Felipe II finally chose to refuse. He really couldn't give up the birthplace of the spice trade because of the Ming Dynasty's threat, even though Malacca was extremely corrupt and could hardly provide him with much profit compared to Mexico and Peru.
While Felipe II was escaping the showdown, he was also praying for a miracle to happen. Maybe Siris, the greedy emperor, suddenly fell ill and died?
Although Xu Guangqi was tasked with negotiating with Felipe II, Zhu Yijun was not so naive that Spain could voluntarily give up the Spice Islands. Therefore, for the mission, the failure of this mission did not affect morale. In fact, this mission was a lower priority than the mission's real mission.
After Felipe II made the decision to refuse to return Luzon and the Spice Islands, he treated Xu Guangqi better. Deep down in his heart, he does not want a conflict between the two sides. After all, no one wants to fight a losing war. Therefore, he hoped to use Xu Guangqi to send a message to Zhu Yijun: Felipe II is not a bad person.
As the mission began to move toward Rome, the list of the first batch of people to return home was also produced. These thirty people need to leave the mission and escort Xu Guangqi's report back to the country.
Xu Guangqi objectively and detailedly recorded the mission's exchanges in Spain. Following the report, the first gift the mission brought back to Malacca was samples of ale and brewing methods, hop seeds and cultivation techniques.
As a physicist, Xu Guangqi keenly realized that low-temperature sterilized ale can be stored longer than fresh water, which would be extremely beneficial for long-distance voyages. With the invention of the microscope, low-temperature pasteurization had been used before Xu Guangqi's mission. Under the control of Gewuyuan.
Along with the return ship, there are also items such as green bean seeds, cultivation and consumption methods. The largest cargo was forty Merino sheep - Spain had no intention of cherishing this kind of fine-haired sheep. Nowadays, this kind of sheep is everywhere in America and Africa, so the mission's livestock team spent ten dukas on it. I bought them all.
Although sheep are inexpensive, hiring sheepherders is expensive. In order to prevent shipwreck, these forty sheep, like other things, were divided into equal parts and loaded on five ships. Each ship had to have native Spanish herdsmen who were familiar with this kind of sheep to take care of them.
For people to leave their homes and live thousands of miles away, they must take their wives and children with them, and they also have to spend a huge amount of money to settle down, otherwise no one would make this determination. Of course, everything has a price, and the gentlemen from Siris offer generously, making it impossible for anyone chosen to refuse.
...
When the mission left Madrid, Carlo Medici also left the University of Salamanca. He wanted to accompany Xu Guangqi through Spain to Rome.
Through close exchanges with the Chinese mission these days, Carlo Medici firmly believed that if he found a job as a low-level affairs officer or secretary in Madrid, his future would be far inferior to that of following Xu Guangqi.
Now Carlo Medici is learning Chinese all the time, and he has also said goodbye to meaningless wine and social dances. He has devoted all his time to the work of the mission.
With Carlo joining, Luo Mingjian's burden is lighter. At least he doesn't have to accompany Xu Guangqi all the time to introduce him to some common sense. Due to their status, low-ranking priests like Luo Mingjian were not qualified to accompany Xu Guangqi, but Carlo was about the same age as Xu Guangqi, so it was harmless as a follower.
Nowadays, the Medici family is extremely powerful in the Holy See. Now that Carlo Medici has climbed the big tree of Xu Guangqi, Luo Mingjian does not mind giving this illegitimate son more opportunities.
...
After the mission's trip to Madrid, the mission will travel across Spain and board a ship in the Sunshine City "Valencia" for Italy and Rome.
Because it has entered "winter", southern Spain has entered a comfortable season - the Mediterranean Sea will blow the heat accumulated throughout the summer to the entire southern Europe, the sky is clear, the sun is warm, and the air is crisp.
Such a pleasant climate put the envoys in a good mood. They travel leisurely every day, improving their lives when they encounter cities, and happily visiting nobles with castles - apart from being homesick, this life should not be too beautiful.
...
At the same time, 20,000 miles away, the capital of the Ming Dynasty also entered winter. Although it was early winter, under the gloomy sky, the north wind mixed with sand dust, fallen leaves and the choking smell of soot made people feel only depressed.
At dusk, at the entrance of Goulan Hutong in the southeast of Dongcheng, a Portuguese man holding a gourd swayed out. As he walked, he gestured and turned his head back to curse. Then there was a curse from the madam behind him: "Donkey barbarian, you stink to death! Don't go into this alley unless you take a shower, otherwise you will spoil the fun of the guests and girls!"
The Portuguese man with a yellow beard and some dreads cursed angrily and walked away. Seeing his body swaying, several men at the entrance of the alley gathered around him and said, "Is this brother going to Siyi Pavilion? Just take a taxi, and ten big boys will help you get there!"
The Portuguese glanced at the coachman who was soliciting business, shook his head and said: "No! I don't have ten of them in total, and all the elders have lost their books! There are no more beans, and Lao Fu is bankrupt!"
After saying that, he shed two tears from the corners of his eyes, put the red lacquered gourd in his hand to his mouth, and took a big gulp.
The man in front of him twitched his nose: "Hey, this is Taibai's Erguotou! Your gourd is enough for me to work for a day!"
"Go away, this is my wine!" The Portuguese man couldn't help but panic when he heard the men starting to praise his wine. He quickly grasped the gourd and lowered his head, trying to slip out of the crowd.
How could those men let him go like this - it was a cold day with nothing to do, just to amuse him for a while. There were two people standing in front of him, and one grabbed his leather jacket from behind - "Barbarian, your leather jacket is not bad! Why don't you go to the pawn shop to pawn some wine money, and the car money will come out!"
The Portuguese drunkard rushed left and right in the crowd, but could not break through the tacit understanding of the encirclement. After a while, the drunk man's forehead was covered with sweat, and a bunch of foam came out of the corner of his mouth.
A few carriage drivers were making a fuss when suddenly someone coughed and said, "Okay, that's almost it!"
An idle man turned around and cursed: "You--hey, it turns out to be Mr. Liu, why do you have to come here to hang out today?"
The man who was called Mr. Six was wearing an exquisite satin robe, with a green emerald thumb on his left thumb. Hearing the coachman's rude words, he raised his right hand and made a mouthful.
"roll!"
The majesty of this local snake in the East City was not trivial, and several carriage drivers walked away in a nonchalant manner. When the Portuguese got an opening, he ducked down and tried to run away. A companion behind "Sixth Master" grabbed him and said, "Mr. Ines, why are you running away? Our Sixth Master has something to do with you. It's a good thing to make a fortune!"
This drunkard was none other than Ines, who came to the capital with the Roman envoy. In the second year after Portugal was annexed, Vincent, the governor of Goa, resigned and Spanish Almeida Julioque took over as governor. This directly led to the loss of Mr. Ines, Vincent's first secretary who stayed in the capital. The biggest backer.
He originally wanted to leave China, but the achievements and honors obtained by the mission in China made him reluctant to do so - in a diocese with less than a hundred members, the cardinal appointed three at once, which was unheard of for a bishop like Ines.
This mission will inevitably go down in history, but Ines’ position is very embarrassing. After Lisbon was occupied by Felipe II, Ines was forgotten by the Madrid court - and among the Portuguese nobles who had just experienced the pain of national subjugation, who could remember the former first-class secretary beside the defeated Vincent?
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