The timing was slightly different from Luo Wanhua's expectation. The importance the Jesuits attached to entering China was beyond the emperor and his imagination.
In May of the ninth year of Wanli, Luo Mingjian met with Luo Wanhua in Bago. Governor Luo then reported to the emperor, asking the court to allow Fan Li'an, Luo Mingjian and Matteo Ricci to serve as special envoys to the Papal State and the Governor of Goa. , went to Beijing to see the emperor.
Fan Li'an received Luo Mingjian's letter in Japan in August, and because Goa was relatively close to Bago, Matteo Ricci received the order from Archbishop Vincennes earlier.
In October of the ninth year of Wanli, the three of them had gathered in Macau. After unremitting efforts, Fan Li'an and Luo Mingjian finally opened a breakthrough in China's missionary work, and were highly praised by the Goa Jesuits.
As the inspector of the Papal State in the Far East, Fan Li'an asked Luo Mingjian to come from the bishop of Goa. Luo Mingjian learned Chinese because of his instructions.
This time Matteo Ricci brought a letter from Archbishop Rodrigues Vincennes of India, in which he expressed high praise for Fan Li'an and Luo Mingjian: "Both are true missionaries who are pious, rich in moral character and knowledge. He has done outstanding work with noble courage and is about to spread the gospel of God to a new and fertile soil.”
Vincennes also promised to Fan Li'an that he would report their great achievements to the Pope and apply for the positions of leading archbishop and bishop in China respectively. When Matteo Ricci heard the contents of the letter, he was extremely envious.
Fan Li'an and Luo Mingjian expressed their indifference to this. To be honest, Fan Li'an did not trust Vincens to truthfully report their achievements to the Pope - the possibility of stealing the results for himself was greater.
As the eldest brother among the three, Fan Li'an must protect the fruits of their victory. He had personally written to the Pope, describing the process of opening the situation, and explaining to the Pope that he would adhere to Xavier's missionary strategy-assuming that the Chinese emperor allowed them to start missionary activities.
Fan Li'an returned to Macau this time with four Japanese who had converted to Catholicism. They were assistants assigned to Fan Li'an by three daimyo, Arima Harunobu, Otomo Sorin and Omura Junchu. After these famous people heard that Fan Anli was promising to preach in China, they hoped to arrange a sneak mission into Beijing to obtain some information about the movements of the Ming Dynasty.
After all, the entire Burmese War was fought smoothly by the Ming Dynasty, and the results shocked the entire East and South Asia. Although Japan was in war, it was not difficult to know the news because of its close contacts with the Franji people.
The Ming Dynasty in this time and space has shown its majesty. The knowledgeable people among the major Japanese lords cannot help but think about the future relationship between their own families and the Ming Dynasty. It is necessary to send someone to understand the situation.
Fan Anli also informed Luo Mingjian and Matteo Ricci of the situation in Japan and the missionary situation: After the Erchuan War in the sixth year of Tianzheng (the sixth year of Wanli), the Dayou Zonglin family, the most loyal servants of Christianity, lost the support of the people and was now conquered by the pagan Shimazu. The family was defeated steadily.
Takeda Shingen's successor, Takeda Katsuyori, launched an army to attack the Tokugawa clan this year. However, before Fan Li'an left Japan, Takeda Shingen had already betrayed his relatives, and the Takeda family would be destroyed in an instant.
The biggest event in Japan this year is not the war between the Tokugawa family and the Takeda family, but the "Kyoto Army Horse Exercise" organized by Oda Nobunaga in Kyoto in February. Fan Anli heard that Emperor Masachika attended the exercise.
At present, the largest military and political force in Japan is Oda Nobunaga. When Fan Anli returned from Japan, he heard that the Oda army had captured most of the land in central Vietnam. Fan Anli judged: "If nothing happens, Japan's Warring States Period is coming to an end, and Oda Nobunaga will take full power."
For the Catholic Church, the expansion of the power of Oda Nobunaga, who has a favorable opinion of Christianity, is welcome, at least it is good for missionary work. With the expansion of the power of the Oda family, the number of Christian believers in Japan has grown to 150,000, with a total of more than 200 churches.
Fan Anli said that the foundation laid by predecessors such as Gago, Algarseva, and Saint Xavier has now reached a very prosperous period. But no matter how well Japan develops, it is still insignificant to the entire East, because the largest fertile soil is in China.
During his trip to Japan this time, he came into contact with many upper-class nobles. The most common question encountered is, since the "Kiroshidan Sect" is so good, why don't the smart Ming people believe it?
Fan Anli lamented: "Chinese culture has had a great influence on Japan. The popularity of Chinese utensils and poems in Japan is staggering. If we can open up the situation in China, the spread of the gospel of God will achieve unimaginable success throughout the East. .”
At the end of November of the ninth year of Wanli, Fan Anli and others completed the establishment of the mission. Including the Secretary to the Governor of Goa and others who arrived in Macau with Matteo Ricci, the size of the mission reached more than thirty people. Subsequently, Zhaoqing Mansion, which had already received the imperial court's approval of Luo Wanhua's inscription, approved the entry permit for the mission.
The Portuguese mission needs to enter through Guangzhou Customs, which has just put up a sign, because the port of entry is located in Guangzhou City. The mission that wanted to enter the country from Zhaoqing did not raise any objections and took a boat into Liuxihe, a tributary of the Pearl River. They disembarked at the Guangzhou Pier and went to the customs to go through the immigration formalities.
When the mission walked out of the dock road, they encountered a large group of Portuguese, there could be dozens of them. These people were gathered around the door of the government office with a plaque reading "Guangzhou Customs of the Ming Dynasty" hanging on the door, shouting.
Fan Anli and others looked at each other, not knowing what was going on. Just as he was about to drag a fellow countryman over to ask, the customs gate that was still closed suddenly opened, and a group of red-clad guards rushed out, each holding a wooden stick as thick as a child's arm, beating the Portuguese who were blocking the gate and howling like ghosts.
A captain was so angry that he took out a musket from his waist and fired a shot into the sky. This time it only stirred up a hornet's nest. The gun-wielding Ming troops who were standing at the door to watch the excitement - they and the Jinyiwei were obviously not on the same team. They all raised their Wanli 14-type muskets and looked like they were going to shoot all these ship owners.
Fan Anli and others who were standing in the distance were stunned. Matteo Ricci, who was less than thirty years old and had not yet learned Chinese at this time, stood nearby and yelled: "Are you brave? Slant on you!"
Despite the tense atmosphere, Luo Mingjian still laughed. He then shouted: "We are the envoy allowed to enter by Governor Luo Wanhua! Please don't shoot!"
Originally, the scene of Wolf Running and Dolphin Rush became quiet because of this shouting. Immediately, the Portuguese businessmen saw that they were under the gunpoint of the Ming army and quickly calmed down. The leader of the Jinyiwei is a small flag with a ferocious appearance. Seeing that they stopped making noise, he pointed at a fat Chinese-looking man in the crowd and let him come closer.
The fat man, wearing a satin jacket, walked over timidly. The Mingjun Xiaoqi asked: "Are you Chinese?" The fat man nodded first, then shook his head and said: "No, I am from Ryukyu - I can speak Chinese."
The Xiaoqi frowned and said, "Then can you speak Frankie?"
The fat man nodded again. The little flag said: "The interpreters at the customs ate something bad today and had diarrhea collectively. They all went home. Later, the customs chief will come out to speak. Please translate it. If you tamper with the meaning of your words, I will kill you! Do you hear me clearly?"
The fat man nodded and bowed, indicating that he understood. The little flag hit him on the head and asked, "Did you hear that clearly?!"
The fat man was still nodding, but a Portuguese man next to him couldn't help it and said in weird Chinese: "This officer asked you, do you hear it clearly? You answer it!"
The little flag squinted his eyes and cursed: "Did I ask you to speak? Get out of here!" The Portuguese man had no problem listening to Cantonese. Seeing that he was rude, he raised his eyebrows and revealed a fierce look in his eyes.
When Xiao Qi saw that he was unruly, he said nothing, but carried the big stick in his right hand towards his head with the wind. The Portuguese didn't expect that this officer could be so brutal. He took the blow with his own Tianling Gai without any preparation. He rolled his eyes and fell to the ground.
There was a roar from the crowd, and these Portuguese people were a little unsteady. Luo Mingjian couldn't help but shouted from a distance: "I am an envoy who is going to Beijing to meet with His Majesty the Emperor. I can speak Chinese and I can translate."
When the little flag heard the words "His Majesty the Emperor", he stopped being arrogant and stretched out his hand to signal Luo Mingjian to come over. Luo Mingjian saw that his face was full of flesh and his calves were also a little cramped, so he slowly walked closer while maintaining his demeanor.
The little flag asked: "You all wait here." After saying that, he turned around and entered the door.
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