Huangming

Chapter 165: The star predicts Yinghuo, and the drought demon peeks into the territory

Xu Guangqi's official robes spread a dark red across the blue brick floor. As he straightened up, his Adam's apple bobbed violently, yet he still maintained the debating posture of a scholar-official.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me! When Father Matteo Ricci first came to China, he nearly lost his sight while studying the Four Books; Xiong Sanba did not return home to visit his family for three years while translating Western water management techniques. They risked their lives crossing oceans. If it were for personal gain, why would they bother to receive a meager salary as a seventh-rank official in the Imperial Observatory?"

"I have known Western scholars for twenty years, and all I have seen are those who translate classics by day and work on instruments by night. The matter of Longhua people presenting their proposals is indeed a great treason, but among these people there are also righteous men like Deng Yuhan, who would rather give up their former royal titles to cast cannons for our Great Ming to resist the Jin!"

He didn't care what Catholicism was, but did those missionaries come to the Ming Dynasty to spread their faith for the sake of saving the world and bringing peace to the people?

Zhu Youxiao sneered upon hearing this, and his fingertips slammed heavily on the imperial desk, causing the Yongle sword on the desk to vibrate and ring out:
"Does Minister Xu know that in the secret letter that Long Huamin wrote to the Vatican in Macau, he referred to the people of the Ming Dynasty as lambs to the slaughter?"

Xu Guangqi trembled violently, his legs under his official robes almost unable to support his body.

He saw the emperor toss a yellowed copy of a secret Latin letter from his sleeve. The translation, with its vermilion annotations on the parchment, was chilling: "If the Ming emperor converts to Christianity, then we can follow the example of Portugal in taking over Macau and use the church as a fortress."

"His Majesty!"

Xu Guangqi kowtowed heavily, his forehead hitting the gold brick with a dull thud.

"I am willing to stake my head on this; the people of Longhua would never do such a thing."

"shut up!"

Seeing that Xu Guangqi remained obstinate, Zhu Youxiao immediately rebuked him sternly:
"In the 44th year of the Wanli reign, the Spanish massacred 20,000 of our expatriates in Luzon. Afterwards, the Bishop of Manila thanked the Lord for purifying heresy during Mass—is this the way of salvation that you so firmly believe in?"

"Now these missionaries are bringing the same Bible to the Ming Dynasty. Do you think they've come to do good deeds?"

Gollum~
Xu Guangqi knelt on the ground, too timid to speak. He neither refuted the emperor's words nor immediately agreed with them.

Seeing that Xu Guangqi was still not convinced, the emperor continued, "The main purpose of these missionaries coming to preach was to map out the astronomy, geography, customs, and traditions of our country for future use by foreign colonizers. Do you think they presented the self-ringing clock and telescope as genuine tribute? In reality, they were surveying the strategic locations of our Great Ming's mountains and rivers!"

Zhu Youxiao pulled a map from his desk and threw it on the steps. The parchment unfolded with a rustling sound, revealing coastal forts and canal transport points marked in Latin.

"In the 45th year of the Wanli reign, the Guangdong Navy intercepted a Portuguese merchant ship and found a map showing the configuration of firearms marked with the nine border garrisons. In the first year of the Taichang reign, the Fujian Navy discovered tidal records of Hangzhou Bay in the cabin of a Dutch ship—all of these were provided by the missionaries you mentioned who 'translated classics during the day'!"

Xu Guangqi stared at the familiar Songjiang Prefecture mark on the map and suddenly remembered that Long Huamin had borrowed the "Complete Book of Water Conservancy in Wuzhong" from him last year.

The priest said he would plan a disaster avoidance route for the parishioners, but now the map even clearly marks the location of the military garrison and farmland.

"Do you know what the Bishop of Macau wrote in his letter to the Pope last year? He said that the officials of the Ming Dynasty were as ignorant as medieval monks, and that only three hundred musketeers were needed to conquer a province."

Xu Guangqi's official robe was soaked with cold sweat.

"Your Majesty, my lord. My lord."

Seeing that Xu Guangqi's will had wavered, Zhu Youxiao asked again, "Do you know about the Western barbarians' colonization?"

Xu Guangqi shook his head.

Zhu Youxiao sneered, "They only show you Western astronomy, mathematics, and artillery—these advanced Western technologies—to attract Chinese people and prove the superiority of Western learning. In reality, how little of the sordid stuff they did during colonialism?"

Seeing Xu Guangqi's deathly pale face, Zhu Youxiao rose from the dragon throne, paced to the center of the hall, and spoke in a low voice, each word like a knife:

"Does Xu Qing know how the Portuguese operated in Malacca? They landed under the guise of trade, first exchanging glass beads for gold, and then, once the locals were off guard, they used firearms to massacre the chieftain's relatives and then kidnapped children as slaves, euphemistically calling it 'saving lost sheep'!"

He suddenly unfolded another scroll of secret reports, pointing to the bloody record on it: "In the thirty-fifth year of the Wanli reign, the Spanish, under the pretext of 'sweeping away pirates,' drove all the Chinese merchants in Luzon to a valley, first bombarded it with cannons, and then ordered soldiers to pierce the chests of women and children one by one with spears—afterwards, the missionaries actually erected a cross next to the pile of corpses and inscribed it with 'God have mercy on this place!'"

The Emperor continued, "Even worse, the Dutch forcibly levied a poll tax in Java. Those who couldn't pay had their entire families chained to cannons and blown to pieces. And the priests who accompanied the army would sing hymns before each massacre!"

Zhu Youxiao grabbed Xu Guangqi's official robe and sneered, "Do you really think that the 'Complete Map of the World' presented by the people of Longhua is to help the Ming Dynasty broaden its horizons? The ports and mines marked on that map have long been transmitted to the mother country's fleet in code!"

The emperor's eyes flashed with a chilling light: "Western countries view colonization like hunting deer. They first send missionaries as guides, then use caravans as bait, and once they've figured out the truth, they bare their fangs. If Minister Xu still doesn't believe me today—"

He suddenly lifted the hidden compartment under the imperial desk and threw out a string of charred finger bones strung together with hemp rope.

"These were dug up by the Imperial Guards from the West Hall cellar! The finger bones of dozens of children's corpses were all made into rosaries, which missionaries called 'martyrdom relics'!"

Xu Guangqi finally collapsed to the ground, the emperor's final question echoing in his ears: "Now, do you still dare to say that these people holding the Bible are unrelated to the bloodstains on the butcher's knife?"

"I'll ask this one last time."

Zhu Youxiao's eyes were cold and filled with murderous intent.

"Does Minister Xu intend to continue as a 'Guardian of the Way' for the barbarians, or become a Vice Minister of the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty?" Xu Guangqi suddenly trembled violently. He recalled the young scholar who firmly believed that "Western learning can supplement the king's civilization" when he first saw the "Complete Map of the World" thirty years ago.

At this moment, the golden bricks in front of the emperor reflect the image of a fool blinded by the Bible.

"minister"

He kowtowed heavily, causing the jade belt buckle to crack on the ground.

"I am willing to forge cannons for Your Majesty to defend against foreign aggression, and to introduce sweet potatoes and corn to sustain the people—from now on, I will never set foot in a church again!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youxiao's expression softened slightly. He stood with his hands behind his back and said, "I am very pleased that Minister Xu understands this principle. Western learning, such as arithmetic, calendar systems, and firearms, certainly has its merits. I ordered you to oversee the manufacture of cannons precisely to extract their essence. However, Catholicism is misleading and harbors evil intentions, and we must never allow it to spread."

He turned and took a scroll of memorials from his desk, handing it to Xu Guangqi: "This is the 'Regulations for the Prevention of Barbarians' that I have drafted. All missionaries entering the country must be approved by the Ministry of War and are not allowed to build churches privately; the books they bring must be inspected by the Hanlin Academy, and all books involving the Bible and the Gospel must be burned. Since you are fluent in Latin, you will keep an eye on them for me—if anyone dares to preach in secret, they will be executed without mercy!"

Seeing Xu Guangqi respectfully accept the gift, the emperor said meaningfully, "Deng Yuhan is skilled in cannon casting, and I will allow him to serve in the Ministry of Works; Luo Yagu is good at astronomy and can stay in the Imperial Observatory to translate books. But if I find out that they are secretly developing followers... Minister Xu should understand that the muzzle of the Hongyi cannon can not only bombard the Jurchens, but also bombard churches."

Xu Guangqi, having learned of the emperor's attitude and understood his bottom line, immediately declared, "Your Majesty's teachings will be remembered."

"A cat is a good cat as long as it catches mice, whether it's black or white. But there are still bottom lines."

"I understand."

After persuading Xu Guangqi, Zhu Youxiao called out to Wei Chao, who was attending him, "Summon Grand Secretary Fang Congzhe and Grand Secretary Li Ruhua to come and have a questioning."

"Slave, you obey!"

Wei Chao was stunned for a moment before ordering someone to summon Fang Congzhe and Li Ruhua.

He had been holding his breath in the East Warm Pavilion, the emperor's resounding question echoing in his ears.

It turned out that the secret documents His Majesty had previously ordered him to review, such as "A Brief Account of the Portuguese Colonial Affairs" and "The Case of the Massacre of Chinese in Luzon," had now become sharp blades that drew blood.

Wei Chao recalled that when he was moving the archives, he had glimpsed an imperial annotation in vermilion ink on the corner of a page: "Barbarians and beasts, though different in appearance, are of the same mind." At the time, he thought it was just an ordinary annotation, but now he was shocked to realize that His Majesty had already thoroughly understood and internalized the colonial history of Western countries.

If Zhu Youxiao could hear Wei Chao's true feelings, he would probably sneer and scold this lackey for his short-sightedness.

The scattered accounts of Portuguese observations in the secret palace archives are merely the tip of the iceberg.

Most of what he said to Xu Guangqi was information he received later.

Doesn't he know what kind of people those in the West are?
In his previous life, he had seen the smoke of the Opium War in history textbooks, witnessed the Anglo-French allied forces holding Bibles amidst the raging flames of the Old Summer Palace, and was even more aware of the countless bones of so-called "good Westerners" in the colonies.

In this timeline, he would absolutely not allow this to happen again!
China will not sink, and the Qing dynasty will never occupy our land. As for the bloody and tearful modern history, he will make those barbarians pay for their blood debts in this time and space!
Tick ​​tock~
Time passes slowly.

About a quarter of an hour later.

Grand Secretary Fang Congzhe and his associate Grand Secretary Li Ruhua straightened their clothes and walked to the outside of the East Warm Pavilion.

After the eunuch announced their arrival, the two men bowed and entered, then kowtowed before the imperial desk, saying, "Your Majesty, we respectfully wish you eternal peace and well-being!"

"Get up!"

The two stood up and were slightly surprised to find Xu Guangqi, a senior official from the Ministry of War, kneeling on the ground in the East Warm Pavilion.

Zhu Youxiao's gaze was deep and he slowly said, "I have been observing the celestial phenomena lately and have seen Mars encroaching on Taiwei and Ziwei dimming. Within a few years, the Ming Dynasty may suffer a severe drought."

He raised his hand, signaling the eunuch to unfold a map of the Ming Dynasty's territory. He then heavily traced the map across Shaanxi, Shanxi, Beizhili, Henan, and other places with his fingertips: "These places have been plagued by drought since ancient times. Once a natural disaster strikes, the land will be scorched and the dead will be everywhere."

The Emperor's sharp gaze swept over Fang Congzhe and Li Ruhua: "The Cabinet shall immediately begin preparations for drought relief. First, the Ministry of Revenue shall be ordered to inspect granaries throughout the country to ensure sufficient grain reserves; second, the Ministry of Works shall expedite the repair of water conservancy projects, dredge waterways, dig deep wells, and prepare deep reservoirs; third, Xu Guangqi shall be instructed to promote drought-resistant crops such as sweet potatoes and corn to prepare for the needs of disaster years."

Zhu Youxiao's voice suddenly turned serious: "This matter concerns the foundation of the nation. If any official is negligent, I will punish them severely!"

Fang Congzhe and Li Ruhua exchanged a glance, both of them stunned.

Your Majesty, when did you begin to observe the stars at night?
There was also the matter of a severe drought.
How come we didn't know?
Both of them looked puzzled.

……

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(End of this chapter)