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Hundreds of years later, this stuff was called Bingcai in China.Salt-alkali and drought-resistant, it can grow in seaside and desert areas.

It is amazing that after discussion among members of the mission, they unanimously named this vegetable "ice vegetable".On its emerald green branches and leaves, there are things that look like "ice beads", which are hard and cold to touch with hands, and it tastes icy and refreshing.

Moreover, iced vegetables have their own salt content, so you don't need to add salt when cooking.

Chapter 768 [The Blasphemer? 】

During the stay of the Chinese mission in London, anyone can come to visit, with the exception of the Dutch negotiating team.

When the Chinese mission left London, the Anglo-Dutch negotiations collapsed again, and the Netherlands was so angry that they slapped the table and left, almost saying that they would return to China to organize a fleet to fight again.

The atmosphere of the negotiations between the two sides had originally eased somewhat.

Cromwell said that since it is not possible to merge the two countries into a federation, let us establish an offensive and defensive alliance.The Dutch felt that this could be discussed. After continuing to negotiate for half a month, they were so angry that they almost swear: I'm talking about your mother!

The Dutch felt that Lao Tzu colonized the world, and the number of merchant ships was overwhelming.If the United Kingdom and the Netherlands form an alliance, the Netherlands should at least have a dominant position, if not a dominant one.But Cromwell kept throwing out conditions. The alliance was dominated by the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands became a long-term free wage earner for the United Kingdom.

The Dutch negotiator is the same as Zhang Ruifeng.He did not directly reject Cromwell's proposal, but said that he could not make the decision and would return to the Dutch Parliament for instructions.

As the ship left the port of London, the Dutch negotiating team leader was extremely depressed and said through gritted teeth: "Cromwell, that bastard, must have been kicked out of his brain by a horse. He thinks he is the king of the Netherlands!"

A member of the negotiating team said: "According to the news from the spies, it seems that China's negotiations with the United Kingdom have also broken down. The Chinese envoy, Mr. Cromwell, was so angry that he slapped the table and cursed."

"Hahaha, I can imagine that scene." The negotiating team leader felt the same way.

"The Chinese envoy is leaving too. We are waiting in the open sea, having a private talk with China, and then making a big splash about the outcome of the negotiation."

"What result?"

"It is the Netherlands and China that have put aside their past grievances and have become friendly countries, and jointly maintain the existing trade relations in Asia. No other country, including the United Kingdom, is allowed to bypass the Netherlands and China and conduct free trade in Asia, especially in the East Indies !"

"Will the Chinese agree to this?"

"Whether the Chinese agree or not, we can declare this to the outside world. Of course, the time must be chosen after the Chinese leave Europe! Once the Netherlands and China live in friendly relations, the British East India Company should be anxious. Those British businessmen will ask Cromwell put pressure on us and invited us back to negotiate again. At that time, the negotiation situation will be more favorable to us.”

"good idea!"

Thus, the envoys of China and the Netherlands "coincidentally" met off the coast of England.

The Dutch requested a visit on board, and Zhang Ruifeng warmly received them out of courtesy.

The Dutch envoy said that the previous conflicts between China and the Netherlands all stemmed from misunderstandings between the two sides.Now that the misunderstanding has been eliminated, the Netherlands recognizes China's hegemony in East Asia and China's sovereignty over Malacca and Taiwan.

He also talked about the trade cooperation between the two countries. This kind of cooperation is mutually beneficial, which proves that China and the Netherlands are naturally trading partners.

Immediately afterwards, the Chinese delegation was invited to visit the Netherlands.

Anyway, not far away, the Chinese diplomatic mission accepted the invitation and stayed in Amsterdam for a few days.

Zhang Ruifeng felt that she was cheated, and the Dutchman was just talking nonsense every day.That's all that comes and goes, and it's all about what the Treaty of Batavia has already signed.But it's better than nothing. The governor of Batavia signed the contract before, and now he has signed a more formal one.

Immediately, the Chinese fleet left the Netherlands and went to Grace Port to pick up gifts from the British royal family, French envoys and horse breeds on board.

Before the Chinese fleet sailed out of French waters, Dutch diplomats began to dispatch, promoting the "ally" relationship between China and the Netherlands.The British businessman was really frightened, and asked to see Cromwell every day, forcing Cromwell to negotiate and compromise.

lisbon.

Although the Chinese fleet does not plan to dock, there is no need to leave without saying goodbye.

Afraid of contracting smallpox, a member of the Chinese mission came to the pier in a small boat, pressed the letter on the pier, and asked the tax collector to send the letter to the palace.

After reading this letter, King Joao IV felt really miserable.

I have never heard of such an unlucky king as myself. He has been on the throne for more than ten years and restored the country. Everything is just to gain the recognition of the outside world.As a result of hard work so far, only China and France admit that France still looks at China's face.

Finally, there was a diplomatic improvement, but out of nowhere, another smallpox took away his grown-up son and daughter.

"Well, it's understandable that the Chinese don't want to go ashore, after all, smallpox is terrible," King João IV said to the court minister, "put the sheep presented to China, and the envoys to China, all on the same table. A boat, go with the Chinese fleet."

There is no way to refuse this, otherwise it will be too hurtful.

A Portuguese ship soon followed the Chinese fleet.However, the personnel on both sides did not contact each other, and they would not check whether the ship was carrying the plague until they returned to China.

Accompanied by a French ship.

Pascal was on board at this time, and he was finally allowed to go to China.

Fermat, a professional lawyer and amateur mathematician, unfortunately did not leave France.The main reason was that Fermat was too old, and he didn't want to make troubles, for fear that he would die during the ocean journey.

"God, does it really exist?"

Pascal stroked a belt that was covered in spikes.

It was something he prepared for himself, and he was already studying theology.Once you find yourself impious and question the Almighty God, you will hit your belt with a boxer, let the spikes bring pain to your body, and use the pain to remind yourself to be devout to God.

Historically, in another nine years, he will die of illness at the age of 39.

The doctor checked Pascal's body at that time and found that the flesh of his waist had been pierced by the spikes on his belt, which was bloody and stinking with pus!

The mathematician lost his mother when he was young, so he never went to school, and only studied with his father and sister.

At the age of 12, he independently calculated the first 32 theorems of Euclid, and found that the sum of the interior angles of a triangle is equal to 180 degrees.His father was very surprised, and finally began to teach him mathematics systematically.

At the age of 13, he discovered the law of the binomial expansion coefficient, which was later named "Pascal's triangle".

At the age of 15, he discovered a principle of projection geometry, deriving more than 400 inferences in a year.

At the age of 16, he wrote "On Conic Sections".Most of the book was lost, and only one conclusion circulated, which was later named "Pascal's Theorem".

Between the ages of 20 and 30, he mainly studied vacuum and hydrostatics, producing a large number of research results, compiled as "Essays on Liquid Equilibrium and Air Weight".

This collection of essays was not published because some of the content was not in accordance with the teaching.

It was also during this research process that Pascal felt at a loss and panicked.The more he explored natural science, the more he felt that he was far away from God.He tried to unify religious belief with scientific reason, but he failed in the end.

As a result, he gradually became disgusted with mathematics and physics, and decided to give up scientific research and turn to theological research in an all-round way.

It was at this time that I heard that the French royal family was selecting scholars to go to China for an exchange visit.Pascal was immediately moved. The Chinese don't seem to believe in God, so what do they believe in?How did they spend their lives?How do they reconcile the contradictions of faith and science?

Pascal decided to go to China, not for exchange and study, nor for a taste of the East, he was going to China to "seek the Tao"!

French writers and artists are communicating with Pan Wei and Cai Yuncheng.

And Pascal found Chinese science students.

"Do you believe in God?" Pascal asked when they met.

Li Sixiao said with a smile: "God is God, and man is man, and it has nothing to do with it. Confucius said that the righteousness of serving the people, respecting ghosts and gods and keeping a distance, can be said to be known. To put it more clearly, a wise man should be pragmatic and respectable." Ghosts and gods, but stay away from ghosts and gods."

Pascal muttered to himself: "Is it really okay to believe in God, respect God, stay away from God, and pursue facts? But the more facts I pursue, the more guilty I feel in my heart, and I feel that I am a blasphemer. "

Song Qin has basically learned French, and he said with a weird expression: "Why not? You only believe in one god, and we have to believe in hundreds of gods. The Jade Emperor, the Patriarch of the Three Qing Dynasty, the Tathagata Buddha, Guan Shengdijun, Mazu Niangniang... If you don't respect and stay away, how tiring it is, how can you do things?"

"Hundreds of gods?" Pascal was dumbfounded. "How can a person believe in hundreds of gods? Isn't that a false believer?"

Song Qin asked, "Then what is a true believer?"

Pascal said: "Believe in God, serve God, everything belongs to God."

Li Sixiao and Song Qin looked at each other, thinking that the Europeans were all brains, and it was completely unreasonable to reason with them.

Li Sixiao asked: "I heard that you also have many research results. If everything belongs to God, are these results also researched by God?"

Pascal said: "Everything in the world was created by God, including our mind and body. My research results come from mind and body, so they come from God."

Li Sixiao decided not to debate anymore, and said: "Then you should treat everything as God-given, and do research with peace of mind in the future, and don't have too many distracting thoughts."

Pascal struggled: "But...many of my research results deviate from the Bible. Even, they deviate from God himself, and I feel that I am a sinner."

Song Qin was extremely speechless: "Then you should think about your gods in your heart, and you should do research and research. Listen to Confucius, respect ghosts and gods and stay away."

Pascal said: "The more I think about God in my heart, the more painful it is to do research. Even to that extent, every time I make a research result, I feel that I have taken another step towards hell. It seems that there is a devil around me, maybe The devil is in my heart, tricking me into betraying God. If this continues, I will become a believer of the devil. I have begun to hate mathematics and all natural philosophy. They are all the incarnations of the devil, and they are corrupting my spirit and will .”

Li Sixiao turned his head to look at Song Qin, and muttered in Chinese: "This man has a serious heart disease, and he is seriously ill. You must ask a great virtuous monk to enlighten him."

Chapter 769 [Returning to China]

On the way back, if there is anything different, there is an extra supply station near the Cape of Good Hope.

This broken place was occupied by the Dutch, and the man in charge was called Van Riebeck.He was thrown here with a boat, and at first he had to plant the land himself. After he barely settled down, he quickly went to the neighborhood to catch black people to help, and now he is even digging aqueducts.

Black people are too stupid, they can only work as low-level free laborers. If they want to develop into a port city, they need more Asian talents.

Van Riebeck has already written to the governor of Batavia, asking him to exile a group of Javanese natives.If nothing else happens, next year hundreds of Javanese will be sentenced to death for their heinous crimes, and the Governor Mercy will instead exile them to Cape Town.

Cape Town, just around the corner.

It wasn't even a village at this time, just a group of exiled Dutchmen who beat the black slaves to work there all day long.Due to the difficulty of supply, the food cannot be self-sufficient, and the black slaves do not dare to catch too many. Anyway, it is a dilapidated small village by the sea.

Who would have expected that it would eventually become the capital of a country?

The Cape of Good Hope is still so terrifying, where the warm and cold currents meet, and the hydrological environment in the sea is extremely complicated.The strong westerly jet stream blows across the Atlantic Ocean unobstructed, and there are constant storms and stormy waves all year round.

Occasionally, there will be murderous waves, the height of which can reach 20 meters, and people and boats can go to the sky physically.

Therefore, in order to avoid the murderous waves, the ships that come and go will basically not choose to cross the Cape of Good Hope in winter.In the Cape of Good Hope in winter, the sea water seems to be boiled, the killing waves and the whirling waves are superimposed, and the entire sea surface is crazily surging and rolling.

At the beginning of the great voyage, people were not familiar with the Cape of Good Hope, but now they have gradually figured out the situation.

Of course, you have to look at the face.

For example, the famous navigator Dias went there in a relatively safe summer, but he encountered strong winds and waves. Fortunately, he was pushed to the shore and survived.The return voyage was at the end of winter, the most dangerous season at the Cape of Good Hope, but what greeted him was sunny and sunny.More than ten years later, Dias finally died at the Cape of Good Hope, the entire fleet was wiped out by the murderous waves, and he chose the most suitable season.

The Chinese fleet was very lucky at this time. The biggest wave in the nearby waters was only four or five meters high, which was very suitable for crossing the Cape of Good Hope.

"Wow!"

John, a country boy in England, and his little friend Thomas, even grabbed the cable and cheered.

These two guys, perhaps of lower origin, do not have the arrogance of the British.

On the contrary, industrious and simple, work hard.

After boarding the ship, they asked to be sailors.Of course, they are not serious sailors, and they just help wash the deck. The monotonous and tiring work, but the two teenagers are very happy to do it.

Another wave came and lifted the boat several meters high.The strong westerly wind was blowing, and it was impossible to stand on the deck without holding on to something.

Water kept falling from the sky, and it was unclear whether it was rain or falling sea water.

John was drenched to the ground, looked up at the cloudy sky, and shouted with emotion: "It's so spectacular. If I stayed in the UK, I would definitely not see such a scene!"

Thomas could only hear the sound of the wind and waves, and asked, "What did you say?"

"Lower the sails, all the jibs are lowered!"

The leader among the sailors hissed and gestured.

After a toss, it finally passed safely.

Prince Charles is also on deck. This guy likes excitement and adventure, and likes to learn various low-level skills.It is estimated that when he arrived in China, he was already a qualified sailor.

"Your Majesty the King!"

The two country boys hurriedly saluted Charles.

This Prince Charles, after his father was executed, was once crowned king by the Scottish nobles.

Not the King of England, but the King of Scotland!

Charles was still excited, but at the same time felt lingering fear, and said with a smile: "This is the Cape of Good Hope, and people will never be able to conquer it."

Thomas immediately flattered: "Your Majesty is brave and fearless, and can conquer everything!"

Charles smiled and said: "If I can conquer England, I will appoint you as my captain of the guard."

Thomas said happily: "Swear to be loyal to His Majesty!"

The situation is nonsense, two London country boys, both belong to the emerging gentry class in England.It was these squires who overthrew the rule of the old king and slaughtered the old king.

But after they came into contact with Prince Charles, they immediately chose to curry favor.No matter what happens in the future, getting to know the exiled prince is not a bad thing after all, and you can still be a hero if you don't pay attention.

Of course, Charles also has his own charisma, and he can easily convince two country boys.

In contrast, Cromwell's eldest son, also named Charles (Charlie Cromwell).But this guy is a man of peace and prosperity, with extremely mediocre military and political capabilities.Historically, he did succeed the Lord Protector, and in order to gain the support of the Parliament, he also re-delegated power to the Parliament.Under the support of the parliament, they failed to survive a year, and the army and the people rebelled everywhere, frightening the parliament to restore the monarchy quickly.

Prince Charles, who had gone through hardships, was later invited back to the United Kingdom for restoration. That way of governing the country can be called old fritters.

The first thing after the coronation was to pardon the original rebels, and only killed nine guys who signed his father's death sentence.All other rebellious parties and nobles are forgiven!

Then, all the property acquired by the great nobles and gentry classes during the rebellion were guaranteed.

Then unite the parliament, let the parliament hold the financial power, and reform the tax package system into a more advanced parliamentary financial system by mistake.

The British Glorious Revolution later deepened this financial reform and completely laid the economic foundation for Britain's rise.After the tax reform, the total tax revenue in the UK tripled, but the common people cheered for it, because the tax burden was greatly reduced. Before the reform, there were middlemen who made the difference, and all the money went into the pockets of the tax-paying merchants.