Chapter 973: France Wants to Rise Too! (Please Subscribe)

"Welcome to you, Monsieur Colbert, Mademoiselle Mancini. The journey from France to China is a rather long one, especially for a young and beautiful lady. What reason could possibly bring her here from ten thousand miles away?"

The speaker was Prince Condé, who was also the Duke of Shengguo of the Great Ming, so he was now dressed in a red silk python robe and stood in his Western-style ducal residence on Laoshan in Yingtian, looking with a puzzled expression at the French king's envoys who had come from afar, Jean-Baptiste Colbert and Marie Mancini.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert had originally been the private financial assistant of Cardinal Mazarin, so it was normal enough for him to receive the post of envoy and cross the seas to China. But what was a lovely creature like Marie Mancini doing coming to China instead of staying in France?

Hearing the Prince's question, Colbert, looking listless from the fatigue of the journey and seasickness, merely smiled faintly. "Because His Eminence the Cardinal believes that the Ming Emperor is an Eastern monarch possessed of mysterious powers and profound knowledge. For the sake of France's interests, someone is needed to get close enough to him to carry out deep and meticulous observation."

After speaking, Colbert glanced at Marie Mancini. This little foreign filly had adapted remarkably well to life at sea; even when they encountered a storm on the Atlantic, she had hardly been seasick at all. But when they left France, she had wept like a figure of tears — heartbreaking just to look at!

The Prince, however, furrowed his brow and studied Marie Mancini carefully for a moment before finally nodding. "I think the Cardinal's idea has some merit. His Majesty the Emperor does indeed possess knowledge beyond imagination! In the reports I have submitted to Paris, I have mentioned this more than once."

Although Zhu Cilang did not have the ability to wield a great golden finger, his mathematics from his previous life was still quite good, and certain knowledge he possessed was comparatively advanced for the seventeenth century. Moreover, he still remembered some relatively easy-to-implement directions for improving weapons and equipment — for example, the socket bayonet, the Minié ball, the wooden sabot, the wooden tube fuse, the pointed bullet, the howitzer, the wooden-handled grenade, fixed ammunition... and, right, sandbags!

The golden finger might not be large, but it was already enough to shock and overjoy Prince Condé, who was close to Zhu Cilang!

The shock was that this Chinese sovereign actually possessed such a genius mind, inventing in so short a time so many weapons and pieces of equipment that looked unremarkable but were enough to change the form of warfare.

The joy was that France — no, that he himself would be the second greatest beneficiary of these creations and inventions! For although he was not the inventor of these weapons, he understood better than their inventor how they should be employed to bring out their greatest power.

As long as he could return to France after King Louis XIV took personal rule, then no general on the European continent would be able to withstand the French army under his command!

The rise of France would be achieved in his hands and those of King Louis XIV!

Colbert then spoke again. "In addition to the reports Your Highness submitted, His Eminence the Cardinal last year also received, from his good friend the newly installed Pope Alexander VII, the reports of Father Johann Adam Schall von Bell and other Jesuit fathers teaching at the Great Ming Imperial Academy and the Capital Academy. All the reports indicate that the present Ming Emperor possesses knowledge of an extraordinary kind — knowledge that should not, and could not, have come from the traditional Chinese-style imperial education he received!

Therefore His Holiness the Pope hopes to understand the Ming Emperor further, in order to resolve certain doubts in his heart!"

The doubts in the Pope's heart were connected with the "birdman."

While in Rome, Johann Adam Schall von Bell had written a report speculating that Zhu Cilang had very likely seen an angel and received from the angel some kind of revelation and certain knowledge, and had submitted it to the then Pope Innocent X. Innocent X had ignored Schall's report.

What else could he do but ignore it? If one admitted that the Ming Emperor had seen an angel, then the Chinese "Heavenly Principle" and the Christian "Heavenly Lord" could be equated!

That would cause a crisis of faith in Christianity!

Of course, the Pope could not treat the Ming Emperor as a heretic either, because the man was not a Christian to begin with, and most crucially, Zhu Cilang was the most powerful monarch in the world today — without equal!

However, Pope Alexander VII, who had only taken office last year, was a rather open-minded pope. In his view, "discovering the Lord" was also the Lord's love — if the Lord did not wish to be discovered by the Chinese, how could they possibly have discovered the omnipotent Lord?

Therefore Christianity ought not to adopt a hostile attitude toward those who discovered the Lord. For this reason, Alexander VII hoped to establish good relations between the Catholic Church and the Great Ming dynasty during his own pontificate.

At the same time, as the Lord's representative on earth, Alexander VII very much wished to get to the bottom of the "birdman incident" — he had served the Lord so devoutly, had even become Pope, and yet had never seen an angel with wings. How had Zhu Cilang managed to see one?

"In other words, Mademoiselle Mancini also bears a sacred mission from the Pope?" Prince Condé looked at this little Italian beauty and thought to himself: To be a royal mistress and still conjure up a sense of sacredness — only Italians could pull off something so absurd!

Marie Mancini smiled slightly. "I know nothing of any sacred mission, but I do indeed wish to get close to this most powerful and wealthiest monarch in the world — just like those beautiful women who surround the monarchs of the European states!

Your Highness, do you think my goal can be achieved?"

"Hahaha! You are quite direct — not like an Italian." Prince Condé laughed heartily. "Very well, I shall arrange for you a European-style villa near Laoshan Palace to live in, until the Ming Emperor summons you.

The Prefect of Shanghai who escorted you to Laoshan must already have recommended you to the Emperor. I imagine your goal will certainly be achieved!

Monsieur Colbert, tell us your goal. What do you wish to obtain from the Ming Emperor?"

"Your Highness," Monsieur Colbert's expression turned serious, "I wish to win for France an opportunity to rise!"

Prince Condé smiled. "I imagine our English friend Cromwell must have the same idea, yes? He has also sent a rather large delegation. What is his purpose?"

Hearing Prince Condé's question, Colbert merely smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Your Highness, I do not know how to answer your question, because Cromwell has grown increasingly mad these past two years. He has very likely gone insane!"

"Insane?" Prince Condé was taken aback. "You say Cromwell has gone insane? What has he done? Does he want to become King of England?"

"He probably does want to, but that hardly counts as madness." Colbert said, "Last year Cromwell issued orders establishing local military regimes throughout England, dividing the country into eleven military districts, each administered by one of his trusted generals. Moreover, he ordered the introduction of Puritan rules, including the execution of adulterers, the abolition of theatrical performances and games, the closing of taverns and brothels, the prohibition of swearing, and the prohibition of religious ceremonies. All of Europe now knows that this most powerful man in England has gone completely mad, and that around him stands a group of equally mad Puritan officers!"

"Good Lord! What does he want?" Prince Condé was greatly alarmed. "Did the English rebel just to live like this?"

"I cannot answer that question," Colbert said, "but one thing is certain: these English Puritans are surely full of ambition, and perhaps they wish to tear apart the entire Spanish world empire..."

"Tearing apart the entire Spanish world empire may be mad, but it is not impossible! For the Spanish Eastern Fleet has just attacked the Dinghai anchorage of the Ming navy," Condé said thoughtfully, "and in doing so has set off a naval revolution!

The question now is simply: what does England want? What can we get? And what does the Great Ming want?"

(End of Chapter)