The mission entered Madrid on September 16, the twelfth year of Wanli. The mission was deeply impressed by the most beautiful area of the world's largest empire: it was more sewage-filled and smelly than Lisbon. In short - Like a cesspool.
In Europe at this time, there were no "sewers of conscience" as later generations would call them, and there were very few toilets. From the king to the nobles, they all wear big cloaks. When they want to urinate, the cloak is tied around them and they defecate everywhere - this really doesn't mean they are buried.
A hundred years later, during the Louis XIV period in France, in order to solve the problem of urination and defecation in places such as Versailles and the Louvre. This guy came up with a "wonderful" way to move things smoothly.
After the Palace of Versailles was completely destroyed by feces, Louis XIV moved to the Louvre to continue the destruction, while the Palace of Versailles was left to the servants for cleaning. After the Louvre was filled with feces, Louis XIV once again lived in the cleaned Palace of Versailles, and then sent his servants to the Louvre.
In this way, cities across Europe are filled with stench. Even if people with strong body odor can't bear the unpleasant odor, they will not choose to take a bath. Instead, they will find ways to study spices. Therefore, some women often hang a delicate bag filled with spices on their bodies in order to cover up body odor.
Because the entire city is dirty and messy, it has also led to another problem, which is the proliferation of parasites. Like Henry VIII, his legs were ulcerated and covered with parasites because of his uncleanness. As a last resort, he took a herbal bath as ordered by the doctor. In addition, when later generations studied the remains of King Charles III of England, they found that his remains were covered with roundworm eggs.
.......
After holding our noses and entering Madrid, because there were so many people in the delegation, there was no hotel that could accommodate them all. Therefore, under the coordination of Luo Mingjian, a count's mansion was rented out for the heads of the mission to live. The remaining part that could not be accommodated was accommodated in a hotel in Madrid - anyway, the mission was rich and could not afford to rent a few hotels. A few bucks.
The earl who vacated his mansion moved to his villa outside the city for the cardinal's sake, and because of his reputation he couldn't ask for money, so the mission gave him some porcelain and tea as a thank you gift.
At today's market price, these exquisite porcelains are enough to buy his Earl's Mansion. Therefore, the earl moved very happily and said that he would leave the servants to serve the noble Seris, but Xu Guangqi refused because the smell was too great.
After entering Europe, the most unbearable thing for everyone in the mission was the smell. After the Renaissance, many nobles abandoned the superstitious idea that bathing would make the body unholy, and began to rinse the body with cold water. Coupled with the fact that they could afford spices, the smell was not particularly unpleasant.
But their servants didn't have that condition. He would irritate his eyes if he came within ten feet of him. Count Xu Guangqi would be knocked unconscious if he spoke face to face, so he could only refuse firmly. When he entered Lisbon, he was a little surprised. How could these nobles endure such a smell? After entering Madrid, he completely understood - the so-called abalone restaurant.
...
After the daily itinerary of the Ming Dynasty mission, they would hold a meeting at the residence. The heads of the mission, such as Xu Guangqi and Wang Jiaping, would gather together to review the day's itinerary and determine whether their goals were achieved based on the reactions of the audience.
On the night when the "win-win theory" was thrown out, a review meeting was held at Earl's Mansion. Xu Guangqi discussed with everyone in the mission whether Spain could accept Ming's conditions. If not, what’s the next step; if so, what’s the next step.
Deputy envoy Wang Jiaping smiled and said: "Zixian, we don't have to have any illusions about the conditions accepted by the Spanish king. The Western barbarians, like the Eastern barbarians, are both fearful of power and unethical. Without doing something, they can't possibly Spit out the fat in your mouth.”
Liu Chengxi nodded in agreement after hearing this: "Less than seven days since we landed, there have been three incidents of people coming to stir up trouble. If we hadn't dealt with it in accordance with the principle of 'not causing trouble and not being afraid of trouble' explained by the emperor, we would have been fooled by these Westerners." Let’s go.”
It turned out that on the first day Xu Guangqi disembarked, an officer from the Lisbon dock provoked trouble and asked the mission to escort the goods off the dock and hand over the items unloaded from the ship to their care.
Of course Liu Chengxi could not agree. The two sides talked for a while, and the officer called an interpreter from nowhere and said that this was an order from the Marquis of Denia and asked Liu Chengxi to execute it immediately.
How could Liu Chengxi leave without Xu Guangqi's order? The two sides refused to give in, and the officer deliberately intensified the conflict and started pushing him due to the quarrel. Liu Chengxi, who was suffering from a headache, kicked him in the stomach, and the officer lay on the ground and howled miserably.
Immediately afterwards, a large group of Spanish troops came to hand over the firearms of the Ming guards. Seeing that the situation was not good, Liu Chengxi organized his troops into an attack formation and was about to rush into the Governor's Mansion to snatch Xu Guangqi out. But at the critical moment, another senior officer came and drove the Spanish army away.
When Liu Chengxi sent someone to report, Xu Guangqi would of course question the Marquis of Denia. The Marquis of Denia was also confused and expressed that he wanted to find out.
Then at the end of the reception banquet, the Marquis of Denia apologized to Xu Guangqi, saying that he failed to restrain his subordinates, and explained that the guy wanted to make a fortune and fled to the Netherlands.
Xu Guangqi believed it at the time and didn't take it seriously. As a result, when they left Lisbon, Liu Chengxi, who was born in the Military Intelligence Bureau, reported to him that the officer who caused trouble that day was fine and was still on duty at the dock - scaring Xu Guangqi and others into sweat.
Later review and analysis showed that although Spain is the core of the Holy Alliance, it is not of the same mind as the Holy See. The Marquis of Denia would not do anything to the members of the mission, but if he covered up Liu Chengxi and withheld Xu Guangqi's gift to the Holy See that day, it would be considered as an action to educate Xu Guangqi and the Pope - who is the boss in Europe.
After this incident, Xu Guangqi deeply felt the meaning of the emperor's instructions before leaving port, "the mission is important, be careful and brave", and he also gained a perceptual understanding of the barbaric nature of the Western Yi.
In the following days, two similar things happened: when passing through the customs on a trip to Madrid, a tax collector wanted to check the goods carried by the mission. The Lisbon official sent by the Marquis of Denia failed to help, and the tax collector insisted. After checking and collecting taxes according to the value of the goods, Luo Mingjian could only smile in embarrassment.
Xu Guangqi immediately said he would not go to Madrid and was ready to return the same way. Only then did the tax collectors get calmed down and the customs passed smoothly. There was another disgusting thing after that - when they were stationed in a small town to rest for a night and set off the next day, several prostitutes stopped the mission and said they were escorted by the mission and were having sex for free.
Liu Chengxi asked the person involved carefully. The young men looked confused and said that they knew about the "Hualiu disease" when they were training in Tianjin, so they had the courage to do this. One of the ill-tempered guards yelled and cursed: "This European doesn't take a shower all year round, and the smell on his body can kill people - do you want me to vomit at the same time?"
This reason was so powerful that the head of the mission, whose nose was strongly influenced these days, believed it at the time. After discussing with Wang Jiaping and others, Xu Guangqi made a decisive decision, immediately stopped his trip and asked the local magistrate to handle it - if he had thought of using small money to kill the trouble, he would have really fallen into a trap. At least if the reputation of the Seris people for free prostitution spreads, it will have a negative impact on Xu Guangqi's mission.
The Spaniards used three axes but could not suppress the mission, and they have been quiet since then. Luo Mingjian, who was accompanying Xu Guangqi, saw Spain acting so recklessly, so he had to tell Xu Guangqi the truth: the Holy See had no binding force on Spain, and Felipe II had the initiative in the game with the Pope.
Although Felipe II was a Catholic fanatic, not all his actions were appreciated by the Vatican. The Pope was happy to see the wars of religion and even the massacre of the Huguenots, but the indiscriminate burning of "heresies" was opposed by the Holy See because it greatly tarnished the reputation of the Holy See and the Inquisition - something both sides did not miss. Talk nonsense.
Of course, on the surface, the two are still the core of the Holy Alliance, but all European countries know it well, and the two sides seem to be inseparable. Gregory XIII's peace edict issued in response to Xu Guangqi's arrival is a typical example - using righteousness to create obstacles for Felipe II.
Xu Guangqi and Luo Mingjian were good friends, so they couldn't say anything. Besides, it was decided by the emperor to come to Spain first, so the Holy See couldn't be blamed.
As for why they came to Spain first, of course it was because Ming Dynasty and Spain had a direct conflict of interest - the mission had to decide the next step based on Spain's attitude.
...
Before his mission, Wang Jiaping was the Minister of Culture and Education of the Ming Dynasty. His ability to serve as deputy envoy was decreed by the Holy Will. His main responsibility is to evaluate the existing cultural achievements of Europe and promote civilizational exchanges between the two sides as much as possible.
After the review meeting, Wang Jiaping sighed: "It's true that I have read thousands of books and traveled thousands of miles. Although the Europeans are barbaric, they still have their own rituals and music, which cannot be regarded as uncivilized. At least in architecture, painting, and sculpture In terms of music, music and the study of things, it is enough to be regarded as China's 'stone from other mountains' - but the smell is too smelly."
Everyone present laughed loudly after hearing this. Xu Guangqi said to Wang Jiaping: "Tomorrow we are going to visit the University of Salamanca in Madrid. According to the emperor's wishes, we are going to copy and buy some documents and books to take back. I hope the Spanish authorities will not obstruct this. Bar."
Wang Jiaping said with a smile: "That's not the case. I talked about this with Duke Sidonia today. The Western Yi people are just like us, and they are also happy to see that their theories can be spread to China - of course, they also cherish the technology of studying things, and they also like us. Same."
Several people were talking happily when a guard came in and reported: "There is a Western Yi named Francis outside the station who wants to see him. He said that he bought a boatload of porcelain in Malacca."
Wang Jiaping was confused after hearing this, but Xu Guangqi was shocked and said quickly: "Tell him to come in."
When the visitor came in, Xu Guangqi said: "The emperor had written a letter to the Tudor Queen of England before, and it was brought over on a porcelain merchant ship in Malacca - the visitor should be British."
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