Chapter 334

Liu Rushi asked curiously.

"Hmm, this time I'll take you to meet them, just don't speak out of turn."

Su Qiao was also worried that Liu Rushi would speak out of turn and expose his intentions.

Bang bang bang!

Su Qiao raised his hand and knocked on the door.

Not waiting long, Tang Ruowang came to open the door himself.

"You... you are Mr. Su?"

"Yes, I have some matters I intend to discuss with you priests, Father Tang, I wonder if it is convenient?"

Tang Ruowang had long wanted to have a proper conversation with Su Qiao again.

The last time they met, Su Qiao made them walk on eggshells.

After he returned, his heart had been in his throat, fearing that Zhu Youjian would suddenly issue an edict saying they were plotting treason and expel them from the country.

You must know that now Portugal, the Netherlands, and others have not yet entered the territory of Great Ming.

Great Ming was quite decadent before, but now it has once again displayed the spirit of a great Eastern power.

This is also the pressure Tang Ruowang and the others face.

Before, they could still look down on the corrupt Great Ming Dynasty by virtue of their own gunpowder technology.

Now it is different!

Great Ming has more advanced gunpowder technology, with power greater and more terrifying than theirs.

That tiny bit of luck in their hearts was all beaten away.

This is the reason why Tang Ruowang and the others feel somewhat insecure.

They have lost their reliance!

How will they spread the faith then?

Tang Ruowang looked at Liu Rushi and the maid Qing'er.

He very politely welcomed them into the main hall.

The mistress and servant Liu Rushi were very curious, especially about a priest like Tang Ruowang with blue eyes, yellow hair, and strange attire.

Is this a Frank?

Su Qiao, however, communicated with Tang Ruowang and the others very naturally.

"Father, I know you want to stay in Great Ming to spread the faith, even if it means giving your lives, but you have been in Great Ming for many years, you have not brought sufficient benefits to Great Ming, and instead wasted quite a lot of resources..."

"Oh, no! We have tried our best, but our habits are not quite the same as Great Ming's!"

As soon as Tang Ruowang heard Su Qiao's words, he immediately became anxious.

This was his heartache and his worry; he was eager to change it.

But he did not know what to do, and Su Qiao, someone who, in their eyes, understood them.

Could help them!

So he did not want Su Qiao's impression of them to worsen.

So he could not wait to explain.

"Of course, I understand some of your habits, but I feel, Father Tang, that you and John and the others still hold back."

Su Qiao said, unmoved.

"No, no!"

"Yes! At least Your Majesty believes you are deliberately deceiving him. You have lived in Great Ming for quite some time; you should know what the crime of deceiving the monarch entails."

Su Qiao used both soft and hard tactics.

Tang Ruowang's face turned pale; of course he knew the charge of deceiving the monarch was grave and carried the penalty of beheading.

If he were to die for spreading the doctrine, he might be quite generous.

But to die without such a noble cause, he could not bear it.

Besides, if they died, how could they spread the doctrine?

"Mr. Su, we are friends; you should explain to Your Majesty for us. There are only a few of us, and we do not know much..."

Su Qiao raised his hand and cut him off. "No, you at least have nautical charts, and you can help us communicate. After all, you are priests of the Holy See, of high status. Your Majesty feels technical exchange is necessary; it is far better than your desire to deceive and your greedy invasion, isn't it?"

As soon as Su Qiao spoke these words, Tang Ruowang immediately stood up in fright.

He looked at Su Qiao as if he had seen a ghost.

He really wanted to know if Su Qiao had been living in Europe all along.

Why did it feel like he knew so much about them?

Priests are actually the vanguard of the beginning of colonization; they appear to be spreading the doctrine, selfless, and so on.

...... 0 0

But most of them are responsible for brainwashing, communicating with the locals, gaining trust, and gathering intelligence; then the subsequent colonial fleets will arrive.

A new region falls!

So priests of this period are infamous.

Except for a very few truly good people, the remaining majority, over ninety percent, are the vanguard of colonization.

Is Tang Ruowang a good person?

Of course not!

They also have many schemes; having lived in Great Ming for so long, they envy Great Ming's wealth, vastness, and so on.

And Su Qiao's words just now happened to hit their hearts.

"Am I not right? Father Tang, Your Majesty's patience is about to run out. You should know that now Great Ming's external enemies are about to be destroyed, and internal chaos has been quelled. Great Ming wants to develop; it needs to go outward, and it also needs your help!"

"What help does Great Ming need?"

Hearing the last sentence, the light in Tang Ruowang's blue-green eyes suddenly flared.

"Nautical charts, and the technicians to build ships!"

Su Qiao did not directly demand the cannon-casting craft with a lion's appetite.

One must eat meal by meal; one cannot become a fat man in a single bite.

It would be bad if they scared Tang Ruowang and the others away!

When shearing sheep, one cannot shear them until they are bald.

"This... I need to discuss it with John and the others."

Upon hearing this, Tang Ruowang hesitated; Great Ming has already become very strong, and they did not want Great Ming to continue growing powerful. If they handed this over, once Great Ming went out, it would compete with them for interests.

Naturally, they were conflicted and unwilling! 3.

190, Negotiations with Father Tang!

"Very well, then I shall wait for you. Father Tang can go and discuss with your people."

Su Qiao had no intention of leaving; instead, he sat in the chair, picked up the tea, and drank it, turning host into guest.

Seeing Su Qiao's posture, Tang Ruowang's expression changed again.

Unable to sit still any longer, he stood up.

"Mr. Su, please wait a moment; I will go discuss with them right away."

After explaining a brief sentence to Su Qiao, he hurried to the back.

Liu Rushi had been sitting beside Su Qiao just now, saying not a single word.

Now that Tang Ruowang had gone to the back to discuss matters with his people, she finally asked Su Qiao in a low voice with a puzzled expression.

"Brother Su, what Sister understood from Brother Su's words just now is that you want to demand some things for going to sea from these Frankish people. Is going to sea really that important?"

Do not look down on Liu Rushi's learning; it is not inferior to that of ordinary scholars and scholar-officials.

Yet after all, she is not someone like Su Qiao who came from a later era, possessing such broad knowledge.

It is quite normal to have doubts about this!

After all, since Zheng He's voyages to the Western Oceans, Great Ming imposed a sea ban once again, and until now it has been over a hundred years.

Except for those smuggling families, no one else knows the benefits of going to sea.

Su Qiao glanced over, seeing that Tang Ruowang and the Yishiban Society would not finish discussing for a while.

So he explained to her in a low voice.

"What Rushi said is correct; I am forcing them to hand over some technologies for going to sea. Great Ming cannot remain sealed by the sea ban forever. For the people of Huaxia to stand up, they too need to go to sea."

"Then what can be gained from going to sea?"