John Tang replied truthfully: "I dare not lie, these two adults, one with the holy name Paul and the other with the holy name Enagius, have already been baptized, and I did not introduce them to the church. ”

"Paul"? "Ignatius"? The two officials actually gave themselves foreign names, and these two names are much higher than the "John" called Ergou and the "Mary" of Cuihua.

Ji Qingwen was originally a curious person, and after listening to Tang Ruowang's introduction, he wanted to meet these two officials with a "fashion sense", so he followed Tang Ruowang into the inner hall of the small courtyard.

Because this small courtyard was temporarily rented by John Tang, and it was not a church built in accordance with Western teachings, the furnishings of the inner hall were no different from ordinary Central Plains families, and even the two people sitting in the hall were dressed as ordinary scholars and were talking to each other in a low voice.

I saw these two people, one of whom was a little older, probably in his sixties, with a long, somewhat shriveled face, but his expression was very gentle; The other was a little younger, with a round face, and a little more heroic between his eyebrows—they were all southerners, and they were all dressed in ordinary Confucian clothes, and they could not be associated with Catholicism or Christianity at all.

When Ji Qingwen saw it, he couldn't help but ask John Tang: "These two are your parishioners?" What else is it called 'Paul' or 'Ignatius'? ”

Tang Ruowang smiled and said nothing, but the two people sitting in the hall listened to Ji Qingwen's question, slowly got up, and bowed to him.

I only heard the older one of them smile first: "The old man's teaching name is 'Paul', and the common name is Xu Guangqi, the word is first, I don't know if this gentleman is ......"

When Ji Qingwen heard the words "Xu Guangqi", he immediately had a little respect - you know, this Xu Guangqi is a figure who has written a strong stroke in the history of ancient Chinese science and the history of Sino-foreign exchanges - so he hurriedly returned the salute: "The younger generation is not talented, it is Ji Qingwen, the weaving admiral of Suzhou, who is shallow in learning, and has not dared to have any words." ”

"Oh! It turned out to be Ji-sama! And he is also a disciple of Sun Chengzong's old superintendent, and he has admired it for a long time. The slightly younger man in his forties next to him said, "In Xia Sun Yuanhua, the name Chu Yang, is the protégé of Teacher Xu Zixian." ”

The name Sun Yuanhua, Ji Qingwen is not very familiar with it, but since he is Xu Guangqi's apprentice, he naturally can't be rude.

So Ji Qingwen also returned the salute.

John Tang was already very familiar with the etiquette of meeting with the Chinese, and waited until the three people had seen the etiquette, and then said: "Come, everyone, let's sit down and talk, sit down and talk." ”

As he spoke, he invited Xu Guangqi, Sun Yuanhua and Ji Qingwen to sit down, and personally brought tea up, and then sat on the side of the square table for the last time.

Everyone sat down, but they heard Xu Guangqi say first: "The weaving admiral of Suzhou has always been a eunuch and eunuch, and this time the saint appointed Lord Ji to come over to lead the weaving yamen, which can also be regarded as ingenious." Lord Ji really lived up to his holy hopes, and he did a few good things when he first arrived, and the people in Suzhou praised each other, and even he was very impressed. ”

Ji Qingwen listened to these heartfelt praises, his face immediately turned red, and he was about to be humble, but he immediately remembered the predicament he was facing, and lamented: "I'm afraid that these good things won't last long......"

Xu Guangqi hurriedly asked, "How do you say this?" ”

So Ji Qingwen told Xu Guangqi about the emperor's request to sell tribute silk to raise silver taels, and the sales of silk were blocked, and even the matter of hitting a soft nail in Qian Qianyi's mansion this morning.

Xu Guangqi frowned and said: "Although the old man is not a member of the Donglin Party, he admires the integrity of the Donglin Party, and naturally respects Mr. Yushan (Qian Qianyi's number). But today, I heard Lord Ji say that he would collude with the eunuch Guo Jing for his own selfishness, and spoil the major affairs of the emperor and the court, which is really incredible......"

Xu Guangqi seemed to be a little suspicious of Ji Qingwen in his words.

Ji Qingwen was speaking happily, but he didn't hear the connotation of his words, and continued to scold: "Hypocrites, real villains, that's what you're talking about." If Mr. Xu encounters this surnamed Qian in the future, he should be more careful. ”

Xu Guangqi glanced at Sun Yuanhua, then turned his head to look at Ji Qingwen, and said, "Don't tell Lord Ji that the old man has received a decree from the Holy Lord a few days ago to recruit the old man to serve in Beijing. As far as I know, Mr. Qian has also received the emperor's will, and it is said that Mr. Qian will be appointed as a chamberlain of the Ministry of Rites, and may even use him as the first assistant of the cabinet......"

The first assistant of the cabinet is not the number one minister of the imperial court, and the prime minister who is not called the prime minister!

Hearing this, Ji Qingwen was so anxious that he immediately interrupted Xu Guangqi's words and said, "That's not good." I, the first assistant of the Ming Dynasty, how can I call Qian Qianyi, a guy with a honey-bellied sword, be? Isn't Lord Xu going to Beijing too? I happen to have a collected account book here, which records the records of the collusion between the surnamed Qian and the profiteers and eunuchs, and Mr. Xu took them to the capital and presented them to the emperor. ”

Xu Guangqi hurriedly excused himself and said: "The old man just wants to serve the country, and he doesn't want to be the first minister." ”

Ji Qingwen's brain turned quickly, and the speed of his mouth did not slow down at all: "Yes, what is a cabinet chief?" Mr. Xu has a "Geometric Original" and a "Complete Book of Agricultural Administration". These two books have been passed down through the ages, and it is of great significance, how can a mere first assistant be compared with these two things? ”

When Xu Guangqi heard this, he was shocked: "These two books have nothing to do with the Confucian classics, only a few of my close relatives, protégés, and friends in the sect know about it, where did Master Ji know about it?" ”

Only then did Ji Qingwen remember that Xu Guangqi's achievements were all learned from history textbooks.

However, the words had been spoken, and he couldn't take it back, so he made up a lie and said: "Mr. Xu should also know that the weaving admiral is obviously running the weaving yamen for the emperor, and secretly has the responsibility of finding out the inside story of Jiangnan Shilin for the imperial court. Although Mr. Xu is indifferent to fame and fortune, but he does such a big thing behind his back, the younger generation can't help but understand it! ”

He said this in a way that he thought was seamless, and he was quite proud of what he said.

"Huh?" Unexpectedly, Xu Guangqi's two old eyes suddenly raised and asked, "So, are you doing things for the East Factory, the West Factory, or Jinyiwei?" ”

Ji Qingwen didn't wait to answer, but Sun Yuanhua said: "Teacher, are you wrong about what you said?" Don't forget, Lord Ji is the protégé of Sun Chengzong's old inspector, and he is also the emperor's messenger. As Lord Ji, how could he deign to do things for the factory guard? ”

When Xu Guangqi heard this, he suddenly realized, and smiled to himself: "The old man is old and useless, and he doesn't even have this bit of knowledge...... After saying that, he laughed "haha".

He laughed for a while, and suddenly thought of something, so he said to Ji Qingwen: "Lord Ji, do you know why the old man went to Suzhou to find John Tang's friends when he was ordered to return to Beijing this time?" ”

"How do I know that?" This is Ji Qingwen's truth.

Xu Guangqi said: "It is the two books "Geometric Original" and "Agricultural Administration" that Master Fang Caiji said. This is the original I translated from Father Matteo Ricci; The latter is an agricultural book compiled by the old man by integrating the Central Plains and Western agricultural technology. These two books were the work of the old man for half his life, so he wanted to entrust them to the Catholics of John Tong, and they were typeset, printed, and published for posterity. ”

Xu Guangqi paused, took a sip of tea, and continued: "But since the old man has the fate to meet Lord Ji today, and he knows that Lord Ji knows the meaning of these two books well, he wants to entrust this important matter to Lord Ji." I wonder if Lord Ji is willing to help me? ”

Ji Qingwen happily agreed: "That's nature. It's a pity that I'm a little financially tight in the weaving yamen now, and I can't typeset it for printing right away. But it doesn't matter, when I have a little more money, I will immediately ask a skilled craftsman to engrave and print, so as to ensure that Mr. Xu's name will be passed on through the ages. ”

Xu Guangqi was happy to hear this, waved his hand and said: "Whether the old man's name is circulated or not, it is nothing serious." It is that these two books have a great relationship, and if they are implemented in the world, they will be able to feed hundreds of millions of people, which is a major event for the benefit of the people. ”

While they were talking, a voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Father Tang, I've been waiting for a long time, I've arrived." ”