The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 313: Second Visit to France (Two in One)

October 1774, 10, the sixth day of the ninth month of the 10th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty.

The second group of envoys to support the restoration of Tang arrived in Paris.

But they arrived at an unfortunate time. If they had arrived five months earlier to witness the death of Louis XV and the accession of Louis XVI, they would have been present as important guests and their status would have been very different.

Fortunately, Seris's image as an oriental giant had not been exposed at this time, and China fever was still popular in Europe.

Therefore, Mo Zirong and his entourage, dressed in gorgeous Ming Dynasty robes and official uniforms, received a very grand welcome.

At this time, Mo Zirong had already arrived in Europe for the second time. After so many years of experience, Mo Zirong had also shed many of his bad habits of being lustful, greedy for money and fond of boasting.

This is not to say that he has corrected himself, but when his characteristics, such as eloquence, interpersonal skills, and high taste in literature and art, were recognized and utilized by Mo Zibu, Mo Zirong's mentality underwent a huge change.

When he discovered that his virtues and pursuits, which were despised by his father and others, could actually help his younger brother, Mo Zibu, a powerful king, and realize his life value, Mo Zirong suddenly developed self-discipline and motivation.

This should not be called a correction, but a kind of maturity and progress after being recognized.

At the same time, Louis XVI also welcomed the arrival of the delegation. After all, this was the first large-scale foreign delegation to visit him since he ascended the throne, and the guests' identities were very special.

At the same time, almost everyone in the delegation could speak fluent French, which made the whole of France very excited. They felt that their culture was recognized by the Seres Empire, which was as famous as the Roman Empire.

For the Gallic rooster, no matter how you flatter him, it is not as effective as flattering him as the light of European civilization.

Even the illiterate French farmers felt very close to the Seres mission. Look at these civilized people from the East. When they arrived in Europe, they went straight to Paris instead of going to other countries. They know their business!

Therefore, Louis XVI not only arranged for the delegation to stay in the Palace of Fontainebleau, but also held a welcome banquet on the third day after their arrival.

Mo Zirong looked at the 16th King of France in front of him. He was quite tall, at least up to the height of his nose.

You should know that Mo Zirong was taller than Mo Zibu, at five feet five inches (1 meters). Louis XVI was as tall as his chin, about 84 meters, which was considered a very good height in Europe at that time.

With a broad forehead and a high hooked nose, he was very similar to Louis XV who had died a few months ago, but his skin had a Germanic cold pork color, perhaps because his mother was from the Wettin family and had considerable German blood.

To welcome the arrival of the delegation, Louis XVI wore a completely oriental aristocratic robe in a very fashionable way.

This was one of the two red, over-the-shoulder, gold-patterned python robes that Mo Zirong gave to Louis XV after he left last time. Unexpectedly, it looked quite good on Louis XVI.

What Louis XVI did not expect was that this time Mo Zirong was not wearing his usual oriental flying fish suit, but a blue open-necked jacket with a strong Rococo style on the upper body, and a pair of pants of the same color on the lower body that were so tight that the muscle lines on the thighs could be seen.

The pants were only half length, just covering the knees. Instead, they were replaced by a pair of white lace stockings with lace trims, and a pair of small pointed leather shoes with gorgeous patterns.

It is very European and is currently the most typical outfit for European aristocratic men, highlighting Mo Zirong's respect for French culture, which represents Europe.

Moreover, after Mo Zirong put on this set of clothes, the effect was simply amazing.

The tight clothes made him look even taller and slenderer, while his broad chest and taut thighs made him look powerful.

At the same time, the little white socks and shoes perfectly appeal to girls' hobby of dressing up as dolls. In addition, he looks like a handsome guy who is popular in both the East and the West, which makes him both handsome and warm.

More importantly, in Europe, where bloodline and origin are highly valued, Mo Zirong's status is also very noble.

You should know that when he left, Mo Zibu personally gave Mo San Ge the title of Prince of the White Horse of the Khmer Kingdom.

Bai Ma is the later Sihanoukville of Cambodia. Mo Zibu directly gave this small port to Mo Zirong as a reward for his diplomatic mission.

This may not be a big deal in the East. Mo Zirong's fiefdom is pitifully small and its economy is not active. There are only more than 800 Chinese and more than 2,000 Khmer people, and the annual income is only four or five hundred taels.

But in the West, this thing is very popular. It doesn’t matter if the income is a little lower. Now many nobles in the West are very poor, but the identity and status it represents are completely different.

Therefore, Louis XVI did not call Mo Zirong the most valuable title of Marquis of Hexi of the Xingtang Kingdom, but directly called him my brother.

You should know that the title "my brother/sister" is only used by European monarchs to address each other.

"My Eastern brothers, some people say that this beautiful and gorgeous dress belongs to courtiers in the East and advise me not to wear it. Is that true?"

Mo Zirong was of course very happy to hear Louis XVI call him my Eastern brother, but he still had his limits.

If someone calls you like this, it is called condescension and is a sign of closeness. If you are stupid enough to call the other person "my brother", it means you are ungrateful.

Mo Zirong smiled and replied in fluent French: "Your Majesty, the formal dress you are wearing is called the Off-Shoulder Gold-Patterned Scarlet Python Robe.

According to the rules of the Seris Empire, the formal attire of the king and prince would be awarded to ministers if they had made extraordinary contributions, but it was rare."

Mo Zirong said as he looked at the French nobles gathered around him, "However, according to the principle of equality between the Seres Empire and the Roman Empire, His Majesty the King can also wear it.

Because a dress of a higher rank than this belongs to the emperor of the Seres Empire. In Europe, I think only the emperor of the Roman Empire can wear it."

These words made Queen Marie Antoinette very happy, because her father was Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, and the current Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II was his brother.

Mo Zirong also noticed this queen. Although she inherited the Habsburg family's usual shoe-horn face, she was very lucky not to have inherited the unique big chin.

This allowed Queen Marie to retain the possibility of becoming beautiful in her appearance. She wore exquisite Rococo long dresses, decorated herself with a large number of expensive ornaments, and also had exquisite makeup on her face.

Her innate temperament added a lot to her beauty, making Queen Marie look quite charming. She was indeed a beauty that could make Mozart want to kiss her.

"Prince, if possible, I think you can bring a suit of formal attire belonging to the emperor next time you come.

I think my brother, His Majesty Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, would be very pleased with it."

This is the case with the queen. Although she has some political acumen, she cannot control her desire to show off. She always wants to show off how noble her birth is and how much wealth she possesses.

So even though she knew that saying this would make the French people present feel a little jealous, she still said it.

"But why didn't the Roman emperor have Rome?"

Sure enough, the Gallic rooster was very confident at this time. Even though Marie Antoinette was the queen, someone still whispered something in the crowd.

This is too vicious. The Habsburg family feared most that people would say that their Holy Roman Empire was neither holy nor Roman, let alone an empire.

The time had come to test Mo Zirong. He laughed heartily, putting on a charming smile, pretending not to have heard the 'weird words', and continued to answer without changing his expression:

"Your Majesty, this is not a problem at all. However, according to the rules of the Seris Empire, privately making the emperor's formal attire is one of the most serious offenses against the emperor.

Her Majesty the Queen asked me this, could it be that the Holy Roman Empire and the great Kingdom of France are going to support King Xing Tang to become the Emperor of Seres?"

Marie Antoinette glanced at the exceptionally handsome Prince Seres and replied cunningly, "Perhaps we could ask the Qing Emperor for help. He might agree."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Queen, and the nobles of France, Austria, and Spain, I would like to share some knowledge with you.

The last dynasty of the Seris Empire, the Ming Dynasty, was declared extinct one hundred and twenty years ago after the last emperor, Yongli, was killed.

Those who now rule Seres are descendants of the Tungusic people who came from the Xianbei wilderness in the north, pretended to submit to Seres and then rebelled and invaded.

They do not have the ability to inherit the great civilization of Seris. Instead, they are constantly destroying the treasures of this great civilization, whether they are real treasures or treasures in literature and art.

Therefore, Your Majesty, if you ask the Emperor of Qing for the Seres Imperial robe, don't mention that their barbaric, closed-minded and arrogant emperor will not agree. Even if he agrees, you will only get the imperial robe of a northern barbarian.

Queen Mary couldn't help but shudder. People like her were most afraid of being associated with barbarism, although she didn't understand the specific definition of barbarism.

"Forget it, I'd rather not." Then she said to Mo Zirong with an apologetic look, "Prince, I'm sorry, I only know a little bit about Seris's situation, and I'm not sure about the current situation."

"You don't need to apologize, Your Majesty." Mo Zirong said gently, "No one needs to apologize for something they don't know. And then I will tell Your Majesty a little secret that few people know.

The last Seres emperor, who was executed by the barbaric Tungus, had actually converted to Jesus Christ.

He even sent the Jesuit missionary Michel Boym to the Vatican for help, but unfortunately, he was killed before he could receive the support of the Crusaders under Jesus Christ.

This is indeed a true story. Michel Boym is the famous historical missionary named Michael Boym, who was a staunch supporter of Emperor Yongli.

Even though he failed to complete his mission, he still insisted on returning east to report to Emperor Yongli, and eventually died of depression on the border between Jiaozhi and Guangxi.

"Ah!" Queen Mary was stunned. Even many nobles present did not know about this.

"Father, is this true?" Queen Marie looked at de Rohan. He was currently the French ambassador to Vienna and an important Jesuit priest in France, so he should be aware of such Vatican secrets.

De Rohan nodded and said, "Yes, Father Michel Boim is one of the greatest missionaries of the Society of Jesus.

He brought news from the East, but unfortunately, the Vatican and Europe as a whole did not respond positively. In the end, Father Boym could only return to the East in disappointment. He ultimately stayed in the East forever in order to cross the Tatar blockade and meet Emperor Seres.

"It's such a shame. Perhaps we have the power to save an empire as great as the Roman Empire."

"Yes, if we could be more resolute and stop the Tatars from destroying civilization, then perhaps the glory of the Lord would have begun to shine in the East."

"This is a war perfectly suited to a noble knight. It's far more meaningful than many of the boring wars taking place in Europe. Perhaps only five thousand musketeers and a certain number of grenadiers and artillerymen would be needed."

"Oh! I can hardly imagine that if any French noble could accomplish such a feat, he would surely be the bravest and most valiant man in the world."

As soon as Mo Zirong finished speaking, a large group of French men and women began to orgasm in their brains with a strong sense of superiority.

If you put them in that time, they would definitely not send troops.

But now, it is impossible to send troops, so why not fantasize in your mind and talk about heroic deeds? It doesn't cost anything, so why not do it?

What's more, at this time the power between the East and the West had further shifted, and the French were no longer so afraid of the Eastern empire.

And for France at that time, a Catholic Emperor Seres was so valuable and worthy of people's imagination.

The nineteen-year-old Marie Antoinette looked at the eighteen-year-old King Louis XVI of France with a bit of longing and admiration in her eyes.

"My dear, if we were there at that time, we would definitely provide assistance to the emperor who has converted to the Lord. Then the whole world would know the greatness of the Kingdom of France and the King of France."

The eighteen-year-old Louis XVI was at the age when young people were most ambitious and he was also the king of one of the most powerful countries in the world.

At the same time, he and Queen Mary had only been married for a few years, and they were still in their sweet love. He was extremely fond of and in love with his wife. Seeing Queen Mary looking at him like that, the young man was so excited that he didn't care about anything else.

He nodded heavily and said something that a king would never say at such a time, "Yes, my dear Queen, if it happened now, I think the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg family would not stand idly by."

Mo Zirong was shocked. He was not shocked by Louis XVI's words, but by his brother Mo Zibu's terrifying predictive ability.

Because before he left, his younger brother, King Xing Tang Mo Zibu, told him that if he arrived in France and the king had been replaced by Louis XVI, then pleasing Queen Marie Antoinette would be much more important than pleasing Louis XVI.

He also analyzed Queen Mary's personality traits in detail. She loved delicious food, fine clothes, treasures, handsome men, and fun. She also loved listening to grand narratives. She didn't have much political skills, but she loved to interfere in politics.

He told Mo Zirong that after arriving in Paris, he must show his best side to Queen Marie, and then give her some guidance, as the queen would definitely be moved by her emotions.

As long as the queen expresses her opinion, the king will basically not object. In order to please the queen, he may even increase the demands on himself and do a little more than the queen requires.

Although some things have not yet been manifested, at least what Mo Zirong has seen so far has completely come true.

How does my younger brother, who has never been to Europe, know all this and analyze it so clearly?
Is there really someone in the world who is born with knowledge? Is he really the Purple Star Emperor who has descended to earth, a true dragon destined to be an emperor like Emperor Hongwu!

"Your Majesty, Queen!" Mo Zirong suddenly squeezed out two tears, and his eyes began to turn red.

For these two tears, Mo Zirong forced himself to recall the first time he was tricked by his younger brother Mo Zibu into going to Europe.

He studied hard for two and a half years, and only then did he discover when he arrived in Europe that most of the high-ranking people were ugly, and the good-looking people were of low status. He was also afraid of contracting syphilis, so he didn't dare to hang himself, and almost became depressed.

Thinking of this, the tears shed by Brother Mo San were particularly realistic, and matched perfectly with his expression.

"On behalf of King Mo Zhao of Xing Tang, who is determined to drive out the barbarians and restore the Seres Empire, and the thousands of Seres fighters for freedom and independence who are bravely fighting for this cause, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and highest respect to His Majesty the King, Her Majesty the Queen, and the Kingdom of France!"

Mo Zirong did not make the overly evasive demand to reach an aid plan immediately, as that would be too blatant, so he instead used sincere gratitude and high-standard civilized words such as freedom and independence fighters to maintain the atmosphere.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Louis XVI straightened up suddenly, with goose bumps all over his body. He looked proud. Mo Zirong's statement was definitely the highest level of enjoyment for a king.

Afterwards, Mo Zirong did not mention the matter again, but told him in person that the Seris delegation would hold a completely oriental-style banquet at Miaoquan Palace in three days, using the highest standards and etiquette of Seris to showcase the most charming culture of Seris.

He invited guests from the Kingdom of France and Austria to attend, and each guest could receive a set of Seres Empire brocade dress that matched their status.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone became excited. This was not just a banquet, but the most exciting gathering of the year, or even of the century so far. The Seres culture from a distant civilization would be displayed here in its most authentic form.

Let alone anything else, it is a most authentic Serene Empire dress made of the finest brocade. In Europe, you can't even think about it without spending a huge sum of thousands of livres (forty pounds, one hundred and thirty taels of silver).

"Then who can get the invitation?" Someone couldn't help but ask on the spot, and many bright eyes focused on Mo Zirong's face.

"I think everyone here can be invited!" Mo Zirong said slowly, and was immediately greeted with cheers from the whole room.

"Besides, I have sent my servant to cordially invite Monsieur François-Marie Arouet to return to Paris."

François-Marie Arouet is the famous Voltaire. At this time, he had entered the last few years of his life and lived in the small town of Verne on the border between France and Switzerland.

The crowd burst into warm applause. Although many of Voltaire's views were not liked by the nobles, his reputation and articles were recognized and respected by everyone.

Voltaire had been invited to return to Paris by some people before, but he had refused.

But this time it was different. As an expert on China and a fan of China, Voltaire would definitely come if invited by someone from the Seres Empire.

"At the same time, Your Majesty, I would also like to invite Mr. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a thinker worthy of respect."

Louis XVI looked unhappy because Rousseau's social contract theory was equivalent to poking at the foundation of the monarchy.

As for Emile, he was even less suitable for the conservative social atmosphere and Catholic doctrines in Europe at that time, so Rousseau had to leave France to seek refuge, and only recently dared to sneak back.

"Your Majesty, my younger brother, Mo Zhao, the king of the Seris Xingtang Kingdom, has a famous saying that I think makes a lot of sense." Mo Zirong was full of confidence because he also felt that this sentence was simply a word from God.

"His Majesty said, 'I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.'"

"Wow!" Someone exclaimed immediately. After many people pondered it for a while, they had to say that this was a very great and thought-provoking statement.

"Your Majesty, this is a great saying. Even God would recognize its value. It could even become the motto of a nation. Your Majesty, make good use of it and you will become the greatest king."

Someone shouted in the crowd, but no one revealed who he was. But it was not difficult to guess that he must be someone from the arts and literature circle.

Historically, this sentence was said by Evelyn Beatrice Hall, a British female writer who specialized in writing Voltaire's biography, when she expounded Voltaire's views in the early 20th century. She also became famous in world history because of this.

But now, I, King Mo, will accept it with pleasure.

Although this sentence is not completely correct, it is extremely lethal. Mo Zibu plans to use it to guide the atmosphere of domestic scholars and restore the spirit of Confucian scholars.

Unexpectedly, Mo Zirong found it very reasonable after listening to it. Using it at this time was like dropping a nuclear bomb at the banquet.

Louis XVI was not a foolish king. On the contrary, he had some political wisdom. He was just a little cowardly and was influenced by interest groups, which made him seem a little foolish.

After thinking about these words, he immediately nodded, "King Mo Zhao is truly a great king. He who can say this will surely realize his dream in the future.

My brother, I agree to your request. I will immediately order the pardon of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. At the same time, please tell me who else you want to invite."

This statement was very beautiful. Even the ministers who did not want the king to pardon Rousseau had to give Louis XVI a thumbs up.

For a moment, the shouts of "The King is wise and the King of wisdom" filled the entire venue.

These white people may be blunt when it comes to flattery, but they just like it to be so straightforward.

Louis XVI was overjoyed and wanted to smile triumphantly, but he had to try his best to maintain his dignity, so he looked both excited and uncomfortable.

"Your Majesty, thank you so much. You are truly a wise and intelligent king." Mo Zirong quickly flattered him, and his flattery was very straightforward.

"Then I would also like to invite Monsieur Denis Diderot, the great scientist Joseph-Louis Lagrange, and Academician Antoine Laurent Lavoisier of your country's Academy of Sciences, as well as other prominent figures in the scientific community."

Diderot and Lagrange were both very famous figures at this time, but Lavoisier was just beginning to gain fame and had not yet achieved much.

Louis XVI couldn't help but look sideways. He didn't expect that Mo Zirong knew so much about the situation in France.

Behind Louis XVI, the chief cardinal, Count Maurepas, Jean-Frédéric Philippo looked at Mo Zirong meaningfully. These Orientals came well prepared!
　After a round of checks, it turned out to be positive. Readers, please be careful, it seems that this time the virus is quite strong, first attacking the throat and then the lungs. Tiger was hit by a fever of 39.5℃ and had to go to the hospital tonight for intravenous drip. The doctor said that he needs to stay in the hospital for at least five days because his lungs are already inflamed.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)