How to make a famous minister

Chapter 74

The first year of Chongzhen, New Year's Day.

Fan Xuanchao stomped his feet, holding a stove in his hand, and sighed inwardly.

Being an officer is not good at all.

On New Year's Eve in his previous life, he was only responsible for watching the Spring Festival Gala and playing mahjong. On the morning of the first day of the new year, he slept until he woke up naturally, and when he woke up, he could get red envelopes.

But in the Ming Dynasty, aside from the rules, Fan Xuanchao originally thought that Fan Jingwen and the Zhang family were both in Nanjing, and even his grandfather Fan Yongnian returned to Wuqiao after he retired.None of the adults in the family was there, so he just closed the door and lived happily.

Unexpectedly, Fan Jiao's housekeeper kept saying "keep everything simple", but there were still so many rules that caused a headache.The most troublesome thing is the annual gift for all colleagues in the officialdom.

Fan Xuanchao originally wanted to give some calligraphy and paintings together, but was invited by Mrs. Li that day. Knowing his idea, he was laughed at and did not say anything, and taught him many rules of giving gifts with gifts.

How to give gifts to military officials, how to give gifts to civil servants, when to give gifts to superiors, and when to return gifts to subordinates... There are so many things, there are countless.

Fan Xuanchao was dizzy when he heard it, but at least he relied on his strong memory to memorize it all, so he fell silent and asked Fan Jiao to do it, and became the shopkeeper himself.

I thought that after giving the gifts, I would be able to breathe a sigh of relief and get up to eat and drink happily.But Zhu Youjian really didn't let him go, sometimes he would go there every three or two days, and sometimes he would send Fan Xuanchao two or three times a day to send things to him.

He even took the two old eunuchs who were the internal official supervisor and the straight palace supervisor with the excuse of "there are no elders in the family", and directed all the maidservants and rough envoy eunuchs of Fan's mansion around.

Fan Xuanchao was dumbfounded and watched with relish for a long time.Until Zhu Youjian patted him on the shoulder amusedly, "What's so good about it? If you think it looks good, you can go to see it every day in the palace before dawn. There are maids and eunuchs cleaning everywhere."

"Your Majesty doesn't understand. What I appreciate is that a house as big as mine can be cleaned up without me doing it."

—Fan Xuanchao from the stinky boys' dormitory.

Saying this, Fan Xuanchao suddenly remembered that he hadn't cleaned for a long time.She even did what Mrs. Zhang said, and became a bitch who couldn't live without incense.

The heart that used to be able to live in the smell of stinky socks no longer knew where to go.

After hearing his words, Zhu Youjian laughed even louder, "Such a big house? Such a big house?"

Just as he was talking, Zhu Youjian's heart suddenly moved. The Fan family has been officials for three generations, and they have not yet been able to buy a three-family house in the capital.Speaking of it, he was still sorry for Fan Xuanchao, and still owed him the congratulatory gift of the number one scholar.

Although Fan Xuanchao was not considered the champion, but Zhu Youjian couldn't help but spontaneously ignored the champion of the year.

The tall and thin one of the two eunuchs brought by Zhu Youjian saluted, and said slowly, "Fan's mansion is being cleaned inside and out, and it's dusty here, please Your Majesty and Mr. Fan stay elsewhere for now. "

Zhu Youjian pulled Fan Xuanchao away, and asked, "Where is your yard?"

Fan Xuanchao withdrew his gaze from the grasped wrist, sank his mind, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, this way please."

He took Zhu Youjian into his small yard.Although it was Zhu Youjian who said he was curious, when he entered the yard, he didn't look around. He just flipped through the pen and ink on Fan Xuanchao's desk that hadn't been put away with interest.

"This is……?"

Zhu Youjian was enlightened by the circles.

"I bought this from the Frangji people." The Flangji people were the collective name for the Portuguese and Spaniards in the Ming Dynasty.The sixteenth century was the time when Portugal and Spain dominated the seas.They made untold fortunes through royally sponsored overseas trade.

Naturally, at this time, European countries with relatively backward economies had long yearned for the tea, silk, and exquisite porcelain produced in Ming Dynasty.They first came to the Ming Dynasty during the Zhengde period and asked for trade.After being rejected, he directly occupied Tuen Mun Island opposite the Pearl River, built fortifications, and began to confront the Ming army.

From Zhengde to Jiajing, Daming has been fighting with the Portuguese who developed into Japanese pirates.Coupled with the support of Japan, desperadoes and traitors, the Portuguese burned, killed and looted along the coast, and even occupied Macau, which became the confidant of the Ming Dynasty.

This situation was relieved only in the last years of Jiajing—Yu Dayou surrounded Macau, and the Portuguese voluntarily settled the rent owed in Macau over the years and doubled the rent in the future.That's all.

Since then, although Portugal and Ming have never fought each other, they are not good partners either.Macau also developed as an open "special economic zone" in Ming Dynasty.

This book by Fan Xuanchao is an English book bought from the Portuguese—by the way, he also entrusted the Portuguese to bring him the first edition of the complete works of Shakespeare, which Fan Xuanchao intends to buy as a family heirloom.

Zhu Youjian had never learned a foreign language, and he couldn't understand these "books from heaven". He thought they were Fan Xuanchao's favorite travel stories, so he asked casually, "What kind of book is this?"

"It's a book about countries around the world."

Fan Xuanchao's English is good, but for Old English, he can only guess at it. After all, at this time, English began to be standardized, and the first English dictionary was only published every few years.Based on his half-knowledge of ancient English, Fan Xuanchao pieced together the rudiments of the world bit by bit by comparing his fragmentary knowledge of history and geography.

"Oh?" As an emperor, Zhu Youjian really became interested, "Is there our Ming Dynasty?"

Fan Xuanchao handed over the manuscript he translated to Zhu Youjian. Zhu Youjian was already familiar with Fan Xuanchao's habits, and flipped through it after receiving it. Text?"

"That's what's written in this book, and of course I want to translate it that way." Fan Xuanchao laughed, "From the perspective of Franz, our Ming Dynasty is indeed very rich."

Zhu Youjian flipped back again, making sure there were no more, and asked, "No introduction from Jin Guo?"

"Behind Daming." Fan Xuanchao held the book in Zhu Youjian's hand, flipped through a few more pages, and said to one of them: "Here."

Reluctantly, Zhu Youjian shifted his eyes from the retracted slender fingers to the book, and looked carefully, "Huh? 'The enemy of Ming Dynasty, the nomads' is just that?"

Fan Xuanchao nodded, "I've read the whole book, and it's just this sentence."

Seeing that his mortal enemy only had a brief introduction to follow him, Zhu Youjian couldn't help but feel elated, and his affection for Franji, who submitted the letter, greatly increased.

Fan Xuanchao said: "I still have a map that I bought at a high price from Franji, although it's not detailed enough..."

I thought it was a good time to introduce Western countries to Zhu Youjian, but I didn't expect Zhu Youjian to lose interest so quickly.

"If Hanyuan is interested, there are many more in my palace. There are even more maps. You don't have to spend a lot of money to buy them from Frangji."

Thinking he had guessed the reason why Fan Xuanchao had no money, Zhu Youjian couldn't help but say.I am rich all over the world, if Hanyuan has something he wants, just tell him no?