When Zhu Jingyuan arrived in his vassal state, in a sense he became a vassal state.
Then the first formal palace meeting was held, which was actually the first formal morning court meeting in Dashi Kingdom.
First of all, the future development direction of the food country was determined, and the most important task at present was the construction of a seawater chemical plant.
After unifying his thoughts, Zhu Jingyuan arranged some other things:
“I will write down some detailed suggestions later. When building more seawater chemical plants in the future, we can try whether these ideas are feasible.
"There is another thing. The palace is preparing to take over all the schools in the Food Kingdom and establish complete primary and secondary schools.
"In the future, private schools will no longer be allowed. The royal family will set up a school department to directly manage all schools. All schools will use the textbooks unified by the Ming Dynasty.
“We and the workers’ children must be managed and educated, and we can’t just sit around doing nothing.
"If there are not enough teachers, go to Ming Dynasty to hire them. If no one is willing to come, then pay more.
"The escort force is training, and I will ask Guan Zhenfu to send veterans to help.
“The money earned from selling oil is spent in any way possible.
"Of course, you have to spend it in real terms.
“This practical purpose is not only to return actual things, but also to give them to actual people.
"Starting from this month, the salary of all officials in the palace will be increased by 30%, and will be increased by another 30% every year for the next three years."
Things arranged by Zhu Jingyuan are considered normal, and it is even more unlikely that anyone will object to the direct salary increase.
Therefore, all the ministers of the Great Food Kingdom stood up and bowed in high spirits.
Zhu Jingyuan finished arranging the work and let the ministers go about their work.
He returned to the inner hall and asked Dianbo to write a reply to his father for him, accepting the second arrangement given by his grandfather.
Then he summoned several clothing craftsmen headed by Chu Yuqiang.
The "Governor" of the Ming Dynasty is not a position, nor can it be used as a title for officials. It is actually a verb.
They are all written in the form of "Governor of a certain place or something", which means to oversee certain places and things in general.
Similar titles include general manager, prime minister, manager, supervisor, admiral, etc.
In essence, it doesn't matter whether they are big or not, or even have no rank. Unless the imperial court makes arrangements, there is no clear superior-subordinate relationship between them.
What you do specifically depends on the scope of power given by the court.
What Zhu Jingyuan wants as the "Governor" is not only military and political affairs in the Dashi, Daqinhai, and Mozhou regions, but also foreign affairs.
In fact, it means that the diplomacy with Thailand and Spain will continue to be led and managed by itself.
Foreign affairs are not just official negotiations. In fact, there are many levels of affairs, and there are also many private activities.
Many diplomats are essentially open spies.
Zhu Jingyuan now feels that the things Chu Yuqiang is responsible for can even be included in foreign affairs.
If you are not in your position and do not seek to achieve your goals, if you do not have a relevant position, then the clothing issue is just a social experiment.
Now that I want to take on this title, I have to be a little more careful.
Zhu Jingyuan wrote a simple "letter of introduction" himself.
Explain that he wants to open a clothing store and operate customized clothing and ready-made clothing businesses in Thailand and the West.
Chu Yuqiang is the shopkeeper of the trading company he hired. He hopes that the royal families, nobles and court officials of various countries in Thailand and Western countries can provide convenience.
Then sign your name and stamp your seal.
If nothing else happens, this letter of introduction will allow Chu Yuqiang to have smooth access to the West.
He should also be a guest at the banquet of the Thai and Western nobles.
The letter of introduction did not state the specific range of clothing types operated.
Although Chu Yuqiang's business mainly sells new clothes designed by Zhu Jingyuan, it cannot only sell those clothes.
The original Daming clothing will continue to be sold, and there will be updated styles in the future.
Zhu Jingyuan handed the letter of introduction to Chu Yuqiang, and then
For serious instructions:
"The things you have to do are still the same. What you have to do specifically is to sell the clothes I designed and observe what impact it can have in Taipei.
"I would like to remind you that in promotional photos and pictorials showing clothes, the men must be from Ming Dynasty.
"We mainly use people who are tall and powerful, physically strong but not obese, and have a steady, dignified and domineering temperament. Just follow the standards of the honor guard.
"Secondly, choose a handsome and handsome gentleman with heroic appearance, or a elegant and gentle young master.
"In short, it is to make people feel comfortable when they look at it. Chu Gong should be able to control this standard himself.
"Once again, the men must be from the Ming Dynasty, and absolutely cannot use Western men.
"For women, most of them use Daming people. They also need to choose someone who has an outstanding image and will definitely be lovable.
"As far as possible, use dignified, elegant and temperamental types. The delicate and delicate Xiaojiabiyu is the second choice.
"A small number of women use Western girls, but don't look for Western girls with the best image, just use ordinary people around you.
"When more than three women show up, an ordinary Thai-Western woman can be arranged."
If Zhu Jingyuan had not been in charge of foreign affairs as part of his title, he would not have made so many modernization requirements.
Just use Daming people to show it.
Zhu Jingyuan's special requests made Chu Yuqiang a little confused.
If His Highness Prince Dashi doesn't like Xiyi women, then just use Ming women.
Why do you still have to find some ordinary Western women to shoot?
Chu Yuqiang thought about it again and again, but finally did not dare to ask Prince Dashi about his intentions.
Let's go back and discuss it with those Boers who are also Westerners.
Zhu Jingyuan looked at Chu Yuqiang who just bowed and agreed without asking for any details, and was a little worried that Chu Yuqiang could not fully understand his intentions.
So Zhu Jingyuan took the initiative and warned him again:
"You just need to know these requirements of mine yourself, and don't discuss them with outsiders, especially those Boer craftsmen.
"If you have any thoughts or guesses, you can come and discuss them with me directly. Don't hide them or speculate on your own.
“If there are problems with implementation because we don’t understand the true intent of these requirements, then the gains will outweigh the losses.”
Chu Yuqiang suddenly felt that his heart had been penetrated, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He quickly asked directly:
"Why did Your Highness specifically look for ordinary Western women to shoot promotional posters?"
Zhu Jingyuan asked rhetorically:
"The women of the Ming Dynasty use beautiful ones, and the women of Xiyi use ordinary ones. If we compare them together, how will people feel when they see this kind of picture?"
Chu Yuqiang thought for a while and tried to interpret:
"The Western men and women who saw the advertisements may instinctively feel that the Western women are not as beautiful as the Ming women.
"But Xiyi women are not as beautiful as our Ming women. There is no need to make such a special comparison..."
Zhu Jingyuan laughed directly after hearing Chu Yuqiang's evaluation:
"Ordinary people in Western Europe have never seen Ming people, but they may not think so, so this operation is still necessary.
"Furthermore, the comparison of women is only one aspect, it is within photos and pictorials, and the comparison of men is outside of this.
"When Xiyi looks at the photos of Ming Dynasty men in the illustrated magazines, they will naturally compare them with the ordinary Xiyi men around them."
"My subordinate understands."
Chu Yuqiang nodded lightly in agreement, and then tried to draw inferences:
"When displaying different types of clothes, can we have different choices?
"The most high-end clothes, targeted at the wealthy classes such as the nobility and high-end new elites, are exclusively made from Ming Dynasty people.
"If it's clothes for the middle and lower classes, or work clothes and housekeeper clothes, shouldn't we use Daming people?"
After hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan subconsciously wanted to agree, and then shook his head after thinking about it for a moment:
"That's not entirely true. It's not just the clothes that are targeted at the wealthy class that need to be displayed in the Ming Dynasty.
"As long as the clothes do not have clear identification labels, all ordinary popular clothes should be displayed as Ming people as much as possible.
"Only those you mentioned later may have obvious identity tags, so you can avoid Ming people when necessary.
"For example, Thai and Western maid uniforms and special women's clothing for romantic occasions cannot be displayed with Ming women, but should be displayed with Hu Ji or Xiyi women.
"If there are characters such as drivers, housekeepers, maids, and nuns in the display, they can also be displayed as barbarians.
"If there are lower-end people, such as clerks, laborers, etc., you can find Western men, but there probably won't be any.
"If there are, the selection criteria are the opposite to those of Ming people. They can be short and thin, or they can be ugly and distinctive.
"Or the overall image is extraordinarily feminine and delicate, and one can be regarded as a woman by wearing women's clothes.
"Oh, by the way, the last kind of people can use it a little wider and promote clothes that suit their image.
"But no matter what their image is, all Thai and Western men cannot stand with the women of the Ming Dynasty."
Listening to Zhu Jingyuan's introduction, Chu Yuqiang slowly changed from confusion to enlightenment, and then summarized the criteria:
"I understand, my subordinates. All clothes without identity labels are from Ming people. All men are from Ming people, and a small number of women are from Hu Ji and Xi Yi women.
"Regarding identity labels, the Ming Dynasty people show the aristocratic class, the Hu people show the aristocratic entourage, and the Taixi people show the lower class..."
Zhu Jingyuan nodded slightly this time and said:
"That's pretty much it, but these standards can't be written down on paper. Just implement them silently and don't discuss research with anyone."
Chu Yuqiang bowed his hands seriously and agreed:
"I understand that this is my personal preference and has nothing to do with His Highness or anyone else."
With a smile on his face, Zhu Jingyuan said a few words of sincere encouragement, wrote an approval note for 10,000 silver notes, and sent Chu Yuqiang off.
Then Zhu Jingyuan sat down and reflected on the exchange with Chu Yuqiang just now, and felt that he was a little bit vicious.
Zhu Jingyuan pondered for a long time and decided to change his thinking, take the time to develop relatively mature film equipment, and use the same standards to shoot movies.
Taking Zhu Jingyuan's letter of introduction, Chu Yuqiang first went to the Prince's Office to register a business.
I opened a commercial bank account at Daming Bank and took the approval slip to collect the funds. Most of them were deposited into the commercial bank account, and a small amount was carried with me.
After another two days of repairs, he set off with a few other craftsmen.
Take a passenger ship to the deepest part of the Persian Gulf. After landing, use the letter of introduction given by Zhu Jingyuan to board a military train on the temporary military railway.
Take a train across the Dashi Peninsula to the coast of the Daqin Sea, and then take a ship again to sail westward.
After arriving in southern France, we disembarked and took a train directly to Paris.
There are several important capitals in Europe and the West, including Paris, London, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Vienna, and Moscow.
But besides Rome, Italy, and Prussia, besides Berlin, have many other important cities in their own countries.
France only has Paris. Apart from Paris, there is a large rural area. Most of France's elites gather in Paris.
Paris is also the de facto largest city in Western Europe.
Therefore, Chu Yuqiang's commercial bank headquarters should be placed in Paris to facilitate the rapid expansion of influence.
When Chu Yuqiang arrived in Paris, he first went to find his former colleagues in the Taixi branch of the Royal Garment Company and settled down with their help.
After resting for two days and regaining his mental state, he took Zhu Jingyuan's letter of introduction and went directly to Versailles to visit Prince Charles of France.
Prince Charles is the second son of Louis XVI. Louis XVII in history became the French king after his brother died in infancy.
the crown prince.
Of course, the Crown Prince is not something ordinary people can meet casually.
But with Zhu Jingyuan's letter of introduction, Chu Yuqiang was no longer an ordinary person. He met this lucky French boy all the way.
