Theodosio made a decision, and no one else could change it.
Therefore, when the news that the Portuguese prince wanted to study in the Ming Dynasty was reported, Emperor Chongzhen happened to be discussing the matter with Zhang Mingwei.
He actually welcomes this kind of thing. Because this kind of thing for the princes and nobles of the vassal state to study in the Ming Dynasty, generally speaking, only happened in the prosperous times of the dynasty.
Zhang Mingwei did not object to this. If a prince who is familiar with the cultural customs of the Ming Dynasty and has been transformed by the Ming Dynasty returns to inherit the throne and becomes the king of Portugal, it will also have a great influence on the Ming Dynasty in Europe.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen issued a special decree to allow Theodosio to enter the Imperial College.
Of course, in Theodosio's case, he needed to learn Chinese and understand Eastern culture first, so the Four Books and Five Classics were also indispensable.
Zhang Mingwei also suggested that he should be allowed to appreciate the charm of Eastern culture, such as Tang poetry, Song poetry, etc., which are particularly charming.
This matter only delayed Emperor Chongzhen and Zhang Mingwei for less than a quarter of an hour. After handling it, they continued to talk about their matters.
"Sir, the second batch of warships has already headed to Ryukyu with supplies!" Emperor Chongzhen said to Zhang Mingwei, "But it is the Japanese country after all. If the Japanese country launches an all-out counterattack, we may not have enough troops, right?"
After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei immediately laughed and said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry about this. Even Zheng Zhilong is among the second batch of navy. As long as the control of the sea is in our hands, our Ming army will be invincible!"
After a pause, he added: "Our current strategy is not to occupy the Japanese country. It is just to send troops to Edo to force the Japanese country to agree to our request and sign the contract. Even if the Tokugawa shogunate does not agree, then It doesn’t matter, there’s still Kyoto. In short, if they don’t agree, just let them cause chaos on their own!”
Emperor Chongzhen knew that no one could match Zhang Mingwei's understanding of the world. Seeing how confident he was, it was probably about the same.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen did not care about the Japanese country, but asked Zhang Mingwei: "Sir, will the Portuguese navigation log be of great use?"
When the Portuguese prince presented it, there were two large boxes. Regarding these things, people who have never paid attention to maritime affairs really don’t understand how important this is.
After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei nodded solemnly and said: "As long as these logs are true, it will save a lot of time, energy, and even lives for our Ming Navy to sail to where we want to go! These logs , you can’t buy it with money. After it is translated, we will provide corresponding courses to the Naval Armament Hall to popularize global awareness.”
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he seemed to have some understanding, but he was not familiar with the topic, so he stopped continuing, changed the topic, and said with some emotion: "Time flies so fast, it will be another year soon!" "
Time does fly by quickly. Zhang Mingwei also feels the same way. By accident, he has a son and a daughter. From now on, he has a real family in Daming!
While he was thinking about it, he heard Emperor Chongzhen sighing again: "It's just that compared with previous years, this year seems to be a lot more ordinary!"
In the previous years, there were great victories every year. Either destroy the rebels or the rebels, either accept Korea as a province, or liberate Liaodong, etc. Even if it didn't work, the Dutch who killed the big officials also captured Luzon and sealed off the King of Zhou.
However, in the 20 years of Chongzhen, there were no other major events except the dispatch of troops to Ryukyu.
Comparing this with previous years, Emperor Chongzhen had this emotion.
When Zhang Mingwei heard this, he immediately smiled and shook his head: "How could it be possible? In my opinion, this year is the most extraordinary year!"
"What do you say?" Emperor Chongzhen asked with interest immediately after hearing this. He wanted to hear what Zhang Mingwei thought of it with a little curiosity?
After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei immediately replied seriously: "Your Majesty, please see, this year, I married a daughter-in-law and had a son and a daughter. Isn't this the most extraordinary year in my opinion?"
"..." Emperor Chongzhen was speechless upon hearing this.
When he came back to his senses, he also laughed and said: "That's true, I also have a unique son-in-law, haha!"
Zhang Mingwei laughed along with Emperor Chongzhen. After a while, he stopped smiling and became serious again. He said to Emperor Chongzhen: "I was just joking, but I said that this year is the most extraordinary year. It is indeed true." talk!"
"Ah?" Emperor Chongzhen was a little speechless when he heard this, and asked, "How do you say it?"
After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei stretched out his hand, first clenched his fist, stretched out a finger and said: "First, Zheng Zhibao brought back many specialties from the Americas. Among them, the rubber tree will play a decisive role in the future development of science and technology in Ming Dynasty. Function. No matter how you describe rubber, it cannot be overstated. It can be said that the foundation for changing the Ming Dynasty again was laid this year!"
Emperor Chongzhen listened and nodded. Regarding the application of rubber, Zhang Mingwei gave him examples. Just like the telephone, he felt it was magical when he heard it before, but it was far from the magical feeling when he actually used the telephone.
With this experience, Emperor Chongzhen could now further understand how important rubber is!
"Also, the tree that treats cold and fever diseases also plays a very important role in our Ming Dynasty's strategy in the south. Annan is a place, Dongwu is also a place, and there are other places in Southeast Asia, including Batavia, etc. , will not only reduce the non-combat attrition of the imperial army, but also allow us Ming people to expand and live in the south more safely."
When Zhang Mingwei said this, he even raised his voice a little: "There are other crop seeds, which greatly enriched our Ming Dynasty's diet. As the saying goes, food is the most important thing for the people, is this important enough?"
"Yes, sir, you are right!" Emperor Chongzhen had to admit after hearing this.
Zhang Mingwei then extended his second finger and said: "Second, this year, the Ministry of Agriculture was established. This is one of the highest-level yamen in the Ming Dynasty established in addition to the previous six ministries. It allows us in the Ming Dynasty to have a person who really pays attention to agriculture and goes deep into it. The agricultural yamen, from research and improvement of high-yielding crops to unified construction of water conservancy, etc., ensure that the Ming Dynasty will no longer be short of food, which is of great significance to the prosperity and strength of our Ming Dynasty!"
"Yes, sir, you are right!" Emperor Chongzhen once again had to admit after hearing this.
Zhang Mingwei then stretched out his third finger and said: "There are also telephones, which will also be laid this year. The importance of communication will, together with transportation, make the territory of Ming Dynasty wider! It is also for the strength of Ming Dynasty, Laying one of the strongest foundations!”
Emperor Chongzhen had a smile on his face when he heard this, and he nodded immediately and said: "Sir, you are right, this phone is easier to use than the legendary Shunfeng Er. It is really a very important thing!"
When Zhang Mingwei saw it, he stretched out his fourth finger and said: "This year is another year for the restructuring of the Municipal Shipping Department. It is a key year for our Ming Dynasty's tax revenue to transform from farmland to business. We can receive more money without harming farmers." More taxes were imposed, and the court even began to implement tax rates on different commodities. This laid the most important foundation for the strength and advancement of our Ming Dynasty!"
"My husband said this, this year is indeed an ordinary but most extraordinary year!" Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but sigh after hearing this.
After he finished speaking, he saw that Zhang Mingwei seemed to stop talking and withdrew his hand. So, he suddenly asked Zhang Mingwei with a smile: "Sir, are there any more? I can't count them all on this hand yet!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Mingwei couldn't help but was speechless, he smiled and stretched out his hand again, and stretched out all five fingers, and said at the same time: "Also, my vassal state of the Ming Dynasty already exists in Europe. This was not the case before. Never before, His Majesty is the first among all emperors!"
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, his face immediately showed excitement, and he burst out laughing.
Zhang Mingwei's flattery made him the most comfortable: the first of so many emperors throughout the ages!
In the future, other countries in Europe will need to be canonized by the Holy See, but in the future, there will be one country that will need him, the Ming Emperor, to be canonized!
Emperor Chongzhen believed that Portugal would not be the only one. One day in the future, his power will surely come over every country in Europe!
The twenty years of Chongzhen basically passed like this in the Ming Dynasty.
Thousands of miles away in Europe, there are still some things that are not affected by Zhang Mingwei's butterfly wings.
For example, it was also in this year that the English Parliament bought Charles I back for a high price of 400,000 pounds and imprisoned him in Hersby Castle. Then he ran away and was caught again, just like in the original history.
Also, the Italians could not bear Spanish colonial rule and launched an armed uprising under the leadership of the fisherman Masanillo. However, the Spanish governor pretended to compromise in the end. After gaining respite, he tricked and stabbed him to death, which triggered a larger uprising. , the Republic of Naples was established under the leadership of Annes, the owner of the weapons factory. According to the original historical development, it would be re-captured by the Spanish fleet in the spring of next year, suppressing the uprising.
In addition, there are several relatively big things that were instigated by butterfly wings.
In the original history, in the 20th year of Chongzhen's reign, the British established the first trading station in Shalian, Dongwu, and began the prelude to the colonization of Dongwu. However, after maintaining it for several years and finally getting better, the Anglo-Dutch War broke out, which led to this failure.
In this dimension, Dongwu's troubles caused by Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong actually prompted King Dongwu Talon to adopt a more welcoming attitude towards the British and strengthen cooperation.
