The sun fell over the tops of the mountains in the west, and two soft couches were set up in the garden at sunset, and the old men on them both held slender pipes. The pipes were brass, carved and hollowed out, and filled with famous cigarettes. The old men smoked slowly, sparks rising and falling in the tobacco pot.
"I've heard that the pagan named Ye Su-Meng is very pleasing to the Pope." An old man knocked on the ashes of his cigarette and placed his pipe in the gilt copper tray next to him.
"There's no need to hear about it, it's obvious from the specification of the hospitality. According to diplomatic practice, only envoys from countries of the Righteous Faith can enter the Vatican for an audience with the Pope, and if the envoy is a heretic, usually only the Secretary's Bureau needs to step in to receive them, and this time, although Ye Suliang hasn't been able to set foot in the Vatican yet, he's staying at the Summer Palace, and that's the palace where the Pope stays for three months every year. The political meaning of the summer palace is less sensitive, but the degree of proximity to the Pope is even more than the Vatican, right?" Another old man said.
"Well, I've heard that Yessoumong is living in the summer palace and has been accompanying the Pope for several days in a row, with a degree of closeness that exceeds that of us cardinal secretaries."
"Said to be a very interesting man, good at telling jokes and very knowledgeable about tobacco. This tobacco is his tribute to the Pope, who has given me some more; what do you think of it? Gracchus."
"Very mellow indeed." Archbishop Gracchu nodded slightly, "I received a gift, from the entourage of the Yessou Alliance, a celadon tea bowl, an oriental handicraft. What did you receive, Cicero?"
"The pipe you are smoking now." Archbishop Cicero said.
"I'm sure you know our respective preferences well, all five Cardinal Secretaries have probably received goodwill from the Jindo Kingdom, haven't they?"
Cicero nodded slightly.
In Filippo, the Order of Cardinals was only under the Pope. This department of only five people had enormous power that surpassed the "State Council" and the various departments of the Holy See, and only the "Crusaders" and the "Heresy Bureau", the secret judgment department, were not bound by the Cardinal Council. Only the Crusaders and the Bureau of Heresy, the secret judiciary, are not subject to the authority of the Cardinal. However, since the generals of the Praetorian Guard and the "directors" of the Inquisition were usually members of the College of Cardinals, there was in fact no counterweight to the College of Cardinals.
The College of Privy Counsel is the upper house of the upper house and can veto resolutions of the upper and lower houses. Its checks and balances are internal only, with the five Cardinal Secretaries checking each other. These Cardinal Secretaries, who wielded lethal power, were often Redemptorists who were qualified to wear the red vestments, and the secular monarchs who were dependent on the Papal States had to bend and bow before them, and all of them had the chance to become the next Pope.
As an emissary from a small eastern country, the arrival of Ye Su Union had alarmed this high and mighty institution, or at least as Cardinal Prelates Cicero and Gragoo realized that they had to take a serious look at the political implications of the Pope's move.
"It is rumored that the Kingdom of Jindu is ready to join us in marriage. The monarch of the Jindu Kingdom, Hara Makoto, has a daughter who is still only thirteen years old, a rare beauty who is regarded as a treasure by the nobles of the East." Gracchus said.
"It's to marry the Pope's son, isn't it? The other party has no small appetite for a boy of the Borrugia family for the last beautiful princess." Cicero said, "The boys of the Borrugia family are also treasures, and there will be many women who want to marry them. A princess from a small eastern country may not be the best choice for them."
"It is the Pope's attitude that matters, my friend." Gracchu narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Susal is my student and Pliny is yours, of course we care about their marriages, but the Pope is their father after all. The purpose of Ye Suo Meng's visit is a marriage, and by entertaining him with such high standards, the Pope is tacitly approving of the marriage. What was the benefit of letting his son marry a princess from a small eastern country? The Pope must have figured it out."
"Are you preparing to use your army against the East?" Cicero sat up in shock.
"The Crusaders have doubled in size in ten years, new muskets and long-range artillery are ready, the legions of the gods are armed, so how can we just wait for an opportunity for war?" Gracchus said softly, "The divine conquest of the pagan nations of the East could begin at any time. The dragonlike kingdom of Yin in the East is too weakened to fly, and no other nation can stop the Crusaders." He glanced at Cicero "And we need a great war as well, there are cases of rebellion against the Holy See in the Dependent States and in all the dioceses, this is not a good sign, it shows that the commoners are questioning God. War can recast God's splendor."
"The Jindu Kingdom is willing to act as a front station for our advance into the East?"
"The Jindu Kingdom's culture is in the same vein as the East, but the location is right in between East and West; it will either be the front stop for the East's advance into ours, or our advance into the East." Gragoo said, "It seems they have made their choice"
"Such a union will only be retaliated against by the Yin Kingdom, right?"
"The new emperor of the Yin Kingdom has ascended to the throne, and because of the issue of succession the ministers have split into different factions and are in a stalemate. It won't be easy to use troops at this time, and the Jindu Kingdom is also looking at this time, right?"
Cicero contemplated for a moment, "That means being able to marry the princess of the Jindu Kingdom is also good political capital?"
"Maybe it will become the King of the East." Gracchus said quietly, "I have gotten word that there is a dinner party at the Summer Palace tonight, the Pope entertained Ye Suliang, and the Pope's sons have been invited to attend."
"In effect the Pope is choosing!" Cicero understood.
Gracchus nodded slightly, "Susal or Pliny? This marriage could affect the entire political landscape of Filippo in a few years. That is what I am discussing with you."
Cicero pondered for a long time "I am Pliny's teacher, I will support Pliny without a doubt. If you want your student Susar to become the fiancé of the princess of the Jindu Kingdom, you need to give me reasons."
Gracchu smiled "Pliny is too young, an older brother should marry before his younger brother"
"Gracchu my friend, you need to remember that Susal is the one who should become a Cardinal in the future, just like you and I. At that time even if he had a wife he would have to get divorced and henceforth dedicate himself to God. And only a Cardinal can be chosen as the next Pope. Wouldn't it be a better pattern for the elder brother to be Pope and the younger to be King of the East?"
"Cicero my friend, I am not trying to give Susal all the advantages, listen to my reasons," said Gragoo "Susal looks gentle but has the temperament of a leader, and Pliny, though a brave boy, is too simple at heart. Pliny, though a brave boy, is too simple at heart. At his age and character, it would be too difficult for him to conquer a foreign princess. Cicero, you underestimate those Orientals. The union is not as simple as a marriage certificate. The relationship between the couple will affect the relationship between us and the Jindu Kingdom. If the groom is in turn conquered by the bride, the result will be an oriental woman who has blended in with the help of a marriage, and she will endeavor to create a buzz and garner support for her father in the Jindu Kingdom."
Cicero was silent for a moment and nodded slightly, "It is said that this princess is braver than a boy, and is known in the East as a 'fierce tiger'. To send such a strong princess is not just as a princess, but also as a spy, right?"
"First there will be a battle in the boudoir to see if the husband overpowers the wife or the wife overpowers the husband." Gracchus smiled, "Susal will surely win that war! By the time he becomes a cardinal and has cultivated his power, he can give up the woman, it was supposed to be a political marriage, and Susal can understand who is more important in politics and marriage. And Pliny was a brave little lion and would be the vanguard of his brother. His brother will also support his military campaigns behind the scenes as Pope."
Cicero and Gracchus each held their pipes and smoked slowly. Behind the smoke, the sun was setting on the distant horizon, a canine horizon with the spires of large and small churches piercing the sky like dense forests.
"Then it is decided." Cicero finally nodded, "Susar will marry the Princess of the East and become the next Pope in the House of Borgia and unite the East during his tenure, while his brother will become King of the East."
"I hope all goes as we expect, to be a good Cardinal Secretary one must clearly judge who is the next Pope." Gracchus said meaningfully.
Cicero suddenly remembered something and froze for a moment, "We've missed someone, Cesare will be at the banquet tonight as well!"
Gracchus gently waved his hand, "That heretical child? He won't stand a chance, he was branded a heretic long ago."
Summer Palace, Hall of Mirrors.
This palace, named "Mirror", was filled with two-man mercury mirrors so large and smooth that only the most skilled craftsmen could make them, and was considered one of the treasures of the Papal States, so that a walk through it could be mistaken for a walk through a giant piece of crystal. The Pope gave meals here as an honor to his most able ministers.
"What a gem of art!" In the corridor, Ye Su Union tsked with her hands behind her back.
Oil paintings were hung on both sides of the corridor. It was a series of Epiphany pictures, the artist used heavy brush strokes to depict the stories of God and his messengers manifesting on earth, some were children running through thorns, some were women crying with the silver of a tree, some were dying kings fighting in a blazing fire, and some were saints walking in the depths of the sea, and on each painting floated angels with six wings on their backs looking down on the world's suffering from the clouds, silent and compassionate.
"These are from my previous collection, not valuable works of art, but I like them, and it's great that Mr. Ye likes them too." Dressed in a wide white vestment, Pope Gregory II stood next to Ye Suliang.
While the Pope should have been an extremely handsome monk when he was young, and time couldn't erase his gentle and moving demeanor, Ye Su Mian was overly thin and indeed a bit swarthy. But these two old men stood side by side in surprising harmony, as easy and natural as friends.
"Especially this one is good." Ye Suliang pointed to one of the huge paintings that was several people high.
On the painting, a naked young man was half submerged in silt, and a woman with wings flew up in the air, youthful and pretty as a virgin, but with motherly love in her eyes. The young man's head hangs down in his lifeless eyes, and the mother leans over and holds him, trying to pull him out, using all her strength but failing to do so. For underneath the mud there were thousands of evil spirits with bulging bellies and protruding eyes, who grabbed the young man's legs in a death grip and tried to pull him down into the mud to be with them. It was a mire of demons. The anxious mother threw back her head and called to the sky, while the clouds to be replaced, the angels still only watched in silence, their eyes pitiful.
"This is my best collection, 'The Virgin Delivering the Son of God from His Sins' The man in the words is the Son of God and the woman is the Virgin." The Pope said, "What does Mr. Ye think is so good about it?"
"It's sad to look at." Ye Su-Meng said softly.
"Sad? Mr. Ye's insight is really surprising." The Pope smiled, "It's an ancient story that says the son of God was born as a mortal and personally descended into the world in order to save the world from its sins. But the people of the world had been abetted and corrupted by the devil, and they could not allow this saint to live, which made them appear even more evil and ugly. So they invited the Son of God to taste their wine and food, and they said, "If you are a holy man, how can our food and drink defile your body? The Son sat down to eat and drink with them to prove his love for the world, but these men had put into their wine the blood of the devil's heart, which is most poisonous. The Son drank their wine and lost his holy light and power. His weakened spirit cried out to God, but God paid no attention. The Virgin heard in a dream that His Son was suffering, so the mortal man sprouted feathers in a sudden moment and flew in one night the three-month journey that the world had to travel to save the Son of God."
"When I see a woman trying so hard, I can't help but feel sad," said Ye Su-meng, "but why didn't God answer the call of the Son of God?"
"Because the Son of God did wrong, he couldn't save the world, the sins of the world shouldn't be atoned for by others, they can only be paid for by themselves." The Pope said meaningfully.
He pushed open the carved wooden door at the end of the corridor, the huge crystal lamp hung in the center of the dining room, countless glass reflected the light, light like a tide came to the surface. For a moment Ye Su-Meng mistakenly thought he was paying a visit to the imperial throne of God.
"Come, meet my children." The Pope said.
The three boys rose at the same time and bowed slightly in curtsy. They were all dressed grandly for this dinner of a diplomatic nature, with crisp gowns and white lace cuffs gleaming with acacia patterns embroidered in silver thread.
Ye Su-Meng was taken aback. He had heard rumors that all three of the Pope's sons were known for their handsomeness, but he didn't take it seriously. Young people of distinguished family background is always easier to get appreciation and even touted, in the eastern countries those because of the indulgence of the four body is not diligent so thin see the bones of the aristocratic youth will be praised "bone show" so the pope's sons as long as they look slightly stronger than his Ye Sumin, can afford the "handsome "This two words. After all, for these boys, handsome appearance is like cuffs and such small jewelry, with or without all harmless. Most importantly, they were the sons of the Pope, and their family name was Borgia.
The Borgia family was more valuable than gold and diamonds for the boys!
Ye Su alliance to the road has followed the line of the deputy ambassador said, weak countries have no diplomacy, as a small country emissary, begging for a Borgia family boys back is a success, pick and choose this kind of thing he did not even move the mind. As long as the Pope is willing to grace this marriage, even if the delivery of goods missing arms and legs, they have to be treated as treasure as a smile and go back to the order.
So when he really saw the three jewel-like beautiful boys bowing down and saluting themselves, Ye Su alliance had an illusion for a moment.
He had come here tonight to choose a concubine!
Yes, just like the emperor walked into the eunuchs after heavy screening finally sent into the palace maidens, each of them are like jewels beautiful jade impeccable, each of them with a desire to be your favorite eyes. For ordinary men can get close to any one of these young girls to look at is a great fortune, for the emperor is just to waist a little bit of that young girl Jing night will be naked into his bedchamber. It was the power of life and death to decide a man's fate, but the question was how he, as a mere envoy, could have such power to choose the Pope's sons.
"Choose a handsome one ... in addition to the standard has not yet thought of, you look at it!" Original Cheng's voice suddenly flashed in his mind.
The original concise criteria were so physical in front of the Pope's sons, each of them possessing looks that were proud of their peers and impeccable manners. They were God's favorites, and God had blessed them with more than just an illustrious family.
"These are my sons." The Pope pointed to the blonde boy on his left, "Susal, my eldest son, is sixteen years old."
"Pleased to meet you, Honorable Ye Sumeng (A certain ghost: what's going on here, why is qq input typing out this name!) Mr." Susar bowed and saluted.
He wore the Duke's crimson gown with a gold cross adorning the collar, the golden rose pattern of the Borgia family on the cuffs, and a row of golden tassels hanging down from his chest. His hair shone like gold, and his face was a cool likeness of his father.
"My second son, Sizer, is fourteen years old." The Pope pointed to the dark-haired boy in the center.
Handsome boys at the same time, but Sizer and Susal did not resemble brothers, not even in places. His hair was surprisingly black, neatly combed back, and he wore a black tunic like a friar's habit, with a cross embroidered in silver wire on his chest and a pure white lace neckerchief. The only colors on him were black and white, like the side of a figure outlined by an ink brush on rice paper.
"Pliny, eleven years old this year." The Pope touched the last boy's head, full of love, "Although he is still two years younger than Princess Pure, I think he won't be chosen, but he also called to let Mr. Ye have a look."
Prinny also had blonde hair and navy blue eyes, and was a bit similar to his older brother Susar, but strong as a young lion.
The Pope suited everyone to sit down at the dining table, he looked at his sons with a kind gaze, "Mr. Ye Suemeng (a certain ghost: just fight it, it's quite interesting~) comes from the Jindu country in the east, Jindu is not a very big country, but it's the closest friend we have among the countries in the east. Jindu country has a status of noble princess, this year has been thirteen years old, to the age of the engagement. Mr. Ye came here this time with a personal letter from Mr. Yuan Cheng, the ruler of Jindu, willing to marry his beloved daughter to my son in Fei Leng Cui. This is something I could not have asked for, I bless this marriage and give Mr. Ye the right to choose the son-in-law of the Jindu Kingdom. I have heard that Princess Pure is a renowned beauty among the princesses of the East, and each of you should be proud to have married such a beautiful wife. I will not interfere with Mr. Ye Sumeng's decision."
Ye Suemeng noticed that Susal and Pliny glanced at each other across Sizer, both with surprised expressions in their eyes.
Despite knowing that he had come to be chosen, in the eyes of these boys of noble status, Ye Suemeng, an envoy of a small eastern country, was nothing. The Pope's country had many dependencies that were larger than the Jindu country, and the rulers of the dependencies would bend down to kiss the hem of the Pope's robe when they came to Fei Leng Cui for an audience with the Pope. And it was likely that one of them would produce a future pope, and the people of Fei Leng Cui believed that after Gregory II, there would be another pope from the Borgia family. In that case there was nothing wrong with Ye Sumeng leaning down to kiss their shoes.
However, the Pope revealed that this was not the case, the right to choose was completely given to Ye Sumeng, and the person he chose could not refuse.
So it seemed that this marriage was of great significance to the Papal States, and it seemed that the pure princess was not simply to be tributed to Fei Leng Cui as a hostage. This made the boys' expectations for the princess they had never met rise a lot.
"I heard that Her Highness is still a believer?" The Pope turned to Ye Sumeng.
"Your Highness is a person with wisdom roots, since studying theology books after being deeply impressed, has long been ready to convert to God's intention, not only that, even our country's monarch, Yuan Cheng, was called by God." Ye Sumeng looked serious. "Oh? Has God's glory shone on Jindu Kingdom?" The Pope drew a cross on his chest.
"The king and princess of the country study theology together daily, and they call each other parishioners." Ye Sumeng said this with her mouth, but in her heart, she thought of the scene of that fierce father and daughter each with one foot on the short table coldly exchanging insults, and she couldn't help but be a little worried. There was only a year to prepare for this peace strategy, and Yuan Cheng needed that year to raise his fierce tiger-like daughter to be a devout nun, at least on the surface. Ye Sumeng hoped that the king of the country to find the princess teacher is quite reliable, so as to avoid the princess married to Fei Leng Cui after the outbreak of nature, to pure princess nature, in the church praying in the pews kicked over to do the lion's roar of the river is not unlikely. By the Pope found out the "goods are not the right board", I do not know whether it will be returned to the Jin Du country ...
"What a match made in heaven." The Pope applauded, "Then please ask Mr. Ye to dine while looking at my sons to see if any of them are worthy of Princess Pure's qualifications."
"Lord! Thank you for granting us food, amen." The Pope and his sons drew the cross on their chests together.
The main course of the dinner was Kaoyan lamb and prosciutto from the southern belongings, and the side dish was fresh asparagus. Ye Su-Meng amazed everyone with his excellent knife and fork skills; this old man from the East used his knife and fork no differently than a native Westerner.
"Rare." Ye Su-Meng instructed the chef in a sophisticated manner.
"Triple-ripe lamb is with blood inside." The chef kindly reminded.
"It's good for the rocky lamb to be tender, prepare me a thicker black pepper sauce to flavor it." Ye SuMeng said with great knowledge of the doorway.
This made Susaar and Pliny's impression of Ye Su Mang greatly improved, Ye Su Mang even knew how to shave some pepper powder into the olive oil for dipping the bread by himself.
"Mr. Ye knows a lot about western food." Su Sal took the initiative to make small talk with Ye Su Mian.
"There was a period of traveling around before I left the Jindu Kingdom, and I've been to several of your vassal states." Ye Su Mian smiled, "I also learned how to bake bread, and I know a little bit about making foie gras."
Of course he knew about western food, but not just food. He also knew how to cast the barrel of a musket, how to build a multi-masted sailing ship, and even the formula for the fire bush used in newer artillery. He knew even more about the West than Sousaar, and to gather this information, he had spent several years with his footprints in every corner of this country.
How could one want to subvert a country without understanding it first?
In the gap between waiting for the roasted rock lamb, Ye Su Mung began to talk about the customs of the Jindu country. Ye Su Mung is a good storyteller, in his narration, the country of Jindu is like a picture in the clouds slowly unfolding before the eyes of the boys. Ye Sumin said that in the Jindu country girls in the marriage before a time are not cut hair, in the day of marriage, only the hair into a high bun; and said that the Oriental girl's feet only a male can see, is her husband, see her feet as if she saw her body; and said that in the Orient, the vassal to marry his own wife, sometimes at the same time to marry his sister or niece, which will be a huge dowry group, the dowry of these young girls called "bridegroom". These young girls were called "concubine" (yìng), and they were considered the reserve wives of the lords. Because in the East, once a girl marries a man, everything she owns belongs to that man, so her sister was no exception.
Unfortunately, Princess Pure was an only child with no sister to marry ...
The boys were mesmerized as they listened, that small, distant country in the east came to life in Ye Sumineng's narration, permeated with a mesmerizing shyness and ebullience, and it was as if they could smell the ethereal scent of a young girl's sleeve.
Before becoming a famous hermit of the kingdoms he seriously considered going over to become a storyteller, for he considered himself no less a storyteller than he was a courtier, and as a storyteller he would still have a larger audience, and would not run the risk of being beheaded for saying the wrong thing.
"If we send you on a mission, even if you don't have any diplomatic success, you can at least be considered a raconteur and be able to entertain the other side to make us look friendly, right?" Yuan Cheng commented on Ye Sumeng's ability as a diplomatic envoy in this way.
Ye Suemeng watched the boys as she spoke with a fluttering brow. It wasn't easy to distinguish the strengths and weaknesses from these three boys in a single meal, this was a very formal diplomatic occasion, the Pope was sitting next to them, and the boys were all acting elegantly gentle and courteous. Since they were young, they had experienced etiquette teachers following them to correct every little action of walking, sitting, lying down, lifting their hands and feet, a literary scholar taught them to speak elegantly, and their lives were taken care of by highly trained sisters, every wrinkle on their sleeves was ironed out, and they were just like muskets produced in the same workshop with the same process, without any flaws. Under such flawless cultivation, even if they had innate differences, they would be erased by their acquired education. Not to mention the fact that the same blood flows in their veins.
This was far more difficult than the emperor choosing a concubine, who only needed to choose the most beautiful one, and if it was later proven to be of bad character or morals, the big thing was to relegate her to the Cold Palace in the future or to give a rope for the woman he had once chosen to hang herself. But Ye Sumeng had to judge the character of the boys over a short dinner, and if he proved wrong afterward, Yuan Cheng would undoubtedly give him shoes to wear, even if he didn't actually cut off his head.
Yuan Cheng cared a great deal about this marriage; it was the fate of Jindu's country that depended on it!