Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 398 Gift
After saying this, Xu Guangqi kowtowed again. "During the investigation, I am willing to request to be dismissed from my post and imprisoned, pending a thorough investigation by the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Guard."

Zhu Changluo did not respond to Xu Guangqi's question, but said, "Let me ask you one last question: if the truth is revealed, what should be done with the people involved?"

"Now that loyalty and treachery are clear, we will deal with them according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty. If they should be beheaded, they will be beheaded. If they should be hanged, they will be hanged." Xu Guangqi said.

"Very good." Zhu Changluo winked at Wang An: "Wang An, give that to him."

"Yes." Wang An picked up a written memorial from his desk and walked over to Xu Guangqi. "Mr. Xu, the memorial has been prepared for you. Just give me a nod, and I'll send it to the Ministry of Public Security."

"Memorial?" Xu Guangqi suddenly had a bad feeling. "What memorial?"

"Take it and have a look yourself." Wang An had no intention of squatting down.

Xu Guangqi raised his hands high again as he did before.

"Stand up." The emperor's voice slowly floated from behind the desk.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xu Guangqi stood up, straightened his hat, and then took the memorial from Wang An. When he opened it, he was immediately stunned.

The content of this memorial was very short and simple. It suggested that the emperor sentence nine Jesuit members, including Long Huamin, to varying degrees of punishment, ranging from immediate execution to exile three thousand miles away, on charges of "heterodox practices and disrupting politics" and "great disrespect". It also suggested that the emperor establish an administrative agency in the Ministry of Rites, similar to the Monks' and Taoists' Offices, to specifically manage members of the Christian church in China.

These items were enough to surprise Xu Guangqi, but what shocked him the most was the beginning of the memorial: Minister of Rites and Minister of the Ministry of Rites, your servant Xu Guangqi respectfully submits this memorial.

Xu Guangqi knelt again. He closed the memorial and held it in his palm, kowtowed and said, "I cannot accept the contents of this memorial. I humbly ask for Your Majesty's forgiveness."

Zhu Changluo did not reply. He first beckoned to Wang An, then took the inspection report submitted by the Censorate from where he was convenient, turned it over and handed it out.

Wang An quickly walked to the imperial desk, took the inspection report, and used it to replace the memorial in Xu Guangqi's hand. "Minister Xu, please take a look at this. It was jointly drafted by fifteen censors."

Xu Guangqi withdrew his hands, and upon seeing the title on the cover, he froze in shock. His eyes widened, and for a long moment he remained motionless, as if what he held wasn't a report from the Censorate, but a heavenly book from a illustrated collection of strange stories, a book devoid of words unless he opened it.

Xu Guangqi couldn't believe it. During the imperial examination, not only had the Jesuits' interpreters in Liaodong caused such a horrific blunder, but the Censorate had also found the "stick" used to cause it. However, the weight of the investigative report, so thick and heavy, pressed upon Xu Guangqi's palm, compelled him to believe it.

"Xu Bu Tang." Seeing Xu Guangqi standing there in a daze, not even turning the page for a long time, Wang An called out softly. But Xu Guangqi still didn't respond.

Wang An looked at the emperor and, seeing that he showed no sign of urging him, he returned to his seat, taking the memorial he had drafted. As soon as Wang An sat down, Xu Guangqi, with a barely perceptible sigh, resignedly opened the inspection report.

At this moment, the emperor suddenly ordered: "Bring him a stool over and let him sit down and watch slowly."

"Yes." This chore should have been done by the eunuch on duty, but since the old ancestor stood up in an instant and competed with them for the job, the eunuch had no choice but to retreat back to his original place.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the invitation." As Xu Guangqi stood up and sat down, he cautiously glanced in the direction of the imperial desk, only to find that the emperor was staring at him with a half-smile. Xu Guangqi immediately retracted his gaze, but even though the eye contact only lasted a moment, it still made Xu Guangqi feel a little uneasy.

The memorial, "drafted" by Wang An, served as a foreshadowing for Xu Guangqi, revealing the tone and content of the investigative report. Xu Guangqi could guess that the individuals named in the "draft" would likely be charged with some crime. He began reading with this expectation, but was once again stunned when he read the Censorate's definition of "tu si" ("deus") at the beginning of the article.

Unlike Li Zongyan, what surprised Xu Guangqi was not the murderous intent hidden behind the definition of "evil worship", but the definition itself.

This definition, issued by the Censorate, completely overturned his long-held assumptions about the vague concept of "Deus." Previously, because Matteo Ricci repeatedly emphasized the "interconnection between Christianity and Confucianism," Xu Guangqi had equated "Deus" with "Haotian Shangdi" or "Heaven." The so-called "Tianzhu" (Heaven Lord) is also an alternative name for "Heaven." The "Lord" in it, like the "Hao" in "Haotian," is a meaningful modifier whose deletion does not affect the meaning. It does not mean "master" or "lord."

But in the definition of the Censorate, "Deus" is not only not equal to heaven, but also a contradictory existence.

The inquest report states that Europeans viewed Deus as the creator of everything, the so-called Demiurge. If "heaven" is included in "everything," then Deus, or "God," is the true "master of heaven," a being superior to heaven.

But in the philosophical theories Xu Guangqi encountered, "Heaven" itself was a ruthless and selfless "Dao" or objective law. For example, if a person's head was chopped off, they would die; this was part of the "Dao." There shouldn't be anything higher than "Heaven," let alone personalities. Personal "gods" were all inferior beings, like the "minor gods" who controlled wind, clouds, thunder, and rain. These lesser gods, with personalities, were also required to act in accordance with the "Dao." If they disobeyed, divine punishment would befall them.

If, as this memorial states, the Jesuits believe that "Deus" is superior to "Heaven" and that "Deus" has a personality, then is "Deus" superior or inferior?

Xu Guangqi suspected that the author of the article had no understanding of the Jesuits and was pure fabrication. Perhaps it was because the author completely misunderstood and misunderstood the Jesuits that they hastily defined "Deus" as "evil worship." Xu Guangqi was captivated by the article, quickly drawn into a state of flow by the arguments based on "misunderstandings" yet still able to justify their own arguments. He immediately wanted to discuss the matter in depth with the author.

But Xu Guangqi's flow state soon ended. Ultimately, this investigative report wasn't a philosophical exploration, but a criminal case. Defining "deus" was, from the beginning, merely a means for the Censorate to convict those involved, not the end. Furthermore, this means wasn't the only one, nor even the most important one.

Even if Xu Guangqi could comprehensively refute this contradictory definition with his understanding of Jesuit doctrine, reiterating and elaborating on Matteo Ricci's emphasis on "God is Heaven" and "Deus is the Way," as long as the two charges of "spreading evil words before the army" and "slandering the emperor and father" were proven, then the "heterodox teachings that disrupted righteousness" and "great disrespect" could be firmly pinned on those nine individuals.

The more Xu Guangqi read, the more his heart trembled. Much of the content in this inspection report was new to him. In other words, if someone had said something like "conquer the Ming Dynasty" or "make the emperor convert" to Xu Guangqi's presence, his first reaction would definitely not be to walk away in anger, but to report to the nearest government office.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to ask a question." Xu Guangqi said.

"Speak." "Thank you, Your Majesty." Xu Guangqi asked, "I would like to ask, on what evidence did the Censorate rely in drafting this memorial?"

Zhu Changluo didn't want to do two things at once, so he nodded towards Wang An.

Wang An said, "Minister Xu, the evidence the Censorate is proposing to report was seized by the Northern Pacification Division from the Xin Mansion in Paizi Hutong, Xihe Street, Zhengxifang. You should know where that is."

"Thank you, Master Wang, for clearing up my doubts." Xu Guangqi said.

Wang An nodded slightly and continued, "By the way, most of the seized evidence was written in European languages. To translate them, the Censorate posted notices throughout Beijing recruiting translators, and they ultimately recruited dozens of people. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to rush to produce the inspection report before the results were announced. If you have any questions about the contents of this inspection report, the compiled translation materials are in the right corner of the Qianqing Gate. You can go and take a look. If you also disagree with the translation, you can go to the Censorate to see the original."

"That's not necessary." Xu Guangqi shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"In that case," Wang An held up the memorial he had drafted on behalf of Xu Guangqi. "Then I will send it to the Ministry of Public Security."

"Please allow me to finish reading the memorial first." Xu Guangqi replied.

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Just as Xu Guangqi was carefully reading the inspection report, Shi Jikai, another chief officer who had left the Imperial Examination Hall after him, also returned to the cabinet duty room.

Xu Guangqi and Shi Jixie took the same route, but because the latter was in a slow sedan chair and there were no soldiers ahead to clear the way and disperse the crowd, he was much later than the former. If Shi Jixie had returned two or three quarters later, the cabinet would have started dinner.

Shi Jikai pushed the door open and entered. As soon as he crossed the threshold, Prime Minister Fang Congzhe stood up. When Fang Congzhe stood up, the other cabinet members followed suit.

Shi Jixie didn't wait for the cabinet members to greet him, but instead took the initiative to stop. "Greetings to the First Minister, greetings to the Second Minister." He saluted Fang Congzhe and Ye Xianggao first, then the other three cabinet members. The cabinet members returned the greetings.

"Shicheng," after the formal greetings, Fang Congzhe quickly walked up to Shi Jixie and took his arm, his face filled with the joy of reunion. "It's been a long time since we last met."

"I've been away these days, and I'm grateful to the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, and all my colleagues for their support. I'd like to express my gratitude here." Shi Jikai bowed again.

"No, no, you've been working day and night to get talent for the country, which is even more tiring." Fang Congzhe pulled Shi Jixie to his seat, motioned him to sit down, and shouted, "Come on, come on, make Shi Cheng a cup of tea."

As the highest-ranking advisory body, the cabinet enjoyed exceptional treatment. Not only were food, drink, and rest provided, but they also had dedicated attendants to serve them. Normally, the cabinet elders would do small tasks themselves, like brewing tea and discarding tea leaves, rarely delegating tasks to others. But with a simple shout, someone would arrive shortly after with whatever they needed.

After Shi Jikai sat down, Fang Congzhe returned to his seat. As soon as he sat down, he asked, "Shicheng, who are the top scorers this year?" Although the imperial examination results will be copied to the cabinet, the Ministry of Rites, the Hanlin Academy, the Ministry of Personnel and other government offices one after another, at least for now, the cabinet does not know who is on the list.

"To the Prime Minister," Shi Jixie thought for a moment and replied, "The first place winner is Liu Bidada, from Jingling County, Chengtian Prefecture, Huguang Province, and he studies the Book of Changes. The runner-up is Li Yukui, from Pinglu County, Pingyang Prefecture, Shanxi Province, and he studies the Book of History. The third place winner is Cao Keming, from Jurong County, Yingtian Prefecture, and he studies the Book of Songs. The fourth place winner is Fu Yongchun, from Lingshou County, Zhending Prefecture, Zhili Province, and he studies the Book of Rites. The fifth place winner is Qian Jingzhong, from Yin County, Ningbo Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and he studies the Spring and Autumn Annals."

Fang Congzhe kept nodding his head while listening, but remained silent. It was not until Shi Jixie called out the name "Qian Jingzhong" that Fang Congzhe thoughtfully asked, "Is this Qian Jingzhong the son of Qian Ruogeng?"

"Yes," Shen continued, "Qian Ruogeng is still imprisoned in the prison at Xiantai. He's been there for almost thirty-seven years."

"Tsk!" Fang Congzhe instinctively realized that this was another troublesome matter. He blinked and said to Shi Jikai, half changing the subject, "There's an important matter here that we've been waiting for you to come back to discuss. We still have some time before the retirement office, so let's settle this matter first."

"Has anyone submitted a petition for resignation?" Shi Jikai reacted quickly. Although the cabinet dealt with many matters daily, there were only a few situations where the Prime Minister couldn't make a decision and a collective decision or joint petition was required. The most common of these was when a high-ranking official was vacant and the emperor's decree was postponed.

Fang Congzhe nodded and said, "Grand Tutor."

"Li Maofu resigned?" Shi Jixie was startled and asked, "Why?"

"It's true." Fang Congzhe's face showed a look of pity.

"Are you still in Beijing?" Shi Jikai asked anxiously.

"I set off for home a few days ago." Fang Congzhe replied.

"Oh! How could this be?" Shi Jixie sighed. He knew that this separation would be forever.

After a moment of silence, Shi Jixie suppressed his sadness and asked, "Who were the chosen ones?"

"Jin Qing recommends Li Sancai, the former governor of Huai River. Ji Hui recommends Li Changgeng, the Minister of Finance. Yu Chen recommends Wang Ji, the current Vice Minister." Fang Congzhe paused. "Ming Zhen recommends Wang Yingjiao, the current Minister of Revenue in Nanjing."

　I found a surprise to share with everyone. To select the top five scholars in the Five Classics exam, I consulted the "Tianqi Renxu Yearbook" and discovered that Wen Zhenmeng and Wang Zheng appear on the same pages. Previously, I'd included these two veteran scholars primarily out of plot necessity, without giving them much thought. Now, I've actually found a connection—a surprising discovery that spans centuries.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)