Osman was now like a piece of marbled meat, and the Great Ming wanted to take a bite, considering it a loss if they didn't get their fill. The "Sand Geese" also wanted a bite, and similarly, wanted to gorge themselves.
However, the problem was that there was only so much meat to go around, and two parties wanted it. One party was the strongest and had sharp tongues. The other, though slightly weaker, was closer and had already taken the first bite. The two might bump into each other at any moment.
What was even more infuriating was that both were among the "Five Great Benevolent Ones" of the "Little Broken Pot" – while the "Sand Geese's" position had been bestowed by the Great Ming, they did at least occupy that seat, and had proactively half-gifted, half-sold Siberia and Alaska to the Great Ming. If they really encountered each other in Ottoman territory, would the Great Ming still have the nerve to slap the "Sand Geese" across the face?
Louis XVI's implication was that they all knew the Great Ming had the strength to slap them, but doing so would tarnish the reputation of the "Five Great Benevolent Ones." So, if it was truly unavoidable, would the Great Ming allow France to slap them on their behalf?
Zhu Jinsong smiled dismissively and said, "What the Great Ming needs does not conflict with what the 'Sand Geese' need. I have already discussed it with Paul I. We will establish a buffer zone, and then it will depend on who the lucky one is."
Hearing Zhu Jinsong say this, Louis XVI's heart, which had been pounding in his throat, finally relaxed.
Louis XVI did not doubt this, because according to the habits of the Great Ming Emperor and the Great Ming court, before the Great Ming prepared to beat someone up, the "Great Ming Gazette" would usually publish evidence. For example, before, the Xuanweisi of Old Port, as well as Lanfang, Tianzhu, Bangzi, and even Jianyi, the "Great Ming Gazette" had published relevant articles.
If the Great Ming truly intended to clash with the "Sand Geese" in Ottoman territory, the current "Great Ming Gazette" should have already listed countless pieces of evidence proving that Ottoman territory had always been part of the Great Ming's land, and would also list a pile of evidence proving the "Sand Geese's" negative impact on the "Little Broken Ball," thereby giving the Great Ming ample reason to initiate a conflict with the "Sand Geese," and still stand on the moral high ground after beating them up.
However, this time, the recent "Great Ming Gazette" had not carried a deluge of reports concerning Ottoman territory.
On the contrary, the "Great Ming Gazette" had been emphasizing the problems that the Great Ming itself might have, and had been publishing articles related to governance and infrastructure.
Therefore, judging from the "Great Ming Gazette," the Great Ming truly did not intend to make a move against the "Sand Geese" for the time being, just as Zhu Jinsong had said.
However, after breathing a sigh of relief, Louis XVI felt a bit envious of that lucky one.
Positioned between the Great Ming and the "Sand Geese," two great benevolent ones, as long as the Great Ming and the "Sand Geese" did not intend to fight, this lucky one would be the safest country in the world. Unless someone had a person growing on their liver, no one would dare to attack this lucky one.
Of course, if the Great Ming and the "Sand Geese" prepared to fight, everything would be another matter, and this lucky one might become the most unlucky unlucky person on the "Little Broken Ball."
What made Louis XVI and George III even more envious were the ports they passed along the way.
It was understandable that the ports that were originally part of the Great Ming were as they were. But after passing Qiongzhou Port, there was also Xi'an Port. After Xi'an Port, there was Lanfang Port. After Lanfang Port, there was the Old Port. The Bosen Port, which they circled around, was also a port of the Great Ming. Along the way, besides the merchant ships of various countries shuttling back and forth, the rest were all warships or merchant ships of the Great Ming. Most of the people seen at the ports were also the people of the Great Ming.
The clothes worn by these people might not be too good, and their faces might be filled with exhaustion, but the smiles on their faces and the spirit in their eyes were enough to make any European king secretly startled.
It was clear that their eyes were full of hope. They were not afraid of the current hardships, nor did they care how tattered or dirty their clothes were. They were just striving for more income and a better life.
Of course, these were not the most important things.
The most important thing was the order that Louis XVI and George III saw.
If the order of the Great Ming army, and even the order of the Great Ming navy ships when sailing, was still within the acceptable range of Louis XVI and George III, then the order displayed by the people of the Great Ming at the ports they passed along the way was truly beyond the cognitive scope of Louis XVI and George III.
Such order could hardly exist in Europe.
Almost all the people of the Great Ming were acting in a certain order, like an ant colony. All the ports they passed were exceptionally clean and orderly, while the ports in Europe, in addition to chaos and disorder, were mostly filled with feces and urine everywhere.
Louis XVI said with no small amount of envy, "If France could one day be like the Great Ming, I might be the most successful king in French history, without exception."
George III chuckled and sarcastically replied, "If any European country could be like the Ming, then Europe would not be as it is now."
"Wake up, your French people are best at relieving themselves anywhere, they wouldn't care about the French environment and air."
"If you really want to change all this, the only way is to send them all to the Great Ming."
Louis XVI's face immediately darkened and he said, "What the French are best at is precisely what you rose-beef eaters are best at – at least I've cleaned up the city of Paris inside and out, but have you cleaned up the feces in the River Thames?"
George III said with a sense of pride, "Of course, I have cleaned up the feces in the River Thames. Although I only cleaned the part outside the city of London, it is progress after all, and it's much better than before, isn't it?"
Seeing these two, Louis XVI and George III, about to argue about who had cleaned up more feces, Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but say, "It's almost noon, and you're discussing this topic. Can you still eat lunch later?"
Louis XVI said indignantly, "I didn't start this topic; it was that ungrateful idiot George III – by the way, what are we having for lunch today? I prefer stewed intestines."
Zhu Jinsong thought to himself, this is on a ship. Although there are freezers on the ship, who would bring something like intestines on board?
Besides, you two just finished discussing the feces outside Paris and in the River Thames, and now you want to eat intestines? You really have no dietary restrictions, do you?
Zhu Jinsong said with a dark expression, "There are no stewed intestines. If there were, I would have had someone make them long ago. However, we are about to reach the port of Chennai in Tianzhu. If nothing unexpected happens, we should have dinner at the port of Chennai tonight."
Louis XVI's eyes lit up and he asked, "Are there many cows in Tianzhu? Can we have boiled beef, spicy beef tendons, and braised beef?"
Speaking of which, Louis XVI did not forget to put down George III: "By the way, don't look at how the English have the nickname 'rose beef,' but their place is a desert of delicacies, and there are no delicacies there. So, just give him a piece of steak with blood."
George III's face also darkened, and he retorted, "Compared to the Great Ming, of course, we English have no outstanding delicacies. But compared to you French frogs who put anything in their mouths, we English are very gentlemanly."
Louis XVI chuckled and retorted, "Eating uncooked beef, with blood all over your mouth, is that still called gentlemanly? Didn't you see what the Great Ming Gazette said? That thing is blood! Blood! Or, that thing is the water from the cow's corpse. How can you eat it!"
Hearing Louis XVI say this, George III was immediately silenced.
After a long while, George III said resentfully, "You French are no different!"
It wasn't that George III couldn't accept that there were no delicacies in Europe or England, but when it came to steak with blood, it was a bit of an injustice.
After all, nobles all over Europe liked to eat steak with blood, not just English gentlemen.
In fact, even those French frogs also liked to eat steak with blood.
But who would have thought that the "Great Ming Gazette" would say that the blood flowing from fried steak was a sign of it being undercooked, and that eating such half-cooked steak might affect one's health.
The problem lay here.
If it were newspapers from other countries, whether it was the "Silly Eagle," the "Sand Geese," or the French frog newspapers, probably no one would take such news seriously.
The problem was that it was said by the "Great Ming Gazette."
As a result, all the aristocrats in Europe accused European chefs of being useless. They had been frying steak for hundreds of years and still didn't know how to fry steak thoroughly. Steak with blood was now completely out of fashion.
What made George III even more displeased was that Louis XVI actually shook his head and said, "No, no, no, there is no one in France who eats that kind of beef with blood anymore. God bless, after reading the Great Ming Gazette, we French are now eating thoroughly cooked beef."
Zhu Jinsong watched Louis XVI and George III bicker while secretly laughing.
This was a case of "whoever has the bigger fist calls the shots," or another victory for the outward dissemination of Great Ming culture.
In later generations, especially in Western restaurants, eating well-done steak would be looked down upon. It seemed that eating steak with blood was considered truly sophisticated, and the blood in the steak was given a more sophisticated name.
Myoglobin.
But there was no way around it. It was about having the right to speak. Even undercooked steak could be praised to the skies.
It was different now.
Using chopsticks was sophisticated, eating well-done beef was sophisticated, and eating steak with blood using knives and forks had become a sign of backwardness and barbarism.
This was the benefit of controlling the right to speak.
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and then said, "Alright, when we get to Tianzhu, you can eat beef however you want."
After Zhu Jinsong finished speaking, Ke Zhiming, who had been standing behind Zhu Jinsong, said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, we are about to reach the port of Chennai in Tianzhu."