Zhu Yanxi shook his head, he didn't like this kind of thing very much, and he always felt that it was not upright enough. It's just that the emperor has said so, and Wang Zheng's envoys have been completed, so how can he oppose it?

When Zhu Youxiao heard about Ukraine, his heart moved. He didn't actually know that Ukraine now belonged to Poland (Poland now included the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and Ukraine belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania), but he knew that Ukraine was a good place, rich in food and beautiful women. If Poland really can't afford to pay back, it can consider taking the place over. Of course, you can afford to pay for it, and it would be best if you could get it.

He thought of this, and then of Oceania. Naturally, he knew where it was, and it should only be the local natives now. If the Europeans find out occasionally, it will be a bit troublesome, so it is better to occupy it now. He beckoned, Wang Tiqian trotted over, and Zhu Youxiao said, "Spread Lu Xiangsheng to see you." ”

When the emperor spoke, all the ministers stopped talking, and after Wang Tiqian went out, Wang Zheng continued to talk about the situation in Europe. After hearing about the Queen of Sweden, Zhu Youxiao thought again, can he marry the Queen of Sweden to his son? That would be a good thing, at least Sweden would definitely be tied to the chariot of the Ming Dynasty and concentrate on dealing with the Rakshasas. However, he had no idea what was going on in Europe right now, and that was just an idea.

After Wang Zheng finished talking about the European envoy, Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "Wang Qing has worked hard, your Honglu Temple Zuo Shaoqing is still in charge, I have an idea, you are now in charge of the Catholic affairs of the Ming Dynasty, and you are the cardinal archbishop appointed by the Pope, this matter should also be your business." ”

Wang Zheng was actually reluctant in his heart, but naturally there was no way to refuse. The emperor then issued an edict and appointed Wang Zheng, the Zuo Shaoqing of Honglu Temple, as the Ming Dynasty to inspect various Catholic matters and be responsible for Catholic missionary matters throughout the country.

At this time, Lu Xiangsheng had already come, and the emperor listened to the government for a while, yes, it was really to listen to the government, and the cabinet reported the measures for handling the affairs of various ministries and bureaus, and he just said "yes". This has been the norm for the past two years, the emperor generally does not express his opinion, and the cabinet is the center of management of various matters.

After the great court meeting was dispersed, the emperor began to hold a small court meeting with the cabinet and various ministries. Wang Zheng was also retained, plus Lu Xiangsheng, who didn't participate in small court meetings on weekdays, there were more than a dozen people in total.

The emperor smiled and said to Wang Zheng: "Wang Qing may not like to manage the affairs of Catholic missions, but in the past two years, with the acquiescence of Catholicism, the momentum of Catholicism has become stronger and stronger, and there are more and more believers. As soon as there were many people, the matter came out, and now there have been several conflicts between believers and local people, although it does not hurt people's lives, but there have been several times when they have done it. Although we have a "Religious Management System" and the courts have convicted some people, this will lead to the division of the community, which is not what I want to see. You are a believer, and now you are a cardinal, you give me a way to solve this problem. ”

Wang Zheng said with some embarrassment: "Your Majesty, although the minister now has the identity of a cardinal archbishop, the minister is not good at these things, I am afraid that he will not be able to do it well and live up to His Majesty's expectations." It is better to choose a capable official to do this, and let the minister still translate Western books, which the minister is very good at and likes very much. ”

Xu Guangqi said: "You are really confused, Your Majesty asked you to take care of this matter, and naturally you will send some people who are good at management to take charge, but your current status in Catholicism is very important, so you must be the head of this, and the people below you can play a role." You like to translate books and study knowledge, you can do it, as long as your subordinates ask you to show up when you come out on the platform to help. ”

Wang Zheng suddenly said: "It's the minister who is too stupid, but the minister can do this." ”

Zhu Youxiao smiled and said: "You just talked about comforting various places in the Americas, have you seen the place where the canal was built?" Last time Chen Houfu wrote a report, but I think they are different from you after all, you are good at exploration, you know mechanics, and arithmetic, do you think it is feasible to build a canal there? ”

Wang Zheng said: "This matter was specially prepared to report to Your Majesty, so it was not said at the court meeting. The Yongle City established by our army is on the side of the Ming Dynasty, and the city has no problem resisting the Spaniards. However, the minister deliberately walked on the post road built by the Spaniards, and if a canal could pass 5,000 ships could be built, it would take at least 100,000 people to build it for 30 years, and a large amount of gunpowder would be used. ”

Zhu Youxiao shook his head and said, "Five thousand materials? That's not good, at least take into account the big ship of 50,000 materials, although we don't have such a big ship now, but in time, who knows if we can build such a ship? Just like building a railway, one-way can actually meet the needs now, but what about later? So it's better to do it all in one step. ”

Wang Zheng said: "If the ship of 50,000 materials passes, whether it can be repaired in a hundred years, the ministers dare not guarantee it." ”

Zhu Youxiao frowned and said, "Is it so difficult?" ”

Wang Zheng said: "Your Majesty, the depth and width of the canal need to be increased more than ten times for 50,000 sea boats, and the minister still follows the same underground situation, if there are some places with soil on the top and rocks below, then it will increase time and money." The minister thinks that if a railway is built there, will it achieve similar results? ”

Zhu Youxiao said: "Build a railway? I didn't think about it, so let's talk about it. ”

Wang Zheng said: "The sea on both sides is separated by more than 100 miles, and most of the places are large forests. So if you build a railway, you just need to cut down the trees and clear a place dozens of paces wide, and you have all the sleepers, and then you can find iron ore, and then you will have everything. So it's not too difficult to build. The railway connects the two sides, one side of the wharf, goods and people are just a transfer, it takes not much effort, and the consumption of silver money is not much, but so as not to go around tens of thousands of miles, how convenient it is. Moreover, this wharf and railway are built by us, and if other countries want to use them, they must pay some fees, and they will feel that they have made money by paying thousands of miles of freight, because they have saved time, and this matter is really a million profits. ”

Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "Yes, I want to build the canal because I see the convenience of transportation between the two oceans, but Wang Qing's suggestion is good, if the canal is too deep and wide, it will indeed cost too much, and it would be good if there was machinery to help." Mao Shangshu, your railway bureau will send some people to explore there, and the next time Chen Houfu and them return to Beijing, they will take them there to see if it is possible to build a railway there. ”