The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

The date of departure for the UK was June 6. After about a month of intensive training, Amanda and Gail were finally able to cope with various situations in the kitchen, and most of the dishes they learned could be cooked to a level of 10% or %.

Their level cannot catch up with Min Xi, but fortunately, Chinese restaurants are unique and there is no substitute, so there should still be many customers who will continue to patronize them.

Before leaving, Min Xi and Yun Ji explained everything they could think of, and then they boarded the ship to England with peace of mind.

The two also made some preparations for the trip, asking the blacksmith to help make a set of smaller kitchen utensils, including knives, spatulas, frying pans, and even a small steamer made by a carpenter. They must bring soy sauce, after all, there is only one jar of Min Xi's brew in the whole of Europe. This solved the problem of eating on the road and after arriving in the UK.

Fernando was delighted with their move: "You don't know how wise your decision is! What do you think of the food in our Flangji? Is it too simple for you? But compared with the food in England, I guarantee that our food is definitely delicious. The British only eat to ensure their survival, they don't care about the taste at all!"

Min Xi just laughed after hearing this. If he didn't know, why would he bring his own spatula? "Then it seems that I brought the right spatula."

"Of course, this is the wisest move!" said Fernando.

There were two ships this time, one carrying people and the other carrying gifts for the Queen of England. Of course, the ship was not a galleon, but a carrack that was slightly smaller than a galleon.

Before the advent of the galleon, the caravel was the dominant ocean-going ship, but is now only used for short voyages along the European coast, the Mediterranean, and to West Africa.

Min Xi guessed that the purpose of Portugal's visit was mostly to consolidate the alliance between Portugal and England and to ally with Britain to fight against Spain, because this was an important foreign policy of Portugal during the Age of Discovery.

The King of England at that time was Elizabeth I, the queen who defeated the Spanish Armada and made Britain the overlord of the sea. She was an extremely courageous and capable queen.

During this period, Britain had not yet completed its unification. England and Scotland were still two countries. It was under the promotion of Elizabeth I that Britain achieved unification.

England is a Christian (Protestant) country, and Portugal is a Catholic country. From a religious perspective, there are huge differences between the two countries. Catholicism cannot tolerate Protestantism, and Protestantism and Catholicism are also irreconcilable. However, the interests of countries are always put first. Two countries with different concepts can completely reach a common goal in the face of common interests.

After more than a year, Min Xi and Yun Ji stepped onto the deck again, feeling the ups and downs of the waves under their feet. For a moment, they felt a little unbalanced, and Min Xi had to grab the railing to steady himself.

This was the first time that Min Xi had stayed on shore for such a long time since he became a seaman, so he was not used to the bumps on the boat. Turning his head to look at Yun Ji, he stood very steadily with his legs apart, but it was obvious that he was a little dazed.

Min Xi smiled and said, "Seventh Brother, are you not used to it?"

Yun Ji came back to his senses and said with a smile: "Yes, it's been a long time since I took a boat ride."

Min Xi let go of his hand and said, "The sun is a little strong. Let's go into the cabin and take advantage of these few days to study English well."

It takes about 10 days for a carrack to sail from Lisbon to London, so he had nothing to do on the ship, so he took the opportunity to learn English. Of course, Min Xi only used this as an excuse, otherwise he would suddenly speak English, which would make people suspicious.

Yun Ji touched his forehead helplessly: "You said that European countries are small, not even as big as a province in our Ming Dynasty. It would be great if they were unified. At least they could unify the official language, so we wouldn't have to learn so many languages."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Yes. Unfortunately, Europe lacks a Qin Shi Huang, so they can only fight each other. They have not been able to unify for thousands of years. It makes us have to learn a new language every time we go to a country."

Although it is troublesome, Yun Ji is not opposed to learning English. After all, if you go to a place and don’t even understand the language and can’t communicate, it will be quite troublesome.

The brothers Lord Fernando and Baron Fernando had nothing to do and took the initiative to take on the task of teaching them English.

Yun Ji originally thought that since he had learned Fulangji language, it would be easier to learn English, but he found that the difference was quite big, almost equivalent to learning a new language.

But he found that Min Xi learned English very quickly. While he was still trying to adapt to the pronunciation of English letters, Min Xi was already speaking simple conversations.

Min Xi said, "Seventh Brother, the problem we need to solve now is how to say it, don't worry about how to write it."

Yun Ji thought about it and said, "Then let's learn how to say it first."

Min Xi said, "I have learned some common English sentences from the Baron these days. The Baron said I speak very well. Let me teach you and we can learn together."

"Okay." Yun Ji agreed readily.

Yun Ji discovered that Min Xi's talent for languages ​​was terrifying. In just a few days, he had learned some basic expressions, such as how to greet people, ask about the weather, time, place, direction, price, etc.

He didn't know that Min Xi was speaking slowly. He was capable of more complicated things, but was just afraid that saying it out loud would scare him.

The Fernando brothers also discovered that Min Xi learned English and he could almost remember it every time he heard it. If you said an English sentence once, he could basically repeat it. If you said it several times, he would have memorized it. The next time you had a conversation with him, he could answer accurately.

The two brothers were so surprised: "Min, how did you learn so quickly?"

Min Xi shrugged and said jokingly, "Maybe I learned it in my previous life." Everyone else took it as a joke, but only he knew that he was telling the truth.

In any case, he has been labeled as knowledgeable.

Although the voyage was short, it was not necessarily safe. The Atlantic Ocean during this period was a battlefield where the strong preyed on the weak, and ships from various countries pirated each other. As long as they could rob, it was a sign of their ability.

In fact, all the royal families in Europe are related by marriage. However, in the face of interests, kinship means nothing and they will still fight to the death.

The royal families of Portugal and Spain have been relatives for generations. After Portugal gained independence, it had an independent national consciousness and was unwilling to be annexed by the powerful Spain, so it has always been allied with England to contain Spain.

England was also rising at this time. As a late-developing country, it was developing new colonies while robbing merchant ships of old colonial empires. Spain and Portugal were both within the range of the robbery, even though Portugal had a long-term ally relationship with them.

Now that Spain is the overlord of the sea, Portugal, which has been robbed, still has to maintain an alliance with England in order to prevent Spain from annexing itself.

In order to avoid the Spanish sphere of influence, the two carracks tried to stay away from the coastline. On the seventh day, halfway through the journey, they adjusted their course and entered the English Channel. Here, they were very close to Britain.

Late at night, Min Xi was sleeping soundly when the boat suddenly shook and Min Xi's hammock shook violently. The next second, Yun Ji grabbed the hammock and said, "Ninth brother, get up quickly! There is an enemy attack!"

Min Xi suddenly opened his eyes. He could not see anything in the darkness, but there was a strong hand grabbing his arm. It was Yun Ji's hand: "Seventh Brother, what's going on?"

Yun Ji said: "Something hit our ship. It should be the cannonball you mentioned."

"Pirates?" Min Xi was shocked. No way, we were almost in London, how could we encounter pirates? "What should we do now?"

Yun Ji said, "I'll go out and take a look first. You stay in the cabin and don't walk around, or I won't be able to find you."

Min Xi warned him: "Seventh brother, be careful. If there is a shell coming, you must dodge it. Shells are different from bows and arrows. Even if you are nearby, you will be affected by shrapnel."

"Got it. You should also be careful, don't get close to the outer wall of the ship, and stay away from the windows." To be honest, Yun Ji was worried about the penetrating power of the shells. He was worried that the shells would penetrate the hull and come in.

There were only two of them living in this cabin. The Baron brothers were in another cabin. I don't know how they are doing.

Min Xi quickly felt for the valuables, picked them up and tied them tightly around his body, then squatted in a corner. In case the ship was pierced and was about to sink, they would not be left with nothing.

Soon, he heard the sound of artillery fire again, one after another. Fortunately, it did not hit the hull, but the ship was also shaking violently. The shells should have fallen near the ship, causing waves to hit the hull.

Soon after, several shells seemed to explode under his feet, and he was shaken so much that he could not squat steadily and fell directly to the ground. He realized that it was their ships that were firing back.

Min Xi got up from the ground, feeling a little anxious. He should have gone with Yun Ji just now. At least he should have gone downstairs to set off the cannons and learned how to use them instead of leaving everything to fate here.

Fortunately, Yun Ji returned not long after he left: "Ninth brother!"

"Seventh Brother, I'm here!" Min Xi responded quickly, stood up and ran towards the cabin door.

Yun Ji held the shaking hatch with one hand and grabbed him with the other: "Let's go, the captain wants us to go down and fire back."