First Minister of Ming Dynasty

First Minister Section 619

When this news reached Constantinople, it exploded up and down.

How can it be?

How did the Mongols lose so badly?

And how could the noble emperor become an ordinary person?

This is crazy too!

In the far east, what are you bothering about?

The nobles of Constantinople did not dare to divulge any news, for fear that something terrible would happen.

But the more frightened they were, the more curious they became.

Guessing that Dongfang has mastered terrible magic, if they can get this power, maybe they can keep their country... There is really no way, the prince from Fulin, please see the Emperor Ming, and ask for a way to save the country!

Chapter 856 A Beautiful Marriage

After the award ceremony, Lao Zhu didn't rush to let his old friends leave, but went to watch the theater continuously, went to Zhongshan to observe astronomy, and went boating on the Qinhuai River.

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang is like a peaceful and ordinary old man, and as he grows older, the cold heart of old Zhu becomes warmer and softer, and there is always a smile on his sharp-edged face.

When entertaining old friends, especially with Tang He and Xu Da, he would encourage them to sing Fengyang Flower Drum Opera... Obviously, Zhu Yuanzhang in this life had a much easier life.

Zhu Biao, the son of the government, can basically handle it. The Zhongshu Province presided over by Sun Yan is also quite worry-free. The Ming Dynasty has entered a rare period of stability and peace.

Zhang Ximeng doesn't have much to do. A few years ago he revised the history of the Song Dynasty, and recently he finished the history of the Yuan Dynasty and prepared to publish it.

In addition, Zhang Ximeng also wanted to write a general history by hand, describing in detail the history of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors, up to thousands of years now.

This is destined to be a huge book, and even Zhang Ximeng is not sure whether he can finish it in his life.

Anyway, it’s okay to be idle, find fun!

However, there is a little bastard Zhang Chengtian around, so Zhang Ximeng is destined not to be idle.

The little fat man turned around from nowhere, and came to ask Zhang Ximeng again.

"Father, do you know Fulin Kingdom? Is this country real or fake?"

Zhang Ximeng was stunned for a moment, and then said: "There is indeed such a country. In the Yuan History I revised, there is an article about Fulin Kingdom... In fact, this Fulin Kingdom has a lot of background. To be precise, it should be called East Rome, or Eastern Great Qin."

"Da Qin?"

"Yes, it's the big Haixi country recorded in our history books. We call it Daqin. Later, the country was split into two parts. The western half perished early, and the eastern part has been lingering until today, but it seems that it won't live for many years."

Zhang Chengtian listened carefully, and then said: "Father, so the prince of Fulin Kingdom is not a fake?"

"Prince Fulin?" Zhang Ximeng was puzzled.

Zhang Chengtian hurriedly told his father that he was a barbarian from overseas, and he ran to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying that he was the Prince of Fulin, the purple-clothed prince, and he came to meet the Emperor of Heaven, and wanted to form an ally, watch and help each other...

Zhang Ximeng couldn't help laughing after hearing this. Although his world history is not very good, it is still very clear when Constantinople fell, and the so-called Eastern Roman Empire, in the last few hundred years, apart from tragedy, Tragedy, ally with them?

That is a pit, or a bottomless abyss.

The Ming Dynasty formed an alliance with them when they had nothing to do.

"We are just expanding outwards, there is no need to rush to get involved in the affairs of the extreme west. What's more, Fulin Kingdom is too muddy to support the wall. They are here, willing to do business, study abroad, everything is fine. But they are not worthy of the alliance. !"

Zhang Chengtian suddenly realized, "I understand, this Fulin country is just a shabby old man who settled down, and he came to us to pretend to be a fool, and really thought he was a nobleman, what the hell!"

The little fat man left without saying anything, but only three days later, Zhang Chengtian came to Zhang Ximeng's study again.

"Daddy, daddy! It's different this time, something big happened!"

Zhang Ximeng glared at him, "It's not a big deal if the sky falls, don't you brat, don't be blah blah blah!"

Zhang Chengtian lowered his voice, "Father, this is really no small matter! You said that the prince of Fulin Kingdom, he, he is going to marry us!"

"Marriage?" Zhang Ximeng was startled for a moment, suddenly realized something, and even had a serious expression on his face, "What did you say? Tell me in detail."

Zhang Chengtian explained it carefully... It turns out that after hearing Zhang Ximeng's words, he really checked the contents of Fulin Kingdom, and found that although this country was glorious in the past, almost all its territory has been lost now, leaving only one city, which belongs to the country. There are not many, a precarious look, life is not long.

There is no doubt that such a country has little value for alliance.

No wonder the father dismissed it, Zhang Chengtian ran to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, intending to get rid of the prince of Fulin Kingdom... But the other party insisted on seeing him, Zhang Chengtian was also very curious, so he found an interpreter, and talked to this prince. The foreign prince chatted for a while.

This conversation was not serious, Zhang Chengtian knew many great things.

After Rome, there is no Rome... In Europe, or even in the entire West, the word Rome has a special meaning.

It’s as if the people in the Central Plains still regard themselves as Han people despite the fall of the Han Dynasty... The status of Rome in the West is even higher than that of the Han Dynasty. There is no shortage of pride.

But the West can't do it. If Rome is gone, it will fall apart.

And the emperor who has a little bit of promise wants to restore the glory of the Roman Empire, looking forward to adding the title of Roman Emperor to himself.

Some people think that the Roman emperor is not enough, and they want to add Holy Rome.

So although East Rome is miserable, although no one wants to intervene in this bottomless pit.

But the name of East Rome is still very important.

Another point is that in the Western world, women have the right to inherit.

Of course, women in Daming can also inherit property and act as the head of the household, but there is another problem. In Daming, princesses cannot theoretically inherit the throne.

Son-in-law, grandson, granddaughter... don't even think about these.

Moreover, Lao Zhu has dozens of sons and grandsons, so there is no need to consider the issue of the princess's succession.

But regardless of the East and the West, there are indeed problems with monarchs who cannot have children and have no direct heirs... In the East, according to the strict male inheritance system, they will be selected from the clan, and inherit the throne according to the distance. For example, Song Renzong has no heirs. He adopted Yingzong from the clan and inherited the throne.

In the history of the Ming Dynasty, there was no descendant of Zhengde, and his cousin Zhu Houcong inherited it.

Things are a little bit more troublesome in the West. The West can be inherited by daughters, which means that the queen is allowed to appear.

Daughters can inherit, son-in-law also has heirs, any grandson or granddaughter, as long as they can be traced back to kinship, can inherit the position of king.

"Father, the prince of Fulin Kingdom told me that he is willing to marry his younger sister to Ming Dynasty. The marriage between the two parties has really changed. He is willing to support descendants with oriental blood to inherit the throne."

Zhang Ximeng frowned when he heard this, and was dumbfounded... Marrying the princess in purple from Eastern Rome, and then obtaining the right to inherit the Roman Empire... Isn't this Raksha's operation?After the fall of Constantinople, they married the purple princess, had the right to inherit, and even claimed to be the third Rome?

Could it be that the Ming Dynasty wanted to marry Eastern Rome and then obtain the right of inheritance?

In this way, even if Eastern Rome is finished, the Ming Dynasty still has a reason to march west... This matter seems to be a bit messed up.

Zhang Ximeng fell into deep thought. Zhang Chengtian looked at his father in doubt, and asked curiously, "He didn't lie, did he? A son-in-law can also inherit the position?"

Zhang Ximeng nodded, "I'm not telling a lie. In fact, whether you can inherit it or not depends on your strength. They can't even protect themselves in Fulin Kingdom, so what do you expect them to do? But with this status, it is convenient to use troops to the west. , This is true. All in all, everything must be done right, only in this way can we be confident."

Zhang Chengtian nodded repeatedly, "I understand, it's equivalent to buying an admission ticket, whether you can get it or not depends on your real skills."

Zhang Ximeng nodded, "By the way, who among His Majesty's princes is more suitable for marriage?"

Zhang Chengtian thought for a while, Zhu Biao couldn't do it, neither could Zhu Xi and Zhu Fan, Zhu Di had just married Xu Da's daughter, and no matter what, he couldn't let Zhu Laosi take advantage of it.If he married the princess in purple, he wouldn't go to heaven!

The only one left is the old fifth, Zhu Wei, and a few other bastards.

"Father, I don't think those princes are very good. Even if you give them a chance, it's useless."

Zhang Ximeng rolled his eyelids, "Then what do you think of Zhu Xiongying?"

The eldest grandson of Daming, definitely can.

But Zhang Chengtian shook his head, "Father, will His Majesty be a little worried if you say you did this?"

"Worry?"

"That's right! I think His Majesty regrets letting the crown prince marry the Chang family's daughter. It's safer for the future empress and concubine to come from an ordinary family. The blood of our Daming royal family is already noble enough, so there is no need to mess with the Fulin Kingdom. Together, if a blond prince is born, how will he inherit the throne? How will he win the trust of others?"

I have to say that the little fat man has been with Zhu Yuanzhang for a long time, and he has gained a lot of experience and knowledge.

It is absolutely impossible for Zhu Xiongying to marry a purple-clothed princess, and there are not many other princes who are suitable.

"By the way, did the prince say, how old is his sister?"

Zhang Chengtian thought for a while and said, "It shouldn't be that old, just about two or three years old, about the same as the third and fourth..." Zhang Chengtian said this casually, and suddenly a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind.

"Father! Look, don't take advantage of the old Zhu's family. Just let the third or fourth child marry this princess. Isn't that a good thing!"

Zhang Ximeng gave him a hard look, "Your third and fourth younger brothers still wear crotch pants! If you want to get married, why not you?"

Zhang Chengtian said with a smile: "I want to marry someone who can cook. I can't get used to barbaric food... Dad, really, just listen to me. As long as this princess in purple is married to our family, we will have a good family in the West." Influence. At that time, your old ideas will be able to spread smoothly. I know that you have always wanted to educate the world and dominate the world... But you also know that you may not be able to fight for a few lifetimes just by fighting."

"If this opportunity can be used to facilitate cooperation and allow my brother to marry Princess Ziyi... Oops! Father, what a wonderful thing this is!"

Zhang Ximeng's face was still dark, "Don't you have nothing to dream about, don't talk about the purple-clothed princess, even if it's Daming's Zhuyi princess, I won't agree! You boy, don't have nothing to dream about!"

Zhang Ximeng waved his hand directly, telling Zhang Chengtian to get out.

Zhang Chengtian had no choice but to withdraw, but he did not give up at all. If this could be done, it would be of great help to the Zhang family and the overall situation.

As for the third and fourth children, the princesses of the millennium empire and the nobles in purple clothes, they are not wronged... As the second brother, I have the obligation to help my brothers get benefits. No matter what, I must not take advantage of the old Zhu family.

"The Grand Master's status in Daming is equivalent to that of your Great Patriarch, even higher... My Da Ming pursues the teaching of the Grand Master, and billions of people are all disciples of the Grand Master. If you want to marry the prince, It's far better to get married with the grand master, you can think about where to go!"

Chapter 857 The Combination of Ming Dynasty and Rome

"I want to know, after agreeing to get married, can we send troops to Constantinople?" the young prince asked earnestly.

Zhang Chengtian sat down, looked at him, and suddenly showed a meaningful smile, "Prince Fulin, you have been in Daming for a while, don't you know something very simple?"

The prince was stunned for a while, and asked, "What do you mean?"

"For example, our Ming Dynasty's territory, population, and our military strength?" Zhang Chengtian said with a smile: "If you can understand the power of the Ming Dynasty, you won't ask such a simple question."

The prince was stunned for a moment, and then said pleasantly: "You mean, the Ming Dynasty is fully capable of helping us?"

Zhang Chengtian laughed lightly, a little embarrassed, "I mean why should the Ming Dynasty care about you? A country in turmoil!"

The interpreter tried his best to make his tone more tactful, but in the prince's ears, he was still thundering, his face became very ugly, and his whole body was even trembling.

Zhang Chengtian was too rude.

He is the noble prince of Byzantium, a true nobleman, completely different from those Western European barbarians... But he didn't explode. After a while, he even put away his anger and became calm.

"Da Ming is indeed extremely powerful, and Rome also has the dignity of Rome. If you can't take measures as soon as possible, it is very possible to lose Rome. I hope you can take it seriously."

Zhang Chengtian was slightly surprised by the young prince's attitude, it was really surprising that he didn't explode.

However, if you have a little understanding of the prince's experience, you will understand that he has also experienced humiliation ten thousand times more vicious than this.

First of all, the prince of Eastern Rome is called Manuel. His father is the emperor of Eastern Rome, John V. When he was still a teenager, Manuel went to Western Europe to ask for assistance, and then he was sent to Ottoman, acting as a proton.

Little Qin of Eastern Rome is a stranger.

It's a pity that he didn't meet Lu Buwei, nor did he give birth to a powerful son... But Manuel still managed to escape from Ottoman.

He fled back to Constantinople with a caravan, disguised as ordinary people.

It was from the mouths of these businessmen that Manuel learned something extraordinary, that is, the news from Daming.

Due to the existence of the Mongol Empire, the connection between the East and the West is relatively smooth. At least in the Yuan History revised by Zhang Ximeng, there is an article about Fulin Kingdom.

On the west side, more attention should be paid to the east. This does not mean that they are more eager to learn, but that the pressure of survival is really unbearable, and Mount Tai is overwhelming, so they have to do so.

Back then, Hulagu conquered the west and established the Ilkhanate, which was a giant. It started from the Amu Darya River and the Indus River in the east, and extended westward to Asia Minor, and it was a neighbor to Eastern Rome.

If Mengge Khan hadn't died in Diaoyu City, it was almost certain that Hulagu was going to kill Egypt, and the Mamluk dynasty couldn't stop it at all. As for Eastern Rome, it was just a matter of passing through.

Therefore, the culprit is Qiu Chuji...

The Mongols did not continue to fight west, but Eastern Rome was not idle either. They didn't want to fight the Mongols, but they wanted to figure out why these barbarians were so powerful?

Could it be that God sent them to punish the whole West?

In trembling, they finally figured out that the Mongol Empire has unlimited territory, unlimited soldiers and horses, and unlimited wealth... All in all, this is an incomparably powerful super empire.

The Roman Empire at its peak may be only equivalent to one of the four Mongolian Khanates.

This gap can make people desperate.

So this group of people in Constantinople can only pray every day, and God will show up.

Then it really came to life!

That's right, the ferocious Ilkhanate collapsed. After all, Mongolia's ruling order was relatively loose. The Ilkhanate didn't even establish a bureaucratic system, and it was maintained by force.

But after the force retreated, they would die.

It's just that the Ili Khanate was dead, and Eastern Rome didn't feel the grace of God at all... because two more difficult opponents emerged from the body of the Ili Khanate.