Borrow the day to change the day

Zhong Jinwei smiled after hearing this, and then got back to business, and said to Xu Xiake who sat down: "Those missionaries have agreed to be your tour guide and lead you to travel to Europe. Speaking of which, I have never been there in my past and present lives. Come on, I really want to go and see what's going on in Europe right now."

Xu Xiake didn't understand very well, but from what Zhongxing Hou said between the lines, it seemed that he wanted to go to Europe very much.

To be honest, as Marquis of Zhongxing, it is most appropriate to go to the West.

However, he felt that his status was low and it was difficult to express his opinion, so he just smiled and looked at Zhong Jinwei, waiting for his text.

"This mission to the West, on the surface, is mainly to check whether this Western sect is beneficial to the people and suitable for the mission of the Ming Dynasty. But the real intention has been told to you once before, and I will say it again now. You must keep it in mind." Zhong Jinwei solemnly said.

In this troubled time, the imperial court took a lot of effort to arrange this mission, which is enough to prove the importance of its mission.

After hearing this, Xu Xiake stood up quickly, bowed his head and saluted and said, "Please rest assured, Mr. Caomin... I will definitely fulfill my mission as an official."

Although Xu Xiake is well-educated and literary, and even has a superb memory, he just can't even pass the exam as a scholar.

Now the imperial court has specially added a new name for his matter, that is, the seventh-rank Western inspection press, which specializes in inspections of the Western affairs.

He was used to calling himself a grassroots citizen when he met officials, but he was not very used to suddenly becoming an official.

Zhong Jinwei didn't take it seriously, motioned Xu Xiake to sit down, and then continued to tell him: "For your mission to the West this time, the imperial court has specially ordered Jingdezhen official kilns to burn a boat of exquisite porcelain for your Western gifts. "

When Xu Xiake heard this, he blinked his eyes and was a little puzzled, so he could only ask, "Master Hou, are you giving gifts when you go to the West?"

Zhong Jinwei nodded and said with a smile: "Yes, it is a gift. Our Ming porcelain, especially Jingdezhen's exquisite porcelain, is very popular in the West and expensive. Westerners are proud to own a set of Daming porcelain."

After talking continuously, my mouth was a little dry in the hot weather in mid-June.Zhong Jinwei picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, moistened his throat before continuing: "After you arrive in Western Ocean, try to visit many countries. Every time you arrive in a country, you will send a set of porcelain to the local nobles. The benefits of doing this are as follows: two."

Having said that, Zhong Jinwei stretched out his right hand and counted his fingers for him: "First, Westerners are similar to Chinese people. They can eat people with soft mouths but short hands. After giving gifts, it will be much easier for you to get what you want."

Then he stretched out another finger and said, "Secondly, whenever you go to a place, you can spread the word that whoever transports a ship of craftsmen to Daming can bring back a ship of porcelain. For the skilled craftsmen in your industries, the more exquisite the porcelain that Daming will give you, and silk is no problem.”

When Xu Guangqi heard this again, he still shook his head in his heart.

When Marquis Zhongxing proposed this approach, it made it difficult for several people of Confucian background.Isn't this exchanging things for people? It is bound to set off a wave of smuggling craftsmen in the West.

You must know that Westerners are now trying their best to trade with Ming Dynasty in order to obtain popular traditional items in the West such as porcelain and silk.

If Daming took the initiative to open such a trading channel, with the greed of those Westerners, how could he not obediently enter the urn.

After Zhong Jinwei finished speaking, he shook two fingers and said to Xu Xiake: "These two benefits will be of great help to your mission on this trip, so you must give them away, understand?"

Xu Xiake is also a person who is used to the rivers and lakes. Zhong Jinwei has already made it so clear, how can he not understand.Therefore, he clasped his fists and replied, "Your official understands."

After speaking, he secretly came to a conclusion in his heart, Zhongxinghou seemed to be very familiar with Xiyang.

After Zhong Jinwei finished talking about this, he told Xu Xiake again: "You should also write down the waterway along the way and the situation of each city. I know you will write a travel diary, but I just remind you to remember the key points, or you can simply write two One copy, one for what you like to write, and one for what I want."

Xu Xiake's face turned red a little, and he stood up immediately, clasped his fists and replied, "Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. Xiake was first a Xiake of Ming Dynasty, and now he is an official of Ming Dynasty, so he should do his best for the country first."

Xu Guangqi nodded while listening, and looked at Xu Xiake with more appreciation.

Now there are not many officials in Ming Dynasty who are as enlightened as he is. It seems that people who come from the imperial examination do not necessarily have to be people who are useful to the country.

Zhong Jinwei thought that if he made such a change, he would lose a copy of "Xu Xiake's Travel Notes" in the future?

He immediately smiled and said to Xu Xiake: "It's okay, you just need to write down what I asked for first, and then you can write about the customs, exotic flowers and plants, strange customs, etc. along the way in the rest of your time. An opportunity for the rest of Ming Dynasty to introduce Xiyang."

Seeing Zhong Jinwei say that again, Xu Xiake agreed.

Because of Zhong Jinwei, Xu Xiake's life trajectory has changed.The "Xu Xiake's Travel Notes" he finally wrote is different from the original history, and is divided into two volumes.

The first volume is about the country, and the second volume is about the experience of foreign missions.Just relying on these two volumes, Xu Xiake's name will be passed down to future generations, and it will also allow him to live comfortably on the manuscript fee for the rest of his life, and benefit his descendants.

Zhong Jinwei then said apologetically to Xu Xiake: "Because the schedule is a bit tight, there may not be time for you to go home to say goodbye. You need to go directly to Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, and then go to Macau to meet the missionaries who are waiting there and go to Western Ocean together."

Xu Xiake listened and smiled and said: "It's all right, the officials often go out, and it's not uncommon for them not to go home once every half a year. The officials have already sent letters home, so they don't have to worry about it."

After hearing this, Zhong Jinwei asked curiously: "How long have you been in the capital this time, and why did you come here? What attractions here attract you?"

"Before Xiaguan met Lord Hou, he had been in the capital for many days, and his footprints were all over the vicinity of the capital. The purpose of coming here this time is not for the scenic spots, but for Zhongxinghou."

Zhong Jinwei was quite surprised by Xu Xiake's answer. He looked at Xu Guangqi who was also surprised, and then turned back to ask Xu Xiake, "For me?"

Xu Xiake saw that he hadn't made it clear, and Zhong Jinwei misunderstood him, so he quickly explained: "I came here for the cement of Zhongxinghou, because I have seen similar things before. I heard about the properties of Zhongxinghou's cement in the south of the Yangtze River." After that, I specially came to the capital to have a look."

Zhong Jinwei was interested when he heard it. Could it be that someone in Daming invented cement first?But why haven't I heard of it, and it seems that no one in the court has heard of this point.

So he asked curiously, "Where have you seen something similar?"