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Zhang Xiaohu was talking happily in front of Li Shouhan, and when the two of them were talking and laughing, Father Alfonso, who had been summoned by Li Shouhan to be anxious to meet the most powerful ruler in East Asia and to eliminate the adverse effects that Calvinist New Doctrine might have on Catholicism among the high-ranking members of the Southern Guangdong Army, was robbed of the meeting time that should have belonged to him by Zhang Xiaohu, and he had to sit on a cold bench in the waiting room.

Although it is a cold bench, the officials in the room are not lacking in courtesy, and the refreshments and fruits have never neglected this priest, whether he can eat it or not, exquisite snacks, fresh fruits, everything is sent at a flowing price.

If it is someone else, in the face of such a situation, it is inevitable that the food is unpleasant, sad or impatient, and the mood will be manifested in the eyes of these well-read Chengqi officials. However, this Father Alfonso is definitely a nine-tailed old fox who has practiced for thousands of years. The mouth and the Chengqi officials kept talking Yan Yan, and the witty words were like beads, which caused bursts of chuckles from time to time. In the depths of his eyes, he has been observing the words, deeds and actions of these people around Li Shouhan, trying to obtain useful information for himself from the changes in their expressions. In my mind, I was rapidly analyzing all kinds of information obtained from the speech, demeanor, and body language of the Cheng Qi officials.

Faced with the tea and food that was constantly being sent, Rao is Alfonso was already quite hungry, but he didn't dare to let go of his munch. He was worried that if he ate and drank too much, if His Royal Highness Duke Li wanted to receive him, he would be inconvenient for a while, and he was anxious to find the place of reincarnation of the five grains, which would have a negative impact on his long-planned visit. As the Han people often say, the commander died without winning the war. That's right, "Die before you get out of school." ”

After waiting for a long time, I barely ate a few snacks and drank a few cups of tea in small sips to make up for the nutrients and physical strength lost in anxiety. Finally, news came from the signing room. "Commander Zhang is out!"

"Father, please wait a little while, and the lord will meet you after changing his clothes and eating."

Nearly an hour later, seeing that the sun had slowly moved westward from the treetops, a summoning voice came from the signing room: "My lord, please meet Father A!" ”

"Father Xuan's visit!"

"Father Xuan's visit!"

The loud voices of the young soldiers spread the shouts one by one from far and near to the Hou Jian room.

Although Li Shouhan himself was not officially canonized as the Duke of Guo by the Ming Dynasty, the title of Duke of Ningguo originally proposed for him was rejected because Li Shouhan himself thought that this was similar to the ancestral title of the Jia family written by Cao Dacaizi. However, the Ming Dynasty and the opposition have long been unanimously determined that Li Shouhan's title is the Duke of the Kingdom. As for what kind of title it is, it is all secondary.

However, the living style in front of me. The guard of honor is said to be a prince of the country, and even the prince is afraid that he is not as good as sighing.

No way, who made Li Shouhan now have the most powerful army and navy in East Asia and even in the entire known civilized world? Who told Li Shouhan not only to have no shortage of money and food in his hands now, but on the contrary, at the end of the year, he has to find a way to spend some money to go out and distribute some benefits to the people in his jurisdiction?

On the contrary, the Ming Dynasty changed from the rule of Hongxuan to the civil engineering. The implementation is the so-called line of educating the saints and promoting the royal road put forward by the literati. There is absolutely no profit, no money, and no bullying. However, such a policy has now undergone a chilling reversal: the leaders of the armed forces in the interior who cannot fight are relying on the soldiers, horses, swords, and guns in their hands. For the imperial court to take and demand, it is easy to beat officials and slaughter the city to get money. This kind of scene is also to recover some interest for the predecessors who have been trampled under the feet of civil officials for more than 100 years. However, it was the unlucky people who paid taxes for the Ming court! Ridiculously. These guys who can't fight, and who have fled under the banner of Huang Taiji, Dolgon, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai and others, their daily life, diet, and actions are extremely disproportionate to their strength.

If Li Shouhan is judged according to the standard of living and treatment they enjoy, this Li Shouhan, who controls hundreds of thousands of troops and tens of millions of people, controls almost all the shipping routes on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean, and extends his greedy and criminal hands into the waters of the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific, is simply a model of hard struggle!

In the face of oppressive strength, Alfonso, God's shepherd, was not exempt from vulgarity, and cautiously followed Cheng Qiguan to the door of Li Shouhan's signing room.

"My lord! The envoy of the Portuguese Imperial Army in Nanyue, Catholic priest Alfonso, was summoned to come to the audience! ”

"Call him in!" It took a long time for Cheng Qiguan to reply in a low voice from the signing room, not loud enough, not loud enough, and even slightly hoarse, but in Alfonso's ears, it was enough to affect the political landscape of Europe, to influence the current war in Europe, and even to decide the rise and fall of a family and an empire.

Entering the house, Alfonso didn't care about the furnishings in the room, but according to the etiquette of the Ming officialdom, the subordinate officials saw the etiquette of their superiors, and knelt and kowtowed in a proper manner. The titles of the Ming Dynasty are all super-quality, but they are not trivial, not to mention, Li Shouhan is not one of those hollow nobles in the north and south of the capital who has no strength at all except for the title left by an ancestor. It was Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao who was in power at the beginning, who wrote to Ning Yuanbo Li Shouhan on the battlefield in Liaodong at that time, and he had to write upwards as a subordinate, and carefully consider the words and sentences according to the format of the request report.

At this time, the white skins of the West were far from having the confidence and strength of their descendants, and they could only bow and not bow down in the face of the powerful rulers of the East. Alfonso not only kowtowed, but also added three feet to the foot, according to the standard of two kneeling and six prostrations.

So, everything is spoken with strength. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, when the strength of European countries was not enough to challenge Chinese etiquette, when the envoys of Russia, Portugal and Britain paid tribute to Shunzhi and Kangxi, they still performed three kneels and nine bows. Only after feeling that they were full of wings and strong strength did the Macarthrians excuse themselves from kneeling and acting according to the etiquette and customs of the Celestial Empire for various reasons.

When he met Li Shouhan with the etiquette of meeting his elders, parents, and grandparents, I don't know if Alfonso heard the taunt from Macart.

(It's not scientific!) Another pile of bricks flew over. The unkind author was covered in blood. How could a priest from Europe be so spineless, without identity, and even a little willing to degenerate in the face of an Eastern ruler? Moreover, this ruler is not an emperor in the name of the word?! However, the unkind author has not read much. But I have also heard that when Timur the Cripple was at the height of his army, all European countries were facing a new "Mongol" expedition to the west, and the Cripple himself was a very fanatical Muslim. So, in order to avoid the recurrence of the nightmare brought to Europe by Batu, Subutai and others, countless European kings, dukes, and counts sent envoys to Timur's royal tent to be servile. Don't say it's kowtowing, even if it's a son or grandson, you have to dig up the door to ask for favors. If you are interested, you can look for the memoirs written by the Spanish envoys. Many of the intuitive impressions that Westerners have of Timur the lame wolf come from this. The lame man himself was not officially called Khan, and the Spaniards called him grandson in front of Timur, Alfonso, as a Portuguese envoy and a Catholic priest who had just broken free from Spanish rule, was able to kneel and bow six times in front of a ruler like Li Shouhan, who controlled the east-west routes, imported all kinds of materials to Europe to help European countries have the strength to confront the enemy, and was more authoritarian than Timur, which was already a very face-saving thing. ）

"My duke has a lot of official business recently, I don't know when Portugal became an empire?" From the seat. Li Shouhan's slightly cold voice came, and he didn't order Alfonso to get up and give him a seat. Just ask Alfonso about his identity first. "My father remembers that when Gonzalez raised an army to restore the country, all I promised him was a Portuguese kingdom, and when did it become an empire?"

"Bitter also! That's coming! Father Alfonso, who was kneeling on the ground, could not see Li Shouhan's face, but he could hear it clearly in his voice, and his tone was full of displeasure. Notice. If it weren't for the continuous financial and material support of Li Shouhan and the Nanyue Army, Gonzalez would have been crowned the official emperor of the Portuguese Empire by the Vatican's pope, which is really a fool's dream!

"Your Highness has wronged the minister. The foreign minister also just learned about it. When His Majesty the Pope crowned General González as the official and only legitimate ruler of Portugal, he was so excited that he said that the Kingdom of Portugal was an empire. ”

Get! Dead friends do not die poor. Father Alfonso is indeed a good player. He knew very well that His Royal Highness Duke Li could not take the Pope who was in the Vatican at this time, but he could take the thunder and anger out on him. As a result, like him, he was a Roman Catholic, and his natural Taoist friend Pope was thrown out by him as the backing of the black cauldron. This guy did everything, Your Royal Highness the Duke, if you have any anger, just go to him, I can show you the way!

"It turned out to be the hands and feet of the Pope! If you don't mention it, my father will forget! Come! Li Shouhan on the seat roared, and the voice full of majesty suddenly frightened Alfonso, who was already in a cold sweat, his body became more and more wet, and he almost felt that his robe was a little damp.

Several Chengqi officials heard the sound and entered: "Lord, subordinates are waiting!" ”

"Go to the office and get the paperwork sent by the Patrol Police Department and the Customs Department! I would like to ask Father Alfonso to give me a good explanation. ”

An edict in Latin and a few personal letters were thrown in front of Alfonso, although he had been given a seat by Li Shouhan's order, which was considered to be a courtesy to give him plenty of space. However, after reading these paperwork letters, Alfonso was so frightened that he almost fell out of his seat!

The edict was issued by the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican. When His Holiness was crowning Gonzalez I, he was overjoyed to learn of the work and contribution of such a clergyman in the East. After the coronation ceremony, he ordered the relevant personnel of the Holy See to study it to see what reward should be given to this priest Alfonso.

After receiving gold coins, silk, lily porcelain, and holy porcelain from Emperor Gonzalez I, who had sought fame for his old friend, old subordinate, and good helper, Father Alfonso, as well as pagan slave girls and beautiful pink boys, several cardinals of the Holy See unanimously decided to promote Father Alfonso to the rank!

Here, it is necessary to repeat the cumbersome and bloated religious bureaucracy of the Catholic gods.

Catholicism is an authoritarian organization. The hierarchy consists of clergy, bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and finally the pope, and so on, and at the same time emphasizes the consistent correctness of the pope. The Catholic priesthood is mottled and complex. As the highest level of the third order of the priesthood, the rank of bishop is also varied. The hierarchy of bishops is usually divided into: Cardinal Bishop, Patriarch, Primate, Archbishop, Metropolitan, Diocesan Bishop, Coadujator Bishop, Auxiliary Bishop, Bishop Emeritus (Titular Bishop) and Bishop Emeritus (Bishop Emeritus) of the tenth level. Of course, if you add the Pope and the Prime Minister Deacon. Exactly twelve. The Twelve Disciples of Jesus Christ.

And the clergy as we know it, in addition to the priest, is the bishop. The bishop is ordained as a shepherd and administrator of the Church through the Holy Spirit, a doctrinal teacher and priest of priesthood worship. In the mainstream Christian church, it means that Jesus Christ sent apostles to continue his mission, and by the end of the first century and the beginning of the second century, the system of bishops was formed.

The ceremonial dress of the bishop indicates the office and status of the bishop, and in the liturgy, there are special symbols: the ceremonial dress, the crown, the scepter, the ring, and the small round hat. Dresses - depending on the level of status, the color is different. Pope: Dressed in white, also known as the white bishop. Cardinal: Red. Also known as the cardinal. Archbishop, Bishop: Purple, also known as the purple bishop. It is said that the one in the third episode of the Godfather who came to Mike for help because he had lost the Vatican's funds was a purple cardinal. However, the man did not seem to end well, because he betrayed Mike and was hanged on the roof of the church.

Cardinal is the colloquial name for a Catholic cardinal. The cardinals are dressed in red. Moreover, cardinals have the right to vote for the pope, and their status is high.

Catholic traditionally divided the monks into seven grades in the past, with one being the lowest and seven being the highest. The first to the sixth rank are all monks. It is reflected in the division of labor, such as priests, assistant priests, and so on. When he reaches the seventh grade, he is the priest, which is commonly known as the priest or priest. But this seven-grade is only from the seven-pin, not the seven-pin. Zheng Qipin is a bishop. From the bishop to the pope, commonly known as the pope, they are all seven grades. However, it is divided into bishops, archbishops, metropolitans, and patriarchs/cardinals (patriarchs are special and generally do not have this position. A cardinal is also a cardinal. ）

And since Alfonso is a priest. It is from the official title of the seventh grade. After discussion by the Holy See, it was considered that his merit was great, and he opened a new diocese in the far east, developed hundreds of thousands of congregations, and spread the gospel of God to the wild jungle. Therefore, it was necessary to promote him to bishop. At the same time, he was given the mission of opening up the Ming Dynasty and new dioceses in Japan, Korea and other countries.

I don't know if it was because of Alfonso's merits, or because of the expensive gifts sent by Emperor González I, or because of the tears in the eyes of the little pink boy whom I felt so sorry for, that these solemn and holy shepherds of God had approved the appointment of Bishop Alfonso with unprecedented speed.

Unfortunately, however, this edict and the personal letters written by several cardinals to Bishop Alfonso were discovered at the Lingjiawei Island Customs when they were boarded and inspected by the General Patrol Police Department and customs inspectors.

In addition to blatantly and bluntly telling Alfonso in the letter, Lao Tzu has made a great contribution to you on the issue of your promotion to bishop, and you must repay me well. The yellow and gold metalwork, the beautiful silks, the fine porcelain, the delicious spices that cook the food, and the tusks in the elephant's mouth, the horns of the rhinoceros' heads, and the gems of red, blue, and green. As for the pagan slave girls who believe in Islam, and the little boys who have not yet been baptized and have no firm faith, I will send them more often, and I will give them confirmation in the bedroom. Thus pulling them back from the road to hell and sending them to the light at God's feet to bathe us in God's mercy.

In addition to the blatant solicitation of bribes, it also provided guidance for Alfonso's work after his promotion to bishopric. He was asked to open as many churches as he could, to develop as many followers as he could, "whether your ruler is a Buddha or an idolater, or an Islamist, you can do whatever you can to develop our sacred cause without obeying his laws." "After the Catholics have grown to a certain size, they can try to turn the Ming into a Catholic country, and become the legendary Elder State of John in the East by successive Catholic popes.

At that time, not only will Alfonso be able to change from a bishop to a higher-ranking archbishop or cardinal, but he will even say that as long as he is willing to spend money, it is not impossible for everyone to praise him as pope at that time. (To be continued......)