In this day and age, where many people never leave their county town in their entire lives, even the elites of the Ming Dynasty might not have known much. Their living conditions and their knowledge were relatively limited.
For example, some officials in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces have the impression that it is still acceptable to wear summer clothes in October.
However, some officials who had lived in the north, especially those from areas near Liaodong, felt that these people were just making a fuss. In October, Yingtian Prefecture was blessed with clear skies and crisp autumn air, but in Liaodong, it might start to snow.
The vast Ming Dynasty often had diverse climates and lifestyles due to its geographical location, resulting in unique flora and fauna. Furthermore, the Ming Dynasty wasn't truly a land of abundant resources; it lacked many things that existed elsewhere in the world.
While the civil and military officials were making a ruckus, Zhu Yunying, sitting on the dragon throne, was deep in thought.
Palm oil does indeed have a very long history, but this so-called history is not the history that is known to the public. The actual large-scale use of palm oil is only about two hundred years old. Today, palm oil is still largely unknown in the jungles of its native Africa.
The Persians—I don't know if they're referring to people from the Middle East or East Africa.
Don't underestimate the capabilities of the ancients. It's said that Zhang Qian opened up the Western Regions, and the Tang Dynasty also had deep connections with the Middle East. Although they didn't circle the Cape of Good Hope, the point is to say that China had some interactions with Africa throughout history. This is not to say that Zhu Yunying achieved this, but rather that there are similar examples in history.
Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean in history reached as far as the Red Sea coast and the East African coast. However, this does not mean that this was the farthest exchange between China and Africa in history; in fact, the history goes back much further.
During the Western Han Dynasty, the King of Parthia presented some acrobats to the Western Han emperor; these performers appeared to have come from Egypt. Needless to say, during the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the Maritime Silk Road transported countless Chinese porcelain and silks to Africa and other regions.
The Ming Dynasty was indeed powerful, but in addition to the central dynasties, there were also some powerful dynasties overseas.
This is interesting. Zhu Yunying had no intention of following in the footsteps of Genghis Khan or Kublai Khan and conquering Europe. The territory of the Ming Dynasty was already quite large, and he felt that it was enough to control the land that could be controlled, or to create some vassal states belonging to the Ming Dynasty in the surrounding areas.
Colonizing the world is difficult, at least with our current level of science and productivity. It's better to be more realistic and take over Southeast Asia first, since the indigenous people there are not easy to subdue.
Palm oil, which was originally thought to be a good thing, is now trending towards a skyrocketing price, causing headaches for the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
This matter seems to have come to an end without a clear conclusion, at least for now, as there is still no definitive conclusion. Perhaps a consensus needs to be reached, or more convincing evidence needs to be presented, before any doubts can be quelled and rewards can be rightfully distributed.
Although Joo Yun-young could use his power to force some decisions, he did not want to set a bad precedent.
Feng Cheng is his younger sister; everyone knows that. As for Feng Cheng's title, there's not much to say; it's simply because she has a good father. Even if it's a posthumous title, she still has one.
However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain noble titles in the Ming Dynasty. Even for the second generation of meritorious officials and relatives of the empress, it is already good enough to obtain a lower-ranking title. Without certain merits, one should not even think about hereditary succession. The number of top nobles in the Ming Dynasty will only decrease, and the threshold will only become higher.
There's no reason to directly grant Feng Cheng a hereditary title, otherwise future emperors might follow suit, or it would disrupt some of Zhu Yunying's national policies and administration, which wouldn't be a good thing.
Just as they finished court and arrived at the Wuying Hall, Shuangquan arrived and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor Emeritus requests that Your Majesty go to the Qianqing Palace."
Zhu Yunying didn't say much. Given the tacit understanding between him and Old Zhu, unless it was something particularly urgent or important, he generally wouldn't send someone over directly at this time.
I'll just go over there. Actually, Joo Yoon-young was also very curious about what Old Joo wanted to talk to him about at this time.
Upon seeing his beloved grandson, Old Zhu immediately asked, "We know you dote on your sister, but don't be foolish. The title of Duke in our Great Ming Dynasty is extremely valuable; how can it be granted so easily?"
Zhu Yunying immediately understood and said with a smile, "Grandfather, don't overthink it. With my stingy temper, even if he is our brother-in-law, even if our nephew grows up and has the title of Duke or Marquis, that's enough. But we also know that the oil is real, not that we plan to travel the world to visit people."
Old Zhu's meaning was actually quite simple. Although Feng Guoyong was one of Old Zhu's trusted ministers in his early years, he was still an outsider. Moreover, Feng Guoyong had been dead for so many years, and many feelings had gradually faded away.
As for Feng Cheng being Zhu's grandson-in-law, given Zhu's feudal and old-fashioned personality, he couldn't even manage many of his sons-in-law, let alone his grandson-in-law. Married daughters are like water spilled from a bowl, let alone granddaughters.
Old Zhu was actually somewhat reluctant to give his grandson-in-law a hereditary title.
Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang was also worried that his beloved grandson might cause some trouble. It would be one thing if he were only concerned about his younger siblings. The key concern was that his grandson, who had been living a smooth and successful life, might become arrogant and ambitious, or create some unfounded auspicious omens, which would definitely not be a good thing for the Ming Dynasty.
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