"Brother John, according to you, we can only watch the church's cause in the Far East suffer disaster?"
Innocent X seemed very unwilling.
He is not willing to bear the charge of "losing the Far East" and become a "failed pope".
"Holy Father," Tang Ruowang said, "A crisis of faith does not mean catastrophe... That is for the upper-class believers that the Jesuits have been working hard to develop. For those who live in despair and helplessness How can the "unkindness of heaven and earth" be compared to the Lord's love for the people at the bottom of the world?"
"Heaven and earth are unkind? What do you mean?" The Pope was a little dissatisfied with Tang Ruowang, who occasionally said a few Chinese words.
"Holy Father, the unkindness of heaven and earth means that heaven does not love the world. This is a theory of two natures and two humans. Although it also acknowledges the existence of God, it believes that God does not care about the world, but only allows all things in heaven and earth to develop freely. What you can develop into depends entirely on your ability!"
Tang Ruowang is talking about another "natural principle line" of Confucianism, which is the thought of Xunzi. They believe that Heaven (Heavenly Principle, God) neither loves nor hates anyone, and whatever they become is all their own creation.
"This, this, is this an atheistic view?" The Pope was very surprised. "Confucian priests who hold this view will definitely be burned at the stake!"
"Holy Father, actually it won't..." Tang Ruowang said, "Confucianism is a very inclusive sect or school of thought, and all kinds of theories can be discussed. Hostility and persecution between factions Of course there were, but I never heard of anyone being burned at the stake.”
"Then they must have no more religious wars?" Cardinal Chigi was also a relatively tolerant person. Hearing Tang Ruowang talk about Confucianism, he actually felt a little envious.
"Strictly speaking, Confucianism cannot be regarded as a religion," Tang Ruowang said. "Confucianism is a school of thought that is aware of the existence of God. There has never been an angel or prophet, nor has the son of God descended to them. They only became aware of God through philosophical speculation. …So among them the good and evil of God can be discussed.”
At this point, Tang Ruowang made the sign of the cross on his chest and discussed the good and evil of God... These words are so evil, and he should ask for forgiveness!
Both the Pope and Cardinal Chigi were so surprised that they were speechless. This Confucianism is really, really embarrassing to God!
After a long while, Cardinal Chigi said: "Holy Father, this may be the Lord's will..."
His theory can also explain why God didn’t send a prophet or something to China, but instead let the ancient Chinese sages be aware of his existence?
Isn’t this the intention of the Almighty? Isn’t this another kind of love from God?
The Pope glared at him fiercely: "Brother Chigi, we should not speculate on the Lord, but should always fulfill the responsibilities God has given us!"
"Holy Father, I was wrong!" Jiji broke out in a cold sweat. His random speculation about the Lord's thoughts was a serious mistake and he would go to hell! Now that indulgences are no longer sold, what can we do?
"Brother John, I know what to do," the pope said. "I will strengthen the Church in the Far East and send the most militant priests to serve as bishops."
"Holy Father, actually you can't do this." Tang Ruowang said, "The Ming Emperor made a request for the right to protect the church!"
"What?" The Pope couldn't believe his ears, "He was baptized?"
"No...he is not a believer," Tang Ruowang said. "Although he believes in God, he is not a brother of the church."
Belief in God, belief in heavenly principles and belief in the Catholic Church are two different things!
"Then he will never get the patronage!" the Pope said, "I will never agree to it!"
Tang Ruowang sighed: "Holy Father, he thinks that he has obtained the guardianship of the Far East from the Kingdom of Portugal..."
...
October 1650 AD, Vienna.
This city, which seemed to have lost all passion and dreams after the Thirty Years War, and even the sky was cast in a shadow, suddenly became excited and glorious when October just arrived.
The emperor Ferdinand III who ruled the city swept out a few more gold coins from his empty treasury and began to use them to decorate the dilapidated and depressed city. The imperial army, which had not held any military parade for a long time, also began to train as a team, and it seemed that they were going to the battlefield again to do their best for the glory of God and the Habsburg Dynasty.
But everyone knows that the current empire, no, it should be the whole of Europe, has been exhausted because of the Thirty Years' War. Maybe the French, who did not suffer too much losses in the Thirty Years' War, still have the energy to mess around - they are messing around. Our own people have been engaged in the Fronde movement since 1648, and they are still not at peace. Spain, which thinks it is favored by God, has some spirit and is still fighting a losing war with the French and Portuguese.
But in Vienna, everyone knew there would be no more war.
The empire was already struggling, and the Habsburg family also needed to recuperate.
Therefore, decorating the city and training the army are not for fighting, but to welcome the distinguished guests from the far east - the Ming Empire's envoys!
The Ming Dynasty is China, that ancient oriental country rich in porcelain and silk. In the eyes of Europeans of this era, it is a symbol of mystery, wealth, civilization... and perhaps also strength and wisdom!
Because their emperor not only sent a large mission to Europe, but also made friends with the Ottoman Empire.
Being able to send missionaries to Europe shows that they have stopped being "autistic" and started to become smart and far-sighted.
And becoming a friend of the most powerful Ottoman Empire in the world fully demonstrates the power of the Ming Empire!
The envoys of such a rich, civilized, powerful, and wise ancient empire took the Holy Roman Empire as the first stop of their trip to Europe (actually the first stop was Istanbul), which fully demonstrated that the Holy Roman Empire was still influential.
From the perspective of the distant Ming Empire, the Holy Roman Empire was still a country with a group of leaders...
In order to let the Chinese mission fully understand the power of the empire, Ferdinand III had no choice but to pretend to be fat!
Oh, it’s not entirely a slap in the face. At least in the eyes of Ji Kun and Li Shaoyou, this empire, which looks quite big on the map, is actually broken into 300 small countries and more than 1,500 knight territories. Not particularly bad.
The Holy Roman Empire at least had an emperor!
Before leaving Nanjing, Emperor Zhu told Ji Kun that two of the three countries, the Netherlands, England, and France, which he must focus on communicating with, no longer have kings!
King Charles I of England lost his head early last year... and was publicly executed after a court trial!
The Orange Regent of the Netherlands disappeared at the beginning of this year! William II, who was in his twenties, contracted smallpox and died, but his posthumous son William III failed to take the throne, so there was no regent. The Republic of the Netherlands is now run by a council that is not very capable of making decisions...even Van Diemen doesn't know who to find to receive the Ming envoy?
As for France, the king is still alive for now! It can only be said that it is temporary, because he has been driven out of the city of Paris and is hiding in the Royal Fort Saint-Germain near Paris. He is attacked by a group of party members called the "Stone Throwing Party", and he will be stoned at some point. died.
It is said that this King Louis is only 13 years old. Alas, I don’t know how many years he can live?
So Ji Kun had to give up his plan to visit Paris, France immediately - he was also afraid of being stoned to death by the French!
I don’t plan to go to the Netherlands for the time being. We have to wait until Van Diemen comes back from the Netherlands, right?
I heard that the Netherlands is a seven-province republic, and all seven provinces have parliaments and armies. There may be seven provinces competing for hegemony, so Ji Kun will not go to the Netherlands first, but first establish an embassy in the Holy Roman Empire. After Tang Ruowang returned from Rome, he became the Ming Dynasty's minister to the Holy Roman Empire. Ji Kun and Li Shaoyou are waiting for the opportunity to visit France, the Netherlands and England.
