prosperous age

In Wei Guangde's view, the European artifacts here, though exquisite, were nothing special.

What's truly valuable are the boxes of books outside the hall.

Wei Guangde had already inquired and found that they had acquired many books related to navigation at a high price, including those on shipbuilding and sailing techniques.

However, these are all relatively basic techniques; the truly important techniques, of course, will not be printed in books and circulated widely.

Moreover, the authenticity of the nautical charts secretly collected by the mission is also questionable.

However, those architecture books are more popular in Europe. Although building large buildings also requires experience, as long as you master the technology, you can get started quickly.

Moreover, the mission also recruited two architects from Italy, a master and apprentice pair, who planned to come to the East to try their luck and make their fortune.

After all, at that time, legends of the Eastern land of gold were circulating throughout Europe, and it was said that gold could be panned in the rivers.

Architects, of course, are knowledgeable and not easily swayed by these rumors, but they do want to come and see the East.

With their mastery of Western architectural techniques and their study of the characteristics of Eastern architecture, once they have thoroughly learned about both East and West and returned to Europe, they would become honored guests of royalty and dignitaries from various countries.

The master and apprentice are currently staying at the Huitongguan. Wei Guangde has made arrangements to meet them this afternoon to see their capabilities and whether they can oversee the construction of the grand building in his mind.

After spending more than an hour in the Qianqing Palace, it was already close to the Si Shi hour, which is around 10 a.m.

Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng, along with other cabinet ministers, took their leave of the Qianqing Palace and returned to their respective offices to work.

As for the gifts inside the palace, they were all put into the royal treasury.

It was really just a registration process, a formality. The emperor would definitely keep the interesting ones in the Qianqing Palace, while some would be bestowed as gifts to the Kunning Palace and the palaces of the other princesses.

As for the books, they are temporarily stored in the Siyiguan (Foreigners' Bureau). Those books are in alphabetic script, supposedly in Latin, and will need to be translated by translators from the Siyiguan.

It can only be said that Wei Guangde's initial thinking was too simplistic.

Even if we bring back books from Europe, it will still take a considerable amount of time to translate them.

However, there may be translation errors that require further correction.

It doesn't matter. As long as those two craftsmen can build a European stone house, several stories high, I believe it will definitely make the nobles and common people in the capital interested in Western learning.

After all, the house is built there, and everyone can see it; it's not something to admire in isolation.

After processing more than ten memorials in his duty room and having lunch and resting for a while, he went to Zhang Juzheng's duty room to ask for leave and left the capital city directly.

No leave slip is needed; it's simply a matter of giving Zhang Juzheng a heads-up.

Not far from the Huitong Hall was the Magnolia Tea House, a traditional tea house. In a private room, Wei Guangde saw two Italians, accompanied by an interpreter and two clerks.

Wei Guangde glanced at the two clerks and knew that they, like Lu Bu, were arranged by the Embroidered Uniform Guard to protect the two barbarians.

Of course, there's also an element of surveillance involved.

Jasmine tea was brewing on the coffee table. Wei Guangde asked them to sit down, and the two Italians, without any sense of courtesy, simply sat down.

Few people dared to sit in front of Wei Guangde.

Even when sitting, they only cover half their buttocks, unlike these two barbarians who sit there so brazenly.

However, he didn't mind at all, and generously poured tea for the other party, saying to the interpreter, "Let them have tea, don't be shy. I'm just curious about Western architecture and want to ask how houses are built."

Wei Guangde changed into civilian clothes at this time, instead of wearing a scarlet robe, he disguised himself as a wealthy merchant in the capital.

Wei Guangde only knows that one of them is named Mario and the other is named Panpassatanani.

First, I inquired about the building materials used in Western architecture, and sure enough, they were mainly stone, with marble and other materials used for decoration. If it were all marble, although it would take longer to build, it would be very durable and the building could stand for a long time.

Ask him about his teachers.

Wei Guangde inquired about the materials needed to build the house. In fact, the Ming Dynasty had all of these things, but few people knew how to use them to build houses.

After all, traditional Chinese buildings are all made of wood. Although brick and stone can be used to build buildings, they are more often used for building towers. Tall buildings are made of rammed earth encased in bricks. They would never go through the trouble of quarrying stone, as that stuff is also troublesome to transport.

Andrea Palladio.

Wei Guangde frowned when he heard the translator's name; he had never heard of it.

Of course, this is actually the normal thing.

If someone immediately uses a well-known name, Wei Guangde would most likely assume they are a fraudster.

It's such a coincidence that the mission to Europe brought back famous craftsmen or their apprentices.

However, Wei Guangde was unaware that this Andrea Palladio was indeed a famous Italian architect of that era.

Andrea Palladio worked as a stonemason in his early years and began designing in 1540. He surveyed and studied ancient Roman architectural remains and authored "The Four Books of Architecture".

His designs mainly consist of mansions and villas, the most famous of which is the Villa Rotonda in Vicenza, which has a completely symmetrical floor plan, six columns on each of the four sides, and a domed central rotunda.

Other notable sites include the Church of San Maggiore in Venice and the Olympic Theatre in Vicenza.

The Olympic Theatre was also Andrea Palladio's last work. Construction began in 1580 and was not completed until Palladio's death. It was the first permanent modern indoor theatre and remains intact to this day.

His architectural designs and writings reached their peak of influence in the 18th century, when so-called "Palladianism" spread throughout the world.

As his disciples and grand-disciples, Mario and Panpassatnani are obviously not as famous.

After all, many architects and even craftsmen can build houses according to blueprints; as long as they can understand the blueprints, they can build them well.

But designing architecture is completely different; it requires talent and inspiration, and diligence alone cannot compensate for shortcomings.

Perhaps this is why they were willing to travel across the ocean to the East, hoping to gain some inspiration here.

Okay, without any talent, I hope to spark some inspiration.

Of course, they had been in the capital for several days. In fact, they had been observing the characteristics of architecture in various places along the way, especially after crossing the Strait of Malacca. According to the crew, this place was the Daming Sea.

The old port buildings were similar to those they had seen in Persia, mainly stone houses, but when they arrived in Tortoise City, they saw wooden houses.

The city walls of Songjiang Prefecture and Tianjin City were tall, but the buildings inside seemed rather low to them.

Wooden buildings in the Ming Dynasty generally did not exceed three stories, with two stories being the most common.

Although the situation was roughly the same in Europe, three-story buildings were more common, unlike in the Ming Dynasty where they were extremely rare.

This gave them an opportunity.

Yes, while I may not be able to design works that amaze the world, I can still build ordinary, unremarkable multi-story buildings.

In particular, Mario had seen many houses designed by his teachers, and he could pick out some and modify them slightly to use them here.

Don't worry about whether it infringes on the teacher's patent rights. In fact, Andrea Palladio's architectural style is still being imitated by many architects two hundred years later, which is an important reason for Andrea Palladio's fame.

Centuries later, it is still admired by countless architects, and its reputation has grown ever greater.

"Tell me, how tall can you build a house? How many stories?"

Wei Guangde looked at Mario, who was supposedly a disciple of Andrea Palladio, and asked seriously. Without needing to look at the interpreter, he was already fluently communicating with Mario in Latin.

The interpreter was recruited by the South China Sea Navy in its early years. He is fluent in Portuguese, and although he still has some difficulty writing, he has no problem listening and reading.

Most European languages ​​are Latin-based, with only minor differences, so if you are fluent in Portuguese, it's easy to switch to learning Latin.

Moreover, at this time most European nobles and artisans were familiar with Latin, so it would be quite troublesome if the mission had to assign people to be familiar with the languages ​​of each European country.

Therefore, Latin, the language used by the nobility, became the primary choice for the missions, since they mainly interacted with powerful and influential figures from various countries.

"Three floors, or five floors, depending on what this gentleman requires."

Mario replied easily, "However, I must remind you, sir, that the material requirements differ depending on the height of the building plan."

Wei Guangde put down his teacup, tapped the table lightly with his right hand, and thought for a moment before saying, "Does a five-story building require very high-quality materials?"

"Yes, of course, the most important thing is the method of construction."

"The materials are different, so my design will be different; I have to design according to the actual situation."

What Mario was saying was that they needed to determine what Wei Guangde could provide before they could finalize the design plan.

Of course, this is on the premise that Wei Guangde has a vision of what architecture should look like.

"Three or five stories are fine. For the roof, use the traditional European style, with a tall spire and the top showing the time in all four directions."

Wei Guangde said.

"The clock tower?"

Mario merely frowned slightly and asked.

Upon hearing the word "clock tower" from the interpreter, Wei Guangde knew that they had understood.

However, the other party's frown suggested that things were a bit difficult.

“Can you do it?”

Wei Guangde countered with a question, then waved to signal the interpreter to translate for the other party.

"I only know how to design and build, not how to mechanic."

Mario answered honestly.

Everyone has their own expertise; they are architects, not watchmakers. It is the watchmakers who design the clocks, have the mechanics manufacture them, and then install them on the top of the tower.

Regular maintenance is required every year to ensure accurate timekeeping.

Mario certainly wouldn't take on tasks he wasn't good at; that would just be asking for trouble.

Moreover, when they arrived in some cities of the Ming Dynasty, they never saw a bell tower.

Therefore, they naturally thought that the Ming Dynasty should not have such skills.

"Hehe, you don't need to worry about that. Since I proposed building a clock tower, there are naturally places where we can obtain such large machinery."

Wei Guangde just smiled.

He wasn't exaggerating. Although Ming Dynasty craftsmen had already begun making clocks, those things weren't complicated; their strength lay in their exquisite craftsmanship.

After disassembling Western clocks and pocket watches, they understood the principles behind them and were able to replicate them.

Imitation is just the beginning; in the future, clocks incorporating traditional Chinese elements will be produced.

Of course, the mechanisms on a clock and a clock tower are different; it's not simply a matter of magnifying them.

But that doesn't matter. Wei Guangde plans to invite clockmakers from Haojing to oversee the manufacture of this large tower clock in the capital.

There are indeed watchmakers like this in the luxury watch industry. In fact, because there is already a relative surplus of craftsmen in Europe, there are quite a few craftsmen like Mario who want to seek their fortune in the East.

Don't assume that all Europeans should live a life of luxury; that's not true.

European nobles were not as wealthy as those in the Ming Dynasty, so the work available to craftsmen was relatively scarce.

Without a reputation, it's difficult to secure orders from wealthy and powerful individuals.

There are few projects to begin with, and the big projects are all taken by well-known artisans, so most artisans of average skill actually live a very poor life in Europe.

As for why Wei Guangde knew that someone in Haojing could make such a large tower clock, it was because there was one in the Haojing council hall. It was a three-story building built according to the specifications of a small European town hall.

"You can decide on the floor after reviewing the materials."

If possible, I would certainly prefer a five-story building.

Wei Guangde began, "But you have to give me a timeframe. How long do you need to complete a three- or five-story building?"

Wei Guangde didn't want to build a cathedral; those things take a very long time, often twenty or thirty years.

European cathedrals may appear tall on the outside, but some parts are hollow, with a height of over ten meters, which was a great challenge to the construction technology of that era.

For ordinary buildings, each floor is 1.5 or even 2 zhang high, with 1 zhang on the upper floor being enough. It can also be partially hollow, which is to accommodate a stage.

Since he hadn't seen the design drawings, Wei Guangde naturally envisioned a combination of ground-floor shops and second-floor commercial space, suitable for restaurants, teahouses, or even shops selling goods. The open space in the middle was intended to accommodate a stage.

Watching a play these days is similar to watching a movie in later times, but there are fewer entertainment facilities, so a stage must be considered in this building.

As for the remaining space upstairs, Wei Guangde intended to build a large inn, or rather, a grand hotel.

In short, bring Wanda Plaza to Daming, and people will never want to leave once they step inside.

Therefore, Wei Guangde did not mind allowing Jiaosifang to rent some of the properties as well.

The wealthy merchants coming and going from the north and south, as well as the imperial examinations held every three years, would attract the vast majority of the elites of the entire Ming Dynasty, and his Western-style building would be their top choice.

"With enough materials, it can be completed in about two years if it is a three-story building, and it may take three or four years if it is a five-story building."

After all, we might need to teach your country's artisans step by step, which would take a lot of time.

Mario and his apprentice Panpassatanani whispered for a moment and then gave their answer.

This timeframe is actually ahead of schedule. According to their estimates, a three-story building might take three years, while a five-story building would take at least four years.

Of course, in Europe, it would be completed in what they call "time," because they have skilled craftsmen.

Upon hearing the construction time, Wei Guangde frowned slightly, but quickly relaxed.

He had already come up with a plan: to sign the craftsmen and the two men to his own contracts, so that they would work for him and help him build houses all over the country.

The long construction time seems to be a good thing; at least for the next ten or twenty years, no one will be able to compete with it.

Ah, the blue ocean. (End of Chapter)