The Rise of the European Emperor

In Europe, because of Marco Polo's book "The Travels of Marco Polo", "Marco Polo Travels" mentioned that the walls, walls and ceilings of most palaces are covered with gold and silver. In Japan, there are countless gold used to build houses, and India is everywhere. gold……

Therefore, Europeans are so fanatical about going to the East. However, Marin has long regarded the East as his own private land. So Marin decided to break the European illusion first. He said to Ferdinand II:

"Your Majesty, the descriptions in "The Travels of Marco Polo" are all made up..." As soon as Marin came up, he poured a basin of cold water on Ferdinand II.

"How come?" Ferdinand II asked a little unwillingly.

"Then, Your Majesty, your fleet has also been to Calicut in India. Has your fleet commander reported that India is full of gold?" Marin asked rhetorically.

"This..." Ferdinand II immediately fell silent. Apparently, he had heard reports about India. It is true that there is wealth over there, but it has not reached the level of gold everywhere.

"So, it is also fake that the walls of Huaxia Palace are painted with gold?"

"Of course it's fake! In fact, most of the palace walls in Huaxia are painted with red paint, called the 'Red Wall Courtyard'. Even in the main hall, only the emperor's throne is pure gold. The decoration of the palace, Most of them use copper... In fact, China is a country that is very short of gold and silver..." Marin told Ferdinand II of the cruel reality. Moreover, he really didn't lie... There was a shortage of gold and silver in the Ming Dynasty, and even copper was in short supply...

It does not mean that the total amount of gold, silver and copper in the DPRK is small, but that it cannot keep up with the needs of society. After all, the Ming Dynasty had a large population. On average, the amount of gold and silver held by each person was very small.

"Then Japan uses gold to build houses..."

"It's just that, Japan is an island country with poor materials. How can there be capital to build houses with gold? Even their kings are not so extravagant! My teacher has personally been to Japan, and the houses there are basically wooden. There are no golden houses at all. Even the palaces of the Japanese kings are made of wood." Marin vowed.

However, he did not say nonsense, Japanese houses are indeed made of wood in this era. It's just that there are indeed a lot of gold and silver reserves in Japan... Of course, Marin will never say this.

"Marco Polo is lying to us?" Ferdinand II couldn't believe it.

"Your Majesty, wake up, Marco Polo is just a crappy little businessman. If China, India and Japan really had so much gold when he went to the East, why didn't he come back with a lot of gold and become a rich man? The land was all gold, and he made a fortune with whatever he picked up. But he didn't make a fortune and ended up poor. Obviously, he's a liar!"

Ferdinand II thought about it, really. If it is true that the East is full of gold as described in "Marco Polo's Travels", Marco Polo has been in China for more than ten years, and he can make a fortune by picking up some gold from the ground and bringing it back. However, Marco Polo apparently did not make a fortune and ended up in jail. So, what Marin said makes a lot of sense...

"So, is Huaxia as prosperous as Marco Polo described?" Ferdinand II asked reluctantly.

"This is true. Huaxia is a unified and powerful dynasty with a population of more than 100 million. The people there live a stable and prosperous life, and food is abundant."

"Then... can Spain... be able to colonize there?" Ferdinand II asked eagerly.

"Your Majesty, this dynasty is a unified and powerful dynasty,

Its total army exceeds one million, and a war can dispatch 500,000 troops. Your Majesty, can your army survive? ' Marin asked hilariously.

"Perhaps their level of civilization is low and their military weapons are backward?" Ferdinand II did not give up.

"Let me tell you, the Mongolian cavalry of that year swept across Europe. You know this, right?"

Ferdinand II nodded. The Mongolian cavalry swept across Europe, but left a terrible impression in the hearts of Europeans.

"The Mongolian Empire has hundreds of thousands of powerful cavalry, but this Mongolian Empire was wiped out by the current Huaxia Ming Empire. Do you think your tens of thousands of troops are more powerful than hundreds of thousands of Mongolian cavalry?"

Ferdinand II was silent for a while...

After a while, Ferdinand II asked without giving up:

"Then what about our trade with them?" Obviously, Ferdinand II no longer dreamed of conquering China.

"It's not going to work either!" Marin said confidently.

"Why?" Ferdinand II thought it was very strange. Isn't trade between countries normal? He began to suspect that Marin was really cheating on him.

"It's like this, the Ming Empire in China is very proud. They think that except for China, people in other places are uncivilized barbarians..."

"What? It's so outrageous!" Ferdinand II was angry. How could civilized Europeans be barbarians?

"So, their country disdains the trade of copper barbarians. There is only one way to trade with them..."

"What way?" Ferdinand II asked cooperatively.

"That is, swear allegiance to their emperor, and make a grand ceremony of kneeling nine times to their emperor. Become their emperor's servant, and then they will allow you to pay tribute once a year, and then, like a poor ghost begging for food. , I will reward you with something..." Then, Marin explained in detail what three kneels and nine bows mean...

"It's so outrageous!" Ferdinand II was furious. Think of him as a dignified and powerful European king. Even if he sees the Pope, he doesn't need to kneel and bow at the most.

"You're not lying to me, are you?" Ferdinand II asked suspiciously.

"Of course, in the name of God, I can swear that everything I say is true. If there is a lie, I will go to hell after death!" Marin said with an oath.

He really didn't lie, Ming Dynasty was indeed so arrogant. The Portuguese did not succeed in establishing trade relations with Daming despite their best efforts. Later, it was only by bribing local officials in Guangdong that he found a foothold in Macau and traded secretly.

In fact, if the Portuguese can bribe important officials and even emperors of the Ming Dynasty, they still have the opportunity to establish trade relations. Unfortunately, the Portuguese do not know the situation of the Ming Dynasty.

If they knew that Emperor Zhengde liked strange things, they might be able to get approval if they offered a few Western gadgets. It's just that they don't know it. Moreover, the local officials of the Ming Dynasty would not tell the Portuguese about the absurdity of their emperors.

After all, domestic ugliness cannot be made public.

But Marin was very clear about this, not to mention Emperor Zhengde himself. As long as he bribes the "Eight Tigers" under Zhengde, this can be done. Of course, the aftermath is that after the fall of the "Eight Tigers", those civil servants may regret it.

However, as long as Marin succeeded in the perfume trade, so that the concubines and ladies of the capital could not do without Marin's perfume, then the trade could not be stopped. Unless, those civil servants want to be restless... 8)