The two of them 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 secluded place where they heard no more people. Ye Yongjia walked forward slowly and looked around. He saw that it was covered by trees and was 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 this?" 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 its followers, 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 incidents of occupying land and defrauding people of their money, so they were repeatedly banned from preaching. Recently, there has been a change of director, who has not broken any laws and has become more peaceful, so the ban has naturally been relaxed."
"These people traveled across the ocean, and on the surface they tried to persuade people to do good, but secretly they committed 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 swaggered 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 scholar, 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, gave instructions for a while, and then went out from the small door with the two of them and walked to In a small room next to the bell tower.
"Sit down." Ye Yongjia followed the footsteps of the Westerners, walked through the rows of bookcases filled with old books, and found a spacious place to sit down.
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.
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. After experiencing all kinds of power struggles in Nanjing and witnessing the collapse of the academy, he became more mature and steady, but he gradually couldn't see the direction and was confused in the darkness. He clearly felt that he was walking on a persistent path, but he always walked farther and farther and closer to the mud. Perhaps this temporary silence was the only way to stop him from thinking.
The bells stopped ringing.
"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 good." Ye Yongjia smiled bitterly.
"By the way, Mr. Jian," Jie Wenwu turned his head, "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 we are actually old friends. The old clock will be replaced recently. You went to call him specifically and said that for my sake, you gave the old clock to this gentleman." Jian Wensheng came up with an idea.
Jie Wenwu said in fear: "It is absolutely impossible to give this thing away. 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." Ye Yongjia bowed hurriedly.
"Yes, my dear brother, you should make the decision yourself. I can't make any 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 listed them in volumes. Unfortunately, no one read them. It's 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 words are meaningful, what is the use?" Jie Wenwu smiled contemptuously.
"Now that we are chatting, let's take a look." Although Ye Yongjia's attitude was the same as that of his superior, 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. When he saw that the contents contained all the methods of using firearms, from gun materials to formation formation, 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 suddenly 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 took off his glasses as if he had met a close friend, 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, and 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 war? It is important for us to have a smooth career. This military book is useless. It is in vain."
Ye Yongjia, however, held the book as if he was obsessed: "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 nothing? 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 what he was used to in Nanjing. He immediately bought a bookcase with money, placed 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 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 be here to discuss changing his registration.
