Chapter 82 Lobbying
Of course, although he kept saying that he wanted to fight against the Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese and other miscellaneous colonizers, Mu Qi was very aware of his own limited ability. It's okay to just talk big, but if he really wants to intervene deeply in the battle through remote micro-management, he will probably be beaten to his knees and stepped on by ten thousand feet by the Portuguese, and he will never be able to get up again. Therefore, the greatest help he could provide to the war situation was probably only a little experience from later generations - the Portuguese's advantage in navigation technology was undoubted; before the large-scale fleet was developed and mature, fierce confrontations at sea were quite unwise; only by leading people to the land for a decisive battle could the advantage be maximized.
As for how to lure people to the land...Mu Qi found the sea merchant Ru Wang.
Because the last cooperation in buying wood and grain went very smoothly, and because their cooperation still had very broad prospects, Ruwang was very happy to receive him, and wanted to take advantage of the situation and get a few more very profitable orders. But despite such ambition, the descendants were still confused when they heard the request of Prince Mu:
"You want to go to war with the Portuguese?"
"It's not a war." Mu Qi corrected him immediately - "War" is a big deal. Once it involves the name of a formal war, it must go through the Ministry of War, the Cabinet, and Nanzhili. Regardless of Da'an's impressive administrative efficiency, just the value of the big shower and faucet of the court is not something a mere prince can handle; if a war is really going to start, it must be handled specially and quickly, and some tricks must be used: "This is not a war, we don't want a war. This is just - this is just a special security military operation, do you understand?"
The severe security campaign against the "three non-compliant" Portuguese people who illegally invaded, illegally immigrated and illegally resided was a suitable name carefully considered by Mu Qi. Public security management campaigns can be big or small. As long as there is no killing and blood flowing like a river, the matter does not even need to be approved by the Ministry of Justice. The prince can handle it with just a word, and the process can be greatly simplified. This is the profound mystery of the daily procedures of official documents and government affairs. It comes from the thoughtful advice of Zhang Taiyue of SSR Youth Enjoyment Edition, and it is indeed extraordinary at first sight.
Mr. Ruwang came from a top bank and was also well aware of the subtlety of this set of red tape, but after being stunned for a moment, he shook his head:
"Your country is going to do this - a public security operation. I cannot interrupt. I can also issue a declaration of war to the Portuguese on your behalf. But let me advise you that the Portuguese have their own considerations when choosing war, and I am afraid that a declaration of war cannot provoke them."
No matter how arrogant the colonists are, they are not NPCs and will certainly not act according to a wishful thinking plan. If they slap their foreheads and think that they have the advantage, and confidently go all out, then of course they will die amid laughter, and the so-called coastal people will all become illusions, and now they have turned into a burial place. Ru Wang may not understand the Chinese allusion of Zhao Kuo's armchair talk but failed, but after traveling around the country for many years, he has seen too many nobles who talked big and thought they were right but lost all their capital. So after giving this advice, there was inevitably a scrutiny in his eyes: If the prince of Duke Mu has the same problem, then their cooperation is worth discussing.
But the prince's expression remained unchanged, he just took out a stack of manuscripts from his sleeve:
"Of course a letter of challenge cannot stir people's hearts, so I prepared this."
The manuscript handed over was a booklet with a confusing title, "The Original Way to Save the World", which stunned Ru Wang. He flipped through the cover and discovered that the author was someone he had never heard of... Hong Tianwang?
"This is……"
"This is Mr. Hong from Guangxi." The prince smiled and said, "Mr. Hong is very knowledgeable about your Catholic teachings, so I specially asked someone to translate Mr. Hong's masterpiece and asked you to present it to the Portuguese to express our sincere friendship."
How could a Chinese person study Western doctrines? What's more, the name of this "Original Dao Song of Saving the World" carries an inexplicable and strange meaning... Unfortunately, it was hard to refuse the kind invitation. After hesitating for a moment, Ru Wang opened the booklet blankly and read on.
It should be said that the system is quite effective when it works, at least the level of AI translation is very high. Although some adjustments were made to take into account the cultural differences of Portugal, Mu Qi still tried his best to retain a bit of Hong Tianwang's original flavor in the text; because only by retaining this bit of original flavor can you know that you are reading Hong Tianwang's masterpiece, which is very different from the petty religious theologians in general, and is full of the supreme passion of the Tianwang fighting against heaven and earth to destroy the Qing demons -
Well, maybe the king's passion was a little too passionate; Ru Wang had read less than two sentences when his pair of blue eyes suddenly widened; then after he read a few more sentences, his eyes suddenly shrank again; then they widened again, and shrank again, and widened again, and shrank again; he vividly interpreted what it meant for pupils to tremble, what it meant to be deeply shocked, and what it meant to be completely limp and unable to control oneself.
How should I put it? These days, the cultural industries in the East and the West are booming, and there have been ambitious theologians who have done the hard work of religious reform. Anyway, those who won became orthodoxy, and those who lost became heretics. But even though he had traveled all over the West and seen many heresies, Ru Wang could never have imagined in his dreams that there were such strange things in the world - really, in Hong Tianwang's discussion, the weird arguments of "God the Father descending to the earth", "God the Father possessed by his brother", and "God the Father" were already shocking, but they were still inferior to the complex family network invented by Hong Tianwang for the Lord God.
In Hong Tianwang's eloquent and lengthy exposition, Brother Jesus is the eldest son of God, and he, Hong Tianwang, is the second son of God, both of whom have very noble status; the eldest son, the second son and the following are arranged according to age, among which the Southern King is the third son of God, the Eastern King is the fourth son of God, and the Western King is the grandson-in-law of God (of course, he is married into the family); in general, the seven or eight members of God's family were reborn in Guangxi at the same time, performing a vigorous ethical drama -
Ru Wang took a deep breath and felt his heart aching!
To be honest, he has been traveling all over the country and wavering in the wind for so many years, and he can no longer be considered a pious and steadfast person. But even with Ruwang's slickness and sophistication, he couldn't help but roar from the bottom of his heart - this thing is really heresy!
As a believer for many years, he should throw this extremely blasphemous and dirty thing to the ground, pounce on it and beat this damn prince up until he rolls on the ground and dares not talk nonsense anymore. But after all, the young man is not good at fighting, and he has an extra dagger on him. He stared at him for a long time and could only endure it. He said helplessly:
“This kind of thing…”
"This is just a small part of Mr. Hong's thoughts." The prince said earnestly: "Mr. Hong has written a lot on theology. You can also learn from him."
Ru Wang: ...Ah, this is just a tiny fragment?
If such a tiny fragment is so powerful, how exciting must the complete version be!
Ru Wang felt that he was old and could not stand such exciting things, so he was about to refuse; but the prince spoke first:
"In addition, based on Mr. Hong's theological system, I also wrote a letter to the Governor of Portugal, and asked you to forward it to me."
Ruwang quickly turned to the back of the booklet and saw two pages of letters. This letter was also translated by AI. The wording is straightforward and easy to understand, leaving no room for misunderstanding. The letter briefly emphasized Hong Tianwang's thoughts, and then solemnly pointed out that according to the teachings of the God Worshipping Society, Hong Tianwang is the younger brother of Heavenly Brother Jesus. After the father dies, the son inherits the inheritance, and after the elder brother dies, the younger brother should take over all the inheritance after the Heavenly Brother passes away. This is natural and cannot be questioned.
According to Eastern traditions, the hierarchy between legitimate and illegitimate children should not be violated (of course, this is actually the tradition of Goryeo, but who cares, the Portuguese don't understand it anyway). As a noble second legitimate son like King Hong, he should naturally have the right to manage and dispose of all Catholic sects. In comparison, the church, an institution that appoints itself, cannot count a child born out of wedlock as anything other than a concubine’s, nor even the illegitimate offspring of a maid; they can be sold by the ears at will.
Of course, the Da'an court was very compassionate, so it was willing to put aside the dispute and jointly develop, and temporarily not insist on the pursuit of the sovereignty of the Holy Land of Jerusalem and the church properties in Europe; but in any case, the church properties expanded by Portugal and Spain and other countries after their missionary work in Asia should all belong to King Hong and be managed by the Hong clan in Guangxi.
Ruwang put down the letter and stared blankly at the Prince of Mu.
The prince said sincerely, "How is it? Mr. Ruwang, can I use this letter?"
Nonsense, this is so useful! Unlike the new colonists like England who were blinded by greed and came only for money, the first-class old colonists like Portugal and Spain were extremely devout and determined, and one of the major driving forces for their external expansion was missionary work. Now, what's the difference between throwing this level of heresy in their faces and taking off your pants and peeing in their mouths? When this letter was written, the Portuguese didn't even need to mobilize for war. Just reading the letter from top to bottom would immediately make them blush!
The provocative effect of this letter is indeed powerful and fierce enough, and it can definitely immediately start a war to the death - a special security operation. The only problem is that the effect of this thing is also outstanding.
Ru Wang struggled for a moment, then heaved a long sigh:
"I'm sorry, I can't deliver this letter. Please respect our customs, my lord."
Not to mention that this thing is too heretical, so heretical that even the conscience of the financier can hardly bear it; even if it is really delivered, the Portuguese might chop him up immediately after reading the letter to add to their fun and vent their depressed, manic and inexplicable anger.
It's obviously Prince Mu who is mentally ill, so why should he be the scapegoat?
- Yes, after just a few questions and answers, Ru Wang had confirmed a certain rumor he had heard in the capital - the man surnamed Mu did have some serious brain disease, and the onset was very strange, very bizarre, and very unpredictable. Although he didn't know why they didn't keep this madman at home and instead let him go out and kill people everywhere, Ruwang definitely didn't want to become a dead soul under the madman's hands. No matter what, he could never agree to such a ridiculous request.
The prince was somewhat puzzled (he was even more puzzled!):
"Why?"
Ru Wang racked his brains and could only come up with a euphemistic explanation:
"The main thing is that Mr. Hong's understanding of the doctrine may be a little different from the mainstream of the church..."
Of course there is a difference between nonsense and nonsense. If we accept this kind of bullshit doctrine, the entire church should be sold off!
"What's a little difference?" The prince disagreed: "I have read the origins of the great sea merchants in the capital. Mr. Ruwang once served the French court, right?"
This was a glorious page in Ruwang’s resume. He straightened his chest unconsciously and said, “I did do some tax farming work for the King of France…”
"That's it." The prince said lightly, "I think you have a good impression of what the King of France did to the church, what he did to the Pope, and what happened in Avilion. If you can accept even this, why do you have to blame King Hong?"
Ruwang's face changed immediately. With his knowledge, he certainly knew what the prince meant. The so-called Avignon Affair refers to the great conflict between King Philip IV of France and the church two hundred years ago. In order to seize the property of the church, Philip IV attacked the castle where the Pope was located, arrested the Pope, and then ordered his knights to strip him of his clothes and beat him and paraded him through the streets, which angered the Pope to death. After the Pope was angered to death, the king forced the priests to choose a new Pope he liked, and then took the new Pope all the way north and imprisoned him in the small French town of Avignon, known as the Prisoner of Avignon, or the Avignon Northern Hunt. The Emperor Baozong of Da'an was a student studying in Wala, and the Pope was a student studying in France. As the saying goes, "My virtue is never alone, there will always be neighbors." On this point, the East and the West have a lot of common topics.
But the most crucial thing is that, although France committed an even more horrible and humiliating act than the Sima family in public (at least the Sima family did not strip the emperor naked and beat him in the street), France remained the pillar of the Christian world and was recognized as a filial son of God by successive Vatican cities; Philip IV was almost canonized, and his reputation and status were not affected in the slightest. If this is taken as the standard, then King Hong’s teachings are really nothing - he is only demanding the right to manage the church in the Asian region. At least he did not capture the Pope and take him to Guangxi as a prisoner!
The most important thing for people is not to have double standards. Since Ruwang can proudly serve the French court, why can't he speak out for King Hong's ideas now? The King of France is just a secular monarch, but our King Hong is the second son of God and the younger brother of Brother Messiah. It’s not a disgrace to him, right?
After processing this logic, Ru Wang was stunned and couldn't utter a word.
Of course, just a little bit of lip service is not enough to reverse the decision of interests. Ru Wang was silent for a moment, then spoke in a low voice:
"I didn't expect that the prince is so knowledgeable that he knows all the historical facts of Europe. But what is going on here, what is going on..."
After searching for half a day, it is still difficult to come to a conclusion. After all, the contrast between these things was too great, and Ru Wang couldn't force himself to adopt double standards. While he was racking his brains to come up with an excuse, the prince spoke first:
"I understand your concerns. After all, the Portuguese are your fellow believers and close customers, so you have to pay more, right?"
"This is not about money—"
"The Portuguese have several smuggling routes along the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang." The prince interrupted him directly: "As long as we eliminate them, we will also eliminate the smuggling gangs. But the invisible hand of the market will always exist, and the court has no intention of cutting off trade, it just wants fair trade. If you can help us, the court can sell the priority trade rights of these routes to your bank. Such profits..."
Ru Wang suddenly stopped talking.
"As for the possible value and future potential of this route, I can't prove it with words. Sir, you can go to the local area to take a look." The prince leaned back in his chair and almost talked to himself: "The merchant ship is still empty recently, right? You can go to Shangyu and buy a batch of newly produced local fabrics to personally inspect the quality and output, which can also be regarded as a plan for future cooperation."
Hai Gangfeng has been working hard for more than half a year and has set up a new workshop and new machines in Shangyu. The output and quality have increased dramatically, and the production cost can be greatly reduced. The huge profits saved in the end and the broad prospects after the expansion of production. It is enough to attract businessmen.
Of course, as the cloth spread overseas, news of the new workshop in Shangyu would inevitably spread and reach the ears of certain people with ulterior motives, causing unpredictable changes... Haven't the Portuguese and Spanish always been coveting China's craftsmen and technology? Then let them come to Shangyu to get it, if it is really possible.
Mu Qi smiled slightly and pushed the letter towards Ru Wang again.
·
It should be said that Prince Mu's lobbying was still very effective. At least Ju Wang reflected for a long time and finally figured it out. He thought that he couldn't just not make money for the sake of conscience - besides, couldn't the Pope forgive even France? This shows that the church as a whole is tolerant and generous, and what he did is not a big deal.
Of course, Ruwang still set up insurance for himself. He did not accept this fatal letter personally (after all, the anger of the Portuguese was still terrible), but planned to ask a knowledgeable and skillful missionary to pass it on.
——Oh, by the way, this priest is called Smith.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
