Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 202 Meeting in Macau
In the outer suburbs of Guangzhou, in a villa in a remote mountainous area.

Zhang Xiao was talking to two powerful people in Macau, namely Luo Mou, the chief justice of the Macau royal family, and Fan Li'an, a Jesuit.

Judge Luo was actually his own Chinese surname, so Zhang Xiao called him Judge Luo as he pleased. Not to mention Fan Li'an, at first glance it was the Chinese name given by a senior Jesuit.

"Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Zhang. I once wanted to enter the Ming Dynasty, but the officials of the Ming Dynasty had some inappropriate hostility towards me. Now this is the first time I have set foot on the land of the Ming Dynasty." Fan Li'an said excitedly.

"Mr. Fan, I have to correct your statement. Macau, where you currently live, is also the land of my Ming Dynasty. You people from Folangji are just renting here and must accept the jurisdiction of the imperial court." Zhang Xiao reminded solemnly.

"Dear Mr. Zhang, this is a mistake in my statement. I meant entering the mainland of the Ming Dynasty, just like now. In Macau, in fact, we can only move around the island and cannot freely enter the mainland of the Ming Dynasty. "Fan Li'an quickly explained.

"Just remember that Macau is the territory of the Ming Dynasty. There is no doubt about it. In fact, what you Portuguese are doing here has seriously crossed the line. You are trying to run Macau into your fortress. Now in the imperial court The call to drive you out has never stopped. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea, the call was even stronger. By the way, Mr. Fan, you should be the person in charge of the Jesuits in the East. I heard that you have been to Japan, have you met Toyotomi Hideyoshi?" Zhang Xiao said.

"Taiko... I have met Toyotomi Hideyoshi. At that time, I wanted to spread the gospel in Japan, but Toyotomi Hideyoshi was not like the previous Japanese general Oda Nobunaga. He had some issues with us Europeans. Appropriate hostility and precaution, and unwilling to sign a decree to protect Christians and some of our interests in Japan. I feel very sorry for Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea. I hereby solemnly declare that the Jesuits did not intervene in this incident. Amid a war full of tragedy," Fan Li'an said.

"Mr. Zhang, I must solemnly declare that although we are Portuguese, the Kingdom of Portugal is now under the wise rule of the King of Spain. I am here to fully represent the interests of the Spanish royal family." Judge Luo next to him also spoke out .

"Macau and Malacca are Portuguese strongholds, and Luzon is a colony occupied by Spain. According to your European tradition, the Kingdom of Portugal actually still exists, but it is only held concurrently by the king of the Kingdom of Spain. Now the Kingdom of Spain is deeply mired in war. Among them, now that shipping routes have connected the world, the war in Europe will also affect all parts of the world, and it will also affect Macao. Therefore, Macao's status must be further clarified, otherwise if Macao attracts ships from other countries to invade our territory, the Ming Dynasty will be invaded. This is something the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty cannot allow," Zhang Xiao also warned solemnly.

"We people in Macau have the ability to protect Macau. Please don't worry about the Ming Dynasty. We will pay the rent on time every year. If the Ming Dynasty needs any tribute, we will find a way to provide it." Judge Luo also gave a guarantee.

"No, no, no, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the status of Macau in the future. It turns out that you settled in Macau just to facilitate trade. Now you are building fortresses and stationing troops in Macau. Now you are Because of the conflict in Europe, the war is going to spread to Macau. This is something that Ming Dynasty will never allow. Because of your military presence in Macau, Ming Dynasty will now deploy thousands of troops and naval fleets along the coast of Guangdong, which will cost money and food. I don’t know how much it is, but it can’t be compensated by the so-called rent of a few hundred taels per year,” Zhang Xiao said.

Perhaps the topic was too sensitive, and the talks between the two parties came to a standstill. Just as they arrived at the hotel, Zhang Xiao signaled that the talks would be temporarily suspended. At the banquet, Fan Li'an used his chopsticks for all the other dishes, except for one plate of chicken, which he didn't dare to use his chopsticks for.

"Mr. Fan, this is a specialty dish of Guangdong province, plain-cut chicken. You can eat it with dipping sauce. I found this restaurant specially. Although the dishes in this restaurant are not so varied, they are indeed quite delicious. " Zhang Xiao explained.

Seeing Zhang Xiao say this, Fan Li'an picked up a piece of chicken and put it into his mouth.

"How about it, it's okay. This dish of plain chicken looks so strange. I specially asked the store to provide several dipping sauces. You can try any taste." Zhang Xiao explained.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang, for your hospitality. But at that time, I saw that the bones of the plain-cut chicken were still stained with blood, so I thought the dish was raw, but I didn't expect that it was already cooked." Fan Li'an said truthfully.

"It turns out that this is the reason. The plain-cut chicken is cooked thoroughly. This is no problem. Although the taste is lighter, it can still maintain the original flavor of the ingredients." Zhang Xiao also explained.

"Mr. Zhang, I am very curious about you. Your understanding of Europe is even deeper than that of us Europeans, but I need to emphasize that I am only a judge stationed in Macau by His Majesty the King of Spain. As a representative of the royal family, I govern Macau. Spaniard, I have no right to explain the status of Macau on behalf of the King. I must report it to the Governor of Goa, and the Governor will report to His Majesty the King before I can respond to your request, Mr. Zhang," Judge Luo said. .

"Then please report the truth to your superiors. If possible, I also hope that Spain can send an official royal representative to the Ming Dynasty. After all, many things were done casually by the people below, no matter you. But if communication is not smooth, we have to think that this is the intention of the Spanish king. For example, I heard that the Spanish governor of Luzon wanted to mobilize heavy troops from mainland Europe to invade the Ming Dynasty. . This matter also needs an explanation from Spain. By the way, Mr. Fan, you Jesuits were active around the Ming Dynasty and had contact with Toyotomi Hideyoshi. There are some things I hope you can say. Be more understanding, lest the court treat you as spies. After all, it is not easy for Matteo Ricci to gain a foothold in the capital. Mr. Fan, you don’t want your Jesuit efforts to return to the starting point.” warned.

"Mr. Zhang, our Society of Jesus is communicating with the Ming Dynasty with peaceful sincerity and will never participate in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's sad war. In fact, when I heard that Toyotomi Hideyoshi was going to launch that war, I wrote a letter Go and dissuade the real ruler of Japan," Fan Li'an explained hurriedly.

(End of this chapter)