Chapter 162: Peddling Catholicism

When Shen Tingyun said this, the room fell silent instantly, and for a long while no one spoke. Everyone had seen what kind of ending those Donglin members met.

Li Zhizao laughed awkwardly off to the side, rubbed his nose, and said hesitantly, "Ours... probably doesn't count, right?"

No one spoke. They all looked at each other, each waiting for someone else to say something.

Everyone present knew that what Shen Tingyun said made sense.

Whether one is guilty of forming a faction for private gain isn't something you decide for yourself—it's a question of whether someone in the court has it out for you, and more importantly, it's a question of how His Majesty sees you.

The several men exchanged glances, all somewhat hesitant, and finally turned their gazes to Xu Guangqi.

Of everyone present, Xu Guangqi was the big shot—the Second Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, the first to earn His Majesty's favor, and someone His Majesty still held in high regard.

So they all wanted to know what Xu Guangqi thought about this matter.

Seeing everyone's eyes turn to him, Xu Guangqi took a sip of tea, set down his cup, and said with a smile, "His Majesty sent me to the Ministry of Revenue and let me pick my own people. What do you all think?"

The men were still somewhat hesitant, but none of them were fools, and they understood the meaning behind Xu Guangqi's words.

My choosing you is His Majesty's will. If we don't do it this way, that would be what's inappropriate. If His Majesty were truly worried, he wouldn't have let us do this at all.

"I'll go to the palace once later," Xu Guangqi said with a smile, as if to reassure everyone.

The men nodded, taking it as agreement with Xu Guangqi's reasoning.

This matter must be handled with care, or it could backfire. Asking His Majesty's intent first is the better course.

The Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youxiao looked at the list Chen Hong had presented, nodded expressionlessly, and said, "No need to bother with this. Let them do as they please!"

Wasn't this exactly why he had given Xu Guangqi such weight and handed them the reins?

Now was not the time to suppress or weaken Xu Guangqi and his group. What he needed to do now was support them.

Xu Guangqi and his people were still weak. Though their numbers weren't small, they were far from what he wanted. At the very least, these people didn't blindly worship Confucius and Mencius. They believed in natural science—that mattered more to him than anything else.

Letting Xu Guangqi and his people hold power was the most important thing at present. As for other issues, they could be set aside. Once his goals were achieved, those who needed dealing with would still be dealt with—but not now.

Reaching over to pick up a routine memorial beside him, Zhu Youxiao's expression turned grave. This memorial was the problem he urgently needed to solve right now.

This memorial had been submitted by Xu Guangqi, and submitted in secret—Xu Guangqi had personally handed it to him when they met just earlier.

The contents of this memorial were the real problem. Everything else, Zhu Youxiao didn't care about.

Though no one said it aloud, once you rose to a high position, the people you promoted were inevitably your own. No matter how you went about it, this couldn't be avoided.

Whether that person acted out of public spirit or private interest.

Even out of public spirit, to get things done you had to promote capable hands—most importantly, people who thought the same way you did. Others simply wouldn't do.

As the saying goes, those who follow different paths cannot work together. No one would promote an opponent. Never mind whether that opponent would get anything done—having someone causing trouble before you all day long would be unbearable.

Reading the memorial through once more, Zhu Youxiao's face suddenly turned stern.

The content of this memorial was simple: Xu Guangqi was pitching Catholicism to him, the Emperor—in plain terms, he was proselytizing.

Of course, Xu Guangqi's original intention wasn't mere missionary work. He believed this could save the Great Ming.

In this memorial, Xu Guangqi laid out in detail the journey of his thinking over the years. It could be said he was being completely candid with his Emperor.

Xu Guangqi said of himself: "I have the will to govern, but regret that I lack the methods to do so." But it was at this time that he encountered Catholicism. After careful study, he reached a conclusion—he believed the Jesuits' "teachings of heavenly learning can truly supplement the kingly transformation, assist the Confucian way, and correct the errors of Buddhism."

And so he presented three strategies for governing the realm to the Emperor:

First, have the missionaries translate Western books, then invite the realm's Confucian scholars to study them. If these books proved to be heterodox heresies, he would willingly accept punishment;

Second, have the missionaries debate the great masters of Chinese temples and the celestial masters of Daoist abbeys. If the missionaries' "words prove worthless and their arguments exhausted," drive them out immediately, and he would willingly accept punishment as well;

Third, conduct a survey in places where Catholicism was practiced, checking over three years whether criminals included any believers—this would reveal whether Catholicism was truly good or bad.

After reading this memorial, Zhu Youxiao set it down and let out a soft sigh—feeling both gratified and sorrowful.

He felt gratified because Xu Guangqi had seen the intellectual chaos of the Great Ming today.

In truth, intellectuals had been seeking change all along. The sprouting of capitalism had brought about a society that needed entirely new thought to guide it, yet that thought had yet to appear.

Even when such thought did appear—like the Taizhou School's call to limit imperial power and replace it with popular power, which was very progressive thinking, thought in line with a capitalist system—

In reality, in this country controlled by scholar-officials, it couldn't work. One could say this kind of thought was too far ahead of its time, utterly out of place in this era, and so it was snuffed out in its infancy.

The old system of thought could no longer keep pace with the development of the times. The Great Ming needed an entirely new intellectual system to guide society's progress. This was a progressive trend, and in Zhu Youxiao's view, a good thing.

After the Great Ming fell and the Qing unified the realm, that was a complete and utter regression.

With this understanding, a pragmatic man like Xu Guangqi hoped to find a path to save the nation. And so he turned his gaze to the Jesuits. After some investigation, he reached this conclusion.

But Zhu Youxiao came from a later age and knew exactly what these people were about. The missionaries spoke prettily, but the filth behind them was far greater—the problems of the West at that time were no fewer than China's.

But Xu Guangqi was an idealist, and unable to travel to Europe for firsthand investigation, the West as presented by the missionaries became his utopia.

This was why you couldn't listen to what people said—you had to watch what they did.

Zhu Youxiao felt he needed to reverse this trend. Xu Guangqi and his people were the reformist faction he intended to cultivate, and such people had to share a unified ideological understanding.

Learning Catholicism wouldn't do. Those fellows spent all day dreaming of building a state where politics and religion were one. The Great Ming wouldn't allow anyone more formidable than itself to exist. Besides, the Church was already in decline in Europe—they wanted to come here seeking glory?

Zhu Youxiao could only give them one word: scram.

We can learn some of your natural science. But we don't want your ideology.

If anyone knew what the intellectual world would look like in the future, if anyone knew where this nation should head, Zhu Youxiao felt he was the most qualified.

Having been through the information explosion of the later age, Zhu Youxiao felt himself a master in terms of theory. As for practical execution—he had never thought of doing it himself. He was the Emperor. Why should he do the executing?

"Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Xu requests an audience," Chen Hong came to Zhu Youxiao's side and said.

Telepathy? He'd just been pondering Xu Guangqi's affairs, and the man himself showed up.

But his arrival was convenient—he could discuss this with Xu Guangqi right now.

So Zhu Youxiao said, "Let him in."

Xu Guangqi soon walked in from outside. Upon seeing Zhu Youxiao, he said, "Your subject Xu Guangqi pays respects to Your Majesty."

"No need for ceremony, my dear minister." Zhu Youxiao said, then instructed Chen Hong off to the side, "Offer him a seat."

Once Xu Guangqi was seated, Zhu Youxiao finally spoke: "May I ask what brings my dear minister here today?"

After saying this, Zhu Youxiao smiled and looked at Xu Guangqi.

Although Xu Guangqi had many shortcomings, he was truly the most outstanding talent of this era. Whether it was his ability to accept new things or his views on the ancestral laws, this man had unique insights.

All Xu Guangqi lacked was a door. As long as he pushed that door open for him, he would be able to step into an entirely new world.

But now was not the time yet. He still needed to let Xu Guangqi stew a while longer—when the time came, he would have deeper realizations.

"Your Majesty, this minister has come today to seek an audience regarding matters of the Ministry of Revenue," Xu Guangqi said.

This was something Zhu Youxiao truly had not expected. How did he end up coming here?

Just moments ago, Chen Hong had told him they were holding a gathering and had even procured a list of names for him, which he had not bothered to look at. If you all had discussed it and reached an agreement, then just report it up—why come running here instead?

"Beloved minister, speak freely. Is there some problem? You may tell me." Zhu Youxiao said.

Xu Guangqi hastily replied: "It is not that there is a problem on the Ministry of Revenue's side, but rather a problem on this minister's side. Your Majesty instructed me to select personnel for the Ministry of Revenue, but my knowledge is limited and my circle of acquaintances is not broad, so I could only choose from among those I know well. As a result, those I select will inevitably be people close to me, which may invite suspicion of forming cliques for private gain. Therefore, this minister believes this approach has its flaws."

"The Great Ming is vast, and there are so many officials throughout the court. This minister believes we ought to broadly select worthy talents, choosing as many virtuous and ambitious people from across the realm as possible to serve the court—only then can great deeds be accomplished. I beg Your Majesty to allow a broader selection of Ministry of Revenue officials, to quell criticism, and at the same time to recruit talent for the nation."

Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Guangqi, feeling somewhat strange inside.

No matter how he looked at it, Xu Guangqi's move was retreating in order to advance—it all seemed like he was testing him.

But Zhu Youxiao also knew how he should handle this. They were simply not at ease.

So Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "Beloved minister, your words are mistaken. As I said before, when recommending within, one need not avoid one's own kin; when recommending without, one need not avoid one's own enemies. Since I have entrusted this matter to you, beloved minister, then go ahead and do it boldly and without hesitation. I have no misgivings."

"Since I have confidence in you, beloved minister, then you must also have confidence in me. As they say, sovereign and minister must not doubt each other—this is both the way of the sovereign and the way of the minister. So you need not have any concerns; you may proceed with full confidence."

Xu Guangqi was moved in his heart and hastily bowed in salute, saying: "This minister thanks Your Majesty!"

"If you have nothing else, beloved minister, then go attend to your duties! I await your good news." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile.