I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 747 Standing at the Gate of the Ming Dynasty

Leon was speechless and could only bring out what he often said: "Ming is a country with a history of 3,000 years. Over the long years, they have accumulated their own unique food culture."

Marcelo looked at the dishes again and couldn't help saying, "These are simply works of art. How can I bear to eat them?"

Condorcet kept swallowing his saliva and couldn't help saying, "My Lord Marquis, My Lord Baron, we are all hungry. Let's sit down and eat first."

"Okay, sit down and eat!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sound of chairs being moved. Suarez, Fernando, Badis and others couldn't wait to sit down, picked up spoons and chopsticks, looked at the colorful dishes on the table, and were eager to eat.

Don’t talk about how great Western food culture is. Typical French cuisine is the result of the Spanish bringing Italian cuisine over and then fusion and evolution after hundreds of years.

At this time, Europe was struggling to emerge from the Dark Ages, and the stakes of the Inquisition were still freshly roasted from time to time.

Having a wooden spoon has already opened up a civilization gap with India. Don't ask about foie gras or snails. Now Europe only has a pot of stew, and with bread that can kill you, it is a delicious dish.

This is a delicacy that only nobles can enjoy.

With so much food on the table now, even Pope Pius V would have sighed and asked, why doesn’t God teach cooking to his sheep?

The waiters set out twelve sets of bowls and chopsticks, as well as soup spoons for Leon, Marcelo and the other twelve people. They also put scarves on them, placed wine glasses on them, and poured rice wine.

The director, who was also the shopkeeper, had entertained many foreign guests and knew their details. He picked up a set of bowls and chopsticks and demonstrated to them.

Leon translated.

"Use chopsticks to pick up the dishes. Except for the boiled sea fish slices which are quite spicy, the rest are very light. Put the dishes into the bowl, yes, that's it.

The soup spoon can be used to drink soup. This wine is double-distilled wine shipped from Guangzhou. If you are not used to it, there are fruit wines from Sanbao County and Yanzhong Island."

After listening to Leon's translation, Marcelo and others became more cautious.

It’s just a meal, why are there so many requirements?

After the demonstration, the director repeatedly asked everyone to start eating.

Condorcet, who was extremely hungry, picked up his chopsticks and the rice bowl, and suddenly discovered a new world. He said in horror: "My Lord Marquis, my Lord Baron, they actually use porcelain to serve us rice.

Such beautiful porcelain.”

Marcelo and others finally shifted their attention from the dishes to the plates, the bowls, and the soup spoon. They were so exquisite.

"My God, such exquisite porcelain will become a family heirloom of the nobility in Europe. Leon, they welcome us with such a grand ceremony."

Leon quickly explained: “Mr. Marquis Marcelo, please don’t misunderstand, although these porcelains are good, they are not considered fine products in Ming Dynasty, they are only medium.

This is a restaurant, it is normal to use porcelain of this grade. If we go to the capital, the porcelain used in the restaurant there is many times more exquisite than this.”

Well, we are bumpkins from Europe and we don't know much.

Marcelo, Marquis of Mahazan, the swordsmanship teacher, military advisor and one of the great nobles of King Sebastiano I of Portugal, who was famous in North Africa and the Mediterranean, picked up the bowl, chopsticks and soup spoon tremblingly, lowered his head and began to eat carefully.

As soon as the first bite of food entered my mouth and I chewed it twice, the delicious taste exploded in my mouth, instantly transforming all my taste buds!

With tears streaming down their faces, they wailed in pain and happiness, what a miserable life we ​​lived before!

This feeling quickly spread throughout Marcelo and the others, and they had only one thought in their minds.

Really delicious!
It is so delicious!
As if being whipped by an invisible whip, Marcelo and others involuntarily sped up their pace. Soon their mouths were full, but their hands still stretched out involuntarily, using chopsticks and spoons together to awkwardly put the dishes back into the bowls.

Half an hour later, Marcelo, Condorcet and others reluctantly put down their bowls and chopsticks.

It’s not that they have eaten enough of the dishes on the table, but that they all feel their stomachs are full. If they force more food in, they will probably burst.

They looked at the unfinished dishes on the table and felt very reluctant to leave. It was as if there were 100 million silver coins in front of them but they couldn't put them into their pockets.

I picked up the wine glass and took a sip of the unique-tasting rice wine. Ugh! I finally burped.

A faint sadness suddenly arose in Marcelo's heart.

Why let me eat such delicious dishes!

If I get used to eating this, I’ll starve to death if I go back to Portugal!

"Everyone, after eating and drinking, it's best to go to an open space and walk slowly. We have a proverb in the Ming Dynasty, which goes, 'Take a hundred steps after a meal, and you will live to be ninety-nine.'"

The director of the guesthouse kindly advised.

Marcelo and the others looked at each other, then struggled to get up, holding onto the table and chairs.

The Ming Dynasty, which has such delicious dishes, must be at the forefront of the world in food research. We must listen to its advice and absorb the advanced experience of this advanced civilization.

When Leon and others were walking slowly in the backyard of the guesthouse, Lieutenant Li hurried over.

"Mr. Leon."

"Hello, Lieutenant Li!"

"I got news about Lieutenant Colonel Jose. He entered quarantine on Bataan Island four days ago."

"Then I can see him tomorrow?"

"No, if he meets you, the four days of quarantine will be wasted, and he will need to be quarantined again for fifteen days with you. And it is strictly forbidden to visit each other in the quarantine area."

"Can't we ask him to wait for us in Bintan Harbor?"

"I'm afraid not. They are military, they have their own schedule, and they won't wait for you."

"What should we do? Can we only meet in the capital?"

Leon was anxious and needed to meet Jose urgently.

This He Fengxian "naturalized" into the Ming Dynasty very early on. After a few years, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, a very high military rank. Now he has been recommended to study at the Hongwu Military Academy, the highest military academy in the Ming Dynasty.

This means that he was doing very well in the Ming army and must have his own connections and be able to obtain certain information.

Leon hopes to talk to Jose to obtain current news about the Ming Dynasty, especially its foreign policy toward Portugal and Europe, and then discuss with Marcelo to flexibly adjust the diplomatic strategy.

Of course, the sooner this meeting happens, the better.

If I wait until I reach the capital to meet Jose, it will be too late.

“Mr. Leon, don’t worry.

I applied to the higher authorities this afternoon, and the Yanzhou Governor Ye attached great importance to your arrival. After learning about the situation, I checked the recent ship schedule at Bintan Port, and it happened that a clipper ship would be heading to Tianjin Dagu Port in fifteen days, passing through Xiangjiang and Shanghai.

Lord Ye gave an order to Bintan Port, asking the ship to depart one day later. After your quarantine is over, you can take the ship directly to Hong Kong Port.

Jose has arrived at Xiangjiang Port and needs to report to the South China Sea Navy Headquarters. He can't leave for three to five days, so I can catch up with him."

Clipper ship?
What kind of ship is this?

However, Leon still expressed his gratitude sincerely: "Thank you very much, Lieutenant Li!" "You're welcome. But Futai Ye has to go to Yanzhong Island for inspection and has no time to meet you. Moreover, diplomatic affairs are all handled by the Honglu Temple. As the local chief official, he has no say."

The next morning, people from the Health and Epidemic Prevention Bureau came to their door and loaded Leon, Marcelo and twelve others, along with their suitcases, onto a paddle boat and sent them to Bataan Island, opposite Longya Island.

Bataan Island looks no smaller than Longya Island. It has a port, a castle, roads and bridges. Ships come in and out of the port, split into two routes, one going north to Longya Island and the other going east.

The castle is huge, with neat and straight streets inside, but there are few shops. It is quiet and solemn, like a huge military camp.

Leon, Marcelo and twelve others were taken to a large courtyard by a carriage.

Several people wearing white coats, white cloth round hats and masks carefully examined the mouths, tongues, eyes, ears, hands and feet of Leon, Marcelo and other twelve people one by one.
Their serious attitude and skillful movements made Leon, Marcelo and others feel like cattle and horses in the mule and horse market.

We are noble aristocrats!
Brave knight!
You pagans actually treat us like cattle and horses, checking us back and forth!
Our strong sense of honor and self-esteem must burst forth.

"Mr. Marcelo, do you often feel chest tightness and shortness of breath?"

"Yeah!"

"Have you ever fallen from your horse, Monsieur Condorcet?"

"Yes Yes Yes!"

"Mr. Fernando, do you have stomach problems? You often have acid reflux."

"That's right, that's right!"

But when these doctors told their old illnesses and injuries, the dissatisfaction in Marcelo and others suddenly disappeared.
In their eyes, these white-coated doctors became wizards who could tell fortunes and know the past and the future.

They nodded desperately, willing to work like slaves, while carefully asking through Leon and the interpreter if they could still be rescued.
Marcelo and others received almost the same answer.

"The medical conditions in Sanbao County and Longkou County are too poor, so they focus on epidemic prevention. They can only treat common diseases. We have to go to Guangzhou and Suzhou."

"You want to go to the capital? What else is there to say? Just go to the Beijing General Hospital. It is a hospital directly under the Imperial Medical Bureau, and there are many famous doctors in it.

If the General Hospital says it can be cured, then the King of Hell can do nothing to you; if they say it can’t be cured, then you should prepare your funeral arrangements first.”

Is there such a magical place in the world?

Even the god of death can’t do anything to him!

Could it be that God has set up a secret base here?
Marcelo and others nodded desperately, remembering the name of Beijing General Hospital firmly in their minds.

They were then led into a large room containing a large pool filled with hot water and filled with a pungent sulphurous smell.

"Go in and take a bath. It has to be fifteen minutes. Soak your whole body, including your hair. It can kill most of the parasites and bacteria on your skin and hair."

Parasites and bacteria!

Marcelo and the others didn't realize how powerful they were and followed orders obediently. They took off their clothes and pants and went into the pool naked.

They consciously soaked in the sulfur pool for fifteen minutes and were required to dive five times, each time for half a minute.

Hearing the call from the nurse outside, he got up obediently, washed himself in the clean water pool next door, and changed into the short-sleeved shirt and shorts here, both of which were made of gray cotton, of the same style, very loose, and smelled of sunshine and sulfur.

The nurse distributing the clothing told León and Marcelo that all their clothes and luggage needed to be "disinfected."

By the way, he also gave a health education lesson: "Nowadays, lice and bedbugs are not differentiated between nobles and commoners, almost everyone has them. Especially when sailing for a long time, you will definitely be infected.

Research by the Imperial Hospital Epidemic Prevention Institute has proven that lice and bedbugs, like mosquitoes and flies, carry bacteria and parasites that can make the body sick. Therefore, our Health and Epidemic Prevention Bureau must strictly guard against the damned lice and bedbugs from overseas and prevent them from being brought into the mainland.

This is sanitation and epidemic prevention?!

Leon and Marcelo felt that their eyes had been opened again.

The next fifteen days of quarantine were very dull.

All the quarantined people were divided into different groups according to the batches they were sent to. Leon, Marcelo and twelve others were in a separate batch and were placed in a separate yard.

Three meals a day are delivered to the yard by the nurses, and hot meals and dishes are served on time.

Twelve thermos bottles filled with boiling water were delivered every morning. After a day and a night, when the thermos bottles were replaced the next morning, the water inside was still hot.

Amazing!

Leon and Marcelo carefully studied a thermos bottle for a day, knowing that it was made of very precious glass, gleaming silver, with a bamboo woven shell and a cork stopper.

It looks very simple, but it has such a magical effect. There must be some unknown secrets in it.

But Leon, Marcelo and everyone else studied for a day and a night but found nothing.

In the end, they came to only one conclusion: "Even if Archimedes came, he wouldn't be able to figure out the reason."

No one was allowed to leave the yard, but fortunately the yard was quite large, with a front yard and a back garden. When it was sunny, they sat in the shade of the trees in the yard to read; when it rained, they sat in the pavilion in the back garden to drink tea.

"Leon, this is the most peaceful and comfortable time I have ever had in my life."

It was a sunny day. Sitting under the shade of a tree and drinking steaming hot tea, Marcelo spoke leisurely to Leon beside him.

Leon closed the book in his hand and put it on the table next to him.

"My Lord Marquis, this is the most leisurely time in my life. It feels as if my whole body and soul have been cleansed by clear spring water."

"Are you reading Mingguo's book?"

“Yes, I am trying to read these books and newspapers.

The first and second volumes of "Shizong Baolu" are said to be the collection of essays of the grandfather of the current Ming emperor, compiled by the top writers of the Ming Dynasty.

The first volume of Wanli Pinghua is said to be a collection of the thoughts and feelings of the current emperor of the Ming Dynasty when he was eight years old and was learning to read and write. It is similar to the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, the ancient Roman emperor.

"An Introduction to Dialectical Materialism" is said to be a philosophical thought discussed by the most famous thinker of the Ming Dynasty together with the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Those are the Shang Bao published in Shanghai, the Wen Cui Bao published by the Spiritual Civilization Construction Committee, the Zhu Jiang Bao published in Guangzhou, and the Nan Hai Bao published in Yanzhou.

"What do you see?"

"My Chinese is limited to oral communication, and I am not good at written Chinese. Reading is very difficult. Newspapers are written in vernacular Chinese, and I can barely understand part of them.

But some books still retain their old writing style, which is called classical Chinese and is difficult to understand. "

“Leon, do you think the current Ming Dynasty is such a country?”

"It is completely different from what I saw a few years ago. Your Excellency, it is not another country for us, but another world, another civilization.

It’s just that we are standing at its door now, and we haven’t seen everything inside yet.”

Marcelo's eyes were sparkling and bright.

"I really hope to see with my own eyes the Ming Dynasty you mentioned, to see what kind of world and civilization it is."

(End of this chapter)