Yang Peng was stunned, "Catholic?"
Tang Shidian took out a pamphlet from his arms, opened it, looked at the pamphlet and said: "Catholicism has been introduced to China during the Tang Dynasty. However, it has always been tepid and has no influence in society. . However, the recent development of Catholicism has been very rapid. When I came to my surprise, I found that Catholic churches had spread all over Bianliang City and its surrounding areas. I was shocked, so I inquired about the situation in other places through educational channels and found that The development of Catholicism is in full swing. The Catholic Church promotes the heresy of believing in God and gaining eternal life, and many people are deceived into becoming devout believers, who respect the Catholic doctrine as if they were gods. I am very worried about this."
After hearing this, Yang Peng didn't care very much and asked, "Has the Catholic Church carried out any illegal activities?"
Tang Shidian said: "I don't know about this. This should be a matter of the legal department." He looked at Zhang Xiang. Zhang Xiang immediately stood up, cupped his fists towards Yang Peng and said, "To report back to Your Majesty, Catholicism has not carried out any illegal activities. On the contrary, the public security in many places has become better because of Catholicism."
Tang Shidian said worriedly: "This is definitely not a good thing! Some people are so pious. If their 'God' says that the Ming Dynasty is evil in the future, the people will inevitably rebel! Although the Catholic Church has not done evil yet, it has deceived the public with evil words. The country has sown the seeds of disaster and must be eradicated!”
Zhang Xiang frowned and said: "There is no illegal behavior in Catholicism. If it is banned, it will be illegal and difficult to convince the public!"
Tang Shidian said angrily: "It is against the law to confuse the public with evil talk!"
Hua Jieyu said: "Although there are some problems with the doctrines preached by the Catholic Church, there is no illegal behavior after all. 'Monster words and misleading people', although it does give people this feeling, but 'magic words and misleading people' are not clearly defined, and there is no clear definition in law. There are no explanations or measures to deal with this. Since the law does not prohibit it, if we ban it, it will be a violation of the law. How can this be done?"
Tang Shidian became anxious and said to Yang Peng in a hurry: "Your Majesty, since ancient times, the scourge of cults has often been as bad as rebellions, and many rebellions are even started by cults! And the characteristic of cults is to confuse the public with evil words, so what does the Catholic Church say? Those who believe in me will have eternal life. It is clear that they want to control the people. What their intention is is obvious! We must take advantage of the fact that Catholicism has not yet become popular and eradicate it with lightning speed. Otherwise, once they become popular, the consequences will be disastrous. ah!"
Yang Peng couldn't help but think of the cults such as '** Gong' in later generations. Even in a future society with advanced technology, cults can still have extremely huge influence and destructive power on society. It can be seen that this kind of thing must not be taken lightly. However, since there are currently no relevant laws against cults, it is not easy to take measures rashly. With his own prestige, he can still do it even if there are no rules. However, this will set a very bad precedent and make people feel that the emperor is still the greatest instead of the law. In this way, It is a very huge damage to the soldiers who want to build an ideal society.
The lesser of two evils, although Catholicism is developing rapidly, its influence should still be very limited for now, so there is no need to be too hasty in dealing with this problem. We can wait until this year’s annual meeting to discuss this issue and then formulate the law. Then we can deal with Catholic matters. According to the system established by Yang Peng, only the Cabinet Assembly has the power to legislate. Therefore, legislation must wait until the annual meeting is held at the end of the year.
After thinking about this, he said to Tang Shidian: "Your concerns are very reasonable, but cults cannot be tolerated! However, we cannot mess up and destroy the system just because of the fear of cults. It is still the same principle, and it can be done without prohibition by law. , since there are no provisions in the law against things such as 'monster words to deceive the public', we cannot take any action. Only when there is a law to follow can we take action against the Catholic Church." Seeing Tang Shidian's anxious look He looked like he wanted to say something else, and said with a smile: "You don't have to worry. I know this kind of thing well. Although the current development of Catholicism is rapid, its influence must still be very limited, and it has not reached the point of imminence. Don't be complacent. Wait until The law was formulated at this year's annual meeting, and it won't be too late to deal with it." Then he frowned and said: "If we ignore the law, the long-term impact and harm will be far beyond that of a cult!"
Hua Jieyu clasped his fists and said: "What your Majesty said is absolutely true! We must not misuse the law because of anxiety!" Chai Yongqi, Huang Qiaoyun and others also agreed. Tang Shidian couldn't help but sigh when he saw that no one had the same opinion as him.
Yang Peng asked: "Does this Catholic Church have a leader like a leader?
Tang Shidian shook his head and said, "That's not true." Yang Peng nodded thoughtfully.
After the meeting, Yang Peng asked Chai Yonghui to stay. Chai Yonghui's pretty face was blushing, her heart was pounding, and she was thinking wildly.
Yang Peng stood up, walked to Chai Yonghui, took her hand and walked outside, saying: "Let's go." Chai Yonghui thought Yang Peng was taking her to the harem, and was extremely nervous, but then she realized that he He did not take himself to the harem, but led him to the palace gate. He couldn't help but asked curiously: "Brother, where are we going?" Yang Peng said: "Go and see the Catholic Church." Chai Yonghui A sudden realization.
When the guards saw that they were about to leave the palace, a large group of people immediately followed them. Others rushed to the guard room next to the main hall to inform the commander on duty. After receiving the report, the commander immediately rushed out of the squad room, stopped Yang Peng before he left the palace, clasped his fists and bowed: "Your Majesty is leaving the palace, please ask General Rong Mo to summon all the guards." Yang Peng felt that it was not necessary, but he still Unfortunately, he violated the rules, so he nodded and said: "Go ahead and summon a group of guards. But they must all wear civilian clothes." The commander agreed, and immediately ordered a group of guards to assemble, and ordered them all to take off their armor and robes. Immediately, the guards embraced Yang Peng and Chai Yonghui and left the palace.
The group of people came to the street. Seven or eight guards surrounded Yang Peng and Chai Yonghui. Other guards were scattered in all directions to control the entire area where Yang Peng was. The street everyone was on was not one of the nine main streets in Bianliang, but it was still a bustling and lively scene. When people saw Yang Peng and Chai Yonghui, they just thought they were some wealthy young man and his lady out for fun. They had no idea that one of them was the current Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the other was the Princess of the Ming Dynasty.
Yang Peng had no idea about the Catholic Church, so he asked Chai Yonghui: "Yonghui, do you know where the Catholic Church is?"
Chai Yonghui shook his head and said: "I'm not interested in the gods and ghosts at all. If Master Xu hadn't mentioned it today, I wouldn't have even known about Catholicism!"
Yang Peng stopped and asked the guards around him: "Does any of you know where the Catholic Church is?"
The guards looked at each other, obviously not knowing.
Yang Peng looked at the storefronts on both sides of the street and said to the guards around him: "Go and ask in the surrounding shops." Immediately, several guards clasped their fists in agreement and ran down. Yang Peng saw a stone table and several stone benches under a large camphor tree nearby, so he called to Chai Yonghui, and the two of them walked over and sat down, while the guards stood around them.
After a while, the guards sent out came back one after another. One of the guards cupped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, there is a Catholic church at the corner ahead." Yang Peng stood up, followed by Chai Yonghui. Yang Peng ordered the guards to lead the way, and the group walked forward. After walking only more than two hundred steps, he turned into a small street. I saw that the small street was much quieter than the previous street, but there were still many pedestrians, and many shops on both sides were full of customers.
From a distance, Yang Peng saw a large cross inlaid on the eaves of a building deep in the small street, and immediately knew that there was a Catholic church.
The group of people walked over and came to the building. I saw that the building was like a warehouse, not big in scale, but the darkness inside was full of heads, but there were a lot of people. At this time, the sound of Catholic chanting that Yang Peng had heard came from the church. Yang Peng couldn't understand the meaning of the scriptures, but he could feel the pious intentions of the people who chanted the scriptures. Yang Peng walked towards the church, and everyone followed him.
Come to the church and stand at the back. I saw a Han man standing on the podium above, but he was wearing strange clothes.
It seems to be similar to the attire of a clergyman in the Roman Catholic Church. He holds his head high, spreads his hands and raises them slightly, chanting scriptures in his mouth. Every time he reads a sentence, the believers below will follow suit. It's not Chinese or English, it seems to be Italian. Although Yang Peng is quite proficient in it, he doesn't understand Italian at all, so he doesn't know what the meaning of the scripture is.
Yang Peng's eyes swept across the faces of the believers, and he saw only extremely pious attitudes. There were old and young, men and women, some were well-dressed, and some looked very poor. The hundreds of people in this small church seemed to include people from all walks of life.
Soon after, the priest-like person on the stage stopped chanting scriptures, crossed himself with his right hand on his chest, and chanted "Amen". The believers then made a sign of the cross on their chests and chanted "Amen".
The priest raised his voice and said: "Everyone can go back. Remember Heavenly Father's teachings, and those who believe in Heavenly Father will have eternal life." The eyes of the believers showed fanaticism and they exited the church one after another. After a while, only the priest, Yang Peng and others were left in the church.
When the priest saw the extraordinary demeanor of Yang Peng and Chai Yonghui, he couldn't help but feel moved. He hurriedly came over and bowed: "I haven't met these two before. Do you want to convert to Heavenly Father?"
Yang Peng smiled and said: "I heard that Catholicism is very good, so I came to take a look."
The priest thought he was introduced by other believers and was very happy and said: "Young master's choice is very correct! Only those who believe in Catholicism can obtain eternal life after death!"
Chai Yonghui said angrily: "How can we live forever if we are dead?"
The priest looked at Chai Yonghui and was stunned. He was far away just now and the light in the room was relatively dim. Therefore, although he saw Chai Yonghui, he did not see Chai Yonghui's appearance clearly. Now when he looked closely, he suddenly realized that the woman in front of him was unexpectedly beautiful. , it is not an exaggeration to say that she is a peerless beauty. After coming back to his senses, he smiled and said: "Miss, I don't know, in fact, all of us will be judged after death. No matter what happened in life, people will always have sins of one kind or another, so they are destined to suffer after death. This is to pay off debts! And those who believe in the Heavenly Father can atone for their sins during their lifetime, and after death they can escape judgment and directly ascend to heaven, enjoying eternal peace and happiness!"
Chai Yonghui asked angrily: "Can't you atone for your sins by believing in other gods?"
The priest said: "There are true gentlemen and hypocrites among mortals. Similarly, there are true gods and false gods in the heaven. Whether Buddha or Taoist immortals, they are all false gods. Not only will they not be saved, but they will be Committing deeper sins! I have never heard of Buddhism doing anything to help the world, but the Heavenly Father often orders the mortal world for his people, launches holy wars, and uses the power of God to redeem mortal believers! This is real What a thing! I think young ladies are very human beings. If they can believe in Heavenly Father, after leaving the mortal world in the future, they will not just ascend to heaven. They will definitely be valued by Heavenly Father, entrusted with priesthood, and become the seat of Heavenly Father. The angel who governs the world."
Yang Peng asked: "So how should we believe in God? Is it enough to have God in our hearts?"
The priest smiled and said: "How can that be enough? As I said just now, everyone has sinned. If you believe in Tianzhu, you must atone for your sins. There are many forms of atonement, and the best one is donating money." Then he explained: "Money It’s not what Heavenly Father wants, Heavenly Father will use the money to do good things to atone for your sins.”
Yang Peng smiled and said: "Since it is ultimately about doing good things, I can do it myself!"
The priest smiled and said, "That's not okay. If you do good things, how will Heavenly Father know about it? Doesn't it mean that you have done it in vain?"
Chai Yonghui said: "Since Heavenly Father is a true God, doesn't he know what mortals have done?" The priest said: "Gods also take naps! Heavenly Father wants to take care of all living beings in the three realms, how can he be comprehensive to ordinary mortals? But you guys It is different to donate money to the church and then do good deeds. This is reported to God, so God can know the contribution of each of you, but at the end of the day you go to heaven!"
When Yang Peng saw that Chai Yonghui was still talking, he winked. The latter held a meeting and stopped talking. Yang Peng said: "Catholicism is really good!" The priest was overjoyed and said hurriedly: "Then the young master and the young lady will officially join the Catholic Church!"
Yang Peng smiled and said: "But your place is too simple. I don't want to join the religion here."
The priest was stunned and smiled sheepishly: "Young master is right. This church of mine is really not worthy of the status of young master and young lady." Then he said: "Young master and young lady, why not go to the main church and join the church directly. Young Master As the young lady has an extraordinary status, she will definitely be personally received by our Pope."
Chen Xiao asked: "Who is the Pope?" The priest smiled, "This Pope is actually the name of our Catholic Church. It is equivalent to the leader. He is the person in charge of the entire Catholic affairs and the only one who can communicate with God. This person is called the mortal closest to God in our religion.”
Yang Peng nodded, "Okay, I'll go to the main hall. Where is the main hall?"
"The main hall is in Hangzhou. I'm afraid the young master and the young lady will have to suffer from the fatigue of the journey."
Yang Peng said: "It's nothing. As the saying goes, there is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below. I have long heard that Hangzhou's Feng Shui is beautiful, so I can take this opportunity to visit." The priest said quickly: "What the young master said is absolutely true." Yang Peng asked: " What is the name of the main church in Hangzhou and where is it?" The priest said: "The main church is called the Catholic Church and it is located on the west bank of the West Lake. When the young master went to the West Lake, he asked the locals about the Catholic Church. The locals can definitely show the young master the way."
Yang Peng nodded, "Okay." He said to the priest, "Farewell." The priest hurriedly bowed and said, "Good go, Young Master." Yang Peng and others left the church and came to the street. Chai Yonghui frowned and said: "From what that person said, this Catholicism is clearly a cult!" Yang Peng nodded and said to the guards around him: "Go and ask among the people whether this Catholicism has done any good deeds." The guard promised and left.
Yang Peng turned his head and glanced at the church, frowned and said, "This Catholicism makes me feel uncomfortable all over." Chai Yonghui nodded in sympathy and said, "I feel the same way."
At the same time, far away in the Catholic Church in Hangzhou. The priests stood respectfully in the apse, as if waiting for someone to come. A moment later, a man covered in a black cloak walked into the back hall surrounded by everyone. When everyone saw it, they immediately stood in awe and worshiped together: "Greetings to His Excellency the Pope!" It turned out that this man was the mysterious Pope of the Catholic Church, but looking at his body shape, he seemed to be just a young man, and a young man actually did this. The Pope?
The Pope went to the top and sat down. Everyone turned to face the Pope and stood bowed. The Pope said in a hoarse voice: "Over the past year or so, the development has been very gratifying. I am very happy, and Heavenly Father is also very happy!" The priests showed joy and said together: "It is our sacred responsibility to spread the Gospel of Heavenly Father." Duty!”
The Pope nodded and said: "It is because of you devout believers that the gospel of God can come to the world. When I talked with Heavenly Father last night, Heavenly Father told me that I must go to Rome, the hometown of Catholicism, to see His Majesty the Pope. Only by getting in touch with the Archbishop can the gospel of God truly bloom in the eastern land! Only then can we truly move towards glory! This trip is also a test for us. Heavenly Father promised me that if we can complete this great undertaking, We will definitely have a place in heaven in the future!" Everyone was excited.
The pope said: "While I am away, the vice-pope will be responsible for the affairs of the church." An old man with white hair and beard standing on his left hand bowed in agreement.
The Pope stood up and said: "I hope you will work together and not let down God's expectations." Everyone agreed in unison.
The Pope, accompanied by his personal entourage, left the cathedral and got into a carriage. The group of people walked slowly along the official road towards the dock. The Pope said to the middle-aged man sitting opposite: "I'm afraid I won't be able to come back for a year and a half after I leave. You must be patient and don't attract the attention of the government." The middle-aged man nodded and said, "Don't worry, sir." Then he He frowned and said, "Sir, please forgive me for speaking frankly. I traveled thousands of miles to Rome, can you really get help?"
The Pope said: "I have studied the history of Catholicism for more than a hundred years. They have launched Eastern expeditions many times in the name of fighting heretics and defeated many countries. I think I can convince them to help us." The middle-aged man frowned and said: "I don't think they really do it for faith, they just do it for wealth and land!" The Pope chuckled, "That's right! But faith is the best excuse, and I want to give them this excuse! I don’t believe that they have no interest in the rich and mysterious East!”
Yang Peng and Chai Yonghui came to Huaxu headquarters. At this time, Yan Ji, the leader of Huaxu Grand Pavilion, was in Luoyang, and Wang Lu, the leader of Huaxu's headquarters, was temporarily in charge. When Wang Lu heard that Yang Peng and Chai Yonghui were coming, she immediately went out to greet them and welcomed them into the hall. At this time, the hall was busy, and Huaxu's intelligence interpretation and summary personnel were busy reading and summarizing the mountains of intelligence.
Yang Peng looked at the scene in the hall and asked, "Is there any information about Catholicism?" Wang Lu immediately ordered his subordinates to search for information about Catholicism. Several subordinates agreed and immediately ran to the data room at the back. Soon after, a book of information was brought in. Wang Lu took it and presented it to Yang Peng.
Yang Peng picked up the information and opened it to read. The first half of the information talks about the introduction of Catholicism to China and its development over the past few hundred years. It can be seen that during these hundreds of years, Catholicism could only be regarded as a small and unpopular sect in China. Its influence cannot be compared not only with local Taoism and Buddhism, but also with religions from Central Asia and West Asia. But things suddenly changed about a year ago. Catholics in the Hangzhou area claimed to have seen the coming of God and that those who believe in God can have eternal life. The number of believers began to increase dramatically. In addition, Catholicism has often done good deeds in the past year, and its influence among the people is increasing day by day. Therefore, the development of Catholicism is It can be said that this year has made great progress. Although Catholicism cannot yet be compared with Buddhism and Taoism, it is already competing with Christianity and has the potential to surpass it.
Catholicism has churches in almost all major cities. The main church is located in Hangzhou, which is called the Catholic Church. The person who manages the church is called a priest, and above all priests there is a pope, similar to a hierarch. However, the identity of this leader is very mysterious, and even the priest has never seen his true face.
Yang Peng finished reading the information, and Chai Yonghui stood aside and also read the information. He frowned and said: "Such a mysterious and mysterious thing, it must not be a good thing!" Then he said strangely: "Catholicism obviously has a leader, why does Mr. Tang say there is no one? Yang Peng said: "Master Tang is in charge of the education department. Investigating intelligence is not the specialty of his department, so it is normal for his report to have omissions." Chai Yonghui nodded.
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
