Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 173 Who Will Be the Dog When Xianzhong Walks His Dog (Part 2)

It was already quite hot in the capital in May, and the monsoon winds from the South Seas began to blow northwards, reaching all the way to the Ming Dynasty's inner sea.

At this moment, the Spanish envoy finally arrived from Luzon aboard a large sailing ship.

Upon hearing the news, Zhu Jue ordered his men to make thorough preparations.

At this time, he ordered people to build a small courtyard next to the canal wharf outside Tongzhou City to receive envoys from various countries. The Spanish envoy Valdes was locked up there for one night and only boarded the navy's centipede ship at around 5 a.m. the next morning.

He ordered the Beijing garrison infantry to fill the entire north bank of the Tonghui River. Each of the Beijing garrison infantrymen was now equipped with a steel shield as tall as his shoulder, with specially stamped patterns of fierce beasts on the steel shield, making them look truly imposing.

Nowadays, the industrial development of the Ming Dynasty is quite rapid. They can no longer only make spring sheets the width of a finger; they can now mass-produce steel plates half a meter wide.

These iron shields were made by stamping steel plates directly. He had heard from Sun Chuanting that iron shields were very useful on the battlefield, which is why he equipped the infantrymen of the Beijing garrison with them.

The reason he ordered all 200,000 infantrymen of the Beijing Garrison to abandon their work and line up on the north bank of the Tonghui River was not only to demonstrate military strength, but also because the north bank of the Tonghui River was currently a dock and waterway, and he did not want the Spanish envoy to see them frantically building ships.

The iron shields carried by these Beijing garrison soldiers were enough to completely block the view from the centipede ship.

Valdes was truly shocked by this line of Beijing garrison infantry. It seemed that this was all the Spanish army had ever fielded, yet they had actually put them out as a guard of honor!
This time, Zhu Jue did not receive this guy in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Instead, he ordered someone to lead him directly to the factory building hidden among the flowers, trees and shrubs south of the Palace of Longevity.

The factory where he met the other party had also undergone some renovations and been converted into a workshop specializing in shoe making.

When Valdes walked into the factory, he was completely stunned.

Inside, there are rows and rows of large tables, and many pretty young girls are sewing shoes inside.

He recognized the shoes, of course; he hadn't come barefoot, he was wearing shoes.

However, the shoes made here are quite unique; the soles seem to be made from the rubber they sent over!
He was stunned for a moment, then quickly stepped forward, prostrated himself on the ground, and respectfully said, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Empire."

Zhu Jue appears to be holding a shoe and checking its quality.

He nodded slightly, then raised his hand and said, "No need for formalities, rise."

Valdes respectfully thanked Fan En again before getting up from the ground.

This guy seems to have gotten used to giving deep bows.

Not bad.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then said to Zheng Zhilong, "Have someone measure his feet and then get him a pair of shoes to try on."

This was prepared in advance.

Zheng Zhilong waved his hand, and a eunuch holding a tape measure squatted down to measure carefully. He then took a pair of shoes embroidered with exquisite cloud patterns from a nearby shelf and handed them over.

Valdes took the shoes and looked at them, and his face was filled with shock.

The soles of these shoes are indeed made of the rubber they delivered, but the rubber seems to be purer in color, without any impurities or strange odor.

More importantly, the rubber soles appear to have been pressed using a fine mold, with dense cloud patterns underneath. Combined with the embroidered cloud patterns on the upper, they look exceptionally exquisite.

The things made by the Ming Dynasty are really good; even the shoes are so exquisite.

Seeing that he had looked at it several times, Zheng Zhilong finally asked, "Valdes, why don't you try it on?"

Uh, isn't it impolite to change shoes in front of His Majesty the Emperor?

Valdes paused for a moment, but quickly squatted down and changed his shoes.

These shoes are so comfortable, so soft, it feels like walking on clouds!

Zhu Jue waved his hand again, signaling Wang Chengen to pick up a cup of water and gently sprinkle it on the stone slab in front of him.

Valdes was taken aback again.

What does this mean?
Zheng Zhilong raised his hand and said, "Valdes, try stepping on the water with both feet."

Oh, so it was to test if these shoes were waterproof.

Valdes quickly took a step forward, placing both feet on the puddle of water.

These rubber soles really don't leak at all.

They also had shoes that didn't leak.

However, those were all made of animal hides, and most of them had animal hair attached, because those without animal hair would be too uncomfortable on the feet, causing blisters.

Those shoes were comfortable, but only suitable for cold weather. Wearing them in hot weather would cause blisters on the feet. They didn't know what shoes to wear in the hot weather, especially in Southeast Asia, where it was unusually hot and rainy all the time, making finding shoes a real problem.

These shoes seem perfect for hot weather. Not only are the soles waterproof, but they are also very lightweight, almost like cloth shoes. They can even be worn in winter. Shoes made of animal hide, while warm and waterproof, are heavy, and your legs and feet will hurt after walking for a long time.

He stomped on the water stains a few more times, then suddenly realized and said, "Your Majesty, you mean these kinds of shoes can also be sold to us, right?"

After dawdling for so long, you finally came up with an idea.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and explained, unusually, "We do want to do business in these shoes, but you have brought too little rubber. It's not enough to equip all the soldiers with a pair."

"Furthermore, the rubber you delivered is of very poor quality; the impurities inside weren't cleaned properly, and the acidification treatment wasn't done well either. We'll have to process it thoroughly before we can use it."

Uh, this.

There's nothing I can do about it.

Valdes thought for a moment and quickly said, "Your Majesty, they will definitely find a way to send more of this second batch. As for the quality issue, I can ask them to find a solution."

Zhu Jue shook his head, feigning dissatisfaction, and said, "What I want is not just a little, but a batch of more than five million catties. Moreover, I cannot wait for you to figure out the quality issues yourselves. If you do not handle it well, it will be much more troublesome for us to deal with it after taking it back."

What should I do then?

After hearing Zheng Zhilong's translation, Valdes looked at Zheng Zhilong with a pleading expression.

He really had no other choice.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue said decisively, "I have already prepared a batch of tools for rubber mining and processing for you. I will also send people to teach you how to make the acid water for processing rubber. I have even prepared ocean-going cargo ships. Next time your fleet comes, take our ships with you on a trip to the Americas. The issues of production and quality can be resolved quickly."

Ah!
You are to send a ship to accompany our fleet to the Americas.

Ocean routes are the foundation of our profits and even our colonies. The Dutch had far more ships than us, but not many colonies, because they hadn't explored many of the routes.

Upon hearing this, Valdes looked troubled and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that won't work."

It has to work out, even if it doesn't work.

I won't go into that with you; Zheng Zhilong will talk to you about it himself.

Zhu Jue then picked up a pair of women's embroidered shoes, handed them over, and asked, "What do you think of these?"

Oh my god.

These shoes are so beautiful! If they could be sold in Europe, wouldn't all the noble ladies be scrambling to buy them?
Valdes looked at them with great interest for a while before nodding repeatedly and saying, "These are so well made, they're sure to sell very well."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then waved his hand and said, "Alright, go and talk to Marquis Nan'an."

Zheng Zhilong just took Valdes away like that.

Does Zhu Jue really want to go into the shoe business?
To be honest, he really wanted to do it.

This is because the profits from this business are greater.

The cost of these shoes is very low. Even if the uppers are made of silk and satin that cost tens of taels per bolt, the cost of a pair is only a few dozen coins. The raw rubber used is also very low. If we calculate based on one tael of silver and ten catties, the cost of a pair is only a few dozen coins.

However, such beautiful, comfortable, and waterproof shoes could fetch at least tens of taels a pair in Europe, and possibly even hundreds of taels a pair.

In later generations, high-end shoes would easily cost thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan a pair, making the business very profitable.

Crucially, he also had to make all the European countries mistakenly believe that their frantic purchases of raw rubber were for shoemaking!
Just as he was pondering how to proceed with the shoe business, Fang Zhenghua strode in carrying a memorial, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, Hong Chengchou has sent an urgent report from eight hundred li away."

What is this guy reporting this time?

Zhu Jue took the memorial and frowned upon reading it.

Hong Chengchou reported that Zhang Xianzhong led more than 100,000 bandits to capture Gushi and Shangcheng, and then advanced eastward, capturing Liuan Prefecture and entering Luzhou Prefecture.

Zhang Xianzhong actually managed to invade Southern Zhili!

Is this an attempt to force him to mobilize a large army to encircle and suppress them?
He couldn't fall for it; the man just wanted to walk his dog.

Historically, Emperor Chongzhen was literally driven to his death by being led astray.

He thought for a moment, then decisively said, "Summon Jian Dou to come and pay his respects."

(End of this chapter)