Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 708, the priceless full-length mirror

Toledo, in the royal palace of the Kingdom of Castile.

Queen Isabella I and Ferdinand II are summoning Zhao Houzi and Jiang Liang from the distant Eastern Daming.

In the huge palace, the nobles and ministers of the entire Spanish royal palace gathered.

"See Your Majesty the King and Your Majesty the Queen~"

Zhao Houzi and Jiang Liang came to the palace wearing bright red clothes, and bowed slightly to salute the twins. After arriving in Europe, they realized that there are many queens in Europe, and Spain in front of them is actually two kingdoms Merged together, have two kings at the same time.

Although it is difficult to understand this phenomenon, there must be some etiquette. After all, I am from Daming, the state of etiquette.

"Free gift~"

Ferdinand II spoke slowly.

"Thank you, Your Majesty~"

Zhao Houzi and Jiang Liang expressed their thanks, then waved their hands, and someone from behind came up with presents one after another.

"Your Majesty the King, Your Majesty the Queen, please accept our kindness this time."

"This first gift is a full-length mirror~"

Zhao Houzi opened the full-length mirror that was blocked by the white cloth. Mirrors are expensive even if they belong to Ming Dynasty. Especially this kind of full-length mirror costs several hundred taels of silver for each side. It is considered the most expensive one brought over now. something.

Following Zhao Houzi's introduction, someone carried a mirror to Ferdinand II and Isabella I.

"God~"

"There is such a big mirror!"

The two of them looked at themselves in the mirror with incomparable clarity, everything was clearly visible, and they couldn't help exclaiming immediately.

In history, it took decades before the merchants in Venice could manufacture mirrors. As soon as mirrors appeared in Europe at that time, they immediately became popular among European aristocrats. A palm-sized mirror sold for as much as One hundred and fifty thousand francs.

Therefore, Venetian merchants are also earning a lot of money by relying on glass mirrors. In order to keep this secret, they even agreed that whoever reveals the secret of making mirrors will be executed, and even the place where the mirrors are made is released. On the secret island.

It was not until the 17s that the French tried their best to steal the technology of making mirrors from the merchants of Venice, Italy.

Of course, in this era, because of the arrival of Liu Jin, Daming has already produced mirrors. Some Persian merchants sold mirrors from Daming and then sold them to the Mediterranean, and then flowed into Europe.

This mirror was extremely expensive in Ming Dynasty itself, and after passing through layers of changes of hands, and thousands of miles away, a palm-sized mirror has already reached sky-high prices in Europe. Only the truly wealthy royal family and nobles can own a mirror. .

Obviously, the Spanish royal family in this era is very poor. Queen Isabella I has always wanted to have a mirror, but she has never been able to buy it, and the mirror is too expensive.

It's all right now, Zhao Houzi and Jiang Liang sent her a full-length mirror directly.

She couldn't help standing up excitedly, looking at herself in the mirror, she was so happy.

The surrounding Spanish nobles and ministers also looked at the mirror curiously. Everyone already knew about the mirror, but few people had seen it.

There are too few mirrors left in Europe, each one is a treasure, and it is a treasure collected by some princes and nobles.

Now that we have the opportunity to see the mirror, everyone is naturally very curious.

"I like this gift very much!"

Isabella I was very satisfied with the gifts from Zhao Houzi and Jiang Liang.

Such a full-length mirror is a priceless treasure in Europe at this time.

Korster bought a few small mirrors from Penglai City in America and brought them back. It is said that each mirror was auctioned for a sky-high price, making him rich overnight.

"It is my honor to satisfy Her Majesty the Queen~"

Zhao Houzi smiled, and then introduced other gifts one after another.

Before coming to Europe, Tian Erniu had prepared these things here, but because it was on the Golden Continent, there were not many things that could be brought over, and they were not too precious.

It is nothing more than mirrors, porcelain, silk, and tea. These things are very common in Ming Dynasty, but when it comes to Europe, it is still acceptable to present them to the King of Spain as gifts.

It doesn't cost money, but also has face and courtesy.

Needless to say, the mirror, a full-length mirror in Europe, it is a priceless treasure, put it in a European auction house, I am afraid that it can be sold for millions of francs, which is almost equivalent to hundreds of thousands of Daming here. two silver.

As for porcelain and silk, these things are also equivalent to gold, and they are also highly sought after in Europe. The original intention of their great voyages is to obtain silk and porcelain from the far east, and to find the wealth of the far east.

After some cumbersome gifts, Ferdinand II and Isabella I's affection for Zhao Houzi and Jiang Liang increased greatly. The gifts they sent were all valuable things, and they were also the most precious things for Europeans in this era. favorite things.

"Thank you very much for the gift from Daming, a great country in the far east~"

"I heard that Mr. Zhao and Mr. Jiang have not yet obtained the title of nobility in Daming. Here I bestow the title of Spanish Viscount to the two gentlemen in the name of the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Aragon."

Ferdinand II and Isabella I looked at each other, then Ferdinand II stood up and said loudly to Zhao Houzi, Jiang Liang and the officials.

"Ah~"

Both Zhao Houzi and Jiang Liang were taken aback for a moment. They just gave some gifts, but they did not expect to be able to get a title of nobility, even though this title seemed to be of no use to them in Daming. of any use.

But anyway, it is also a noble title, and this status and status are different.

"Thank you, Your Majesty~"

After the two of them were in a daze, they hurriedly bowed slightly to express their thanks.

As for the surrounding Spanish nobles and ministers, they applauded one after another. They didn't feel that it was inappropriate or inappropriate to confer noble status on the Ming people.

Even though the Ming Dynasty in this era didn't have much contact with them, everyone can know some things about the great eastern country from Marco Polo's writings.

In addition, during this period of time, after the Spaniards returned to Spain, Corster and others continued to talk about their interactions with the Ming people in America, and listened to Zhao Houzi and Jiang Liang's description of Ming.

In their impressions and minds, Daming is synonymous with strength and abundance.

Especially when they learned that Ming had conquered the Mongols and the God's Whip that lashed Europe, they knew that Ming had a strong military force. They would be happy to deal with the Ming people in such a powerful country, and they would not feel that It's an insult to the Ming people to get their noble titles or something.

The people of Ming Dynasty in this era, no matter where they go, they always hold their heads high and hold their chests high. Not only do they themselves feel that they are not good enough, but people in other places also think that you are a good person, which is far from what future generations can compare.

After the summoning of the Spanish kings, a grand banquet was held in the palace to celebrate the communication and contacts between them and Daming.

The gifts presented by Zhao Houzi and Jiang Liang were also displayed by Ferdinand II and Isabella I.

The full-length mirror is very precious, and they have to send guards to guard it carefully. Every nobleman can't help but go to the full-length mirror to take a look, take a look, and sigh the magic of this mirror.

The mirror that has been rumored for a long time, the mirror from the distant Eastern Ming Dynasty, is now placed in front of them, clearly reflecting everything about them.

These Spanish ladies were deeply attracted at once, and gathered in front of the full-length mirror one by one, constantly looking at and looking at the mirror, wishing to have a mirror like this right away.

As a result, the husbands of these wives suffered, and all clamored that they wanted to have such a mirror immediately, which made them very helpless.

Where can I buy a mirror like this?

Not to mention that there is no place to buy it, even if there is a place to buy it, the price is too expensive.

Those who saw business opportunities found Zhao Houzi and Jiang Liang one after another.

"Dear Zhao, do you still have such a mirror in your hand?"

"I'm very sorry, there are really no more. There is only one full-length mirror like this, and there are no other small mirrors. If you want it, you can only wait. When I return to America, I will write back to us Daming, there is a ship that will ship it to America, and then ship it here, but in terms of time, it may take about a year."

Zhao Houzi shook his head helplessly. This is no longer being asked once or twice.

Although I already had a hunch that this mirror might be very valuable in Europe, I still underestimated the beauty of the mirror. The mirror purchased by Karlster Tianjin Ocean Trading Co., Ltd. has already sold for sky-high prices here in Europe.

And those mirrors are only the size of a palm, and this full-length mirror has one and only one side.

"After returning to the Golden Isle, you must write a letter back to Daming, and let the headquarters of the firm transport a large amount of mirrors, porcelain, and silk to the Golden Isle, and then transport them to Europe from the Golden Isle."

"A small palm-sized mirror can be sold for thousands or tens of thousands of taels in Europe. This kind of full-length mirror is a priceless treasure."

"There are also spices. These Europeans don't like to take a bath. Spices are fatal to them."

"Sugar is also a good thing that sells well. A catty of sugar can be sold for dozens of taels of silver casually. They don't know how to make sugar, and they like to eat sweets."

"However, these Europeans are very smart, and their navigation technology is also very advanced. If you want to make money, you must seize the first few years."

Zhao Houzi kept summing up in his mind, and he had already figured out what to do next.

　When the mirror first appeared, it was very expensive in Europe~~You can harvest a wave with the mirror~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)