The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 337: The Princes of the Various Sects Arrive in Beijing
Zhu Jianxuan and King of Liang Zhu Jiancan briefly mentioned the future plans for the State of Liang.

King Liang was in a very happy mood, and when he was considering whether to leave, he thought of his sons he had brought with him.

So I carefully considered the language and asked:
"Your Majesty, I will certainly study hard and build Liang State according to your Majesty's ideas.

“But after all, I am over 70 years old, and there are limits to what I can do.

“As for the future affairs of Liang State, it is still up to the useless children in my family to share the worries for Your Majesty.

"But, Your Majesty, please let me know which child I should pass on my inheritance and job to, and how I should choose."

Zhu Jianxuan just smiled and said:
"I have already made arrangements. After all the vassal monarchs from all over the world gather together, I will make a formal announcement. Brother, don't worry.

"Brother is in good health and will surely live a long life. There is no need to worry about these things so early."

Seeing that Zhu Jianxuan didn't seem to want to say more, King Liang could only agree:

"I understand."

Zhu Jianxuan continued chatting with his two brothers for a while, but worried that they were not energetic enough, he asked someone to send them back to rest.

After paying homage to the emperor, Prince of Liang Zhu Jiancan settled down in Shuntian Prefecture. Whenever he had time and energy, he would go sightseeing and entertain himself in the city.

In the days that followed, monarchs from other vassal states began to arrive one after another.

Joseph II, the Austrian King enthroned by the Ming Dynasty, was the first among all the foreign vassal states to arrive in Shuntian Prefecture.

After receiving the report, Zhu Jianxuan summoned him directly and individually.

Following the instructions of the Ministry of Rites officials, Joseph bowed and saluted Zhu Jianxuan:

"I, the King of Austria, Joseph of Habsburg, pay my respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor."

Zhu Jianxuan waved his hand to signal him to sit down, then looked up and down at the famous Habsburg monarch.

At this time in his previous life, he had already been dead for twenty years, and his nephew Franz had already succeeded to the throne for more than ten years:

"How old are you, Joseph of Habsburg?"

Joseph sat on the armchair brought by the servant and reported and thanked him very respectfully and seriously:
"Your Majesty, I am sixty-eight years old this year, which means I am sixty-nine in lunar years.

"I am extremely grateful to Your Majesty for the miraculous medicines that I have received, which have enabled me to live to this age.

"Otherwise, if you catch a cold or tuberculosis, you could be dead in no time.

"Your Majesty's germ theory and the antibiotics you discovered are both miraculous drugs that have saved countless lives."

Zhu Jianxuan knew the effects of those medicines, and his inventions were not limited to those medicines. The medical development in the Ming Dynasty was also advancing by leaps and bounds.

It is foreseeable that the life expectancy of ordinary people will increase significantly in the future, and the wealthy classes will generally live longer.

In the past, people were considered rare to live to be seventy, but in the future, seventy should become the average life expectancy.

Zhu Jianxuan has achieved so much that he would not have any special emotions because of a compliment. He just mentioned the topic and then moved on:
"What's the current situation in Austria and Europe? It seems that the Ottoman Empire and Russia are about to cease fire? Is there any news from your side?"

Joseph II immediately bowed again and said:

“Thank you for your reminder, Your Majesty. I did receive some intelligence that the Ottoman Empire, which had originally had the upper hand, suddenly stopped its attack.

“It seems that there was another coup in Istanbul, but the Ottoman Sultan did not change, and then the two countries seemed to have started peace talks.

“I have already asked my nephew to prepare for emergencies in the border areas.

“But I believe that as long as the Ottomans and Russia are not eliminated, Eastern Europe and the Balkans will never be completely at peace.

“I beg Your Majesty to send the Ming army as soon as possible to completely wipe out this barbaric country.

"The Habsburgs are willing to serve as pioneers for the king."

Zhu Jianxuan didn't know whether Joseph's suggestion was just a simple suggestion or if there was some special idea in it, but it didn't matter:
“I know my limits on this matter. The demise of the Ottoman Empire and Russia is only a matter of time.

"You should stay in Shuntian Prefecture first and adapt to the environment here.

"I will formally arrange these matters after the monarchs of the vassal states have arrived."

Joseph is now completely certain that the Ming Emperor has included the elimination of the Ottoman Empire and Russia in his plan:
"My minister obeys."

Zhu Jianxuan continued to ask some questions about Europe and then asked Joseph to go back and rest.

In fact, Joseph II's nephew, King Louis XVII of France, also wanted to come to Shuntian Prefecture as soon as possible.

Louis XVII grew up in Shuntian Prefecture and had a more special relationship with the Ming Dynasty than any other king.

But the situation in France was far more complicated than that in Austria, and Louis XVII could not leave for the time being, so he could only postpone the trip to the second half of the year.

The same was true for Napoleon. He could only stay in Poland as long as possible and arrange everything before setting off again.

The King of the Netherlands, the King of Portugal, the Grand Duke of Morocco, these foreign monarchs arrived very quickly.

With the help of the Ming Dynasty's vassal states from Africa, Shuntian Prefecture became more and more lively.

The monarchs of vassal states did not come alone. They were accompanied by a large group of people, young and old, and all of these people needed food, clothing, daily necessities, and entertainment.

The imperial court's industries temporarily added many people, and private shops and industries also temporarily recruited more people.

The population of Shuntian Prefecture also expanded rapidly during this period.

The planning of Shuntian Prefecture was repeatedly dragged around by two generations of emperors, resulting in the construction of a large number of additional buildings and living facilities.

Especially in Dongwai City, a large number of houses were built at that time, but most of them were not put into use immediately. Now they can accommodate these people.

The monarchs of vassal states with high titles lived in the royal palace, while those with low titles lived in public housing originally prepared for officials.

Many vassal monarchs were familiar with each other, but they had not seen each other for several years or even more than ten years after they became vassal states. It was natural for them to reminisce at this time.

Many monarchs who were not familiar with each other but admired each other could meet and greet each other to establish friendship.

Commercial activities in Shuntian Prefecture became more prosperous than ever before.

Time slowly came to the end of October of the sixteenth year of Tiangong, when King Louis XVII of France arrived.

France is quite important in Europe, and the relationship between Louis XVII and the Ming Dynasty is also quite special. Zhu Jianxuan also summoned Louis XVII alone.

When Louis XVII saw Zhu Jianxuan, he bowed and saluted in a more skillful and standard way than anyone else:
"I, King Louis Joseph of Bourbon of France, pay my respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty.

"France has a lot of problems to recover, government affairs are complicated, and my ministers are ignorant and slow in handling affairs.

"By the time I had arranged all my affairs, it was already the end of September.

"I was unable to come earlier to celebrate your majesty's birthday. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Zhu Jianxuan waved his hand after hearing this:

"Don't blame yourself, I know the current situation in France, and you are not delaying time on purpose.

"Besides, it's still early in the year, so I won't blame you for this kind of thing."

Louis XVII then stood up:
"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Jianxuan asked the servant to move a chair, asked Louis XVII to sit down, and asked him about specific things in France.

Louis XVII selectively reported some things, specifically mentioning the French population problem that Zhu Jingjian had reminded him of. Now French officials have begun to recommend that a couple should only have two children.

Because the laws enacted during the revolution established the law of equal division of property and inheritance, the public seemed to be relatively supportive of it.

Zhu Jianxuan was also quite satisfied. After all, he could not force them to reduce their population on their own initiative.

If France can now maintain its population of 30 million, with neither outflow nor growth, it would be considered a barely acceptable result.

Once industrialization is basically completed and the level of urbanization continues to increase, France's population will decrease.

Zhu Jianxuan gave a few words of encouragement, clearly praised Louis XVII's actions, and allowed him to concentrate on governing France.

If any problems arise, or if the French people rebel again, they can directly ask the Ming court for help.

Louis XVII chatted with Zhu Jianxuan for a while, then said goodbye and left the palace at the right time to visit Joseph II of Austria.

Louis XVII's mother, Marie Antoinette, the queen of Louis XVI, was the youngest sister of Joseph II, and the two siblings had a very good relationship.

Louis XVII's name was Louis Joseph, and his middle name Joseph came from Joseph II.

So Louis XVII went to visit his uncle.

This uncle and nephew have not seen each other for many years, and neither of them expected that they would meet in Shuntian Prefecture.

The two talked about Louis XVII's parents and the French Revolution with full emotion and sighs, and Joseph II couldn't help but burst into tears.

Joseph II held Louis XVII's hand and gave him a lot of instructions in a disjointed manner.

"From now on, just concentrate on being the King of France, the King of France of the Ming Dynasty, and don't get involved in other European affairs unless you have to.

"France is now a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. Reflect on your own identity first, and then make a decision."

Louis XVII listened and nodded repeatedly:

"I'll remember that. I'll be careful..."

The time Louis XVII and Joseph spent in Shuntian Prefecture was a rare period of free time, which was a great opportunity to reminisce about the past.

On the other hand, Napoleon, the King of Poland, also arrived in Shuntian Prefecture in early November.

Napoleon was the last vassal state monarch of the Ming Dynasty to arrive in Shuntian Prefecture, besides Li Celing, the monarch of Shun State.

The reason Napoleon came late was the same as Louis XVII of France: he had too many things going on at home.

Napoleon's Poland could almost be considered a brand new country, and everything was more complicated than that of a rebuilt country like France.

But Napoleon had to come. He wanted to come in his heart, and he came with a pilgrimage mentality.

Napoleon wanted to know what the mainland of a country that could create and support such a powerful army was like.

What kind of person was the Ming Dynasty Emperor Gong, who created so many magical machines and weapons?

Napoleon had far more thoughts in his mind than any other monarch. On his way to the Ming Dynasty, he was constantly observing and thinking.

The closer Napoleon got to the Ming mainland, the more he realized how powerful the Ming was, and the bigger the gap between Europe and the Ming.

Especially when the ship he was on entered the inland river directly in Tianjin, and then went directly to Shuntian Prefecture along the canal.

Napoleon saw directly the canal he was in, which was an unusually large semi-above-ground canal.

We also saw cargo and passenger ships with steam rising from them sailing on the canal.

Each cargo ship has a displacement of thousands of tons, and there are many of them connected in series, carrying a whole row of ore and coal that look like small mountains.

Napoleon was stunned at the time. He felt that the coal and iron carried on that "string" of ships were enough for a traditional small country to use for more than a year.

On the riverbank next to the canal, there are steel railways and asphalt roads, on which you can occasionally see trains and motor vehicles whizzing by.

Although these ground vehicles can transport far less cargo than cargo ships, their speed is too fast, at least 60 kilometers per hour.

And these ships, trains, and motor vehicles will eventually leave the canal and deliver their cargoes to distant cities and factories with chimneys.

Napoleon felt that he saw a kind of "power", a brand new "power" that was completely different from the old world.

A new force that is more than an order of magnitude larger than what the old world could ever possess.

Are these all powers created by the Ming Emperor?

Napoleon fell into a long silence and stood on the boat on the canal until he entered Shuntian City.

After getting off the boat at the North Outer City Pier and taking a car into the East City area, he moved into a mansion reserved in advance under the arrangement of officials from the Honglu Temple.

Then, while waiting to be summoned by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Napoleon began to take the initiative to observe and understand the city.

Napoleon had a very good impression of Shuntian Prefecture.

The population is extremely large, business is exceptionally developed, and most importantly, the streets are very clean and all pedestrians are in good spirits.

Everyone is busy doing their own thing.

There were no beggars or homeless people on the streets, not even ragged people.

It seems that there are no truly poor people in the entire city.

This is truly an unprecedented, most prosperous and developed super city in the world.

In fact, Shuntian Prefecture is usually not as lively as it is now. This is the result of all the monarchs of the vassal states coming together.

However, Shuntian Prefecture is very clean and there are indeed no beggars or homeless people.

When the Ming Dynasty took over Shuntian City, it not only drove away all the nobles and officials of the Qing Dynasty, but also forced them to take away all the residents of the city.

Zhu Jianxuan then banned ordinary people from entering the city, and the entire old city of Shuntian Prefecture belonged entirely to the imperial court.

The original land around Shuntian Prefecture was originally owned by the kings, princes and nobles of the Qing Dynasty, and the surrounding farmers were actually their servants or even serfs.

After Zhu Jianxuan took over these lands, he organized the farmers outside the city into military farms and guards to cultivate these lands collectively.

Therefore, all the people around Shuntian Prefecture can be regarded as staff members of the imperial court.

Either continue to stay in the garrison and farm, or accept transfer to work in a factory.

There are no free, unemployed people without any assets, so naturally there will be no beggars and vagrants.

The Shuntian Prefecture City, which was completely under the control of the imperial court, completed a comprehensive modernization during the subsequent construction and had a new water supply, drainage and garbage transfer system.

The newly built outer city of Shuntian Prefecture was completely redesigned, and the corresponding system was planned from the beginning.

Therefore, Shuntian City has the conditions to remain clean.

Napoleon felt that all the cities he had visited and any city he knew in Europe could not compare with Shuntian Prefecture at that time.

With full of emotion and admiration, Napoleon waited for five days in the palace in Dongcheng District and finally received a notice from the Honglu Temple.

So he quickly bathed, changed his clothes, put on the robes of the Prince of Daming County, and went into the palace to pay homage to the Emperor of Daming.

(End of this chapter)