prosperous age

The next day was the grand court meeting on the 15th of every month. Wei Guangde was woken up early in the morning. After washing and eating, he was surrounded by a group of maids and helped to put on court clothes.

After leaving the mansion, a sedan chair was already prepared outside the gate. Wei Guangde got into the sedan chair. The bearers shouted "Lift the sedan chair", and four bearers lifted the sedan chair and headed towards Chengtian Gate.

Later, according to the court procedure, Wei Guangde walked in the front row of officials. What was different from the past was that behind the team, officials from the Honglu Temple and the Ministry of Rites, with a group of people dressed in various costumes, hung at the end.

Today's grand court meeting is also the first formal meeting ceremony arranged by the court between the envoys of various countries and Emperor Wanli. The envoys of various countries will take turns to present their letters of credence to the emperor.

From the moment they entered Chengtian Gate, the majesty of the Forbidden City amazed the diplomatic envoys from various countries.

After all, more than a hundred years have passed, and the exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and most of its vassal states were little more than trade, and only envoys from Korea and Ryukyu had ever come here.

The so-called maritime trade means that the Southeast Asian countries submit a registration certificate in Guangzhou and submit a letter of credence to the Guangdong Provincial Administration to insure domestic safety. Then they make some purchases in the city and finally return home. Who would travel thousands of miles to the capital to see His Majesty the Emperor?

Therefore, after entering Chengtian Gate, what catches your eye are not only the tall city walls and towers, but also the guards in bright armor on both sides.

They waited outside the Meridian Gate until the time for court session. As the bells and drums rang, the ministers in front and the foreign envoys behind slowly walked into the Fengtian Gate and stood in their ranks directly outside the Fengtian Hall.

With the sound of drums and music, the imperial sedan chair of Emperor Wanli was carried up the red wall from the side and then entered the main hall.

The emperor is sitting in the palace today, so there will be no ceremony outside the Fengtian Hall.

After all, today's court meeting is mainly to receive foreign envoys, which is a big event.

As the emperor ascended the throne, at the command of the officials of the Honglu Temple, all the officials above the third rank in the court stepped in unison, filed into the hall, stood on the left and right, and performed the ceremony of five bows and three kowtows.

When paying tribute to the emperor, everyone knelt down inside and outside the hall, including more than a hundred envoys from vassal states, all of whom kowtowed according to the etiquette taught by the Ministry of Rites.

However, this also shows a slight difference, that is, a few people just kneel on one knee to worship, which makes them stand out.

Behind a group of low-ranking officials crawling on the ground, several heads popped out.

Immediately, an inspector on the side was about to step forward to reprimand him, but he was immediately pulled back by another inspector on the side. He said nothing, but just shook his head slightly.

In fact, the Ministry of Rites, the Cabinet and the Censorate discussed for quite some time what etiquette the envoys from the three European countries should follow.

Because it was not a vassal state, the five bows and three kowtows ceremony was not required.

However, at this time, the envoys from the three countries looked around in shock and curiosity. Perhaps they were stared at by the young censor who was eyeing them covetously, so they retracted their gaze and became solemn.

From the moment they entered Chengtian Gate, they were amazed by the Ming Imperial City.

Walking into here feels like entering an ancient European castle, but compared to those defensive castles, this place exudes an atmosphere of dignity and majesty.

Here, the tall Fengtian Hall also amazed several envoys, as they could not build such a huge wooden house.

The golden glazed tile double-eaved roof looks particularly splendid, and the eaves, brackets, lintels, beams and columns are decorated with blue and green gold dots and gold-plated paintings, all of which show the royal demeanor.

"When I walked through that door just now, I felt a heavy sense of oppression."

Drake lowered his voice and spoke to Robert beside him.

"Ah."

Robert said nothing, but just nodded slightly.

In such occasions in the West, everyone can speak freely as long as they don't interrupt the king's speech. It is quite casual.

But a few days ago, when the Ministry of Rites was teaching the etiquette of court meetings, they were asked not to speak casually.

At this time, the envoys from the three European countries were discussing in low voices.

There is no doubt that the unique design of Fengtian Gate had a certain influence on European envoys.

"They seem to like to build houses with wood, everywhere, instead of stone."

The Spanish envoy muttered quietly.

The messenger's muttering actually reflects the huge difference between Eastern and Western architecture.

Chinese architecture is generally based on civil structures, while Western architecture is mainly based on stone structures, which actually reflects the differences between Eastern and Western cultures.

Westerners can work tirelessly on one thing for more than ten years, while Easterners are more concerned with efficiency and hope to see results in a short period of time.

In fact, although it took ten years to repair the Fengtian Hall after the fire in the 41st year of Jiajing, the most important thing was the selection of materials and choosing the right wood.

Even if the timber is transported from the deep mountains of the southwest to the capital, it will not take too long, generally not more than a year.

The construction time is even shorter.

Even with such a long project, it is still considered a relatively long project in the history of Chinese architecture.

In Western buildings where stone is the main material, a construction period of several decades is common.

Even the construction of the famous Notre Dame de Paris took more than 180 years, which was unimaginable in ancient China.

These involve differences in Eastern and Western thought and society, and we have to admit that, relatively speaking, the West has always been relatively stable, unlike China, where a war might break out every one or two hundred years, leading to a change of dynasties.

Such wars are also a catalyst for China's continuous progress.

Breaking the past and creating a more magnificent present, the history of ancient China's progress is actually a process of continuous growth and development in the flames of war.

Well, perhaps only the tall walls of the imperial city and the pavilions on it caused Robert and others to admire them. Everything else seemed inferior to Europe in their eyes.

At the very least, the building space is not as spacious and grand as European buildings.

At this time, teams of envoys from vassal states were constantly brought into the Fengtian Hall and out by officials from the Honglu Temple, over and over again.

Receiving hundreds of so-called vassal state delegations was an extremely time-consuming task, which made the envoys from the three European countries waiting outside somewhat impatient.

There is no doubt that these vassal states seemed to be insignificant in the eyes of the Three Kingdoms. Even the weakest Britain at that time did not take these countries seriously.

With the advent of the Age of Exploration, Europeans broadened their horizons and saw that the natives were completely inferior to them, so they naturally became arrogant.

The Ming Dynasty is the best among them. Although they are not sure who will win or lose if the Ming Dynasty and Spain concentrate all their efforts on a showdown, don't forget that there is France in Europe. France is considered to be the overlord of European land warfare at this time.

Spain only surpasses France in land and sea power, but in terms of the army alone, France is not weaker than Spain.

Finally, after all the envoys from the vassal states entered the Fengtian Hall, it was the turn of the envoys from the three European countries.

"Send the Spanish, Portuguese, and Egyptian delegations to the emperor for an audience."

In the Fengtian Hall, the eunuch's loud call was heard.

"Here, follow me." The official from the Honglu Temple led the envoys from the Three Kingdoms forward, entered the platform from the red wall on one side, and then slowly entered the main hall.

Although the Fengtian Hall is said to be the Golden Palace, and its carved beams and painted buildings show extraordinary craftsmanship, it is still slightly inferior to the magnificent European buildings at that time. At least because of the arch beams, the span and height of European palaces far exceed those of ancient Chinese buildings.

Soon, the envoys from the three countries were brought into the hall, and they still knelt on one knee. Then, with the help of the interpreter from the Siyi Hall, Emperor Wanli had a brief conversation with the envoys from the three countries.

Generally speaking, people don't talk much in such occasions. As for a conversation with the emperor who is curious about the customs of various countries, that is impossible.

Didn’t you see that everyone in the hall, from the emperor to the ministers, had a hint of fatigue on their faces?

More than an hour has passed since the ceremony began.

The three countries' envoys presented their credentials to Emperor Wanli, and the ceremony was drawing to a close. However, at this time, the Spanish envoy spoke up and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor of Ming, on behalf of our King Felipe II, I would like to express my sincere blessings to you."

Seeing the Spanish envoy suddenly speak, it was mentioned just now that these were the words taught by the officials of the Ministry of Rites, but now he spoke again, obviously without the permission of the officials of the Ministry of Rites.

At this time, Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde and others couldn't help but frown slightly.

The envoys from the three countries in the hall seemed to have reached a tacit understanding long ago. After all, when they came to the Ming Kingdom, even if they were dissatisfied with each other, their goals were the same, so it was normal for them to cooperate.

Sure enough, the Spanish envoys soon expressed their hope to sign a diplomatic agreement with the Ming Dynasty and establish formal diplomatic relations, and even requested to send representatives to Ming Dynasty ports.

"Equal diplomatic relations?"

Hearing the interpreter's words, Emperor Wanli was a little surprised sitting on the throne, and obviously did not quite understand the meaning of the words.

It took the representatives of the three countries a long time to study this word together before they could express it accurately in Portuguese. Even when he was speaking just now, the Spanish envoy emphasized it twice to ensure that the interpreter would not mistranslate the meaning.

"Have the Cabinet and the Ministry of Rites discussed this? Is there any result?"

Emperor Wanli was very smart. Although he was unfamiliar with the word, he could still guess its general meaning.

However, although he is the emperor, the decision-making power is not in his hands. It seems that it is not important whether he agrees or not. He first looks at the attitude of the cabinet and then the final decision is made by the palace. He really cannot give a direct answer before he takes power.

So, Zhu Yijun cleverly looked at Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde to see what the cabinet thought.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites has already reported this matter two days ago. The Cabinet plans to convene the nine ministers tomorrow to discuss this matter."

Zhang Juzheng came out to report.

"Spanish envoy, since you have already submitted the report, the court will give you a reply on this matter."

After hearing what Zhang Juzheng said, Emperor Wanli immediately passed the buck. He couldn't make a decision directly.

After hearing the interpreter's words, the envoys from the three countries showed some regret on their faces.

Raising this issue when meeting with the heads of state of the other country was the result of discussions among the three countries, hoping to hear the words of "agreement" from the little emperor.

Unfortunately, he obviously didn't understand that the emperor, who was sitting high in the hall, actually had no power at all.

The outer court is managed by the Cabinet, and the inner court is watched over by the Empress Dowager. Nowadays, the little emperor will be scolded by the Empress Dowager even if he flirts with a palace maid.

The cabinet was used to shut up the envoys from the three countries, and today's grand court meeting ended quickly. Officials from the Honglu Temple led the foreign delegations out of the imperial city to rest.

In the afternoon, they were brought into the palace to attend a state banquet at Fengtian Gate.

"Shan Dai, it would be advisable to convene the six ministries and nine officials to discuss the rules this afternoon."

After leaving the Fengtian Hall, Zhang Juzheng whispered in Wei Guangde's ear.

Wei Guangde nodded when he heard this. The three European countries were very anxious to conclude a contract with the Ming Dynasty.

He knew what the British were planning. As for the Spanish and Portuguese delegations, although they had not met individually, Wei Guangde had already received news that they had visited Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao respectively. It seemed that the Three Kingdoms were planning to lobby the three of them with all their strength.

So Wei Guangde took the opportunity to ask, "Brother Shu, what do you think of the Three Kingdoms proposal?"

Zhang Juzheng turned his head to look at Wei Guangde, and then whispered: "There is no precedent for the Ming Dynasty to conclude equal agreements. However, during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, we did not ask the distant countries of Daqin to submit."

Hearing this, Wei Guangde nodded slightly.

Zhang Juzheng had the same idea as him. There was no precedent in the Ming Dynasty, but he could refer to the Tang Dynasty. What's more, the three European countries were even further away than the Arab countries.

It is almost impossible to make them submit to the Ming Dynasty. They can come to the Ming Dynasty's doorstep to do business. The Ming Dynasty now only knows how to go to Europe, but has not actually made the trip.

Suddenly, Wei Guangde had an idea: should he find some interested people in the army and ask them to go on a voyage around the world and draw a world map.

Even though China drew the "Map of the World" in the 30th year of the Wanli reign, it was most likely completed by Li Zhizao with the help of Western missionaries, especially the Italian Matteo Ricci.

Especially regarding the news about America, apart from knowing the word "New World", the Ming Dynasty knew nothing about the local area.

Even though there were rumors in later generations that Zheng He's fleet had reached the west coast of America, the illustrated materials on Zheng He that Wei Guangde had seen did not reveal any signs that the fleet had ever sailed eastward.

After all, Zheng He's fleet went to sea with political purposes. It was not to explore and open up new continents, but to publicize the military power of the Ming Dynasty to neighboring countries and conduct trade, and perhaps to find the missing Emperor Jianwen.

With this goal in mind, it was naturally impossible to explore eastwards.

By the way, they can also visit Europe as a Ming Dynasty delegation to collect information on the local economy, culture, science and technology.

After all, the information collected by the Jinyiwei now is second-hand or even third-hand information, and its accuracy is questionable.

"They also want to send permanent representatives to our Ming Dynasty. What do you say about this?"

Wei Guangde asked in a low voice.

Wei Guangde was not sure whether Zhang Juzheng had reached any agreement with Feng Bao in private, so now he could only test Zhang Juzheng's attitude.

"The invaders can come and I can go. If they are willing, we will allow them to send representatives to the trading ports, but they will pay for their own expenses.

They came here on their own initiative, not because of an invitation from the Ming Dynasty."

Zhang Juzheng smiled and said, "We have been collecting intelligence about Western countries through the Jinyiwei before. I think we should take this opportunity to send our Ming Dynasty envoys to them and see for ourselves what the Western countries are like.

You can also choose a central city in Europe, where we will also send a permanent delegation.”

"We can send an embassy, ​​but it may be difficult to have a permanent presence. I'm afraid it's difficult for Ming merchant ships to reach Europe. It's too far."

Wei Guangde thought that before the Suez Canal was dug, it might be more convenient for ships to unload goods in the Red Sea, transport them by land to the Mediterranean, and then load them onto ships to be shipped to European countries.

However, this route requires passing through the Ottoman Empire, and it is not feasible if the relationship is not good. (End of this chapter)