William, dressed in Catholic clothing, walked slowly in St. Mark's Square.
In front of you is the Cathedral of Saint Mark, also known as Saint Mark's Basilica. This church is the pride of Venice. No church in any country can compare with it. All Christians know Saint Mark. cathedral. There is the history of Venice, the core of Venice, and the glory of Venice. It is the starting point of the Fourth Crusade.
The church building follows the Byzantine style, in the shape of a Greek cross, covered with five hemispherical domes, integrating various schools of Byzantine, Gothic, Islamic and Renaissance styles. The front of the church is fifteen feet seven feet long and has five edge-arched Romanesque doors. There are oriental and Gothic spiers and various marble statues, reliefs and flower-shaped patterns on the top.
William stopped and looked at the familiar figures in front of the church, his eyes filled with tears.
Catholic Bishop Francis and Father Johnson led people to greet William.
Francis stepped forward and said with great relief: "Jesus bless you, you are finally back safely. How many hardships and hardships have you suffered in the past six years? Come into the church and tell us."
William thanked the bishop, greeted the priest and others, and entered the church surrounded by everyone.
Francis looked at the vicissitudes of life and energetic William, and said with a smile: "I see that you gained a lot from your trip east. I heard that you really arrived in Selis, is it true?"
William nodded solemnly and sat down: "To be honest with the bishop, priest, and everyone else, we have indeed arrived in Selis in the east, the place Marco Polo said, but the Yuan Dynasty no longer exists, and was replaced by a country named The empire of Ming Dynasty has a vast territory and a large population. The most gratifying thing is that Ming Dynasty is not closed or exclusive. There are mosques, Islam, Buddhism, and Taoism..."
Francis' eyes were shining, and he leaned forward: "So, then Ming Dynasty is an excellent place for us to preach?"
William hesitated and shook his head: "I'm afraid it won't be easy."
Father Johnson was puzzled: "Since the Ming Dynasty is not exclusive and can accommodate many faiths, why is it so difficult to say so?"
William sighed, took out a book from his arms, and placed it in front of him: "This is the Analects of Confucius, a collection of remarks by the Eastern sage Confucius. The monarchs and officials of the Ming Dynasty believed in Confucian knowledge. Most of them Some of them do not believe in sects. The monarch is their object of allegiance and their highest will, and they will not give their souls to God."
Francis did not read "The Analects of Confucius". The mysterious oriental characters were not easy to decipher. He only frowned and asked: "If you find the opportunity, can you convince the monarch of the Ming Dynasty to believe in God?"
William frowned.
It was probably not an easy task for Emperor Jianwen to believe in God and Jesus, and it might even bring disaster.
"Bishop, I think Catholicism can enter the Ming Dynasty, but it should not seek to change the monarch of the Ming Dynasty. Instead, it should focus on the people and attract the people of the Ming Dynasty to believe in God through preaching. This is also the development path of other sects in the Ming Dynasty."
William said seriously.
Francis stared thoughtfully.
Although he is not the Pope of the Catholic Church and does not live in Rome, he is a Catholic bishop after all, and he is eager to consolidate and strengthen his status and influence through the congregation.
If the Catholic Church can rule the Ming Dynasty and become an existence that speaks for itself, then it will become an existence that even the Pope needs to bow to! But now according to William, it is not easy to make people in Ming Dynasty believe in Catholicism.
"Don't you think that controlling the nobles of the Ming Dynasty is the best way to preach?"
Francis asked William, his eyes lighting up.
William did not hesitate and said bluntly: "Bishop, believe me, before God's voice has been widely conveyed in the land of Ming Dynasty, never let God come into contact with the nobles of Ming Dynasty."
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Johnson was very dissatisfied: "If even their nobles cannot be conquered and can only be cultivated in the countryside, how many years will it take for Catholicism to usher in glory in the Ming Dynasty? Twenty years, fifty years, or a hundred years?"
William looked at the priest and said solemnly: "Whether it is a hundred years or two hundred years, as long as the Catholic Church provides support, I believe that the Bible will be widely spread in the Ming Dynasty, and Jesus will have countless believers."
Francis was a little disappointed. If Catholicism could not become the most noble sect in the Ming Dynasty and could not control the Ming Dynasty, where would its majesty and power come from? The spread of Catholicism relies on the supreme power of the sect and is spread from top to bottom.
If entering the Ming Dynasty requires spreading doctrines and attracting believers from the bottom, then this process will undoubtedly be long-term, and it is not even a matter of one's own generation of bishops, but of several generations of bishops.
But we cannot give up on the East. There are countless people there, who are the future Catholics.
Francis calmed down and looked at William calmly: "Going to the East to preach and build churches has always been the Catholic wish. You went to the East and brought precious news and the gospel to the spread of Catholicism. William, if the Catholic Church If you want to advance eastward, do you still have the courage to return to the Ming Dynasty?"
William nodded solemnly: "I came back this time to take more people with me to help me preach in the Ming Dynasty. I need the Bible, craftsmen, priests, and all the power to preach!"
Francis was very satisfied and looked up in the direction of the door: "I heard the news that Adam came back. He brought rich oriental trade products. Is it true?"
William assured: "God has witnessed it, and I will bear witness for him."
Francis asked some more about the Ming Dynasty, and then said: "It seems that the Doge of Venice, Micheli Steno, will come to the church soon. William, God bless you and bless the Catholic Church."
William stood up and left.
As Bishop Francis expected, the Doge of Venice, Micheli Steno, came to the church.
The Doge of Venice, also known as the Duke of Venice, is the chief executive of the Republic of Venice. He is usually a prestigious elder who is elected by the nobles of the Republic and serves for life. When the early Venetian doges were in power, they always tended to introduce their sons into important public positions, causing the doge system to almost become a hereditary monarchy.
Later, the Republic of Venice stipulated that the governor had no authority to nominate a successor, and handed over the election of the governor to the Council of Forty-One and the Grand Council of Venice. The governor's authority has been repeatedly compressed, and other officials need to be present even when opening foreign letters. Even if the governor dies, his performance will be evaluated by the Great Council. If the governor is found to have neglected his duties, the parliament has the power to confiscate all the governor's property.
Precisely because of the existence of these systems, the Doge of Venice, Micheli Steno, did not have much power, but when it came to the future of Venice and trade with the mysterious East, the Doge had to seek cooperation with the Catholic Church.
The power of businessmen is limited, but the power of Catholicism is unlimited. They have people who are familiar with Eastern culture, have fanatical beliefs, and have countless wealth. As long as they have the full support of Catholicism, the merchants of Venice can Go to sea on a large scale and head to the far east.
Michaeli saluted Francis, and then said respectfully: "The mysterious veil of the East has been lifted. It is the paradise of merchants and a place where God has never set foot. I hope that the Catholic Church can form a fleet with the merchants to go to the Ming Dynasty. Create a new era.”
Francis did not embarrass Micheli and hit it off: "Dear Governor, you can tell the brave merchants of Venice that the Catholic Church will definitely send people to follow them on their voyage. No matter how many ships they have, I promise them that on every ship, there will be at least A priest prayed for them with a Bible in his hand."
Michaeli is very happy. Venice will become the center of the world when he is the governor, and will become the center of everyone's attention. And he, the governor, will be dubbed the greatest title.
News of Timur's death finally reached Venice, along with news that the Ming Dynasty had reopened the Silk Road.
Adam did not expect that the Ming Dynasty would move so quickly. They controlled the Western Region in a short period of time and began to seek to restart Sino-Western trade.
This is an excellent opportunity, but Adam is still unwilling to take the land route or the Silk Road, preferring to take the sea route.
The reason is very simple. The only way to travel the Silk Road is by camels, and how much goods can a camel caravan carry? But taking a boat is different. A boat can accommodate a lot of cargo.
The dangers are pretty much the same.
The time is almost the same.
But there is a big difference between the income and the income. The most important thing is that Adam has traveled by sea and has rich sailing experience. He may encounter the Ming Dynasty's navy fleet along the way, and he can go together with him.
Venice fell into the Oriental Fever. Countless sailors gathered at the port. Many nobles began to unite and form a large fleet. Everyone had only one destination:
East, Ming Dynasty.
While the Venetian merchants were preparing, the main force of Zheng He's naval fleet had all left the west coast of Africa and entered the deep and boundless seas.
The equatorial ocean current and the gentle westerly wind blow the sails, urging the ship to sail westward.
Weird currents, sudden storms, powerful sea beasts, dead ships, and floating corpses.
A ship was moving forward, and sergeants fell down one by one on the way forward. However, there was no fear on the faces of the living people. They were full of perseverance, stubbornness and indomitable spirit!
go ahead!
Head towards the darkest sea and break out of a dawn!
Zhang Yu was panting violently, and his forehead was covered with beads of sweat. The sea area in front of him was frequently stormed. Huge vortices appeared as soon as they appeared. A big fortune ship was swallowed directly into it, and hundreds of sergeants disappeared immediately!
Is there really a continent at the end of this sea? Is there really hope?
Zhang Yu's lips were a little chapped and her eyes were red.
