The rise of the poor

Chapter 2167 Let Us Suffocate for Our Dreams (3)

"I read the documents about Zheng He's voyages to the West, read the interrogation records of the Red-haired Barbarians, and learned about the customs, economy, politics, and culture of Western countries. Over time, I had a dream."

After Wang Zhi asked curiously, Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and said slowly, putting on another layer of armor.

"Zhu Da's dream is the Age of Discovery?" Wang Zhi understood immediately.

"That's right. Before I tell you about my dream, I must first briefly introduce this world map. It carries my dream of the Age of Exploration."

Zhu Ping'an said this and pointed to the world map behind him.

"This is our Ming Dynasty. To the north are the Oirat Tatars and the Jurchen tribes, who are rich in sheep, horses and other livestock. Further north is Siberia, which is full of forests and minerals. To the east, Chief Wang is very familiar with this place. This is Japan, which is currently undergoing divisions, wars and battles. There is one interesting thing about Japan: their silver is very expensive. In our Ming Dynasty, ten taels of silver can be exchanged for one tael of gold, but in Japan, five taels of silver can be exchanged for one tael of gold."

Zhu Ping'an introduced the situation in the north and east of the Ming Dynasty, and then pointed to the south of the Ming Dynasty.

"This is the Southeast Asian country, the temperature is high, and rice can even be harvested three times a day. There is a waterway here that leads directly to the Portuguese and other Western countries."

"This is India, where the great monk Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty traveled to the West to seek Buddhist scriptures. Now it is ruled by a dynasty established by the descendants of the Mongols, called the Mughal Empire. Rice is harvested three times a year here, and India is also known as the 'Land of Spices'. There are curry, cinnamon, pepper, star anise, lemon leaves, neem, pistachio, chili, ginger, turmeric, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, fennel, saffron, fenugreek...all kinds of spices you know or don't know are everywhere here. In our Ming Dynasty, spices cost one ounce of gold, but here you can buy one pound for one cent. The temperature here is high, and it is very suitable for growing cotton and tea."

"There is also an interesting hierarchy here, called the caste system. They divide the whole country into four main classes, namely Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. In addition, there is a large number of 'fifth castes', called 'untouchables', also known as 'untouchables' or 'Dalits'. The people here are really as lowly as grass, and they are brainwashed by their local religion, Hinduism, and they accept their fate and obey."

"This is faraway Africa, which is rich in gold. There are also black people who are almost in a primitive society. There are tens of millions of them, and independent tribes are scattered across this mysterious continent."

"This is the Western barbarian countries. Their firearms are more advanced than our Ming Dynasty. Each of them has its own specialties. Some produce olives, some produce grapes, some are good at colonization and aggression, that is, occupying territories and people, and they are also good at doing business."

Zhu Ping'an briefly introduced the basic situation of countries from Southeast Asia to Europe, and then pointed to America with a question mark on his hand.

"This place was recorded once in the materials of Zheng He, the eunuch of Sanbao, who sailed to the West, but the details were not clear. This is an undiscovered new continent, rich in gold, silver and jewelry. The rulers here are a little more advanced than those in Africa, but far behind our Ming Dynasty. Their weapons are stone axes, bronze and wooden sticks. The staple food here is corn and sweet potatoes, and the yield is very large. Now we have a small amount of planting in the south of Ming Dynasty. There is also a very sweet plant called sugarcane, which is said to be very suitable for growing cotton."

"Here. Here and here."

Zhu Ping'an briefly introduced the regions on the world map one by one, describing each region as a treasure.

"What is the connection between these places that Master Zhu introduced and Master Zhu's dream of the Age of Exploration?"

Wang Zhi was somewhat puzzled and asked again.

"My dream in the Age of Exploration is that the grasslands of Tatars and Jurchens will be our livestock pens, they will herd sheep, horses and cattle for us, Siberia will be our forest area, Japan will send us gold and silver, Africans will send us gold and minerals, the southeastern barbarians will grow rice for us, India and Sindhu will provide us with spices and tea, this newly discovered continent will provide us with cotton, sugar cane, gold and silver; the Western barbarians will provide us with grapes and help us upgrade our shipbuilding technology and firearms. Our Ming Dynasty will usher in an unprecedented and unprecedented Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Ping'an opened his arms, as if embracing the world, and took Wang Zhi to imagine the Age of Discovery.

"hiss"

After hearing Zhu Ping'an's dream about the Age of Discovery, Wang Zhi couldn't help but take three deep breaths and was completely stunned.

At this moment, Wang Zhi felt like a cicada flying on a tree trunk, and Zhu Ping'an was the Kunpeng soaring into the sky.

"Lord Zhu's dream is very grand and unprecedented, but how can we get the foreign countries in the world to provide us with gold, silver, grain, spices, tea and rice?" Wang Zhi raised a key question.

"We can trade with them and get their gold, silver, grain, spices and other products."

Zhu Pingan replied with a smile.

"What if they don't want to do business?" Wang Zhi asked.

This problem is very realistic. At this moment, the Ming Dynasty court was unwilling to lift the maritime ban and did not agree to open ports for trade.

"Haha, we Chinese have always won people over with virtue." Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly.

"Conquer people with virtue? Will they listen?" Wang Zhi was stunned.

"If Wen De doesn't listen, then Wu De will do. Zheng He used Wu De to persuade many foreign countries during his voyage to the West."

Zhu Pingan smiled.

Then, Zhu Pingan looked at Wang Zhi again, "Captain Wang, aren't you doing this now? Of course, your strength is insufficient. To be honest, the court has to step in to convince people with virtue. The same thing, when done by different people, will have completely different effects. Xi Shi holds her heart in her arms, while Dong Shi imitates her."

"Now the Western barbarian nations are carrying out the Great Voyage. With the help of firearms, they are conquering and plundering all over the world, occupying one region after another, plundering wealth and territory. One ambitious man after another appears on the scene, and the strength of the Western barbarian nations continues to grow and develop during the Great Voyage."

"This era has wealth as vast as the ocean, and a land area ten times larger than that of the Ming Dynasty."

"If our Ming Dynasty lags behind in this Age of Exploration, then our descendants may be bullied and plundered by these Western countries in the future. This is not an exaggeration."

"If we start the Age of Exploration, with the size of our Ming Dynasty, we will soon be able to catch up with the Western countries, and our Ming Dynasty will also usher in an unprecedented super prosperous era."

Zhu Ping'an spoke slowly, and at the end his words were passionate, full of encouragement and appeal.

Wang Zhi couldn't help but feel his blood boiling, as if there was a fire burning in his chest. (End of this chapter)