I

  Chapter 771 768 [Bleacher? 】

  During the stay of the Chinese mission in London, anyone can come to visit, with the exception of the Dutch negotiating team.

  When the Chinese mission left London, the Anglo-Dutch negotiations also collapsed again. The Netherlands was so angry that they slapped the table and left, almost saying that they would return to China to organize a fleet to fight again.

  The atmosphere of the negotiations between the two parties had originally eased.

  Cromwell said that since the merger of the two countries into the federation is not possible, let us establish an offensive and defensive alliance. The Dutch felt that this could be discussed. After continuing to negotiate for half a month, they were so angry that they almost swear: I'm talking about your mother!

  The Dutch felt that Lao Tzu colonized the world, and the number of merchant ships was overwhelming. If the United Kingdom and the Netherlands form an alliance, the Netherlands should at least have a dominant position, if not a dominant one. But Cromwell kept throwing out conditions. The alliance was dominated by the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands became a long-term free wage earner for the United Kingdom.

  The negotiator in the Netherlands is the same as Zhang Ruifeng. He did not directly reject Cromwell's proposal, but said that he could not make the decision and would return to the Dutch Parliament for instructions.

  The Dutch negotiating team leader was very depressed as the ship left the port of London. He said through gritted teeth, "Cromwell, that bastard, must have been kicked out of his brain by a horse. He thought he was the king of the Netherlands!"

  A member of the negotiating team said: "According to the news from the spies, it seems that the negotiations between China and the United Kingdom have broken down. The Chinese envoy, Mr. Cromwell, was so angry that he slapped the table and cursed."

   "Hahaha, I can imagine that image." The negotiating team empathized.

  "The Chinese envoy is leaving too. We are waiting outside the sea to have a private talk with China, and then publicize the results of the negotiation."

   "What result?"

"It is the Netherlands and China that have put aside their past grievances and have become friendly countries, and jointly maintain the existing trade relations in Asia. No other country, including the United Kingdom, is allowed to bypass the Netherlands and China and conduct free trade in Asia, especially in the East Indies !"

   "Will the Chinese agree to this?"

"Whether the Chinese agree or not, we can declare this to the outside world. Of course, the time must be chosen after the Chinese leave Europe! Once the Netherlands and China live in friendly relations, the British East India Company should be anxious. Those British businessmen will ask Cromwell put pressure on us and invited us back to negotiate again. At that time, the negotiation situation will be more favorable to us.”

"good idea!"

  Therefore, the envoys of China and the Netherlands "coincidentally" met off the coast of England.

  The Dutch requested a visit on board, and Zhang Ruifeng warmly received them out of courtesy.

  The Dutch envoy said that the previous conflicts between China and the Netherlands all stemmed from misunderstandings between the two sides. Now that the misunderstanding has been eliminated, the Netherlands recognizes China's hegemony in East Asia and China's sovereignty over Malacca and Taiwan.

  He also talked about the trade cooperation between the two countries. This kind of cooperation is mutually beneficial, which proves that China and the Netherlands are naturally trading partners.

   Immediately afterwards, the Chinese delegation was invited to visit the Netherlands.

   Anyway, not far away, the Chinese diplomatic mission accepted the invitation and stayed in Amsterdam for a few days.

  Zhang Ruifeng feels that she has been swindled, and the Dutch are just talking nonsense every day. That's all that comes and goes, and it's all about what the Treaty of Batavia has already signed. But it's better than nothing. The governor of Batavia signed the contract before, and now he has signed a more formal one.

   Immediately, the Chinese fleet left the Netherlands and went to Grace Port to pick up gifts from the British royal family, French envoys and horse breeds on board.

   Before the Chinese fleet sailed out of French waters, Dutch diplomats began to dispatch, promoting the "ally" relationship between China and the Netherlands. The British businessman was really frightened, and asked to see Cromwell every day, forcing Cromwell to negotiate and compromise.

   Lisbon.

  Although the Chinese fleet does not plan to dock, there is no need to leave without saying goodbye.

   Afraid of contracting smallpox, a member of the Chinese mission came to the pier in a small boat, pressed the letter on the pier, and asked the tax collector to send the letter to the palace.

   After reading this letter, King Joao IV felt really miserable.

  I have never heard of such an unlucky king as himself. He has been on the throne for more than ten years and restored the country. Everything is just to gain the recognition of the outside world. As a result of hard work so far, only China and France admit that France still looks at China's face.

  Finally, there was a diplomatic improvement, but out of nowhere, another smallpox took away his grown-up son and daughter.

"Well, it's understandable that the Chinese don't want to go ashore, after all, smallpox is terrible," King João IV said to the court minister, "put the sheep presented to China, and the envoys to China, all on the same table. A boat, go with the Chinese fleet."

  There is no way to refuse this, otherwise it will be too hurtful.

  A Portuguese ship soon followed the Chinese fleet. However, the personnel on both sides did not contact each other, and they would not check whether the ship was carrying the plague until they returned to China.

   Accompanied by a French ship.

  Pascal was on board at this time, and he was finally allowed to go to China.

  Fermat, a professional lawyer and amateur mathematician, unfortunately did not leave France. The main reason was that Fermat was too old, and he didn't want to make troubles, for fear that he would die during the ocean journey.

   "God, does it really exist?"

  Pascal stroked a belt, which was covered with spikes.

   This he prepared for himself, he was already studying theology. Once you find yourself impious and question the Almighty God, you will hit your belt with a boxer, let the spikes bring pain to your body, and use the pain to remind yourself to be devout to God.

  In history, in another nine years, he will die of illness at the age of 39.

  The doctor checked Pascal's body at that time and found that the flesh of his waist had been stabbed by the spikes on his belt, **** and stinking with pus!

  This mathematician lost his mother when he was young, so he never went to school and only studied with his father and sister.

  At the age of 12, he calculated the first 32 theorems of Euclid alone, and found that the sum of the interior angles of a triangle is equal to 180 degrees. His father was very surprised, and finally began to teach him mathematics systematically.

  At the age of 13, he discovered the law of the binomial expansion coefficient, which was later named "Pascal's triangle".

  At the age of 15, he discovered a principle of projection geometry, and deduced more than 400 inferences in a year.

   At the age of 16, he wrote "On Conic Sections". Most of the book was lost, and only one conclusion circulated, which was later named "Pascal's Theorem".

   Between the ages of 20 and 30, he mainly studied vacuum and hydrostatics, and produced a large number of research results, which were compiled as "Essays on Liquid Equilibrium and Air Weight".

  This collection of essays was not published because some of the content did not conform to the teaching.

   Also during this research process, Pascal felt at a loss and panicked. The more he explored natural science, the more he felt that he was far away from God. He tried to unify religious belief with scientific reason, but he failed in the end.

  So, he gradually hated mathematics and physics, and decided to give up scientific research and turn to theological research in an all-round way.

   It was at this time that I heard that the French royal family was selecting scholars to go to China for an exchange visit. Pascal was immediately moved. The Chinese don't seem to believe in God, so what do they believe in? How did they spend their lives? How do they reconcile the contradictions of faith and science?

  Pascal decided to go to China, not for exchange and study, nor for a taste of the East, he is going to China to "seek the Tao"!

  French writers and artists are communicating with Pan Wei and Cai Yuncheng.

   And Pascal found Chinese science students.

   "Do you believe in God?" Pascal asked when they met.

Li Sixiao said with a smile: "God is God, and man is man. It has nothing to do with it. Confucius said that the righteousness of serving the people, respecting ghosts and gods and keeping a distance, can be said to be known. To put it more clearly, a wise man should be pragmatic and respectable." Ghosts and gods, but stay away from ghosts and gods."

Pascal muttered to himself: "Is it really okay to believe in God, respect God, stay away from God, and pursue facts? But the more facts I pursue, the more guilty I feel in my heart, and I feel that I am a blasphemer. "

Song Qin has basically learned French, and he said with a strange expression: "Why not? You only believe in one god, and we have to believe in hundreds of gods. How tiring would it be to disrespect and stay away, how can I do things?"

   "Hundreds of gods?" Pascal was dumbfounded. "How can a person believe in hundreds of gods? Isn't that a hypocrite?"

  Song Qin asked: "Then what is a true believer?"

  Pascal said: "Believe in God, serve God, everything belongs to God."

   Li Sixiao and Song Qin looked at each other, thinking that Europeans are dead-headed, and it would be completely unreasonable to reason with them.

  Li Sixiao asked: "I heard that you also have many research results. If everything belongs to God, are these results also researched by God?"

  Pascal said: "Everything in the world was created by God, including our mind and body. My research results come from mind and body, so they come from God."

  Li Sixiao decided not to debate anymore, and said: "Then you should treat everything as God-given, and do research with peace of mind in the future, and don't have too many distracting thoughts."

  Pascal struggled: "But...many of my research results deviate from the Bible. Even, they deviate from God himself, and I feel that I am a sinner."

  Song Qin was extremely speechless: "Then you should think about your **** in your heart, and you should do research and research. Listen to Confucius, respect ghosts and gods and stay away."

Pascal said: "The more I think about God in my heart, the more painful it is to do research. Even to that extent, every time I make a research result, I feel that I have taken another step towards hell. It seems that there is a devil around me, maybe The devil is in my heart, tricking me into betraying God. If this continues, I will become a believer of the devil. I have begun to hate mathematics and all natural philosophy. They are all the incarnations of the devil, and they are corrupting my spirit and will .”

  Li Sixiao turned his head to look at Song Qin, and muttered in Chinese: "This man has a heart disease, and he is seriously ill. He must be enlightened by a great virtuous monk."

  (end of this chapter)