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What Zhu Youzhen never expected was that the uninvited foreign monk turned out to be Tang Ruowang. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info I had a relationship with him in Xiaoyao Bofu that day, and fortunately, it was John Tang who gave him a flintlock pistol, so Zhu Youzhen was able to save the day in the following days. Therefore, Tang Ruowang can also be regarded as Zhu Youzhen's life-saving benefactor, Zhu Youzhen is very grateful to him, holding Tang Ruowang's hand and constantly shushing the cold and asking for warmth, and immediately set up a banquet to entertain him.

John Tong was also greatly moved. Ever since he was sent to China by King Philip III of Spain and Portugal to spread Catholicism, it can be said that he has been repeatedly ignored. The court officials looked down on him as a Fanbang, and they didn't have time to listen to him spread "heresy"; The common people believe in Buddhism and Taoism, and the "atonement" and "doomsday judgment" he talked about are cloudy, and there is no market at all.

It was not easy to develop Xu Guangqi, Sun Yuanhua and other officials to become religious, but these people were all technical officials, not important ministers of the court, and they could not help much, so Tang Ruowang was anxious.

However, Xu Guangqi and Sun Yuanhua also suggested to John Tang: the imperial power is of the utmost importance, and only by getting close to the royal family and letting the royal family recognize Catholicism will the road of proselytizing be smooth. And the highest status in the royal family is, of course, the emperor, and Tang Ruowang also tried his best to contact the Emperor of the Apocalypse, but the Apocalypse was busy doing carpentry work, and he didn't even see the ministers, let alone him, a foreign monk.

However, by chance, Tang Ruowang met Zhu Youzhen, who was still the king of faith at that time. Although there is only one side, Tang Ruowang feels that Zhu Youzhen has a good impression of himself, so he has the move of giving away a gun. Later, Zhu Youzhen soon went out on behalf of the Son of Heaven, and then went to Xi'an; As a foreigner, Tang Ruowang's movements were strictly restricted, so he could only stay in Beijing honestly and spend time in Qintianjian.

Just when he was about to despair, Philip III "died" and Philip IV ascended the throne. Seeing that the missionaries sent out before had no news, he sent another group of missionaries to China, and arrived in Beijing via Macao, where he found John Tong.

John Tang received the assistance of his "comrades" and his spirits were greatly boosted. It just so happened that in view of the major earthquake that occurred in Shaanxi last year, Qin Tianjian planned to establish a branch in Xi'an to monitor the earthquake. Tang Ruowang seized this opportunity to ask for help, and then rushed to Shaanxi with his companions. In other words, he came to Zhu Youzhen, hoping that in the territory of this young prince, he could gain more freedom of mission, and it was best to develop Zhu Youzhen into a Catholic. Now that when he saw Zhu Youzhen, he was warmly received by Zhu Youzhen, and Tang Ruowang was really flattered.

Zhu You listened to John Tang's intentions, and couldn't help but laugh dumbly. Want to put yourself in God? Are you kidding! He was a staunch atheist.

However, on second thought, although these missionaries came to China to carry out religious and cultural aggression, they also brought advanced natural and human sciences from the West and promoted exchanges between the East and the West. Now the Ming Dynasty is still dreaming of the Heavenly Empire from top to bottom, not knowing that it has been rapidly surpassed by the Western powers, especially in firearms technology, navigation technology and military strength. From the emperor to the commoners, they are still confused and self-righteous, and in the long run, they can only repeat the mistakes of the Opium War.

Therefore, it is also beneficial to let the Chinese people have more contact with these missionaries, at least to let them know that there is a heaven outside the sky. Moreover, missionaries like John Tong are very religious and have no bad intentions, and they are also very knowledgeable and well-versed in China and foreign countries, and if they are used reasonably, they can not only impart advanced scientific and technological knowledge, but also build a bridge of communication between China and foreign countries.

Of course, Zhu Youzhen is also deeply wary of religious and cultural aggression. Compared with simple armed aggression, this kind of aggression is more subtle and more durable in destroying the inheritance of Chinese civilization. The so-called public knowledge and big V who preached the universal values all day long in the previous life are all leading parties who have been brainwashed by Western civilization. However, in dealing with cultural aggression, the use of coercive means may not be effective, because this is a spiritual thing, and only by defeating it with a more advanced culture can the Chinese civilization be better inherited.

Seeing that Zhu Youzhen was in a deep groan, the strange missionary beside John Tang suddenly said in fluent Chinese: "Your Highness, I heard that you are very interested in firearms and trade. If His Highness can be baptized, become a Christian, and allow us to open a church here, then we can also provide His Highness with everything you need. ”

Zhu Youzhen's attention had been on Tang Ruowang just now, and he thought that the other person was just his follower. Now that he had just taken a closer look, he couldn't help but be surprised, and blurted out: "Maldini! ”

It turned out that although this person was very young, he was born tall, handsome, with a high nose bridge, and bright eyes, which looked exactly the same as Maldini, the Italian "world's best left-back" in his previous life!

The man was also taken aback and said, "I just came to China, and it is the first time I have met His Highness, how do you know my name?" ”

Later, after Tang Ruowang's introduction, Zhu Youzhen realized that he had recognized the wrong person. It turned out that the young missionary was really surnamed Maldini, but of course it was not the star Maldini who crossed over here, but came from an Italian aristocratic family. His name is Martino, he is just seventeen years old, but he is very talented, and he has graduated from the Academy of Rome. Moreover, he not only studied theology, but also had deep attainments in mathematics, geography, history, etc., and even John Tong respected him very much.

After the in-depth discussion, Zhu Youzhen also learned that Europe is now in the whirlpool of religious wars. King Philip IV of Spain, the staunchest supporter of the Catholic Church and the de facto ruler of the Apennine Peninsula, was at loggerheads with the rest of Europe.

However, since Portugal was annexed by Philip II, it suddenly changed from a seafaring power to a second-class citizen, oppressed by the Spaniards at every turn, and sent to death when fighting, but they did not share in the spoils of war. As a result, many Portuguese nobles had become fed up with Philip IV and were now plotting for independence. Even Pope Urban VIII was secretly resentful of the Habsburgs and sought to restore the direct control of the Holy See over Italy.

Martino, as a devout Catholic, was naturally on the side of the Pope. Therefore, not to mention that he was sent by Philip IV, but to get closer to the Portuguese, this time he also came to the mainland in transit from Macao.

Zhu Youzhen couldn't help but feel moved in his heart, secretly thinking that he was trying to establish contact with the Portuguese and start international trade, which was a rare opportunity. So he deliberately laughed and said, "If you want this king to be religious, you can!" But you'll have to convince the king first! ”