Wanli Xinming

Chapter 227 Commentary
Not to mention that after Zhang Juzheng has recuperated his body, he continues to enter the busy work of infinite blessings.At this time, the Portuguese embassy finally embarked on the long road to meet the emperor.

They disembarked in Shanghai on the [-]th day of the twelfth lunar month before the Chinese New Year. After entering the customs, they were repaired for two days and entered Songjiang Prefecture on the [-]th of the twelfth lunar month.

Songjiang Prefecture has three counties under its jurisdiction, namely Huating, Shanghai, and Qingpu, with a total of thirteen townships and fifty guarantees.In the eight years of Wanli, the total population was more than 260 million.What is the concept of 260 million—Lisbon is known as a big city in Europe at this time, with a population of only 15, and Portugal has a full budget, with only 150 million people.

Although the members of the embassy can be said to be well-informed, they have never seen such a prosperous place. They are all like Grandma Liu who has just entered the Grand View Garden. I wish my parents had two more eyes, so that they can take a look at the prosperous scene. Pass.Matteo Ricci shouted God how many times along the way, and said to the embassy: "If these people are turned into the Lamb of the Lord - all of us can be sanctified!"

They packed three four-wheeled carriages and entered Songjiang Palace comfortably all the way, and settled in a hotel first.Although they were often watched along the way, everyone was used to it.

After a simple lunch, Fan Li'an said, "Let's not rush to rest first, let's go to the official government first to see if there is any news from the imperial court about our mission."

So Fan Li'an, Luo Mingjian, Matteo Ricci, and Ines hired a carriage to drag them to the government office. Fan Li'an cast a name and asked to see the prefect.

At this time, the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture was still Wang Yixiu, but that was no longer the case.Since Wang Zhifu and Hai Rui cooperated with the emperor to clean up the Jiangnan lords headed by Xu Jie, those small days should not be too beautiful.As he had expected, the performance of money and food, construction, culture and education ranked first year after year.

In the autumn of the ninth year of Wanli, the prefect of Wang Zhifu accepted three rounds of assessments for three consecutive years.Before the end of the year, the court's decree came down, and Wang Zhifu directly stepped from the third rank to the first rank, jumped up to the Nanjing Rites Minister, and will take office after the new year.

These days, the prefects of the Heavenly Kings are in a good mood and exaggerated, and the smiles on their faces are always uncontrollable, which made some retired veteran cadres in Songjiang laugh several times.He had no choice but to live in seclusion, hiding in the second hall of the mansion and having fun.

After listening to the doorman reporting to the head of the Portuguese embassy, ​​Fan Li'an, to ask for an interview, Wang Zhifu knew that the words were coming. What everyone in the embassy did not know was that the Imperial Security Bureau knew their whereabouts well, and had already told the officials along the way how to properly deal with the embassy.

The principle of coping is actually just four words: "loose on the outside and tighten on the inside". "Inner tightness" is to keep the mission under the sight of the Security Bureau, to ensure their safety and to prevent them from spying on military intelligence and technical information on industries such as porcelain, silk, and tea; "external looseness" means to make the mission feel uncomfortable. When the imperial court attaches great importance to them, they are required to treat them as ordinary people by local governments, so as not to get used to them.

It is precisely because of this that Lei Yingzhi, the head of Guangzhou Customs, who was born in the attendant's office, was lukewarm to these people and asked them to find a boat to go north on their own.After the mission entered Nansha Port, under the arrangement of the Security Bureau, the boat they were on was all spies from the owner to the staff.Otherwise, the mission will find a few more ships to negotiate the price, and it will definitely not cost three times the price of the ship.Well, there is always something inconvenient to account for the transactions of the Security Bureau.

Wang Zhifu had been explained by the security bureau before, so he did not avoid seeing it, and received the four members of the mission in the second hall of the government office.

Luo Mingjian speaks the best Chinese. He is in charge of communication. First, he presents the documents and the gift list together.Wang Yixiu first checked their customs clearance documents, and after confirming that these people were Portuguese embassies, he suppressed his curiosity about their appearance and looked at the gift list—a pocket watch and two bottles of wine.

Secretly curling his lips, Wang Yixiu smiled and said, "You Frans also have black hair, but with deeper eyes and higher noses. Well, they look a bit like the Westerners of our country."

Luo Mingjian said with a smile: "I tell your lord, we are southern Europeans, and our appearance is different from western Europeans - they are all pure white skin, and their eyes are generally blue. We Portuguese have black, brown, and some light blue eyes. Look, my lord, Mr. Ines has light blue eyes."

Wang Yixiu snorted and said with a smile: "I haven't received the decree and court notice on how to receive your embassy. You come to see me, do you have anything to help me? If it's not troublesome, I can help a little. , after all, it is a guest who has come all the way."

Fan Li'an heard that the Songjiang government had not received the news of the reception of the mission from the imperial court. He felt a little cold in his heart, and his expectations for going to Beijing to complete his missionary career were lower.But he was an extremely determined person, so he took over the conversation and said, "Thank you, Mr. Wang for taking care of us. Well, I want to know, how much distance is left for us to go to the capital now? How can we get there the fastest?"

Wang Yixiu said with a smile: "There is a canal connecting the capital and us, and the waterway is about three thousand kilometers. However, now the north is icy and snowy, and the canal is frozen - if you are in a hurry, you can take a horse-drawn carriage one stop after the new year. I can get there in two or three months.”

The four members of the mission gasped in unison, and Luo Mingjian said in a trembling voice, "Is your country's capital on the northern border? So far from here?"

Wang Yixiu had never thought about how far the capital was from the border before, he blinked a few times when he heard the words, raised his finger for a long time and said, "That's not true. According to the map issued by the imperial court, the capital is farthest from Beishan. There are still about seven or eight thousand miles from the provincial border—however, after Daning, there are not many people further north. Well, the capital is about two thousand miles away from Daning.”

The four members of the mission were dizzy and dizzy, thinking that Da Gama thought the end of the sky when he reached India. How could they know that there is such a big country in northern India - this country is bigger than the whole of Europe, and much bigger!
The shock in my heart couldn't be added, causing the four of them to be silent for a long time.Wang Yixiu didn't know what they were thinking, so he had no choice but to drink tea from the teacup and motioned for them to drink it too.

It took a long time for everyone in the mission to digest before Fan Li'an returned to the gods: "To tell the truth, I have lived in Japan for many years, and I have also seen the map of Ming Kingdom in Japan. Although it is much larger than Japan, it doesn't feel as good as you said. Big - can you show me a map of your country?"

Wang Yixiu shook his head and said, "Maps are important for the military and are secret. Although the level of secrets I use is not high, it is not convenient for you to see. This official cannot promise you."

Fan Li'an wanted to ask again, and Ines gently tugged at his clothes.Fan Li'an turned around and saw Ines winking at the wall on Wang Yixiu's right.

Fan Li'an picked up the tea and glanced in that direction under the disguise of drinking tea. Sure enough, he saw a large map hanging on the east wall.

The map was densely packed, with circles, lines, and dots criss-crossing it, and it was very complicated. Van Lien had never seen such a complicated map—including at the Portuguese court.Seeing him, Wang Yixiu stopped talking, followed his gaze to the east, and said inwardly ashamed: "It seems that my sense of confidentiality needs to be strengthened."

With an embarrassed smile, he said, "Well, this is the map of Songjiang Prefecture and neighboring prefectures. I use it for government administration, and this is also a secret." He winked at the aide next to him, and the aide stood up and walked over to the wall. The green drapery on the side was drawn, covering the map.

Fan Li'an and the others saw that the prefect was like this, and they felt that their mission was not taken seriously at all, and they became more and more annoyed and silent.

Seeing that he was a little cold, Luo Mingjian bowed his hands and said: "To tell the truth, we are missionaries of the Papal State. We came to Beijing to see His Majesty the Emperor because we wanted to preach in your country. Would you like to hear our teachings first?"

Wang Yixiu is also a genuine Jinshi. After the entrance exam, he did some research on Buddhism and Taoism. Especially during the battle with Xu Jie, he read a lot of miscellaneous books to seek psychological comfort.At this moment, his eyes lit up and he smiled: "Well, I'm very interested. You can talk about it."

Except for Ines, the other three were shocked.Luo Mingjian hurriedly showed his best state and explained the doctrines of God's creation, the Trinity, original sin, redemption, heaven, hell, and eternal life.

Although he gave a high level of generalization, it took more than half an hour to introduce them.Wang Yixiu listened with relish, and finally commented: "Well, some things are very similar to our Taoism and Buddhism, but they don't look like cults."

Including Matteo Ricci, after listening to Luo Mingjian's translation of his words, the corners of the four people's mouths twitched at the same time.Luo Mingjian moistened his throat, took over the conversation and said, "When I was in Myanmar before, Governor Luo Wanhua also talked about your country's religious policies. Can you please tell us in detail?"

Wang Yixiu listened and said: "Well, I can tell you about this. Last year, the imperial court just promulgated the management method of religion, which can be summed up as these principles."

"Well, it's the separation of church and state. No matter what religion it is, it's an outsider's business, and it's not allowed to interfere in any political affairs at the court or local level. Court officials and local officials who believe in religion must not use their religious likes and dislikes to govern, or they will be dismissed immediately. If there are serious consequences, he will be imprisoned."

Although this rule is not in line with the status quo of the Papal States in Europe, Fan Li’an and the others are mentally prepared, and Christianity has no foundation in the Ming Kingdom, let alone interfering in political affairs, it is a good thing not to be cleaned up. This first rule is actually beneficial to them of.

Wang Yixiu continued: "Second, it is unified management. The imperial court has set up a religious department, and the abbots of Buddhism and Taoism, and the imams of Islam all need to be recorded in the imperial court. Abbot and Imam's. What's your Abbot's name?"

Fan Li'an's mouth was full of bitterness after hearing this.Luo Mingjian smiled bitterly and replied, "We call this parish priest, priest and bishop."

"Oh, if, this official is saying that if the imperial court allows you to preach, the appointment and removal of priests and bishops must be approved by the imperial court's religious department, otherwise it is a violation of the law."

Fan Li'an and Luo Mingjian looked at each other with sad faces.The Pope cannot appoint and remove bishops with full authority. Isn't this a joke of the Papal State?
Luo Mingjian asked, "Is there any more?"

Wang Yixiu continued: "Of course there is, um. The third rule is about people. Those who are not outsiders need to have a sacrament before they can become monks—that is, they specialize in cultivation, preaching, practice, etc. If there is no sacrament, It's also against the law."

The missionaries could all accept this, and Luo Mingjian motioned to Wang Yixiu to continue teaching them.

Wang Yixiu continued: "There is also about the property of the church. According to the regulations, a monk, the court allows him to have five acres of land as temple property, and this five acres of land is not taxed. Whether it is a temple, a Taoist temple or a Muslim temple, all needs A land permit can only be built. For the donations received, the part that is spent for charity is tax-free, and the rest is subject to donation tax. After paying the tax, the rest can be spent.”

After saying this, the missionary's heart felt as if it had fallen into an ice hole.At this time in Europe, the parishioners had to pay eleven taxes to support the Holy See, but I didn’t expect that the Ming Kingdom would be completely reversed—the priests also had to pay taxes to the imperial court!

Luo Mingjian said numbly, "Is there any more?"

Wang Yixiu said: "Of course, um, there are more than 30 management measures in total, and I will ask them to give you a copy. The imperial court sent a lot of them—do you know Chinese characters?"

　I will be on a business trip for four days tomorrow, it may be updated, and it may not be updated in time.Still, I have the cheek to ask for some votes.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)