Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 58: Hospitality and Tracking

After Xu Guangqi announced the dismissal of the yamen, the officials of the Ministry of Rites felt relieved. Before leaving the yamen, the officials had to bid farewell to the hall officials. When they left their own office halls and entered the main hall of the minister, they were surprised to find that the main hall was full of Portuguese.

Sun Ruyou, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, approached Xu Guangqi and asked knowingly, "Sir, who are these people?"

"A Jesuit missionary from Macau has come to Beijing to meet the Emperor on the basis of a letter from our headquarters." Xu Guangqi was thinking of a Chinese name for the Portuguese businessman Dinesh Joao.

"The Jesuits? Is that the evil cult that was expelled by the late emperor in the 44th year of Wanli?" Sun Ruyou sneered.

Long Huamin frowned upon hearing this. He was about to retort when Xu Guangqi stopped him with a wave of his hand.

"The emperor has specially decreed to cancel the sentence issued in the 44th year of the Wanli reign. Although they are here with a letter from our department, they were also specially ordered by the emperor to come to Beijing." Xu Guangqi put down his pen, stood up, and bowed towards the north.

"I understand. It was the Minister who advised the Emperor to pardon these foreign invaders, right?" Sun Ruyou was a staunch supporter of the Nanjing Incident.

"Yes." Xu Guangqi said coldly, "Not only that, I also requested the Emperor's permission for them to come to the capital to meet Him."

Although Xu Guangqi didn't say it, the underlying meaning was very clear: I am a court official, what can you do?

"I understand." Sun Ruyou bowed slightly, then turned and left. "I'll take my leave!"

After Sun Ruyou left, Long Huamin and Guo Jujing came over.

"Who was that gentleman just now?" Long Huamin asked.

"Sun Ruyou, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. If he had not opposed the emperor, he would be the one sitting in this position today." Xu Guangqi pointed to the chair under his butt and answered in Italian.

"Singing a different tune?" Guo Jujing noticed other officials coming and going to say goodbye, so he also switched to Italian.

"The Emperor has great ambitions and wishes to appoint new men, so there will be a special imperial examination after the change of reign." Xu Guangqi omitted the information about vacancies across the country. "The Emperor wishes to add a mathematics subject to the Jinshi examination, but Minister Sun disagrees," Xu Guangqi replied, returning the greetings to the departing officials around him.

"He disobeyed the imperial order?" Guo Jujing was a little surprised. He had been in China for a long time and knew that disobeying the imperial order was a serious matter.

"The cabinet meeting hasn't reached a decision yet," Xu Guangqi explained. "If Minister Sun had disobeyed the order, he wouldn't be here today."

"Then why doesn't the emperor issue an order directly?" Long Huamin asked.

"The consequences of disobeying the imperial edict are severe, but Minister Sun is not afraid." Xu Guangqi continued in Italian, "If Minister Sun disobeys the imperial edict, the nature of the matter will change. Many people will be implicated. The Emperor can certainly depose all those who support Minister Sun, or even kill them, but he will not do so unless it is absolutely necessary."

"Why is this?" Long Huamin didn't know much about the politics of the Ming Dynasty.

"Just because a person doesn't have a correct understanding of something doesn't mean he doesn't have a correct understanding of everything. A person who can't do thing A well may be able to play an amazing role in thing B, but if his head falls off, he's dead." Xu Guangqi stopped talking halfway.

After more than half an hour, Xu Guangqi finally completed the registration of all the Portuguese. He gave each person a Chinese name and issued a long-term residence certificate.

A second-rank official personally issuing the certificate was an exceptionally high standard, but there was no other way. Besides him, no one else in the Ministry of Rites could understand Portuguese and Italian. He couldn't ask Long Huamin and Guo Jujing to assist him; they weren't officials and weren't allowed to touch the imperial court's prestigious positions. If Xu Guangqi asked them to assist, it would be an overreach of the emperor's authority.

"One tael of silver per person for the labor cost." Xu Guangqi rubbed his swollen and sore hands.

"Wait a moment." Long Huamin nodded and reached out to touch the money. "Are you really going to give it to me? I'm just kidding." Xu Guangqi quickly waved his hand.

"Very reasonable. Much cheaper than the Bingmasi brand, and you even wrote it by hand." Long Huamin had become numb with spending money all the way. Forty-two taels—it was a steal.

"This is the Ministry of Rites, not the Ministry of War. How can the imperial court save face by asking tribute envoys from vassal states for labor costs?" Xu Guangqi felt that the money should be collected, as one thing should be treated separately.

Long Huamin didn't think the tax collectors on the road had any respect for him, but saving money was always good, so he just bowed and thanked them.

When the work was done, the sun had hidden all its brilliance, leaving only a faint orange-red in the sky.

"Bring your people and follow me." Xu Guangqi smiled at Long Huamin and said, "Let's find a place to have dinner first, and then go to my house."

"Thank you for bothering me." Long Huamin did not refuse.

When I walked out of the Ministry of Rites, Xu Guangqi's sedan chair carried by four people was already waiting at the door.

"I'm sorry, I'm an official from the Ministry of Rites. I can't walk in this official uniform and have to take a sedan chair." Xu Guangqi apologized.

"It's okay. There's no order without rules." Long Huamin expressed his understanding.

Xu Guangqi's sedan chair was in front, followed by two Jesuit carriages. Furthermore, the remaining thirty or so people had not yet found a place to store their horses, so the procession looked quite impressive.

After leaving the Ministry of Rites, the group first headed east through Dongjiangmi Lane and arrived at the entrance of Nanxunfang, where there were several large restaurants with strong backgrounds.

As night fell, merchants began to light candles and hang lanterns. Before curfew, the capital would usher in the final revelry of the day. The streets gradually became more crowded with men and women, and small stalls selling handicrafts could be seen everywhere.

The delegation seemed out of place, but they weren't repelled by the bustling capital. Passersby stopped to observe, but their eyes didn't show any rejection; they were simply curious about where these people came from and why.

Xu Guangqi led the delegation to the entrance of a restaurant called "Sun Moon Star Picking Tower." The foreman at the entrance was very discerning and could tell at a glance that the sedan chair at the front of the procession was of considerable importance. After the sedan chair came to a stop, he respectfully stepped forward and greeted, "How many guests are there?"

"Forty-three." Xu Guangqi did not regard the mercenaries as servants.

"Okay, please go up to the tower." The foreman made a gesture of invitation and called on his men to help the guest who was leading the horse.

After the delegation placed their horses and went upstairs, six Jinyiwei in plain clothes also came to the door of the Sun and Moon Star Tower.

"How many guests are there?" the foreman asked with a smile.

"Six." The leading Jinyiwei also smiled back.

"Okay, please go up to the tower." These six people didn't look like they were willing to spend money to rent a private room on the third floor, so there was no need to go up to the tower.

But the foreman knew what these people were here for.

The man in the second-rank official uniform brought more than forty Portuguese to dinner. It would be strange if the Jinyiwei did not follow him in.

(End of this chapter)