Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 330 Grabbing food
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." In the prayer room, Jesuit President Long Huamin knelt facing the cross and recited Scripture. He relished the immersion of emptying his mind. Every time he gazed upon the fallen face of Jesus, his heart strengthened with conviction that Jesus would be reborn and that believers would receive eternal life.

The yard suddenly became noisy.

But Long Huamin didn't stop praying. He just thought it was just another group of those crude mercenaries who were drunk and shouting in the yard. There were other monks in the yard. If they were given a little time, they could deal with these barbarians.

But he was destined to be unable to continue reciting the sutra.

boom!
"President!" A young monk half-pushed and half-shoved the door of the prayer room open and shouted at Long Huamin, "President! This is bad!"

"That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Long Huamin finished reading this passage from the Gospel of John before standing up from the ground.

"What's wrong?" Long Huamin turned around, his face already showing displeasure. "What are they doing crazy again?"

"No!" The young monk's voice began to tremble. "Soldiers! A lot of soldiers broke in! As soon as they came in, they pinned Salcedo to the ground, and now they are outside..."

He didn't need to explain further; the Northern Pacification Division's efficiency was astonishing. In a matter of moments, the captains swarmed the backyard. They kicked at every door they found, then scurried inside, restraining anyone inside. If anyone showed the slightest sign of disobedience, they would be kicked, like Salcedo, and pinned to the ground. They were still restraining themselves; if they had been authorized to execute anyone on the spot, the captains would have been even more violent.

"What are you doing?" Long Huamin asked loudly as he looked at the captains who rushed into the prayer room.

The captains were amazed that this foreigner from a distant land could speak such fluent Chinese, but they clearly had no intention or interest in engaging in further conversation. After entering, they followed their usual division of labor: examining people and checking documents.

"Stop, quickly." Long Huamin took two steps forward and was knocked to the ground by a sudden charge from the captain facing him.

"I advise you not to move around," the captain said, glaring at the two people in the prayer room. "If you get hurt, you'll have to pay for the medicine yourself."

"Who are you and what do you want to do?" Long Huamin quickly stood up and subconsciously protected the statue.

The captain who had bumped into him said nothing, simply holding his sword in place and staring silently at Long Huamin. Communication was the job of the superiors; those of them who were soldiers and earned their keep only needed to follow their orders.

Long Huamin seemed to realize this as well and hurriedly said, "I am the president of the Society of Jesus! I want to see your superior."

The captain's eyes flickered. He said to his comrades who were about to leave after searching the prayer room, "Go tell Captain Yang that we've caught a big fish."

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On the third floor of a tavern two streets away from the Jesuit headquarters, Zheng Shiyi, the actual centurion of the East Office, was looking at the gate of the headquarters from afar with his eagle eyes.

Seeing that a group of soldiers not only knocked on the door but also rushed into the mansion, Zheng Shiyi finally could not sit still.

Ever since Lu Wenzhao resigned from his post and turned to besiege the Zhang residence, he had been leading the surveillance of the Jesuits. Now, a group of unidentified officers and soldiers had stormed into the residence without a single warning, like one group of wild beasts invading another's territory.

"Let's go and take a look." Zheng Shiyi stood up, threw down two coins, and ran quickly towards the house two streets away with his brothers.

Zheng Shiyi had only passed through two narrow intersections and was stopped by the captain of the Northern Pacification Division who was responsible for blocking the road as soon as he saw the gate of the house.

"Stop, what are you doing?" Seeing that there were so many people coming, the captain who was blocking the road drew his sword and formed a battle formation.

"Humph! I was just about to ask what you guys do?" Zheng Shiyi took off his badge and held it in front of him. "Now that you've seen clearly, get out of my way!"

The flag officer leading the team recognized the three characters "Dong Si Fang" at a glance. He sheathed his sword but did not give way to Zheng Shiyi: "So you are a brother from Dong Si Fang."

"Are you also Jinyiwei?" Zheng Shiyi's expression turned even uglier. "Which yamen are you from?"

"Northern Pacification Division." The flag officer lifted the corner of his coat, but made no move to remove his badge. "What is your purpose, Captain?"

"Just get out of the way."

"If you have anything to say, just tell me directly." The flag officer called himself "himself", but his face did not show the courtesy that a humble person should have towards his elders.

"Do you keep your word?" Zheng Shiyi's tone was as cold as a piece of ice in deep winter.

The flag officer's eye twitched noticeably. "Indeed. Please wait a moment. I'll go get the captain right away."

When the flag officer found Yang Huan, Yang Huan had just arrived at the prayer room and was talking to Long Huamin. He didn't want to interrupt, so he stood beside Yang Huan and waited silently.

"Are you the one in charge?" Yang Huan put his hands on his hips, his face full of arrogance.

"I am Long Huamin, the president of the Society of Jesus." Long Huamin was furious, so he didn't bow to this stranger in official uniform as he usually did. "I would like to ask why you are doing this, Your Excellency."

Before Long Huamin could finish his words, he was abruptly interrupted by Yang Huan. "Okay, shut up. I'll ask you a question, and you answer it."

"You are so rude!" Long Huamin's face turned red all of a sudden.

"It seems you haven't figured out the situation yet, so I'll spare you the trouble." Yang Huan shrugged. "The people you sent are inciting rebellion on the front lines. Now we have to seal off this mansion until all the rebels are found."

Long Huamin was shocked and raised three questions in one sentence: "Who is inciting what rebellion and where?"

"Liaodong." But Yang Huan only replied with two words, then turned his head slightly to look at the small flag officer. "Didn't I tell you to guard outside? What are you doing in here?"

"Captain," the flag officer hurriedly bowed and said, "A captain from the East Office has arrived, and I stopped them."

Yang Huan was stunned for a moment, then he actually laughed. "Haha. How come there are no stakes here?" He turned around and was about to leave when he heard Long Huamin's voice behind him.

"What exactly happened in Liaodong?" Long Huamin was so anxious that sweat broke out on his head.

"Keep an eye on him. Don't let him run around." Yang Huan didn't look back.

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"What are you doing here?" As soon as Yang Huan, who was wearing the uniform of a sixth-rank military officer, came over, Zheng Shiyi asked him a question.

"Of course I'm on duty." Yang Huan said with a faint smile.

Zheng Shiyi got furious when he heard Yang Huan's perfunctory nonsense. "What errands are you on? What right do the Northern Pacification Division have to come here to do this? Do you understand the rules? Don't you know that you have to eat from separate pots? How dare you come onto our territory and steal our food!"

"Don't worry." Yang Huan still smiled. "The higher-ups gave our company an order, so we came here. How could we have known you were here?" "Which higher-ups gave the order?"

"Hey. What do you want to do?" Yang Huan kept it a secret.

"Let me ask you, which superior gave this order?" Zheng Shiyi said almost word by word.

"Western Factory, Wei Dang. He came here in person." This time, Yang Huan smiled so hard that his teeth were exposed.

Zheng Shiyi's face changed drastically and his breath suddenly stagnated.

Yang Huan then began to explain. "Among these white-skinned monkeys, there are traitors and rebels. We must close the palace and conduct a thorough investigation." He also imitated Wei Zhongxian and referred to Westerners as white-skinned monkeys. "As for why the palace gave the task to my Northern Pacification Division instead of you who have been watching over here, I'm not sure."

"Traitor? What traitor?" Zheng Shiyi's whole face was distorted.

"You'll know sooner or later." Yang Huan bowed. "Brother, I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave now."

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The carriage Liu Heqing hired stopped at an intersection outside Bei'anmen. "Heng'er, come here." Before the driver could get the padding and put it in place, Liu Heqing reached out and helped Liu Heng down.

"Just wait for me here." Liu Heqing said to the driver.

"Where are we going next? Back? Or somewhere else?" asked the driver.

"Go back." Liu Heqing said.

"Okay." The driver extended his hand, pointing to a deserted area. "I'll turn around and park over there. If you don't see me when you come out, wait there too." Turning around near Bei'anmen would require a long detour and take at least a quarter of an hour.

"Okay." Liu Heqing nodded and said to Liu Ying, "Ying'er, let's go in. Once you go in, you will be the court's pharmacist."

"Yeah." Looking at the endless red-painted wall, Liu Ying's eyes, filled with anticipation and curiosity, were now tinged with a touch of fear. She slung her small package over her shoulder, moved closer to her grandfather, and followed him closely.

The driver hadn't gone far when he heard Liu Heqing's words. He couldn't help but turn around, looking at the backs of the grandfather and grandson, and thought enviously: "He's worthy of being a miracle doctor in the Imperial Hospital. He can even get a favor for his own woman. I wish I could eat a share of the imperial rations."

The old man and the young man walked to the Bei'an Gate. But they were stopped by the guards on duty. "Stop! This is not a place for idle people to enter."

"I am Liu Heqing, the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau." Liu Heqing took off his badge and handed it to the guard.

"Imperial Physician?" The guard took the badge and examined him carefully. After confirming his identity, he handed it back. Out of respect for the doctor, his tone and expression softened. "Why did you take such a long detour to enter the city from here?"

Generally speaking, imperial physicians entered the palace through Chang'an Gate and then Chengtian Gate. If they were only entering the imperial city without entering the palace, they would go through Dong'an Gate and almost never detour through Bei'an Gate to enter the city.

"We are going to the Imperial Household Department." Liu Heqing took back the badge and held it in his hand.

"Then please wait here for a moment. I need to ask for instructions from above." The guard said politely.

"It's okay, just go." Liu Heqing smiled and nodded.

After a while, a captain on duty came running over, led by soldiers. "Is this Director Liu from the Imperial Hospital?" the captain asked, bowing.

"Yes." Liu Heqing bowed in return and presented the token again.

"Follow me." After the inspection, the captain waved to the other soldiers, and they made way.

"Then it'll be hard work."

The grandfather and grandson were led by the centurion and several soldiers to the gate of the Imperial Household Department. They were stopped by the eunuchs on duty. After a brief exchange, the leading eunuch trotted back to report.

Not long after, Cao Huachun, the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, came out to greet him in person.

"My humble servant greets Admiral Cao." Before Cao Huachun even came close, the captain bowed to him from a distance.

Although these direct guards were nominally under the command of the Dudufu, receiving daily training and deployment from the Dudufu, and their promotions and transfers were submitted to the Dudufu and the Ministry of War for approval, their rations and salaries came from the imperial warehouses, requiring the seal of the Imperial Household Department before they could be collected from the eunuchs in charge of the warehouses. This inevitably led to daily interactions with eunuchs.

"Go ahead." Cao Huachun just nodded as a response.

"I'll take my leave." The captain bowed again before leaving the Imperial Household Department with his soldiers.

"Greetings, Admiral Cao." Influenced by the centurion, Liu Heqing also bowed early. This was his first formal meeting with Cao Huachun, but it didn't prevent him from knowing the high position and power of this eunuch who managed the entire imperial city and the inner court.

"You are too polite, Mr. Liu." Cao Huachun formally returned the greeting to Liu Heqing.

Liu Heqing stood up and saw Liu Ying still standing there in a daze. He quickly called out, "Heng'er, stop standing there like an idiot. Salute Admiral Cao."

"Greetings, Admiral Cao." Liu Yun bowed deeply.

Seeing that Liu Ying still looked like a child, Cao Huachun walked over and patted her head. "I guess this must be our new chief pharmacist."

"Pharmacist?" Liu Heqing was startled. The Pharmacy Department under the Imperial Food Bureau had three levels of pharmacy officials: the eighth-rank chief pharmacist, the seventh-rank chief pharmacist, and the sixth-rank chief pharmacist. This meant that Wang An had immediately elevated Liu Heqing to the top rank of pharmacist, a truly generous gesture.

"Yes. Miss Liu is not only your granddaughter, but also a disciple trained by you personally. I believe she must be smart, talented and virtuous. Such a person is just right to be the chief pharmacist." Cao Huachun's words were very beautiful. He did not mention Wang An, and he had no intention of showing favor at all, which made Liu Ying feel a little embarrassed.

She raised her head and glanced at Cao Huachun cautiously. Unexpectedly, she met Cao Huachun's gentle smiling eyes.

"You are really too kind." Liu Heqing declined modestly.

"Haha." Cao Huachun smiled softly and extended an invitation. "Don't stand outside. Come in and sit down."

"Okay." Liu Heqing led Liu Yi across the threshold of the Imperial Household Department. Cao Huachun casually pointed at a eunuch and ordered, "You, go and call Hu Shangshi."

"Yes." The eunuch took the order, turned around and left quickly.

(End of this chapter)