Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 62: The so-called way to longevity is to have power but not to fight
"Lazaro Catano! This is not called betrayal, this is called setting things right." Long Huamin sneered.

"You want to set things right? Why didn't you set things right when Matteo Ricci was here?" Guo Jujing clenched his fists.

Guo Jujing also remembered that whenever Matteo Ricci spoke of Long Huamin, he would praise him with the tone of a master to his apprentice. More than once, Matteo Ricci expressed the feeling that there was no one to succeed him.

"Only the Pope can change the church." Long Huamin looked at Guo Jujing with a provocative look.

"You are absolutely crazy!" Guo Jujing's eyes were red and his brows were furrowed.

"How am I crazy? The Holy Religion is the only one, the God is the only one!" Long Huamin's eyes gradually became fanatical.

"Missionary work is not a crusade! It is not a replacement, but an exchange and complementation of culture and ideas. Only by seeking common ground while reserving differences can we enrich each other!" Guo Jujing's thoughts surged, and he recalled what Matteo Ricci had said, and he couldn't help but feel sad: I have come here from 80,000 miles to make friends and seek advice, but I only hope that people will be the same as me, not that I will be different from others!
"Brother Zixian, may I ask what the emperor thinks of my religion?" Guo Jujing stopped arguing with Long Huamin. He understood that he and Long Huamin were comrades but on different paths.

"Heaven's will is unpredictable, how dare I make rash comments?" Xu Guangqi's words were half true and half false. He knew the emperor wanted to both use the Jesuits and control them. But he was no longer certain of the means the emperor would use to achieve this goal.

Zhang Tianshi claimed to be ill and could not come, and only sent his daughter to Beijing to appease the emperor. The dog-eat-dog style of checks and balances is probably not going to work.

Zhang Xianyong's eldest son, Zhang Yingjing, who was not much younger than his eldest daughter, Zhang Shirui, had even submitted a petition to Emperor Shenzong in late spring, expressing his wish to marry the princess. Seeing that the matter involved the Zhu royal family, Emperor Shenzong gave it careful consideration, but before he could reach a conclusion, the emperor fell seriously ill.

It was normal for someone to get sick on the way, but why did they send their eldest daughter instead of their eldest son? Xu Guangqi wondered.

Although Xu Guangqi didn't know what Zhang Xianyong was thinking specifically, the thousands of years of history of China told him that if someone claimed to be sick and didn't attend court in response to an imperial edict, it meant he was either trying to rebel or escape.

If Zhang Tianshi couldn't pass on this knife, he would have to exchange it for another one. Xu Guangqi pondered for a moment, and finally added a somewhat positive but vague supplement to Guo Jujing: "That being said, at least for now, it should not be rejected."

Nanjing, Lion Mountain, Tianfei Palace

Zhang Yingjing and his father Zhang Xianyong ended their meditation together.

"Father, aren't we heading north yet? It's almost November." After expelling the last of his turbid air, Zhang Yingjing couldn't wait to ask his father, "The Emperor summoned our Dragon and Tiger Sect to Beijing for a discussion, yet we've been stuck in Nanjing. My eldest sister may have some knowledge of Taoism, but she's a woman after all. If word gets out, wouldn't fellow Taoists laugh at our Dragon and Tiger Sect for being deserted?"

"Talking about Taoism? My son, your Taoism is still shallow." Zhang Xianyong collected his thoughts, opened his eyes, and cast his gaze on his eldest son.

"That's what's written in the imperial edict. How could it be fake?" Zhang Yingjing was puzzled.

"All things in the world are both real and unreal, interdependent and ever-changing." Zhang Xianyong stood up, lightly lifted his Taoist robe, and said solemnly, "Among all the ways in the world, the only one that is independent, second only to the great way of heaven and earth, is probably the divine will. If you don't understand the way of heaven, you can't tell the difference between day and night, or the movement of the stars. If you don't understand the way of earth, you can't recognize plants or understand the benefits and disadvantages of poison. If you don't understand the divine will, at best you will lose all your wealth and honor, or at worst you will suffer a fatal disaster."

"The imperial edict is a physical tool, while the imperial will is a metaphysical principle. Only by understanding the tool and realizing the principle can we avert danger."

"You mean the emperor didn't summon us to Beijing to discuss Taoism?" Zhang Yingjing thought for a long time and asked tentatively.

"Of course not! I'm lucky I have this illness, otherwise I wouldn't be able to see clearly." It's true that Zhang Xianyong contracted the illness after crossing Dongting Lake due to acclimatization, but he had recovered before Zhang Shirui arrived in Tianjin. "Father, I don't understand." Zhang Yingjing was confused by his father's words.

"Take a look for yourself." Zhang Xianyong took out a piece of paper from his sleeve pocket and handed it to Zhang Yingjing.

"In early June, Macau Jesuit missionary Nicolas Ginni arrived in Nanjing, hoping to connect with prominent figures in the city, but to no avail."

"In the middle of this month, Macau Jesuit missionary Johann Adam Schall von Bell arrived in Nanjing, carrying customs documents from Hangzhou, stating that the Jesuits had received a letter from the Ministry of Rites to come to Beijing to meet the Emperor."

"Jin and Tang rented a small civilian ship and loaded it with foreign books. They have already left the capital." Zhang Yingjing became more and more confused as he read. "Father, what is this and where did it come from?"

"Although Dragon Tiger Mountain is in Yingtan, we do have some acquaintances in the official circles of the two capitals." Zhang Xianyong's face remained calm, but his tone grew increasingly serious. "The Emperor ordered the Dragon Tiger Sect to come to the capital, not to discuss the Dao, but to engage in a duel."

"And the Society of Jesus? Doesn't the Society of Jesus call itself Western Confucian scholars? What does this have to do with my Taoism? There's no point in fighting against it." Zhang Yingjing asked.

"The emperor doesn't care about these things. If the imperial decree orders you to fight, you have to fight!" said Zhang Xianyong.

"Then let's fight." Zhang Yingjing didn't care. "How can Longhu Mountain be afraid of foreign scholars?"

Bang! Zhang Xianyong slapped Zhang Yingjing on the head.

"The battle is fake! When has there ever been peace in Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Huguang, Zhejiang, and the south in recent years? Last year, the Liaodong army was lost, and the whole country was shaken. Westerners have advanced firearms and extensive trade routes, so Your Majesty wants to use their power to pacify the country and revive the Ming Dynasty." Zhang Xianyong paused. "The key to controlling people is checks and balances. If they are too strong, suppress them; if they are too weak, promote them. Your Majesty wants to use Westerners, but he doesn't want them to be too powerful."

"The Emperor wants my Dragon and Tiger Sect to be a dog leash to tie up the Jesuits?!" Zhang Yingjing understood what his father meant.

"Don't be so harsh." Zhang Xianyong pushed open the door to the meditation room, and the sunlight filtered through the trees, illuminating him.

"There are so many Taoists in the world, why is it that only our Dragon and Tiger Sect has stood for a thousand years?" Zhang Xianyong turned to ask his son.

"Why?" Zhang Yingjing took two or three steps to Zhang Xianyong.

"Because my Zhang family possesses power, we don't fight for it." Zhang Xianyong chuckled and rubbed his son's head. "Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, every generation of Heavenly Masters has been granted the authority to 'manage all Daoist affairs.' But when has my Zhang family ever taken charge of Daoist affairs? It's precisely because my Zhang family never interferes in matters outside of Longhu Mountain that no dynasty or generation has ever attempted to take action against us. If we truly took control of Daoist affairs, I'm afraid the imperial court would have already brought down the sword."

"If we were to go to the capital to fight, my Zhang family would gain nothing. If we lose, the Zhang family would be humiliated; if we win, the emperor would become suspicious. Back when Emperor Jiajing was at the height of his Daoist cultivation, he summoned the 49th Heavenly Master to the capital to discuss Dao, but he only spent half a year there, claiming illness and begging to return. I wanted to emulate this technique, but after understanding the emperor's intentions, I decided not to go." Zhang Xianyong sighed softly. "But the Zhang family needs to give an explanation to the emperor."

"So you sent my sister to Beijing."

"She was merely reporting back. The real explanation is here." Zhang Xianyong pointed at himself. "I will submit a petition claiming my condition is serious and requesting the Emperor pass the position of Heavenly Master to you. However, I am only seriously ill, not fatal. Therefore, you, the new Heavenly Master, must remain at my bedside out of filial piety. As for your sister, I believe the Emperor will not make things difficult for her."

(End of this chapter)