Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Unlike Ruan Dacheng, who thrived in the northern countries, Sun Yuanhua, who was sent as an envoy to the Mediterranean countries, encountered setbacks at every turn.

His purpose in coming to Rome was to explain to the Vatican that the Jingxie Church had been established in China and hoped to gain the Vatican's recognition and grant it independent status.

However, this was unprecedented, and Pope Urban VIII at the time could not allow his dioceses to become independent—

A great war was raging throughout Europe over the struggle for supremacy between papal and royal power.

The Thirty Years' War had only just begun; it would continue for another decade or so.

After Long Huamin tested the waters through his connections with the Jesuits, he soon learned that the Pope had rejected his request.

They even wanted to establish a Chinese diocese, send missionaries from the Vatican, and require Chinese believers to use Catholic rituals.

These include requirements such as prohibiting the worship of Confucius and ancestors, as well as managing all clergy.

When this rumor spread, Long Huamin felt it was too extreme.

Although he opposed the translation of God and other concepts at the Jiading Conference, he also did not allow believers to participate in large-scale and solemn sacrificial activities, burn paper money, pray, or petition.

However, he still allowed the worship of ancestral tablets and simple ritualistic rites to Confucius.

If even this is not allowed, Catholicism will never be able to spread in China.

He discussed it with Sun Yuanhua:

"Special Envoy Sun, what should we do now?"

"If the Vatican sends missionaries, the Jingxie Church will be in trouble!"

Sun Yuanhua was also somewhat at a loss, because he had not expected the Roman Catholic Church to be so stubborn and to place such importance on faith.

Only then did he understand why the emperor had repeatedly reminded him that the religious atmosphere in the West was different from that in the Ming Dynasty, and that he should not view them with Chinese perspectives.

Now that the emperor's words have come true, all he can say is:
"Find a way to suppress the Jingjiao Church's affairs, and first establish relations with the Papal States in the name of the Ming Dynasty."

"Sign the rules and treaties if you can, and drag it out if you can't."

"But we must not allow the Vatican to interfere, or let them ignore the Church of Jing first."

Long Huamin shook his head helplessly and said to Sun Yuanhua:
"How long can this drag on? Will the Pope eventually agree?"

"If I had known, I wouldn't have told them about this, and I would have secretly built the Jing Church in China."

"Now that many people know, can it still be suppressed?"

Sun Yuanhua shook his head and said:

"It can't be hidden forever, so it's better to take the initiative to explain and avoid any provocation that could leave no room for maneuver."

“Now go and tell the Jesuits that the Nestorian Church is still the Jesuit mission in China and supports all the Jesuits’ activities in the West.”

"Furthermore, the trade quotas reserved for the Vatican should be allocated to the Jesuits."

"The demand on them is that the Papacy must not openly break with the Ming Dynasty, nor send anyone to interfere."

Hearing these requests, Long Huamin felt troubled, but he still nodded, feeling confident that he could persuade the Jesuits.

Although the Jesuits swear to abstain from wealth, women, and thoughts, they will not refuse the right to be allocated trade quotas.

The Jesuits' absolute loyalty to the Pope has earned them the Pope's trust, and this era is the Jesuits' golden age.

If the Jesuits are willing to support them, they may not be able to get the Vatican to recognize the Jingxie Church, but they certainly have the ability to prevent the Vatican from passing resolutions concerning China.

When Long Huamin went to discuss this condition with the Jesuits, they quickly agreed.

By this time, the Jesuit order had already grown from a monastic organization into a large international group.

Their missionary activities in various countries require substantial donations.

The powerful members of the Jesuit order also needed trade quotas to profit from them.

After learning about these circumstances, Long Huamin was both happy and worried.

I am pleased that the Jingdezhen Church's problems can be resolved, but I am worried that the Jesuits are no longer as pure as they once were.

If they are completely loyal to the Pope's aims, will they still fully abide by them?
Will future popes still trust them?
Deeply concerned about this, he abandoned the idea of ​​returning to the Jesuit order and decided to go back to the Ming Dynasty to establish the Jingjiao Church there.

Sun Yuanhua was initially disillusioned, but since his belief in religion was only superficial, he quickly adapted to the change.

Even comparing Buddhism and Taoism with Catholicism, it becomes clear that the Vatican may not be any less corrupt than some temples.

Those who are not religious, such as Xu Xianchun and Liu Yingkun, do not regard the Pope as particularly sacred.

After learning that Urban VIII was lavishly appointing relatives and expanding his family's wealth, Xu Xianchun asked Long Huamin:

"How about bribing the Pope?"

How much will it cost?

Long Huamin's eyes widened in disbelief; he never expected Xu Xianchun to have such thoughts.

To him, this was blasphemy.

Enraged, he pointed at Xu Xianchun and said:

"The Pope cannot be bought off!"

"He cannot go against the will of the people on something that has a public consensus."

Liu Yingkun chuckled and said:

"I dare not now, but I may not in the future."

"What do you think, when he's old and near death, he should sign an edict?"

"No wonder His Majesty told us not to rush when we set off."

"This could take decades; we need to be patient and wait for the right opportunity."

Signing documents that are usually inconvenient to sign before the end of one's term is almost an open secret in electoral countries in later generations.

Sun Yuanhua and others did not understand this, but Zhu Youjian was well aware of it.

He was prepared to outlive several popes, since most of the elected popes were old men anyway.

If even one of these people were willing to risk their life before they died, they could sign the documents for Nestorian independence.

Then, by bribing the next leader, the Vatican would tacitly approve of the independence of Nestorianism.

This matter took a long time, so the Ming Dynasty needed to establish an embassy in Rome.

This was Sun Yuanhua's mission: as an envoy of the Ming Dynasty, he proposed to the Papacy a treaty of peaceful coexistence.

The basic principles were peaceful coexistence, mutual respect, and mutual benefit. These principles differed slightly from the tributary system treaty signed with Japan, as the Ming Dynasty regarded the Papal States as an equal nation.

For this reason, the Ming Dynasty recognized the nobles and clergy of the Papacy and hoped that the Papacy would recognize the nobles and officials of the Ming Dynasty.

This was purely an exchange between nations, and it demonstrated goodwill.

However, the Papacy has not yet signed the treaty because the foundation of the Papal States is religion, and everything else must be subordinate to religion.

The key to the independence of the Church of the Ming Dynasty lies in the fact that although the Ming Dynasty and the Papacy have not publicly broken ties, their relationship is unlikely to develop further.

Left with no other option, Sun Yuanhua and his entourage could only focus on other matters and complete the tasks assigned by the emperor. Liu Yingkun was left in Rome as the Ming emperor's private envoy, where he established the Ming Guild Hall to gather intelligence.

With the help of Long Huamin, Sun Yuanhua and others collected musical instruments that the emperor was interested in, such as the harpsichord and violin, purchased seeds of crops and livestock, as well as machinery such as printing presses and minting machines, and searched for Galileo and others.
-

Florence, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

Since Galileo discovered Jupiter's moons and declared his intention to inscribe the Grand Duke's name among the stars, he became the Medici family's chief scientist and philosopher, and frequently resided there.

Sun Yuanhua's mission included investigating the Republic of Florence, and he was particularly interested in the process by which the country became a grand duchy. After leaving Rome, he quickly arrived in Florence and visited Galileo and others.

Galileo and Urban VIII were friends, and he was planning to use this connection to publish "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems of Ptolemy and Copernicus".

He naturally declined Sun Yuanhua's invitation to go to the Ming Dynasty.

However, he was very pleased that Sun Yuanhua wanted to spend a sum of money to purchase his inventions, such as thermometers and telescopes, and to buy out the Chinese translation and publishing rights to his works. He exclaimed with delight:
"The Ming emperor was truly a generous monarch who respected knowledge."

"I can grant your request and answer your questions."

Galileo answered some of the astronomical questions raised by Sun Yuanhua, who, having some knowledge of the subject, greatly admired Galileo. He then invited him again, saying:
"His Majesty greatly hopes that Mr. Galileo will visit, saying that you are a true scholar."

He considered your research on Copernicus to be extremely dangerous.

"We hope that if you are persecuted, you will consider seeking refuge in the Ming Dynasty."

This invitation is rather presumptuous, Galileo said with displeasure upon hearing it:
"The Pope has seen part of the book and expressed his satisfaction."

“I fully agree with the Pope’s statement that the Copernican theory is a hypothesis and should be discussed as a purely mathematical hypothesis.”

This was a request he heard from the Pope, and he revised the book accordingly.

He didn't see any trouble in publishing "Dialogues," since he had already obtained the Pope's consent.

Sun Yuanhua was unsure what trouble this matter would bring to Galileo, but he had heard from the emperor that Galileo would be tried by the Papacy because of the book.

That would be the opportunity for the Ming Dynasty to invite him; we'll see when the time comes.

This is just a prelude, so that Galileo will think of the Ming Dynasty's invitation when he encounters trouble.

He left behind the address of the guild hall established by the Ming Dynasty in Rome, and with Galileo's introduction, Sun Yuanhua copied relevant information about the republic from scholars in Florence.

This matter caught the attention of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand II, a twenty-one-year-old young man. He had been only ten years old when his father, Cosimo II, died, so the duchy was jointly ruled by his mother and grandmother, and he did not yet have full power.

He was very interested in the information the Ming Dynasty had collected about the Republic of Florence, and asked Sun Yuanhua about it when they met:

Why are you interested in the Republic?

"Does the Ming Dynasty intend to establish a republic?"

Sun Yuanhua explained to him:

"The Ming Dynasty does not practice a republic, but His Majesty intends to establish a parliament and hopes to learn from the situations of parliaments in other countries."

"Republican countries are rare. Your Majesty would like to know the difference between a republican parliament and a monarchical parliament."

Ferdinand II laughed:

“Republican parliaments are not a good thing; there have always been dissenters.”

"People got tired of fighting and fighting, so monarchs came into being."

"Florence became even more prosperous under my family's rule."

Sun Yuanhua nodded repeatedly at these words, agreeing that a republic was inferior to a monarchy.

In his view, who was well-versed in Confucian classics, monarchy was the right path, while republican administration was a completely wrong path.

The two exchanged many views on this matter, and Sun Yuanhua was even allowed to copy official documents.

Furthermore, after learning that the Ming Dynasty had established free trade zones in Southeast Asia and other places, welcoming merchants from all countries to trade, Ferdinand II even hoped that the Medici Bank could open a branch in the Ming Dynasty and set up a branch in the Ming Dynasty's free trade zone.

Sun Yuanhua dared not act on his own initiative and said he would go back and consult the emperor.

The Medici family, however, was very enthusiastic about this, and even invited Sun Yuanhua to visit the Medici Bank's mint after learning that he was purchasing minting machinery. The florin, the currency they issued, became the preferred currency for European commerce.

The minting of coins wasn't particularly interesting, but Sun Yuanhua was deeply impressed to see the coins being produced under the screw press. He understood why the emperor had ordered him to purchase minting machinery and use this method to produce coins.

Although spiral minting machines are expensive, even more so than hand-struck coins, their exquisite designs make these coins very difficult to counterfeit.

The problem of private funds that has been a headache for the imperial court may be resolved.

Not everyone can afford to buy minting machinery.
-

After completing these tasks, Sun Yuanhua returned to the Ming Dynasty with two boats, Long Huamin, and Xu Xianchun.

They first went to Lisbon, where they met up with Ruan Dacheng.

Upon learning that Ruan Dacheng had already established an embassy in the Netherlands and built relations with various countries, Sun Yuanhua felt somewhat ashamed, feeling that he had not fulfilled the emperor's instructions.

Compared to Ruan Dacheng, he gained almost nothing; he didn't even establish an embassy, ​​only a guild hall.

This made him vaguely aware of the differences between Protestant and Catholic countries; in some policy matters, Protestant countries were indeed more flexible.

Before they could think it through, Sun Yuanhua and the others were even more impressed when they heard that Ruan Dacheng planned to stay in Taixi. In their eyes, this place was a completely foreign land overrun by barbarians.

After receiving the memorial from Ruan Dacheng, Sun Yuanhua said:

"Deputy Envoy Ruan, rest assured, I will definitely report your achievements when I return."

“These things will also be brought back to the Ming Dynasty intact, without any of them being left behind.”

Ruan Dacheng chuckled:
"The rest is fine, but the Western ladies chosen by Eunuch Ge, and the painters he recruited, must be seated separately."

"To avoid any unforeseen circumstances, we won't even make it to the Ming Dynasty."

As he spoke, he specifically pointed out that these people had been divided into several groups and dispersed onto several boats.

Rembrandt and Franz, another portrait painter, were especially required to ride separately. Ruan Dacheng said:
“This Rembrandt was specifically requested by the Emperor.”

"Although that Frans is not very famous, he paints good portraits."

"There's a painting called 'Gypsy Girl,' whose smile is somewhat similar to that of the Mona Lisa."

"His Majesty would be very pleased if he saw it."

(Frances Hals, Gypsy girl, 1629)

This is the painter who responded when he recruited painters to paint portraits of noblewomen.

After seeing his work, Ruan Dacheng bought it and strongly invited him to the Ming Dynasty.

Frans Hals, who had been living in poverty, agreed to work for the Ming Dynasty after being offered generous terms.

He even brought his son, who was studying painting, along as an assistant.

Ruan Dacheng also valued this person highly because he was a talent he had recruited.

He deliberately sat separately from Rembrandt to avoid them both encountering a shipwreck at sea.

The same was true of the other collected seeds, livestock, etc., which were scattered on the three boats that were to return.

Sun Yuanhua led his fleet, following the Portuguese merchants who had gone to Goa, back towards the Ming Dynasty. (End of Chapter)