Di Ming

Chapter 482 The Ming Fleet is Here Again!

Zhu Yin's smile faded, his eyes turned icy and cold, and he said in a chilling tone:
"Matteo Ricci, you are a Western spy who spyes on Chinese secrets and plots cultural invasion. You secretly funded many Ming scholars to participate in the imperial examinations, intending to infiltrate the court. Your crime deserves to be beheaded."

Matteo Ricci was pale and his hands and feet were cold. Although he was a devout Christian and a knowledgeable missionary, when faced with death and slaughter, his supposedly strong mental fortitude was insufficient to overcome the fear.

To him, Zhu Yin's words sounded like the ravings of a demon in a nightmare:
"Matteo Ricci, I know that over the years you have discovered many talented Chinese students and misled them, ostensibly to provide them with financial aid, but in reality to cultivate officials who support the church. My understanding of you exceeds your imagination. For example, I know that the students you have misled include Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao, Yang Tingyun, Qu Rukui, Feng Yingjing..."

"For example, I also know that you come from Macerata, and the Jesuits have always instructed you to infiltrate Beijing. You correspond with Rudolf II and Philip II. Five years ago, you returned to Europe to report to Pope Clement VIII, saying that Confucianism is deeply rooted in China, and that only by using the banner of Confucianism to practice Christianity can missionary work be successful..."

“You…” Matteo Ricci was horrified upon hearing this, and his body swayed as if he were about to collapse. He never imagined that Zhu Yin had been investigating him all along and knew so much about him.

God, is this a terrible thing or an honor?
Zhu Yin continued, “It’s a good thing that you like mathematics, geometry, astronomy, and geography, and that you introduce Western knowledge. It’s commendable. But to think that Western scholarship is superior and has already surpassed the world is simply arrogant. If your so-called Renaissance didn’t rely on Eastern learning for nourishment, what would it have relied on for its revival?”

At this point, Zhu Yin said sarcastically, "Do you think the Vatican can rely on its thousand-year-old practice of hunting down witches, persecuting heretics, and studying the soul? You even followed the Mongols, Persians, and Arabs to learn how to build warships and astronomical instruments. Just over a hundred years ago, the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) was still ruled by the Sultan and forced to believe in the Quran."

"The Chinese civilization boasts thousands of years of rich heritage and profound knowledge; how can you underestimate it? How long have you been civilized? How dare you travel thousands of miles to plot against our mighty China? Don't you know that those who offend the mighty Han, though far away, will be punished? Didn't Attila the Chanyu and the Mongol Khan teach you a lesson back then?"

Zhu Yin pointed to the sea, his tone becoming increasingly resolute, "This boundless sea was conquered by our Great Ming Dynasty two hundred years ago! Zheng He made seven voyages to the Western Seas, traversing thousands of miles! And at that time, you couldn't even build a decent sailing ship."

"In the past hundred years, you have built upon the thick record of achievements of Eastern learning, stood on the shoulders of giants to develop Western learning, and made some progress. Then you began to invade the world, destroying more than a hundred countries and massacring countless people, thinking yourself superior. Little did you know that even in the dog-eat-dog world, if things really got serious, it would only be a great calamity for your Western world."

"In this world, the only one who can truly spur on the world and spread military might across the land is my Great Ming! Matteo Ricci, I will not kill you, but I want you to watch as your allied forces against the Ming are completely annihilated, and to watch as my army marches into Europe and punishes you on behalf of Heaven. What the Huns and Mongols could not accomplish, the Great Ming will accomplish."

Matteo Ricci was drenched in cold sweat and his heart pounded with fear. He looked into Zhu Yin's eyes, but saw only a cloud of indifference looking down upon him.

Zhu Yin's tone softened somewhat, "You like to wear Confucian robes and preach that God is the true Confucian of all time. But do you know what the true meaning of Confucianism is? It is not your hypocritical and vain universal benevolence that looks down on humanity. The true essence of Confucianism is inner sagehood and outer kingship, and it is justice and human ethics."

"You will never have true universal benevolence; you can only deceive people for a time. But the principles of Confucianism and Taoism can ultimately lead to true world harmony, a shared destiny, and the integration of humanity and nature. People will be human, be human in every generation, and be human forever, instead of being objectified and alienated, becoming selfish, self-indulgent, a hell on each other, and self-destructive like humans."

"Matteo Ricci, you are also a Western philosopher. I believe that with your wisdom, you may one day understand the essence of Confucianism and Taoism."

He pointed to the sky, "What are Confucianism and Taoism? They are the Way of Heaven!"

These were Zhu Yin's true feelings, not a deception of Matteo Ricci. In his view, Confucianism certainly had problems, but its essence was flawless; it was undoubtedly a high-level system. Confucianism and martial spirit were not actually in conflict. The problem with Confucianism wasn't even its dominance, but rather its flawed positioning.

Confucianism should be an ideology, a philosophy of thought, and a "way" that regulates one's values ​​and worldview. However, in China, it has been reduced to "learning," "knowledge," and "academic theory."

To reduce universal ideas to mere knowledge, scholarship, and academic theory distorts the essence of knowledge and scholarship and monopolizes academic theory.

This is the biggest problem facing Confucianism in China.

This misjudgment has been made by the West as well.

Before the Renaissance, the Western knowledge system and academic understanding were essentially religious, never exceeding the scope of religion. Even painting and sculpture had to be religious.

This is why the West was in darkness for a thousand years. Because it equated thought and religion with knowledge itself.

The essence of the Western Renaissance was to completely separate scholarship, knowledge, and religion, keeping faith as faith and scholarship as scholarship.

Thus began the explosion of knowledge. The Renaissance was essentially the creation of new knowledge and new learning outside of religion.

The same was true of Confucianism in China for the past few centuries. The practice of using Confucian classics exclusively for the imperial examinations began with this. When did it begin?

Song.

In this dynasty, the imperial examinations were strictly limited to the Four Books and Five Classics, with the Four Books being the core.

This is a huge problem. Confucian doctrines are merely ideas, beliefs, and shared ethical principles; how did they become the very essence of knowledge and scholarship?
When ideas replace knowledge, then true knowledge ceases to exist.

The characteristics of ideology and belief are unity, universality, stability, and subjectivity. However, the characteristics of knowledge are diversity, development, innovation, and objectivity.

The two are fundamentally different. Treating Confucianism as a subject of study inevitably leads to conservatism and closed-mindedness. Is simply writing books and clinging to old texts to speak on behalf of the sages truly knowledge?
However, despite the obvious misalignment, ancient China still managed to achieve high scores despite its extreme imbalance in academic performance, and its technological achievements and mathematics remained ahead for a long time, which is truly remarkable.

This is because, although Confucian classics are not knowledge itself, they are naturally a methodology for opening up wisdom, regulating morality, and inspiring progress.

That's really impressive!

Therefore, Confucianism itself is not the problem; we just need to restore it to its high position as an ideology and belief, stripping it of its task-oriented nature as a knowledge entity. Then, we can construct a new knowledge system.

The key is to reform the content of the imperial examination.

Zhu Yin was not foolish enough to abolish Confucianism, as that would destroy the foundation of Chinese civilization. On the contrary, he had full confidence in Confucianism. Of course, Confucian thought also needed improvement.

With Neo-Confucianism, what are those monotheistic religions compared to us? They're utterly pathetic.

Matteo Ricci was already forty-six years old, having traveled the world for tens of thousands of miles, meeting countless important figures and experiencing countless great events. Few could match his vision and knowledge. His character and courage had long since been cultivated to a state of perfect understanding, resilience, and fearlessness.

Over the years, he has met many Chinese officials. Although they are outstanding in demeanor, gentle and refined, and exceptionally intelligent, and indeed command respect at first glance, once you get to know them better, you will see through their blind arrogance, stagnation, inflexibility, narrow-mindedness, hypocrisy and greed.

These Confucian elites are nothing special!
Many of them are nothing but hypocrites.

He was confident that, with his background and wisdom, he could maintain his detached demeanor even when meeting the Ming emperor.

But today, standing before the Regent of the Ming Dynasty, he no longer possessed his previous confidence; instead, he felt utterly bewildered.

Reflecting on his missionary work over the years, he suddenly realized a problem: There are many countries east of Persia, but only five countries—Ming Dynasty, Goryeo, Japan, Annam, and Ryukyu—have truly enlightened their people and have flourished in culture and education.

They all have one thing in common: they are all Confucianists!
These five countries are still not looked down upon by the West as barbaric or backward. In particular, the Ming Dynasty is still considered a world power in the eyes of the West.

The intelligence, diligence, orderliness, and etiquette of the people of these five countries are even superior to those of the people of the West.

The indigenous people of other countries were either ignorant, barbaric, disorderly, or even unreasonable.

Matteo Ricci has now found the reason: it's because of Confucianism!

He suddenly began to believe Zhu Yin's words. He thought of the ancient Chinese books he had studied and felt that they were vast and profound, as deep as the sea and as brilliant as the stars, a depth of thought that the West has yet to reach.

He had never seen a people more profound or wiser than the Han Chinese.

Is this the essence of an ancient civilization in the East?
Looking at the extremely young yet unfathomable regent before him, Matteo Ricci suddenly felt an indescribable sense of powerlessness. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he could never reach the level of understanding of this young nobleman from the Ming Dynasty.

For the first time, Matteo Ricci began to worry about the Papacy and the fate of the Western world.

Could there really be a third invasion from the East? A third Scourge of God?
Thinking of Zhu Yin's cruelty and ruthlessness, Matteo Ricci couldn't help but shudder. He seemed to see the mountains of corpses and seas of blood in his hometown.

Matteo Ricci took a deep breath and, fluent in Chinese, cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "In any case, I must thank the Regent for sparing my life."

He wanted to survive and try to change something.

Zhu Yin scrutinized the great missionary. "I know what you're thinking. I can give you a chance. But before that, I need you to do one thing."

Matteo Ricci smiled wryly and said, "Does the Regent require me to... declare that our religion is a religion that deceives the world?"

Zhu Yin revealed a cold smile: "Matteo Ricci, you are indeed clever. Indeed, I want you to hold sermons in Guangzhou, Nanjing, and other places, saying that spreading foreign religions is actually enslaving the people of the Ming Dynasty, and that your so-called universal benevolence is something you Westerners yourselves don't even believe in; it's all self-deception and hypocrisy..."

"You must make your students, who have been misled by you, such as Xu Guangqi, repent and turn back from their wrong path..."

"You also need to organize priests to write books criticizing the Vatican, the Church, and its doctrines, and condemning the crimes of Western aggression throughout the world..."

"This is your atonement for your sins. According to your doctrine, isn't self-atonement the most important thing? Even if you commit evil and sin, you can confess in church and then you are clean. But your atonement cannot be just about confessing. Only by doing what I'm saying can you be considered atonement."

Matteo Ricci's face turned deathly pale. "To me, this is an immense betrayal and depravity. If I refuse..."

“Of course you can refuse.” Zhu Yin looked at the warships on the sea. “There are hundreds of missionaries throughout the Ming Dynasty, and quite a few in Guangzhou. If you do not agree, then you will all be executed.”

"Once I defeat the Western Allied Forces that are invading the East, all prisoners will be executed, not a single one will be spared."

"When I conquer your hometown, I will have my army keep their swords drawn for three days straight, and within a hundred miles, not a single chicken or dog will be spared... Now, do you still want to refuse me?"

"If you refuse, more people will die. Including your family and fellow believers."

Zhu Yin's expression was indifferent, and his voice was low, yet it carried immense pressure.

Matteo Ricci was drenched in sweat and could no longer hold back, sobbing as he prostrated himself on the ground and said, "I am Matteo Ricci, and I will obey the Regent's orders!"

……

Zhu Yin only stayed on Hengqin Island for one day before continuing to lead his army south.

This was indeed a good time to sail south, as the winds were favorable and there were no typhoons or tsunamis.

In addition, Zhu Yin was very familiar with the safe shipping lanes in Southeast Asia, and the fleet moved very quickly.

To prevent being spies from the enemy, Zhu Yin ordered the fleet to sail eastward, away from the mainland.

Two days later, the fleet appeared in the waters off Jingzhou.

Along the way, we saw many government-organized immigrant fleets coming from the Fujian and Guangdong directions and heading towards Jingzhou.

Zhu Yin was very pleased to see these immigrant ships.

Since the immigration order was issued, due to the favorable immigration conditions, proletarian immigrants have been flocking to Jingzhou and Dongning by sea.

Previously, the Governor of Guangdong reported that 50,000 immigrants from Guangdong alone had moved to Jingzhou. The total number of people who had immigrated to Jingzhou from other southern provinces had reached over 100,000.

The plan to relocate one million people to Jingzhou has already achieved one-tenth of its goal so quickly!
Dongning Island, which is closer to the mainland, has also seen the relocation of over 100,000 people, completing half of the plan.

On the 27th day of the first lunar month, the fleet arrived at the Zhongsha Islands.

On the third day of the second lunar month, the fleet arrived at NSQD. Zhu Yin ordered a halt and then erected a stele on the largest island, naming it: Taiping Island of the Ming Dynasty.

On the sixth day of the second month, the fleet arrived at Natuna Island in later generations. Zhu Yin ordered a landing.

This island is quite large, more than half the size of Hong Kong Island. It originally belonged to the Ming Dynasty and was originally called Wansheng Island. There were once hundreds of fishermen from the Ming Dynasty, and Zheng He's fleet stopped at this island many times.

However, twenty years ago, the island was completely wiped out by the natives, and there are no more Ming people living there. The name was changed to Natuna Island.

The appearance of the massive fleet terrified the island's natives, who scattered like monkeys.

Zhu Yin immediately dispatched a team of Japanese Ming soldiers and surrendered Oroqen soldiers to search and kill the natives on the island. It took them a day to wipe out the native tribes on the island, turning it into an empty island. This was a way of avenging the Han fishermen of that year.

Then Zhu Yin erected another stone tablet, restored the island's name to "Wansheng," and declared it overseas territory of the Ming Dynasty. He then searched for the remains of Zheng He's fleet that had anchored there and built a stone wall in commemoration.

The fleet rested on Wansheng Island for a day and continued south on the seventh day of the second lunar month.

On the tenth day of the second lunar month, exactly one month after departing from Nanjing, the fleet finally arrived at the Strait of Malacca.

The place later known as Singapore, called Xingzhou by the Ming people, and Temasek by the indigenous people is right before our eyes!

Not far from here, the Portuguese garrison in Malacca numbered 1,200 men.

If the fleet wanted to pass through the strait, it would first have to deal with the colonists' garrison in Malacca!
The Ming fleet did not stop in Singapore, but instead went directly into the strait and headed north.

Upon seeing the sudden arrival of the massive Ming Dynasty fleet, the colonial authorities in Malacca were thrown into a panic!
This is… a Ming Dynasty fleet?!

The indigenous people on both sides of the Strait of Malacca were filled with awe when they saw the Ming Dynasty fleet with its white sails like clouds and its dragon flag with a crimson sun and crimson moon.

The Ming Dynasty fleet is here again!

……

P.S.: Today's chapter isn't very interesting; it mainly deals with Confucianism, and these are just my personal opinions, so please don't take them too seriously. Thank you, and goodnight!

(End of this chapter)