Chapter 39: Chapter 38: Armed Proselytism

Schönbrunn Palace, the nursery.

"Mother, I am five years old now. I can sleep by myself," Franz said, looking at Madame Sophie with a hint of helplessness.

"No, I believe you need me. And you cannot refuse a mother fulfilling her duty," Madame Sophie insisted.

"Now, it was a day of heavy snowfall, and after Captain Lin had traveled less than half a mile, he came upon a dilapidated church..." Franz sighed, lamenting to himself how women of every era seemed to love dramatic storytelling.

Phnom Penh, the Royal Palace of Chenla.

At this moment, King Anzan was long gone, but his four daughters remained within the palace.

They were the princesses of Chenla, and the palace was their home, yet they were now confined to the Cold Palace.

This was because the other palaces had been occupied by the Vietnamese General Zhang Mingjiang, who, as the Vietnamese military governor in Chenla, held absolute power.

The first thing Zhang Mingjiang did upon entering the Phnom Penh palace was to seize King Anzan's concubines. He then used the King's name to increase taxes while simultaneously conscripting young, beautiful women into the palace.

The Quan Kim clan was not spared; over a dozen women from the clan were summoned to the palace, many of whom, unable to endure the indignity, were forced to commit suicide. This caused Quan Kim Pan to hate Zhang Mingjiang to his very bones.

As for the four princesses of Chenla, Zhang Mingjiang did not dare to act recklessly—not out of fear for the Chenla people, but out of fear of the military supervisor sent by Emperor Minh Mạng: an eunuch surnamed Li.

On the surface, this eunuch was there to oversee military affairs, but in reality, he was there to both restrict Zhang Mingjiang's power and to prevent Zhang from making contact with Anzan's descendants, fearing he might follow in the footsteps of Cao Cao and "hold the Emperor to command the nobles."

Sinology and Confucian thought held an unshakable position in the various Southeast Asian nations. It was not surprising that Emperor Minh Mạng was familiar with this historical allusion.

However, the Emperor's methods provided Quan Kim Pan with room to maneuver.

As a group that had lost the rights of normal citizens, eunuchs were typically either greedy, wicked, or possessed of peculiar obsessions.

This eunuch surnamed Li happened to love composing poetry. Naturally, Quan Kim Pan catered to his interests, frequently bringing renowned scholars from the Chenla literary circles into the palace to compose verses with him.

Since poetry is incomplete without wine, Quan Kim Pan sent people everywhere to collect fine liquors to present to the eunuch.

Through this back-and-forth, Quan Kim Pan became a "soulmate" in the eyes of the eunuch.

One day, Quan Kim Pan approached the eunuch with a rare Tang Dynasty manuscript and an exquisite jade goblet.

The eunuch was pleased inwardly, but spoke composedly

"Brother Quan Kim, you bring such a heavy gift to this old servant. Just tell me plainly, what is the matter?"

"Brother Li, the princesses have reached the age for education. I wish to hire tutors for them."

The eunuch breathed a sigh of relief; he had thought it was something urgent, only to find it was merely a request for teachers.

The eunuch replied, "That is, of course, possible. I only wonder which great masters are capable of tutoring the princesses. Might you allow this old servant to meet them?"

Quan Kim Pan understood that it was impossible to deny the request, especially since the matter would eventually come to light regardless.

"Master An, Master Pa, come and meet Brother Li."

An and Pa were common surnames in Chenla, so the eunuch paid them little mind.

However, when he saw Ambrosius and Pacini, he was genuinely startled.

"Yellow-haired devils!?"

Quan Kim Pan interjected, "They are Western barbarians."

"Oh, right, barbarians. But do they actually possess true learning?" The eunuch, prideful of his vast erudition, intended to test these two Western masters.

Quan Kim Pan, knowing he couldn't let Ambrosius and Pacini improvise, simply stated

"A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent. These two Westerners primarily teach dance and music."

These words instantly caused the eunuch to lose interest.

"I knew it. Barbarians lack literacy and know only song and dance." He then turned to a nearby young eunuch and said, "Give them a waist token and lead them away."

The young eunuch bowed in agreement, but just as he turned to leave, the eunuch called out

"Wait!"

The eunuch's voice immediately tightened the atmosphere. Ambrosius's hand instinctively moved toward the pistol at his waist.

"They smell foul. Have them bathe and change clothes; don't bring that stench into the palace."

Ambrosius and Quan Kim Pan both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, sir."

Ambrosius finally met the "Princesses" he had dreamed of, but they were entirely different from what he had imagined.

Their clothing was quite rustic, and even the fabric used was similar to that of the palace maids.

Furthermore, at this age, they looked to be only in their teens, with the youngest appearing no more than seven or eight years old.

Ambrosius thought to himself with endless frustration, *I shouldn't have listened to that brat.*

While Ambrosius was sizing up the princesses, the little girls were also curiously observing him.

After all, the princesses had lived in the palace since birth; they had never seen a man, let alone a Westerner.

The two sides stood there, staring at each other awkwardly.

In the end, Father Pacini broke the tension. As a professional missionary trained by the Church, his communication skills were excellent.

The princesses' first impression of Ambrosius was very positive. He was vastly different from the eunuchs they usually saw, and since Grand Duke Ambrosius was quite handsome, he was naturally easy to approach.

***

Chenla, Basson Bay.

The establishment of the port proceeded smoothly. The local people were extraordinarily numb; they showed no intention of resisting these uninvited guests, and the officials became very cooperative after accepting bribes.

The Catholic missionaries also began their "campaign." They first infiltrated nearby villages, providing medical care, distributing medicine, and giving out rice. Such routine operations could only garner local attention.

To proselytize in a colony, they needed special methods.

When a village was frequently harassed by bandits, the Combat Priests split into two teams. One team lay in ambush with firearms along the bandits' inevitable path, while the other went into the village to help the villagers defend it and prevent any local informants from alerting the bandits.

While the villagers were being defended by the priests in the village, the first team of Combat Priests would strike, driving the bandits back. Then, the second team, already lying in ambush, would rush out to wipe the bandits out in one fell swoop.

The priests would bind the bandits in the village square and allow the villagers to recount the bandits' crimes.

At this moment, the villagers naturally sought vengeance for their grievances. As the bandits were beaten nearly to death by the villagers, the priests would step in to stop the violence.

The priests then demanded that the bandits repent for their sins. This scene was all too familiar to the Buddhists of Southeast Asia.

*Most likely, these foreign monks are going to release these damned bandits,* the villagers thought.

The bandits thought the same, believing they might escape this ordeal, only to vow that they would one day kill all these wretched peasants, since these foreign monks couldn't guard the villagers every single day.

However, to the surprise of both the villagers and the bandits, after the bandits had confessed, the priests sent them to the cross, allowing them to receive baptism through the flames.

"May the Lord forgive your sins, Amen!"

Having witnessed the combat prowess and methods of the priests, the villagers began to convert their faith en masse.

Watching the increasingly devout villagers, the priests marveled inwardly, *Archbishop Rocher's methods are truly effective.*

What they did not know was that these missionary strategies had all originated from the mind of a single child.

(End of Chapter)