at extremely cheap prices, even those originating from the heavens.
Goods from Asia Minor or Europe were also sold by food or Indian merchants from the West. Although the prices were more expensive, they were far from being unaffordable to nobles or officials. In Toledo, goods from the Eastern Ming Dynasty were sold.
Even the earl was reluctant to buy it."
"In Yingtian City, countless people pass through the city gate and come to the market in the city every day to sell their goods, or deliver the goods to shops in the city, sell them to the shops at a fixed price, and then buy some things back from the city. These
Many of them are ordinary residents living outside Yingtian City, but their lives are richer than those of ordinary residents living in the city in our country."
"The size of the markets here, even those that only sell one commodity, are unusually large. Before coming to this city, I never imagined that a city could sell so much meat, so many vegetables, and so much tea in one day.
, and so much china!”
"I sold everything I had on hand in exchange for the local currency. The Ming government would also give me a small amount of money every month. I used the money to buy things on the market, especially all kinds of food. The Ming Dynasty
Their food is so plentiful that they can make dozens of different kinds of food from the same raw material, and the tastes are all different."
"At the same time, they also use many spices luxuriously! Yes, many spices, the price of which in China is comparable to the same weight of gold, is affordable to everyone here. It is with the help of these spices that they make so many delicious dishes
The food they made was so delicious that I would often eat until my stomach was so bloated that I could no longer hold anything. Because of this, I gained twenty pounds in the first three months, and then I learned to control myself.
"
"After I learned to control my diet, I started to buy various other products on the market. The products here are not only diverse, well-designed, but also affordable. Of course, at the beginning, because I couldn't speak Seris well, I couldn't
I know the general price of goods and bought many things at high prices. But in my opinion, even the things I bought at high prices are not expensive.”
"At the beginning of this year (the beginning of the year for the Seris people, whose calendar is different from that of Europe, as I have told you before, it was about mid-February of the 1405th year of the Lord's Era), the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty once
They promised me that their navy would send me and my entourage to a place where people can eat people. I planned to ask them to send me to Basra and return to the country from Basra. So I prepared a lot of goods that the Ming Dynasty is not afraid of bumps in.
Take it home and give it to my master."
"But now I will not go back. I have only stayed in Yingtian City and have not been to other parts of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty is a very large place. I plan to spend 5-7 years in the Ming Dynasty.
Go around for a while and then return to the country."
As he wrote this, Claviyo suddenly felt that something was wrong. He crossed out this entire paragraph with a pen and continued writing the letter after confirming that the key words could not be identified.
"After talking about the developed commerce in the Ming Dynasty, let's talk about other things. At the beginning, many people here looked at me with disgust and refused to sell me things. Their attitude was also very bad, which was completely different from the attitude towards local guests.
.At first I thought it was the Seris people's contempt for foreigners, but I learned from officials in charge of foreign affairs in the Ming Dynasty that they hated me because I looked similar to the Semu people, who were ruled by the Mongols.
During this period, they held many official positions that had direct contact with ordinary people, and exploited the Seris people to the utmost, so they hated the Semu people more than they hated the Mongols."
"After learning about this, every time I went to the market to buy something, I would bring a certificate issued by the Ming Dynasty government proving that I was a foreign envoy and show it to the merchants. When they learned that I was not a local Semu person, they responded
I also became hospitable."
"At the same time, because of this incident, I also learned another thing: the Ming government almost did not allow foreigners to enter the Ming Dynasty except for the two specialized cities, unless they were foreign envoys or mercenaries (he sent hundreds of barbarians to
The Japanese soldiers who guarded the country were used as mercenaries). I inquired and learned that currently only one businessman from Siam (which is a small country in the East) has obtained permission to enter the mainland of Ming Dynasty."
"However, this rule is not very strictly enforced. As far as I know, some people from other countries in the northern, western and southern border areas secretly entered the territory of the Ming Dynasty and worked as farmers or small traders. After learning the Seris language, they pretended to be Sairis.
The Lisians became citizens of the Ming Dynasty and obtained household registration in the Ming Dynasty."
Claviyo wrote a lot more eloquently, and suddenly he felt a little hungry. He looked sideways at Kelu and found that it was already two quarters of noon in the Ming Dynasty, and he suddenly realized that he had been in Jinshen Hall for a little while.
‘Will the emperor of the Ming Dynasty still accept me?’ He muttered secretly in his heart.
But even if he suspected that the Ming Emperor had forgotten him, he did not dare to leave the palace without permission. He had already experienced the majesty of the Ming Emperor, and he might be punished severely if he left without permission;
What's more, he doesn't know the road either. Even if he knows the road, the servant guarding the palace gate will not let him leave.
He asked the servant who was half serving and half supervising if he could prepare lunch for him. The eunuch did not dare to make a decision without permission, so he let the other person continue to watch him here and went to Qianqing Palace to ask for instructions.
But Kelaviyo got up late this morning, and he didn't have breakfast because he had to visit Yunxi. He was really hungry at this time, so he asked the eunuch in the palace to give him something to eat. The eunuch thought for a while and brought him some food for Lianzi. Desserts prepared by Ning.
Claviyo devoured the snacks, which made the eunuch feel distressed. He felt that his hunger was lessened, so he picked up his pen and continued writing.
"Dear Your Majesty, my master, what I want to tell you next is about the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the imperial palace."
"There are also rumors in Castile that the monarchs of Eastern countries have huge power, but everyone is only half-believed. But after my seven months of observation in the Ming Dynasty, I found that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty did have very huge power. that power."
"The emperor of the Ming Dynasty could abolish the title of a nobleman for any reason, and even execute him, his family and vassals. Just twenty-five years ago, when the Ming Dynasty was only established for more than ten years, the emperor at that time killed He killed the country's first duke, many marquis, counts, and their families and vassals, killing tens of thousands of people in total; a few years later, because of a trivial matter (referring to the empty seal case), he killed a thousand people in the country. Multiple local officials. Oh, my master, the Ming Dynasty implemented a provincial system similar to the Byzantines. There were administrative agencies under the provinces, and officials were also appointed by the central government."
"The person who is currently the emperor of the Ming Dynasty is the grandson of the previous emperor and the only legal heir to the original crown prince. According to the inheritance rules of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor can choose his second legal heir at this time, or the legal heir of the original crown prince. As the new crown prince, there is no doubt that he chose the current emperor."
"Oh, my master, I have to explain to you again. The Ming Dynasty practiced a marriage system between monogamy and polygamy. One of all wives was regarded as the head wife and gave birth to a son. He is the legal heir to most of the property. Other sons can only share a small amount of property. Married daughters cannot inherit the property and title of their biological parents. Unmarried daughters can only get the dowry needed for future marriage and cannot inherit the title. "
"But this rule cannot be well implemented at the level of the emperor's heirs. The attitude of the previous emperor is more important - it can be said to have a decisive role. This is also an aspect of the great power of the Ming Dynasty emperor - not only can he have the son born from his first wife You can even choose a son born from a non-official wife as the heir to the huge empire. However, both the current emperor and the previous emperor have implemented the inheritance rules very well."
"The reason why the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was able to have such great power, after my research on the history of other countries established by the Seris people on this land, I believe that the biggest reason is to separate officials and nobles."
"In Castile, as well as in all other European countries, the country is governed by granting a certain place to a certain noble, and agreeing on how much tax the noble will pay to the country every year. As for how the noble governs the local central government, it does not care. , it is also difficult to control; even the territory directly under the king's jurisdiction is granted to many small nobles or knights, who manage it on their behalf."
"This was not the case in the Ming Dynasty. Officials in the Ming Dynasty may have come from noble families, but whether they can serve as officials other than generals has nothing to do with the titles they are bestowed on. They need to compete with those selected by the monarch from among the common people. Moreover, the qualifications of officials
The position cannot be hereditary."
"And the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty used a very novel method to select officials. They selected officials through examinations, and all people who had never had criminals in their immediate family could participate. The form and content of the examinations were writing articles or calculation questions.
It is divided into three parts. One part is based on the books written by several famous sages in the history of the Seris people to demonstrate the questions set by the question setter. One part is a computational mathematics test question, and the other part is a practical problem faced by the country and proposed solutions.
plan."
"There are six examinations to go from local to central government. Those who pass the last examination can become officials, or even directly become middle-level officials of the country. I once asked about a person who was promoted to prefect six months after passing the final examination, and his management exceeded
Half a million people."
"Of course, only the smartest people can pass these six exams. These smartest people are not enough to hold all the official positions in the country. The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is unwilling to directly appoint nobles as local officials, so he will pass the third and third exams.
Those who have passed the four examinations are called into a school established by the state, and those who graduate from this school can hold official positions. However, although I call this institution a school, it is not the same as the school of the church, or the school of the free cities in Italy.
It’s not the same, so it’s hard for me to define it accurately.”
"My master, I think that if you want the monarch to have huge power like the Ming Dynasty, you must implement a system similar to the Ming Dynasty, gradually reduce the fiefdoms of the nobles, expand the land and population under your direct jurisdiction, and at the same time, expand the land and population under your direct jurisdiction.
There are no nobles on the land, but non-hereditary officials are appointed to manage the land. According to some historical records handed down, this system was implemented in the ancient Roman era, and the Byzantines still implement this system in some places. It can be seen that the idea
To restore the glory of ancient Rome, it is necessary to implement such a system. Therefore, my master, your servant, begs you to study the Ming Dynasty and select officials through examinations."
"Of course, there are prerequisites for the Ming Dynasty to be able to implement the current system. The appointed local officials must at least be able to read and write, and the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty also required reading and literacy. The Ming Dynasty reduced the cost of books to an incredible level through two technologies
to the point where ordinary residents can also be literate and able to take the imperial examination."
"These two technologies are..." Claviyo was about to continue writing when a voice suddenly came from the door: "Castile Envoy Claviyo!"
"I'm here!" Claviyo put down his pen, stood up and said in Chinese.
"Your Majesty wants to summon you now." Lu Yi said to him, turned his head and began to walk out slowly. Claviyo hesitated for a moment, folded his letter and stuffed it into his arms, and followed him.
