Chinese cuisine was one of the top three cuisines in the world. Chinese cuisine, which had such a reputation, had a very awkward position in the world today. It felt like it was looked down upon by Western cuisine. It felt like nothing they ate was as classy as Western cuisine. This was directly related to the fact that Chinese cuisine was only known to the world after 1840. The weakening and backwardness of the country not only caused the Chinese to be discriminated against, but also Chinese cuisine in the world. It had the title of one of the top three cuisines in the world, but it didn't have the corresponding status.
But if at this moment, in the era of the Ming Dynasty, Chinese food began to spread in Europe, would the development of Chinese food be different from history?
Xiao Ruxun didn't dare to make wild guesses, but Chen Longzheng told him that Chinese cuisine had already become something sought after by the upper class in many European countries.
After the viceroy of Genoa ate his first Chinese cuisine, he couldn't forget the combination of fire and knife techniques. The representative of Western cuisine was French and Italian cuisine. As for England, it was the home of dark cuisine, the world-famous gourmet quarantine zone. It seemed like it had no fate with good food, and even athletes had to prepare their own chefs for competitions …
French cuisine was famous for its small portions, exquisite dishes, and variety of dishes. French cuisine was the representative of Western cuisine. However, at this moment, French cuisine didn't have a name for itself. At this moment, France was involved in the war between Spain and England, and it wasn't having a good time either, let alone developing the French cuisine that would be considered a work of art in the future. However, at this moment, Italian cuisine was shining in Europe. It should be said that the success of French cuisine couldn't be separated from the integration of classic Italian dishes.
Italian cuisine was inherited from Roman cuisine. Roman cuisine was known as the ancestor of Western cuisine. It had a long history, and it had developed to this moment. Because of the prosperity of Venice, Florence, and other cities, it had matured. Unlike French cuisine, which struggled on the edge of dark cuisine, Italian cuisine at this moment was very unique, such as pizza, a food of the civilized world.
After tasting the Chinese food, Governor Renaya and Chen Longzheng had a cordial conversation about Chinese cuisine. When he found out that what he had tasted was one of the simplest and easiest dishes to prepare, he felt deeply depressed. The appearance, aroma, and taste of Chinese cuisine were truly outstanding, surpassing most of the Western cuisines at this time.
He was the governor of a country, but he was defeated by a few simple Chinese dishes. This was a very embarrassing thing. His impression of delicacies was meat cooked with spices, which was the most precious food. Other than that, there were a few Italian dishes. When Ricci explained to him that Chinese people mainly ate cooked food and rarely ate raw food, he thought of an important way to regain his face.
He recommended pizza to Chen Longzheng.
"This … is it called Pizza?"
Chen Longzheng asked Ricci as he looked at the round pancake-like food with many strange fillings on the round plate on the table.
Of course, Ricci had eaten pizza before. He looked at the smug Governor Renaya and explained, "This is a type of food from my hometown. It's called Pizza. To be precise, it's a little similar to the scallion pancakes I had in China. Therefore, there's a legend that this pizza was created when Marco Polo traveled to China and ate China's scallion pancakes. When he returned to his hometown, he wanted to eat it and found a chef to make it. I'm not sure how, but it's still quite delicious. You can try it, it's completely cooked."
Chen Longzheng looked at the piping hot and fragrant pizza, nodded, and said, "It smells good. It must have been tormented by your half-cooked food for the past few days. Let me try it first."
Therefore, Chen Longzheng followed Ricci's instructions and brought a piece of pizza to his mouth. He hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth to take a bite and chewed. Then, his eyes lit up.
"Mr. Lee, you don't say. It's really tasty. Not bad, not bad. It's very different from my Daming pancakes and scallion pancakes. The taste is quite rich and delicious! Delicious! It's even more delicious than the meat here! Mm! "
Seeing Chen Longzheng eating happily, Renaya's Governor was very happy. He hurriedly asked Ricci if Chen Longzheng felt that the pizza was delicious. When Ricci replied that it was, the Governor was very happy and felt that he had regained his reputation. Coincidentally, the two chefs came in from outside and brought a few dishes over.
"Mr. Chen, Mr. Lee, why are you eating already? The two of us have cooked a few side dishes for you. Have a taste! "
Chen Longzheng and Ricci were very surprised when they saw the appetizing side dishes on the plate.
"Where did this come from?"
Chen Longzheng asked.
The chef smiled and replied, "Although there are no seasonings here, there are still ingredients. We do business and can make dishes with a pot, ladle, and kitchen knife. There is oil and salt here. We can make some simple dishes with some ingredients. It's just that there is no soy sauce, so the taste might not be as good. It'll be difficult to braise, but their seasonings can also be used. I just don't understand why they don't know how to stir-fry and only know how to stew."
Chen Longzheng smiled.
"There are many things they don't know. Come, come, come. Put it down and stay with me. Mr. Lee, ask the Governor to come and have a taste. This pizza is not bad. Ask me if you can bring back a few chefs who can make this pizza, or let them learn and bring them back for Marquis Xiao to try. We can't be the only ones eating while Marquis Xiao doesn't have anything to eat! Don't you think so? "
Chen Longzheng still had a conscience. He still remembered Xiao Ruxun.
Ricci smiled bitterly and invited the Governor to enjoy the side dishes. The Governor smelled the fragrant aroma and swallowed his saliva. When he heard Ricci's words, he immediately became happy. As for the matter of bringing back the chefs who could make pizza for the Chinese general to enjoy, the Governor waved his hand — it's not a big deal. It's our honor. I'll give you ten, bring them back!
Then the Governor took the chopsticks that he had just learned to use and joined the small lunch party. When he returned, he kept showing off that he had eaten the special food of the Chinese, causing more people to yearn for it. Hence, under the pressure of the nobles, the Governor had no choice but to look for Chen Longzheng and invite him to host a Chinese banquet for the nobles. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to explain himself.
Of course, Chen Longzheng didn't mind. He asked the Governor to teach the nobles how to use chopsticks while he ordered the chefs to make some exquisite stir-frying. In no time, the stomachs of the nobles were conquered by the nobles. After that, using chopsticks to eat Chinese food became a trend among the European nobles. With Genoa as the center, it spread throughout Europe.
Just as the food craze in China was spreading, the people from the Roman Curia, who had received the news first, arrived in Genoa and requested to meet Chen Longzheng and Ricci.
The Roman Curia had a very special place in the history of Europe. The Chinese people didn't know much about it, so it was more general. However, it was much easier to explain it in another way. For example, using China's history could also be used. The reference was Confucianism.
Confucianism became the official political ideology of China during the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty dismissed the other schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone, establishing the dominance of Confucianism in China's ideological field for nearly two thousand years. Coincidentally, when Christianity first became a huge influence in Europe, it was also the Roman Emperor Theodosius I who, out of political considerations, banned all paganism in the Roman Empire and declared Christianity to be the state religion of the Roman Empire.
During that era, the Roman Curia was still an organization under the Roman Emperor's jurisdiction. They could preach, but their target was the Roman Emperor. In order to unify the thoughts of the subjects and make it easier for them to rule, Emperors believed that they could take back what they gave away in the future. However, just like how Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty didn't expect that Emperor Yuan of Han would be brainwashed by Confucianism and thus undo the shackles around their necks, Theodosius I also didn't expect the division of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires and the destruction of the Western Roman Empire.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's original intention of dismissing the other schools of thought was to unify the thoughts of the people and establish his position so that he could launch a full-scale counterattack against the Xiongnu. He couldn't allow different ideas to spread in his country. Confucianism perfectly met his needs, so he chose Confucianism as his ruling tool. Theodosius I also considered the same, so he chose the Christian Church as his ruling tool.
However, they didn't expect that the ruling tool they chose would eventually develop into an extremely terrifying behemoth.
The Western Roman Empire fell because of the barbarian invasion, and the Roman Curia was the only hope of civilization that stood on the wasteland after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. A large number of Roman survivors could only rely on the Roman Curia to survive, which greatly expanded the prestige and power of the Roman Curia.
During this period, although the Roman Curia still submitted to the Byzantine Empire, the Byzantine Empire was too far away from Rome to effectively control this ruling tool. This prompted the Roman Curia to quickly develop into a huge independent political force.
Religion could develop rapidly in a war-torn land, but in times of peace, the temptation of religion was greatly reduced. The Roman Curia accurately seized this opportunity and shrouded the entire Europe in the next few hundred years. When it reached its peak, the imperial power of the European monarchs was under its religious power, and the emperor needed the recognition of the pope. It even launched eight Crusades.
Almost at the same time, China's Confucianism also reached its peak. In the Song Dynasty, it bloomed with a strange brilliance, pushing the governance and economy to the peak, but at the same time, it dragged the military to the bottom. Europe had the dark Middle Ages and the extravagant priests, while China also had the dark Song and Ming Dynasties and the morally corrupt Taoists.
History was always surprisingly similar.
The only difference was that Christianity still retained its status and influence in modern society, and it expanded to the whole world. However, the Confucianism, which once influenced the entire East Asian culture, was different. Its influence had almost completely disappeared, and it had regressed back to its original state. It was just a theory. The root of the problem was that a strange man had appeared in China, which had not appeared for thousands of years.
Not only did he single-handedly change China from a right-wing government to a far-left government, but he also completely destroyed the Confucian gentry class that had been passed down for hundreds of years in China during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. He transferred the power of the government to the most basic village units, and achieved the most direct and thorough rule in China's history. Thus, the influence of the Confucianism was basically uprooted, and there was no possibility of it ever recovering.
This was the only government in China that was not influenced by the Confucian gentry class since the Han Dynasty. It was also the most unyielding government in the world, even more so than the Qin Dynasty. Compared to it, the Qin Dynasty's burning of books and burying of Confucian scholars was just a small matter.
It did not need to share power with any other class in the country except itself. The landlords and scholar-bureaucrats no longer existed, and the Confucian culture that was born independently in China had completely disappeared. It would not be born again in the future, because the example of the Ming Dynasty was right in front of them.
In the world, there was only one such example. Although it was successful, it came at an extremely heavy price. It was an example of destroying and taming all the forces in a country except for the government. It was the most direct and thorough rule. At the same time, it also had a strong hidden danger that other countries did not have. But whether it was desirable or not, it was at least a way.
Before Chen Longzheng and Ricci set off, Xiao Ruxun found Chen Longzheng alone and told him about the Roman Curia in detail. Therefore, when Chen Longzheng learned that the Roman Curia had sent someone, he was not completely clueless about the purpose of the Roman Curia. He knew that among the things that Xiao Ruxun told him, this was the only thing that Ricci was not allowed to participate in.
The Roman Curia sent a cardinal, whose rank was much higher than Ricci's. But in view of Ricci's status at this moment and the Curia's desire to spread Christianity in China, the cardinal was very polite to Ricci, let alone to Chen Longzheng. Because Chen Longzheng was not a Christian, he was even more polite to him.
The purpose of his visit was very simple. He wanted to ask Ricci about the current situation of preaching, and to ask Chen Longzheng if the China general behind him would allow Christians to officially preach in his territory.
Ricci had already told the cardinal about Xiao Ruxun's basic situation. The cardinal knew that Xiao Ruxun was actually a noble lord with more than a million people under his jurisdiction. His influence was spread across dozens of small countries in southeast Asia, with a population of nearly ten million. In other words, with the support of the China general, at least Christians could officially preach in these countries without any restrictions, unlike in the inland of China, where it was not easy to even enter China.
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