Wanli Xinming

Chapter 359 Involvement
Xu Guangqi was taken aback when he heard the words, and hurriedly asked Yinzhen about his feelings.The Grand Duke took out the silver needle he took from Xu Guangqi last night and said to him, "Your Excellency Count, please see—"

Xu Guangqi took over the silver needle that had been used for drug testing since his mission. Seeing that the tip had turned black, he let out a long breath and said, "Your Excellency, you didn't put it in the egg yolk. You know, vulcanized It's not just arsenic in it."

The Grand Duke of Tuscany shook his head like a rattle as he wiped his sweat and said, "Of course, I didn't do that. You explained how to use it yesterday. I just tried it in milk."

Xu Guangqi pondered for a while, then walked to the door and asked the attendant to call Wang Jiaping.After turning around, he looked at the Grand Duke whose cheeks were flushed with fear, and asked, "Your Excellency, who else did you notify?"

"I didn't do anything except that my wife knew about it, and came to you directly. Because I don't know the principle of the silver needle drug test, I'm afraid of making a misunderstanding. After all—"

Xu Guangqi nodded and smiled bitterly: "Your Excellency, I'm afraid it's not a misunderstanding." After speaking, he took out a new silver needle, tried it on the tea cup, milk and bread in the room, and handed it to the Grand Duke: "If you don't meet Sulfur, it doesn't turn black, and there's sulfur in arsenic, which happens to be the most common poison."

At this time, Wang Jiaping asked to see him outside the door.When Xu Guang opened the door to let him in, Wang Jiaping was shocked when he saw the solemn expressions on the faces of the two of them, and said to himself, "It's not that the 'Shen Bao' ate the eldest man, then the old man is going to make a big mess. joke."

Xu Guangqi was anxious, and explained the matter clearly.Wang Jiaping let out a sigh of relief when he heard the words, and then frowned: "Your Excellency Grand Duke, it's not very safe in your palace. Are all those who can touch the milk under control?"

Francisco I shook his head.Xu Guangqi smiled bitterly and said, "The Grand Duke is afraid that there will be a misunderstanding, so come to me first to verify." Then he shook his head and said, "It seems that you use too much porcelain. I thought about it."

When the Grand Duke of Tuscany saw Xu Guangqi confirming that he had been poisoned, his face suddenly became extremely serious. He nodded to the two of them and bowed slightly: "I think I know what to do."

As a guest, after expressing concern for the Grand Duke encountering such a thing, the members of the mission can't do more, lest they go beyond the duty of the guest and even get involved in an inexplicable mess.

In order to be absolutely safe, the mission purchased and processed the ingredients by itself on the grounds that they missed their hometown dishes, so as to prevent the murderer from going wild and accidentally hurting himself—who knows if there is any poison in his hands that cannot be detected by silver needles?
On December 1584, 12 in the Julian calendar, the Grand Duke, who disappeared for several days, reappeared in front of Xu Guangqi and Wang Jiaping with a very ugly face.

After Xu Guangqi expressed his concern again, the Grand Duke said with tears in his eyes: "My wife and I may have been poisoned for a period of time. I have found out that it was my personal servant who was poisoned, and he was instructed by Ferdinando. This is the second poisoning."

After hearing about it, Xu Guangqi nodded and said, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, after milk enters the human body, it will form a protective film in the stomach, greatly reducing the power of the poison. Arsenic is a potent poison, and this is the first time you have not been poisoned. , it should be that the poisoner did not understand this knowledge. And this time the murderer increased the dose before being detected by the silver needle."

When Wang Jiaping heard Xu Guangqi say this, he opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything to comfort Francesca I.

In fact, he and Xu Guangqi have long guessed that they are inseparable - Ferdinando has the biggest motive for the murder when he does not know whether his brother can still give birth to an heir.

The Grand Duke said with red eyes: "I have ordered the secret arrest of His Excellency the Cardinal. But this matter is no trivial matter - two, I have to ask you to leave for Rome immediately."

Xu Guangqi nodded when he heard the words.The Grand Duke continued: "Antonio is still young, and he cannot handle this matter independently. I will officially recognize Carlo's identity and let him negotiate with the Holy See on my behalf. I hope you can provide protection for his safety."

Xu Guangqi was a little surprised when he heard the words, he pondered and asked, "Does this involve the Holy See?"

The Archduke nodded and said: "You know, since I took over the throne, I have used Habsburg as foreign aid, which has affected the interests of the Holy See to a certain extent. Ferdinando has always considered this to be a betrayal of the Medici in the Holy See. In addition, Antonio's bloodline problem is also an important reason for Ferdinando's murder."

Today, the largest family in Europe is the Habsburg family, and the most powerful branch of the Habsburg family is Felipe II of Spain.The Holy See and Spain have profound contradictions in the struggle for dominance in Europe - on the grounds of Xu Guangqi's arrival, the Pope issued a "peace decree" to block Felipe II.

Hearing the words, Xu Guangqi picked up a bunch of teeth, and felt a little regret for taking Carlo Medici in.He now knows that the Medici is extremely powerful in the Holy See-as of now, the Medici family has had three popes since Leo X 100 years ago. its number.

In such a huge family power, it is not surprising that there is a Francisco I who is not willing to be at the mercy of the Holy See, but Ferdinando shot to poison the Archduke, but the envoys who came here to visit were also involved in the whirlpool.

As a Chinese envoy, Xu Guangqi should, in accordance with the principle of maximizing interests, try his best to remain neutral among the various political forces in Europe. Although he is charged with the mission of choosing collaborators for the emperor—he cannot easily decide for the emperor at this time.

If he took Carlo to the Holy See, it would be considered a kind of siding in the eyes of those with a heart.But from another point of view, when Xu Guangqi could not tell anyone he was neutral, separating Carlo Medici from the embassy was an attitude in itself—a kind of attitude that remained with the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Distance, or even opposition.

Seeing him frown, Wang Jiaping knew what was going on, and he reminded in a low voice in Chinese, "Zixian, Spain will turn against us one day."

The Grand Duke of Tuscany is not a generalist either, listening to Wang Jiaping speak in Chinese—this is considered a disrespectful behavior, and after thinking about it in his heart, he knows what is going on.He immediately stated: "Your Excellency, the Principality of Tuscany will maintain absolute neutrality in the dispute between Serris and Spain - business is business, and we are willing to support your cooperation in the financial field with great sincerity. "

Seeing Xu Guangqi's indecision, the Medici Grand Duke took a deep breath and said, "All the Medici banks in Europe can support Seris Bank's bill cashing. If the mission can exert the necessary influence in the Holy See, I promise Seris. will get more.”

For Xu Guangqi, the Grand Duke's promise was almost priceless—if the emperor's idea of ​​using finance to get involved in Europa was to be realized, the support of the Medici Bank would be the most effective with half the effort. His family is currently the largest banker in Europe. All big cities had branches, and almost all kings owed debts to the Medici family.

how to say?Wang Jiaping gave the Grand Duke the "Shenbao" pill, and Xu Guangqi's suggestion that he use a silver needle for drug testing was simply a gift from God to the mission.After the Grand Duke escaped, out of gratitude and self-preservation, he even offered a price that the mission could not refuse.

The support of Medici Bank will make Zhu Yijun's strategy in Europe have an extremely smooth start.Xu Guangqi even felt that there was an illusion arranged by fate.

He paused and said, "Your Excellency, the Grand Duke, I have to discuss it with the people in the mission, and I will give you an answer tomorrow - at the same time, I need more information from the Holy See."

The Archduke nodded and said, "This is your right. But I sincerely hope that we can reach an agreement. Today I received news from Rome that Gregory XIII is very ill, and it is estimated that it will be difficult to spend this Christmas."

"Your Excellency, now all Europe is watching Rome."

(End of this chapter)