Entering the new year, joyful things are still going on. On the first day of the new year, Shang Yi officially named the two new princes. The third prince born to Ye Yaoyu was named Shang Hong, and the fourth prince born to Zi Linglong was named Shang Hong. The prince was named Shang Chen, and the civil and military officials who entered the palace to pay Shang Yi New Year's greetings also congratulated Shang Yi and Ye Yaoyu.
Now Shang Yi has eight children, exactly four boys and four girls. In addition, Toyotomi Kaoru is pregnant with the ninth child. Regardless of whether they are boys or girls, at least there are enough candidates for the succession of the throne. Of course, all officials Everyone also knows that Kaoru Toyotomi is a concubine after all, so even if she gives birth to a boy, she cannot continue on the throne. Moreover, although the child has not yet been born, he has another mission. In addition, Shang Yi and his concubines actually have He is still very young, and there will definitely be new royal babies and royal daughters born in the future, so the inheritance of the empire can basically be worry-free.
Moreover, at this time, Japan also sent envoys to China to congratulate China. After learning that Toyotomi Kaoru was pregnant, the Japanese envoys were also very happy, because now a new order in Japan has been established. New forces have been established, and these new forces all know that their rights are based on the Sino-Japanese alliance. To put it bluntly, they rely on the power of China. Therefore, in this environment, Toyotomi Kaoru gave birth to a child. The child is of great significance, because this child whose gender is not yet known will most likely inherit the Toyotomi clan and become the master of Japan. It is also an important link between Japan and China to maintain friendly relations and maintain the basis of rule of Japan's emerging forces. .
Therefore, the Japanese envoy also went to the palace to pay homage to Toyotomi Kaoru, and also sent a letter of greetings from Tokugawa Chihime to Toyotomi Kaoru. After receiving a letter from his mother, Toyotomi Kaoru was also very moved. Shang Yi sent a message to the Japanese envoy It was proposed that during Kaoru Toyotomi's pregnancy, Chihime Tokugawa should be invited to live in China and accompany Kaoru Toyotomi. This would also be conducive to the recuperation of the pregnant woman, and the Japanese envoy naturally agreed.
After a few days of lively celebrations, on the sixth day of the lunar month and the seventh day of the lunar month, Andrei's wedding began to take place.
It was indeed a bit unavoidable that a wedding should be held in two days, because both men and women had been negotiating for a period of time on the format of the wedding, and almost reached a deadlock.
Marquis Gonzalez, his wife and Alessandra all hope that Andre's wedding will be held in a church and adopt a purely Western-style wedding style, because that was the case for Shang Yi and Alessandra's wedding. However, the woman's family hopes to hold the wedding in traditional Chinese ways. Although the woman's family is a maritime merchant and is used to traveling overseas and is more accustomed to Western customs, after all, she is still a person who is influenced by traditional Chinese customs. There are also a large number of relatives and friends, and a Western-style wedding may be okay if it is in Luzon, but obviously not in Nanjing.
There is another point that the girl’s parents cannot say, because Western-style weddings do not count in China. Although Shang Yi and Alexandra had a Western-style wedding, Alexandra could only be regarded as Shang Yi’s sidekick at the time. He is a concubine, but his daughter is the principal wife. This relationship is different, and the two parties have become somewhat deadlocked over this issue.
After Shang Yi learned about it, he couldn't help but feel a little funny. At this time, it was time to come forward and make arrangements for the two families. The whole wedding was divided into two parts. On the first day, the two families held it in the church in full accordance with Western etiquette. The wedding is attended by the parents and immediate family members of both parties, and then both parties go home. On the next day, the man comes to marry him in the traditional Chinese way. The wedding is held in the traditional Chinese way, and relatives and friends are invited to attend. wedding banquet.
The emperor's face had to be given to both parties, and this was indeed a compromise, and the requirements of both parties were met. In fact, Marquis Gonzalez has been in China for almost two years, although he is not familiar with all aspects of Chinese customs. I also know a lot about the customs and have participated in several weddings, so I am very new to Chinese weddings, but I am just a bystander, and it is good that I can participate as the protagonist. It can be regarded as being in China. Another experience. The woman’s family has been dealing with foreigners for a long time and is not averse to Catholicism. There are several Catholics in the family, of course, part-time Catholics. Therefore, both parties felt quite satisfied, so they took over the business. According to Yi's opinion, Chinese and Western styles were combined and the wedding was held.
In fact, as China began to fully move toward the ocean and strengthened exchanges with European countries, the exchanges between the East and the West became increasingly frequent, so the number of Sino-foreign marriages gradually increased. At the same time, Catholicism also made great progress in China. In this way, , East-West intermarriage, including intermarriage among some Chinese people who believe in Catholicism, all face the problem of wedding method.
Andre's wedding this time also set a good example. It also created a new model to solve the problem of intermarriage between East and West. Although this model was also opposed by some Chinese conservatives, and even Although it is ridiculing, it has been widely welcomed by the people. Especially in the southeastern coastal areas, this kind of wedding form has also begun to spread among the people.
Of course, despite this, Andre's wedding was still quite lively. After all, Andre was not only a senior military officer in active service, but also the uncle of the dynasty and a relative of the emperor. Moreover, this wedding was appointed by the emperor himself. Although Shang Yi and Alexandra could not attend the wedding in person due to their status, they also sent valuable gifts and representatives of important attendants from the palace, and the woman was also an important figure in the business community in the southeast region. The family also has an extensive network of connections in the business field. The political power of merchants in the new empire has been greatly increased. Coupled with strong financial support, their status has also risen rapidly.
In addition, Andre is a foreigner, so this is also the most important marriage between China and the West, except for the marriage of Shang Yi and Alexandra. Therefore, this wedding almost includes the official and Shang parties. , as well as all important figures in the three fields, including Western businessmen, even if they don't want to be high-profile.
On the second day after the wedding, although the celebrations were not over yet, Marquis Gonzalez and his wife brought the newly married Andre and his wife into the palace to see Shang Yi and Alexandra to express their gratitude to the emperor. Affection.
Seeing that her brother finally grew up and started a family, Alexandra was very moved and was very kind to her newlywed sister-in-law. Of course, as a sister, she asked Andre to cherish his wife and respect his father-in-law and mother-in-law; and take good care of his sister-in-law. Husband, take care of the family and live a beautiful life together, and at the same time give them many gifts. Then Alexandra leads her mother and sister-in-law to Kunning Palace to meet the queen and other concubines, and others Of course, they were not stingy and sent many gifts and wishes.
Then we returned to Xianfu Palace. After everyone had lunch together, Andre and his family said goodbye and went home. Of course, they returned with a full load. Although the actual value of the gifts given to Andre and his wife in the palace may not be very high, there is still a lot of money. Some of them are daily necessities, but they are of great significance, because they are all gifts from the emperor, empress, and concubines, and they are all made by the palace. Naturally, they have different values, and they look good when displayed.
After Andre's wedding was held, the Marquis Gonzalez and his wife also began to formally prepare for their return trip. In fact, before the New Year, after receiving Shang Yi's confirmation, the Marquis and his wife had already started preparing to return home.
Now the Marquis and his wife have lived in China for two years. Due to their dual status as father-in-law and Spanish envoy, people from all walks of life in the government and the public are very polite to them. During their stay in China, the Marquis and his wife also received a lot of attention. I received a large number of gifts. In addition to traditional Chinese exports of porcelain, silk, tea, and other valuables, they also included a large number of calligraphy, painting, and inscription works. Among them were not only the works of the great calligraphers and painters of this era, because there were also Many people still have a little selfish intention in their hearts, which is to let their calligraphy, painting and inscriptions be exported abroad and to show their reputation abroad.
Europeans have always had the habit of collecting paintings and art. Marquis Gonzalez is also very interested in Chinese calligraphy, painting and inscriptions, especially Chinese calligraphy. Although he cannot understand what is written, it looks like The dancing dragons and phoenixes are free and elegant, full of light and agile artistic sense. They are definitely rare works of art. Therefore, they do not reject anyone who comes, and they also make a special trip to buy a lot of calligraphy and paintings. In addition, the Marquis and his wife are also traveling in China during this time. I visited a lot of places, and every time I went, I bought a lot of local handicrafts as souvenirs, such as embroidery, clay sculptures, wood carvings, paintings, etc., there was a dazzling array of them all. Just these souvenirs filled up a dozen boxes. Five large boxes of eggs.
At the same time, the Gonzales family still has a considerable political status in Spain, so when they return home this time, they need to prepare a large number of gifts to give to others. This kind of human incident is applicable to all countries in the world, and Gonzales The family is also a big one in Spain, with many members. The two of them have three brothers and sisters. In addition, there are the second uncle, third brother-in-law, seventh aunt and eighth aunt, etc., there are twenty or thirty people, so Arizona Although Della and Andre did not go back, they still prepared a lot of gifts for these people. In the end, they were just gifts and packed in twelve large boxes.
In addition, it is not easy to go to China. You have to sell some things and make some money. Europeans have very advanced business acumen, and they do not distinguish between classes. Of course, the Marquis of Gonzalez is no exception, so he made another purchase. Fifteen boxes of goods, of course, are all mid-to-high-end goods. After sorting them out, there were a total of forty-two large boxes. Even in China, the value was more than one million. If they were shipped directly back to Europe, the rest would be The value will be more than half a million taels of silver. Of course, most of it is a collection of the Gonzalez family and has been preserved forever.
On the other side, the Chinese Embassy in the UK has also made all preparations. China's second voyage to Europe is about to set off.
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