During the Chinese mission's stay in London, anyone could come to meet with them, with the exception of the Dutch negotiating team.

When the Chinese mission left London, the Anglo-Dutch negotiations broke down again, and the Dutch were so angry that they slapped the table and left, almost saying that they would return to China to organize another battle with the fleet.

The atmosphere of the negotiations between the two sides was originally somewhat relaxed.

Cromwell said that since the two countries cannot merge into the Union, then we should establish an offensive and defensive alliance. The Dutch felt that this could be discussed, and after continuing the negotiations for half a month, they were so angry that they almost burst into foul language: I'll talk about your mother!

The Dutch felt that Lao Tzu colonized the whole world, and the number of merchant ships was as large as a cow's hair. If the two countries were to form an alliance, the Netherlands would at least have the upper hand, if not the Netherlands. But Cromwell kept throwing out conditions, and Britain was the main part of the alliance, and the Netherlands became a long-term free wage earner for Britain.

The Dutch negotiator, like Zhang Ruifeng. He did not directly refuse Cromwell's proposal, but only said that he could not make up his mind, and he would return to China to ask the Dutch parliament for instructions.

The ship left the port of London, and the Dutch negotiator leader was extremely depressed, gritted his teeth and said: "Cromwell, this bastard, must have been kicked in the brain by a horse, he thinks he is the king of the Netherlands!" ”

A member of the negotiating team said: "According to the news from the spies, it seems that the negotiations between China and Britain have also broken down. The Chinese envoy, Mr. Cromwell, was so angry that he slapped the table and scolded him. ”

"Hahaha, I can imagine that picture." The negotiation leader can empathize.

"The Chinese envoys are also leaving, and we are waiting in the open sea, talking to China in private, and then hyping up the results of the negotiations."

"What results?"

"It is the Netherlands and China that have abandoned their old suspicions and become friendly countries, jointly maintaining the existing trade relations in Asia. No other country, including Great Britain, is allowed to bypass the Netherlands and China and trade freely in Asia, especially in the East Indies! ”

"Will the Chinese agree to this?"

"Whether the Chinese agree or not, we can declare it like this." Of course, the time will be chosen after the Chinese leave Europe! As soon as the Dutch and China coexisted amicably, it should be the British East India Company that was anxious. Those British businessmen would put pressure on Cromwell to bring us back to negotiate again. When the time comes, the negotiating situation will be more favorable to us. ”

"Great idea!"

As a result, the envoys of China and the Netherlands "coincidentally" met off the coast of Britain.

The Dutch asked to board the ship for a visit, and Zhang Ruifeng warmly received him out of courtesy.

The Dutch envoy said that the previous conflicts between China and the Netherlands were due to misunderstandings between the two sides. Now the misunderstanding has been cleared up, and the Netherlands recognizes China's hegemony in East Asia and China's sovereign possession of Malacca and Taiwan.

He also talked about the trade cooperation between the two countries, which is mutually beneficial, proving that China and the Netherlands are naturally trading partners.

Immediately afterwards, the Chinese delegation was invited to visit the Netherlands.

Anyway, it was not far away, and the Chinese delegation accepted the invitation and stayed in Amsterdam for a few days.

Zhang Ruifeng felt that he was being sucked in the water, and the Dutch just talked nonsense every day. Coming and going, that's all, it's all that the Batavia Treaty has already signed. But it's better than nothing, and it was the Governor of Batavia who was previously signed, and now a more formal one has been re-signed.

Immediately, the Chinese fleet left the Netherlands and went to the port of grace to receive gifts from the British royal family, French envoys, and horse breeds.

Before the Chinese fleet left French waters, Dutch diplomats began to go out to promote the "alliance" between China and the Netherlands. The British businessmen were indeed frightened, and begged to see Cromwell every day, forcing Cromwell to make a negotiated compromise.

Lisbon.

Although the Chinese fleet does not intend to dock, there is no need to say goodbye.

Fearing smallpox, a member of the Chinese legation came to the dock in a dinghy, pressed the letter on the pier, and asked the tax collector to deliver it to the palace.

When João IV read this letter, his heart was really sad.

I have never heard of such an unlucky king as himself, who has been on the throne for more than ten years, all just to gain recognition from the outside world. As a result, only China and France have recognized it, and France still looks at China's face.

Finally, there was a diplomatic improvement, and inexplicably it was another smallpox, taking away his adult son and daughter.

"Alas, the reluctance of the Chinese to go ashore is indeed understandable, after all, smallpox is terrible," João IV said to the court ministers, "put the sheep presented to China, and the envoys to China, all in the same boat, and go with the Chinese fleet." ”

You can't refuse this, otherwise it will hurt too much.

A Portuguese ship, soon following the Chinese fleet. However, the personnel of the two sides did not come into contact, and they would not go until they returned to China to check whether the ship was carrying the plague.

He was accompanied by a French ship.

Pascal was on board at this time, and he was finally allowed to travel to China.

Fermat, a lawyer by profession and an amateur mathematician, regrets not leaving France. The main reason is that Fermat is older, and he is reluctant to toss, for fear that he will die on the ocean journey.

"God, does it really exist?"

Pascal stroked a belt that was covered in spikes.

This is what he has prepared for himself, and he is already studying theology. Once he finds himself ungodly and doubts the Almighty God, he will punch his belt and let the spikes bring pain to his body, reminding himself of his devotion to God with pain.

Historically, in nine years, he would have died at the age of 39.

The doctor examined Pascal's body at that time and found that the flesh on his waist had been pierced by the spikes on his belt, and the flesh was blurred, pus and smelly!

The mathematician lost his mother when he was a child, did not go to school, and only studied with his father and sister.

At the age of 12, he deduced Euclid's first 32 theorems on his own, and alone discovered that the sum of the internal angles of a triangle is equal to 180 degrees. His father was amazed and finally began to teach him mathematics systematically.

At the age of 13, he discovered the binomial expansion coefficient law, which was later named the "Pascal Triangle".

At the age of 15, he discovered a principle of insoluble geometry and deduced more than 400 inferences in a year.

At the age of 16, he wrote On Conic Curves. Most of the book was lost, and only one conclusion remained, which was later named "Pascal's theorem".

Between the ages of 20 and 30, he studied vacuum and hydrostatics and produced a large number of research results, which were compiled into a collection of essays on the equilibrium of liquids and the weight of air.

This collection of essays was not published because some of the content did not conform to the doctrine.

It was also during this research process that Pascal felt dazed and panicked. The more he explored the natural sciences, the more he felt that he was far from God. He tried to reconcile religious belief with scientific reason, but he failed to do so.

As a result, he became disgusted with mathematics and physics, and decided to abandon scientific research and turn to theological studies in full.

It was at this time that I heard that the French royal family was selecting scholars to go on exchange visits to China. Pascal was immediately moved, the Chinese don't seem to believe in God, so what do they believe? And how do they spend their lives? How do they reconcile faith with science?

Pascal decided to go to China, not for exchange and study, nor for the purpose of appreciating the East, he wanted to go to China to "seek the Tao"!

French writers and artists are communicating with Pan Wei and Cai Yuncheng.

Pascal, on the other hand, found a Chinese science student.

"Do you believe in God?" Pascal asked.

Li Sixiao smiled and said: "God is God, man is human, and it has nothing to do with it. Confucius said that the righteousness of serving the people, respecting ghosts and gods and staying away, can be said to know. To put it more plainly, a wise man should be pragmatic and can respect ghosts and gods, but he should also stay away from them. ”

Pascal muttered to himself, "Is it really okay to believe in God, to honor God, to turn away from God, and to pursue facts?" But the more facts I pursued, the more guilty I felt in my heart that I was a blasphemer. ”

Song Qin had basically learned French, and he said with a strange expression: "Why can't you?" You believe in one God, and we have to believe in hundreds of gods. The Jade Emperor, the Patriarch of the Three Qing Dynasties, the Buddha of Rulai, the Emperor of Guan Sheng, the Niangniang of Mazu...... If you don't stay away, how tired will it be, and how can you do things? ”

"Hundreds of gods?" Pascal was dumbfounded, "How can one person believe in hundreds of gods?" Isn't that a hypocrite? ”

Song Qin asked rhetorically, "Then what is a true believer?" ”

Pascal said, "Believe in God, serve God, and give all things to God." ”

Li Sixiao and Song Qin looked at each other, feeling that the Europeans were all brainless, and it didn't make sense to reason with them.

Li Sixiao asked: "I heard that you also have many research results, if everything is attributed to God, these results are also researched by God?" ”

Pascal said, "Everything in the world was created by God, including our minds and bodies. The results of my research come from the mind and the body, and then from God. ”

Li Sixiao decided not to debate anymore and said: "Then you should treat everything as if God gave you, and do your research with peace of mind in the future, so as not to have too many distracting thoughts." ”

Pascal wondered, "But...... Much of my research is contrary to the Bible. Even, having turned away from God Himself, I felt like a sinner. ”

Song Qin was extremely speechless and said, "Then you have your god in your heart, and you should do research and research." Listen to the words of Confucius, worship ghosts and gods and stay away. ”

"The more I thought about God, the more painful it became when I did my research," Pascal said. Even to that point, every time you make a research result, you feel like you're taking another step into hell. It seems that there is a devil around me, and perhaps the devil is in my heart, tempting me to rebel against God. If this continues, I will become a believer in the devil. I began to hate mathematics, all things natural philosophy. They are all devil incarnations, and they are corrupting my spirit and will. ”

Li Sixiao turned his head to look at Song Qin and muttered in Chinese: "This person has a heart disease, and he is not lightly ill, so he must ask a great monk to enlighten him." ”

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