Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2359: Pope's Envoy Matteo Ricci
In a side hall of Chunhe Palace, Gao Youshi was immersed in deep thought about the future strategy of the Ming Dynasty. Li Zhizao, the cabinet's pen washer, came hurriedly and handed him a visiting card.

"Prince, Mr. Xijiang wants to see you." Li Zhizao was afraid that Gao Youshi would forget something, so he explained, "It's the missionary Mr. Matteo Ricci that I mentioned last time."

Gao Youshi was quite surprised. He glanced at the visiting card and asked, "Isn't Matteo Ricci in the capital to build connections? Why did he come to Nanjing?"

"I have also asked him, and he said that he was ordered by Pope Clement VIII to go south urgently to discuss important matters with the Prime Minister."

Gao Shishi was familiar with the name Matteo Ricci. When he asked Li Zhizao to be his official censor (now called cabinet pen washer), Li Zhizao told him about his acquaintance with Matteo Ricci. Not only that, Li Zhizao also told Gao Shishi that this missionary had been active in the Ming Dynasty for many years and had won the respect of many scholars with his profound knowledge and humble attitude.

In fact, there was no need for Li Zhizao to tell him this. As a time traveler, Gao Youshi knew that Matteo Ricci was not only a missionary, but also a scholar. He had profound attainments in astronomy, mathematics and other fields, and had extensive exchanges with scholars in the Ming Dynasty. However, this time he suddenly went south to Nanjing on the orders of the Pope, which was a bit interesting.

"Please ask him to come to the study for a chat." Gao Youshi ordered, and he went to the study first. Li Zhizao responded and hurried out to meet him.

Soon, Matteo Ricci was led into the study room in the side hall of Chunhe Palace. He was wearing a simple Chinese Taoist robe, his hair was gray, but his eyes were still clear and firm.

"Mr. Matteo Ricci, I have heard of your great name for a long time. I am honored to meet you today. Nice to meet you." Gao Youshi greeted him with a smile.

"You are too kind, Prime Minister. Matteo Ricci is here on the orders of Pope Clement VIII to discuss important matters with you." Matteo Ricci bowed slightly and spoke in a calm tone. In addition, he spoke Chinese very well, and even the strange accent of "Western Chinese" was not serious.

But Gao Youshi had long known how powerful this man was, so he was not very surprised to see this. He just smiled and gestured for Matteo Ricci to sit down, and then the two of them sat down as host and guest.

Matteo Ricci seemed to be very familiar with the etiquette of the upper class of the Ming Dynasty. He took out two letters from his pocket and handed them to Li Zhizao who was beside Gao Youshi. He then said to Gao Youshi, "This is the handwritten letter from the Holy See to the Prime Minister, and the translation and transcription I made for this letter. Please have a look."

Gao Youshi took the letter from Li Zhizao and found that the Pope's letter was written in Latin, which was familiar to him but he did not recognize at all, while the letter translated and copied by Matteo Ricci was written directly in Chinese, and the handwriting was quite skillful.

"Please wait a moment." Gao Shiwu nodded to Ricci, first opened the Pope's letter and took a look, then opened Ricci's translation. Strangely, although Ricci translated it into Chinese, he followed the Pope's format and used horizontal layout from left to right, as if he believed that Gao Shiwu was used to this format:
Dear Prime Minister of the Ming Empire, His Excellency Gao Shishi, Marquis of the Empire:

May this letter bring you blessings of health and prosperity. I, Pope Clement VIII, send you my warmest greetings in the name of Saint Peter.

In your far West, we are facing an unprecedented challenge, a challenge that concerns not only the survival of our faith, but also the peace and order of the entire civilized world.

The Ottoman Empire, the terrifying giant that was defeated by your ancestors and fled to the West, and finally rose in Anatolia, is now expanding its power at an unprecedented speed, threatening every corner of Europe. Their armies sweep across the land, their fleets are rampant on the sea, and their ambitions are boundless and endless.

As the guardians of the Christian world, I and the kings and monarchs of the West must stand up and fight this powerful enemy for the sake of faith, for freedom, and for the future of civilization.

We have paid a heavy price in our century-long conflict with the Ottoman Empire. But we still firmly believe that the power of good will eventually defeat evil and light will eventually dispel darkness. However, we also need allies and support from those forces that also value peace and order.

Not only do we know that your ancestors once defeated the ancestors of the Ottomans and drove them far away, we also know that not long ago the Ming Empire once again successfully defeated the Ottoman Eastern Allies - Buyan Khan of the Yuan Empire and his Prime Minister Prince Burihatu in the far east.

Congratulations and salute you! This victory is not only a heavy blow to the Ottoman Empire, but also a great encouragement to the entire Christian world. Your country, with its powerful army and navy, has proved its unparalleled military strength and has undoubtedly become a key force in maintaining world peace.

Therefore, I hereby plead for your support and for the Ming Empire to form an alliance with us to fight against the mutually recognized enemy, the Ottoman Empire. I believe that through our cooperation, we can not only weaken the power of the Ottoman Empire and limit its ambitions, but also ensure the security and prosperity of our respective countries and peoples.

Furthermore, I must point out that such an alliance would also be of immeasurable benefit to the Ming Empire. Through our cooperation, your homeland will be able to continue to expand its influence in international trade, ensure the security of its maritime trade routes, and perhaps even gain new territory and resources. This will be a cooperation that benefits both of us, and an alliance that will bring long-term benefits to our respective countries.

I implore you, Prime Minister Gao Youshen, to seriously consider my proposal. I look forward to your positive response and to our working together to face the common challenges of world peace.

May God bless us and may our alliance become a glorious chapter in history.

Sincerely,
salute
Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, Successor of the Lord of the Apostles, High Priest, Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Province of Rome, Head of the States subject to the Church, and Servant of the Servant of God

Clement VIII
1600 9 Month 6 Day.

"The Pope wants to form an alliance with the Ming Dynasty?" Gao Yousi felt it was a bit outrageous. He frowned and asked Matteo Ricci, "He should know how far Beijing is from Rome, right?" Gao Yousi did not care about the Pope's title of "Imperial Marquis". After all, it was signed in September 1600. At that time, he was not the Duke of Jingguo, but the Marquis of Nanning.

"Yes, Your Excellency, based on the great explorations of Spain and Portugal, as well as the reports of missionaries, the Holy See is well aware of the distance between Beijing and Rome." Matteo Ricci nodded in affirmation, and then immediately added: "But the Holy See believes that justice will not be diminished by distance, and the attraction between two great civilizations will not be diminished by distance."

Gao Fusi couldn't help laughing and said, "You are very good at talking, Mr. Matteo Ricci."

"And you have always been known for your wisdom, Your Excellency Yuanfu."

Gao Fusi smiled, pointed at the Pope's letter, and asked, "The Pope proposed an alliance with the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty is fine, but the Pope said that he wanted to form an alliance with the Ming Dynasty. Does it only include the Papal States, or other Catholic countries that are currently hostile to the Ottoman Empire? I mean, such as Austria or the Habsburgs, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the chaotic Hungary?"

Matteo Ricci was quite surprised and said: "I didn't expect you to know so much about the situation in Europe."

Gao Youshi smiled again, glanced at the date of the Pope's signature, thought for a moment, and asked, "The Pope wrote this letter a year and a half ago. I wonder if this is also the last time you learned about the situation in Europe. If so, I can tell you some new news." Matteo Ricci was even more surprised and said, "Do you know more recent news? If so, I am really curious. Please let me know."

Gao Youshi did know what happened after the Pope wrote this letter. After all, as an old player of a certain strategy game, he was relatively familiar with the "Long War" (also known as the Fifteen Years' War and the Habsburg-Ottoman War).

It's complicated, of course, but to make a long story short it was a series of wars between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans over Hungarian territory that began in 1591 and ended in 1606.

Generally speaking, the Habsburg Empire's allies included the Papal States, the Principality of Transylvania, the Principality of Wallachia, and the Principality of Moldavia, while Safavid Persia also contained the Ottoman Empire on the Eastern Front.

Although the Ottoman Empire had no allies, ethnic minorities living under its rule, such as Serbs and Bulgarians, also participated in the war.

Compared with the war, the Habsburgs performed better this time, losing only a few not-so-important castles such as Nagykanizsa and Eger Castle. The Ottoman Empire won a small victory, and then the Grand Vizier "Gravedigger" went to fight Persia (Grand Vizier is equivalent to Prime Minister or Chancellor).

The real unlucky ones in this war were the family of Prince Bathory of Transylvania and the family of Prince Dracula of Wallachia (the family from which the vampire legend originated). These two families were the ones who really lost.

Gao Fusi nodded calmly and said, "The Pope's letter was written in 1600. The situation at the beginning of this year was quite unfavorable to the Habsburg family. The outstanding Hungarian general Miklos Baffy died in the spring. In early June, the Walloon mercenaries in Papo who were owed military pay launched a rebellion and imprisoned the garrison commander Mihaly Los Mallory and others in the city. The deputy garrison commander Ferenc Vatai had to flee quickly.

The rebels were furious and wanted to give the castle to the Ottomans in exchange for their unpaid wages. Fortunately, the Ottomans did not trust them at all and thought it was a trick, so they missed the opportunity.

Count Schwarzenberg was soon sent to restore order. Although he tried to negotiate with the Walloons, he had to siege the castle to retake it. Unfortunately, he was killed in the siege. Some Walloons fled Papo and joined the Ottoman army.

Not long after, the Habsburg army recaptured the city of Papo and divided the captured rebels into two categories. Ordinary soldiers were executed locally, and senior officers were taken to Vienna and tortured to death. The Walloon mercenaries who committed numerous crimes received the punishment they deserved, but I have to say that the root cause of this matter was that the Habsburgs had owed them too much money for a long time.

By the end of August, the main Ottoman army led by Grand Vizier Ibrahim began to besiege Nagykanizsa, the most important outpost of the Western Danube. Hundreds of Walloon mercenaries who had escaped from Papo joined the besiegers' camp.

The castle was protected by a small guard of 2 men led by Georges Paradeser. Philippe Emmanuel de Lorraine, Duke of Mercor, who went to rescue Nagykanizhao, led an army of men, but he did not dare to fight the Grand Vizier and could not transfer reinforcements to the castle.

After eight weeks of siege, the garrison commander of Nagykaunja, Paradesser, handed over the castle to Ibrahim on October 10 in exchange for his freedom to leave. I guess Paradesser was probably executed, just like the garrison commander of Gyor, Haggard.

After that, the Ottoman Empire established the province of Kanieh here, and Zala and Vas became the front line against the Ottoman Empire. Not long after, Archduke Ferdinand led an army of 3 to besiege Kanieh, hoping to recapture it, but at least when I heard the news, he had not succeeded.

In the same year, the Szekelys and Saxons sided with Michael II and nominated him as Prince of Transylvania, but Emperor Rudolf was only willing to recognize him as Governor of Transylvania. (Transylvania can basically be regarded as eastern Hungary.)
However, although the Transylvanian nobility initially sided with Michael II, they were soon betrayed by him. Michael II appointed Wallachians to almost all important positions, which greatly reduced the loyalty of the Transylvanian nobility to him. Only the Szekeians remained loyal to him because he freed them from serfdom and organized a Szekelian army.

During his reign, he completely plundered the treasury of the Principality. However, even so, he was later unable to pay his mercenaries, so they began to loot and plunder the local areas. In order to save the financial situation, Michael II also attacked and occupied Moldova, but soon found that the situation in Moldova was not optimistic either. There was dissatisfaction with his rule, and the nobles continued to revolt in many places. As a result, Michael II's army was defeated in the Battle of Milislo, and he was forced to flee temporarily.

So, on the orders of Emperor Rudolf, the commander-in-chief of Upper Hungary, Giorgio Besta, recalled Sigismund Batory to the Principality. However, Sigismund also disappointed Rudolf, abandoned his previous policy, and began to negotiate with the Ottomans. For this reason, Besta and Michael II joined forces to defeat his army in the Battle of Goroslo, and he was forced into exile again.

On August 8, Besta sent Walloon mercenaries to kill Michael II. He then became the new agent of Emperor Rudolf and the de facto ruler of Transylvania. As of the last news received by this cabinet, this man was terrorizing the country and his mercenaries were plundering local wealth with impunity.

On the other side, in western Hungary, the Habsburgs also launched a large-scale counterattack in the same year. Philippe Emmanuel de Lorraine, Duke of Mercor, led an army of 2 to begin the siege of Szekesfehervar and captured the castle on September 9.

The new Ottoman Grand Vizier Hassan al-Jemisi led a 5-man rescue force and arrived near the castle in late early October. Despite their superior strength, as of the last news received by this cabinet, the Ottoman army had not achieved any results in this battle.

But from what I can see, the Habsburgs have already used their strength to the limit. If they cannot get more help, I am afraid it will be difficult for them to hold on to this castle for a long time under the siege of 50,000 Ottoman troops. "

Gao Fusi spoke so clearly and even gave the names of all the people in the group, that Matteo Ricci could not help but believe him. He could not help but be extremely curious: "Excuse me, but how could the Prime Minister know so much about what is happening in Europe? He is even more informed than I am?"

Gao Youshi smiled slightly: "Jinghua has been trading with Europe for many years. As long as the Spanish and Portuguese know the news, how can Jinghua not know it? Mr. Matteo Ricci probably doesn't know that the Spanish have bought at least 40,000 Wanli Type 2 muskets from Jinghua in the past three years, right?"

Matteo Ricci looked a little unhappy. After all, the more Gao Yousi knew about the situation in Europe, the more difficult it would be to trick him into signing an alliance treaty. In other words, the difficulty of his mission had obviously increased.

However, no matter how difficult it is, it is something the Pope has asked us to do, so we have to bite the bullet and do it no matter how difficult it is.

Matteo Ricci smiled bitterly and said, "Since the Prime Minister knows about the chaos in Europe, he should also be able to feel the huge threat of the Ottoman Empire. This is the basis for our alliance..."

"It is true that this is the basis for you to form an alliance with the Ming Dynasty, but how can it be said that it is the basis for the alliance between the Ming Dynasty and you? The Ottomans threaten your Catholic countries, not the Ming Dynasty." Gao Youshi shook his head and acted as if he didn't care at all. "Besides, since the Pope knows that the ancestors of the Ottomans were defeated and expelled by us, he should also know that even the Ottomans today, with the strength of the Ming Dynasty with a million soldiers, do not think it can threaten us."

Matteo Ricci's heart sank to the bottom. He felt that this mission was doomed to fail, and his face showed deep disappointment.

However, Gao Youshi suddenly said, "However, if we say that the alliance is beneficial to both sides, I think it is not completely unreasonable, but..."

Matteo Ricci seemed to have received a shot of cardiotonic. He quickly pulled himself together and asked, "Just what? Please tell me, Prime Minister."
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