Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 468: Respecting Confucianism and Suppressing Buddhism
"Okay, everyone, go out." Guo Jujing again stepped forward to expel the young priest from the prayer room, which gave Jin Nige a very unpleasant sense of déjà vu.

After the bolt was lowered, only four senior priests, namely, Ginni Ge, Guo Jujing, Deng Yuhan and Johann Adam Schall von Bell, were left in the prayer room.

The four men, three of whom were officials receiving Ming Dynasty salaries, and two of whom were even dressed in formal official uniforms, made Guo Jujing feel as if he were in another world. He recalled that over twenty years ago, when he had first come to China to follow Matteo Ricci, he was a completely unknown person, and every step he took was difficult.

Guo Jujing returned to the Crucifixion. Deng Yuhan had already taken a seat next to Ginnige. Guo Jujing sat down to Deng Yuhan's right and said, "We heard something this morning, and I think you might know about it."

"What do you know? I've been busy with the imperial examinations in the palace all day." Deng Yuhan briefly recalled and didn't think that anything he heard today required secret discussion in a secret room.

"It's something related to the imperial examination." Jin Nige, who was sitting on the left side of Deng Yuhan, actually sighed.

"To be more precise, it is related to the emperor." Tang Ruowang moved to the right to the seat where Guo Jujing had previously sat.

"What exactly is going on?" Deng Yuhan was even more confused.

Tang Ruowang lowered his voice. "Yesterday, tragic news broke from the palace: the youngest daughter of the Emperor, who was not yet full-term, had tragically died in infancy. The cabinet therefore jointly submitted a petition requesting the Emperor to postpone the palace examination, citing the precedent set for Crown Prince Daogong, the second son of Emperor Xianzong Chun."

In fact, the funeral of Prince Daogong and the funeral of Taichang's youngest daughter were of completely different nature.

First, although Crown Prince Daogong Zhu Youji died before the age of three, he was a legitimate crown prince, while Emperor Taichang's youngest daughter had not even been named. Second, the change in the timing of the palace examination was due to the "Crown Prince Daogong's funeral procession," and the youngest daughter's body remained in state for seven days, even though the first seven days had not yet passed. Furthermore, there was no precedent in the Ming Dynasty for a father mourning for his daughter and causing the palace examination to be postponed due to the death of the daughter.

As Han Yu said, the palace examination and funeral rites were not in conflict at all. The cabinet's primary reason for citing precedent was to silence the censors outside the court. As long as there was such a seemingly precedent, the cabinet's initiative to request a postponement of the palace examination seemed legitimate. If the emperor had taken the initiative to postpone the examination, no one would have been able to intervene; the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites would have simply complied. However, if the cabinet was showing sympathy for the emperor, it would have been better to provide a second reason.

To put it more bluntly, this incident might have been a major event for the emperor personally, but it was a trivial matter for the state and its rituals. It might have been just a sentence in the "Taichang Veritable Records": "On Bingchen, March, the first year of Taichang, the emperor's tenth daughter died. The emperor ordered the Ministry of Rites to offer sacrifices to the Fengxian Hall." Of course, the compilers of the Veritable Records might have ignored this incident and pretended it didn't exist. After all, the royal family still had the Jade Book of Genealogy. After the emperor named and posthumously conferred a title on the deceased princess, he could have recorded her in the Jade Book. It didn't necessarily have to waste space in the Veritable Records. But then again, with such an incident that embodies "a wise ruler and loyal ministers," the Veritable Records compilers would probably have given it some space.

"Is there such a thing?" Although Deng Yuhan would never know the twists and turns of the story, he was still stunned when he heard it.

"Haven't you heard of it?" said Ginni.

"Of course not. Who would tell me something like this?" Deng Yuhan felt a little strange. "How did you know? Is this just a rumor?"

Although Deng Yuhan was standing quite far from the emperor at the time, his eyesight and memory were excellent, and looking back now, he didn't think the emperor had shown any sadness at all. He just felt that compared to their first audience, the emperor had become much more majestic and distant.

"This is definitely not a rumor," Johann Adam Schall von Bell continued. "I heard the news of the Emperor's youngest daughter's death at the government office. Yesterday, while the Emperor politely rejected the cabinet's request, he also issued an edict to the Ministry of Rites to arrange funeral rites according to the established regulations. Although the Ministry of Rites hasn't yet produced the regulations, the news itself is certain."

Guo Jujing's expression was somewhat subtle. "I heard about it from the locals, but I didn't quite believe it at the time. Besides, I also heard another rumor about it."

"What rumors?" Deng Yuhan asked.

"Evil superstition. Or perhaps," Guo Jujing looked up at the crucifix, "a curse."

"Curse!?" Upon hearing this word, Deng Yuhan couldn't help but look at the crucifix.

"Yes." Guo Jujing leaned back on his chair, turned his head toward the gate, and switched to French. "Legend has it that the emperor's youngest daughter died suddenly because he was cursed. If the Li family isn't immediately pardoned and Li Guochen isn't released, similar disasters will befall the emperor's other children."

Deng Yuhan was startled and switched to French. "Who is this 'Li Guochen'?"

The Jesuits had nothing to do with the three cases led by the Li family. Because of the Nanjing and Shenyang Incidents, the Jesuits had not been able to establish connections with the military and imperial relatives in Beijing, so Deng Yuhan and other Jesuit members had not paid much attention to those cases.

Guo Jujing straightened up and whispered, "I've inquired about this. This 'Li Guochen' is the eldest son of the Marquis of 'Wuqing' and a cousin of the Emperor."

"What's wrong with him?" Deng Yuhan asked.

"The day before yesterday afternoon, he was arrested by the Ministry of Justice." The information Guo Jujing got was a little distorted, but generally speaking it was not too wrong.

"In other words, the emperor had just started handling this case when his youngest daughter died?" Deng Yuhan faintly sensed a political conspiracy.

"That should be the case." Guo Jujing nodded.

"Is there any relevant news from the government office?" Deng Yuhan looked at Johann Adam Schall von Bell.

"Maybe, but I haven't heard of it." Johann Adam Schall von Bell shook his head and said, "I only learned about the curse after I came back from court from Mr. Yang Feng." Correspondingly, it was only after hearing Schall von Bell talk about the emperor's decree to the Ministry of Rites that Guo Jujing was sure that the rumors in the streets were not pure rumors.

"Did Li Guochen die in prison?" Deng Yuhan asked Guo Jujing.

"Probably not yet, at least there is no such legend among the people." Guo Jujing said.

"Since the person is still alive, why is there talk of a curse?" Deng Yuhan subconsciously understood the curse as a curse from an evil spirit.

"It's not that Li Guochen cursed the emperor, but that 'Jiulian Bodhisattva' cursed the emperor." Guo Jujing made a cross on his chest.

"What is this 'Nine Lotus Bodhisattva'? A Buddhist idol?" Deng Yuhan asked. "'Nine Lotus Bodhisattva' is indeed related to Buddhism." Guo Jujing went to the door to check again, cautiously. After returning, he lowered his voice further, "But it's not an idol, it's a person."

"Who?"

"The late emperor's mother, the emperor's grandmother." Guo Jujing sat down and explained, "This Empress Dowager Li was a devout Buddhist. She donated and built many Buddhist temples and shrines across the country. Many temples in the capital were built or renovated thanks to her. Therefore, this Empress Dowager Li was also revered by Buddhists as 'Nine Lotus Bodhisattva.'"

Deng Yuhan's eyes widened. "So, there's a rumor going around that the Emperor's grandmother cursed him?"

"Based on the information we have collected so far, that's what I mean." Guo Jujing nodded heavily.

"There is definitely a conspiracy behind this matter!" Deng Yuhan judged.

"Do you think so too?" Jin Ni Ge looked at Deng Yuhan, and his eyes couldn't help but sweep over Guo Jujing.

"It's hard not to think so," Deng Yuhan said. "The curse is definitely fake. How could a grandmother curse her grandson? Besides, according to Chinese etiquette, the relationship between 'Nine Lotus Bodhisattva' and the emperor is clearly closer."

Moreover, as a Christian, Deng Yuhan instinctively disbelieved in the gods, Buddhas, and ghosts of other belief systems. Even the hypothesis of the coexistence of "God" and "Teachers," consistently advocated by Matteo Ricci, was a subject Deng Yuhan doubted. However, compared to the likes of Long Huamin, Deng Yuhan was wiser and more realistic, and didn't prioritize theological debates. He preferred stargazing to theological debates.

"Yes. I also think there's a conspiracy behind this," Guo Jujing continued. "Li Guochen was arrested the day before yesterday, and the emperor's daughter died yesterday, and now these rumors are spreading. There are only two possibilities. Either Li Guochen's arrest and the emperor's daughter's death were two separate events that happened to coincide, and someone took advantage of this coincidence to fabricate these rumors." Guo Jujing paused, then offered a terrifying hypothesis in a deep voice. "Or, the emperor's daughter's death was man-made, and someone murdered this poor girl. In either case, it's all an attempt to pressure the emperor into submission, to stop him from investigating these fatal cases further."

"I think it's the former. Murder is too difficult," Deng Yuhan said. "The palace is very strictly searched. They have to be searched before entering the Forbidden City, and they have to be searched again when they meet the emperor."

"Why use a weapon to murder a poor baby?" Guo Jujing said.

"That's not what I meant," Deng Yuhan explained. "I meant that there are not only numerous obstacles from outside the palace to inside, but also that these obstacles are not under the same jurisdiction. It's difficult to bribe everyone along the way."

Johann Adam Schall von Bell and Nicolas Trigault also nodded in agreement with Deng Yuhan's statement.

"You don't need to bribe everyone. You only need to bribe the people around the princess or the doctor to get it done." Guo Jujing said, "John Schreck, don't forget that Caesar died in the Senate."

Deng Yuhan countered, "Caesar did die in the Senate, but he had neither the Imperial Household Department nor the Imperial Guards by his side. The emperor is much smarter than we are. If rumors of the curse reach his ears, I'm afraid everyone around the princess, including her mother, will be arrested and tortured. If it was murder, it would be discovered. The person behind this wouldn't be so stupid."

"Yes." Ginnige agreed wholeheartedly. The cruel officials of the Jinyiwei were so terrifying that people could not muster the slightest thought of resistance.

"President Nicola Trigo, Father Lazzaro Cataneo, Father John Schar. Did you keep me here just to talk about this?" Adhering to the principle that whoever benefits should be held responsible, Deng Yuhan instinctively suspected the Li family was behind this. But he didn't think this matter had anything to do with them.

"Yes, it's for this matter." Guo Jujing replied.

"Father Lazzaro Catano. Although I also think this matter is very strange, it has nothing to do with us after all, right? If there is really something strange about it, the court will investigate it. We are the ones who have suffered, so it is better not to get involved." Deng Yuhan knew very well that whether in China or Europe, matters involving the palace were bloody incidents.

"Those three cases really have nothing to do with us, but I think this might be an opportunity," said Guo Jujing.

"Opportunity? What opportunity?" Deng Yuhan asked.

"It's an opportunity to crack down on Buddhism and expand the influence of our religion," said Guo Jujing.

"How do I say this?" Deng Yuhan subconsciously glanced at the acting president, Ginni Ge.

"As I said earlier, while 'Nine Lotus Bodhisattva' isn't a Buddhist idol, it's certainly connected to Buddhism. We can leverage their power against their own, starting a fire that will burn the mountain. Using this incident as a starting point, we can ignite the deeply ingrained Buddhist heresy!" Guo Jujing excitedly swung his sleeves. His movements stirred a subtle breeze, causing the candlelight on the desk to sway. "Even if we can't completely incinerate them, we can at least create a pure land for us to plant our roots!"

Deng Yuhan was startled and asked Ginnigo, "President Nicola Trigo, do you think so too?"

Ginni was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly and said, "Advocating Confucianism and suppressing Buddhism is the missionary policy set by President Matteo Ricci. We can't go wrong by following his path."

"So what should we do?" Deng Yuhan turned and looked at Guo Jujing. By now, how could he not know that Guo Jujing was behind this?

"That's exactly what we want to ask you," Guo Jujing said. "You're the smartest person among us, and we want to hear your opinion."

Deng Yuhan shrank back, spread his hands, and shook his head, saying, "I have no experience in political conspiracies."

Although it was an unintentional remark, Deng Yuhan's words stunned Guo Jujing, Ginniger, and Johann Adam Schall von Bell, especially Schall von Bell.

Tang Ruowang was still young, and although he had "voluntarily" "betrayed" President Long Huamin and some Christian comrades under extreme pressure in order to gain the trust of the emperor and public opinion, Tang Ruowang was not truly so guilty. He lowered his head, turned his face to the side, and restrained his gaze, not daring to look at the crucifixion image again.

Guo Jujing was obviously much calmer. He quickly recovered from his daze and said righteously, "This is not a conspiracy, but a matter of following the current and taking advantage of the situation. The capital is a place where Buddhist influence is deeply rooted. They have been fooling the people and controlling their minds for too long. We are simply taking this opportunity to return things to the way they should be. A tall tree blocks the sky, obscuring the bright sun. If the great tree of Buddhism does not fall and burn, who knows how long it will take for us to grow and prosper. Spread the gospel."

(End of this chapter)