My Daming New Empire

No matter how high the literary talent is, the contribution to society is limited. No matter how powerful a Confucianist is, in Zhu Zhanji's view, his contribution to society is not as great as that of a craftsman who can build bridges.

But in Ming Dynasty, as long as the Confucian knowledge is high, one can become a master and enjoy the glory and wealth.

No matter how good your bridge-building skills are, you are only a low-level person.

First bring a group of Western craftsmen back to add a little vitality to the backwater science and engineering disciplines of Ming Dynasty. This is Zhu Zhanji's plan before he came to Europe.

In Barcelona and Marseille, Zhu Zhanji's luxurious style let the French know what a real power is, and let them see an unimaginable style.

Not to mention their king, even the pope, compared with Zhu Zhanji's style, is just a rich man from the country.

This kind of impact is even far greater than the impact brought by the Ming Dynasty's Invincible Fleet, which let them know that in their eyes, God's spokesperson is far inferior to the emperor's grandson of Ming Dynasty.

And the ideological storm brought about by this kind of impact can promote their renaissance, but as long as they do not have the material supply base of America, they will never be able to develop.

But now they don't even have ships that can enter the Atlantic Ocean, and Zhu Zhanji in the American continent will never let them get involved, so even if they bring some enlightenment to them, Zhu Zhanji is not afraid.

By the time they were able to build a ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean, Ming Dynasty had already taken root in America.

Later, the Ming Fleet came to Genoa. In addition to trading with Genoa, it also traded with many nobles of the Holy Roman Empire in Genoa and Lombardy.

The influence of Zhu Zhanji is getting bigger and bigger, and many princes, city-states, and people are cheering.

But in Rome, the archbishops of the Vatican waited for Zhu Zhanji's arrival in fear as if they were looking at a scourge.

After many failures of the Crusades, the strength of the Holy See State is not as good as before.

Although they still hold the theocracy, both the Orthodox Church and the Protestant Church, including some branches of the church, such as the Hussites, are challenging the authority of the Catholic Church.

At such a time of internal and external troubles, the Ming Fleet suddenly appeared in front of them. This panic was far more severe than the deterrence brought by their own force.

But the countries are not on the same page with them. Their fleets can't beat Da Ming at all, so they can only watch the Da Ming fleet show off its might in the Mediterranean Sea.

The current Holy See state is in chaos, and many fanatics are clamoring to kill the emperor's grandson of Ming Dynasty even if they lose their lives.

The closer the Ming Fleet got, the more fanatics gathered, and they didn't even want him to set foot on Roman soil.

Thank you for seeing people with lights, I spit on you, and the reward of bamboo sticks, thank you for your support

Chapter 58 Pressure

"Your Highness, the fleet has arrived off the coast of Pisa. The depth of the Arno River is only three meters, which can only accommodate a flat-bottomed sandboat. The front army has prepared a flat-bottomed sandboat. In order to enter the castle of the Medici family to rest before dark, Your Highness please Get going now."

Zhu Zhanji nodded and said: "Go and urge Ma Liangyuan and Liu Chenghui to stop dawdling. I can leave at any time."

Liu Wan answered in a low voice, and was about to leave, Zhu Zhanji asked again: "Which one of the Medici family is here to welcome you?"

Liu Wan was not quite sure how to pronounce the names of Italians. Zhu Zhanji couldn't recognize the name after saying it again, so he turned his attention to an Aragonist behind him.

This generalist can speak Spanish, Arabic, and Italian. After accepting Daming's employment, he is still actively learning Daming dialect.

Although he saw Zhu Zhanji looking at him, he didn't understand what it meant. It was reminded by a Daming officer next to him that he understood, and quickly replied in Spanish: "Your Highness, the Medici family is here to welcome you." The first heir of their family, Cosimo de Medici."

Zhu Zhanji raised his hand, and Li Liang quickly handed over a list that had been prepared to Zhu Zhanji.

After opening the list, Zhu Zhanji turned to the page of information on the Medici family.Cosimo de' Medici was born in 1389 and is 30 years old this year. He is the most valued heir of the new Medici family.

After taking down Cosimo's information, he said: "When I get on the boat, let Cosimo come to see me, and I will also meet the heir of the richest family in Rome."

The Medici family is not only a far-reaching family in the West, but also famous in the East.They funded countless artists and played a huge role in promoting the European Renaissance.

It cannot be said that there would be no Italian Renaissance without the Medici family, but without the Medici family, the Italian Renaissance would certainly not be what we see today.

Masaccio, Donatello, Botticelli, Da Vinci, Raphael, De La Ria, Michelangelo, Titian, Mantania, etc. behind the famous names, there is a The common name shines behind these Renaissance masters, that is Medici.

In addition to artistic achievements, this family has also produced four popes and two French queens, and has unparalleled influence in European politics.

However, in this era, the Medici family has only developed three generations.Most of those literary and artistic giants have not yet been born, and their family is just a new force.

Salvestro Medici was the first member of the Medici family to be recorded in history. He was the standard-bearer of justice on duty (the supreme leader of the Florentine Republic) in 1378 when the Carders' Rebellion that shook Florence broke out. Attorney General).

After the victory of the uprising, Salvestro was elected president of the Florence Municipal Council, but after the collapse of the elected government in 1381, he was expelled from Florence.

His son, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, rejuvenated the Medici family. The Medici Bank he opened made huge profits and became the richest man in Florence.

Ten years ago, the Republic of Pisa was annexed into the sphere of influence of Florence because of the defeat of the war, and the influence of the Medici family also expanded to Pisa.

Although the current Patriarch Giovanni has become the richest man in Florence, his influence in the political arena is still very small.

In Zhu Zhanji's memory, the Medici family gradually developed after becoming the treasurer of the Pope. Now Giovanni is about to die. Maybe the person who became the treasurer of the Pope is the one who came today. Cosimo.

The arrival of the Ming Fleet and its large-scale trade will of course attract the attention of wealthy European families.When Daming's mission came to Florence to arrange for Zhu Zhanji's arrival, the Medici family took the initiative and was willing to undertake the task of receiving Zhu Zhanji.

Although their family's headquarters is in Florence, one of the most luxurious courtyards in Pisa belongs to the Medici family.

And because their bank developed rapidly, and there was a big market set up by their family in Pisa, it was tantamount to their family controlling the economy of Florence.

Therefore, they got this task logically. Although there will be some expenses for receiving Zhu Zhanji's arrival, but they can establish a friendly relationship with Daming, and they can earn back just by giving them a little trade preference.

When Zhu Zhanji moved to the flat-bottomed sand boat that served as the flagship, his concubines were arranged on another boat.

The fleet traveled upstream along the Arno River, and it took five kilometers to reach the city of Pisa.

After everyone on the ship settled down, Cosimo, who had been waiting on other ships, came to the flagship after receiving the instruction from the servant.

Although their family is the richest man in Florence, and although he has seen the aura of countless big men, when he saw the aura of the Ming Fleet today, he had already been conquered.

Such a huge fleet is only for the escort of His Highness. Before His Highness arrives, thousands of heavily armed warriors have already controlled the Arno River Basin.

From this estuary to Pisa, Ming soldiers are everywhere.They are strictly disciplined, and they exude such a bold aura that they look like soldiers who have fought a hundred battles.

But so many soldiers are not the regular army of Ming Dynasty, they are just the guards of His Highness the Emperor Grandson.

An emperor's grandson has tens of thousands of guards, and the muskets in their hands are more than the muskets in all of Europe combined. How can this be justified?

Seeing the muskets with dark barrels in their hands, Cosimo had no doubts that if these Ming soldiers really had the intention of invading Florence, they would probably be able to occupy the entire territory of Florence in less than a week.

After receiving some etiquette instruction from a group of guards of the Ming Dynasty, he was allowed to board the boat of His Royal Highness the Emperor Taisun.

After boarding the ship, he strictly followed the other party's instructions, lowered his head, and followed behind the other party. After the other party knelt down, he also knelt down and shouted in Castilian: " Cosimo de' Medici, the Medici family of the Principality of Florence, sends greetings to His Royal Highness, Emperor Taisun of the Ming Dynasty."

He didn't understand why His Royal Highness did not learn Latin or Roman on the way to Europe, but why he learned Castilian on the Iberian Peninsula.

This is a small language that very few people can speak. If he hadn't been the heir of the family and wanted to expand the family business to the Iberian Peninsula, he wouldn't have learned this language specifically.

Zhu Zhanji looked at the heir of the Medici family in front of him. The other party was unattractive, with a particularly conspicuous big nose. He looked a bit like Buffon, the door god of later generations, but he was not as tall as the other party.

"Pingshen..." Zhu Zhanji said this sentence in Daming's words, but the other party didn't understand it. After Tong Shi's translation, he stood up straight from the deck.