Nan Ming Sun Never Sets

Chapter 430
In the huge Shuntian Mansion, many people are busy with the voyage around the world.The Ministry of Rites can be said to be one of the busiest departments among them. Although the total number of dispatched personnel will not be many, the role that the Ministry of Rites will play in this round-the-world voyage is huge.

Liang Haisheng sat in a small meeting room in the office building of the Ministry of Rites and looked down at his watch.As the two most important ministries, the Ministry of Rites and the Lizhengyuan are separated from the main body, and are located in Shuntian Prefecture like the Ministry of War.However, the Legislative Yuan will be relocated from Shanghai to Suncheon as a whole next year.

The building of the Ministry of Rites is still quite deserted. In fact, the entire office of the Ministry of Rites is a large courtyard. There are several buildings in the front and back. The main building is even 12 floors high, equipped with several elevators, and can accommodate more than 2000 people. .However, Ming Dynasty does not have many formal diplomatic relations at this stage, and the surrounding Xuanwei Division and Xuanfu Division are another system, which is not under the management of the diplomatic system.

Considering the future office needs, the Ministry of Rites building is very large. Most of the offices are not used yet, and everyone works in some offices.

Liang Haisheng waited for a while, until the boss who wanted to see him today, Minister of Rites Yang Laiqiong, came.

Yang Shangshu has a good demeanor, a typical middle-aged handsome uncle, with the charm of a mature man.After he came in, he nodded to Liang Haisheng, and said with a smile, "Sorry, sorry, I had a meeting at the Taiping Palace just now, and I kept you waiting for a while."

Liang Haicheng smiled and said, "Yang Shangshu is being polite, it's not yet our appointment time."

"After all, I made you wait." Yang Laiqiong sat down, spread out her notebook, and almost seamlessly connected to her work status.

Yang Laiqiong came up and said: "The organization has decided to promote you, Comrade Liang Haisheng, to serve as the Minister of Rites of the Daming Lizhengyuan, and as the main diplomatic envoy of this round-the-world voyage, to conduct diplomatic activities with other countries on behalf of Ming Dynasty."

After hearing this, Liang Haisheng was still a little surprised, but more excited.After the circumnavigation decision was made, the people in the Ministry of Rituals speculated on which diplomat would be the chief envoy for the voyage.It was rumored that Shangshu Yang Laiqiong went there in person. After all, this was also a very eye-catching diplomatic event.But the person with the most rumors is Liang Haisheng.

Although Liang Haisheng is not the minister of the Ministry of Rites, Liang Haisheng's qualifications in the Ministry of Rites can be regarded as very old.When Bai Mingxiu took Java, Liang Haisheng served as a translator and assumed diplomatic duties.Later, Liang Haisheng participated in several important diplomatic missions of Ming Dynasty, and they all completed them well.

Of course, the main reason why everyone felt that Liang Haisheng had higher hopes was because His Majesty the Emperor trusted this diplomat very much, and he would still be thought of for more difficult diplomatic missions.

After Liang Haisheng saluted to Yang Shangshu, he said: "Thank you, Shangshu. This is a heavy surprise and a heavy responsibility. I, Liang Haisheng, are confident that I can do this diplomatic mission well for Daming."

Yang Laiqiong smiled and said: "I also have confidence in you. Well, let me tell you a little bit, the route of this round-the-world voyage is almost finalized. The fleet departs from Tianjin Port, and the first stop is Luzon Xuanweisi , and then passed through several Nanyang Consolation Divisions, including Champa, Cambodia, Siam, Java, Old Port, Singapore, and Myanmar, and then came to the Indian Ocean to visit the Bangladesh region, our Sri Lanka Consolation Division, and several Europeans Controlled ports and Indian ports. After leaving India, the fleet will go to Persia and visit the Persian Gulf area. Now the navy is considering whether to directly do something to occupy the Persian Gulf.”

Liang Haicheng sighed and said, "Is it because of the oil in the Persian Gulf? I have heard the emperor mention this matter many times. However, our power in the South Xia subcontinent is not yet stable, so it is difficult to directly support us in controlling the Persian Gulf region. It is not a matter of overnight to develop the oil there, and I am afraid it is too hasty to do so."

Yang Laiqiong looked at Liang Haisheng with approval and said: "Yes, this is the attitude of our Ministry of Rites. The emperor has also asked the navy to make new plans. However, even if it is not colonization, we will seek to obtain a similar concession or military base in the Persian Gulf region. The same existence, make some preparations in advance."

"That's all right."

Yang Shangshu continued to explain the route, he said: "After the voyage of the Arabian Peninsula is over, we will go to Africa. We still have a lot of details on this part, because obviously this is a relatively primitive continent. It has not been deeply cultivated. It is more of a relay point for trade and slave land. We can still choose some more important locations and establish our own colonies. The scale will not be too large, but it will always be a good place. The beginning. Now the military and the Ministry of Immigration Affairs are studying where to set up, what kind of work to do, and how to maintain the balance of our interests.”

"The most important point in the African route is South Africa. The emperor personally proposed that we want to establish a large colony in South Africa, and establish such a large port that can provide various services for ships and promote trade. South Africa is rich in Gold and diamonds, the emperor also wants us to mine in South Africa."

"Well, South Africa is a very important place. If the African colonies will not be developed on a large scale, but only in terms of trade and resources, we should consider establishing a colony in East Africa, South Africa and West Africa." Liang Haisheng said A diplomat with a strategic vision, in fact, the entire Daming Ritual Department is full of expansionist guys like him.

On the basis of Ming's extraordinary strength, these diplomats hoped to use their mediation ability to obtain greater territory and benefits for Ming.

"The highlight is of course the European voyage. Our fleet will visit Portugal first, and then enter the Mediterranean Sea to visit Spain, France, the Republic of Genoa, Rome, the Kingdom of Sardinia, Austria, Ottoman Greece and Egypt. After leaving the Mediterranean Sea, the fleet will visit north. Great Britain, Holland, Denmark, Prussia, Sweden and Tsarist Russia."

Liang Haisheng took a long breath and said, "Phew, I feel like this will be a difficult but exciting voyage."

Yang Shangshu also smiled: "We expect that there may be conflicts, but we don't know how it will develop. Well, after the European voyage is over, you will visit the Americas. First, we will establish our Eastern American colony in North America, and then Go south through Mexico and visit Brazil in South America. Well, there are still some people in the military who want to swallow the Pampas directly, and then we will go through Peru after bypassing the Strait of Magellan, and then arrive at the city of Viva, our western American colony, and finally The Pacific route is relatively simple, returning to China via Hawaii, Japan and Ryukyu.”

(End of this chapter)