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Chapter 152 Express Delivery from America (Silver Leader 7)

The secret power struggle is over, and matters on the table must be settled.Ten days later, two Qianhu members of the Tianjin Sanwei and many of their subordinates were arrested and imprisoned by the Jinyiwei.The charges include dereliction of duty, embezzlement of military pay, collusion with Japanese pirates, etc., and they are all to be executed in the autumn.

Through this incident, Hong Tao once again observed how the courtiers worked together and cooperated tacitly when fooling the emperor.

There were no Japanese pirates or raids at all, but there were traitors who deliberately let the pirates in.However, no one from the departments responsible for the investigation raised any doubts. The unlucky ones who were arrested may be the victims of power struggles in the health center system.

Hong Tao has no intention of interfering with this approach. Again, the entire system is riddled with holes and patching alone is useless.The only thing that can be done is to quietly take out a small book and write down the names of the chief officials and handling officials of these departments in Chinese pinyin, so that they can be the first batch to be purged after they actually take power in the future.

Since Zhang Ran took office, the Royal Horse Supervisor has become more and more effective in his work. This is not only reflected in his efforts to complete tasks, but more importantly, he fully understands the holy will and can sometimes draw inferences from one instance.

This time, the two teams of eunuchs who went to Tianjin Wei to deliver the letter, in addition to Yuan Keli's receipt, also brought back three more living people, three monks.

They went north along the canal to Beijing, just in time for the pirates to attack Tianjin Wei, but they were blocked in Tongzhou.Fortunately, a eunuch knew one of the monks from the Europa Temple, and after asking about the situation, he brought him back.

"Old Pang, how strong are your bones after not seeing each other for several years?" After hearing this, Hong Tao immediately secretly summoned the leader of the monks in Beixiaochang, and they became quite familiar with him after the meeting.

"Thank you for your concern, your majesty. I am in good health. If your majesty can call me by my Chinese name, I will be better off." Compared with the emperor who has no manners, Pang Di seems to know the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty very well. Very presentable.

"Your font size is too ugly. I'll think of a more suitable one when I have some free time. Let's talk about business first. Has Matteo Ricci come back with us?"

Seeing a white European with a big beard and curly hair wearing a Chinese robe, saluting and talking in a strict manner, Hong Tao didn't feel any pride at all.These superficial articles serve no purpose except to prove that the other party wants something from you.

If the Spanish fleet comes over one day, this Spanish missionary will immediately change his identity without any guilt and become the messenger of enlightenment to the barbarians.Bao Buqi would also suggest to their generals that he, the emperor who knew too much, must be overthrown, otherwise it would seriously interfere with the missionary cause.

There is an old saying in China: Those who are not of my race must have different minds.Although this sentence is a bit one-sided, and the people of this tribe may not necessarily agree with each other, it still makes sense overall.Different races have different cultures, living habits, and values. It is indeed difficult to achieve consistency without long-term integration.

In the not-too-distant future, the Ming Empire under its own leadership will 100% have a head-on conflict with Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and even the United Kingdom, which took the lead in colonizing the East. Only then will we know which side these missionaries are on.

Therefore, Hong Tao will not regard these foreign missionaries as one of his own. We are just in a cooperative relationship. You use me to preach, and I use you to do things beyond my capabilities.Mutual benefit and reciprocity, money and goods are settled, no one owes anyone anything.

"He has a minor health problem and is temporarily staying in Haojing to recuperate. The matter entrusted by His Majesty has come to fruition. As His Majesty said, there is a tree in America that sheds white tears called Cachau. The locals use the tree as a His tears were smeared on the clothes, and after being dried, they could prevent rain. After careful exploration, the captain of a sailing ship traveling between France and the Americas finally found it, and then it was taken thousands of miles away by merchant ships heading to the East. Arrived at Haojing."

More than two years ago, Matteo Ricci and Pang Di suddenly received a very good deal, which came from His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Empire.The content is to use Portuguese ships to go to America to find several plant seeds. If they can successfully bring them back and plant them successfully, they will be allowed to build a real church in the capital.

At this time, the European Great Navigation Movement was gaining momentum, with Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom all participating to varying degrees. Portugal and Spain, in particular, had colonized the Americas for decades and spent money to hire captains along the way. It is not too easy to find some plant seeds, nor is it too difficult for missionaries with the backing of the church.

But I didn’t dare to agree to Matteo Ricci and Poundy immediately because this matter was so weird.How did the Ming Emperor know about American plants?Not only did I write down a very specific name and draw a very detailed pattern, but also the characteristics and taste. I just had to specify where to look for it.

Although the emperor's Latin mistakes were many, they were recognized by the Portuguese crew at Haojing.These plants do exist, and their names, appearances, characteristics, and tastes are basically the same.But most of them are of no use. The emperor paid a lot of money. Is it really to enrich the plant species in the palace garden?

This argument may sound reasonable to others, but I firmly don’t believe Matteo Ricci and Poundy.From the time when the emperor was still the prince, they felt that it was very mysterious, especially their knowledge of the world, which sometimes exceeded everyone else, including the captain of the voyage.

After he ascended the throne, he used the Temple of Europa to adopt orphans. As the specific executor and person in charge, Matteo Ricci was 100% sure that the emperor was not doing good deeds, but had other agendas.

The textbooks used by the orphans to study are too advanced, and much of the knowledge has never been popularized in Europe.And the training they receive every day is not to strengthen their bodies, but more like what is done in the military.

The emperor was very well aware of the issue of missionary work. He neither opposed nor supported it, and he was very precise about the size.How could such a person change his attitude so easily just for a few ornamental plants?

But guesses are just guesses after all. After deliberation, several missionaries in Beijing finally could not resist the temptation. They suppressed their doubts in their hearts, and Matteo Ricci personally led the team and rushed to Haojing non-stop to find the familiar captain.At the same time, I did not forget to send a letter to China to find people to ask if these plants have other uses.

After more than two years of suffering, the plant seeds were finally brought over by a Portuguese merchant ship.Perhaps because the benefits were sufficient, the captain also found some rare flower seeds from Spain and packed them together.

"Cachau tree, tree of life, Dabaco grass, sour berry, sunflower...are some of them not on my list?"

I took the leather bag handed over by Pang Di. It was filled with bottles and cans, each with a label written on it. The font was obviously not the same person's, and the old and new were different.Hong Tao checked them one by one, and found some names that he could understand and some that he didn't. There were many names like coca tree and cocoa tree, but they were not the ones he asked for by name.

(End of this chapter)