The Eagle of Eastern Europe

After Taizu established the capital, Nanjing City used a huge amount of manpower to build a city wall with a total length of 96 miles, the longest in the world, and the tallest city wall in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the area is three times that of Jinling City in the Southern Tang Dynasty, and the population reaches more than 1 million. It was the most populous city in the world at that time.

Mason began to record the city, and Zhu Di equipped him with guards and explanations so that he could record the city in detail.

"The city of Nanjing is larger than Constantinople, with a population equal to that of a kingdom, and there are many such cities in China. This is something the empire cannot imagine."

Mason took part of the pirate bounty given by Zhu Di for expenses, and distributed the rest to his subordinates. Zhu Di also granted permission to open a market in Nanjing to sell the goods they brought.

Various goods brought from overseas are very popular. Nanjing merchants buy these imported goods in large quantities, and local silk, tea, and porcelain are also purchased in large quantities. Before the money is warmed up, they return to the Nanjing merchants. wallet.

When Mason learned that he was going to have lunch with the Emperor of China, he immediately made great preparations. Not only did he bring a translator, but also some gifts, and he was also thinking about how to get the emperor to reopen overseas trade.

Mason was led by the eunuch to the garden of the palace. Zhu Di had been waiting for a long time.

"The special envoy came from afar and worked hard for China to eliminate pirates."

When Zhu Di opened his mouth, he praised Mason for his contribution to the Ming Dynasty in capturing Chen Zuyi, a heinous pirate. Mason was also flattered and quickly said that this was not only a gift to the emperor, but also for revenge. Their fleet was also attacked by Chen Zuyi. The purpose of annihilating them was to avenge those crew members.

"Oh, Your Majesty the Ming Emperor, I saw the cities and villages here along the way. The Celestial Empire is indeed rich and powerful. Marco Polo sought a position in your country decades ago. Later, what he saw and heard here will be widely spread in Europe. Propaganda, this is why I came to China."

Zhu Di was naturally happy to hear that the prestige of the Ming Dynasty had spread to the West, but the new words Marco Polo and Europa made him confused. There were no foreigners holding official positions in the Hongwu Dynasty. It seemed that he could only find it from the history of the previous dynasty.

As for the letter, it had been translated. Zhu Di took it and looked at it, with an expression on his face becoming more and more happy.

“By Divine Providence, Caesar of the Roman Empire and Guardian of the Faith, Peter pays tribute to the great, powerful and invincible Emperor of the Eastern Celestial Empire:

Andrew Mason, a loyal subject of our country who presents this letter, has obtained our permission to travel to various parts of your country. He was able to do this difficult thing because he fully believed in Your Majesty's magnanimity and kindness. He believed that after experiencing some dangers, he would be able to receive His Majesty's lenient reception. Moreover, this trip would not cause any harm to your country and would be beneficial to your people. "

"We believe that the benefits derived from mutual trade by the kings of our Western countries can be obtained by your Majesty and all the people who are subject to your Majesty. This benefit lies in exporting what we are rich in and importing what we need."

"We believe that we are naturally in need of each other, and we must help each other. We hope that your Majesty will agree to this, and my subjects cannot help but make such an attempt.

If your Majesty can facilitate this, and grant us safe passage, and grant us such other privileges as we may need in the trade of your subjects, your Majesty will do what a most noble and merciful King can do, and we shall never forget your Majesty's deeds. .

We very much hope that our request will be approved by Your Majesty's great kindness, and when Your Majesty's kindness extends to us and our neighbors, we will try to repay Your Majesty. "

The words in the letter were very useful to Zhu Di. He was different from other emperors. Zhu Di was the emperor who cared most about ocean exploration. The previous example of letting Zheng He lead the navy to Japan was an example.

In order to consolidate border defense and his own rule, Zhu Di decided to send people to Japan for political negotiations. This task fell to Zheng He. Zheng He followed Zhu Di during the process of seizing power and made many extraordinary achievements, which was deeply appreciated by Zhu Di. After Zheng He accepted the mission, he immediately organized his troops to cross eastward to Fusang.

At that time, it was also very difficult to cross eastward to Japan. The eminent monk Jianzhen of the Tang Dynasty only succeeded in crossing eastward six times, which fully illustrates the difficulty. Zheng He traveled east from Ningbo to Japan, and on behalf of the Ming Dynasty government, he pointed out to the Japanese government that things should be strictly carried out in accordance with the contents of the talks and must not be violated. The Japanese ruler Ashikaga Yoshimitsu knew that he was in the wrong, and immediately ordered the arrest of the Japanese pirate leader, and promised that similar situations would not happen again in the future. Zheng He successfully completed his mission and reported it to Zhu Di. Zhu Di was very happy and wrote a letter to King Yiman expressing his satisfaction.

This is the little-known voyage to the East. Through this incident, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu began to restrict the Japanese from harassing the Ming coast, and at the same time, the tribute trade between the two countries also came to the stage. Since the trade license "Kanhefu" was issued to Japan to distinguish it from Japanese pirates, the trade was also called Kanhe trade.

I have also done my research on Japanese masons, and I know that the Japanese are the Japanese. In previous contacts with the Shipping Department, Mason said that if trade could be opened up, he would hire troops from his own pocket to wipe out Japan, so that the Ming Dynasty would never have Japanese robbers. However, this was dismissed as a joke by the merchants.

"Your Majesty, please open a port for national trade. I guarantee you that China will make a lot of money here."

Mason knew that this man's ambitions were no less than Peter's. He wanted to conquer and build everywhere, which required a lot of money. If you can start from here, the probability of success is very high. After all, who doesn’t love money?

"Your envoy still doesn't understand the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Di shook his head and said: "It is still not possible to declare opening at the moment. Some unscrupulous people want to threaten the borders of Ming Dynasty. This will take time to resolve."

Mason obviously didn't believe this statement. He knew a little bit about the minister's request to depose and go to the West. I am afraid that this was the main reason why the emperor did not dare to open up.

Since opening up is not possible at the moment, Mason started to change his perspective. "I heard that His Majesty the Emperor canonized a Japanese king before?"

"Yes"

After getting Zhu Di's reply, Mason said.

"I know the relations and conflicts between China and Japan. If His Majesty the Emperor trusts me, the trade between the two countries can be handled by me and the East India Chamber of Commerce. Of course, I will also pay taxes to China every year."

Zhu Di was moved by this proposal. Although the Kanhe trade was already in place, the Japanese still harassed the borders from time to time. Shandong, Zhejiang, Fujian and other places also had Japanese soldiers prepared to prepare for it. If they could do it for them, then as a specialized agency, they would not see these people harassing the Ming Dynasty. , if the business is cut off, they will hate Japan to death, this might not be a bad idea.