Section Two

A total of forty-one imperial scholars followed Murong Wu to Beijing. The vast majority of them were visiting the capital for the very first time. Like countless scholars from other provinces, upon entering Beijing, they were immediately overwhelmed by the magnificent scale of the great city.

It was currently early spring, and the atmosphere of the first lunar month had not yet faded. Deep red couplets were pasted everywhere across the large and small streets, and the inverted characters for "blessing" on some gates were still damp. Piles of firecracker and fireworks debris cluttered every alley corner, and amidst the bustling noise, the distant pop of a firecracker echoed from time to time. This season was the most leisurely time of the year for the Chinese people. Aside from farmers taking a break from the fields, most merchants and porters also holed up at home, refraining from business and rightfully enjoying the traditional holiday.

The Great Han dynasty's second imperial metropolitan examination quietly commenced at this exact moment. For a traditional Chinese dynasty, this type of examination was an event of paramount importance, second only to military campaigns and suburban sacrifices. It concerned the blood circulation of the ruling class while shouldering traditional moral significance, and it was no exaggeration to call it the focus of all eyes under heaven.

The Lin Han dynasty paid extraordinary attention to this examination because, under the current political conditions, such a traditional imperial examination not only possessed the function of selecting talent, but more importantly symbolized the orthodox heritage of Hua-Xia. As the sages said, one must cultivate inner sageliness and outer kingliness; for a dynasty to gain nationwide recognition and veneration, besides military success, the achievements of civil and cultural education were indispensable. This was the true inclination of the people's hearts and represented the will of the upper classes across the nation, which no one could afford to ignore. Much like the early years of Emperor Kangxi, although the Manchu Qing dynasty had achieved massive military success, it faced boycotts from the literati class across the country, resulting in major setbacks for its grassroots governance. Consequently, it had been forced to resort to coercion, inducement, and rack its brains to compel people to participate in the special examinations for broad learning and erudite scholars, attempting to establish its status as the Celestial Empire of Hua-Xia through cultural education.

Lin Feng was clearly somewhat luckier than Kangxi in this regard. Thanks to the joining of the two great Confucian scholars Gu Yanwu and Huang Zongxi, the Lin Han Empire had already re-established its educational system the previous year. Under their supervision, Li Guangdi had specifically allocated a large budget to be distributed to local government offices at and above the county level to repair Confucian temples and state academies. Within a single year, they had continuously held multiple school and provincial examinations in order to complete a major imperial examination in the shortest possible time.

As this definitive outcome was established, the dissenting voices in the scholarly community gradually faded. In reality, the court's introduction of new subjects did not infringe upon their interests, while the traditional examination formats such as the eight-legged essays were still tested as before. Looking at the root of the matter, the court's actions were not entirely unreasonable—after all, the Song dynasty had examinations for physicians, and there were also precedents of advancing through practical studies. In the end, the moment the examination hall gates opened, those dissenting voices vanished without a trace, because not even the proudest scholar dared to pat their chest and boast, "I am guaranteed to pass." One never knew when, driven to desperation, they might have to walk this very path. Therefore, following this line of thought, the vast majority of scholars participating in the "Investigative Sciences" examination this time were previously unlucky fellows who entered with a mentality of trying their luck. By the time the spring examinations opened, these two subjects were designated by the scholarly community as "alternative paths"—meaning they were not considered the orthodox imperial examination route, but they nonetheless remained a pathway to serve the country and advance one's career. Although the evaluation was relatively low, their status was ultimately acknowledged.

However, what greatly surprised these scholars was that a few red-haired barbarians were actually participating in this imperial examination. The first to discover this were several Shandong scholars who had gone to the Ministry of Rites to submit their registration posts. Upon realizing that these fellow candidates possessed yellow eyebrows and green eyes, they were nearly choked with shock. Once the news spread, it immediately shocked the northern literati. Inquisitive minds traced the source and discovered that these barbarians came from the Han-barbarian joint-run "Eastern Theological Seminary" in the suburbs of Beijing. Immediately, some people began to suspect whether these fellows had family ties with the General of the Guard. Although everyone knew that in this day and age it was inevitable for chief examiners to show favor and promote connections during imperial exams, doing it so brazenly was simply too outrageous!

This incident brought enormous trouble to General Rick. Originally, his reputation within the Han realm was exceptionally good, and he had basically never offended anyone. Suddenly having such a heavy hat of nepotism and corruption placed upon him made it somewhat hard to breathe. To be honest, he himself was furious to the core. He was a Swedish national, while these "white scholars" were originally Portuguese; the two had nothing to do with each other. From his own perspective, his appearance and theirs were worlds apart. Ethnically speaking, he was a Slav, and geographically he belonged to Eastern Europe, whereas he had never even heard of these Portuguese fellows prior to this. No matter how one twisted the narrative, there was no way to forge any kinship. Therefore, upon hearing the news, he immediately rushed to the Ministry of Rites to refute the rumors.

Whenever moments like this occurred, the atmosphere was undoubtedly exceptionally awkward. After consulting various experts, Ferdinand Verbiest had by this time confirmed that the *Classic of Changes* and the *Bible* were actually two different books. Therefore, whenever these subjects were discussed, he felt profound shame and thus quite frankly expressed his ignorance. However, this precious honesty was usually interpreted by the Chinese as modesty—just imagine, Academy Principal Verbiest taught and produced several imperial scholars in one breath; if he wasn't a great Confucian scholar, then who was?!

Although it was a curious misunderstanding, quite a few literati began to take an interest in Europeans. Judging from the seminary's operational performance, compared to the previous year, this year's enrollment rate had seen a qualitative improvement. At this historical juncture, Lin Feng unexpectedly received a letter from a VIP.

The priest responsible for delivering the letter was named Tournon (noted as Maillard de Tournon). Judging by the name, he sounded very much like a Manchu, and it seemed like a title exclusive to nobility. However, things often turned out unexpectedly: Tournon was a genuine Spaniard and served as a bishop in the Holy See. This time, he came under the orders of the reigning Pope Clement IX, acting as a papal envoy to convey the Pope's commands to the Chinese monarch or emperor.

Upon entering Han territory, Mr. Tournon's Spanish nationality caused Wang Shirong a high degree of anxiety. At such a critical juncture, a Spaniard had suddenly shown up, surrounded by an entourage and swaggering about—it was somewhat baffling. Therefore, the moment Tournon stepped ashore, he was placed under close surveillance by secret agents. Dozens of undercover operatives followed him all the way from Tianjin to Beijing. This fellow was utterly arrogant along the way, showing no intention of concealing his tracks; he looked neither like an envoy nor a spy, which truly left people puzzled. This secret was not uncovered until he entered the offices of the Ministry of Rites.

The demeanor of a professional religious charlatan, he really has quite a repertoire, Lin Feng muttered inwardly with a silent sigh. "Oh, so that's how it is. Does that mean we Chinese must abide by it as well?"

"Of course!" Tournon had clearly entered his role, crossing his hands to make the sign of the cross with a pitiful expression on his face. "The Lord is omnipresent, and humanity across the world, without distinction between you and me, are all children of God."

"Very well," Lin Feng nodded. "Actually, I find this matter extremely difficult. Regarding the doctrines of Catholicism, a huge trouble arose on our Chinese side not long ago. Respected Bishop Tournon, since you are the Pope's envoy, I cannot avoid discussing this matter with you."

"Doctrine?!... What matter?!" Tournon asked in bewilderment.

"Oh, it's like this... Apologies, I have never been baptized, so I don't understand your Catholic affairs very well. If I say anything wrong, I hope Mr. Tournon will not take offense..." Lin Feng waved his hand and smiled gently at Tournon. "A while ago, our Inspector-General... Oh, this Inspector-General is roughly equivalent to Europe's Supreme Judge... This... this judge pointed out to me certain matters recorded in the *Bible* that violate laws and traditional good morals..."

Before Lin Feng could finish, Tournon cried out involuntarily, "...Questioning the *Bible*... Oh, my God!..."

"Hey, don't be anxious, I haven't finished speaking yet, have I?" Lin Feng smiled faintly. "He pointed out many flaws, and I don't remember all of them, so I'll just give a few examples to illustrate..."

"Oh!..." Tournon's face contorted in agony as he pressed his chest and said, "Your Majesty, do you have any idea what you are saying right now?!"

"What am I saying? Naturally, I'm talking about the *Bible*. Did Your Lordship not hear clearly?" Lin Feng asked in feigned surprise. "Has the *Bible* never had any flaws or confusion? If there were none, how could there be the concepts of the 'New Testament' and the 'Old Testament'?"

Hearing this explanation, Tournon's complexion improved slightly, and he nodded apologetically to Lin Feng. "Your Majesty, I apologize, I lost my composure!"

"It's nothing, you don't need to be so polite," Lin Feng said with a grin. "Where was I just now? Oh... examples." He cleared his throat. "This first example is about a young girl named Mary who became unexpectedly pregnant. Our judge conducted a strict review of the *Bible* and found that this passage indeed has major problems!"

"What problem?!" Tournon's jaw dropped as he asked in astonishment.

"Hey, Lord Bishop, aren't we just discussing oversights here? Why are you getting so excited? Come, come, come, sit down, sit down and talk!" Lin Feng said with an unconcerned smile.

"What oversight?!..." Tournon only then snapped to his senses, glaring angrily at Lin Feng. "This is the will of God, the miracle of the Holy Son and the Holy Mother... How can you..."

"No need to get excited, no need to get excited," Lin Feng said with an air of innocence, spreading his hands. "Actually, I also find it strange. According to our *Great Han Code*, such an action carries two criminal charges: one is statutory seduction, and the other is rape—there is a huge difference between the two, depending on the circumstances of the crime..."

"This is the will of God... It is a miracle..."

"Fine, let's just say a deity did it—then this matter boils down to this: a certain deity, for unknown reasons, caused an unwitting young girl to become innocently pregnant. Of course, the methods this deity used are unknown to us, but judging by the result, whether it involved a magic wand or aphrodisiac incense, it doesn't matter; either way, it was either seduction or rape." Lin Feng smiled and looked over at Tournon. "I wonder which one Lord Bishop would choose for the deity?"

Tournon breathed heavily, staring fixedly at Lin Feng, momentarily at a loss for how to counterattack effectively.

"Of course, I believe deities would not do such a thing, so we believe there must be something wrong with the *Bible*. If everyone were to think like me, what would others think of your Catholicism?" Lin Feng looked at the poor fellow with pitying eyes, shaking his head and sighing. "The impact is extremely vicious!"

Several guards standing at attention nearby flushed red, their mouths twitching as they held back their laughter with immense difficulty. From the very beginning, they had sensed that this fool was bound for misfortune, but they hadn't expected him to crash so quickly—actually traveling thousands of miles just to argue with the King of Han. He simply didn't know how the word "death" was written. Having followed Lin Feng for so long, they had never seen anyone come out on top against His Highness the King of Han. When it came to verbal sparring, making the King of Han bring a dead person back to life might be a bit difficult, but talking a living person to death was an absolute breeze.

Seeing Tournon's miserable expression, Lin Feng acted as if he noticed nothing and continued unperturbed, "Well, that's the first oversight. Let me mention the second oversight."

"You... you actually still..." Tournon managed to point a shaking finger at Lin Feng, his body trembling slightly. At that moment, his throat felt blocked and his stomach churned with acid. In all his life, he had never encountered someone who showed such blasphemous disrespect toward the divine.

"Of course, I'm doing this for the good of your Catholicism, Lord Bishop doesn't need to be overly courteous," Lin Feng waved a magnanimous hand. "The second point is about that forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. The *Bible* says Adam and dadurch ate that stuff, committed a grave sin, and were ultimately driven out, condemned to have their descendants atone for it generation after generation—oh, whenever you Catholic folks open your mouths, you say: 'We are all sinners.' That probably originates right here, doesn't it?!"

"Yes!" Tournon raged. "Is there something wrong with this point as well?!"

"Of course there's something wrong, I'm about to analyze it for you!" Lin Feng smiled. "This matter went like this: the deity created two people and loved them very much, so he let them live in the garden. But there were dangerous things in this garden, yet he, being a deity himself, didn't isolate those dangerous things, ignored the danger, and ultimately led to..."

"The Lord had already warned them!" Tournon felt he had regained his footing and immediately retorted.

"The problem is that it didn't work—you say, since he is a deity, why didn't he have the awareness of a deity? If he truly loved Adam and Eden, there would only be two choices in this matter: either not let Adam and Eve live in the Garden of Eden, or remove or isolate that tree of the forbidden fruit. If he didn't do that and merely spoke empty words, then his motive becomes terrifying!" Lin Feng pinched his chin and mused, "Regarding this kind of approach, our Chinese art of war has a similar tactic called 'playing hard to get'—very brilliant craftsmanship!"

"You... you..." Tournon looked as though he was about to faint.

"To give an analogy, suppose my son is ignorant and likes to run around wildly in a zoo, and I know about this. All I can do is one of two things: either forbid him from going to the zoo, or drive the fierce beasts out of the zoo or lock them into sturdy iron cages—would you say that's right?" Lin Feng gently patted the back of his chair. "Of course, I'm speaking of Chinese customs, but I believe your European side wouldn't be too far off either; at least no one would stubbornly insist on lodging their son in a wolf den, right?"

"..."

"Therefore, the nature of this matter is also extremely grave. According to the relevant provisions of our *Great Han Code*, if a certain deity caused Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit due to negligence, then besides Adam and Eve being unfortunate, the deity would be suspected of 'dereliction of duty.' If he deliberately condoned ignorant youths eating the forbidden fruit, then it is undoubtedly the crime of 'instigation'..." He curled his lip and sighed, "Lord Bishop, which one would you say is better to choose?"

After being stunned for a long time, Tournon finally snapped out of it. He jerked to his feet and raged at Lin Feng, "Your Majesty... You are simply... simply talking nonsense... This is blasphemy!"

"Whether it's blasphemy or not, I wouldn't know. However, based on my personal feeling, your church's *Bible* has problems, and rather significant ones at that. Therefore, here, in my capacity as the sovereign of a nation, I formally submit a suggestion to His Holiness Pope Clement IX." Meeting Tournon's furious glare, Lin Feng leisurely stood up and said unhurriedly, "In order to adapt to China's national conditions, and so that your church can smoothly propagate its teachings in China, I personally suggest that you recall this *Bible* and thoroughly revise the parts that need changing. Remaining as it is, constantly violating our nation's laws, makes things exceedingly difficult for me!"

Tournon stared fixedly at Lin Feng and sneered, "Your Majesty, I understand your meaning now. You have no desire whatsoever to exchange views with me on the issue of ancestral rites and heresies, is that correct? Respected King of China?!"

"Not at all!" Lin Feng said in feigned surprise. "Did I say I wouldn't just now?"

"Very well then, respected King of China, please forgive my offense. My mission in China this time is to convey the Holy See's ruling regarding Chinese believers partaking in ancestral rites and heresies, not to revise the *Bible*. Then, please tell me, regarding the Holy See's ruling, what choice will Your Majesty make?!"

"Oh," Lin Feng nodded. "Did Lord Bishop not hear my choice clearly just now?" He smiled faintly. "Whenever Catholicism revises the *Bible* to the point where I am satisfied, I will issue an order to ban the worship of Confucius, Mencius, and ancestors!—Did you hear that clearly this time? Shall I repeat it again?"

"Excellent!" Tournon's face turned livid. He bowed to Lin Feng and said, "I thank Your Majesty for your reply! I shall report your answer to His Holiness the Pope!—I take my leave!"

Lin Feng burst into muffled laughter. Watching Bishop Tournon's retreating figure, he shrugged at Li Ergou and said nonchalantly, "These white-skinned monkeys, who on earth do they think they are?"