Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 7 Can I open mines overseas?
  As soon as Wang Xijue left, only the emperor and Chen Ju were left in the study.

"This Zhang Xiao surprises me even more. Is it possible that he has traveled to so many countries? Even if he has, I'm afraid he won't know such details." The emperor said.

"I'm afraid I can't finish it all. I should have traveled to some places and read a lot of Yi classics. If not, I wouldn't know such details." Chen Ju replied.

"Probably. Even so, to be so proficient in the languages ​​​​of the barbarians and to have such a reliable memory is indeed a great talent. Chen Ju, please work hard again and summon Zhang Xiao. I still have something to say to him directly. ." The emperor thought for a moment and said.

The Hanlin Academy was not far from the palace, and soon Chen Ju brought Zhang Xiao over.

"Zhang Xiao, where does your title "The Rise of Great Powers" come from? Although history books have country-specific formats, they do not have such similar titles. Also, why are these countries included, and why do we talk about Timur first? And this Ottoman country?" the emperor asked directly.

Zhang Xiao looked up and saw that the world map had been hung on it for a long time and had not been put away. "Your Majesty, the title of "The Rise of Great Powers" is just to list the gains and losses of today's world powers for reference. As for why I wrote about Timur and the Ottomans first, I need to explain based on the pictures."

"Accurate."

Zhang Xiao looked at the map and began to explain: "Your Majesty, since the Qin and Han Dynasties, our country has had trade exchanges with the countries in the west. There are mainly two routes, starting from the Central Plains by land, all the way to the west, and moving forward along the land route, especially After Zhang Qian and Ban Chao of the Han Dynasty took over the Western Regions, this route became even more unobstructed. There was also a maritime road, which mainly started from the southeastern coastal areas, generally along the direction of Zheng He's fleet, to Egypt and other places for transit, and then Entering the Mediterranean Sea. In order to expand the territory, the Western Barbarians often had conflicts with the big food countries here.

Zhang Xiao pointed to the Middle East with his finger: "Later, the Great Food Kingdom declined, the Seljuks rose again, and later the Khwarezm Kingdom swept across this place. In the end, Genghis Khan and his descendants defeated Khwarazm and destroyed countless countries. From then on, the trade road was greatly unblocked. Later, our emperor Taizu worked hard to drive out the Hulu, and the Yuan Dynasty was destroyed. The Mongol Khanate here also declined greatly, and Timur took advantage of the chaos to rise, and the whole continent was devastated by his soldiers. After the Timur Kingdom, the Ottoman Kingdom rose, annexed the ancient capital of Qin, and occupied key land and sea areas. Therefore, in order to trade directly with our Chinese Empire, the Franji Kingdom on the western border decided to sail all the way to the west. By accident, they discovered that the west The continent is vast and has open air routes. Therefore, the book "The Rise of Great Powers" must first start with the Timur Kingdom and the Ottoman Kingdom before introducing the reasons why the European countries sailed westward to explore new roads." Zhang Xiao took advantage of the situation. The round-the-world route was drawn.

"However, there are not only the Franco Kingdom in the West, but also the British and French monarchs who intend to rise. Since then, there have been many wars in the land of Europe, which continue to this day." Zhang Xiao then pointed out the positions of Britain, France, and the Shinra.

The emperor did not speak, but looked at the map quietly. Upon seeing this, Chen Ju handed the emperor a pole. The emperor picked up the pole and traced the global navigation routes of Spain and Portugal.

"No wonder the Folangji people want to occupy the land of Luzon and Manchuria, steal their names, and pay tribute to our heavenly dynasty. How much benefit does this trade have? The Folangji country's oceans are many thousands of miles away, and the cost is probably unreasonable. The number of wins, how much profit is there?" The emperor pointed at the locations of Luzon Island and Malacca, and then looked at Zhang Xiao.

Zhang Xiao looked at the emperor's re-traced route, which was generally good, and couldn't help but sigh that Emperor Wanli's intelligence was still very good. Suddenly hearing the emperor's question, he quickly put away all the thoughts in his heart: "Your Majesty, during the Han Dynasty, the price of silk from the Central Plains when shipped to the Qin Dynasty in the west was higher than that of gold. Now the cinnamon, cardamom, and longan produced in Nanyang Peppers, cloves, and peppers were transported to the Western lands and used as valuable currency. Also, the Franco Kingdom occupied the American continent and opened countless gold and silver mines. Otherwise, why would there be an endless supply of eagle oceans overseas? "Also, the Francois also hunted and sold slaves from the African continent, and they also made a lot of profits." At the end, Zhang Xiao also roughly sketched the route of the triangular trade.

"Zhang Xiao, is this American continent full of gold and silver?" the emperor asked. Zhang Xiao's heart skipped a beat. He had just followed the script and accidentally forgot that the Wanli Emperor in front of him was the one who loved amassing money and building small treasury. In the later period of his rule, he even did not hesitate to use the name of mine supervisor to distribute money across the country and create a lot of things. They are not willing to give up even if they are facing mass uprising.

"Your Majesty, there are naturally a lot of gold and silver mines in America, but I don't know the exact location. Besides, gold and silver are the lifeblood of the Franco people. If they want to snatch it, there will be countless bloody battles. I hope your Majesty will think carefully about it." Zhang Xiao I have to remind you that during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty in the original time and space, when I just wanted to conduct a survey in Luzon, I was suspicious of Spain and it led to a murder.

"I am sure of it, and as you said, such a large area of ​​America has been occupied by the Francois. Why is it that this large area of ​​Africa has just occupied a stronghold and failed to occupy it deeply?"

"On this African continent, there are many powerful tribes in the north. The powerful warriors who were difficult for Cide to deal with emerged from here. A few years ago, the King of Portugal led his army on an expedition, but the entire army was wiped out and he himself was killed on the spot. As a result, Portugal lost its direct lineage and was united by Spain. Now the big and small kingdoms of Portugal are integrated. As for the south, there are dense jungles, snakes and insects everywhere, and there are many savages."

Zhang Xiao then pointed to Egypt and Ethiopia. "As for the east, Egypt is now occupied by the Ottomans. Abyssinia down here is also a big country, and Zheng He also visited it in the past."

"Is there any place that no one has touched yet?" the emperor asked.

"The south and north, as marked on the map, are extremely cold places. The sea is covered with ice all year round and ships are inaccessible." Zhang Xiao thought for a while and decided not to talk about Australia for the time being. There was no way to explain it.

"I know everything you said. You should step down first. If you want to use this name for this set of "The Rise of Great Powers", you can use it, but how to write and arrange it, you have to listen to Wang Xijue's arrangements." The emperor listened. After hearing Zhang Xiao's words, it was obvious that he was still not satisfied.

Zhang Xiao wiped the cold sweat silently in his thoughts and resigned.

The emperor stared at the map quietly again, and Chen Ju stood beside him carefully.

"Chen Ju, what do you think, if you become the eunuch of the Three Treasures and go to sea for me to find gold and silver treasures to replenish the internal treasury?" The emperor stared at the map for a long time before he asked this question.

(End of this chapter)