On the official road, a cold wind blew, and with every step the horse took, a cloud of dust was kicked up under its hooves.
The people seemed to be still sleeping, and there was not a single figure hurrying on their way.
An orange-red winter sun rises from the horizon, coating the land shrouded in mist with a layer of glow.
Although it is winter, thick white frost covers the grass, fields and fields.
However, these strands of yellow light dispelled the foggy and frosty morning, and it was like the condensed blood of a creature that had lived in a cave for a long time and became active again.
The two people at the front of the team were talking softly.
"It's a long journey anyway, Eunuch Zheng will tell you slowly." Xiao Chen held the horse's reins with both hands and said with a smile.
"There is another important reason why our Ming Dynasty treasure ships go to sea, and that is to promote the national prestige. There are more than 26,000 people who go to sea with the ship, plus rewards for some small countries that take the initiative to surrender to the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, some
For Ming Dynasty, the pursuit of novelty things only increased his knowledge and did not have much practical significance."
"In this way, the court spent a lot of money, and sometimes the rewards were not equal in the eyes of the prince. This is the main reason why he strongly opposed it."
"Actually, sometimes I just can't figure it out. The Ming Dynasty's treasure ships sailed to sea, which not only broadened the court's horizons, but also demonstrated the national prestige, protected the Ming Dynasty's civilian ships on the sea, and most importantly, promoted our Ming Dynasty's porcelain, tea, silk and silk to the world.
Why can’t the whole world see these positive things and blindly create difficulties and hinder us?”
With a sigh, Zheng He's face was full of helplessness.
"Eunuch Zheng, are the ministers who oppose this time mostly from Jiangnan?" Xiao Chen asked.
"Since ancient times, talented people have emerged from the south of the Yangtze River. In our Ming Dynasty, there have always been more people from the south who were successful in the imperial examination than from the north. Therefore, there were more ministers from the south of the Yangtze River in the court. Naturally, no matter what happens, their proportion is also large.
Brother Xiao, what do you mean by asking this?" Riding on his horse, Zheng He turned his head and asked in confusion.
Xiao Chen smiled: "I want to say that behind these people, do they have a background in maritime trade? When the Ming Dynasty treasure ships went to sea, they used shiploads of tea, porcelain, and silk in exchange for a shipload of real gold and silver. This
If you wait for something good to happen, anyone who sees it will be jealous."
"What's more, there were originally some civilian ships and private ships that were doing overseas trade, but the treasure ships going to sea, no matter the scale or the quality of the goods, are incomparable to private ships. Therefore, the treasure ships have touched their interests, and they have been used by them under various excuses.
be opposed to."
Zheng He nodded and said, "Brother Xiao, I really didn't expect that, perhaps, this is the real reason for their strong opposition. In this way, it's not that this year's silk collection cannot be collected, it's that they just don't want to pay it.
"
"Eunuch Zheng, the treasure ships will be assembled on the 30th day of the first lunar month, and we don't have much time left. In this way, our troops will be divided into two groups. You will go to Suzhou Mansion to collect the silk, and I will go to Hangzhou Mansion to see what they are doing.
Trick." Xiao Chen said.
After pondering for a while, Zheng He said: "That's fine, then let's split up."
...
Five days later, Xiao Chen and his entourage finally arrived at Hangzhou Prefecture after driving very fast.
Although it is the first month of the year, Hangzhou is completely different from the capital city. There is no howling of the cold wind, just a feeling of warmth that turns cold.
Hangzhou Prefecture, with its fertile land and beautiful water, beautiful mountains and clear waters, and fragrant crops, is a good place to prolong life and maintain good health.
However, Xiao Chen didn't have time to enjoy this, so he found a larger inn and stayed in it.
After arranging all this, Duan Tianming asked: "Xiao Chen, shall we go directly to Hangzhou Mansion?"
"Don't worry, let's put on casual clothes and let's go for a walk on the street."
Compared with Beijing, the streets in Hangzhou appear to be very clean. It's not that there are few people, but the streets here always have a damp feeling, even in winter, which prevents the dust on the ground from flying.
Wearing a sky blue robe, Xiao Chen and Duan Tianming were walking on the noisy streets of Hangzhou.
"Tea, the best West Lake Longjing. Sir, please come in and have a look." Seeing Xiao Chen walking by, the shopkeeper of a shop greeted him with a smile.
"Longjing, specializes in tea?"
"Yes, sir, come in and take a look." Seeing Xiao Chen talking to him, the shopkeeper greeted him even harder.
"Okay, let's go in and have a look."
Walking into the shop, the interior is very simple, with wooden shelves filled with large and small baskets containing various tea leaves of different shapes.
Pointing to a basket of tea leaves that looked flat, smooth and straight, the shopkeeper introduced it eloquently: "This is our most famous specialty in Hangzhou, Xihong Longjing. West Lake Longjing is produced in Shifeng, Wengjiashan, Hupao and Mei in West Lake.
Among the mountains of Jiawu, Yunqi, and Lingyin. The climate is mild, the rainfall is abundant, the light is diffuse, and the soil is deep, which makes the tea leaves green in color and fragrant and fragrant. Sir, would you like some two pounds?"
"How to sell it?" Xiao Chen asked as he picked up a piece of tea leaf, brought it to his nose, smelled it, and gently rubbed the surface of the tea leaf with his hand.
Holding out a finger, the shopkeeper smiled and replied: "Two pounds of tea leaves are one tael of silver."
"Look, ten taels of silver and thirty kilograms of tea, okay?" Xiao Chen raised the price.
"Sir, judging by the way you are dressed, you must be from a rich family. This is the top grade West Lake Longjing. It costs two pounds and one tael of silver, which is already very cheap." The shopkeeper started to flatter me.
"It doesn't matter whose son you are. There is a big difference between the color of the surface of your tea leaves and the broken color inside. How long has this tea been stored?" Xiao Chen asked with a smile as he raised the corner of his mouth.
"Young master, you can speak in layman's terms now. It's still winter, and there are still a few months before new tea comes on the market. The tea now is last year's tea." The shopkeeper explained hurriedly.
"Really? Then I don't want it." Xiao Chen turned around and left.
"No, no, no, no. There must have been something wrong with the storage of this tea. Take a look here again." As he said this, the shopkeeper pointed to another basket.
Xiao Chen glanced at it, picked up a few pieces and rubbed them with his hands.
"What did you discover, sir?" the shopkeeper asked thoughtfully.
After rubbing the baskets of tea leaves, the inside and outside are the same color.
"Is this a basketful of real old tea?" Xiao Chen asked.
"Young Master has a good eye, how about I pay you ten taels of silver for the tea just now?" the shopkeeper asked with a smile.
"Okay." Xiao Chen responded, "But I would like to ask the shopkeeper. Logically speaking, West Lake Longjing is the most famous specialty in Hangzhou. The supply should exceed the demand. Why has it changed color inside and outside after being stored for a long time?"
"We, the big tea merchants in Hangzhou, have not purchased tea for several years. We can't sell much by selling it in shops." The shopkeeper said while weighing the tea.
"Why is this?"
"The Forbidden Sea is all caused by the Forbidden Sea."
