When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he turned to look at him, and then looked in the direction of his finger. He saw in the distance ahead a man with two servants, coming this way.
This person, Emperor Chongzhen naturally knew, was Pang Tianshou, the eunuch in charge of the Royal Horse Supervisor. The original eunuch Wang Dehua, who was the chief eunuch of the Royal Horse Supervisor, was reported to have been involved in corruption and money corruption, so he was demoted to Fengyang to guard the imperial mausoleum.
Emperor Chongzhen paid a private visit incognito. Naturally, he did not want more people who knew him to see him, so he walked towards the crowd and hid in the crowd, preparing to wait for Pang Tianshou to pass by before going shopping.
However, what Emperor Chongzhen didn't expect was that Pang Tianshou didn't see him. After passing by, he greeted the man who just wanted to fool him. It was obvious that the two of them were familiar with each other.
Seeing this situation, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but frown, and with a thought in mind, he casually threw a Class C eavesdropping seed over.
Suddenly, the conversation between Pang Tianshou and the man immediately appeared in front of him.
"Lord Aqilou, there was a wealthy businessman just now. I wanted to persuade him to join the religion, but I didn't expect him to escape!"
"Oh, where is Father Tang Ruowang?"
"It's waiting for you in the house in front!"
After saying these few words, Emperor Chongzhen saw Pang Tianshou walking away directly to a house.
Seeing this, he couldn't help but frown, and asked Fang Zhenghua: "Why is Pang Tianshou called Yaqi Lou again?"
When he heard this question, Fang Zhenghua didn't hesitate and immediately replied: "Master, this is his Christian name."
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he couldn't help but be a little surprised and confirmed: "He has joined the Western religion?"
"Yes, sir!" Fang Zhenghua continued to lower his head and replied immediately.
Since Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, he has been troubled by small and big things. Therefore, he has never known about such trivial matters. Even after the souls of future generations have traveled through time, they are still busy with national affairs, so this is the first time I have heard of it.
When he heard this, he couldn't help but frown. At least at this time, he was not happy with the Western Cult. He immediately asked: "How many people in the mansion have joined the Western Cult?"
"Sir, there are about twenty or thirty people!" Fang Zhenghua thought for a moment and replied immediately, but then added, "The others are all handymen!"
Emperor Chongzhen frowned after hearing this.
Thanks to Qing palace dramas, he remembered one thing. During the Jiajing period of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the Tianli Sect rebelled. At that time, the eunuchs who had joined the religion in the palace acted as internal agents and invaded the Forbidden City.
The local Taoism and Buddhism both have Buddha nature, so there is no such possibility. And this Western religion, in this colonial era, was originally disliked by Emperor Chongzhen. Now it was heard that it had developed followers in the palace, and even high-ranking people like the eunuch and eunuch of the Royal Horse Guards had joined the religion. , this is a threat to him.
What Emperor Chongzhen didn't know was that this Pang Tianshou really did something that endangered the royal family, but it was not the Chongzhen Dynasty, but the Yongli Dynasty. In the original history, the Ming Dynasty royal family declined, and with the support of Western religions, especially Portugal, he was so bold that he scolded the Queen Mother and the Queen, and even wanted to depose the Queen. What's more, he once threatened Emperor Yongli to give the Zen throne to Sun Kewang.
In the Forbidden City, nothing can happen that is not under your control! Emperor Chongzhen thought in his mind and sneered, now that he knows it, he must not let it go!
Thinking this, he stared at the house that Pang Tianshou walked into, and was silent for a while. Of course, this was an appearance. In fact, he was looking at the information fed back by the Class C eavesdropping seeds on Pang Tianshou. He wanted to know what Pang Tianshou wanted to say when he left the palace to meet Tang Ruowang.
…………
In the house, when he saw Pang Tianshou entering, Tang Ruowang immediately stood up, took the initiative to greet him, and asked with concern: "Dear Yaqi Lou, I don't know how things are going. Are the prince, queen and others willing to join the religion?"
"The queen is very busy and has never been able to find an opportunity. The prince is also busy and has heavy schoolwork, so he has no chance for the time being." After hearing this, Pang Tianshou frowned and said, "This matter cannot be rushed. I have tried several times. It’s all useless, you have to put a lot of effort into it, then it might work!”
When Tang Ruowang heard this, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed and said: "It's been several years. There has been no progress on the Ming royal family's side. This is very detrimental to the spread of our religion in the Ming Dynasty! You must pay attention to this. !”
In the original time, the people in the Ming Dynasty were in dire straits. After Tang Ruowang and others preached, some people really believed in this foreign religion. However, in the past few years, Emperor Chongzhen rose up to resolve major domestic issues in the Ming Dynasty one by one and devoted himself to the well-being of the people, which suddenly made things difficult for Tang Ruowang and others.
More importantly, Emperor Chongzhen's Department of Agriculture and Department of Kaiwu had shaken the foundation that Tang Ruowang and others relied on to preach. It turns out that the emperor knows what Xiyi does! As a result, there is less mystery and less shock, and it is difficult to influence the Ming Dynasty scholars and officials through the Western knowledge they have learned.
Speaking of which, Western religion is still different from the beliefs that China has formed since ancient times. This is fundamental. For this reason, Tang Ruowang and others were worried. They had always thought that if their missionary work could get the support of the royal family, they would achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Likewise, while he was explaining astronomy and calendar knowledge in the palace, he preached in the palace, and he actually developed some followers. The one with the highest position was Pang Tianshou. However, the emperor seemed to be a little interested at first, but later on, he seemed to have completely forgotten about him, which made him very anxious. Therefore, it is also very good to settle for the next best thing and let Pang Tianshou develop the prince and queen into religion.
However, Tang Ruowang didn't know that by doing this, he exceeded Emperor Chongzhen's bottom line!
Therefore, when they were talking about this in the house, Emperor Chongzhen outside knew about their plan, was furious, and immediately issued a decree.
However, the two people in the house didn't know it. They were still talking about things and discussing how to influence the prince and queen.
Suddenly, I heard a "clang" from outside. It was the sound of someone kicking open the door, followed by the sound of rapid footsteps.
When Pang Tianshou heard this, he frowned. After a while, he heard shouting and scolding coming from outside, as if someone from the government had broken in.
Suddenly, Tang Ruowang looked at Pang Tianshou. This man would definitely be able to settle the government affairs.
Regarding this point, Pang Tianshou also had this confidence, so he confessed to Tang Ruowang, walked out, and asked in a stern voice: "Who is so presumptuous here?"
While talking, he opened the door to the house, stepped out of the threshold, and looked outside the courtyard.
Just by looking at it, he was immediately stunned. There are indeed people from the government outside, but they are of a very high level, they are Dongchang fanzi.
"So majestic!" A young voice came from the other side of the screen wall with a sneer, and the figure appeared in Pang Tianshou's field of vision, "It turns out to be the eunuch of the Royal Horse Guard, no wonder he is so majestic!"
Pang Tianshou originally heard that the voice was a bit familiar, a bit shrill, and he should be a colleague. After taking a second look, he immediately recognized that the person was Wang Chengen, the admiral of the East Factory.
When he saw it clearly, his heart suddenly skipped a beat. He quickly squeezed out a smile and went to greet him and said, "Who did we think it was? It turns out it was the factory manager who arrived. He was greeted at a distance, but not at a distance. !”
Generally speaking, the eunuchs in charge of the royal horse supervisor are also prominent figures in the palace, and are not less powerful than the admiral of Dongchang.
However, in the Chongzhen Dynasty, especially in these years, the Royal Horse Supervisor was actually under the direct control of Emperor Chongzhen. The army under his command, the eunuch with the palm seal, could not command anyone, and everything was decided by Emperor Chongzhen. It can be said that this eunuch with the royal horse supervisor's handprint is just an idler with a name.
But Dongchang was the real power of the Ming Dynasty. Especially in recent years, the power of the factory guards has returned. Previously, everyone from cabinet ministers to ordinary officials and bank merchants were seized by the factory guards. Everyone knows that Wang Chengen, the factory owner, is very trusted by Emperor Chongzhen.
Therefore, when Pang Tianshou saw Wang Chengen, his posture immediately dropped a bit, as if he dared to confront Wang Chengen head-on.
However, he did not dare to quarrel with him, but Wang Chengen did not let him go. He immediately sneered and said: "Ya Qi Lou, you have done something wrong. Come with our family to the Dongchang!"
Having said this, he ordered the Dongchang captain beside him: "Go and invite all the Xiyi people inside to have tea with us in the Dongchang!"
What good things can happen if you go to Dongchang? When Pang Tianshou heard this, he immediately became anxious. From Wang Chengen's name to him, he immediately inferred that the matter was probably related to the matter of joining the religion. After thinking about it this way, he probably understood.
However, this made him even more afraid. Before he really started doing it, Dongchang came to visit him?
His mind was racing, thinking of countermeasures. But the Dongchang officer was not polite to him. He immediately stepped forward, cuffed him and left.
Without giving him any face, Pang Tianshou immediately understood that he was probably in danger! Otherwise, Wang Chengen would definitely show some mercy, or at least not torture him. Suddenly, his face turned pale.
At this moment, I heard a cry for help from behind: "Man Pangda, why are they arresting me? Please help me beg for mercy..."
The person who said this was naturally Tang Ruowang. As he was talking, he saw Pang Tianshou who turned around and had chains roasted like him, and he was immediately stunned.
He didn't know that not only the two of them, but also the believers in the palace, were all arrested and taken to the East Factory in just one hour. All missionary sites outside were also closed.
Ordinary people are not concerned about this matter, but some Ming officials who are related to Xiyi are anxious.
For example, Chen Zilong from the Agriculture Department, Li Tianjing from the Qintian Prison, etc. immediately reported to the police, wanting to know why Dongchang closed the missionary site and arrested Tang Ruowang and others.
In response, Wang Chengen answered them, saying that these Western Yi people had ulterior motives, coveted the royal family, and had plans in the palace!
This matter is actually big or small. If you say it in a minor way, it is just a casual remark, and it is not serious; but if you say it in a serious way, it is tantamount to conspiracy, and it is a serious crime to punish the Nine Clan!
Therefore, Chen Zilong, Li Tianjing and others all wrote letters to guarantee that Tang Ruowang and others had no rebellious intentions. They just wanted to preach but did not understand the rules of the East. And on the grounds of Tang Ruowang and others' contribution to scientific and technological knowledge, they wrote a letter to plead for Tang Ruowang and others, and they even moved out the family members of the late Xu Guangqi and so on.
Just two days before the Chinese New Year, Emperor Chongzhen finally responded to this matter.
First of all, Tang Ruowang and other Western barbarians were brought up, and they were clearly told that it was because Chen Zilong and others begged for mercy, and because they were ignorant and had contributed to the spread of Western learning, their guilt could be reduced. However, death penalty can be avoided, but living crime cannot be avoided.
Emperor Chongzhen announced all the methods used by Dongchang to investigate these Western Yi missionaries recently. Of course, the most important thing was to spy on the royal family. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen made a holy decree to prohibit missionary work in the Ming Dynasty. Unless they can bring all Western books, except theology, to the Ming Dynasty and translate them into Chinese characters, they can continue to preach in the Ming Dynasty.
In addition, there is another point, no matter what religion, the basis for preaching in the Ming Dynasty is that you must be under the jurisdiction of the imperial court and be given identification certificates such as ultimatums before you can preach. The content of preaching must also be reviewed by the court to guide people to do good.
After the penalty decision was made, Emperor Chongzhen stared at Tang Ruowang and other Western missionaries and shouted coldly: "Don't let me find out about the deception. You have been in the Ming Dynasty for so many years and you should know what the crime of deceiving the emperor is. If you dare to take some at will, If you come to deceive me with a letter, don’t tell me that it is impossible to preach in the Ming Dynasty in the future, I will even send troops to kill him, and I will go and get it myself!"
When Tang Ruowang was in Dongchang, he already understood how stupid things he had done before and what crimes he had committed in Ming Dynasty, so he had no intention of bargaining, so he quickly agreed. As for whether we should do it or not, we will have to go back and report it before we know. Of course, he would also remind that the Emperor of Ming Dynasty was good at almost everything, so do not fool the Emperor of Ming Dynasty.
Chen Zilong and others breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the emperor's decision. It can be said that they are satisfied with this result. Especially when the emperor asked them to send all the books on Western learning to the Ming Dynasty, they were even more happy. By combining Chinese and Western knowledge and contrasting each other, Ming Dynasty's knowledge might be able to reach a higher level.
After Tang Ruowang and others agreed, Emperor Chongzhen softened his tone and said: "My Ming Dynasty is very hospitable, and friends come from far away, so they are very happy, so they naturally like to entertain them with wine; however, if they come with evil intentions, they will naturally use their fists." Hospitality. After you go back, you can tell your countries that I welcome them to come to the Ming Dynasty to do business and exchange their needs."
For the time being, he has no intention of conquering Europe. In this era, there are still many unclaimed lands waiting to be occupied. As for Europe, it is only prepared to be a dumping ground for Ming Dynasty products and use Ming Dynasty products to make wealth.
Of course, if Xiyi dares to go against Ming Dynasty, then they will still have to deal with them.
