Chapter 62

The term "Folangji" does not refer to people from a specific country, but rather, like the term "Westerners" in later times, it is a general term used by the Great Ming and other East and South Asian regions to refer to Europeans.

"Ah, Miss Lingyun knows that these are Folangji?" Zhou Zhong was somewhat surprised when Xie Lingyun immediately identified the two clergymen. If he was not mistaken, the Age of Exploration in the West had just begun, and at this time, the Great Ming should not have had formal contact with Europe yet.

In response to Zhou Zhong's surprise, Xie Lingyun smoothed her wind-tousled hair and smiled, saying, "Of course I know about the Folangji. Not only me, but any merchant who smuggles goods to the south also knows about them. It is said that these Folangji people sailed from the far west and have already reached the South Seas. Their influence is growing rapidly, and they have already occupied many places in the South Seas. If your father were still alive, he would probably know even more. After all, his fleet mainly operated in the South Seas and often dealt with the Folangji."

Zhou Zhong was startled to hear that the Europeans had already occupied many places in the South Seas. As someone from the future, he knew that these Westerners were a pack of wolves. Although Europe still viewed China as a land of gold and silk, and the country was extremely powerful, they did not dare to provoke it. However, once they understood the true situation in China, they would surely show their fangs, and the Chinese land would suffer greatly from their ravages, as history has proven.

"Sir, Miss, we are just clergymen, not soldiers with weapons. We came to the Great Ming to spread the gospel of the Holy Mother and the Lord. Please do not misunderstand us!" At this moment, the two clergymen on the deck heard Zhou Zhong's conversation. The shorter and fatter one quickly defended himself, indicating that he was the leader of the two.

"Miss Xie, I am very interested in the Folangji and would like to learn more about them. Could you hand these two over to me to handle?" Zhou Zhong smiled and said. He was very curious about the situation in Europe at this time and wanted to know how far the colonization efforts of Portugal and Spain had progressed. The two clergymen in front of him should be able to provide satisfactory answers.

Xie Lingyun's beautiful eyes lingered on Zhou Zhong's face for a moment before she smiled and said, "Actually, I am also very interested in the Folangji. Could I join you in asking these two some questions?"

Zhou Zhong was taken aback by this. He could not tell if Xie Lingyun was genuinely interested in the Folangji or if she wanted to hear what he would learn from the two clergymen. However, since he was on her ship and the clergymen were captured by the Xie family, he could not refuse. He finally nodded in agreement.

The two clergymen, hearing that their fate was now in the hands of this young man, were cooperative despite not knowing Zhou Zhong's position on the ship. He knew about the Catholic Church and seemed very interested in them, and he appeared to be a gentleman, unlike the bald, muscular man who had been rough with them earlier.

Zhou Zhong led the two clergymen to his cabin, and Xie Lingyun followed, with the bald, muscular man called Uncle Hei trailing behind her, apparently to protect her from any harm.

After entering the cabin, Zhou Zhong invited Xie Lingyun to sit down, then sat in front of the two clergymen and asked, "What are your names, and where are you from?"

"I... I am called Joao de Christo, the head of the Dominican Order. You can just call me Joao. This is Father Bernardino. We are not from the same country as those who invaded the South Seas. We just want to spread the glory of the Holy Mother and the Lord throughout the world, so we sailed with them for thousands of miles to get here," the shorter and fatter clergyman immediately introduced himself and his companion. He proudly puffed out his chest when mentioning his position but quickly resumed a humble smile.

The Dominican Order, also known as the Order of Preachers, is one of the main mendicant orders of the Catholic Church. Mendicant orders are similar to ascetic monks, living without property and begging for food. They are active in various stages of society and have a significant influence in the Catholic Church. Because Dominican clergymen typically wear black, they are also known as black-robed monks.

The Dominican Order calls itself the watchdog of the Lord, dedicated to eradicating heresy and ignorance worldwide. They emphasize preaching and theology and are responsible for the Inquisition, which has immense power. Many heretics and scientists in the West were burned by this group.

Zhou Zhong was not particularly interested in religion, so he did not know much about the Dominican Order. It was only after the priest Joao explained for a while that he understood the order's purpose and doctrines. Xie Lingyun listened quietly to the conversation between Zhou Zhong and Father Joao, without interrupting.

Next, Zhou Zhong asked how they had come to the Great Ming. At this, Father Joao and the priest behind him, Bernardino, looked dejected.

It turned out that they were Spaniards but had traveled to the East on a Portuguese ship without participating in the conflicts between the Portuguese and the indigenous people of the South Seas. They were driven by a sincere devotion to the Holy Mother and the Lord, wanting to be the first to bring the glory of God to the civilized land of the Great Ming.

After arriving in the South Seas on a Portuguese ship, they eventually reached Borneo, which is present-day Philippines. In Manila, they met a Great Ming smuggler who agreed to bring them to the Great Ming. They initially landed near Fuzhou but were driven out by local officials and residents due to their strange appearance and their attempts to spread their religion.

However, this did not dampen their enthusiasm for spreading the faith. Instead, they sailed north and landed on Zhoushan Island, where they continued to preach and actively learned Chinese. Unfortunately, their doctrines were problematic. Anyone who joined their church could no longer worship their ancestors or respect Confucius, which was completely at odds with the beliefs of the Great Ming people. As a result, after six months on Zhoushan Island, they had not gained a single follower and were despised by everyone. No one was willing to give them food anymore.

To survive, Father Joao and Bernardino had to resort to less honorable means, such as tricking snacks from children and stealing chickens, ducks, and dried fish from the islanders. This made the islanders even more angry, and they were in a situation where everyone wanted to drive them away.

Seeing this, Father Joao and Bernardino realized they could not stay on the island any longer. They decided to take advantage of the dark, moonless night to sneak to the port and climb aboard the largest ship, which happened to be Zhou Zhong's. They planned to start anew at another location, but unfortunately, they were discovered by Uncle Hei and beaten up, leaving them with bruised faces and torn clothes, looking almost like beggars.

After hearing the unfortunate story of the two clergymen, Zhou Zhong could not help but find it somewhat amusing, but he soon fell silent. The Portuguese had already reached the South Seas, and the arrival of these two clergymen also indicated that the Portuguese might appear along the coast of the Great Ming at some point in the future. If he was not mistaken, the first Portuguese to reach the Great Ming were actually pirates who plundered the coast, causing great harm to the local people. Later, they bribed Ming officials to gain the right to reside in Macau, which was only returned to Chinese sovereignty centuries later.

Thinking about this, Zhou Zhong asked more about the Portuguese in the South Seas. According to Father Joao, the Portuguese were trying to occupy Malacca, present-day Malacca Strait, but were strongly resisted by the locals and had to retreat.

Although the Portuguese did not occupy the Malacca Strait, they circumnavigated Sumatra and entered the South Seas, establishing bases on Java, Timor, and Borneo. They were building up their strength to capture the Malacca Strait and thus open a direct route to the Great Ming.

Zhou Zhong silently organized the information he had obtained and then thought of another question. "Father Joao, since you are Spanish, you must be very familiar with Spain. Could you tell me how far the development of the New World has progressed?"

When Zhou Zhong suddenly mentioned the New World, Father Joao and Bernardino were taken aback, and their faces showed shock. From their understanding, neither the officials nor the people of the Great Ming cared about lands outside their own, so they always thought the Great Ming was an extremely arrogant country. They did not expect that this young man from the Great Ming would know about the New World, which had only been discovered by Columbus about fifteen years ago. Even in Europe, many people did not know about the New World.

After the initial shock, Father Joao and Bernardino exchanged glances, and Bernardino spoke up, "Respected sir, I went to the New World a few years ago and stayed there for a considerable time. Unfortunately, I contracted dysentery and almost died there. I finally managed to survive and returned to Spain two years ago, so I am quite familiar with the situation there."

As he spoke, Bernardino pulled out a thin rope from his collar, which had a small, flat box hanging from it. He took the box off and held it in both hands, presenting it to Zhou Zhong, saying, "This is a souvenir I brought from the New World. If you do not mind, consider it a gift from me and Father Joao to you!"