When Zhou Li'an finished speaking.

Only Cook is not confused because he cannot understand the divine language of equilibrium.

The Snow Girl and the Great Elder were either shocked or thoughtful.

"The Ming Dynasty already had the strength to colonize overseas?"

The word "colonial" was taught to Xue Nu by Zhou Li'an, but the elder didn't know its meaning yet.

Zhou Li'an said: "Yes and no."

"The Ming Dynasty established the Xuanwei Department more because it wanted to provide support for the voyages to the West and set up a transit supply base, rather than excessively plundering local resource interests to fill its own pockets."

"In fact, the Ming Dynasty would even reward the local people. The deterrent power of the Ming Dynasty fleet in Southeast Asia promoted the steady development of maritime trade."

"Of course the Ming Dynasty had the power to colonize, but they didn't do it."

"Why?" Snow Girl asked.

"Why?!" Zhou Li'an looked at her with interest and said with a smile: "Si Nuo, do you also want to colonize overseas?"

The snow girl spoke righteously: "My... young master, why would I want to colonize? I just want the glory of balance to spread across the earth, so that we can see joy in the poor cities and towns we see along the way."

"Balance of faith is not colonization, it is blessing and grace. It is...the blessing that the true God bestows on mortals."

As soon as these words came out.

Blessing?!

Zhou Li applauded and laughed: "Hahahahaha."

It was this smile that made Snow Girl and the Great Elder even more confused.

Isn't it?

Of course Zhou Li'an would not reveal his true feelings, and what Xue Nu said was correct.

The expansion of the Kingdom of Balance is not colonization in itself.

The secrets of law improve the quality of life, powerful force eliminates wars, and everyone enjoys happiness and peace. How can it be called colonization?

He changed the subject and said: "The Ming Dynasty did not do it because they did not value this land and did not see the value of acquiring this land."

Snow Girl said: "The more land there is, the more resources there will be. Mineral resources, forests, and water systems are all indispensable for industrial development."

"Then you also said that this is the basic requirement for industrial development. If the world doesn't know the truth, how can it know what industry is?"

"For them, the more land, the more trouble they have."

"The Ming Dynasty was prosperous and powerful, why should we care about overseas barbarians?"

"More importantly, the Ming Dynasty has no shortage of land!"

Europe is short of land resources and has a demand for it, so it will find ways to resolve the demand.

At this point, the great elder also understood the conversation between my lord and the shaman, and could only sigh with emotion: "The world is ignorant and cannot see balance in the blink of an eye!"

"Master, hurry up and spread the glory of Balance throughout the world."

After a while of chatting.

A few people took advantage of the situation and ignored the looks of passers-by, showing their composure.

We are getting closer and closer to Palembang, and the passers-by around us may have evil and greedy intentions, but they can only cower under the "rules".

Walk to dusk.

A prosperous town appeared in front of us, which was the only way to go to Palembang.

The construction of archways outside the town is full of "luxury and splendor";

If you look at the shops in the streets, they all have signs in Chinese fonts.

If it weren't for the fact that the streets and alleys were mostly filled with dark-skinned natives, I would have thought we had arrived in the Ming Dynasty.

This feeling is very subtle.

It’s not like seeing Chinatown abroad in later generations;

It was more like seeing the Magic City Concession in modern times.

There is a sentry at the entrance of the archway, and the guards on duty are also dressed as Ming soldiers. They are all in military uniforms and hats. The order brought by neatly dressed gives people a sense of majesty.

On the other hand, the indigenous people are mostly bare-chested, barefooted and disheveled.

It is a strong contrast between "modern" and "primitive" in the current time and space.

When the four-man carriage arrived.

The sentry at the gate was alerted. First they gathered and whispered, then a leading general led his team and spoke in Chinese——

"May I ask where your distinguished guest is going?"

The snow girl had already been ordered to wear a veil earlier;

How can the young master and his maid show off to others so easily?

Zhou Li'an did not respond directly, but said in a roundabout way: "I heard that the imperial envoy sent by Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty has returned from the West?"

"Is this possible?"

When everyone heard this, their expressions became wonderful, as if they admired the Ming Dynasty fleet, and there was also a subtle sense of pride and pride——

"The distinguished guest arrived late. The imperial envoy had already left eastward half a month ago."

Zhou Li'an was confused when he heard this: "To the east? You shouldn't go north when returning to the Ming Dynasty. How can you still walk sideways?"

The man said: "We don't know the details. I heard that he was bringing noble envoys from Western countries to see a novelty and find black mud that can make the 'Fierce Oil Tank'."

Zhou Li'an is calm on the surface, but his heart is racing rapidly.

He didn't know what the fierce fire oil tank was, but it involved the word "fire oil" and the word "black mud", so it was probably related to oil.

From Palembang to the east and south is Indonesia, where East Timor is located. Indonesian oil and natural gas storage will be able to supply Australia in future generations.

Thinking of this, he asked: "Will the Imperial Envoy return?"

"I don't even know about this. If I find out the information, I can still get Palembang City."

Seeing him asking a question, Zhou Li'an took advantage of the situation and said, "It's going to be night, do you have a place to stay in the town?"

The leader laughed and stopped talking.

Zhou Li pretended to be pregnant and took out six or seven silver coins: "If you can invite some soldiers to drink wine and beat their teeth as a sacrifice, if you can find a roommate, you will be rewarded."

It only took a moment for the words to fall into place.

Everyone smiled, and the leader took it, lowered his head to pull the silver coins with his fingers, and shouted: "Quickly, ask Ruan Laowu to clean up the guest room courtyard and clean the stables. Don't neglect the distinguished guests, their carriages and horses!"

Some people turned around and ran away, while others stepped forward to pull the carriage.

As he stepped into the gate, the man said again: "I don't know the name of the young master? I have never seen this silver coin of yours before..."

"Hey, by the way, I am Ah Hui, the soldier under the command of Lord Liang of the Zhen Haijun in Palembang. I am responsible for the rotational defense of the "Outer Garrison Town"."

"Hey, sir, don't be surprised. I'm a rough guy. It's my first time to see such a distinguished guest as you. I can't help but feel overwhelmed."

He seemed enthusiastic, but in fact he was also curious about Zhou Li'an.

At first glance, the silver coin was not from South Asia. It was pure in texture and probably came from overseas.

Nanyang used gold and silver as hard currency, followed by Ming Tongbao;

As for the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes inherited from Zhu Yuanzhang, they are useless.

If anyone walking on the sea encounters water, wouldn't it be ruined? What's more, treasure notes have been notorious since the Song and Yuan Dynasties.

Nanyang merchants still don’t know what the treasure banknotes are?

Therefore, even foreign silver coins attracted Ah Hui's attention.

More importantly...

Exotic silver coins represented trade routes.

As soon as the noble son arrived, he asked about the Ming Dynasty fleet's voyage to the west. Although everyone around Sumatra knew about it at this time, who could accurately tell the approximate return date...

The background must not be simple.

Falling to the ground means that these Nanyang Chinese are smart and now have the concept of information channels.

Of course, Bingtou Ah Hui probably didn't think that much, but listening to a few more anecdotes could make the adults happy at the wine table.

Zhou Li'an said: "My surname is Zhou;"

"As for the origin of this silver coin, I don't know; it was given to me by those big cannibals who were doing business overseas!"

"Hey, Dashi, Mr. Zhou has been to Dashi before?"

"Haha." Zhou Li'an smiled but said nothing.

Then I saw the soldier twitching his mouth twice, "Hey, I can't stop you with my glib mouth. How can I ask about the young master like this?"

This scene made the snow girl laugh.

Both she and the Great Elder saw this kind of customs for the first time and found them particularly interesting.

Zhou Li'an asked again: "When I first arrived here, I only knew in advance that the Ming Dynasty fleet was passing by, and I was completely confused about the rest. Can you introduce me to the situation of Palembang?"

"Then young master, you have to ask the right person."

Along the way, Bingtou kept talking.

Let’s start with Master Liang of Zhenhai, who was a distant relative and nephew of the former Chinese leader Liang Daoming.

After Liang Daoming was recruited and returned to the Ming Dynasty, he naturally joined the "Shi family".

A few years ago, he also assisted the Ming Dynasty fleet in killing the pirate Chen Zuyi and made great contributions.

Now he is a celebrity in the Shi family and is highly valued by Mrs. Shi.
To be continued...