Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 397 Gradual Testing
At the end of the Si hour, close to noon, Xu Guangqi was brought to the southern study of the Qianqing Palace by Shi Fangda.

Upon entering, Xu Guangqi noticed the layout of the Southern Study had changed. There was a new set of tables and chairs, and a face he had seen a few times before, but wasn't entirely familiar with. It had indeed been a while since Xu Guangqi had been summoned by the Emperor.

Xu Guangqi walked quickly to the center of the hall and, after a long absence, performed the solemn ceremony of five bows and three kowtows to the emperor behind the imperial desk. "Your Highness, Xu Guangqi, pays homage to the Emperor. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long, long live the Emperor!"

Xu Guangqi was a little nervous. On the way from Donghua Gate to Qianqing Gate, Xu Guangqi asked Shi Fangda why the emperor had summoned him. But Shi Fangda simply told him that the summons was not about the imperial examination.

The emperor didn't immediately respond to Xu Guangqi. He lowered his head, concentrating on the matter at hand. The others in the hall didn't react either. It was as if the person entering the hall wasn't Xu Guangqi, but a slightly noisy, but not particularly noteworthy, gust of wind.

After a long while, when Xu Guangqi's hunched back began to ache, Zhu Changluo finally put down his pen and said his first words: "Wang An, show him the memorials of Xiong Tingbi and Yang Lian first."

Xu Guangqi's nervousness had turned to unease, not only because the emperor had left him alone, remaining silent for so long, but also because he had keenly detected three anomalies in the emperor's words. First, the emperor hadn't asked him to stand up, instead calling out to Wang An. Second, the emperor had used "he" to refer to himself, and his tone was cold. Third, why did the emperor want him to review the memorials from Xiong Tingbi and Yang Lian? What exactly was contained in these memorials?
"Yes." Wang An stood up and walked to the shelf where the memorials were stored. He immediately found the "Postscript" from Liaodong.

Wang An came to Xu Guangqi's side and was about to squat when Xu Guangqi raised his hands high above his head in a very respectful gesture. Wang An's eyes flickered and his movements hesitated for a moment, but he finally stood up and threw the memorial into Xu Guangqi's palms.

Xu Guangqi placed the memorial on the ground in front of him and slowly opened it. The emperor would not let him stand up, so he could only curl up and read.

After reading only a few lines, Xu Guangqi's eyes widened. When he read the words "Military affairs in the left of Liao are urgent. In order to avoid disturbing the morale of the army and giving the slave bandits an opportunity to ruin my plan, I have no choice but to ask for the king's order and flag, execute first and report later, and kill this beast", his whole body began to tremble.

"A foreign monk has been in Liaodong for only a few months, and he's already caused such a big mess. He even openly claimed in the army that 'the emperor has been bewitched by the devil' and wants to 'convert the empire to Christianity.' What an arrogant tone!" Zhu Changluo said with disdain. "Why is he spreading rumors and misleading the people in Liaodong? Why not just follow the example of Lou Foxian and come to the Forbidden City to convert me?"

When Xu Guangqi heard this, his scalp went numb.

Lou Foxian, a native of Jinhua Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, earned his living as a stonemason. In March of the 11th year of the Wanli reign, Pan Zhengxian, a native of Qingtian County, Chuzhou, traveled to Lou Foxian's county, advising people to observe vegetarianism and practice charity. Inspired by this, Lou Foxian took Pan Zhengxian as his teacher. Pan Zhengxian accepted his advice and instructed Lou Foxian to respect Heaven, Earth, the Emperor, the Teacher, and his parents, and to save all people. He also said, "If I can persuade Emperor Wanli to observe vegetarianism, all people in the world will also attain Buddhahood." Lou Foxian took this advice to heart and traveled to Beijing to attempt to convert Emperor Wanli.

On the way, two men named Wu Tao and Zhao Jinming took Lou Foxian as their teacher and discussed going to Beijing to convert Emperor Wanli to Buddhism. If they could eat vegetarian food, they would achieve Buddhahood. When they reached Dezhou, they bought half a piece of white cloth, cut it into three pieces, and Lou Foxian wrote in his own handwriting: "To save all the four continents."

On November 22, the 11th year of the Wanli reign, Lou Foxian, Wu Tao, Zhao Jinming, and others entered the inner city of Beijing through the Xuanwu Gate. Upon learning that the court would be held on the morning of the 23rd, Lou Foxian, Wu Tao, and Zhao Jinming followed the officials to the Right Gate. Each of them took out the inscribed words from the previous paragraph and hung them on their bodies, declaring, "We want to convert Grandpa Wanli." This caused a great stir in the capital.

The East Depot received a report and issued an order: "This unscrupulous vagrant has trespassed into the forbidden area. The Embroidered Uniform Guard will take him to the Pacification Office for questioning."

Soon after, the Ministry of Justice proposed to the emperor that Lou Foxian be imprisoned awaiting execution, while Wu Tao and others be made civilians outside the province. The emperor approved the proposal.

This incident occurred in the 38th year of the Ming Dynasty. For the vast Ming Dynasty, this small matter was insignificant. However, because it happened so close to home, and Lou Foxian publicly vented his anger in front of the court officials, the three government offices—the Eastern Depot, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Ministry of Justice—intervened, and the main culprit, Lou Foxian, was ultimately sentenced to death. As a result, the incident was recorded in the imperial gazette and spread throughout the country, becoming a hot topic for scholars and even ordinary people. At the time, the 21-year-old Xu Guangqi had already passed the Tongshi exam and became a scholar under the Jinshan Guard. He then taught in his hometown and paid close attention to the imperial gazette. The story of Lou Foxian's attempt to convert Emperor Wanli was deeply impressed.

Now the emperor regards these two things as equal, which obviously approves Liaodong's behavior of "killing first and reporting later".

After much deliberation, Xu Guangqi decided not to ask questions or defend himself. He removed the memorial before him, kowtowed deeply, and said sincerely, "I am guilty!"

"You confessed, huh." Zhu Changluo's tone became much harsher. "So you taught him to say those words?"

"Your Majesty," Xu Guangqi felt a chill running from his toes to the top of his head. He kowtowed again and threw the official hat off his head.

Thanks to the wings of the hat, the official hat did not roll too far, and was within Xu Guangqi's reach, but he did not dare to pick it up. Instead, he continued, "I am fortunate to be blessed by Your Majesty and have the honor of serving as the Minister of Rites and the Minister of the Ministry of Rites. I was determined to recruit talents for the country, but I did not intend to let a wolf into the house. I did not realize that such a rebellious fanatic had infiltrated the Jesuit Order. I was truly indiscriminate and negligent. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

Zhu Changluo glanced at the official hat and said slowly, "As expected of you, I have personally appointed you to be the president of the imperial examination and the instructor of 230 newly minted scholars. Yet, with just a few words, you've managed to evade the main point by saying that Lou Foxian had infiltrated the examination and that you were negligent."

Xu Guangqi opened his mouth several times, but found that he could not respond at all.

Zhu Changluo didn't need Xu Guangqi to respond. He glanced at Wang An, winked, and asked, "I've almost forgotten who wrote the letter recommending Mendoza to serve as an interpreter for the 'foreign soldiers' at the Liaodong front."

"Replying to the Lord's words," Wang An understood, walked over, picked up the black gauze hat, and placed it in front of Xu Guangqi. "It was written by Xu Butang, and the letter of recommendation is on this shelf."

"Then take it out and read it aloud. Let Xu Butang listen to it too and recall it carefully." Zhu Changluo said.

"Yes." Wang An came to the shelf again and found the so-called recommendation seal with a casual touch.

Although it is called a recommendation, it is actually a very long and complex memorial, which mainly explains Xu Guangqi's views on the current situation, especially the situation in Liaodong, and offers suggestions. The introduction of foreign firearms and the use of bilingual foreigners as translators only account for a small part of it.

Wang An opened the memorial without reading it. Instead, he flipped directly to the small section and handed it to the emperor: "Master, there is no mention in Xu Butang's letter of recommendation that the 'foreign monk' be sent to Liaodong."

"Then why is he in Liaodong?" Zhu Changluo looked straight ahead and didn't even look at the memorial.

Wang An turned to Xu Guangqi and said, "Mr. Xu, the Emperor is asking you this."

Xu Guangqi was stunned for a moment, and a look of realization and struggle flashed across his face, facing the floor. "I have."

"Think it over before you speak!" Zhu Changluo slammed his hand on the table, interrupting Xu Guangqi's speech. A drop of red ink jumped up at his slap, but in the end, it didn't splash out, but gently fell back into the inkstone. "Don't think you can protect anyone."

"This person was chosen by the Jesuits themselves," Xu Guangqi replied. "How did they choose him?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"Your Majesty, I don't know." Xu Guangqi explained, "I was not present when the Jesuits selected their candidate. After they decided on the candidate, they didn't even inform me. I thought it was a trivial matter and didn't pay much attention to it. I allowed this person to go north with the foreign troops to aid Liao."

"In other words, our Grand Master of the Imperial Clan really failed to oversight?" Zhu Changluo asked Wang An again.

"I think so." Wang An said without any hesitation.

"Xu Guangqi." Although Zhu Changluo had been talking to Wang An, his eyes were always fixed on Xu Guangqi.

"I'm here." Xu Guangqi tried his best to make his voice sound less trembling.

"Tell me, how do you think this case should be handled?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"Your Majesty has made his own decision, and I dare not interfere," said Xu Guangqi.

"Speak!" The emperor uttered these words, and everyone in the hall was terrified. Especially the eunuchs who were on duty in the hall. They had no idea what was happening. They only felt as if an invisible force was strangling their throats, preventing the air from flowing smoothly into their lungs.

Xu Guangqi kowtowed again. "Our Celestial Empire governs its people with propriety and punishes evil with law. We should first investigate the facts and then punish according to the law."

"According to which law? How to punish? Who will be punished?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"If the facts are indeed as stated in this memorial," Xu Guangqi gulped and gritted his teeth, "the most appropriate case is 'heterodox politics'. Heterodox politics punishes the ringleader with hanging, and the followers with 100 strokes of the cane and exile for 3,000 miles."

"Then let's sentence him this way." Zhu Changluo still maintained his original posture: "Wang An."

"I'm here." Wang An strode back to his desk.

"Practice."

"Your Majesty!" Xu Guangqi screamed in horror, his voice completely distorted. A king's words are not to be trifled with. Once the laws of heaven are drawn up and the punishments of heaven are delivered, there can be no change.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Zhu Changluo asked.

"Judge matters according to the law and discuss matters with courtesy. Before determining the crime and sentencing, the facts should be clarified first." Xu Guangqi's voice was choked with sobs.

"Pick up your hat and put it on." The emperor's command, along with the sound of the book hitting the ground, reached Xu Guangqi's ears at the same time. "Look! This is the Censorate's investigation report on the facts of this case."

What Zhu Changluo threw to Xu Guangqi was not the inspection report jointly submitted by fifteen censors of the Censorate, but a summary of the draft review that had been completed early in the morning and was based on the evidence sent from Liaodong.

That day, after Shi Fangda returned with his report, the emperor sent another messenger to the Censorate, requesting the draft of the review with a clear imperial decree. The draft first reached the Imperial Household Department, where it was transcribed by Cao Huachun and summarized by Wang An himself. After reviewing it, Zhu Changluo sent the original draft back to the Censorate and issued a gag order, forbidding any further disclosure.

Xu Guangqi was startled. He raised his head slightly and found that the memorial was out of reach. So he put on his hat as the emperor ordered, and then used his hands and feet to crawl over and pick it up.

Xu Guangqi took a few deep breaths and slowly unfolded the summary.

The summary follows Wang An's style of writing briefs, item by item, like a running account. But a running account has its advantages: as long as Wang An does not use the Spring and Autumn style to embellish the original content, he can clearly and concisely present the overall situation of the matter.

The summary shows:

The heads sent to the Censorate from Liaodong were clearly not Han or Xian people, nor did they bear the characteristics of barbarians such as Tatars, Jurchens, or Japanese pirates. The confessions submitted to the Censorate were both signed and sealed, their handwriting in a rare, cursive style, making them highly unlikely to be forged. The confessions contained numerous rebellious texts, revealing their wicked ambitions. Due to their profound rebelliousness, they were omitted to prevent the emperor from reading them. A search of the Liaodong authorities' residence revealed numerous rebellious articles written in Chinese, seemingly copied for dissemination. The content of these articles corresponded to the signed confessions. Furthermore, the authorities discovered numerous articles and letters written in barbarian script, which no one in Liao could decipher, making them impossible to decipher.

"Is that clear enough?"

The moment the summary was closed, the emperor's voice immediately reached Xu Guangqi's ears. It seemed to condense into words dripping with blood, and with the pungent smell of blood, it flashed before his eyes. Xu Guangqi reached out to touch his face, but there was no scarlet blood. It turned out that all this was just an illusion.

"That's clear enough." Xu Guangqi, under immense pressure, forced himself to add, "As for this case itself."

"Are you asking me to guess your hidden meaning or your empty talk?" Although it was just a question, Zhu Changluo actually nodded.

"I dare not!" Xu Guangqi said hurriedly.

"Then explain it clearly."

"Your Majesty," Xu Guangqi closed his eyes, his features practically clenched together. "I believe the investigation conducted by the Censorate is well-organized and flawless. This Mendoza is indeed a heretic who incited the people, and his death is a pity. He was indeed chosen by the Jesuits based on my recommendation. I am guilty, and so are the Jesuits. However, I am alone, and the Jesuits are a society of dozens of individuals. They have numerous factions within them, and they are not united. I know this, and Your Majesty knows this too. Therefore, I believe that a thorough investigation should be conducted to determine who led this heretic, who recommended him, and why. This will prevent us from accusing the innocent and chilling the hearts of those who truly desire to be converted. This will also serve to highlight the rituals of our Celestial Empire and promote the virtues of our Son of Heaven."

(End of this chapter)