I suppressed my excitement and inquired about where Zhao Jin was—he was inspecting the armor-making workshop.

The workshop, though not usually frequented, has been done for so long, and I know where it is.

I waited patiently for a while, waiting for Xu Hall to send someone to pick us up and meet Zhao Jin as he promised. However, after waiting for a long time, the messenger who came to summon me did not come.

The excitement in my heart slowly turned into anxiety, and in this stuffy and hot place, sweat kept flowing, and I only felt a little uncomfortable all over my body.

Should I continue to wait here? I kept asking myself.

Soon, I came to the conclusion that I should not have waited any longer, that Xu Hall had the privilege of forgetting the promise made to me, but I had not the privilege of forgetting my duty. For my own sake, for the sake of the Lord's cause, I can't afford to wait any longer.

So, I finally made up my mind and left the factory in stride.

Following the route I remembered, I walked step by step towards the armor factory, and found that the guards I encountered along the way were almost ten times stricter than usual. If it weren't for the fact that I've been working here for a while and have already gotten acquainted with many of the guards, I'm afraid I wouldn't have had a chance to get close to where Zhao Jin is.

However, even so, when I came to the outside of the armor factory, I was stopped by the guards.

The guards, well-armoured and strong, apparently hand-picked warriors, stood outside the factory gates, watching everyone who passed by with a wary gaze - even though it was already the most heavily guarded place for Zhao Jin's forces.

This group of people must be Zhao Jin's personal guards! I came to this conclusion.

Perhaps because they thought I was suspicious, these vicious guards quickly surrounded me and questioned me about who I was.

With trepidation, I told them who I was and what I was doing.

However, they refused my request, because Zhao Jin's original schedule did not have any arrangements to meet us foreign missionaries.

With no time to tell whether Xu Housheng had forgotten his promise to us or whether he had made other arrangements, I hurriedly asked the guards to let me in to meet Zhao Jin.

At this time, my other colleagues had already gathered, and apparently when Zhao Jin came to inspect the factory, they also had the same idea as me.

Our request was rudely rejected by the guards at first, but as more and more people came, and the words became more and more earnest, the guards also became a little hesitant - after all, the Zhao Jin Group had always been more respectful of foreigners, especially when it came to using our knowledge and skills.

While we were still negotiating with the guards, a young man dressed as an officer suddenly came out of the factory and asked what was going on outside, apparently the noise we were making outside had alarmed the people inside.

We hurriedly reported our request to the grim-faced officer, and then asked him to tell the man who was supreme here.

After a moment's consideration, the officer finally re-entered the factory to report our request, while we waited outside with unease.

We were relieved by the results we were getting.

The officer soon returned, and told us of Zhao Jin's decision that he could spare a little time to meet us, but only for a short time, and only one of us.

After a while, we revisited the discussion and finally decided that it was up to me to seize the opportunity. I can only thank my colleagues again for their trust.

Then, led by the officer, who was still visibly on my guard, I walked to the armor factory.

At this time, in the armor factory, all kinds of processing machinery were still running, but the spirit of the craftsmen was obviously much more uplifting than usual, and they desperately wanted to make a good impression in front of Zhao Jin.

And in one corner of the factory, a large crowd was now gathering, and this officer led us to this group.

It seems that I am walking towards the owner of this large tract of land, and perhaps the apex of my whole career.

Because they noticed our presence, the people slowly dispersed and looked at us with cautious eyes. But I had no time to look at them, for my heart was set on the man who stood in the midst of them.

The man was dressed very simply, but he was very tall and wore a short black robe that fit well. His face could not be said to be handsome, and his complexion was a little dark from the perennial sun and rain, but it was angular, and at the same time had a kind of nobility that perennial support brought about others.

He didn't look at us, but carefully looked at the armor pieces that had just been forged and had not been carefully processed, as well as the coarse parts of various weapons and utensils, and gently stroked them with his hands, as if they were treasures he had been looking forward to for many years.

His expression was pretentious, while the others stared at him with bated breath, the scattered heat accentuating the fearful and respectful expressions of the guards and craftsmen, and the occasional whisper in the crowd accentuated the serenity of the atmosphere. Even Louis de Rochefort was cowering, no longer arrogant to me.

This is a natural big guy -- that's my first impression.

While I was still looking at him, he finally looked away from the armor and onto mine.

The sight was so sharp that I even lost my mind for a moment - and then I remembered that the life and death of a large group of us were tied to a few words from this person!

"Your Excellency!" I hurriedly bowed down and saluted the young man respectfully.

The young man just nodded, and waited for me to continue, as if he had become accustomed to the deference of others. "You're the foreign missionary, John Tong?"

"Yes, my lord, I am John Tong." I respectfully replied, "By the Lord's call, I have come to your rule and received your favor......

He waved his hand casually, as if he was impatient with my words.

"I didn't give you any favors, I want you to pay for it yourself."

It seemed as if he didn't want to maintain much of a friendly relationship with us, so his tone was not very polite, and I had to endure it in silence.

"My lord, we have been working under you for a long time, and we are glad that we can contribute to your cause." I deliberately put it another way to pique his curiosity, "Recently, we have tried to pass on our knowledge to the apprentices......

After hearing my words, the young man's face finally improved a little.

"I've heard this happen, you've been doing really well lately."

"But, let me be blunt, we can do more than just make these weapons." After taking a deep breath, I said cautiously.

"What do you mean?" He asked rhetorically.

"We are missionaries, we are evangelists, we can purify people's hearts, make them realize the glory of the Lord, and they will obey your commands more, because you are obviously the Lord's representative on earth......" I told him what I had thought of before, "My lord, in Europe, our religion has been introduced into the hearts of everyone, and they obey the will of the Lord and obey their lords. As long as you allow us to preach in your territory, we can convert your people and make them abandon the Ming court and obey your will and that of your children and grandchildren! ”

That's what I came up with—a ruler would not refuse a tool that would increase the obedience of his people, and as long as we assured that the parishioners would be more loyal to him than to the Ming court, then he would welcome us to preach in his territory, for he must have some kind of ambition for the Ming court that he could not yet declare.

However, to my great surprise, Zhao Jin did not feel happy, but instead opened his eyes slightly, as if he was about to get angry.

At this moment, his might was so terrifying that I could no longer speak, and even suspected that he might be ordered to be executed soon.

Why was he so angry? I panicked, but I was still confused.

The power of this moment quickly faded away, so much so that I suspected that it was just an illusion on my part.

"No, you can't preach freely with me." He gave a cold answer.

This answer suddenly poured cold water on my enthusiastic heart.

In order to make a final effort, I dared to look at him.

“…… Your Excellency, if you can give us freedom, we will serve you better, we know not only the art of firearms, but also many more, and we hope to serve you wholeheartedly."

I had used my most humble attitude to reach his heart, so much so that my voice had changed a little, and I prayed inwardly to God that he would change his mind.

The people next to me looked at me with a look that was obviously a little wrong, and the hall was Xu Housheng, because I ran directly over on my own initiative, I was already a little dissatisfied, and now my eyes were even more unkind. And the Monsieur Louis de Rocheford had just arrived, and he looked a little nervous, perhaps because he was afraid that I would take his place.

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