Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Subduing the Dutch is a long-term endeavor, and Ruan Dacheng knows that this cannot be rushed.

The Ming Dynasty must demonstrate sufficient strength to make the Dutch consider this matter.

The Prince of Orange will also shift from being interested to actively pushing for it.

For this reason, Ruan Dacheng placed great importance on his personal relationship with the Prince of Orange, and even made him a promise:
"Regardless of what other countries do, the Ming Dynasty will always regard Your Highness as a prince."

"This is already the highest treatment a vassal king can receive; the kings of England and France receive no more than this."

The Prince of Orange was naturally delighted with this.

Because his title of prince was self-proclaimed, his actual status was higher than that of the former Earl of Nassau, but there was no benchmark for how much higher he was.

The Ming Dynasty now considers him equal to the monarchs of England and France, representing the status of the House of Orange, and has officially elevated him to the level of a king.

Even though the Ming Dynasty's influence over Europe is currently weak, as a mysterious and wealthy superpower, its attitude will undoubtedly affect many people.

If he can seize the opportunity to gain recognition from several countries, the House of Orange will be able to obtain the official status of kings.

This met his needs and made his relationship with Ruan Dacheng more harmonious.

Although the two countries were at war, it did not hinder the nobles' interactions.

In particular, the Prince of Orange is not yet the King of the Netherlands, and his interests are not entirely aligned with those of the Netherlands.

In some matters, he considers the interests of his own family more.

Through the Prince of Orange, Ruan Dacheng got to know many nobles and learned a lot about the rules among European nobles.

Although he still viewed Europeans as barbarians and did not believe that Ming envoys should use barbarian etiquette.

However, remembering the emperor's instructions to adapt to local customs and coexist peacefully, he still recorded these instructions and established rules for interactions between Ming Dynasty envoys and European nobles.

The rules and regulations of the Ming Dynasty embassy were gradually improved, preparing for the establishment of embassies of other countries in the future.

Ge Jiusi was also busy, but his work focus differed from Ruan Dacheng's:
He was to select a lady for His Majesty the Emperor in the Netherlands.

When Ruan Dacheng first learned of this, he was incredulous and tried to dissuade him:

"It's one thing to select virtuous ladies in the Ming Dynasty, but what kind of behavior is this here?"

"Do you want His Majesty's reputation for womanizing to spread all the way to Europe?"

"Besides, Western women have high noses and deep-set eyes, and their manners are often uncouth. Would His Majesty like such people?"

At this point, Ruan Dacheng looked disgusted. He had interacted with Western women before, but their freckles, body odor, and vulgar manners made him feel disgusted.

For him, women from Jiangnan were the best, the most gentle and charming.

If he hadn't been carrying a criminal record on this mission, he would have certainly brought several beautiful maids with him on the ship.

Ge Jiusi also looked down on Western women, but he knew that the current emperor's aesthetic sense differed greatly from that of ordinary people, so he smiled and said:
"Aren't women on the grasslands rude?"

"But since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has selected many people from the grasslands."

"As far as His Majesty is concerned, as long as women are useful, he doesn't care if there are a few more women in the palace or if he cultivates a few more relatives of the empress."

"Do you think that if His Majesty's relatives were in the Dutch Parliament, and something happened to them, we would know about it sooner?"

Ruan Dacheng thought about this matter and nodded slightly.

By this time, he had figured out that the main power organs in the Netherlands were the government and parliament.

Parliament even has more power; many government decisions require parliamentary approval.

Thus, the emperor had no choice but to "compromise" and accept some barbarian women.

Especially when he thought of the Mona Lisa that the emperor had mentioned, Ruan Dacheng looked at the copy and said:
"His Majesty's fondness for this painting may not be solely due to his appreciation of Leonardo da Vinci's technique."

"Choose from this painting and send a few people back."

He agreed to Ge Jiusi's proposal to select virtuous ladies, and even planned to select several noble ladies for the emperor.

However, these noblewomen could not be returned at will once they were sent there, and Ge Jiusi dared not act on his own initiative in this matter, nor could he make up his mind.

Ruan Dacheng looked at the painting and suggested:
"His Majesty likes oil paintings, so why not paint portraits of noblewomen who are interested in participating in the imperial examinations and present them to His Majesty?"

"We'll send them over once the Emperor has made his decision."

This is a good idea, Ge Jiusi thought, and then asked him:

"Have you found the Rembrandt that the Emperor mentioned?"

“We made some inquiries, and this person’s reputation isn’t that great; he’s far less famous than Rubens.”

"Should we invite Rubens and others to the Ming Dynasty to teach their skills?"

Because of his search for Rembrandt, Ruan Dacheng paid close attention to Dutch painters and knew that Rubens was a Flemish painter from the Spanish Netherlands.

Rubens is currently employed by the Spanish royal family, undertaking diplomatic work in various countries. He successfully forged friendly relations between England and Spain and was even knighted by Charles I, a man with a fondness for the arts.

It can be said that he is the most highly regarded painter of our time, and his skills are widely praised.

The Netherlands, however, was very hostile towards him, viewing his activities in England as a threat. They were grooming their own Rubens and trying to win England back.

Given the hostile relationship between the Netherlands and Spain, Ruan Dacheng believed that the chances of getting him to come was slim. Rembrandt, whom the emperor had mentioned but who was still relatively unknown, would be easier to invite.

He said to Ge Jiusi:

"Rubens is of high status and quite old; he may not be willing to go to the Ming Dynasty."

"However, you could also ask him to paint a picture and test the waters."

"The most important thing is to find Rembrandt; the Emperor values ​​him highly."

"If we still can't find him, then we'll offer a reward and try to find him before three months are up."

March and April are the departure times from Lisbon to Goa. With the help of the monsoon, the journey to Goa can be completed in six months.

This is much faster than the nearly two years it took them to arrive.

After learning about this in Lisbon, they agreed to send ships back to Lisbon in March to discuss sending several ships back.

He hoped to send Rembrandt back this year so that the emperor could see his achievements.

Ge Jiusi did the same, and the two began to increase their efforts in procuring supplies and recruiting talent.
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Zhu Youjian's instructions included not only finding talents in the arts such as music, drama, and painting, but also in fields such as astronomy and mathematics.

Compared to celebrities in the arts, he was even less familiar with scientific figures and didn't know which scientists were around at that time. Apart from Galileo, he could only name a few.

However, he still arranged for Ruan Dacheng and others to collect information from the academic community to see who they could invite.

Through his efforts, Ruan Dacheng learned that the French mathematician Descartes was now living in the Netherlands. He was a man well-versed in philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, physics, and other disciplines. Although Ruan Dacheng did not know much about his research, he still paid him a warm visit.

Descartes' decision to retreat to the Netherlands was primarily driven by religious reasons. At this time, he was writing a small book on metaphysics, his main goal being to prove the existence of God and the independent existence of the soul within the body. He had no interest in traveling to the Ming Dynasty.

However, after learning that the Ming Dynasty had a very lenient religious policy and was a completely secular society, he recommended Mason to Ruan Dacheng. This was because he knew that Mason was writing an "evil book," which was likely inclined towards atheism.

Such books were highly hostile to the church, and their publication in France was extremely dangerous. If problems arose, the Ming Dynasty could potentially become their refuge.

Mersenne is famous in later generations for his Mersenne primes, and he was also well-known in academic circles at the time.

This man had a wide circle of friends; Descartes, Fermat, Robeval, and others all communicated through him. These people gathered at his residence in Meissen, which became known as the "Messen Academy," the precursor to the French Academy of Sciences.

Through Descartes, Ruan Dacheng began to establish connections with the European academic community.

He collected the names of various scientists and sent them to the Ming Emperor for his viewing.

He himself began to establish connections with these people in order to invite them over when the emperor issued an order.

The thing that pleased him most was finding Rembrandt, a young man who was willing to go to the Ming Dynasty.
-

“Constantine Huygens, he was my secretary, and he was skilled in music and painting.”

“Three years ago, he found two young men who he believed could become the Rubens of the Netherlands.”

"One was Jan Livingstone, and the other was Rembrandt; they collaborated on building a studio in Leiden."

As Prince Orange introduced Rembrandt to Ruan Dacheng, he said with a hint of pride.

Upon learning that Ruan Dacheng valued finding this painter highly, he also devoted considerable effort to it, hoping to recruit the painter first and make him, like Rubens, his diplomat.

Ruan Dacheng only provided a transliterated Chinese name, assuming the search would be difficult. To his surprise, his secretary had met Rembrandt three years prior and believed this young man had the potential to become the Dutch Rubens.

What pleased him most was that there were two such talents. Both Rembrandt and Jan Livingstone had been praised by Huygens.

Therefore, he did not hesitate to persuade Rembrandt to go to the Ming Dynasty as a diplomat and serve the emperor.

He also promised that if he became King of the Netherlands, he would bestow upon Rembrandt the title of nobleman.

(Rembrandt's self-portrait, "Self-Portrait with a Feathered Hat", 1629)
Rembrandt was a 25-year-old young man at the time, and unmarried, so he was naturally willing to take risks.

In particular, he came from a miller's family, studied theology from a young age, and studied law in university. Because his sect lost in religious struggles, he dropped out of university and switched to painting.

He still longed to go into politics and envied Rubens' status in Spain.

Upon learning that the Prince of Orange wanted to groom the Dutch Rubens, the young and adventurous boy quickly agreed.

He hoped to obtain a title and escape his status as a miller's family—

In the Netherlands and throughout Europe, millers were often the subject of ridicule. They were generally stigmatized as swindlers, extortionists, and adulterers who used their scales to exploit women.

Rembrandt's study at Leiden University was an effort by his family to escape this status.

Unfortunately, he failed and dropped out of school before finishing his studies to switch to painting.

Ruan Dacheng wasn't particularly interested in his past, but after seeing his work, he quickly understood why the emperor valued him:

Rembrandt's mastery of light and shadow was unprecedented; he was a man who could potentially rival Leonardo da Vinci and others.

The light and shadow and colors in the painting, in particular, reminded him of the optical experiments he had seen at Descartes's place, and he praised them:

"With his use of light and shadow, Mr. Rembrandt's paintings are indeed unique."

“I saw Mr. Descartes explain rainbows by refraction of light, breaking down sunlight into different colors.”

“Mr. Rembrandt’s approach of painting with the interplay of light and shadow is the right one.”

Upon hearing this, Rembrandt exclaimed excitedly:

"Mr. Ruan, are you also familiar with the laws of refraction of light?"

"It was discovered by Professor Snell of Leiden University, but it has not been officially announced."

"I didn't expect Mr. Descartes to know as well."

Clearly, having studied at Leiden University, he had heard of this knowledge.

And he was inspired a lot while painting.

When Ruan Dacheng heard that Rembrandt even knew about these cutting-edge academic concepts, he valued him even more.

Such a studious young man could bring about great changes to the painting world of the Ming Dynasty.

Rembrandt, in particular, had studied Latin and was fluent in it. This pleased him even more, and he instructed:

"You must study Chinese well while you're on the ship."

"This is a Latin-Chinese dictionary. I hope you will be familiar with Chinese when you disembark."

They gifted me a dictionary, as well as four books in both Latin and Chinese.

By learning these skills, Rembrandt was able to integrate into the Ming Dynasty more quickly and gain the emperor's favor.

With Rembrandt's help, Ruan Dacheng purchased many professional painting tools and pigments, and recruited some unknown painters, taking them with him to the Ming Dynasty.

At the same time, Ruan Dacheng also sent people to Germany to recruit skilled craftsmen and other talents.

This region is home to many states and is currently in turmoil, with Sweden and the Holy Roman Empire at war.

When Ruan Dacheng learned of this, he did not go there, but instead spent money to hire the Dutch to recruit talent.

Because of the continuous wars, German craftsmen became famous, especially gunsmiths who developed new firearms such as wheel guns and rifled guns.

Zhu Youjian specifically mentioned this point, instructing Ruan Dacheng to recruit German gunsmiths and mercenaries to take the tools back with them.

By late February, these people had returned one after another, bringing back what they needed.

Ruan Dacheng loaded all of these items onto the ship and personally sailed from The Hague to Lisbon.

He and another group led by Sun Yuanhua will meet here to decide who to leave and how many boats to send back.

Ruan Dacheng himself wanted to go back, but he also knew that even if he went back, he would not be able to gain a foothold in the court.

Perhaps the emperor wouldn't imprison him because of his achievements on this trip. However, living as a wealthy man in his hometown was not what he desired.

It would be better to stay in Europe, complete the emperor's mission, and impress him:
"The Netherlands is a perfect place to put your skills!"

"His Majesty said this place resembles the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods; indeed, it does bear some resemblance."

The strategies and tactics for political maneuvering recorded in classical texts can be fully applied here.

"If I can subdue several vassal states without shedding blood, I might even have the opportunity to be granted a title in the future." (End of Chapter)