Portugal wants to marry China and is willing to give up a port as a dowry in exchange for China's protection of Portugal's Asian ports.
Of course Zhao Han was happy to accept this proposal...well, he only accepted half of it.
Zhao Han's reply was that China only protects Portugal's ports in India and is only responsible for dealing with Dutch forces. As for countries such as Oman, Persia, and the Mughals, Portugal will deal with them on its own, and China will never get involved.
Take Oman as an example. The navy has not yet been formed, but it takes pirates to the west coast of India to fight Portugal every day. Moreover, they fight almost every year. How can China control it?
The Portuguese ambassador's name is very long, let's call him Antonio.
This guy met with the emperor yesterday and received such a reply. He was frustrated but also a little happy. Although Portugal is "beaten by thousands of people", except for the Netherlands, Portugal can barely withstand the hammers of other countries.
Ministry of War.
Gu Jianshan, the left commander of the navy, took the list of ports given by Portugal and spread out the map to search: "This is not good for Portugal. All the colonial ports on the east coast of India have been robbed by the Netherlands. Originally there were three more in Ceylon.
The port was also swallowed up by the Netherlands in the past two years. Today, Portugal only has one port left on the east coast of India, and it is not willing to use it as a dowry."
Lu Xiangsheng said: "We are determined not to take the ports on the west coast of India. First, the distance is too far, and it is difficult to manage them; second, according to the news brought back by the mission, the situation on the west coast is very complicated. If you don't pay attention, it will
Involved in multi-national disputes."
"How about here?" Gu Jianshan pointed at Chittagong.
Lu Xiangsheng said: "This is not on the dowry list, and it does not seem to be a Portuguese colony."
Gu Jianshan explained: "Portuguese rule in Chittagong is somewhat similar to Macau in the past. It was leased from Rakhine State (Arakan), and Portugal could only control an urban area. Outside the city, everything was owned by Arakan pirates.
Even the king of Arakan cannot control the world. Even the Portuguese ships and sailors are mostly recruited Arakan pirates."
Lu Xiangsheng thought carefully: "This time the imperial court conquered Burma, the King of Rakhine actually dared to send reinforcements to help the King of Burma fight. Although he escaped without firing a shot, he still has to be punished. How about sending an envoy to Rakhine?"
, ordered the king to cede Chittagong. Then he replied to the Portuguese and asked them to hand over the city as a dowry."
"We still have to send out the navy to clean up all the pirates in Chittagong." Gu Jianshan said.
The ownership of Chittagong is very complicated. The sovereignty is in the hands of the King of Arakan, the control of the city is in the hands of Portugal, and the port and surrounding areas are actually controlled by pirates.
If he can get the forgiveness of the Chinese emperor, the Arakan king will definitely be willing to cede the land. He would not be able to actually control Chittagong. The Portuguese are also willing. Since the ports on the east coast of India have been eaten up, their strength in Chittagong is weak, and most of them are
It's time to cooperate with the pirates.
The only ones injured were the Arakan pirates. If China owned Chittagong, the first thing it would do would be to wipe out the pirates.
But it cannot be simply eliminated, because those pirates are all from coastal fishermen. Unless all the fishermen around the port are killed, the pirates will never be eliminated.
Controlling Chittagong is equivalent to controlling the Bay of Bengal, which will serve as an outpost for the future colonization of India.
The agriculture in the Bay of Bengal is very developed and can continuously obtain food. Malacca, which is not self-sufficient, will no longer have to look to Palembang for food in the future. Transportation from Chittagong is more than sufficient. Cotton cloth produced in China can also be shipped in bulk from Chittagong, India.
Cotton can also be obtained partly from Chittagong.
The Ministry of War and the Navy Governor's Office discussed and decided to immediately notify the Ministry of Rites, and Honglu Temple would contact the Portuguese envoy.
"China wants Chittagong?" Antonio was surprised and delighted. This poor place is great. China can take it if it wants.
Wang Duanyi, the Right Shaoqing of Honglu Temple, said: "After Chittagong belongs to our country, the Portuguese there can freely choose their nationality. At the same time, the missionaries there are no longer allowed to preach at will, and can only keep one church in the city. All missionary activities,
It can only be done inside the church.”
"Of course." Antonio doesn't care about this, he just needs to complete the task.
Immediately, the Ministry of Rites asked for the Portuguese princess's birthday and horoscope.
The princess's name is Catalina, and she was Charles's wife in history. She is 17 years old this year, which is a bit old. She must have been over 20 years old when she returned to China to get married.
Zhao Han also had a plan in his mind to use the descendants of this princess to interfere with the Portuguese throne in the future. However, the plan was destined to fail because Caterina was unable to have children. Charles later had more than ten illegitimate children, but he had a good relationship with Caterina.
No children.
Of course, you can also do it, just pretend to be someone else!
Anyway, the Holy See had already severed diplomatic relations with Portugal, and the Portuguese king went directly to the Jesuits for his coronation, so the Pope could not intervene in the change of the Portuguese royal family.
…
"Your Majesty, I translated this on my way back home. Due to religious issues, this book has not yet been published in France." Li Sixiao inherited Pascal's "Essays on Liquid Equilibrium and Air Weight".
Zhao Han glanced at the author first. "Pascal" was translated as "Bosco". He had no idea who it was just by looking at the name.
However, the content of this book shocked Zhao Han.
Prove the existence of vacuum, improve the mercury barometer, invent the syringe and hydraulic press, explain the change of air pressure with height, and propose Pascal's theorem (the pressure applied to any part of a sealed liquid must be transmitted by the liquid in all directions according to its original size)
…
Zhao Han looked at the author's name again and realized that it was Pascal. Who doesn't know the pressure unit "Pa"?
"None of the content of this book has been published in Europe?" Zhao Han asked.
Li Sixiao replied: "Because of fear of persecution by the Holy See, most of them have not been published, but have been spread privately among scholars. Only the last 'Bosco's theorem' was discovered by Bosco on the ship, and no one in Europe knows it yet."
.”
Zhao Han smiled and said: "Very good. This book will be taken to Qintian Academy and let scholars conduct experiments according to it. After verification, it will be published in Acta Physica Sinica and incorporated into university textbooks in the next two years. This Bao Sike,
Ke was selected as a master of physics at Qintianyuan, and the royal family rewarded him with one hundred silver dollars, and asked the Ministry of Industry to arrange a house for him."
"Your Majesty is wise," Li Sixiao said flatteringly.
Zhao Han asked again: "Did Bao Sike bring his family to China?"
Li Sixiao replied: "This gentleman lost his mother when he was three years old, and his father also died a few years ago. He has not married a wife in his thirties. It is precisely because he is alone and has no worries in France that he is willing to come all the way to heaven.
"
"Hire a servant for him to take care of his daily life," Zhao Han said. "If he wants to get a wife, we can also help him find a wife. Anyway, we can't let this man run away. We must make sure his heart is determined."
Li Sixiao said: "Bao Sike doesn't seem to be a womanizer. Except for academic topics, he doesn't even talk to people very much. He just does experiments, writes papers and reads all day long, and he talks a lot all day long.
Put the Lord on your lips.”
Zhao Han couldn't help but laugh: "Some strange problems are normal, don't bother him."
Zhao Han continued to browse other books, all of which were translated by Li Sixiao at sea, the most important of which was Descartes' "Principles of Philosophy".
Li Sixiao added a lot of private information and tried to explain the universe using the Confucian version of mind-matter dualism. Zhao Han was noncommittal about this theory and was more interested in the scientific research methods in the book. After reading it, he said: "This set of research rules is extremely
Okay, copy it down and let all the scholars at Qintian Academy have a look."
"Yes!" Li Sixiao handed over his hand.
Immediately, Zhao Han picked up another book: "Didn't this mathematician named Fermat also come here?"
Li Sixiao said: "This man was originally a lawyer. He spent money to buy a position as a local councilor, and then spent money to become the chief spokesman of the local council. He was obsessed with officialdom, and studying mathematics was just a hobby. And Fermat's works contain many contents
They are already available in China, so I only selected those that are not available in China for translation. Especially the theory of number theory is eye-opening."
"It turns out that he is a fan of officials. If he doesn't come, he won't come." Zhao Han said with a smile.
Fermat would not leave France. He became a rich man through marriage and used money to buy and get promoted. How could he be willing to leave all this behind?
In addition to these, there are many scientific books that need to be translated slowly. For example, Veda, Dezag, Steven, Kepler, etc. Li Sixiao bought all the books he could buy and shipped them back.
China.
A few days later.
Pascal, who was reading "Chinese Philosophy and Ethics", suddenly received several official appointments.
"Mr. Bao, you have been awarded a fifth-grade master's degree by His Majesty. This is the official uniform, formal dress and regular uniform issued by the imperial court. In addition, Qintianyuan has hired a servant for you, and Qintianyuan will pay the salary for the first three months.
You need to solve it by yourself after three months. There are still one hundred silver dollars, which is a reward from your majesty..."
Pascal learned some Chinese on the ship, but he was relatively withdrawn and did not communicate often. His Chinese proficiency was far less advanced than that of Prince Charles.
He spoke so fast that Pascal didn't understand even half of the sentence, so he had to rely on the translator from Honglu Temple.
Are you an official in China?
Pascal was a little confused.
Envoys from various countries were staying in this courtyard. When they heard the news, they came to watch the excitement one after another, and many of them were envious.
When the official left, a thin man in his thirties nodded and bowed and said: "Master Bao, my younger name is Wang Zhong. From now on, I will take care of my daily life. The imperial court also granted me a house outside the city. When will I move there?"
"Thank you." Pascal half understood.
The so-called homestead is just a small courtyard by Xuanwu Lake. Housing prices in the city are very high, and it is not easy to buy it if you have money. Most of the newly built residential houses are outside the city.
As for the servant Wang Zhong, he was a young eunuch left over from the previous dynasty. He had been guarding the gate and sweeping the floors of Qintian Yuan all these years.
Pascal was taken outside the city and immediately fell in love with his new home. Although the yard was not big and there were only a few rooms, the scenery of Xuanwu Lake was very good.
After staying for two days, Wang Zhong also surprised Pascal.
This seemingly ordinary servant actually asked him for mathematics knowledge. He was also proficient in analytic geometry and was studying some calculus.
"Sorry, Wang, I don't know much about calculus. I can't answer your doubts at the moment." Pascal felt a little ashamed that he was actually outcompeted by his own servant.
Wang Zhong was able to write and calculate. When he was seventeen, the Datong Army recaptured Nanjing, and he had been doing odd jobs as a eunuch of the former dynasty.
Due to his long stay in Qintianyuan, the little eunuch was influenced by his ears and eyes, and he began to study quietly, and often went to the library to laze around. No one knew what his knowledge was, and they all regarded him as an ordinary handyman, but after more than ten years of study and research
, Wang Zhong can already be called a mathematician.
However, he is very timid and has no self-confidence. He usually bows to everyone he meets.
Pascal was quite curious about this servant, so he began to discuss mathematical problems. Influenced by Pascal, Wang Zhong quickly gained a new understanding of air pressure and liquids.
The master and servant get along well with each other, as if they have been friends for many years.
It wasn't until Pascal read Wang Zhong's research manuscript that he finally couldn't help but said: "Wang, I think you can publish your results."
"It's better... forget it." Wang Zhong didn't want to cause trouble. He was very confident in his knowledge, but not confident in his body and identity.
Pascal said: "Give me these manuscripts, and I will help you deliver them to Xiao Zhangyuan of Qintianyuan."
