Chenla

The merchant ship stopped and started, losing much time along the way, but after a 61-day voyage, Ambrosius and his party finally reached their destination: Phnom Penh, the capital of Chenla.

At this time, the sailing speed of most sailboats hovered around 12 knots; the clipper ships that would appear shortly thereafter would push sailing speeds to a new height of 20 knots.

One knot is equivalent to 1.852 kilometers, meaning a ship traveling at 12 knots could cover 533.37 kilometers in a single day.

From Venice to the port of Phnom Penh, the entire journey was approximately 26,000 kilometers.

In the eyes of Rauscher, bringing heretics back to the true faith was an incomparably noble endeavor.

It was precisely for this reason that Archbishop Rauscher spared no effort in assisting Ambrosius.

To ensure the safety of Ambrosius and the success of his mission, he also found a special religious group known as the Combat Brotherhood.

Ambrosius felt quite strange when he first learned that the Diocese of Linz had such an organization.

However, the moment he stepped onto the ship, he finally understood why these men were called the Combat Brotherhood.

The average height of these priests exceeded 1.85 meters; in an era where the average European stood at 1.7 meters, a height of 1.85 meters was truly legendary, akin to giants.

Even more exaggerated was that each of them carried a rifle on their back, with pistols and cold weapons like knives and swords tucked into their belts. If not for the Bibles chained to their waists, it would have been difficult to associate them with priests at all.

These giants all possessed fierce countenances. To call them priests would be more accurate to call them executioners.

Among them were two men who were slightly shorter, but one was covered in scars with extensive burns on his face, his voice raspy like a demon from hell.

The other, while speaking like a devout believer, had actually tattooed the Bible in Latin across his face, looking from a distance like an exorcist covered in talismans.

This priest's name was Sart, an exorcist from the Diocese of Linz.

Ambrosius remarked with genuine emotion, "Father Sart, even without the aid of any holy relics, your appearance alone is enough to scare away the devil."

And so, a general, accompanied by two officers, a diplomat serving as an interpreter, seventeen adventurers, three missionaries, and fifty combat priests, embarked on the same journey.

Except for the two adventurers who unfortunately perished at sea, the rest of the group arrived safely in Chenla.

The capital of Chenla, Phnom Penh, was an inland port located in the delta between the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap River, with direct access to the South China Sea to the south.

Although Ambrosius had been mentally prepared, Phnom Penh was still much larger than he had imagined, nearly twice the size of Florence, the capital of Tuscany.

It was just that the people here seemed somewhat numb.

Ambrosius had every reason to believe that if his party had appeared in any European city, they would have certainly drawn a crowd.

But the workers in this port seemed completely indifferent to their arrival, moving cargo with vacant eyes as if they were a group of ghosts.

The Vietnamese official at the pier looked at Ambrosius and his party with disdain, seemingly intent on giving them a hard time.

Ambrosius hurriedly took out a string of zinc coins, handed them to the official, and said in broken Vietnamese.

"Gongxi facai, changming baishui."

Zinc coins, also known as white lead money, actually contained more zinc and were the primary currency in Vietnam at the time.

The Vietnamese official at the port took the string of coins, put them in his pocket, and waved for them to leave.

But when the few missionaries passed by, the Vietnamese official stopped them and said, "Do not preach, or you will die."

The Vietnamese official made a throat-slitting gesture, and the missionaries nodded to indicate they understood.

Before coming to Phnom Penh, the French captain had repeatedly warned the Catholic priests that Emperor Minh Mang of Vietnam had ordered a nationwide ban on missionary work; any priest caught preaching privately would be arrested and sent to Hue, and anyone found hiding them would be executed immediately.

However, this was Chenla, so the Vietnamese laws were not enforced particularly strictly.

The accompanying diplomat, Zacker, gave the Vietnamese official another string of coins, wanting to know where the Chenla officials were, as this was, after all, a Chenla port.

After receiving the money, the Vietnamese official pointed to an inconspicuous hut nearby.

Seeing Ambrosius and his party leave, the small Vietnamese official adjusted his conical hat and spat on the ground.

"A bunch of poor wretches, only fit to do business with the people of Chenla."

At this time, the Vietnamese were extremely arrogant, considering themselves the second greatest power in the world, with no rivals other than the Great Qing.

Ambrosius and his party entered the foreign affairs office of Chenla, where the Chenla officials stared at them with curiosity.

Under Vietnamese rule, the Chenla government offices were mere shells, and no one had come calling for a long time.

Kuan Kim-pan was a member of the Chenla nobility and a second-rank civil official, but under Vietnamese rule, he held almost no real power.

Not just Kuan Kim-pan, but the other Chenla officials were also curious about the purpose of Ambrosius and his party.

Because this team was truly too strange.

And why were these foreign monks all carrying weapons?

With these physiques and these looks, they were like the wrathful Vajra in a Buddhist temple.

Furthermore, with the Vietnamese ruling Chenla and enforcing Vietnamese law, any missionary caught preaching privately would be immediately arrested, executed, or sent to Hue for punishment.

Were these people truly not afraid of death? But looking at them, they didn't seem like they were here to preach.

In fact, the so-called Combat Brotherhood was merely a product of shared misery.

Following the French Revolution and the incident of the twelve priests, Catholic organizations across various countries lived in constant fear, terrified that they would suffer the same fate.

During the French Revolution, priests who refused to swear allegiance to the new government of France were rounded up and executed, and church property was looted frantically.

Thus, a self-defense organization composed of fanatics was born. Initially, they were intended to protect Catholic property, but these zealots soon expanded their goals, one of which was to use force to protect the safety of missionaries.

When Franz first heard of this organization, another name surfaced in his mind—Astartes.

It was precisely because Franz knew of the existence of these "Astartes" that he dared to let Ambrosius go to Chenla to rescue the princess.

At this moment, Ambrosius was the first to break the silence.

"Greetings, officials of Chenla. We are special envoys from the Austrian Empire, hoping to establish diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Chenla and engage in mutual exchange. We have brought gifts for your royal family and hope you can help us secure an audience."

Zacker, the diplomat accompanying Ambrosius, took out small gold bars one by one and placed them into the hands of the Chenla officials.

The Chenla officials were immediately flattered, feeling a sense of warmth toward this foreigner who understood their language.

However, upon hearing that the visitors wished to see the royal family, the officials exchanged uneasy glances.

Only Kuan Kim-pan sensed an opportunity, perhaps to exploit these foreigners' ignorance of the country's internal affairs to extort a hefty sum.

"I am the Director of the Chenla Foreign Affairs Office, Kuan Kim-pan."

Ambrosius mimicked Kuan Kim-pan's manner and introduced himself.

"I am a special military observer from the Austrian Empire, Ambrosius. I hope to observe the training and combat of your troops."

At this, a Chenla official jumped out and spoke.

"You barbarian from a vassal state, you know nothing of etiquette. Now that you have met our Lord Kuan Kim-pan, why do you not kneel?"

"Kneel?" Ambrosius looked puzzled.

Zacker, the Austrian diplomat standing to the side, twitched his face and said.

"Archduke Ambrosius is a member of our Austrian Empire's royal family. Please mind your attitude."