Fortunately, this time when he went to Nanyang, Zhou Buxin also brought a translator in Nanyang dialect. The translator stepped forward and translated Zhou Buxin's words sentence by sentence.
This native official had heard about the official system of the Celestial Dynasty and thought he was a humble official. He never expected that he was actually a serious official!
When he heard this, he was immediately startled. He almost crawled and knelt down in front of Zhou Buxin, kowtowed non-stop, and said a lot of words in his mouth.
The translator said in front of Zhou Buxin at the right time: "This person said that his name is Nichar, he is the management official of Maradi Port, and he is an official of the Celestial Dynasty!"
Zhou Buxin didn't bother to care about this person's basic information, and just said indifferently: "I'll wait for the ceremonial staff here. You should quickly report to your master and go out of the city to receive the credentials of the Ming Emperor!"
After hearing what the translator said, Nichar kowtowed several times, turned around and ran away without saying a word, which left Zhou Buxin stunned for a while.
Maradi Port, built outside the city of Maradi.
Different from other cities in Southeast Asia, Maradi's city wall is quite tall and thick, and it has a bit of the shadow of the Ming Dynasty city wall. Of course, it is just a shadow.
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Nichar trotted into the city of Maradi. He did not go towards the palace, but ran towards Prince Hamid's mansion first.
He was originally the person who was installed by Prince Hamid in Maradi Port. In addition, the old king is not taking care of things now. It is definitely right to report to the prince in advance at such an important time.
"What!" Hamid trembled with shock.
"The ambassador to Nanyang... the general who conquered the south... a high-ranking official of the fourth rank, the envoy of the Ming Emperor..." Hamid muttered to himself, his body went limp, and he relied on holding on to the table to keep him from falling.
How...why did things become such a big deal?
They just robbed a few merchant ships, but the Ming Emperor sent envoys to ask questions?
And the most unreasonable thing is that the Celestial Kingdom has always regarded itself as a state of etiquette. How could the envoy of the Ming Emperor come in an ordinary merchant ship?
…
For a time, countless questions burst out in Hamid's mind.
Nichar saw that something was wrong with his master, and suddenly he became more and more panicked. He couldn't help but ask: "Your Highness, now is the time..."
"You're a worthless thing, why are you panicking!"
Although Hamid was extremely panicked, this did not stop him from scolding his subordinates.
"Go to the palace first and report this matter to the king!"
His Royal Highness, who usually complains about his father's timidity and indecisiveness, now wants to seek help from his father. At this moment, he desperately needs the rich experience of the elders of the previous generation to solve the crisis!
…
In the palace garden, Sitarama, who was watering the flowers and plants, was so shocked by the news brought by her son that the copper pot in her hand fell to the ground.
"You...what did you say? Say it again!" Sitarama felt that there might be something wrong with her ears.
Hamid could only repeat it helplessly: "Those merchant ships were carrying the envoys of the Ming Dynasty, the fourth-rank Nanyang envoys and generals who conquered the south. They brought the credentials of the Ming Emperor. Now we are waiting. Outside Maradi!”
Speaking of this, Hamid's voice actually had a bit of cruelty.
Sitarama glanced at Hamid coldly. He knew that this so-called cruelty was just the product of extreme fear!
Sitarama drove away the distracting thoughts in his heart and took a deep breath. He knew that he must not be confused at this moment!
He paced back and forth and suddenly raised his head to look at his eldest son: "Now! Immediately start the Maradi royal family's guard of honor and go outside the city to greet the envoy!"
"Welcome? Welcome the envoy?" Hamid was stunned.
He couldn't help but ask: "What does this mean?"
Sitarama hated the iron and said: "Stupid! Since they did not knock on the door at this time, but sent us Maradi as envoys according to etiquette, then we must treat each other with courtesy, otherwise, no matter whether we close the city gate , or send soldiers, wouldn’t that mean you’re not asking for help?”
"You don't really think that our little Maradi will be Ming's opponent!"
Facing his father's questioning, Hamid was also speechless. When he thought about it carefully, he realized that Sitarama was actually right.
"Besides, it's hard to say whether the person who came is a real angel or a fake angel!"
Sitarama sneered: "If it turns out to be false, we, father and son, will become a big joke to the Southeast Asian countries!"
…
Outside the city of Maradi, the port official Nichar quickly returned to the port after Hamid entered the palace.
After asking Zhou Buxin and others to come into the house to escape the heat but being refused, he immediately ordered people to bring in large umbrellas, fruits, tea and other supplies to relieve them from the heat.
After all, the other party is an angel, so it would not be wrong to be more attentive now.
Just when Nichar was showing his utmost courtesy, suddenly, a sound of horns came from the city of Maradi, followed by the sound of drums.
Nichar quickly explained: "This is the time when the monarch has laid down the guard of honor to welcome you to the angels!"
Sure enough, a large number of gorgeously dressed people were seen pouring out from the gate of Maradi City.
The first two people, one old and one young, were Sitarama and Hamid.
From a distance, Sitarama had a smile on her face, but her eyes were looking up and down.
Regardless of whether this group of people were really envoys of the Ming Dynasty, only half of the people following them were soldiers, and the other half looked like they were all businessmen.
From this point of view, the threat is not great!
At this thought, Sitarama subconsciously turned to look at her son, and both of them saw a look of relief in each other's eyes.
"Haha! Sitarama, the Lord of Maradi State, has met all the angels!" To everyone's surprise, Sitarama actually spoke fluent Ming Dynasty Mandarin.
This is because the Southeast Asian countries have had a lot of contact with the Central Plains court since ancient times, and many people can understand some Chinese, but they are just proficient or not.
Seeing that the king understood Ming Dynasty Mandarin, Zhou Buxin and Zhang Dingbian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. In this way, the two parties would at least feel more comfortable communicating.
He saw Zhou Buxin bowing his hands and saluting: "I am Zhou Buxin, the envoy of the fourth rank of the Ming Dynasty to Nanyang. This is the accompanying envoy, the fourth rank of the Southern Conqueror General!"
Sitarama's heart trembled, she was actually a fourth-grade official!
But he still said solemnly: "The Lord of the small country of Xia Bang has met Mr. Zhou and General Zhang!"
Zhou Buxin and Zhang Dingbian returned the courtesy, and then held up another yellow scroll with both hands: "This is the ceremonial letter of the Ming Dynasty Emperor and the Maradi Monarch!"
Sitarama suddenly looked solemn, but did not answer: "This place is simple and crude. It is not a place to receive His Majesty's credentials from the Emperor of China. Please follow me back to the palace and put down the incense eucalyptus!"
Zhou Buxin and Zhang Dingbian were stunned. They did not expect that the king actually understood the etiquette of the Central Plains.
In this case, of course it is the best.
But little did he know that Sitarama also had other thoughts. If something went wrong and he was surrounded by the Imperial Guards in his palace, at least the initiative was still in his hands.
Soon, the group of people entered the palace of the Maradi royal family amid ceremonial guards and drums.
After Sitarama respectfully placed the incense eucalyptus, she immediately opened the certificate of credence and saw the beginning: "Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty issued an edict to the monarchs of the Southeast Asian countries..."
At the end, there is a big bright red seal "Treasure of Guangyun" stamped on it!
Sitarama's heart sank. There was no problem with the system and seal. It seemed that the person who came was really a great angel!
Prince Hamid, who had been standing beside him, was looking at his father anxiously at this moment.
He did not understand Ming Dynasty Mandarin, could not read Chinese characters, and did not know the etiquette regulations of the Central Plains, so he could only count on his father to distinguish the authenticity.
At this moment, he wished that his father would tell him that these people were fake, but his father's affirmative look made him completely despair.
He is really an envoy of the Ming Dynasty!
But the Ming Dynasty's envoys didn't come early or late, but they came at this time.
It must have come because of the previous robbery of merchant ships, and it was probably because they heard some rumors.
The robbery of the merchant ship was secretly instigated by me, what should I do?
In despair, Prince Hamid began to think crazily, and his eyes began to flash with a fierce look. There was no way out.
At this moment, Sitarama touched Hamid's arm casually, suddenly waking him up.
No, you can't do this!
We still don’t know the other party’s intention, so we must not scare ourselves at this time.
Hamid took a deep breath to calm down.
At this moment, there was a banquet in the main hall. Sitarama raised his wine glass and said with a smile: "We are a small country with a small land and few resources, so we only pay tribute to the two envoys with water and wine!"
After the two of them drank the wine, Sitarama couldn't wait to ask: "I wonder what your two envoys are doing here. Does the great emperor of the Celestial Dynasty have any edicts?"
Zhou Buxin returned with a smile: "We are sent to Nanyang this time for three reasons. One of them is to promote our Ming Dynasty's benevolence and establish friendship with the countries in Nanyang!"
"Secondly, it is for the purpose of doing business with the countries in Southeast Asia and exchanging supplies..."
As Zhou Buxin spoke, he asked the translator beside him to translate.
Sitarama could understand Chinese clearly, but the translation was mainly for Hamid.
After hearing Zhou Buxin's first words, the father and son relaxed. Fortunately, it was not because of what they were worried about.
When they heard about trade, the father and son both nodded in unison. Trade is good. Heaven is a vast country with abundant resources, so don’t have too many good things.
At this time, Zhou Buxin finally came to the third point: "Well, last month, a merchant ship from my Ming Dynasty was robbed by pirates three times in a row in the waters of Maradi!"
As soon as these words came out, both Sitarama and Hamid's expressions froze!
Damn it, as expected, Prince Hamid came to do this. His hands and palms were all sweaty.
"Therefore, the purpose of coming here is to unite the military forces of the Southeast Asian countries and destroy the pirates together!"
call!
The father and son only felt that the ups and downs of life were too fast. Fortunately, they did not know that this matter was related to Maradi State!
All of a sudden, Sitarama was instantly possessed by the actor:
"I have also heard about the plundering of the merchant ships of the Chinese Empire last month... However, the situation in Maradi State, you two also saw with your own eyes, it is really a weak country with a small number of people!"
"This sea area is full of pirates, not to mention the merchant ships passing by. Even we have suffered from pirates for a long time! Now if the two envoys can unite with us and other Southeast Asian countries to wipe out the pirates, it will really be a great opportunity for our Southeast Asian nations to wipe out the pirates." The country’s reborn parents!”
As he said this, he was about to bow down, but was quickly stopped by Zhou Buxin.
Immediately, Zhou Buxin raised his hand, and his entourage, dressed as several soldiers, who had been standing behind him, came forward carrying several boxes.
Zhou Buxin opened the box with a smile and introduced each one: "This is the gift I am bringing to the king this time. This is a golden tower inlaid with 108 pearls..."
"This is a tribute from Hami. It is a top-grade maroon mutton-fat jade, carved into a unicorn mythical beast..."
"This is a thin silk coat made by the best embroiderer in Hangzhou in the south of the Yangtze River. No matter how hot the summer is, wearing it feels like wearing borneol..."
Zhou Buxin introduced everything, and Sitarama and his son were stunned. They had never seen such rare treasures before, and their eyes seemed to be glued to them!
Zhang Ding, who had been silent all this time, looked on with a sneer in his heart. I will give the things to you now and ask you to spit them out with interest later.
But at this time, Zhou Buxin added fuel to the fire: "This time we brought countless fine silks, top-quality porcelain, and precious teas, worth about ten million taels of silver, and they are all on those five ships!"
"Please also ask the Lord to tell the Nanyang countries for us that we have no other purpose in coming here. One is to suppress bandits, the other is to do business, and the third is to make good friends with the Nanyang countries. There is no other purpose!"
The father and son were already stunned by Zhou Buxin's words "worth ten million taels of silver". Zhou Buxin had to repeat them again before they woke up.
Sitarama kept saying: "This is nature, this is nature!"
Immediately the dancing and music started, and there was endless drinking and drinking.
An extended banquet where guests and hosts enjoy themselves!
Zhou Buxin and the two left, but Hamid was still immersed in the news worth ten million taels of silver.
At this moment, he had no trace of the panic he felt when he first learned about the arrival of the Great Angel of Heaven. There was only one thought left in his mind, how great it would be if all these five merchant ships were his own!
Just when he was thinking about it, Sitarama's words instantly poured cold water on him.
"Put away your unnecessary thoughts, and don't even think about those five merchant ships!"
Hamid was about to retort, but what his father said next made him feel dejected: "There are not only our people at the Maradi port, but also people from all over Southeast Asia. At this moment, the envoys of the Ming Dynasty are in Maradi. The news of the port landing has probably spread to various countries in Southeast Asia!"
"Once something happens to this mission, the Maradi royal family will not be able to escape the involvement no matter what. I don't want to repeat this situation again!"
Yes, this is why Sitarama could still stay awake after knowing the wealth on those five ships.
"One more thing. Since the Ming Dynasty's envoys want to suppress pirates, let's take advantage of them to remove the shark's teeth this time!"
