Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 197 Ancestor Worship in Nanjing
"Consort Zhang, can you lend me that novel to read again?" John finished an unfinished detail and stopped painting for the time being, instead turning his attention to Zhang Xiao.

"Of course it's possible. Now that you've been hired, I want to formally tell you that one of your jobs is to read my novels thoroughly and then help me draw some illustrations. But before that , I want to confirm something with you. After all, the novel you just read has a lot of shortcomings about the Christian church and the pope, so if you can't accept it, you can apply for avoidance, and I will ask for a new one. The painter will be responsible for this work. Of course, I will keep hiring you, but I won’t get the money for the illustrations,” Zhang Xiao said.

"Dear Consort Zhang, I want to read this book briefly before making a decision. I don't know if it is appropriate."

"No problem, this is all your wish. If you don't want to illustrate this book, I will have other work arrangements for you."

In this way, John became the special painter in Zhang Xiao's house. Zhang Xiao and his party did not disturb the artist's performance, but went out to discuss things.

"Zhenzhi, you haven't been home for several years. Although the imperial examination was stopped halfway, you are still young and you still have a lot to do in the future. When you go to the south this time, I will personally sponsor you a thousand taels of silver. You think you need to buy some Just buy whatever you want." Zhang Xiao said.

"This is really too much. In fact, I don't know how much I can buy with one hundred taels."

"Jiangsu and Zhejiang are prosperous places. If you go back to buy things, you are not allowed to buy better ones. People in the provinces think that there are no valuable things in the capital, which is not good. Just take the money, and you won't just give it to me. Your family, relatives, friends, and neighbors can bring some things to see if a thousand taels is not that much.”

"Thank you teacher."

"There is no other way. Now I have no choice but to compensate you materially. You should work hard to review your homework in the past few years and prove yourself with the best results." Zhang Xiao encouraged.

“Students understand.”

"It's been a long time, and that John is still reading that book. Let's go back and see him again." Zhang Xiao said, looking at the time on the chiming clock hanging in the main hall.

"It doesn't matter, this painting looks very good to me. If I modify it a little, it will be more than enough as an illustration." Zhang Xiao praised.

"Dear Prince Consort Zhang, because my teacher also studied with Leonardo da Vinci, according to Chinese people, he is my ancestor, so I just want to ask, I don't have any other meaning." Looking at Zhang Xiao There was no reply for a while, John explained.

"Wenhua, I will also give you a task. From now on, and from the beginning of the journey, pay attention to collecting some information, especially the local customs and local chronicles. I want to understand the situation in each place."

This painting was obviously a practice work and was completed quickly. Zhang Xiao took a quick look, and it seemed to be a scene of Ezio leaping from the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The painting of the church is beautiful, and the protagonist is also very handsome. However, Zhang Xiao decided to hide the painting himself and not use it as an illustration in a book, in case someone imitates him.

Zhang Xiao suddenly lost his mind and was busy copying books, forgetting that many of Leonardo da Vinci's manuscripts had not yet been released to the public.

"My boss, there is no problem on my side." Lu Zhang said.

"Please rest assured, Prince Consort Zhang. Although I was introduced by Mr. Li, I don't have much respect for the church because they have long been corrupt. Pope Alexander VI is a typical representative of the corrupt church and criticizes them." It’s too late for me to be happy, but I have a question that I don’t know if Prince Consort Zhang is willing to answer.”

"If the content of this book does not offend you,"

"Dear Consort Zhang, I would like to declare solemnly that these are all baseless rumors. Da Vinci has always followed the rules and did nothing extraordinary." John suddenly became nervous.

The three returned to the studio and found that John had put the book aside and started to create a new painting. The three of them did not disturb John, who was in a creative state, and just watched him outline the lines and apply colors.

"Yes, I also heard that the reason why Leonardo da Vinci painted people so well was because he also dissected corpses."

"Please say."

"Dear Prince Consort Zhang, I have basically finished reading this novel. But after reading the book, I couldn't control myself, so I wanted to draw this picture." John explained.

"Dear Prince Consort Zhang, this is a very good novel. I never thought that there would be people in the far East who would know my hometown so well. I am honored to be the illustrator of this novel. "

The three of them were chatting about their next trip south.

"How do you know about Leonardo da Vinci? Are his paintings already so famous in the Eastern world? Moreover, it is written in it that Da Vinci also made various weapons, such as aircraft, tanks, machine guns, etc. How did you know?"

"This is such a pity. I have never heard that my ancestor had such an achievement, but it would not be surprising even if there is such an invention. My teacher said that Leonardo da Vinci was indeed praised by Pope Alexander VI. The illegitimate son of the emperor, Caesar Borgia, was hired as a consultant and built many projects. It is not impossible that he helped make some weapons during the process. "

When the word anatomy was mentioned, Zhang Xiao looked at Lu Zhang and Li Zhizao next to him, their expressions changed, and they seemed to subconsciously want to leave the studio.

"I heard this from hearsay. I forgot which Western sailor I heard the story about." Zhang Xiao said.

"Maybe I heard the rumors wrong. The sailors at sea have spent too many days wandering on the ship, so they like to brag. I'm afraid what they say is also false." Zhang Xiao laughed.

However, when he came out of the studio, Lu Zhang couldn't help but chat with Zhang Xiao: "My boss, does this Westerner really know how to dissect? If that Leonardo da Vinci knows how to dissect, then this John can be regarded as his disciple." Well, does he also know how to dissect? I haven’t seen you mention this in this novel.”

"This is just hearsay. After all, I have never been to Italy, let alone met Leonardo da Vinci himself. But it is not impossible. I have seen a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, and I don't know if it is the original. It is still a copy, and the characters painted in it are indeed extraordinary. As the saying goes, beauty is in the bones and not in the skin. Without a detailed understanding of the various structures of the human body, it is difficult to draw a person vividly. " Zhang Xiao explained.

"Teacher, you suddenly mentioned this matter today. I'm really afraid that I'll have a nightmare tonight. Maybe I won't dare to chat with Mr. Li in the past few days." Li Zhizao also looked frightened.

"That's not the case for you two. I just used this to scare John so that he wouldn't ask blind questions."

"So, teacher, did you come up with all of this yourself?" "It doesn't count as something I came up with. I did hear these rumors. I just polished the story of the rumors a little bit more." Zhang Xiao explained.

Zhang Xiao stayed in the capital for more than half a month, preparing his luggage while waiting for the auspicious day for a long journey.

The day of departure finally came, Zhang Xiao did not delay anymore, and led a group of people southward along the canal. He did not delay for too long along the way. He first went to Fengyang Zhongdu, paid a visit to the imperial mausoleum, and took a look at this one. The city was built entirely for the emperor's personal reasons. "

After watching Fengyang, Zhang Xiao and his group continued on their way.

When arriving in Nanjing, the first priority is to visit Xiaoling Mausoleum.

Although Zhang Xiao was not a high-ranking official, he was considered a member of the royal family after all, and he came under the emperor's order, so Nanjing's civil and military officials also paid a visit to the Xiaoling Mausoleum.

Although many people came to pay homage to Xiaoling Mausoleum, the ancient trees were towering and lush, and there were various stone beasts and stone men guarding the place, but I still felt a sense of tranquility and solemnity.

After completing a set of serious and tedious procedures, Zhang Xiao always felt a little cold and shivering.

During the visit, Zhang Xiao, who had always been a bit slippery, also thought about it in front of Emperor Taizu. After all, in the final analysis, I am an anomaly in this era. Although I hide it from the outside world, I can't always hide it. I have to wear a mask that I can't take off for the rest of my life.

"Emperor Taizu, I don't know how I came to this era, and I don't know if I am dreaming now. But since God sent me here, I have done some things. It's a pity that I was in the original time and space. He is not a brilliant person. Although he has done a lot of things, he does not do many things well enough and many things he says are inappropriate. I dare not say that he does everything with a clear conscience, at least he does not have any big bad intentions. According to the original history of time and space, in less than a century, the mountains and rivers here will change colors and the buildings will collapse. I don’t know what I can do with my pen. "

Zhang Xiao finished reciting silently in his heart and left Xiaoling with many worries.

After the memorial sweep of Xiaoling Mausoleum was completed, Zhang Xiao's task was mostly completed. At least half of the team had left, especially all the officials from the Ministry of Rites and other positions. Now Zhang Xiao is considered free.

Now that he has come to Nanjing City, he naturally wants to take a stroll. There are so many scenic spots in Nanjing City, and Zhang Xiao naturally wants to go to a scenic spot that he has never seen with his own eyes, Dabaoen Temple.

Seeing a towering glazed tower with splendid colors, Zhang Xiao was quite moved. He didn't know how many exquisite ancient buildings in China had been destroyed by the cruel wars of the past dynasties, and how many cities were directly destroyed by the wars.

"Is this your first time coming to Nanjing City? I see you have been looking at this glazed tower for a long time." Lu Zhang asked.

"Yes, this Bao Ci'en Temple was built by Emperor Chengzu in memory of Emperor Taizu and Empress Xiaocigao. Since you are in Nanjing, you can't help but come and take a look." Zhang Xiao said.

Dabaoen Temple is not allowed for casual people to enter without permission. Of course, Zhang Xiao was an accident, but Zhang Xiao and his group were still unable to enter because John was blocked. Foreigners cannot enter the royal temple casually without an order. In this regard John was very understanding and stayed outside obediently.

After seeing the Great Baoen Temple, Zhang Xiao took a group of people to wander around the Confucius Temple.

Naturally, we wanted to eat something delicious when we came, so we ordered duck blood soup first, then hot sesame cakes, and Nanjing roast duck. The group happened to be tired and sat down to take a rest and eat slowly.

Everyone in the group ate delicious food, and the one who ate the most delicious food was the Italian John.

"This bread is indeed delicious. If you can add some ingredients to make it into a pizza, it will be even more delicious." John said while eating happily.

"What is pizza?" Lu Zhang asked.

"This is an Italian pie. If I have the chance, I will make it for everyone to try. No, no, no, I can't ruin everyone's first impression of Italian food with my average cooking skills. Mr. Zhang, I don’t know if you are willing to hire another Italian chef. Many of my friends in Italy have very good cooking skills, but the frequent wars in Italy have made their lives very difficult. If you are willing to accept them, I will. I am willing to write a letter to invite the best pizza chef to come over." John promoted the country's delicacies to Zhang Xiao.

"These masters should all be your relatives." Zhang Xiao asked.

"They are indeed my relatives, but I can vouch for their craftsmanship." John said.

After eating and drinking, Zhang Xiao and his party arrived at the Qinhuai River. With this scene, Zhang Xiao couldn't help but want to recite Du Mu's "Porching at Qinhuai". But after thinking about it, it was a bit too artificial, so I gave it up. The flower boats on the Qinhuai River looked really nice, but Zhang Xiao just looked at them neither close nor far away. After all, Zhang Xiao also knew how many people were staring at him now. .

After wandering around Nanjing for a few days, Zhang Xiao and his party then headed to Jingkou. When they arrived at Jingkou, they went straight to Beigu Pavilion.

After boarding the pavilion, Zhang Xiao looked at the scenery in front of him and was quite emotional.

"The Yangtze River is indeed magnificent when viewed from here. No wonder Jiaxuan was able to write a masterpiece here. It is really beyond the reach of ordinary scenic spots." Zhang Xiao said with emotion.

"Did my boss see anything?" Lu Zhang asked.

"This Jingkou is indeed a key place. When Song Taizu Liu Yu raised his troops at Jingkou, it didn't take long to drive away Huan Xuan who proclaimed himself emperor in Jinling City. It is indeed an extraordinary place." Zhang Xiao said with emotion.

"Back then, Liu Yu started out as a low-ranking officer and became an emperor. He was indeed as powerful as a tiger. It's a pity that the descendants of Liu Song were so unsatisfactory that the reputation of their ancestors was greatly diminished." Li Zhizao sighed with emotion. explain.

"Yes, if Liu Yu's descendants can inherit Liu Yu's illustrious martial arts and truly complete the Northern Expedition, it will be a great achievement. Unfortunately, Liu Yu's descendants not only fail to live up to expectations, but their moral character is also completely corrupted." Zhang Xiao also sighed with emotion. road.

(End of this chapter)