Madeira was employed by Chen Di and had been stationed in the capital with Franco mercenaries these days. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The Westerner brought by Madeira can speak Chinese, Yingyu is not in the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion at this time, if there is no Westerner who can speak Chinese, he and Madeira really can't communicate.

Madeira used the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty to arch his hand towards Chen Di.

The Westerner bowed to Chen Di: "Your Excellency the Duke, I am Lima, a missionary sent by the Holy See to the East. General Madeira has brought me here to ask you to allow us Catholics to preach in your country! ”

Holy See? If Chen Di is not mistaken, there should have been the germ of the Renaissance in Europe today. But power was still in the hands of the church and the aristocracy. Copernicus should have proposed heliocentrism a few years ago and was sentenced to burn at the stake by the Inquisition. Looking at it this way, this Lima still belongs to the privileged class of Europe.

Lima added: "In addition, General Madeira asked me to convey his request. He hoped to be able to return to Franco with his army. ”

Today, the new army of the Flying Tigers has expanded to 10,000 people. Although the recruits had not been trained in war, it was more than enough to control the defense of Gyeonggi. The Franco mercenaries stationed here are not only useless, but after a long time, it will inevitably give rise to some things that oppress the people of the Ming Dynasty.

Chen Di said: "You tell General Madeira that he can leave at any time." I have a suggestion though. ”

Lima asked Chen Di, "What advice?" ”

Chen Di said to Lima: "I once made a promise to General Madeira that he would be the sole intermediary in the trade between the West and the Ming Dynasty!" You tell him that the door of the Ming Dynasty is always open to him! He could bring goods from the West, such as elaborate clocks and new firearms, to sell. Then transport back tea, silk, and porcelain from Daming! With an army of more than 2,000 men, he didn't have to worry about encountering pirates along the way. ”

Lima translated Chen Di's words to Madeira. Madeira looked happy, nodded incessantly, and muttered a bunch of furlan words.

Lima translated: "Your Excellency the Duke, General Madeira said that with the support of His Excellency the Duke, he believes that he will be able to make a fortune. It's too dangerous to be a mercenary to fight for other countries, but it's safer to be a businessman. ”

Chen Di nodded: "You tell General Madeira, I will open a bill of goods for him." I hope he can purchase the goods I listed in the West according to the manifest. Shipped to Daming, I will give him double the price to buy the goods! You let him rest assured, my dignified Duke of the Ming Empire will definitely mean what he says! As long as he brings back the goods I want, I will pay him in cash! ”

Lima paused to translate to Madeira, who nodded busily.

Lima said: "General Madeira said that His Excellency the Duke is a man of great trust. He will definitely do his best to purchase the goods you want back. ”

Chen Di smiled: "Bishop Lima, let's talk about your mission in Daming next, right?" ”

Lima shook his head and said, "Your Excellency, I am just an ordinary priest, a humble servant of God, not a bishop. ”

Chen Di laughed: "How many people in the Ming Dynasty are more than 10,000? If I allow you to preach in the vast empire of the Ming Dynasty, will the Pope be stingy with the title of bishop? By then, you will have the largest number of bishops in the world! The Pope may promote you to cardinal archbishop for this! ”

Lima seems to see a bright future! You know, the population of the Ming Empire is larger than that of all of Europe combined! If he could really be allowed to preach in such a large empire, then his future in the Holy See would be bright!

Lima said: "My honorable Duke, your wisdom is enough to illuminate the whole East!" Thank you very much for your trust in the Holy See and in me. ”

Chen Di said: "Don't be in a hurry to thank me first!" There are conditions that allow you to enter the Ming mission! ”

Lima asked, "What conditions?" ”

Chen Di asked Lima rhetorically: "You serve the Holy See and travel across the ocean to preach in a foreign land, how much money does the Holy See give you?" ”

Lima replied: "I am a humble servant of God, and I am able to receive very limited reward. ”

Chen Di said: "How about I give you a thousand taels of gold?" ”

Lima was shocked! A thousand taels of gold? He knew that Da Ming used sixteen taels of measures. The weight of one tael is basically equivalent to an ounce!

A thousand ounces of gold? Even the cardinals of the Holy See, the royal nobles of Europe, do not necessarily have such a huge wealth!

Lima said: "Your Excellency the Duke, you are not only a wise man, but also a generous man!" ”

Chen Di said: "Don't worry, I won't give this money in vain!" You're going to Europe for me first, and you're going to network a group of people back. ”

Lima asked, "What kind of people?" ”

Chen Di said, "I want a heresy like Copernicus!" The heresy of astronomy, the heresy of mechanical engineering, the heresy of mathematics... And so on and so forth! ”

Lima was in trouble: "Your Excellency, what do you want these heretics for?" ”

Chen Di said: "You don't care about this. For every heretic I bring back, I'll give you an extra 10 taels of gold! You tell them that there is a nobleman in the Far East who wants to fund their research and welcome them to the East! Everyone who nods their heads and agrees will get twenty taels of gold! And most importantly, you tell them, there is no Inquisition in the East! ”

Lima frowned, "But almost all of these heretics are locked up in the Inquisition!" They are criminals, and I, a little priest, are not capable of taking them to the East! ”

Chen Di said: "In this way, I will give you three thousand taels of gold." One thousand taels is your reward, and one thousand taels is a commission for those heretics. Another thousand taels, you give to the Pope! Let's just say that the duke of the Ming Empire wanted to establish contact with the Holy See. If the Holy See wants to preach in the Ming Empire, it must send those heretics to the East! ”

Chen Di is convinced that money can make ghosts grind. It doesn't matter if this ghost is a Ming ghost or a Western ghost. As long as you have money, there is nothing you can't do in the world!

Lima nodded, "I believe that the Pope will definitely respect a generous Eastern nobleman like you." I'll do my best! ”

Chen Di said: "Okay. I will send the gold to you immediately. When you get the gold, you set off with General Madeira back to the West. When you set foot on the land of Daming again, I hope you can come to me with what I want and the people I want! ”

It is said that science and technology are the primary productive forces, as long as I can make those "heretical" scientists use them, what is 3,000 taels of gold? Chen Di is determined to open the science and technology tree in the Jiajing Dynasty.