Dong Weixian knelt on the ground with shackles in his hands, and there were two brocade guards staring at him closely behind him, but the expression on his face was surprisingly flat.

"If it weren't for Your Majesty's kindness, the villain would have been sent to the frontier, and maybe he would have died in the middle of the road, so the villain would not be able to avenge his family. Although the villain is dull, he also knows the truth of retribution.

And the villain stabbed Yang Wuhou, although he solved his grudge, but he violated His Majesty's law. Your Majesty is kind to the villain, but the villain not only did not reciprocate, but broke His Majesty's decree, which is not a revenge for virtue.

There is no way to repay His Majesty's kindness, so the villain is willing to surrender himself to defend His Majesty's law. ”

After listening to Dong Weixian's words, Zhu Youzhen looked at him for a while before saying to the guards: "Take him back to the execution room." ”

After Dong Weixian came out of the room, Zhu Youzhen whispered to Zhang Shijie: "Find a doctor to treat him, don't be too difficult for him." Just pass the word to Xue Shangshu, the matter has come to this point, there is no need to die anymore, just exile to Taiwan. ”

"Your Majesty, he killed Yang Wubo, and the relatives of the capital may not approve of such a light punishment." Zhang Shijie couldn't help but remind carefully.

Zhu Youzhen said disappreliantly: "Where there is oppression, there is resistance. Yang Wubo's life is life, isn't the life of ordinary people life? Only when these relatives know that they have only one life, will they usually restrain themselves and oppress some people less.

Ask Yang Wubo's bereaved family what they want, and if they can meet them, they will be satisfied, but let them not make trouble, I don't want any rumors to circulate in the capital..."

Bishop Antonio, Pietro and Agostinius, the three deacons of the council, with the representatives of Macao in Beijing, stood in the courtyard in front of the chapel and waited for the emperor's arrival.

To the east of them stood the Jesuits such as Kinneko, as well as several Chinese officials such as Li Zhizao, and two chamberlains, Miss Isabella.

From time to time, Bishop Antonio looked up to see that the descendant of the Portuguese royal family was now dressed in a Chinese-style dress.

He secretly wondered in his heart whether the descendant of the Portuguese royal family, who was included in the harem of the Chinese emperor, had lost her virginity.

During these more than ten days of Chinese festivals, the three deacons of the council did not rest much, and were either busy persuading the representatives of the mission to accept the proposal of the Chinese emperor or communicating with the envoys sent by the emperor.

The merchant representatives in the mission did not object to swearing allegiance to the Ming Emperor, but they had great misgivings about the emperor's desire to take over the military, diplomatic, and judicial powers of Macau.

On the one hand, they were worried that the incompetent army of the Ming State would not be able to protect the safety of Macao, after all, the Dutch had attacked Macau several times. Each time, it was the armed forces of Macao that repelled the Dutch on their own, and the Ming army often stopped at the outside of the battlefield.

On the other hand, as a group of European colonizers, they knew very well that to entrust their safety to a group of infidels in a foreign land was to risk their own lives.

All in all, this group of merchants was willing to swear an oath to the Ming Emperor and was willing to endure a certain tax increase, but refused to allow the Ming Emperor to take over the defense and judicial power of Macau.

At last, these merchant representatives knew that their small power in Macau was nothing compared to this vast empire. And the protectors of Macau, the local officials in Guangdong, would not distinguish between them in front of the Ming Emperor.

After the envoys sent by the Ming Emperor became more and more cold, the courage of these merchant representatives to insist on their claims slowly disappeared.

Finally, when the news came that Fr. Tang Yuhan had been vaccinated against smallpox, the merchant representatives, who could not hold on, made an excuse for themselves, as long as the emperor sent a doctor to inoculate the citizens of Macao, they would abandon their ideas and accept all the conditions of the emperor.

The compromise of the merchant representatives finally led to the meeting in the chapel today, and today will also be the day when they swear allegiance to the Ming Emperor.

While the feet of Bishop Antonio and the others were a little numb, the Emperor's motorcade finally arrived at the chapel.

Zhu Youzhen was a little uneasy when he walked into the chapel, but when Li Zhizao, Father Jinnige, Bishop Antonio and others surrounded him, he quickly adjusted his mood and smiled at them and greeted them.

Surrounded by everyone, Zhu Youzhen walked into the chapel that had been prepared, and he turned around and motioned for Isabella, who was standing behind everyone, to come forward.

Zhu Youzhen stood on the protruding steps in front of the chapel, and Isabella knelt down on one knee after walking in front of Zhu Youzhen and kissed the back of Zhu Youzhen's right hand.

Then Zhu Youzhen motioned for her to stand beside him, and then said to the Portuguese below: "At today's ceremony, you are not only loyal to me, but also to the Ming Emperor. Allegiance also to the future Queen of Portugal, Princess Isabella, the current Crown Prince.

As Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, I hereby declare that I will be the protector of Princess Isabella and that I will guarantee her all legitimate authority over the Kingdom of Portugal. ”

The Portuguese were in an uproar, this was the first time they had heard of this condition proposed by the emperor, and Bishop Antonio, who was the representative of the Macao mission, had to step forward and ask cautiously: "Your Majesty the Emperor, do you want the Kingdom of Portugal to become a protectorate of the Ming Dynasty?" ”

Zhu Youzhen looked at the vigilant expression of the Macau businessman, smiled and denied: "I don't have this idea, the territory of the Ming Dynasty is already vast enough, and there is no need for me to plan a land thousands of miles away."

I just want Princess Isabella to have the power she deserves. Or do you think that it is better to owe allegiance to the King of Spain than to the Queen of Portugal? ”

The merchants immediately fell silent, and although they easily surrendered to the envoys sent by the King of Spain, or to the might of the Ming Emperor, it did not mean that they had no feelings for their homeland.

Emperor Ming's questioning immediately reminded these Portuguese merchants of the long distance between China and Portugal, even if the Ming Emperor helped the Kingdom of Portugal to become independent from the King of Spain, this distance could not allow the Ming Dynasty to exercise effective control over the Kingdom of Portugal.

After only a brief conversation, the Portuguese chose to accept the emperor's advice. While swearing allegiance to the Ming Emperor, he recognized Isabella's right to inherit the throne of the Kingdom of Portugal and pledged allegiance to her.

In the presence of Jesuit priests and several Chinese officials, the Macao delegation held a ceremony of allegiance to Chongzhen on behalf of the citizens of Macau.

Next, the Portuguese in the Macao Mission, on behalf of all the Portuguese living in Macau, swore allegiance to Isabella and recognized her legitimate authority over the Kingdom of Portugal.

In the end, Isabella announced that she would accept the protection of the Ming Emperor, and that all her legitimate authority over the Kingdom of Portugal would be ceded to her protector before ascending to the throne of Portugal.

Throughout the course of the oath of allegiance ceremony, no one objected. Zhu Youzhen bid farewell to the Macao delegation and prepared to hold a meeting with Jinnige and other academicians of the Academy of Sciences.

Bishop Antonio took the opportunity to bid farewell to the Emperor and said respectfully to Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, since the citizens of Macao have become your people, may I ask your Majesty the mercy to allow us to carry out a free mission in Canton?" ”

Zhu Youzhen's expression stiffened for a moment, but he soon realized that since he wanted to take advantage of the Portuguese in Macau, he had to deal with their missionary work to the Ming Dynasty. No matter what the era, there will never be a free lunch.

Zhu Youzhen thought carefully and said: "Not for the time being, the people of the Ming Dynasty are not familiar with the doctrine of Catholicism. If you are in a hurry, it will only arouse the disgust of the Ming gentry.

Shu suggests that you first translate the Catholic classics into Chinese, and then Shu will hand them over to the relevant departments for study, and then they will naturally give you the opportunity. And didn't Father Kinney Pavilion and others do a good job? I'm sure the wait won't be too long. ”

Bishop Antonio's expression was a little gloomy, and Zhu Youzhen found that he seemed to be attacking the Macao bishop too much, which obviously undermined the bishop's enthusiasm for doing things for himself.

Zhu Youzhen immediately changed the subject and said, "Of course, Bishop Antonio, you deserve to be rewarded for your loyalty to me. I don't know if you've heard of North Korea? ”

Bishop Antonio asked, somewhat uncertainly, "Is this the country across the sea from Japan?" ”

Zhu Youzhen nodded immediately and said, "It is there that I can allow you to preach in the Kingdom of Korea, but I hope that you will not be too radical in your mission, which will destroy the friendly relations between Korea and my Ming Dynasty." ”

Although he could not enter the rich interior of the Ming Dynasty to preach, it was also a merit for Bishop Antonio to get the missionary power of a North Korea, and his face suddenly became much better.

"The Church in Macau will give its full support to the policy issued by Your Majesty, and may God bless you."

After Zhu Youzhen instructed the two chamberlains to send Isabella back to the palace first, he walked to the east wing with Jinnige, Julius, John Tang, Luo Yagu and others, and began to discuss some matters concerning the academy of sciences and university teaching.

After learning about the work of the Academy of Sciences, Zhu Youzhen said with some excitement: "The reflection angle of light is equal to the angle of incidence, has this principle been proved?" ”

Julius, who was the best at mathematics, replied cautiously: "Mathematically, we have successfully verified it, but the relevant experiments are still being prepared. ”

"What's missing?" Zhu Youzhen immediately asked.

"If there are a few clear glass mirrors that reflect light, we believe that it will be verified very quickly." John Tang said.