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Jinshen Palace.

Zhao Han likes to come here to rest at noon, or take a nap, or read some books for fun.

What I am reading today is "History of the Christian Expedition to China". The original work is in Latin and was translated into Chinese by Ajulius and other missionaries. This was a task given to the European officials of Hanlin Academy and Qintian Academy to ask the East India Company to bring Western books and then give them to missionary officials for translation.

This book is actually a work report of Matteo Ricci, which was brought back to Rome for the Pope to read. Matteo Ricci did not give any title.

Another missionary, Jin Nige, added and annotated this report, and inscribed on the cover: Jesuit Father Matteo Ricci’s History of the Christian Expedition to China·Five Volumes of Conference Records·To Pope Paul V...

Zhao Han read this book because he wanted to see the advantages and disadvantages of China from a European perspective.

From the title of the book, we can see the ambition of the European guy. In the beginning, Jinnige said that large-scale expeditions and vigorous feats are achieved after various conditions are mature. The things they do at the beginning are trivial, but after many years It will develop into something important.

What does it mean?

It is to regard the Jesuit mission in China as an insignificant but necessary beginning of the conquest of China.

At the same time, Jin Nige was in awe of China and evaluated China as a "noble nation."

Matteo Ricci's text is very systematic. It begins with an introduction to China's history and geography, and combines it with ancient European classics to describe the evolution of China's titles. Some of the content contains bragging elements, such as the fact that all Chinese, rich or poor, wear silk clothes.

Some of the content was so funny that it made Zhao Han laugh out loud.

For example, Matteo Ricci had been an official in Beijing for many years, but he only knelt before the emperor's throne. He had never met Emperor Wanli because Wanli never went to court and rarely met with ministers in private.

I have to say that Wanli is really a scam, and the official administration of the Ming Dynasty was completely ruined in the hands of this person.

Don't talk about the Three Great Conquests of Wanli. Since his neglect of government, many state departments began to shut down, and the Ming Dynasty was systematically destroyed.

In fact, if Wanli had only neglected government affairs, the Ming Dynasty would not have declined rapidly.

This guy was angry with the civil servants and deliberately refused to cooperate with the civil servants' work. Even after the official died of illness or retired, he did not sign the appointment of new officials. As a result, there is a large shortage of ministerial-level officials in the central government. There are not many department-level officials to work. Some departments have no officials at all, and even the official seal of the department has been lost.

Emperor Wanli failed, and the civil servants followed suit.

Although he had been idle for so many years, he was still able to control the court without the emergence of powerful ministers. This was not because Wanli's political skills were brilliant, but because the Ming Dynasty was so bad that there was no environment for the emergence of powerful ministers. What the powerful minister wanted to do was to collude with the eunuch Bingbi. Without the eunuch's signature and the emperor's seal, the powerful minister could not accomplish anything.

Moreover, who can the powerful official command?

The chief minister of the cabinet looked around and said, Damn, why am I the only one in the cabinet, and half of the six ministerial books are missing? Hey, how come there are so many missing from the left and right ministers and ministers from various departments who are really doing the work?

The central ministers in the last years of Wanli did not even follow the etiquette. Even at the Great Sacrifice of Heaven and Earth, the highest level of sacrificial activity, not only did the officials not fast and bathe, but they also drank alcohol on the day of the sacrificial ceremony, and even went missing. Sacrifice to heaven and earth often turns into an outing, and you can even bring your servants and cakes with you.

If the Sacrifice World dares to do this, what else can it not dare to do?

The emperor didn't care anyway, the Metropolitan Procuratorate was in a state of semi-standstill, and no one read the memorials of the Kedao Yanguan. Then feel free to embezzle, the money you get is your own. Even if he achieved political achievements, the emperor would not give him a promotion.

Even cabinet ministers and ministers have resigned and returned home because they have nothing to do all year round.

What's even more ridiculous is that Emperor Wanli didn't even bother to read the minister's resignation memorial. As a result, some people resigned for several years but never received approval.

Take Li Tingji for example. After joining the cabinet, he discovered that 43% of the positions for officials in central departments were vacant, not including low-level officials and civil servants. Li Tingji was unable to do business and was impeached by the Donglin Party. Although the emperor did not read the impeachment memorial, Li Tingji still couldn't bear it.

Li Tingji wrote a memorial to resign, but Emperor Wanli did not approve of it at all. He simply gave the house to the poor and went to live in the temple himself to show his determination.

This old man lived in the ruined temple for five full years and wrote 123 letters of resignation. He only got the nickname "Miao Zhu Ge Lao".

Li Tingji couldn't bear it anymore, so he just hung up the seal and left. This was a serious crime of beheading. What made Li Tingji collapse was that one of his cabinet ministers disappeared, and Emperor Wanli didn't bother to care.

Until Li Tingji died of poverty and illness, Emperor Wanli, who had been lurking, finally appeared in the Ming official group and gave Li Tingji a posthumous posthumous posthumous title of "Wen Jie".

Zhao Han has read most of "The History of the Christian Expedition to China" and many of the bad habits described in it have changed. Matteo Ricci criticized the phenomenon of infanticide. Nowadays, infanticide is rare, at least the people at the bottom will not do it because they cannot afford it.

Only in a few prefectures and counties in the south of the Yangtze River did the gentry drown the baby girls because they were afraid that a boy would never come to their first-born baby.

For this bad custom, once discovered, the whole family was exiled. Those who planned and participated in infant drowning were beheaded. Only those who proactively report the situation can be exempted from the punishment of exile. If they cannot live in their place of origin (reporting their family members), the government will help immigrate the person to the north.

There are also Chinese people who despise medicine. This phenomenon has also changed, and doctors are no longer regarded as humble servants.

In the middle of the afternoon, Zhao Han called Ai Julius over and asked, "What orders haven't you received from the Pope?"

Ajulius replied: "It is a long journey from China to Rome. We will not be able to come back until at least the end of this year. If there is a storm, it will be next year."

"What do the Chinese Jesuits think?" Zhao Han asked again.

Ai Julius sighed: "Without any idea, the Chinese Jesuits have ceased to exist in name only."

Throughout this book, Ricci complained about the lack of funding for missionary work. I also considered charging money from believers, but gave up in the end because I was afraid that collecting money would scare away believers.

After Zhao Han expelled a large number of missionaries, the missionaries who remained had completely lost their source of funding. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for them to eat, and those who do not have official positions have to find part-time jobs. There were many missionaries who specialized in translating European works and could barely make a living.

What a bunch of poor people!

Unlike the missionaries of the Qing Dynasty, due to the rise of European colonization, missionary funds were frighteningly abundant. However, with the help of money, the majority of Han Christians in the Qing Dynasty were actually ruffians, because serious people would not choose to believe in Jesus.

Ajulius said: "Your Majesty, the missionary work of the Jesuits has stopped, and churches in various places have also taken the initiative to close because they can't afford the rent. Some churches that bought land to build were also sold for cents. According to Buddhism , From now on, I will preach according to my destiny, and I will only preach to those who are destined to have wisdom."

"Hahahaha!" This statement amused Zhao Han.

These missionaries have begun to lie flat and rotten.

Ajulius added: "I and a few friends are determined to revise the doctrine and combine Christianity with Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and with your Majesty's theory of great harmony. However, even the remaining missionaries do not agree with this behavior. .”

His thoughts were divided and scattered, and Zhao Han was quite satisfied with this.

"How do you combine Chinese and Western methods?" Zhao Han couldn't help but ask.

Ajulius explained: "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all in one trinity, and they are all the evolution of heaven. God's redemption is to awaken the world to enlightenment, and to make the world understand the theory of the original king, the original ministers, and the original people. The king and his subjects, As long as you believe in Jesus, you must fulfill your duties as king, ministers, and people. Only by fulfilling your duties as king, ministers, and people can you receive the favor of the gods. This is also the response of heaven and man, and this is also the destiny of God. God’s redemption , that is, the world is unified! Before the world is unified, everyone is guilty. The way to atone is to work hard to achieve the world."

Zhao Han suppressed his smile and nodded: "Very good. After you have perfected the teachings, you can send them to me."

This kind of Christianity, is it reasonable?

Very reasonable!

In another time and space, there was even liberation theology, which used Marxism to interpret the Bible and quickly spread throughout Latin America.

They feel that God’s redemption of the world means the liberation of the world.

How to liberate?

Then we must study Marxist theory, understand the principles of Marxist economics, and achieve equality from all aspects of society, economy, and politics. We must understand the scientific view of history and shoulder the responsibility of liberating ourselves. We must transform ourselves and society. The original sin in the Bible refers to the old society and old humanity. Only the emergence of new society and new humanity can salvation be achieved.

The historian Han Yue has been transferred to the county magistrate, but Ding Shijing still stays.

At this moment, Ding Shijing wrote in his daily notes: "At noon, I read the books of Matteo Ricci, a Western Confucian, and I felt something. I called Ai Julius, a Western Confucian, and asked about the meaning of the Buddhist scriptures. Ai was a great European Confucian. He is well versed in Chinese and Western studies, and is especially good at astronomy. Ai Shi said that there are omissions in the teachings of the Christian scriptures, which should be corrected by Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. There are thousands of great roads, different paths leading to the same goal, and the Christian religion should also follow the principles of heaven. I am very pleased with you and encourage you to do so. , Ai Shi came out."

"What did you write?" Zhao Han asked.

Ding Shijing quickly held it over and said, "Your Majesty, please take a look."

Zhao Han glanced at it and couldn't help laughing: "Do you think what he said makes sense?"

Ding Shijing replied: "The truth comes from the laws of heaven and the way of heaven. If the Christian religion does not follow the law of heaven, it has no reason. And the evolution of the law of heaven will lead to the great unity of the world. If the Christian religion takes the great unity of the world as its mission, it means that it has understood the way of heaven and understood Heavenly principles, then he must have a point.”

Zhao Han smiled and praised: "You are good. Datong theory is solid. You are worthy of being a student of Wang Diaoding."

Ding Shijing continued to flatter him: "I always follow your majesty, listen to your majesty's teachings, and improve my knowledge every day. I have a dull qualification. If I can always serve your majesty, I may become a great Confucian in the future."

"Yes, you have indeed improved a lot in the art of flattery." Zhao Han smiled even more happily.