Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 57 Old friends meet
It was time to adjourn the office, but Xu Guangqi was still sitting at his seat working.

After Xu Guangqi took office, the Ministry of Rites, having enjoyed decades of relative idleness during the reign of Emperor Shenzong, suddenly became the busiest department outside the Ministry of War. The reign title change was just over two months away, followed by the imperial examinations. To ensure both tasks were handled effectively, he had to keep the entire department busy almost daily. This caused many doctors and officials, who had served in mediocre positions for years, to complain bitterly.

In response, Lord Xu didn't waste any words and directly invited Shi Menglin, the Minister of Rites, to be stationed at the Ministry. "Not doing your job? Then I'll file a report against you. Did you think we were living in an era where 'submissions to the emperor go unanswered'?"
Shi Menglin's impeachment was always successful, and he would be expelled if he made a report. And not only was he dismissed from office, Zhu Changluo particularly liked to add a demotion after dismissal, directly stripping you of your official title.

If you have no official title, you can't even call yourself "I", let alone "Sir". When you go to the yamen to see the officials, you have to kneel down and call yourself "little one".

"Sir, a group of Portuguese came outside. Their leader said that he received a letter from our ministry more than a month ago and wanted to see you. Would you like to let them in?" The gatekeeper came to the main hall of the Ministry of Rites and reported to Xu Guangqi with a bow.

"Portuguese?" Xu Guangqi had no access to intelligence from the secret service and was unable to learn of the Jesuit mission's itinerary in a timely manner. So after sending the letter, he put the matter aside.

Xu Guangqi, who had been working overtime and was in a trance, took a while to react before he remembered the matter of the Jesuit Society. Xu Guangqi hurriedly stood up, and while adjusting his clothes, he ordered, "Go and invite them quickly."

A moment later, the yamen runners led Long Huamin and more than forty Portuguese people in.

Could there be so many people in the Jesuit Church? Xu Guangqi was very confused.

"Long time no see!" When Long Huamin saw Xu Guangqi wearing a black gauze hat with a jade top, a scarlet flying fish collar shirt, and a rhinoceros horn belt around his waist, his tone was filled with joy and surprise.

"It's been a long time since we last met." Xu Guangqi bowed in return.

In the 38th year of the Wanli reign, Xu Guangqi's mourning period ended and he returned to Beijing and resumed his position as a reviewer in the Hanlin Academy.

At that time, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory's calculations of solar eclipses were inaccurate, so he collaborated with Jesuit missionaries to study astronomical instruments. Within a few years, he wrote astronomical works such as "On the Jianpingyi", "On the Pinghuntu", "On the Sundial" and "On the Nightdial".

In this matter, the Jesuit missionary who worked most closely with Xu Guangqi was Long Huamin.

Long Huamin, whose original name was Niccolò Longobardi, was a Sicilian from an aristocratic family. He came to China in the 25th year of the Wanli reign and arrived in Beijing in the 37th year.

Xu Guangqi returned to Beijing in the spring of 1949 and met Long Huamin through the introduction of Matteo Ricci. In May of that year, Ricci fell seriously ill. Before his death, he designated Long Huamin as his successor and left a will that Father Long would be the Provincial of the Society of Jesus in China, responsible for the Society's missionary work in China.

At that time, Xu Guangqi stood beside Matteo Ricci's bed and witnessed this brief "succession of the throne in front of the bed" ceremony with his own eyes.

"Come, give me the documents, I will help you get a long-term residence certificate in Beijing." Xu Guangqi pulled Long Huamin to his seat.

"We have already done it at the South City Military Command." Long Huamin said with a smile.

"Where does the Military Command get this authority?" Xu Guangqi frowned and asked in confusion.

The Jesuits came to Beijing to see the emperor with a letter from the Ministry of Rites, and were considered a foreign delegation. Only the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple were qualified to receive them.

"We have this." Long Huamin took off the expensive wooden badge from his waist and handed it to Xu Guangqi.

"How much did you pay for it?" Xu Guangqi raised his eyebrows.

"Five taels of silver." Long Huamin replied.

"This is given to civilians from other provinces entering the capital." Xu Guangqi stroked his forehead, sighed, and smiled wryly. "As long as you have a travel permit or customs clearance documents, you can get it for free. No, there's still a 40-cent processing fee." "40-cent?" Long Huamin's eyes widened. There was a nearly 100-fold price difference between 40-cent and 5 taels of silver.

"Haven't you been to Beijing?" Xu Guangqi's expression was a little subtle.

Long Huamin's expression darkened. "It was President Matteo Ricci who came to the city to pick us up. All the formalities were completed."

"No wonder." Xu Guangqi nodded and stopped asking questions. He changed the subject and said, "Come with me to complete the formalities."

After saying this, Xu Guangqi said to the yamen runner beside him, "Go and get fifty new copies of the Yi people's permanent residence certificate."

Long Huamin once received a permanent residence certificate from Matteo Ricci. At the time, Ricci had earned the trust of Emperor Shenzong by presenting him with a map of the world, a chiming clock, and an atlantic harp, among other exotic artifacts. Emperor Shenzong specifically ordered the Imperial Guard to monitor only the movements of Westerners, omitting any investigations unless they caused any disturbance. Consequently, Long Huamin never needed a permanent residence certificate until he left Beijing and traveled extensively.

In the 44th year of the Wanli reign, the Nanjing Incident broke out and Emperor Shenzong ordered the expulsion of the Jesuits, and the permanent residence certificate became useless.

After completing the certification for Jesuits such as Long Huamin and Guo Jujing, businessman Lalde Brandt walked up to Xu Guangqi.

Xu Guangqi looked up at him and saw that he was a stranger, so he asked, "May I ask your name?"

"?" Larde Brandt had no idea what Xu Guangqi was talking about.

"This is one of the sponsors of the operation, Mr. Larde Brandt." Long Huamin put down the tea brought by the yamen runner, stood up and walked to Xu Guangqi and said.

"Businessman?" Xu Guangqi asked.

"Yes, these are all businessmen." Long Huamin pointed at Władysław Amato, Dinis João, and others. Then he added, "They don't have Chinese names yet."

Long Huamin smiled brightly, then leaned in and whispered, "I won't hide it from you. The delegation brought goods worth 600,000 taels of silver to the capital. This money was paid by the merchants in the council. The condition for their funding was to send a representative to the capital to discuss business with the emperor."

"You agree?" Xu Guangqi did not lower his voice. Mercenaries and businessmen could not understand Chinese anyway.

"Of course not. They don't understand the rules, but I do. If a European monarch were to come to the Ming Dynasty, the best he could do would be the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, and many princes would be just county magistrates. Matteo Ricci couldn't even meet the emperor directly, so how could they have the qualifications?" Long Huamin was very flexible when dealing with worldly affairs.

"So I negotiated with them repeatedly, and finally agreed to bring five people to Beijing and let them discuss business with high-ranking officials. Paul, aren't you a high-ranking official?" Long Huamin smiled cunningly.

"What about the others?" Xu Guangqi remained noncommittal. He pointed at the Portuguese servants standing at the end of the line.

"Mercenaries. Didn't you ask me in your letter to bring money, artillery, and men? So I hired a squad of sixty Portuguese firearmsmen. Those who came with us to the capital were cavalrymen with swords and muskets. Those who didn't come were artillerymen. They were all top-notch soldiers."

"Looks like we'll be busy today." Xu Guangqi finished speaking. Then he shouted, "Someone come!"

"Sir." The bailiff came to the table and bowed, waiting for orders.

"Inform all officials that the court is dismissed today." "It's of no use anyway, so I'll just work overtime on my own," Xu Guangqi thought.

(End of this chapter)