The seventh day of the eighth month of the ninth year of Wanli.

It was the first day that missionary Eduardo Benjamin arrived at the trench.

As a preacher, he naturally did not face much suspicion. After all, there have been too many missionaries in the land of the Ming Dynasty.

After a short stop in the trench, he entered Xiangshan County.

Eduardo had a habit of keeping a diary, and he always liked to record what he saw and heard along the way.

In his opinion, this can be a valuable asset to be left to future generations.

Although Eduardo was a Spaniard, he was not from Spain, but from Manila.

Since Manila Governor Sanchez formulated a plan to invade Daming, he sent a large number of missionaries to Daming, intending to learn all aspects of Daming through missionaries and prepare for the invasion.

Eduardo was one such missionary.

Although he shares the same name as the former Bishop of Manila, he has a completely different personality.

Eduardo Benjamin was more of a speculator than a devout believer.

When he sees an opportunity, he will not hesitate to seize it. It's the same this time.

Unlike other parts of Fujian, although there are many missionaries in Guangdong, there are not many Catholic churches, and there is not even one in Xiangshan County.

Eduardo didn't feel uncomfortable with this.

He quickly settled into an inn, settled down, and began to preach.

For the Taixi people, the people of Xiangshan County are no strangers.

Especially the Franc machine people in the trench realm, they are separated by a river.

In their eyes, Eduardo was just another Tessie Franc.

As for what Catholicism is, they've heard of it. But not too many people are planning to join the church.

In their opinion, this unfamiliar religion was for the scholar class, and they were more suitable to worship the Buddha and the Bodhisattva.

Eduardo did develop a few believers, all of whom were the gentry of Xiangshan County without exception.

In fact, it makes sense when you think about it. Only the gentry were well fed and had the energy to become religious.

Ordinary people worry about their livelihood every day, and their minds are full of how to fill their stomachs, and how can they have the time to study the history of Catholicism.

Eduardo learned through the gentry that Ning Xiu, the county commander of Xiangshan County, seemed to have formed a new army, and these soldiers were all using Europa firearms to conduct array drills.

Not long ago, this new army also exterminated a group of bandits and won the unanimous support of the people.

This made Eduardo curious, and he wanted to see the new army with his own eyes.

Besides, Governor Sanchez must also be curious to know what the new army of Daming looks like, right?

For this reason, Eduardo went to the county government to meet Ning Xiu in the name of preaching. But when he came to the county office, he learned that Ning Xiu was no longer working in the county office, but had arrived at the newly built Guangdong Haiphong Road Yamen.

Although the Guangdong Haiphong Provincial Yamen is also in Xiangshan County, and it is only one street away from the Xiangshan County Yamen, they are two completely different offices.

Eduardo had to go to the Yamen of Haiphong Province again.

Naturally, he was stopped by Ning Xiu's personal soldiers who were guarding in front of the yamen, and after some questioning, one of them went to report it.

Ning was researching the geography of the South Seas when he learned that a Franc machine missionary wanted to meet him, so he met with him.

Eduardo didn't expect things to go so smoothly, and while he was happy, he settled down that he must not show any flaws in the secret way.

"Honorable Excellency, I am Eduardo Benjamin, a Spanish missionary, who came here to bring the gospel of the Lord to the Ming Dynasty."

Eduardo bowed slightly to Ning Xiu and said in broken Chinese.

Before he came, he had only learned simple Chinese, so it sounded very stiff.

But this was done on purpose. After all, he was a first-time missionary to Daming. If the Chinese language is too good, it will arouse suspicion. It's a little crappy like it is now, but it's safer.

Seeing that Eduardo didn't kneel, Ning Xiu didn't care. Europeans do not have the habit of kneeling on both knees, and even for the most noble, they kneel on one knee at most.

Besides, Ning Xiu didn't like kneeling either, so he used it as a last resort in officialdom. As the saying goes, don't do to others what you don't want to do to yourself, so naturally there is no reason to ask others.

"Oh, please take a seat."

Ning Xiu nodded at the chair next to him and smiled slightly.

Eduardo was stunned for a moment, hesitated for a moment, and sat down.

This Lord Ning seems to be very young, can he be the envoy of Haiphong Dao at such a young age?

Eduardo probably inquired about the officer's jurisdiction.

Probably the coastal defense of Guangdong.

"I want to build a church in Xiangshan County, and I ask your Excellency for permission."

Eduardo thought about it for a moment, but decided to start with a mission. After all, he was a missionary, and it was not easy to arouse suspicion if he did so.

Ning Xiu took a sip of tea and said lightly: "Well, don't be in a hurry for the time being." ”

In fact, the Ming Dynasty was very preferential to missionaries. Not only were they allowed to preach, but they were also allowed to build churches.

The scholar class of the Ming Dynasty was even more partial to Catholicism, and many prominent officials believed in Catholicism.

The convenience of the official administration also led to the rapid development of Catholicism in the Ming Dynasty.

However, Ning Xiu didn't see it that way.

Every religion has a reason to exist as long as it is harmless to the state. But this is relative, and existence does not mean support.

The Ming scholar class was apparently too fanatical about Catholicism.

This is not a good thing, Ning Xiu plans to cool it down.

After all, Huaxia has always been upward and downward. Ning Xiu made a move, which would definitely attract the officials and the common people to follow suit.

"Why? I've heard that the Ming Dynasty embraces all things, can't it accommodate a church? ”

Eduardo Benjamin was so surprised that he almost lost his voice.

"You're getting me wrong."

Ning Xiu shook his head and said, "I didn't say that you can't build a church in Xiangshan County. But it will take some time to investigate. ”

"Investigation?"

Eduardo Benjamin's mouth was as open as a goose egg, and his face was incredulous.

"I have a saying in the Ming Dynasty called listening to his words and watching his deeds."

Ning Xiu said unhurriedly: "The Catholicism in your mouth is perfect, but the official doesn't know about it, and the people under his rule don't understand it either. Under these circumstances, how could the official allow you to immediately build a church within the jurisdiction of Xiangshan County to preach? ”

"But..."

"So this official decided to examine you for a while. During this time you can preach, but you can't build churches. If you pass the inspection period at the end of the inspection period, then the official will allow you to build a church. ”

Ning Xiu said lightly.

Although he was reluctant, Lovely Devaldo Benjamin also knew that now was not the time to bargain, so he nodded and said, "I don't know how long the inspection period is." ”

"There is no definite deadline until the officer thinks he knows you well enough."

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