Xiao Ruxun didn't agree with Ricci's words.
"Born with original sin? Your doctrine is similar to our country's ancient sage, Xunzi. He also agreed that human nature is inherently evil. He believed that humans are born evil and not good. However, he didn't think that people need to atone for their sins. What he meant was that people need to be educated and taught to do good deeds to offset the inherent evil in their character. I agree with his point of view.
As for what you said about God and atonement, Mr. Ricci, I don't think most of Daming's people would agree. Our bodies, hair, and skin are given by our parents, not God. It is our parents who raised us, not God. Even if we are guilty, we need to atone for our sins to our parents, not God. God is high above and regards all things as dogs. Why would he care about the life and death of a person?
Along the way, I have seen nothing but death. Those who died in battle, those who died of starvation, and those who died of illness. If God really wanted to atone for them, why would he let them die? Isn't it good to be alive? As for what happens after death, what's the point for living people? Living people can't see them! Therefore, I believe that there are no gods or demons in this world. There are only people. No matter how devout a believer is, he can't get the blessing of God. Ordinary people who don't believe in God don't necessarily live a miserable life. Don't spread your teachings to me! "
Xiao Ruxun put down the globe and stood up.
For a moment, Ricci did not know what to say to express his opinion. He felt that his beliefs were not wrong, and his beliefs were not wrong. However, it seemed that all preaching methods were useless in front of this general.
"The God in your heart is the son of God. You were born with original sin and must atone for it. However, from the very beginning, we have been fighting against God. There are ten suns in the sky, and we have divine archers to shoot them down. There are demons and monsters on the earth, and we have powerful warriors to kill them. When there is a flood, we have Yu the Great to control it. No God has ever descended to help us. Our ancestors knew from the beginning that we can only rely on ourselves. We don't have original sin to atone for. Everything that we have today is earned by ourselves."
"This … …"
Ricci didn't know much about China. He didn't know how to refute Xiao Ruxun.
"If my fame and fortune were rewarded by the Heavens, instead of earned by leading my soldiers, I might believe in gods and devils. If I lay motionless on the ground and prayed to the Gods while leading my soldiers to war, then all my enemies would die, then I would also believe in gods and devils. If I didn't do anything and only prayed to the Gods, then I would also believe in gods and devils. But I didn't. Everything I have was earned by my own efforts and the lives of my soldiers. If I believed in gods and devils, then I would be too sorry for them."
After that, Xiao Ruxun walked out of the cabin and went to the deck, leaving Ricci standing alone in the cabin in silence.
In Macau, Xiao Ruxun met the Portuguese, who had now lost their homeland. They were in a very bad situation. The Spanish were not friendly to them. If they wanted to survive and maintain their dignity, they needed to join forces with a stronger force. Therefore, they proposed to cooperate with Daming as usual. They sent people to help Daming conquer Dongwu Country, hoping to get political asylum and help from Daming.
Xiao Ruxun happened to need a person who was proficient in firearms tactics to help him train his soldiers. The Portuguese's recommendation gave Xiao Ruxun excellent help. Without hesitation, Xiao Ruxun agreed to their request. Therefore, a team of 200 Portuguese firearms boarded Xiao Ruxun's warship and went with him to conquer Dongwu Country. As for Ricci, he seemed to have some doubts. He asked Xiao Ruxun to agree to let him go on the expedition. He wanted to figure out the doubts in his heart in the flames of war.
Xiao Ruxun naturally agreed. Ricci was at least a scholar and had a wealth of knowledge. With him around, Xiao Ruxun could squeeze out a lot of the latest achievements of the Western scientific community.
Since that was the case, Xiao Ruxun's army had an additional 200 Portuguese musket team. Most of them used matchlocks, while a few used flintlocks. Xiao Ruxun used their matchlocks and flintlocks to compare with the Daming Musket's musket, and indeed found a huge difference. The Daming Musket's musket's chamber was too small, and it wasn't well-made enough. The amount of gunpowder used wasn't scientific, and the gunpowder was crudely made. As a result, the range and power of the Daming Musket's musket were inferior to the Portuguese's musket.
Xiao Ruxun immediately arranged his blacksmith camp to analyze the Portuguese's musket chamber and improve the technology. He also studied the gunpowder used by the Portuguese to see if there was any difference between the gunpowder used by the Portuguese and Daming. Both needed to be improved.
Xiao Ruxun was trying to extract military and scientific knowledge from the Portuguese. For example, he arranged for the Portuguese to give lessons to his gunners, teach them how to use cannons scientifically, and master the knowledge of firing cannons. In this process, Ricci became a cheap translator. He seemed to have a lot of fun translating the specific meaning of the soldiers.
On the day they arrived at Dongwu, the weather was hot, and the sun was shining brightly. Even Xiao Ruxun found it a little hard to bear. After arriving at the coastal waters of Siam, Xiao Ruxun ordered a gun salute and raised the Daming's military flag. After 12 gun salutes, the soldiers on the ship began to blow the horn of the Ming Dynasty Army and beat the big drum on the ship, announcing the return of the Daming's naval power after Zheng He left more than a hundred years ago.
King Narexun of Siam also fired a gun salute on the shore. Following the sound of the Daming's horn, he blew his own horn and beat the war drum, expressing the most sincere welcome to the arrival of the Ming Dynasty Army.
As Xiao Ruxun's flagship slowly approached, the full appearance of the Daming's fleet gradually became visible to the world. In addition to King Narexun's army and ministers on the shore, there were also many local people who rushed to watch the show. When there were only one or two ships, they were still laughing. However, when the Daming's warships covered the sky and covered the earth, the black mass of momentum scared them speechless.
They finally understood why their ancestors admired China so much. In the past, the prestige of Zheng He's fleet was even more powerful than the current fleet. How magnificent was it back then?
Not to mention the Siamese, even the Portuguese and Ricci, who were used to seeing big scenes, were scared speechless when they saw the full appearance of the Daming's fleet. They finally understood the extent of the national power of the Daming Empire. In addition to the invincible fleet of Spain, there was another country in this world that also had an invincible fleet.
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