The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

They returned from Tao's house after dinner.

Min Xi recalled what Tao Lizhi had said to them: "It's time to go to the government office tomorrow. My uncle asked us if we want to go to the court. Should we go?"

The Ming Dynasty court only had five days off during the Spring Festival. On the sixth day of the first lunar month, the court had to go to the government office. The so-called grand court was for officials of the fourth rank and above, as well as some lower-ranking officials in special positions.

They both hold the sixth rank of official rank, so under normal circumstances, they are not eligible to attend the court meeting. But now the situation is special, so it is not impossible for them to attend the court meeting.

Yun Ji said, "Go ahead, go back and sort out that travelogue and submit it tomorrow. Let's go to court together."

Min Xi was a little nervous, but also a little expectant. This was his first time attending court, and he wondered if it would be like what was shown on TV.

However, attending court was not an easy task. The snow had not melted yet and the weather was freezing cold. They had to attend court at five o'clock in the morning. They had to rush from outside the palace to the palace, which meant they had to get up at four o'clock in the morning. It was really life-threatening!

The travelogue still needed to be finished and re-transcribed, so he and Yun Ji couldn't go to bed early tonight.

After returning home, the two of them worked furiously under the lamplight, Yun Ji finished the ending while Min Xi copied the travel notes, and they were busy until the second watch. It seemed that they had just fallen asleep when Tao Wang, who was on night watch, called them up: "Master, Second Master, it's time to get up, it's already 6:45 in the morning."

Yun Ji woke up when he heard the voice, rubbed his face to wake himself up, and then reached out to pat Min Xi beside him and said, "Ninth brother, get up, it's time, we should go to court."

Min Xi yawned and muttered with his eyes closed: "I feel like I just lay down, why do I have to get up now?"

"Go to court first, and then come back to sleep after court." Yun Ji grabbed his clothes and put them on.

Although he didn't want to get up, in order not to delay the court session, Min Xi still got up. After washing up, Tao Wang handed each of the two masters a hot hand warmer, and he himself carried a copper pot with hot millet soup in it to warm their stomachs. But it was too early now, and they didn't feel hungry at all. Neither of them wanted to eat, so he planned to take it to the car and drink it when they wanted.

Outside the door and inside the room are two different worlds, it's like falling into an ice cave. It's a little after four in the morning, the darkest and coldest time of the day.

Min Xi murmured to Yun Ji: "It's so inhumane to ask the ministers to get up and go to court on such a cold day."

Ministers who are qualified to attend the court have all gained the title through years of experience. Most of them are in their 40s, 50s, 60s, or 70s. In this era, they are considered old people. It is really a sin to let them suffer this. But this is the ancestral rule and we have no choice but to follow it.

They loaded the memorials and treasures presented to the emperor onto the carriage.

The snow on the streets had been cleared in the past two days, and the carriage drove safely to the palace gate. When entering the palace, they were stopped by the Jinwu Guards. They were not familiar faces who often entered the palace to attend court, so the Jinwu Guards did not recognize them. They held their badges and questioned them for a long time. Just then, Tao Lizhi's carriage arrived. When they saw them, they came over and said, "Yun Ji, Min Xi, are you here to attend court today too?"

Yun Ji and Min Xi bowed to him and said, "Greetings, uncle. We have discussed it and decided to come to court."

"Then come with me." Tao Lizhi said to the Jinwu Guards, "No need to interrogate them. One of these two is the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Revenue, and the other is the Left Assistant Director of the Honglu Temple. They have just returned from overseas missions and are going to the palace to see the emperor."

The Jinwu Guards knew the Minister of Revenue, and after hearing his assurance, they returned the badges to them: "Please, sir!"

Min Xi said, "There are tributes brought back from overseas for your majesty in the carriage. Please send a few Jinwu Guards to help us deliver them."

Tao Lizhi saw the Jinwu Guards carrying two large boxes off the car. They looked quite heavy. He looked at the boxes curiously, wondering what was inside.

The uncle, nephew and two others followed the Jinwu Guards inside. Their movements attracted the attention of many ministers who were entering the palace to attend court, because few people brought anything to court, unless they were presenting gifts to the emperor. It seemed that someone was going to present a gift to the emperor today.

Only after entering the Huangji Hall did I feel a little warmer, but not much warmer. The hall was very tall and very spacious. Although there were some braziers burning, the fire could not dispel the coldness in the hall.

When they arrived, Wanli had not come yet, and a group of ministers gathered together to congratulate each other on the New Year. Min Xi and Yun Ji had low positions and didn't know many people. As expected, Zhang Juzheng didn't come to court, so Min Xi went to wish his own Honglu Temple Minister a happy New Year.

When the Minister of the Honglu Temple saw Min Xi, he was surprised and delighted: "When did you return?"

Min Xi said, "I just arrived in Beijing the evening before yesterday and have not had time to visit you, sir. Please forgive me."

"It's okay, it's okay. I hope you return safely. How was your trip? Did it go well?"

"It went smoothly, but it took a long time."

"What's the gain?"

"Of course I have gained something. I will tell you all about it after the court session," said Min Xi.

"it is good!"

After they exchanged pleasantries for a while, Min Xi was dragged by Yun Ji to pay New Year's greetings to several ministers. He knew the Minister of War Weng Ji, but he had never met the other ministers. The Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Works both showed great interest in Min Xi.

Minister of Revenue Zheng Tuo said to Yun Ji, "Is this your sworn brother who brought back potatoes and sweet potato seedlings from Europe with you?"

"It's my humble servant, nice to meet you, sir!" Min Xi bowed respectfully.

"Good, good. The foreign grain seeds you two brothers brought back are indeed good. The grain output of the Ming Dynasty has increased by more than 10% in the past few years. I don't know how many people have been fed. You have relieved His Majesty of his worries and difficulties." Zheng Tuo stroked his beard and praised.

"Did you make both the bicycle and the mirror?" Minister of Industry Feng Chengyi asked Min Xi.

"I don't dare to take credit for it. I just worked on it with others when I was bored."

"It's quite interesting. It's more exquisite than the ones made by the craftsmen in our Ministry of Works. It seems that you are quite talented. You should come to the Ministry of Works instead of going to the Honglu Temple." Feng Chengyi said with a smile.

Minister of War Weng Ji said: "Lord Min's talents are not limited to his skills. He has many talents. You two just came back from Southeast Asia. Did you bring back any good things?"

Yun Ji said, "Your Excellency, when I went to Southeast Asia with my brother, we discovered a vast continent. Although it is located in a remote area and the local natives are barbaric and backward, it is rich in resources and is a treasure land."

Everyone was very surprised and just as they were about to ask for clarification, they heard the eunuch in charge of ceremonies shout, "The Emperor has arrived!"

Everyone quickly took their seats and saluted respectfully.

According to the rules, Min Xi and Yun Ji could only stand at the end of the line, which was near the gate. Although there was a screen to block the wind, it was still very cold.

After waiting for a long time, Wanli finally came out. He walked to the dragon throne yawning and sat down. All the officials below bowed and kowtowed, shouting "Long live the emperor". There was no need for them to kneel down, which Min Xi was quite satisfied with.

Wanli waved his hand and said, "All the ministers, please stand up! At the beginning of the new year, everything is new. I hope that all the ministers will be diligent and self-disciplined, work hard to govern, and continue to benefit the people of Ming Dynasty. Do you have anything to report?"

Min Xi discovered that the court session was not like in movies and TV shows where issues were discussed in the court. Instead, it was more like a work report. Officials from the six ministries all presented their budgets and plans for this year, and the emperor just listened and said, "We will discuss this matter later." He meant that he knew about it, but the specific decision could not be made immediately in the court. After all, this was a major matter concerning the national economy and people's livelihood.

Officials from various ministries reported their work plans, and Wanli asked, "Do you have anything else to report?"

Min Xi and Yun Ji waited for a while, and when no one came out to speak, they were about to come out, when the Minister of the Honglu Temple stepped forward and said, "I have something to report. The Deputy Director of the Ministry of Revenue, Yun Ji, and the Left Secretary of the Honglu Temple, Min Xi, returned to the capital the day before yesterday."

The Wanli Emperor's gloomy face suddenly brightened up and became lively: "Really? Where are those two beloved ministers?"

Min Xi and Yun Ji quickly stood out from behind the crowd: "Your Majesty, we are here!"

Emperor Wanli stood up excitedly and asked: "When did you two return? Come forward and tell me quickly."

Min Xi and Yun Ji stepped forward, walked to the front of the team, and stopped beyond the front row.

Yun Ji said, "In reply to your Majesty, we returned to Quanzhou at the end of November and arrived in the capital the evening before yesterday."

Emperor Wanli looked at the two men carefully under the light, and after a while he said, "My two beloved ministers have lost a lot of weight. You have suffered a lot. Did you gain anything from this trip?"

Yun Ji clasped his fists and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. God bless our Ming Dynasty. This trip has yielded a lot of harvests. We have discovered a vast continent outside the Nanyang countries. There are only a few natives on the island. The natives do not know how to farm, they only know how to gather and hunt, just like savages. But the local products are rich. After circling this continent, we found four gold mines."

"Four gold mines!" When these words came out, the whole court was shocked.

"Is this true?"

Min Xi said: "It is absolutely true. I have marked the locations of these gold mines."

Wanli could not hide his excitement: "Great, great! God bless my Ming Dynasty!"