Dear Brother Michael,

It's been nine months since you left Liaoning and returned to Macau. I'm relieved to know that your cough has improved, and it must be the result of our prayers.

I have already received your letter in December last year, but since we have moved to the port city of "Dalian" after you left, we have been busy building the chapel and completing the relevant declaration procedures, so I will only reply to you now. Dalian is a beautiful city, with wide roads, a complete sewer system, public transportation, a lot of flowers and trees, and it is very comfortable to live here.

I was informed by the Liaoning side that although we had been granted permission to preach, we had to go through the registration and declaration procedures with the Lifan Yuan. Since you have left and I am the only one left as a missionary, my name is written in the "Local Leader" column of the application. Thankfully, it can be changed later.

They asked for a lot of information, including the person in charge, the number of congregants, the place of mission, the monthly income of the local church, the presence of prohibited items, and so on. When I started, I protested to Mr. Scran, who was in charge of the Imperial Court, that they were discriminating. However, after seeing that Buddhism, Taoism, Shamanism, and Shinrikyo all submitted documents as requested, I withdrew my protest and apologized to Master Shi. Master Shi was very generous and forgave me for my recklessness.

However, Lord Shi conveyed to me the warning of Lord Lee Si-sung and Lord Kim Jong-ho: The two of them are well aware of the Pope's decree to divide the world, and if we show any hostility, the most severe punishment awaits us. This is a kind of death penalty that requires thousands of cuts on the body, extremely cruel, and the most severe punishment for betrayal!

However, if you think that Liaoning is a barbaric place, you are wrong. You have not stayed in Liaoning for a long time, and after my understanding during this time, I personally believe that Liaoning is much more civilized than many places in the world. Let me tell you what I know.

Liaoning was a local self-government in the Ming Kingdom, with a complete parliament, government, army, courts, schools, hospitals, and so on. Interestingly, this regime is very inclusive, and the ethnic groups alone include the Jurchen, Han, Chao*Xian, Mongols (the people of the terrible Genghis Khan) and many other ethnic groups.

Their parliament was the Council of the Nobles, which was composed of representatives elected by people with noble titles. They have the right to draw up laws, to review the organization of government work, to review the government and its personnel, and to propose a head of government (what they call "left participation"). It's really much more powerful than our parliament there.

The supreme leader of Liaoning was Lord Jinnuer Hachi, and his position was hereditary. The head of government is now Lord Ho Ho Lee, and his position is not hereditary. It is said that this position was originally given to Lord Li Sicheng, but Lord Li resolutely refused to do it, and several other capable people did not do it, so he was allowed to hold this position. Because of the frequent accusations by the parliament, the thirty-year-old man turned out to have all gray hair.

Speaking of Master Li Sicheng, didn't you once tell me that you really wanted to beat him up? It turns out that many people have this idea, and they privately say that Master Li is very "underwhelmed", which means that they want to beat him when they see him.

To get back to the point, Liaoning's army is very powerful, and they have a complete professional military system and reserve system. Boys here are selected at the age of 16 (which is their age of majority), and the most elite are incorporated into the regular army and become professional soldiers; Those who are not selected also have to be trained every year, and they have to prepare a set of weapons and equipment at home.

Liaoning has also established an education system. Each subordinate "county" has a basic school, called "Mengxue", which is a school of enlightenment; In each of the "prefectures", formerly called "prefectures", there were advanced colleges; In Dalian, there are the most advanced professional schools. However, all the research institutes in Fiala, and the training schools for officials and officers in Hetuala, are not allowed to be approached.

There is also a set of medical institutions here - the "Huimin Bureau", and it is interesting that there are a large number of female officials in the medical institutions in Liaoning. Medical institutions in Liaoning cover a wide range up to the "county" level. And their skills are very high, I saw with my own eyes that a female medical officer actually saved a drowning child who was not breathing. Seeing the child sit up, his relatives knelt down and "kowtowed" to thank the female doctor, and I felt that my understanding was turned upside down.

Liaoning not only has female officials in medical institutions, but also in other government agencies, such as the head of the government of Feiala, "Zhixian", who is a lady, the sister of Lord Jinnuer Hachi and the wife of Lord Li Sicheng. Liaoning's agricultural extension agency, the "Persuading Agriculture Bureau", also has a large number of female officials.

Speaking of agriculture, Mr. Shi conveyed another request from Mr. Lee Si-sung and Mr. Kim Jong-ho, who promised to buy seedlings of new crops from all over the world at the price of one pound of silver to one pound of seedlings. They specifically mentioned that they hope we will be able to provide a variety of patato tubers as soon as possible, and it seems that they are also aware of the degradation of patato seedlings. If you can collect more seedlings and send them over, Liaoning will have plenty of funds.

I have just returned from Hetuara when I write this letter. I was invited by Lord Jin to attend the celebration party of the highest nobles of the Liaoning regime in the Ming New Year. Originally, I didn't plan to participate in such a secular event, but I participated in order to have a good relationship with Mr. Kim.

The calendar of the Ming Kingdom has no correspondence with our calendar, so I have been in the Ming Kingdom for so many years, and I still haven't figured out which day is their New Year.

I went by horse-drawn carriage and it took me less than two days to reach Hetuala, more than 600 kilometers away. And their roads are not bumpy at all and comfortable.

Their party is two days before the New Year, as their Chinese New Year's Eve is a remembrance of their ancestors. I think that if we understand their "ancestor worship" activities in this way, our church can better accept local believers.

At the party, I found out that other religious leaders had also been invited, and even prepared food for them that was in line with religious customs.

The party began with the announcement of the government's achievements and the money and materials that the nobles present could distribute, which they called "dividends". They even distributed slaves and slave girls, who were supposedly plundered from the East and Mongolia. In this regard, they are anomaly shown to be savage, too.

While I shouldn't be indulging in worldly pleasures, I have to say one thing: the food was just so good and the show was fantastic.

Their cakes made of corn and sweet potatoes are delicious with a delicious broth. They even made noodles out of patato, with sauerkraut and meat, and they called it "beef sauerkraut stewed vermicelli", which was also very delicious. In particular, the "Liaoning kimchi" that goes with the meal is definitely the best match for meat.

The evening featured acrobatics, magic, opera and costume displays. O my God! If they hadn't told me that those magic tricks were tricks, I really thought it was devil's magic! Their costume display is also very distinctive, with the nobles wearing their own costumes to show everyone what it means to be gorgeous.

The evening was joyful and solemn, without the filth of the Euroball. At the end of the party, everyone reminisced about it.

I think we should suggest to the Holy See that the Ming kingdom in the East, especially Liaoning, is definitely a civilized world, although they do not accept the glory of God.

Your recruitment for Macau should be done as quickly as possible, and it must be for people of all talents. In this way, we will be better able to preach.

Okay, that's all for this time, and we look forward to seeing each other again soon.

Your faithful matteo_ri

February xx, 1588

…… Dividing line ......

Because there are more cattle than pigs in Liaoning in this time and space, it is "beef sauerkraut stewed vermicelli", which has nothing to do with religion.