And in essence, Macau still belongs to China. However, at this time, Westerners are proud of the indigenous people. They will not care about this, and naturally think that Macau is an autonomous city belonging to the Kingdom of Portugal. But in the face of Xia Jun, he was soft and hard.

Many people have no idea of ​​resisting to the end.

Zhang Xuan essentially retains many of Macau's policies.

It just placed Macau under the rule of Daxia.

It's just that these people are also very worried. He doesn't have much confidence in Daxia and even Zhang Xuan's guarantee. Many people looked at the bishop.

The bishop was an old man. He couldn't help but make a cross on his chest with his hand and said, "How is that Duke going to treat the cause of the Lord?"

Suoshang said: "The general didn't say anything?"

The bishop said: "As the Lord's Lamb, I am determined not to let the Chinese diocese follow the footsteps of the Japanese diocese. If the Duke expels missionaries like Japan did, then I would rather resist to the end. You are all loyal believers of the Lord. You are willing to defend the Lord."

Career?"

The remaining members hesitated for a moment and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

The bishop also noticed their hesitation.

He sighed slightly in his heart and thought to himself: "Decades ago, when Father Fan Li'an was here, Macau was definitely not like this."

Father Fan Li'an is the founder of the Chinese Diocese. The very famous Matteo Ricci is a subordinate of Father Fan Li'an, and Matteo Ricci preaches in the image of a Confucian scholar. It is also Fan Li'an's decision, and Matteo Ricci only implements it. Father Fan Li'an devoted his life to founding

A large Chinese diocese, including Japan, Malacca, Malani, China and other places.

But Father Fan Li'an is most concerned about the Chinese diocese.

Many churches and seminaries in Macau were founded by Father Fan Li'an. He is committed to the spread of Christianity in China.

It was only after Father Valiant's death that many of his achievements were overturned.

For example, Matteo Ricci and others wore Confucian attire to meet scholar-bureaucrats. This behavior was banned by the Holy See. Instead, it set off a controversy over etiquette. There was a controversy over Chinese ancestor worship. They believed that ancestor worship was a kind of belief, so they denied the previous

The policy of tolerance requires Christians not to worship their ancestors. The Roman Catholics formed a special document on this last year. From the previous behavior of some priests in the Eastern Dioceses, it has become the standard of the church.

As a result, the prosperous Chinese diocese immediately fell into regression. Coupled with Japan's actions to drive away Catholics, the missionary work in the East fell into a trough.

From a historical perspective, this is not the lowest point. At least in Beijing, Nanjing, and some cities, there are still churches. From a historical perspective, Catholicism was banned during the Kangxi period, and Chinese dioceses existed in name only.

The priest may not be able to see this now, but he has made some judgments about the current situation. These Portuguese people in front of him are not saints of the Lord, and they will never dedicate themselves to the cause of the Lord.

Although the church is influential, this is not Europe after all, and there is no Knights of the Lord here.

Suo Shang said to the bishop: "Your Excellency, maybe the matter has not reached this point. Your Excellency, the Duke, is still relatively easy to talk to. Does the bishop want to talk to the Duke on behalf of Macau?"

The bishop said: "Okay. Take me to see this Caesar."

The bishop walked through the familiar streets of Macau.

Macau was called Haojing in ancient times, which refers to the natural bay here in Macau, which is round, just like a mirror. But the familiar streets are guarded by many unfamiliar soldiers.

Each of these soldiers was riding a Mongolian horse. Although these Mongolian horses could not be compared with European war horses, they looked very majestic. The further they walked, the more religious feelings of martyrdom appeared in the bishop's heart. He thought to himself: "

Lord, please protect your lamb."

The further north you go, the more and more densely populated you are.

After a series of body searches, the bishop stood next to Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Xuan looked at the bishop in his white robe and said, "What do you call the bishop?"

The bishop said almost word for word: "Wei Kuangguo. I wonder if your lord, the Duke, is planning to deal with the Catholic Church in this way?"

It seems that all the Jesuit missionaries like to have a Chinese name. It’s just that the bishop’s Chinese level is really poor. Zhang Xuan was very uncomfortable to hear this, but he said: "I am a big country that embraces all rivers, has a mind for all things, and never prohibits a certain religion.

The spread, regardless of whether it is Catholic or Muslim, as long as the laws of the country are abided by and the Chinese people believe in it, the imperial court will not do much to hinder it, but there is one thing. I want to know, what is the relationship between the Macau Church and the Holy See?"

Wei Kuangguo never expected that Zhang Xuan would ask this question.

Many Chinese people don't know much about Christianity, let alone the Holy See behind it. This knowledge is quite rare in China. When Zhang Xuan said it, Wei Kuangguo couldn't help but look at Zhang Xuan and said: "The Holy See.

Upholding the glory of the Lord and spreading the gospel to the world, all missionaries are under the jurisdiction of the Holy See."

Although Wei Kuangguo was aware that Zhang Xuan might be unhappy if he said this, he did not dare to lie.

Zhang Xuan said: "The emperor of China established a divine way to govern the people. He followed the will of heaven to govern the world. Whether it is Tao, Buddha, or Huihui, he followed the will of the emperor. Only your religion was controlled by the pope thousands of miles away? I just ask you

, If there is a conflict between the Emperor of China and the Pope in the future, how will you deal with it?"

Wei Kuangguo didn't know what to say for a while. He thought about his words for a while and said: "The Holy See does not interfere in secular affairs."

service.”

After hearing this, Zhang Xuan felt extremely funny for a moment and said: "I am deceiving myself. I am the Duke of Daxia. What I am talking about is not just the academic affairs of Macao. It is the academic affairs of the entire Daxia."

"I can give you some time. You can send someone to the Holy See to discuss missionary affairs in China."

"Before this negotiation is reached, everything in Macau will remain as it is, as long as you do not hinder the Xia Dynasty's governance of Macau. The imperial court will not target the Holy See."

Wei Kuangguo's eyes lit up as soon as he heard about the missionary negotiations.

To be honest, the spread of Christianity in China has achieved some results. For example, Xu Guangqi, Qu Shichun and others are all Christians. However, many people believe in Christianity just because they want to obtain Western scientific knowledge.

It has never been recognized on a political level.

Compared to the entire Chinese government's support for missionary work, Macao's local cause is not worth mentioning.

This level of contact is exactly what the West, even the Holy See, is striving for.

At this time, China fever is rising in the West, and there is great curiosity about China. If you want to come to the Holy See for the spread of Christianity in China, you can do it even if you give up the cause of Macao.

Wei Kuangguo said in disbelief: "Is this true?"

Zhang Xuan said: "A gentleman's words are hard to follow."

When Suo Shang returned, Zhang Xuan was also thinking about how to solve the church's problems.

To be honest, Zhang Xuan himself doesn't think that in fact, the ideas he brought from later generations are not all advantages. For example, when dealing with the issue of Christianity, Japan dared to blatantly expel it. But Zhang Xuan did not want to quarrel.

To a certain extent, Zhang Xuan actually overestimated the strength of Westerners in the South China Sea. The overlord of the China Sea in this era is the Zheng Group. It cannot be said that Westerners have no power. But the strength of Westerners may not be able to do anything for them.

Even if it is used by the Holy See, it may not be able to interfere in China's domestic war.

However, since Zhang Xuan didn't want to quarrel, the people below came up with suggestions one after another. He Wuzuo came up with this delaying strategy.

It takes several months or even a year to get from Macau to Rome by boat. Especially since the Suez Canal has not been opened, and Egypt is also an Ottoman province. Therefore, we can only reach the Mediterranean by going around the entire Mediterranean.

Not to mention whether the negotiations went smoothly or not, the back and forth alone would take at least two or three years.

But after two or three years of the current situation, Guangdong will calm down. Even Zhang Xuan himself may not know where the situation will develop by then.

Negotiation is just negotiation, and negotiation may not necessarily result in agreement. Negotiation can also break up, it just postpones the time a little.
Chapter completed!