Kalbe Dezo was not wearing a hat, and his blue tuxedo had two buttons unbuttoned. Even though he was standing on the deck where the breeze was rippling, he still felt hot and uneasy.
His thoughts flew back to ten months ago, when the westerly winds blew across the Atlantic Ocean, the waves crashed against the Domburg (Note 1) embankment, the rolling waves roared, and the seagulls feeding on the beach were occasionally caught by the three-masted sailing ship. The sound of the trumpet was startling.
His father handed Kalpe a package wrapped in parchment, which contained a badly damaged book of New Testament Poems bound in cowhide. Kalpe was quite familiar with the origins of this ill-fated poetry collection. He had heard his grandfather mention it since he was a child. Said to be his great-great-grandfather, a Dutch soldier named Kalpe Matthäus, known as the "Six Moons". About seventy years ago, the Eighty Years' War broke out against the Spanish king's persecution of the Calvinists. Great-great-grandfather fought on the Jerez de los Caballeros front. A bullet shattered his left leg, and the wound swelled as big as a coconut. However, great-great-grandfather repeatedly chanted and prayed to the Book of Poems, God The pious soldier was restored to health.
Forty years ago, Kalbe's grandfather was in a war with the British. His team was attacked by British longbowmen. It was this "Collection of Poems" that blocked the attack of the British's deadly long arrows. In that battle, , the Dutch suffered more than 2,100 casualties, and only Kalbe's grandfather survived...
"Child, you have to remember that statues of gods will collapse and churches will tilt. But for more than a hundred years, the Kalpe family has been able to maintain its family honor. That is because of the blessing of this "Book of Psalms", in which David's "Psalms" ”, and it is the Bible in the Bible. No matter where you are, no matter what kind of barbarians you encounter, you must insist on praying and reading it loudly, because only if you are pious, God will go with you! "
Kalbe clearly remembered that when he boarded the merchant ship Athena, seagulls flew across the deck of the three-masted ship, and his father stood on the dock of Domburg and told him over and over again.
Kalbe Dera listened carefully to his father's teachings. When he returned to the cabin, he was getting farther and farther away from Europe. He began to feel a little uneasy about carrying the "Collected Poems" to the Eastern countries (employees of the East India Company called it "violence").
This Protestant priest went to China not only to preach, but also to represent the Netherlands and negotiate peace with Qi, hoping that the other party would recognize the legitimate interests of the Dutch East India Company in Taiwan and other places.
The main reason why the merchant ship Athena was dispatched to the Far East was to avoid stimulating the emotions of the Easterners.
Four years ago, the Europeans had a gentlemanly contest with the Qi fleet in the Tsushima Strait. The naval combat prowess displayed by the Easterners shocked everyone.
After the news of the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Tsushima spread back to Europe, Britain, the Netherlands and Denmark were forming an anti-Habsburg alliance and fighting endlessly against the Holy Roman Empire. Although European countries wanted to punish provocative actions in the Far East, they mainly The major powers were trapped in the quagmire of war, beyond their reach. Among the European countries, except for Tsarist Russia who explicitly sent troops, other countries just allowed the East India Companies of various countries to take independent actions.
After the failure of the four-nation East India Company's first anti-Qi alliance, the Dutch were the first to send their mission, hoping to start a dialogue with the rising military power in the Far East and peacefully resolve the Dutch East India Company's problems in Taiwan and Macau. issues of interest in other places.
The twenty-six-year-old Dutch priest Carl Pedera was one of the representatives of this peace mission.
Kalbe's faith in God is unquestionable, and the various legends passed down by his family for hundreds of years make him firmly believe in the arduous mission he has undertaken.
Before the Athena sailed into the China Sea (Bohai Sea), Captain Lacey ordered people to put all the Christian items on the ship into wooden barrels, then sent sailors to seal the barrels with nails, and then handed them over to the vicious Qi. National customs officer.
Only when the peace talks are over and the Athena sets sail away from here can the barrel be allowed to be taken back. Qi officials carefully inspected every corner of the cargo ship. It is said that anyone hiding any prohibited items in this land will be severely punished.
The Dutch sailors on the Athena complained that when they arrived in the northeastern Far East, they would not only have to hand over the Bible cross, but also have their hair shaved into a money rattail (this is a European rumor about the Far East, which will make Daqi mixed with the Qing Dynasty).
After the heavily armed navy soldiers boarded the deck of the Athena, all Europeans voluntarily handed over the cross and various prohibited items. Only Kalpe hid the book of poems that saved the family's honor in the gap in the deck. , with two barrels of wine stacked on top, hoping to get away with it. Calbe was worried that if this ill-fated book fell into the hands of barbarians, he might actually go to see God.
A navy officer with a finely shaved beard and a serious face came to the warehouse and shouted orders to Captain Lacey. The translator translated the difficult Chinese into Dutch. Kalbe vaguely heard these words.
"I am the bravest officer of the Qi Navy. You can call me Meng Jinbao. According to the laws of Daqi, no heretical beliefs are allowed within the territory of Daqi. Those who violate this clause will be severely punished. Although you are envoys , you must also abide by this law, otherwise, the emperor will throw you into the mines to dig coal."
"Now, let all your people leave the warehouse and board the deck. We will send people to search carefully!"
The sun on the deck was blazing, burning the soles of all the Dutchmen's feet like a soldering iron. A group of Qi soldiers armed with muskets and short crossbows surrounded them in the center, watching them eagerly.
The missionaries who carried the contraband were uneasy and had beads of sweat on their foreheads. The Europeans who were captured after the Tsushima Battle had strange Chinese characters branded on their foreheads. This incident later became a hot topic in Europe.
"Now, my "Psalms" will be discovered by these barbarians at any time, and I will be branded, bringing shame to the family."
Note:
1. Domburg, a city in the southwestern Netherlands.
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