Yang Peng and his wife and children played in Kongtong Mountain for more than ten days before returning to Bianliang with unfulfilled interest.
Later that day, Zhang Xiang came to report: "Your Majesty, Princess Tianzhu has moved into Princess Tianzhu's mansion."
Yang Peng nodded, looking thoughtful. Zhang Xiang said: "The emperor's uncle from Tianzhu has been requesting to see your majesty these days. I did not receive your majesty's instructions, so I turned them down."
Yang Peng asked: "Have you talked to them?" "We have already talked. The other party hopes that the princess can pass as soon as possible according to our Han people's understanding and become His Majesty's wife. By the way, this time the Tianzhu mission also brought A large number of precious gifts are given as the woman's dowry." Then he took out a gift note and presented it with both hands.
Yang Peng picked up the gift list, opened it and read it. I saw that it was filled with all kinds of rare gems, emeralds were measured in pounds, and rubies were measured in baskets. Yang Peng couldn't help laughing and said: "The people of Tianzhu are so generous!" Zhang Xiang said with a smile: "The customs of the people of Tianzhu are different from ours. In Tianzhu, men are not encouraged to hire men, but women have to pay a considerable price for marrying a girl. This is It is determined based on the man’s situation. The better the man’s family is, the richer the woman’s dowry will be.”
Yang Peng asked in surprise: "Does it mean that men in Tianzhu don't have to pay for marrying a wife? Instead, they can make a lot of money?" Zhang Xiang nodded; "That's it." Yang Peng sighed: "If you put it like this, Tianzhu is really a man’s paradise! I don’t think we have to shed a layer of skin to get a wife! I don’t know whether I am getting a wife or just a prostitute!”
Zhang Xiang was stunned for a moment and then understood what Yang Peng meant. He couldn't help but feel funny. However, he felt that although what his majesty said was a bit vulgar, it was also very reasonable. Nowadays, in private marriages, men are competing to compete with each other, while women’s appetites are getting bigger and bigger. How different is it from spending so much money to marry a woman and going to a brothel? Or maybe the difference is that getting married means paying all the prostitution money at once, right? So the price is very expensive! Thinking of Zhang Xiang, he couldn't help but laugh.
Seeing Zhang Xiang's extremely obscene smile, Yang Peng asked in confusion: "Why are you laughing?"
Zhang Xiang came back to his senses, clasped his fists and said, "I am thinking about what Your Majesty just said, and I also feel that there is really not much difference between marriage and prostitution nowadays!"
Yang Peng frowned and said: "This is not a good thing! The influence of stupid Confucianism is like a ghost entrenched in every aspect of our country. Before Confucianism became popular, there were actually so many messy things in the marriage between men and women. ! For example, in the Qin Dynasty, men and women met each other and lived together as husband and wife. Isn’t it so simple? I don’t know what kind of perverted psychology the Confucians had to create such a messy set of etiquette!" Zhang Xiang sighed He took a breath and didn't know what to say, so he couldn't help but murmured: "I angrily refused the marriage because the bride's family wanted too heavy a betrothal gift."
At this time Fu Jianyue came over to meet Yang Peng. Fu Jianyue is also one of the deputy prime ministers, like Zhang Xiang.
Yang Peng remembered something and asked, "Old Fu, you should be married now, right?"
Fu Jianyue shook his head and said, "I'm not married yet."
Yang Peng was surprised and joked, "Isn't it because our Ming Dynasty's salary is so low that you can't afford to marry me?"
Fu Jianyue smiled awkwardly and said: "Your Majesty is joking." After a pause, he frowned and said: "There are quite a few people helping me connect, but all those women have bad intentions. It would be too boring to marry such a woman! I am now noble. As the deputy prime minister and cabinet minister, they are attracted to me, but one day I will return to the fields in old age. At that time, I will become a commoner, and those women will definitely abandon me as a cheat. What they are interested in is not me. It's my official position. If I marry them, not only will my life at home be boring, but I'm afraid I'll be implicated by them and be ruined and die! Instead of marrying them, I might as well redeem a few brothel fans, which would be simpler and happier. ."
Yang Peng smiled and said: "According to what you say, it seems that the girls from ordinary families are not as good as the pink heads of brothels?"
Fu Jianyue actually nodded seriously, "That's true. Your Majesty, I think that women from brothels are more real and not as hypocritical as ordinary women! The so-called good family women obviously want to sell themselves for a certain price, but they have to pretend With a noble appearance, what he does is no different from money and sex transactions, but he insists on using it in the name of marriage. Your Majesty, what's the point of asking these women? If I can't control my lust, I can buy a brothel girl to satisfy me. Both sides know it clearly!"
Yang Peng gave a thumbs up and praised: "A talented person is a talented person. This statement makes it clear!" Then he smiled and said: "However, those women cannot be completely blamed for this kind of thing. In fact, the root cause still lies with us men. , if most men are not cheap enough, I think most women would not dare to use this matter to make money, right?" Fu Jianyue frowned and nodded.
Yang Peng looked at the gift list in his hand and frowned: "The people from Tianzhu actually sent such a generous dowry?"
Fu Jianyue smiled and said, "They are determined to marry the princess to His Majesty!"
Yang Peng said angrily, "Didn't you say what I asked you to say?"
Zhang Xiang said: "I have already followed your majesty's wishes. I said that your majesty has accepted Tianzhu's good intentions. However, your majesty already has a group of concubines and does not want to get married anymore, but he can accept the two princesses as his sisters."
Yang Peng nodded and asked, "What did the other party say?"
Zhang Xiang sighed and said: "The other party thought that Your Majesty was rejecting them in a different way, and they looked a little panicked. Your Majesty, I don't know whether to say something or not." "Say it." "Yes. If Your Majesty doesn't want to accept it, They just give them a status and ignore them. Seeing what the people of Tianzhu want, they will not be able to feel at ease if your majesty does not marry their princess. As a noble, there are some things that must be done as a last resort. Bear it.”
Yang Peng frowned and shook his head, "If I promise to give them a status, I agree to marry them as wives. I am a man. If I make a promise to a woman, I must not hurt her. Otherwise, am I still a man? ? He is not even considered a man, how can he rule the world?" After a pause, he frowned and said: "There are still some principles that we must abide by! Don't just look at the immediate interests! A king should abide by principles rather than in the name of the overall situation. Destroy the principles!"
Fu Jianyue couldn't help but be in awe, bowed and said: "Your Majesty is truly a true hero!"
Yang Peng laughed loudly, waved his hand and said, "What a bullshit hero! But as a man in charge, I do my duty!" Fu Jianyue couldn't help but laugh.
Yang Peng looked at the gift list and said to Zhang Xiang: "Tell the uncle from Tianzhu that I have accepted their gift from Tianzhu. As for the princess, you can enlighten him and tell him that being a princess is comparable to being a concubine and a concubine." I'm much closer!" Zhang Xiang smiled bitterly and said, "Since your Majesty has a destiny, I'll do my best." Then he asked, "What if the Tianzhu people still insist on it?"
Yang Peng said angrily: "If it doesn't make sense, then there's no need to say it. I'll just issue an order and canonize those two princesses as imperial sisters!"
Fu Jianyue looked at Yang Peng's domineering face and smiled bitterly: "I knew it would end up like this!" Yang Peng asked Fu Jianyue, "You haven't found Kou Zhun either," Fu Jianyue said, "I have. He has gone back to his hometown of Shaanzhou. I We will set out tomorrow and ask him to come to Bianjing," Yang Peng said. "Kou Zhun is a good official. He is just too rigid. Just do as he wants. You can take care of Tianzhu's affairs." Yang Peng said with a smile: "I don't want this to happen. Then you work harder for me!" Fu Jianyue smiled bitterly, bowed to Yang Peng, and left.
Yang Peng picked up the gift list and looked at it, and couldn't help but sigh. …
Time flies by and the Spring Festival is coming again in a blink of an eye.
Several large ships slowly sailed into Hangzhou port. A middle-aged man with blond hair and blue eyes wearing red papal robes stood on the bow deck of the ship holding a scepter. He looked at the city in front of him. He saw the exquisite charm of the city, the busy port and the scene of prosperity. He couldn't help but marvel.
The Han-looking young man standing next to him smiled and said, "Hangzhou is a beautiful city in the East, and it is also very wealthy. I am not exaggerating, but the wealth of this city is probably far greater than that of Rome. And This city of Hangzhou is actually nothing in the entire East." The blond and blue-eyed foreigner was shocked, and then a greedy look appeared in his eyes.
This Han-looking young man was the Eastern Catholic leader who had previously left Hangzhou for a pilgrimage to Rome. However, if someone from Hua Xu saw him, they would definitely be very excited, because he is obviously the Mo Haotian who is on the run after being charged with the crime and has been hunted by Hua Xu for a long time. The blond, blue-eyed, middle-aged man who came back with Mo Haotian, wearing a red papal robe and holding a scepter, had an unusual identity. He was a messenger specially sent by the Pope of Rome, preparing to spread the gospel of heaven to the believers in the East. It turns out that when Mo Haotian appeared in Rome as the leader of the Eastern Catholic Church, it caused a great sensation. The mysterious East has been a place that Westerners have longed for since ancient times. It is full of wonderful legends. Among Westerners, It feels like the world of elves.
Nowadays, the leader of Tianzhu in the East has come to perform pilgrimage and converted to orthodoxy. This is such a grand event that it has greatly excited the Pope and the officials of the Holy See. They only feel that it would be a great merit to spread the gospel of God throughout the mysterious East. In fact, in the hearts of the Pope and others, merit is secondary. What they desire is greater power and the endless wealth of the legendary mysterious East.
Several ships had to stop on the water outside the port. Because there are so many ships in the port, there are no berths, and many ships are parked on the water outside the port. There are ships constantly sailing out of the port on the waterway, and ships are constantly sailing into the port.
After waiting for a long time, it was finally Mo Haotian's turn. Under the guidance of port officials, several large ships slowly sailed into the port's berths and stopped. One of Mo Haotian's entourage registered with port officials and paid the three-day docking fee. The port official gave them a certificate with an expiration date and left.
Mo Haotian and his party got off the boat. Mo Haotian was wearing a black cloak, and his whole body was hidden in the cloak. Others could not see his face clearly even if they were close. The papal envoy followed Mo Haotian and looked at everything on the port with great curiosity. The papal envoy was amazed by the huge building-like ship that he had never seen before, and the mountains of cargo made him inexplicably excited. . But the people around him didn't have any special feeling about this blond and blue-eyed ghost in strange clothes. There were all kinds of foreigners in the port, and everyone was used to it.
The group of people walked out of the port, not far away was the city of Hangzhou. Enclosed by the wall, the green mountains and green waters set off the graceful figure.
Mo Haotian frowned and said angrily: "Why doesn't anyone come to greet us?" The papal envoy next to him also felt a little dissatisfied. He originally thought there would be a grand welcoming scene, but he didn't expect it to be like this. He was in this crowd and was actually inconspicuous!
At this moment, a man who looked like a coolie ran up to the crowd and bowed to Mo Haotian: "Young Master!" Mo Haotian took a look and found that he was a confidant who stayed at the church main hall, and asked in surprise: " Is it you? Why do you look like this?" The man looked around nervously and said, "Sir, this is not the place to talk. Please come with me." Then he walked towards an inconspicuous inn outside the port. . Mo Haotian frowned and followed, followed closely by the others.
The group of people followed the man into the inn and saw that the inn was crowded and noisy. It was a noisy and chaotic place. The air was filled with the smell of alcohol and sea. It turns out that this inn is a low-end inn specially designed for sailors on sea ships to stay, so it is particularly chaotic and noisy. Various skin colors form a wonderful picture here. The papal envoy frowned, feeling very unhappy.
The man led everyone into a room upstairs. The papal envoy saw that the room was poorly furnished and smelled bad, and he finally couldn't help but said, "Do you want me to live here?"
The man glanced at the papal envoy with a puzzled expression. Mo Haotian quickly introduced: "This is the special envoy sent by His Majesty the Pope!" The man's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly knelt down and saluted: "I didn't know that the Pope's envoy was here, and I hope to atone for my disrespect!" The Pope's envoy's expression changed. Shao Ji frowned and said, "What on earth is going on? Why did you bring me here? Why didn't anyone greet me?" The papal envoy asked three questions in a row, looking very annoyed.
The man looked very frightened and waved his hands quickly: "Your Excellency, special envoy, please don't speak loudly, please don't speak loudly!"
The papal envoy frowned and said displeasedly: "What on earth are you doing?"
The man sighed and said, "Your Excellency, the special envoy, you don't know." Then he looked at Mo Haotian, "Master, you don't know even if you follow Ding. Shortly after the leader left, the Ming Emperor issued an edict to outlaw Catholicism, and local governments destroyed churches. , arresting believers, many people died!..."
The papal envoy was surprised, "Is there such a thing?"
The man said: "Those of us who were lucky enough to escape are now living like mice. We are afraid that someone we know will find out and report to the government and end up with a tragic death, so we hide here and there! Alas!"
The papal envoy said angrily: "What a rebellion! What a rebellion! How dare they blaspheme God!"
The man said: "Several arrested people have been beheaded recently, and now their heads are still hanging on the execution platform by the city gate for public display!"
The papal envoy was startled and frowned tightly.
Mo Haotian frowned and said, "This is really unbelievable. I'm going to see if it's true." Looking at the man, you led the way. The man bowed and agreed.
Then the group of people came out of the inn and walked towards the city along the official road leading from the port to the city gate. Soon after, a group of people entered the city gate. Under the guidance of the man, everyone looked to the left. I saw an execution platform standing on an empty field on the left, and on a wooden shelf on the execution platform, five or six heads with disheveled hair hung impressively. The papal envoy was so frightened that he almost fell down on the spot. I just heard the man whisper: "It's not advisable to stay here for a long time. If we are discovered by the officers and soldiers, we will all be doomed!" The Pope's envoy came back to his senses and said hurriedly: "Let's get back to the ship quickly, get back to the ship quickly!" , without waiting for Mo Haotian and the others to speak, they rushed out of the city in a panic, as if running for their lives. Mo Haotian and the man looked at each other, smiled, and followed.
At this time, several people standing next to the execution platform pointed at the heads hanging on the execution platform and commented: "This dog pirate should be like this, kill every one on sight!"
The papal envoy, Mo Haotian and others returned to the ship anchored in the port. Mo Haotian smiled in his heart when he saw the pope's envoy Wuzi fearing there. Turning his head and frowning, he asked the man: "How could this happen? Why did His Majesty the Emperor kill Catholics?"
The man said: "Your Majesty said that we are deceiving people with our evil words, but in fact that is just a reason. Catholics were brutally persecuted, but their property was confiscated by the court." Then he cried and said: "Master, we are so miserable! There are so many people Not to mention the tragic death, no one has collected their bodies yet!”
The papal envoy showed indignation, waved his fist and shouted loudly: "Infidel! Infidel! He must be punished, he must be punished! The majesty of God cannot be blasphemed!"
Mo Haotian sighed helplessly and said, "He is the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. What can we do?"
The papal envoy said proudly: "Who is the emperor? Only the pope is the greatest in the world! Even a monarch who blasphemes God will be punished with the most severe punishment! No monarch can be an exception! I want to report to the pope and ask the pope to call the cross Army, expedition against the pagan emperor in the east, restore the glory of God!"
Mo Haotian and others all became excited. Mo Haotian said: "If His Majesty the Pope can launch a Crusade, that would be great!" Then he frowned and said worriedly: "I'm afraid this journey is too far. His Majesty the Pope is unwilling to launch a Crusade!"
The papal envoy shook his head and said: "This shouldn't be a problem. I will persuade His Majesty the Pope, and His Majesty the Pope should agree."
Mo Haotian knelt down, and when the others saw this, they also knelt down. Mo Haotian said excitedly: "We are all loyal believers in Heavenly Father. Now we are being persecuted. We can only rely on His Majesty the Pope to seek justice for us!" The Pope's envoy said: "This is not only about you, but also about the dignity of the Holy See. !" Immediately he was worried that his whereabouts would be discovered by the officials of the Ming Dynasty and his life could not be saved. He quickly said: "Let's not waste time here. Let's set off today and rush back to Rome to report to His Majesty the Pope!"
Mo Haotian and others stood up and bowed to accept the promise. In the evening of that day, several large ships eagerly left the port and sailed towards the vast sea. …
The Spring Festival is coming. Bianliang City is decorated with lights and colorful decorations, the theaters are bustling, the people's faces are full of happy smiles, children are playing in the streets, and the alluring aroma comes from the chimneys of every house. The Ming Dynasty's annual annual meeting was held in the palace hall. All the most important military and political officials of the Ming Dynasty gathered together at this moment to report to the Ming Emperor a summary of this year's work.
After hearing everyone's reports, Yang Peng smiled and said: "This year is really a fruitful year! Tubo, Dali, Bagan and Dhaka have been merged into our Ming Dynasty, and our Ming Dynasty's territory has become even larger. ! Not only that, the seizures on the battlefield are also very rich, maritime trade, and various taxes have also increased tremendously compared to last year. Although many major things were done last year, the national treasury not only did not decrease, but increased a lot! In addition, the refugees The problem has been basically solved! I'm very happy!" Everyone couldn't help laughing.
Yang Peng said: "Although the remaining cabinet and I have made arrangements for major military and political matters, they must be voted and approved by the cabinet plenary meeting. Let's vote now."
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
