Zhu Jinsong looked at Zeng Cheng in bewilderment.
Zeng Cheng must have known that this was a condition that simply could not be accepted.
The Emperor of Great Ming and the Prince of Portugal?
What kind of nonsense was this!
Li Erfeng could accept titles like "Tian Khan" because it was an honorific title representing the submission of the Turkic tribes to the Great Tang. If you asked him to concurrently serve as the Khan of a Turkic tribe, that would be an insult!
Similarly, Maria I could bestow upon Zhu Jinsong honorific titles like "Lord of the World" or "King of Kings," but Zhu Jinsong could never concurrently hold the title of Prince of Portugal.
Especially from Zhu Jinsong's perspective, an emperor of the Central Plains would consider it beneath him even to hold the title of Emperor of the Roman Empire at its peak!
As the First Grand Secretary of Great Ming, Zeng Cheng could not be unaware of the intricacies involved.
Seeing Zhu Jinsong's expression turning darker, Zeng Cheng immediately sped up his speech: "However, for the sake of Great Ming's honor, and for the sake of His Majesty's honor, I humbly request that His Majesty arrange a marriage for His Highness the Prince of Qin or His Highness the Prince of Jin!"
Upon hearing Zeng Cheng's words, Liu Huaiwen, who had been hesitating, also bowed and said: "For the sake of Great Ming, I humbly request that His Majesty arrange a marriage for His Highness the Prince of Qin or His Highness the Prince of Jin!"
Zhu Erdan and Zhu Sanshun were immediately stunned—So, Mr. Zeng, weren't you just advising His Imperial Brother to agree to the marriage alliance? Is this how you advise? And Uncle Huaiwen, were you speaking human words? What do you mean "for the sake of Great Ming"? That's clearly for the sake of Great Ming's treasury!
The thought of being betrothed to a woman they didn't know, and who was also a Ratu with red hair and blue eyes, made Zhu Erdan and Zhu Sanshun panic. Zhu Erdan even stood up abruptly and shouted, "Big Brother!"
In his panic, he not only forgot to call him Imperial Brother but his voice also trembled.
Zhu Jinsong ignored the flustered Zhu Erdan and Zhu Sanshun and said, "This matter absolutely cannot happen. Whether it is me, or the two of them, it is absolutely impossible."
Zhu Erdan and Zhu Sanshun were instantly overjoyed, especially Zhu Erdan, who felt as if he had escaped death.
As for Zeng Cheng and the other influential figures, Zhu Jinsong's decision was like a bolt from the blue, leaving everyone stunned.
It was true that Emperor Zhu Jinsong of Great Ming had genuine brotherly affection for the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Jin, but Zeng Cheng and the others absolutely did not believe that he would give up such a large territory as Portugal for the sake of brotherly affection.
For the sake of the Solon tribe in Liaodong, His Majesty would sell himself, let alone the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Jin.
In fact, Zhu Jinsong also felt distressed.
If it were France, England, or any other relatively normal country, Zhu Jinsong would have unceremoniously sold Zhu Erdan and Zhu Sanshun.
The problem was that the Portuguese royal family was not very normal.
While everyone was bewildered, Zhu Jinsong continued, "Queen Maria I of Portugal's husband is her paternal uncle, Pedro III. Their son, Joseph Francis, married his aunt, namely Maria I's sister, Princess Maria Benedicta of Portugal."
Zeng Cheng and the other influential figures immediately fell silent and stopped persuading.
Animals could pursue pure bloodlines, but humans could not. Humans are not animals, nor should they act like animals, because this is not only a matter of ethics but also involves the issue of bloodline inheritance.
The Portuguese royal family had already become this chaotic. If Great Ming were to marry its esteemed Prince of Great Ming to Maria I's daughter for the sake of a mere province?
Even under the guise of sacrificing for the nation, Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of Great Ming, would still be nailed to the pillar of historical shame, and Zeng Cheng and the civil and military officials would also be remembered for their infamy!
Great Ming could not afford to lose this face!
After a moment of regret, Zeng Cheng coughed and looked at Liang Chen, saying, "Secretary Liang can inquire with Pierre about whether France has any princes or kings of suitable age. After all, Great Ming and France are allies."
Liang Chen cast a subtle glance at Zeng Cheng, inwardly cursing Zeng Cheng as a shameless scoundrel—this suggestion should have been made by our Court of Diplomatic Relations!
While Liang Chen was inwardly grumbling, Zhu Jinsong continued, "The grain purchase plan can also begin now."
Then, Liang Chen went to discuss with Piano, stating that the Emperor of Great Ming was already married, and it would be somewhat inappropriate to marry a Portuguese princess. Moreover, His Highness the Prince of Qin and His Highness the Prince of Jin of Great Ming were also engaged, so Great Ming could only apologize to Portugal.
Of course, to show Great Ming's sincerity, Great Ming could act as a matchmaker between Portugal and France, so that Portugal and France could form a marital alliance.
Based on the alliance between Great Ming and France, once Portugal became allied by marriage with France, it would mean that Portugal was also allied with Great Ming.
Piano felt that this matter was not without potential.
Allowing the Portuguese princess to be someone else's concubine was always a sensitive issue, even though Portugal did not have the concept of concubines.
If they could get involved with France, it seemed more appropriate than getting involved with Great Ming?
Meanwhile, Liang Chen also invited Pierre and Piano for tea, stating that Great Ming needed to order a large quantity of agricultural products from all of Europe through France and Portugal, and hoped that Pierre and Piano could facilitate this matter.
Pierre and Piano were somewhat bewildered.
Neither of them was a fool who knew nothing about Great Ming. Of course, they knew how astonishing Great Ming's grain reserves were—besides the imperial treasury of Great Ming, every prefecture of Great Ming had granaries, every county had granaries, and villages also had reserve granaries. Great Ming stockpiled a considerable amount of grain every year.
According to Pierre's calculations, the grain Great Ming had currently stockpiled was enough to feed all of Great Ming's population for one year.
This was an absolutely astonishing number.
On the surface, enough grain to feed everyone for one year might not seem like much, but remember, this was under normal circumstances. If a wartime rationing system were implemented, this grain should be enough for the people of Great Ming to eat for a year and a half, or even two years.
Moreover, Great Ming's population was as high as 300 million. Being able to feed them for a year without them engaging in production was enough to prove how astonishing Great Ming's grain reserves were.
To put it this way, if this grain were placed in Europe, it would likely be enough to feed everyone in all of Europe for one year, or even two years!
After stockpiling so much grain, and despite Great Ming being an agricultural power, it still wanted to place a large order with Europe?
In response, Liang Chen provided his explanation: "It is true that Great Ming has a certain amount of reserve grain, but this reserve grain is not enough for Great Ming, because the population of Great Ming is too large, and the population growth rate is also very fast, so it is necessary to place orders with Europe."
"Moreover, Great Ming needs not only grain but also cotton, wool, down, and various other miscellaneous items."
Based on the current needs, the entire year's agricultural output of Europe would only be a fraction of the entire output for this order. If nothing unexpected happened, it would take tens of years to complete this order even if all the land in Europe were planted with agricultural crops.
Of course, as an ally of France, Great Ming would also provide some necessary assistance to France and Portugal, such as sending agricultural experts to Europe to guide planting, or exporting some advanced agricultural tools and equipment to Europe.
Moreover, based on the principle of not mistreating allies and earning money together, Great Ming hoped that France and Portugal would act as intermediaries.
With such a large order passing through France and Portugal… Pierre and Piano seemed to see the scene of the French and Portuguese treasuries filled with silver coins.
As for whether Great Ming truly needed so much grain, whether it could afford it, or whether it had other plans, Pierre and Piano were not very concerned.
Or rather, there was nothing to be concerned about. Compared to Great Ming, Europe was simply a desolate place, and there was nothing for Great Ming to scheme about.
What bad intentions could Great Ming have?
After the two agreed, Liang Chen also stated that Great Ming planned to establish embassies and consulates in France and Portugal, and send resident ambassadors and resident consuls. Great Ming also welcomed France and Portugal to establish embassies and consulates in Great Ming, hoping to strengthen cooperation between the two sides.
Pierre and Piano had not yet recovered from the nearly astronomical order when they were once again stunned by Liang Chen's proposal, feeling that their brains were not quite enough to process it.
What were embassies for? What were consulates for?
When Liang Chen roughly explained the differences between embassies and consulates, as well as concepts like passports, visas, visa exemptions, and visa-on-arrival to Pierre and Piano, the two almost burst into laughter.
Exchanging ambassadors and consuls?
Visas? Visa exemptions?
This was great news!
This meant that exchanges between France, Portugal, and Great Ming would no longer be limited to high-level nobles and students. Ordinary merchants could also travel between each other by applying for visas, which also meant more opportunities and more wealth—
Which country was the richest in the world? It was Great Ming! Which country had the wealthiest citizens? Of course, it was Great Ming!
The impoverished citizens of France and Portugal could earn money in Great Ming by applying for visas, and the extremely wealthy citizens of Great Ming could spend money in France and Portugal by applying for visas…
Whether earning money or spending money, would not the treasuries of France and Portugal receive more taxes?
Thinking of the bright silver coins, Pierre could not help but be the first to express his support: "I must admit, this is simply a genius conception!"
"France hopes to be the first friendly country to exchange ambassadors and consuls with Great Ming."
"To express France's sincerity, the French government will allocate a piece of land near the Palace of Versailles in Paris for the construction of the Great Ming Embassy and Consulate in France."
"Any citizen of Great Ming who holds a passport issued by the Great Ming government will be exempt from visa procedures and can directly travel to France, and will have the same rights as French citizens."
Piano had similar thoughts to Pierre, even going a step further: "Portugal also exempts visa requirements for citizens of Great Ming and offers a 50% tax rate discount for Great Ming merchants. Of course, France will also implement visa exemption and a 50% tax rate discount."
After receiving their promises, Liang Chen felt relieved and said with a smile, "Since that is the case, then this matter is almost settled. Great Ming will also arrange for the establishment of embassies and consulates and will dispatch troops to ensure their safety."
"Moreover, the Great Ming embassies and consulates in France and Portugal will also dispatch small detachments of troops for protection—you can rest assured that each small detachment will not exceed thirty people and will only carry firearms, grenades, and cold weapons for security purposes. They will not step outside the embassy or consulate premises."
Upon hearing Liang Chen's statement, Pierre and Piano exchanged a glance and asked, "Does France and Portugal also need to dispatch small detachments of troops to Great Ming for protection?"
Liang Chen chuckled and said, "I don't think that is necessary at all. In fact, Great Ming is currently the safest country in the world, and the Great Ming army is fully capable of ensuring the safety of the French and Portuguese embassies and consulates."
Pierre and Piano were immediately relieved.
By not dispatching troops, they could save a large sum of money—France's treasury was still in debt of over a billion francs, and Portugal had not recovered since the Lisbon earthquake. Both countries were currently in dire need of money.
Moreover, as Liang Chen said, Great Ming was currently the safest country in the world, and there was no need to worry about security issues. On the contrary, the safety of France and Portugal was very irritating, with an endless number of thieves, hooligans, swindlers, and villains on the streets, which was a complete disgrace to France and Portugal.
As for not dispatching troops to Great Ming, it seemed somewhat like losing face… Great Ming cared about face, but European countries did not, at least not the extremely money-starved France and Portugal.
The rest of the matter proceeded smoothly.
With France and Portugal setting the example, and with such a large order on the table, many other European countries also agreed to the proposal of exchanging ambassadors and consuls.
Of course, the most crucial factor was Great Ming's firearms and artillery—they absolutely could not let the matter of agricultural products and consulates affect their import and export business with Great Ming.
Of course, this was for those European countries that were capable of sending people to Great Ming.
As for certain European countries that could not even leave their own doorstep, they would probably only be able to earn some hard-earned money through France and Portugal.