Richelieu, who was sitting on a chair and petting a yellow and white kitten, accepted Song Xiance's salute to him as a matter of course, he bent down and put the kitten in his hand on the ground, and then motioned for the other party to sit on the empty chair beside him.

Compared with the empty hall on the first floor, Richelieu's office room does not seem to be large, perhaps because of the various tables, bookcases and furniture, which makes Song Xiance feel that this room is cramped and does not really look like the office of a French prime minister.

In order to get good light outside, Richelieu's desk was placed close to the window, at this time the glass manufacturing industry in France was not as good as the Ming Dynasty, so even if he was a cardinal, the glass windows that Richelieu used to decorate his office were made of small pieces of glass, which made the indoor light not so bright.

Outside the window of this office is the small garden of the Bishop's Palace, and it is clear that the greatest function of this small garden is not for a walk for His Excellency the Bishop, but so that His Excellency, who is immersed in his work, can occasionally look up and feel the beauty of the natural world.

If it weren't for the vitality brought by the four or five cats in the room, Song Xiance once felt that this was almost no different from the study of Lao Xiucai in his hometown, both of which were so dull and dim.

When Song Xiance sat on the side of Richelieu's desk with some restraint, the cardinal had already looked at him carefully, Richelieu put one hand on the desk, pressed the arm of the chair with the other, sat there upright, looked at Song Xiance solemnly and said: "I have heard some bad rumors, it is said that you have openly criticized the current policies of France, so I have to invite you here, I want to take the liberty of asking." Does this mean it yourself, or is it the claim of the Kingdom you represent? ”

Perhaps because he was afraid that Song Xiance was a foreigner, the cardinal slowed down his speech. The cardinal, who grew up in Paris, naturally speaks French with a pure Parisian accent, which is not difficult to understand for Song Xiance, who has been trying to learn French from Parisians.

Even though Song Xiance has been studying in French for several months, he knows that his French level is not enough to compare with a real Frenchman, let alone a language master like a cardinal.

Therefore, he did not intend to explain to the cardinal what he had said over the past month, but rather to say bluntly: "In fact, everything I have done in the past month has been to get your attention and not to have any special opinion on the policy you have formulated. ”

Richelieu was obviously a little surprised by such an answer, and the serious expression on his face finally eased a little, and said to Song Xiance: "Why do you want to attract my attention? ”

Song Xiance finally returned to normal at this time, he looked back at the other party's eyes and said boldly: "As a representative of the Ming Emperor's visit to Europe, His Majesty the Emperor of our country has a simple good impression of all European countries, and hopes to reach an agreement with European countries on some things.

France is a big country in Europe, and naturally it is also a country that I should not miss on this visit to Europe, which is why I came to Paris from the Netherlands.

But when I arrived in Paris, I found that it was you, the Cardinal, and not the King of France, who really controlled the country, but the threshold of the Palais Bishop's was a little higher for a foreign envoy like me, and I had to use my brains to have a private conversation with you, hoping to get your attention and invite me here. ”

Richelieu did not feel angry about Song Xiance's confession, but found it a little interesting. After all, he also played this trick played by Song Xiance back then. If it weren't for the fact that he caught the attention of the Queen Regent with his pro-court remarks at the Estates-General, perhaps he would still be serving as the poor and small bishop of Luzon.

Richelieu pondered for a moment, and decided to give the other party a chance to let Song Xiance talk about his purpose, if this purpose did not attract his attention, then he could only ask the other party to leave immediately, after all, his time was quite precious.

Richelieu cleared his throat and said, "Well, now that your purpose has been achieved, you can now tell me what you want to talk about when you meet me." But I will have to meet with the Pope's emissary in fifteen minutes, and if you can't explain your intentions as soon as possible, then I'm afraid we'll have to talk in detail the next time. ”

Song Xiance's eyes flickered, and he quickly made up his mind and said, "Actually, what I want to discuss with Your Excellency is about the confrontation against the Ottoman Empire. His Majesty the Emperor believes that the Ottoman Empire, which straddles Europe and East Asia, has caused great harm to trade between East and West.

Whether it is around the Cape of Good Hope or around the Cape of Horn, these two new routes connecting the east and the west have the shortcomings of long distances and huge losses. The most troublesome thing was that both of these new routes were in the hands of the precedent countries, and the ports suitable for calling along the way were either in the hands of the Portuguese, the Spanish, or the Dutch.

Merchant ships from other countries wishing to travel between the two new routes of Eurasia had to be subject to these seafaring pioneers. The Emperor of our country believed that for a seafaring late-developing country like China and France, it should not be sacrificed in overseas colonial trade activities.

Therefore, it is necessary for our two countries to change the existing maritime order in order to find the place of China and France in the new maritime order. That is the point on which I would like to exchange views with you. ”

Although Richelieu was quite surprised by Song Xiance's remarks, it had not yet reached the level of heartbeat, he only adjusted his sitting posture slightly, and then said to Song Xiance: "Although the idea of the emperor of your country is ingenious, if you want to plot against the Ottoman Empire, I am afraid that you still think too much. Do you know what kind of country the Ottoman Empire was? ”

Song Xiance said with a slight smile: "During my journey from China to Europe, I learned some about the Ottoman Empire, and after arriving in Europe, I also found more information about the Ottoman Empire. In my opinion, the Ottoman Empire was a great power, but it was not as strong as you would see. ”

Although Richelieu has always been concerned with French and European affairs, the powerful Ottoman Empire has also received a lot of attention from him, after all, since the 14th century, the Ottoman Empire has been a fishbone in the throat of Europeans, that is, they cannot spit it out or swallow, making Europeans suffer and bleed from time to time.

Therefore, he was aroused by Song Xiance's words, and couldn't help but ask him: "So in your opinion, where is the weakness of the Ottoman Empire?" ”

Song Xiance thought for a while, and then said slowly: "There is such a proverb in our country: flowers are not red for a hundred days, and people are not good for a thousand days." There will be no immortal human beings in this world, and naturally there will be no invincible empire.

The Ottoman Empire, which rose to prominence in the 14th century, has been strong for more than 300 years, and even from a historical point of view, the country's strength has reached the limit of historical records.

And based on what I've gathered about the history of the Ottoman Empire, I think the empire has also passed its peak and is slowly going downhill. On land, the Ottoman Empire had been defeated by the Timurid Empire further east. At sea, the Ottoman navy, which once controlled the entire Mediterranean, has now been repelled by the Spanish navy in a corner of the Mediterranean.

The national strength of a country is like the ebb and flow of the tide. Therefore, when the country rises, the whole country will work together with their lives, and no matter how difficult the obstacle is, it will leap over. But when the country begins to decline, many of the problems that had been covered up in the past will be revealed, which will become the root cause of the country's civil strife.

The current territory of the Ottoman Empire spans three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, and includes Southeast Europe, most of the Balkan Peninsula, the entire North African region, the Arabian Peninsula, Asia Minor and other regions. However, the seemingly mighty Ottoman Empire had almost reached the limit of its expansion, and none of the neighboring countries around the Ottomans wanted to get close to this powerful neighbor.

Both the pagan states in the north and the * countries in the south were extremely wary of the movements of the Ottoman Empire, and regarded it as their primary enemy. Within the Ottoman Empire, there were hundreds or thousands of peoples with different living habits, and the empire that was forcibly united by religion and force would inevitably be torn apart by the decline of force.

A country like this, which does not repair its internal affairs and is the enemy of the whole world, will no longer be able to maintain such a vast territory after only one major defeat. Therefore, I really don't understand why the European countries are so afraid of this big empire with foreign powers. ”

"Look at the problems we are facing now, historically. What the hell are these Chinese thinking? Ma Zaran, the black-robed monk standing on the side, couldn't help but slightly disdain Song Xiance in his heart. In his opinion, the other party playing with the mystery of the magic stick in front of the Dharma seat will only bring humiliation on himself.

However, to his surprise, the cardinal pondered for a long time in the face of the nonsense of the Chinese. Then he turned back to him and said, "Go and say hello to me and the Pope's envoy, and postpone the meeting until noon tomorrow." In addition, all meetings this afternoon have been cancelled, and I need to have a good talk with the Chinese envoy. ”

Mazaran looked at the cardinal in great amazement, until the other party impatiently urged him, and then nodded and agreed to retreat. When he closed the door softly, he heard the cardinal ask him: "Then how does your emperor think that China and France can change the present maritime order and occupy a place for our two countries?" ”

Song Xiance immediately said confidently: "Egypt, naturally Egypt." As long as Egypt is taken, it will be able to communicate the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. As far as we know, the connection between the two seas via the Isthmus of Suez is only 200 kilometers. If a canal can be dug here, France will have a third sea route to Central Europe in an instant..."