Felipe II finally chose to refuse. He really could not give up the birthplace of the spice trade because of the threat of the Ming Dynasty, even though Malacca was extremely corrupt and could hardly provide him with much profit compared to Mexico and Peru.
.
While Felipe II was escaping from 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 naive enough for Spain to voluntarily give up the Spice Islands. Therefore, for the mission, the failure of this mission did not affect morale. In fact, for the mission,
In terms of the real mission, this mission is ranked lower in priority.
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 did not want a conflict between the two sides. After all, no one wanted to fight a losing war. Therefore, he
I hope that through Xu Guangqi, I can send a message back to Zhu Yijun: Felipe II is not a bad person.
As the mission began to move toward Rome, the first list of people returning to the country was also produced. These thirty people needed to leave the mission and escort Xu Guangqi's report back to the country.
Xu Guangqi recorded objectively and in detail the mission's exchanges in Spain. Following the report, on the ship returning to Malacca, the first gifts the mission brought back were samples of ale and brewing methods, hop seeds and cultivation
technology.
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.
Controlled by Gokuyuan.
Along with the return ship, there were also items such as green bean seeds, cultivation and eating methods. The largest cargo was forty Merino sheep - Spain has no intention of cherishing this kind of fine-haired sheep, and now this
Breeding sheep are everywhere in America and Africa, so the mission's livestock team bought them for ten ducados.
Although sheep are not expensive, hiring shepherds is expensive. In order to prevent shipwrecks, these forty sheep, like other things, are divided into equal parts and loaded on five ships. Each ship must have a Spanish man who is familiar with this kind of sheep.
Native herders take care of them.
For people to leave their hometown and live thousands of miles away, they must take their wives and children with them, and 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, from Siris
The gentlemen are so generous that no one who is chosen can refuse.
...
When the mission left Madrid, Carlo Medici also left the University of Salamanca, and 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 the addition of Carlo, Luo Mingjian's burden is lighter. At least he does not have to accompany Xu Guangqi all the time to introduce him to some common sense. Because of their status, low-level priests like Luo Mingjian are not qualified to accompany Xu Guangqi, but Carlo
His age is similar to that of Xu Guangqi, so being a follower would be harmless.
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 heat accumulated in the Mediterranean Sea for a whole summer will blow to the entire southern Europe, the sky is clear, the sun is warm, and the air is crisp.
Such a pleasant climate made the envoys feel good. They traveled leisurely every day, improving their lives when they encountered cities, and happily visiting nobles with castles. Apart from being homesick, this day 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 was mixed with sand and dust, fallen leaves and the choking smell of soot, making 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 something. Then there was a curse from the madam behind him.
: "You donkey barbarian, it stinks to death! Don't go into this alley without taking a shower, otherwise you will spoil the fun of the guests and girls!"
The Portuguese man with a yellow beard and some dreadlocks cursed angrily and walked away. Seeing his body swaying, several men from the alley came around and said, "Is this brother going to Siyi Pavilion? Take a taxi.
Ten big boys will deliver it to you!"
The Portuguese glanced at the coachman 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, lowered his head, and was about to slip out of the crowd.
How could those men let him go like this? It was a cold day and he had nothing to do, just entertain him for a while. There were two blocking him in front of him, and one grabbed his fur coat 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 too!”
The Portuguese drunkard rushed left and right in the crowd, but could not break through the tacit circle of encirclement. After a while, the drunkard'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 someone suddenly coughed and said, "Okay, that's almost it!"
An idle man turned around and cursed: "You--oh, it turns out to be Mr. Liu, why do you have to come here to hang out today?"
The man who was called Sixth Master was wearing an exquisite silk robe and had 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. The Portuguese got an opening, and with a chirp, he ducked and wanted to run away. A companion behind "Sixth Master" grabbed him and said: "Mr. Ines"
, why are you running? Our Sixth Master has something to do with you, it is a good thing to make a fortune!"
This drunkard was none other than Ines, who came to the capital with the Roman mission. In the second year after Portugal was annexed, Vincent, the governor of Goa, resigned and the Spaniard Almeida Julioque took over as governor. This directly
As a result, Mr. Ines, Vincent's first secretary who stayed in the capital, lost his biggest supporter.
He originally wanted to leave China, but the achievements and honors the mission had gained 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 as big as Ines.
This mission will inevitably go down in history, but Ines's position is very embarrassing. After Lisbon was occupied by Felipe II, Ines was forgotten by the Madrid court - and the Portuguese nobles who had just experienced the pain of national subjugation, who
Can you still think of the former first-class secretary beside the defeated dog Vincent?