Wanli Xinming

Chapter 304 Taste
The mission entered Madrid on September 12, the [-]th year of the Wanli calendar. The Shoushan district of the largest empire in the world left a deep impression on the mission: it was more sewage and smelly than Lisbon. In short——as Average cesspit.

In Europe at this time, there is no "conscience sewer" as later generations are known, and there are very few toilets.From kings to nobles, they wear big cloaks, and when they want to urinate, they wrap their cloaks around them, and defecate anywhere—this is really not to kill them.

A hundred years later, during the Louis XIV period in France, in order to solve the problem of defecation in places such as Versailles and the Louvre.This guy came up with a "wonderful" solution - moving back and forth.

When Versailles was ruined by excrement, Louis XIV moved to the Louvre to continue the ruin, while Versailles was handed over to servants to clean up.After the Louvre was flooded with excrement, Louis XIV lived again at Versailles, which was cleaned up, and then sent his servants to the Louvre.

And just like that, cities all over Europe are full of stench.And even if people with strong body odor can't stand the unpleasant odor, they will not choose to take a bath, but will try to study spices.Therefore, some women often hang a delicate bag containing spices on their bodies in order to cover up body odor.

Because the whole city is dirty and messy, it also leads to another problem, that is, the proliferation of parasites.Like Henry VIII, his legs were festered and covered with parasites because of his uncleanness.As a last resort, he followed the doctor's orders to take a herbal bath.In addition, the remains of King Charles III of England were found to be covered with roundworm eggs during later studies.

After pinching his nose and entering Madrid, because of the large number of embassies, there were no hotels that could accommodate them all.Therefore, under the coordination of Luo Mingjian, an earl's mansion was contracted for the mission's brains to live in, and the rest could not be accommodated in hotels in Madrid - anyway, the mission was rich and could not afford to rent a few hotels. some money.

The earl who vacated the mansion saw that he moved to his villa outside the city in the face of the cardinal, and because of his reputation he could not ask for money, so the mission took some china and tea as a thank you gift.

At today's market prices, these fine china are enough to buy his Earl's House.Therefore, the Earl was very happy to move, and said that he left the servant to serve Sir Sirius in the daily life, but was rejected by Xu Guangqi-the smell was too great.

After entering Europe, the most unbearable thing for the embassy members is the taste.After the Renaissance, many nobles abandoned the superstition that "bathing will make the body unholy", and began to rinse the body with cold water, and if they could afford spices, the smell was not particularly appealing.

But their servants don't have that condition, and they will irritate their eyes within ten feet. If they talk face to face, Count Xu Guangqi can be fainted, so he can only refuse firmly.When he entered Lisbon, it was a little strange. How could these nobles endure such a smell, and after entering Madrid, he completely understood-the so-called long-term residence of abalone is also.

After the daily itinerary of the Daming embassy, ​​there will be a meeting in the resident. Xu Guangqi and Wang Jiaping and other heads of the embassy will gather together to review the itinerary of the day and determine whether their goals have been achieved based on the reactions of the audience.

On the night when the "win-win theory" was thrown out, the review meeting was held at the Earl's Court.Xu Guangqi discussed with the embassy whether Spain could accept Ming's conditions.If not, what is the next step; if so, what is the next step.

Deputy envoy Wang Jiaping said with a smile: "Zixian, we don't have to have any illusions about the Spanish lord's acceptance of the conditions. Like Dongyi, Xiyi and Dongyi are both fearful but not virtuous. If they don't do one thing, they can't make it happen. The fat in the mouth spit out."

After hearing this, Liu Chengxi nodded in agreement: "We landed less than seven days ago, and three incidents have already happened. If we hadn't dealt with the emperor's principle of 'don't cause trouble, don't be afraid of trouble', we would have been fooled by these barbarians long ago. go."

It turned out that on the first day when Xu Guangqi got off the ship, an officer at the Lisbon pier challenged him and asked the envoy to escort the cargo from the pier and hand over the items unloaded from the ship to them.

Of course Liu Chengxi could not agree. The two sides talked for a while, and the officer called an interpreter from nowhere, saying that this was the order of the Marquis of Denia, and asked Liu Chengxi to execute it immediately.

Liu Chengxi didn't get Xu Guangqi's order, how could he leave.The two sides refused to give in to each other. The officer deliberately intensified the conflict. He pushed and shoved because of the quarrel. Liu Chengxi, who had been suffocating his head aches, kicked him in the stomach, and the officer lay on the ground and howled miserably.

Immediately afterwards, a large group of Spanish troops came to hand over the firearms of the Daming escort.Seeing that the situation was not good, Liu Chengxi organized the team into an attacking formation, and was about to enter the Governor's Mansion and snatch Xu Guangqi out - just at the critical moment, another senior officer came and drove the Spanish army away.

When Liu Chengxi sent someone to report, Xu Guangqi of course wanted to question the Marquis of Denia.The Marquis of Denia was also stunned and said that he wanted to find out.

Then at the end of the reception banquet, Marquis Denia apologized to Xu Guangqi, saying that he did not restrain his subordinates, and explained that the guy wanted to make money and fled to the Netherlands after making a fortune.

Xu Guangqi believed it at the time and didn't take it to heart.As a result, when they left Lisbon, Liu Chengxi, who was from the Military Intelligence Bureau, reported to him that the officer who had picked up the trouble that day was still on duty at the wharf, which scared Xu Guangqi into a sweat.

Later re-analysis, although Spain is the core of the Holy Alliance, it is not in the same heart with the Holy See.The Marquis of Denia would not tell the members of the embassy, ​​but if Liu Chengxi was blindfolded and the gifts Xu Guangqi gave to the Holy See were withheld, it could be regarded as educating Xu Guangqi and the Pope through actions—who is the boss of Europe.

After this incident, Xu Guangqi was deeply aware of the meaning of the emperor's instructions before he left the port, "the mission is important, be cautious and courageous", and he also had a perceptual understanding of the barbarism of the Western Yi.

In the days that followed, two similar incidents happened: a trip to Madrid to pass the customs, a tax collector wanted to check the goods carried by the mission, the Lisbon officials sent by the Marquis of Denia did not help, and the tax collector insisted Checking and collecting tax by value, Luo Mingjian can only smile awkwardly.

Xu Guangqi immediately said that he would not go to Madrid, and was ready to go back the same way.Only then did the tax collectors be quelled, and the customs clearance went smoothly.After that, there was another thing that was rather disgusting - when we were stationed in a small town to rest overnight and left for the next day, a few prostitutes stopped the mission, saying that there were mission guards who paid for prostitutes.

Liu Chengxi questioned the parties carefully, and the young men looked confused, saying that they knew there was "flower willow disease" when they were training in Tianjin, and they ate bear heart and leopard gall to do it.One of the grumpy guards scolded: "This Europa man doesn't take a bath all the year round, and the smell on his body can kill people - let me vomit and do it?"

This reason is very strong, and the head of the mission, whose nose is strongly influenced these days, believed it at the time.After discussing with Wang Jiaping and others, Xu Guangqi made a decisive decision, immediately stopped the trip, and asked the local officials to deal with it.At the very least, if the reputation of the Seris for free prostitution spreads, it will have a negative impact on Xu Guangqi's mission.

The Spaniards used their three-axes, but they did not calm the mission, and they stopped a lot after that.Luo Mingjian, who accompanied Xu Guangqi, saw that Spain was so rambunctious, so he had to tell Xu Guangqi the truth: the Holy See had no binding force on Spain, and Felipe II had the initiative in the game with the Pope.

Although Felipe II was a Catholic fanatic, not all of what he did was appreciated by the Holy See.Religious wars and even the massacre of the Huguenots are popular with the Pope, but the indiscriminate burning of "heretics" at the stake is opposed by the Holy See, because it greatly ruins the reputation of the Holy See and the Inquisition - not least on both sides. Grind the skin.

Of course, these two are still the core of the Holy Alliance on the surface, but European countries are well aware that the two sides are inseparable from each other.The decree of peace issued by King Gregory XIII for Xu Guangqi's arrival is a typical example - to block Felipe II through righteousness.

Xu Guangqi and Luo Mingjian are good friends, and they can't say anything. Besides, it was decided by the emperor to come to Spain first, so it can't be blamed on the Holy See.

As for why they came to Spain first, of course, it was because there was a direct conflict of interest between Daming and Spain—the mission could only decide what to do next based on Spain's attitude.

Wang Jiaping, before his mission, was the Minister of Culture and Education of Daming.He was appointed by the Holy Will as a deputy envoy, and his main responsibility was to evaluate the existing cultural achievements of Europa and to promote cultural exchanges between the two sides as much as possible.

After the review meeting, Wang Jiaping sighed: "It's really reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles. Although the Europa people are barbaric, they still have their rituals and music prosperous, which should not be regarded as uncivilized. At least in architecture, painting, and sculpture. In terms of music, music and things, it is enough to be China's 'stone of other mountains' - but the smell is too stinky."

Everyone in the audience laughed when they heard it, Xu Guangqi said to Wang Jiaping: "Tomorrow we are going to visit the University of Salamanca in Madrid. According to the emperor's intention, we are going to transcribe and buy some documents and books to bring back. I hope the Spanish authorities will not obstruct this matter. Bar."

Wang Jiaping smiled and said, "No. Today I talked to the Duke of Sidonia about this matter. Xiyi, like us, is happy to see his teachings spread to China - of course, he also cherishes the technique of examining objects, and he also shares with us. Same."

Several people were talking happily, and a guard came in to report: "There is a Xiyi named Francis outside the station to ask for an interview. The person who came here said that he bought a boat of porcelain in Malacca."

When Wang Jiaping heard this, he was completely confused, but Xu Guangqi was startled and said quickly, "Call him in."

When the visitor came in, Xu Guangqi said, "The emperor wrote a letter to Queen Tudor of England before, and it was brought along on a porcelain merchant ship in Manlajia - the visitor should be an Englishman."

(End of this chapter)