1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 588 Factors of Development

On March 3, Jianye City, Wenyuan Pavilion.

In the Yongchu period of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Rentang, a scholar of the Wenhua University of the Imperial Court and Minister of Rites, had been staring at Bi Maokang for a quarter of an hour, but the other party was still writing at his desk, and never raised his head to look at him.

Zhu Rentang sighed, and then looked around, sizing up the library room.It is said that this Wenyuan Pavilion is a large-scale building recently built in Jianye City, covering an area of ​​more than [-] mu. It took three years and more than [-] Hanzhou silver dollars.It collects a large number of various documents and classics from the Ming Dynasty, as well as authentic ancient artifacts of the past dynasties.

And the Qi State travels to and from the Daming immigrant fleet every year, and they are still constantly collecting books and antiquities to continue to enrich this huge collection.

Unexpectedly, this small country of Qi, even though it is located in a remote place in the extreme south, still places great emphasis on education and propaganda. It can collect so many books of various kinds from my Ming Dynasty, and with the education at all levels hosted by the government here, given time, it will definitely become civilized Daxing seems to be one of my Chinese heritages.

"Junshi, you have been waiting to come to Hanzhou for more than a month." Bi Maokang put down the pen in his hand and said suddenly.

"As Menghou Gong said, it has been more than a month since I sent the princess and her party to Hanzhou." Zhu Rentang cupped his hands and said, "But I haven't seen the King of Qi so far. Monarchs and ministers look down on you?"

"Hehe..." Bi Maokang laughed softly, "Junshi, if Qi State despised Daming, it wouldn't have sent a large number of ships and soldiers to help you defend against Jiannu. You know, Daming is far away from Hanzhou, but Thousands of miles away."

"Then what is the intention of the king and ministers of the Qi Kingdom to leave me and the envoys alone for more than a month?" Zhu Rentang asked with a worried expression.

"What you said just now is a marriage." Bi Maokang shook his head slightly and said, "But when you arrived in Hanzhou, all the members of the mission declared that it was Princess Daming who married the King of Qi, which was a metaphor for Daming. This time, it is His Majesty's gift of marriage. Are you going to place Qi State as a vassal of the Ming Dynasty?"

"..." Zhu Rentang froze for a moment, then frowned. It is true that our Ming Dynasty has collapsed so far, and the Yongchu court in Denglai relied on the military and material support of the Qi State, but the officials of the diplomatic mission still held each other in their hearts. With the attitude of the former heaven and the kingdom.

Moreover, after coming to Hanzhou for more than a month, I met some officials of the Qi State, and found that most of them were down-and-out literati from the Ming Dynasty, not to mention that they did not have Jinshi and degree backgrounds, and some of them did not even have any fame, and they were not even scholars.Therefore, the Ming officials in the mission felt somewhat contemptuous.

In addition, Jianye, the temporary capital of the Qi State, although the entire city is planned in an orderly manner, the terrain is relatively large, and the city is also uniform, the population is actually less than 3, and even if the nearby villages and towns are included, there may not be 5. People can be said to be sparsely populated.But any county town in Denglai has more than that few people.

In addition, nearly half of the residents in Jianye City have shaved their hair. Although it is not as ugly as Jiannu's money rattail, but the short hair is also eye-catching.There are also those clothes that are very different from Daming. Although they look convenient and neat, they are different from my Huaxia clothes after all.

If it hadn't been known that there was no order in Qi State to force people to shave their hair and change their clothes, most of the officials in Daming and the pro-envoys would have regarded Qi State as another slave in a foreign land.

Under such circumstances, the officials of the Ming Dynasty had a lot of superiority hidden in their hearts, and they faintly regarded Qi as a barbarian.When contacting and talking with the officials of the Qi State, it is inevitable that they feel a little "arrogant" and "arrogant". What was supposed to be an equal marriage has also become a marriage bestowed by the heavens and a princess married in their mouths.

When the officials of the Ministry of Rites of the State of Qi discussed with the Daming and the pro-envoys about the marriage and the specific operating procedures, they gradually felt that the other party was a bit superior, and they were a little bit annoyed when they were shocked.

Although Lao Tzu used to be a down-and-out literati who was not in the Ming Dynasty, or even a starving man, but now he is also a high-ranking official of the Qi State.You Ming Dynasty is about to perish, yet you dare to look down on Lao Tzu, despise me, Qi, and treat us as vassals and barbarians!That being the case, I don't care about talking to you.Therefore, the officials of the Qi State became a little indifferent towards Daming and the pro-envoys.In addition, the king didn't show any intention of marrying the princess in a hurry, so let's just procrastinate.

Everyone in the state of Qi showed neither salty nor indifferent towards the princess and his relatives, and his attitude suddenly cooled down, which immediately made Daming and his relatives embarrassing.In other words, our Daming traveled thousands of miles to send Princess Baba to marry us. What do you mean in Qi Kingdom? Don’t you want it?

"Junshi, I don't know the king's attitude towards marrying Princess Daming, but I know that no matter whether it is an official of Qi State or the people of the country, they are happy to see it." Bi Maokang said: "But you I need to adjust my attitude a little bit. Perhaps because of the influence of my great king, everyone in the Qi Kingdom seems to believe in a principle, that is, strength determines status, and fist size determines the right to speak. ... There is also a very domineering but very philosophical If so, the truth is within range of the cannon?"

"The truth is within the range of the artillery?!" Zhu Rentang heard the words, his eyes twitched a few times, and he was about to speak up, but seeing Bi Maokang's sneering expression, he immediately thought of the dangerous situation facing the court in the Yongchu Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty, and asked in a hissed voice Said: "Duke Menghou thinks that Ming Dynasty is not qualified to make peace with Qi State due to the current situation?"

"Junshi, you don't understand well!" Bi Maokang said: "The reason why this old man wants to talk about the issue of strength and voice is not to humiliate Daming. You and other members of the mission must also have contact with Qi officials, so there is no Do you feel any difference between them and the officials of Ming Dynasty?"

"What's the difference?" Zhu Rentang asked subconsciously.

"Many officials in the Qi State, although they are not very knowledgeable and Confucianism is not good, but they are the most practical and not easy to talk about." Bi Maokang said seriously: "In contrast to the old Ming Dynasty, from the Wanli period to the Chongzhen period, whether it was the Chu Party The Party of Zhejiang, Zhejiang, and Donglin all use grand speeches as their favorite, criticizing each other and tearing each other down, which is of little construction for the imperial court, and even less beneficial for the people, and instead harms the country and society."

"Now that the Ming Dynasty is in peril, and the country has fallen, it is almost time to repeat the Mengyuan incident. At this time, all people with lofty ideals in the Ming Dynasty should work hard and work hard to govern, to help protect the country at the top, and protect the people at the bottom. In the past, the brilliant words, The vain talk should be put to rest. Now, with the matter of the marriage between Ming and Qi, the lords can put aside the so-called attitude of being a superior country for the time being, and bring this matter to a successful conclusion in a pragmatic and sincere manner, so as to make the two countries, Qin and Jin, look forward to and help each other. .”

"The State of Qi started from a remote place, established its foundation with hundreds of people, and in more than ten years, it has occupied thousands of miles, supported more than [-] people, suppressed the natives, attacked the native states, resisted the western barbarians, and dominated the southern continent. , this achievement cannot be made by relying on brilliant words. Truth-seeking, pragmatism, courage, and striving to be the first, these positive concepts and characteristics have gradually penetrated into the hearts of the people of Hanzhou, and for this reason promote the continuous development and development of Hanqi. Improving constantly."

"Daming has come to this situation, and it is time for a change. Otherwise, even if we try our best and expend countless energy, we will not be able to continue the state for Daming. You need to know that if people want to live, they must first save themselves."

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Anri Credo walked out of the palace with a satisfied smile, and then he couldn't help but look back at this place, which was more like a royal garden.Although it is not as luxurious as the Louvre in Paris, nor is it as heavy as Hampton Court in England, but entering this palace of King Qi makes people feel very relaxed and happy.The oriental-style pavilions, winding and winding covered bridges, cornices and hanging arches like ancient rhyme, as well as the spacious and transparent hall, the scenery of mountains and rivers, and the ingenious layout of flowers and trees, deep into it, people can't help but linger and forget to return. Marvel at the buildings full of oriental charm.

Oh, by the way, the young king will marry another concubine, a beautiful princess from Ming Dynasty.This quiet and elegant royal palace is undergoing some decoration at this time, preparing for the upcoming grand wedding.

This is the third time Credo has come to Hanzhou, and it may be the last time.For several years, he collected a large number of skilled craftsmen in Europe and brought them to Hanzhou.Although some craftsmen's skills are insignificant or even relatively backward in the eyes of Hanzhou people.However, the generous King of Hanzhou signed service contracts with these craftsmen for several years and paid corresponding labor remuneration.

Of course, Credo himself was also given a lot of material rewards, such as exquisite Hanzhou industrial products, round and plump pearls, precious furs, and those lovely gold and silver coins.

More than two months ago, Credo went through untold hardships and came to Hanzhou again.This time, he "abducted" four craftsmen who had mastered the craft of producing tinplate iron (commonly known as tinplate) from Bohemia in Europe (in today's Czech Republic and Slovakia).

When the young king of Hanzhou heard about it, he was very happy and immediately took these craftsmen to a place called Heishan City to start trial production.These Hanzhou people seem to have an unusual emphasis and attention on any new technology and new product, and try their best to put it into practical application, and finally realize a certain degree of industrial production.

It took more than a month, but the result of manufacturing may be satisfactory.The young king ordered his chancellor, paid him sixty thousand guilders in gold and silver, and extended an invitation to him again to settle in their country and enjoy the rest of his life at leisure.

However, after thinking for a long time, Credo declined the king's invitation, saying that he was getting old and would eventually return to his roots, and he was going to return to Europe to enjoy the wealth he had gained.

In fact, in terms of living environment, apart from the slightly hotter climate, Jianye City is far superior to European cities in terms of overall architectural planning, urban cleanliness and sanitation, and living facilities.

Some European cities during this period, such as Paris, Amsterdam, The Hague, and London, had sewers on both sides of the streets like China, but residents poured their excrement and urine on the side of the road every morning.

Unlike China, there are no special cleaners to clean up these feces and urine, and they have to wait for the rain before being washed into the nearby river.

Fortunately, some cities in Europe have more cloudy and rainy days. Generally, it will rain within a week, and the rain is the automatic cleaner.Even so, even if the excrement is exposed to the street for a day or two, it will smell bad and make people feel dirty.

And this kind of citizens who dump their feces on both sides of the street downstairs are still civic-minded.Many citizens who live upstairs are even more exaggerated. They don't want to go downstairs to pour their shit and urine, so they just pour down from the balcony on the second floor.

If someone happened to walk by at that time, they would be showered all over their bodies.

For this reason, there was a decree in Paris, France: "No one can spill the toilet on the balcony, and offenders will be fined."

However, this decree is difficult to implement, so it is modified to ask loudly three times before spilling whether there is anyone nearby, so as to prevent pouring people's stool.As the population of Paris grew, so did the sanitation problems.The gutters on the side of the street cannot accommodate so much excrement and urine, and the excrement flows directly onto the street, and pedestrians can only try to detour.

There is a saying that the French invented high heels in the seventeenth century, not to make up for the short stature of some nobles.Rather, there were excrement on many streets at that time, and aristocratic women liked to wear long skirts, which easily stained their clothes when walking.After wearing high heels, the long skirt is not easy to mop the floor and touch the feces, and it becomes much cleaner.

In other words, high heels were originally used to avoid feces.

The cities in Hanzhou not only have well-equipped sewers and pipes for sewage discharge, but also have many public toilets built in the corners of the city, and special personnel are arranged to clean them regularly.During the rainy season, the large amount of rainwater has hardly caused the streets and houses to be flooded and silted up.

What's even more rare is that there is not only one city in Hanzhou that is planned and designed in this way, but also cities such as Heishan City and New Huai'an in the interior.The Hanzhou people should have planned the facilities in advance before building the city, and carried out the construction meticulously.Their officials once said that a good sanitation environment can greatly reduce the probability of residents getting sick.

Oh God, Hanzhou people seem to be very concerned about the health of the people.This may be related to the small population of this country. In addition, all the immigrants they obtained were transported from the Ming country thousands of miles away.However, their population growth rate is very fast. It is said that they can increase by 3 to [-] people almost every year.Presumably, Hanzhou spent countless money for this.

If it weren't for the issue of belief, as well as the differences in language and living habits, Credo thought that living in Hanzhou would be a very good choice.At the very least, this country is far away from the continent with constant disputes, and is separated from all surrounding forces by a vast ocean. At the same time, they also have not weak force, which is enough to keep the country safe.

But his roots are in Europe, in Germany, although it is still in the middle of the war there, it has almost been beaten to nothing.But he feels that this decades-long war should be coming to an end.Whether it is the alliances such as Sweden, the Netherlands, France, or the Holy Roman Empire, Spain and other Catholic alliances, they have all been exhausted and unsustainable (the Thirty Years War ended in October 30).

With the end of the war, the whole of Europe will inevitably usher in a precious period of peace. At that time, with the wealth I have earned over the past ten years, I may be able to obtain a noble title in a certain German state and return to my hometown in style. .

Whether it is the East Indies or this Hanzhou, I may never come again.

Well, I will miss this impressive country, a small country on the rise.

(End of this chapter)