The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

In order to make a mirror for the emperor, Min Xi personally went to Zhuangzi twice and asked the craftsmen to make glass according to his requirements. In addition to different sizes and shapes, there were also different thicknesses. Glass of different sizes and shapes used specific molds. After all, there was no diamond to cut glass, so this stupid method could only be used.

After getting the glass back, Min Xi personally coated the mirror with silver and asked a craftsman to make an exquisite frame and base for the mirror. After all, it was presented to the emperor, the empress dowager and the queen, and he couldn't give them a naked mirror that would scratch their hands. By the way, he also asked the craftsman to make a frame and base for the mirror in his home.

In addition to making mirrors, Min Xi also personally polished and made a telescope, which he also prepared to present to the emperor.

He planned to make more telescopes in the future, send some to the Ming army, and sell some to ocean-going ships. These are indispensable necessities for both the army and the ships.

By the time he finished preparing all these, it was already twenty days later. Making the telescope was more complicated than he had imagined and took a lot of time and effort.

Min Xi wanted to see the emperor. If he followed the normal procedure, he would need to write a memorial and submit it first. It would then take a long time to get a result after going through layers of approval.

If Yun Ji was still in the Hanlin Academy, it would be easy for him to see the emperor, but now that he was in the Ministry of Revenue, he had to write a memorial to see the emperor. Fortunately, he had more opportunities to meet Zhang Juzheng, so he passed Min Xi's memorial directly to Wanli through Zhang Juzheng.

When Wanli saw Min Xi's memorial about offering treasures, he summoned him directly, because Min Xi had never disappointed him before, and the treasures he offered must be good things.

Min Xi brought the finished mirror and telescope into the palace. This time Yun Ji did not go with him because the court was implementing new policies and he was busy.

When Eunuch Yao saw Min Xi, he said, "Master Min, long time no see!"

Min Xi smiled and said, "Thank you again, eunuch. This is a meeting gift for you."

Eunuch Yao took the thing from Min Xi. It was round and flat, and cold to the touch. It was not the familiar silver. He was stunned, looked down, and saw a reflective mirror on it: "What is this?"

He picked it up and held it to his face. His eyes almost popped out of his head in shock. "Is this a mirror? I've never seen such a clear mirror in my house!"

Min Xi smiled and said, "This is the mirror I invented recently. I'll give you a small one first, and then a big dressing mirror later."

Eunuch Yao looked at Min Xi with satisfaction: "Lord Min always surprises us, it's really interesting."

After entering the palace, the palace servants moved the things that Min Xi brought in. Emperor Wanli had already been waiting for him in the Qianqing Palace. He was now in charge of the government, but not everything was decided by him. Important decisions still had to be consulted with the cabinet.

In order to meet Min Xi, he deliberately picked a day when he did not attend the morning court. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, it was normal for the emperor not to attend the court. However, Zhang Juzheng and Empress Dowager Li had high hopes for Emperor Wanli, so he still had to attend the courts, but fortunately, he did not have to attend the court every day like his ancestors.

"Min Qing, I haven't seen you for a long time!" Before Min Xi could bow and kneel before the emperor, Wanli stood up from behind the desk and held his hand warmly to prevent him from kneeling. "No need to bow, stand up. I heard that you are here to offer a treasure. I am very curious. What treasure are you going to offer me?"

Min Xi turned around and looked at the shelf that the palace servants had brought in, and said, "Your Majesty, please look, these are some mirrors that I present to Your Majesty."

Wanli was slightly stunned: "Mirror? What kind of mirror is worthy of your offering? Open it and let me see it."

Min Xi went over and untied the ropes on the shelf, then took down the mirrors inside. The mirrors were big and small, the small ones were dressing mirrors on the table, there were also makeup mirrors that could be carried around, and the large ones were dressing mirrors on the floor.

He wrapped all the mirrors with cloth and padded them with cotton to prevent shock. Min Xi first took apart the largest mirror. Wanli looked at the mirrors on the ground, walked to the front and took a look. He was immediately shocked: "How can there be such a clear mirror?! What kind of mirror is this? How can it be so clear?"

Wanli leaned forward in front of the mirror and looked left and right, as if he was seeing himself for the first time. He kept looking at himself in the mirror with a look of surprise on his face.

Min Xi smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this is the treasure I want to present to you. This mirror is made of colored glass, and I coated one side of it with silver, so that it can clearly restore the image of a person. I made some and presented them to your Majesty and the Queen Mother for use."

Wanli turned around in front of the mirror, obviously very satisfied, and said, "Are those mirrors too? Open them and let me have a look."

Min Xi opened several other mirrors. Wanli played with a small mirror and said, "Very good! Last time you gave me a glass lampshade, I thought you could definitely make something else. I didn't expect you to make it so quickly. I'll give it to my mother, she will definitely like it. Someone, send these mirrors to the Cining Palace. Send these to the Kunning Palace for the queen to enjoy."

Wanli quickly distributed all the mirrors, keeping only the largest dressing mirror and a small mirror that could be held in the hand and played with.

Min Xi reminded the palace servant who was carrying the mirror: "Be careful to handle it with care. This glass mirror is not like a bronze mirror. It will break if it is slightly bumped."

After the palace servants had moved all the mirrors away, Min Xi pulled out a telescope from his sleeve and presented it with both hands: "Your Majesty, this is the telescope I made."

Wanli took the cylindrical object in Min Xi's hand and asked, "What is a telescope?"

"Your Majesty, please follow me." Min Xi took the telescope and walked out of the palace. When he was outside and stood on the steps, he put the telescope to his right eye and began to adjust the focus. After it was focused, he said to Wanli, "Your Majesty, please look into the distance. If you can't see clearly, your majesty can gently rotate it, and it may be able to focus and see clearly."

Wanli took it and put it in front of his eyes. He couldn't see it clearly at first. Everything in front of him was blurry. He rotated the tube according to what Min Xi said. He was surprised to find that the roofs in the distance became clearly visible. He could even see the ridge beasts on the roofs. He took it away and tried it again. He was surprised and said: "This is really a telescope! What a treasure! It's almost like the legendary clairvoyance."

"It's not that exaggerated, but it does allow you to see farther," said Min Xi.

Wanli asked: "You did this too, didn't you?"

"I made it. I made it with the colored glaze I fired." Min Xi said, "The mirror is actually nothing. This telescope is the real treasure."

Wanli thought about it and said: "It can be used during marches and battles. It is indeed a treasure!"