The Rise of the European Emperor

The day Marin left was very good-January 1, 1510, which is the New Year in the Western calendar. After the fleet left Panama, it sailed westward along the North Equatorial Current north of the equator in the Pacific Ocean.

This latitude happens to be in the prevailing easterly wind belt, with smooth wind and smooth water. Those in charge of the navigation were naturally the sailors who had previously explored the Keelung route. Amerigo has returned home, but these sailors and navigators have not returned home. They are responsible for piloting Marin.

After the fleet sailed westward for a certain distance, a navigator said while bragging to the sailors on board:

"Do you know? Just in this dimension, to the south, there is an archipelago, and there is a kind of giant turtle on the island. Before you came, our captain happened to arrive at this archipelago when he took us out to sea for fishing, and then , I saw a huge sea turtle the size of a table on the island!" After speaking, the navigator made a gesture of size, which aroused the amazement of the sailors.

And Marin, who was leaning on the railing and looking at the sea, frowned when he heard this, as if he had thought of something...

"Giant turtle? Did he mean the Galapagos giant tortoise?"

Marin suddenly remembered, it seems that the Galapagos tortoise is the largest sea turtle in the world...

Its length can reach about 1.2 meters, and its weight can reach two to three hundred kilograms, which is five to six hundred catties, which is very rare. In China, tortoises are generally at most a dozen centimeters in length. In front of the giant Galapagos tortoise, like a grandson...

Marin smiled and continued to think about his own affairs. At this time, Marin's brain suddenly jumped, and he thought of a historical novel that he had read before time travel, called "I want to be the first assistant". It is about the protagonist traveling to the Jiajing Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty to become a child prodigy, the number one scholar, and finally the chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty. One thing was mentioned in this book, that is, the people of the Ming Dynasty regarded the Galapagos giant tortoise brought by the Spaniards as a mysterious tortoise. Then, the local officials presented the giant tortoise as auspicious...

Speaking of this auspiciousness, it was very marketable in ancient Chinese feudal dynasties. The so-called auspiciousness refers to auspicious omens, and is considered by Confucianism to be a natural phenomenon that expresses God's will and is beneficial to people. For example, colorful clouds appear, the weather is good, the grass grows double ears, the earth springs sweet springs, strange birds and animals appear, and so on.

And the Galapagos tortoise is precisely the last item among them - the appearance of strange birds and beasts...

After all, China has never seen such a big turtle. Most importantly, in ancient Chinese myths and legends, among the four great beasts Qinglong, White Tiger, Suzaku, and Xuanwu, Xuanwu is an image of a turtle and a snake.

Moreover, Xuanwu is the god of water, living in the North Sea, and is a symbol of good weather. At the same time, tortoises live long, and basalt is also a symbol of immortality...

Good weather and immortality are precisely the two supreme goals pursued by the rulers of ancient feudal dynasties. Therefore, the tortoise was considered an auspicious animal in ancient times. And the strange tortoise is regarded as auspicious, also known as the mysterious tortoise.

Moreover, the last sentence in "The Book of Songs. Lu Song. Panshui" is "Looking forward to Huaiyi, come to offer Qichen, Xuangui elephant teeth, and bribe Nanjin". The black tortoise ivory here is the giant tortoise ivory, which was a rare treasure in ancient times.

But no matter what, in China, there is absolutely no giant tortoise longer than 1 meter. Ordinary tortoises are only a few dozen centimeters long, but large tortoises that are 20 to 30 centimeters long can be regarded as auspicious.

Moreover, for the ancient Chinese feudal dynasties, offering wealth is far less pleasing than offering auspiciousness. For the ancient Chinese feudal dynasties who regarded themselves as the center of the world, they simply looked down on the wealth of the barbarians. Even if it is not available in the Central Plains, it is just a surprise.

However, Xiangrui is different. For feudal dynasties, the will of God and the hearts of the people are very important. The presence of auspiciousness is definitely a major event worthy of national celebration. Because, this shows that the emperor Shengming is the true son of heaven. All the officials are also "all upright and prosperous", all of them are virtuous...everyone feels that they have face. And the court has face, so it will definitely not be stingy...

In fact,

The ancient emperors and ministers were very keen on the pursuit of auspiciousness. Some emperors' pursuit of auspiciousness even reached the point of abnormality.

Among them, Song Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty is the most perverted one who pursues auspiciousness, that is, Song Renzong's father...

Song Zhenzong was the son of Song Taizong, and he did not have any outstanding achievements in his life. However, he has a record, that is - he is the sixth and last emperor in the feudal dynasty of China to enshrine Zen in Mount Tai. Of course, he is also the most shameless one...

Why do you say that? Because, the five emperors who enshrined Zen in front of him are-Qin Shihuang, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Tang Gaozong and Tang Xuanzong...

Look, the first five emperors all had meritorious deeds, and they had the face to enshrine Zen. I won't talk about Qin Huang Han Wu, the recognized hero. Emperor Guangwu was also a famous monarch who restored the Han dynasty, Emperor Gaozong of Tang conquered the largest territory of Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty also had the prosperity of Kaiyuan...

And what does Song Zhenzong have? After being beaten by the Liao Kingdom and forced to sign such a shameful agreement as the "Tanyuan Alliance", he also has the nerve to go to Mount Tai to enshrine Zen?

It was also said that people are embarrassed and thick-skinned...

Moreover, Song Zhenzong enshrined Zen, which is very technical. They forged or asked their subordinates to forge the "Book of Heaven"—look, the heavens are auspicious, I am the king of destiny, go to Mount Tai to enshrine Zen...

During Song Zhenzong's reign, the entire Song Dynasty fell into a fanatical atmosphere of discovering and offering "auspiciousness". Most of those who offer auspiciousness will be rewarded generously. Even Wang Qinruo, who contributed the "Book of Heaven", became a prime minister... Ding Wei, another prime minister during the Song Zhenzong period, was also good at making and offering "auspiciousness"... These two people are typical of prime ministers who rely on offering auspiciousness represent……

Emperor Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty was also very interested in auspiciousness because of his hobby of cultivating immortals. For example, Yan Song, the treacherous prime minister, offered the "Five-Colored Turtle" as an auspicious sign, which won Jiajing's favor. But unexpectedly, this "sacred turtle" was accidentally raised to death by a court lady. Coupled with the previous rumors that Jiajing wanted to use the menstrual blood of the court ladies to refine elixir and Jiajing's harshness to the court ladies, it eventually led to the "Renyin Palace Change", and the court ladies almost strangled Emperor Jiajing to death...

Of course, Yan Song's "five-color tortoise" is a fake, it is an ordinary turtle that Yan Song asked someone to paint with paint. The tortoises on the Galapagos Islands are real, and they have stronger vitality and can live in arid areas. After all, the Galapagos Islands are a dry place.

However, the Galapagos Islands are located in the tropics, and tortoises may not be able to adapt to the cold climate in the north. Therefore, you need to pay attention to cold protection. Otherwise, if the tortoise dies, Marin will also be implicated...

However, it is neither Song Zhenzong nor Emperor Jiajing who is in power now, but Emperor Zhengde. Emperor Zhengde has no interest in superstition, but this guy loves to play and likes rare treasures. And a giant tortoise like the Galapagos tortoise is just a strange beast, which can completely win Zhengde's favor. As for those ministers in the court, they can also be regarded as auspicious. Because only the presence of auspiciousness can prove that the country is peaceful and the people are safe, and it can also prove that they are all "virtuous"...

Thinking of this, Marin decisively recruited the navigator and ordered:

"You, lead the way! Let's catch the big turtle!"

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