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

Chapter 958 The Viscount and the Priest

Zhu Shenzhui was not worried about the Roman Catholic Church's missionary work in Ming Dynasty. Even if Ming Dynasty fully opened up to the Roman Catholic Church's missionary work in Ming Dynasty, it would not have any impact. Because Chinese people are different from Europeans, Chinese people have always been profit-seeking, and the same is true for their attitude towards religion. Because of cultural reasons, there are very few fanatical religious believers like those in the West, and it is even more impossible for the situation in Europe before that religion is higher than the kingship to happen.

Ordinary Chinese people can believe in Taoism at the same time as Buddhism, or believe in the traditional gods and immortals that can be found everywhere. As long as the gods and immortals are beneficial to themselves, people will believe in whatever they want, and they may believe in one thing today and something else tomorrow. All beliefs are utilitarian, which is a characteristic of the Chinese people.

The Roman Catholic Church's desire to preach in China and spread the so-called gospel to the entire Ming Dynasty was simply wishful thinking. Taoism and Buddhism had been practiced in China for thousands of years without success. There had also been Western sects in Chinese history, such as Nestorianism, Zoroastrianism, etc., but they were ultimately lost in the long river of history and had no impact at all.

In other words, not to mention that the Ming Dynasty already had restrictions on Catholicism, even if Catholic missions were fully allowed in the Ming Dynasty, it would be of no help given their doctrines. This was confirmed in later generations. Zhu Shenzui did not need to worry at all. On the contrary, sects such as the White Lotus were more destructive. Appropriately opening up the Roman Catholic Church to preach would not be a bad thing for the Ming Dynasty.

Just as Zhu Shenzui was thinking about this, far away in the South China Sea, two galleons from Europe had passed the Strait of Malacca and were heading towards the Ming Dynasty.

Malacca is Malacca, formerly known as Manjika. It is the most important maritime stronghold in Asian waters. All traffic between the East and the West must pass through the Strait of Malacca. During the Zheng He period, the Ming Dynasty once stationed troops here, but times have changed. After the Ming Dynasty, this place was occupied by the Portuguese from Europe. Portugal operated here for 129 years, firmly controlling the golden sea route of Malacca-Macau-Nagasaki and gaining a lot of wealth from it.

However, as Portugal's national strength weakened in recent years, the newly rising Dutch set their eyes on this piece of fat meat. The Dutch's previous military operation to attack Xiamen of the Ming Dynasty failed, and after being expelled from Penghu by the Ming Dynasty, they decided to attack Malacca instead. After several years of preparation, the Dutch organized a powerful fleet five years ago and joined forces with local Johor people to launch an attack on Malacca. This war is also known as the "Battle of Malacca". In this battle, the Portuguese garrison in Malacca had less than 400 people, and because of the Ceylon colony before the war, two-thirds of the troops were transferred to reinforce, leaving only a little over 100 troops. Even if local natives were recruited to join the war, the total number would still be less than 500.

Faced with the attack of thousands of Dutch and Johor coalition forces, the Portuguese put up a tenacious resistance but were ultimately defeated, and Malacca fell into the hands of the Dutch. The Portuguese were badly damaged after losing this important place, but the Dutch's power increased greatly in Southeast Asia. This is why the Dutch had the courage to reoccupy the Penghu Islands and even landed on Xiaoliuqiu and began to build a city on the island with the intention of completely controlling Xiaoliuqiu.

Although Portugal lost Malacca, the Dutch did not prevent the Portuguese from passing through the Malacca Strait. The Dutch occupied this place in order to strengthen their power in East Asia and to do better business.

Even though Malacca was seized from the Portuguese, war is war and business is still business. Isn't that how Europeans work? Moreover, five years have passed since Portugal was defeated in Malacca. The war has long ended and shipping in Malacca has long been restored. Even Portugal, the former rival, can still pass through smoothly as long as it pays a certain fee.

These two galleons from Europe flew the flag of the Kingdom of Portugal. One was called the Liberty and the other was called the Brave.

On the deck of the Liberty, a young man in aristocratic attire was looking towards the north. In the past year, he first took a carriage from the heart of Europe to Rome, then took a ship from the Italian peninsula to Lisbon, Portugal from the Mediterranean, and then boarded the Liberty from Lisbon. He then followed the Liberty all the way east, experiencing two storms along the way, and finally arrived in the Far East.

After passing Malacca, they were not far from the Ming Dynasty, and the waves on this side of the Pacific Ocean were much calmer than along the way. Today was a good day, and the young nobleman named Adolf came to the deck specifically to get some fresh air and appreciate the scenery of the Far East that he had never been to before.

Unfortunately, all he could see was the vast sea, and the land was still far away. But the smell of the sea breeze was different from that in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He seemed to be able to discern the smell of silk and tea, which made him feel relaxed and happy.

"Your Excellency the Viscount..." Just as Adolf was gazing into the distance, a voice sounded behind him.

When I looked back, Adolf immediately greeted me with a smile.

"Father, you are in such a good mood. Why do you come out to enjoy the sea breeze?"

"Yes, I finally came to the Far East and came out to take a look, but unfortunately I didn't see anything except the sea. I wonder what you saw?" The young priest smiled and joked with Adolf. The two of them met in Rome. They had been together almost every day for nearly a year and had become friends. "Okay, Ferdinand, you just want to say that I was bored and came out to enjoy the sea breeze, but don't you feel it? This sea breeze carries a mysterious atmosphere, this is the taste of the East!" Adolf took a deep breath and made an intoxicated expression.

Father Ferdinand looked at him in confusion. How could the sea breeze have different smells? Why didn't he smell it? This noble was romantic. His thinking was different from that of ordinary people. Even though they were already familiar with it, Adolf often did things that he couldn't understand.

Viscount Adolf is a member of the Swedish Oxenstierna family. The current Prime Minister of Sweden, Count Axel Oxenstierna, is from this family. The Oxenstierna family is also a member of the Swedish and Polish royal families.

However, Adolf was not very prominent in the family. As a side branch, his bloodline was far away from the royal family, so he only had a viscount title passed down from his grandfather. In addition, he had a small fiefdom, which was actually just a village. It was far inferior to those great nobles.

But nobles are nobles. Although Adolf was only a viscount, his status as a member of the Oxenstierna family was unmatched by ordinary people. Young Adolf always had an adventurous spirit. When he was a teenager, his most admired person was Columbus. He once dreamed of being able to drive a ship to explore the ocean and discover the unknown world like Columbus. Unfortunately, he had never had this opportunity because he had always lived in Sweden.

After becoming an adult, Adolf, like other nobles, was keen on music, poetry, hunting and other activities. In other words, Adolf was a typical nobleman and was quite proficient in art. But as he grew older, Adolf always had the desire to explore the world in his heart, but because of his family, he could not fulfill this wish, which was a pity.

Just over a year ago, the opportunity finally came. The Vatican suddenly sent an envoy to Sweden to meet with the Polish royal family in Sweden and brought news from the East.

The Polish royal family is now ruled by Władysław IV, who is not only the king of Poland but also a member of the Swedish royal family. This situation is common in Europe. It is not uncommon for one person to serve as the monarch of two countries or to inherit the kingship of other countries after his death. Moreover, since 1505, the parliaments of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania passed a resolution in Lublin to establish a unified First Polish Republic. The capital was moved from Krakow to Warsaw, and the Republic of Poland was formally established. After the establishment of the Republic of Poland, state power was controlled by the parliament and the nobility, and the king became a decoration.

Although Władysław IV was the King of Poland, he spent more time living in Sweden on weekdays. The envoy of the Holy See told Władysław IV that the emperor of the distant East, that is, China, intended to develop diplomacy with European countries, especially the Kingdom of Poland. The reason was very simple, because Tsarist Russia in the east continued to expand into the Siberian region, came into contact with the Orientals and war broke out.

The result of the war was that the Orientals cut off the tentacles of Tsarist Russia extending to the East, but this was just the beginning. Considering the future, the Chinese emperor hoped to find allies in Europe to cooperate with to deal with the ever-expanding Tsarist Russia. The missionaries sent to the East by the Holy See accepted the emperor's instructions and sent someone to deliver a letter, hoping that the Holy See would do this.

Since the current King of Poland is Władysław IV of the Swedish royal family, the envoys of the Holy See came directly to Sweden to meet with Władysław IV, hoping to get a good response.

Upon hearing this news, Władysław IV was immediately tempted. Although as the King of Poland he currently had no real power in Poland, the crown on his head was real. Moreover, in recent years, Tsarist Russia has not only expanded eastward, but also westward. Poland has been tyrannical over Tsarist Russia, and there have been many wars between the two. With the outbreak of contradictions in the serfdom system in Poland in the past few decades, Poland's national strength began to decline, and as the king, Władysław IV was worried.

The same is true for Sweden. Poland and Sweden are both neighbors of Tsarist Russia. If Tsarist Russia wants to expand to the west, it will inevitably go to war with Poland and Sweden. Once the war breaks out, no one can predict what the outcome will be. Władysław IV is not sure that he can win the war with Tsarist Russia. In this case, if there is a powerful ally in the East, it will be of great benefit to both Poland and Sweden.

Europeans have heard the name of China too many times. From the records left by Marco Polo, we can see that China is an extremely powerful and prosperous country. The distant East is simply a paradise in the dreams of Europeans. Their rivers flow with sweet milk, and there are gold and silver on the ground for followers to pick up. Ordinary people wear silk clothes that only European royal families and nobles can wear, and even eat with exquisite porcelain...

China's civilization and strength have long been deeply rooted in the minds of Westerners, and the opening of the Age of Discovery also proved this. If Sweden and Poland could become allies with the Chinese and develop normal diplomatic relations, it would be extremely beneficial to both Sweden and Poland. As a king with political vision and judgment, how could Władysław IV miss this opportunity?

(End of this chapter)