Before the meal began, Zhu Jinsong first had bowls and chopsticks laid out for Louis XVI, George III, and the others. Then, he asked with a chuckle, "Do you know why the ancestors of the Central Plains chose to use chopsticks instead of knives and forks?"
Louis XVI was quite honest and shook his head, saying, "I don't know."
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and said, "Chopsticks are square on one end and round on the other. The round part symbolizes the heavens, and the square part symbolizes the earth. This is the ancient cosmological and geographical view of the Central Plains."
"The length of the chopsticks is seven inches and six fen, representing the seven emotions and six desires of man. The seven emotions are love, fear, joy, anger, sorrow, hate, and desire. The six desires are sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and mind. Furthermore, one chopstick cannot be used; a pair of chopsticks is needed for proper use, thus symbolizing the harmony of yin and yang, the union of two, and mutual complementarity. This is the philosophical thought of the Central Plains."
"In short, a simple pair of chopsticks contains a great deal of knowledge."
Louis XVI exclaimed, "As expected of the Great Ming, even chopsticks have so much knowledge within them!"
Zhu Jinsong laughed and continued, "Of course, the most important reason for abandoning knives and forks and using chopsticks is convenience—this is something George III must know why."
Seeing that Louis XVI, Paul I, and花生吨 all turned their gaze towards him, George III was utterly bewildered.
I know?
What do I know?
Do I know why the ancestors of the Central Plains abandoned knives and forks for chopsticks?
That would truly make me the greatest!
George III shook his head in confusion and said, "I'm sorry, I really don't know why."
Louis XVI directly mocked George III, saying, "The Emperor of the Great Ming gave you an opportunity to shine, but you're useless!"
After mocking him, Louis XVI looked at Zhu Jinsong and asked, "Then why is that?"
Zhu Jinsong smiled and shook his head, saying, "For example, when eating hot pot, chopsticks make it easy to pick up the dishes you want, while knives and forks are not as convenient."
"Another example, if we were to eat in the wilderness and happened to not have chopsticks with us, we could simply break off a few branches, clean them, and use them as chopsticks. What would you do with knives and forks?"
"Therefore, for various reasons, the ancestors of the Central Plains eventually abandoned knives and forks and chose chopsticks."
As Louis XVI and the others showed expressions of understanding, Zhang Dequan, who was standing behind Zhu Jinsong, clapped his hands. Then, ten maids filed in, each holding a tray.
After entering the room, the ten maids formed pairs. The first pair approached Zhu Jinsong, while the other four pairs stood by Louis XVI and the others.
The trays held by these maids were not empty. One maid's tray held a small basin filled with tea water, with a warm towel placed beside it. Another maid's tray held a tea cup filled with warm tea.
Fortunately, it was Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Great Ming hosting this meal. If it were someone as shameless as Qian Long, he might have seized the opportunity to portray Louis XVI and the others as barbarians, just as he had done before—tea water served in a basin, and those barbarians, who called themselves Little China, didn't know that this tea water was for washing hands?
Besides, even if they didn't know that the tea water served in a basin was for washing hands, wouldn't they at least observe how the Emperor of the Great Ming, Zhu Jinsong, would act when they lifted it to drink?
Just like Louis XVI and the others, who had never experienced such a scene, they did not directly pick up the basin to drink. Instead, unsure of what to do, they first observed how Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Great Ming would act.
Zhu Jinsong first washed his hands with the tea water in the basin and then dried them with the towel beside the tray. He then picked up the tea cup, rinsed his mouth with fine tea, and spat it into the basin.
After completing this series of actions, Zhu Jinsong said to Louis XVI and the others, "Before any meal, one should cleanse their hands and mouth with tea water. This is not only for hygiene but also to remove any lingering tastes, allowing for better appreciation of the dishes."
Louis XVI and the others were enlightened.
After the four of them had washed their hands and rinsed their mouths, the maids carrying the basins filed out.
Zhu Jinsong smiled and said, "The Great Ming court has not yet relocated its capital back to the Imperial City of Shuntian Prefecture, so the venue here is a bit small. The etiquette may have to be simplified. I hope you will not mind."
Louis XVI quickly waved his hands and said, "We don't mind, we don't mind. This is already very good. I have never witnessed such a scene in France."
Zhu Jinsong smiled and said, "In that case, I will have someone compile the royal etiquette of the Great Ming into a booklet. Each of you can take a copy when you leave, so you won't be looked down upon."
Louis XVI thought to himself, besides you, who else in this world would dare to look down upon the cuisine and etiquette of France?
However, thinking about it again, the cuisine and etiquette of France truly could not compare to those of the Great Ming!
With this thought, Louis XVI cupped his hands in thanks to Zhu Jinsong and said, "Thank you then. If you were to visit France, I would definitely ensure you experience the same etiquette as in the Great Ming."
Zhu Jinsong nodded with a smile and quietly instructed Zhang Dequan, "Serve the dishes."
This meal was the most extravagant Zhu Jinsong had ever had since becoming emperor. Zhu Jinsong usually ate four dishes and one soup, but this meal's specifications combined the strengths of both the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast and the Confucius Mansion banquet, making it as luxurious as possible, which completely stunned Louis XVI and the others.
More importantly, not only were the dishes numerous and exquisite, but their taste was also exceptional. However, what truly shocked Louis XVI and the others, who lacked much history, was that each dish had its origin, and behind each dish lay a remarkably compelling story.
Then, Louis XVI and George III began to exclaim continuously.
"So these dishes have such origins!"
"This is truly magnificent!"
"Restoring the original flavor of the ingredients, this concept is so philosophical!"
"This is what a ruler should enjoy and be treated with!"
"..."
This meal made Louis XVI and George III feel as if they were tasting the flesh of dragons and the marrow of phoenixes.
In essence, Zhu Jinsong, through these subtle details, allowed Louis XVI and George III to witness the profound and extensive culture of the Central Plains, making them feel from the bottom of their hearts that Europe was inferior in every aspect to the Central Plains.
Simply put, he used the same tactics that the "Silly Eagle" (referring to the USA) had once used on "Zhonghua Jia" (referring to China) and applied them directly to the "Silly Eagle," "John Bull" (referring to Britain), "Gaul Rooster" (referring to France), and "Mao Xiong" (referring to Russia).
Alternatively, this approach could be called psychological conditioning, a variation of the art of courtship.
Coincidentally, the Great Ming did not need anyone to understand concepts like psychological conditioning, but the eunuchs in the Forbidden City were adept at this approach.
And it turned out that this method was quite effective.
After Louis XVI and George III had stayed in the Great Ming for some time, both Louis XVI and George III, as well as Paul I and花生吨, became victims of this strategy.
For example, Louis XVI now deeply regretted not having done any good deeds in his past life, which led to his reincarnation in a desolate place like Europe.
For instance,花生吨 particularly wished to be reincarnated in the Central Plains in his next life.
Was the Great Ming exploiting or suppressing them?
No, the Great Ming would absolutely not exploit or suppress Europe.
When the ancestors of Europe were still living in trees and eating fruits, the ancients of the Central Plains had already entered civilized society. The Great Ming was so prosperous and vast; what did Europe have that was worth the Great Ming exploiting?
Louis XVI, George III, Paul I, and花生吨 were all absolutely convinced that the Emperor of the Great Ming was a very friendly and gentlemanly emperor. He treated England, France, the Silly Eagle, and Russia as friends of the Great Ming Empire, and he treated Louis XVI, George III, Paul I, and花生吨 as his friends. He constantly considered the welfare of his subjects and the welfare of Europe.
He was the incarnation of God!
As someone once said, if there is paradise in the world, it must be the Great Ming, and if there is a God in the world, then the Emperor of the Great Ming is the incarnation of God!
Compared to him, all the kings and presidents in Europe were no longer qualified to call themselves monarchs—Europe only had kings who needed papal consecration to ascend to the throne, but no emperors who could consecrate popes!
In any case, the longer they stayed in Jinan Prefecture, the more severe the "illness" of Louis XVI and the others became.
Only after the matter of the "little broken pot" was settled, and Louis XVI and George III and the others left Jinan Prefecture, embarking on their journeys back, did Zhu Jinsong finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Initially, Zhu Jinsong only intended to deceive them into becoming wheelchair-bound, but he never expected the deception to be so effective. These gentlemen directly ended up on stretchers. Louis XVI even clamored to purchase an annual membership for the ICU!
This truly worried Zhu Jinsong.
Seeing that if the four of them stayed any longer, they might all end up in the ICU, Zhu Jinsong had no choice but to conclude the first "Little Broken Pot" conference and then send Louis XVI and the other three packing back home along with other kings and presidents.
Didn't they still need to return to select exchange students?
Didn't they still need to find iron ore?
Hadn't they agreed to deal with the Ottoman Empire?
After much persuasion, Zhu Jinsong finally managed to convince Louis XVI and the others to leave.
Of course, the departure of Louis XVI and the others did not mean that Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Great Ming could relax.
In fact, in order to outmaneuver Louis XVI and the others, Zhu Jinsong had accumulated too many matters to handle during this period, making him even busier than before.
For instance, the Ministry of Works had almost completed the renovation of the Forbidden City, and the demolition and reconstruction of the southern part of Shuntian Prefecture had already begun, which meant that the Great Ming court could relocate back to Shuntian Prefecture.
However, the relocation of the Great Ming court back to Shuntian Prefecture was not as simple as a literal move.
Firstly, while in Jinan Prefecture, the Great Ming court had operated with extreme simplicity, with neither grand audiences nor morning audiences in the traditional sense.
After returning to Shuntian Prefecture, would grand audiences be held normally?
Would morning, noon, and evening audiences be arranged?
Where would the offices of the Grand Secretariat and various ministries be located?
Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Great Ming naturally resided in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, and the Empress resided in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. Then where would the other consorts reside?
Secondly, although many who had fled from Zhili to Shandong had gradually returned to Zhili, many citizens had chosen to remain in Shandong. This meant that the entire Zhili region was still sparsely populated.
Once the court relocated back to Shuntian Prefecture, could this factor be ignored?
Thirdly, the primary focus of the Great Ming's development had always been Shandong, and more narrowly, the line from Jiaozhou to Jinan Prefecture. Now that the Great Ming court was returning to Shuntian Prefecture, should the focus of development also shift northward?
In short, there were a multitude of these miscellaneous issues. Each issue, though seemingly minor, represented significant implications. When these miscellaneous issues were combined, it was truly a headache that could drive one to death.