The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Queen Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and asked, "Oh, what kind of friend?"

Min Xi said, "It is Baron Fernando, the grandson of Duke Fernando. He is our best friend whom we met in Lisbon. He and his elder brother, Lord Fernando, are both in the delegation. Baron Fernando came here to marry his fiancée, Miss Alice Harold."

When Queen Elizabeth heard the name, she asked a man sitting next to her, "Is that the Harold I know?"

The man bowed slightly. "Your Majesty, I think so. Miss Harold is marrying the Portuguese nobleman at your order."

Queen Elizabeth spent most of her life using her marriage to negotiate marriages with the royal families and nobles of various European countries in order to achieve certain political goals. This can be said to be marriage diplomacy. It was a very common practice to have her princes and nobles marry to achieve political goals.

Queen Elizabeth couldn't help but frown when she heard this: "So where has the Portuguese mission ship gone so far?"

Min Xi lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know. As far as I know, it has not yet docked at the Port of London."

"Do you think it is possible that the ship was sunk by pirates?" asked Queen Elizabeth.

Min Xi said: "Even if the ship was sunk, they could have escaped like us. It is impossible that no one survived. I just don't know their current whereabouts."

Queen Elizabeth turned to the man who had spoken before and said, "Robert, go back and ask someone to check the whereabouts of the Portuguese delegation. Send people from France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark to investigate."

"Yes, my dear Majesty!" replied the handsome man called Robert.

Queen Elizabeth changed her tone and asked, "What are your names?"

Min Xi replied: "Your Majesty, my name is Min Xi, and this is my brother Yun Ji. His English is not very good, so I am here to help him."

"What is your status in China? Where are you from?"

"We are businessmen from Beijing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty." He did not say that he and Yun Ji were from different places to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

Queen Elizabeth asked, "So what kind of man is your King?"

Min Xi actually had limited knowledge of the history of the Ming Dynasty. He only knew that there were many eccentric emperors in the Ming Dynasty, and that Emperor Longqing did not have a strong presence. He only remembered two major events: the opening of the gates by Longqing and the appointment of the capable minister Zhang Juzheng. He was a short-lived emperor who died after only a few years in office because of his indulgence in sensual pleasures.

He had also heard Yun Ji talk about people's evaluation of Emperor Longqing at that time, so he said: "Our Emperor is kind and benevolent, and is an enlightened monarch. It was after he ascended the throne that our Ming Dynasty lifted the maritime ban and actively promoted overseas trade." Regardless of the emperor's private life, he was indeed a qualified emperor. Besides, family disgrace should not be made public, so of course one should only talk about the good things.

"It seems that your emperor is happy to trade with overseas countries, right?" asked Queen Elizabeth.

Min Si nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty."

Queen Elizabeth asked, "If we want to establish trade with your country, do you think it is feasible?"

Min Xi smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, we are just common people and have no right to ask the Emperor's decision, but I think it is still possible that our Emperor will agree."

Whether it was the Ming Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, as long as China did business honestly, it would always have a trade surplus. It was just that the Europeans could not afford to lose.

Queen Elizabeth nodded slightly. "Then if I send you a letter of divorce and you deliver it to your Majesty the Emperor, can you do it?"

Min Xi looked at Queen Elizabeth in surprise: "Your Majesty wants me to be a messenger?"

Queen Elizabeth nodded. "That's right. This is beneficial to both countries. Your emperor should consider it carefully and accept my proposal."

This was a big deal. Min Xi knew that during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, she had written to the Ming emperor several times, trying to establish trade relations with the Ming Dynasty, but for various reasons, the letters were never delivered to China.

Min Xi quickly said, "I am very happy to serve Your Majesty."

If he had such an identity as a messenger, Queen Elizabeth would definitely not kill them, after all, she still needed their help.

Queen Elizabeth asked, "Are you sure you can deliver the letter to your Majesty the Emperor?"

Min Xi thought for a moment and said, "As long as we can reach Beijing safely, we will be able to deliver the letter to the Emperor. We also know some officials in the court."

"That's great. I'll write a letter and have you pass it to your Emperor," said Queen Elizabeth.

Europe is full of small countries with scarce resources. If they want better development, they can only expand overseas.

Portugal and Spain took the lead and seized spheres of influence overseas early on. Portugal had been deeply rooted in Southeast Asia for many years and had already become a powerful force, while Spain occupied a large area of ​​fertile land in the New World. The two countries transported large amounts of gold, silver and spices from overseas and made a lot of money, making other European countries jealous.

Britain was one of them. The Queen was jealous of the overseas power of Spain and Portugal, so she supported pirate ships in plundering at sea, while also working hard to open up new overseas spheres of influence.

The mysterious big country in the East has always been the Garden of Eden longed for by European countries. It is beautiful and rich, with mountains of tea, beautiful silk as thin as a cicada's wing, smooth and delicate porcelain, and snow-white paper... For thousands of years, it has been the object of trade competition among Western countries.

Because of their geographical advantage, the people of Arabia became the middlemen between China and Europe. They bought goods and learned technologies from China, and then sold them in Europe at high prices. They have made a lot of money for thousands of years.

If they could establish trade directly with China without going through middlemen, wouldn't they be able to sell those delicious tea, silk, porcelain and paper to other European countries? Wouldn't they also be able to make a lot of money by acting as the middleman?

So when the Queen of England learned that Min Xi and Yun Ji were from China, she couldn't help but get excited. She must seize this opportunity.

Min Xi agreed: "I will obey your majesty's order!"

Queen Elizabeth asked Min Xi about the customs and practices of the Ming Dynasty. They talked until it was dark. It was only when the ministers beside her reminded her that she reluctantly said, "Let's stop here for today. I will summon you to the palace to accompany me to talk another day. Hofstadter, I am very satisfied with today's banquet, especially the delicious Chinese dishes. Don't forget to reward the two Chinese gentlemen."

Baron Hofstadt responded hastily: "As you command, Your Majesty!"

Min Xi and Yun Ji said goodbye and walked out. After they were quite far away, Yun Ji asked, "I seem to have heard that Her Majesty the Queen wants us to help deliver a letter, right?"

Min Xi smiled and said, "Yes. Do you understand? She wants to obtain business permission from our Ming Dynasty and asked us to deliver a letter to the Ming Emperor. I said we can deliver it, and then it depends on you."

Yun Ji thought for a moment and said, "If I can go back, it is not impossible to deliver the letter to the emperor."

Min Xi stretched his arms happily: "I feel relaxed all over. Now I don't have to worry about Her Majesty the Queen detaining us." This can be regarded as a sudden turn of events. It seems that the Queen of England thinks further than the King of Portugal. This is probably the difference in ability between the two. Of course, it is also determined by different situations.

"Then do we still need to go to France?" Yun Ji asked.

Min Xi said, "Let's wait and see if there are any ships going to Portugal and Spain. We won't go to France for now, even though the war is only small-scale, there's no need to take the risk. But we must go to Spain, and whether we go directly or go through Portugal depends on which ship we can wait for."

"That's good, then you can stay here peacefully for now. The Queen seems very satisfied with today's dishes. After this banquet, we should have a lot more guests." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi smiled and said, "That's great. Let's take this opportunity to make some extra money so we can buy a boat later."

It was already dark and the guests in the front hall were enjoying their dance.

Min Xi and Yun Ji cannot leave for the time being. If they want to go back, they need a pass and have to wait for the housekeeper to get them the pass before they can leave.

After packing up, the butler also brought the pass and their reward, which was a little more than originally agreed, a total of 30 pounds: "Her Majesty the Queen asked the Baron to reward you, and the Baron gave you 10 pounds more."

"Please express my gratitude to His Excellency the Baron!" Min Xi took it without hesitation and expressed his gratitude to the other party.

Queen Elizabeth is really interesting. She thinks the food is delicious, so she asks the barons to give her rewards and she is reluctant to spend her own money.

Min Xi and Yun Ji took the money and the pass and rode out of the baron's manor. Yun Ji held the reins in one hand and the lantern in the other, while Min Xi rode parallel to him. The bustling manor gradually moved away from them, and they entered the dark street. There were no street lights except for the lights of the houses.

Min Xi and Yun Ji talked about the conversation with the Queen just now: "Langdon's friend has reported the matter of the mission ship to the Queen, but it seems that they have not started searching for the whereabouts of the mission ship. I told her today that it might have been attacked by a British pirate ship. They should be able to find the whereabouts of the mission ship soon."

Yun Ji knew that he was worried about the safety of the delegation, so he comforted him: "The Baron is blessed with a good life, and he will be fine. We are safe now, so let's just wait for their news here."

"Well, if we can really get news from them, we can go back with them. We won't have to look for a way to get back."