Chapter 465: The Story of Rhodes

Liu Zheng seemed to have known Rhodes would have this expression for a long time, and he chuckled, "Why, don't tell me you don't know."

Rhodes stammered, his face showing signs of difficulty.

In fact, Liu Zheng's meaning was very simple.

As his own power grew increasingly strong, he needed to understand this world more. There were several reasons for this. First, the situation in the Longyan Dynasty would always remain like this for the time being; if it were before, he would still be waiting for Xie Tianyao to pass away so he could take action. But now, he had decided to keep Xie Tianyao hanging on by half a life with morphine. Therefore, conservatively estimated, he could free up nearly a year of development time for himself. Second, judging from all aspects, including Rhodes and others who had come to Longyan following the "Age of Discovery," and including the decline of the Arab Empire and the rise of the Ottoman Empire... these historical factors could be deduced. This time was precisely the 16th and 17th centuries of later generations.

To put it simply, this time was exactly the Age of Discovery, or the late Great Age of Discovery.

The Age of Discovery not only promoted the development of capitalism but also vigorously promoted the progress of science and technology. Because navigation needed to solve many practical problems, astronomy, mathematics, and even medicine almost took off during this period.

Therefore...

The world landscape had already reached the late Great Age of Discovery, but looking at Longyan, science and technology were almost stagnant, and business models were almost rigid.

Liu Zheng could not wait any longer; this was the third reason he was impatient to understand this world.

He had taken Liangshan with all his might precisely for this purpose.

He wanted to turn this place into his own personal chemistry laboratory, chemical factory, and medical research institution!

This goal could not be described as anything but grand.

Therefore, he needed more talent in this area. Clearly, it was already very unrealistic to look for such people in the Longyan Dynasty. He could only cast his gaze toward the whole world!

In this regard, he had to be at the very forefront!

"Mandarin, I..."

Rhodes had been in Liangzhou for so long, how could he not know that this Prefect Liu had immense ambition? However, he had never imagined that his vision could actually reach the entire world—he had almost never encountered such a person in the Longyan Dynasty.

Liu Zheng chuckled, poured him a cup of tea, and said indifferently, "Speak... why don't I take a guess?"

Rhodes was completely bewildered.

Liu Zheng knew that a missionary like him still had a firm faith; to pry his mouth open, he had to find a way from this aspect. He smiled faintly: "The French Wars of Religion should have changed the ruling status of your Christianity in Europe, causing you missionaries who support the Holy See to begin a global... hmm, to begin a long trek, wanting to pursue the true Lord in your hearts, is that so or not?"

"You, you, you..."

Rhodes was startled, covered in cold sweat, looking at Liu Zheng in disbelief.

In all of Longyan, those who knew European history probably didn't even exceed three people... Longyan was still dreaming the dream of being the Celestial Empire... Even though this Prefect Liu's business reached Europe, such knowledge still shocked Rhodes considerably.

That was right.

Liu Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that this world's history had not deviated too much. From the 15th to the 16th century, the Italian Wars broke out in Europe, and from that time on, the Holy Roman Empire began to decline. The rule of Catholicism over Europe began to totter. In the 16th century, some theologians, philosophers, and politicians attempted to change the customs and habits of Western European Catholicism in breadth and depth. This began with the Reformation movement launched by the Augustinian Order Priest Martin Luther. In response, the counter-reformers reformed the Catholic Church but did not further reform its doctrines. In the second half of the 16th century, eight wars broke out between the Protestant Huguenots and the Catholics in France, historically known as the French Wars of Religion.

As the decline of European Catholicism began, with one rising as the other fell, the Ottoman Empire rose during this stage, and by the 17th century, the Ottoman navy had completely controlled the Mediterranean Sea.

At this time...

The world should actually be at its most spectacular.

Spain and Portugal took the stage and then declined; the Netherlands and Britain began to rise; the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution followed one after another... with it being so lively, how could he not participate?

Liu Zheng began to get excited.

He had to catch this wave of dividends!

"The Mandarin has great talent..."

Rhodes smiled bitterly and finally nodded: "Before this, I was indeed a firm Catholic, but, but..."

A trace of confusion appeared in his eyes. He then smiled bitterly: "They said the Earth is round, the Earth is round... Mandarin, do you know how much of an impact this theory had on the Catholic Church?"

"The entire Holy See was in an uproar..."

"Everyone was building ships... everyone wanted to be a sailor!"

"They were crazy, all crazy!"

In Rhodes's mind, the scenes from the past appeared; he was one of them... but unlike those gold diggers, he sailed the world to tell those "Protestant" guys: No, the Earth is not round, the Earth has boundaries!

Through all the hardships...

The dangers he had experienced were truly too many... his ship had capsized, he had been stranded on isolated islands, encountered smallpox, and met pirates...

He sailed for his faith.

"And then?"

Liu Zheng chuckled.

He could guess the ending.

Hearing this, Rhodes's hand holding the teacup trembled: "Mandarin, I got lost, didn't I? I must have gotten lost, right?"

"We sailed for a long, long time..."

He had forgotten how long.

"And then, we returned to the starting point..."

This Westerner, who looked to be in his thirties, had eyes full of despair and a face of collapse. He was lost; he must have been lost, but their Compass had always been pointing in one direction... He had walked for many years and returned again. He didn't believe it, so he started a second voyage, yet a storm caused him to drift to Longyan, where he became a slave...

Listening to Rhodes recount his sailing experiences, he listened for a full hour.

Excitement, romance, the unknown, gold, the New World...

Liu Zheng was quite fascinated.

The Great Age of Discovery, gold everywhere... the Age of Discovery, those ownerless lands filled with all kinds of minerals and all kinds of new humans...

But he knew.

He needed to walk step by step.

When Rhodes's emotions calmed down slightly, he asked indifferently: "So, you are British?"

Rhodes gulped down a cup of tea before nodding.

The real time node had arrived...

Liu Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly: "Has the Glorious Revolution happened?"

"You..."

Rhodes was once again terrified.

This Prefect Liu...

Just what kind of person is he?