Later, Claviyo praised Ming officials for being more honest than officials in European countries, and that local officials exploited local people less lightly than European feudal lords, among other things.
The time came to noon without realizing it. But what Yunxi wanted to say to Claviyo was not finished yet. Yunxi then ordered: "Send the meal to the imperial dining room. At the same time, prepare an extra portion. I want to entertain the envoys from outside."
.”
"The envoy from the Kingdom of Castile, Lo Gozerez Claviyo, thanks His Majesty for the gift." Hearing Yunxi's words, Claviyo quickly stood up and said.
"No need to be polite." Yunxi didn't say much.
After a while, the food was delivered. Claviyo's eyes widened when he looked at these delicious and delicious food. After Yunxi sat down, he stopped praying to the Lord and immediately picked up the chopsticks that he was already very skilled in using with his right hand.
As he ate his food, he picked up a spoon with his other hand.
"Dear Your Majesty, I have to say that I thought the food outside the palace was already very delicious, but after eating the food cooked by the royal chef in the palace, the food outside the palace can be said to be bland.
It's tasteless," Clavijo said as he ate.
Yunxi didn't say anything, just watched him eat. Like a wind and a cloud, the plate in front of Claviyo was consumed at an alarming speed. He didn't stop until his mouth was full of oil and he couldn't eat any more.
'Fortunately, I admire the meal-sharing system and won't eat from the same plate when entertaining foreign envoys, otherwise I wouldn't be able to eat anything.' Yunxi thought in his heart.
Maybe he would unconsciously speed up when he saw someone eating quickly. Yunxi also ate a little faster than usual. After eating, he waved his hand for the servants to clean up. He sat on the throne again and started talking to him again.
Come.
"Your Majesty, there are many places that are better than European countries in Ming Dynasty. They are countless, but I think the best place is the political system of Ming Dynasty." Claviyo said: "The political system of Ming Dynasty is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen from Castile all the way east.
When I traveled to the Ming Dynasty, I saw the most reasonable political system."
"The political system of the Ming Dynasty ensured the smooth succession of the throne and prevented many disputes like in Europe. At the same time, all officials were appointed by the state and were not hereditary, rather than being controlled by hereditary nobles; everywhere,
It is managed by officials appointed by the state, rather than occupied by hereditary nobles. Compared with Europe, it greatly enhances the monarch's control over the country. It is really a very good system."
Regarding this paragraph, although Yunxi still nodded slightly from time to time, he did not completely agree. Centralization of power ensured domestic stability, but it stifled the spread of ideas that were different from mainstream ideas. If centralization of power does not communicate with foreign countries for a long time, it will
You will definitely stay on your own laurels and slowly fall behind.
And he still had a doubt. "Gozelaizi, I remember that you are also a noble of Castile?"
"Yes, your Majesty, I am a baron of our country."
"If a centralized system is implemented, the power of the nobles will be greatly reduced. This will be good for your king, I remember it is called Enrique III, but it will not be good for the nobles. As a noble, don't you
Should we oppose the centralized system?" Because Castile and the Ming Dynasty did not constitute any competition at all, Yunxi asked directly.
"Dear Your Majesty, the reason for this is this." Claviyo had talked to Yunxi about the European political system before, and Yunxi himself knew something about it, so he explained: "Although I am a baron,
We no longer have any territory.”
"No territory? How come there is no territory?" Yunxi became curious now: "Isn't Europe implementing a complete enfeoffment system? Neither the king nor the church can deprive the territory passed down by the ancestors. Since this person has the title of baron
, of course there should be territory. Unless he is deceiving me, he does not have a baron title, he is just a knight.'
"Dear Your Majesty, my ancestors originally had territory, but their territory was in the southern part of the peninsula, close to Granada. During my grandfather's generation, the Granada people launched a counterattack and took away my grandfather's fiefdom.
I have never been able to get it back. So although the monarch and the nobles still recognize my family's baronetcy, no one is willing to allocate a piece of land from their own land to me as a fief, so my family has become a noble without a fief." Kravi.
Yue explained.
"If you can't recapture the fiefdom now, you may not be able to recapture the fiefdom in the future." Yunxi knew the final result: there are only two countries on the peninsula, Spain and Portugal, and both of them are countries that believe in Christianity. There seem to be rumors that
After Spain wiped out the Tianfang religious countries in the south, it killed all these pagans. So Grenada must have destroyed Castile, so it said so.
"Dear Your Majesty, even if the fief is recaptured in the future, it may not necessarily be our family's. If it were recaptured in the generation when my grandfather lost the fief, it would be returned to the original owner; but after so many years of being occupied by Tianfang cultists, unless I personally
I must lead the army to recapture it, otherwise it will become one of the fiefdoms of the recaptured noble. But I have neither money nor many knights to follow, so it is impossible to form an army to follow the kingdom's army to attack Granada. Therefore, the fiefdom was taken back.
I’m not coming back.” Claviyo said with a somewhat self-deprecating expression.
"There are such empty nobles in Europe!" This was the first time Yunxi had heard of it. Of course, he also understood why he supported centralization. As an empty noble, since he was able to be arranged by Castile as an envoy, it meant that he should be
It is a relatively trustworthy person, but it is difficult to obtain a fief; if this continues, it would be a better outcome for their family to become a monarch or a retainer of a certain great noble, but the more tragic ending would be to completely become no different from common people.
But if a centralized system is implemented, someone like him who is relatively trusted by the monarch will be able to obtain an official position and live a better life than now. So of course he supports the centralized system.
"But even if your country's monarch Enrique III imitates the Ming Dynasty and implements a centralized system of power from now on, it will not be possible in a few years, or even more than ten years, or even decades." Yunxi said.
China's centralized power system began with the Warring States Reform, with Shang Yang's reform of Qin State being the most radical. Six years after its implementation, all the lords in the country were basically eliminated and centralization of power was achieved.
However, it is undeniable that in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Early Warring States Period, due to drastic social changes, the feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty had been loosened; in particular, the three families were divided into Jin and the Tian family was replaced by Qi, which was later recognized by the Zhou royal family.
The foundation has been laid for the establishment of a centralized system.
But how can Europe have this prerequisite? At this time, even the nobility in Europe did not have a fixed object of allegiance. During the Spring and Autumn Period, even though there were literati and nobles in various countries who were enfeoffed, there were also nobles who defected to other countries, but there was no precedent of taking their fiefdoms to other countries. Generally, they were in
Those who lost their inheritance rights after losing the family fight took their few subordinates to serve other countries.
Historically, on the basis of free development, the feudal countries of Western Europe have never been able to establish a centralized system. The first country to establish this system was the Netherlands, a typical capitalist country in the 17th century.
Yunxi was not optimistic about Claviyo's ideas, but Claviyo himself was still very confident. "I have carefully read the records about Shang Yang's reforms. It is necessary to have an iron-blooded prime minister to implement various systems, and to have a person who fully supports the prime minister."
King. At the same time, the country is relatively stable and there are no enemy countries that we must always be on guard against."
"We all have these in Castile. As a country located in southwest Europe, Castile will not easily get involved in disputes on the continent. Our neighboring country, Aragon, is very friendly to our country and may be able to merge into one country.
"The Portuguese have been defeated and do not dare to be enemies with our country anymore; Granada in the south does not dare to do anything after losing support from the sky. Our country's external environment is very good."
"As far as the country is concerned, after His Majesty the King of our country married Catherine, the granddaughter of Pedro I, as Queen, he ended the country's rebellion and united the nobles together; and through several wars against the Portuguese and Tianfang believers,
It has established its prestige and expanded its power. At the same time, France in the north is caught in a war with England and cannot support our country's nobles. This is an unprecedentedly powerful opportunity."
"His Majesty the King is also ambitious and hopes to achieve greater feats. After being unable to destroy Granada, he turns east to occupy Sicily and fights the Turks on the sea. If he knew that a centralized system could be established, he would definitely support it.
.”
"As for the iron-blooded prime minister? Our country has never implemented a centralized system before, and no one knows how to implement it. I hope to hire several outstanding politicians from the Ming Dynasty to return to the country and serve as prime ministers, or as advisors to His Majesty the King of our country."
"Inviting people from the Ming Dynasty to return to the country?" That's all the previous words, the last paragraph is too ridiculous! Appointing foreigners as officials of one's country, as long as the foreigner shows loyalty and talent, is still very common in the world; but appointment
It is unbelievable to be the prime minister. Moreover, the appearance of the people of the Ming Dynasty is so different from that of Europeans. The people of the Ming Dynasty will never believe in their Lord devoutly, and it is not suitable.
Seeing Yunxi's expression, Claviyo thought that he did not want the country's talents to drain out, so he did not dare to say anything more, but he muttered in his heart: 'I must take a few people from the Ming Dynasty when I return to the country to help implement the centralized system.'
"Your Majesty, I have something to ask you." Claviyo suddenly remembered something and said again.
"What's the matter?"
"I ask your majesty to give my followers movable type printing and papermaking technology." Claviyo said seriously. (To be continued)