Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 567 A Gentle Trap, I Challenge You to a Duel!

With this powerful agreement as its "endorsement," the remaining half of the Ming Dynasty banknotes could circulate freely and without hindrance in commercial dealings with European merchants.

This means that once the currency swap agreement was signed, Zhu Di would instantly possess a net worth equivalent to 20 million Dukat gold coins.

There is probably no one richer than him in the entire continent of Europe.

At this moment, Zhu Di's feelings were simply indescribable.

Previously, Zhu Yunwen often said that there was inexhaustible wealth overseas, and that enfeoffing the princes and members of the imperial family of the Ming Dynasty overseas was a good thing that would benefit them in every way.

Zhu Di initially believed that this was nothing but a ridiculous lie, a pretext for Zhu Yunwen to send these imperial relatives overseas in order to weaken the power of the princes.

But now it seems that Zhu Yunwen was not lying after all.

If they had stayed in the Ming Dynasty and relied on the prince's salary for a thousand years, they would never have been able to accumulate such a huge amount of wealth.

“Setting the exchange agreement for a longer period, twenty years… that would be reasonable,” Zhu Di said, feigning deep thought.

In fact, he certainly hoped that the agreement would last as long as possible.

The longer the time, the better it will be for him to establish himself in Europa.

Zhu Di is currently unsure how long it will take him to establish himself here and eventually control all of Europe.

Moreover, even if he had actually gained control, the agreement would still have been advantageous to Zhu Di.

Exchanging all the ducats in Venice for Ming Dynasty banknotes would be a worthwhile deal no matter what!

"Good!" Zhu Di suddenly raised his voice, his face showing a thoughtful and determined expression, and said, "Then it's settled! A currency swap quota of ten million ducats, with a term of twenty years!"

"Hahaha!" Michael laughed heartily, raised his wine glass, and exclaimed sincerely, "Your Highness, Prince of the Great Ming, you are truly a generous and magnanimous person, worthy of admiration!"

"Then, it's decided in a pleasant way!"

"I will urge Parliament to pass and sign this formal agreement as soon as possible."

"Come on, let's drink to our currency swap agreement!"

"Cheers!" Zhu Di also raised his wine glass, which clinked crisply against Michele's glass in the air.

……

“We have reached a currency swap agreement, and I’m sure His Highness the Prince of Ming will understand my next proposal.” Michael raised his wine glass, swirling it slightly. The golden liquid inside shimmered alluringly in the candlelight. He looked directly into Zhu Di’s eyes and said in a calm tone, “There is one thing I feel must be made clear: if my daughter, Daisy, marries your son, their children must be the first in line to the throne. This must be clearly written into the marriage contract.”

Zhu Di and Xu Miaoyun exchanged a glance, both seeing the same thoughts in each other's eyes.

Zhu Di put down his wine cup, smiled, and said in a gentle tone, "Governor Michele, the situation in the Ming Dynasty is different from that in Europe."

"In the Ming Dynasty, the granting of any title must be personally approved by His Majesty the Emperor and cannot be privately granted."

“I can assure you that if Daisy marries my son, at least one of her sons will be granted the title of Duke.”

"As for other higher statuses, I cannot make any promises, nor can I specify them in the marriage agreement."

Zhu Di knew very well that unless Europe and the Ming Dynasty severed all ties, and Zhu Gaochi had no choice but to settle down and raise his descendants in this place, the bloodline of the Zhu family imperial family must be pure Han Chinese, and no foreign bloodlines were allowed to be mixed in.

As long as relations with the Ming Dynasty were not severed, even if Zhu Di later made Europe his fiefdom and his descendants lived there for generations, his descendants, at least those of the eldest son like Zhu Gaochi, could not make a European woman their principal wife.

Being a concubine is fine, but being treated as an equal wife is also acceptable.

However, the offspring of European women cannot become the direct line of successors; they can only be from collateral branches.

This does not mean that Daisy's status was insignificant, nor does it mean that her children would be neglected.

On the contrary, as a symbol of the marriage alliance between the Ming Dynasty and Europe, the political significance and symbolic value that Daisy represented determined that she and her son would enjoy extremely high status and preferential treatment.

Simply granting her son a dukedom to appease the people of the European states and further consolidate and deepen the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and Europe would be an absolutely worthwhile deal.

Michele frowned slightly, her expression clearly revealing a hint of dissatisfaction.

Seeing this, Zhu Di patiently gave him a detailed explanation.

He spoke at length about the patriarchal clan system of the Ming Dynasty, the inheritance of the legal system, and the enfeoffment system, explaining the rules of the Ming imperial family. Only then did Michael's expression gradually soften.

To be granted a dukedom is already a very prestigious honor.

After all, Michele himself was only honored as a duke.

If her daughter were to marry the heir of the Florentine Albizzi family, her children would never be granted any ducal titles.

Michele was merely taking advantage of the fact that Zhu Di was a prince of the Ming Dynasty and Zhu Gaochi was his son to demand an exorbitant price.

Seeing that the other party had a genuine reason for their reluctance and could not readily agree, they quickly stopped insisting.

The most important thing right now is to finalize this engagement. We must not let any trivial matter affect our daughter's engagement with the Ming prince.

After all the details were settled, Michele immediately instructed her servants to prepare paper and ink. Taking advantage of the high spirits after drinking, she specially invited people from the Inquisition and several highly respected nobles to witness the formal signing of the marriage contract between her daughter and Zhu Di's son.

……

On the other side, in a corner of the banquet hall, Zhu Gaochi was holding Daisy tightly in his arms, his hands roaming lightly over her body.

At first, Daisy was somewhat shy and resistant, but she quickly gave up struggling and let him do as he pleased.

At this moment, her eyes were glazed over, and her face was filled with intoxication and happiness. She had clearly fallen completely in love with this prince from the Ming Dynasty in the East.

Compared to men from Europe, his jet-black hair, deep eyes like black pearls, soft and charming facial features, and slightly yellowish skin all exude a unique and mysterious Eastern charm.

This is an exotic charm completely different from that of European men, a unique spirit of that distant and powerful ancient Eastern country.

"He's so handsome, he's incomparable to any European man," Daisy murmured to herself.

She had no other desire than to be able to hold such a man so tightly in her arms.

Of course, if things could go further and they could spend the night together, she would not refuse in the slightest.

During the banquet, many young men saw their close proximity and Zhu Gaochi's hands constantly roaming over her body, and their eyes revealed a jealousy bordering on murderous.

The young women all looked on with envy.

Although Zhu Gaochi's behavior was somewhat rude and impolite for a formal banquet, no one was angry because he came from the mysterious Ming Dynasty in the East.

That distant land must be more civilized and open than Europe. The men there are just as bold and passionate when they are with the women they love.

Europe at this time was on the eve of the Renaissance.

Many people abhor the theocratic rule of religion and its hypocritical asceticism, and they pride themselves on having more open, advanced, and civilized ideas.

Lacking a mature and complete cultural system to replace their deeply rooted religious culture, they could only turn to the cultural heritage of ancient Greece and Rome to express their own ideas and beliefs, thus initiating the cultural movement of the "Renaissance".

The Renaissance was a new intellectual movement that swept across the European continent!

Those self-proclaimed "intellectuals" who considered themselves open-minded and at the forefront of the times vowed to bring new trends and civilization to this dull society.

Zhu Gaochi's bold and enthusiastic actions precisely catered to their deepest desires and imaginations.

The same thought arose in the hearts of many people.

The Ming Dynasty in the East was indeed far more civilized than Europe!

It truly lives up to its reputation as an ancient country with a history spanning thousands of years.

Men in the Ming Dynasty were straightforward and honest. When they saw a woman they liked, they dared to go up and hug and kiss her without any hesitation or coyness.

Unlike those hypocritical clergy who outwardly appear virtuous and preach asceticism while secretly engaging in immoral and depraved activities.

True gentlemanly conduct is to boldly express one's love, just like the Prince of Da Ming!
If Zhu Gaochi knew what they were thinking, he would probably laugh so hard he couldn't stand up straight, and even spit out the wine in his mouth.

He acted this way entirely because of a misunderstanding.

Zhu Gaochi assumed that Europeans were barbarians who had not been taught by sages and did not understand propriety, righteousness, integrity, or shame.

He thought that the banquet halls in Europe were nothing more than pleasure-seeking places similar to brothels in the Ming Dynasty, where it was commonplace for men and women to hug, kiss, and touch each other.

Therefore, Zhu Gaochi acted so boldly without any scruples.

This is a complete misunderstanding.

If Zhu Gaochi had truly understood the customs and traditions of Europe, he would never have acted so rashly.

To Zhu Gaochi's surprise, what should have been a rude and impolite act was interpreted by those Europeans who admired the Ming Dynasty as a symbol of the Ming Dynasty's advanced and open-minded thinking, which in turn fueled their even stronger admiration for the Ming Dynasty.

After all, in their eyes, the moon in the Ming Dynasty was rounder, the air in the Ming Dynasty was sweeter, and everything the people of the Ming Dynasty did must be more civilized and far superior to the backward, dark, and corrupt Europe.

If Zhu Gaochi knew that they thought so highly of him, he would probably be dumbfounded.

In any case, after this, as news spread that Zhu Gaochi had publicly embraced and kissed Daisy, a new wave of learning quietly arose throughout Venice and even the entire European continent.

Those self-proclaimed civilized nobles and intellectuals followed Zhu Gaochi's example, learning from the advanced and civilized people of the Ming Dynasty, and bravely expressed their love to their beloved, no longer as reserved and timid as before, keeping their love hidden deep in their hearts.

This is precisely why countless beautiful marriages have been formed.

Of course, that's all in the future.

Zhu Gaochi didn't care about other people's opinions at this moment.

For the first time in his life, he embraced and kissed a woman. His mind was completely blank, and he had forgotten his surroundings and his own identity.

After signing the marriage agreement with Zhu Di and his wife, the Michele couple walked side by side to the center of the banquet hall.

The noisy banquet hall fell silent instantly, and everyone's eyes were focused on the four people.

Michael raised his glass high, his booming voice echoing through the banquet hall: "Ladies and gentlemen! Taking this opportunity to welcome the Ming Dynasty delegation, I would like to make a formal announcement."

"My daughter, Daisy, has today officially entered into a marriage agreement with His Highness the Prince of the Ming Dynasty!"

After he finished speaking, the banquet hall fell into a brief silence once again.

Almost all the nobles were shocked by this sudden and explosive news, their faces filled with disbelief.

The silence was broken by a thunderous tidal wave of applause.

"Congratulations, Your Excellency!"

"The moment the Ming prince landed, he was betrothed to the daughter of the Doge of Venice! My God, this is simply unbelievable!"

"They are a match made in heaven, this is destiny!"

"With Venice allied with the Ming Dynasty, its status as a commercial center in Europe will be further solidified!"

"The Michele family's position in Venice will be unshakeable from now on! Perhaps the next Doge will also come from the Michele family!"

Amidst the applause and cheers, many nobles began to whisper among themselves, discussing the potentially far-reaching impact of this explosive news.

Zhu Gaochi finally snapped out of his daze and fell into a daze.

"what's the situation?"

"I...I'm engaged to the daughter of the Doge of Venice? How come I didn't know?"

He looked blankly at Zhu Di and Xu Miaoyun standing next to Michele. From the expressions on their faces, Zhu Gaochi realized that the news must be true.

"Are you the daughter of the Doge of Venice?" Zhu Gaochi asked the girl in his arms as he realized what was happening.

“Yes, my name is Daisy Michele, and my father was the Doge of Venice.” Daisy looked directly at Zhu Gaochi with her large, deep blue eyes, her eyes filled with tender affection.

Zhu Gaochi's heart skipped a beat.

"Is it because I just hugged and kissed her that I'm going to marry her?"

A storm was brewing in his heart.

Zhu Gaochi had heard of such customs among some barbarian tribes. Could it be that Europe also had them?
Has I fallen into a trap of tenderness?

Just as he was lost in thought, a furious shout suddenly echoed throughout the banquet hall, deafeningly loud.

"I disagree with this marriage! I challenge you to a duel!"

……

(End of this chapter)