My Daming New Empire

Page 871

Whether it was the Mamluk Dynasty, the Ottomans, Hungary, the Papal State, the Holy Roman Kingdom, etc., they were all shocked by this news, and then became crazy.

In the whole of Europe, the current steel output is less than one percent of that of Ming Dynasty.

Daming already consumes millions of tons of steel to build railways every year, while the combined steel output of the whole of Europe is less than [-] tons.

This is already the result of the huge improvement in Europe's steel refining capacity after obtaining the great black technology.

Before stealing Daming's iron and steel black technology, the combined iron production of the whole of Europe was less than [-] tons.

Moreover, they don't know how to make steel, but only use low furnace temperature to make iron. Their iron swords are as soft as noodles. Continue to slash enemies.

This is not fiction, but historical fact.

Because the amount of steel is too small, only France, the United Kingdom, and Luxembourg have small-scale iron mines in Europe.Iron mines over there in Bulgaria, Europe and Ottomans are all competing.

That's why they formed a coalition and expanded eastward to snatch the world's "largest" Donetsk iron mine in Ukraine.

Now, Ming began to supply steel to Europe, which immediately became the most favored commodity of all countries.When purchasing envoys from various countries on the entire island of Crete saw a large ship approaching, they would immediately rush up, wanting to directly buy off a ship of steel.

Under the lure of steel, even those countries that had just been defeated sent some private merchants to buy high-quality steel from Daming regardless of their grief and hatred.

And Ming's steel, even with the long-distance freight, is still cheaper than the production cost of local Europeans after it arrives in Europe, and the quality of the iron is even better.

But in fact, Ming seldom shipped steel directly from the mainland to Europe. Most of the steel shipped to Europe came from the three ports of Goa, Mangalore, and Cochin in western India.

It is an iron ore producing area in India, and now Daming has built more than ten steel factories there to help the local economy develop.

In fact, Ming has already controlled the economy of the entire Indian region, turning the entire South Asian region into a de facto colony.

With India's rich mineral resources, fertile land, and complicated ethnic struggles, it didn't take much effort for Ming to rule this area.

Many small Indian countries are crying and clamoring to join Da Ming, but Da Ming doesn't accept them now.

The main reason is that their population is too large.

Ming wanted to take advantage of India's population, but was unwilling to bear the burden brought by these populations.

Most of the goods that Monte brought this time were the goods that were directly negotiated with the major city-states last time, so they only stayed in Crete temporarily to replenish fresh water, not trade.

But after they landed, they were besieged by the merchants here, all for his ship of steel.

At this time, Monte showed a treacherous integrity different from ordinary businessmen. Even if the other party raised the price by [-]%, he did not agree to resell the steel to them.

And this move has also been appreciated by the representatives of those city-states. Of course, at the same time, there are still some doubts.

Because an ordinary businessman will not refuse to sell at a high price, but is willing to abide by the contract.Observing the contract is the basic standard for businessmen in later generations, but in this era, it is so rare.

At this time, Monte also lost no time in revealing his earl status.For the honor of the nobility, he is willing to give up some business gains and losses.

Subsequently, Monte deliberately stayed in Crete for half a month. This half month was to give European countries some time to react and observe their reactions.

What he has to do now is to trade with him even if the other party doubts his identity.

He is not afraid of the other party's suspicion, because he himself does not undertake any specific tasks, he just creates a platform for his son.

During his stay in Crete, Monte had gone to Milan and reunited with his "good friend", Maria, the eldest son of Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan.

The Sforza family is a well-known mercenary family in the Italian peninsula. Its family has served in the Principality of Naples, the Papal State, the Holy Roman Kingdom, the Principality of Milan and other forces.

All their actions are derived from the temptation of money.

During his service for the Duchy of Milan, Francesco abandoned his original wife and married Maria, the legitimate daughter of Visconti of the Duchy of Milan at the time.

In the 24th year of Orthodoxy, Visconti died without leaving a son, and Sforza justifiably stole the power of the Duchy of Milan.

Sforza and Maria had three children. The oldest Maria was 16 years old. He was a young man full of curiosity about the world. When Mengzheng came to Milan for the first time, he was caught by Mengzheng. He was overwhelmed by the oriental charm and became Meng Zheng's good friend.

And Sforza's second son, 12-year-old Ludovico with black hair and black eyes, even claims to be oriental.

He was madly infatuated with Ming's culture, so he came to Crete when he was six years old, and studied Chinese in the Daming School on the island.

Both brothers are crazy about the East, which is also the main reason why Mengzheng wants to stay in Milan to develop.

Sforza is 64 years old this year and his health is not very good. He may die at any time.

Once he dies, Maria, the heir who is madly infatuated with Da Ming, will take power, which will greatly increase Da Ming's local influence.

Moreover, the Principality of Milan at this time was the most economically powerful region in Europe.

The Po River Plain is the most fertile area in Europe, and the Duchy of Milan occupies the most elite area of ​​the Po River Plain.

Knowing that Mengzheng returned to Milan again, Maria led her guards to Pavia by the Po River to welcome Mengzheng.

When Mengzheng was leaving Europe, he promised him that he would give him an earl car made in Daming. In the past few months, he had been longing for Mengzheng's arrival.

When the brand-new earl car was hoisted from the boat by the crane, Maria felt that Meng Zheng had become his best friend.

"My dear friend, I have prepared a sixteen-bedroom mansion for you near my family's old castle as your home in Milan. I hope our friendship will last forever."

Mengzheng held his left chest, bowed slightly: "When I arrived in Contarina, I only got the news that you were engaged to the princess of the Savoy Kingdom. Please forgive me for not preparing a more exquisite gift for you. However, My wife has prepared a golden ornament from the Ming Dynasty for your fiancée. This ornament with a phoenix pattern is an ornament that only the most noble women can wear."

"Your wife, oh my god, you're already married. It's only been a few months... I have to hurry up and pick out a wedding gift for you."

Meng Zheng hooked his hands, and Duan Qi, who was dressed like a lady, helped a Persian maid by the hand and got off the boat.

Her grand attire immediately blinded Maria's eyes. According to his prediction, Duan Qi's outfit could buy an old castle in Milan, or even a large manor.

Duan Qi asked someone to deliver the gift she had prepared. It was a silk-drawn golden phoenix ornament. Gold threads thinner than hair were twisted into a beautiful phoenix-shaped ornament, and various precious stones were inlaid on it. The exquisite ornaments were beyond Maria's imagination.

"This piece of jewelry can be exchanged for a city..." He couldn't help sighing: "In comparison, the gifts I prepared for you are too much to sell. When we return to Milan, I need to give you a gift for your wedding. Prepare a better present. Madame, you are very beautiful."

Duan Qi, who has been trained by Mengzheng all the way, knows that this is a compliment from Europeans, without the oriental subtlety, she goes straight to the point, which seems very rude.But she didn't show it, and saluted shyly: "Thank you for your compliment."

In this scene, Duan Renzhi on the boat, who was watching, kept pinching teeth.These bumpkins really don't know any manners at all!

Meng Zheng said with a smile at this time: "Maria, do you still remember that I told you that I wanted to form a football team in Milan? This time, I brought a group of players from Daming, and I can also help you with training. We will build the first football team in Europe. Believe me, we will become the most fashionable young people in Europe. There is nothing more obsessed than football."

"Of course, I have persuaded my father to build a football field that can accommodate 2 people in the northeast corner of our family's back garden."

"This is great news and I can't wait to get to Milan."

Just when the Secretary of General Administration was making careful preparations to create momentum for Monte, Meng Zheng and his wife arrived in Milan, which immediately set off a wave of fashion in the Ming Dynasty.

What surprised the Secretary of General Administration was that they prepared all kinds of countermeasures to prevent all changes, but they did not expect that it was not Meng Zheng who set off this whirlwind of Ming Dynasty, but Duan Qi, who was born and raised in Ming Dynasty.

For Europeans, they no longer feel strange about men from Ming Dynasty. Nowadays, Ming dialect has become popular in the upper class in Europe. On Crete, there are also all kinds of Ming men.

On the contrary, since Daming's women never show up in public, even if they occasionally show up in Crete, it's not too far from not attracting too many people's attention.