I'm really not the carpenter emperor

After the band, more than [-] Jinyiwei, Xiaoyi, and Gong'e dressed in red brocade uniforms marched. This is the guard of honor.

The leader is Jinyiwei Qianhu, who is dressed in a flying fish suit, and holds a dragon-patterned umbrella, and various flags are fluttering in the wind, shining like clouds.

In the end, about [-] elite cavalry were carefully selected from the brave guard battalion.

The brilliant brigade marched quietly amidst the slow and solemn music. At this moment, the third sound of the whip came as promised.

Almost at the same time, all the pedestrians and common people on the street knelt down on the ground.

Just because Emperor Tianqi was going to travel, Beishi closed the market early, the shops were closed, and no one was picking goods in front of the hawkers' stalls.

The road was swept clean by the Secretary, and a layer of fine wet yellow sand was sprinkled to prevent the royal driver from raising dust when passing by.

A light gray three-domed Catholic Church stands tall behind Wujie Street, more than ten feet higher than the surrounding houses and inns.

On the highest dome in the middle, a huge cross points high to the sky, and on the front door, there are three large Latin letters decorated with divine glory—IHS, which is the name of Jesus, the savior believed by Western Catholics.

This is the world-renowned Catholic Church in the capital of the Ming Dynasty. It was approved by Emperor Wanli 16 years ago and broke ground in the capital.

The church was built according to the style of quilts and quilts that is prevalent in Europe at the moment, and the scale is very grand. It is also the seat of the Catholic Archdiocese in Daming.

After the signing of the trade agreement, the envoys between Spain and Ming Dynasty, as well as many Western businessmen, were happy to be active near the church.

Zhu Youxiao was sitting on the driving seat, thinking about the guards all the time these days.

This time I came out, not to relax, if I really want to relax, a few laps in the imperial garden alone will be enough.

In addition to declaring the emperor's authority to the world, it is also to deal with two major events.

One of them was about the further signing of the trade contract between Daming and Spain, so I had to come to this church to meet, so the second matter was arranged here to save trouble.

In recent years, although Spain has obtained unexpected trade income through trade contracts with the East, it has been envied by other Western countries.

Twenty years ago, the Spanish Armada was defeated by the British Royal Navy led by Drake, a pirate.

After this battle, the Spanish fleets all over the world continued to be defeated.

Three years ago, the Spanish Emperor Philip IV declared bankruptcy.

Not long after declaring bankruptcy, news spread that Spain had signed a trade contract with Ming Dynasty, which brought unexpected trade income to Spain.

No one expected that Spain would miraculously begin its economic recovery.

This not only surprised Philip IV, but also made him fascinated and awed by the old oriental empire of Ming Dynasty.

The decadent Habsburg dynasty continued to rule, naturally dissatisfied with rising powers such as Britain and the Netherlands.

The rich income from trade routes in the east is also eye-catching.

Two years earlier, a year after the signing of the trade agreement, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III started the Thirty Years War for the independence of Bohemia.

Spain, as the Catholic League, was forced to be involved in the war, and the economy that had just begun to recover suffered from Waterloo again, and Philip IV once again declared bankruptcy.

Involved in the 30 Years War, the Spanish fleet was unable to take care of the trade-rich eastern routes, and the trade routes began to shrink.

Up to now, except in the Mediterranean area, because Spain maintains an alliance with the powerful St. John's Knights and thus maintains its advantage, the Spanish fleet in other places is completely unable to withstand the offensive of the Dutch and British navies.

This has also affected the current income of Ming Dynasty from trade. Of course, it is not that Zhu Youxiao has tried to negotiate and sign trade contracts with other countries competing for trade routes.

Except for Spain, England, Holland and other Protestant countries all have a contemptuous attitude towards Ming Dynasty.

In their view, signing trade contracts with Eastern countries can only be done by the declining Spain and the decaying Catholic League.

Generally speaking, they are not only envious of the huge profits that Spain has obtained from this, but also disdain to sign a trade agreement with Ming Dynasty.

The most intuitive manifestation is that the Dutch defeated the Spanish fleet again after their defeat in the Penghu naval battle, preparing to invade Ryukyu again.

Now it is not just for colonization, but for controlling the trade routes in the east.

Therefore, this time the Dutch navy dispatched a large scale, dispatching the official navy that had just defeated the Spanish fleet in the Spice Islands and was subordinate to the East India Company.

In the past two years, the income from trade has been increasingly reflected, and it is naturally impossible for Zhu Youxiao to give up such a large income channel.

The news that the Dutch are about to invade "Taiwan" again and rob trade routes also makes Zhu Youxiao angry.

It seems that the Dutch really don't take Daming seriously!

Chapter 643 St. Paul's Catholic Archdiocese

The huge and majestic Son of Heaven stopped at the door of the church.

At this time, pedestrians and common people in the capital also rushed to watch the "spectacle" of the emperor's travel, which was rare in the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

The ancient and oriental oriental, gorgeous, thin, elegant and deep music are in sharp contrast with this European-style building and the towering church tower.

Zhu Youjiao frowned deeply, while Wang Chaofu stood aside and said in a low voice, "Master, the church is here."

Zhu Youxiao said "ah", this is the reaction.

Under the steps of the arched door of the church, the officials of the Qin Tianjian, the firearms director of the Armament Department, and Tang Ruowang, a missionary from the Holy Roman Empire, were waiting with several priests.

Zhu Youxiao took a look and saw these Western missionaries in "extraordinary costumes".

Immediately, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, the value of these missionaries was probably only understood by himself, the emperor who had traveled through time.

They are the bridge between the East and the West. Although Zhu Youxiao doesn't understand some things, the missionaries understand them, and that's enough.

This is also the reason why Zhu Youxiao allowed the Catholic Church to preach in Daming. Of course, there is no need to worry about the Catholic Church defeating the local Taoists and Buddhists.

This kind of thing has never happened in history, and it is even more impossible now.

For something like Catholicism, no matter how much convenience the imperial court gave them, it was impossible for them to make it bigger in the territory of Ming Dynasty, at most it was only a small-scale spread.

Although there are also disadvantages, Zhu Youxiao can accept the trade and international benefits brought about by allowing the missionaries to carry out their activities.

Due to the particularity of their identities, although Zhu Youxiao gave them each a set of official uniforms, there is no mandatory requirement to wear them.

Missionaries naturally like "freedom". The emperor of Ming Dynasty was kind-hearted, and they were in a happy mood when imparting their knowledge, which made them more handy.

At this time, the cavalrymen of the Yongwei Battalion guarding the whole body whipped three times in succession, and the leader Chen Ce waved his whip and shouted loudly:

"prosper!--"

Immediately, the soldiers of the Guards from the Guards Battalion rushed over, lined up around the church, and stood upright facing the crowd.

Chen Ce whipped the whip again and shouted:

"bye!--"

The band rang the clock and drums together, and played the grand music of "The Son of Heaven".

At this time, the rushing people also blocked the entrance of the originally spacious church, and the streets were packed to the brim.

Everyone has the instinct to like to watch the excitement.

Everyone prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to vent their anger. Chen Ce also lowered his whip, led the cavalry to jump off their horses, and half-kneeled on the ground.

The steward's signboard of Qianqing Palace raised his head and came to the crowd, saying:

"towards!--"

When the words fell to the ground, the yellow mantle was lifted, and a young man wearing bright yellow tuanlong uniform and bright yellow satin boots came out.

At least the voices of nearly a thousand people synthesized the congratulatory sound that shook the sky and the earth like a tide, and reached the sky:

"Long live Your Majesty, long live!"

The young man is not tall, according to later generations, it is about 1.7 meters to 1.8 meters, but he stands calmly among the crowd of nearly a thousand people, looking tall and imposing.

Regardless of the princes and nobles, or the children of rich families, or the elegant scholars with literary and ink, they are not as shining as this young man made of gold at this moment.

This is the "young" emperor who moved from the palace to the throne at the age of 16--Emperor Tianqi.

The shouting gradually subsided, and Zhu Youxiao secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Amid all the attention, he solemnly walked towards the door of the church. From a distance, he saw the surprised eyes of the missionaries stroking their beards.

Tang Ruowang is 33 years old this year, just ten years older than the young Dongfang emperor who succeeded him, but when compared between the two, it is really a sky and a ground.

He suddenly thought, maybe even the current Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke Ferdinand III of Austria, could not compare to this 23-year-old eastern emperor's martial arts?

Looking at Zhu Youxiao's tender and fair complexion, Tang Ruowang woke up with a start. At some point, the emperor was already standing in front of him with a smile, looking him up and down.

"I don't know if the holy car is coming, but if I miss you, I hope you will forgive me!" Tang Ruowang quickly said a polite sentence in fluent Chinese.

Zhu Youxiao smiled slightly and said:

"In the past two years, you have learned a lot of our language in the Armament Division, and now you speak it much more fluently than before."

Tang Ruowang got up, his blue eyes were full of respect:

"I often communicate with the masters of the Armament Department, even if I don't want to learn, I can't do it!"

Zhu Youxiao smiled and climbed up the steps, Tang Ruowang and a group of domestic and foreign officials and missionaries hurriedly accompanied him.

The gorgeous and mighty guards in brocade clothes, the fierce-faced Dongchang fan servants, and more than [-] eunuchs and maids, like a long wedge-shaped tail, stuck closely behind Zhu Youxiao, following up. door.

Chen Ce ordered the soldiers and horses of the Yongwei Battalion to stay outside the church and surrounded the whole church. There were people waiting for guards at every wall and entrance and exit.

The cavalry in charge of the static whip also got on their horses one after another, holding the reins in one hand, scanning the crowd with tiger eyes, and no longer holding the whip tightly in their hands, but replaced it with steel knives.

In such a tense atmosphere, Zhu Youxiao strolled into the spacious church hall surrounded by the crowd.

There is a wide field here, paved with neat white stone slabs, which is echoing the western-style decoration decorated with golden dots on the roof.

In the Ming Dynasty, it was very rare for the emperor to visit a place in person.

Since Zhu Youxiao came to the throne, except for two private visits by Weifu, most of the time that outsiders know has been spent in the Qianqing Palace and the inner court.

Coming here, in order to show the so-called respect for the beliefs of these missionaries, Zhu Youxiao said in an orderly tone:

"It's irrelevant, so don't follow in."

"Yes Yes!"

A group of Jin Yiwei and Fan Zi hurriedly bowed to accept the order. Yu's eunuchs and palace women were exhausted and sweated profusely after hearing this, they were all relieved in their hearts.

Wang Chaofu rushed forward and fell to his knees:

"Master, the slaves have been in Qianqing Palace for a long time, so they should follow in and serve them."

Zhu Youxiao didn't refuse. He shook his head, strode out of the lobby without looking back, and walked into the white marble Triumph Square with three doors.

Apart from Wang Chaofu and the two eunuchs, only Tang Ruowang, a Spanish official, and a court official whom he had never seen before followed in.

Zhu Youxiao was not polite, and when he arrived at the head teacher of Catholicism in the East, he was as familiar as returning to his own palace.

The five people walked through and followed Zhu Youxiao all the way through the promenade, walking quickly, and from time to time they could see Zhu Youxiao stopping in front with a smile on his face and waiting.

Zhu Youxiao shook his head and said: "Your physical strength is not good. I, the emperor who sits and governs all day, is in much better health than you."

Indeed, Zhu Youxiao, who came from later generations, "died young" in order not to live until the seventh year of the apocalypse. He has indeed worked hard in exercising his body to maintain resistance.

You must know that there is no cure for many diseases nowadays. Once you get it, even if the imperial doctor comes, you will be helpless, and you still have to rely on yourself.

No matter how tired you are, take time out to exercise.

Tang Ruowang and the others were indeed exhausted and out of breath. He was amazed that an emperor who was pampered all day had such good physical strength.

But now he could only catch his breath and didn't reply.

Seeing that they had already caught up, Zhu Youxiao turned around and left the living room, and said under the surprised eyes of several people: "Where is your bedroom? I want to go there and have a look."

Chapter 644 Philip IV Can't Take It Anymore

Tang Ruowang, a Westerner's bedroom, made Zhu Youxiao find a sense of familiarity.

Speaking of which, it might be more appropriate to call his bedroom a study.

The tall bookcases all the way to the roof covered the walls in four directions. Zhu Youxiao took a closer look and found that he couldn't understand them all.

Latin, Roman, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese?

Anyway, Zhu Youxiao guessed that it should be various books compiled in various national languages. In addition, there are two books teaching Chinese on his desk.

It seems that there is indeed a lot of effort to learn.

Tang Ruowang's desk is actually similar to modern times. It is big and wide. Stationery and various glassware are neatly placed, and it looks like it is used for experiments.

Flasks, measuring cups, test tubes...

Turning around, Zhu Youxiao found that this place was more like a combination of a study and a laboratory. There were only two things that could be called decorations.

One is installed with an ebony base, and the natural crystal hill can be roughly two feet high by visual inspection. It is elegant and clear, and it is much more elegant than the rockery in the Imperial Garden.

The second is to seal the inscriptions of several great calligraphers who were officials in the court.