Chapter 647: The unique skill from the Ming—Boomerang

The architectural style of the El Escorial Monastery is called "Escape from God," and this monastery is also called: "Mysterious Sanctuary." If Philip is really a devout believer, why escape from God?

Being an official of the third rank is anti-religion. Philip hides his resistance to religion deep in his heart. This is a power struggle.

Because the power that should belong to the king was taken away by the Curia, just like the Holy Roman Emperor no longer accepts the canonization of the Curia.

Because of the Curia, Philip II lost the succession to the Holy Roman Empire, which made Philip II even more angry.

The defender of the Curia and the eradicator of heresy? It was just to knead a piece of scattered sand in Spain. Now that there is a new substitute, the appearance of the Great Bright Sect, Philip II chose to indulge.

Religion must use the power of religion to contend.

Galileo was able to find a job with Philip II because he studied medicine at the University of Pisa and was identified by the Inquisition as a heretic who strongly doubted God, and his research was restricted. He was ordered to drop out of school and was now looking for a job.

Galileo was only twenty years old this year, but Li Yashi still saw fatigue in Galileo. The oppression from the Curia made Galileo lack the sharpness of many young people and added a bit of stability, or even some twilight, a twilight rarely seen even in the aging court officials of the Ming.

Li Yashi had seen Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu countless times. They were already old, but their fighting spirit was high.

Galileo seemed a bit confused, so he was twilight.

Philip II looked at Galileo and seemed to see another brave self, a self who dared to resist the Curia, but Philip couldn't do it for various reasons. Philip remembered that he was first the King of Spain.

Galileo was just a microcosm, a microcosm of being cruelly persecuted by the Curia.

"His Majesty does not suggest that Your Highness attack the English mainland." Li Yashi talked about something that the Ming Emperor repeatedly mentioned in the national letter. It was not disagreement or prohibition, but a suggestion. The Ming Emperor did not intend to deeply interfere with Philip's decision-making.

"The Mongols, the whip of God, whipped all the countries in the Western Regions and the West during their western expedition, but the whip-holder Kublai Khan once sent troops to attack Japan twice. In the East, Japan is about the same as England, with the same geographical location and moral bottom line. But Kublai Khan's two attacks were defeated by sea winds and big waves. Long-distance expedition to eliminate a country that has existed for hundreds of years is not a good choice."

"England is not the barbaric country in the New World that hasn't even invented wheels or iron tools. On the contrary, they have extremely fierce competition with us in wool." Li Yashi's attitude was extremely firm.

"The Ming Emperor's hand is stretched too long. This is our contradiction with England. Does the Ming, tens of thousands of li away, also have to interfere with our military actions? It's not attacking the Ming Emperor's vassal, Portugal's Antonio." Philip was extremely dissatisfied with the Ming Emperor's long-arm jurisdiction.

The Ming Emperor stretched his hand tens of thousands of li away and also required Philip not to attack England. What kind of mentality is this? This is an addiction to being a father!

It's enough to have the Roman Curia on top of his head. Now he has to have a Beijing Curia as a father?

Li Yashi could see Philip's disapproval of this suggestion and said calmly, "No, Your Highness, this is a kind suggestion from a wise prophet to Your Highness. Your Highness can certainly not listen, but I suggest Your Highness consider this kind suggestion carefully."

"In fact, the Ming is preparing to exterminate Japan. Yes, it is the same as what Your Highness is preparing to do. I believe Your Highness has already learned from the merchants that the Ming navy is no less inferior to the Invincible Fleet."

Philip's vanity was satisfied at this moment.

He knew about the situation of the Ming fleet. The Ming did not deliberately hide it from Western merchants. Every time a Western special envoy returned to Spain, he would describe the size and equipment of the Ming fleet in detail.

The Ming's Invincible Fleet has six fast sailing ships like the Youlong and Feiyun, 120 five-masted ocean-crossing ships, 600 three-masted clipper ships, more than 1,000 combat command ships, and nearly 2,000 fighting ships. Western envoys also attended the naval review at Tianjin Port. It is no exaggeration to say that the Ming navy participating in the naval review could crush the Spanish Invincible Fleet.

This is not only the gap in scale, but also the gap in quality. According to the theory of contradictions' exposition on change, quantitative change leads to qualitative change. The huge scale supports the excellence of the Ming navy's equipment.

Even knowing that Li Yashi was saying nice things, Philip was still very satisfied. Li Yashi mentioned the Ming navy and the Spanish Invincible Fleet in the same breath, but in fact, Philip knew the gap between the two very well.

A world of difference.

"You mean the fleets of the Luzon Governor's Office and the Jiugang Governor's Office are on par with our Invincible Fleet in terms of strength." Philip said with a smile. The Luzon Governor's Office and the Jiugang Governor's Office are partial divisions. Even as partial divisions, their fighting strength is so strong that the Spanish army cannot reach it.

Li Yashi smiled. Luzon and Jiugang each deployed a fast sailing ship. Just one fast sailing ship, with sufficient ammunition, could play the entire Invincible Fleet to death.

A full-pay Ming army is really very, very difficult to defeat.

"The Ming's navy is so fierce. Regarding the extermination of Japan, the Emperor, the palace secretary, and the Minister of State all believe that it is safer to go by land. They plan to start from Korea, so that they only need to use Tsushima Island as a springboard, without worrying too much about the influence of sea waves and strong winds." Li Yashi took out paper and pen and simply drew the geographical locations of Japan, Korea, and the Ming.

"The Ming Emperor is very brave, but in this matter, he appears too cautious." Philip criticized the Ming Emperor's strategic cowardice.

A tiny Japan, the Ming Emperor is so cautious, actually wanting to go by land to exterminate Japan, instead of by sea, when there is another route.

"After Kublai Khan failed to conquer Japan twice, he stopped his expansion, because the cost of defeat was so expensive that even the Emperor of the Central Plains could not bear it." Li Yashi said with a solemn face, "As a land-power country, a country with huge depth, the only thing that can defeat a huge land empire is arrogance."

"And I see this arrogance in Your Highness."

"Li Yashi!" Philip was furious. This was public top-clashing and accusation. He would naturally be angry. How many years had it been since anyone dared to speak to him like this! This is offense! Rebellion!

"Your Highness! I have criticized His Majesty's stinginess and greed, but the supreme His Majesty did not make things difficult for me! The Great Speculation in Beijing is too free, so much so that some rebels can speak! His Majesty said: No one can never make mistakes. Accepting other people's criticism and examining oneself is the way of a wise monarch!" Li Yashi did not retreat a single step and said without giving way.

"Loyal words are harsh to the ear but beneficial to action; bitter medicine is good for the disease; I examine myself three times a day! This is His Majesty's requirement for himself, and this is also one of His Majesty's eight virtues: humility!"

"The Ming was able to be reborn from the ashes, like a phoenix nirvana! Once again dominating the Far East, it is not only the efforts of the ten thousand people, but also the efforts of His Majesty! His Majesty always says that ten thousand people are one force, and the world is invincible! But where are the common people? When His Majesty needs the common people, where are the common people?"

"I have never seen ten thousand people as one force. I only saw one person with ten thousand forces!"

"I only saw His Majesty and a few loyal bones and upright ministers fighting alone!"

"In an imperial country, the character and morality of the Emperor determine the fate of the country! This is what I see!"

"Your Highness, as the King of Spain, as the hegemon of the Empire on which the sun never sets, as an important corner of world sea power, Your Highness, you should always remain humble!"

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This paragraph of Li Yashi can be said to have poked Philip's lungs!

Although Philip repeatedly claims that he is the hegemon of the Empire on which the sun never sets and hopes to maintain the same status as the Ming Emperor, in fact, he envies the Ming Emperor's supreme power and envies the Ming's strong national strength. When Li Yashi compares him with the Ming Emperor, not only the prosperity, rule, and centripetal force of the empire are crushed by the Ming.

And now, even the morality of the monarch is crushed.

Philip stood up, pointed at Li Yashi, pointed several times with force, and then sat down unwillingly, "Humph, isn't it just relying on the Ming Emperor to support you that you dare to be so arrogant? Where is your humility? Where is your virtue?"

Li Yashi stacked so many vests, but the one with the highest weight is still the identity of the special envoy to the West that he asked the Ming Emperor for. With this one, Philip can only endure it.

In the Ming capital, calling him Li Yashi "Li Tongshi" is fine, and he Li Yashi doesn't pick on it. But in the West, even Philip has to call him "Li Angel," the messenger of the embodiment of wisdom!

An angel is the envoy of the Son of Heaven.

The most critical thing is that this messenger is also the Left Envoy of Light. The Great Bright Sect has a Protection Army! The Left Envoy of Light has no actual power, but is one of the symbols of the Great Bright Sect.

Once the Left Envoy of Light is killed in Spain, those fanatical believers will not talk about the eight virtues. Under the blessing of fanatical faith, I am afraid they will pierce the sky. What will happen, Philip doesn't even dare to think about it.

"If Your Highness thinks I am arrogant, that is really too sad." Li Yashi said with a dim expression, "I could have stayed in the Ming and not returned here. I have witnessed the punishment of the stake several times."

"Once defeated, Spain loses the Strait of Gibraltar and will become a baby swimming in the bathtub of the Mediterranean."

"I don't hope, I don't hope to see this scene happen."

The usual trick of the cheap Confucian, moral kidnapping.

Li Yashi returned to his hometown at the risk of his life, so you, Philip, should listen to me carefully.

"Well, what you said makes sense." Philip stabilized his emotions and said helplessly, "No one has said these things to me. I have been a monarch for too long. These palace secretaries look at me as if they are looking at a tiger, and the nobles each have their own concerns. No one has ever said these things to me."

"The empire has many problems. I don't seem to be able to solve these problems by myself. I have made many efforts, but they are all in vain."

Li Yashi knows very well the terror of the Roman Curia in the West. He knows the danger this time, but he still returned and wanted to fight to stop Philip from making unwise choices.

Such people are rare in the Ming. Bi Gan cutting his heart to remonstrate is a legend, and Hence Hai Rui carrying a coffin to remonstrate is a reality.

In fact, Li Yashi didn't believe the legend of Bi Gan cutting his heart to remonstrate until he saw Hence Hai Rui with his own eyes, and then he was convinced that such bone-grieved upright ministers really existed, and they were right in front of him.

And today, Li Yashi was somewhat stunned to find that he seemed to have become that Hence Hai Rui.

Li Yashi took a deep breath and continued, "Your Highness, the abominable nature of the English is just like the Japanese pirates. Why do the English incite the commoners in the Netherlands to resist Spain? Admittedly, it is because Spain's overly brutal rule in the Netherlands created the conditions for this resistance, but without the English incitement, it would never have developed to the current level."

"Because the English also know that they are isolated overseas and need a foothold to cross the violent Atlantic and cross the capricious and unpredictable English Channel."

"Your Highness, even the English you look down upon are full of awe for nature."

"True wisdom comes from heaven and earth, from nature, and one must be in awe of nature."

Philip II clenched his fists, slammed them on the table, and shouted, "Phew, no matter how reasonable you are, I am still very unwilling! These dog bastards, they ransacked Seville, they pushed over Columbus's bronze coffin! They burned my cathedral! This is an unforgivable sin! I must punish them!"

"These bastards must be punished!"

Li Yashi's eyes became a few points colder, and he said in a low voice, "There are many ways to punish, not necessarily by sending troops directly."

"Oh?" Philip raised his eyebrows. This Li Yashi dared to top-clash him like this, it seems he was prepared with a method. Li Yashi studied in the Ming for twelve years, it seems he really learned a lot!

"Your Highness, in the contradiction and conflict between England and our Spain, the English know they are not our opponents, so they issued a privateering license to exchange for relative advantage, right." Li Yashi's tone was still very cold. If Zhu Yijun saw this face, he would definitely say that this Li Yashi was completely a cheap Confucian! When the cheap Confucian is offering bad ideas and performing conspiracies, his expression is exactly the same as Li Yashi's!

Damn, it's fine to learn the good things of the Ming, but even the bad ones have been learned.

"That's indeed the case." Philip didn't understand what Li Yashi wanted to say.

"What is a pirate?" Li Yashi's mouth twitched and said, "Pirates are a group of desperate people. Calling them dogs is an insult to dogs. They have no morality at all. As long as you give them money, they can do anything. The reason they work for the English is because only the English give them benefits."

"Give them a piece of meat, and they will wag their tails and beg for pity. Your Highness, put down some moral constraints and use these pirates. Give them some meat and let the pirates explore the way and rob England."

The strategy offered by Li Yashi is the unique skill from the Ming—Boomerang, a strategy that even the Ming Chief Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng would fall for.

Those who rise by this will surely perish by this!

Since the English used the power of pirates to ransack Spain, Philip can also use the hands of pirates to ransack England. Do you expect pirates to be loyal to the English Queen, and in the face of thick profits, they will be unyielding and loyal to the Queen? They are pirates.

"This..." Philip looked at Li Yashi and was stunned for a long time before saying in a daze, "My old friend, were you so... contradictory before? On one hand, your morality is so dazzling. I feel your intense love and moral constraints, but on the other hand, you are so dark?"

"My old friend, you surprise me."

What exactly did this person experience in the Ming to become like this, living so contradictorily, becoming so complex.

Li Yashi spread his hands and said, "Contradiction is universal. Opposition and unity are the states of all things, just like the Yin-Yang fish in Taiji."

"No one in the Ming believes in the Great Bright Sect, but everyone lives according to the basic doctrines of the Great Bright Sect. Perhaps the Great Bright Sect is just a narrative method to expound the logic of the Ming people's work."

"Then Your Highness thinks, how about this punishment? The English Queen issued a privateering license, so we announce free trade. All ships can trade in the New World, Seville."

"Crown it with the name of freedom."

Philip looked at Li Yashi and stared straight for a long, long time before confirming, "You weren't so shameless before. I remember you were a bit reckless, a bit barbaric, and not as wise as you are now. What changed you? Is it the Ming?"

"It is indeed the Ming." Li Yashi admitted his shamelessness. If he wanted to apply the rhetoric of the Great Bright Sect, it was that after staying with the embodiment of wisdom for a long time and getting the guidance of the prophet, even the stupidest lamb would understand wisdom.

"Phew, what you said makes sense. I can try it. Oh, by the way, crown it with the name of freedom. How should I do it specifically?" Philip couldn't wait to inquire.

Li Yashi explained in detail the high-sounding set he learned from the cheap Confucian in the Ming.

"The Ming Emperor is really too pitiful." After listening to what Li Yashi learned from the cheap Confucian, Philip said with lingering fear, "Does the Ming Emperor deal with such creatures every day? He is only twenty-two years old. It is really too difficult. He has supported the empire from ten years old to now, and he hasn't lost confidence in the empire yet?"

Philip felt sincere fear for the creature called the cheap Confucian. These people are like demons from hell.

"Uh, the struggle between His Majesty and the cheap Confucian is always in a dominant position, because His Majesty always firmly believes that the Great Way is in operation, and the hot light can melt all darkness!" Li Yashi suddenly discovered that the Ming Emperor had never once fallen into a disadvantage in the struggle of these twelve years.

Li Yashi stayed in the monastery and told Philip stories about the Ming.

After solving the beheading of Solon and persuading Philip to temporarily abandon the attack on the English mainland until the hydrology was thoroughly understood, the atmosphere became extremely harmonious. Li Yashi told many, many things: the Royal Academy of Sciences, the Royal Institute of Technology that cultivates students of science, the Maritime Academy, the Lecture Hall that cultivates grassroots officers, the bell and drum tower that reports time, etc., etc.

The story of the Ming was very long. Originally, Philip only wanted to listen to ten days of stories, but finally added to fifteen days, and Li Yashi's story was only half told.

"I must be busy with state affairs, my friend. You know, I am a monarch. It is really a pity." Philip said with great regret, "I will read your travel notes word by word carefully. And the theory of contradictions, production illustrations, public and private theory, and class theory that you sent back to the West, I will study them in detail."

"It's a pity that you have to go back now."

Li Yashi bowed slightly and said, "Your Highness, keep in mind that the national conditions of the Ming and Spain are different, the fundamental contradictions are different, and the means of struggle are also different. Blindly copying from books makes one those cheap Confucians who achieve nothing. I still ask Your Highness to make adjustments according to the different localities, times, and contradictions. This is also what His Majesty has always emphasized: never copy from books."

"Goodbye, my Highness. After this departure, I'm afraid we will never see each other again."

Philip II whispered to the secretary for a while, then said with a smile on his face, "Oh, my friend, I received news here that our pirates, following the Taiwushihe, attacked London, and the English Queen ran away. I have to share this news with you. This is really the happiest thing I have had in so many years."

"Thanks for your suggestion."

"Is it so fast?" Li Yashi was slightly stunned. He thought he would have to wait until he arrived in Lisbon or the Ming to receive good news, but he didn't expect to receive good news before leaving Madrid.

Philip said with gloating, "The pirates have actually had this idea for a long time. Taking advantage of the fact that the Taiwushihe did not freeze this year, more than seven hundred ships and more than seven thousand pirates rushed into London. I think the English Queen absolutely did not expect that the pirates she indulged and tolerated would hit her front."

"Without a privateering license, there would definitely not be so many powerful pirates, hahaha!"

Philip laughed loudly as he spoke. He had never been so happy in his life. The terrible guy like England was finally taught a lesson by the even more terrible guy he personally created.

In this way, Philip could also explain to all the forces in Spain.

"Goodbye, my old friend. Please write me a letter every year to tell me about your situation in the Ming. Also, please write your travel notes regularly. I am very interested in the affairs of the Ming." Philip said goodbye to Li Yashi solemnly.

"Goodbye, my Highness." Li Yashi bowed again and left the monastery. On the way back, he was not locked in a small carriage but was allowed to move freely.

Li Yashi encountered the Inquisition many times, but these knights of the Inquisition seemed to have received orders and did not take action against Li Yashi, which gave him a lot of convenience. He traveled freely on his hometown. It was indeed very bad here. The roads outside the city were extremely muddy, and the terrible sanitary environment in the city Ma Deli Yashi cover his nose constantly, but he still visited Madrid with great interest.

What disappointed him was that compared to the changing Ming, Spain had not changed much in the twelve years he had been away.

Li Yashi remembered that when he first arrived at the new port of Songjiang Prefecture, the new port was still desolate, with only a lonely pier lying there, full of dilapidation, just a fishing village with a few broken houses. But now Songjiang Prefecture had become a metropolis with a population of two million, with roads extending in all directions, shops lined up, busy wharves, and a sea where thousands of sails competed.

Spain had no changes, which meant that there was no great development.

Development can cover up many, many contradictions. When developing, it means that the distributable benefits are increasing, which can satisfy more people. But when development stagnates, the distributable benefits no longer grow, and various contradictions will emerge, making society more fragmented.

The development of all things is cyclical and spiraling upward. In the downward cycle, how to redistribute the means of production, how to make distribution satisfy the interests of the majority, and how to maintain the basic stability of society is a great test of the wisdom of the rulers.

Just as he told Xu Fan, because of the lack of management experience in long-term stable rule of vast territories in the plight of scarce materials and silver shortages, many of the West's decisions are like children swinging big hammers.

Li Yashi left by ship, watching his hometown disappear bit by bit on the sea level. He knew that after this departure, he would never come back.

"Why did you agree to go to the distant East?" Li Yashi asked the twenty-year-old young man beside him, Galileo. Leaving home is something that requires great determination to do.

Galileo said confusedly, "I don't want to leave either, but I have to leave. I am a heretic who doubts God, just a little better than you, a heretic who betrays God. In order to keep you alive, His Majesty the King gave up a lot of benefits to the Curia, including the appointment and removal of Cardinals."

"But it doesn't matter. Soon, the Great Bright Sect will tell the Curia that an old-fashioned, closed, and unenterprising Curia will be eliminated. Only by making changes can it exist."

"Do you believe in the Great Bright Sect so much?" Li Yashi was very resistant to the Great Bright Sect. He felt that this thing was incompatible with the Ming.

This kind of resistance to religion should not appear in Westerners, so Li Yashi resisted subconsciously, because he had long since become a Ming person.

Galileo was silent for a moment and said, "What is the joy of life? What is the bitterness of death? To do good and eliminate evil, only for the sake of light."

Li Yashi held his forehead and said helplessly, "After you return to the Ming with me, don't tell others that you believe in the Great Bright Sect. You will be laughed at by those scholars."

Galileo said very excitedly, "I listened to fifteen days of stories. Perhaps it is an illusion, but the Ming is very inclusive."

Li Yashi looked at the sea and sky, the calm Mediterranean, and said with a smile, "You should read the theory of contradictions. On the way back to the Ming, I will teach you Chinese characters and Chinese language. Just memorize the theory of contradictions. The Ming is a very complex and contradictory world."

"You will like it there." ===== CHAPTER 648 =====