Chapter 206: A New Era

A month has passed since Zhang Juzheng returned to his hometown.

Over this past month, officials throughout Beijing have been in a state of tension and agitation; with Zhang Juzheng gone, they could finally heave a long sigh of relief.

If anyone were to observe carefully, these officials had two words written all over them: "carefree joy."

Visiting relatives and friends, exchanging gifts, and lobbying for official positions—everything became lively.

As one of the parties involved, Zhang Yunxiu had been idling at home; he did not pay any mind to these sordid affairs, but instead quietly waited for the arrival of two people.

Finally, just past the end of the Chen hour (9:00 AM) this day, he came to the study and sat down.

Zhang Fu walked in afterward, with two people following behind him.

Walking in front was Xu Guangqi, and the person behind him was about forty years old, tall, with golden hair and blue eyes, a high nose and deep-set pupils—a face of exotic features.

It was precisely that missionary, Matteo Ricci.

Seeing the two, Zhang Yunxiu stood up with a smile, first smiling at Xu Guangqi, then letting his gaze fall upon Matteo Ricci behind him, and said with a laugh: "I have heard that you, sir, set out from the Frankish lands, fearing no hardship, and crossed mountains and seas to come to my Great Ming to preach. I have invited you here today to discuss the matter of preaching with you, sir."

The Great Ming of this time did not yet know the vastness of the world.

Whether it was Spain, Portugal, or Italy and other such countries, they were all referred to as Frankish.

Matteo Ricci was Italian.

He had long been accustomed to the term "Frankish" and did not refute it, only smiling as he replied in fluent Chinese: "That is truly wonderful. If you, sir, are willing to allow me to preach, God will surely protect you all."

After finishing, fearing that Zhang Yunxiu might not understand, he changed his phrasing: "Our 'God' and the 'Heaven' or 'Deity' in your mouths mean the same thing."

Zhang Yunxiu nodded, thinking to himself: This fellow is quite slick; he understands a lot about Chinese ways.

Xu Guangqi, who had been standing to the side without speaking, suddenly interjected: "Director Zhang, I traveled the same path as Mr. Matteo Ricci this time, and in conversing with him, I have gained much and increased my knowledge significantly."

"I am, of course, aware of this gentleman's scholarship, otherwise I would not have sent someone to summon him."

Seeing that he was prepared to give a long-winded speech, Zhang Yunxiu immediately waved his hand to interrupt, then led the two straight toward the West City.

The sedan chair was set down in front of a grand academy, and Zhang Yunxiu was the first to bend over and step out of the warm sedan. Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci followed closely behind.

The three looked forward.

They saw that this academy covered over a hundred mu, with a statue fully three zhang tall standing in the center of the academy; beneath the statue, several servants were cleaning off grime.

Behind it, buildings stood in rows, as numerous as the scales on a fish, surrounding the statue in the center like stars around the moon.

Along the perimeter of the buildings, lush woods circled the area, and flowers and plants gave off fragrance; because it was early morning, the mist had not yet completely dissipated.

The entire academy was half-hidden in the clouds and mist, as if it were a fairyland.

Zhang Yunxiu was in high spirits and pulled the two along as they walked inside.

The refreshing spring breeze, carrying the sound of murmuring water, brought forth a delightful noise. As it swept past the statue in the square, the servants who were wiping it down stopped their work one after another and stood with their hands at their sides on both flanks.

Zhang Yunxiu did not pay them any mind and brought Matteo Ricci to the first small room on the left.

Inside, on a stand, sat a round Terrestrial Globe.

While Matteo Ricci was examining it, Xu Guangqi frowned and looked at Zhang Yunxiu to ask: "What is this object? It looks like an Armillary Sphere, yet it is not; it looks more like a wooden ball."

"This thing is called a Terrestrial Globe," Matteo Ricci said, recognizing the object and explaining with a smile. This thing was not considered rare where they were from.

However, in the Great Ming, which still held to the belief that the heavens are round and the earth is square, the appearance of this thing was somewhat "untimely."

"Terrestrial Globe?" Xu Guangqi was stunned, looking at Zhang Yunxiu with a face full of desire to learn.

Seeing his blank expression, Zhang Yunxiu grinned and simply explained it to him: "We live on a ball, and this ball is very large. Besides our Great Ming, there are not only the Frankish lands, but also many, many other countries."

As he spoke, he walked forward, spun the Terrestrial Globe to the east, and pointed to a corner on it: "This here is our Great Ming. To the northwest of Great Ming is what we call the 'Frankish lands'."

Xu Guangqi leaned in, looked at the map, and fell into deep thought.

Zhang Yunxiu added: "This room will be used in the future to teach 'Geography.' We will not only study the mountains and rivers of our Great Ming, but also the customs, local conditions, and land characteristics of all places in the world."

Having said that, he walked out of the small room and pointed to the buildings on the right, introducing them one by one: "The second room is mainly for teaching Agriculture, instructing these students on how to cultivate high-yield crops, prevent pests, and how to cultivate agricultural products according to local conditions."

"The third room is Chemistry, mainly teaching how to make gunpowder."

"The fourth room is Medicine."

There were eight rooms in total, most of which were natural sciences.

Matteo Ricci clicked his tongue in secret, thinking to himself: I never expected this noble young master of the Great Ming to know so many things. Could it be that someone has already come to this place to preach before me?

"Mr. Matteo, I intend to hire you and Young Master Xu as the first two professors of this academy." Seeing the look of shock in his eyes, Zhang Yunxiu looked smug and took the opportunity to chuckle, "Rest assured, I will never forbid your preaching."

"Many thanks, Young Master." Matteo Ricci was naturally happy to have it so, and he hurriedly agreed respectfully.

After walking around for a circle, it was unknowingly already noon.

Zhang Yunxiu and Matteo Ricci were both showing signs of fatigue, but Xu Guangqi alone was like a curious baby, looking here and peering there.

From time to time, he would even pat his head, making sounds of sudden realization.

For Zhang Yunxiu and Matteo Ricci, this was a common occurrence. But for Xu Guangqi, it was a new door, a treasure trove filled with knowledge.

"Brother Xu, shall we go eat first?" Zhang Yunxiu asked softly, looking at Xu Guangqi, who was squatting in front of a skeleton and talking to himself.

Xu Guangqi did not seem to hear him and was still intently pondering his own questions. Seeing this, Zhang Yunxiu smiled and shook his head; not wanting to disturb him, he pulled Matteo Ricci out of the academy.

This academy had another unique feature: its surrounding wall was extremely low.

It was only a meter or so high, and one could climb over it. Zhang Yunxiu had done this on purpose; this wall was not to keep people out, but animals.

The two walked out of the academy, where Zhang Fu was leaning against a door pillar, chatting with several guards beside him.

As soon as he saw Zhang Yunxiu come out, he hurriedly stopped his chatter, rushed to his master's side, and bowed and scraped: "Young Master, the meal is all prepared. Will you go over to eat, or shall I send someone to bring it over?"

"Send it over."

"Very well, then please go to He Zheng's academy across the street to rest for a moment; I will send someone to fetch it right away." As Zhang Fu spoke, he turned his body, went up to a guard, and gave a few instructions. The guard acknowledged the order and left, running as if he had wheels on his feet.

Zhang Yunxiu scanned left and right, and only after confirming there were no carriages on the long street did he feel at ease walking across the street to the front of He Zheng's academy.

Before they had even entered, they heard a burst of clamor coming from inside.

(End of chapter)