The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 450 Governor, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom leased Macau to the Holy See! (Request for subscription, request for tickets)

Bao Ling's letter was still written too late, because at the same time he was writing the letter, the old friend of British imperialism, the Governor of Macao, an illegal colony of Portugal, His Excellency Soares, a devout Catholic, and Macao's second-in-command, the Catholic Bishop of Macao Diocese, Mata, were leading a group of leading figures among the Portuguese in Macao, led by Paul de Doria's secretary, a young priest named Alexander de Doria who was also from the Doria family, along the gangway to board the Lucky ship flying a red flag with a white cross.

The flag with a white cross on a red background is the flag used exclusively by cardinals of the Catholic Church. East of present-day Malacca, only two people can use this flag, one of whom is the cardinal of the Philippines, and the other is Paul de Doria, the Archbishop of Nanjing.

In the eyes of later Chinese, the cardinal is nothing more than a senior clergyman, but in the mid-19th century, when the Papal States had not yet collapsed in Europe, it was equivalent to the existence of a prince of a great country. Especially in a country like Portugal where the whole country is devoutly Catholic, the cardinal can even serve as regent when the king is unable to govern! Not only does he have divine power, but he also has enormous secular power.

Suarez was the governor of a tiny country in the East, and an illegal governor at that - Macau has not belonged to Portugal so far, and has not even been formally leased to the Kingdom of Portugal. It was just that the Guangdong local government rented a piece of land to a group of Portuguese merchants who came to the Celestial Empire to do business, that's all!

So the gap between Suarez and Paulo de Doria is not a little bit!

How could he dare to be negligent in the face of the latter's sudden visit?

Therefore, when he learned from the Bishop of Macau, Mata, that the Cardinal was coming to visit, he immediately called together the most prominent figures in Macau and went to the Wangjia Wharf in the Inner Harbor of Macau to welcome him.

The cardinal's visit was quite grand, with two steamships of 2,000 to 3,000 tons, flying a red flag with a white cross, moored at the dock. When Suarez and Mata arrived, Alexandre de Doria was waiting at the dock with a group of Chinese priests. When they saw them coming, they immediately informed the cardinal and invited them to come on board to talk.

Because Paul de Doria and his party had passed through Macau when they came to Shanghai before, and they had lived there for some time, so Suarez and Mata knew Alexandre de Doria. Naturally, they did not suspect anything - the Portuguese in Macau have been here for three hundred years, except for the Dutch who were against Spain in the early years of the Portuguese-Spanish Union, they have never encountered foreign invasions. Three hundred years of peace and tranquility, more stable than the Qing Dynasty!
Therefore, Suarez and Mata never thought that someone would raid Macau, let alone that the people who raided Macau were brought by the cardinals sent by the Vatican.

However, when the two of them boarded the Geely with a group of Macau Portuguese leaders, they discovered that something was wrong!
The deck of the Jili was full of Chinese people holding foreign rifles and wearing "cross-shaped white robes". They were originally sitting on the deck, but were blocked by the side of the ship, so the people on the dock could not see them. Now that Suarez and Mata were on board, these people stopped hiding and some stood up. Then a young Chinese man with two moles under his eyes shouted, "Everyone, stand up! Assemble!"

Soon after, a burst of "clattering" footsteps was heard, and the Chinese wearing "cross white robes" who were squatting quickly formed four rows on the front deck of the Geely. They were as neat as if they were cut by a knife or chopped by an axe. Everyone had a foreign rifle in his hand and stood tall. They looked much more elite than the Portuguese troops in Macau!
Suarez also discovered that the rifles in the hands of these Chinese wearing "cross white robes" were all brand new American Mississippi rifles, which were rifled rifles! The Portuguese troops in Macau were still using smoothbore rifles!

"They are" Suarez looked back at Alexandre de Doria.

"They are the Cardinal's Crusaders!" Alexander replied with a smile.

"Crusaders?" Suarez was stunned. "This, this..."

Alexander smiled and explained: "The current situation in China is very chaotic. In order to ensure the safety of the Catholic Church's Nanjing Province, the cardinal, with the permission of the prophet king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, formed a small-scale crusade in Shanghai to defend the faith of God!"

"Small scale. How many people are there?" Suarez asked a little worriedly.

"One division, eight thousand people!"

Paul de Doria's voice came from the cabin of the Gillette.

Suarez was shocked by the answer: "Isn't one division too many?"

Then he saw an unhappy cardinal walking out of a hall, surrounded by a beautiful nun, several Catholic priests, several Chinese people wearing "red cross and white robes", and a Taiping Heavenly Kingdom official in a yellow robe and red hat.

The "Crusaders" who had already lined up outside suddenly shouted: "Father God, bless us!"

But Suarez, Martial and other Portuguese players were shocked. Something seemed wrong!
They have been in Macau for a long time. They can understand some Chinese and shout “Oh Father God, bless us!” They must not be ordinary Catholics!
Also, who is that person in the yellow robe and red hat? Could he be a high-ranking official of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?
Shanghai is the territory of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!
However, it was impossible for Suarez and Mata to leave. Paul de Doria came up with a smile, grabbed Suarez and Mata by the wrist, and walked into the cabin, saying as he walked: "I have some important issues to discuss with you that are related to the interests and development prospects of the Catholic Church in East Asia."

In a spacious and bright cabin, the cardinal, the Governor of Macao, the Bishop of Macao and an official of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had already taken their seats. A beautiful nun brought up some fragrant coffee and placed it in front of them.

As for the other Portuguese who followed Suarez and Mata on board, they were waiting outside and were not qualified to enter.

"Governor, Bishop, before we officially begin the discussion, I would like to ask you two something." Paul de Doria spoke in a solemn tone, in high-end, elegant French. His pair of blue-gray eyes stared at the Governor and Bishop of Macau, as if he were still the Minister of the Heresy Department of the Holy See.

"What do you want to know? We will tell you everything we know." Bishop Mata replied immediately. Suarez also nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, please ask."

"Is Macau a colony of the Kingdom of Portugal?" Paul de Doria asked, "Has Portugal ever signed a treaty with the Qing Dynasty, Ming Dynasty or the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to cede or lease Macau?"

When Suarez and Mata heard this question, their hearts skipped a beat.

"Your Highness the Cardinal," Suarez said, "Macau has been occupied by Portugal for three hundred years!"

"Please answer my question directly," Paul de Doria said in a deep voice, "This concerns the interests of the Catholic Church in the East! It concerns God!"

It concerns God. It’s a serious problem!

Suarez didn't dare to speak nonsense, because he would go to hell! But he didn't dare to tell the truth, because that would be betrayal of the king! So he had to look at the Bishop of Mata beside him.

"Your Highness the Cardinal," the Portuguese bishop stammered, "There is indeed no relevant treaty, but we are negotiating with the Qing Dynasty and strive to sign a treaty as soon as possible."

"You don't have to talk anymore." Paul de Doria immediately took out a document and handed it to Bishop Mata, "I have already negotiated with His Royal Highness the King of Wu of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. This is the treaty!"

"Talking with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?" Suarez was shocked. "Does the Vatican recognize that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom represents China?"

Paul de Doria nodded: "Yes! Otherwise, how could I be the Archbishop of Nanjing? Nanjing is the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Tianjing!"

"No, that's impossible!"

Bishop Mata suddenly shouted.

Suarez looked back at Macau's No. 2 player: "Bishop, what's the matter?"

Bishop Mata did not answer, but looked at Paul de Doria in astonishment: "Did the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom really lease Macau to the Holy See?"

"What? Macau is leased to the Holy See!" Suarez stood up suddenly.

"Governor!" Paul de Doria glared at the latter fiercely. "What do you want to do? Macau is not Portugal's property. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom certainly has the right to rent it to the Vatican. And for three hundred years, the Vatican has always regarded Macau as the largest stronghold of Christianity in East Asia. It has invested a lot of money and sent countless diligent and talented clergy to participate in the construction of Macau. Doesn't the Vatican have the qualifications to lease Macau? Do you want to fight against the Pope's Crusade?"

Fight against the Crusaders. How dare those few Portuguese troops in Macau fight against a division of the Pope?

Besides, the commanders of the Portuguese army in Macau are now on the Jili! Want to fight? Want to leave after offending the cardinal?

Paul de Doria said coldly: "Sign the agreement to hand over the control of Macau to the Nanjing Province of the Catholic Church! If you still want to continue to manage the administration of Macau, I can also appoint you as mayor, but you must swear allegiance to me, the Archbishop of the Nanjing Province of the Catholic Church!"

Suarez wanted to resist again, but Bishop Mata beside him had already given in. He stood up and bowed to Paul de Doria: "Your Highness the Cardinal, all Christians in Macau are honored to be under the rule of the Nanjing Province and the Holy See. May the glory of God shine on Macau forever!"

Finished!

Suarez's heart sank, knowing that Macau had been lost!

Because the Portuguese army in Macau is actually composed of local Portuguese or mixed-race Portuguese. These people have never returned to Portugal for generations. They do not have much identification with Portugal and are more loyal to the Catholic Church. If the Macau Church declares its support for Cardinal Doria, then Suarez, the governor from Portugal, will not be able to gather a few Portuguese soldiers. Of course, he can't get off the ship now!

(End of this chapter)