In Xu Guangqi's letter to Princess Leping, he said that he could not enjoy being a prince, which was actually an exaggeration. Even in later generations, business trips were hard work. What's more, for Europe at this time, the so-called enjoyment of princes is just that.
Compared with food and clothing, Xu Guangqi and Wang Jiaping paid more attention to their mission. In the second month after Xu Guangqi sent the letter to Leping, the mission set foot on the land of the Apennine Peninsula.
The entire Apennine Peninsula is like a high kicking boot inserted into the Mediterranean. The Papal State divided the boot into two sections in the middle: the heel and ankle of the boot are the Kingdom of Naples, and the knee to calf are Milan, which is under Spanish rule. , the independent Republic of Venice, the Republic of Genoa, and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the home of the illegitimate son Carlo.
As for the deformed football, it was once an independent kingdom of Sicily and is now also under Spanish rule.
South of Sicily, there is an island of Malta in the middle of the Mediterranean. At this time, it was also called the European Shield. More than fifty years ago, according to the orders of Pope Clement VII and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, The Knights Hospitaller, one of the three major knights, came to the island of Malta and paid a symbolic rent of 1 Maltese eagle to the Kingdom of Sicily every year. Together with the Maltese civilians, they formed the front line to resist the expansion of the Ottoman Empire.
Twenty years before Xu Guangqi visited Europe, the Knights Hospitallers led 2,000 infantrymen and 4,000 civilians to victory in the "Great Siege of Malta" - one of the most bloody and fierce sieges between the Ottoman Empire and the Christian Alliance. , is also a highlight in the history of Europe in the sixteenth century.
These geographical and historical allusions were all told by Carlo Medici to Xu Guangqi along the way.
The illegitimate son of the Grand Duke of Tuscany has made up his mind to follow the count from the East, and he is happy with Xu Guangqi's request to take a bath every day. Anyway, in his heart, the piety of this Eastern count who claims to believe in God is also nonsense - - He has never seen Xu Guangqi praying before meals these days. As for washing off dirt every day, it may be possessed by the devil, not to mention it is not a blasphemous evil act.
Regarding the fact that he was an illegitimate child, Carlo Medici also took the initiative to confess to Xu Guangqi before the mission boarded the ship. Although this matter is a well-known secret, Carlo Medici is still quite embarrassed to talk about it.
But it would be impossible not to tell the story. Due to a chance encounter with Xu Guangqi, Carlo has attracted great attention from European monarchs, including the Grand Duke Medici. Before the mission boarded the ship, the Archduke sent a letter asking Carlo to exert as much influence as possible. The mission - after arriving in the Apennine Peninsula, first went to the Principality of Tuscany as a guest. The Grand Duke himself had already sent an envoy to hand over a letter of invitation to the mission.
Among other things, the letters that the "Sai Chui" from the Ming Dynasty's missionary mission kept writing back repeatedly told the Europeans at this time that Seris was too rich. And money is enough to bridge all distances, whether geographical or psychological. As Europe's leading banker, the Medici Archduke would not let go of the possible expansion of financial business.
For Carlo, the task was entirely feasible. Because he knew that the mission also wanted to visit as much as possible, and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was one of the destinations - to study the Renaissance, it was impossible to bypass the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and its capital, Florence.
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According to Carlo Medici, his father Francesco I de' Medici was the shame of Europe and the top scumbag.
Francisco's first wife, Johanna, was a princess of the Holy Roman Empire, the Archduchess of Austria, the youngest daughter of Ferdinand I, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and Anna, Queen of Bohemia. Johanna inherited that her mother Anna was particularly fertile. She gave birth to eight children to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and three are still alive so far, but they are all daughters.
When Johanna gave birth to a child for the contemporary head of the Medici family, her lumbar spine was deformed and she was hunched over. When she was about to give birth to her eighth child, she accidentally fell down the stairs - well, it was a very familiar way of death, killing two people.
Soon, Francesco Medici married his mistress in Venice, Bianca Capello, which was what made Carlo Medici most dissatisfied.
Anca Capello was a married woman. Grand Duke Medici first got rid of her husband and then married her. The whole of Europe knew that this guy was the mastermind behind Anca Capello. He also raised Anca Capello. Brought a son and a daughter.
As the true blood of the Grand Duke, he was abandoned like worn out shoes; while Legrina and Antonio, as people of different surnames brought by Anca Capello, were adopted by the Grand Duke under his name - Carlo Medici found it difficult to understand He took advantage of his father's brain circuit.
After listening to him complain about the Grand Duke of Tuscany's evil deeds, Wang Jiaping couldn't bear to hear Carlo Medici's bad comments about his father, and interjected: "How do you know Antonio is not your father's biological child?" son?"
This sentence shut Carlo Medici away. He thought about it carefully and said to Xu Guangqi: "Your Excellency, you should go directly to Rome. I personally suggest that it is better to keep a respectful distance from the Grand Duke of Tuscany." ——Really, you don’t have to worry about my feelings.”
Xu Guangqi laughed loudly when he heard this, and Wang Jiaping couldn't help but smile. Luo Mingjian, who was on the same ship, explained: "If the mission arrives in Rome before mid-December of the Gregorian calendar, it will be in time. Since Grand Duke Medici has kindly invited us, we can go to Florence first. If we talk about Europe at this time, In the prosperity of humanities, Florence surpasses Rome.”
On November 20, 1584, the mission arrived in Florence, the cultural center of Europe and the birthplace of the Renaissance, guarded by the Iris family.
Grand Duke Francesco and his wife of Tuscany and his brother, Cardinal Ferdinando Medici of the Holy See, warmly welcomed Xu Guangqi and his party, and the courtesy does not need to be elaborated.
The mission stayed at the Palazzo Signiglia that day. This palace has a history of more than 200 years. It is also known as "Palazzo Vecchio" and also known as the Palazzo Vecchio. It was originally the government building of the Republic of Florence - the first trustee of the Palace. After Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Scanna, came to power, he turned it into the residence of the Medici family.
At the same time, Cosimo I also renovated the Pitti Palace and asked the famous architect Amanati to expand it. The Florentines called it the New Palace. Between the New Palace and the Old Palace, it was the beginning of the Renaissance. The Vasari Corridor, designed and built by Giotto's brother, one of the founders, was a corridor that the Medici family could use to cross the river between Palazzo Pitti and Palazzo Vecchio without being exposed to the open air.
Of course, the main reason why my brother designed this corridor is that underneath the corridor is the vegetable market and garbage discharge point in Florence, and the river water is also smelly - the same smell as Europe at this time. Xu Guangqi visited the Vasari Corridor It was too late to complain.
Although the smell was still unpleasant, the architecture, sculptures and paintings of Florence still gave the mission a great impact. The "Fountain of Poseidon" sculpted by Amanati in the Palazzo Vecchio, who is still alive, is not considered a top work among the Medici family. This family has too many works of art.
Michelangelo's sculpture "Victory" in the Palazzo Vecchio, Raphael's "Lorenzo de' Medici", Leonardo da Vinci's "Madonna of the Rocks" and a large number of sketch manuscripts - the top of the Renaissance The characters were all sponsored by the Medici family, so the Medici family also left a large number of works.
The Medici family has been funding artists since the first generation of banker Giovanni, and it has been nearly two hundred years now. There is a saying in later generations that is biased but not unreasonable: without the Medici, there would be no Renaissance.
After appreciating the art, Xu Guangqi naturally wanted to purchase some of the works: from Giotto to Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci, he was very interested in the paintings of dozens of top painters.
Francisco was very embarrassed: "Your Excellency, the Medici family has no precedent of selling art. I have to find an inescapable reason."
Xu Guangqi smiled after hearing this and said: "It's a pity, um. His Majesty the Emperor is very interested in oil paintings and banks. Before leaving China, His Majesty the Emperor also commissioned me to find a, um, partner who can open Seris Bank in Europe. "
"Oh, praise the Lord. I think - keeping these beautiful works of art in the peaceful East instead of Europa where wars are constantly breaking out is the best protection for them and the most honorable place for them."
After saying this, Francisco coughed violently and waved to Carlo Medici who was standing behind Xu Guangqi - Your Excellency, this is my son Carlo Medici. I hope you can take care of him. He, and allow him to represent me, is ever ready to offer you the loyalty of the Medici family.
