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There were more than 200 people in the Daqin mission, and only Zhang Haoran and more than 20 people really participated in the reception banquet of João IV, and the others moved at will and "collected style" in Lisbon.

Lisbon is an old city, although a bit dirty, far less prosperous and tidy than Nanjing, and you can see human and animal feces on the streets;

But there are tall Gothic castles that represent the best of European architectural skills.

There is a lot of nautical technology here, which represents the most advanced nautical technology in Europe.

There are many workshops here, which produce industrial products and works of art that represent the civilization of European society.

The sea is inclusive, and there is tolerance.

This time, such a large delegation was dispatched, in addition to the think tank personnel, there were also many top craftsmen from Daqin, who came mainly to collect advanced technology from all aspects of Europe.

Whenever they went to a city, they would do this, scattering and visiting every corner of the city, either with money, or with exchanges, or with all kinds of exquisite goods brought from Daqin as bait, and used all kinds of means to obtain European talents and technology.

For example, Liu Chun, who used ten pieces of soap, was taught the skills of a watchmaker named Angsius in Lisbon, and the soap was worth one dragon coin when it was exported to Daqin, and the price increased 15 times when European merchants brought it back. 10 pieces of soap are equivalent to 150 dragon coins in Europe.

Although Lyonsius is the best watchmaker in Lisbon, 150 dragon coins is also a huge amount of money for him, and it is no wonder that he agreed to teach Liu Chun the technique.

The royal palaces of Europe, without the concept of Chinese palaces sitting north and facing south, are in the hills east of Lisbon is the ancient Alfama district, with a tall castle built on the hill, and the royal palace of João IV at the bottom of the mountain.

The day after the envoys of Great Qin arrived in Lisbon, João IV held a banquet at the palace and warmly entertained Zhang Haoran and his party.

To this reception banquet. João IV was very attentive to make the Great Qin mission feel at home.

Since João IV's independence, Portugal has suffered a series of disasters, a sluggish domestic economy, several riots, and diplomatic setbacks.

In order to seek foreign support against Spain and regain lost territory abroad, he sent diplomatic envoys to England, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark and Rome, expressing Portugal's willingness to join the Bourbon bloc led by France. Fight against the Spanish-led Habsburg bloc.

But for these countries, it was more profitable to regard Portugal as an enemy than as an ally, because it would allow them to attack the commercial ports and strategic points in the hands of the Portuguese.

The tragic result of João IV's so-called "reconquest diplomacy" was that Portugal broke away from the Habsburg bloc, but was not accepted by the other bloc.

In particular, England, on whom Lyon IV had placed his hopes in the past, paid a huge price for Portugal in order to obtain substantial support.

There have been long-standing alliances between England and Portugal since ancient times, such as the change of dynasty in Portugal in 1385, which was strongly supported by the British, and it is for this reason that Leon IV had high hopes for the British.

But what was different this time was that it happened just in time for the English Revolution. Charles I was executed, and Cromwell came to power. Seeing this, Joao IV wanted to remain neutral and see.

But a group of British royalists used the long-standing alliance between the two countries as an excuse to anchor a fleet loyal to the king in the port of Lisbon and use it as a base to attack Cromwell's fleet.

Annoyed, Cromwell sent a fleet to blockade the port of Lisbon, cutting off the sea route to Brazil. The two countries almost went to war because of this.

Now João IV is thinking about it. Is it to open up the trading territories of Brazil, Africa, and the East to the British, and to promise preferential tariff rates in exchange for Cromwell's understanding?

Knowing the plight of the grapes, it's easy to understand. He Ang IV attached so much importance to the envoys of Great Qin, and the entire imperial palace was newly decorated, and the nobles in the city. were all invited to this welcome dinner;

His queen Louisa. Morality. Gusman, as well as his second daughter Anna and third daughter Katerina, also changed into the "moving garden" presented by the Great Qin Mission, and feasted together for a welcome dinner.

Princess Anna was sixteen years old, and Princess Catalina was fourteen years old, and they were already very beautiful and slender in their bodies.

Even at the banquet, João IV, who was forty-eight years old at the time, personally played a song for the distinguished guests who came from afar, and the interest was very high.

When João IV was ready to start playing, Masdo introduced João IV's musical achievements to Zhang Haoran.

Zhang Haoran learned from his mouth that João IV was a music fan, and he developed a growing interest in music from an early age, and he worked closely with the greatest composer in Portugal, João IV. Lorenzo. Rebelo forged a deep friendship.

After inheriting the title of Duke of Bragança, he began to collect a large number of musical works. He buys all new works published on the European sheet music market from publishers and distributors.

After his accession to the throne, the country's diplomatic institutions were involved, making Portugal's collection of music the largest in Europe and the world, with 2,000 printed books and nearly 4,000 hand-copied sheet music.

After he finished playing, Zhang Haoran immediately got up and exclaimed: "His Majesty the King's skills are extraordinary, which has opened the eyes of the envoy, such beautiful music, listening to it makes people feel like a spring breeze."

His Majesty the King may not know that His Majesty the Emperor of Great Qin also has a deep attainment in music, and there are often some works that are circulated among the people, and the people are all vying to sing them. If His Majesty the King goes to Great Qin, he will definitely be able to find a common language and establish a deep friendship with my Emperor Emperor of Great Qin. ”

Ma Shidu hurriedly translated Zhang Haoran's words to Joao IV.

Joao IV was immediately overjoyed and said: "That's really good, I didn't expect that the emperor who established the powerful Great Qin Empire would also love music, which made me suddenly full of yearning for Great Qin." ”

Zhang Haoran was selected to be an envoy to Europe, naturally a very shrewd person, and he immediately grasped the itch of João IV, cut from his favorite music, and described Qin Mu as a music lover to shorten the distance between the two sides.

Really speaking, Qin Mu really has a lot of small songs passed on to the folk, no matter what, out of respect for him, it's just a song made by the emperor, and the people of Daqin naturally sing along with it, but if you want to say how fascinated Qin Mu is with music, it may not be.

Anyway, through guò's words, Zhang Haoran quickly made the communication between the two sides harmonious.

Subsequently, Zhang Haoran also asked the musicians who came with him to play a song "Mountains and Flowing Water" on the spot, and told the story of Boya and Zhong Ziqi to the grape nobles present.

Then Zhang Haoran asked the accompanying ladies to perform the Chinese tea ceremony, and the elegant, water-like movements of the maids amazed the grape nobles at the banquet.

The personnel brought by Zhang Haoran are all elites from all walks of life in Daqin, and this grand reception banquet is a bit like a display of traditional Chinese culture in the end.

João IV and the Queen watched with relish, and in general, Europe is still far from being able to compare with the vast and profound Chinese culture in terms of culture and art. Seeing this, the Portuguese nobles present were very admired.

In the high palace, a large number of candles were lit, as bright as day, although the atmosphere of the exchange between the two sides was harmonious, but Zhang Haoran was always showing Chinese culture, and Joao IV was secretly anxious after watching it for a long time.

After all, he is the king of a country, and it is not too late to take his time after the art exchange, but if he doesn't take advantage of everyone's happiness to finalize some things and win a chance for the grapes to get out of the predicament, after this village, I am afraid there will be no such shop.

Portugal urgently needs such a powerful ally as Great Qin, and with such allies, even if Britain and Spain are not worried that the Qin Empire will find their homeland, they must also consider that if they offend the allies of Great Qin, whether they can keep their colonies in the Far East, in India, and even in Africa, the consequences of the Netherlands becoming enemies of Great Qin have been vividly placed in front of European countries.

And the quickest and most effective way to form a relatively stable alliance with Great Qin is undoubtedly marriage.

Whether in the East or in the West, whether you despise or unwant in your heart, the preferred way to form an alliance is political marriage.

João IV saw his singing and dancing daughter, Caterina, who, though only fourteen years old, was already graceful and charming, more beautiful than her mother.

"Katarina, you have always been good at singing and dancing, so let's perform a song and dance for the distinguished guests from afar tonight."

(To be continued......)