The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

The servant came over and poured tea for them.

Queen Elizabeth drank tea from porcelain, but still from a saucer instead of a teacup. However, the two men did not dare to point out that this way of drinking tea was wrong, as they could not afford to refute it for the sake of the Queen's face.

The queen gracefully picked up the saucer and took a sip, saying, "This is tea from China, please try it."

Min Xi picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said to Yun Ji in Chinese: "This seems to be oolong tea."

Yun Ji said: "Yes, the oolong tea from Wuyi Mountain in Fujian should be exported from Quanzhou."

Min Xi translated Yun Ji's words to the queen, who nodded and said, "It seems that you can tell the origin of tea by its different origins."

Min Xi smiled and said, "I don't drink much tea, so I can only identify what kind of tea it is by the color of the tea soup. My brother drinks more tea, and he can even tell where the tea leaves come from."

The queen nodded upon hearing this.

Min Xi also suggested: "Your Majesty can eat mooncakes with tea, so that you won't feel sick easily."

"That's a good idea! Do you Chinese have snacks when you drink tea?" the Queen asked curiously.

Min Xi said, "Yes, Your Majesty. In China, drinking tea not only quenches thirst, but also soothes the mood. It is also a way of socializing. When guests come to visit or friends meet, they all drink tea. Drinking tea is a daily routine for the Chinese, and naturally gave rise to snacks."

"Do ordinary people also drink tea?" The Queen couldn't help but express her curiosity. She knew that tea was introduced from China and that when it arrived in Europe, it became a luxury that only the upper class could afford.

"Yes, I drink it. Tea is divided into categories and grades. Inferior tea is cheap, so ordinary people can afford it."

The Queen tapped the table with her fingers, her eyes complicated. This is the gap. If she could trade with China and ship tea to Britain, she would not only make a lot of money, but also allow more British people to afford tea.

The Queen's mood at this moment was probably similar to the feeling of our Chinese leaders when they visited abroad in the 1970s and 1980s and saw that every American household drove a car, ate milk and beef every day, and had color TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and other complete home appliances.

In addition to tea, the Queen also asked about other aspects, such as silk, porcelain, lacquerware, etc., which are the most popular commodities in the East-West trade.

After chatting for a long time, the Queen finally got down to business: "I received a letter from the Netherlands. Some Dutch merchants rescued a Portuguese ship that was damaged by a cannonball at sea. They claimed to be a Portuguese envoy to Britain. The Dutch took them in, but the ship was seriously damaged and needed repairs, so they have never been able to come to Britain."

When Min Xi and Yun Ji heard this, they were overjoyed: "Really? Are all the members of the delegation okay?"

"Most of them should be fine. After a while, they will escort the repaired ship to England. Don't worry, the Portuguese delegation is safe." Queen Elizabeth smiled.

Min Xi and Yun Ji felt relieved, everything was indeed fine.

In fact, after escaping from the pursuit of the British pirate ship, the Portuguese mission ship was rescued by a Dutch ship and brought them back to the Netherlands, but the entire ship and all the members were detained. Since they were Portuguese and were on a mission to Britain, they survived.

The Netherlands refers to the Netherlands, Belgium, and the low-lying areas in northern France. Medieval Europe was almost like a large family business, with the monarchs of various branches and small countries being relatives. Initially, the rulers of the Netherlands inherited their grandfather's Kingdom of Spain. Because Spain was strong, the Netherlands became a Spanish territory.

To this day, the Netherlands is still a Spanish colony, but because of the existence of France in between, and the emergence of the bourgeoisie and the gradual awakening of national consciousness during this period, the Dutch people wanted to overthrow Spanish rule and gain independence.

As the only Protestant country and monarch in Europe, Queen Elizabeth was not tolerated by Catholic countries led by Spain. Naturally, Queen Elizabeth united all forces that could oppose Spain. She supported the independence of the Netherlands and secretly contributed money and manpower.

This is why the Dutch pirates did not kill the Portuguese delegation.

Of course, Min Xi didn’t know all this now. He only knew that the Baron was lucky and had a long life, so he was really fine!

Queen Elizabeth said: "When do you plan to leave England?"

"We will wait for the Portuguese delegation to arrive and then return to Lisbon with them. Your Majesty, how long will it take for the Portuguese delegation to arrive in the UK?" Min Xi took the opportunity to ask. He had been delayed in the UK for long enough and wanted to return to Lisbon as soon as possible.

Queen Elizabeth looked at him and said, "The letter said that we have to wait until the Portuguese delegation's ship is repaired before we can come. It didn't say a specific date. Otherwise, you won't be able to return to Portugal smoothly."

Min Xi quickly said, "Your Majesty is right. I was too impatient."

Queen Elizabeth added, "I haven't finished writing the letter to your Chinese emperor yet. Since you want to wait for the Portuguese delegation to leave together, I will not write to you for the time being. I will write to you when you confirm the date of departure. By the way, when do you plan to return to China?"

Min Xi said, "We still have some things to do after we return to Lisbon. After we finish our work, if there is a ship back to Asia, we will take it back with a favorable wind. Your Majesty, after I deliver the letter to you, if our emperor has a reply, how can I convey it to you?"

Queen Elizabeth thought for a moment and said, "How about I send a ship to escort you back to China?"

At first glance, this sounds like a godsend, what a great thing it is, it is delivered directly to your doorstep.

However, Min Xi knew that he did not dare to accept this opportunity, because historically, British ships did not reach China until the middle and late Qing Dynasty, that is, in the 18th and 19th centuries. Queen Elizabeth had sent ships to the Ming Dynasty to deliver letters several times, but none of them reached China, which was enough to prove that Britain today lacked some skills or luck.

Min Xi thought for a moment and replied, "Your Majesty, are you sure that British ships can reach China smoothly?"

Elizabeth was naturally not sure. She had tried before, but their navigation technology was indeed not enough to travel directly from Britain to China.

Moreover, although Portugal and Britain were allies, their alliance was limited to dealing with Spain. Once Britain tried to interfere in Asian affairs, it would be Portugal's enemy, and once they met at sea, they would be tit-for-tat enemies.

In the English Channel, Portuguese ships had little chance of winning against British pirate ships, but on the route to Asia, Britain was still unable to compete with Portugal, which had been deeply rooted in Asia for many years.

Queen Elizabeth asked: "After you return to China, will you come to Europe again?"

Min Xi told the truth: "To be honest with you, Her Majesty, we have plans to return to Europe."

"Then I will leave the task of delivering letters back and forth to you. Once you return to Lisbon from China again, we will try to contact you," said Queen Elizabeth.

This means that there is a British contact point, or intelligence personnel, in Lisbon. After all, if you want to know the real information of various countries, you must have your own people to collect intelligence.

Min Xi said, "Okay, I'll try my best to get a reply for the Queen as soon as possible."

Queen Elizabeth asked Min Si to deliver the letter, of course, it was just an attempt, which was equivalent to doing a business with no capital. If it could be done, she would naturally make a lot of money. If it failed, there would be no loss.

If it was done, the entire fleet would be arranged to do business with China. The chances of a single ship failing to challenge the Asian route would naturally be high, but if it was a fleet, there would be no need to worry too much about obstruction from Portugal.

The queen invited Min Xi and Yun Ji to have lunch in the palace, and Min Xi got to taste the cooking skills of the palace chefs. To be honest, it was hard to describe. The boiled chicken was old, tough, and tasteless, which made it hard for the two people who were used to eating white-cut chicken, beggar's chicken, and roasted chicken to swallow. The only thing they could eat was fried venison, which was a little raw in the middle. Min Xi could only tell himself frantically in his heart: No parasites, no parasites!

Unfortunately, the queen even asked her chef to come out and discuss cooking skills with Min Xi. However, the palace chef was quite conceited and thought that his cooking skills were the best in the world, so he did not take Min Xi seriously.

Min Xi was too lazy to argue with the other party. If he wanted to be the best in the world, then so be it. He would never meet her in the future anyway.

However, the queen obviously did not intend to let him go: "Lawrence said that he is so powerful, why not compete with Min and make the simplest dish."

Min Xi looked at the chicken on the table and said, "I don't think a competition is necessary. Let's just compare our cooking skills. I don't like today's chicken very much. If there are already killed chickens in the kitchen, I would like to cook chicken for the queen again."

Queen Elizabeth agreed: "Then I will wait and enjoy my feast."

Min Xi followed the cook to the kitchen, and Yun Ji naturally followed them. He didn't want to sit alone with the queen, it would be too awkward.

Min Xi entered the royal kitchen and saw that there was indeed a chicken that had been killed and was waiting to be used, so he asked someone to boil water. After about a quarter of an hour, the white-cut chicken was ready. After taking it out, it was chopped into small pieces, served on a plate, and someone took it to the queen for tasting.

Queen Elizabeth looked at the chicken on the plate without any seasoning and asked: "Is this how we eat it?"

Min Xi placed the fried garlic in his hand on the plate and said, "Your Majesty, if you don't mind eating garlic, you can dip it in this sauce."

Queen Elizabeth picked up a chicken leg and found that the color of the chicken bone was a little red. She couldn't help but frowned: "Is this raw?"

"No, Your Majesty, it is only the bone marrow that is still red. The meat is already cooked, no more raw than the fried venison just now. Please taste it."

Queen Elizabeth tried taking a bite and tasted the tenderness, freshness and sweetness of the chicken. It was a unique flavor. Although it was the same chicken, the difference between the one cooked by the court chef and the one cooked by the court chef was simply worlds apart.