Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 317: True Emperor: Learn from Taizu and beg for food as a monk

Sunchon University.

Zhu Qizhen came to inspect, accompanied by Li Bing, the Minister of Rites. The principal Shang Lu was imprisoned by the Jinyiwei, which would definitely have an impact on the school. In their view, Shang Lu was a good person.

Therefore, the emperor's personal visit was to appease the school and encourage everyone to study hard. In addition to this, he also wanted to find a new principal, and he would choose from those teachers.

He hadn't been here for a long time and found that there were many more Western teachers at Shuntian University. Now that the shipping routes were open, the Ming merchant fleets were all over the West. The great influence of the Ming Dynasty made Westerners yearn for the Ming Dynasty. In addition, the Ming Dynasty offered generous remuneration for teachers, which attracted a large number of Western teachers.

"Come, everyone, take a seat." Zhu Qizhen called.

He specially arranged for the school to meet a group of excellent Western teachers. These Western teachers were also very reserved when they met the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. However, after chatting for half an hour, they found that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely knowledgeable and very friendly. Gradually, everyone was no longer nervous and talked freely.

The West was now in the early stages of the Renaissance, and Zhu Qizhen was extremely concerned about it. He learned from these Western gentlemen what stage the Renaissance had reached and what achievements it had made.

"Your Majesty, Shuntian University does not have a law school yet. I request Your Majesty to build one." A Western teacher stepped forward and said.

"Okay." Zhu Qizhen nodded slightly.

At first, when he established various colleges, they were definitely mainly technical subjects, such as medicine, astronomy, physics, chemistry, mathematics, etc. Now, as the university expands, there can be a law school.

"In Florence, art is booming," the Western teacher said proudly.

Zhu Qizhen was slightly startled.

It turned out that he was from Florence. According to his memory of studying history in his previous life, Florence was the birthplace of the Renaissance. It later became the art center of Europe and produced many great artists.

"What's your name?" Zhu Qizhen asked with a smile.

"Ser Piero da Vinci." The Western gentleman replied.

Zhu Qizhen was stunned. What the hell, Leonardo da Vinci? The one who painted Mona Lisa?
However, he soon discovered that the time was wrong. According to the AD calendar, it was 1458, and Leonardo da Vinci should still be a child.

He knew the naming conventions in the West, and Da Vinci should be a surname, so the teacher's name was Piero. So the question is, what is his relationship with the historical Da Vinci?

In his previous life, although he had read stories about Leonardo da Vinci, most of them were about him personally and he could not remember his family situation, not to mention that Western names are so long.

However, he remembered that the full name of Da Vinci was Leonardo da Vinci. So he asked Piero: "Don't you have a son named Leonardo da Vinci?"

Piero was stunned and a little panicked: "Your Majesty...Your Majesty also knows about me and Caterina? Our place is different from the Ming Dynasty. Although Leonardo is my illegitimate son, his mother has remarried..."

Zhu Qizhen immediately interrupted him and said with a smile: "Of course I won't blame you for this. So, Leonardo is indeed your son? Where is he now?"

"Of course... in the countryside of Florence," said Piero.

He was also panicked. He didn't expect that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty knew so much. It was said that the Ming Dynasty's Jinyiwei was very powerful. How could he have investigated everything that happened to him in Europe so clearly?

"When he grows up, he can be brought to the Ming Dynasty and go directly to Shuntian University." Zhu Qizhen said with a smile.

Piero was surprised: "Really? Can my children go to Shuntian University?"

Zhu Qizhen waved his hand proudly: "Of course, all of you teachers' children can come."

Piero bowed excitedly: "I have seventeen children, and it is great that they can all come."

Zhu Qizhen: “!!!”

What the hell do you do? You have seventeen children? I'm the emperor, but I only have a few children.

"What do you do in Florence?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"Lawyer." Piero knew what the emperor was curious about and smiled awkwardly, "I have married four wives, so I have seventeen children."

Zhu Qizhen was still puzzled. Damn, is a lawyer so rich in Europe at that time? Without some money, he couldn't support such a big family.

Piero continued, "I am also a member of the Grand Guild of Florence and a hereditary notary."

Zhu Qizhen finally understood a little bit, that is, this guy has a close relationship with the upper class of Florence, so he should be very rich. Then why did he come to the Ming Dynasty to be a teacher?

"I came to Ming Dynasty for investigation with Lorenzo de' Medici. After I arrived, I found it a good place, so I stayed to become a teacher," Piero explained.

The Medici family? They are a great noble family.

This word popped up in Zhu Qizhen's mind. He glanced and asked, "Is Lorenzo here?"

A blond man stood up and bowed to him: "Greetings to His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, I am Lorenzo de' Medici."

Zhu Qizhen was very interested in this person. From his limited knowledge of world history, he knew that the success of the Renaissance was largely due to this family.

Their family was the actual ruler of Florence and had always supported the Renaissance. Amazingly, their family also produced four popes and two queens.

"I can introduce you to a friend, the owner of the Ming Trading Company, who will do more business with your family in the future." Zhu Qizhen said with a smile.

Lorenzo was very excited: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

He came to Daming to promote his family's business. If he could reach a cooperation with Daming Trading Company, it would bring huge benefits to his family.

Zhu Qizhen's eyes fell on Piero again, and he said seriously: "Mr. Piero, I plan to hire you as the president of Shuntian University. Are you willing?"

When these words were spoken, the whole audience was shocked.

The teachers of Ming Dynasty could not believe that the emperor would choose a Westerner as the president of a university. Piero himself could not believe that he came to Ming Dynasty and became the president of the most powerful university.

Zhu Qizhen's goal was very clear, to select a Westerner as the principal and bring in more Western talents. Although the Ming Dynasty was now strong, it was still far from enough in the fields of science and technology, art, etc.

The purpose of introducing Western talents was to serve the Ming Dynasty. A principal was just a school principal and could not decide many things. Major policies were still under the control of the Ministry of Rites.

"I am willing to do so. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." Piero bowed immediately.

Zhu Qizhen raised his hand and encouraged these Western teachers. Then, he stood up and left. Li Bing followed closely behind him, frowning and asking, "Your Majesty, it's inappropriate for the principal to be a Westerner, right?"

"There's nothing wrong with that." Zhu Qizhen said, "As the Minister of Rites, you just need to grasp the general direction."

"As you wish." Li Bing nodded.

Zhu Qizhen looked up at the blue sky and said, "Li Bing, if the Ming Dynasty wants to develop rapidly, it needs to introduce a large number of talents. I hope that future mathematicians, physicists, astronomers, etc. will emerge in the Ming Dynasty and start the industry that belongs to the Ming Dynasty."

……

Fahai Zen Temple, back mountain. Xu Bin came to the cave in the back mountain with a food box, and the Zhengtong Emperor and Wu Xingdao were reading scriptures.

"Let's eat." Xu Bin called.

He took out a plate of vegetarian food and three bowls of porridge from the food box. The Zhengtong Emperor's face darkened and he sighed: "Since we came to this cave, our food has been getting worse day by day."

"In the temple, everyone eats vegetarian food." Xu Bin said awkwardly.

Wu Xingdao couldn't stand being a vegetarian every day, so he asked, "Xu Bin, we still have some money, right? You can go to Taibai Tower to buy some food to improve your health. Your Majesty can't be a vegetarian every day, right?"

"I'm dressed like a monk now. It's inconvenient to buy wine and meat, right?" Xu Bin frowned.

The Zhengtong Emperor waved his hand and said, "It's alright, just be a vegetarian."

After he finished speaking, his face darkened, his eyes full of sorrow: "Shang Lu has been captured, Junshan will almost perish, we are lucky to still have something to eat, I am worried that one day I will be like my ancestors, begging for food. Haha, don't tell me, Taizu was a wandering monk, begging for food for several years."

Wu Xingdao said solemnly: "Your Majesty, it was because of the experiences of those years that Taizu strengthened his mind and made him grow, and he had the ability to compete for the world."

"The military advisor is right." The Zhengtong Emperor started eating. "This is a test from heaven."

The three of them looked at each other and smiled.

The Zhengtong Emperor said with a very grateful expression: "Luckily, you are always by my side."

He also had doubts in his heart. Xu Bin came to him at the order of the Queen Mother. He also knew that Xu Bin grew up with the Queen Mother and they had a special friendship.

But how could Wu Xingdao be so determined? Wu Xingdao's origins are a mystery, and only the Queen Mother should know. It was the Queen Mother who arranged for Wu Xingdao to get close to Zhu Qiyu and become Zhu Qiyu's military advisor, and then everything happened.

The Zhengtong Emperor secretly sighed: "My mother's life experience is also a mystery. She was an ordinary woman, first became the concubine of the crown prince, then the queen, and then the queen mother. Along the way, perhaps only the late emperor knows her true origins."

……

A month later, the palace examination ended.

Xiyao passed the imperial examination and became the first female editor of the Hanlin Academy in the Ming Dynasty. In this imperial examination, two female Hanlins emerged, besides her, there was another one named Liu Wanqing.

This Liu Wanqing was the one Zhu Qizhen helped to get admitted to Shuntian University last time. Later he found out that she was a famous talented woman in Jiangnan and the first person to propose monogamy.

Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Qizhen looked at the list handed over by Li Bing, turned to Xiyao beside him and said, "Tanhua Lang, it is a bit inappropriate for you to continue serving tea to me. People will say that I am wasting talents."

"Your Majesty, I don't want to leave... Your Majesty." She said the last two words very softly and her face blushed.

Zhu Qizhen smiled and said, "I can't live without the various teas you developed. How about this? I will make you a Shang Gong to assist the Queen Mother in handling harem affairs. Of course, you are still a female Hanlin and you have to serve in the Hanlin Academy."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xiyao was overjoyed.

The palace ladies were called "six bureaus and one department", including the Shangyi Bureau, Shanggong Bureau, Shanggong Bureau, Shangshi Bureau, Shangqin Bureau, Shangfu Bureau and Gongzheng Department. In addition to Gongzheng Department, which supervised women's discipline and had six independent bureaus, the other six bureaus had a total of 25 departments, each with different functions.

Shang Gong is the highest position of female officials, and its rank is the fifth rank. Shang Gong is mainly responsible for guiding the Empress, managing documents, conveying the Empress or Empress Dowager's orders, and taking charge of various celebrations in the harem. The Shang Gong Bureau consists of four departments: Si Ji, Si Yan, Si Bu, and Si Wei, each of which is in charge of different harem affairs. As the highest position of female officials, Shang Gong has extremely high power and status among female officials, equivalent to the "female prime minister" in the harem.

"You don't have to come to my Qianqing Palace every day." Zhu Qizhen smiled, "Go and assist the Queen Mother more often. Also, go to the Hanlin Academy more often. You are the first female editor and a role model for women all over the world."

"I obey your command." Xiyao nodded.

Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said, "From now on, you will be my vassal."

The Ming Dynasty finally began to have female officials, the kind of female officials in the imperial court and the local areas. At this moment, there were many women among the Jinshi in the imperial examination. Moreover, there were also many women admitted in the art department.

……

Because the results of the palace examination were announced, the capital city was extremely lively.

Restaurants and teahouses were full of students celebrating. There were even more students in temples, many of whom came to fulfill their vows.

Many students came to Fahai Temple to burn incense to the Buddha. In the backyard Zen room, a woman was sitting in the Zen room, wearing a plain dress, elegant and beautiful.

She bowed to a monk across from her and said, "Sir, I haven't seen you for so many years. Are you...converting to Buddhism? Well, my White Lotus Sect believes in 'the birth of Maitreya and the emergence of the Ming King'. Sir, do you feel that the Ming King is about to be born?"

"The Ming King may have been born." The monk smiled bitterly, "But I may have chosen the wrong person."

The woman was slightly surprised: "Sir, you also choose the wrong person?"

The monk spread his hands and said, "If I had made the right choice, how could I, Wu Xingdao, have ended up as a monk?"

He turned out to be Wu Xingdao. Looking at the beautiful woman in front of him, he sighed: "My White Lotus Sect finally has a new Saint Girl. You also passed the imperial examination and became a female imperial scholar?"

"Yes, first enter the court to serve as an official." The woman smiled.

She is another female Hanlin, Liu Wanqing, and also the Saint of the White Lotus Sect. Today, I came to the Fahai Zen Temple to meet Wu Xingdao, the military advisor of the White Lotus Sect.

"Hey, do we have any other options?" Wu Xingdao looked dejected.

"There is more." Liu Wanqing said, "Who did we choose decades ago? Now, we will choose her again."

Wu Xingdao frowned: "But I don't know what she is thinking now. Your master chose her back then, and she seems to have forgotten your master's revenge."

Liu Wanqing's eyes suddenly became sharp. "Master only had two disciples, me and her. She forgot, but I haven't forgotten. Master was killed by Emperor Taizong. Not only Master, but too many people died that time."

Tears welled up in her eyes and she kept saying:

"All nuns and Taoists in Shuntian and Shandong were arrested and brought to the capital for questioning."

"All military and civilian women who become nuns or Taoists will be detained in the capital."

It turns out that her master was Tang Sai'er, who led the White Lotus Sect to rebel against the imperial court during the reign of Emperor Taizong, and the sect flourished for a time. Of course, it was eventually destroyed by Emperor Taizong.

Legend has it that Tang Sai'er is the Buddha Mother and knows magical powers.

"Afterwards, they caught him and were about to execute him, but he was calm and fearless. They tied him up naked and took him to the market to face the execution. The blade could not penetrate him. They had no choice but to put him in prison again. They tied his body with three wooden bars and his feet with iron buttons. Soon, he freed himself and escaped. No one knows where he ended up."

Of course, this is just a legend. As Tang Sai'er's last disciple, she knew how her master died.

(End of this chapter)