Chapter 207: The Worries of a Man of Qi, the Peril of a Hundred Years

Having his rhythm interrupted twice in a row, even a clay figurine would have a spark of temper — let alone a grandmaster of sixty-five like Xu Guangqi.

— A grandmaster of Western learning is still a grandmaster!

Xu Guangqi's white beard quivered faintly. Since the Emperor refused to play by the usual rules and insisted on hearing these grating "drawbacks" first, then he would hold nothing back.

"Your Majesty, the two words 'benefit' and 'drawback' are like yin and yang giving birth to each other — inseparable from the start. But since Your Majesty wishes to hear the drawbacks first, this subject shall obey!"

As Xu Guangqi began to speak, his voice rose involuntarily.

Standing to the side, Gao Shiming's eyelids twitched sharply; his hand tightened subconsciously around his horsetail whisk, and his gaze swept toward Xu Guangqi like a cold bolt of lightning.

Such a tone in the imperial presence already fell short of proper court decorum.

The moment the words left his mouth, Xu Guangqi's heart seized with alarm, and his anger vanished without a trace.

He drew a deep breath. Though his voice dropped, his tone remained grave: "The first great drawback is the conflict between the Catholic faith brought from the Far West and our own Confucian teachings."

"The customs of the Western barbarians are utterly unlike those of the Middle Kingdom. Their doctrine is rigid and strict; they declare that between heaven and earth, only one 'Lord of Heaven' may be worshipped."

"In this way, the great rites our Huaxia civilization has transmitted for a thousand years — ancestor veneration and the veneration of Confucius — are regarded by their faith as heresy."

At this point, Xu Guangqi studied the Emperor's expression. Seeing Zhu Youjian's face utterly blank, he pressed on: "Furthermore, that faith strictly forbids the taking of concubines, and it is even more averse to kneeling before any mortal."

"Your Majesty, imagine: if this faith were to spread widely, the daily customs of those who join it and those who do not would split completely apart, as though they were the people of two separate nations."

"If this persists, men's hearts will turn toward change, and disorder is certain to erupt!"

But then Xu Guangqi shifted his tone, and a trace of confident scholarly grace appeared on his face: "However, this subject believes that great as this drawback is, it is not without remedy."

"Oranges grown south of the Huai River are sweet oranges; grown north of the Huai, they turn bitter. When the Buddhist dharma came from the west, it too underwent a thousand years of assimilation before giving rise to today's Chan school. The Catholic faith must follow the same path."

"This subject's position is this: ancestor veneration and the veneration of Confucius are the root of our Huaxia civilization and cannot be lightly discarded.

"As for the many other points in their religious regulations — whatever is good, adopt it with the Chinese civilization as the foundation; whatever is evil, discard it as a custom of the Western barbarians."

"That is to say: take the essence and discard the dross; borrow stone from other hills to polish the jade of our Great Ming!"

Having finished, Xu Guangqi swept his long sleeve aside, radiating the pride of a man who felt he had just solved a century-defining problem.

Yet the approval he had expected did not come.

Zhu Youjian remained seated steadily on the dragon throne, his fingers tapping lightly against the armrest, his face as calm as a deep ancient well whose bottom cannot be seen.

Not only was there no approval — there was even a trace of disappointment.

Zhu Youjian sneered inwardly.

Xu Guangqi, ah, Xu Guangqi — do you think I cannot see through this "Matteo Ricci Rule" of yours?

For this meeting, I had the Directorate of Ceremonial turn over every book and polemic they could find concerning the Catholic faith.

Some were too long-winded, rambling on and on without ever reaching the point — those I tossed to the Directorate of Ceremonial to summarize, and for that purpose I even invented a Great Ming version of the mind map.

The current posture of the Catholic Church — I understand it all too well.

At this stage, those missionaries might compromise for the sake of spreading their faith — permitting ancestor veneration, permitting the veneration of Confucius.

But their ultimate goal is spiritual colonization: to make imperial authority bow before ecclesiastical authority, to turn the entire East into pastureland indistinguishable from the West!

This is no trifling matter of "transforming customs and habits" — this is a life-and-death struggle of ideology.

Xu Guangqi, you skirt the heavy issues and dwell on the trivial, speaking only of rites and ceremonies while saying nothing of governing authority. Do you truly not understand, or are you pretending not to?

But he did not erupt.

He drew a deep breath, suppressed his displeasure, and said flatly, "Is there more?"

Xu Guangqi froze for a moment.

The Emperor's reaction was far too indifferent — so indifferent that he felt as though his heavy punch had landed on cotton.

His heart now surging with emotion, he gritted his teeth, determined to deliver another grand pronouncement and jolt awake this sovereign secluded deep within the palace!

He continued: "This subject believes that the dispute with Confucian teachings is still secondary."

"The true second great drawback lies with the red barbarians of the Far West!"

"The Jianzhou bandits of today are the tigers and leopards along the Nine Frontiers — but if one speaks of true tigers and leopards, they are none other than the sea-bandits of Fujian's coast right now!"

As his words fell, Xu Guangqi abruptly raised his head, ready to receive the Emperor's shock, alarm, even urgent questioning.

In this age, most court officials did not even know where the "red barbarians" were. To suddenly hear that there were enemies beyond the seas even more savage than the Jianzhou barbarians would surely throw them off balance.

And yet.

An eerie silence descended upon the room.

Zhu Youjian simply looked at him the same way as before, his gaze clear — and even carrying a trace of… boredom?

Their eyes met, and the air seemed to freeze solid.

After a long moment, Zhu Youjian furrowed his brow and broke the silence: "And then? Why has Minister Xu suddenly stopped?"

Was this new sovereign's composure truly so terrifying? Or had he simply not understood at all?

Xu Guangqi could not help feeling somewhat abashed; his momentum weakened by three parts, he could only steel himself and continue explaining: "Your Majesty — all manner of ingenious instruments and practical learning of the Far West surpass those of the Great Ming."

"Their ships are sturdy and their cannons fierce; they can sail ten thousand li to strike the southern seas. Compared to the Japanese pirates of old, their savagery and deadliness are a hundred times greater!"

"Among the various Far Western peoples in the South China Sea, they are divided into the Macao barbarians and the red barbarians."

"The red barbarians are wildly ambitious and wish to swallow up the Macao barbarians in order to scheme against China! The Macao barbarians, being weaker, wish to attach themselves to China in order to resist the red barbarians."

"This subject believes that, given this situation, we ought to employ the strategy of 'using barbarians to control barbarians'! Recruit the firearms and craftsmen of the Macao barbarians, train our Great Ming's strong troops, first drive out the red barbarians, and safeguard our maritime frontiers!"

Having delivered this speech, Xu Guangqi was breathing slightly hard, feeling that he had laid out the situation with exhaustive clarity.

Zhu Youjian nodded, accepted the teacup Gao Shiming handed over, took a sip, and asked offhandedly, "Are there any other drawbacks?"

Xu Guangqi was utterly bewildered.

He shook his head and stammered, "These two are the great perils within the Far Western matter —"

Zhu Youjian handed the teacup back, a flicker of disappointment passing through his eyes, and asked outright: "Minister Xu, if we follow your strategy and drive out the red barbarians — what then of the remaining Macao barbarians?"

Xu Guangqi's heart gave a thump; he sensed that the atmosphere had already turned unfavorable.

Though he still had no idea where he had misspoken.

But the Emperor's mood did seem genuinely less pleasant than when he had first entered.

"Speak, then." Zhu Youjian kept his voice as mild as he could, though a faint edge still clung to his tone. "Minister Xu, your learning spans both Chinese and Western traditions. Your vision ought not to stop at this."

Xu Guangqi pondered for a moment, weighed this new sovereign's past conduct, and decided to say a little more.

"In this subject's mind, the threat from the Far West is indeed threefold. It is only that the third is so very distant that I did not mention it earlier, for fear of making myself a laughingstock."

Zhu Youjian's gaze sharpened.

Xu Guangqi continued: "What the Far West studies and our own Chinese investigation of things and extension of knowledge ultimately lead to the same end, yet their method is profoundly different."

"Their learning proceeds from logic, advancing layer upon layer, like piling up firewood — those who come later stand on top."

"Predecessors establish a theory; successors follow, study it, and master it thoroughly, then build upon it to seek daily progress."

"Thus it renews itself with each passing day, so that tomorrow surpasses today."

At this point Xu Guangqi's voice grew slightly louder: "In the founding reign, when Zheng He sailed the oceans, the Far West could not yet reach the Southern Seas — they were as infants in swaddling clothes."

"By the Zhengde years, the Macao barbarians could already cross ten thousand li to attack and seize Malacca — like a toddler learning to walk."

"By the Wanli years, those Macao barbarians could conquer Luzon — they had grown into a sturdy man."

"And now, those red barbarians, the latecomers who have climbed to the top, have actually seized Dongfan and are pressing down on the Macao barbarians!"

Xu Guangqi's voice echoed through the chamber, carrying a bleak prescience: "Learning is like piling firewood — latecomers stand on top! If our Great Ming remains stuck in its old ways, learning only the surface of their firearms..."

"Then centuries hence, should the Far West produce yellow barbarians or blue barbarians, armed with still newer and mightier weapons to invade..."

"When that day comes — they the cleaver, we the meat — what could Great Ming possibly do?!"

"This subject believes this warning, though it cannot match Your Majesty's 'man-versus-land debate' in piercing through a thousand years, may still be called the paramount peril of Great Ming's century!"

"It truly must be guarded against!"

With these final words, Xu Guangqi rose to his feet and bowed low, not straightening up, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

Had this new sovereign not, at the very start of his reign, thrown out a subversive theory like the "man-versus-land debate," had he not stirred up that tempest of statecraft essays, Xu Guangqi would never have dared utter such a "baseless alarm" of a joke.

After all, who can truly see the perils of a hundred years, of a thousand years?

But this Emperor, using logic and data as airtight as the practical learning of the Far West, had already proven that he truly could see them.

A deathly silence fell over the warming chamber.

For a long while.

At last, Zhu Youjian's tightly knitted brow began to ease, bit by bit.

The corner of his mouth slowly curved into the faintest trace of a smile.

Xu Guangqi, ah, Xu Guangqi — though where your loyalties truly sit still needs further observation, with this breadth of insight, your SSR card's rank has only now truly earned its name!

What could be done?

The grain tribute route would be cut, of course. The gates of the nation would be blasted open by mighty ships and cannon. Then we would measure out the material resources of the Middle Kingdom to purchase the goodwill of the allied powers, signing one humiliating treaty after another!

What else could be done?!

This was precisely Zhu Youjian's deepest fear, and the wellspring of power driving his frenzied push for reform.

History is a spiral of strange loops, but technology is the guiding arrow that can pierce through the fog.

Zhu Youjian rose to his feet, the stifling knot in his chest swept clean away.

He did not offer direct praise. Instead, he stepped straight down from the imperial dais and gestured with a wave. "Minister Xu, rise."

"No more of this constant talk of Macao barbarians and red barbarians. That is shutting one's eyes and stopping one's ears — only a frog at the bottom of a well speaks so."

Zhu Youjian walked over to the enormous "Kunyu Wanguo Quantu" map, clasped his hands behind his back, and his tone relaxed considerably. "These nations of the Far West all have their own names. But this map strains Our eyes — some names We cannot locate. We must trouble Minister Xu to point them out for Us."

This was not Zhu Youjian deliberately testing him.

He genuinely could not find them.

As a humanities-track student, he had once memorized the geographic positions of most of the world's nations.

Though he had now forgotten the greater part, the general layout of the Western European states was still roughly clear in his mind.

But!

Only after transmigrating did he discover that Europe at this time was still in that chaotic stew of noble intermarriages and territorial jigsaw puzzles.

The map bore almost no resemblance to the one of later ages.

Where was the never-say-die France? Where was the great Germany?

The map was covered in a mess of garbled transliterated names that simply would not match up with the world map in his head.

And to make things worse, this "Kunyu Wanguo Quantu" was the only map he currently had. He could only grit his teeth and search.

Xu Guangqi, though unsure whether his earlier words had passed muster, could clearly feel that the oppressive pressure radiating from the Emperor had vanished. Relieved of a great burden, he hurried forward.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. This subject is accustomed to calling them by barbarian labels — it is indeed a case of clinging to old habits."

Xu Guangqi's eyes roamed the map for a moment, then his gaunt finger tapped a corner of Europa. "The barbarians presently entrenched in Macao come from this very place — 'Bo'erduwa'er.'"

Zhu Youjian nodded, silently thanking his luck.

Good thing he hadn't tried to show off. So Portugal was called by this damned name. He had thought that "Yilica" up there was Portugal.

With Xu Guangqi's indication, he now recalled that Portugal was indeed in the lower-left corner of the Iberian Peninsula.

Xu Guangqi moved his finger to the large neighboring region. "This 'Yixibaniya' is precisely where the barbarians now entrenched in Luzon come from."

But he hesitated, his brow furrowing slightly as if organizing his words. "Your Majesty, the political systems of the Far Western nations rather resemble our Zhou period — annexations among the feudal lords are commonplace."

"This subject has heard from the missionaries that several decades ago, this 'Yixibaniya' swallowed the throne of 'Bo'erduwa'er.' Thus, although the barbarians in Luzon and Macao now occupy two separate places, behind them they may, it seems, all be counted as one house."

Zhu Youjian said offhandedly, "Throne inheritance, is it. That bit of Habsburg mess — We are aware of it."

Xu Guangqi stared blankly.

Ha... what burg?

Zhu Youjian offered no explanation. His finger pointed directly at the two pitifully tiny corners across from the English Channel. "Those so-called red barbarians, and the Holland barbarians — could they be from these two places?"

Xu Guangqi leaned in for a closer look, deciphering the obscure script. "'Zelandi' and 'Wolandi.' Your Majesty is divinely perceptive — these are indeed one branch of the Holland barbarians."

"But the Holland barbarians are in fact a union of seven provinces, called the United Provinces of the Netherlands. This map was drawn somewhat earlier and lacks precision, so it does not list them all."

Zhu Youjian suddenly understood. That fit. No wonder Holland was shown here as only two tiny corners.

He turned, his gaze leaving the map and settling once more on Xu Guangqi.

"Minister Xu, look here."

Zhu Youjian pointed at those paltry specks of land and said in a grave voice, "The various barbarians of the Far West, from such paltry specks of land, have yet managed to cross ten thousand li of ocean, reach the gates of our country, slaughter our tributary states, and harass our maritime frontiers."

"Their strengths are indeed evident."

He waved a hand, gesturing for Xu Guangqi to return to his seat.

Once the two were seated again, Zhu Youjian spoke: "Since you already grasp this principle, Minister Xu — that unfinished thought of yours just now: could the strength of the Far West be precisely this art of ingenious fabrication, this way of investigating things?"

Xu Guangqi's state of mind had grown increasingly relaxed, even rising to an exhilaration at having met an enlightened sovereign.

This new lord was truly beyond the reach of any ordinary pedant! He accepted these world-shaking ideas with such astonishing speed!

He straightened his back, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty's sagacious insight. But in this subject's view, the strength of the Far West goes far beyond fabrication alone."

"This subject begs leave to tell Your Majesty: the Far West has three strengths!"

Zhu Youjian gave a slight nod, his gaze profound. "Speak, then."

Xu Guangqi — the time has come to show what you've really got.