Chapter 8 The Missionary

  After Da Chun left, Yin Zhen let out a light sigh. At this age, it's not good to be careless and unguarded. Kangxi's secret agents and Yin Zhen's sticky situations are all things that cannot be prevented. It's better to be careful and steady as a sailboat. Fortunately, the benefits of being a prince after leaving the palace were not bad. Not only did he have many large estates, but also a considerable number of servants and attendants. Moreover, at the end of last year, Kangxi gave him half of the population and all of the attendants that originally belonged to his eldest brother Yin Zhen, which made him not worry about being short-handed.

  In the afternoon, Yin Zhen was practicing calligraphy and organizing copies in his study when he heard Bao Fuquan's voice outside the door, "Master, your uncle Wanyan Haifeng is seeking an audience outside."

  "Alright, bring him to the study."

  Before long, a slightly excited voice was heard, "Your humble servant Hai Feng pays his respects to the Fourteenth Master."

  "Come in." Yinzhen said as he stood up.

  Wanyan Haifeng came in and saw Yin Zhen, neatly tied a thousand sons, "Have seen the Fourteenth Master."

  Wanyan Haifeng was tall and handsome, the two had been classmates since childhood and were extremely familiar with each other. Yin Zhen smiled and said: "Get up, there's no outsider here, no need to be too polite."

  Hai Feng stood up and smiled: "Fourteenth Master, from now on I'll be following you. This courtesy is not to be neglected."

  "Sit down." Yongzheng smiled and said, "I've been wanting to call you over for a long time, but there hasn't been any proper business. Besides, training in the Ministry of Rites for a few years will also be beneficial for you." Seeing Haifeng standing upright and listening attentively, Yongzheng thought to himself that it seemed like his time in the Ministry of Rites hadn't been wasted, as he had become more mature and steady.

  With a satisfied mind, Yizhen didn't have the heart to make small talk and directly said: "You go to the department tomorrow to hand over your duties, from now on you'll follow me."

  "Thanks to Master Shi for his support." Hai Feng said with a beautiful bow.

  There is a Catholic church at Xuanwumen, which locals are accustomed to calling Nantang.

  However, at this time, the Nan Tang presented in front of Yong Zheng and Hai Feng was only a building that was about to be completed.

  Although it is not yet complete, from its Latin cross plan, vaulted structure, central nave with side aisles, tower rising from the center of the church, and twin bell towers at the entrance, it already has all the characteristics of a genuine Western European Baroque style.

  Yin Zhen was enthusiastically sizing up the building in front of him, which was full of exotic style, but Hai Feng couldn't understand why the Fourteenth Master would be interested in such a strange house.

  Although he didn't understand, Hai Feng still chimed in and said: "Fourteenth Master, I heard that this Nantang was specially granted by the Emperor with 100,000 taels of silver from the national treasury to be built by the Ministry of Works."

  Yuan Zhen nodded and said to Hai Feng: "Go, reveal your true identity, and bring the priest of this church here."

  It is said that the 14th prince has arrived, and the missionary who was supervising the construction work knew that his status was too low, so he hurriedly went to report to Father Minming.

  Ming-yi, I am an Italian Jesuit, already sixty-eight years old, once served as the Imperial Astronomer, a fifth-rank official. Hearing that the Fourteenth Prince was visiting the South Church, he hastily came out to greet him.

  "I pay respects to Your Highness, the Fourteenth Prince." Min Ming said as he began to kneel.

  Min Mingyi didn't expect the priest to be him, and he hastily reached out to support him, laughing: "I just took a look, I disturbed you."

  Min Ming smiled, his face full of wrinkles. "The 14th prince's visit is a blessing to all of us Catholics." He stepped aside and said, "If the prince doesn't mind, please come in and take a seat."

  In the temporary office of the missionary, Min Ming waited for the missionaries to serve tea and then dismissed everyone. He looked at Yin Zhen and smiled: "I think, Your Highness won't be just passing by here?"

  This man is interesting, speaking without any twists or turns, I wonder if he was like this when he was in office? Yin Zhen secretly smiled to himself. Since that's the case, let's just be straightforward. With a hint of a smile, he said: "I originally wanted to find the priest here, but didn't expect to disturb you. It's good that you're here, having been in the capital for a long time and having many connections, it suits my intentions."

  "Oh." Min Ming narrowed his eyes and smiled: "What brings Your Highness here?"

  Yuan Zhen did not beat around the bush and directly stated his intention, "I want to hire you missionaries as teachers."

  "Is Your Highness also interested in Western learning?" Min Ming was slightly surprised, he had been in the capital for many years, but hadn't heard that this Fourteenth Prince was interested in Western learning. Among Kangxi's grown sons, only the Crown Prince and Third Prince had studied Western learning.

  "You misunderstood, it's not to teach me, but to teach the children." Yongzheng explained: "I plan to build a private school in the capital, hire you missionaries as teachers to teach them Western studies, of course, I will pay a salary, three taels of silver per month."

  "Oh, no, Your Highness, this is too low, five taels would be more reasonable." Min Ming, although I studied Chinese and lived in the capital for many years, but the Westerner's inherent greed and mercantilism were exposed as soon as they talked about business. "Moreover, you must allow us to preach among the students, it is our duty."

  "Heh heh, one or two silver coins in the capital can buy a stone of rice now. Three silver coins is an unreasonably high salary. Yong Zheng said lightly: Of course, preaching is your freedom, however, you cannot preach at private schools, that's where people go to read books."

  "Your Highness, in that case, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do." Min Myung-i said with a regretful expression: "We are professional missionaries."

  "Alright, I'll make another concession. During recess, I'll allow you to preach, but don't force the students to believe." Yongzheng said with a feigned helpless tone, while secretly laughing in his heart. In this country where imperial power reigns supreme, one edict from above would be enough to eradicate your Christianity, what's there for me to fear about your preaching?

  "Freedom of belief, that's our principle." Min Mingyi said with a smile as he stood up, his face beaming like a walnut. "Your Highness can rest assured, I will definitely select the best teachers to instruct those children, as for their salary, you see..."

  Yu Zhen's face suddenly changed from sunny to cloudy, and he immediately turned around and walked out.

  Min Ming: I've been in the capital for so many years, but I've never seen an official refuse so bluntly. He was stunned for a moment before rushing out, "Fourteenth Master, Fourteenth Master..." Seeing Yin Zhen leaving without stopping, he couldn't help but shout, "OK, deal!"

  "Wait a minute," he said, turning around with a radiant smile on his face. "I want mathematics, geometry, astronomy, geography, English, French, and medicine, but no Bible."

  "I will try my best to meet your requirements, Your Highness the Fourteenth Prince." Min Ming knew he had been taken in by the Fourteenth and responded gloomily.

  Yuan Zhen smiled indifferently and said, "I hope our cooperation goes smoothly."

  "Hmm, nice doing business with you." Min Ming was taken aback by the Fourteenth Prince's tone, which seemed more Western than his own. How had he never noticed this before?

  After seeing Xianzhen off, Minmei excitedly paced around the room for half a day. Being able to send missionaries to private schools as teachers would have a huge promotional effect on his missionary work. Thinking that in the future batches of Qing scholars would be followers, he couldn't help but shout loudly: "Someone come, summon all the missionaries in the capital to hold a meeting."