I'm really not doing business

Chapter 635: Just a Small Case of Beheading
"No, isn't Mr. Xu a scholar-official? Doesn't he hate ghosts and gods the most?" Li Yashi asked in surprise, as shocked as if he had seen a ghost, because all the scholars-officials he had come into contact with avoided talking about ghosts and gods. "A gentleman does not speak of strange things, supernatural powers," is the greatest correctness of Confucian scholars and the standard they practice throughout their lives.

To use the results of the Wanli Reform's great speculation, the theory of ghosts and gods is just a tool used by the ruling class to maintain stable rule.

"The scholars and officials use whatever is convenient for them. It's nothing. If you are active in the West, you have to adapt to the world of the West." Marcus spread his hands and said solemnly: "Legas, I am actually the left protector of the God of Wisdom walking on earth, just like the chief commander of the Knights of the Guardian. The Daming Cult has two protectors."

"The left and right protectors are the most important military forces of Portugal. The left protectorate is formed by the original Free Island Navy, while the right protectorate is an army composed of civilians. The left and right protectors have a total of 60,000 people and 20 infantry battalions."

"Wait a moment, let me take it easy." Li Yashi struggled for a while and said dully, "Untie me first, I'll rest for a night, and then tie me up here again tomorrow morning."

Marcus looked around and saw that everyone around him was his own people, so he said, "Okay."

Li Yashi sat under the mast, and said blankly: "No, this is a bit confusing. The left and right guardians of the religion are already very strange. Why is he in the infantry battalion system?"

The infantry battalion system was used by the Ming Dynasty's capital camp and navy. Even the foreign troops that were widely present on the border did not adopt the infantry battalion system because it was too expensive. The price of an infantry battalion, from training to armaments, was astronomical. Even the wealthy Ming emperor could not convert the Ming Dynasty's military garrisons into the infantry battalion system.

And now, the Portuguese Crusaders actually use the infantry battalion system!
Is Portugal already that rich?

"It's just a facade." Marcus waved his hands and said awkwardly, "It can't be compared with the Ming Dynasty's imperial camp and navy, because even the military pay is often obtained by robbing pirate ships. You know, pirate ships and merchant ships are sometimes difficult to distinguish, and there is no need to distinguish them."

"In fact, the boundaries between countries in the West are not as clear as in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the Left and Right Crusaders often fight as mercenaries of Philip II in exchange for Philip's rewards."

"Marcus, you are becoming more and more like those lying scholars. Just be a pirate, that's so euphemistic." Li Yashi teased Marcus. Just be a pirate, that's it. It's hard to distinguish the nature of the ship. In fact, this is also the norm in the West. Merchant ships and warships are all pirate ships. The Portuguese and Spanish navies are also pirates themselves.

"The Great Ming Religion, um, this name is particularly strange, but what I want to ask is, who is the god of this Great Ming Religion? It can't be created out of thin air. Can you tell me the story of the Great Ming Religion?" Legashi asked Marcus what this religion was.

"This god is the Blue Emperor Taihao Fuxi, who is like the sun god and the god of wisdom." As the left protector, Marcus knew all about Fuxi's deeds, such as the emergence of the giant footprints in Lei Ze, looking up at the sky to observe the patterns, looking down at the earth to observe the laws, and observing the patterns of birds and beasts, and creating the innate Bagua.

"The Blue Emperor Taihao, who enlightened the wisdom of the ancestors, is quite appropriate." After thinking about it seriously, Li Yashi was very much in favor of this god. He had lived in Daming for twelve years, read a lot of books, and had some understanding of Fuxi.

In the Ming Dynasty, the creator god was Fuxi. Fuxi created the world with one stroke, and with one stroke, he created the universe. Yin and Yang moved and became still, the clear rose and the turbid fell. The heaven and earth were positioned, the sun and the moon moved, and all things continued to grow and regenerate.

Of course, there is also a widely circulated creator god Pangu, but Pangu’s origin is later than Fuxi. It was not until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty that the legend of Pangu creating the world gradually took shape.

The creation of the Central Plains is different from that of the West. The creation of the Central Plains actually means more about the opening up of the "beginning of human civilization", symbolizing the transformation of mankind from primitive tribes that ate barbaric food and drank blood to civilization.

"What about the doctrine? Is it the Taoist Canon?" Li Yashi asked about the general principles of the Great Ming Cult.

"Contradiction theory." Marcus said very calmly.

"Don't you think that the theory of contradiction is incompatible with religion, or even contrary to it?" Li Yashi said in shock. What on earth is Xu Fan doing! He defined the theory of contradiction as the doctrine of the House of Wise. Is he crazy? ! The theory of contradiction fundamentally denies religion!
It's just nonsense.

"So, the Great Ming Cult is not a religion at all." Marcus took out a waist badge and said, "This is a military token. When mobilizing troops, you need to take out the other half from the palace and fasten it tightly before you can mobilize the troops. With this thing, does Felipe still need to worry about the threat posed to him by the Marquis of Saint Cruz of War?"

Marcus certainly knew that the theory of contradiction was a worldly knowledge, but there was nothing he could do because Xu Fan could not find a more suitable general principle.

The badge in his hand was very small, not even as big as his palm, with the Yin-Yang and Eight Diagrams engraved on it, and various grooves on the back, apparently to prevent counterfeiting.

The bad news is that the Ming Cult is a patchwork monster. The good news is that it’s all stitched together!
Legashi was going crazy.

"So, it's actually just a religion disguised as a religion. In essence, it's a narrative constructed with Ming culture as the core to depict the Ming Dynasty's way of thinking and logic?" Li Yashi was so surprised that he was speechless. He thought about it for a long time before he figured out and defined what this Ming Cult was.

This is a kind of output of Ming Dynasty culture. However, because religion is widely believed in the West, Xu Fan chose to adapt to local conditions and fight poison with poison. The core of this thing is actually still composed of Ming Dynasty culture, but it is expressed in the form of religion.

"Only you, a Westerner who has lived in the Ming Dynasty for so many years, are making such a fuss. I think it's quite good. At least Xu Fan did not build a church and look for boys and girls to serve the priest." Marcus gritted his teeth when he said this.

These priests not only want money, but also people! As a sword master, it is his duty to protect these children. What have these children done wrong? He wants to kill these priests as soon as possible.

The House of Wise Men, which was originally intended to provide consulting services, was originally just a place to collect intelligence, and Xu Fan had no intention of developing it into a sect. It was Antonio who caused the trouble.

As soon as Antonio became king, he immediately expelled Cardinal Ranuccio Farnese from the Vatican, because Ranuccio supported Felipe to become the King of Portugal and had planned to expel Antonio, causing Portugal to lose its last heir so that Felipe II could successfully become the King of Portugal.

Antonio expelled the cardinal and caused a lot of trouble. In order to clean up Antonio's mess, Xu Fan had to turn his House of Wise Men into a religious place.

"Don't you think that the theory of contradiction is very consistent with Tai Chi Bagua? You see the unity of contradictions and the coexistence of Yin and Yang. There is Yin in Yang and Yang in Yin." Marcus said with certainty, holding the Bagua cards in his hand.

"But it is still inappropriate. The theory of contradiction talks about the infinite contradictions of all things. It insists that matter is primary and spirit is secondary. The theory of contradiction is fundamentally opposed to religion." Li Yashi shook his head. He did not agree with the theory of contradiction becoming a religious doctrine.

A universal doctrine that insists on the priority of material things and insists on practice as the standard when there are contradictions and conflicts between practice and theory is really not suitable to be a doctrine.

Marcus held his forehead, then spread his hands and said helplessly: "It's already said that His Highness Antonio caused the trouble. Minister of State Xu Fan had no choice but to come up with this Daming Sect, a fictitious church in the Far East, and then to unite the scattered Portugal. It's not a religion in the first place! How can you be as stubborn as those cheap Confucian scholars in Daming and not know how to adapt at all?!"

"Even the Holy See? And it's in Ming Dynasty?!" Legashi blinked at Marcus and whispered, "That Holy See, can't it be the Ming Dynasty court?"

"Congratulations, you guessed it right." Marcus said with certainty.

It is reasonable that the Holy Court of the Ming Cult is the Ming Dynasty court.

Marcus smiled and said, "In a place where religion is prevalent, if you tell them to respect ghosts and gods but keep a distance from them, they won't understand! They won't understand, you know? You have adapted to the local customs and have almost become a Ming citizen, and you still say Xu Fan is going too far?"

This is the only way to deal with the environment in Taixi.

"Antonio is truly unfit to be a king. He has not even learned the most basic compromise. He only cares about his own pleasure without caring about the dire situation in Portugal." This was the comment made by Legazpi. Solon, who had been beheaded and burned to ashes by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, also believed that Antonio was unfit to be a king.

After entering the capital, Solon was beheaded in public. Then Shuntian Prefecture collected his body, burned it into ashes, and let Li Yashi take it back to the west.

In Western religions, burning has a special meaning. It is a treatment that only heretics will enjoy. The Ming Dynasty was very clear about this. They deliberately burned the people to ashes to tell Felipe II that anyone who dared to sell opium in the Ming Dynasty would end up like this. No matter who they were, their bones would be crushed to ashes.

This is the bottom line that cannot be challenged. Drug control is a war to the death.

"Who said it wasn't? You don't know, His Highness has some things that are really frustrating." Marcus also agreed with this.

Marcus was extremely loyal to Antonio, and influenced by the Ming culture, he accused Chen Shan of being unfaithful.

Marcus did not support many of Antonio's decisions. For example, the cleanup of Lisbon was quite effective, turning Lisbon from a cesspool into a famous flower city in the West. Antonio slapped his forehead and thought that all cities in Portugal should be like this.

Fortunately, Xu Fan stopped Antonio, otherwise, who knows how much trouble it would have caused.

After making similar decisions so many times, even Marcus thought that Antonio should just remain king and leave the specific government affairs to more professional officials.

This management model, which is somewhat similar to a dualistic system, is very suitable for Portugal. Antonio does not want to be a unitary autocratic dictator, nor does he have the ability to do so. His first priority is to ensure that Portugal does not fall into the hands of Felipe II.

"So how many believers does this sect have?" Legashi asked curiously.

"I don't know. A lot of people do. Because if you believe in the Great Ming Church, you don't need to buy indulgences, and there are no requirements for worship. So there are a lot of people who believe in it, so many that it's impossible to count the believers." Marcus whispered, "And the Great Ming Church is growing wildly throughout Spain. As a defender of the religion, Felipe chose to remain silent and let it spread."

Marcus felt that Legazpi might not die because Felipe's attitude was very strange. He seemed to have a very strong resistance to the sect that was riding on his neck. The Ming Sect was rampant and growing wildly, but Felipe II not only did not wipe it out, but even condoned it.

If Felipe II wanted to, he could simply use the fact that Legazpi was an envoy of the Ming Emperor to fool the Vatican.

Starting with Ferdinand I, the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire no longer went to the Vatican to receive enthronement. Ferdinand I was the father of King Philip II of Spain.

Because of religious reasons, Philip II lost the succession to the throne of the Holy Roman Emperor, and Philip's attitude towards the Roman Catholic Church can be imagined. Moreover, his favorite queen died because of religious etiquette and did not take a bath, which aggravated Philip II's dissatisfaction with the Holy See.

"Has His Highness Felipe chosen to remain silent?" Legazpi said in surprise. Felipe, who appeared as a defender of religion, actually chose to indulge. This was something Legazpi could never have imagined.

"Yes, it really is as your Majesty said, religion is nothing more than a tool of the ruling class." Marcus said sincerely.

This is a sentence that Marcus learned in the Ming Dynasty, and the ruling class's ruling tools have been fulfilled once again.

"Do you know? Every time I go to the capital of Daming to pay homage to His Majesty, I do so with the mentality of a pilgrim. If there really is a god in Daming Sect, it can only be Your Majesty. The Blue Emperor Taihao is too far away. As a Westerner, I cannot understand him, but Your Majesty's words are all wise sayings." Marcus' expression was full of reverence. To him, His Majesty was God and Antonio was the monarch, and there was no conflict between the two.

"When you arrive in Taixi, just ask the Patriarch to confer upon you the title of Left Envoy of the Light. All envoys of the Ming Dynasty will have this title."

Marcus told Legazpi the way to survive in Tesi. Identity politics in Tesi is very common. Giving Legazpi another identity is called stacking armor.

Taihao, symbolizing the brightness of the sun, is itself one of the spreaders of light, so as the envoy of the Ming Emperor, it is very reasonable for him to be the Envoy of Light. Gao Qiyu, Xu Jiugao, Liu Ji and other special envoys sent by the Ming Dynasty to the West all have the title of Envoy of Light, and their portraits are hung in the House of Wise Men, indicating that they are among the sages.

The Great Ming Cult was not a deformed thing created by Xu Fan for fun, but a ruling tool specially made by him to unite the scattered Portugal. "The Envoy of Light..." Legashi immediately accepted this title that looked very high-end and classy!

Even if they really died, they would make a lot of money, as their portraits would be hung in the House of Wise Men and sung by the people. The Ming Dynasty gave birth to the value of being responsible for history because of its high morality, and the value of being responsible for history, coupled with the pursuit of immortality, eventually formed the pursuit of "immortality through fame" among the literati.

"I still have to say that high morality is a disadvantage when it comes to expansion and..." Legazpi suddenly stood up, looked around in fear and said, "Captain, it seems to be foggy?"

"It's foggy?" Marcus was about to continue talking to Legashi, but he became terrified as if he saw a monster.

Because it was really foggy.

In July, fog means that there will be a huge storm soon. According to the Ming Dynasty's classification, strong winds exceeding level 17 are about to arrive.

"May your majesty keep me safe and sound!" Marcus stuck his military token Bagua card on his forehead and said very piously.

Marcus has converted. What is God? I am not familiar with it.

Because the Ming Emperor's five-masted ocean-going ship could really protect Marcus from all kinds of crises at sea.

The reason why the five-masted ocean-going ship is called an ocean-going ship is because it really has a strong ability to resist wind and waves.

Marcus began to command the ship urgently. To survive this storm, rich experience and the efforts of all sailors, including Legashi, were needed. The full sail was immediately reduced to half sail, and against the somewhat cool gale, the hard sail that could handle eight kinds of winds began to go against the wind, and sailed quickly towards the north in a zigzag trajectory.

Before he had hard sails and could not sail with all the winds, facing such a big storm, Marcus could only pray, but now, it was completely different.

"Man can conquer nature!"

Marcus shouted loudly to the people around him: "Everyone, tie yourself to the boat tightly and don't be thrown out of the boat! Every sailor is guarding the watertight compartment. If it is damaged, lower the hatch immediately!"

"Everyone, your majesty, bless us!"

The sea breeze started to become fierce from being cool. The originally calm sea surface began to have huge waves taller than a house. The sea water rolled like boiling water. The wind was roaring. The lightning that streaked across the southern horizon briefly illuminated the sky. It took less than three quarters of an hour for the fog to turn into a storm.

The ship was thrown high up by the waves, and then fell heavily into the sea. The bow emerged from the water, stubbornly emerged from the waves, and continued to sail forward slowly and steadily.

The boat master was in great danger at this time. They climbed to the top of the mast, tied their waists to the top of the mast, and the nimble sailors climbed up and then slid down the rope quickly, transmitting the boat master's observations of the hydrology.

Two days later, in the midst of chaos, a fleet of 22 five-masted ocean-going ships successfully passed the danger zone and saw the long-lost sun hanging high in the sky. However, three of the 22 ships fell behind and would probably disappear forever in the vast ocean.

All the sailors no longer asked Captain Marcus to tie Legazpi to the mast as punishment for exposing him to the sun, because the sailors were worried that they would not be able to obtain His Majesty's protection because they had offended His Majesty's envoy.

And most importantly, the huge storm encountered this time was unanimously believed by the sailors to be the wrath of the Ming Emperor! Otherwise, why would such a terrifying huge storm suddenly break out on a mature route! It must be caused by His Majesty's wrath!
There is no rationality in this.

"It's a blessing in disguise. I see fear in the eyes of these sailors, hahaha!" Li Yashi put his hands on his waist, arrogantly. He stretched out a hand and shouted to the sailors: "Come on, tie me to the mast again! When the time comes, I will incur the wrath of His Majesty. Let's see who can bear it!"

Of course, Liya speaks Chinese, not Latin or local dialect.

Therefore, all the sailors could not understand what Li Yashi was saying. Instead, they became more afraid, fearing that they would be pointed out, because they thought that Li Yashi was performing some mysterious oriental prayer ceremony and communicating with the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

"Don't you think it's boring? Shouting in Chinese." Marcus expressed his confusion about Legashi's behavior. For the intelligent Legashi, this behavior was particularly childish.

Maybe he got brain damage from being tied up and exposed to the sun for several days, otherwise how could he do such a boring thing.

"You'll know after you've been tied up for a few days!" Li Yashi said loudly, "This is really interesting!"

"As you wish."

The ships that survived the crisis continued to sail towards their destination, leaving streaks of water on the sea. At this time, the gate of the Five Cities Army in the capital of the Ming Dynasty was extremely lively. In front of the gate of the Five Cities Army was a team of patrolling captains. They stood upright, as they were here to see them off.

There were some common people watching nearby. Although they didn't know what was happening, when they saw three plain-dressed censors standing in front of the door, they knew that General Hai was carrying out a crackdown on counter-revolutionaries again.

Hai Rui was the Chief Censor of the Censorate, in charge of cracking down on corruption. Under him were some upright officials identified by Hai Rui as being upright and honest, who were dedicated to cracking down on corruption. The image of this group of people was very uniform, they never wore silk or satin, only plain clothes, that is, undyed official robes.

Wherever this group of plain-clothed censors appeared, people would gather around to watch, because another corrupt official was about to get into trouble.

The captains did not smile, but their eyes showed some gloating. The damn city inspector who was domineering and bossing people around all day long was finally caught by Hai Rui!

The person who was to be taken away by the Suyi Censor was none other than the City Patrolling Censor Zhao Chengfan. He was a Jinshi in the second year of the Wanli reign. After serving in the local government for six years, he returned to Beijing and became the City Patrolling Censor.

When Zhao Chengfan heard that he was going to be taken away for investigation, he still walked with a gait of a dragon and a tiger, with an upright attitude that had nothing to fear. But when he walked to the door and saw the three plain-clothed imperial censors, Zhao Chengfan immediately stood still and looked at them without saying a word.

I couldn’t walk anymore, and I really didn’t dare to go any further because there was a cliff thousands of feet high in front of me.

The captains seemed to be seeing their superior off, but in fact they were just there to watch the fun. When they saw Zhao Chengfan standing there and refusing to move forward, everyone showed a teasing expression.

"Zhao Chengfan, we are also from the countryside, so please don't lose face!"

"Yes, be energetic!"

A group of people were just watching the fun, shouting loudly, "Let Zhao Chengfan cheer up!" After all, he had climbed up from the local area to the capital step by step. Why would he be so scared in front of three censors in plain clothes?
"Zhao Chengfan, this is the imperial decree issued by the Chief Censor of the Censorate. After you have read it and find no problem, you can come with us." One of the white-clothed censors stepped forward and showed the imperial decree issued by the Chief Censor of the Censorate.

At this point, the Censorate had already fully grasped the conclusive evidence that there was something wrong with Zhao Chengfan, and the problem was serious.

Because the problems are minor, most of them go through the impeachment process and the Suyi Censor is not needed at all. The Suyi Censor is very busy, so busy that he is exhausted. Being the Suyi Censor is basically equivalent to saying goodbye to his family.

The Plain-robed Censors were law-abiding officials, not cruel ones. Even the lowly Confucian scholars of the Ming Dynasty could not characterize these censors as cruel officials, because they were all as extremely honest as Hai Rui, truly the cleanest among the clean. There were only seven such censors in total.

Seven people are enough. One Hai Rui is scary enough, and now Hai Rui has seven loyal ministers under him. Each of the seven people leads a team, which is enough to make people terrified.

Zhao Chengfan did not become more energetic after being encouraged by everyone. Instead, he became visibly listless. He started to walk forward, but his steps were originally as fast as a dragon and a tiger, but the more he walked, the more unsteady his steps became. Each step was slower than the last, and he walked forward tremblingly, even moving.

The two captains couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so they carried Zhao Chengfan up and brought him before the Suyi Censor.

"It seems that our Censor Zhao can't walk anymore. Do you want us to take him to the Censorate?" The captain held Zhao Chengfan up and asked where Censor Suyi was going.

The two captains really came to see him off! They carried Zhao Chengfan and sent him off.

"Send you to the Northern Pacification Division. Thank you for your hard work, two generals." The plain-clothed censor said gently in a gentle tone, but his words made Zhao Chengfan feel like he was falling into an ice cave. His feet went weak, and if someone hadn't supported him, Zhao Chengfan would have fallen to the ground.

"You're welcome. It's not hard, not hard!" The two captains were flattered. They all said that these plain-clothed censors were difficult to get along with, but after getting to know them, they found that they were really easy to get along with. They were polite to everyone and never put on airs.

"When you were greedy, you were not afraid! When you took the silver, you were very tough. Go!" The captain cursed Zhao Chengfan fiercely and whispered, "If you don't give me filial piety during the New Year, you will treat me like an animal! You bastard!"

This captain had obviously been bullied by Zhao Chengfan because he did not give enough respect during the New Year. Now the captain finally got his revenge.

The two captains dragged Zhao Chengfan to the gate of the Northern Pacification Office like a dead pig, and two imperial guards came out from behind them and handed over the criminal.

The Tiqi had been there all along, and the reason they asked the two captains for help was to make things convenient for them and allow them to vent their grievances.

"Thank you, both generals." The Su Yi Censor said again very gently.

"You're welcome." A lieutenant asked curiously, "What crime did Zhao Chengfan commit that he had to be brought to the Northern Pacification Office? Oh, sorry for being so rude. It must be inconvenient for the three censors. I'm sorry for being nosy. I'm sorry for being nosy."

“It’s okay. I can’t tell you what he has done wrong, but a notice will be posted outside Donghua Gate in a few days. If the two generals are curious, they will know the answer at a glance.” The smile of the plain-clothed censor made people feel like spring breeze.

The reason why Censor Su Yi respected the two colonels was that the colonels of the Five Cities Military Division of the Ming Dynasty were all elite soldiers of the Beijing Camp who conquered Altan Khan's Bansheng City. Now they were old and could not fight anymore, so they were placed in the Five Cities Military Division to patrol the city. They were all veterans who had fought for the country for more than ten years.

Looking at the calluses on the hands, the tanned face, and the scars on the arms and face, it's clear that the battle was not easy.

The Censor Suyi is not polite to everyone. These two captains risked their lives for the benefit of the Ming Dynasty, so they were called "military sirs" by the Censor Suyi.

What had Zhao Chengfan done? Actually, it was a minor matter. He had helped Xu Youren's third son Xu Zhaode, who assassinated Wang Chonggu, by releasing the gunpowder used in the assassination into the capital.

It's just a minor case of beheading.

(End of this chapter)