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Chapter 158 Weislando
"Shopkeeper Wen knows about this person." Huang Shunlong didn't seem surprised. "He is also a well-known figure in the local area. Read the full text."
"Why don't you know." When Wen Desi thought of the humiliation of being captured, he almost wanted to do something to him, but the thought of it greatly affected his image, "This woman has a close relationship with us. Read the full text." He said vaguely. explain.
To say that they are closely related can mean that they cooperate with each other, or that they have enmity, which is a neutral expression.
"Haha, there's no need to hide it, Shopkeeper Wen. This woman acts in a maverick way and is ruthless. I think she has some beef with your office."
Wen Desi didn't say anything, which was regarded as acquiescence.
Huang Shunlong said that we only know here that Li Siya is of Portuguese-Chinese descent, and no one knows who her parents are and where they are. But she lives in a Portuguese residential area in Macau, with a spacious and luxurious house. Although she is engaged in a business that licks blood, she can appear openly at gatherings of local Portuguese dignitaries. It is obvious that her parents are of high background.
"This woman is very difficult to mess with," Huang Shunlong lowered his voice. "She regards Macau as her nest. She behaves quite restrained locally, but once she goes to sea, she acts extremely ruthlessly. She is also full of tricks. If you have any trouble with her, , please be more careful in your daily behavior.”
Wen Desi responded vaguely, and found out a lot of specific information about Li Siya: the name of her ketch was Ltus. I haven't been in port recently, probably out to sea again. Even her address was found out - Wen Desi once had the idea of sending Bei Wei for a special operation, but Huang Shunlong went on to say that he was not sure whether Li Siya really lived in that house - although Huang Shunlong married He has a Portuguese wife, but this woman's low background does not add much leverage to his interactions with the Portuguese upper class. The only advantage is that he can do business with the Portuguese without any obstacles. He knew very little about the activities of the local Portuguese elite.
Huang Shunlong followed Chinese custom and wanted to stay with them for dinner, but Wen Desi had no intention of staying, and Zhang Xin was even more eager to find a place selling rhubarb liqueur. After the two parties agreed on the seal and secret code for future meetings, they left.
After going out, I walked around and returned to the meeting place under the cross in Cross Street Square. I found that Bai Duolu had come back. He had a smile unique to religious believers and was holding a leather-bound Bible in his hand. Desi wondered if he had been brainwashed by the Jesuits in the past hour or so. While he was looking at it, Bai Duolu came up to him happily.
"Mr. Wen, there is good news."
"The local Jesuit president wants to see you."
The term Jesuit immediately appeared in Wen Desi's mind as a gloomy figure dressed in black sitting in a marble black room. What should the President of the Society of Jesus do when he sees him? Should he proclaim the gospel of the Lord to him? The religious policy issue of the Wende Heir's desire to transcend the masses has never been discussed. He doesn't like all kinds of religions in this time and space very much. It's the best thing to say. It would be better for him to form a "holy religion" and become an archangel himself - but there are too many people traveling through this time, so it is probably not possible. This group of modern people are not very capable, and the threshold for political struggle is fine. Gotta die.
"First find a place to tell us about your meeting with the priest." Wen Desi said.
In the hall of a small but exquisite church in the Portuguese community in the center of the city, the scorching sunshine from South China shines through the small pieces of glass inlaid with lead bars on the windows and shines on the marble floor, leaving shadows on the marble floor. There was a man in a monk's robe sitting next to a large desk, his head lowered, as if he was thinking. The table's corners were gilded and covered with books and documents. There is also a conspicuously placed crucifix carved from ebony.
Behind him is a large fireplace with exquisite carvings. Looking at the patterns on it and the unique patterns of the marble, maybe the stones and craftsmen came from distant Italy. Of course, in South China where the coldest days never drop below 20 degrees Celsius, this thing is purely decorative and symbolizes the power of the Jesuit branch president in Macau. This branch president is in charge of all Catholic missionary affairs in China and East Asia, and his position in the church does not even need to be subject to the authority of the Bishop of Macau.
This lonely figure is the Jesuit president of Macau, Geran Zani.
At this time, Gelanzani was alone, and his body was very weak - he had contracted malaria while serving as a missionary in Pattani many years ago. Although he survived after being treated with tobacco, the sequelae still occur to this day. But a powerful spiritual fire was burning in this weak body-perhaps knowing that his life was running out, he felt more and more urgent about missionary matters.
"These idiots," he said to himself, "whether they are Franciscans or Augustinians, they are all idiots. They think that faith is the rock of everything. Martyrdom is glorious. Could it be that the farce in Japan in 1596 Will it happen again in China?”
On his desk, there was a letter from the Jesuits in Manila. There was a lot of controversy in the church about whether the ancestor worship of the Chinese was idolatry. And this controversy has a tendency to spread to the upper echelons of the Holy See. Alas, although the Jesuits have great power in the Holy See, the power is always proportional to the enemies, not to mention the kings and nobles, who all try to use the Jesuits as their own tools instead of God's.
"Let's discuss, let's discuss, it's best if this matter never ends." Gelanzani knew very well that unless he followed the advice of the Jesuit missionaries already in Beijing: that the Chinese worship ancestors is just a commemorative activity, Otherwise, the missionary activities in China, which are currently making little progress, will be even more difficult - he has been in Macau for several years and knows very well what ancestor worship means to the Chinese.
The missionaries sent out, except for Matteo Ricci, who achieved a certain degree of success, were expelled back by the Chinese local officials in ten cities, and some were simply missing. Gelanzani knew that most of them had left. On the road to martyrdom.
Missionary activities in China were far less successful than those in Japan. Although through Matteo Ricci's efforts, he won a group of believers from Chinese officials and intellectuals, and successfully entered the Chinese capital to participate in the astronomical revision and ordnance manufacturing affairs of the imperial court, the number of believers has always been stagnant. He knew very well that ordinary Chinese people, officials and intellectuals were always wary of foreigners with very different appearances and customs.
He sighed, as if he heard footsteps outside the door:
"What's up"
A door hidden behind the curtain opened quietly. A man in black clothes walked in gently:
"Sir, Sir Lando is here."
"Well, invite him in."
After a while, an officer walked in from the door.
The man was between thirty-five and forty years old, tall and strong, with sharp eyes and a short black beard. He dressed in the fashionable Spanish style, with a tight waistcoat and white lace. The heavy sword on the wide belt slanted across his chest knocked against his leather boots from time to time. This look and the cold gray eyes show that he is a professional soldier with a knife-tip that licks blood.
He took off his hat and saluted the president according to French etiquette. Then he stood respectfully, but with a solemn expression, exactly as a person of status should look.
The president looked at the person in front of him. His eyes were deep and it was hard to tell what he was thinking.
This dangerous guy, the president thought, can I really entrust this task to him? This adventurer who appeared out of nowhere called himself Weislando, although he said that he was a child of a noble family from the Parma region of Italy. But this man's Italian was very poor, and Gelanzani, as a compatriot of his, felt ashamed. People noticed that he would break out in English from time to time. If it weren't for his appearance and firm belief, the president would have suspected that he was a heretical Englishman.
Such adventurers were everywhere in the Far East at that time, and they had real or fake life experiences and backgrounds. Trying to get their own share of the prosperity of this great voyage. The president thought: Well, this kind of person has no foundation anyway, and he doesn’t need to explain to anyone if something unexpected happens. He looked at the officer carefully for a while, was silent for a moment, and said:
"Are you Mr. Weisslando?"
"I am, my lord," Lando said.
"It has been more than three months since you followed Father Comange's ship to Macau. Are you still used to life in Macau?"
"It's a very habit." Lando said calmly, "It's just that my wallet is very weak."
The president smiled: "No one thinks that the money bag is full." He picked up a volume of documents:
"You took part in the operation in Aragones—"
"Yes, sir."
"The report you wrote to Father Comange was very detailed. Apparently Aragones' enemies defeated him without your intervention."
"Yes, President, those Chinese have very strong firepower. They also have a strong will to resist."
"They are Australians. They call themselves Australians."
Lando shrugged: "They are absolutely Chinese, although they are not from the Ming Dynasty."
"Is Aragones' ship still under repair?"
"He was recruiting sailors in the tavern every day, and I think it would be difficult for him to find enough people. Even if he was willing to recruit Chinese sailors."
"They will send him people from Manila," the president whispered. Although Portugal and Spain were under the rule of a king at this time, the relationship between the two parties could not be described as harmonious. The royal flag has not yet been raised in Macau. The Governor of Manila and the nobles there always planned to bring Macao under their rule.
As an Italian, Gelanzani instinctively felt disgusted with the Spaniards.
"You are a brave man." The president said, "Your loyalty to the church is obvious to all -" He remembered something, "I heard that you fought against the pagans in Montenegro."
"Yes, as a volunteer." Lando replied proudly, "I can live a peaceful life at home, but I still went to that mountainous place."
"Very good," Gelanzani continued, "You dare to show off your talents. The time has come to show off your skills."
The cunning Italian immediately put on a "loyal" look: "I'm willing to serve you."
"Not for me, but for our church.",.
