I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 766 Marcelo's Amazing Discovery
A "man" in his forties nodded and smiled. He had a handsome appearance, and although he looked no different from other men, there was a feminine air between his eyebrows.

She was called Sofonisba Anguissola, and her acquaintances called her Sophonia.

Komoman knew her. They were both from Lombardy, Italy, and were somewhat related. They also went to Portugal and Spain to fight together, so they knew each other.

Commen knew that Anguissola first studied painting with the Italian muralist Bernardino Campi, then moved to Milan and studied painting there for three years. Later, he received guidance from Michelangelo, and his painting skills improved by leaps and bounds, becoming famous.

In 1559, she was invited to Madrid to paint for the Spanish royal family. She soon became the third wife and second queen of King Philip II of Spain and a close friend of Elizabeth de Valois. She was a sought-after painter in Spain, a favorite among noble ladies, and well-known in the European literary and art circles.

How did she come to the far East disguised as a man?
Komuman had many doubts in his mind and wanted to talk to Sophnia immediately to solve these doubts. But he knew the priorities and knew that he could not rush into it.

"Sophnia, please wait a moment. I have something very important to discuss with the Marquis and the Baron. After we're done, we can have a good chat."

Sophonia smiled and replied, "No problem. Manuel, I'm in the East now, on their fastest ship, we have plenty of time."

Commen nodded, and went into the middle suite with Leon, Marcelo and José, closed the door, and sat down two by two in the reception room.

The four of them looked at each other, and the reception room was very quiet.

There are so many things to say, but I don't know where to start.

Komuman thought about it and decided to say a few pleasantries first. They hadn't seen each other for a long time and needed to eliminate some of the barriers during the conversation.

"Mr. Marquis, Mr. Baron, I heard from Jose that you attended the trial of the sensational Little Cabbage Case?"

"Yes." Leon nodded, "The Marquis and I attended the entire meeting."

"How does it feel?"

Marcelo replied: "I was very shocked. As Jose said before, this hearing made us deeply realize the meaning of rule of law that the Ming people have always emphasized."

“The rule of law is an important reason why we have remained strong.”

Leon and Marcelo were stunned. “Manuel, is this your feeling?”

Komuman and Jose smiled at each other, "No, this is a sentence from His Majesty the Emperor published in the Imperial Ming Dynasty Newspaper."

"I see."

Marcelo thought more deeply, "Politics, fundamentally, is a game of balancing power. It is about balancing the forces of all parties and satisfying their demands as much as possible.

In my opinion, the rule of law is a higher-level balancing game of power.”

Not only was Commande surprised, but Leon and Jose were also surprised after hearing it.

"Mr. Marquis, can you tell us in detail?"

Marcelo waved his hand and smiled, "This is just my casual conclusion after listening to the Xiao Baicai case. I was deeply touched and kept thinking about it. It's just my personal opinion, please don't laugh at me."

The other three people hurriedly said: "The Marquis is too modest."

Marcelo thought for a moment, organized his words, and spoke.

"The foundation of the rule of law is fairness and justice, which is actually a ruler, a yardstick that everyone can see. We in Europe also talk about fairness and justice, saying that we are all God's people and the Lambs of God, and we should treat everyone equally.

But in real life, nobles and commoners are definitely treated differently.

Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Britain, and even the Ottoman Empire, all countries have corresponding laws. However, when it comes to specific implementation, if commoners break the law, they will be strictly enforced; if nobles break the law, they will be given a break.

I believe that it was certainly the same in the Ming Dynasty.”

Komoman and Jose looked at each other and nodded slowly.

"Yes, the laws of the Ming Dynasty are very strict and have a very long history. Since the Eastern and Western Zhou Dynasties and the Qin and Han Dynasties thousands of years ago, there have been strict and harsh laws, which have been amended and revised in each dynasty and are still in use today."

"My Lord Marquis, you are right. We have a saying in the Ming Dynasty, 'All crows are black', which is probably what it means." Comman and Jose answered in succession.

We are Ming Dynasty.

Hearing this, Marcelo felt like he had eaten a fly, but he could do nothing about it. He sighed and continued.

"It is true that all nobles are equally bad. I used to worry about this issue, because when the common people are oppressed to a certain extent, they will rebel.

The Protestant War in Germany and the religious war in France were essentially the oppressed civilians who rebelled in some way. It could be like a raging fire, burning everything.

How to ease this contradiction? I have tried to remain impartial during the trial, but with little success.

When I arrived in the Ming Dynasty, especially after listening to Xiao Baicai's trial, I suddenly understood. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty used a more sophisticated method to ease the conflict. "

"To ease the conflict between the nobles and the common people?"

"Yes, not only the conflicts between nobles and commoners, but also conflicts in other aspects can be alleviated within the scope of the rule of law."

Leon, Jose and Comman's eyes suddenly lit up. The angle was very novel and made a lot of sense.

"Mr. Marquis, how can we alleviate this?" "In the past, we were unable to maintain fairness and justice. One of the fundamental reasons was that we were unable to maintain this standard of law enforcement. When encountering disputes among civilians, we enforce the law impartially.

What if there is a dispute between commoners and nobles? And what if there is a dispute between small nobles and great nobles, between great nobles and the royal family, or between nobles themselves?
The law enforcement standards will fluctuate. Without a fair and just law enforcement standard that everyone knows and accepts, everyone will feel that they have suffered a loss. In the end, no one will accept it, so they will deploy their troops and speak with strength.

Whoever is stronger is the messenger of fairness and justice!
Everything is in chaos, just like Europe now. On the surface, the main reason is religious. Protestantism, Catholicism, and Islam are said to be conflicts of faith, but in fact they are conflicts of interest. There is no fair and just way to solve the problem. Everyone speaks with strength and uses force to solve problems. "

That makes so much sense.

Leon, José and Comumman really look up to Marcelo.

Marcelo continued, "Now the Ming Dynasty advocates the rule of law, which means coming up with a standard for solving problems that everyone can see. Everything is based on evidence and everything is determined by the law.

If there is a dispute between the two parties, the evidence will be presented and a neutral judge will judge according to the prescribed procedures. If there is any fault, it will be judged according to the law and punished according to the law.

In order to ensure its fairness and justice, the Ming Dynasty also proposed procedural justice, using strict litigation procedures to ensure the fairness of the entire litigation trial. "

Marcelo paused and continued.

“I know that it will be difficult to implement this system, and there will be some fraud in the litigation process.

But I personally think that the advantages of this matter far outweigh the disadvantages.

Through the independent judiciary, independent prosecutors, and the complex and rigorous judicial procedures of investigation, prosecution, and litigation, I saw the Ming emperor's determination to enforce the rule of law and his various effective measures.

Over time, when conflicts arose among the common people, nobles, officials, merchants, farmers, workers, rich people, and poor people in the Ming Dynasty, the first thing they thought of was to find a prosecutor and go to the court to seek justice, rather than bullying the weak and finally solving all problems with force.

I believe that the rule of law in Ming will be a great success.”

At this point, Marcelo glanced at the faces of Leon, José and Comumman, and he felt conflicted for a moment. After thinking about it for twenty or thirty seconds, he decided to speak out.

"After the Ming Dynasty's rule of law is successfully established under the leadership of their great and wise emperor, all conflicts and problems within the Ming Dynasty will be resolved through a fair and just channel and method recognized by everyone. Internal conflicts will be greatly alleviated, and there will be no more worries.

They can develop with all their strength, just like this flying Anyang, riding the wind and waves, just as the Ming people often say, advancing by leaps and bounds, soaring straight up. "

Leon, Comman and Jose were greatly shocked by Marcelo's words and fell into deep thought.

Comman and Jose were filled with joy and excitement.

The brighter the future of Ming, the greater their prospects.

José is a Portuguese of noble descent, but from childhood to adulthood, his Portuguese compatriots have only given him humiliation and contempt, and his feelings towards Portugal are just that.

Commendu, whose original name was Manuel, was not a genuine Portuguese. He was born into a minor noble family in Lombardy, Italy. In order to study as a teenager and to support his family and realize his dreams as an adult, he traveled to Italy, the Netherlands, France and other countries. Finally, he settled in Portugal and became an "agent merchant" of a great nobleman, traveling to the East to seek gold.

They have no concept of home, country, and nation in their hearts; they just want to choose the right tree to roost in.

Marcelo's words shocked them but also gave them greater confidence.

Leon, however, was shocked and extremely complicated and contradictory.

He was deeply touched by the Ming's actions and wanted to immediately copy and implement them in Portugal, so that Portugal could be suddenly reborn and become the little bully of Europe. It would no longer be bullied by its bully neighbor Spain, and would be able to obtain more national interests, allowing the Portuguese to live a happier life.

But Leon was well aware of Portugal's current situation, and these measures of the Ming Dynasty were simply impossible to implement.

King Sebastian I of Portugal did not have the courage and means of the Ming emperor, nor did he have the power to make decisions like him.

The real power of Portugal was in the hands of the nobles, and Sebastian I was just a representative of the nobles. If Sebastian I dared to infringe on their interests, the nobles with soldiers in their hands would let His Majesty know what justice from heaven was.

Leon had deeper worries in his heart.

Marcelo's words just now made him break out in sweat.

He had personally experienced the strength of the Ming Dynasty a few years ago. Comparing the past and present, he felt more deeply the magnitude and speed of the Ming Dynasty's changes.

Marquis Marcelo was right when he said that after the Ming Dynasty developed the rule of law and greatly eased its internal conflicts, it could focus on external development without distraction.

Europe is far away, but if the Portuguese can come to the East, why can't the Ming Dynasty go to Europe?

The Ming Dynasty had flying clippers and battleships that could destroy everything. Once they went to Europe, they could easily defeat Spain.

What happens after defeat?
How does Portugal face this dragon flying from the East?
The four of them were silent for a while, each thinking about their own things. Marcelo raised his head first and said, "Manuel, I heard from Jose that you are familiar with the banks in Ming Dynasty?"

Komuman nodded: "Yes, I have a deep understanding of the financial industries such as banking, insurance and securities in Daming."

Marcelo and Leon were stunned. How come there is a financial industry? And insurance and securities?

The two looked at each other, and Marcelo said more modestly: "Manuel, please introduce yourself to us."

"it is good!"

Komoman responded with a full mouth.

(End of this chapter)