I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 769 I want to paint for the Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty

Sofonisba Anguissola, the Sophonia disguised as a man mentioned by Comuman, did not answer him, but turned to look at Jose, scanning his face with a vigilant gaze.

Jose smiled: "Dear Sophonia, don't you remember me?"

"You?" Sophnia looked at him carefully again, "I just think you look familiar, but I can't remember who you are."

Komuman also laughed, "Sophnia, think about it carefully."

Sophnia shook her head. "I still can't remember."

"In 1555, the year of Christ's birth, in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, a boy beside Michelangelo, who was angrily scolded by Michelangelo for having a pair of painter's hands given by God, but only wanted to touch the ducats."

Sophonia's confusion turned into surprise. "Jose Alfonso! I never expected that you have completely changed. I can't even find the shadow of you back then."

Jose shrugged. "The young man who was wandering in Rome is dead. The one standing in front of you is Lieutenant Commander Jose of the Ming Navy, whose courtesy name is Fengxian."

Sophonia looked at Komuman in disbelief.

Komuman also shrugged. "I am now a citizen of Shanghai, Ming Dynasty. I am Komuman, the major shareholder and license holder of Komunin Trading Company. My courtesy name is Jianmu."

Sophonia covered her mouth, opened her eyes wide, and muttered to herself as she looked at the two younger brothers she knew when she was young.

"I can't believe it. The innocent boy back then has become a completely different person."

Komoman and Jose looked at each other and said, "We are also surprised. Sophonia, why did you come to Ming Dynasty? Aren't you staying well in the Madrid court?"

Sophonia's face slowly turned worried, and she sighed, "Do you know the relationship between me and Queen Elizabeth?"

"it is known."

"When Queen Elizabeth was alive, His Royal Highness Felipe II said she was his favorite. But after Elizabeth died of a miscarriage in 1568, Felipe II quickly said that Queen Anna from Austria was his favorite woman."

Jose frowned, thought for a moment and asked, "Queen Anna from Austria? The daughter of Archduke Maximilian II of Austria, Holy Roman Emperor, and Archduchess Maria?"

"Yes."

"Oh my God, Maximilian II is the cousin of His Royal Highness Felipe II, Archduchess Maria is the sister of His Royal Highness Felipe II, and Princess Anna is his niece. He actually married her as queen?"

This time it was Sophonia who shrugged. "Yes, when I left Lisbon, I heard that Queen Anna gave birth to Prince Fernando of Asturias for His Royal Highness Felipe II."

Komoman could not help but make the sign of the cross on his chest, and Jose also made the sign of the cross, saying, "May God forgive the crimes of the beasts."

Sophnia asked curiously, "Do you still believe in Christianity?"

"Yes, we continue with our beliefs without changing."

Sophnia asked anxiously: "No one discriminates against you?"

"no!"

Sophnia asked excitedly: "No one persecuted you because of your different beliefs?"

"No. In the Ming Dynasty, religious belief is free. As long as you don't preach illegally and don't do anything illegal or immoral in the name of religious belief, no one will care about you."

Komoman said: "For example, among our merchants, there are Persians who believe in Zoroastrianism, Arabs who believe in Islam, Portuguese who believe in Catholicism like us, and Germans and Dutch who believe in Protestantism.

We have our own churches for worship and sacrifice, and we have nothing to do with each other, nor do we discriminate or hate each other. "

Jose added: "In the Ming Dynasty, ordinary people were free to believe. They could worship the Buddha and Bodhisattva of Buddhism, the Three Pure Ones of Taoism, Confucius of Confucianism, their ancestors and the gods of heaven and earth."

Sophnia asked curiously, "They have so many beliefs, are they polytheists?"

"They are not polytheists. As far as I understand, they are closer to atheists."

Sophnia was stunned. "How could he be an atheist?"

"Their attitude towards religious gods is, you have to bless me to realize my wishes. If it works, I will believe in you. If it doesn't work, I will turn around and worship other gods.

They have some very philosophical sayings: "Ghosts and gods stay away! Man can conquer nature! My fate is in my own hands, not in the hands of God."

Jose's words made Sophone fall into deep thought. She thought for a while and said in surprise: "Pragmatist."

Komuman asked, "Sophnia, don't talk about anything. We just want to know what happened to you in the Madrid court and how you were forced to board the ship to the Ming Dynasty."

Sophonia's expression became very gloomy. "I just told you about the changes in the Madrid court. Queen Anna quickly gained the loyalty of Margarita de Cardona, a powerful figure in the Madrid court.

Margarita was a senior lady-in-waiting of the Spanish royal family, who had served Queen Anna's mother Maria. With the help of Margarita, Queen Anna quickly took control of the Madrid court.

As a close friend of the former queen, I naturally became a disgusting person. In the Battle of Lepanto, my husband Fabrizio de Moncada led a Spanish galley to fight against the Ottoman fleet, but unfortunately the ship was destroyed and everyone died.

But some people say that Fabrizio, as a captain, made an unforgivable mistake, which not only caused the destruction of the warship and the death of soldiers, but also almost caused the collapse of the entire Christian fleet. "

Sophonia sneered a few times, "I never thought that Fabrizio, an ordinary captain and an ordinary officer of the Spanish Navy, would take on the responsibility of saving Christianity.

But Philip II still ordered Fabrizio to be removed from the list of those who died for the country. There was no pension, only endless humiliation. My husband, Fabrizio, who gave his life for Spain, became a traitor and scum of the Christian world, and was cursed by countless Christians.

I couldn't stay in Madrid any longer, but I didn't know where to go.

By chance, I came across a booklet in which Baron León of Sebania, Portugal, reported to His Majesty King Sebastian I of Portugal on his failure in the East. It described his journey from Malacca to the capital of the Ming Dynasty for negotiations, and the description of the customs and culture of the Ming Dynasty, which deeply moved me.

Comman and Jose looked at each other and were secretly shocked.

That’s right!
Portugal was infiltrated by the Spanish from top to bottom. The secret report that León presented to King Sebastian I of Portugal was transmitted to Spain word for word and was spread everywhere without being taken seriously.

From this we can see that not only did Spain covet Portugal, but the entire Madrid court did not take Portugal seriously at all.

Sophonia continued: "I am familiar with Queen Juana, the mother of King Sebastian I of Portugal."

Comuno and Jose knew that Queen Juana was the daughter-in-law of the previous King of Portugal, John III, and her husband was João Manuel.

Not long after they got married, João Manuel died. A few years later, Juana gave birth to her posthumous son, Sebastian I, the only grandson of João III. She returned to Spain on her father's orders.

Juana never married and educated her son, Sebastian I, whom she rarely met, through letters. She was also the younger sister of King Felipe II of Spain.

"With the help of Queen Juana, I left Madrid and came to Lisbon, where I met Lord Leon and saw several landscape paintings by Ming Dynasty painters that he brought back to Portugal."

Sophnia said.

“This is a completely different kind of painting. What amazes me is that Ming Dynasty painters could actually paint a vast landscape on a short scroll of paper. It is magnificent and fascinating.

Our European painters only paint people, ordinary people and religious people, but never turn their attention to the nature in which we live.

Those paintings of Leon opened a new window for me. A voice told me in my heart that I must go to the East, to the mysterious and distant Ming Dynasty, to communicate with the painters there in person and experience their understanding and knowledge of painting.

This is what I have to do for the rest of my life!
Sebastian I, for the sake of his mother, Queen Juana, reluctantly agreed to my impolite request and arranged for me to follow Marquis Marcelo and Baron León on a ship to the East.

So this is ah!

Komoman asked again: "Have you visited Shanghai?"

"I went on a tour. Accompanied by Condorcet, I went to the theater and watched Kunqu Opera, Hui Opera, Haiyan Opera and Ningbo Opera. It was a refreshing opera.

Later we found out about the Shanghai Painting Academy where Shanghai painters gathered. It was said that the most famous painters in the Jiangnan area of ​​the Ming Dynasty were gathered there.

Unfortunately, all the talented painters there were invited to the capital, because the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was about to celebrate his 20th birthday.

This was a very important festival in the Ming Dynasty, and the government would hold a grand carnival in Nanyuan, the capital. Many painters from the Shanghai Academy of Painting, as well as famous painters from other places, would be invited to the capital to paint for the emperor and the carnival.

That's great, Manuel, Alfonso, can we catch this event?"

"can!"

"That's great! If I have the chance, I would like to draw pictures for the Emperor of Ming and his family, so that he can see the European painting art."

Komuman and Jose could only shrug their shoulders. "Sophonia, the Wanli Emperor lives in the Western Garden, and his majesty is supreme. We have no way to recommend you, the most famous female painter in Europe, to him."

Sophnia didn't care. "This is just my extravagant wish. I would rather see more of the culture and customs of Ming Country and communicate with the painters here."

In the reception room of the next suite, Leon and Marcelo were still feeling melancholy.

Leon suddenly had an idea and thought of something. He looked up and said to Marcelo, "Mr. Marquis, even if we don't lead the Ming Kingdom, won't they go to Europe on their own?"

Marcelo was stunned and sighed deeply, "Yes, Ming is a giant dragon, he roams freely in the sky and the sea, who can stop him wherever he wants to go?"

The flying Anyang continues to fly.

At noon on the third day, Marcelo and others were drinking tea in the room and discussing something when Condorcet ran in in a panic.

"My Lord Marquis, my Lord Baron, hurry, hurry, to the sea."

He couldn't explain it clearly at the moment, so he simply pulled Leon and Marcelo to the deck in a vulgar manner, and the others followed.

When they got to the deck and saw it for the first time, Marcelo and Leon were stunned.

(End of this chapter)