Chapter 408 People are people, I am who I am
"The wisdom of the distinguished guest is as bright as the stars in the sky, but this time, the distinguished guest may lose." Sauron did not doubt Antonio's choice at all.
If Antonio was smart, he should not have met Sauron. As Felipe II’s secretary and envoy, what good words could Sauron say?
Soren was sure that Antonio would hand over Xu Fan. If he handed over Xu Fan, he would get too much.
During Xu Fan’s friendly visit and exchange, Antonio was recognized by France and England.
Now that it has been recognized by the Holy See and Spain, Antonio is the de facto king.
"I think I will definitely win this time." Xu Fan leaned on the Taishi chair, looked at Sauron and said with confidence: "Your Highness is very easy to get angry, and it is also easy to do something impulsively. An embarrassing decision. During the war, he even likes to rush to the front. All his actions have determined his upper limit. He is just a captain and cannot be a king."
"But Suo. Lun, don’t forget that His Highness has been recognized by most civilians.”
“His Highness traveled across the ocean and arrived in the Ming Dynasty. In order to gain His Majesty’s favor and favor, he gave this gift to the Emperor. , is a pile of crops, which is called following one's own preferences in the East. His Highness Antonio has never forgotten his position."
"My father's painful lesson taught me that there seem to be many choices in life. , but in fact it is destined that there is only one way to go.”
Every choice at a fork in the road of life carries sunk costs. These sunk costs form a huge inertia, carrying people forward.
Xu Jie seemed to have countless ways to survive in the Ming Dynasty, but Xu Jie could only walk one way to the end, and then died on this road. There seemed to be many escape routes, but behind him was a cliff.
Everyone is the same, including His Majesty.
Of course Xu Jie could choose to surrender to the emperor. Back then, he could become an auxiliary minister with Qing Ci. Today, Xu Jie can still flatter the emperor and survive, but after Xu Jie surrenders, those figures will be more powerful. You will never let Xu Jie go, and those who once helped will only become enemies.
From the moment Antonio accepted His Majesty's investment, no matter how many times he had doubts, the outcome was actually destined.
"Okay, let's wait and see, it only takes seven days." Sauron agreed to the bet. Even if he lost, he would not keep his promise. He would still be firm. He constantly poached corners and continued to drive a wedge between Xu Fan and Antonio.
Instead of believing in the promise, it is better to believe that my wife will be faithful. This is an old Thai proverb.
Seven days is not a long time. Xu Fan was very busy. He met with lords from various places, including colonial lords. These lords expressed their sincere welcome to Antonio on the throne and hoped that Antonio could To improve the relationship with the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty and the Governor-General of Goa were in the Strait of Malacca. The relationship between Portugal and the Ming Dynasty has reached a historical freezing point.
The seven days were up, and Antonio did not give Sauron any reply.
Antonio chose to escape. He didn’t know how to make the right choice, and this matter involved Xu Fan himself. Antonio couldn’t consult the consultant’s opinion. After some weighing, Antonio chose He avoided talking about it and held a grand cocktail party in the palace, where he indulged in wine and sex all day long.
It's such a complicated choice, but I can't figure it out. It's better to have fun and exchange life with those noble ladies.
Xu Fan really couldn't stand the mistress culture of Thailand and Spain. With the beginning of the Renaissance movement two hundred years ago, the morals and customs of Thailand and Spain were released under the extremely repressive religious culture, and almost The culture of dissolute mistresses really left Xu Fan, a traditional scholar-official educated in oriental conservative culture, at a loss as to what to do.
It is normal for the concubines to be swapped around. Xu Fan is not a stubborn man, nor is he a moral defender, but the wife can also be swapped around, which is really beyond what Xu Fan can accept.
"Although it is said that tolerance is great, I really can't accept it. At this cocktail party, the mistresses of the nobles, their clothes, jewelry, and even pomp, must overshadow all other women , including the main wife, competing for beauty, it is really confusing..." Xu Fan smelled of alcohol, and when he returned to the Chinese Hall, he complained to Sauron.
Soren shook his head and said: "It's actually nothing, just get used to it. Just now, there are scandals between the captain and the duchess, but they are just scandals. Portugal and Spain belong to God. The country will not publicly acknowledge the existence of mistresses, unlike romantic France and wealthy England."
"Francois, the king of France with a big nose, had a mistress named Frances de Foy. This mistress was named the chief mistress, and the husband of the chief mistress, Count Jean of Chateaubriand, did not feel any shame for his wife to become the mistress canonized by the king, and considered it an honor. "
“Jean, count of Chateaubriand, because his wife was the king’s mistress, obtained the position of governor of Brittany and gained huge benefits. Later, many nobles in France tried their best to He tried every means to make his wife the king's mistress, and even became a kind of bragging capital."
"Just like what the distinguished guests saw at the cocktail party."
So. Lun is a priest. He has a very firm belief and is very dissatisfied with this trend. Many children of noble ladies have no idea who their father is. He said that Romantic France is a mockery.
Solon and Felipe II discussed this issue. Sauron believed that it was caused by incomplete moral construction after the influx of large amounts of wealth. However, the tyrant Felipe did not think so. He felt that this A bad culture will continue forever. The money-worship culture brought about by the influx of large amounts of wealth has only catalyzed the spread of this phenomenon.
"You can ignore the distinguished guests if they don't adapt to this culture. In their eyes, there is not much difference between the distinguished guests and the fanatics. They can understand the moral restraints you place on yourself." Sauron provided Xu Fan with a This solution is to create a persona of a fanatical believer, and then it is logical to abide by the ethics and teachings.
As the Minister of State, Xu Fan will inevitably participate in this kind of cocktail party and cannot avoid it. But for some things that are unacceptable to him, he can choose to create a character to solve them.
In the past seven days, Sauron has studied the requirements of the Ming Dynasty Rites for personal cultivation, which are somewhat similar to the requirements of the doctrine. Creatures like fanatic believers, especially those in high positions, have long been extinct in the West. .
“It seems that I won.” Xu Fan talked about the previous bet.
"Antonio is a coward! He is escaping!" Sauron rubbed his brows in pain, this Antonio actually evaded.
"That's why I won, even though your promise is worthless." Xu Fan smiled broadly.
"Distinguished guest, my king has some questions. The feudal system in the West has come to an end. This is a reality before us, but why has it come to an end?" Sauron talked about his doubts. .
The feudal system in Western Europe is completely different from that of the Ming Dynasty, but for what reason, the feudal system in Western Europe has reached a dead end. Felipe has not figured out the fundamental reason, and neither has Felipe's think tank. .
"This question is not complicated. If you understand the Ming Dynasty, you can answer it in only six words: Abandon the well fields and open up the streets." Xu Fan has already thought about this question.
"I don't know what that is." Sauron rubbed his hands. Even though he had studied many Ming classics, those words that were like heavenly books had no translation from the Ming people. It’s hard to understand what exactly that means.
This is not because Sauron is stupid. In fact, classical Chinese is the same for many Ming people. It is difficult to understand, especially articles without punctuation.
Xu Fan sat up straight and said: "I will explain these six words more simply and clearly. The emergence and large-scale application of iron tools have brought about the rapid growth of arable acres, and at the same time, agricultural production and The output has been greatly improved. Six hundred years ago, intensive farming gradually appeared on the land of the Ming Dynasty, and the efficiency of production was further improved."
"The increase in the number of acres and output will inevitably lead to an increase in population. , and the increase in population will inevitably bring about the concentration of population, just like in the West now, after the influx of a large amount of wealth, the population multiplied rapidly, and many cities with hundreds of thousands of people gathered appeared, but the corresponding management did not develop along with the population. In the end, It caused every city to be stinky."
It was as if the clouds had been cleared to see the sky, and many of the doubts that had troubled him for a long time were answered in these simple sentences. He said helplessly: "You didn't solve my doubts. Of course, maybe I'm too stupid."
Xu Fan felt that what he said was very clear, but Sauron still didn't understand. He had no choice but to continue: "As the degree of population agglomeration increases, the cost of communication within the gathering place and between the gathering places will skyrocket. You use your local proverbs, and I use my local proverbs to speak. , then it will be impossible to communicate.”
“Throughout the great travel activities in Europe and the West, those aristocratic students traveled around, and almost everyone was extremely fluent in Latin.”
“In reducing communication costs and Driven by the original desire for transaction costs, it is inevitable that cars will track the same track, books and texts will share the same text, the population will increase and gather in large numbers, and everyone's consensus will gradually converge. The biggest problem with the enfeoffment system is that the institutional framework is preventing this kind of development. The consensus is close to the same."
"Do you understand?"
Soran closed his eyes in pain and shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, wise man, I didn't understand. , The guest’s words are very simple and easy to understand, but I still don’t fully understand.”
Xu Fan scratched his head, Solon became more and more embarrassed. The Chinese Hall of the Portuguese Palace was too quiet.
"I think if you want to understand this problem, you need to start from the beginning. Then, let's understand one thing, that is, people are people." Xu Fan put forward a very pertinent suggestion, which made Sauron even more Became confused.
Xu Fan asked with great certainty: "Yes, that's the question. Let me ask you, in the relationship between man and God, should we advocate man first or God?"
"That is of course God." As a priest with firm faith, Sauron answered this question without hesitation, and then suddenly realized where the problem was.
In the doctrine, everything is God’s grace, and social development is also God’s mercy.
But in Xu Fan's answer, it is obvious that the development of the world is defined as the credit of one's own work. Such an extremely bold statement, Xu Fan in Lisbon, will be sent to the stake. .
"The Analects of Confucius·Shu'er": Zi Buyu's strange power confuses the gods.
"The Analects·Advanced": Ji Lu asked about ghosts and gods. Confucius said: "If you cannot serve people, how can you serve ghosts?" '
"The Analects of Confucius·Yongye": The meaning of serving the people, respecting gods and ghosts and keeping away from them, can be said to be known.
This is the Confucian attitude towards gods. It does not say or discuss. On the issue of whether humans come first or ghosts and gods come first, the Master said: Put people first, satisfy people first, and then satisfy ghosts and gods. This is the essence of serving the people. , that is, respecting gods and ghosts, but staying away from gods and ghosts, this is wisdom.
This is not the view of the Confucian family, but the common view of hundreds of schools of thought.
For example, "Zhuangzi: Equality of Things" says: Outside the Liuhe, the sage exists and does not care; that is, things outside the heaven and earth, the human sage knows but does not talk about it; for example, "Mozi: Tianzhi" says: I have the will of heaven, for example, if The wheel maker has rules, and the craftsman has his own rules. The wheelwright follows his rules to measure the circumference of the world. The Mohists define gods and ghosts as heaven's will, and heaven's will is like the compass in the hand of the wheel hub maker, or the ruler in the carpenter's hand. It's a tool.
Put people before ghosts and gods, respect ghosts and gods and stay away from them.
The common understanding of the pre-Qin scholars is that they do not conduct theoretical in-depth studies on the issue of gods. Human beings are in charge of human affairs. People's choices and development are in the hands of humans, not in the hands of others. The so-called mercy of God. "People are people." Xu Fan stated a matter-of-fact fact. He asked with a smile: "If the decision of the human king conflicts with the teachings, what will Felipe II do? Follow the teachings or follow your own What about your heart?"
"Of course you follow the teachings," Sauron said in a low voice after a pause.
Xu Fan stretched out and said: "That's not what we do there. What we do there is: control the destiny of heaven and use it."
"If you want to know more about it, you can read Look at the direct interpretation of the Four Books translated by Legas, even though it is very difficult to understand.” It is Zhang Juzheng's direct interpretation of the Four Books on the Banquet, which can be seen by everyone, but the real art of emperors is actually "Xunzi", Xunzi, the theory of emperors and ethics. Zhang Juzheng also talked about Xunzi secretly.
Xunzi was expelled from Confucianism because he was a disgrace to Confucianism, so talking about Xunzi cannot be done in public.
Antonio was drunk and slept in the garden with the duchess. After Xu Fan learned the news, he had people block the garden to prevent the spread of scandals that were not good for the king. Antonio was indeed not suitable for this. The king didn't even have the courage to make a choice. He was neither willing to give up Xu Fan nor completely offend the tyrant and the Holy See. Antonio chose to escape.
Sword Master Marcus and Xu Fan handed over the affairs of the large sailing ship heading to the Ming Dynasty.
On the large sailing ships heading to the Ming Dynasty, there were seven ships in total, all five-masted ocean-going ships. The tyrant Felipe II once again squeezed the colonies and planned to return the debt owed to the emperor.
The goods on ships departing from the West mainly include: salt, cloth, rum, firearms, and gunpowder. The tyrant Felipe II owned the world's largest saltpeter mine in Chile, which was larger than Mogul. More saltpeter mines in the country.
These goods will be exchanged for gold, copper, sugar cubes, saltpeter, amalgam, and the most important goods - slaves in the new world.
Slaves would be sold in Mindanao and Luzon in exchange for food and other goods from Wanli Seawall, and sent to the Ming Dynasty, where they would obtain needed silk, tea, porcelain and other items.
Part of the firearms and gunpowder will be traded in the Free City. In addition to being exchanged for cheap black fans, they are also exchanged for higher-value women from the West, red-haired fans, and golden-haired fans. The destinations of these women Not the New World, but Songjiang Mansion of the Ming Dynasty.
Every transaction will increase the value of the goods several times. A large amount of gold, silver, copper, saltpeter and grain poured into the Ming Dynasty, while silk, porcelain and tea poured into the New World and Europe. The prosperity of the great maritime trade, Behind him are slaves lying dead at the bottom of the cabin.
The galleon trade has entered its eighth year. Neither Antonio nor Felipe can give up the huge benefits brought by this route, even though they are already in a state of military hostility. But for the galleon trade, the two sides reached a consensus on cooperation.
Cooperation in struggle and struggle in cooperation are in line with the first theorem of the theory of contradiction. Contradictions are ubiquitous and everything never exists in complete opposition.
The Governor-General of Luzon in the Ming Dynasty ushered in a great happy event. The Governor, the Marquis of Sishui, whose surname was Zhengmao, used some method to convince those old stubborns with outdated ideas to marry the princess back. Lu Song, instead of leaving his second son in the Ming Dynasty as the Prince Consort.
This made everyone in Luzon rejoice. The carnival lasted for three days and still did not end. The wine shops that sold wine had to put up signs of closing down. There was really no stock. In three days, they sold half a year's sales.
This kind of joy is based on a basic fact. In the next few decades, the political structure of Luzon will be very stable. This stability is a normal state for Ming Dynasty, and for Luzon Song was lucky for a long time.
This means that in the next few decades, Luzon can be protected by the Ming Navy, and there is no need to worry about Japanese pirates, pirates, red-haired fans and desperadoes; Luzon can interact with the Ming Dynasty Business exchanges and a stable business environment represent smooth trade, and there is no need to worry about local development; Luzon can receive continuous talent export from the Ming Dynasty. Compared with the local people in Luzon, the people from the mainland are just like high-end talents;
In some places, peace and stability are very common, as common as their access to rice, flour, oil and food.
In some places, peace and stability are very rare, so rare that they are as rare as rice, flour, oil and food.
Peace and stability are never gifts from God, nor do they come out of thin air.
Besides this major event, the biggest thing in Luzon is the country of Thousand Islands. The exploration of Yuanxu Islands is in full swing. The first person to go is not the navy or the stargazing ship, but The fleet from Zheshehu in Nanya and their servants conquered the villages one by one and demarcated the land. Countless information was gathered in Manila, Luzon and then sent to the Ming Dynasty.
The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty promised to open up a sufficient number of acres overseas and give rewards for the development, and the Yuanxu Islands were the promised land given to Zheshe households by his majesty. Stimulated by the rewards for opening up, Yuanxu Islands The development speed of Xu Islands completely exceeded everyone’s expectations.
In order to prevent the emergence of pirate dens, the Ming Navy began regular patrols.
On the second day of May in the eighth year of Wanli, Emperor Zhu Yijun of the Ming Dynasty once again came to Wuying Tower in Beidaying and began the daily parade of military horses. Xiong Tingbi also formally worshiped Qi Jiguang as his martial arts teacher, learning long and short weapons and firearms. Use and tactics of war.
"When I opened my tendon, I was in so much pain. If it weren't for my stubbornness, Tishuai Zhu Xixiao wouldn't dare to open my tendon. How come it's so easy when Xiong is so big?" Zhu Yijun watched Xiong Tingbi train. After all the suffering he had suffered, Xiong The newcomers with big muscles and round waists don’t have to suffer this crime! This is simply unreasonable.
"Brother, talent is something I can't envy. His arms are more than four inches wider than mine." Zhu Yilai stared, indignant. Xiong Tingbi stretched his muscles, which was as simple as eating and drinking. But I can only envy it.
Zhu Yiliu couldn't beat Xiong Tingbi. Since he became Qi Jiguang's direct descendant, Xiong Tingbi's force value has soared at a speed that ordinary people can't understand.
Brothers Zhu Yijun and Zhu Yili, when they first squatted on the horse, they started crying for father and mother within a quarter of an hour at most. Their faces turned pale in pain. They needed to persist and persist. Zhu Yijun has achieved today’s martial arts achievements. He relied on perseverance to persevere. When Qi Shuai saw His Majesty practicing martial arts for the first time, he was shocked by Ti Shuai Zhu Xixiao's audacity!
Xiong Tingbi only had to adapt to Zhanzhuang for a few days before he was able to complete half an hour of daily training. Because the emperor gave special training funds and received a large amount of meat, egg and milk supplements, his physical fitness increased at a fast pace. Jaw-dropping.
Thirteen-year-old Xiong Tingbi, armed with nearly thirty kilograms of long and short weapons, cannons and other weapons, could run ten miles in two quarters of an hour.
Thirteen years old, thirty pounds, two quarters of an hour, ten miles of land, Zhu Yijun really can't do these numbers at this age, let alone Zhu Yiliu.
Xiong Tingbi knew that His Majesty, Taifu, Qi Shuai, and King Lu were all looking at him. After the warm-up, he performed a Qi family sword technique. This is the name of Zhu Yi Junding, whose real name is Xin You Dao. Law.
Xiong Tingbi holds the knife in his left hand with the tip facing up. After taking a breath, he takes the knife in his right hand, lunges with his right foot, holds the knife in both hands and raises it above his head. This action is to receive the move and deal with the cavalry. The pawn is used, and then the upper left step is used to chop the knife. The powerful and heavy knife even cuts the wind. After the force is old, it is a T-shaped blow to kill.
Crack!
The two wooden stakes representing the horse's legs and head were broken immediately. Xiong Tingbi didn't stop at all. He immediately took a step forward to the right and bayoneted. The cold light flashed and the knife penetrated a human-shaped target made of straw. The blade came out from the back. Inside the human-shaped target was a three-finger-thick wooden board, which was directly penetrated. After bursts of sword light, Xiong Tingbi held four knives and immediately stepped forward to pick the knife.
Xiong Tingbi fully fulfilled the requirements of the sword technique. He urged the sword with his body and turned the sword with him.
After the sword fight, Xiong Tingbi was already sweating. It seemed that he was just playing a routine, and he could do it if he had good hands, but it was already very rare to be able to achieve Xiong Tingbi's level.
"When I heard "Jing Zhong Jing", it was said that Yue Fei's son Yue Yun went to the battlefield at the age of twelve. I didn't believe it at first, but now I watch Xiong Tingbi train, and he already looks like a tiger, and he is already a sharp soldier. "The strength is great." Zhu Yijun spoke highly of Xiong Tingbi's sword skills.
"Your Majesty is also a capable soldier at this age." Qi Jiguang said immediately. This is not flattery, it is indeed a fact.
His Majesty has never been the kind of martial arts genius that God feeds, and as a natural nobleman, there is no need to embarrass yourself, but your Majesty did it, and it has passed the actual test of the Xishan attack.
"Qi Shuai taught me well." Zhu Yijun was not proud, but turned his eyes and looked at Zhu Yiliu and said: "King Lu, you go to spar with Xiong Da. King Lu was here before After being beaten, I have to practice hard with Xiong Da."
"Me? Fight him?" Zhu Yixuan swallowed his throat and said, "Brother, I have a stomachache. !”
After Zhu Yili finished speaking, he ran away in a flash. In the past, Xiong Tingbi had no professional training and relied entirely on his natural power. Zhu Yili could still beat him now, but that Xiong Tingbi would have to release water from the Tonghui River. This would greatly affect Xiong Tingbi's progress.
"General Li, what do you think of Xiong Tingbi?" Zhu Yijun looked at Li Rusong. Ma Fang was old and went to the martial arts school to retire. Now Li Rusong has changed from a staff general to a deputy general. One, mainly responsible for the riding camp.
Li Rusong immediately said: "Your Majesty, why don't you go directly to the military camp? You will definitely become a strong general in the future. What books should you study and what fame should you take? Wouldn't it be great to be made a marquis immediately?"
Li Rusong has been He always looked down on civil servants. He was really tired of the Ming Dynasty's culture of promoting civility and military affairs and using civility to control military affairs.
Zhu Yijun initially thought that this was a sign of Li Rusong's maturity. He was just expressing a basic political stance through his disgust towards civil servants. As a military attache, he had a good relationship with civil servants and could easily make the emperor jealous. .
But soon, Zhu Yijun discovered that Li Rusong really simply looked down on Confucianism.
When Tan Lun, Zeng Shengwu, Yin Zhengmao, and Ling Yunyi arrived at the military camp, Li Rusong was really very polite.
“You still have to take a test for fame.” Zhang Juzheng replied quite calmly. Zhang Juzheng had accepted so many disciples in his life, but none of them made him worry. Xiong Tingbi was his close disciple, he was obedient and loved to learn. .
Your Majesty has great perseverance, but people will always get tired. Zhang Juzheng is also very worried about His Majesty's difficulty in overcoming the end. If His Majesty starts to slack off at the age of forty, it is time for Xiong Tingbi to be able to use it. This is Zhang Juzheng A guarantee left to the emperor.
Qi Jiguang said with some worry: "Xiong Tingbi's temperament is still too upright, and it is easy to offend others."
Xiong Tingbi's style of play is life-threatening. In order to win, he will even injure others. Despite his injuries, with this kind of upright temperament, the road ahead will never be smooth.
"Xiong Da! Let's go to the riding camp!" Zhu Yijun saw Xiong Tingbi finish his sparring and called Xiong Tingbi to go to the riding camp.
The war horses sent by the Mughal Kingdom are all high-quality war horses. Now more than 10,000 war horses can be provided for the use of the Ming Dynasty every year. Three cavalry battalions have been established and have initially formed combat effectiveness.
Zhang Juzheng is busy with everything, and this time he came to the capital camp solely to review the results of the cavalry camp.
The establishment of the cavalry camp is the most important link in the Ming Dynasty Zhenwu. The historical problem of Beilu must be solved while he is alive. If he wants to find a window period for Zhenwu to solve Beilu, I don’t know how many years we have to wait, and I don’t know if Ming Dynasty can wait until that day.
Today’s joke: King Lu asked the emperor: Brother, can you beat Li Rusong? The emperor replied: "I can't beat him." King Lu asked again: Why does my brother win every time? The emperor thought for a while and asked: What is east of Shandong? King Lu replied: East China Sea. The emperor smiled and said: No, that is the water released by Li Rusong. Please give me a monthly ticket, wow! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
(End of this chapter)