next day
Outer Palace, Ministry of Rites
The foreign envoys from various countries who paid tribute to the new emperor were all temporarily staying in the Ministry of Rites, and they were allowed to stay in the palace for one night. It was enough to see that the tribute gifts were generous and Lao Zhu was satisfied.
A bearded young man with mixed black and yellow hair who always looked wet looked around excitedly and couldn't help but exclaimed,
"What a great country! Just like what grandpa wrote! In China, there is gold everywhere!"
The adventurer from Italy, Marco Polo, was very excited personally. After all, he had read descriptions of China from his grandfather’s books.
In the travel notes of Marco Polo written by his grandfather, the China described is simply a country built of gold.
When Marco Polo came to China, China was still at its peak during the Yuan Dynasty, and the Yuan Dynasty’s commercial development reached its highest level in history.
The Ming Dynasty, where little Marco Polo came now, was definitely inferior to the Yuan Dynasty in terms of the splendor of the palace.
But despite this, little Marco Polo was amazed.
"Hey! Gandhi! Why don't you react at all?"
Little Marco Polo bypassed a group of envoys, walked in a circle behind them, and walked behind a middle-aged man with fair skin and an Indian face.
This is Gandhi, the close friend Marco Polo met in the Delhi Sultanate and the Finance Minister of the Delhi Sultanate.
In the Indian caste system, the Brahmins and Kshatriyas at the top and the two lower castes are not only completely different in social status, but also very different in appearance.
It is no exaggeration to say that one can tell one’s caste status in India just from the appearance.
Those with dark faces, thin faces, and protruding facial features are generally pure-bred low-caste Indians.
A person like Gandhi, who has a tall complexion and soft facial features, is from a high caste.
The reason why there is such a big difference in appearance between high and low castes in India is
It is precisely because high castes like Brahmins are not local races in India, but foreign races occupying magpie's nests in India.
And in the nearly thousand years that India has established the caste system, it has maintained strict to abnormal reproductive isolation.
A high-caste man can marry a low-caste woman, which will be morally condemned, but it is not inoperable.
If a low-caste man marries a high-caste woman, this is the biggest crime in India. It is tantamount to rebellion in the Central Plains Dynasty and will be directly punished.
Gandhi opened his eyes. There was a black mole between his eyebrows, which looked like a Buddha.
Little Marco Polo was surprised by the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty. First, the civilizations of the East and West were completely different. Everything in the Ming Dynasty was new to little Marco Polo.
In addition, it was also under the filter of his ancestor Marco Polo’s travels, so Marco Polo saw everything in the Ming Dynasty as good.
But Gandhi was different. He also lived a very luxurious life in the upper echelons of India, so I didn’t feel much about it.
"I think you need more rest."
"Why are we resting? How can we be in the mood to rest? I wonder when the Ming Dynasty officials will let us enter the city? I can't wait to go to the city to have a look!"
"Haha, I'm afraid there's nothing that will surprise you, and you will be disappointed by then."
Gandhi, the Finance Minister of the Delhi Sultanate, smiled faintly. Although there was no sarcasm on his face, his tone was full of sarcasm.
The group of envoys were chatting, and the palace door was pushed open with a creak. The Minister of Household Affairs, Xia Yuanji, had a polite smile on his face.
"With the permission of the Holy One, you can act on your own in Yingtian Mansion."
"yeS!!!"
Little Marco Polo was overjoyed when he heard this, picked up Gandhi and started to walk out.
Gandhi couldn't win over his friends, and besides, Gandhi really wanted to see how the Ming Dynasty has developed, so he stood up half-heartedly.
He walked to stand in front of Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Household Affairs, and performed a Buddhist salute.
Xia Yuanji nodded in response.
The two looked at each other deeply. After all the envoys inside and outside the palace had dispersed, academician Yao Guangxiao walked in. Since the prototype of the cabinet was completed, these people also consciously supported each other.
"All gone?"
Yao Guangxiao wiped his bald head. Even though he was wearing a Buddhist robe, he didn't have the slightest Buddhist aura on his body. His eyes were fierce and he looked like a big bandit.
"Yes. Everything has been arranged in the city."
Yao Guangxiao said confidently,
"That's for sure. His Majesty suppressed them all day. If the poor monk can't handle these things again, he will be too incompetent."
"Okay, I'll go and report it to Your Majesty."
Xia Yuanji nodded, then turned around and walked towards the palace.
In the Fengtian Hall, Zhu Xiongying set up a table in front of the dragon chair. The dragon chair was covered with colorful but thick enough butt pads. It was also made by his grandparents in a hurry.
"His Majesty."
Xia Yuanji went straight into the palace without notification. Even though it was just the second day after Zhu Xiongying ascended the throne, His Majesty Xia Yuanji's call was not unfamiliar at all.
I don’t know how many times he had screamed in his heart before he could blurt it out so smoothly,
"explain."
Zhu Xiongying raised his head and looked at Xia Yuanji. In just half an hour, Zhu Xiongying had already finished reviewing 90% of the documents moved in from the outer palace.
"The foreign envoy from Zhu has already entered the city."
Zhu Xiongying's eyes flashed and he smiled,
"Our things are all ready."
"yes."
"Haha," Zhu Xiongying breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, and then said,
"These Tianzhu people have resentment towards my Ming Dynasty."
Xia Yuanji nodded and responded,
"The people of Tianzhu love sugar, and their sugar-making technology is second to none. The previous Yuan Dynasty was a big buyer of sugar sold in Tianzhu.
After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor would occasionally import sugar to Tianzhu. However, in recent years, your Majesty has improved the sugar-making technology, and we no longer need to import sugar from Tianzhu.
Without a big buyer like us, the people of Tianzhu will certainly feel angry. "
India is the most sugar-eating country on the entire planet, and its sugar-making technology far exceeds that of any country at the same time.
They not only produce sugar but also export a large amount of sugar. In other words, the sugar industry is the bulk of India's foreign trade.
Even in the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin had to buy huge amounts of sugar from Tianzhu, and even sent people to Tianzhu to learn sugar-making skills. Of course, they learned nothing.
After all, eating sweets is a hobby in China, but eating sugar is a religion in India. How can we teach the people in China how to teach people about eating?
However, we have to admit that the quality of Indian sugar is indeed unmatched.
And Zhu Xiongying summoned the Ministry of Household Affairs to set up a trap for Gandhi. Not only was he not going to buy Tianzhu's sugar in the future, but he was also asking Tianzhu to buy sugar from Daming!
As long as the sugar market in Tianzhu opens, it will bring huge trade surplus to Ming Dynasty every year!
Snapped!
Zhu Xiongying patted the table and said seriously,
"If we don't peel off their skin this time, they will never be allowed to leave the capital!"
