"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!"

As soon as Emperor Chongzhen's words came out, Li Guowei and Jiang Yueguang were shocked, and they immediately wanted to speak out to stop them.

However, without waiting for Li Guowei and Jiang Yueguang to speak, Emperor Chongzhen immediately waved his hand to stop the two of them from speaking and interrupted himself, and then said to Long Huamin and the others:

"However, I have a small request, I hope that you three missionaries from Tessie can give me a satisfactory answer!"

After saying this, Emperor Chongzhen looked at Long Huamin and the three with a smile.

Long Huamin and Tang Ruowang glanced at each other, and immediately said by Long Huamin: "Your Majesty the Great Emperor, but there is an order, as long as the Jesuits can do it, they will definitely give His Majesty the Great Emperor a satisfactory answer!" ”

"Excellent! I am very satisfied with your attitude! ”

After saying this, Emperor Chongzhen continued: "I am now sending people to build a shipyard in Dagukou, Tianjin. I've heard that the Spaniards had a kind of sea ship, so large that it could travel thousands of miles across the ocean, and it seemed to be called the Galen ship, the Galleons!

"If you can help with the purchase, or write to the Society of Jesus or even the Holy See, to buy a Galleons ship for me, then I will allow the Jesuits to spread the Gospel of God in my country!"

Hearing Emperor Chongzhen say this, the courtiers of the Ming side in the palace all looked at each other, including Xu Guangqi, who had a lot of contact with the emperor and was familiar with Western studies, was also a little surprised, and he didn't know what the emperor said about the Galleons, that is, the Galen ship.

Xu Guangqi's research on Western studies focused more on natural sciences such as astronomical calendars and arithmetic, and his knowledge of the Spanish shipbuilding technology was very limited.

In particular, the Taixi word Galleons that came out of the mouth of the Ming Emperor made Xu Guangqi feel incredible.

However, although Xu Guangqi did not know about the existence of the Galen ship, the missionaries from Tessie did.

I saw Long Huamin, Tang Ruowang and Condinius, talking to each other for a while in a language that sounded like Latin, and then Tang Ruowang came forward and said: "Your Majesty, your erudition is really amazing!

"You are right, the Spaniards did have a great ship that could cross the ocean, and this kind of ship was not called the Galen ship in the East, but the Manila galleon!

"The Spaniards used this Manila galleon or Spanish galleon to transport large quantities of gold and silver treasures from the Americas to and from the Philippines and the mainland.

"However, I am very sorry, Your Majesty, I am afraid that this wish of yours is about to be disappointed!

"Forty years ago, the Spaniards had been defeated at the hands of the newly rising English, and it was the English who had imitated the Galen Ship that defeated the Spanish Arada. Since then, the galleon of the Spaniards has become a secret of the Spanish royal family.

"This was the backbone on which Spain was founded, and the Jesuits could not afford to buy such a Galen ship from the Spanish crown. But all the missionaries from Tessie knew this.

"And we also believe that no one will be able to promise His Majesty the Great Emperor that such a large ship will be bought from the Spaniards unless the Spaniards agree."

After Tang Ruowang finished speaking, he looked at Emperor Chongzhen, who was originally smiling, and his face gradually became indifferent, knowing that if he couldn't give this Ming Emperor a passable explanation today, then the matter of the Jesuits' public mission in China was likely to be complicated.

And Emperor Chongzhen originally had a lot of expectations for this matter, and after listening to Tang Ruowang's words, he was very disappointed in his heart, and said to them:

"I know that the Spaniards are not the same country as you, and I know that the Spaniards are at war with England, Portugal, and even with the Netherlands, your home country of Condenius, from Batavia, and may still be at war at the moment.

"But I also know that the Spaniards are a Catholic country, and the Catholic Church has a strong authority in Spain. As long as the Catholic Church wants to do it, there is nothing that cannot be done!

"It seems that the sincerity of your Catholic Church in proselytizing in China is not very satisfactory!"

When Tang Ruowang saw that the emperor's face was not good, he also said something that seemed to be very familiar with Taixi's truth, and immediately said again:

"Your Majesty the Emperor, there is absolutely no problem with the sincerity of the Catholic Church in missionary work in China, but our Jesuits, just an autonomous body established with the consent of the Holy See, and it is our will to proselytize, and we do not have the power to influence the Church. Please understand this point for His Majesty the Great Emperor!

"However, although we can't afford the Spanish Galen ship that His Majesty the Emperor wants, we can buy a plywood ship owned by the Dutch East India Company from Batavia!"

As soon as Tang Ruowang's words came out, Emperor Chongzhen's heart moved, he couldn't get the Spaniard's Galen ship, and it was not bad to get a Dutch plywood ship.

At least it can give Shen Tingyang's Dagukou Shipyard one more reference or imitation target for shipbuilding.

Building advanced seagoing vessels, especially those that can be used for ocean-going transportation or warfare, is not a trivial matter, let alone an easy task, and it is impossible to succeed behind closed doors.

Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen looked at Tang Ruowang and the three of them and said, "How is the Dutchman's plywood ship compared to the Spaniard's Galen ship?" ”

At this time, Condenius, a Dutch missionary from Batavia, stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, your understanding of the great powers of Europe is really beyond my expectations!

"If you want to know about the situation of the European powers, you must know the position of my native Netherlands in the world today, especially in the field of ocean trade!

"Although my country is not big, the technology and level of shipbuilding are not much worse than the Spaniards whom you admire!

"It can even be said that in terms of ocean trade and transportation, it is also a cut above the Spaniards!

"And my country, in the field of maritime and ocean trade, is superior to the Spaniards because of the plywood boats of the Dutch maritime merchants!

"As for the plywood ships of the East India Company, they are second to none in my native Netherlands!"

As for the performance of the plywood ship and its leading position in the maritime trade of this era, the Chongzhen Emperor from later generations actually knew something, so he did not contradict the statements of John Tang and Condenius.

After listening to Condinius, Emperor Chongzhen was about to speak, but he heard Long Huamin suddenly say:

"Your Majesty, the Great Emperor, if you approve of the Dutch's plywood, we will have Condenius, in the name of the Society of Jesus, contact the East India Company in Batavia to purchase a large ocean-going plywood ship from Batavia at a fair price."

After Long Huamin said this, he looked at Emperor Chongzhen who was sitting on the throne not far away with anticipation.

And Candenius, who had only spoken disrespectfully several times, stood up again at this time and said: "Your Majesty the Great Emperor, Your Excellency Gerard von der Weiss, the governor of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia, is both a cousin and a friend, but it is only a plywood ship, as long as Your Majesty is willing to buy it, I believe that all this is not a problem." But—"

Halfway through his words, Condenius suddenly changed his words: "However, Your Honorable Emperor, now your admiral Nicholas Zheng Zheng is leading a large army to confront the Dutch East India Company in Formosa in the Dayuan area. At this time, Your Majesty, you are asking Batavia for a sea vessel, I am afraid it is out of place! ”

After talking for a long time, the topic turned back here.

This point made Emperor Chongzhen quite unhappy, originally thought that the Galen ship could not be obtained, and it was not bad to get a Dutch plywood boat, but now it seems that it is not easy to get a plywood boat!

Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen was very disappointed in his heart, waved his hand and said, "Since this is the case, then there is nothing to say." If you have nothing else to do, then this is the end of today's summons. ”

After saying this, Emperor Chongzhen was about to get up and leave in great disappointment, and the ministers and military attachés in the palace who were with him also took action, and when the emperor got up and left, he was about to leave.

Things were going very well, but all of a sudden, they took a sharp turn for the worse, which surprised Long Huamin and Tang Ruowang.

This entry into the palace was the best opportunity for them to openly proselytize in China and further advance the cause of Catholic development in China.

This is the rarest opportunity in decades, and you can't miss it easily!

Seeing that the emperor was disappointed in them and was about to get up and leave, Long Huamin hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, your Majesty the Respected Great Emperor, it is not hopeless to ask for a plywood ship from Batavia!" Your Majesty, please listen to it again! ”

At this time, Condenius also hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, you only need to send an envoy to greet your general Nicholas Zheng, and ask him to settle the current dispute peacefully with the Batavian Dutch in the area of the Formosa Commander, then you can be assured that you can get the plywood boat you want from Batavia!" ”[.]