Ming Dynasty man

Chapter 629 Missionary
At that time, the Holy See believed that the earth was the center of the universe, that is, the geocentric theory, and all those who opposed the geocentric theory were regarded as heresy by the Holy See.The heliocentric theory proposed by Copernicus was tantamount to challenging the authority of the Holy See.

Naturally, the Holy See could not tolerate its own authority being challenged, so almost all those who supported the heliocentric theory were persecuted by the Holy See. The famous scientist Galileo was imprisoned for supporting the heliocentric theory, and Bruno paid the price of his life for this.

Descartes must have supported Copernicus' heliocentric theory and planned to publish some works, but he was worried about being persecuted by the Holy See, so he came to Daming.

Li Jing naturally knows who is right between the heliocentric theory and the geocentric theory, and Li Jing also knows that the universe is not centered on the sun, but Li Jing naturally will not explain to Descartes why the heliocentric theory is not correct, because talking to scientists requires science Based on.

But under the current conditions, Li Jing can't come up with evidence at all, and can't prove that the universe is not centered on the sun. In addition, Li Jing can't use scientific language to explain these things. In fact, Li Jing can't even name the stars.

After thinking for a while, Li Jing smiled and said: "Mr. Descartes, the universe is very big. People used to think that the earth is the center of the universe, but with the advancement of science, we found that the earth is not the center of the universe. Now some people think that the sun is the center of the universe. the center of the universe, but is the sun definitely the center of the universe? I’m afraid it may not necessarily be.”

Descartes said with a smile: "The prime minister's point of view is very novel. We have never thought that the sun may not be the center of the universe."

Li Jing smiled and said: "I don't understand astronomy, I'm just talking about my doubts. I think there are so many stars in the sky, I'm afraid they may not all be centered on the sun. As for whether this statement is right or wrong, It’s up to you scientists to do the research.”

Smiling, Li Jing continued: "One thing I want to tell you is that in our Daming, the government will not interfere with scientific affairs. Not only do we not interfere, but we also support scientific research. We provide hundreds of Ten thousand taels of silver are used for scientific research.

In addition, in our Ming Dynasty, no religion has the right to interfere with scientific research, let alone government affairs. If any religion dares to interfere with government affairs or scientific research, we will call them a cult.We have only one way to deal with cults, and that is to arrest them all.

Therefore, in our Ming Dynasty, scientists can boldly conduct research and expound their own scientific conclusions with confidence.I say that, do you understand? "

Descartes laughed: "That is to say, we can publish our own works at will?"

Li Jing said with a smile: "As long as you are not instigating rebellion, there are no taboos."

Everyone laughed lightly when they heard the words.

With a smile, Li Jing continued: "Mr. Descartes, our Daming pays more attention to science in the practical field, and the research direction of our Academy of Sciences is also mainly in this area. In the field of mathematics and many other aspects, our knowledge reserve is far behind Yours, I hope that everyone can communicate with each other, and if you are willing to train mathematics talents for our Daming, I will be very grateful."

Descartes pondered for a while and said: "Mr. Prime Minister, with all due respect, I think it will be very difficult. First of all, communication is a big obstacle. You know that none of us can speak Chinese, and according to my observation, Few people in Ming Dynasty can speak Latin, and few people can speak French. As for other languages, I feel that few people can speak them. In this case, teaching is very difficult.

In fact, we brought a lot of books to Daming this time, but I think it is very difficult to translate these books into your Ming language. "

Li Jingjing nodded: "Mr. Descartes, what you said is very reasonable. In the current situation, it is really difficult for you to teach. But I believe that our students in Daming are eager to learn. I believe that they want to learn your knowledge. , will definitely learn your language with heart.”

Turning to look at Tang Ruowang and Ai Julian: "Mr. Tang Ruowang, Mr. Ai Julian, I know you missionaries can speak Chinese. I want to give you two tasks. The first task is to teach our students to learn from you. language, and the second task is to translate the works brought by these scientists.”

"This... If this is the case, I'm afraid it will delay our missionary work." Ai Julius said after a moment of pondering.

Li Jing waved his hands and said with a smile: "You write a letter to the Holy See, saying that I will allow you to build ten more churches in Daming. You can choose where you want to build the church. I think your pope will be very happy when he sees this news. Happy, must send a group of missionaries over, right?
In addition, I will write a personal letter to your Pope. I hope he can appoint you two to serve... What is the name of the position in charge of the teaching affairs of your Holy See? "

"The person in charge of the religious affairs of a diocese is called the bishop." Tang Ruowang said hurriedly.

"A diocese? Is it only a diocese when our Ming Dynasty is so big?" Li Jing frowned.

Tang Ruowang hurriedly apologized and said with a smile: "The main reason is that there are few religious believers in Daming. In fact, there is no bishop in Daming so far. Ai Julian and I are both priests."

Li Jingjing nodded: "What is the name of the highest position of the Holy See in the Kingdom of France?"

"Call the cardinal (cardinal)." Tang Ruowang said hastily.

"Our Daming is much bigger than France, and our level cannot be lower than that of the Kingdom of France. Then I will ask the Pope to appoint you two as cardinals." Li Jing said lightly.

Tang Ruowang hurriedly said, "I'm afraid this won't work. A country can only have at most one cardinal. Besides, the pope won't listen to your orders."

Li Jing smiled: "If you want to preach in Daming, if you don't obey my order, I'm afraid you won't be able to preach.

How about this, I divide Daming into two dioceses, the north and the south, you are in charge of the north, Ayulio is in charge of the south, you are the cardinal of the north, Ayulio is the cardinal of the south, and at the same time let your pope assign the following clergy together.

One thing you need to remind your Pope is that to preach in Daming, you must abide by the laws of Daming, and put away all the rules and regulations of your Holy See that interfere with the law. You only need to spread your doctrines and beliefs.

Also, after you come to Daming, let your clergy learn Chinese, which will not only help you to preach, but also teach us to learn the languages ​​of Western countries. Otherwise, how can you alone be enough? "

Tang Ruowang and Ai Julia couldn't help but smile wryly when they heard the words. It was always the pope who gave orders to the countries, but now Li Jing gave orders to the pope.

These two people can be said to be the most powerful people in the East and West. I don't know what will happen after these two people collide.

Thinking of Li Jing's methods, the two couldn't help but shudder.

It is not a secret that the Ming Dynasty dispatched [-] troops to attack Luzon, and in order to boost the morale of the army and the people of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court also reported the progress of the war in Luzon through the residence newspaper.

As foreigners, Tang Ruowang and Ai Julian naturally paid more attention to this battle. At first they thought that it would take at least half a year for Daming to win, but they did not expect that this battle would be so smooth, so smooth that it was even shocking. incredible.

The Spaniards have been operating in Manila for many years, but the Ming army captured the city of Manila in just over ten days. Governor Coquila led only a few hundred people from the remnants to escape from the city of Manila. Now they are still hiding from the Ming army in the deep mountains and forests. chase.

In fact, the fact that the Ming army easily defeated the Spaniards in Luzon was not the most frightening thing for the two of them. The most frightening thing was Li Jing's mobilization ability. It took less than three months for the Ming army to march to Luzon. Song, this was simply impossible before the Ming Dynasty, and it would be even more unimaginable if it were placed in European countries.

A battle with a scale of [-] people in European countries is considered a major war. Many small countries are a bit stretched to mobilize an army of [-] people. Countries like the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom also mobilize thousands of troops. Scale use of troops.

However, in Daming, a battle of thousands of people is not as good as fighting with the people of two counties. When the bandits rebelled in the beginning of Daming, they could organize a team of hundreds of people with a short shout.

I don't know if Li Jing will be furious if the Pope disobeys Li Jing's opinion.

Although both of them had great power in their hands, the pope was far from Li Jing's opponent when it came to fighting.

How many battles Li Jing's generals have fought in the past two years? It can capture a county seat, let alone capture the county seat now, staying in the deep mountains and old forests is always in fear, for fear that the officers and soldiers will chase in at any time.

In fact, in Shaanxi, Henan and other places where the rogues were most violent in the past, the rogues have basically disappeared. The famous leaders of the rogues in the past were either captured or surrendered voluntarily.As for the several Mongolian tribes who had harassed Ming Dynasty for many years, and the Jurchens who beat the Ming army to the point of being helpless, Cao Wenzhao had already put them down.

Now that the military power of Daming is so strong, I am afraid that there is no country in the world that can rival Daming. Whoever dares to provoke Daming at this time is really looking for a dead end.

The two only hoped that the Pope would not anger Li Jing and provoke another riot to the West. (Note: The West calls the Mongolian iron cavalry sweeping across Eurasia a ****.)
Of course, the two of them desperately hoped that the pope would agree with Li Jing's opinion, and then they would reach the sky in one step.

While Tang Ruowang and Ai Julius were thinking about it, they heard Li Jing say to Descartes: "Mr. Descartes, there are many universities in your western countries, and the teaching system is relatively mature. We have just started in Ming Dynasty. We should not rush, we have to take it step by step. come.

I suggest that you and your friends can take time to translate Western academic works with Mr. Tang Ruowang, Mr. Ailei and others in addition to studying knowledge. After the Holy See sends people over, more people will teach Western culture. The languages ​​of various countries, I think within a few years, our students will be able to communicate with you normally, and then there will be no language barriers, don’t you think? "

(End of this chapter)