My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 387 Just what you want
The dinner party of the Srivijaya royal family was a great success, both the guests and the hosts, although some minor incidents occurred during the party.

Although the Ming army only sent a few musket battalions on this expedition, there were still three to four thousand people in total. Although Srivijaya was not a small country, it was the first time for a young lady to get married in a sedan chair by holding a dinner party for three to four thousand people at once.

After Parameswara sent out the invitation, he almost fainted when he saw thousands of Ming soldiers outside the palace.

My goodness, even if the royal family holds a banquet, it would only have a few hundred people at most. But with several thousand people, wouldn’t it empty the family’s coffers?
However, the invitation had already been sent out and it was impossible to withdraw it. Parameswara had no choice but to go ahead with it. There simply were not enough people in the palace, so he could only temporarily recruit a number of civilians from the city and only then was he able to manage the dinner.

To the Ming army, the grand dinner seemed a bit shabby compared to the Ming Dynasty, but the ingredients that had never been eaten before had a unique flavor.

After getting tired of eating dried bacon at sea, they were able to eat fresh food, especially various raw vegetables, fruits and melons, which was a satisfying meal for them.

At the dinner, Xu Da took the opportunity to talk to Parameswara about trade. Parameswara readily agreed, but was somewhat dissatisfied with some of the conditions proposed by Xu Da.

Although Parameswara did not quite understand the proposal of the honorable Duke of Ming to use Ming's banknotes to conduct trade between the two countries, he still reluctantly agreed.

However, when Xu Da proposed to exchange gold and silver for treasure notes, he became unhappy and immediately refused.

Xu Da didn't mind. He was already past the age of being irritable. Instead, he changed the subject with a smile and began to talk to Bayrimisura about some interesting people and stories in the Ming Dynasty.

Things like trains, railways, hot air balloons and so on, even made Parameswara marvel at them for a moment, and he exclaimed that the Ming Dynasty was simply amazing and was truly a divine kingdom on land.

However, the speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. Parameswara just found it interesting but could not understand the meaning behind it. However, Deng Zibing, who was acting as an interpreter at the side, became more and more frightened as he translated Xu Da's words.

Trains and railways do not need to be pulled by horses. They can travel hundreds of miles in just half a day and can carry hundreds or even thousands of people at the same time. What does this mean?
The legendary shrinking the distance into an inch must have this effect, and it would take hundreds or thousands of people to be able to do that.

Not only can it pull people, but it can also pull millions of kilograms of cargo at the same time. This is simply unimaginable!

He immediately thought of another possibility. If he could transport millions of kilograms of goods in one go, how fast would the business be done?

This is not the only thing. If they can run hundreds of miles a day, they won’t have to worry about bandits blocking the way. If things continue like this, it won’t be long before those escort agencies will close down!

And the hot air balloon was even more incredible. Due to the language differences, there were no words related to balloons in the Srivijaya context. Parameswara simply could not understand how magical a hot air balloon was.

As the interpreter, Deng Zibing could naturally understand what Xu Da was saying. When he confirmed that Xu Da was not wrong, he immediately got goose bumps all over his body.

What does it mean that a huge cloth ball made of special cloth can carry people to the unreachable sky by burning coal?
It means that mortals can fly like the gods in the legend!

He never expected that his hometown had undergone such earth-shaking changes in just over 20 years since he left China. He became more and more curious about his distant hometown.

All these miracles were created by us Han people. Thinking of this, the sense of Han pride that had long been extinguished in Deng Zibing's heart once again arose.

In the early years, because the family offended the Mongolian nobles, they were forced to flee to Srivijaya. This deep shame has been borne by the family for decades. Now, they can finally avenge the previous shame! Thinking of his grandfather and father who died in humiliation in Srivijaya, Deng Zibing is finally qualified to say, "Don't forget to tell your father when you offer sacrifices to him at home."

After three rounds of drinks, everyone's spirits were getting higher and higher. Parameswara was in high spirits and suggested that the palace guards perform a local sword dance to liven up the Ming Dynasty army.

After the palace guards finished their performance, they received a round of applause. Bailimisura was very proud of himself. He took advantage of the alcohol to ask Xu Da: "I wonder what special skills the Ming army has?"

When Xu Da heard this, he was immediately happy. This was exactly what Old Xu wanted. He thought to himself, this was proposed by you, King, so don't blame me for being rude!

He immediately said to Qian Benyi: "Qian Benyi, come on, call ten people and perform a fixed-point shooting for the honorable king!"

Qian Benyi put down his glass, stood up, and answered in a resounding voice: "Yes, Master!"

Then he selected the ten soldiers with the best shooting skills and found a few wooden stakes as targets.

After a few rounds of gunfire, Bailimisula and a group of locals were stunned. They saw with their own eyes that from a long distance, the Ming army soldiers used muskets to smash the wooden stakes into pieces.

At this time, Bailimisula was sobered up from the alcohol with shock. No wonder the Ming army had only a few thousand people, but they defeated Chen Zuyi's tens of thousands of pirates. With this magical weapon in hand, they would be invincible!

Then think about the royal soldiers and guards under his command. They are not even as good as pirates. Let alone being able to compete with the Ming army!
What if, what if the Ming Dynasty attacks us one day?
Parameswara didn't dare to imagine it, but then he thought, what if he could get the protection of the Ming army?
Wouldn't that mean we can rest assured forever?
Thinking of this, without Xu Da saying anything more, he took the initiative to propose to exchange gold and silver for Ming Dynasty treasure notes.

Is this for exchanging treasure notes?

No, this is using gold and silver in exchange for the protection of the Ming Dynasty!
The night passed in a lively manner. Both the host and the guests had a great time. The host was very satisfied and the guests were also very satisfied.

Of course, the one who benefited the most was Deng Zibing. Ever since he became an interpreter for the Ming army, his status in front of Parameswara has been rising rapidly!
In the past, he was just a small merchant in Palembang, but now he has transformed himself and become the spokesperson of the Ming army.

In the end, Deng Zibing's plan to return to the Ming Dynasty was dispelled by Xu Da. The Ming Dynasty needed an agent in Srivijaya. Obviously, Deng Zibing, who was accidentally captured as an interpreter, was the best candidate.

The next day, Parameswara took the initiative to find Xu Da and agreed to all the conditions proposed by Xu Da. However, he also made a request to Xu Da, that is, the Ming Dynasty must help him eliminate all pirates, especially the remnants of Chen Zuyi.

He was also afraid that the remnants of Chen Zuyi would make a comeback. Since the Ming army was here, he might as well wipe them out completely to avoid any further trouble.

Xu Da naturally agreed without hesitation. To completely wipe out the pirates was something that just happened along the way. They would have done it even without Parameswara mentioning it. After all, if the Ming Dynasty wanted to pass through the Strait of Malacca smoothly, it had to eliminate the pirates.

After signing the letter of credence with Parameswara, he bought a large amount of supplies from Palembang, which inadvertently even brought a small boom to Palembang's economy.

After all preparations were made, the Ming fleet set sail again. As for Chen Zuyi, he was naturally taken back to the Ming Dynasty!

(End of this chapter)