My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 439 Reading and Writing
After Ali finished speaking, Macaros and Father Antonio still hadn't come back to their senses and were still in great shock.

What did Ali mean just now? Do they not have to die?

Although I didn't understand what "no way to escape punishment alive" meant, Ali had just said that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty mercifully pardoned their death penalty!

This made the two of them feel like they couldn't believe their ears, or even their brains, and their moods fluctuated greatly. It was really too exciting!
As for the fact that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty needed them to explain the affairs of Castile and the Holy See, Makaros had no burden at all. These matters were not top secret information. Anyone who was well-educated would know them if they asked in Castile.

Father Antonio was struggling. It’s not that the affairs of the Vatican cannot be told, but the Vatican has secrets!
Those dirty, shameful things, the Vatican looks glamorous on the surface, but inside...

Although Father Antonio is only a priest, he has also practiced in the Vatican and his status is not low. He also knows some rumors involving the top leaders of the Vatican.

Not to mention the exchange of interests between high-ranking bishops, archbishops, cardinals and the Pope, the collusion between the bishops and various noble kings, and so on.

In many places, churches and monasteries are full of filth. Priests raise children, monks and monks, and even nuns...

Even Antonio himself felt disgusted!
Do we have to explain all of this? Will the emperor of the Ming Dynasty feel so disgusted that he will chop off his own head?
At this time, the adult in red spoke again, and his voice gradually became serious. After he finished speaking, Ali also smiled and nodded continuously, and then said to the two:
"From today on, the two of you must learn to speak Chinese, learn to write Chinese characters, read Ming books, and learn Ming culture. And I, Sayyid Ahmed Ali, will be your teacher!"

Learn the language of the Ming Dynasty and learn to write the characters of the Ming Dynasty?

The two were shocked again, and then they were overwhelmed by joy!

Happiness comes too suddenly, I am not mentally prepared!
What does this mean? It means that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty allowed them to live on Chinese soil. It also means that His Majesty the Emperor will not sentence them to death in the future!
Does this also mean that China has accepted them?
The thought of being recognized by this magical, powerful and great country filled their hearts with an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

Ali looked at the two of them with some amusement. These two guys probably haven't realized the purpose of the Ming Emperor's doing this.

Although the captain of the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty who brought him here did not say it explicitly, he had lived in the Ming Dynasty for many years and was accustomed to the way of thinking here. It was obvious that His Majesty the Emperor would expand his influence to Europe in the future, and these two people were His Majesty's pawns!

As for Ali himself, he did not expect that his desperate trip to the East would be much smoother than he had imagined.

Originally, he just thought that if he could transport some things back from the East and sell them, and then make a fortune, that would be his greatest luck. What he didn't expect was that he could become an interpreter in the Ming Dynasty. Now he has to teach Chinese to the nobles of Castile, which can be regarded as a position in the Ming Dynasty.

The monthly salary was five strings of coins, which was not too much, but definitely not a small amount. It was more than enough to even support the entire family if they moved here.

Days passed one after another, and the guards in charge of guarding the courtyard could hear strange "zhihuzheya" sounds coming from the courtyard every day, as well as the roar of the Arab who taught Chinese from time to time...

"You say, do those foreigners have problems with their tongues? Why do they speak so strangely?"

"Who knows? They have been studying this book for so many days, but they still can't recite the sentence 'Learn and practice it from time to time'. They are not as good as my five-year-old child." "Oh, I was so anxious when I heard that. How could these two guys be so stupid that they can't learn such a simple thing? These days, my mind is full of that weird Analects, even in my dreams, I almost memorized the whole book of Analects."

……

Not only the guards, but also Macarus and Antonio were tortured all day long. How come Chinese is even harder to learn than Latin!

Even now, when they dream, they talk, "My name is Macaros," "I am Antonio"...

Not only speaking Chinese, learning to write calligraphy is another big challenge. Their hands are like chicken claws, and they can't hold the brush tightly. Their hands keep shaking as if they have Parkinson's disease.

This made Ali very anxious. He thought that it was not so difficult for him to learn Chinese. This money is really hard to earn!
To this end, he specially went to find a ruler. Whenever either Macaros or Antonio read incorrectly or wrote like a chicken claw or a dog paddling, he would hit them with the ruler until they screamed.

In this way, Ali's angry shouts and painful wails could often be heard in the courtyard. If you didn't know, you would think someone was being tortured here.

At first, Machalos was still unconvinced. After all, he was a legitimate hereditary earl and had never suffered such humiliation in Castile. He wanted to send Ali, the damn Saracen, to the stake and burn him to death.

But when I thought of the fully armed and ferocious guards outside, I could only grit my teeth and bear it. There was no other way, the situation was stronger than me.

Father Antonio was a little better, as he had also practiced asceticism while studying to become a priest in the Vatican. Although he was not as extreme as those Dominican monks who whipped themselves with a whip soaked in salt water all day long to wash away the sins of the flesh, he could still withstand being beaten with a ruler.

However, this gave him a new insight into the Ming Dynasty. He did not expect that this land attached so much importance to education that it would use a ruler to punish disobedient students. This was consistent with his own philosophy.

How can one easily gain valuable knowledge and obtain God’s forgiveness without going through suffering?
However, after a period of time, Makaros got used to the beating with the ruler. If Ali didn't beat him with the ruler one day, he would feel a little uncomfortable.

After Ali's painstaking teaching, the two were finally able to stammer and speak some daily expressions. Even Father Antonio no longer said "my Lord" or "God", but "Confucius said" and so on.

That day, after finishing the course, Makaros stammered to Ali in Ming official language:
"Sir, we have been in Daming for so many days. Can we go out for a walk and take a look?"

Upon hearing this, Ali immediately reprimanded them, "You are sinners. Instead of fulfilling the emperor's instructions, you want to go out and hang out."

As he said this, he pretended to pull out the ruler. Makaros shrank back out of habit, but Ali still did not pull out the ruler. However, he changed the subject.

"I can ask the noble Duke for you, if he allows it."

(End of this chapter)