The Rise of the European Emperor

After arriving at Königsberg, Marin was warmly received by Philip, the head of the Teutonic Knights. After Marin asked to borrow a horse, Philip didn't say a word, and directly chose a war horse and two pack horses for each person.

The Teutonic Knights are the kingdom of knights. Here, horses are naturally not a problem. If it weren't for the uncontrollability of one person and four horses, Marin and the others would have no problem borrowing four horses by one person.

In the case of one person and three horses, the speed of the road was soared to the extreme. The capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is only about 350 kilometers away from Königsberg. With one person and three horses, Marin and his party arrived in just over two days. If there is only one horse, it is estimated that it will take 5 days. Because, if you ride a horse alone, you have to rest for about 15 minutes after riding for an hour. Otherwise, if you keep riding, the horse will be exhausted or lose fat.

In the case of the three horses changing riding, the situation of the horses is much better. For horses, manned running and unloaded running are two concepts. Manned to run, after a few hours have to rest. And running without load, you can run for a long time without getting tired. Because the horse itself is an animal that is good at running.

After arriving in Vilnius, Marin and his party were warmly received by the Lithuanian side. Luckily, Grand Duke Alexander of Lithuania happened to be in Vilnius, not in Poland. Because, from the death of Alexander's brother John I in 1501, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Alexander, began to serve as the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the King of Poland. So, Alexander was sometimes in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and sometimes in Poland. But in general, Alexander was more accustomed to staying in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

When Marin asked to see Archduke Alexander, he revealed his identity. Therefore, he was soon received by the Grand Duke of Alexander. After all, it is a big deal for an earl to send himself an ambassador. If it is an ordinary envoy, it depends on the ruler's mood and decides whether to receive him immediately. Even, a diplomat may be arranged to receive and simply dismissed.

And an earl of an earl country came to visit, then, as the master of the same country, although he had a higher status, it was also necessary to come forward to receive him in person, otherwise it would be disrespectful.

Archduke Alexander was only in his early 40s, without a beard, he looked handsome and refined. However, Marin did not see the domineering arrogance that a monarch of a country should have. Obviously, this man is too elegant...

"Welcome, Count Marin, let's toast to this meeting!" Archduke Alexander raised his glass gracefully and gestured to Marin in the guest seat. Then, the roast meat and dishes of spices that terrified Marin were served.

Apparently, Archduke Alexander was also planning to entertain Marin with the roast meat dipped in pepper that terrified Marin...

Looking at a large plate of pepper powder, clove powder, cinnamon powder... Marin's nose started to itch and wanted to sneeze...

However, to be able to serve so many spices, this represents the enthusiasm of the owner, and if you don't eat it, you don't give face. So Marin could only hold his nose and eat roast meat dipped in spice powder. Because I don't like the taste of pepper and cloves, Marin only dips ginger powder as a condiment. Feeling the spicy taste, Marin wanted to scold his mother, but he forced a smile on his face to show that he was very satisfied with the host's hospitality...

At dinner, Marin only felt dry and itchy in his throat. It is a pity that there is no tea in the European court, only wine... It is obviously not a good choice to moisten the throat with wine.

However, Marin's voice is really uncomfortable. So Marin decided to ask Archduke Alexander for a few bottles of red wine to moisten his throat...

But before Marin could speak, Archduke Alexander said to Marin mysteriously:

"Earl Marin, I have a magical drink in my hand, would you like to try it?"

Seeing the mysterious appearance of Archduke Alexander, Marin suddenly remembered the little gangster who sold shake-head-pills in the dance hall in his previous life, and it was also this mysterious expression...

"Isn't this guy trying to sell something poisonous?" Marin thought in horror.

As a result, he began to have an ideological struggle in his heart - should I give face a little, or refuse?

While Marin was in the ideological struggle, Alexander VI had already taken out a black brick...

"Tea bricks?" Marin couldn't help calling out after seeing it.

"Why, do you know him?" Archduke Alexander was a little incredulous. The tea bricks in his hand were exchanged for high prices with the nomads on the eastern grasslands. It is said that this kind of goods called tea comes from the distant eastern empire.

Marin rolled his eyes, of course he knew this thing, do any Chinese people know tea? However, looking at the black tea bricks in the hands of Grand Duke Alexander, Marin can be sure that this kind of black tea bricks must be inferior tea...

Moreover, Marin also saw that this kind of tea bricks did not seem to be made from stir-fried green tea, but were steamed, pressed, and then dried. Although the Ming Dynasty in this period has begun to popularize fried tea, the tea sold to the prairie barbarians obviously does not need to be so refined, as long as it has been steamed, pressed into bricks, and then dried, it will be fine...

In ancient times, this kind of tea brick was specially sent to the people in the north and the grasslands for "tea-horse trade". Marin has read the relevant history and knows that in the northern border of China, it is probably a good horse for 200 catties of brick tea. And a tea brick weighs about 4 pounds. In other words, a Mongolian horse can be exchanged for 50 "big bricks"...

But Alexander told Marin proudly - this black brick, one needs a good horse...

Obviously, 50 tea bricks on the "Tea-Horse Exchange" can only be exchanged for one horse, and at the Grand Duke Alexander's place, one tea brick can be exchanged for a good horse. The price of tea bricks has soared 50 times...

Of course, this is not surprising. After all, the border between the north of Ming Dynasty and Mongolia is far from Lithuania. There were no cars and trains in this era, so tea bricks were transported to Lithuania only by camels and horses. So, the price is 50 times higher, which is a bit dark, but not too outrageous.

Then, under the watchful eyes of Marin, Archduke Alexander carefully took off a small piece from the tea brick, found a small stove, and began to make tea...

But what made Marin collapsed was that Archduke Alexander actually put spices into the tea pot...

So, he stood up resolutely, imitating the tone of Master Xing:

"Your Majesty, you don't drink tea like this..."

Then, Marin turned against the guest and asked the servants to come over with a small copper pot and put water in it. Then, Marin ordered the attendants to bring some milk and sugar, and prepare to make an English-style milk tea...

Under the distressed gaze of Archduke Alexander, Marin broke a large piece from the black tea brick and threw it into the copper pot...

Originally, Marin planned to drink tea directly. However, the tea bricks used by ancient Chinese people to fool the fools of the grasslands have never been fried at all, and they do not taste good when brewed. So, the most correct way is to make tea.

In making tea, the most acceptable method for Eastern and Western people is sweet milk tea with sugar and milk. Later, milk tea was a famous drink that swept the world...

Half an hour later, the rich aroma of milk tea drifted into the Lithuanian Royal Palace...

After tasting the milk tea brewed by Marin, Archduke Alexander highly praised:

"It tastes amazing! Earl Marin, how did you know how to drink tea this way?"

"In my court, there is a royal physician who fled after the Golden Horde Kingdom. They told me..." Marin directly took out his shield.

"So it is..." The Grand Duke of Alexander obviously knew that the ancestors of the Golden Horde came from the East. It is completely reasonable to say that the people of the Golden Horde knew how to concoct this drink better.

The hot milk tea made the Archduke Alexander very fond of it. Later, the Grand Duke announced that from now on, milk tea will become the top beverage in the Lithuanian royal palace. Moreover, he will arrange a special person in charge to be responsible for purchasing this tea brick from the merchants who came up from the eastern grassland...

Seeing Grand Duke Alexander dancing with joy, Marin sipped the milk tea while thinking about whether to open the Daming route earlier and get a tea trade? You know, he is fed up with the environment in which Europe can only drink beer and boiled water as beverages at this time...

Europeans, like steppe people, eat a lot of meat, and tea is easily accepted by them. The British-style sweet milk tea later became popular in England and spread all over the European continent. At a time when coffee was not yet popular in Europe. As long as you come up with a sweet milk tea suitable for European tastes, it is easy to dominate the European beverage industry...