The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

The boatman, wearing a straw raincoat and a hat, stood at the stern and rowed with a bamboo pole. After a while, he turned into a snowman.

But we cannot stop at this time because the snow has just fallen and the river has not had time to freeze. If we stop and wait for the snow to stop before going on, the river will most likely be frozen, and breaking the ice will be very troublesome, which will greatly affect our speed and is not very safe.

When they returned to the capital in the wind and snow, it was snowing heavily in Beijing. The whole city was covered in silver, turning into a gray world. The snow was still falling with no sign of stopping.

It must be said that the timing of their return this time was really clever. If they had followed the original plan to take the land route, they would probably still be in Northern Zhili, and the second half of the journey would be a battle against ice and snow. So everyone was very glad that they took the water route.

As soon as they got off the boat, a carriage from the palace came to pick up Wanli. Because they had written a letter back to Beijing in advance, informing the approximate date of their return, Zhang Juzheng sent someone to wait for them, and after waiting for three days, they finally received the person.

Wanli got on the carriage and turned to Min Xi and Yun Ji and said, "Min Qing and Yun Qing, please follow me into the palace."

Min Xi and Yun Ji followed him to the palace. They took the person out and now sent him home, which could be considered a complete process.

The carriage passed through the silent capital city in the snow and arrived at the Forbidden City. Someone had already ridden back to the palace to report the news.

So as soon as they arrived at the palace gate, Zhang Juzheng was already there with his men to greet them.

Wanli heard Zhang Juzheng's voice, opened the curtain, got off the carriage, and supported him personally: "Teacher, why do you need to come to greet me in person on such a snowy day? It's too cold, be careful not to catch a cold. Teacher, get in the carriage and go back to the palace with me."

Zhang Juzheng almost burst into tears when he heard this. He had taught Wanli for five years and knew this student very well. He could tell whether he was just being perfunctory or really caring about him. Wanli had told him to take care of his health before, but it was always just official words, not a single word from the heart. Today, he could hear the true feelings of Wanli.

"I have not seen Your Majesty for a long time and missed you very much. I heard that Your Majesty has returned safely, so I can't wait to be the first to see Your Majesty." Zhang Juzheng raised his head and looked at Wanli's complexion. It's no wonder that he has been away for almost two months. Although the journey was difficult, he has not lost much weight, and he looks much more energetic, with less impatience and disdain between his brows. It seems that this trip was indeed very beneficial.

"Is my mother in good health?" Wanli is still unwilling to change himself to "Zhen", and still feels more comfortable with the title "I".

"The Queen has always been in good health, but she has lost some weight because she is worried about the safety of Your Majesty. I wonder how happy the Queen will be if she sees Your Majesty return." Zhang Juzheng said.

"Teacher, are you in good health? You are my backbone, please take care of yourself. My Ming Dynasty still needs you."

Zhang Juzheng almost shed tears: "I am in good health, thank you for your concern, Your Majesty!"

Why did Wanli think of caring about Zhang Juzheng? It was naturally the result of Min Xi's subtle influence.

When they were on the road, Min Xi accompanied Wanli in the carriage most of the time. When the two of them sat together, they naturally had to chat. They talked most about what they saw and heard at home and abroad, covering local customs, history, politics, military affairs and religion.

At this time, Min Xi could not help but have his own agenda and expressed advanced modern political and military concepts under the pretext that they were the governance concepts of European countries.

Min Xi had always emphasized to Wanli that one can learn from others' experience. The reason why Chinese civilization has always flourished, unlike the short-lived ancient Rome and ancient Egypt, is that even when the Central Plains was occupied by foreign races, Chinese civilization is still vibrant. This is mainly because Chinese civilization has strong vitality, written records and inheritance, and a cultural core of tolerance. Inclusiveness, taking the essence and discarding the dross are the fundamental reasons why Chinese civilization can continue to grow stronger.

What he meant was that he wanted Wanli to be able to apply some good ideas to governing the country in the future.

Although Wanli began to learn how to govern the country at a young age, he received traditional education. Whether it was Zhang Juzheng or the scholars of the Hanlin Academy, the content they taught was nothing more than making a vertical comparison with ancient Chinese history and drawing lessons from history.

No one would teach the emperor to learn from other countries. After all, there were only small and barbaric countries around China that were not worth mentioning.

It was the first time that Wanli received the concept of countries around the world from Min Xi, and he realized that those foreigners actually had strengths worth learning from.

Wanli also discussed with Min Xi the problems he encountered on the first day of his journey. He felt very overwhelmed because he had not thought of any suitable solution so far. He even admitted that he did not have the ability to be a good emperor. Saying this to Min Xi shows that Wanli really trusts Min Xi. It may be because he was not in the palace at that time and was not bound by the crown, so Wanli was more like a teenager with many troubles.

Min Xi comforted him, saying that no one is born knowing how to do anything, and everything is learned bit by bit. The imperial court has gathered the smartest people in the world through the imperial examination. Some of these people can paint, some can write poetry, some are good at governing, and some are good at using troops... As long as these people can play to their strengths in the areas they are good at, governing the country will not be a difficult task.

Wanli was also a smart man. He knew that Min Xi was giving him advice. He might not have the ability to govern the country yet, but there were always capable people among the civil and military officials. If he could allow these capable people to give full play to their strengths, then someone would govern the country for him.

Min Xi rarely took the initiative to speak well of Zhang Juzheng. He would intentionally or unintentionally guide Wanli to realize that Zhang Juzheng was a capable minister.

If Wanli could truly understand Zhang Juzheng's position, his political ideas would not be completely rejected and abolished, and Wanli's restoration would not be a flash in the pan. Even if the Ming Dynasty was plagued by serious illness, it should be able to hold on for a few more years.

Wanli also realized this during this tour. Judging from the government affairs handled by Zhang Juzheng in the past, Zhang Juzheng was indeed a capable person, so he suppressed his dissatisfaction and fear of Zhang Juzheng. Just as Min Xi said, no matter how powerful a minister is, he cannot be greater than the sky, and he himself is this sky.

When they arrived at the Qianqing Palace, Empress Dowager Li was already waiting for the emperor. When she saw her son, she excitedly came up to him, hugged him and asked about his health: "My son, you have worked hard. You have become darker and thinner. You must have suffered a lot. Have you been sick?"

Wanli shook his head: "Mother, my son is not sick. They took very good care of him. Min Qing in particular made the greatest contribution. He prepared most of the food for me during the trip. It was delicious and clean, and I never had a stomachache."

Queen Mother Li looked at Min Xi and others standing behind her and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Min Qing. I will reward you handsomely."

Wanli smiled and said, "If the Queen Mother wants to reward, then everyone should be rewarded. Everyone should be rewarded."

"Okay! Everyone will get a reward. You all go back and have a rest first. I want to have a good talk with the emperor." Empress Dowager Li gave the order, asking Min Xi and others to go back.

When they left, Zhang Juzheng followed them out.

After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Zhang Juzheng said, "My carriage is parked outside the palace gate. Please let me take you two nephews back."

Yun Ji said hurriedly: "I dare not trouble you, sir!"

"It's okay! His Majesty is back, and I can relax now. His Majesty will chat with the Queen Mother and her son today, and I will go to the palace to see him tomorrow." Zhang Juzheng waved his hand, and a sedan chair came over immediately. Zhang Juzheng got on the sedan chair and left the palace with Min Xi and Yun Ji.

He was allowed to ride in a sedan chair in the palace with special permission from the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. After all, he was over 50 years old, which was an old man in this era. Moreover, he was busy with affairs and did not have much time to waste walking. He had to deal with a lot of state affairs every day while sitting in the sedan chair.

Min Xi guessed that he had a lot to ask them, especially about the emperor's words and deeds during the journey.

After leaving the palace, they changed to Zhang Juzheng's carriage. Zhang Juzheng's carriage was specially made, much more luxurious and spacious than ordinary carriages. There were really a lot of things in it, fruit plates, teapots, more books and memorials. It was true that the Prime Minister was very busy.