I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

Three days later, Wang Chengen, accompanied by Wang Dehua, came to pay his respects.

Zhu Youjian asked, "The Eastern Depot is still rather slow in its work. Does it really take three days to interrogate someone?"

Wang Dehua hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I only interrogated him for one night, and he confessed."

"Then why was the confession only sent over today?"

"There was just too much testimony; he wrote it for three days..."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian picked up the thick stack of confessions on his desk and began to read them.

This sight was quite alarming; he broke out in a cold sweat and felt a wave of fear wash over him.

According to Johann Adam Schall von Bell's testimony, after entering the Ming Dynasty, in addition to missionary work, he had another important task: to compile various books and advanced technologies of the Ming Dynasty into volumes and then send them back to the West through missionaries.

What's even more frightening is that this activity has been going on for hundreds of years, starting as early as the Song and Yuan dynasties.

"During the reign of Emperor Yuan Shizu, the Franciscan friar Montaigne came to the East on the orders of the Pope. In addition to preaching, he was also responsible for collecting Eastern classics. At that time, rare books such as the *Qimin Yaoshu* and *Wujing Zongyao* in the Dadu Library were secretly copied and transported to Europe by sea..."

Zhu Youjian gasped, "There were missionaries in the Central Plains during Kublai Khan's time?"

Wang Chengen looked at Wang Dehua and winked at him, roughly meaning, "I'm asking you a question, so speak up!"

However, Wang Dehua silently lowered his head, thinking to himself, "I'm only responsible for interrogation; I don't know anything else..."

Left with no other choice, Wang Chengen could only force a smile and say, "That's roughly how it is..."

Zhu Youjian ignored him and continued reading.

"...In the thirtieth year of the Jiajing reign, the Portuguese Francis Xavier risked his life to reach Mount Tai of the Great Ming Dynasty. Even on his deathbed, he was still thinking about the Yongle Encyclopedia. According to him, when Zheng He sailed to the Western Ocean, his crew mentioned to the Westerners that this book was a miraculous book that encompassed everything, and that the monarchs of all European countries coveted it..."

This confession was very detailed, which explains why it took Wang Dehua three days to deliver it.

According to testimonies, about three hundred years ago, the Franciscan friar Montecorvino arrived in Dadu, which is today's Beijing, and was granted permission by Kublai Khan to preach in China. Since then, missionaries have continued to land in the East.

However, starting with the maritime ban during the Hongwu era, many people were unable to enter the Central Plains. For example, in the 30th year of the Jiajing reign, Francis Xavier of Portugal arrived at Shangchuan Island in Taishan, but due to the Ming Dynasty's maritime ban policy, he was unable to enter the mainland and eventually died on the island.

Francis Xavier traveled thousands of miles to the Ming Dynasty, solely for the legendary Yongle Encyclopedia.

During the Yongle reign, Zheng He led his fleet on seven voyages to the Western Seas, which greatly shocked the Westerners. They all knew that there was a great Ming Dynasty in the mysterious East, and they learned from the sailors that the Ming Dynasty had a Yongle Encyclopedia that encompassed all knowledge of ancient and modern times, as well as astronomy and geography.

After the Longqing Emperor opened the gates to foreign trade, the Ming Dynasty partially opened up foreign trade, which provided an opportunity for missionaries to enter the Ming Dynasty. Italian missionaries such as Michele Ruggieri successfully landed in the Ming Dynasty and began to spread Catholicism. However, his missionary methods were too radical and were not accepted by the Han people at all. He was expelled from the country not long after.

It wasn't until the tenth year of the Wanli reign that Matteo Ricci arrived in the Ming Dynasty. He learned from Michele Ruggieri's failure and, while preaching, maintained a tolerant attitude towards traditional Chinese customs.

He allowed Han Chinese believers to continue traditional practices such as worshipping Heaven, ancestors, and Confucius, believing that as long as superstitious elements such as supplication and worship were not mixed in, it did not essentially violate Catholic doctrine. He also advocated referring to the Catholic "God" as "Tian Zhu" (Heavenly Lord), and pointed out that the concept of "Shangdi" (God) already existed in ancient Chinese texts, and that the traditional Chinese "Tian" (Heaven) and "Shangdi" (God) were essentially no different from the "one true God" spoken of by Catholicism.

Besides missionary work, Matteo Ricci also brought advanced Western knowledge such as geometry and geography, which successfully gained the approval of Xu Guangqi, the then Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion.

Xu Guangqi not only embraced Catholicism, but also brought Matteo Ricci into the court to participate in the compilation of the calendar. During this period, Matteo Ricci finally got his wish and obtained the Yongle Encyclopedia, which he then translated and spread to the West.

In the thirty-eighth year of the Wanli reign, Matteo Ricci died in Beijing. Before his death, he arranged for Johann Adam Schall von Bell to join the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to continue collecting and organizing the Ming Dynasty's classics, especially the "Chongzhen Calendar" compiled by Xu Guangqi. This book is an astronomical calendar compiled by Xu Guangqi and others after collecting and organizing the astronomical observations of the previous thousands of years. It includes the compromise theory between the heliocentric and geocentric systems. Its description of the apparent motion of the sun, moon, and five major planets adopts a whole set of small wheel systems, including epicycles and deferents, and uses geometry in the calculations, such as spherical trigonometry and plane trigonometry. It is the most accurate calendar in the world.

After obtaining the Chongzhen calendar, Johann Adam Schall von Bell edited and renamed it "The New Western Calendar," and successfully disseminated it back to the West.

In the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, Li Zicheng's army was at the gates of the city, and the Jurchens outside the Great Wall were stirring up trouble. Johann Adam Schall von Bell had even prepared to present this set of rites and laws as a gift to the new emperor. Of course, it didn't matter who became emperor, whether it was Li Zicheng or Dorgon. What Schall von Bell wanted was power. He needed more power and access to more advanced technology.

The result was unexpected. Li Zicheng and Dorgon were defeated one after another, and the Ming Dynasty showed great vitality. Along with this came a variety of eye-catching new weapons.

At this time, Johann Adam Schall von Bell saw Emperor Chongzhen's passion for science and technology, so he stepped forward and presented the technology of the Western world without reservation. As expected, he was appreciated and promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

After gaining greater power, he was able to use his position to access the blueprints of advanced firearms such as flintlock muskets. At that time, the Academy of Sciences had just been established and its awareness of secrecy was not strong, so the blueprints of the first flintlock musket were leaked.

It took Zhu Youjian a full half hour to read the entire confession.

He looked at it very carefully, word by word, afraid of missing even the smallest detail.

After reading it, there was endless silence.

Three teacups had already been replaced on the imperial desk. Wang Chengen carefully picked up the fourth cup of pre-rain Longjing tea and walked over to it.

"Your Majesty, please have some tea. This tea is a new tribute from Southern Zhili, and it's especially good for clearing the mind and brightening the eyes..."

"I thought..."

Zhu Youjian suddenly spoke, his voice frighteningly hoarse.

"I thought Westerners had some extraordinary abilities, but now it seems they stole them all from the Central Plains!"

Wang Chengen quickly lowered his head and said, "They're just a bunch of barbarians. What skills do they have?"

Zhu Youjian sighed, a hint of self-deprecation in his voice, and said, "I was wondering why these barbarians' technology always advanced so suddenly, without any prior accumulation, just like that. Now I understand!"

Then, there was another silence; the hall was unusually quiet.

Wang Chengen said cautiously, "This leak is due to my lax supervision; I accept the punishment!"

Zhu Youjian waved his hand and slowly said, "This matter has nothing to do with you; it's the Westerners who are too cunning."

"Three things. First, effective immediately, Westerners are permitted to trade in our Great Ming, but missionary work is strictly prohibited! All churches must be demolished within a specified period; violators will be treated as traitors!"

"Secondly, all Westerners are prohibited from holding office in Korea. Those currently in office must be dismissed, investigated, and repatriated within ten days!"

"Thirdly, order the Embroidered Uniform Guard to thoroughly investigate all officials who have interacted with Westerners in the past thirty years, especially those who have come into contact with scientific and technological texts. This investigation must be rigorous!"

"This servant obeys the decree!"

Wang Chengen quickly agreed, then asked, "Your Majesty, what about Johann Adam Schall von Bell...?"

Zhu Youjian said expressionlessly, "I don't want to see this person again!"