Not to mention that after Zhang Juzheng took good care of his body, he continued to work with unlimited blessings. At this time, the Portuguese mission finally embarked on the long journey to meet the emperor.
They disembarked in Shanghai on the 17th of the twelfth lunar month before the Chinese New Year. After entering the customs, they repaired for two days and entered Songjiang Prefecture on the 20th of the twelfth lunar month.
Songjiang Prefecture has three counties under its jurisdiction, namely Huating, Shanghai, and Qingpu, with a total of thirteen townships and fifty guarantees. The estimated population in the eighth year of Wanli was more than 2.6 million. What is the concept of 2.6 million? Lisbon is known as a big city in Europe at this time, with a population of only 150,000. Portugal itself has only 1.5 million people at full capacity.
Although everyone in the mission can be said to be well-informed, they have never seen such a prosperous place. They are all like Grandma Liu who first entered the Grand View Garden. They wish their parents had two more eyes so that they could see the prosperous scene one by one. Pass. Matteo Ricci shouted to God countless times along the way, and said to the delegation: "If these people are turned into the Lamb of the Lord - all of us can be sanctified!"
They chartered three four-wheeled carriages and entered Songjiang Fucheng comfortably, finding a hotel to settle in first. Although people were often watched along the way, everyone was already used to it.
After a brief lunch, Fan Li'an said: "Let's not rest too much. Let's go to the government first to see if there is any news about our mission from the court."
So Fan Li'an, Luo Mingjian, Matteo Ricci and Ines hired a carriage to take them to the government office. Fan Li'an turned in his name and asked to see the prefect.
At this time, the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture was still Wang Yixiu, but he would no longer be so soon. Since Wang Zhifu and Hai Rui cooperated with the emperor to deal with the Jiangnan gentry headed by Xu Jie, their little life has not been too beautiful. Just as he had expected, his performance in finance, food, construction, culture and education, etc. ranked first in the rankings year after year.
In the autumn of the ninth year of Wanli, the prefect Wang received three rounds of assessments because he had been on the list for three consecutive years. Before the end of the year, the imperial decree came down, and the prefect Wang directly jumped from the third rank to the first rank and was promoted to the Minister of Rites in Nanjing. He will take office after the new year.
These days, the prefect is in an exaggerated mood and can't hold back the smile on his face, which has made some retired cadres in Songjiang laugh several times. He had no choice but to live in seclusion and enjoy himself secretly in the second hall of the government office.
After listening to Menzi's report that Fan Li'an, the head of the Portuguese mission, was asking for an audience, the prefect Wang knew what was coming - what the missionaries didn't know was that the Imperial Security Bureau knew their whereabouts well and had already informed the officials along the way on how to properly deal with the mission.
The principle of coping is actually just four words: "Loose outside and tight inside." "Internal tightness" is to keep the mission within the sight of the Security Bureau, ensuring their safety while preventing them from spying on military intelligence and technical information on porcelain, silk, tea and other industries; "outer loosening" is to make the mission feel uncomfortable When the imperial court paid more attention to them, it asked local governments to treat them as ordinary people, so as not to get into trouble.
It is precisely because of this that Guangzhou Customs Commissioner Lei Yingzhi, who was born in the attendant's office, was lukewarm to these people and asked them to find their own ships to go north. After the mission entered Nanshan Port, under the arrangement of the Security Bureau, many of the people on the ship they boarded were spies, from the shipowner to the crew. Otherwise, if the mission negotiates for a few more ships, it will definitely not cost three times the ship price. Well, there are always some things that are inconvenient to record in the Security Bureau's transactions.
The prefect Wang had already been informed by people from the Security Bureau, so he did not avoid meeting the four members of the mission in the second hall of the government office.
Luo Mingjian speaks the best Chinese. He was responsible for communication and first presented the documents and gift list together. Wang Yixiu first checked their customs clearance documents and confirmed that these people were the Portuguese envoys. He suppressed his curiosity about their appearance and looked at the gift list - a pocket watch and two bottles of wine.
Secretly curling his lips, Wang Yixiu said with a smile: "You Franji people also have black hair, but your eye sockets are deeper and your nose is higher. Well, they look a bit like the people from the Western Regions in our country."
Luo Mingjian smiled and said: "I tell you, sir, we are Southern Europeans, and our appearance is different from Western Europeans - they all have pure white skin and generally have blue eyes. We Portuguese have black, brown, and some light blue eyes." Color. Sir, please see, Mr. Ines has light blue eyes."
Wang Yixiu hummed and said with a smile: "I have not received any edict or notice from the court on how to receive your mission. You come to see me. Do you want my help with anything? If it's not troublesome, I can help you a little. , after all, we are guests who have come all the way.”
Fan Li'an felt a chill in his heart when he heard that the Songjiang government office had not received any news from the court about receiving the mission, and his expectations of going to Beijing to complete the missionary mission were lowered. But he was an extremely determined person, so he took over the conversation and said, "Thank you, Mr. Wang, for taking care of us. Well, I want to know how far we have to go to the capital now? How can we get there the fastest?"
Wang Yixiu smiled and said: "There is a canal connecting the capital and our place, and the waterway is about three thousand miles. However, now it is ice and snow in the north, and the canal is frozen. If you are in a hurry, you can take a carriage and go one stop at a time after the New Year, which is about I think we can get there in two or three months."
The four members of the mission all gasped, and Luo Mingjian said in a trembling voice: "Is your country's capital at the northern border? Is it so far away from here?"
Wang Yixiu had never really thought about how far the capital was from the border before. After hearing this, he blinked a few times, raised his fingers and calculated for a long time before saying: "That's not true. According to the map issued by the imperial court, the capital is farthest from Beishan." The provincial border is about seven or eight thousand miles away - but after Daning, there are not many people further north. Well, the capital is probably still two thousand miles away from Daning."
The four members of the mission were dizzy after hearing this. They said to themselves that Vasco da Gama thought he had reached the end of the world when he visited India. Who knew there was such a big country in the north of India - this country is bigger than the whole of Europe, and much bigger!
They were so shocked that the four of them were silent for a long time. Wang Yixiu didn't know what they were thinking, so he had to pick up the tea cup and drink tea, and motioned for them to drink too.
Everyone in the mission took a long time to digest, and then Fan Li'an came back to his senses and said: "To be honest, sir, I have been in Japan for many years, and I have also seen the map of the Ming Dynasty in Japan. Although it is much larger than Japan, it doesn't feel as big as you said. Big—can you show me a map of your country?”
Wang Yixiu shook his head and said: "The map is an important military weapon and is classified. Although the secret level I used is not high, it is not convenient for you to see it. I cannot agree to this."
Fan Lian asked again, and Ines gently tugged on his clothes. Fan Li'an turned around and saw Ines winking at the wall to Wang Yixiu's right.
Fan Li'an picked up the tea, and under the guise of drinking tea, he glanced in that direction, and sure enough he saw a large map hanging on the wall to the east of Wang.
The map was densely packed with circles, lines and dots criss-crossing each other. It was very complicated. Fan Li'an had never seen such a complicated map before - including in the Portuguese court. Seeing that he was silent again, Wang Yixiu followed his gaze to the east and secretly said with shame, "It seems that my awareness of confidentiality will be strengthened."
He smiled awkwardly and said, "Well, this is a map of Songjiang Prefecture and neighboring prefectures. I use it for administrative purposes. This is also confidential." He winked at the staff beside him, and the staff stood up and walked over to move the wall. The green curtain on the side was closed, covering the map.
When Fan Li'an and others saw that the prefect was behaving like this, they felt that their mission was not taken seriously at all. They became more and more depressed and fell silent.
Luo Mingjian saw that the situation was a bit awkward, so he raised his hands and saluted: "To be honest, sir, we are missionaries from the Papal State. We came to Beijing to see His Majesty the Emperor because we want to preach in your country. Are you willing to listen to our teachings first?"
Wang Yixiu is also a genuine Jinshi. After passing the exam, he did some research on Buddhism and Taoism. Especially during the battle with Xu Jie, he read many miscellaneous books to seek psychological comfort. At this time, his eyes lit up and he smiled: "Well, I'm very interested. You can tell me."
Except for Ines, the other three people were shocked. Luo Mingjian quickly put his best foot forward and expounded the doctrines of God's creation, the Trinity, original sin, redemption, justification by faith, heaven, hell and eternal life like a eloquent tongue.
Although he gave a high-level summary, it took him more than half an hour to introduce it. Wang Yixiu listened with great interest, and finally commented: "Well, there are many things that are very similar to our Taoism and Buddhism, but they don't look like cults."
Including Matteo Ricci, the four corners of their mouths twitched at the same time after hearing Luo Mingjian translate his words. Luo Mingjian moistened his throat and took over the conversation: "When we were in Myanmar before, Governor Luo Wanhua also talked about your country's religious policies. Can you tell us in detail?"
Wang Yixiu listened and said: "Well, I can tell you about this. Last year, the imperial court just promulgated the management method of religion, which can be summed up in these few principles."
"This is the separation of church and state. No matter what religion it is, it is a matter outside the country. It is not allowed to interfere in any political affairs at the court or local level. Officials and local officials who believe in religion are not allowed to govern based on religious likes and dislikes, otherwise they will be removed from office immediately. If there are serious consequences, he will be sentenced."
Although this article is inconsistent with the current situation of the Papal States in Europe, Fan Li'an and others have been mentally prepared for a long time, and Christianity has no foundation in the Ming Dynasty. Let alone interfering in political affairs, it is a good thing not to be dealt with. This first article is actually beneficial to them. of.
Wang Yixiu continued: "Second, it is unified management. The imperial court establishes a religious department, and the abbots of Buddhism and Taoism, and Islamic imams, etc., all need to register with the imperial court. In other words, those who are not allowed to register by the imperial court cannot be allowed to do so. The abbot and the imam. What is your abbot’s name?”
Fan Li'an was filled with bitterness after hearing this. Luo Mingjian smiled bitterly and replied: "We call him the parish priest, priest and bishop."
"Oh, if, I mean if, the imperial court allows you to preach, the appointment and dismissal of priests and bishops must be approved by the imperial religious minister, otherwise it will be against the law."
Fan Li'an and Luo Mingjian looked at each other with sad faces. The Pope cannot appoint or remove bishops with full power. Isn't this a joke on the Papal States?
Luo Mingjian asked: "Is there any more?"
Wang Yixiu continued: "Of course, yes. The third item is about people. People outside the country need to have a degree to become a monk - that is, to specialize in practice, preaching, doing things, etc. If there is no degree to become a monk, It’s also against the law.”
The missionaries all accepted this, and Luo Mingjian motioned to Wang Yixiu to continue telling them.
Wang Yixiu continued: "There is also something about religious property. According to the regulations, the court allows a monk to have five acres of land as temple property. There is no tax on these five acres of land. Whether it is a temple, a Taoist temple or a Muslim temple, all of them need Construction can only be done after obtaining a land permit. The portion of donations received by each religion that is spent on charity is tax-free, and the rest is subject to donation tax. Only what is left after paying the tax can be spent."
After saying this, the missionary felt as if his heart had fallen into a hole in the ice. At this time in Europe, parishioners were required to pay tithes to support the Holy See. Unexpectedly, in the Ming Dynasty, it was completely reversed - priests also had to pay taxes to the court!
Luo Mingjian numbly said: "Is there any more?"
Wang Yixiu said: "Of course, well, there are more than thirty management methods in total. I will ask them to give you one copy. The imperial court has issued many - do you know Chinese characters?"
