After ending his visit to the Roman Church, the Chinese delegation visited Italy again.
In fact, at this time, Italy was actually just a geographical concept, not a unified country. The Apennines are now part of the Holy Roman Empire of Germany and divided into more than a dozen principalities. However, Italy's status in Europe is very important because it is not only the birthplace of the ancient Rome and the European Renaissance, but also the art and cultural center of Europe now. Of course, it is also a must-do stop for the Chinese mission.
The Chinese delegation visited Milan, Florence and Venice in Italy, focusing on understanding and examining the historical content and relics of ancient Rome and the Renaissance, and visited famous historical buildings such as the Colosseum, the ruins of Pompeii, the Cathedral of Sao Paulo, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Moreover, during the Han Dynasty in China, China had economic exchanges with ancient Rome through the Silk Road. Members of the Chinese delegation were once again amazed at the ancient buildings and long history of Europe.
Because it is in the famous water city of Venice, many people think of the Shaoxing water town in China. Although the styles of these two cities are very different and completely different, they are indeed different. Therefore, they have to sigh that the magic of the Creator actually has such a water city in the East and the West.
After leaving Italy, the next target of the Chinese mission was France.
After the Thirty Years' War, France, as the leader of the Protestant League, not only achieved military victory, but also achieved two regions of Lorraine and Alsace, becoming the number one power in mainland Europe.
However, France is also facing many difficulties now. First of all, a protracted war also consumed France's national strength and took some time to recover; and the current French king, the famous Sun King, Louis XIV, who later said the famous saying "I am the country". Although he has succeeded to the throne for seven years, he is only a twelve-year-old child. In addition, a famous French politician, an important figure in guiding France to win the Thirty Years' War, Prime Minister Cardinal Richelieu, also died seven years ago. The current prime minister is his deputy Massalin.
Therefore, France was still facing an unstable monarchy and political changes at this time, and the situation was also very difficult. It took time to digest the fruits of the victory of the Thirty Years' War and restore national strength. It was just right to take advantage of the opportunity of the Chinese delegation visiting Europe to establish trade with China, and at the same time, it could also take the opportunity to ease the relationship between France and Spain and Britain. After all, France is different from the Netherlands. France's main interests are on the European continent rather than the ocean, so there is no direct conflict of interest with Britain.
In addition, France now claims to be the ancient country from the East. It is also the only superpower of China, a country in this era. It visits Europe for the first time. How can it not be the largest country in Europe? Even if France cannot dominate this matter now, it must try its best to participate in it, leave its own marks, and fully demonstrate the French style and image in front of the Chinese delegation. Therefore, the Chinese delegation is still in Italy, so France sent a welcoming delegation to Italy, and from here we start welcoming the Chinese delegation and arrange its itinerary.
According to France's arrangement, the Chinese delegation set off from Genoa, arrived at the Masébo shore in southern France, and then sent the delegation to Paris by land, while the fleet continued to set off, bypassing the Iberian Peninsula, and waited for the mission to Seine Bay on the north coast of France.
Liang Bingye was so enthusiastic that the French were inconvenient to refuse, so he also came ashore in Marseille according to the arrangements of France, and then headed north, passing Lyon and Auxerre along the way to Paris. Along the way, French officials warmly received the Chinese delegation. Everywhere they went, French people introduced the history of France, major events, visiting scenic spots and buildings to the Chinese people. As a result, they walked from Marseille to Paris for a total of twelve days.
After arriving in Paris, Louis XIV and Massalin held a grand welcoming ceremony for the mission. Thousands of people who participated in the welcome of the Chinese mission all changed into Chinese style. Even Louis XIV was wearing a Chinese dragon robe and a golden crown with two dragons playing with pearls. Only Massalin was still a red priest robe.
Although the Chinese clothing made by Europeans looks a bit inconsistent, it shows the host's painstaking efforts. It is obviously a hope to give the members of the Chinese mission a sense of intimacy.
After the two sides met, Masalin stepped forward first, clasped his fists, bowed to Liang Bingye with his hands, performed a Chinese etiquette, and said welcome in Chinese. Liang Bingye was quite flattered. Although Louis XIV was just a twelve-year-old child, he seemed very mature, his behavior was very decent, and there was no disqualification at all. The delegation members were quite respectful. It seemed that although this child was not of a big grade, his future was unlimited.
After entering the Louvre, the members of the Chinese mission were amazed again. Although the Chinese mission had visited several royal palaces in Europe, the Louvre is undoubtedly the largest and most magnificent European Royal Palace. Moreover, there are hundreds of halls used to display the collected artworks in the Louvre. The four walls and top of the hall are exquisite murals and fine reliefs, spacious and magnificent, and the art crystals are full of painstakingly worked hard everywhere, which is breathtaking. It is a famous Louvre gallery, with a total length of 300 meters. The ground is covered with smooth granite as a mirror, and a tall and gorgeous arched roof above the head. On both sides of the gallery, there are painting treasures hanging, revealing an unusual royal style. It is breathtaking.
Of course, the Chinese mission had already prepared a gift for France, a two-foot-high pastel porcelain rooster statue. France was called Gaul in ancient Roman times, and another meaning in Latin was a rooster. After the 14th century, the French gradually accepted the representative image of the rooster. By the Renaissance, the rooster officially became a symbol of France. Just like giving a lion to Britain, giving a rooster to France was also fully considering the feelings of the French.
Of course, Louis XIV and Masalin were very satisfied with the gift and immediately expressed that they would regard this rooster pavilion porcelain as one of the most important collections of the Louvre. Later, after the Louvre became a professional museum, the rooster pavilion porcelain, the statue of the Statue of Victory, the portrait of Venus and Méng Nalisa with broken arms, were also known as the treasure of the four major museums of the Louvre. It was also the only one that was not stolen from France.
At this time, scholars from all levels of France gathered in Paris, hoping to have face-to-face exchanges with the Chinese delegation. As a result, the Chinese delegation stayed in Paris for fifteen days and held many exchange meetings with the French intellectual community. Of course, they also visited various scenic spots in Paris. In addition to the Louvre, there were also the Arc de Triomphe, the Seine, the Champs Champs-Château de Paris, the Notre Dame Cathedral, etc., which left the footprints of the Chinese for the first time.
The next stop to leave France was Portugal. The next stop should have been the Netherlands, but at this time, I got news from British merchant ships that China had cut off trade relations with the Netherlands and drove away the Dutch in Taiwan by force.
In fact, many people expected that China and the Netherlands had a bad relationship. Before leaving, Nanjing had already known that the Netherlands and the Qing court had secretly had contacts, and had warned the Netherlands. However, they did not expect that the two sides would turn against each other so quickly. Therefore, the members of the delegation also held a meeting to discuss, believing that under such circumstances, it was not appropriate for Chinese delegations to visit the Netherlands. So after the visit to Portugal, the delegation returned to the United Kingdom.
But as soon as the mission returned to the UK, the Netherlands also sent a mission to the UK and questioned the Chinese mission, asking the Chinese mission to explain the matter in Taiwan. However, Liang Bingye said that this happened during his absence in China, so he could not explain it to the Netherlands. He pushed it over.
In fact, the Netherlands also knows that the Chinese mission cannot explain Taiwan’s affairs, and the main purpose of coming to the UK is to negotiate with the UK.
The Netherlands was founded by commerce and maritime trade, and Britain was also a country with the ocean and its lifeline. It was impossible to support two tigers in one mountain, and two whales could not be raised in one sea. The conflict between the two sides was almost inevitable. In the past, because the Netherlands participated in the Thirty Years War and the United Kingdom had a revolution, neither side had time to deal with the ocean and could still live in peace. However, the Thirty Years War and the British Revolution ended in the same year, and the conflicts between the two sides quickly became increasingly apart. Each prepared soldiers, built warships, and prepared to fight for the ocean.
But at this moment, China turned against the Netherlands, expelled the Dutch colonists in Taiwan by force, and completely cut off trade with the Netherlands. The Dutch East India Company also asked for help from the country, and of course all the blame was put on China. At the same time, it asked the country to send troops to help and regain Taiwan by force. Therefore, the Dutch parliament also held an emergency meeting to discuss what to do. After all, the Netherlands cannot launch two wars at the same time.
The result of the discussion is that China's trade is more important to the Netherlands, because once China's goods are lost, the revenue of the Dutch East India Company will be reduced by one quarter to one third, and the dividends and interests of domestic shareholders will not be guaranteed. Therefore, the Dutch parliament decided to first send people from the country to investigate the cause of the matter, strive to re-engage trade with China, but also prepare an expeditionary fleet. Once the negotiations fail, it can only be resolved by force. Before the matter in Asia is settled, do not conflict with the United Kingdom and make appropriate concessions. Therefore, the mission was sent to the United Kingdom, hoping to collect negotiations to alleviate the conflicts between the two sides and maintain a balanced state for the time being.
Of course, such a result is beneficial to Britain, and it can not help but avoid war and gain considerable benefits. Why not do it?q!.