The two walked around the middle of the street again. Since there was nothing new to see, they passed through an alley and gradually walked to a quiet place where they heard no more people. Ye Yongjia walked forward slowly and looked around.
It is covered by trees and is very shady.
He raised his head and looked into the distance, and suddenly he saw a vague tower in the distance, covered with blue tiles, which was of a very different style. When he got closer, he could see high domed houses built with blue stones on both sides.
"Where is...?" Ye Yongjia asked, having never seen such a building before.
"Oh, this is a Western Catholic temple," Jie Wenwu said, pointing to the building. "According to the believers, it has been rooted here for a long time since the previous dynasty. It has always been good at bluffing people with false claims and recruiting men and women here.
More than ten years ago, there were even incidents of occupying land and defrauding people of money, so they were banned from preaching repeatedly. Recently, they have changed the director, and they have not broken the law. There is a lot of peace and quiet, so the ban has naturally been relaxed."
"These people travel across the ocean, and on the surface they persuade people to do good, but secretly they engage in deception and abduction. It's really shameful." After hearing this, Ye Yongjia also said angrily, and then sighed: "Now that the storm has passed, we
Let’s go in and take a look.”
The two of them walked on the road, and many local believers came with them. They all had their heads lowered, their steps were light, and they were very quiet.
Ye Yongjia entered the church and saw that it was resplendent inside, with a chandelier lit with white candles above his head, and grid-like stained glass windows all around. The road was clean and wide, making people feel insignificant standing there.
"It's really spectacular..." Ye Yongjia was obviously shocked, he praised it repeatedly and looked straight at it.
Jie Wenwu didn't respond at all. He ran to the front of the lecture hall, clapped his hands and shouted: "Mr. Jian! Mr. Jian!"
After a moment, an old Western man wearing a soap robe and Western glasses came out and bowed to the two of them.
"This gentleman is from the sea, he is a literary student, and he is fluent in Chinese. He once visited the current emperor in the capital and was treated with great courtesy." Jie Wenwu introduced him.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Ye Yongjia, whose name is Tinglong." Ye Yongjia had no choice but to return the favor.
"My lord, you and I have never met, but once we got to know each other, I knew that you were no ordinary person." Jian Wensheng stared at him with a pair of deep eyes.
"You guessed it right!" Jie Wenwu pulled him over, "This is General Liu's proud 'disciple', and he will definitely have a bright future in the future!"
"I think so. There are many people here. Please go to the library at the back to talk." After that, he called out a few priests in foreign languages. After giving instructions for a while, he and the two of them went out from the small door and walked to
In a small room next to the bell tower.
"Sit down." Ye Yongjia followed the footsteps of Westerners, walked through rows of bookcases filled with old books, and found a spacious place to sit.
Just as he was about to talk, he heard the bell tower strike twice soothingly. Jian Wensheng quickly stood up, closed his eyes tightly, clasped his hands together, and prayed something in his mouth.
And Ye Yongjia also closed his eyes and listened to the crisp bell, which seemed to create ripples in his heart. He hadn't enjoyed this kind of tranquility for a long time. Thinking about it, he had experienced various power struggles in Nanjing and witnessed the collapse of the academy.
falling behind, he becomes
He became more mature and steady, but gradually he could not see the direction and was confused in the darkness. He clearly felt that he was walking on the path he persisted in, but he always walked farther and farther and closer to the mud. Perhaps this temporary silence made him not
The only way to get rid of random thoughts.
The bell stopped.
"Why, Mr. Ye, do you also... believe in this Western religion?" Jie Wenwu was puzzled when he saw him like this.
"No, I just have a temporary feeling and think this foreign clock sounds nice." Ye Yongjia smiled bitterly.
"By the way, Mr. Jian," Jie Wenwu turned around, "Tinglong is also buying a mansion recently. Since my good brother likes it, why not buy one and build a clock tower at home."
"There is a church in the west of the city. The priest and I are from the same country and are actually old friends. The old bell needs to be replaced recently. You went to call him specifically and said that for my sake, you gave the old bell to this gentleman."
Jian Wensheng came up with an idea.
Jie Wenwu said in fear: "It is absolutely impossible to give this thing as a gift. Mr. Ye wants a foreign clock, so why not spend money to buy it!"
"It's not an urgent matter now. Shangguan should not be so worried about it." Ye Yongjia hurriedly bowed his head.
"Yes, my dear brother, you should make the decision yourself. I can't make decisions for you." Jie Wenwu said with a smile, and everyone stopped mentioning the matter.
"May I ask if all these ancient books you have in your collection are in Western languages?" Ye Yongjia couldn't help asking as he looked at the thick books stacked on the cabinet.
"Probably so. But Jian translated a lot of military books from them and compiled them into volumes. Unfortunately, no one read them. It's just a pity." Jian Wensheng hugged his knees and sighed.
"Our dynasty has no shortage of military books. The West does not admire enlightenment and is far away from the Central Plains. Even if one or two sentences are meaningful, what is the use?" Jie Wenwu smiled scornfully.
"Now that we are chatting, let's take a look." Although Ye Yongjia's attitude was the same as that of his superior officer, his curiosity was even stronger.
Jian Wensheng looked up to the sky and sighed, then he took out the three volumes of military books, dusted them off, and put a few books on the wooden table.
Ye Yongjia held down the yellowed paper and flipped through the pages. He saw that the contents contained all the methods of using firearms, from gun materials to firing formations. Ye Yongjia had never heard of it and was stunned.
He gently put down the book in his hand, looked at the cover, took a breath, and immediately cast a look of admiration in his eyes.
"Can I borrow your three-volume masterpiece to read next?" Ye Yongjia asked excitedly, stroking the lapels of his clothes.
Jian Wensheng seemed to have met a close friend. He took off his glasses and his old eyes were shining with tears: "Since I came to heaven, no one has ever valued my military book. I thought that it would never see the light of day, so I waited ten years, but who knew who entrusted it to me?
It’s finally here! I am willing to give all three volumes of military books to you, and I will have no regrets in this life!”
However, Jie Wenwu smacked his lips and whispered to Ye Yongjia: "You and I are just scholars, what do we know about fighting? It is important for us to have a smooth career. This military book is useless and in vain."
Ye Yongjia, however, held the book as if possessed by a maniac: "When I came to the capital, I never thought about living in an ignoble way. Now that I am in the Ministry of War, how can I do anything ordinary? Sir, needless to say, this book has its own magical uses."
Jie Wenwu regretted that he didn't understand the world, so he had no choice but to let him do whatever he wanted.
After a few days, Ye Yongjia finally finished settling the house. He chose the house beside a river, which looked closer to the habit in Nanjing. He immediately used money to buy a bookcase, put three volumes of military books separately, and studied them every day.
I was reading the part about matching the gunpowder, but I didn't quite understand it. Suddenly I saw the secretary next to me coming up to the room to report: "Mr. Cai, who is traveling with you, is here to visit. He said he has something important to discuss."
Ye Yongjia was excited: He must have come to discuss the matter of changing his registration.