kingnovel Chapter 1209 Can the gods of Europe understand Chinese characters?
Chapter 1209 Can the gods of Europe understand Chinese characters?
Just as Yang Shaofeng and Heizhi Tangyuan were plotting how to scam someone, Chang Xiaojiu returned with a stack of brand-new indenture coupons that still smelled of ink.
Yang Shaofeng handed a redemption ticket to the black sesame dumpling, and then examined the "new redemption ticket" in his own hand.
The original indulgence featured three robed figures in the center, one in the middle and two on the sides, surrounded by a circle of patterns with doves carrying grains of rice. The outermost circle was decorated with simple cloud patterns, and the entire indulgence was only the size of a palm.
However, the improved indulgences looked completely different.
The person in the very center, who was originally standing, is now sitting cross-legged, with a faint halo behind his head. The people on the left and right sides have also become attendants. Except for the clothes they wear, which are still simple long robes, their overall image is closer to that of the immortals of the Ming Dynasty.
The outer ring of the three figures is no longer just doves and rice, but a sun and moon are added above the head of the deity in the middle. To the left of the sun and moon is a dragon, and to the right is a phoenix. The dragon and phoenix breathe out auspicious clouds, and below the auspicious clouds are rice. Silk is attached to the bottom of the rice, and there are tassels on both sides, forming an embroidered ball in the middle.
Further out, there is another ring of cloud patterns, and beyond those are gear-like breaks resembling those on later postage stamps.
What really made Yang Shaofeng lose his composure was the four Chinese characters printed under the embroidered ball.
"God forgives your sins."
Next to the four Chinese characters, there is a bird-seal seal script that reads "The Imperial Printing Bureau of the Ming Dynasty".
No, you could at least put some bird-script characters for "Imperial Observatory of the Ming Dynasty" on it!
Moreover, can the gods worshipped in Europe understand Chinese characters?
Even if they can understand it, wouldn't printing four more Chinese characters increase costs?
Yang Shaofeng was internally ranting, but the black sesame dumpling looked up at him blankly and asked, "Brother-in-law, is this the indulgence you mentioned?"
Seeing Yang Shaofeng nod, Heizhi Tangyuan asked in utter confusion, "No, this thing, those barbarians in Europe can just pull out real gold and silver to buy it?"
Yang Shaofeng simply handed the original indulgence to Black Sesame Dumpling and said, "Their original indulgence is not even as good as this, but those barbarians still paid for it."
Black Sesame Dumpling took the original indulgence and compared it with the new one in his hand. After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh and said, "So there are still so many fools in this world."
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and said, "This is also thanks to their church."
"Thanks to the Church's tireless propaganda, the barbarians of Europe still believe that the Earth beneath our feet is the center of the universe, and that the sun, moon, and stars all revolve around it."
"They even firmly believed that Earth was flat, the sky was like a pot lid, and there was an invisible wall at the intersection of heaven and earth."
"Anyone who dares to say that Earth is round, that Earth revolves around the sun, and that the sun also revolves in the universe, will be regarded as heretic and will be sent to the gallows or burned at the stake."
They believe that humans are born sinful and must believe in their gods to atone for their sins.
"With brains like that, if they don't buy indulgences, who will?"
Black Sesame Dumpling was completely stunned. It took her a while to finally speak: "The common people aren't allowed to speak? And they really just put up with it?"
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and said, "Europe is full of Papacy believers. Not to mention ordinary people, even a king cannot withstand the Papacy's excommunication order."
"Well, to put it this way, the excommunication order of the Holy See is roughly equivalent to the cessation of tribute in our Ming Dynasty. Once someone is excommunicated, basically no one dares to associate with them."
"Moreover, the Pope has troops under his command. Which king would dare to disobey him? The Papacy might actually send troops to fight him, or even call on neighboring countries to send troops to fight him together."
At this point, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but laugh again: "Actually, there are a few more fun ones."
"It is said that I have only heard about it secondhand, and it should not be taken seriously."
"It is said that a certain pope was a woman disguised as a man. The key point is that this female pope kept many male lovers and gave birth in the street during a certain tour."
"From then on, whenever a pope ascended to the throne, he had to sit on a stool with a hollow center so that the people of the Vatican could check whether he was male or female."
"There was another pope who had the style of Cao Cao, but not Cao Cao's strength, and was eventually beaten to death by his lover's husband."
"It is said that there was another pope who even dug up the corpse of the previous pope and made the corpse stand trial."
"There's one who's even worse; that guy not only slept with women, but also had homosexual tendencies."
"Anyway, apart from a few ascetics, there's nothing good in the entire Vatican. The more cardinals or popes there are, the more chaotic things become."
As Yang Shaofeng, the brother-in-law, continued speaking in increasingly outrageous ways, Heizhima Tangyuan, the brother-in-law, listened with eyes shining.
Yang Shaofeng only stopped, still feeling unsatisfied, when Zhu Laowu hurriedly arrived at the Prince Consort's residence.
He doesn't mind the black sesame glutinous rice ball, after all, he's about to become a father, so he'll just tell you some jokes.
Zhu Laowu, however, was still unmarried and not suited to listen to such nonsense.
After Zhu Laowu sat down, Yang Shaofeng said, "Your Highness must have heard of opium or black sesame, right?"
Zhu Laowu nodded and said, "I know. This stuff can be concentrated and refined. When burned and inhaled with jute leaves, it has analgesic and anesthetic effects, but it is addictive and hallucinogenic. Even if you are being stabbed, you will not feel the pain. I tried it when we were dismantling dwarfs in Dengzhou. Once you get involved, you will become neither human nor ghost. I have already told you, brother, to seal the relevant files and only allow it to be used for medicine."
Yang Shaofeng nodded and said to the black sesame dumplings, "This is what I mentioned before as something that is extremely profitable but prone to backlash."
“If we sell this thing to Europe, claiming it’s a divine medicine that can communicate with their gods… we can definitely make a fortune. But this thing can easily be sent back to the Ming Dynasty from Europe.”
Zhu Laowu immediately stood up and said urgently, "No! This stuff can make money, but it can also destroy the entire Ming Dynasty!"
Black Sesame Dumpling also said with a dark face, "This stuff is absolutely untouchable, no matter how much profit it makes. None of us can afford to take that responsibility."
Yang Shaofeng breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "In that case, we should issue an order to strictly prohibit these things. Except for some that can be used for medicinal purposes, anyone who touches them should be executed."
Hearing this, Heizhi Tangyuan's heart skipped a beat, and she looked at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "Brother-in-law, you've gone through so much trouble, have you gotten any new information?"
Yang Shaofeng nodded and said, "The news from the border market says that some foreign merchants are bringing this stuff to sell at the border market, and Zhou Jingxin has already taken drastic measures to deal with them."
"However, Zhou Jingxin can ban the border markets, but he cannot ban what is outside the border markets, much less what is outside the Ming Dynasty."
"I have always been worried that someone might use the guise of tribute or medicine to bring this thing to the Ming Dynasty."
Black Sesame Dumpling suddenly realized something and said menacingly, "Brother-in-law, don't worry. You take care of the indulgences, and I'll handle the opium."