People in the Ming Dynasty are lawless

Chapter 740: Surrendering at the dinner table is the most honorable

The Malacca envoy suddenly rushed to the window. He saw more than a dozen strange-looking carriages parked in the courtyard. The outer walls of the carriages were covered with scales like iron armor, and white mist was seeping out of every gap in the scales. The most amazing thing was the copper mechanism installed on the shaft of the carriage, which was constantly pumping some kind of liquid into the copper pot on the roof as the horses moved.

"That is……"

"The fresh-keeping car designed by the Institute of Physics." Zhu Youwei's voice came from the door. She was wearing formal clothes for the first time today, but she still had the silver scissors on her temples. "The bottom of the car is paved with three layers of saltpeter, and the water tank on the roof is filled with live fish from all over the world."

Xiao Tao, who was following behind her, pushed a food cart, and inside the glass cover on the cart were piled fresh lychees from Lingnan. The bright red skins were still covered with green leaves, as if they had just been picked from the branches.

"Impossible!" The Srivijaya envoy exclaimed, "It takes at least half a month to travel from Lingnan to Jinling—"

The silver scissors cut the fruit shell with a click, and the snow-white flesh oozed honey. "Ship it to Songjiang by sea, and then change to a steam express train." Zhu Youwei placed the lychees in front of him, "It only takes five days."

The banquet hall suddenly fell silent. The envoys stared at the food in front of them—cheese from the northern desert carved into the shape of a snowy mountain, grapes from the western regions frozen in amber ice dew, and even live lobsters from the South China Sea baring their claws in a glass tank. These fresh foods, which should have become luxuries due to the long journey, were now piled on the table like ordinary dishes.

"Actually, this is the most valuable thing." Chen Han suddenly lifted the silver cover on the central dining table. Under the cover, on a celadon plate, lay a few unremarkable grey fish, but their eyes were as clear as newborn fish.

The chopsticks from Sumatra were hanging in the air. He recognized that this was a volcanic fish that was exclusively enjoyed by the Javanese royal family. It grew in sulfur springs and would rot if out of water for half a day. Last year, he brought three of them as a tribute envoy, but when he arrived in Yingtian, only the smelly carcasses were left.

"You..." His voice trembled.

Zhu Biao tapped the rim of the cup with a silver spoon. The musicians suddenly played a cheerful Huxuan tune, and twelve maids pushed dining carts in one after another. Each cart was piled with fresh produce from different regions - abalone from Jiaodong squirming in its shell, bamboo shoots from Sichuan and Shu still covered with morning dew, and the most amazing one was a small cart covered with white snow, on which was placed frozen bear paws from Changbai Mountain.

"Article 3 of the Trade Regulations." The prince took a sip of wine. "Wherever the Ming merchant caravan arrives, the local chief must send soldiers to escort the fresh goods to the nearest post station." He tapped the table with his fingertips, and immediately a waiter unrolled a scroll with detailed preservation terms written in both Chinese and foreign languages.

Chen Han took over the conversation: "The Tatar cavalry is more active than anyone else now." He smiled and made a charging gesture, "After all, if they deliver the cavalry one hour earlier, they will get one more point in commission."

Suddenly, there was a sound of porcelain breaking in the corner of the banquet hall.

Everyone turned around and saw the clerk from the Ministry of Public Administration busy picking up the spilled ink box.

"Speaking of which." Zhu Youwei suddenly pointed out the window with her silver scissors, "We have a new batch of Mobei sheep to process tonight. Are you interested in visiting the kitchen?"

As the messengers followed her through the corridor, the moonlight just illuminated the row of strange buildings in the courtyard. Ten iron pots more than ten feet wide were boiling in the open air, and grassland men wearing fur coats were throwing whole sheep into the pots. Further away was a processing plant like an assembly line, where Tatars were responsible for slaughtering, Han craftsmen were responsible for pickling, and Jurchen hunters were busy applying secret spices to the meat.

"The key to trade is that each party gets what it needs." Chen Han stopped in front of a warehouse filled with white mist. Pushing open the door, he saw hundreds of pieces of frozen meat neatly hung on copper racks, with ice water flowing under the racks constantly taking away the remaining heat. "We provide saltpeter and salt, and they provide livestock and manpower."

Sumatra's fingertips touched the surface of the frozen meat. The thin layer of ice was as smooth as a mirror, completely different from the frost-covered old meat in the cellar of the Javanese royal family. He suddenly noticed the wooden boxes stacked in the corner, with a wax seal of "Specially for the Institute of Physics" on the lid.

"That is……"

"Freshness tester." Zhu Biao stood behind him without him noticing, playing with a copper cylinder in his hand, "Put the needle into the meat and turn it three times to find out how many days it can be kept fresh."

Suddenly, a quick bell rang in the banquet hall. When everyone rushed back, they saw the waiters were arranging the last dish on the main table. In the three-foot-diameter gilded hot pot, the milky white soup was boiling with yellow mushrooms from the north of the desert, bamboo fungus from the south of the Lingnan region, scallops from the East China Sea, and snow lotus from the Western Regions. Twelve colored glaze cups were placed around the hot pot, each containing top-quality fresh produce from different regions.

"This pot is called 'Peace in the Four Seas.'" Zhu Biao raised the luminous cup, "May the Ming Dynasty and other nations always be as prosperous as they are today."

After three rounds of drinking, the Javanese envoy suddenly stood up, holding a lamb rib in his hand, and fat dripped from his fingers onto the gold-embroidered tablecloth.

"I dare to..." He burped with a cumin-flavored burp, "Can these preservation techniques..."

"Of course we can trade." Chen Han smiled and interrupted, "As long as your country opens up all the sulfur mines."

The Malacca envoy was about to protest when he was suddenly attracted by the fruit plate brought by the waiter. The crystal plate was piled with iced watermelons cut into lotus shapes, and each melon slice had a small flag inserted on it - the wolf flag of the northern desert, the camel flag of the western region, the shark silk flag of the South China Sea... On the center slice, the sun and moon flag and the crocodile flag of Java stood side by side.

Zhu Youwei's silver scissors snapped the grape vines. "By the way, the Physics Institute will be testing a new fresh-keeping vehicle next week."

She casually distributed the cut grapes to the messengers, "It is said that they can extend the shelf life of lychees to twenty days."

Sumatra stared at the grape in his palm.

The ice beads condensed on the peel reflected his distorted image, and in a trance it seemed as if he saw merchant ships from his homeland sailing towards the port of Ming Dynasty one after another.

The candlelight of the night banquet flickered into a sea of ​​awe in the eyes of the envoys. The silver fork in Sumatra's hand fell to the ground with a clang, and the sound of it bouncing on the blue bricks awakened the dazed Malacca envoy.

"My king once said..." The middle-aged man with curly beards suddenly choked up, his fingers unconsciously stroking the water droplets condensed on the glass cup, "If I can taste the fresh lychees in Lingnan within three days, I am willing to exchange the entire tin mine for it."

Zhu Youwei's silver scissors drew a cold arc under the candlelight. With a click, the newly cut lychee branch with green leaves fell steadily into the trembling palm of the Champa envoy. "How much is this lychee worth now?" The princess' voice was filled with the calculation sense unique to students of the School of Physics. "Taking into account the loss of the preservation truck, the freight is only worth three ships of your pepper."

Suddenly, there was a crisp sound of dishes colliding in the corner of the banquet hall. When everyone turned around, they saw the Srivijaya envoy kneeling in front of the overturned fish sashimi, and the sauce dyed the snow-white Persian carpet red. This nobleman, who was usually very particular about his manners, was completely unaware of it at this moment, and was only staring at the Songhua River silverfish swimming in the glass cup - the frequency of the fish's gills opening and closing was exactly the same as the divination results he had seen in the temple in his hometown.

"They are from the Institute of Physics." Chen Han casually tapped the wall of the cup with chopsticks, startling the fish to flee to the corner. "Every time the water temperature drops by one degree, they live twelve more hours." Zhu Biao suddenly clapped his hands. As the musicians played the tune of "Pacifying Nanyang", twelve maids filed in holding gilded trays. In the center of each tray was an ice sculpture shaped like a treasure ship, with sails made of thin slices of Hami melon, and the deck was piled with Jiaodong abalone cut into pearls. The most amazing thing was the leading maid. The ice boat on the tray in her hand was actually emitting curling steam. A closer look revealed that there was red-hot charcoal hidden under the boat.

"A steam-powered model." The prince tapped the "ship's side" with a silver spoon, and the ice ship immediately turned slowly in the wine. "It will be used on the real treasure ship next month."

Sumatra knocked his forehead heavily on the edge of the table. He remembered the bold words of the Javanese navy commander before he left the country - as long as he sank a few treasure ships of the Ming Dynasty, he could force the other side to give up the route. At this moment, that delusion dissipated faster and more thoroughly than the steam rising from the ice ship.

"In fact, the freshest ones haven't been served yet." Zhu Youwei suddenly stood up, and the hem of her blue cloth skirt swept across the stiff shoulders of the Malacca envoy. The moment she pushed open the carved sandalwood window, the river breeze rushed into the hall with the sound of a damp whistle.

The Longjiang Wharf was as bright as day under the moonlight. Six armored fresh-keeping trucks were spewing white mist, and grassland men in fur coats were shouting to unload cargo. Further away on the river, three steamboats had just docked, and the sailors on the deck were hoisting some long cargo wrapped in wet cloth.

"Matsutake mushrooms from southern Yunnan." Chen Han stood in front of the window without knowing when. The clinking of the copper ring of the mace startled the birds sleeping under the eaves. "It was still at the foot of Cangshan Mountain this morning. It can be steamed at midnight."

The Srivijaya envoy suddenly rushed to the window. His skinny fingers clung to the window frame tightly, and his wide eyes reflected the strange device carried by the dock workers on their shoulders - the copper cylinder continuously sprayed out cold mist with a pine scent, and even the mosquitoes on summer nights were frozen into ice chips wherever it passed.

"Quick Freezer." Zhu Biao's voice came from behind, shocking the envoys collectively. "The Physics Institute has improved it with saltpeter. It can freeze a whole cow in half a quarter of an hour."

The Malacca envoy suddenly turned around, and the hem of his official robe overturned the golden pot filled with Western wine. The purple-red liquid meandered into a strange pattern on the blue brick floor, just like the fragile route marked on their country's map.

"Your Highness!" He fell in front of Zhu Biao's boots, his forehead stained with wine, "Your humble servant is willing to exchange the tolls of the Strait of Malacca for ten years... for a set of fresh-keeping vehicles!"

Zhu Youwei's silver scissors suddenly stopped in mid-air. The moonlight reflected by the scissors swept across the tearful face of the envoy, illuminating the secret letter that fell from his arms - the letter was written in foreign language: "If the negotiations are unfavorable, you can set fire to the Daming Merchants' Store."

"Toll?" Chen Han's boots rolled over the wine-stained letter paper. "That's not what your Sultan said when he robbed our merchant ships last year."

The music stopped abruptly. The waiters had changed into light leather armor at some point, and what hung around their waists were not wine jugs but new thunder bombs made by the Institute of Physics. The clerks of the Ministry of Public Administration poured in from the side door holding gilded lacquer cylinders. On the parchment rolls exposed in the cylinders, the clauses written in cinnabar were as dazzling as blood under the candlelight.

"Sign it." Zhu Biao took out a glass dice from his bosom and threw it in front of Sumatra. The "π" symbol on the upward side split in half, revealing the thin piece of Nanyang fine iron hidden inside. "This is the most decent way to surrender."

When the Javanese envoy trembled as he picked up the pen, he suddenly discovered that there were fine spiral patterns engraved on the pen. This familiar pattern reminded him of the cannon scale he had seen during the day, the gleaming crossbows on the treasure ship, and the terrifying design drawings in the underground secret room of the Engineering College.

"Our country is willing to donate all of its sulfur mines..." His pen tip left a large blob of ink on the paper, which looked like the blood splattered by a pirate ship being smashed by artillery.

Zhu Youwei's silhouette was reflected on the window paper. She was trimming the candle wick with silver scissors, and the bursting sparks of the lamp just fell on the newly signed treaty, branding the four words "never betray" into gold.

The midnight drum sounded from the river, mixed with the whistle of the steamship weighing anchor. Chen Han untied the leather bag at his waist, and what he poured out was not the expected pepper, but a dozen South Sea seeds smoked with sulfur.

"Oh, right." He casually sprinkled the seeds into the hot pot, and the soup immediately surged with a strange blue-green color. "The School of Physics is currently researching quick freezing of crops - maybe by this time next year, you will be able to taste the fresh food of Yingtian in your hometown."

The last sentence crushed the Srivijaya envoy. The gray-haired noble suddenly tore open his gold-embroidered robe, revealing a cinnabar-painted amulet on his chest—the crooked pattern was exactly the same as the mark on the pirate leader's account book.

"Kill me!" He grabbed the ice sculpture and smashed it against his temple in despair. "Anyway, you already have those letters of secret communication with pirates..."

Zhu Biao raised his hand gently. The ice sculpture was shattered in mid-air by the crossbow arrows of the Jinyiwei, and the flying ice fragments formed a brief rainbow under the moonlight.

"It's more useful to be alive." The prince picked up a piece of broken ice. The saffron frozen in the ice crystals was slowly unfolding. "Just like this flower, it can bloom after being frozen for three years."

The Malacca envoy suddenly laughed like a night owl. He tore at his tendrils frantically until his chin was stained with blood. "The Sultan asked me to negotiate terms... Hahahaha... We are not even qualified to be bargaining chips!"

He rushed to the window and pointed at the fresh-keeping equipment being loaded at the dock. Those precise copper pipes and gears looked like artifacts in mythology under the torchlight. "Do you know how many people we need to transport fresh fish? Twenty slaves take turns carrying ice! It takes three horses to get from the seaside to the palace!" His nails scratched deep marks on the window frame, "And you...you actually use these machines to transport lychees!"

Zhu Youwei finally cut the stubborn candle wick. In the sudden light of the fire, she put the silver scissors back into her hair and shook out a roll of indigo cloth from her sleeve.

"This is the fresh-keeping cloth newly woven by the Women's Workshop." She casually covered the spilled wine with the cloth, and the liquid stopped flowing instantly. "It has been soaked in saltpeter solution and can wrap fresh meat for five days."

All the envoys understood the real finale of the banquet. When Zhu Biao personally filled their glasses with iced wine, even the most stubborn Sumatran learned to toast in Chinese: "May the Ming Dynasty be forever strong—"

The sound of the glass clinking startled the swallows on the beams. As the migratory birds fluttered toward the river, the Javanese messenger vaguely saw that each bird had a tiny copper tube tied to its claw. The moonlight revealed the "7" mark engraved on the tube, which was exactly the same as the number on all the instruments in the Institute of Physics.

When the banquet ended, the morning light had already dyed the waves of Longjiang River white. The envoys supported each other and boarded the carriage, each holding a treaty wrapped in a plastic wrap. Sumatra lifted the curtain in the bumpy carriage and took a last look at the towering city wall - the newly erected cannons on the battlements shone coldly in the morning sun, and the spiral patterns on the barrels looked very much like the ripples in the hot pot last night.

"Tell the king," he suddenly said to his entourage in Javanese, "to send all my sons to the women's workshop as apprentices... yes, to learn mathematics!"

The moment the carriage turned the corner, the morning bell of the Physics Institute rang.

The sound shattered the mist on the river and startled flocks of pigeons. Tied to the claws of these white birds was the "Summary of Preservation Techniques" copied overnight - of course, the most critical pages would only appear on merchant ships escorted by the Ming Navy.

(End of this chapter)