"Today we finally met this well-known Chinese general." He and his wife, who believes in the Lord, received us at his residence. The whole atmosphere was very pleasant.
But before we met, I saw something that shocked me very much, because in the house where he received us, there was actually a huge wooden map of the world hanging as a background, which was very clear. It has mapped the topography of the world as we know it. Although I don't know the situation in other places, the southern Asia and Europe that I know well, as well as the major cities in Europe, are indeed mapped very accurately.
Although I don’t know Chinese characters, I can easily find the locations of London, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds, Southampton and other major cities from this map of Great Britain. I found on the map the road I took from India to China. From this alone, we can see that this is a person who knows the world very well.
This is nothing. What’s even more amazing is that this map actually shows the southern continent that the Dutch had just discovered, Australia, and it was still in its complete shape. But I don’t know how they knew about the southern continent. Its overall shape, because as far as I know, Europeans have not yet discovered the entire southern continent.”
…………
"General Shang Yi is a very young man. It is said that he is only twenty-six years old. Even if this statement is not accurate, his actual age should never be more than thirty years old. He is tall and slightly skinny. , has a very obvious military temperament. Although he is not eye-catching at first glance, if you get along with him for a long time, you will find that he is a person who is full of confidence and determined.
He holds the title of marquis, and his official position is roughly equivalent to that of a governor in Europe. He has about 100,000 troops under his command, including an army whose main weapons are muskets and artillery, and a navy whose main weapons are Western-style sailing ships. There is also a mercenary team composed mainly of Europeans. Its jurisdiction includes the eastern coastal areas of China, which is roughly equivalent to the area of the entire island of Great Britain. This is not a surprise, because the entire area of China is larger than Europe, so a The area under the jurisdiction of a Chinese governor may be larger than that of a European country. But his attitude is very kind, and he does not have the airs that a governor should have. But he does not look like someone from a noble family. This must have been confirmed by many people. .
I'm just curious, it's hard to imagine how someone so young and not from a noble family could achieve such a high status. Father Guy Adam explained that because China is currently in a period of war, the nomadic Manchus in the north have already Occupying half of China's land is like Attila the Hun invading the Luogu Empire. In such war-torn times, capable people will rise much faster than usual. General Shang relied on His outstanding military talent and continuous victories on the battlefield have earned him his current status.
But even so, I have to say that this is a miracle. In the history of Europe, even Caesar cannot compare with it. Perhaps only Hannibal can compare with him.
In addition, Hans is right. General Shang can indeed speak very fluent English. Although the language is a bit strange, he will have no problem communicating with any British person. I think he will not feel uncomfortable even if he goes to live in London. . Our conversations are basically in English and go very smoothly. Only when talking to other people do we use Spanish. This is another problem that is difficult to understand."
…………
"Like the Asians of this era, General Shang Yi married more than one wife. As far as I know, there are three people with whom he has already established a marital relationship, and two others have established a marital relationship. , but a woman who has not officially held a wedding ceremony.
It is worth mentioning that one of them is a Spaniard. She is a direct female of the Spanish Gonzales family. She is the daughter of the Marquis of Gonzales. She once served as the garrison commander of the Spanish Philippine colonies. In the Gonzales family When she was imprisoned by Philip IV for supporting the Protestant religion, Miss González was participating in the Spanish fleet's attack on China and became an enemy of General Shang.
But after learning that the family was destroyed, Miss Gonzalez surrendered to General Shang on the battlefield, which also led to the complete failure of the Spanish expedition fleet. The Gonzalez family's army also became his subordinates and a mercenary army. Although I It is not known what prompted the marriage between Miss Gonzalez and General Shang, but it is certain that it was a political marriage.
The wife who accompanied him to receive us was his third wife. She was a very young and beautiful oriental woman. According to Father Adam, she was the daughter of a Chinese businessman, and her father, the father-in-law of General Shang, At the same time, he is an effective assistant to General Shang.
But it can be seen that this lady has received a good education in Western etiquette. Not only can she speak fluent Spanish, but she can also accept a kiss on the hand and behind the back, which is absolutely not allowed in traditional China. Maybe it is because of hosting us. Because of the relationship, she was wearing a white Spanish noblewoman's dress, which looked both elegant and gorgeous. It can be said that if it were not for the racial barrier, I would even think she was a Spanish noblewoman."
…………
“As the conversation progressed, I discovered that General Shang’s understanding of Europe, including Britain, really surprised me. He not only knew about the Greek city gangs, the Roman Empire, the Hundred Years War between Britain and France, and the Renaissance that appeared in European history, He even knows about the current melee in Europe and the civil war in Britain. At the same time, he is also very clear about the causes and current progress of these wars.
He could tell that the melee in Europe was due to the conflict between the Protestant countries and the old Christian countries, and the main countries were France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, and the German Federation. In the current European continent, the Spanish side was obviously at a disadvantage, and the Protestant countries were about to gain Victory. France and the Netherlands will replace Spain as European powers. The British Civil War is due to the conflict between the king and Parliament. He also made some inferences that in the British Civil War, the parliamentary army will achieve the final victory, and He also expressed his respect for General Cromwell, the commander of the Parliamentary army.
Although I heard that this general had lived and governed in Europe for a short period of time, at least after 1642, he had returned to China. It is hard to imagine that this was a man who was tens of thousands of miles away from Europe. Countries in Europe can have such a clear understanding and analysis of the situation in Europe just from the information they received from some businessmen. This is another place that I cannot understand. Perhaps I can only learn from Eastern mysticism. After finding an explanation, Ju said that China has a magical prediction technique.
In addition, he seemed to be very clear about our purpose of coming, because he told me very clearly that if it is within his jurisdiction, he hopes to establish relations with all European countries, not only in terms of business and trade, but also in culture, science, and politics.
For exchanges and exchanges in various fields, including the United Kingdom, commercial offices can be established and personnel stationed within his jurisdiction.
But he also made it clear that he did not want other countries to bring European hostility to Asia, but to engage in normal commercial competition on the basis of equal cooperation. At the same time, he also pointed out to me that he hoped to establish economic and trade relations with the United Kingdom, but
It no longer mattered whether the King or Parliament won the English Civil War. No matter which side, as long as it represented Britain, he was willing to cooperate with it.
I think his attitude is very beneficial to the realization of our company's plan. No matter what the domestic situation is, as long as the company can reach a cooperation agreement with him, it will be effective."
…………
"Today's meeting is enough to show that General Shang's understanding of the world is by no means inferior to that of any European. At the same time, his attitude towards Europe is very open. Not only does he not exclude European countries, but he is also willing to conduct all-round exchanges with European countries.
His knowledge and attitude will undoubtedly be beneficial to the company in further opening up trade in Asia. There may even be the possibility of in-depth cooperation.
But the problem is that General Shang Yi is just a governor of the Ming Empire in China. He cannot represent the Ming Empire like the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, because in China, the emperor's will is greater than anything else, and possessions can be easily
Any effort to overthrow a minister does not require any reasoning, so there is still a lot of uncertainty. And we also need to further confirm how much influence General Shang has on his emperor, and whether his actions can
Received the full support of the Emperor.
In addition, according to various sources, the current Ming Empire itself is facing a great crisis. The Manchus in the north have occupied most of the land of the Ming Empire, and China has been split into two major political powers, the north and the south, and both sides are in conflict.
There is no plan to coexist, but I know most of them
Chinese businessmen are not optimistic about the southern Ming Empire in this war. In fact, just a few months ago, if General Shang's army had not defeated the Manchu army attack, perhaps the entire southern regime would have ceased to exist. Therefore, I think we are right
China's inspections should be more cautious.
But in the end, General Shang also frankly explained to me the crisis of his country. The Manchus in the north did occupy a large area of land, while the Ming Empire in the south was at a disadvantage, but he believed that his army would be able to defeat
Manchu attack, regain all the country's land, restore
The stability and peace of the country. Because in history, the Jurchens, the ancestors of the Manchus, once occupied northern China, and the Mongols, who once frightened all of Europe, even conquered the entire China. However, in the end, China, dominated by the Han people,
, can still achieve final victory.
At least judging from the tone of his words and the firm expression on his face, I think he is definitely full of confidence."