Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Johann Adam Schall von Bell had originally stayed in the southeast coast, where he worked for many years and gained some followers.

But when he came to Beijing, no matter how devout those believers were, it was impossible for them to follow him to Beijing.

In fact, he had reason to believe that with his departure, those believers would most likely abandon their faith, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Although the Ming Dynasty had a vast territory and a large population, the difficulty of developing believers was far greater than in other places.

Johann Adam Schall von Bell has been trying to figure out why this is the case.

"Only a dozen?" Zhang Shikang was very surprised.

He looked around at the other European missionaries and thought, wow, is this the legendary situation where there are more teachers than students?

If Zhang Shikang didn't know that most of Tang Ruowang's energy was spent on improving artillery for the General Administration of Manufacturing, he would have reason to believe that this guy didn't preach well at all.

After all, you have been given the status and position you deserve, and even a church, but you have worked hard for a year and only developed a dozen or so believers.

Are you serious?

If your Pope knew the truth, would he excommunicate you?

Seeing that the young prince seemed very interested, Tang Ruowang explained:

"Your Highness, the people of the Ming Dynasty are so strange. When they see our Lord, they cover their faces and run away, and they don't even allow their wives and daughters to come to our great church."

Zhang Shikang almost couldn't hold back when he heard this.

Your Lord does not wear clothes, but only wraps a piece of cloth around his crotch. Where have the people of our Ming Dynasty ever seen this? How can we let women believe in a naked god?

Zhang Shikang wanted to laugh, but he had received professional training.

"Why don't you tell me first, how did you tell them?"

A look of joy appeared on Johann Adam Schall von Bell's face. He immediately took out a Bible from his pocket and began to preach on the spot.

In fact, in the past year, whenever there was a chance to meet the young prince, Johann Adam Schall von Bell would not miss the opportunity to preach.

He knew very well that this young prince enjoyed a very high reputation both in the Ming court and among the people.

As long as he can develop this young prince into a believer of the Lord, his missionary work in the Ming Dynasty will surely be smooth sailing.

And based on the teachings of the church, he will definitely be the one to baptize the prince.

Perhaps in a few decades, he will also become a legendary figure in Europe.

Thinking of this, Johann Adam Schall von Bell became even more excited.

“The Lord said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.

The Lord also said, "Do to others as you would have them do to you."

The Lord says you shall not covet your neighbor’s house or your neighbor’s wife.

......"

Johann Adam Schall von Bell flipped through the Bible booklet, preaching the Lord's gospel one by one. As he read, his expression was intoxicated, as if the Lord was really watching him in heaven.

The more Zhang Shikang listened, the more headache he felt, and he quickly waved his hands.

"Stop, stop, stop. Is this how you preach to the people of the Ming Dynasty?"

Tang Ruowang didn't understand what was going on, so he replied:

“Your Highness, all the glory of the Lord is hidden in this Bible.

As long as you study carefully and understand the Lord’s intention, you will gain His approval…”

"Then let me ask you, what if I just don't want to read? There are so many people who can't read!"

Zhang Shikang interrupted Tang Ruowang's chatter again.

"Your Highness, my colleagues and I will take turns to preach and read it to them in person." Johann Adam Schall von Bell said seriously.

Zhang Shikang shook his head repeatedly upon hearing this.

“You can’t do this. You won’t be able to do it even if you try for another ten years. Those dozen people might as well run away.

Do you know why? "

Zhang Shikang persuaded him earnestly, but Johann Adam Schall von Bell was stunned for a moment and shook his head.

"Because the gods of our Ming Dynasty never preach to the people." Zhang Shikang teased.

As a god, you should just stay in heaven. How can a god talk about this and that every day like Tang Monk?

Tang Ruowang looked embarrassed and said, looking at the Bible in his hand:

"But Your Highness, if the gospel of the Lord is not spread, how can believers know what they believe in?"

"That's right! I feel that my inspiration has touched your soul.

What you believe in is not important, what matters is whether it works.

Most of the people in my Ming Dynasty are like this, you have to get used to it." Zhang Shikang took a sip of tea and said.

Song Yingxing and Bi Maokang also looked at each other and smiled.

Both of them were already quite old and often interacted with ordinary people, so they naturally knew what Zhang Shikang meant.

To put it bluntly, the people of the Ming Dynasty don’t care about any doctrine. As long as I kowtow to you and you meet my requirements, then you are a good god.

"It doesn't matter what you believe in, what matters is whether it works." Tang Ruowang repeated it in a low voice, somewhat understanding it, but not much.

Mao Yuanyi was a straightforward person. Seeing that Tang Ruowang couldn't even understand this, he told him the answer in a muffled voice:

"Master Tang, what I'm saying is that here in the Ming Dynasty, we don't worship useless gods."

When Tang Ruowang heard this, he became anxious.

"But General Mao, doing this is disrespectful to God. God is faith, and faith is priceless."

It’s no wonder that Johann Adam Schall von Bell was angry. If everyone was like this, then even few Europeans would believe in Christianity.

So many people pray every day, but God never responds.

"Look, Pastor Tang, you're anxious again.

This is the Ming Dynasty, not Europe. If your religion cannot adapt itself to the ethnic group, you cannot complain that no one comes to worship it.

Alas, let me tell you, Pastor Tang was born at the wrong time. If you were born two hundred years later and met a guy named Hong, I guess you would have suddenly realized the truth."

Zhang Shikang drank tea and chatted. He found it very interesting to chat with Europeans.

After all, people's thinking is very diverse.

The guy surnamed Hong he mentioned was naturally not his personal guard commander Hong Xiucheng, but Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the rebel army that wreaked havoc on the Qing Dynasty two hundred years later.

Look at how they develop believers. Their God preaches what the people believe, instead of forcing the people to believe what God preaches.

Moreover, they are not empty talk. Don't people all worship gods who appear in the world? Their gods really do appear in the world. The leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan, is the second son of God.

Just take a look and tell me whether it works or not.

Of course, Zhang Shikang has his own views on faith.

He believes that having faith is a good thing, but not having faith is not a bad thing either. It all depends on the individual whether to believe or not.

But there is an important premise: no matter whether a person has faith or not, his faith cannot override the country.

Zhang Shikang roughly understood why there was such a big difference between Europeans like Johann Adam Schall von Bell and the Ming Dynasty on the word "faith".

That’s because before the Renaissance, faith was above the state throughout Europe.

After hearing what Zhang Shikang said, Johann Adam Schall von Bell seemed to be thinking about something, but he could not hide his disappointment on his face.

Seeing this, Zhang Shikang said encouragingly:

"Actually, I do have a way to fill your church with believers in a short period of time."

Upon hearing this, Tang Ruowang immediately regained his spirits and asked:

"Your Highness, please tell me that as long as Your Highness helps me, the glory of the Lord will surely shine upon this land."

Zhang Shikang sighed helplessly in his heart, thinking that this guy was so rigid in his beliefs that he was just like the nerds in the Ming Dynasty.

Then suddenly I felt a little reluctant.

Upon seeing this, Tang Ruowang exchanged glances with his other European colleagues, then stood up and bowed to Zhang Shikang:

"Your Highness, please teach me!"

Zhang Shikang had no choice but to wave his hands and say:

"Hey, instead of just reading out the doctrine in a routine manner, why not organize some small activities or something like that?

For example, when you come to church to attend a class, they give you eggs. Oh, eggs are a bit expensive, so you can just give you steamed buns.

Come to attend the class, not only is there no tuition, but steamed buns are also given out. Are you still worried that no one will go to church?"

……