Since the Qin and Han dynasties, thousands of years of disputes have ended and China has achieved great unification, a brilliant feudal civilization has been born on this land.

The products of various civilizations such as silk, porcelain, tea and other civilizations are deeply loved by neighboring countries, and even Thai merchants are unwilling to come to trade thousands of miles away.

The Qin, Han, Tang and Song dynasties, and even the Yuan dynasties were always open to foreign trade. However, before the Qin, Han and Tang and Song dynasties, the world was underdeveloped, and trade only existed on the ancient Silk Road.

However, after the Yuan Dynasty, the world's navigation industry entered a period of great development, and new routes were constantly opened. In the 16th century, due to the rise of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the ancient Silk Road was cut off, and Taixi could only find new routes to the east from the ocean.

As a result, Ferron and Ferron took the lead in rising, and a group of navigators such as Columbus and Magellan rushed to the ocean one after another, and the navigation industry flourished.

The American continent was discovered, new routes beyond the Cape of Good Hope in Africa were also explored, and the South Asian subcontinent and a series of archipelagos were also included in the colonial scope by Tessi.

And the ancient civilizations far away in the east were finally explored by the countries of Taixi.

But at the same time, due to the contradiction between land and population circulation in feudal dynasties, the Ming Dynasty's national strength declined at this time. And because of the rise of the civil servant group, all military generals were suppressed and suspicious. The national policy of foreign expansion in the early Ming Dynasty was thrown behind by civil servants.

Especially the scholars and officials from the south, because of their class attributes, naturally hope to tie the peasants to the land for generations.

Therefore, there was a national policy of banning the sea.

But since the late Jiajing Dynasty, the first phase of the world's voyage has begun in full swing, and it is impossible to isolate it from this wave.

However, if the right to foreign trade was handed over to the court, the literati from the south would never allow it, so a deformed form of trade appeared on the southeast coast.

As a result, pirates, both business and bandit, instantly became a prairie fire on the southeast coast of the Ming Dynasty.

Unlike the pirates in the Nordic, Western and Caribbean regions, whose main business is plundering, the pirates along the coast of the Ming Dynasty were actually more like maritime merchants.

Although the pirates still attacked each other, the purpose was not to plunder, but to define the sphere of influence of trade.

Of course, if the pirates of the Ming Dynasty encountered a single merchant ship, they would rob them, but this was not the main business.

From Wang Zhi to today's Zheng Zhilong and Liu Xiang, their main businesses have monopolized trade in a certain coastal area of ​​the Ming Dynasty and collected protection fees for passing ships.

Zheng Zhilong monopolized trade between Fujian and Zhejiang and Japan, while Liu Xiang monopolized trade between Guangzhou and Qiongzhou and Nanyang.

Moreover, these pirates also have the shadow of the wealthy merchants in the southeast coastal areas.

The pirates are responsible for the matters on the ocean, while the tyrants on the coast and land are responsible for the affairs on these aristocratic merchants.

Of course, there are also shadows of Westerners in these areas. Since the large and small Flangji occupied Java and Batavia, they have been eyeing the southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, in the past decade, the situation has become increasingly serious. Zheng Zhilong, Liu Xiang and others have had big or small conflicts with the Netherlands and the Big and Small Florida.

Especially in recent years, Zheng Zhilong and Westerners have more and more conflicts along the coast of the Ming Dynasty, which is also one of the main reasons why Zheng Zhilong seeks revenge.

Facing the attacks between the Westerners and the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Zhilong, as powerful as his wife, had no choice but to face an enemy.

So, after the Fujian trusted governor extended an olive branch, he surrendered to the Ming Dynasty without hesitation.

On the coast of the Ming Dynasty, pirates of all sizes, including Zheng Zhilong and Liu Xiang, controlled the first island chain in later generations. Westerners could only sigh and had to settle for the second best to buy expensive Ming Dynasty goods from the pirates of the Ming Dynasty and neighboring countries.

The surrounding areas of the Ming Dynasty, especially the vassal states that were keen on the ocean, were so keen to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, but the purpose was to obtain cheap Ming Dynasty goods and then sell them to Westerners.

Officials and scholars from the south of the court, wealthy merchants from the southeast coast, pirates from the Ming coast, surrounding vassal states, Westerners who came to Java and Batavia, these layers of forces formed a complete overseas trade chain, and divided the interests that should belong to the Ming court.

Now, if Zhu Youjian wants to gain benefits from these poisonous snakes and beasts with bloody mouths, he can only proceed step by step. If one is not good, it is not impossible to die and destroy the country.

After all, nowadays, both in the court and in terms of economic strength, the areas south of the Huai River in the Ming Dynasty occupy a dominant position. Zhu Youjian, who is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, can only let him go.

Although he used his power to open a gap in maritime trade, he could only hide in Tianjin and trade with Westerners was still isolated from the Southeast pirates.

Of course, Zhu Youjian also had a secret game. Although it was not conspicuous, he was digging the roots of the aristocratic merchants on the southeast coast, but they might not have noticed it yet.

After sending out the envoys who came to beg for food, we reached the stage of giving the banquet.

Rows of small tables and cushions were placed by eunuchs on the Huangji Hall and the square in front.

Although the Ming Dynasty gradually became popular with the combined meal system, due to restrictions on the venue and royal etiquette, the imperial court still used the separate meal system.

As the small tables were arranged one by one, as the Shao music started, the officials sat down one by one.

Guanglu Temple, who had been busy all morning, brought plates of meals like flowing water.

Looking out from the open door of the Huangji Palace, a strange idea suddenly popped up in Zhu Youjian's mind.

‘If someone voted for Guinness Records, such a huge banquet would definitely be selected.’

Moreover, compared with the various strange delicacies of later generations, the banquets at the Zhengdan Grand Courthouse revealed etiquette and culture everywhere.

However, the officials who were dining outside the hall certainly had no time to appreciate the etiquette and culture contained in the royal banquet. They were so cold that they couldn't hold the chopsticks or the chopsticks could no longer hold the dishes.

In the cold winter, thousands of people are eating in the square with a whirring northwest wind.

After the banquet was given, the officials outside the hall often grabbed the wine glass and waited for the first round of toast. It was too cold, so they could drink some wine to ease it.

The officials outside the hall did not wait, and the ritual music started quickly and the first round of toasts began.

The officials couldn't wait to drink the wine in their glasses, and were transmitted from their throat to their stomachs to their bodies and limbs. Only then did the officials feel better and instead started eating some dishes.
Chapter completed!