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A leader of the Chamber of Commerce stepped forward and asked very excitedly: "Mr. Chinese Envoy, have you brought spices, tea, silk, porcelain and tobacco on your ship?"

Zhang Ruifeng smiled and nodded: "I have brought some of these goods."

The businessman said excitedly: "Mr. Messenger, you can sell the goods to our chamber of commerce. We can increase the price by another [-]% compared to last year's market price!"

Prince Charles, who has now become Zhang Ruifeng's adviser, reminded: "Don't promise him, the auction can sell at a high price. The Dutch port was blocked by the British for several months, and the Dutch merchant ships were attacked everywhere. The British merchant ships did not do business, and all participated War. Nowadays, goods from the East are hard to buy even if you have money. These merchants are going crazy, and the whole of Europe is short of Asian goods."

Zhang Ruifeng smiled and said, "Thank you for reminding me, I will have someone prepare for the auction." Pointing to the mouth of the river, he asked, "Can we reach Paris through this river?"

Prince Charles said: "The river is the Seine, and it goes straight to Paris."

The auction was being organized. In the evening, Zhang Ruifeng called a meeting for everyone.

Zhang Ruifeng sighed and said: "This British prince in trouble is not an ordinary person. He knows everything about military affairs, politics, business...and has a big picture. , Coppersmith work. If this person can return to the country to seize power, I am afraid that he will be a wise monarch again."

"No way," Cai Yuncheng said, "this prince is fooling around and commenting on the current situation in a joking tone. He is a little arrogant, as if everyone else is a fool except himself. If this kind of person is a king, if he is not diligent in governing and loving the people, It will bring disaster to the country and the people. Because he is too smart, wise enough to refuse remonstrance and not listen to harsh advice."

Lu Tianxiang said: "The queen of England has revealed her intention to follow us to China. She dared to think about it, and wanted to ask His Majesty to send an army to help her son recover."

Fan Chao said: "Leave this matter to His Majesty, and we will bring him back to the country."

Chapter 755 [Visiting Paris]

Cardinal Mazarin was again appointed Prime Minister of France.

When the news reached the diplomatic missions, Chinese officials felt that it was outrageous.A guy who caused two aristocratic rebellions and two uprisings by the common people had nothing to do.

Taking the inland boat, the mission went to Paris, and heard a lot of discussions on the way.

The traditional nobles and ordinary people hated Mazarin deeply.Officials and businessmen celebrate with each other, as long as Mazarin continues to be prime minister, they can make money without any scruples.

"This city is called Rouen. Joan of Arc in France was burned to death here." Charles said, pointing to the city by the river.

"Saint?" Zhang Ruifeng subconsciously thought of the White Lotus Sect.

Charles began to tell the story of Joan of Arc, and everyone sighed and regarded Joan of Arc as the "French daughter Yue Fei".

Prince Charles continued: "From Port Grace by the Sea, along the Seine River to Paris, among all the cities that pass along the way, Rouen is the most prosperous and prosperous. It used to be the capital of the Principality of Normandy, and it has always been the focus of competition between Britain and France. Not only Joan of Arc was burned to death here, but also a Rouen priest who announced the excommunication of the King of England. Jews accounted for more than one-fifth of the entire city’s population. Although they were expelled many times, the Jews became more and more More and more. I like Rouen because the city is jerk enough and there's a lot of fun to be had in the neighborhood."

The ship docked at the river port, and the main envoys did not disembark, but only sent people to purchase food and beverages.

Pan Wei and Cai Yuncheng, along with several civil and military officials, went into the city to inquire about various information.The military officers observed the city defense system, and the civil servants learned about the local conditions and customs, and inquired about the special products and prices here.

The navy and half of the guards stayed at the harbor, and only [-] guards followed to Paris.

When a large group of Chinese landed, the city of Rouen became an instant sensation, and the citizens rushed to watch.

Cai Yuncheng asked: "Your Highness, which industry is the most prominent in this city?"

"Wool spinning," Charles explained, "a large amount of wool is shipped from England and Spain every year, and spun into various woolen materials in Rouen. The food produced in France is gathered in Rouen and shipped to the seaport for England."

At this time in Europe, the French industry was far stronger than that of the United Kingdom, and the wool textile industry was also stronger in France.

Everyone entered a tavern, and the customers inside were silent for a moment, and all turned their heads to look at them in surprise.

Someone even came over to chat: "Are you from India?"

Prince Charles was about to correct, Cai Yuncheng kicked secretly.So everyone kept quiet and pretended not to understand French.

Disappointed, the interlocutor sits back and continues drinking. "

"These people must have come from India!"

"No, it's from China. I heard that the Chinese emperor sent an envoy to visit His Majesty the King."

"Your Majesty the King? Hey, it's only right to visit the Queen Mother. I don't know if the Queen Mother is free, maybe she's still lying on the prime minister's bed."

"When the king comes of age, the Prime Minister will definitely be executed."

"That might be..."

The mission invited several French translators, and now they translated into Latin in a low voice, and the Latin translator translated into Chinese.

Pan Wei and Cai Yuncheng looked at each other in dismay.

Could it be that the Queen Mother of France really had an affair with the French Prime Minister?

This kind of rumor had spread throughout France before the Parisian uprising.

After listening in the tavern for a while, everyone went to the industrial area.There are a large number of wool textile workshops here. In addition, industries such as wine making, pottery making, and leather making are also prosperous.

Of course, there are many red light districts.

After walking around for a long time, Cai Yuncheng felt that Rouen was like a big county in southern China.

Densely populated, industrial and commercial development, the disadvantage is poor sanitation.

There is only a simple drainage system here, and domestic sewage is basically poured into the Seine River.What's even more frightening is that occasionally you can see feces and urine on the street, all of which are poured down from the second floor-residents facing the street, spilled in wooden barrels at night, and poured it directly onto the street in the morning.

Pan Wei asked Charles: "Your Highness, is it the same in Paris? Are there no farmers to collect excrement?"

"Isn't that the case in China?" Charles asked back.

Pan Wei can only explain: "In big cities in China, farmers go door-to-door to collect waste every morning. Residents in the city put the waste in buckets and sell it all to farmers to take away."

Charles was even more puzzled: "Farmers are not fools, how could they buy useless excrement?"

"Well, you know it when you go to China," Pan Wei didn't bother to explain, turned his head and said to Cai Yuncheng in Chinese, "It seems that the so-called European powers are nothing more than that, even the big cities are full of shit."

Cai Yuncheng said: "The farmers here don't seem to know how to use excrement and urine to fertilize."

The feces and urine in various cities in China are in high demand, and ordinary farmers can't get them at all.The area is also divided by neighborhood, and crossing the boundary to snatch other people's pre-ordered shit is purely an act of seeking and beating.

Two days later, the embassy arrived in Paris.

The Queen Regent, Anne, dressed in her splendid brocade attire, was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Chinese envoys at the Louvre.

Louis XIV, who had just turned 15, was also looking forward to this meeting.He has heard too many stories about China and yearns for that distant eastern country.

Historically, the Chinese wind blew violently throughout Europe, and it was brought up by Louis XIV.

The French king was obsessed with China to the extreme.

He even built a "porcelain house" in the Louvre for his favorite mistress, whose shape imitated the tower of Baoen Temple in Nanjing.Although the "porcelain house" is only one storey high, the exterior coatings are all colored glaze (ceramics cannot be made, only a layer of colored glaze paint can be applied).The house is covered with ceramic tiles (in fact, painted ceramic tiles), blue and white porcelain vases are placed everywhere, the furniture is all Chinese style, and lacquerware must be used, and the bed is covered with embroidered curtains imported from China.

This "porcelain house" turned out to surprise the nobles and businessmen throughout France.

As a result, Chinese-style architecture, furniture and decoration quickly spread in France, and then spread to European countries.

But Europeans feel that Chinese architecture is flawed, especially the interior design.Europeans believe that Chinese interior design lacks integrity and decorations are messy and disorderly.Therefore, the porcelain house built by Louis XIV for his mistress tried his best to avoid the "defects" of the Chinese style, and even the blue and white porcelain vases had to be placed neatly and symmetrically, which can be called the gospel of obsessive-compulsive disorder patients.

A pagoda-shaped porcelain house, the exterior is colored glaze, the interior is covered with painted pottery bricks, the vases are neatly placed, and there is a large bed with curtains inside... Why does it feel a bit like a tomb?

Although the aesthetics are more infernal, the legend is even more outrageous.

At that time, someone wrote and published it, and the author expressed his fantasy about the porcelain house.He described Louis XIV's mistress as a Chinese princess, and the original words were "the undisputed most beautiful and proud princess in the world".

There is also such a description in the book, Louis XIV dug a canal in the Palace of Versailles, took the Chinese princess on a boat, and asked: "What do you think of this luxurious territory?"

The Chinese princess replied: "In the Chinese Empire, wealth is just an ordinary thing. Therefore, my father, the emperor, always prefers simple and clean houses to this kind of magnificent palace."

Louis XIV smiled, jumped onto the river bank, and struck the ground three times with his staff.As the scepter hit the ground, a ceramic castle appeared in the garden. The Chinese princess was overjoyed to see the porcelain house, so she stayed in France and became the lover of Louis XIV...

At this moment, Louis XIV has not yet met his "Chinese princess".

This guy was wearing a pair of high heels and a pair of stockings on his legs.Stockings may not be accurate, they should be called wool tights.High-heeled shoes and tights, after hundreds of years, a proper women's clothing boss, is now the normal dress of European aristocrats and gentlemen.

He was wearing a gorgeous robe on his upper body, the robe reached to the ground, and there was a section behind his buttocks.

In order to facilitate walking and show off her beautiful legs, one side of the robe was lifted up, and it was draped over her shoulders like a quilt.The lining and outer layer of the robe are actually brocade bought from China.

"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother asked if you are ready?" a maid knocked on the door and asked.

Louis XIV felt sorry for himself in the mirror, and said in a tone of anticipation: "I'm ready, have the Chinese envoys come?"

The maid replied: "I heard that you have disembarked."

"Great!"

Louis XIV pushed the door out, running happily with a scepter in hand.After running a few steps, I felt that I should be reserved and show my majesty, so I stopped to straighten my robe, walked slowly on high heels, and a pair of pantyhose showed off the curve of my legs.

river port.

French Prime Minister Mazarin personally brought people to greet him, and the musketeer D'Artagnan was also there.

Mazarin saluted with incomparable elegance, and said with a kind smile: "Welcome distinguished guests from China to Paris."

The notorious Mazarin was indeed tolerant and kind, not pretending.He has always been humble in words and deeds, and has always been kind to others. Even when facing civilians, he will not be arrogant, let alone get angry.If you offend him and cannot threaten his status, he is very likely to forgive your sin with a smile.

The evaluation of him from the outside world is: "He easily forgives the mistakes of his enemies, but he also easily forgets to give benefits to his own people."

This guy is extremely stingy with his subordinates and officials, and he doesn't take anything away.

Overtly and covertly, he was greedy to death, leaving 2 million livres of property after his death, which is equivalent to the total tax revenue of France for two years, and equivalent to the income of the French royal family for six and a half years...all were confiscated by Louis XIV.

The French version of Heshen!

"Bang bang bang!"

The salute sounded, and the Musketeers also fired their guns into the sky.

Immediately the band began to play music, and several carriages more luxurious than the Portuguese royal family stopped in the open space by the river.

The court guard unrolled the rolled carpet, which stretched from the pier to the carriage.Distinguished Chinese guests can get on the car by stepping on the carpet all the way without stepping on the dirty land.

The luxury of the Portuguese royal family is nothing compared to the French royal family.

Chapter 756 [Gift and Return]

If in another 20 years, the French royal family welcomes Chinese envoys, it is likely to use Chinese sedan chairs directly.

At that time, the royal families of various European countries were competing for the luxurious decoration of the carriage.

However, Louis XIV took a unique approach and produced a sedan chair with carved gold ornaments, silver ornaments and silk wrapping, which instantly compared a bunch of carriages.Even the bearers who carried the sedan chairs were all dressed in Chinese costumes, which was so cool every time they went out of the palace.

"Charlie, you have been to China, and you are with the distinguished guest." Mazarin ordered.

"Yes! Your Excellency Prime Minister!"

D'Artagnan accepted the order happily, led the guards forward, escorted them together with the Chinese guards, and immediately aroused the resentment of the other French guards.

Mazarin is a traitor who everyone shouts and beats, and d'Artagnan is Mazarin's running dog.

When Mazarin resigned for the second time, D'Artagnan also lost his position.Instead of leaving Mazarin, he also became Mazarin's retainer.

Mazarin is now prime minister again, so he defies all opinions and appoints d'Artagnan as the captain of the bird house guard.

Of course, friendship belongs to friendship, and the money to buy an official is still paid.

Mazarin was very generous and offered to give d'Artagnan a discount.Later, d'Artagnan sold the position of captain of the guards for a total of [-] livres. Because of the discount, he made a lot of money, so he pooled the money to buy the position of captain of the infantry company of the guards.

"Da da da da!"

More than a dozen carriages moved forward slowly, the guards opened the way in front, and the Chinese guards and d'Artagnan led the troops to protect the two sides.

The citizens of Paris stood on the side of the street to watch the excitement, but they could not see the Chinese nobles in the carriages.They could only cast their eyes on the Chinese guards, and the peculiar guard helmets became the focus of attention.

Mazarin and Zhang Ruifeng were in the same carriage, and an interpreter was sitting next to him: "Respect Your Excellency, the Queen Mother and Your Majesty the King, I will receive you all at the Louvre. There will be a grand banquet here, and hundreds of nobles have been waiting for a long time. If you If you like hunting, you can go to Versailles in the suburbs, where there is the hunting palace of the former king."

The Palace of Versailles has not yet been officially built at this time. There is only a wooden house in the forest, which is specially used for the French royal family to rest while hunting.

"Everything is due." Zhang Ruifeng said with a smile.

The Louvre is only a few hundred meters away from the Seine River, and it arrived in a blink of an eye after getting off the boat.

Queen Anne stood at the front, holding 15-year-old Louis XIV.Hundreds of nobles gathered together and accompanied the royal family to wait for the arrival of the Chinese mission.

The two failed rebellions of the Duke of Condé led to the complete loss of power of the local power faction in France.The lords of the provinces have all moved to Paris to settle down, building a large number of villas in the suburbs, and the taxation of the territory is exclusively for them to squander in the capital.This is similar to the Japanese shogunate, which also allows the lord to settle in the capital, preventing rebellion and strengthening centralization at the same time.

The two sides introduced the main characters to each other, and Louis XIV kept looking at the Chinese envoy.

The young king felt cheated.The styles of clothes worn by Chinese people are different from those made by French tailors. He decided to ask the tailors to make several sets again.

The grand dinner was scheduled to be held on the second day, and the Chinese guests had to rest in the Louvre for a day due to the fatigue of the journey.

When the nobles dispersed, the court minister arranged for the Chinese envoy to stay.After a short rest, Queen Anne took her son and ran to find Lu Tianxiang, Zhang Ruifeng and others, and invited Chinese guests to visit the palace collection.

Queen Anne pointed to a box and said, "I asked top French craftsmen to make this. Does China have such technology?"

"Although it is exquisite, it is rarely seen in China." Lu Tianxiang replied with a smile.

It is a gold filigree inlaid treasure box, with gold and silver silk to outline the pattern, and then inlaid with jewels and other ornaments.It is golden, rich and luxurious, but also very vulgar, densely covered with gold threads, and has the same aesthetics as Qianlong.

Hearing that it is rare in China, Queen Anne's vanity was satisfied, and she said to Lu Tianxiang: "If Her Royal Highness likes it, when I return to China, I can give you a gold and silver silk product as a gift."