Chapter 46 Artillery Expert: Johann Adam Schall von Bell!

Upon returning to the Eastern Palace, Zhu Cilang found that Li Ruolian had already delivered all the materials required for glass manufacturing.

After inspecting them, he verified that everything was present and correct.

This meant he could now officially begin producing glass.

At that very moment, Bi Maokang and Bi Wenxuan happened to walk in.

After paying their respects to Zhu Cilang, Bi Wenxuan asked anxiously, "Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, could these items possibly be the raw materials used for making crystal?"

"Indeed they are!"

Zhu Cilang nodded, then drew out from his sleeve the manufacturing method for glass that he had written the previous night.

"This is the recipe for making crystal! As long as you strictly follow the steps outlined here, this Prince guarantees that you will successfully produce crystal without fail."

Zhu Cilang had originally intended to simply call it glass, but fearing that Bi Wenxuan might not understand, he temporarily used the name crystal instead.

Besides, crystal sounded much more prestigious and sophisticated than glass!

Bi Wenxuan carefully took the xuan paper from Zhu Cilang's hands and immediately began studying the materials listed upon it.

Zhu Cilang had planned to take a nap, but suddenly remembering his intention to visit Adam Schall von Bell that day, he no longer felt sleepy.

"Lord Bi, this Prince plans to go and see Adam Schall von Bell right now. Would you care to accompany me?" Zhu Cilang asked, looking toward Bi Maokang.

Bi Maokang nodded in response.

"This old subject is an old acquaintance of his, so I shall gladly accompany Your Royal Highness to visit him!"

Without further delay, Zhu Cilang changed into casual attire and, accompanied by Bi Maokang, Li Hu, and several guards, set off for the Imperial Observatory.

Walking along the path, a thought struck Zhu Cilang, and he turned to Bi Maokang with a question:

"Lord Bi, have you ever converted to Catholicism?"

Hearing this, Bi Maokang smiled and shook his head.

"Reporting to Your Royal Highness, when this subject first met Adam Schall von Bell, he certainly tried to persuade me to embrace his Catholic faith. However, since this old subject only follows the Daoist path, I politely declined."

Zhu Cilang nodded, paying little mind to the matter.

In truth, even if Bi Maokang had been a devout Catholic, Zhu Cilang wouldn't have cared.

After all, by the late Ming dynasty, Catholicism had already spread widely across China.

The most famous converts among them were the three great literary luminaries: Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao, and Yang Tingyun.

These three were revered as the three great pillars of Catholicism in ancient China.

In order to spread the faith even further, Adam Schall von Bell had even urged palace maids and eunuchs to convert.

He had even seized the opportunity of presenting gifts to the Chongzhen Emperor to expound upon the tenets of the Catholic faith face-to-face.

Naturally, the Chongzhen Emperor was far from being a believer!

Furthermore, Zhu Cilang roughly understood why the Chongzhen Emperor tolerated such behavior from Adam Schall von Bell.

It was simply because Adam possessed a wealth of advanced Western knowledge that could bring tangible benefits to the Ming dynasty.

For instance, his artillery technology had improved the Ming military's cannons, enhancing both their accuracy and firing range.

With such merits to his name, the Chongzhen Emperor chose to turn a blind eye to his missionary activities.

Similarly, Zhu Cilang cared very little about religious beliefs; as long as they did not interfere with his own affairs, he couldn't be bothered to intervene.

Even if Catholicism were to grow unchecked and become an unmanageable behemoth in the future, a simple accusation of heresy would be enough to uproot them entirely!

It was a tactic the emperors of the Manchu Qing dynasty had used before with unfailing success.

Indeed, historically, Adam Schall von Bell would eventually face grave peril precisely because of these political undercurrents.

No matter how large your sphere of influence or how wide your reach, at a single word from the emperor, all so-called divine faiths would vanish into thin air.

Besides, let us not forget that Zhu Cilang was a man blessed with a system!

Although this system had its limitations, conjuring up food and various supplies out of thin air was as easy as turning over his hand.

If they ever truly provoked him, he wouldn't mind demonstrating his "divine powers" directly before the masses.

He could simply declare himself the reincarnation of the Almighty and the father of Jesus, and then see what those Catholic believers would do.

All things considered, Zhu Cilang truly did not take Catholicism seriously.

Before long, the entourage arrived at the Imperial Observatory.

In ancient China, while the Imperial Observatory was considered an important department, it was actually an extremely leisurely one.

Because its services were only required during major national astronomical events—amounting to just a few times a year—it was otherwise exceptionally quiet.

For instance, at that very moment, only two sentries stood guard at the entrance of the entire Imperial Observatory.

Aside from them, not a single soul was in sight.

Zhu Cilang exchanged a glance with Li Hu, who instantly understood. Li Hu stepped forward and flashed his official plaque to the guards at the gate.

"Go tell your Director to come out at once and inform him that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"

Hearing this, the two soldiers were so terrified that their legs turned to jelly, and they scrambled inside one after the other to report the news.

Before long, an elderly foreigner dressed in official fifth-rank robes hurried out.

It was none other than Adam Schall von Bell!

"This subject, Adam Schall von Bell, pays homage to Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Upon seeing Zhu Cilang, Adam Schall von Bell hastily bowed, speaking in remarkably standard and fluent Mandarin.

As an official required to attend court audiences daily, Adam Schall von Bell had naturally seen Zhu Cilang before, but because he usually stood quite far back and had few opportunities to speak, he was not particularly close to the Crown Prince.

Consequently, he was quite surprised by Zhu Cilang's sudden visit.

He could not fathom why the Crown Prince of the Great Ming had come looking for him.

Just as Adam Schall von Bell was wondering, Zhu Cilang spoke.

"Lord Adam, this Prince has come to you today with a favor to ask!"

Adam Schall von Bell hurriedly cupped his hands again and replied, "Your Royal Highness, you are too kind. Whatever matter you have in mind, as long as it is within this subject's power, I shall not refuse. Please, step inside so we may discuss it in detail."

With a polite gesture, Adam Schall von Bell invited them in.

Zhu Cilang nodded and stepped across the threshold.

Only then did Adam Schall von Bell turn to Bi Maokang and say, "Lord Bi, it has been quite some time since we last met!"

Bi Maokang nodded.

"Indeed, it has been quite a while! However, Lord Adam, it seems we may be seeing each other every day from now on."

Hm?

Adam Schall von Bell looked bewildered, failing to grasp the meaning of those words.

However, since Bi Maokang had already followed Zhu Cilang inside, Adam could only hurry after them.

Once inside the inner hall, Adam promptly instructed his attendants to pour tea, while Zhu Cilang began to look around the room.

Perhaps because Adam was a foreigner, the layout of the room leaned somewhat toward Western styles.

The most obvious example was a crucifix of Jesus placed prominently in the very center of the inner hall.

Noticing Zhu Cilang's gaze lingering on the crucifix, Adam hurriedly stepped forward with eager attentiveness.

Before he could speak, however, Zhu Cilang beat him to it:

"Lord Adam, I hear you have quite an expertise in artillery?"

Hearing this, Adam Schall von Bell had to forcibly suppress his urge to proselytize and convert the Crown Prince. He bowed and replied, "Replying to Your Royal Highness, this subject does indeed possess some knowledge regarding cannons."

Zhu Cilang nodded and continued:

"This Prince intends to establish the Great Ming Firearms Research Institute, dedicated to developing various types of weaponry. Lord Bi Maokang shall serve as the Director of this institute."

"Lord Bi recommended you to me, stating that you possess unique insights into artillery and are capable of improving the Ming dynasty's existing cannons."

"Therefore, I wish to invite you to serve as the Head of the Artillery Bureau within the Firearms Research Institute."

"However, since the Firearms Research Institute currently falls under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Palace, I cannot offer you an official post of high rank at the moment; I can only grant you the honorary title of Guest Advisor to the Crown Prince. I wonder if you would be willing?"

With a smile, Zhu Cilang looked toward Adam Schall von Bell.

"This subject is willing!"

To everyone's surprise, Adam Schall von Bell accepted immediately, without a moment's hesitation.