Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Once the core problem is solved, the rest is easy.

In order to secure his position, Johann Adam Schall von Bell, who was appointed as the Archbishop of the Nestorian Church by the Emperor, requested:
"Your Majesty, Priest Ginnig brought over 7,000 books, which have not yet been translated."

"We are willing to cooperate with the Taichang Temple Translation Bureau to translate these classics."

Zhu Youjian allowed these missionaries to preach mainly for the purpose of cultural exchange between the East and the West. Upon hearing this, he praised Tang Ruowang highly and allowed him to do so:

"We can cooperate with the Taichang Temple and translate it according to the translation standards."

"Also, the parts previously translated by Matteo Ricci and others should be revised according to the translation standards."

"After review by the Ministry of Rites Publishing House, printing and publication are allowed."

Zhu Youjian handed the matter over to Johann Adam Schall von Bell. He wrote a handwritten note to Ni Yuanlu, who was in charge of the Translation Bureau, and told Xu Guangqi:

"I heard that Matteo Ricci and others had translated the Four Books and other classics into Western languages."

"Mr. Xu should formulate translation standards based on pinyin and other factors and revise these books."

"I will give them as gifts to monarchs of various countries."

This was another purpose of his retaining missionaries and reforming the Nestorian Church, to pass on some of the Chinese culture through the missionaries.

Today's Ming Dynasty lags behind the West in very few areas, and is still strong overall. As a strong civilization, it will surely stir up a wave of Chinese fever in the West, just as it did in history.

Zhu Youjian wanted to see how this China fever would develop given that Chinese civilization had always been strong, and whether it would have a more profound impact on Westerners and make them regard the Ming Dynasty as a beacon of civilization.

In Zhu Youjian's view, the Western missionaries in the Nestorian Church were the pioneers in spreading Chinese culture.

He asked Long Huamin to go to the Vatican to explain the establishment of the Nestorian Church as a test.

If the Roman Catholic Church could accept it, he would send missionaries to the West through the Nestorian Church and spread Chinese culture through religious ties.

If the Roman Catholic Church does not accept it, then he will develop relations with Protestant countries such as England and spread Chinese culture through these countries.

They can come and I can go, and the cultural competition ultimately depends on national strength.

Xu Guangqi was very excited when he heard the emperor's order. He was a believer, but he was also a Confucian. The purpose of learning Western learning was to supplement Confucianism. Therefore, he was still very enthusiastic about spreading enlightenment.

After the Chinese Jesuit Mission was transformed into the Nestorian Church, his crisis of faith was alleviated, which made some of his ideas more firm.

After Johann Adam Schall von Bell and his companions left, Xu Guangqi asked the emperor:
"Your Majesty, it has not rained in Shaanxi since May."

"All the crops have dried up. This season's harvest is certain to be a failure."

"I would like to go to Shaanxi to deal with this drought."

This is what he has been thinking about for the past two months, and it is the choice he made after confirming the emperor's statement.

In his opinion, since the cause of the drought was related to missionaries, as a believer, he should take the initiative to atone for his sins.

Zhu Youjian was at a loss for words about his idea. The reason he gave for the drought was mainly to pass on the blame, so as to avoid being forced by ministers to issue an edict of self-criticism when droughts occur frequently in the future.

He had not expected to bring such great pain to Xu Guangqi.

Although Zhu Youjian appreciated Xu Guangqi's idea of ​​disaster relief, he rejected his plan to go to Shaanxi, saying:

"We don't have to go to Shaanxi to help with the disaster. I have already arranged for Chen Qiyu to go there to check it out."

"Xu Qing is in the imperial court, so he should know that training the new army is the most important thing for the imperial court."

"This is the only way to fight the Jianlu in the future and recapture Liaodong to resettle the disaster victims." "Xu Qing has just selected the soldiers for the new army and cannot leave now."

Xu Guangqi said:

"The training of the new army can be handed over to Sun Yuanhua..."

Speaking of this, Xu Guangqi just remembered that he recommended Sun Yuanhua as an envoy to the West.

Now he really has to do with the affairs of the new army.

Zhu Youjian also thought of this and said:
"Sun Yuanhua will be on a diplomatic mission to the West soon, and Xu Qing needs to translate the Four Books and other classics for him to take with him, so it's even more inappropriate for him to leave the capital."

"Well, I appoint you to join the Anti-Rebellion and Disaster Relief Committee to be responsible for drought relief."

"I will send Yang Yufan and others to you to assist in training the new army."

After placing several generals in the new army, Zhu Youjian mentioned Zhang Pu, the disciple he had arranged for Xu Guangqi, as well as scientific concepts, and instructed Xu Guangqi:
"The scientific concepts that Zhang Pu promoted in the newspaper are very good. Both in China and in the West, there are many scientific disciplines."

"I will have the Imperial Household Department allocate funds to establish a Royal Academy of Sciences in the inner court to conduct scientific research."

"The Academy of Sciences and Shanglinyuan Prison have cooperated to establish the Agricultural Science Branch."

"Master Xu will preside over this Academy of Agricultural Sciences to study farmland water conservancy and drought-resistant crops, and promote them to Shaanxi as soon as possible."

"Also, when Sun Yuanhua goes on a diplomatic mission to the West, ask him to pay more attention to collecting some seeds. Those that are drought-resistant, cold-resistant, and high-yielding should all be collected."

Crops such as barley, wheat, rye, and sugar beets grown in Europe have all been added to the collection list. Merino sheep, Angus cattle, Shire horses, Angora rabbits, white pigs and other breeds, whether they are available at this time, should also be collected.

He even thought of oil palm, which is native to West Africa, and rubber, which is native to South America, and asked Sun Yuanhua to send a fleet to collect them during his diplomatic mission.

As a result, the size of the mission grew larger and larger. Zhu Youjian allocated funds from the inner treasury to cover the expenses of the mission.

After receiving this appointment, Xu Guangqi felt that researching drought-resistant crops in the capital would also contribute to drought relief, so he finally gave up the idea of ​​going to Shaanxi.

But he still requested to send some disciples to establish an experimental field in Shaanxi.

Zhu Youjian nodded in approval and appointed Song Yingxing, a newly-appointed Jinshi who was assigned to Xu Guangqi, to lead a team to inspect the farmland water conservancy in Shaanxi.

When Song Yingxing received the appointment and was preparing to go to Shaanxi, Chen Qiuyu, who had been appointed by the emperor to inspect the post stations and post roads, had already arrived in Shaanxi for some time.

Walking along the post road, Chen Qiyu looked at the dried rice seedlings and confirmed that an unprecedented drought had occurred in Shaanxi:
"Dry weather during the dog days of summer has withered all the crops. This is truly a thousand miles of barren land!"

"Your Majesty is right. There is a severe drought in Shaanxi!"

Before leaving the capital, he still had doubts about the emperor's predictions. But along the way, his doubts were gone.

Not only Shaanxi, but many places along the way in Shanxi also suffered from drought and needed relief from the court.

Zhu Tongmeng, the governor of Yansui who accompanied him on the inspection, felt the same way and said with a heavy face:
"If the seedlings wither, it's not just a reduction in yield, it's a complete loss."

"There was a drought in Yansui last year, which caused many families to run out of their stored food."

"Plough three times the land and leave one more for food, store grain to prevent famine. It takes three years to accumulate enough food to deal with one year's disaster."

"Not only can we not replenish our savings this year, but we have also suffered a severe drought. The victims are completely unable to survive and can only rely on relief from the court."

"Brother Chen, how much disaster relief money can the court allocate and how much food can it transport?" (End of this chapter)