Taking this opportunity, I can finally meet one of the closest people around Zhao Jin, how can this not make people excited? He usually has to deal with a lot of things outside, so even though this place is very important, he can only come and see it every once in a while, so the opportunity left for us is so precious that there is no room for any mistakes, otherwise I don't know when I will be able to meet Zhao Jin.

The rest of my colleagues have a similar attitude to me, and they probably see this meeting as a turning point for the betterment of their lives. To be honest, after such a hard month, I can't wait as much as they do.

Led by the guards, we came to a small courtyard in the deepest part of the factory.

Although the furnishings are not luxurious, we don't see much soot because of the normal maintenance.

Then, we were received in the middle of the hall.

This is a young man dressed in simple clothes, and he does not wear any luxurious ornaments like the rich merchants of the Ming Kingdom I have seen on the road, such a simple dress seems to be a little incompatible with his identity, but it complements the environment of this factory.

In addition, I noticed that his hands were not white, but had many rough wrinkles, and it was clear that he had done some hard work on a daily basis.

This makes me very strange, as far as I know, he was born as the ** son of a wealthy iron ore owner, and now he has become a close confidant of a great lord, and Zhao Jin trusts and relies on him very much - such a person, whether in Europe or in the Ming Kingdom, should not be pampered?

Despite all the doubts in my heart, from my first impression, I noticed that he did not look vicious.

However, despite his mild attitude, his smile still showed good education and wisdom in it, and it was clear that it was not easy to hide anything from him.

Also, he was a little wary of me, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

After the two of us had exchanged a photo, he waved his hand back to the men who were escorting us, and then looked at us in a very friendly manner.

"Who among you is in the lead? Let him talk back to me. ”

Judging by his attitude, he was in a hurry to deal with more important matters, and he just took the time to meet us.

"Sir, I can speak on their behalf." I bowed deeply to him, and then used the title I had learned in the Ming Kingdom, "My name is John Tang, just come and ask me." ”

I don't think that my dignity is detrimental to my dignity by being so deferential to him, as I have told you before, Zhao Jin is now worthy of the status of Elector, and his wife and brother, if they were in Europe, can probably be regarded as a very powerful nobleman, which is a figure I must be careful to deal with—not to mention that I need to be introduced to Zhao Jin through his introduction.

Perhaps a little surprised by my Chinese proficiency, the hall official looked at us with some curiosity, then waved my hand and let me walk in front of him.

I walked over obediently and looked at him again. And he looked at me curiously, and at the same time did not hide his wariness and suspicion about us.

"You're a foreign missionary who went north with a cannon because you were commissioned by the imperial court, right?" After a moment's scrutiny, he smiled again, then asked me softly.

"Yes, sir." I quickly nodded in agreement.

"I've just seen these cannons, and the quality is okay, but not as good as I thought before......" He looked at me with some uneasiness, as if he was afraid that his words would hurt my self-esteem if he said too much. Aren't you from Macau? As far as I know, foreigners in Macau have better cannons than this, and since you want to give gifts to the emperor, why don't you choose the best one? ”

Although his attitude was kind and kind, the question surprised me again.

I always thought that Zhao Jin and the others were just emerging forces that were rapidly rising in Hongxiang, although they hired some foreigners, but they shouldn't know much about the situation outside, but I didn't expect this hall to know the situation so well, it seems that he was able to get this important position, not just because of blood relations.

In addition, there is another situation worth noting, that is, although he is not groveling, this gentleman's attitude towards the court and the emperor is not particularly contemptuous, but has some respect, and it is obvious that many people in Zhao Jin's forces have not yet departed from their old ideas.

"These cannons are just a gift to the court, sir. Of course, we have better ones in Macau, but the more powerful the cannon, the more cumbersome and inconvenient it is to carry. After burying these doubts in my heart, I patiently replied to him, "Besides, we are here to spread the gospel, and the cannon is just a tool to deepen the relationship......

"The heavier the cannon, the more powerful it is......" He subconsciously retorted to me, and then laughed a little embarrassedly, as if he didn't want to entangle me with this issue, "I'm sorry, Mr. Tang, since you're here, I'm afraid you also know that our relationship with the imperial court is not very good now." So...... We will not allow you to go to Beijing, you can only stay here. ”

I wasn't surprised to hear what he had to do with us.

At the same time, although he clearly wanted to restrict our freedom, his attitude was so humble and gentle, which made me feel a lot better.

"I've received a lot of reports from you lately, and your worksheets are okay and you're serious." Before we could reply, he changed the subject. "However, some people say that you have gathered together in private and said a lot of things that are not happy with us......"

There was something threatening in his tone, and it made us all panic a little.

"It's absolutely nothing!" I hurriedly defended to him, "Master, please be aware that since we came here, we have been seriously contributing our knowledge and skills to you, and we have absolutely no reservations!" ”

It was not until much later that I learned that these unfavourable testimonies had been secretly reported by Louis de Rocheford, and that instigating us Europeans to fight each other was something that Zhao Jin and his cronies were more than happy to do.

"But it's true that you want to go out, right?" Perhaps it was because my attitude satisfied him that his tone was much softer.

I hesitated, but finally decided to take a gamble, this man is so kind, maybe we won't anger him.

I bowed uneasily.

"Please be merciful."

"It's okay, it's okay, when it's your situation, does anyone want to be free?" Perhaps in order for me not to be afraid, he hurriedly waved his hand, "However, what I said about this matter does not count, and it will only be counted if my brother-in-law says it." ”

When I finally mentioned this person, I was shocked.

"So...... Sir, can I beg you to have mercy and let me see Master Zhao Jin? ”

To my surprise, the somewhat shy nobleman quickly nodded in agreement.

"Yes, your worksheet has been very good lately, and I should pay you a fee." This noble man is still surprisingly easy to speak, "This way, my brother-in-law is going to come here to inspect in a while, you can go over and let him see it then." ”

"Thank you so much!" I suppressed the excitement in my heart and bowed deeply to him.

We returned to our dormitory with a sense of excitement, and I had won the recognition and respect of my colleagues for my own efforts, and for my hard work.

I was so excited and nervous that I didn't sleep well all night, and I spent the whole night thinking about how to make a good impression on Zhao Jin, so much so that the next day I was criticized in the workshop - but, for me, as long as I could achieve my goal and please Zhao Jin, it was not a big problem to receive a little criticism.

However, to my surprise, my first meeting with Zhao Jin did not leave a good impression on him.

How did this qiē happen? I pondered it carefully afterwards, and finally came to the conclusion that Zhao Jin was definitely not a person that I could deal with the nobles of the Ming Kingdom, or even a person that I could deal with with the nobles of Europe.

He was completely different from all the magnates I had ever seen, both in Europe and in the Ming Kingdom.

Listen to me explain what happened to me after this......

A few days after that fortunate meeting with Xu Housheng, one day, while I was still working in the factory, directing several craftsmen to carefully pour copper paste into the mold, I suddenly heard a commotion in the factory. I turned my head to look at the craftsmen and guards, and I saw an indescribable look of excitement on their faces.

My heart was immediately filled with anticipation, and I immediately inquired with the others - and sure enough, I soon learned that Zhao Jin had finally come to inspect the huge factory today.

Does that mean I can finally meet him? I couldn't help but get excited.

Of course, my excitement was not the same as the other people's excitement mixed with worship and reverence - the craftsmen here were full of admirers of Zhao Jin, because Zhao Jin gave them enough food and clothing, and could feed their families, and gave them dignity, and it is difficult to describe their respect for Zhao Jin in words, anyway, I have never heard anyone complain about Zhao Jin.

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