Dominate the Country

Nanjing City had a warm winter this year. It has been sixteen years since Chengtian, and there has been no snow. But the drizzle outside the window has hardly stopped, and there is a dripping rain curtain under the eaves.

This morning, when Li Xiaomei went to sit with the Empress Dowager, the old lady complained that the weather now is more miserable than when it snows. The winter in Jiangnan is cold and gloomy. Although the temperature is a little higher than in previous years, it is more humid. In addition, Chen Ding's wife, who was conferred the title of King of Luoyang, is now pregnant with her second child. There is no snow in Nanjing this winter, and the more humid and cold weather is not good for pregnant women.

Li Xiaomei also thinks that this winter is not good. No matter how uncomfortable they are as masters, they will not suffer. The real hard work is still the slaves underground.

Due to the continuous rainy weather, the washed clothes cannot be dried, and can only be dried in the drying room. Besides, it was raining, so it was inevitable that they would get water stains when going in and out. Li Xiaomei didn't know how the people outside dealt with it. Anyway, in the palace, the most frequent times to change clothes were rainy days and summer.

Winter clothes are different from summer clothes. To be honest, it is really hard to wash clothes in this weather.

Drying wet clothes is even more difficult.

I don't know where they learned this method from. When Li Xiaomei first learned how they dried clothes, she was dumbfounded.

The emperor was generous and had nothing to say about the concubines in the harem.

The fabric of the clothes was always the highest. The servants in the palace didn't dare to wring them when washing them. Instead, they spread them flat on coarse cloth and covered them with layers of coarse cloth to absorb the moisture. I don't know how many times this was repeated, and then they were dried in the oven with a fumigator.

The big copper incense burner was half a person's height and as big as a millstone. It was lit with anthracite and spices. The servants used thin bamboo poles to hang clothes above the incense burner until the clothes were dry. It took two or three hours to make a winter coat. If the material was damaged by the heat, it would be a big sin.

Of course, there was another way besides this method, which was to roll a hot water bottle back and forth on it. The so-called hot water bottle can be regarded as an ancient version of a hot water bottle. But it was very tiring to bend over and move constantly.

Anyway, this was the era. Whenever it was cloudy and rainy and clothes could not be dried, the servants in the palace would be busy for a while. Including the eunuchs in the palace.

Chen Ming also knew this. He had thought of a way to use a fire wall to heat it. This method did save time and effort, but an old problem came back again - doing this would ruin the material.

The rainy day passed quickly. There was bad news about the Empress Dowager in Yanshou Palace.

This was a big deal.

The status of the Empress Dowager determined the importance of this matter. Nanjing reported the news to Xi'an at a very urgent speed.

The emperor and the empress dowager moved to the residence of the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager and the empress personally fed them soup and medicine, and stayed by their side day and night.

The concubines in the palace occasionally got sick, which would not cause much response. Sometimes no one would even know that they died. But can they compare with the emperor's grandmother?

The emperor has been away for the whole year, and the Empress Dowager is not well. If she is blamed, many people can't afford it.

Although the Empress Dowager is eighty-four years old. This is the time to die. There is an old saying that at seventy-three or eighty-four, the King of Hell will not take you. At such an old age, death is also a happy funeral. Of course, no imperial doctor dared to say such words openly. All they can pray for is to get through this disaster safely.

The royal family of Chen Han usually respected them. Although their official positions were no different from those of the Qing Dynasty, their status was indeed higher.

They only hoped that the royal family's "love" could still be preserved at this critical moment.

It's just that Old Lady Huang is really too old. To use a phrase from later generations, her body functions are on the verge of exhaustion, and in this era, she is definitely waiting to die without any medicine.

Now the biggest task of the imperial doctors in Nanjing is to keep the old lady alive until the emperor gets the news and rushes back to Nanjing from Xi'an.

Chen Hui's face has been as dark as the bottom of a pot these days. The entire Yanshou Palace and the entire imperial palace are cautious and dare not breathe loudly. Even the guards in the military camp outside don't blow the trumpet every day, and they run outside the city for exercises.

No one will seek death at this critical moment.

But Chen Ming still didn't have time to see his grandmother in this life. He received the obituary when he rushed to Xiangyang. This time was really too fast. From the onset of illness to death, it was less than ten days.

The whole city of Nanjing was filled with weeping and the whole city was in mourning. Officials, civil servants, soldiers, and policemen, everyone had white cloth on their hats. The amount of material used was so large that the price of white cloth in Nanjing City soared by 60% to 70%.

Chen Ming also recalled the more than 20 years since he traveled through time at night. This old lady really didn't cause any trouble for him, and even helped him a little. Although her presence in Chen Han's political arena was not very high, several old people of her generation, such as Chen Ming's uncle, such as the seventh uncle and the ninth uncle, had already breathed their last.

The old lady could live to the age of 84, which was really a happy funeral.

But people have feelings, more than 20 years of "family affection", even if Chen Ming's "family affection" is put in quotation marks, it is not shallow.

Much deeper than the feelings of old neighbors for more than 20 years, right?

He could feel the old lady's love and care for his grandson.

Therefore, at the funeral, Chen Ming's eyes really shed tears of sadness. Well, then Huang Song of the Huang family was given the Seven Crowns and Five Chapters service that only the Duke of the country could enjoy.

It is impossible for Chen Ming to promote Huang Song's title. He is already a marquis. If he is promoted to a duke, the Huang family's achievements cannot match it.

Chen Ming would not do this kind of 'emotional thing'. But if Huang Song is given a robe and a crown, that won't be a problem. Just like the kings of North Korea back then, they were also county kings according to their rank, so weren't they still entitled to the prince's gift?

The entire city of Nanjing, the entire Jiangnan, and the entire China are deserted. This New Year was spent very peacefully, with no sound of joyful firecrackers or lively laughter. It is said that even department store sales have dropped significantly compared to previous years.

The supreme status of the Chinese royal family can be seen from this.

Most foreigners in China are concentrated in the port areas along the eastern coast. They know very well how important the Chinese New Year is to millions of Chinese people.

As a result, bad news came from Nanjing. All the red silks, lanterns, and red balls in the city were plucked, and then everything turned white.

Especially those government departments with great power, as well as those state-owned and private enterprises with deep backgrounds, not only turned completely white, but even the flags were uniformly flown at half-mast.

It was a complete eye-opener for these sailors who usually talked about their king as just a respectable merchant.

When had they ever seen the ‘Chengcheng Zinsu’?

It was not just one or two people wearing mourning, or two families hanging up white lanterns, but the entire city. From urban areas to villages and towns, from villages and towns to port areas, whether they are facing the street or backing from the street, everything will be seen.

Theaters and red buildings that used to be open rain or shine are closed.

Even the drinks on the market have become cheaper in an instant. Because during this Chinese New Year, no one will blatantly drink.

"This is the power of the Chinese emperor. Everything in this huge empire belongs to him from a rights perspective."

Luis Paul Ribeiro shook the goblet in his hand, and brown-red wine liquid swayed in the glass. Ribeiro's voice was a little dark. He didn't know if he had ever regretted his decision in the past thousands of days and nights.

In recent years, Ribeiro's business has returned to China, and because of the connections left over from those years, the Ribeiro family's voice has developed quite well. Especially high-end red wine.

This liquid, which is directly called wine in China, has become increasingly popular in the Chinese market in recent years.

In particular, the Chinese royal family purchases a batch of the best quality European wine every year. It is said that not many people in the Chinese royal palace like to drink this wine. Even the emperor himself does not like it very much, but he just likes to buy it. After buying it, I put it directly in the cellar, completely like a collector.

"Fortunately, our family's business only targets the Chinese royal family and a few limited families." The Ribeiro family has acquired top wine estates in major wine-producing countries such as France, Italy, and Spain, and can provide them with money every year. Of the best products, at least half will be bought by the Chinese royal family, and the next one-third will be purchased by Chinese dignitaries. The top red wines circulating in the European and Chinese markets only account for a very small part of the production.

Ribeiro is getting older. This year he 'returned' to China with his second son, returning to his home in Macau. It was still an old house, but the world had changed.

Ribeiro attaches great importance to the trading line with the Chinese royal family. This is a business card made of precious stones. With the Chinese royal family as a gimmick, although the Ribeiro family winery rarely releases top-notch red wine to the European market, it is very popular in Europe. His reputation is growing rapidly.

And even Ribeiro's own social status in Portugal has been greatly improved.

So Ribeiro is extremely grateful to Rodoni, who has passed away.

It was he who led the way for Ribeiro, and the reward he asked for was for the Ribeiro family to provide a batch of red wine to the heirs of the Roche Manor every year for twenty years.

Why doesn't Ribeiro thank Rodoni?

Even now, Ribeiro still remembers what Rodoni looked like at that time. He was thin and old, with wrinkles on his face and a slight hesitation in his walk. His hair is completely gray, and his eyebrows are also gray. When he frowns, his brows are deep enough to trap mosquitoes. Except that his eyes are still sharp, there is really no way to tell that this person who may die at any time is the same person back then. Be the tall, tough and energetic Chief of Civil Affairs of Macau.

Ribeiro's second son has a very common name among Portuguese people - Philippe.

He is twenty-seven years old this year and already has two sons, two daughters, and four children.

Previously, he was responsible for the market development of the Ribeiro family winery in Europe. You must know that no matter how top winery, it is impossible to produce only the top wine in a year. Just like a factory, no matter how sophisticated it is, it is impossible to achieve 100% qualified products.

In addition to first-tier brands, some wineries also operate second-tier brands. Just like the famous Chateau Lafite in later generations, in addition to Chateau Lafite dry red, there is also Lafite Jumbo (Little Lafite) dry red.

Philip's job is to promote his winery's second-tier and even third-tier products all over the world.

The daily production of the winery is managed by Philippe's eldest brother and Ribeiro's eldest son.

In the traditional inheritance view of Europe, most of the property belongs to the eldest son. The second son either takes a little money to create his own world, or follows the eldest son to make a living. It is similar to the inheritance tradition in China.

Like the Chinese royal family, one son inherits the main industry, and the rest of the sons depend on him to make a living.

If you want an equal distribution in the future, it is impossible.

However, the industry of the Ribeiro family determines that they must give key positions to people they can absolutely trust. For example, the production of the winery must be watched by someone. Then there is their trading line with the Chinese royal family, which is so eye-catching. It can also be said to be one of the foundations of the Ribeiro family, and it is as important as the wineries everywhere.

Ribeiro handed the winery to his son before, and then he worked hard on the sea. And now it is time for him to hand over.

As long as his eldest son can maintain the high quality of the winery and as long as his second son can grasp the transaction with the Chinese royal family, the Ribeiro family will continue to prosper.

He was unwilling to let other wines take the place of his family products.

The Ribeiro family owns the world's top wines, but such wines are not exclusive to the Ribeiro family. Just like the old French Lafite winery, although the ownership of Lafite entered a relatively chaotic historical period after the death of the three generations of the head of the Xigang family, the quality of Lafite wine is still not disappointing. It's just that a layer of dust is covered on the gem.

The Ribeiro family spent a lot of money to snatch the Latour winery from the Xigang family. The Marquis Nicolas, a generation of wine prince, died in 1755, and the Hope family entered a period of chaos. Ribeiro wanted to buy the more famous Lafite winery, but he chose Latour after he was not satisfied. The original transaction used up half of Ribeiro's family property. But Ribeiro was lucky, he won the bet.

Today, Latour winery is one of the few top wineries in the Bordeaux area, and its reputation in the whole of Europe has also caught up with Lafite. The influence of the Chinese royal family can be seen.

Philip is the pioneer of the Ribeiro family in the European market. He knows very well how much convenience the four words "Chinese royal family" have brought to their family. He has recognized the influence of the Chinese royal family before, and now he sees the supreme power of the Chinese royal family.