I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 394: A Place Far Away from God’s Holy Light

Prime Minister Xu, who retired with honor, is still slowly heading south along the canal to return to his hometown.

A fleet of ships arrived at Wusong Port in Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture, his hometown. There were sixteen princely galleons and two Portuguese carracks following closely behind, like a flock of geese followed by two quails.

Slowly sail in from the Yangtze River estuary and anchor at Wusong Port one by one.

Leon, the Portuguese envoy and deputy governor in Malacca, stood on the stern of the flagship Pyrenees, looking at the Wusong Harbor in the distance, and was shocked beyond words.

His adjutant and missionary beside him were so shocked that they kept making the sign of the cross and calling out the name of God, as if they were trying to summon the Holy Spirit to verify whether what they saw was real or a mirage.

There were dozens or even hundreds of ships coming and going on the river.

The ships moored at the port pier have masts like a forest and their hulls connected together like a city wall.

"My God, why are there so many ships here? Even if all the ships in Europe were added together, there are not so many." Missionary Francis said exaggeratedly.

"To see so many ships is beyond my expectation! I never thought that the wealth of the Ming Dynasty is beyond our imagination." Adjutant Maxim murmured.

Only the Chamber of Commerce representative Manuela said excitedly: "I made a bet with you that the Netherlands is not as prosperous as here! You didn't believe it yet, but now you believe it."

The Netherlands, later known as the Holland, is still a member of the "Low Provinces" of the Spanish Empire, but it is the most developed place in Western Europe for shipping and trade, and half of the Spanish Empire's tax revenue comes from here.

King Carlos I of Spain called it a jewel in the imperial crown.

These Dutch people first monopolized the shipping and trade from Northern Europe to Western Europe, and then followed the Spanish and Portuguese to do business everywhere.

These people can be found wherever money can be made.

In the eyes of the devout Catholics, the Portuguese and Spanish, the Netherlands had a strong commercial atmosphere and was very prosperous, but this was a bit "treasonous".

Manuela was the only one who had been to Shanghai. He said to his companions with emotion: "The last time I came here was the year before last, the first year of the new Ming emperor's accession to the throne. At that time, I was shocked by the prosperity here.

I came here again today and it has changed again. It has changed a lot. But I have become numb to it. It is like humans become indifferent to things that are beyond their understanding.

Francis glanced at him and said with some dissatisfaction: "You are a follower of Da Vinci."

Manuela was full of desire to survive and quickly replied: "I am Leonardo da Vinci's student, and God's most loyal sheep."

Leon turned to his companions and said, "After we dock, I will transfer to Shanghai with Admiral Chao of the Ming Navy to visit local officials. Do you have any plans?"

Manuela quickly replied: "I ask to go with you. I want to visit Yang, the God of Wealth, the most powerful man in the southeast and the patron saint of merchants."

Leon turned to look at his lieutenant Marcian and the missionary Francis.

Francis made the sign of the cross, "In this place far away from the holy light of God, I will read the Bible more to prevent my soul from being polluted."

Maxian shrugged and said, "I will stay and command the sailors to repair the boat, mend the sails, and replenish fresh water and food. By the way, I will visit the navy that traveled north with us to see if there is a chance to sit on their ship."

Francis said quickly, "Marcian, if you want to go on their ship, you must bring the Holy Cross. Look at their flag, it actually blatantly depicts an evil monster, Satan's pet from hell, the dragon."

Leon and Maxien looked at each other, without commenting.

The Pyrenees slowly approached the designated dock, allowing Leon and the others to see it more clearly.

On the shore stood a row of iron tower-like racks with long crane arms extended out. At the bottom of the iron racks, cows and horses were turning in circles, pushing long levers that drove the capstans, making a creaking sound that made your teeth ache.

Then the long crane arm slowly turned from the shore to above the anchored ship.

The deckhand waved a red pennant, and under his command, the rope slowly descended and went deep into the cabin. After a while, the rope slowly rose with a huge net bag hanging on it.

The net bag was filled with cargo, almost one-third of the cargo on the Pyrenees. After it rose to a certain height, the crane arm turned and carried the net bag to the shore, and the rope slowly descended, placing the net bag on a flatbed truck.

This flatbed cart was very strange, rectangular, with eight wheels on two rails. With the driver's whip cracking, the packhorse pulled the flatbed cart slowly and moved forward.

"It's amazing!" Marcien, who is also a follower of Leonardo da Vinci, watched all this with fascination and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

Manuela rubbed her hands excitedly, "This is paradise, a paradise for merchants. Such efficient transportation can save us so much money." Leon pushed him gently and pouted his mouth to the side.

Manuela turned her head and saw the missionary Francis. She immediately came to her senses and shut up and said no more.

Fortunately, Francis was so shocked by the crane that he kept making the sign of the cross and muttering to himself, and did not hear Manuela's "treasonous" words.

This is heaven, so where do you put God?
After reaching the shore, Leon and Manuela got off the boat and looked around curiously on the shore.

The two tracks next to the crane are actually made of fine cast iron, extending from one side to the other. You can't see the starting point or the end point, and it's more than ten kilometers long as you can see.

How much pig iron was wasted.

In that era, it was not easy to mine and smelt metals, and the output was extremely low. The Ming Dynasty actually used pig iron to build two such long tracks. It was so arrogant and inhumane!

Manuela whispered to her friend Leon: "Leon, this railroad track not only shows that the Ming Dynasty is rich, but also shows that they will do anything to achieve efficiency."

Leon nodded, "I know. This is the first time I really get to know this country. Its strength is far beyond our imagination."

"Before it was just a sleeping lion, but now it's awake and staring at us." Manuela pointed to the Qinglong Navy warships that were docking in the distance one after another, with a hint of meaning.

Leon looked at the dozen or so warships in the distance. Although they were far away, the huge hulls, towering masts, and densely packed gun muzzles still gave people an incomparable sense of oppression.

"Manuela, have you ever heard what the sailors call the South Sea?"

"Daming Lake is a lake that belongs only to Daming."

Leon cursed fiercely: "Damn it! They want to monopolize this sea area. There are the Spice Islands there, which are the gold mines of us Portuguese people."

Manuela shrugged, dismissing the suggestion.

Leon was a little annoyed: "Manuela, don't you care at all?"

"Leon, although we in Portugal own the Spice Islands, I can get spices at a very low cost. If the Ming Dynasty occupies the Spice Islands, I will need to spend money to buy spices from them.

But no matter what, as long as I ship these spices back to Portugal, I can make a lot of money. Compared with the South China Sea or Daming Lake, I care more about whether I can receive enough spices in time. "

Leon cursed fiercely: "You profit-seeking businessmen should go to hell."

Manuela jokingly replied, "Do you have a way to hell? I think Satan would be interested in some of my wares."

Leon was speechless.

He knew that these merchants who dared to travel thousands of miles across the sea and risk their lives to do business in the East only cared about money, just like Francis and other missionaries who traveled thousands of miles across the sea to preach, only cared about God.

Li Chao, the admiral of the Qinglong Navy, walked over from a distance with four guards and an interpreter.

Seeing the two of them, he greeted them: "Laolai, Laoman, are you waiting for me here?"

Leon, who had a worried and angry face just now, was all smiles, like a warm spring breeze. He stepped forward and hugged Li Chao warmly, "Haha, my admiral, we are waiting for you. Please lead the way to visit the Oriental Pearl Shanghai City."

Manuela looked at Li Chao as if he were the God of Wealth. "Dear Chao! Please, let me see the noble man who is high above us, the patron saint of all merchants."

"Who? Lao Man, did you go to Shanghai just to burn incense and worship gods in the temple?"

The general interpreter translated in the middle, and saliva flew.

"No, it's Eunuch Yang!" Manuela struggled to pronounce the three words "Eunuch Yang" in stiff Chinese.

"Oh, you mean Eunuch Yang from the Southeast Office. He has returned to Beijing and has been promoted. Now you should visit Eunuch Lu." Li Chao understood, "There is one more thing I must correct."

"what?"

"The protector of all merchants is not Eunuch Yang, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

(End of this chapter)