national surname chiming

Chapter 498
"The 16 years of the emperor's grandson and the five years of the emperor's reign are really in vain. Today I know that the outside world is so big, and my Ming Dynasty has such a vast territory."

After half a month of sailing, Zhu Ciyu was very emotional when he finally landed in Guangzhou.

The mountains, rivers and seas he has seen in the past month are many times more than the sum of the first 21 years of his life.

On the sea day and night non-stop, sailing two to three hundred miles a day on average, without seeing land for fifteen days in a row, before sailing from the Yangtze River Estuary to the Pearl River Estuary.

This distance is usually not considered a long distance on the map of the palace, and it only accounts for about [-]% of the territory of the Ming Dynasty, but it is so vast in reality.

Doesn't that mean that to go from the mouth of the Heilongjiang River at the northeast end of the Ming Dynasty to the mouth of the Ayeyarwady River in Burma in the future, it would take at least three months of continuous voyage by a high-speed clipper ship?Thinking of this, Zhu Ciyu felt proud in his heart.

This is the territory that his father laid down for him!Although he inherited the throne of the previous emperors of the Ming Dynasty, at this moment, Zhu Ciyu already had a new understanding in his heart.

He knew that all the land conquered by the so-called ancestors of the Ming Dynasty was not much worse than the land newly conquered by his father in the past 20 years.

Although Northeast China is good, Sakhalin Island and Ezo Kyushu are also good, or the current Myanmar, they are all wild and remote places with little economic value.
But only looking at the area and strategic value, it is said that his father was the first to turn the tide from the collapse, help the building to the point of collapse, and completely rescue the already lost Daming.Then make persistent efforts to double the territory of Daming, which is definitely not too much.

He, Zhu Ciyu, He De He Neng, actually once felt in his heart that he was the emperor, and he was superior in orthodoxy, so he might do better than his father, so he had to be overjoyed and surpassed.

Now that I think about it, I am really ashamed—how much is the legitimacy of the Great Ming Emperor actually worth?If the father wanted to, he would have changed Daming's signboard countless times.With the achievements of Cao Cao and Sima Yi in ancient times, didn't they also change dynasties in the end?But can the achievements of those people compare with one-tenth of his father's king?
The father is just thinking for a long time, and he doesn't want to do this!This state is so high that it is no longer comprehensible for those who study history books to be an emperor. It is beyond the history books and has no precedent in history!

With the final end of the voyage, Zhu Ciyu also planted an additional seed in his heart: "From the most northeast to the most southwest of my Daming territory, the voyage will take nearly three months.

And for the Hongyi people to come to Daming from Europa, it will take more than nine months to sail the smoothest and fastest boat!The world is so big that it is beyond imagination.In the future, the great son of heaven can no longer be a frog at the bottom of a well, and pretend to be the same as the kingdom of heaven.

When I have sons in the future, I must find an opportunity to let them go sailing and see the world before they are knighted or canonized as princes.

Even if you can't leave Daming, at least you have to take a voyage from northeast to southwest, feel the hardships of your ancestors' entrepreneurship, and see the huge differences in folk customs in different places, so that you won't sit on the sky and be completely ignorant of the sufferings of the people. "

In Zhu Ciyu's heart, the traditional thinking mode of pure land power empire and the Confucian education values ​​of a small country with few people began to crack and collapse, and gradually incorporated new elements.

……

Zhu Ciyu was filled with emotions, and at the same time learned a lot.

In the city of Guangzhou, the officials and wealthy businessmen who got the news in advance and were preparing to pick up the driver were also very nervous.

In the Ming Dynasty, no emperor visited the south for more than a hundred years.Since Bao Zong was captured, only Emperor Wu Zong Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty had been to the Nine Sides of the North, and then Jiajing toured the South to bury his parents together, and then no emperor has ever toured the South.

(Note: Because Jiajing’s father was a vassal king in Huguang, his father died when he became emperor, and only his mother went to Beijing with him. After his mother passed away, he had to return to Huguang to be buried with his father. Other attempts to tour the South were rejected. The civil servant refused, this time because of the pressure of filial piety, Xia Yan had no choice but to agree)

Before the age of great voyages, Guangzhou had always been regarded as a hot, humid and smoky place in the south. How could an emperor come to such a south?There are no buildings like palaces in the city.And the only few vassal kings in Guangdong in history did not have their fiefdoms in Guangzhou City, so they couldn't even find a palace.

The emperor's southern tour this time is not only to boost morale, supervise Zheng Chenggong and Li Dingguo, but also deal with Ming's foreign affairs nearby, involving opinions on how to deal with Burma and Vietnam in the future. It can be seen that the residence time will not be short. Arranging a random house will certainly be helpful. Lost the face of the Ming emperor.

In the end, after coordinating the interests of all parties, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and other local officials asked the emperor for instructions, and set up the palace for pick-up in the private garden of Zheng Rui, a wealthy businessman from Guangdong and Guangxi.

This Zheng Rui is not other people, in fact he is the fourth son of Zheng Chenggong, six years younger than his elder brother Zheng Jing, and he is just in his prime now.

In the original history, not long after Zheng Jing's death, Zheng Keshuang voted, and many of Zheng Jing's younger brothers also voted.His fourth brother, Zheng Rui, is considered to be one with more backbone.

When the senior officials were defeated by the Qing army, although Zheng Rui was unable to resist the Qing, he at least tried to break out of the encirclement and go to sea to escape, unwilling to surrender to the Qing.It's a pity that the last boat was intercepted and sunk by Shi Lang, and Zheng Rui drowned in the sea.

Because he is still very young, Zheng Rui certainly does not have the ability to take full charge of the Zheng family's new business in Guangzhou.But these are nothing to the Zheng family. Zheng Chenggong can send senior and experienced veterans to help his son.

The eldest son and the second son of the Zheng family all want to follow the official route, and the business matters are distributed to the younger sons. The third son Zheng Ming is in charge of the family business of Fujian, Zhejiang and the senior officials, and the fourth son is sent to Guangdong and Guangxi. .

Zhu Ciyu saw that Zheng Rui was about the same age as him, only one year younger than him, so he didn't put on airs with Zheng Rui, and the two got along very well.In private, Zhu Ciyu even approached the other party with kindness:

"Father Qing met my father and king in Nanjing Guozijian back then. They shared weal and woe. They are not outsiders, so there is no need to be formal."

Then Zhu Ciyu also asked Zheng Rui if he had an official status, and learned that he had just reached the crown and had no fame.Moreover, Zheng Chenggong has too many sons, and Enyin is not so far behind, and it is not the turn of the fourth son.

Considering that the Zheng family paid a lot of gold and silver money to pick him up this time, Zheng Yuanyuan would be responsible for the board and lodging of the emperor's royal family for the next half a year, so Zhu Ciyu rewarded Zheng Rui with the false title of a member of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In the Ming Dynasty, the official positions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are set up at the same level as the Ministry of Household Affairs, but the titles of the departments and departments under their jurisdiction are different.

Yuanwailang, who has only a false title, usually has no errands, but he has obtained a threshold of entry to run an imperial business.When necessary, you can temporarily take on some comprador tasks for government procurement.

The Zheng family has spent so much money, it's okay to give some convenience.Moreover, Zheng Rui didn't care about these official titles, what he cared more was that the emperor had a close relationship with him in private, which made him flattered.When the emperor was in Guangzhou, he had to perform well.

Zhu Ciyu has lived in the deep palace for a long time, and all the rare treasures in the world have been seen and used. Zheng Rui can only change his ways and provide the emperor with tropical fruits and tropical seafood that are not available in Nanjing every day.

Who told this era that there is no refrigerator yet, and Zhu Shuren didn’t want to be as extravagant as Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan, so Zhu Ciyu didn’t even have many opportunities to eat fresh lychees since he was a child, and most of the time he ate dried lychees with brown flesh , Mango is also eaten dried mango.

Now that he is in Guangzhou, Zheng Rui naturally prepares fresh lychees, mangoes, and coconuts for the emperor, concubines, and cabinet ministers every day. Anyway, these things are not very valuable in Guangzhou.

Zhu Ciyu had seen these three things before in the Nanjing Imperial Palace, but except for lychees, he had never eaten fresh ones.Nowadays, it is natural to drink coconut water as water every day, so I have to enjoy it enough.

Regarding the emperor's new eating habits, some eunuchs and maids who were in charge couldn't help but feel worried, but they didn't dare to directly control them, so they found Gu Yanwu, the Minister of Rites who accompanied him, and hoped that Gu Yanwu could help persuade him and make up his mind.

Gu Yanwu had just been promoted to the Minister of Rites in recent years, because Wu Weiye, the former Minister of Rites, was a little old after all.Although he has not yet reached the age of retirement to become an official, Wu Weiye's talent and endowment are not suitable for diplomatic work, so Zhu Shucai made personnel adjustments before using troops in Burma and Vietnam.

Although Gu Yanwu had no official achievements, he was Zhu Shuren's private aide for many years after all. He has been deeply influenced by Zhu Shuren's political theories and views, has the deepest understanding, and can best understand Zhu Shuren's diplomatic program.

And the most important thing is that Gu Yanwu is a principled person, and to enhance Daming's diplomatic credit and ensure long-term peace and stability in the surrounding area, it is very important to be principled, and not just think about short-term benefits.

Zhu Ciyu's tour this time also knew that Gu Shibo was specially sent by his father to assist him in handling diplomatic principles, so he didn't dare to ignore it. If there were government affairs to be dealt with, he would listen to his opinions more.

It's a pity that the eunuch who accompanied him this time found Gu Yanwu, hoping that Gu Yanwu would persuade Zhu Ciyu to pay attention to the dragon's body in terms of lifestyle, but Gu Yanwu refused.

Gu Yanwu's statement is very clear: "Before the departure, the Regent told me that all I need is to keep an eye on Your Majesty and not gossip outside. As for appetite, luxury clothes and jewellery, enjoy what you want, and don't have to suffer.

Isn't it just drinking a few coconuts every day, as long as it doesn't happen all year round, it won't damage the dragon's body.The prince said, let Your Majesty and future emperors and grandsons know more about overseas products, and don't always think that my Ming Dynasty has everything, it's not bad. "

Hearing the words, the eunuch who was in charge of ceremonies could not help crying secretly: "But if it becomes extravagant because of this, after returning to Nanjing, you will often have to pay tribute from all over the world. What can we do if we waste money and people?"

When Gu Yanwu heard the words, he explained frankly: "The times have changed, the world is so big, the universe is [-] miles away, how can I, the Ming Dynasty, travel [-] miles away and force England, France and Hongyi to pay vassals and pay tribute?
In the future, dealing with foreigners thousands of miles away will rely on the power of trade, and it will be profitable. Naturally, there will be people who will devote themselves to delving into "unique skills and obscenities",
Or find a way to dry and dehydrate the fresh fruits and fish, and then soak them in hair in the future, so as to preserve them for a long time, or pickle them, or freeze them. The prince said that one day, the laziness, appetite, and profit-seeking of people in the world will merge together. Hui, to study techniques that benefit the people. "

Seeing that Gu Yanwu, the "school of the world", made excuses for the emperor's enjoyment, the uneducated gang of chief inspectors couldn't refute it.These words finally reached Zhu Ciyu's ears, which also made Zhu Ciyu have a deeper shock and understanding.

On the one hand, he felt that Gu Ge was a man who knew the general principles and the righteousness, and did not stick to small details. On the other hand, he also strengthened his idea of ​​seeing the world with his eyes open, and decided to follow Gu Ge's advice more in the follow-up diplomatic negotiations. Absolutely not by your own temper.

Gu Yanwu obtained the emperor's obedience on major diplomatic matters through small concessions in life, which can be regarded as an unexpected gain.

……

In the next few days, nothing happened in the city of Guangzhou, Zhu Ciyu was very relieved to hand over other daily affairs to Gu Yanwu.

The time soon came to the ninth day of March, and Zhu Ciyu had been playing and resting in and around Guangzhou for almost a week. His enthusiasm for coconuts finally passed, and his drinking of coconut water decreased from three to two a day.

However, for the daily dinner, Zheng Rui asked his cook to show Su Mei Tsing Yi Dong Xing Ban to the emperor in a different way.Everything is stimulating Zhu Ciyu's inner desire for Southeast Asian specialties.

In the afternoon of this day, the emperor had just finished enjoying a Bornean smoltfish and the other [-] side dishes, and drank a cup of sago with coconut milk. Zheng Rui, who was in charge of eating, drinking and having fun with the emperor, asked someone to serve two more dishes fruit.

Both are golden in color, one looks dewy and the other drier.And there are two complete uncut ones next to it for the emperor to watch.

Zhu Ciyu's subconscious first reaction was to cover his mouth and nose, but he got used to it after a while.These days he has gotten used to Zheng Rui always coming up with strange things, but in the end it turns out that they are quite delicious.With so many good historical credits, Zhu Ciyu was a little more patient and curious.

"What is this thing? Why do they have such sharp thorns? It looks like a gold melon and silver battle ceremonial guard."

Zheng Rui quickly replied: "Your Majesty, the one with slightly weaker spines is the pineapple produced in Danzhou, and the one with sharp and hard spines and a strange smell is the durian produced in Borneo.

Durian was recorded as early as in the Yongle Grand Ceremony. It was produced in Boni country. Zheng He tasted it when he went to the West. Unfortunately, he could not bring it back to Beijing. Only people from the coastal areas of Guangdong and Guangxi tasted it.

Pineapple was in the reign of Zhengde, when the Francois discovered America and spread it back to Europe, and then in the Wanli period, it was introduced from Luzon to Danzhou and Guangdong.More than [-] years ago, when the regent was the governor of Huguang, he ordered people to search and promote it. "

Zhu Ciyu couldn't help but sigh in admiration: "Nanyang and Hongyi are so rich in products, how can my Ming Dynasty be complacent. Let's taste the pineapple first, and as for the durian, just taste one mouthful, and give the rest to Mr. Gu Ge and the others. Ministry of Rites It has been hard work for the ministers to accompany me on this trip to the south of the Five Ridges."

Zhu Ciyu is not used to the stink of durian, but out of curiosity, he won't eat more.The rest is used to express the emperor's favor and bestowed on the important ministers.

So immediately someone went to find Gu Yanwu and invited him to the palace.

Gu Yanwu had never eaten durian before. I heard that it was the first time the emperor saw this kind of fruit. He only took a bite and thought of the important officials. Eat it separately, and don't care if it stinks or not.

After eating the durians, Gu Yanwu said that today he just had government affairs to play.It turned out that the messenger sent by Li Dingguo to deliver the Burmese surrender letter finally arrived, and Gu Yanwu wanted to state his thoughts on replying.

Zheng Rui, who was eating, drinking and having fun with the emperor next to him, heard this, and quickly asked someone to prepare herbal tea with lemongrass and lemon, and asked Mr. Gu Ge to rinse his mouth before doing anything, so as not to infect the emperor with bad breath from eating too much durian.

Gu Yanwu had never drunk this Cantonese herbal tea before. He heard that it could relieve bad breath, so of course he took it and drank it all in one gulp.In the end, it was okay not to drink, but once I drank it, I almost lost my appearance even more.

"This is Nanban herbal tea? It's sour and bitter, how can anyone drink this kind of tea?!" Gu Yanwu only felt the strong acidity of lemon and the great bitterness of herbal tea rush straight to the sky.

Cantonese usually rely on these things to solve the "heat"?
(End of this chapter)