The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Several people looked at and touched Min Xi's bicycle. They seemed to want to figure out how this bicycle that did not eat grass and had no horsepower could run.

Marquez pushed the bicycle around for a while, and when he was about to ride it, Min Xi stopped him: "Mr. Marquez, you haven't learned how to ride, you will fall." He didn't want to let his bicycle fall around, it was not very sturdy to begin with.

Marquez reluctantly returned the bike to Min Xi: "Ride it for us to see."

Min Xi took the bike, rode it easily, circled around everyone, and got off again: "Let's go back to Siyi Pavilion."

Although Marquez and others were very envious, they could only satisfy their eyes.

When they returned to the Siyi Pavilion, Min Xi asked for the Spanish letter and found that there was not even any wax on it. He asked, "Mr. Marquez, has anyone opened this letter?"

When Marquez heard this, he said hurriedly, "I'm so sorry, sir. We brought this letter from Spain to here, and it took us about half a year. As you know, there are many variables in sea voyages, and the wax has long fallen off. But I assure you that this is definitely a letter written by His Majesty the King, and we have never opened it to read it."

Without the seal, no one could prove that this was the letter written by Philip II himself. But Min Si certainly would not tell him that the letter was fake, so he said, "Then give me the letter, and I will present it to our emperor as soon as possible. If you have any specific requests, you can tell me, and I will write them down and convey them to our emperor for you."

Seeing that he was so easy to talk to, Marquez quickly expressed their demands: Spain wanted to establish trade relations with Ming Dynasty, Spanish ships would be able to dock at Ming Dynasty ports, obtain business rights, and receive preferential treatment in terms of taxation, just like Ming Dynasty merchant ships.

After listening, Min Xi took out a pen and paper and wrote down everything. He said, "I will convey your demands to His Majesty, but so far, the Ming Dynasty has not established trade relations with any country. This is a matter of national policy, and it is not something you and I can influence."

When Marquez heard this, he said, "Your emperor is too conservative. Business is mutually beneficial. It should have been opened up long ago."

"Sir, please be careful with your words. This is the capital of the Ming Dynasty, right here under the feet of the emperor. It is inappropriate for you to criticize our emperor here." Min Xi reminded Marquez.

Marquez had no choice but to shut up and stop expressing his opinion.

Min Xi took the letter back to the Honglu Temple, wanting to talk to the Honglu Temple Minister about the Spanish envoy, but his superiors had all left the office and he didn't meet anyone. Min Xi thought about it and took the letter back. He had to study the specific contents of the letter with Yun Ji. When they were learning Spanish in Europe, Yun Ji also learned written language. Neither of them was proficient in Spanish, but they could still study together what was written on it.

When Yun Ji came back from the government office and mentioned the Spanish envoy, Yun Ji said, "Where's the letter? Bring it here so we can have a look."

Min Xi took out the letter and opened it, which was completely unsealed. Yun Ji looked at the appearance and said, "There is no trace of wax on the seal."

"I don't think so either. Let's see what's inside." Min Xi took out the letter from the envelope, and when he saw it, he almost made up his mind.

Yun Ji looked at the piece of Lianshi paper and said, "This doesn't look like the kind of paper the King of Spain would use."

Lianshi paper is a type of paper made from young bamboo. The production process is complicated and time-consuming. It has now been designated as paper for imperial examinations. It is not widely circulated on the market, let alone exported to Europe.

Min Xi nodded: "If Philip II wrote a letter to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he would definitely use kraft paper or parchment, not ordinary paper."

Although the Arabs brought papermaking to Europe and changed the way Europeans write, European countries still use kraft paper or parchment to write important documents such as legal documents and contracts. The nobles have retained this tradition. The last time Baron Fernando asked Reis to send a letter, he used parchment. The King of Spain will definitely use parchment to write letters to the country.

The two of them came to the letter and tried to decipher the contents. After reading it for a long time, they could only recognize half of it. Yun Ji said, "I have only studied Spanish for a short time."

"Me too. I mainly practiced speaking and didn't learn much about writing. What should I do? Should I ask those Spanish envoys to read it to me?" Min Xi asked.

Yun Ji shook his head. "No need. This letter was probably written by them themselves in the name of the King of Spain. Even if it was written by the King himself, it doesn't matter what it says. Just translate the contents we recognize and add a little more to it. No one will pursue it, because no one in the Ming Dynasty understands Spanish except the two of us. Their request is nothing more than to trade with the Ming Dynasty. Just convey this message to them."

"Does it matter even if we know they are fake envoys?" Min Xi asked.

"What does it matter? Your Majesty has only given us some rewards. Trade with foreign countries is not something that needs to be considered right now. The court's top priority is to resolve the internal problems of an empty treasury. Tax reform is imminent, and to avoid complications, trade relations with foreign countries will not be established. Allowing Ming ships to go out to sea is already the limit." Yun Ji said.

"What you said makes sense. Then I will translate it according to my own understanding, and then add a few harmless compliments."

Min Xi translated the letter into Chinese and presented it to the Minister of the Honglu Temple the next day.

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites looked at the Spanish letter and the letter translated by Min Xi and asked: "Master Min, have you finished it so quickly?"

Min Xi smiled and said, "It wasn't so fast originally. Yesterday, I went to the post house to look for the envoy of Great Luzon, but I didn't see him. As a result, I happened to meet him when I went out for dinner. We chatted and learned about their demands. I also got the letter written by their king. I studied the letter with the editor of the Hanlin Academy, Mr. Yun Jiyun, and finally figured out the content of the letter. I translated it into the language of the Great Ming Dynasty, please take a look."

After reading Min Xi's translation, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites said, "I understand. Since you understand the language of Greater Luzon, please invite the envoys to have a detailed discussion. After I understand their demands, I will write a memorial to submit to Your Majesty."

"Okay! I will send someone to invite the envoy from Luzon right away." Min Xi respectfully withdrew and sent Xue Lai to the Siyi Hall to invite someone.

The Spanish envoys met with Min Xi yesterday and knew that there would be results soon, so they were more sensible and did not go out for a walk today. As soon as Xue Lai called them, they followed him here.

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites had a routine chat with the envoys, and Min Xi acted as an interpreter, allowing the two sides to exchange opinions and requests.

After talking about this, the Minister of Rites said to the Spanish envoy: "I have heard of your request and will report it to His Majesty as soon as possible. You can go back and wait for the news."

Marquez could not help but ask, "When will your emperor give us a reply? We have been here for several days and we cannot keep waiting."

Min Xi said: "Since the report has been submitted to His Majesty, there will be a result soon. Gentlemen, please go back and wait for the news patiently."

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites did not delay. After all, he usually did not have much important business to attend to. Now that a foreign envoy had arrived, that was his only important business, so he quickly wrote the memorial and submitted it.

As for when the cabinet will see it and deal with it, we will have to wait. After all, the cabinet is really busy and all matters, big or small, in the court have to be handled by the cabinet.

Wanli is already sixteen this year. In the past two years, he has also started to participate in government affairs. However, most of the decisions are not made by him, but by the cabinet, which is headed by Zhang Juzheng. Therefore, most of the decisions are still made by Zhang Juzheng. However, after listening to Min Xi's opinions, Zhang Juzheng has subconsciously guided the emperor to participate in politics. He still attaches importance to the emperor's opinions, and still lets the emperor decide some things himself.

Although Zhang Juzheng was obsessed with the feeling of holding power, as a pure ancient man, he still attached great importance to family honor. Now that he knew what would happen after his death, he would never use his family to be buried with him.

While waiting for the court's opinion, Min Xi would also take time to meet the Spanish envoys. After all, these people were under his responsibility. Compared with the Fujian translator, Min Xi was naturally much more familiar with the capital. He knew where there were delicious food and fun things to do. He was more than qualified to be a tour guide.

The Spanish envoys also liked dealing with Min Xi because chatting with him was much smoother than chatting with the translator.

After a few days, Min Xi had become very familiar with the messengers.

Five days later, news finally came from the emperor that he would receive several Spanish envoys in the palace.

Min Xi was not surprised when he heard the news. Based on his understanding of the emperor, it would be strange if the emperor was not interested in such a new thing.