Chapter 376: Exploration Report of the East

The fleet sailed towards Constantinople, and all the merchant ships they met along the way made way for them. The sailors and merchants on the ship were very curious about this huge fleet, and their curiosity reached its peak when they saw some ships they had never seen before.

"Where is this ship from? I have never seen it before."

"Me too, I have been to sea hundreds of times, and I have never seen such a ship."

The sailors discussed curiously, while the merchants discussed the strange things recently, such as the increase in merchant ships heading to Constantinople by several times.

The company used a lot of relationships and caravans to finally transport the goods to Port Said, where the merchant ships were ready and could leave directly after loading. Before the Eastern fleet arrived, they had been in the warehouse in Constantinople.

Constantinople was fully prepared today, and the mayor was waiting at the dock in person. The citizens had a look of eating melons at such a scene. Who were they welcoming?

They soon got the answer. A fleet entered the Golden Horn, and this fleet was too long to see the end at a glance. You should know that a person who owns a fleet of more than 20 ships is quite rich. Now, I am afraid that only the rich can afford so many ships.

"Special envoy, we have arrived in Constantinople. The capital of our country is also the most beautiful and richest city."

Zheng He looked at the city with different scenery. Compared with Nanjing, this city is relatively small, but compared with other overseas cities, it is quite large. And the different buildings, ships, and people made the members of the Ming fleet who came here have a strong desire to explore.

The fleet docked, and Mason and Zheng He walked down together. At this time, Mason also served as Zheng He's translator, and the conversation between the two sides had to be translated by him.

"Welcome the special envoy of the Eastern Empire to Constantinople."

The mayor welcomed Zheng He's arrival, and through Mason's translation, Zheng He also expressed his gratitude for the empire's welcome. After a brief greeting, the mayor led Zheng He to his resting place, ready to meet the emperor of the empire early tomorrow morning.

The goods on the ship were also lifted down. Because there were too many goods, it took until midnight to complete the lifting. Several warehouses were full and guarded by the army, fearing that these things would be lost.

As for the crew, because of the language barrier, they only played in their own small circle. Some could not resist the temptation and played with those prostitutes.

Although the ships brought by Zheng He were only half of the previous ones, there were more than 10,000 members. They gathered here and spent a considerable amount of money.

In addition to receiving salaries, these officers and soldiers also asked some of their Fulin friends to secretly take some oriental goods with them, and sell them after arriving in Constantinople, and split the remaining money 50-50.

The spices, medicinal materials, cotton cloth and other goods brought from the East can be sold at high prices here. After they sold them in Constantinople to make money, they continued to invest in various local service industries and contribute to Constantinople's tax revenue.

Some small vendors sold their goods to these people who came from afar, and more people were curious and wanted to see them. The disturbance of the arrival of foreigners spread around with various news, and some foreigners also wanted to see it. After all, this is a rare opportunity in a century.

The people wanted to see them, and Peter talked to Mason. After two years of not seeing each other, Mason was darker than before, and the governor had a lot to say to him.

"Your Highness, this is the tea I brought from the East."

Mason asked his men to make tea for Peter to taste. As soon as he picked up the teacup, a fragrance came to his face. Good tea!

"I have been in the East for two years this time, and I have gained a lot."

"Yes, Your Highness, this time I not only found the country that Marco Polo mentioned, but also brought back a lot of good things."

Mason presented Peter with the good things he got in the East, including porcelain from a place called Jingdezhen, and one that was said to be used by the emperor of the previous dynasty. The blue and white pattern on it made Peter obsessed, and it must be crazy to grab it in later generations.

"Your Highness, this is silk produced in the East."

Peter looked at the silk in the big box. Whether it was a luxury in the past or in the future, it appeared in front of him in boxes. He felt like it was a dream.

"Good, good. It seems that you have made great achievements in the two years in the East."

"Yes, Your Highness, I already know that the mysterious East is an empire called Ming. Their army, economy, cities, and villages are much stronger than ours. With a single order from their ruler, hundreds of ships are built, and they can summon hundreds of thousands of troops at any time. Such command capabilities are impossible for any European country to achieve."

"Moreover, their smelting, textile and other industries far surpass ours, even India. With such conditions, it is no wonder that they say it is a land of gold and silver."

Mason introduced Peter to the basic situation of the Ming Dynasty, and summarized it in one sentence: the Ming Dynasty is too strong, and no one can defeat it alone.

"Since we have arrived in the Ming Dynasty, will their ruler agree to give us a piece of land for trade?"

Peter raised this question, and Mason soon lost his previous expression and began to tell Peter about the internal political situation of the Ming Dynasty.

"Their ruler is very interested in trade, but his officials are opposed to it. They say that the previous ruler issued an order, and the successor must obey it."

"Your Highness, these people are really strange. They can obviously increase their income, but they have to rely on domestic taxes. The emperor is not such a person. I heard that His Majesty is going to move the capital, which will cost a lot of money."

Peter smiled. From this time on, maritime trade became the focus of debate in the East. But the opposition was basically victorious, and the maritime ban was strictly enforced. They could only rely on smuggling to trade. Who was the smuggler? Those noble officials.

"It is also difficult for their emperor, but it is feasible to establish a transit point in a nearby place?"

"Don't worry about this, Your Highness. I have already established a trading house and a fortress not far from Ming. It is very close to Ming, and you can reach it by going north from here."

Going north from here, it is either Luzon or Little Ryukyu. It seems that Mason has given himself such a big surprise. The empire has another colony.

No matter which empire takes these two places, it will be profitable. The local land is fertile and the location is important. More importantly, the local area is still in the tribal era, and the difficulty of colonization is a little bit smaller. Patiently govern for ten years, and this place can feed back to the empire itself.

"And Your Highness, this time when I went to the East, I accidentally learned that there was some conflict between Ming and a country called Japan in the east. The trade between the two countries was unstable, so I took the initiative to take over this trade."

Peter was stunned when he heard this. "Can you say it again?"

It seems that His Highness reacted greatly to this news, which was also within Mason's expectations. After all, it is overseas trade with an oriental country, and it is overseas trade with one country.

Thinking of this, Mason said again.

"I not only contracted the trade between Ming and Japan, but also the trade between another country, Korea and Japan. Your Highness, these two trades are handed over to the imperial merchants."

Peter tried to turn his brain around. Mason meant that Rome contracted the official trade between Ming and Japan and the trade between Korea and Japan. Except for the trade between Ming and Korea, the rest of the three East Asian countries were done by the empire.

This is too much information, so he had to slow down.

Okay, I slowed down.

"You did a big thing, a big thing that can change history."

Peter praised what Mason did. Contracting two trade lines in the three East Asian countries, in addition to the benefits, more spies can be placed. After all, who doesn't want to manipulate the politics of other countries?

The Ming Dynasty has officials and gentry, Korea has two classes, and Japan has guardian daimyo and other forces in various places. There will always be places for infiltration, and it would be wonderful if foreign forces became part of political participation.