Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 815 Communication

Mikhail succeeded to the throne as Tsar in 1613, which was the st year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty. When he succeeded to the throne, Johann Adam Schall von Bell was only years old. He had just graduated from the seminary and was serving as a priest in the Vatican.

In terms of age, Mikhail was five years younger than Johann Adam Schall von Bell. When Johann Adam Schall von Bell left Europe for the Ming Dynasty, Mikhail had been the Tsar for several years and had some understanding of him.

However, it has been nearly twenty years since Johann Adam Schall von Bell left Europe. Although some news from Europe may have spread to Macau and other places, he is not in Europe after all, and he does not know much about the subsequent situation in Tsarist Russia. He is also not clear about the current situation in Tsarist Russia, and it is not his fault.

Zhu Shenzhui asked: "If I want to know information about Tsarist Russia, does Lord Tang have any channels to help me?"

Tang Ruowang hesitated for a moment and asked, "I don't know why the Regent attaches great importance to this country. Although this country has become stronger in recent years and can be regarded as a big country in terms of territory, it is not in the mainstream in terms of real national strength. Moreover, this country is located on the periphery, and its culture, economy, and political system have defects. In addition, it does not understand etiquette. European countries regard it as a barbarian. Our Ming Dynasty is the Celestial Empire, which is not comparable to these barbarians. If the Regent wants to exchange what we have with Europe, I am willing to help the Regent contact several major royal families in Europe, such as France, Spain, the Netherlands and other powerful countries. Although my status is low, I am a priest of the Roman Catholic Church. European countries have always respected the Roman Catholic Church. I can write a letter to His Holiness the Pope. As long as His Holiness the Pope helps, this matter will not be difficult to accomplish."

Tang Ruowang said tentatively, with a hint of expectation in his heart.

His purpose of coming to the Ming Dynasty was to preach, but over the years, due to the lack of support from the court, his missionary work was not smooth. Although he became an official of the Ming Dynasty and had a good identity and status, not to mention his life, the prosperity and strength of the Ming Dynasty was far beyond the reach of European countries. In the eyes of European countries, the Ming Dynasty was the real center of the world. Although after the beginning of the Age of Navigation, Europe gradually broke away from the barbarism of the Middle Ages and gained huge wealth from overseas, it was still far behind the Ming Dynasty.

For Johann Adam Schall von Bell, he didn't care whether the country was a country or not, he only cared about preaching. This is also the reason why Johann Adam Schall von Bell continued to stay in China after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, and turned around and joined the Qing Dynasty court after entering the pass, and transformed from a Ming Dynasty official to a Qing Dynasty official.

Moreover, in the Qing court, Johann Adam Schall von Bell won the favor of Shunzhi by catering to his interests, and even brought Shunzhi into the church, expanding his influence in China and taking the position of director of the Imperial Observatory.

The missionary situation was very good at that time, but just when Johann Adam Schall von Bell was about to strike while the iron was hot and make further efforts, Shunzhi fell seriously ill with smallpox and died. After Shunzhi's death, Johann Adam Schall von Bell lost his strong support as Shunzhi, and was involved in the power struggle of the Qing Dynasty. In addition, he offended many Qing nobles during his missionary work, which brought him disaster.

If Empress Dowager Bumbutai had not saved Tang Ruowang's life for Shunzhi's sake, Tang Ruowang might have returned to the Lord. Tang Ruowang stayed in prison for many years and was not released until Kangxi took power. Because Kangxi loved Western science, Tang Ruowang had another chance to come to the fore. He not only taught Kangxi Western scientific knowledge but also helped Kangxi cast cannons and other firearms, thus gaining Kangxi's trust.

However, Kangxi was different from Shunzhi. Although he trusted Johann Adam Schall von Bell, he still restricted his missionary work, which meant that his missionary work did not make much progress. Eventually, Johann Adam Schall von Bell was old and died a few years later, which became his lifelong regret.

From this we can see that Johann Adam Schall von Bell had no sense of belonging to either the Ming Dynasty or the historical Qing Dynasty. Although he held official positions in both dynasties and lived in China for forty-seven years, he never considered himself a real Chinese. Both the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty were merely the objects of his missionary work. In his heart, what he insisted on was only his missionary beliefs and the ideal of completing his mission.

As he said this, Johann Adam Schall von Bell looked at Zhu Shenzui with anticipation. Although he didn't know why Zhu Shenzui suddenly became interested in Europe, he thought this might be an opportunity.

All along, Johann Adam Schall von Bell came to the Ming Dynasty for the purpose of preaching, not to come to this ancient country to teach science, or to become an official in the Ming Dynasty. Schall von Bell, who had dedicated his life to the Lord, had always thought about spreading the glory of the Lord on this land and letting the people of the Ming Dynasty listen to the Lord's gospel. This was what he dreamed of.

Unfortunately, no matter how many ways he thought of and how much effort he put in, he still failed to achieve his goal. The Ming emperors and ministers only valued his scientific ability, but not his doctrine. Even the brothers in the church who had developed over the years, such as Xu Guangqi, only talked to Tang Ruowang about mathematics, astronomy, physics and other aspects, but only touched the surface of the doctrine, and were not as devout as true believers.

This made Tang Ruowang very helpless. The longer he stayed in the Ming Dynasty, the more he understood the temperament and habits of the Ming people, and the less hope he had for missionary work. But even so, Tang Ruowang never gave up. This was his greatest persistence and the goal he fought for.

Sensing the eagerness in Tang Ruowang's eyes, Zhu Shenzhu certainly understood what he was thinking. Before inviting Tang Ruowang into the palace, Zhu Shenzhu had someone to learn about him and knew that Tang Ruowang was an extremely devout believer. Zhu Shenzhu could also guess what Tang Ruowang was thinking now. Although Tang Ruowang's answer today made Zhu Shenzhu a little disappointed, because Tsarist Russia was on the edge of Europe, except for knowing some basic information about the other party, the rest was unknown, but after thinking carefully, Zhu Shenzhu felt that Tang Ruowang's suggestion was not a bad idea and might be worth a try.

In Europe, the most powerful countries today are Spain, the Netherlands, Britain, and France. Spain is a pioneer of the Age of Discovery. With the advent of the Age of Discovery, Spanish colonies spread all over the world, while the Netherlands is known as the Coachman of the Sea, and it was once as powerful as Spain. As for Portugal, which was the first to prosper, it is now in decline. Portugal was annexed by Spain because of the royal family. Later, due to the opposition of the Portuguese nobles, Spain could only let Portugal control itself, and it is still under the control of Spain.

Britain began to develop vigorously after the end of the civil war. After Cromwell came to power, he continued to expand his military, especially investing huge resources in the navy, thus challenging the Netherlands' maritime position.

Now the British navy has grown to a considerable size, and as the navy becomes stronger, Britain has also embarked on the path of foreign colonization. If nothing changes, the Anglo-Dutch War between Britain and the Netherlands will break out in a dozen years, and Britain will use this war to defeat the Netherlands and become the new maritime hegemon.

As for France, it is one of the traditional powers in Europe. France's main strength lies on land. In addition, France occupies the best geographical location in Europe, so the country's strength is obvious.

Apart from these countries, other countries are not weak either. Even Poland and Sweden in the east are considered regional powers. Even if they cannot be compared with the aforementioned countries, they are no worse than Tsarist Russia. In several wars with Tsarist Russia, the former took the initiative. Otherwise, Poland would not have blatantly intervened in the matter when the throne of Tsarist Russia was changed and supported a puppet with the intention of subverting it.

If we could use the power of European countries to contain Tsarist Russia, force it to shift its attention from the East to the West, and provoke a war in Europe, then it might be possible for Tsarist Russia to abandon its original eastward plan and concentrate its energy on the Western Front.

This plan is theoretically feasible, but it is quite difficult to do. After all, it is only the middle of the seventeenth century, and the transmission of information and communication between the two sides are extremely inconvenient. It takes nearly two years just to communicate back and forth. After such a long time, no matter how good the plan is, it will be useless.

Furthermore, communication is also a problem. Many things cannot be done when thousands of miles away, and the situation in Europe and the world is changing rapidly. No one can guarantee the implementation and promotion of the plan. However, even so, Zhu Shenzhui does not want to give up communication with Europe, because external communication and contact are necessary, and the Ming Dynasty is not the Qing Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty is an open country. Especially after Zhu Shenzhui controls the Ming Dynasty, it will inevitably expand and contact with the outside world in the future, which will inevitably lead to encounters with European countries.

The current contact can also prepare for the future, but it is unknown to what extent it can be achieved. But even so, Zhu Shenzhu still intends to give it a try. This attempt is much better than doing nothing. Who knows that one day in the future, today's decision can change the world pattern?
"Are you sure about this, Lord Tang?" Zhu Shenzhui asked.

"Of course I am somewhat confident, but I don't know to what extent the Regent wants to contact those countries. I need to contact Rome and get a reply from Rome to find out." Johann Adam Schall von Bell did not dare to take on too much responsibility and answered cautiously.

Zhu Shenzhui nodded and said immediately: "In this case, Lord Tang should write a letter to the Holy See and tell His Majesty the Pope that the Ming Dynasty is willing to establish official communication channels with European countries, especially the Holy See. If the Holy See can help the Ming Dynasty get in touch with the royal families of various countries and exchange what they have, the Ming Dynasty will naturally reward them."

After a pause, Zhu Shenzhui seemed to remember something and asked, "I remember that the church in Beijing was built by Matteo Ricci, right? It is said that the church has been in disrepair for decades. Is this true?"

"Reporting to the Regent, it is true. The church in Beijing was built in the 33rd year of the Wanli reign. After Matteo Ricci's death, Long Huamin took over. Later, I came to Beijing and took over the church in the 2nd year of the Tianqi reign. It was presided over by Catholic missionaries in the Ming Dynasty. The church has not been repaired for many years and is in disrepair. My salary is not high. Although I wanted to repair it, I was really powerless and could only maintain it with difficulty."

Zhu Shenzhui smiled and said, "The church in Beijing was allowed by the late emperor and the court, but it has fallen into disrepair over the past few decades. This is not good. Since the church has fallen into disrepair, it should be repaired as soon as possible. So I will allocate 1,000 taels of silver notes from the inner treasury to you, and allow the Ministry of Works to assist in the construction, so that you can repair it as soon as possible. How do you think?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Johann Adam Schall von Bell was overjoyed. He had always been troubled by the situation of the church in the capital. Due to the unfavorable missionary work, the situation had never been improved. The church lacked sponsorship and had no income at all. It was barely supported by Johann Adam Schall von Bell alone. Ordinary maintenance was no problem, but he had no intention of repairing the church.

You have to know that although Johann Adam Schall von Bell worked in the Imperial Observatory, his position was not high, and his salary was naturally not high. Such a small salary was enough for him to live on, but it was impossible for him to repair the church. Seeing the church becoming more and more dilapidated day by day, Johann Adam Schall von Bell was worried.

Now Zhu Shenzhui actually gave him 1,000 taels of silver and also proposed that the Ministry of Works could help repair the church. This was simply pie in the sky. How could Tang Ruowang not be overjoyed? With this money, the church in Beijing could be renovated. More importantly, the attitude shown by Zhu Shenzhui today gave him hope, which made Tang Ruowang even more excited.

(End of this chapter)