Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 178 Summoned by the Emperor
Matteo Ricci immediately started writing letters after returning home.

"Although European ships have arrived in the East a long time ago, we still don't know much about this ancient country. This is a country with a long civilization and the core of the entire Far Eastern world, just like Rome is to Europe generally."

"Our understanding of the Ming Dynasty must not stay in the imagination of "Marco Polo's Travels", but must truly understand this civilization, their unique writing, unique moral concepts, and those ancient classics, because the Chinese are still here Guide words and deeds with the ideas of documents written two thousand years ago.”

"China attaches great importance to culture, but this also means that they have very strong confidence in their own culture. In their eyes, we Europeans are nothing more than a group of barbarians who live further away and have some skills. Therefore, spreading the gospel in China requires Be more careful. Especially Chinese people value their ancestors. If we cannot reach a compromise on this point, it will be very easy for Ming officials and people to resent us. Although I met the emperor, I also got permission to give it to Chinese officials and people. Scholars take classes, but the literati of the Ming Dynasty are only interested in some European skills and knowledge. I am also using these knowledge and skills to attract a group of people. But in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, everything must be cautious."

"Among the officials of the Ming Dynasty, the one who is most familiar with Europe is Zhang Zhanshi. Zhanshi is an official title, which means an official accompanying the successor of the Ming Dynasty. Although the emperor of the Ming Dynasty has not yet officially established his successor. Zhang Zhanshi is very important to Europe. He was very knowledgeable about our history and culture, and even our doctrines, but he rejected the gospel I taught him, and seriously warned me not to spread the gospel easily in the capital, otherwise it would cause dissatisfaction among Confucian students. Confucianism is two thousand years old. It was founded by a man named Confucius, and scholars in the Ming Dynasty were still studying his books two thousand years later.”

"This Zhang Zhan also told me about his family background, saying that his family originally settled in the Nanyang area, and later the family was expelled by the Spanish Governor of the Philippines. The current impression of Europe in the Ming Dynasty is largely due to this Zhang Zhan Shaped by things.”

"This Zhang Zhanshi even predicted that there would be a war in Europe. The cause of the war was the heretical princes in the northern part of the Holy Roman Empire. This shows that the Ming Dynasty had other ways of understanding Europe. Please respect Please help inform the Pope, and if it is convenient, ask the Pope to send an envoy to Daming to discuss matters."

Matteo Ricci was writing a letter to report the situation, and Zhang Xiao was not idle either. He had received the notice and was going to report to the emperor.

In the study, the emperor was reading the memorial, and Zhang Xiao was waiting quietly below.

"Zhang Xiao, this time you went to North Korea, I didn't expect that something like this would happen. Of course, there are people taking care of things in North Korea, so you don't have to worry about it anymore. You can still do your original job these days. , Just stay in the capital." The emperor was busy for a while and then said.

"Your Majesty, the emperors in ancient times always wanted to guard the four barbarians. Now the Folangji people have occupied many countries in Nanyang. The next step will definitely be to occupy a piece of land. So to protect North Korea, that is, Protect the capital. The Ming Navy must intercept the enemy's navy and must not allow the enemy's navy to penetrate deep into our territory, especially the enemy ships cannot approach the two important places of the capital."

"Zhang Xiao, I heard you say that your family is in Nanyang, but it has enmity with the Folangji people. Why did you still introduce these Folangji people to the Ming Dynasty?"

"The Japanese country suffered a setback in Korea, and it should be impossible to send out any large army. But when the Japanese pirates were raging, the Japanese country was not unified. Instead, that period was the so-called Warring States Period of the Japanese country. Many warriors of the Japanese country fled abroad after leaving the country, and Some pirates from the Ming Dynasty cooperated and caused harm to the coast for a long time. If the Japanese country falls into a long-term war this time, it is hard to say whether another group of Japanese pirates will come out. "

"Let's leave things like this for the time being in Korea. According to what you said, the Japanese country has already sent envoys, so what should we do? It's unlikely that the Japanese country will come back again."

"Reporting to your majesty, the so-called knowing yourself and the enemy means you can win a hundred battles. If you don't understand the Folangji people clearly, you can't find the right way to deal with the Folangji people. The Folangji people that Ming Dynasty talks about now mainly refer to the Spanish and Portuguese people, who occupy Macau and Malacca is Portuguese. Although Portugal is now integrated into Spain, the Portuguese nobles are definitely not willing to submit to Spanish governance. After all, the Portuguese country was originally under Spanish rule and became independent later. Come out. The reason why Portugal was annexed by Spain was because the King of Portugal was defeated in the expedition to Morocco, and the king of Spain took advantage of it. Therefore, if the time changes, Portugal may regain its independence at any time. Even though places like Luzon Island are the territory of the Folangji people, it’s better to treat them differently.”

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty." Zhang Xiao replied.

"Shen Weijing, I have received many impeachments against him. But right now, he is the most suitable person who can go to Japan as an envoy to gather information. This Tongwen Museum must be run, but if the critical moment is not reached, people will be in trouble. Looking for you. I heard that after you returned to Beijing, that Matteo Ricci was eager to find you again? "

"Since Japan withdrew its troops, you, the only one in the DPRK and China, are still talking about North Korea. Is North Korea so important?"

"According to your opinion, do you want to divide and dismantle the territory of the Folangji Kingdom in Nanyang? If you do this, will the Folangji people take any action?"

"Your Majesty, in fact, in terms of trade, Japan is actually a good country. Japan produces gold and silver, and it particularly likes things from the Ming Dynasty. For example, Japan's so-called tea ceremony, Japan especially likes to buy tea and tea sets from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and even The tea set is regarded as a national treasure. The coins of the Japanese country are also made of Yongle Tongbao, and the characters are also written in Chinese characters. There is no difficulty in communicating. However, the capriciousness of the Japanese people has harmed the Ming Dynasty for a long time, so they have been obsessed with the Japanese country since the time of Emperor Taizu. Be careful. The unification of Japan depends on who unifies it, but no matter who it is, the next princes who can unify Japan will not dare to offend the Ming Dynasty. If the civil war is delayed, it will be better if the east and west are separated. , the most fearful thing is that there will be chaos again, with dozens or hundreds of princes fighting on such a few islands, it will be difficult to find anyone to talk to. Even if the gold and silver mountains of the Japanese country are occupied, there will be no one to find them. People are going to mine. So we will have to wait until Shen Guobi and his team come back to know what is going on in Japan."

"Yes, Your Majesty, Matteo Ricci came here mainly because he was thinking about whether Tongwen Hall could recruit more foreigners to teach. Now I'm afraid Matteo Ricci has already written a letter to Macau, asking them to send more people. Beijing."

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. I also went to ask some ocean-going merchants. They also said that there is currently a melee among European countries and that many of Franchi's ships have been sunk. As a result, business is not as easy as before. The main force of the Franco Kingdom, especially the main force of the navy, is still fighting against the British. The army has to defend against the British and French, and also has to suppress the Netherlands. In fact, even if the imperial court goes to attack Luzon, it is probably not the best. There is no air traffic control in Langji State."

"Then according to what you said, if the Japanese country is divided, Japanese pirates will wreak havoc. If the Japanese country is unified and wants to use troops abroad, then should the Japanese country be unified or not?"

"It's not easy to fight a war. I know that you have a grudge against the Folangji people in Luzon Island, but now the court has made it clear that it wants to put down Yang Yinglong first, and also guard against invading invaders from the Mongolian and Jurchen tribes. Where? You can start provocations in Luzon at will.”

"Your Majesty, I was just giving an example. I did not suggest that the court go to war with the Franco Kingdom now. It's just that the situation in Europe is about to change drastically. The Franco people, both Spanish and Portuguese, have all dealt with the Ming Dynasty. , wars have been fought, and business has been done. The Francois are now trading safely with the Ming Dynasty. But if it is a new European country, it is hard to say. Maybe they will stir up trouble again in order to seize territory. How the court will respond to the provocation is also a question. Maybe Britain, France and other countries will send envoys to the Ming Dynasty to contact them. I have told Matteo Ricci before that a war is about to break out in their Europe. ”

"Zhang Xiao, are you going to make up rumors to confuse the European countries again? It's just that the European countries are so far away from the Ming Dynasty, and everything you see and hear is what others tell you. If you just say that someone is going to fight, they will also It’s not that easy to believe.” “Your Majesty, the war in Europe has never stopped. The Habsburg family has occupied so much land, which has already caused dissatisfaction in other European countries, such as Britain and France. We will not give up our efforts to weaken the Habsburg family. The contradiction between the so-called Protestantism and Christianity in Europe is already very acute, and it is only a matter of time before it breaks out." Zhang Xiao also mentioned the basic framework of European Catholicism and the Protestant movement. Let’s talk about the general situation.

"If, according to what you said, it is the conflict between the Protestant and the old religion, then since the Caesar of the Holy Roman Empire occupies the righteous title of monarch and is supported by the King of Spain of the same sect, the Pope of the Cross has accepted so many The tithe for many years must have made him extremely rich. When the time comes, it won’t be too difficult for the pope to help generously defeat a few troubled northern princes. "

"Your Majesty, it's not that simple. If the war really breaks out, the Christian Pope may not fully support the Holy Roman Empire. Because the original Caesar of the Holy Roman Empire often opposed the Pope, the Holy Roman Empire The king had to go to Rome to be crowned by a Christian pope. During this process, there were often fierce conflicts between Caesar and the pope. A typical example was the humiliation of Canossa, where Caesar Henry IV of the Holy Roman Empire was killed by the pope. Henry IV had no choice but to go to the palace of Canossa in Italy to apologize to the Pope, and the Pope had no choice but to restore Henry IV's excommunication. Later, after Henry IV's throne was stabilized, he gathered a large army to march. Rome, drove the pope away. And Caesar Frederick I of the Holy Roman Empire, who participated in the Third Crusade, led his troops south to Italy several times in an attempt to dare to cause trouble with the then-Crusader pope. It’s very stiff. So the civil war in the Holy Roman Empire really started. Although the Christian Pope doesn’t like those heretics, it doesn’t mean that the Pope likes the expansion of Caesar’s power in the Holy Roman Empire.”

"So that's what happened. In this case, wouldn't the Habsburg family be the enemy of all Europe? Then it seems that it is not surprising that this war will start. Let's talk about this for today. Zhang Xiao, are you still Have something to say?"

"Your Majesty, if these European countries want to invade the border, we must make preparations. We must pay special attention to Qiongzhou Island, Yizhou Island, Ryukyu Kingdom and other places to prevent those European countries from sneaking up and occupying the land."

"I already know about this, is there anything else?"

"Your Majesty, I have a newly written book for you." Zhang Xiao took out the manuscript of the second half of Altaïr's story in "Assassin's Creed".

Chen Ju went to take the manuscript in person, and then handed it over to the emperor.

"Oh? It's that "Assassin's Creed". So there is a continuation of this story?" the emperor said while flipping through the book.

"Yes, the second half of the story goes until the Assassin organization's city was captured by the Mongols." Zhang Xiao explained.

"I'll put this here for now. I'll look at it later. Assassin's city has been captured. Is this the end of the story?"

"Historically, the Assassin organization has just gone with the wind, but as for novels, it can still be continued."

"If you write again, you can consider changing the title of the book. Nothing happened during the war before. Now that you went to North Korea, you encountered an inexplicable assassination. If you change the name, I'm afraid it won't be so troublesome."

"Thank you for your advice, Your Majesty."

Zhang Xiao resigned.

In the study, only the emperor and Chen Ju were left again, and the rest of the eunuchs and maids had quietly left.

"Chen Ju, do you remember clearly what Zhang Xiao just said?"

"I remember clearly."

"Today I believe that Zhang Xiao really came from Nanyang. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been encouraging the construction of a navy and going to Nanyang. Today I am thinking about going to Luzon. Could it be that I want to imitate Wu Zixu? How about Zhang Xiao today? What I’m talking about is probably the same as what he was talking about with Matteo Ricci.”

"Reporting back to Your Majesty, it's the same. It's just that the expression is a little more streamlined, and the rest remains the same."

"It's really hard for him. Most people would study the country of Folangji, and also specifically understand the history of the country of Folangji. I'm afraid that when I wrote "The Song of Cide", I just wanted to let everyone know about the country of Folangji. Otherwise, why write foreign stories just to make money? Obviously not many people would like to read foreign stories," the emperor said with emotion.

"Your Majesty, the time agreed with the Queen has come." Chen Ju reminded.

"Oh? It's so fast. Then get ready to take the sedan to Kunning Palace." The emperor ordered.

(End of this chapter)