Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 54: The itinerary is under control
The delegation rushed all the way from Tianjin to Beijing, and the sun was shining brightly when they entered the city.

The imperial court stipulated that civilians could ride in carriages after entering the city, but were not allowed to ride horses unless absolutely necessary, let alone ride them. Therefore, with the exception of Long Huamin and a few members of the delegation who could not ride and had to take carriages, most people had to walk, leading their horses, across the straight road between the Shanchuan Temple and the Temple of Heaven.

When the main road ends and the small road appears, some people are already starving.

"President Nicolo Longobardi! Let's find a place to eat first, and then go to the government office to register." Merchant Dinesh Joao, who knew nothing about Chinese, could only address Long Huamin by his full name. However, for Europeans, addressing someone by their full name was not considered rude.

"There's no restaurant around here. Let's get our business done first." The delegation to Beijing, including their "household servants," numbered over forty Portuguese, making them a very conspicuous sight. The stretch of road from Yongding Gate to the entrance to Zhengyangmen Street alone attracted countless people to stop and observe.

"Yangfeng, where is the South City Military Command?" Long Huamin knew that Guo Jujing had lived in Beijing for a period of time.

"President, the South City Military Command is nearby." Guo Jujing thought for a moment, then added, "If they haven't moved."

Relying on a vague memory, Guo Jujing led the delegation to the South City Military Command Office. However, they lacked official uniforms and their faces were clearly not East Asian. Therefore, the guards refused to let them in. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Huh!" He'd answered this question at least twenty times from Hangzhou to Beijing. "The Jesuits of Macau. Received a letter from the Ministry of Rites to come to Beijing to see the Emperor. Came to the Military Commission to exchange documents and obtain a badge." Long Huamin continued to smile and bow.

"You've arrived just in time! The commander just finished his lunch break." The guard chuckled. "Wait, I'll go in and report."

Not long after, the guard came back. "Go in, but only one person can go in. The others wait outside."

Lu Yangping, the sixth-rank commander of the Southern City Military Command, had just woken up and hadn't brewed his tea yet when the guards came to announce that someone from outside the vassal state had arrived to exchange documents.

"Letters, customs documents." Lu Yangping went straight to the point.

After the verification was completed, Lu Yangping asked, "How many people are here?"

"Forty-two." Long Huamin replied.

"Yes. Pay up. Five taels for each sign." Lu Yangping opened the box on the table, revealing a crudely crafted wooden sign. "South City Military Command" was engraved on the front, and "Verification" on the back.

"Five taels?" Long Huamin was shocked.

"You think it's too expensive? You can just give it up if you think it's too expensive." Lu Yangping took a sip of tea. "It'll just be a little more trouble." Lu Yangping's tone was very soft, and there was no emotion at all.

"Sir, can you give me a discount?" Two hundred and ten taels of silver, this price is enough for them to stay in Tianjin for most of half a month.

"This is the government office, not a market." Lu Yangping put down his teacup, raised an eyebrow and glanced at Long Huamin. "I told you, if you think it's too expensive, you don't have to."

"Okay." Long Huamin nodded and took out two silver notes of one hundred taels each and two small silver ingots weighing five taels each. There was no other way. He couldn't just lock up all the "servants" in the inn. If they couldn't go out and spend money, what would the mercenaries do with the silver?

After receiving the new documents and badges, Long Huamin took his men to a restaurant for a meal. After a sumptuous meal, the forty-two people spent a total of only twelve taels of silver. The Forbidden City, the Palace of Heavenly Purity, and the Southern Study.

The door to the Southern Study stood wide open, meaning some people could enter without a proper name. Wei Chao, the eunuch in charge of imperial ceremonies, was one of them. He walked up the steps and approached Zhu Changluo. He said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Guards report that the Jesuit delegation has arrived in Beijing."

"Oh? When did it happen?" Zhu Changluo put down the memorial in his hand, straightened his body with the help of the armrest, and asked after he felt a little more comfortable.

"Your Majesty, they arrived at Yongding Gate three quarters of an hour ago and are now having dinner," Wei Chao replied.

"What about Zhang Tianshi?" Zhu Changluo closed his eyes and gently rubbed his Jingming acupoint, mentally going over the route from Longhu Mountain to Beijing. "Logically, Yingtan leads to Poyang Lake, and beyond Poyang Lake is the Yangtze River. Following the Yangtze River to Nanjing, and then taking the Grand Canal north, we should arrive before the Macau ferry, right?"

Wang An hesitated for a moment, his tone somewhat nervous: "Your Majesty, Zhang Tianshi's customs clearance documents arrived in Tianjin twelve days ago, and he should be entering Beijing today."

"What's he doing in Tianjin?" Zhu Changluo, already agitated by the recent memorials, noticed Wang An's wording after he finished asking. He then shifted the topic to ask, "Where's the customs clearance document? Where's the person?"

"The one holding the customs documents wasn't Zhang Tianshi, but his eldest daughter, Zhang Shirui." Wang An lowered his head, left his seat, and walked to the imperial table. He pricked up his ears, ready to slide to his knees and beg for mercy if the emperor's tone even hinted at a smack of rebuke. "Because Zhang Tianshi didn't come, I didn't report this to you, my master. I figured I'd wait until he arrived to report."

The main reason Wang An didn't report the incident wasn't because Zhang Tianshi hadn't come, but because Zhu Changluo had sentenced several people to death the day he received the news. Although Zhu Changluo didn't show much emotion when he sentenced them, the cold glint in his eyes still frightened Wang An. He was really afraid that Zhu Changluo would just casually order Longhu Mountain to replace its Tianshi.

According to ancestral rules, the titles of Zhang Tianshi and Yanshenggong will be retained forever.

However, it didn't matter who the Heavenly Master and the Duke of Yansheng were. It wasn't impossible to find a pretext to bring them to the capital and then secretly execute them on the way.

Zhu Changluo's only understanding of Zhang Tianshi was the three characters "Zhang Xianyong", and he automatically imagined him as an old Taoist with a celestial appearance. Since he was an old Taoist, his eldest daughter was naturally a middle-aged Taoist nun.

"It doesn't matter, it will work the same." Zhu Changluo's tone remained unchanged.

Wang An let out a long sigh: "Master, are we going to see them now?"

"No. Wait until the play on November 1st is over before asking them to enter the Forbidden City." Zhu Changluo picked up the memorial on the table again and shook it gently while speaking, his anger rising: "From now on, anyone who delays impeaching Xiong Tingbi and misses the opportunity to fight will be punished..."

He picked up another one and said, "Or any memorial like this one that impeaches Xiong Tingbi for using the enemy to gain power should be refuted." After saying that, Zhu Changluo threw both memorials on the ground.

"This Yang Yuan is Yang Hao's uncle, right?" Wang An picked up the memorial impeaching Xiong Tingbi for "using the enemy to gain power" from the ground.

"He's blaming Xiong Tingbi for not submitting a petition to protect Yang Hao, and instead escorting Yang Hao to the capital." Zhu Changluo sneered, then picked up another letter and read, "'Under false pretenses, they raise taxes, extort the common people, and claim to be building a city to defend against the enemy. This is actually misleading the country and deceiving the emperor.' I don't know if they are truly anxious, or if they just want to put their own people in. They want to claim credit for the Liao affairs, but they don't even consider their own weight."

Wang An picked up another memorial but said nothing more.

(End of this chapter)