Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

“If you're always so agitated, then count prime numbers. Mathematics will help you calm down.”

Fang Zheng patted the priest's shoulder as he stood up and pressed him back into his chair.

Father Solje still glared at Fang Zheng with hostile eyes.

Fang Zheng smiled, with an indifferent expression: “Just now, I sensed that your faith wavered.”

“I didn't!”

“You did.”

“Didn't!”

“Did.”

Seeing that the priest was about to explode again, Fang Zheng reached out and patted the priest's shoulder, saying: “Actually, I completely respect your ideals.”

“This official has weathered many storms and witnessed too much of the darkness in people's hearts. When I was young, I fervently admired many people – those who were open and selfless, those who were morally upright, and those who spoke out for the people. These people all shone brightly in my heart, constantly illuminating me.”

“But as I grew older, I saw more and more, and understood things more and more complexly. Those whom I once regarded as role models all fell from their pedestals, their brilliance gone.”

“From then on, I understood a principle: those perfect and flawless people were just idols I had created in my heart. No one is perfect. But I wasn't disappointed by this; I even felt a hint of joy in my heart. Because I firmly believe that ideals are real, that faith is real, and that those shattered idols have fallen on the path of pursuing ideals. And I, then, cross over their corpses and continue forward.”

“Give off a bit of heat, emit a bit of light, even if it's like a firefly, it can still emit a little light in the darkness, without having to wait for a torch. If there isn't a torch after all, then I will be the only light.”

“The reason I'm telling you this is to let you know that although I think there are some things wrong with the Taifu Church, your personal faith is still pure, and I have no prejudice against you.”

Father Solje retorted: “The church is no good? That's just empty talk from you, isn't it? It's not true!”

Although his expression was a little distorted, his tone had softened a lot. It had to be said that some of the heretic's words were quite touching.

Just as Father Solje was about to continue his rebuttal, Fang Zheng interrupted him, saying: “This official has a famous saying: 'Establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, establish a life for the people, continue the lost learning for past sages, and establish peace for all generations.' This saying is regarded as a classic by countless people.”

“From this, it can be seen that the scholars of my Great Jing have the same vision as you, which can be said to lead to the same goal by different paths. We all hope to be in heaven, but unlike you, we do not believe in gods. We believe that we can use our own hands, our own efforts, to create heaven, to create a world of universal harmony where everyone is fed.”

Father Solje keenly caught the loophole in Fang Zheng's words and said disdainfully: “You are on the wrong path. Humans are born with sin. As long as they wash away their sins, they can go to heaven. And creating a world where everyone is fed is absolutely impossible. The greed of people's hearts is limitless.”

“If the Holy Father was the first to be born, his sin should be the greatest. After all, all the bad things now were caused by him,” Fang Zheng said casually.

“.....”

The priest turned his head and stared blankly at the teapot beside him.

Smash it! If this heretic is smashed, he will be completely eliminated!

Just as he was hesitating, Fang Zheng suddenly stood up and waved his hand: “What you said is also correct! The greed of people's hearts is limitless, but we can completely progress to using the infinite growth of material things to make up for the shortcomings of people's hearts. I firmly believe that this day will come, even if it takes ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years, we will definitely be able to do it in the end!”

The priest was shocked and stared blankly at Fang Zheng's back.

This was a path that had never been imagined. He had to admire that this oriental man had such courage!

But having said that, he still didn't agree with Fang Zheng's words.

Father Solje said: “Lord Fang, your daydream is good, and I don't want to hear you attack the church for no reason anymore. Since you say that we are on different paths leading to the same goal, I now just want a definite answer: can we preach or not? The three conditions you mentioned before are too harsh and cannot satisfy us.”

Fang Zheng smiled: “Of course you can. The reason I said so much is to make you feel the huge difference in Eastern and Western concepts. What I think represents what the people think. If you copy the old ways of preaching in the West, you will definitely run into a brick wall in Great Jing, and even come into conflict with people. Therefore, I have put forward three restrictive conditions, all for your own good.”

“Letting you work to earn money and build churches is to let you understand the culture and customs so that you can make some localization transformations in the future and preach better. Setting goals for you is also to promote your faster integration into Great Jing. As for the third point, it is a mandatory requirement. In my Great Jing, many criminals used to shave their heads and enter temples to avoid punishment. In order to prevent the Taifu Church from also having such a situation, this is a necessary procedure.”

“You need to know that this is not only aimed at the Taifu Church. Even the monks in our temples have to get approval from the government if they want to be reincarnated after death. Can you understand that?”

Father Solje shook his head in pain: “I can't understand.”

The Great Jing Dynasty doesn't believe in gods, but it still reaches out so far... Can't you escape even after death?

“It doesn't matter if you understand or not, you just need to know that this item cannot be changed,” Fang Zheng said.

“Although I hate some of the Taifu Court's practices of fooling and cheating the weak, I have great goodwill towards you devout believers, so I have tried my best to fight for the greatest benefits for you within my power.”

“What benefits?” Hope appeared in Father Solje's eyes, completely ignoring that the heretic in front of him had once again slandered the church.

“I will provide jobs for you to work and earn money, and I will also provide interest-free loans for housing, and I will also allow you to build churches in Taoyuan County after you get approval. Of course, it is only allowed in Taoyuan County. The imperial court does not allow it in other places.”

“Where is Taoyuan County? I've never even heard of it!” Father Solje said dissatisfiedly, “And it seems like you're still prevaricating me! I want to preach in the capital.”

“Hmph! Prevaricating you? I'll say it bluntly, Taoyuan County is the number one county in my Great Jing. In terms of prosperity, it even surpasses the capital. The people in the city are also widely educated, with simple folk customs and extremely high quality. You should be happy to work and preach in Taoyuan County!” Fang Zheng said in a sonorous voice.

“Is it that good?” Doubt appeared in Father Solje's eyes.

“Because it's this official's fief, that's why I can bypass the imperial court's regulations and let you go there. This is me personally funding you! Do you still think I'm targeting you now?” Fang Zheng said loudly.

“Ah... um... thank you.” The priest's face turned slightly red.

Is this person good or bad? His mind was a little confused, and he couldn't figure it out completely now...

“But even if Taoyuan County is as good as you say, when will we be able to save enough money by working? The land price there must be very expensive.”

Fang Zheng said: “Alas, not so! Compared to the outside world, Taoyuan County is simply a bargain. The tea that is hard to find outside costs a fortune, but it's dirt cheap in our county. However, the land price is indeed a bit expensive, but you definitely don't have to worry about your life. By the way, do you guys use copper coins in Fica?”

“Yes, why are you asking this?” Father Solje asked doubtfully.

“Then it's settled. I dare say that earning two thousand copper coins a month in Taoyuan County is much happier than earning three thousand silver coins a month in the West! So, do you think you'll still have any difficulties?”

.....