As they followed Ke Zhiming's pointed finger, a fleet of twenty warships appeared on the distant sea. As they drew closer, Louis XVI and George III saw the Ming character flags fluttering on those warships.
"How outrageously ostentatious!"
This was the shared thought of Louis XVI and George III.
To speak of twenty warships, neither France nor England was without them. The key was that the flagship carrying the Ming Emperor was followed by a fleet of thirty warships, and now twenty more had come to greet them.
Fifty warships. England could muster them, and France could muster them. The crucial point was that after mustering fifty warships, there would essentially be nothing else.
But the Ming was different. Louis XVI and George III had seen plenty of Ming warships on their journey and knew that these twenty warships were not coming to greet them, but had already been waiting in Tianzhu for an unknown period.
This made Louis XVI and George III truly understand what prestige meant.
What was even more unexpected for Louis XVI and George III was that after these twenty warships with their gunports closed appeared, the warship carrying Zhu Jinsong, the Ming Emperor, directly hoisted the flag signal for a ship inspection. These warships, displaying a completely undefended posture, were clearly their own country's fleet, yet the Ming Emperor did not go to offer condolences first but instead demanded that the fleet undergo inspection? What kind of absurdity was this?
However, what happened next completely subverted the perceptions of Louis XVI and George III.
Those twenty warships, flying the Ming dragon flag, indeed stopped neatly on the sea. The "eunuch" who had been accompanying Zhu Jinsong, along with some personnel, changed into smaller boats and headed towards the twenty warships.
When that "eunuch" boarded the warships, the twenty warships erupted in thunderous cheers.
At this point, Louis XVI could no longer afford to dwell on his centuries-old feud with George III.
The two men exchanged glances, both seeing confusion in the other's eyes.
Why?
Why did the Ming navy not feel distrusted by their emperor? Why did they not feel it was a humiliation to be inspected by a "eunuch"? Why were they so obediently compliant?
Louis XVI was somewhat better off, as he had shamelessly insisted on becoming "each other's most steadfast ally" with the Ming from the beginning, gaining some understanding of the Ming. He also knew that the Ming army was capable of fighting, but he had never witnessed how capable the Ming army truly was.
George III, however, was entirely different.
Previously, when the Ming army clashed with the English army in Tianzhu, they had thoroughly exhibited the arrogance of "I am the greatest in the world," as if nothing on this small planet could make them bow.
Precisely because of this understanding, George III could not comprehend why these Ming naval soldiers were so... docile?
Apart from docile, George III really couldn't think of a more fitting adjective.
Only when the eunuch who had been accompanying Zhu Jinsong returned to the Emperor's flagship did George III tentatively ask, "I seemed to hear cheers just now. I wonder what they were cheering for?"
Zhu Jinsong smiled and said, "They were cheering for My arrival. According to the original plan of the Five Military Commissions, the Grand Commander of the Right Army, Geng Rui, was supposed to come and take over the situation in Tianzhu and the Ottoman Empire, but now, I am here."
George III then asked again, "But you are the Emperor of the Ming. You have arrived here, and instead of personally reviewing them, you sent your attendant to inspect them. Are they not displeased?"
Zhang Dequan, returning to Zhu Jinsong's side, lowered his brows and thought, "You barbarian, what do you know about the Central Plains system? Do you know what my status truly is?"
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and said, "According to Ming etiquette, wherever the Emperor goes, bows are unstrung, and guns and cannons have their charges removed and breeches closed. In situations like this at sea, unless absolutely unavoidable, I cannot leave the flagship, and can only send Dequan to inspect on My behalf."
"De Quan is My personal chief eunuch, the supervisor of the Directorate of Ceremonial, and the Director of the Eastern Depot. His inspection is actually an inspection on My behalf, and all of this is in accordance with the regulations of Ming etiquette. Therefore, why would the soldiers be displeased?"
George III nodded as if he understood, then exchanged glances with Louis XVI again, their eyes filled with envy.
There was no alternative. The situation in Europe was completely different from that in the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, everything was centered around the Emperor. In Europe, however, the various lords and nobles did not seem to pay much heed to the royal family. To have them come to greet was already a great courtesy, let alone to accept inspection.
Seeing that George III and Louis XVI had no further questions, Zhu Jinsong smiled and instructed Zhang Dequan, "Enter the port."
Zhang Dequan bowed in assent and then shouted, "By order of His Majesty, enter the port and hold a review!"
As the illustrious Ming Emperor traveled, accompanied by two European kings, all the necessary courtesies had to be arranged.
For example, the ninety-nine volleys of ceremonial cannons had to be fired, the soldiers of the welcoming fleet had to be reviewed, and then the imperial edict appointing someone as the Dragon King of the West Sea had to be read aloud. After that, the real feasting would begin.
Of course, this meal was not the various beef banquets that Louis XVI and George III had been looking forward to throughout their journey, but a palace banquet held entirely according to Ming etiquette.
Before this, Louis XVI and George III had not had the opportunity to experience a Ming banquet. Whether it was civilian, official, or even imperial banquets, the two had almost tasted them all.
However, this was the first time they had truly witnessed a military banquet.
Firstly, the portion sizes were different from the banquets they had attended before.
In other banquets, whether imperial, official, or civilian, the emphasis was on exquisite presentation and excellent taste. Military banquets, however, emphasized large portions and plenty of meat dishes like chicken and fish. They also included performances such as toasting, archery, and wrestling, which thoroughly astonished Louis XVI and George III.
Zhu Jinsong did not care how astonished Louis XVI and George III were. After the banquet concluded, he summoned Geng Rui and directly asked, "What is the situation in Tianzhu now?"
Geng Rui cupped his hands in a troubled expression and replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the situation in Tianzhu is truly difficult to describe – those Tianzhu barbarians seem to care more about cows than people."
"According to the intelligence I have gathered during this time, harming women in Tianzhu is not considered a crime. It is sufficient to marry the harmed woman afterward. However, harming cows or other livestock is a serious offense."
Zhu Jinsong grunted and could not help but admire the peculiar mindset of the "third brother" (referring to India).
Although the laws in his own country regarding "hashqi" were already quite ridiculous, where harming a woman was not illegal as long as one was willing to marry her afterward, his "third brother" seemed to have gone a step further, completely shifting their concern for people to concern for livestock.
It seemed that livestock had something to do with deities?
Geng Rui continued, "Besides this, there is another point that truly baffles me."
Zhu Jinsong asked curiously, "What is it?"
Geng Rui subtly glanced at George III and replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have fought many battles before, and during the western campaign against Gurkha, I witnessed the armies of the Western Regions."
"However, I never expected that these Tianzhu barbarians would not raise banners of rebellion. Instead, they simply sat together quietly, expressing their protest through silence."
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and said, "There is nothing strange about that. After all, this is Tianzhu, and any abnormal situation is normal – think about it, Wang Xuance was able to sweep across all of Tianzhu with an army of sons-in-law. Do you still not know how useless they are?"
George III chimed in at the opportune moment, "Indeed, there is nothing strange about it. Those diaper-heads have always been like this. As long as you acknowledge the status of their monks and grant them privileges, they will help you deal with the other diaper-heads."
"And it is hard for you to believe that all the diaper-heads in Tianzhu deeply respect those monks, as well as the cows on every street."
"They divide all people into four castes, they bully each other, and they are particularly lazy. Besides expressing protest through sitting, they have no other ideas."
Geng Rui nodded and said, "Yes, this is also what I will report next."
"These Tianzhu barbarians divide all people into four castes: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras."
"Among these four castes, Brahmins, meaning monks, are the first caste and hold the highest status. Kshatriyas, meaning warriors, kings, nobles, etc., are the second caste, and can serve as officials or join the army, or perhaps become kings or nobles. Vaishyas, meaning merchants, are the third caste and can only engage in business for their entire lives. And Shudras, meaning farmers, are the fourth caste, with the lowest status, and can only farm or do other manual labor, or do handicraft work."
"In addition to these, there is another group excluded from the caste system, namely the 'Untouchables' or 'Pariahs.' These Pariahs must be careful to avoid others when walking, lest their shadows affect others."
"Furthermore, intermarriage between these classes is not allowed. If intermarriage occurs, they will be treated as Pariahs, with no hope of ever rising."
"What I find most incomprehensible is that Tianzhu seems to regard our Ming people as Kshatriyas of the second caste. Those Vaishyas, Shudras, or Pariahs are very careful when dealing with Ming people, and those Kshatriya people treat Ming people equally. Only the Brahmin monks seem to always want to interfere in the affairs of Ming people."
"As far as I know, a Ming merchant came to Tianzhu and wanted to take two concubines. One was a noblewoman of the Kshatriya caste, and the other was a farmer's daughter of the Shudra caste."
"If the English army stationed here had not intervened in this matter, it seems those Brahmin monks would have declared that merchant a Pariah?"
As Geng Rui spoke of the Tianzhu caste system, Zhu Jinsong's expression remained unchanged, and a hint of amusement played on his lips – for the "third brother," no operation was too surprising, as it was a country capable of making missiles perform Brownian motion.
Legend has it that if you are targeted by a "third brother's" missile, you must stay put, because staying still is the safest. Running around might get you hit.
Legend has it that when the "third brother" bought Kalashnikovs from the Russians, the Russians turned around and found a boatload of Type 56s from the Chinese, complete with Chinese instruction manuals – and even more miraculously, the "third brother" actually called asking for after-sales service.
Therefore, for such a uniquely minded "third brother," Zhu Jinsong felt nothing was too strange.
However, when Geng Rui mentioned the Brahmins wanting to declare the Ming merchant a Pariah, the smile on Zhu Jinsong's lips vanished.
What are merchants?
From the perspective of traditional emperors in the Central Plains system, merchants were like pigs raised by the state; whenever they were fat and money was needed, a batch would be rounded up and slaughtered.
This was a good tradition that had been passed down since the Qin and Han dynasties.
So, could the pigs of my Central Plains system be declared Pariahs by you Tianzhu barbarians?
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and said, "The ruler of France, Louis XVI, and the ruler of England, George III, have arrived at the Tianzhu Provincial Administration, wanting to taste the local beef. Convey My decree to hunt and kill some fine cattle."
George III cautiously advised, "Actually, there is no need. Really. Those diaper-heads are very easy to manage. As long as you grant their monks some privileges and stipulate that Ming people belong to the Brahmin castes, they will become very obedient, and the entire Tianzhu will be stable."
Louis XVI also advised, "After all, you intend to conquer Tianzhu. By doing this, aren't you forcing those diaper-heads to revolt?"
Zhu Jinsong smiled and nodded, saying, "Exactly. I intend to force them to revolt. They regard the people of the Ming as Kshatriyas, so what do they regard Me as? Do they consider Me to be the same as the Brahmins?"
"Besides, I have not even classified the people of the Ming, so how can they, these barbarians, dictate the classification of the people of the Ming?"
"The pigs of the Ming, the Ming can kill, but others cannot!"
"You don't need to try to persuade Me further. I have come this time to thoroughly resolve the issue of Tianzhu. Coincidentally, there are a few copper mines in Tianzhu that the Ming needs, and coincidentally, there is a lack of laborers. I believe these Tianzhu barbarians are very suitable."