First Prince of Ming Dynasty

The so-called rare and exotic beasts soon got tired of looking at them. It happened that the drinks and dishes in the Hall of Martial Arts had been arranged. Lao Zhu led the officials into the hall. up.

The father and son left the scene relatively early, and summoned Duke Haiguo away after a while. It was a rare banquet, so it was good for them to have a good time. There is a monarch on the list, so they will be a little restrained and careful after all.

Some impoverished imperial censor Qingliu, besides counting on the banquet bestowed by the imperial censor, may not have the chance to taste meat.

Therefore, there are often filial or loving people who secretly hide some meat and bring it home to feed the family. After Empress Ma knew about it, she ordered the guards of the palace to turn a blind eye when the officials left the palace after the imperial banquet.

I also thought about giving it directly, but I was afraid of favoring one over another, after all, the salaries of officials of the same rank are the same, so it is easy to give another according to rich or poor, there must be objections.

The empress is naturally kind and virtuous, but the moral standards of the warriors are very low, and they are often targeted by Yushi Qingliu, so they are happy to watch jokes and embarrass them by the way.

"Hey, Chen Yushi, this mutton's head and hoof is so delicious, why don't you take a bite?"

"Yo, Mr. Zhao, I have heard that your father loves eating fish very much. It is said that like a father, like a son, why can't you eat a piece of chopsticks? Could it be that the cooking time is not right?"

The Yushi doctor Zhang Guanglie put a piece of goose with pepper and vinegar under his chopsticks and said to his colleagues: "Today, thanks to the emperor's gift, and the return of Hai Guogong from overseas, it is a day of great joy, and there are foreign guests here, please enjoy it to your heart's content." .”

A few impoverished censors glanced at the barbarian foreign envoys not far away who were still unable to hold their chopsticks firmly, thinking that it would be fine on weekdays, and it was really not easy to lose the dignity of the court today, so they lowered their chopsticks one after another.

The so-called motion is like a wind and clouds, but it made the teeth of the Hou Ye who came to provoke me look sour. Damn, we Qiu Ba are not as rude as you when we eat.

You are so greedy and pretend to be gentle, don't impeach us on weekdays, and you can still lack your wine and meat, bah, despicable.

Several foreign envoys who had made good friends on the ship saw it and couldn't help but whispered: "Look over there, is it rare for Ming officials to eat such delicious food?"

Another retorted: "So bold and unrestrained, it must be the generals, and the civil servants who eat gentle food."

The Wu Xun felt bored, so they all flocked to the foreign envoy to make fun of it, nodding from time to time, wondering if they really understood it.

Xu Dachao court lady asked for a few scarves, packed the meat in front of him and stuffed it into the sleeve robe, and gave it to Zhang Guanglie when he found a chance. He was unwilling to accept it, but he accepted it after all, and was ready to leave the palace and leave. to colleagues.

Chang Yuchun walked up to Xu Da with a jug and said with a smile: "Zhang Guanglie is not a person who abolishes the public for personal reasons. Don't talk about food, even a golden mountain is hard to move his heart. His memorial to impeach you still needs to be taken away." Up."

"It's just pity for the young and old of those families. They can't eat a few mouthfuls of meat during the holidays. As for the memorial, in our position, the most scary thing is not being impeached by the imperial censor."

The two drank a few drinks and got to the point. Xu Da said: "Since overseas is really as vast and rich as His Highness said, then we shouldn't miss it. The children of each family have another way out."

"I also mean the same thing here. King Jin and King Chu are vassals. Once the local military power is handed over, they will cut off their financial resources. They can't fight for a lifetime, and their children and grandchildren will have to fall into the situation of these censors."

"What did the two brothers of the Wu family say?"

"It's all about listening to His Highness."

"Then what does Your Highness mean?"

"Your Highness means yes, but you have to follow the rules, and you have to pay taxes according to the rules, and you can't miss anything."

………

In the side hall of Jinshen Hall, Hai Guogong, who had just eaten half full, saluted respectfully. Empress Ma came to add food, and asked the maid behind her to put down a few dishes cooked by herself: "I will go for a few years. , really haggard a lot."

Wu Liang hurriedly said: "It's just my duty as a minister, Lady Lao will never forget it."

Zhu Biao said: "The waves of the whale meet the sky, the vastness is boundless, the clouds and sails are high, and the stars are galloping day and night. This hard work is not due to duty."

Wu Liang is not a person who is good at words, but he said: "The reckless people of this grass, who have been deceived by their superiors and never give up, have been able to succeed in the dragon and enshrine their wives and sons to shine on the ancestral temple. Word."

Empress Ma didn't say any more, and led the people back to let them eat in peace.

Zhu Yuanzhang is now very interested in overseas and asked many questions, and Wu Liang answered them one by one.

For example, Khmer people like celadon bowls and silk silk, and they exchange them for gold. Javanese people like celadon, musk, gold ornaments, silk, and burning beads, and they exchange them with copper coins.

Ceylon is particularly fond of musk, silk, colored silk, celadon, copper coins, and camphor, and they exchange gems and pearls.

King Zufar favored silk and porcelain very much, and was willing to exchange frankincense, dried blood, aloe vera, myrrh, benzoin, styrax oil, and wood beetle.

He also talked about some things that he didn't bring back, such as a kind of stinky fruit called Gaeryan, with sharp thorns on the skin, five or six petals split when ripe, like the smell of rotten beef. There are 14 or 15 pieces of crispy white meat with chestnuts inside.

After Lao Zhu had exhausted his excitement, Zhu Biao asked: "The civilian and merchant ships that went with the fleet were damaged a lot. How are the merchants making profits? Do you have any complaints?"

"There is not much loss. Except for natural disasters and illnesses, only a dozen or so people were killed by the barbarians because of misunderstandings caused by language barriers and trade failures. After communicating with the local leaders, the final general led people to communicate with the local leaders, and paid for the debts and money by killing people. revenge."

"As for the profit of the caravan, I don't know very well, but I guess they can sell the rare ones overseas at a high price, not to mention that when they traded with the barbarians, they also exchanged a lot of gold and silver for silk and porcelain."

Zhu Biao didn't ask the merchants what complaints they had. Since they had already made a profit, there should be no complaints. Besides, they were greedy and wanted to make an example of others.

………

Three months after the return of the fleet, ships and merchants gathered in Yuegang, Zhangzhou, south of the Yangtze River. People called it the pearl of the bright moon, the stone of the crow and falcon, the fragrance of the dragon speed in Shennan, the wonder of the lin lion, Kong Cui, and the dew of the plum brain. Zhen, the beauty of Shanhu Yaokun, all come back from the boat.

But the best selling one is pepper. The inferior ones cost ten taels of silver a catty, and the good ones can be sold for twenty or thirty taels a catty. Ordinary people dare not ask the price after smelling it. , but there are plenty of people who buy it.

In the tea house on the street, Jiang Yuan, the leader of Huizhou merchants, drank tea in an old manner. It seemed that it was very difficult to swallow it, but it was puzzling that such an old man survived another winter without dying.

A middle-aged man said with a smile: "One hundred catties of pepper in Sumata is only sold for two or three taels of silver, and the price of pepper in Sanfoqi is similar, but as long as it can be shipped to our Central Plains, it will be a hundred times a thousand times more profit."

The other fiddled with the abacus beads, making crackling noises, and continued: "There is no such high profit. The commercial tax set by the imperial court is too high, especially the tax for sea trade business. Hey, if it is at a high point, We'd rather not do it."

The middle-aged man turned to Jiang Yuan and said, "Old man, if the imperial court's taxes are paid truthfully, there will not be much money for us to share. The brothers below will get three melons and two dates when they go to sea. I'm afraid they will cause trouble." Can you discuss it with the master above?"

Jiang Yuan sneered and said: "Eat less, leave out more bits and pieces, and the rest will survive."

"Look at what you said. Since ancient times, the shopkeepers have taken the big heads, and the guys below have taken the small heads. We can't break the rules, otherwise the shopkeepers will all run away, and we Huizhou merchants will have to disperse."

"Tell me, who did you hook up with again?"

The man went up to read a few names in a low voice, and Jiang Yuan shook his head after hearing this: "The Ministry of Households is watching closely, these adults can't cover the sky."

"We risked our lives to destroy the ship, and used various methods to get the few things His Highness wanted. We said it was a good thing for the benefit of the country and the people. His Highness said, but it will be successful. The soldiers of the country treat each other."

……………