Chinese cuisine is one of the three major cuisines in the world. Chinese cuisine with such a reputation has a very embarrassing status in the world today, a feeling of being despised by Western cuisine and a feeling of being tall and noble in Western cuisine. This is only gradually known to the world after 1840 that it has a very direct connection with Chinese cuisine. The weakness and backwardness of the country not only make the Chinese people discriminate against, but even Chinese cuisine suffers in the world. Bai You's name is one of the three major cuisines in the world, but has no corresponding status.

But if Chinese food began to spread in Europe at this moment, in the Ming Dynasty, would the development of Chinese food be different from that in history?

Xiao Ruxun originally dared not speculate, but Chen Longzheng told him that Chinese food has become a thing that is sought after by the upper class in many European countries.

After eating the first Chinese meal in his life, the Governor of Genoa could not forget the food products that combine firework and knife skills. Western-style meals are French and Italian. As for the UK, it is a land of dark cuisine and a world-famous food isolation area. It seems that he is not interested in food. Athletes must bring their own chefs to participate in the competition...

French cuisine is famous for its small quantity, exquisiteness and rich dishes. French cuisine is a representative meal of Western cuisine. However, French cuisine at this moment does not have the reputation of future generations. At this moment, France is implicated in the war against the United Kingdom. It is not easy for oneself to live, let alone develop French cuisine that can be called artwork in the future. However, at this moment, Europe is a time when Italian cuisine shines brightly. Whether it should be said or not, the success of French cuisine is inseparable from the integration of classic Italian dishes.

Italian cuisine is inherited from Roman cuisine. Roman cuisine is known as the ancestor of Western cuisine. It also has a long history and has developed to this moment. It is mature because of the prosperity of cities such as Venice and Florence. Unlike French cuisine that is struggling on the edge of dark cuisine, Italian cuisine at this moment is very distinctive, such as pizza, a food in a civilized world.

After eating Chinese food, Governor Genoa and Chen Longzheng had a passionate conversation about Chinese cuisine. When he learned that what he was eating was just one of the simplest and easiest dishes in Chinese food, he felt deeply depressed - the color and aroma of Chinese food was really excellent, surpassing most Western dishes at this time.

I thought he was the governor of a country, but was sunk by a few simple Chinese dishes. This was really a shameful thing. The food he remembered was meat cooked with spices. This was the most precious food, and there were a few Italian dishes. When Matteo Ricci explained to him that the eating habits of Chinese people were mainly cooked and rarely ate raw food, he thought of an important way to regain his face.

He recommended pizza to Chen Longzheng.

"Is this... called pizza?"

Chen Long was looking at the round food with a lot of strange stuffing on the round disc on the table and asked Matteo Ricci.

Of course, Matteo Ricci had eaten pizza, looked at the Governor Genoa with a proud look on his face and explained: "This is a food from my hometown, called pizza. To be precise, it is a bit similar to the scallion pancakes I had eaten in China, so there is also legend that this pizza was eaten by Marco Polo when he was traveling to China. When he returned to his hometown, he wanted to eat it and found a chef to make it. I don't know why, so I made it to the present, but it was also quite delicious. You can taste it, it is completely cooked."

Chen Long was looking at the steaming and fragrant pizza and nodded, "It smells very fragrant. I have been tormented by your half-baked things these days. Let me taste it first."

So Chen Long was following Matteo Ricci's teachings and brought a piece of pizza to his mouth. He hesitated for a moment, opened his mouth and bit it and chewed it, and then his eyes lit up.

"Mr. Li, you really don't know, it tastes really good. It's very different from my Ming Dynasty pie and scallion pancake. This tastes quite rich and delicious! It's delicious! It's better than the meat you have here! Well!"

Seeing Chen Longzheng's look happy and eating very much, Governor Genoa was very happy and asked Matteo Ricci if he thought this thing was delicious. Matteo Ricci resumed and said yes, the Governor was very happy to find his face. However, it happened that the two chefs came in from outside and brought a few dishes.

"Mr. Chen, Mr. Li, why did you eat it? Our brothers cooked a few side dishes for you, and you can try it!"

Chen Longzheng and Matteo Ricci were surprised to see the "small dish" in the plate with a full range of colors, fragrance and flavor.

“Where did it come from?”

Chen Long was asking this.

The chef smiled and replied: "Although there is no seasoning here, there are still ingredients. We have dried red tables. We can make dishes with pots, spoons, and kitchen knives. There are oils and salts here. It is okay to make some ingredients to make simple dishes. There is no soy sauce, and the taste may be a little worse, and braised or something is difficult. But their seasoning sauces can also be used, but I just can't figure out why they can't stir-fry, so I know how to stew it randomly."

Chen Long was laughing.

"They don't know much, come and put it down. When I am often, Mr. Li, you call this governor to try it. This pizza tastes good. Ask me if I can bring a few chefs who make this cake back, or ask them to learn and take it back for Mr. Xiao to try it. We can't just eat it. Mr. Xiao has nothing to eat! Do you think so?"

Chen Long is quite conscientious and knows to think about Xiao Ruxun.

Matteo Ricci smiled bitterly and invited the Governor to enjoy these side dishes. The Governor smelled the scent and was swallowing his saliva. After hearing Matteo Ricci said, he immediately became happy. As for the chef who could make pizza and enjoy it for the Chinese generals, the Governor waved his hand - what a big deal, this is our honor. I will give you ten, so take it back!

Then the Governor General took the chopsticks he had just learned to use and joined the small lunch party. After he returned, he kept showing off his special Chinese delicacies, which aroused the yearning of more people. So under the pressure of the nobles, the Governor General had to come to Chen Longzheng with shamelessness and invite him to hold a Chinese banquet to entertain the nobles, otherwise he would not be able to serve.

Of course, Chen Longzheng didn't care. He asked the Governor to teach the nobles to use chopsticks, so he ordered the chefs to stir-fry some exquisite stir-fry, and conquered the stomachs of the nobles in a few seconds. After that, using chopsticks to eat Chinese food became a trend among European aristocrats, and spread to the whole of Europe with Genoa as the center.

Just as the Chinese food boom began, the people from the Roman Catholic Church who first received the news arrived in Genoa and asked to meet with Chen Longzheng and Matteo Ricci.

The Holy See has a very special historical status in the entire European history. The Chinese do not know enough about it and are more general, but it is much easier to explain it in another way. For example, if you use Chinese history to trap it, you can also trap it. The comparison is Confucianism.

Confucianism became the official political thought theory that became China during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. Emperor Wu of Han abolished all schools of thought and respected Confucianism, which laid the foundation for the history of Confucianism dominating the Chinese ideological circle for nearly two thousand years. Coincidentally, Christianity became a behemoth that influenced the entire Europe. It was also the Roman Emperor Theodosio I, out of political considerations, forbidden all pagans in the Roman Empire and declared that Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire.

In that era, the Holy See was an institution under the Roman Emperor, which could preach, but the target was the imperial emperor. In order to unify the thoughts of his subjects and facilitate rule, as Emperor Wu of Han thought, the emperors believed that what he gave could be taken back in the future. But just as Emperor Wu of Han could not expect that Emperor Yuan of Han was brainwashed by Confucianism and unraveled the shackles that were stuck on their necks, Theodosio I could not expect the division of the Eastern and Western Roman Empire and the demise of the Western Roman Empire.

Emperor Wu of Han's original intention of abolishing all schools of thoughts was to unify his thoughts and establish his own status, so as to launch a comprehensive counterattack against the Huns. He could not allow ideas different from him to spread in his country. Confucianism perfectly met his needs, so he chose Confucianism as his own tool of ruling. Theodosio I was also considering this and chose the Christian church as his own tool of ruling.

But none of them expected that the tool of their choice of dominance would eventually develop into an extremely terrifying behemoth.

The Western Roman Empire was destroyed due to the invasion of barbarians. The Roman Catholic Church was the only light of hope for civilization that stood on a wasteland after the demise of the Western Roman Empire. A large number of Roman remains could only rely on the Roman Catholic Church to survive, which invisibly greatly expanded the prestige and momentum of the Roman Catholic Church.

Although the Roman Catholic Church still expressed its surrender to the Byzantine Empire during this period, the Byzantine Empire was too far away from Rome and could not effectively control this tool of ruling, which prompted the Roman Catholic Church to develop rapidly into a huge independent political force.

Religion can develop rapidly on war-torn lands, but in the era of peace, the deceptive nature of religion has declined greatly. The Holy See accurately seized this opportunity and enveloped its own power to the entire Europe in the next few hundred years. When it reached its peak, the imperial power of the European monarch was under its ecclesiastical power. The emperor needed the recognition of the pope, and it even launched eight "Crusades".

Almost at the same time, Chinese Confucianism also reached its peak. While the Song Dynasty was shining with strange brilliance, pushing civil and economics to its peak, it also pulled military to a low point. Europe had dark medieval times and extravagant priests, and China also had dark Song and Ming Neo-Confucianism and morally corrupt Taoists.

History is always surprisingly similar.

The only difference is that Christianity still retains its status and substantial influence in modern society and has expanded to the whole world. Confucianism, which once influenced the entire East Asian cultural circle, is different. Its influence has almost completely disappeared and has degenerated back to its original state. It is just a doctrine. The fundamental reason is that a strange man appeared in China that has not appeared for thousands of years.

He not only brought China from the right-wing government state to the extreme left-wing government state with his own strength, but also destroyed the Confucian gentry class that had been passed down for hundreds of years in China's Ming and Qing dynasties with complete violence, and placed the government's power to the grassroots rural units, realizing the most straightforward and thorough rule in Chinese history, thus fundamentally eliminating the influence of Confucianism, uprooting it, and no possibility of recovery.

This is the only government in China that has not been influenced by the Confucian gentry since the Han Dynasty, and it is also the toughest-ruling government in the world, even more powerful than Qin. Compared with it, the Qin government's burning of books and burying scholars was just a small fuss.

It does not need to share power with any other domestic class except itself. Landlords and scholars no longer exist. The only class power maintained by the Confucian culture born independently in China that can resist imperial power or even undermine imperial power has completely disappeared and will not be born in the future, because the example of the Ming Dynasty is right in front of us.

There is only one example worldwide, such an example, which is a very heavy price that even though it succeeds, destroys all forces in a country except the government, and the most straightforward and thorough rule. It also has extremely strong hidden dangers that other countries do not have. However, whether it is desirable or not, this is at least one way.

Before Chen Longzheng and Matteo Ricci set off, Xiao Ruxun found Chen Longzheng alone and told him in detail about the Holy See. Therefore, when Chen Longzheng knew that people from the Holy See came, he was not ignorant of the purpose of the Holy See. He knew that among the things Xiao Ruxun ordered, Matteo Ricci could not be allowed to participate in decision-making.

The Holy See came to the Roman Catholic Church, and the level was higher than Matteo Ricci at many levels. However, given the different status of Matteo Ricci at this moment and the purpose of the Holy See's desire to spread Christianity in China, the Cardinal was quite polite to Matteo Ricci, let alone Chen Longzheng, because Chen Longzheng was not a Christian, so he was even more polite.

His purpose here is very simple. He asked Matteo Ricci's current missionary situation, and also asked Chen Longzheng whether the Chinese general behind him could allow Christians to formally preach within his jurisdiction.

Matteo Ricci has informed the bishop of Xiao Ruxun's basic situation. The bishop knew that Xiao Ruxun was actually a noble lord with a population of more than one million, and influenced dozens of small countries in Southeast Asia, with a population of nearly ten million. In other words, if supported by this Chinese general, at least, Christians can formally preach unrestricted missions in these countries, unlike in the inland China, even entering China is not an easy task.
Chapter completed!