The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

On the sixth day of the first lunar month, the Yun family had a visitor. It was Eunuch Yao from the palace: "We are here on the orders of His Majesty to bring Master Min into the palace to have a chat with His Majesty."

Min Xi was very surprised: "Are you sure it is His Majesty who wants to see me?"

"Sure!" Eunuch Yao nodded.

"Are you going now?"

"Yes, right now."

"Can I have someone go with me?"

"of course can."

Min Xi thought about it and called Yun Ji, but did not bring Yun Lin with him, because Yun Lin was too young and he was afraid that there were too many rules in the palace, which would be a constraint for him.

Yun Ji looked at Min Xi with some uneasiness. This time, there was no sign at all, and the palace sent someone to pick Min Xi up directly, which really made him feel uneasy. However, although Min Xi always said shocking things, it was unlikely that his words would reach the ears of the emperor, so it shouldn't be a bad thing.

Eunuch Yao was in the car, and neither of them could communicate the reason.

Min Xi then asked Eunuch Yao, "Why does His Majesty want to see me?"

"Yesterday, the Prime Minister came to the palace and talked to the Empress Dowager. For some reason, the Empress Dowager gave Your Majesty two days off. Your Majesty didn't have to do his homework during these two days, so he wanted to find someone outside to talk to him, and the Prime Minister recommended Master Min." Eunuch Yao explained.

Min Xi understood that Zhang Juzheng wanted Wanli to have more contact with him, maybe he wanted to influence Wanli a little. He overestimated himself. What could he do after meeting him once or twice? The Metamorphosis also had a week of trial time.

So Min Xi didn't say much, and didn't even ask about Wanli's recent situation. It's easy to imagine that a thirteen or fourteen-year-old child is in the rebellious period, and he is forced to study every day. I'm afraid he won't be in a good mood for a few days. When they enter the palace, they just don't want to make this young master unhappy, or he will kill people.

This time after they entered the palace, they did not go to the Qianqing Palace, but went to the Archery Pavilion. It was said that Wanli was playing archery there.

The weather is pretty good today, sunny and light wind, but it's still cold enough for outdoor sports in this weather.

When Min Xi and Yun Ji arrived, Wanli was sitting there watching a group of Jinyiwei playing archery. The Jinyiwei were divided into two teams, competing to win the prize.

Min Xi and Yun Ji walked forward and saluted. Because they had achieved fame, they finally didn't have to kneel this time. Wanli, who was sitting behind the screen, turned his head and looked at them: "Stand up, no need to be polite. Do you know how to shoot arrows?"

Wanli has grown a lot taller and his appearance has changed a bit. He is at the awkward period of thirteen or fourteen years old. He can't be considered good-looking, but he is not ugly.

Min Xi replied: "Your Majesty, the students cannot shoot arrows, they can only shoot. My brother can shoot arrows."

Wanli became interested: "What is shooting?"

Min Xi explained: "It's a musket. The students learned a little bit about it when they were in Fulangji."

Wanli asked a Jinyiwei wearing a flying fish uniform beside him: "Zhao Yu, do we in the Ming Dynasty also have muskets?"

"Your Majesty, we in the Ming Dynasty still have musket teams. But the range of muskets is too short, not as good as bows and arrows. Gunpowder is also easily affected by the weather and its performance is unstable." The Jinyiwei named Zhao Yu answered.

Wanli nodded.

Min Xi said: "Your Majesty, the bow and arrow have been invented for thousands of years. In order to increase the range, even the crossbow was invented. But whether it is the bow and arrow or the crossbow, the range has not changed much in thousands of years. The level of bow and arrow depends very much on the physical fitness of the archer. But the musket is different. It is a mechanical device that anyone can use. As long as the mechanical technology continues to improve, the range and accuracy of the musket will become higher and higher. In the future, the range may exceed several miles."

Min Xi was still being conservative. The longest range of a gun could reach more than 7,000 meters, which was something a crossbow could never achieve.

Wanli and Zhao Yu both turned their heads to look at Min Xi in disbelief. Zhao Yu looked at Min Xi and sneered, "You are not bragging, are you? It's not like I haven't seen a musket before!"

Min Xi said: "I just said it's possible in the future. What's the range of our Ming Dynasty's muskets?"

"At most 300 steps, no farther than a bow and arrow can shoot," said Zhao Yu.

Min Xi said: "I have tried Europa's spring-loaded shotgun, which has a range of more than 400 steps."

Wanli raised his eyebrows: "You mean, the European spring-wheel hunting rifle is more powerful than our Ming Dynasty's musket?"

Min Xi said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I cannot guarantee this, after all, I have never used a Ming Dynasty musket. But the European musket has solved the problem of instantaneous firing. It can pull the trigger to make the iron sheet rotate rapidly, collide with the ore to produce fire, ignite the gunpowder, and trigger the bullet."

"What's the matter with our Ming Dynasty's muskets?" Wanli asked Zhao Yu beside him.

Zhao Yu glared at Min Xi and said to Wanli, "I will ask someone to fetch a musket and show it to Your Majesty."

Wanli looked at Min Xi again: "Min Xi, do you have the European musket?"

Min Xi said, "Your Majesty, muskets are military weapons, and we dare not keep them privately. However, we have donated 25 European muskets to the navy along with the galleons, in the hope that the skilled craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty can be inspired to make better muskets than the European muskets."

Wanli was delighted when he heard this: "That's good enough! We must get someone to make a better musket!"

Zhao Yu ordered his men to fetch muskets, then turned to look at Min Xi and Yun Ji and said, "I've heard that scholars are good at the six arts of a gentleman, and archery is one of them. I'm sure you two are good at it too. Why don't we have a competition?"

Yun Ji pulled Min Xi and stepped forward: "I learned a little riding and archery when I was young. Please teach me, sir!"

Zhao Yu looked at Yun Ji and saw that he was dressed simply, but his face was handsome and his body was thin. He looked like a weak scholar. He didn't quite believe in his riding and archery skills. "What's your name? We don't compete with unknown people."

"I am the student Yun Ji. May I ask your name, sir?" Yun Ji said with a fist salute.

Zhao Yu laughed and said, "That's great! My name is Zhao Yu, and I'm the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei. I won't compete with you juniors, lest you accuse me of bullying. I'll ask someone who is about your age to compete with you."

"Thank you for your consideration!" Yun Ji said politely.

Soon, Zhao Yu called a young Jinyiwei over and said, "His name is Lu Zhan, the Lu Zhan who wins every battle." He laughed and patted Lu Zhan on the shoulder and said, "When you compete with the scholar in archery, remember to show mercy and don't embarrass him."

Yun Ji raised his hand and clasped his fist towards the other party: "Thank you!"

Lu Zhan glanced at Yun Ji and ignored him: "Thank you!"

Wanli said to Min Xi who was standing beside him, "Can your sworn brother do it?"

Min Xi said: "It shouldn't be a big problem. He just hasn't practiced for a few days. He may need to get familiar with it and find his feel."

Wanli said: "Then let him practice shooting three arrows first."

After hearing this, Yun Ji turned around and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Yunji took a bow and tried it. It was good to be able to pull the bow in such weather. After all, it was too cold and the bowstring was frozen. Yunji tried to pull it and borrowed a ring from someone. Without the ring, his hand was really painful.

With the ring, it was obviously much better to draw the bow. He pulled two bows, took three arrows, and tried shooting at the target, but none of them hit the target. The first one fell to the ground before it reached the target, the second one fell under the target, and the third one just missed the target.

The group of Jinyiwei were watching his movements, each of them trying to hold back their laughter.

Yun Ji turned around and nodded to Wanli and Min Xi, saying, "Your Majesty, I am ready."

Wanli said: "Let's start. The one who gets closer to the bull's eye among the three arrows wins."