Chapter 28: The Devil's Temptation

  "How much?" Bi Fangji stood up in surprise: "Double? How many times?"

  "A hundred times!" Yang Bo nodded affirmatively "Within half a year..."

  "A hundredfold? That's... that's six hundred followers! Oh, God!" Bi Fangji's face was full of shock and anticipation. To know that developing followers wasn't just a simple multiple increase, but a geometric growth. If he took the first step, in a few years it might be on a scale of tens of millions, an achievement that no pioneer had ever accomplished! Was this person for real? He didn't even know what Catholicism was!

  Yang Bo saw Bi Fang's uneasy appearance and secretly laughed in his heart. The Chinese people's faith is the most inclusive, no matter what religion comes here can be accepted. What is religion? It's just a hope, an expectation. In this chaotic world, as long as you can give them hope, it's like the White Lotus followers who have been suppressed by the imperial court for years but are still growing in numbers.

  "Yang Gong... Oh, Zhi Xian young brother, was what you just said true?" Bi Fangji stuttered with his lips, he had not yet recovered from the shock of earlier.

  "Of course, I have only one advantage - I never boast easily." Yang Bo patted his chest: "However..."

  Bi Fangji immediately became anxious and said "Brother Zhi Xian, if there's something on your mind, just say it directly"

  "But I still have a few conditions, I don't know if Father will agree?" Yang Bo smiled and looked at Bi Fangji, making the priest feel uneasy.

  "We are like exiles, who have come to this strange land willingly to spread the gospel of the Lord, not only far away from our relatives, parents, brothers and kin, but also far away from Christian nations and our homeland. Sometimes we arrive in a place where we won't see a fellow countryman for ten or twenty years..." Bi Fangji calmed down and said slowly: "In that case, what can I not let go of?"

  Yang Bo was somewhat impressed by the priest's persistence. "In that case, Father, you might as well pack up, and we'll set off in three days!"

  "Departure?" Bi Fangji found himself unable to keep up with Yang Bo's rhythm "Where are we going?"

  "Shandong Province..." Yang Bo spat out two words.

  Shandong Fu? Bi Fangji asked with some confusion, "Forgive me for being obtuse, but please enlighten me, Brother Zhiyan."

  Yang Bo did not answer hastily, but instead took two bites of food and sipped a mouthful of wine before slowly saying: "I won't hide it from the priest either, this time going to Shandong was indeed for the purpose of collecting donations..."

  "Is it a donation? Could it be that Old Brother Zhai is..." Bi Fangji reacted quickly.

  "Not bad, when I become an official, I will make all the people under my rule believe in religion... Isn't this what you often call taking the high road?" Yang Bo said with a smile.

  "But... " Bi Fangji opened his mouth, silently protesting: "But we can't force them to convert, that would go against the teachings..."

  Yang Bo drew a cross on his chest: "Believe me, Father, they will be more devout than lambs."

  Bi Fangji suddenly stood up; "Absolutely not, using this despicable method is a distortion of the doctrine, my God? I will become the biggest laughing stock in the eyes of my compatriots and fellow believers..."

  Yang Bo hummed and said, "I forgot to tell you, my specialty is understanding the needs of customers. Ah, don't understand? Let me put it this way, I've said before that you people completely don't understand the common folk of Da Ming, if you want to recruit followers, you must first understand what they need."

  "What demand? What kind of demand?" Bi Fangji stuttered and asked.

  "Various demands" Yang Bo did not directly answer Bi Fangji's question, but instead shifted the topic and said: "I plan to build a private school, so that those who cannot afford to read books can study for free..."

  "What's a private school?" Bi Fangji was somewhat perplexed, Yang Bo's jumping thoughts made him hard to keep up with.

  "That's right, not only is reading free, but they'll even throw in a meal! Father, do you think those people will come?" Yang Bo asked.

  "Will they be able to afford food? Of course, I think they will definitely trample the threshold of the private school! But what does this have to do with our development of followers?" Bi Fangji still couldn't understand, he looked at Yang Bo with a puzzled gaze, but Yang Bo didn't answer, just smiled and continued eating and drinking.

  "What if?" Bi Fangji suddenly slapped his thigh "What if, as long as they are willing to join the church, they can enjoy this benefit? Is that right?" Bi Fangji was so excited that his mouth was almost stuttering, Yang Bo's words had suddenly revealed a new world in front of him.

  "That's right, Father. You see, you've already started to get the hang of it." Yang Bo chuckled. "This requires them to be willing, doesn't it? From start to finish, there's no coercion whatsoever, isn't that so?"

  "But!" Bi Fangji was after all calm and composed, and he only got excited for a moment before calming down: "But this way, there will be even more problems... First of all, it would require a large sum of silver to invest."

  Bi Fangji stroked his yellowish-brown beard and turned several circles before continuing, "Secondly, how can we invite the master to teach? Zhi Xian younger brother, you know that those Confucians are very prejudiced against us barbarians. If they find out that this private school requires conversion to attend, I think we'll become the public enemy of the local gentry..."

  Yang Bo turned around at the wine table, raised three fingers and said: "There is one more thing, the most important one, Father! We also need to smooth out the attitude of the local officials. Without their acquiescence, nothing can be done."

  Bi Fang sat back in his seat, sighing constantly. Yang Bo painted a new world for him, but the door to this new world was locked with several locks.

  "There's always a way to solve problems, right?" Yang Bo sympathetically patted the priest's shoulder, but Bi Fangji was immersed in his own world and didn't even notice Yang Bo's impolite behavior.

  "Let me think about these problems, why don't we discuss the exchange conditions now?" Seeing that Bi Fangji couldn't come up with a solution for the time being, Yang Bo shifted the topic.

  "What's wrong?" Bi Fangji rushed over and grabbed Yang Bo's hand, shaking it vigorously: "Zhi Xian younger brother! Have you already made a plan?"

  Yang Bo was taken aback by the priest's sudden enthusiasm: "It can't be confirmed for the time being, Father. This is just a plan, isn't it?"

  "Yes, I was indeed flustered for a moment, and it's laughable in front of Brother Zhi Xian." Bi Fangji realized his mistake and sat back down to his seat with embarrassment.

  "What I really want to know is, since Father Matteo Ricci arrived in our great Ming dynasty, what cultural exchanges have you missionaries brought with you?" Yang Bo thought for a moment before asking carefully.

  "Oh?" Bi Fangji was taken aback, and slowly replied: "This question is indeed asked to the right person, but this topic is a bit big, let me organize my thoughts before answering..."

  Yang Bo nodded and made a "please" gesture with his right hand.