Expedition to Europe

When the time came to the end of August, Qin Zhiyuan's ascension to the throne in October was imminent.

Qin Zhiyuan chose to ascend the throne on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month of the Republic of China. If converted to the Gregorian calendar, this day is October 8, 1919.

There is only more than a month left, but many things are not ready yet, even the palace for the ascension has not been built yet. Thinking about it this way, it is indeed a bit imminent.

Regarding the ascension ceremony, Qin Zhiyuan originally did not want to make a big fuss, but when Qin Zhiyuan expressed this intention, he was firmly opposed by the cabinet.

For a kingdom, the king's ascension to the throne is a top priority. It is a symbol of a country and it is impossible to fool around casually. That would be too hasty. It is not only disrespectful to the country, but also disrespectful to the people.

It was not until this time that Qin Zhiyuan understood the meaning of the phrase "There is no private matter in the family of heaven"

Since the cabinet insisted on a ceremony that was in line with the image of the Lan Fang state, Qin Zhiyuan had no choice but to cooperate. On this issue, the cabinet's attitude was almost stubborn, and Qin Zhiyuan had to compromise.

In fact, even Huang Bohan didn't know what procedures and preparations were required for the enthronement.

Fortunately, it had been less than ten years since the Qing Empire was overthrown. In the previous few years, it had experienced the Hongxian Restoration. The year before last, Zhang Xun had made a farce of the Qing government's restoration, so it was not difficult to find someone who was proficient in the etiquette of the enthronement ceremony.

The war in the Republic of China made many people realize the benefits of having a strong central government, and many people even missed the Qing government because of it.

The Qing government was indeed corrupt, but compared to the Republic of China, which was in the midst of war at this time, the country under the rule of the Qing government was generally peaceful. Although the people in the border areas were miserable, the inland areas were generally peaceful.

The "North-South Dispute" in the Republic of China has now really spread all over the country. According to incomplete statistics, 24 of the 28 provinces and two special regions in the Republic of China are in war, and the situation is extremely bad.

The wars in the Republic of China objectively facilitated the immigration of Lan Fang. Since Lan Fang increased its immigration efforts, hundreds of thousands of people have been going to Lan Fang through coastal provinces every month, and the most immigrants are from areas where wars frequently break out.

In this comparison, the quiet and peaceful Lan Fang without war is really a paradise.

It's not that there are no wars, but the wars all broke out on the territories of other countries and have nothing to do with the people of Lan Fang.

Qin Zhiyuan's coronation ceremony attracted a lot of attention. Currently, those who are confirmed to attend the ceremony include French President Raymond Poincaré, British Prime Minister Lloyd George, US President Wilson, President of the Republic of China Xu Shichang, and Pope Benedict XV.

Just looking at this lineup, you can know the attitude of the powerful countries towards Lan Fang at that time.

But it seems that some strange creatures have come in.

That's right, it's Benedict XV.

Lan Fang adopts an attitude of neither encouragement nor restriction towards religion. Whether it is Catholicism, Buddhism, or Taoism, Lan Fang's attitude is the same.

Of course, because of the native reason, Taoism seems to be taken care of to a certain extent in Lan Fang, but this is not obvious.

Similarly, because of its relationship with Catholicism, Catholicism seems to be taken care of to some extent in Lan Fang, but this is also not obvious.

There is also Buddhism, which is actually the most widely spread religion among Chinese people in the past, but Qin Zhiyuan is not interested in the Buddhist idea of ​​"becoming a monk", so there are some problems in its spread in Lan Fang.

Buddhism was actually a very popular industry in the Republic of China, because the temples had land and did not need to pay rent, so the monks' lives were pretty good. In Lan Fang, whether it is Buddhism, Catholicism, or Taoism, no property is allowed. Their only income is to rely on donations from believers, and they are not allowed to deliberately induce.

In this way, Lan Fang's religion is much simpler, without too many derivative benefits, and will not breed too many troubles.

Of course, not everyone agrees with Lan Fang's policy, such as Reid Auerbach of Catholicism.

In the process of Qin Zhiyuan's rise, Catholicism has made great efforts. Even now, Catholicism continues to provide Qin Zhiyuan with $5 million in funds every month.

This number has increased a lot compared to the past, which is understandable. After all, Qin Zhiyuan's status is also improving. The status of the King of Lan Fang has been improved by more than one level compared to the head of the Foreign Legion. Benedict XV needs more chips to maintain his position in Qin Zhiyuan's heart.

Since there is investment, there must be something to ask for.

Qin Zhiyuan is very clear about this.

After Qin Zhiyuan returned to Lan Fang, Orbach also followed Qin Zhiyuan to Lan Fang, so Penglai Island became the religious center of Catholicism in Asia.

On the current Penglai Island, a large-scale church is under construction. Orbach ambitiously declared that he would build Catholicism into a landmark building comparable to Notre Dame de Paris, so the construction period may be as long as decades.

Qin Zhiyuan encouraged this. Building a cathedral comparable to Notre Dame de Paris on Penglai Island can at least add a scenic spot to Penglai Island, and it is also more conducive to the Westerners in the research institute on Penglai Island to work with peace of mind.

The PLA in later generations has been criticized internationally. One of the reasons is that the PLA has no religious beliefs, which is incredible in Western society.

How can people live without faith?

This is the first reaction of many Westerners when they learn this fact.

Westerners don’t understand why Orientals don’t have religious beliefs, just like Orientals don’t understand why everyone in the West must have religious beliefs.

Europe was once ruled by the church for a long time. Although almost all European countries are now independent, religion still has a huge influence in secular countries, and because of tradition, Europeans do have faith.

The East is different. In the East, there has never been a situation where religion is greater than the country, let alone the concept of "religious country". Therefore, Orientals’ attitude towards religion is dispensable, and they only believe in it when they need it.

The original text is in Liu # 9 @Shu/Bar!

Qin Zhiyuan thought that it was impossible for him to be like the PLA in another time and space, moving forward independently amid the world’s white eyes and ridicule, and standing tall among the world’s nations.

Qin Zhiyuan wanted to use another way to achieve the same effect, because although the PLA’s way of rising was inspiring enough, Qin Zhiyuan didn’t want to persist for decades to make the country rise. Qin Zhiyuan wanted to use the fastest way to make Lan Fang rise.

Since we want to cooperate with Western countries, we can't make ourselves look too different. We must learn to respect each other's traditions.

But it is obvious that Reid Orbach feels that Qin Zhiyuan has not done enough, so he has been running to Qin Zhiyuan's Black Swan Castle a little frequently recently.

"Qin, can't you think about it? This is the Pope himself crowning you. If you agree, it means that Lan Fang will have the same status and rights as Western countries. This is the first in Asia..." Reid Orbach chattered beside Qin Zhiyuan.

Qin Zhiyuan and Reid Orbach are in the study of Black Swan Castle. The furnishings here are basically the same as those in the Black Swan Castle study in Paris. The difference is the map behind Qin Zhiyuan. The one in Paris is a world map, and the one behind Qin Zhiyuan is a Lan Fang map.

After Reid Orbach knew that Qin Zhiyuan was about to hold the coronation ceremony, Reid Orbach began to think about it.

In Reid Auerbach's opinion, if Qin Zhiyuan's coronation ceremony can use the common coronation ceremony in the West, and the Pope personally crowns Qin Zhiyuan, it will undoubtedly greatly improve the status of Catholicism in Lan Fang.

"Reid, Mr. Prime Minister and the cabinet members require the coronation in the traditional Chinese way. There will be a ceremony of offering sacrifices to the sky, and there will be many ceremonies such as the coronation ceremony. I will wear special clothes and a special hat to sit on a chair to accept the congratulations of the country's important officials. If I wear a crown on my head at this time, don't you think it's a bit inconsistent?" Qin Zhiyuan's face was a little bitter, and he was full of complaints while sitting there.

Qin Zhiyuan has seen the coronation ceremony process determined by the cabinet for "experts". The whole process is extremely cumbersome, and Qin Zhiyuan is dizzy.

If you ask the Pope to personally crown Qin Zhiyuan as Reid Auerbach said, then some more steps will be added, and the whole coronation ceremony will be more complicated.

At the same time, there is a key issue. If Qin Zhiyuan wants the Pope to crown him personally, then there must be a church that can match the grandeur of the coronation ceremony, and there is no such building in Lan Fang at present.

Since there are enough reasons to refuse, then it must be said clearly: "...Look, if the Pope crowns him personally, how to solve the problem of the church? And I don’t have a crown here. Do I have to find a blacksmith to make one now?"

Qin Zhiyuan didn’t know what material the crown was made of, so let’s just assume it was made of iron.

After hearing Qin Zhiyuan’s words, Reid Orbach almost suffocated with anger. An iron crown... it’s really something that can be thought of!

"You don't need to worry about the crowns. I can provide as many as you need. What we need now is your consent. As long as you agree, there will be a large pile of crowns for you to choose from..." Well, from Reid Auerbach's words, it can be felt that Reid Auerbach is about to be mad at Qin Zhiyuan: "As for the church, you don't need to worry about it. As long as the Pope is present, no matter how many people a church can accommodate, it will be the most magnificent church in the world."

"Crown dealer" Reid Auerbach is right. As long as the Pope is present, any church will become a place that the whole world will pay attention to, even the Black Swan Castle. If the Pope holds a coronation ceremony for Qin Zhiyuan here, then this place will also become the future holy place of Lan Fang Catholicism.