113: Chapter 113 What was their purpose in keeping these items safe?

He reorganized the information from the third to the sixth volumes on paper, listing the nine transfers and nine handlers in chronological order.

The record of the first handler was from the Chongzhen era; it was the earliest and most concise, stating only that the items were taken from the imperial palace without giving a reason.

The record of the second handler spanned the transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties. It spoke of the changing world and stated that these objects must not fall into the hands of the new dynasty, thus they were transferred.

Starting from the third handler, the recorded dates had already entered the Qing Dynasty, but they still used the term "Former Ming."

Hu Tian put these pieces of information together and pushed them forward on the desk.

Judging by the phrasing and recording style, the first eight handlers—spanning from the Chongzhen era through the Shunzhi era to the Kangxi era—should all have been foreigners.

What was their purpose in keeping these items?

Hu Tian's pen paused for a moment on the name "Adam Schall von Bell."

Adam Schall von Bell was a foreigner, a German, and a Jesuit missionary.

How did he obtain these things?

The first eight handlers were—or were highly likely to be—foreigners. Why did the items suddenly end up in the hands of the Governor-General of Min-Zhe, Hao Yulin, by the ninth transfer?

But...

Hu Tian looked back at that sentence.

"If these items emerge, the world shall know the gravity of the harm caused by the foreign barbarians."

This sentence was left by the last handler in the sixth volume, which meant the eighth handler.

The eighth handler was the person who, during the Yongzheng Emperor era in Fujian Province, under the pursuit of Governor-General Hao Yulin, urgently hid these items in the back mountain of the old kiln site at Songxikou.

However, the ninth handler left such a sentence.

If the ninth handler were also a foreigner, he would not have written it that way.

He wouldn't refer to foreigners as "foreign barbarians," nor would he write about the "gravity of the harm caused by the foreign barbarians." This was an expression only a Han Chinese person would use.

But if the eighth handler was a foreigner, or someone entrusted by Adam Schall von Bell to keep these things, then how did the ninth handler take them over from a foreigner's hands?

Hu Tian re-read the records of the fifth and sixth volumes. In the transcribed content, he had already marked all the key information.

He smoothed out the entire logic once more.

Collections from the Former Ming palace were secretly moved out during the Chongzhen era and underwent secret transfers through eight handlers.

Until the Yongzheng Emperor era of the Qing Dynasty, when the Governor-General of Min-Zhe, Hao Yulin, accidentally discovered this secret.

"If these items emerge, the world shall know the gravity of the harm caused by the foreign barbarians."

The tip of Hu Tian's pen hovered over the paper, staying there for a long time.

He suddenly realized that his previous line of thinking had gone in the wrong direction.

He had been wondering who the eighth handler was and how the ninth handler had taken the items from the foreigner's hands.

But he had overlooked one thing.

This sentence, written in the sixth volume, was not written by the eighth handler.

He reopened the transcriptions and fixed his gaze on the last few lines, identifying them carefully.

The record in the sixth volume was divided into two parts.

The first half was the record of the eighth handler, documenting the process of secretly hiding these items in the back mountain of the old kiln site at Songxikou in Fujian Province during the Yongzheng Emperor era. The phrasing was similar in style to the handlers in the previous volumes, using a somewhat awkward writing style with a translated tone.

But the second half—the sentence "If these items emerge, the world shall know the gravity of the harm caused by the foreign barbarians"—was completely different in both handwriting and tone from the first half.

This wasn't written by the eighth handler.

It was written by the ninth handler.

Hu Tian separated these two parts and read them again.

The eighth handler, a foreigner or someone deeply involved, hid the items in the back mountain of Songxikou during the Yongzheng Emperor era and left a record of the concealment in the sixth volume.

The ninth handler discovered these items, looked through the records of the first five volumes, and then wrote this sentence at the end of the sixth volume.

But he didn't take the items away.

However, he left this sentence.

Why?

Hu Tian put his pen down and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

He thought of a possibility.

The ninth handler was Hao Yulin.

Hao Yulin was the Governor-General of Min-Zhe. He had tracked down the clues to these items, found the back mountain of Songxikou, opened the hiding place, saw these six rolls of fabric, read through the first five volumes, and then read the first half of the sixth volume.

Then he saw the origin of these items, saw the name of Adam Schall von Bell, and saw the complete record of these items coming from the Former Ming palace and being secretly passed through the hands of foreigners for nearly a hundred years.

He didn't say a single word.

At the end of the sixth volume, he wrote that sentence, then resealed the items and put them back in their original place untouched, without disclosing a single word.

"If these items emerge, the world shall know the gravity of the harm caused by the foreign barbarians."

Hu Tian recited the sentence once, and a chill slowly rose from his spine.

He had only understood the surface meaning of this sentence before.

How heavy the harm caused by foreigners was—if these items were made public, the world would know.

But now he thought of another layer.

Hao Yulin was saying what the consequences would be if these items were made public.

It would be chaos under heaven.

What Hao Yulin saw were not just a few antiques or rolls of fabric.

He saw a deeper secret.

Hu Tian straightened out his thoughts from the beginning again.

The collections of the Former Ming palace were secretly moved out by Adam Schall von Bell during the Chongzhen era, or rather, they were secretly taken away by a network led by Adam Schall von Bell.

Who was Adam Schall von Bell?

He wasn't just a missionary.

During the Chongzhen era, Adam Schall von Bell had already entered deep into the Ming court by virtue of his knowledge of the calendar, presiding over the revision of the "Chongzhen Calendar," and was a technical talent relied upon by the Emperor.

After the Qing troops entered the pass, Adam Schall von Bell did not leave. He stayed and once again gained the trust of the Qing court through astronomy and the calendar. Emperor Shunzhi even called him "Mafa," which means grandfather, treating him as a close elder.

This man spanned two dynasties, Ming and Qing, and was able to gain core trust by the side of the Emperor both times.

What he took from the palace would not be just a few ordinary antique collectibles.

Hu Tian picked up his pen and wrote a few words on the paper.

Archives.

Documents.

Or something else.

He suddenly thought of a direction.

Starting from the Chongzhen era, these items were secretly passed through the hands of foreigners for nearly a hundred years. The time span of the transfer was too long, and the process was too rigorous. Every transfer had a detailed written record, indicating that these items were important enough to this transfer network to require such solemn treatment.

Ordinary antique collectibles wouldn't need this.

But if these items contained certain records—records of content extremely critical to the foreigners' missionary work in China—then it would make sense.

Or...

Hu Tian's pen stopped.

Or, within these items, there were certain records of content extremely sensitive to the Qing court.

So sensitive that after Hao Yulin finished reading them, he didn't dare disclose a single word to the outside world. He could only use a Secret Memorial, seal it tightly, and send it directly to the capital to be presented to Emperor Yongzheng Emperor himself.

The Secret Memorial System was implemented by Emperor Yongzheng Emperor.

Secret Memorials did not go through the Grand Secretariat, the Six Ministries, or any intermediate links. They were sent directly to the Emperor's hands, commented on by the Emperor in vermillion ink, and then sealed and sent back.

This was a channel where the content was known only to the Emperor and the memorialist.

Hao Yulin used this channel.

This meant that based on the content he saw, he judged that it must not be known by anyone else.

What was it?

Hu Tian circled Adam Schall von Bell's name again and wrote a few more words next to it.

Calendar.

Almanac.

No, it must be some special information from the Chongzhen period.

He suddenly realized that he might have grasped something.

Adam Schall von Bell's core work in the Ming court was revising the calendar.

In ancient China, the calendar was never just a tool for calculating dates. It was a symbol of the Mandate of Heaven and an important part of a dynasty's legitimacy. When dynasties changed, the first thing they did was issue a new calendar to declare their reception of the Mandate of Heaven.

If what Adam Schall von Bell took away were not ordinary collectibles, but certain documentary records related to the calendar, or further, archives related to certain palace secrets of the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty, then the weight of these items would be completely different.

Of course, this was just a direction.

Hu Tian knew that this was all he could infer for now.

The content recorded on these fabrics gave him enough clues, but it also left a most critical blank.

What did Hao Yulin's Secret Memorial say? What did Emperor Yongzheng Emperor do after seeing the Secret Memorial? What was the final fate of these items?

No answers to these could be found on the fabric.

He looked back at the six rolls of fabric on the table and at that final sentence.

"If these items emerge, the world shall know the gravity of the harm caused by the foreign barbarians."

Hao Yulin did not write what secret was hidden in these concealed items.

He only wrote what the consequences would be if they were made public.

This showed that he chose not to make it public. He chose to send this secret to Yongzheng Emperor and let Yongzheng Emperor decide.

But the fact that these items ultimately did not appear in any Qing court archives or any historical documents meant that Emperor Yongzheng Emperor also chose the same method—to suppress it.

To suppress it forever, or perhaps he didn't even know of the existence of this Secret Memorial.

Hu Tian put down his pen, turned around, and opened his laptop.

He needed to verify a person.

Hao Yulin.

He typed this name into the search bar and pressed enter.

The results came out quickly.

Hao Yulin, a member of the Manchu Bordered White Banner of the Han Eight Banners, was the Governor of Fujian Province during the Yongzheng Emperor era. He was a well-known high-ranking official in history, and there were quite a few records left behind.

Hu Tian read through them one by one, seeing his resume, his political achievements, and several major events he handled during his tenure in Fujian Province. Then his eyes stopped on a line of text.

Died in the seventh year of Yongzheng Emperor.

He clicked on the entry and read carefully.

In the seventh year of Yongzheng Emperor, Hao Yulin was assassinated while in office. He died three days later despite medical treatment. The murderer was unknown, and the case was never solved. It was later archived as the work of bandits and the case was closed perfunctorily.

Hu Tian stared at this line of text for a long time.

Three days later.

He straightened out the timeline in his mind again.

Hao Yulin obtained these items, left those records on the fabric, and then reported the matter via Secret Memorial, asking Emperor Yongzheng Emperor to decide.

Then, on the third day after he sent the Secret Memorial, he died.

Not of illness, not of old age, but by assassination.

The murderer was unknown.

The case was never solved.

Archived as bandits.

Hu Tian slowly let out a breath.

This timing was so precise it made one's skin crawl.

He continued to search, wanting to find more details about this assassination case, but there was very little to be found. Historical records of this event were scattered and did not exceed two hundred words, and they were all vague, with only the word "bandits" there as a placeholder, explaining nothing clearly.

He switched to another direction.