Although Niels submitted a quota of six people last time, only four people finally passed the etiquette assessment of Honglu Temple officials.
Fortunately, among these four people, there is also an interpreter who understands Daming dialect.
The four people headed by Niels will go to the Forbidden City today to formally meet Jiajing!
Early in the morning, Niels and others, led by officials from the Host and Guest Department, went from the Huitong Pavilion to the Forbidden City.
Although they had made relevant mental preparations before this, they were still extremely shocked by what they saw.
The first thing that caught the eye was the towering and majestic Meridian Gate. Under the leadership of officials from the Host and Guest Department, they entered the Forbidden City through the left gate.
After entering the Meridian Gate, the main palaces are all in yellow, and the surrounding buildings all show their noble atmosphere.
The roofs are covered with glazed tiles of various colors. In addition, at both ends of some palaces, there are glazed kissing beasts, swallowing the big ridges steadily and powerfully.
There is a white jade corridor in front of the palace, and a winding and graceful way behind the palace. The magnificent palace is solemn and magnificent. The palace is paved with yellow bricks and painted on the walls. The ground is covered with neat stone slabs. From time to time, there are neatly arranged and fully armed Imperial Guard soldiers walking by. passing by.
“Oh my gosh, this must be where God lives!”
Nils reluctantly looked away from the palaces around him and said with emotion.
Since this was the peak time, officials would pass by from time to time.
When they saw Niels and his party following the officials from the Host and Guest Department, curiosity appeared on their faces.
But after just observing for a moment, they withdrew their gaze. After all, it was not uncommon for foreign envoys to visit.
Under the leadership of officials from the Host and Guest Department, Nils and his party of four finally arrived at their destination—Qianqing Palace.
Looking at the majestic Qianqing Palace in front of him, Nils couldn't help but feel a sense of expectation flashing through his heart.
After going through many hardships and dangers, he was finally able to meet the supreme ruler of this extremely powerful empire!
"I wonder what it's like inside the palace?"
While Nils was still daydreaming, the official from the Host and Guest Department who was leading the crowd suddenly stopped, turned around, and gave these instructions.
"You will meet our Emperor later. Be sure to remember the etiquette taught to you before!"
The words of the official from the Host and Guest Department reached Niels' ears verbatim after being translated.
When Nils heard this, he nodded slightly to the official of the Host and Guest Department and gave his assurance.
"Dear Ming officials, we know what to do next!"
After hearing the translated words, the host and guest official couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.
For him, as long as Niels and his party can follow the previously agreed upon procedures after entering the Qianqing Palace, then the mission of his trip will be considered gloriously completed.
Shortly after this, a high-pitched voice was heard.
"Xuan, the Rakshasa delegation is here to see you!"
After hearing this, the official from the Host and Guest Department quickly turned around and gave instructions in a deep voice to Nils and the four others.
"Come in with me!"
"Um."
After that, Nils and his party of four, led by officials from the Host and Guest Department, stepped onto the stairs of Qianqing Palace step by step.
Although they were very curious about the scenery around them, they still followed the etiquette taught to them by Honglu Temple officials earlier, not to look around or look left or right.
Under the leadership of officials from the Host and Guest Department, several people entered the Qianqing Palace.
Today, in the Qianqing Palace, in addition to Jiajing, all five members of the cabinet are also present. At this moment, the five of them are sitting not far from Jiajing.
After all, today's meeting is no different than usual. In addition to the meeting, the two sides will also take this opportunity to discuss the development of long-term trade. If the negotiation can be concluded, the national treasury will receive a large sum of money!
Therefore, there is no reason why everyone should not pay attention to it.
After Niels entered the Qianqing Palace, his eyes were quickly attracted by Jiajing sitting on the dragon chair. At this moment, Jiajing was wearing a Chu yellow dragon robe and sitting on the dragon chair. On his body, there was something The momentum of looking down upon the world.
"Presumably the person sitting on the chair carved from pure gold is the Emperor mentioned by those officials, right?"
After Niels marveled for a moment, he quickly came back to his senses, and using the etiquette taught to him by the Honglu Temple officials earlier, he led the others and saluted respectfully.
"Niels Rosen, the envoy of the Kingdom of Spain, has met His Majesty the Supreme Ming Emperor!"
Nils' words were not spoken in Spanish, but in half-baked Ming Dynasty Mandarin.
Recently, in addition to following the officials of Honglu Temple in Huitong Hall and learning the corresponding etiquette, Nils has been practicing the pronunciation of this sentence hard.
When Jiajing heard this, he smiled, waved his hand and gave instructions.
"As the Emperor of the Ming Empire, I welcome your arrival!"
After that, Niels Rosen turned his gaze to Jiajing, who was sitting on the dragon chair, and said in a deep voice.
"His Majesty the Supreme Ming Emperor, we are not coming empty-handed this time, but we are bringing many gifts!"
After Nils finished speaking, an official soon came forward and handed the corresponding gift list to Jiajing. After Jiajing took the list from Lu Fang's hand, he only glanced at it briefly and then looked back. .
After that, Niels paused for a moment, then continued to add.
"In addition to these official gifts, I, Niels Rosen, also want to give you, His Majesty the Ming Emperor, a gift in a private name!"
"Well, bring it up!"
After listening to the translation by the official on the side, Jiajing nodded and gave instructions.
Although Jiajing had long known what gift the Spanish envoy named Niels Rosen would give him, this did not prevent an expression of curiosity from appearing on his face.
Soon, the flintlock gun donated by Niels Rosen in a private name was delivered to Jiajing.
After Jiajing carefully looked at the small, exquisite and extremely exquisite flintlock gun in the tray, he nodded and then spoke.
"Well, not bad, I like this gift very much!"
Jiajing's words, after being translated, fell into the ears of Nils Rosen word for word.
Just when he was feeling extremely lucky for this, Jiajing's voice sounded in his ears again.
"Come here and give the envoy a seat!"
As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, a eunuch came forward and prepared seats for Nils and his party.
Seeing this, Niels and others sat down on the seats one after another after thanking Jiajing.
Up to this moment, they still had not forgotten the etiquette taught to them by the officials of Honglu Temple earlier. At this time, they sat upright on their seats, not daring to make any movement.
Immediately, Jiajing glanced at Niels and his party one by one, and then asked.
"I heard that the purpose of your visit to our country is to carry out long-term trade with our country and purchase silk, tea, porcelain and other items produced in our country. Is it true?"
Jiajing's words, after being translated, soon reached Niels' ears word for word.
Immediately, Niels and the other three people stood up from their seats, leaned down, and reported respectfully.
"Yes, His Majesty the Supreme Ming Emperor, we are here to carry out long-term trade with you under the orders of the Spanish royal family!"
The people in the cabinet who were sitting not far from Jiajing couldn't help but feel refreshed after listening to the translation, and the eyes they looked at the envoys became warm. After all, this was nothing but money!
After hearing the answer given by Nils, Jiajing nodded, and immediately winked at Yan Song who was standing aside. The latter quickly understood, stood up immediately, and followed up with questions.
"I am Yan Song, the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty. Since your trip is to start long-term trade with the Ming Dynasty, how much silk, tea and porcelain do you plan to buy from the Ming Dynasty?"
Yan Song's words reached Nils' ears verbatim after being translated by a companion who knew the Mandarin of the Ming Dynasty.
Nils did not rush to answer, but gave the answer after long discussion with his companions.
"Our royal family in the Kingdom of Spain is very rich, so we are willing to pay the highest price to buy silk, tea, porcelain and other items produced in your country. We, the Kingdom of Spain, hope to become friends with you!"
Everyone except Yan Song couldn't help but have a strange expression flash across their faces after hearing what Nils said, thinking this in their hearts.
"It seems that His Majesty was right what he said earlier. Spain is a country that has accumulated countless wealth by plundering and massacring natives and mining local gold and silver!"
After listening to the words recited by the translator, Yan Song nodded and responded without thinking.
"This is natural. As long as long-term trade between the two parties can be achieved, then our two countries will naturally be friends. Tell me, how much money are you willing to pay?"
Nils saw that Yan Song was so reluctant to this topic, and the smile on his face froze. After pondering for a long time, he finally spoke.
"If we calculate it according to the price in your country, the silk produced in your country can be sold in Europe for thirteen taels of silver a piece, tea bricks thirty taels of silver a piece, and the price of porcelain is even higher, even In some places, it has reached hundreds of taels of silver!”
"You only need to regularly send ships to our Kingdom of Spain to transport silk, tea, porcelain and other items. Every time you ship a ship of silk, tea, porcelain, we, the Kingdom of Spain, will give you generous rewards!"
After listening to the retelling by the translator on the side, Yan Song reluctantly agreed with the price quoted by Niels. According to his understanding, the price quoted by Niels was quite different from the actual price.
After that, Xu Jie stood up and asked.
"How do you plan to pay them, in your country's currency, or in gold and silver?"
Xu Jie's words, after being repeated by the translator, soon reached Nils's ears verbatim. He was stunned for a moment before he answered.
"Of course it's gold and silver. We in the Kingdom of Spain have no shortage of gold and silver!"
Niels dared to say this, and he naturally had the confidence. After Spain colonized Africa and the Americas, a steady stream of gold and silver was shipped back to Spain from overseas.
In the fifteen years from 1545 to 1560 AD alone, the Spanish navy transported 5,500 kilograms of gold and 246,000 kilograms of silver back from overseas.
The Spanish royal family has become extremely wealthy as a result, becoming the richest royal family in Europe!
And those who have money naturally have to pursue enjoyment. Therefore, the silk, tea, porcelain and other luxury goods produced in the Ming Dynasty have also entered the eyes of the Spanish royal family.
In the eyes of the Spanish royal family, only this kind of luxury product produced by a far-flung eastern country can match the status of the royal family of the empire on which the sun never sets!
Jiajing, who was sitting on the dragon throne, couldn't help but have a smile on his face when he saw that the two parties had reached an agreement on launching a long-term trade.
What can be foreseen next is that the large amounts of gold and silver plundered by Spain from Africa and America will eventually flow into the pockets of Ming Dynasty in disguise through trade between the two parties!
Seeing that the long-term trade between the two parties has been roughly finalized, Nils couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Because most of his tasks for this trip have been completed. As for bargaining, that will be a program that will happen later.
After that, Nils turned his eyes to Jiajing, who was sitting on the dragon chair. After hesitating for a long time, he said in a deep voice.
"His Majesty the Supreme Ming Emperor, I have a question that I want to ask you. I hope you can give me an answer!"
At this moment, Jiajing was in a good mood and didn't care about his transgression. He only waved his hand and gave instructions.
"If you have any questions, just ask them!"
After hearing this, Nils organized the words in his mind and then asked the question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time.
"Actually, I encountered a powerful fleet flying the flag of your country at sea. There was a little friction between the two parties due to misunderstanding. I would like to ask you what is the purpose of sending this fleet?"
After hearing the translated words, Jiajing seemed quite excited and immediately asked.
"What are you talking about? You met the fleet sent by the Ming Dynasty to sail around the world. Where did you meet it?"
After listening to his companion's translation, Nils also understood what Jiajing meant, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"It turns out that that extremely powerful fleet is intended to sail around the world!"
After figuring out what he had been doubting, Nils calmed down and responded respectfully.
"His Majesty the Supreme Ming Emperor, I encountered this fleet near Tianzhu!"
(End of chapter)
