prosperous age

Knowing that Matteo Ricci was staying in the capital, Zhang Jing didn't care about anything else, even though his subordinates said that Ricci seemed to have connections with the Grand Secretary's family.

He desperately hoped to see something strange and unusual from this foreign monk, then buy it and present it to the emperor to solidify his position in the emperor's eyes.

So, after a period of chaos outside the East Depot's gate, the carriage that had just been led to the stables was brought out again. A young eunuch knelt directly in front of the carriage, and Zhang Jing quickly got into the carriage by stepping on the eunuch's shoulder.

Zhang Gui and Zhao Dangtou then ran to the front, took the reins from the two guards, and mounted their horses.

Led by Zhao, the group rushed toward Chongwen Gate.

The Eastern Depot was located in a separate alley outside the Donghua Gate, right next to the Forbidden City, so that it could receive orders from the palace at any time.

Their group rushed out of the alley and ran towards the outer city, naturally alarming the surrounding residents.

The crowd quickly dispersed to both sides of the street, but within the crowd, several pairs of eyes were fixed on the carriage, watching the direction it went, and soon they could determine where the caravan was probably headed.

These people were naturally spies planted in the city by some powerful families in the capital. The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot were the places they needed to keep an eye on.

To be honest, Zhang Jing's hasty departure to the outer city as soon as he entered the Eastern Depot did indeed alarm quite a few people.

Although his position in the inner court was awkward, in the eyes of the outer court, he was still a powerful eunuch who was someone that was usually not to be offended.

If he were to say even a few extra words to the emperor, a high-ranking official might fall out of favor and have his career ruined.

In a feudal society where imperial power was supreme, this was the greatest advantage of eunuchs. They could speak in front of the emperor, while civil officials had no such opportunity. Apart from the cabinet and the six ministers, it was almost impossible for them to find an opportunity to meet the emperor.

In particular, the Wanli Emperor seemed to be just like his father and grandfather, not a diligent ruler.

Even after assuming personal rule, the Wanli Emperor still did not resume the morning court sessions that had been interrupted since the Jiajing era.

Of course, this is actually what most officials in the capital would like to see. Nobody likes to get up in the middle of the night to wait outside the imperial city for court sessions and to say meaningless things.

It can be said that the court assembly system established by Zhu Yuanzhang was impacted during the Yongle reign, with the noon and evening court sessions being abolished, leaving only the morning court session.

During the Zhengde reign, it was briefly interrupted for a period of time. Although it was restored during the Jiajing reign, it only lasted for more than ten years.

After the Jiajing Emperor became obsessed with alchemy, court assemblies became a mere formality, with only symbolic ministers waiting outside Fengtian Gate before announcing the cancellation of court sessions.

Then, during the Longqing reign, it was determined that no one needed to attend court without an imperial edict. During the Wanli reign, due to the emperor's young age, only the morning court sessions were retained, while other court sessions were canceled. In fact, the morning court session had been completely abolished in the court.

Each month, the emperor would only meet with his ministers once during the morning and evening court sessions.

It is easy to imagine how difficult it would be for officials in the Ming Dynasty to meet the emperor and make a good impression on him.

The convoy quickly arrived inside Chongwen Gate. Zhang Jing lowered the carriage curtain, still thinking about the stone building he had seen when passing the intersection of Chang'an Avenue.

After nearly three years of construction, it has taken shape and stands out from the surrounding area with its distinctive Chinese architectural features, making it a unique sight in the inner city.

That location and that building must have cost a fortune.

Every time Zhang Jing passed by there, he couldn't help but take a second look.

So valuable.

Rumor has it that the owner of this stone house spent no less than 200,000 taels of silver to build it. The number of horse-drawn carts used to transport materials during construction was so long and continuous that it was quite a sight at the city gate.

As for this building, the nominal owner is nothing special. If it were any other time, Zhang Jing would probably have already brought his spies to discuss buying it.

However, its actual owner is known to everyone in Beijing, and even if Zhang Jing had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to provoke him.

"Hmph, let you enjoy your carefree days for a while, and once you fall from power, this house will still be mine."

That's what Zhang Jing was thinking as the carriage passed through Chongwen Gate.

While Wei Guangde used merchants to amass enormous wealth for himself during the Ming Dynasty, he naturally became a thorn in the side of many people.

It wasn't just the stool under his butt, but also the wealth accumulated by the Wei family. Zhang Jing was definitely not the only one who harbored the idea of ​​swarming in and dividing it up after Wei Guangde fell from power.

The story of Heshen's downfall and Jiaqing's feast had already begun in the Ming Dynasty, but everyone remained restrained until Wei Guangde fell from grace.

When Wei Guangde received the news, he was also slightly surprised.

Zhang Juzheng's residence was located in the outer city. Did he think that the person in the Qianqing Palace was planning to take action against Zhang Juzheng after waking up?
That's not what they said when we met yesterday.

"Chongwenmen doesn't seem like it."

Looking in the direction Zhang Jing left the city, Wei Guangde shook his head slightly. If he was really heading towards the Zhang residence, he should have gone through Xuanwu Gate.

After putting down the note in his hand, Wei Guangde made no other move, simply waiting for another note to be passed in from outside, so he could find out what was going to happen in the capital.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jing's convoy had arrived at their destination, and Zhang Jing had met the "Western scholar" he was looking for.

Yes, with the Eastern Depot agents banging on doors, which household in Beijing dared not open its doors?

Even the Duke's mansion could only open its gates tremblingly in the face of such a display.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was known as the emperor's personal army, while the Eastern Depot was purely the emperor's private army, and no one dared to stop them.

Zhang Jing dismounted and saw a man dressed in a blue scholar's robe.

He was slightly taller than him, but Zhang Jing himself wasn't particularly tall either; he was of average to below-average height.

Therefore, although the barbarian in front of him was slightly taller than him, he was only of average height among the Han people.

The only thing that made it clear at a glance that the person in front of him was a barbarian was his long brown beard.

Han Chinese beards are mostly black, turning white with age, while European beards are lighter in color, mostly brown, gold, or tan. Moreover, aside from facial features, the full beards that are rare among Han Chinese are a significant difference from those of Han Chinese.

As for his hair, it's hard to tell, because Matteo Ricci was now truly dressing like a Confucian scholar, wearing a tall Confucian scholar's turban on his head.

Matteo Ricci chose this outfit to adapt to local customs.

He discovered that despite his obvious height advantage in Italy, he was only considered average in the Ming Dynasty. So he could only find a way to appear taller by wearing a tall scholar's cap, which was actually a rectangular hat on his head.

At this moment, he faced the clean-cut Ming man before him with a warm expression.

Yes, eunuchs don't have beards, which makes everyone's first impression of a eunuch's face: it's so clean.

Zhang Jing had a hooked nose, as did Matteo Ricci, except that Zhang Jing's eyes were slightly sunken, while Ricci's were bulging.

Facial contours are also one of the biggest differences between East and West.

Before he came out, the servants of the Xu family had already told him the identity of the person in front of him, who was the legendary eunuch.

There were people from the inner court in Songjiang Prefecture, but Matteo Ricci had no chance to contact them. He had only seen them from afar a few times. This was the first time he had been so close to a eunuch.

"So you're the foreign monk?"

Zhang Jing stood on the carriage, not even dismounting, looking down at Matteo Ricci. "I am a missionary, here in Ming China to spread the Gospel."

Matteo Ricci began to speak with Zhang Jing in slightly awkward Chinese. Having been in the Ming Dynasty for many years, he had long since learned Chinese and could even write Chinese characters.

However, due to language habits, their speech is ultimately not as natural and fluent as that of Han Chinese.

"You come from the West, did you bring any local specialties with you?"

Zhang Jing had no intention of having much contact with this barbarian; he only wanted to know what the man had brought and whether it was of any use to him.

Matteo Ricci, of course, had no idea why Zhang Jing had come, and warmly invited him into his residence for a chat.

The people around the Ming emperor were truly excellent missionary targets. If they could be persuaded to join the mission, there was even a chance to persuade the Ming emperor himself.

As long as the emperor is religious, it will be easier to spread Christianity in the Ming Dynasty.

The principle of "what the superiors do, the inferiors follow" is not unique to the East; the West is no exception.

"This is the treasure you were talking about."

In a secluded courtyard of the Xu residence, Zhang Jing finally saw the treasures that Matteo Ricci had brought to the Ming Dynasty: two boxes of books, most of which were written in languages ​​he could not see, and some were handwritten. According to Ricci, these were Western works translated into Chinese.

Although Zhang Jing was literate, he was not from the Imperial Academy. Zhang Hong only kept him by his side because he was efficient and quick-witted.

Therefore, he naturally had little interest in books.

"They really are pedantic scholars, treating books like treasures."

Originally, outside the mansion gate, Zhang Jing asked Matteo Ricci if he had brought any treasures from the West, and Matteo Ricci naturally said yes.

In the eyes of people like them, knowledge is priceless and naturally deserves the word "treasure".

However, the books he treasured seemed worthless in the eyes of this eunuch.

"Snapped."

Zhang Jing threw the book in his hand directly into the book box. The cover of the discarded book clearly read "Bible".

If we want to spread our doctrines in the Ming Dynasty, the Bible is naturally the best vehicle for spreading the glory of the Lord.

Matteo Ricci spent a great deal of time translating the text and even had several copies made.

Actually, this book was originally supposed to be printed, but after Matteo Ricci mastered Chinese culture, he discovered that Western printing technology was almost useless in the Ming Dynasty.

Well, in this day and age, nobody cares about the origins of printing technology.

Once you've learned it and mastered it, that's enough. Who cares who invented it first? There's no such thing as patent rights in this era.

Only a few pedantic scholars would bother to research these meaningless things. Even if they gained everyone's approval, what would they gain? Nothing more than a vague sense of pride.

Because of the differences in writing systems, Matteo Ricci realized early on the difficulty of spreading his doctrines in China. The Bible could only be copied by others, which at least made the cost less expensive.

However, it is clear that his meeting with Zhang Jing today did not achieve any effect.

After inspecting the items he had brought to the capital, Zhang Jing shook his head in disappointment and left without even saying goodbye.

In fact, among Matteo Ricci's belongings were some Western gadgets, including telescopes, clocks, and mirrors, which are quite rare to many people.

However, it was clear that Zhang Jing was not comparable to those unsophisticated Confucian scholars; such things were not lacking in the imperial palace.

"Never mind, let's get ready and go to the Prime Minister's place tonight."

Thanks to the Xu family's connections, Matteo Ricci couldn't wait to send an invitation to Wei Guangde's residence as soon as he arrived in the capital, and the agreed time was tonight.

Wei Guangde also wanted to meet Matteo Ricci, who later became very famous. It is said that he was the first person to spread Western learning to China.

Unlike other missionaries who, while preaching, also pondered how to assist Spain in occupying the area, he was different.

Of course, it's also possible that it wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he gave up the idea after seeing the vast territory and massive population of the Ming Dynasty.

Although Matteo Ricci was Italian, this period coincided with the closest relationship between Spain and the Papacy, and missionaries often relied on Spanish assistance for their missionary work.

Correspondingly, they also reciprocate their sponsors' generosity in various ways.

Of course, this includes Portugal as well.

Meanwhile, Wei Guangde in the cabinet finally received news from the outer city and learned that Zhang Jing had rushed out of the inner city to inspect that Westerner.

The Eastern Depot did indeed have this authority, after all, one of their responsibilities was to ensure the safety of the capital.

Well, Matteo Ricci obtained a travel permit issued by Songjiang Prefecture, a very free travel permit that allowed him to travel freely throughout the Ming Dynasty.

Although Matteo Ricci did not participate in the Ming Dynasty's imperial examinations, he called himself a "Western Confucian" and was indeed very knowledgeable. Although his learning differed from that of the Confucian scholars of the Ming Dynasty, he was still very innovative in the field of arithmetic.

As mentioned before, the imperial examination system that began in the Sui and Tang dynasties actually consisted of six subjects, not corresponding to the six ministries. Instead, it included six subjects: Xiucai (秀才), Mingjing (明经), Jinshi (进士), Mingfa (明法), Mingzi (明字), and Mingsuan (明算).

The Mingjing examination tested students on Confucian classics such as the Book of Rites and the Zuo Zhuan. It adopted the form of a sutra-writing test, in which students had to fill in six of the ten blanks in the sutras to pass.

The imperial examination for the Jinshi degree emphasized poetry and essays on current affairs, and the number of candidates admitted during the Zhenguan era was relatively small.

The Mingfa Academy examines legal provisions and cultivates judicial professionals.

The Mingzi examination tested students' knowledge of philology and calligraphy skills, drawing upon classic texts such as the Shuowen Jiezi and the Zilin.

The Ming Suan Ke test included mathematical knowledge from works such as "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art" and "Zhoubi Suanjing".

The most difficult exam to pass was the Xiucai exam, which required a thorough understanding of five strategies.

Matteo Ricci was recognized by the Confucian scholars of the Ming Dynasty as a "Western Confucian" because he was proficient in mathematics, especially his work on geometry, which amazed the Confucian scholars of the Ming Dynasty.

Chinese mathematics does involve geometry, but it wasn't treated as a separate discipline.

In the West, it is indeed highly valued and used in practical applications, including architecture.

Although the Ming Dynasty did not have a subject for mathematics in its imperial examinations, Matteo Ricci's mastery of arithmetic did indeed convince the Confucian scholars and earn them their recognition of his status as a "Confucian scholar."

Although mathematics did not hold a high status in the Ming Dynasty, the status of a scholar was still certain.

Songjiang Prefecture thus granted him the rights that only those with official titles had, namely, the freedom to travel throughout the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, the real reason was that the Xu family had established connections with the Grand Secretary, and Wei Guangde also wanted to meet him.

"Forget it, I'll ask him what happened tonight."

Wei Guangde muttered to himself, put away the note, and continued with his official duties. (End of Chapter)