Sword Xia of the Shu Mountains Chapter 26: Missionary Matteo

In the late 16th century, when the Ottoman Empire cut off the Silk Road that connected trade between Europe and Asia, Europeans turned their attention to the sea in order to maintain ties with Asia. With the opening of new waterways, Spain and Portugal, two major maritime empires, rose one after another on the European continent, and the world soon entered the age of navigation. During this period, some missionaries in Europe also went abroad to spread European religions to Asia; the most influential of them was the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci.

Ricci came to China in the eleventh year of Wanli in the Daming Dynasty and entered China with another missionary, Luo Mingjian, who also came from Italy. His first stop was Macau and then he went to Zhaoqing from Macau; Matthew and Luo Mingjian were recommended by Chen Rui, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and brought envelopes to the mansion of Wang Pan, the prefect of Zhaoqing, and met Wang Pan, who was then the prefect of Zhaoqing; Luo Mingjian was Matteo Ricci's assistant. He was proficient in Chinese and understood China. He is a missionary with great perseverance and great talent. Two years and four months after he arrived in Macau, he was able to recognize more than 15,000 Chinese characters, and could read Chinese books initially. Years later, he was able to write in Chinese. After Ricci came to China, he completely relied on Luo Mingjian's proficiency in Chinese to get in touch with some officials in Guangdong. After meeting Wang Pan, the prefect of Zhaoqing, Matteo Ricci saluted Wang Pan according to the Chinese etiquette.

"Matteo Meets with His Excellency King Pan, the Prefect of Zhaoqing"

After the salute, Luo Mingjian immediately translated Matteo Ricci's words into Chinese and told it to Wang Pan, the prefect of Zhaoqing; after listening to Luo Mingjian's translation, Wang Pan asked

"I heard that the two of you are foreign monks from the West. Are you sent by Chen Rui, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi?"

After Wang Pan finished speaking, Luo Mingjian translated Wang Pan's words into Italian and told Matteo Ricci; then, the conversation between Matteo Ricci and Wang Pan was completely translated by Luo Mingjian

"Yes, Lord Prefect, this is a letter Chen Rui asked me to give you, please read it"

After speaking, Matteo Ricci handed Chen Rui's letter to Wang Pan to Luo Mingjian. After Luo Mingjian translated Matteo Ricci's words into Chinese, he handed the letter to Wang Pan. After Wang Pan opened the envelope and read the letter written to him by Chen Rui, the prefect of Guangdong and Guangxi, he said to Matteo Ricci

"Oh, I see, since you are missionaries, we should treat each other with courtesy; since you want to preach here in Zhaoqing, then this official will place you in Tianning Temple first. If you encounter any difficulties here, just tell this officer, and this officer will settle it for you."

After listening to Wang Pan's words, Matteo Ricci said

"Thank you, Prefect"

"But I have a question in my mind. Chen Rui, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, told me in a letter that you two are from a small country called Italy; I want to ask you two, what country is Italy, and it is far from our Ming Dynasty. How far is it?"

Ricci replied after listening to Luo Mingjian's translation

"Italy is in the west of the world, more than 10,000 kilometers away from you"

Ricci's answer made Wang Pan feel surprised

"What did you say? It's more than 10,000 kilometers away from our Daming? Then how did you come to us"

"Master Wang, we came to you by boat from the sea, crossing the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, Master Wang, I have brought you a world map, you can see mine from the map countries, you'll understand when you look at the map"

Driven by curiosity, Wang Pan couldn't wait to see what the map brought by Matteo Ricci looked like, so he said to Matteo Ricci

"Oh, is that so? Then show me the map you brought and let me see what the map you've drawn looks like"

After a while, Matteo Ricci showed his world map in Wang Pan's study. When he slowly unfolded the map in front of Wang Pan's eyes, Wang Pan's face immediately showed With a surprised and puzzled expression, he discovered for the first time that the Ming Dynasty was not in the center of the world, but in a corner to the east of the map. At this time, Matteo Ricci pointed out the location of his hometown on the map.

"My hometown is here"

Then, he made a detailed outline on the map along the route from his hometown to China by boat, and introduced to Wang Pan while outlining it

"I took a boat from here, followed the western side of the African continent into the Indian Ocean to India, then took a boat from India to Macau, and finally arrived here"

After listening to Matteo Ricci's introduction, Wang Pan said in amazement

"We Huaxia have a saying that the sky is round and the place is round since ancient times. We have always believed that China is the world. I never imagined that there is such a big world outside our China. You really opened my eyes"

Although it has been nearly two centuries since Zheng He's fleet arrived in the western polar regions, the subsequent implementation of the policy of banning the sea made most Chinese ignorant of the outside world, and this world brought by Matteo Ricci The map undoubtedly opened a window for the Chinese to understand the outside world; at this time, Wang Pan suddenly had an idea in his heart, and this idea made him, an ordinary person who should have been forgotten by history, make a contribution to the development of history. Important contribution

"Mr. Matteo Ricci, can you draw a map of the world exactly like this one for this official. The text on the map is all marked in Chinese, so that more people can see what the world is from this map. what's it like"

When Luo Mingjian translated Wang Pan's words to Matteo Ricci, Matteo Ricci quickly agreed to the request of Wang Pan, the prefect of Zhaoqing

"Okay, that's fine"

"But I have a small request"

After listening to Wang Pan's words, Matteo Ricci asked

"May I ask Mr. Wang, what is the request?"

Wang Pan looked into Matteo Ricci's eyes and replied seriously

"I would like to ask you to put us back in the center of the map"

"Ok"

The Chinese at that time didn't know much about mathematics, and through mathematics it was easy to show that the ocean and land are circular, and that on a sphere there is no beginning and no end. After agreeing to Wang Pan's request, Matteo Ricci had to change his design. He erased the prime meridian of the Canary Islands and left an edge on each side of the map, so that China appeared exactly in the center of the map. .

A few days later, the official revision of the world map with China as the center of the world was completed. Matteo Ricci named this map "Map of Mountains and Oceans". After the completion of the new world map, Wang Pan, the prefect of Zhaoqing, personally printed it. It sent the map as the most precious gift to some of the biggest figures in Chinese officialdom. In return, Matteo Ricci was approved by the government to build his first church in China next to the Chongxi Pagoda in Zhaoqing. On the day after the church was built, Zhaoqing prefect Wang Pan came to congratulate in person. Matteo Ricci hurriedly arched his arms in Chinese manner and thanked Zhaoqing prefect Wang Pan with a smile

"Welcome Lord Wang, I can build the first church here thanks to Lord Wang's support. Matteo Ricci would like to thank Lord Wang here"

After listening to Matteo Ricci's words, Wang Pan said with a smile

"Where, where, we China has always been a country of etiquette, and we should naturally treat guests who come from afar with courtesy"

After speaking, Wang Pan asked Matteo Ricci a question

"Mr. Matteo Ricci, what's the name of your church?"

"The name has not been chosen yet"

"If this is the case, then this official will give your church a Chinese name called Xianhua Temple, what do you think"

"Xianhua Temple? This name is really nice. I like it very much. Thank you Mr. Wang for giving the name"

"I can't afford to give a name. In our country, the word "gi" can only be said by the emperor. Ordinary officials like us will be beheaded if they say this word.

After he finished speaking, he ordered the officer to carry out a plaque in front of Matteo Ricci, pointing to the plaque and continuing to say

"Mr Matteo Ricci, we need a plaque to build a temple in our country. I ordered the craftsmen to make this plaque for you overnight. On the plaque is written the words 'Xilai Pure Land'. Hang it in the nave"

Ricci bent down at this time, arched his arms and bowed gratefully

"Thank you, Mr. Wang"

Three days later, curious Chinese people began to walk into the church. They saw a statue in the center of the church. A beautiful woman was holding a boy in her arms. He began to crawl on the ground reverently and worshipped the statue of a woman. This small beginning made Matteo Ricci excited. He tried to spread his religion in a way acceptable to China. The popularity of the church became more and more prosperous. Lima Dou saw a glimmer of hope for his missionary career in China. Compared with those missionaries who were difficult to enter the Ming Empire, Matteo Ricci was undoubtedly lucky, because when he arrived in Zhaoqing, he met an open-minded prefect, and carefully built the first church. His missionary career has From here, Matteo Ricci can finally penetrate into the hinterland of China step by step; another goal is hidden in his heart, that is, to turn the Chinese emperor Wanli into a member of the church, but he is very concerned about his own life. Real thoughts, Matteo Ricci kept secret. At this time, Matteo Ricci did not know that when he was struggling to promote his religion to the Chinese, the world map he drew continued a wonderful journey in the far south of the Yangtze River.

Xu Guangqi, a famous scientist at Wenyuange University in the Ming Dynasty, was very interested in the "Map of Mountains and Seas" drawn by Matteo Ricci, which was obtained from a governor named Zhao Kehuai, Yingtian. This picture suddenly opened up another world for Xu Guangqi. After reading this picture, Xu Guangqi realized that behind this map is a civilization system that is very different from China

"Wonderful, wonderful, this "Map of Mountains and Seas" is completely different from all the maps I have seen before. I never imagined that there is such a big world outside our Ming Dynasty. I have almost never heard of it before. I would really like to meet the author of this picture if I have the chance"

Xu Guangqi said excitedly. At this time, Matteo Ricci had been expelled from Zhaoqing by the new governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Liu Jiwen. After leaving Zhaoqing, he moved to Shaozhou in a sad mood. A few years later, he moved towards the second capital of the Ming Dynasty. Nanjing advances. At this time in the Ming Dynasty, the immortals led by Chang Lingyun, the swordsman of Shushan in the immortal world, had just been rescued from the hands of the Lord of the Demon World, Potuojin. After Chang Lingyun served as the chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty cabinet, some of the actions such as the abolition of the sea ban and the opening of trading ports were implemented. , A series of reasonable policies to restore the economy and develop commerce and trade by dispatching businessmen to go abroad to do business and replacing handicrafts with machines have been highly praised by Matteo Ricci. After hearing about some deeds of Chang Lingyun, Matteo Ricci was in his mind. Remember this name forever. He believes that the man must be relied upon in order to turn China's emperor into a member of the religion he preaches, and that the rope of fate will soon connect our protagonist to this famous missionary in Ming history. Together.

After coming to Nanjing, Matteo Ricci found Xu Daren, a Chinese friend he knew when he was in Guangdong who served as a minister of the Ministry of Industry; Matteo Ricci thought that he could get the help of this friend and stay in Nanjing to continue his work. There must be no major problem with the missionary cause of the sect, but unfortunately he was wrong. Regarding Matteo Ricci's coming to Nanjing this time to continue his missionary career in Nanjing, Xu Daren seems not so enthusiastic. Although the reform of the cabinet's chief assistant Chang Lingyun has opened the door to the court to contact the outside world, he is not so enthusiastic about foreign religions and cultures. The spread in China is still resisted. Matteo Ricci and Xu Daren exchanged a few words, and then said to Xu Daren in a flattering manner

"I came to Nanjing here to meet you, Lord Xu. I got a pass to Nanjing from the Ministry of War, which can be used as my reply to God. I hope Lord Xu will allow me to stay in Nanjing and stay here. To carry out missionary work, if I have the opportunity, I would also like to see the chief assistant of the cabinet, Mr. Chang Lingyun.”

After listening to this, Xu Daren took a deep breath and waved his hand and said coldly

"I don't have the ability to help you, you can find someone else"

"Excuse me, Mr. Xu, why is this?"

Xu Daren shouted loudly at this time

"It's obvious that you came to Nanjing with a wrong idea. What is the status of the chief assistant of our cabinet, Mr. Chang, you are still qualified to see him; besides, we are the kingdom of heaven, how can your little science be with us? Compared with the science of Daming, our people in Daming only believe in Taoism and Buddhism, and don’t believe in your foreign religion that doesn’t make sense, so please go back.”

Ricci saw his own doom from Xu Daren's tone. The official who rejected foreign cultures and religions not only did not help Matteo Ricci in the slightest, but decided to expel him from Nanjing immediately. Unceremoniously, he pointed in the direction where Matteo Ricci was sitting and said loudly

"You will leave Nanjing for this official tonight, don't try to preach here"

Ricci's fate has experienced another sudden turning point since then; that night, Ricci decided to leave Nanjing. The city gate, then shook his head, and left without looking back on his horse. Matteo Ricci's missionary career was once again at a low point, and even he himself could not see where the future was. The hard rock of China made him feel extremely desperate and painful, and Chang Lingyun seemed to be able to move away from this in his eyes. The only hope for a rock, he believes that this young and promising politician who holds an important position in the empire will have hope, so that all Chinese people will no longer reject Western religions and cultures.

After being expelled from Nanjing City, Matteo Ricci did not give up. He was unwilling to return to his original point of Guangdong, so he went to Nanchang, not far from Nanjing, to seek an opportunity to return to Nanjing. One stay was three years; in those three years, Matteo Ricci drew another map of the world, "Yudi Shanhai Quantu" Because of this map, Matteo Ricci met a new friend in Nanchang, and that was fame Zhang Huang, a master of Wang Xue in China. Zhang Huang admired the world map drawn by Matteo Ricci very much, so he arranged for Matteo Ricci, a Westerner, to lecture on Western learning in the lecture hall of Bailudong Academy. Through Zhang Huang, Matteo Ricci met many folk scholars who had little interest in Ricci's religion, but could not resist the charm of the science he spread, which made Matteo Ricci establish the use of knowledge to The missionary strategy, he is convinced that he has found the only feasible way in the wilderness, the world in the eyes of the Chinese, and thus, under the guidance of Matteo Ricci, unfolds little by little, and the world map he draws already has a faithful one. Reader - Xu Guangqi

When Xu Guangqi heard the news of Matteo Ricci in Nanchang, he then went north from his hometown Shanghai to the capital to take the exam, and went to Nanchang specially to visit the Western missionary whom he admired; after coming to Nanchang, Xu Guangqi After inquiring all the way, he finally met the western missionary Matteo Ricci he had always wanted to see in a mansion

"Xu Guangqi met with Mr. Matteo Ricci. Xu had seen the "Map of Mountains and Oceans" drawn by you in his hometown. Your map opened Xu's eyes. After so many years of research, Xu did not know anything about science. There is such a big world beyond our Ming Dynasty”

After listening to Xu Guangqi's words, Matteo Ricci asked with a smile

"Mr. Xu is very kind, do you also study science?"

Xu Guangqi arched his arms and answered politely

"Exactly, Xu has been studying science for 20 years, but Xu only understands science in China, so I really want to know what science in your West is like. If your husband doesn't dislike it, Xu A certain wants to ask Mr. Lee to teach you Western science"

After listening to Xu Guangqi's words, Matteo Ricci readily accepted Xu Guangqi's request

"This is fine, please come with me to the study"

So, Xu Guangqi followed Matteo Ricci to the study; in the study, Matteo Ricci patiently introduced Western astronomical knowledge to Xu Guangqi. , calendar, geography and other scientific issues, their common interests and hobbies contributed to their spiritual communication and exchanges; soon, they formed a deep friendship with each other. After leaving Nanchang, Xu Guangqi went to Beijing to take the imperial examination. Unfortunately, his imperial examination ended in failure again. He set off from Beijing to Nanchang and wanted to meet Matteo Ricci again. When he entered Nanchang again , but learned that Matteo Ricci had already left for Beijing; Matteo Ricci, who experienced a failure to enter Beijing not long ago, also resolutely started the trip to Beijing at this time; Matteo Ricci finally set foot on the road to the north, he I hope this time I can knock on the gate of the Forbidden City and baptize the holy monarch of this country, so that the entire Ming Dynasty can be illuminated by the light of God, but the person he wants to see more is still the young and open-minded person. The chief assistant of the cabinet is Chang Lingyun, because he is the key to making the Ming Emperor a member of the religion. During this trip, Matteo Ricci brought dozens of tributes to Emperor Wanli, including a grand bell, an exquisite statue of the Virgin Mary and a glass prism. Among these gifts from the West, the most eye-catching is a book of names It is the atlas of "Wan Guo Tu Zhi".

At this time, Matteo Ricci needed a fulcrum to move this huge and heavy empire, and this fulcrum may be Emperor Wanli or Chang Lingyun; when he came to Linqing, a **** named Ma Tang relied on Wanli The emperor's favor was to collect the people's fat and plaster in the name of taxation. When passing by Linqing, Matteo Ricci visited a friend Zhong Wanlu he had met in Zhaoqing. Zhong Wanlu seemed a little worried about Matteo Ricci's arrival. During the conversation with Matteo Ricci, he said

"Now Ma Tang is here in Linqing by the emperor's favor for him, and in the name of taxation, he wants to scrape the people's fat and the people's cream"

After speaking, he paused for a while, then continued in a low voice

"You also know that you can't escape from his palm, because we came here when this **** was in power, and even the most powerful ministers were tortured by him, you poor foreigners, how could it be possible to escape his cruelty.”

Corresponding to Zhong Wanlu's admonition, Ma Tang lived up to its name; at the port of Linqing, Ma Tang caught up with Matteo Ricci who was going north by boat. Some officials led by Ma Tang quickly got off the boat and surrounded Matteo Ricci and his group in the center of the pier. Ma Tang, who was walking at the end of the group of officials, walked slowly to the group of Matteo Ricci. The surrounding team made a strange voice and commanded

"Take me all these foreigners"

After a while, Matteo Ricci and his party were brought to his house by Matteo Ricci, and the boxes of gifts he was going to give to the emperor were also sent to his house by Matteo Ricci; Matteo Ricci The gifts he brought with him made the **** Ma Tang feel a little strange. He said to Matteo Ricci while playing with the Western things he had scraped from the box.

"You can rest assured that this officer will not embarrass you. This officer just thinks you foreigners are suspicious, so I want to check what prohibited items are in your boxes"

After listening to Ma Tang's words, Matteo Ricci folded his hands and explained

"Sir, you misunderstood. We are going north this time to meet the Emperor Wanli. These are the gifts we gave to the emperor"

"Oh, did you? Did you also bring gold and silver jewelry?"

"Sir, I didn't bring these things with me"

Just as Matteo Ricci finished speaking, an official placed a western clock in the box on the tea table on the right side of Ma Tang. At this time, Matteo Ricci explained to Ma Tang

"My lord, these clocks and instruments will be easily damaged if there is no one to take care of them. I beg your kindness to let us bring these tributes to the emperor."

Ma Tang ignored Matteo Ricci's words and asked after playing with the statue of the Virgin Mary which he took out of the box for a while

"Who is this statue of?"

Ricci explained

"This is the Virgin Mary, the Virgin of Christianity, who will make God bless us with success in our mission in the East"

After listening to Matteo Ricci's explanation, Ma Tang put down the statue. He saw that many of the tributes in the box were really useless to him, so he decided to return these tributes to Matteo Ricci and let them go north. /

"It seems that this officer has indeed misunderstood you. Since you don't have any prohibited items in your suitcase, this officer will be extra kind to **** you north"

After listening to Ma Tang's words, Matteo Ricci arched his arms again and said gratefully

"Thank you for your grace"

In order to conceal the truth, Ma Tang gave a reasonable explanation for his actions in the emperor's memorial. He said in the memorial: Passing by a boat in Linqing, there was a foreigner named Lima Dou, it is reported that he is going to give gifts to the emperor. Since this European seems to be kind-hearted, the servant decides to help him, because he is worried that the ship that Matteo Ricci is on will encounter some kind of accident. There are too many foreigners in the port. Therefore, the servants transferred the foreigner to his own ship, and escorted him to Tianjin City, where he waited for a reply, hoping that the reply would not take too long; his memorial was soon sent to the Wanli Emperor for review. In the study room, at this time Emperor Wanli was busy with alchemy and fantasized about immortality, so he handed those memorials to Chang Lingyun for review. When winter was approaching, Matteo Ricci protected his tributes and arrived in Tianjin with difficulty. At this time, the river was about to freeze, but Matteo Ricci could only wait for news here, secretly longing for Emperor Wanli to approve the memorial. He never imagined that disaster was about to come.

On the second night after Matteo Ricci arrived in Tianjin, Ma Tang suddenly broke into his residence in Tianjin with a group of soldiers; after seeing Matteo Ricci, Ma Tang revealed his gloomy expression The face said to Matteo Ricci

"This official suspects that you have secretly hidden a batch of gems and do not want to give them to the emperor. I will now check on the spot"

After speaking, a group of soldiers rudely moved all the tributes that Matteo Ricci offered to Emperor Wanli to the courtyard regardless of Ricci's obstruction. The gifts carefully prepared by the Jesuits for the Chinese Emperor were in their hands. Turned into pieces, but still did not find the so-called jewelry that Ma Tang wanted to find

"My lord, still no jewelry"

After listening to the report of one of the soldiers, Ma Tang was very angry and unwilling; so he unreasonably arranged for Matteo Ricci to poison the emperor with witchcraft, and sent Matteo Ricci to him. The group was sent to prison. In the cold winter, they all became prisoners, no one knew where they were, the church would not know, the officials of the empire would not know, and the emperor would not know, and they were likely to die worthless in the middle of the night. At this time, Matteo Ricci began to realize that this was the most unfortunate day since he came to China. Living in a cramped cell for years, Matteo Ricci suddenly felt a trance, and he didn't even know why he appeared in the this distant place; he could not help but mutter to himself with emotion

"It's a long way to come to China, is this gloomy prison the end of my trip?"

And at this moment, in the palace hall, the chief assistant of the cabinet, Chang Lingyun, had seen the memorial about Matteo Ricci played by Ma Tang; The foreigner was very interested because he wanted to see what kind of stuff the foreigner brought to Emperor Wanli; so he found Emperor Wanli in the alchemy room and wanted to beg him to meet the Western envoy Lima next time. Dou's imperial decree; at this time, Emperor Wanli was already like a walking corpse. He was obsessed with alchemy all day long and didn't ask about major national affairs, and left it to Chang Lingyun to handle it on his behalf; and Chang Lingyun had little time to persuade Emperor Wanli to care because he was concentrating on governing the country. When it comes to national affairs, I occasionally persuaded Emperor Wanli to let him handle national affairs. Emperor Wanli also had one ear in and out of one ear, and did not take Chang Lingyun's words to heart at all; over time, Chang Lingyun decided not to persuade Emperor Wanli anymore, and The burden of handling major affairs of the country falls on his own shoulders, and because Chang Lingyun has managed the country to be so prosperous and prosperous in recent years, and because he trusts Chang Lingyun to be the descendant of the founding hero of the Ming Dynasty, he will As the emperor, all powers other than the imperial decree are completely entrusted to Chang Lingyun. After coming to the alchemy room to see Emperor Wanli, Chang Lingyun knelt down on one knee and arched his arms in salute

"Wei Chen meets the Emperor"

Emperor Wanli replied weakly while lying on a chair while waiting for the elixir to be eaten after refining in the furnace

"Aiqing, please get up"

"Thank you, Your Majesty"

Before Chang Lingyun wanted to report the details of the memorial written by the **** Ma Tang, Emperor Wanli asked

"Chang Aiqing, is the elixir that you Taoists refine like this? Tell me quickly how you refine the elixir in Mount Shu"

After listening to Emperor Wanli's words, Chang Lingyun gently shook his head and said

"Your Majesty, the elixir of our Shushan School is specially made by the tutor for the Jade Emperor. The secret of alchemy has never been passed on. Those of us who specialize in Taoism and martial arts in Shushan will naturally not know it."

"So you don't know, so forget it"

In order to prevent the Wanli Emperor from being as lazy and degenerate as he is now, Chang Lingyun decided to try to persuade the Wanli Emperor again

"Your Majesty, the medicinal pills you make will not make you immortal at all, but will only make your body weaker and weaker. Your Majesty must take care of your dragon's body and stop believing in those fake Taoists. For the sake of it, no more..."

When Chang Lingyun wanted to continue, Emperor Wanli interrupted him impatiently

"Hey, it's alright, it's alright, isn't it still with you in national affairs? It's enough for you to govern for me. What do you mean by coming to me this time?"

Chang Lingyun saw that Emperor Wanli was still so lazy and obsessed, so he completely gave up on Emperor Wanli. He would never expect Emperor Wanli to put aside his alchemy career to deal with major national affairs, and decided to have all the affairs of the country in the future. He handled it by himself, he sighed for a while and said

"Your Majesty, rest assured, Wei Chen will never stop you from making alchemy next time, let alone persuade you to deal with important state affairs; Wei Chen is here to ask the emperor for your next imperial decree. There is a man named Matteo Ricci. The Westerners brought many Western tributes and wanted to see you. He is now waiting for your news in Tianjin. Weichen would like to ask the emperor to issue an imperial decree to let him go to Beijing to face the Holy Spirit.”

When the Wanli Emperor heard that Matteo Ricci brought Western things to see him, he became very interested in the Western things that Matteo Ricci brought. happy to say

"That's great, I've grown up so big and haven't played with Westerners. Well, I'll order Matteo Ricci to come to see me in Beijing"

Two days later, the decree was delivered to Ma Tang; when Ma Tang received the decree, he reluctantly released Matteo Ricci and his entourage from the prison, and then escorted Matteo Ricci and his entourage there. Jing came to the foot of the gate of the Forbidden City in Beijing; in front of the vast palace, Matteo Ricci fell to the ground sincerely, thinking that he had gone through many difficulties and obstacles again and again when he was about to realize his dream, deep in his heart. It's incredibly exciting and exciting.

The audience ceremony was held in a solemn and solemn palace, but the throne in the main hall was empty. Emperor Wanli had not been in court for several years. With his reliance on Chang Lingyun to govern the country, Emperor Wanli had Day and night, or playing with the concubines, or busy with alchemy, he became an irreversible piece of rotten wood; after a while, Chang Lingyun, the chief assistant of the cabinet, came in from the door of the main hall, and after seeing Matteo Ricci, he asked: /

"You are the Matteo Ricci from the West?"

"Exactly, may I ask who you are?"

"I am Chang Lingyun, the first assistant of the Ming Cabinet. Our emperor is not going to court today. He wants to see you at the Imperial Garden. Please Mr. Matteo Ricci bring your tribute to the Imperial Garden with me"

When Matteo Ricci heard the name "Chang Lingyun", he was shocked. He didn't expect that the handsome, handsome and charismatic young man in official uniform standing in front of him was the one he had always wanted to see. The legendary chief assistant of the cabinet; in his mind, the image of Chang Lingyun should be a mature and prudent wise man, but he could not have imagined that he would be a young and promising junior, which made him sincerely admire in his heart

"You are Chang Lingyun? You became the first official of the imperial court at a very young age. You are very young and promising. I heard about your deeds on the way to Nanjing. You abolished the sea ban and opened up trade ports. The open-minded policy of developing the economy and business is very in line with the development trend of the world today, I can see that you are an open-minded wise man”

After listening to Matteo Ricci's words, Chang Lingyun said with a smile

"Mr. Lee has passed the prize. Our emperor is going to summon you now. Please come with me to see the emperor. If you have anything to say, we will talk about it in private"

"Okay"

After Ricci finished speaking, he came to the Imperial Garden with him under the leadership of Chang Lingyun and met the Wanli Emperor; at this time, the Wanli Emperor was sitting in a pavilion, eating leisurely and sitting beside him The fruit fed to him by his concubines, the **** Zhang Hong was standing beside him with a whisk in his hand; when Chang Lingyun came over with some tributes carried by Matteo Ricci and some young eunuchs, the Wanli Emperor began to restrain his laziness

"Wei Chen sees the emperor, and Matteo Ricci brings it"

"No gift, no gift"

After Wanli finished speaking, he carefully observed Matteo Ricci's appearance for a while. He found that the monk from the Western world looked a little weird, and he looked a lot like the legendary monster in the Wan Yao Kingdom

"This foreign monk is so weird. Could it be that you are from the Myriad Demon Kingdom?"

After listening to Emperor Wanli's words, Matteo Ricci replied

"Back to the emperor, I'm not a monster, and I don't know the kingdom of ten thousand demons. I'm here to meet the emperor"

"What is the purpose of your trip?"

"The purpose of my coming here is to introduce our Western religion to the emperor, and please allow me to stay in the capital to preach"

After speaking, Matteo Ricci opened the gifts he brought to the Emperor Wanli and continued to say

"In addition, I also brought the "Wan Guo Tu Zhi" telescope for the emperor and the clock to show respect to the emperor"

When Matteo Ricci showed the gifts he brought to Emperor Wanli, in addition to telescopes, Emperor Wanli was most interested in Western clocks and watches, and those astronomical instruments with Western scientific knowledge, Wanli The emperor had no interest at all, and the "Wan Guo Tu Zhi" was put down after only a while.

"Well, the clocks and diorama you brought me are very interesting, I will accept them, as for other gifts"

When Emperor Wanli was thinking about what to do with the other tributes brought by Matteo Ricci, Chang Lingyun quickly arched his arms and said to Emperor Wanli

"Your Majesty, why don't you give these things to Wei Chen. Wei Chen has never seen these things before, so I would like to see them to open their eyes"

"Well, if you want it, I'll give it to you"

After finishing speaking, he said to Matteo Ricci again

"Ricci, I am very grateful for your sincerity. As a reward, I promise you to preach in the capital. Also, when the clock breaks, you will come and fix it for me"

The reply of Emperor Wanli made Matteo Ricci a little disappointed. He didn't think that the Chinese emperor didn't need a cross or a map, all he needed was a watch repairer; He started to answer

"Yes, Your Majesty"

At this moment, he seemed to feel that his arched arms were so pale and powerless. In the face of the ignorance of Emperor Wanli and his disdain for Western scientific knowledge, he completely gave up the idea of ​​​​from the bottom of his heart. The idea of ​​the emperor in front of him becoming a member of the church; at this time, he thought of Chang Lingyun, he felt that this young, promising and open-minded minister of the cabinet must have a way to make the Chinese people accept the Western ideas from the bottom of their hearts. Religious and scientific knowledge; so, Matteo Ricci said to Emperor Wanli

"Your Majesty, I would like to stay with the First Assistant of the Cabinet, Lord Chang, to study Chinese, so that I can learn Chinese knowledge here and repair clocks for the Emperor at any time"

Emperor Wanli agreed after hearing Matteo Ricci's words

"Well, this is a good idea; Chang Lingyun, Mr. Matteo Ricci will take care of you"

"Yes, Your Majesty"

After a while, Chang Lingyun and Matteo Ricci from the imperial garden returned to his residence in the palace with the remaining tribute; as soon as he entered the door, he saw Wu Ruoyun standing at the door with a smile on his face welcome

"You're back"

After she finished speaking, she looked at Matteo Ricci who was standing beside Chang Lingyun with a strange appearance

"Who is this person? He looks so strange"

Wu Ruoyun was a little curious about Matteo Ricci's peculiar appearance because he had never seen a human like Matteo Ricci from the western end of the earth since he was a child.

"He is a missionary from the West named Matteo Ricci, who is visiting our house today"

Chang Lingyun introduced Wu Ruoyun, and after the introduction, he introduced Wu Ruoyun to Matteo Ricci

"This is my never-before-seen wife. She is in charge of the study of the Pope in the palace"

After speaking, Chang Lingyun said to Wu Ruoyun

"Xiao Qi, go and ask the maid to prepare a table of wine and food, tonight I will drink a thousand glasses with Mr. Matteo Ricci"

"Okay, I'll call someone to prepare"

In the evening at dusk, Chang Lingyun and Matteo Ricci were sitting on the table of the Eight Immortals while eating and drinking. Looking at so many dishes on the table, Matteo Ricci said curiously

"You Chinese people are really wasteful, so many dishes are served for two people to eat"

After listening to Matteo Ricci's words, Chang Lingyun said with a smile

"Haha, this is our Chinese custom. When entertaining guests, we usually serve so many dishes to show respect for the guests"

"Oh, so it is, so it is"

"Mr Matteo Ricci, let's drink"

After Chang Lingyun finished speaking, he took the initiative to raise his glass in front of Matteo Ricci's seat. Matteo Ricci also raised the glass and said at this time

"dry"

After the two drank, they began to chat

"Mr. Matteo Ricci, did you come to us just to preach?"

"I came to your East under the order of the European Church of Christ, in order to carry forward the European religion of Christianity in the East"

"Where is Europe? How far is it from us"

After listening to Chang Lingyun's words, Matteo Ricci took out from his arms the "Atlas of All Nations" originally intended to be dedicated to Emperor Wanli and handed it to Chang Lingyun

"Lord Chang, you will know when you open this "Atlas of All Nations""

After Chang Lingyun opened the atlas, Matteo Ricci quickly walked to him and pointed out the location of China

"This is China, this is Europe, my family lives here, I took a boat from here, then through Africa to India, and finally into Guangdong to China"

After listening to Matteo Ricci's introduction, Chang Lingyun was surprised to find that there is such a big world besides Daming. Compared with the whole world, Daming is simply too small, so he said excitedly /

"We in China have a saying that the sky is round and the place is round since ancient times. In addition to knowing the countries of the South Seas, we don't know that there is actually a Western Ocean in this world. It really opened my eyes"

"Your Chinese theory that the sky is round and the place is round is unrealistic, because the world is not square but round, the sky is round, and the earth is round"

Ricci finished speaking, took out a globe from the box and displayed it in front of Chang Lingyun

"What is this thing?"

Ricci explained

"This is the Earth, you and I and all the human beings live on it, and this thing is its model called the Globe"

"A globe?"

"Yes"

Ricci finished speaking, turned the globe and continued

"Do you know why there is day and night? That's because the earth is constantly rotating, the earth revolves around the sun, one rotation is one day, one revolution is one year, and when the sun shines, it does not shine in the daytime. It's night time"

Ricci's words made Chang Lingyun feel confused for a while after listening to it. He had never been in touch with Western astronomy. The gourd painting scoop guessed the reason why it was dark tonight

"Then it's dark tonight because the sun doesn't shine on our side"

"Yes, that's right, Mr. Chang"

At this time, Chang Lingyun suddenly sighed

"I can't believe that Western astronomical knowledge is so powerful. Even day and night know what's going on. It is much more powerful than our Chinese astronomical knowledge"

"Lord Chang, do you know why our Western astronomical knowledge is ahead of your Chinese astronomical knowledge? That is because our Westerners are more open-minded than your Chinese, and we dare to forge ahead and practice. The era of great seafaring was opened up. It is precisely because we Westerners are open-minded and do not stick to conventions. We Westerners know that the world is round and the sky is round; the reason why your Chinese astronomical knowledge is limited to the circle of the sky is because of you, China. People rest on their laurels and refuse to go abroad to understand other worlds other than China, which is why your perception of the world has become so introverted; you abolished the sea ban policy and opened up trade ports to enable Chinese businessmen to get in touch with the outside world and develop the economy. This is right, but Thoughtfully, you Chinese are still reluctant to accept foreign knowledge and culture, and always believe that the Chinese people's own culture is the first in the world, and this will only make China less and less able to keep up with the rhythm of world development and stay in the 16th century forever. "

Ricci's remarks made Chang Lingyun shy, and he began to realize from his heart that in order for Daming to be able to fully contact the outside world and not fall behind the Western world, he must be completely ideologically transformed

"Listening to your words is better than reading ten years of books. Chang Lingyun deeply admires what Mr. Chang said. If the people of Ming Dynasty can accept the outside world in their minds like you Westerners, our Chinese astronomy will not be able to. will be behind you in the West"

At this time, Matteo Ricci said again

"Actually, I came to China not only to spread religion, but also to spread our Western knowledge to your East, but if the Chinese can truly accept our Western religious and scientific knowledge, we must first accept it ideologically. ;Since Mr. Chang knows that relying on contact with the outside world to develop the economy of the Ming Dynasty, it can be seen that Mr. Chang is an enlightened person, but there is only one enlightened person like Mr. Chang. If the people of Daming can be as open-minded as Mr. Chang , I believe that China can definitely take the initiative to go out of the world and look to the future, no longer stay in the 16th century”

"Well said, it's wonderful, Mr. Ricci, your words really convinced me. If you don't mind, I would like to ask Mr. Ricci to stay with me and help me complete the transformation of our Daming This great feat of people's thinking, I want to let Daming go abroad, look at the world and look forward to the future, just like Spain and Portugal today."

After listening to Chang Lingyun's words, Matteo Ricci happily cupped his hands and agreed

"Don't worry, Lord Chang, I will do my best to help you fulfill this wish"