At this point, Bishop Alexander and the governor had no other way. When they heard that Ricci had Chinese connections, they immediately allowed Ricci to take the fastest ship to Macau. From Macau to Guangdong, he could find his friends and inquire about the truth of the matter.
Therefore, three hours after arriving in Manila, the Philippines, Ricci boarded the ship again. Before he could wash off his fatigue, he once again served the Church and the peace of the South China Sea as a diplomatic envoy. From this point of view, Ricci did not feel that his behavior was contrary to religious tradition.
Therefore, although he was very tired, he still went to Macau, hoping to get specific information to avoid this unnecessary and best not to have a war in his opinion. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain whether the Catholic Church could continue to exist in the East.
Xiao Ruxun did sympathize with reason, broadened his horizons, and liked Western scientific knowledge, but Ricci also knew that the general also had a tough and unreasonable side.
Once someone disobeyed his orders, he would not hesitate to give a very serious punishment, or even kill him. To be honest, Ricci was a little afraid of the general, but there was no other way. For the sake of his mission, Ricci was unwilling to leave him.
He had met a lot of scholars in the past few years of living in the interior of China, but most of them were barbarians, or scholars who did not hold official positions. He had an understanding of China's system and knew that China's intellectuals obtained official positions by studying and taking exams.
When he first learned about this, he was extremely excited. Compared to the European system of hereditary official positions, China's system was nothing less than an ideal system.
He was very respectful of these officials who obtained official positions through their own knowledge. He thought that these officials were the elites of China and the representatives of China's elite politics. It was an honor to know them.
However, they were all equally proud and arrogant. Moreover, they were busy with their own affairs and did not have the time to meet him. Because of this consideration, Matteo Ricci settled for the next best thing, which was to associate with those scholars who were very famous and had a lot of connections in order to increase his own fame and connections.
Qu Rukui was one of his important allies and believers at the church level. Qu Rukui was the first scholar to be baptized by Ricci and became a Catholic. He provided a lot of help to Ricci, including reminding him to change his clothes and wear Confucian clothes. He reintegrated into China's society as a Western Confucian, which helped him a lot.
After leaving Guangdong and living in Myanmar, Ricci often thought of his believer and friend. This time, he went to Macau. His goal was to contact this old friend and inquire about the China government's views on the Philippines and the reason why the China government sent a ship to the Philippines this time.
It was very easy to go to Macau. Macau was an autonomous Portuguese that allowed foreigners to enter, but it was a bit difficult to enter Guangdong from Macau. It required official documents and permission. Generally, foreigners could not leave Macau and enter Guangdong. This behavior was a serious violation of the law. Generally, foreigners could not leave Macau and enter Guangdong. This behavior was a serious violation of the law, and they would be caught by the Guangdong officials and beaten.
Ricci found that Chinese officials seemed to like to beat people, especially foreigners like them. Xiao Ruxun was the same in Myanmar. If a Chinese person broke the law, he would be beaten ten times. If a foreigner broke the law, he would be beaten twenty times. Paying money to atone for his crime was not allowed. If the official did not allow it, he could escape, but from then on, he could not enter China to do business again.
Ricci also protested against Xiao Ruxun's heavy punishment. Xiao Ruxun took it for granted that it was necessary. If you don't beat those profiteers, you don't know how to abide by our laws.
Xiao Ruxun was still polite, but the officials in Guangdong were particularly rude. If these Portuguese people broke the law in Macau, the local officials would even drive to Macau with troops to catch the Portuguese who broke the law, take them back to the yamen and beat them with a board. After a long time, coupled with the annexation of their country by Spain, the Portuguese here were particularly timid.
Macau people had a tradition. Even when the Qing government humiliated the country, even in the era when China was generally despised by the Western world, Macau people despised the Portuguese. The Portuguese rule in Macau was symbolic. Chinese people in Macau despised the Portuguese and insisted on tradition from beginning to end. So some people said that the character of Macau people was the closest to the character of China in the Ming Dynasty.
Anyway, Ricci had seen with his own eyes how the elite officials of the literati treated the Portuguese who committed crimes, so he had always been very honest and careful, for fear of being expelled. Even if he had the right to live in Guangdong, he arrived in Macau carefully first and submitted a document to the Xiangshan County Yamen to apply for entry. Then, he asked someone to send a letter to Qu Rukui to ask about the Chinese emperor sending a ship to the Philippines.
After waiting for more than ten days, Ricci finally waited for the customs clearance document from the Xiangshan County Yamen. When he arrived at the customs, Ricci saw Qu Rukui, who was preparing to welcome him. After asking, he learned that Qu Rukui had rushed to the Xiangshan County Yamen after receiving Ricci's letter. After talking with the county magistrate in person, he exchanged for the customs clearance document for Ricci. Otherwise, Ricci would have to wait at least a month.
"Tai Su, why did your emperor send people to the Philippines … to Luzon Island? Now the entire Luzon Island is very panicked. They entrusted me to ask what is going on. "
After Ricci saw Qu Rukui, he directly asked. Qu Rukui welcomed Ricci to the carriage and then explained to Ricci as they walked.
"I asked a few friends to ask Futai about this matter. As a result, Futai told me that this matter is not in charge of Guangdong, but Fujian. Futai said that someone reported to the emperor that Luzon Island, like Japan, has a lot of gold, silver, and copper mountains. If the Daming occupies it, he can get a lot of money.
Previously, the Daming had a war with Japan and defeated Japan. He occupied some gold and silver mountains and obtained nearly ten million taels of silver as a bonus. Therefore, the imperial court is now particularly interested in countries with gold and silver mountains. They sent officials from Fujian to have a look, but they couldn't find it, so they came back. Later, some people said that this is simply a false matter. There is no gold and silver mountain on Luzon Island, so now the imperial court is discussing this matter with Fujian. "
Ricci heaved a sigh of relief. He thought that it was not the same excuse as Xiao Ruxun. At least the Chinese government did not intend to use force against the Philippines. That was much easier to handle.
"Tai Su, I came from Luzon Island. I have also lived on Luzon Island. I can guarantee that there is no gold and silver mountain there. I don't know where the news came from, but it is definitely a rumor!"
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