Goddess Kaleidoscope

Limited by the constraints of the times, the missionary methods of traditional religious sects in this world are almost all the same, mainly based on preaching, and the main competition is who can shout the loudest.

As for cultural and entertainment activities such as song and dance performances, most religious people only regard them as leisure activities and never think that they can be used as a means of proselytizing.

Even worse, some sects that advocate asceticism and celibacy see all forms of entertainment as temptations from the devil, and therefore strictly order their followers to stay away from these terrible sources of depravity.

Fortunately, these ascetic sects are generally unpopular, so they are difficult to grow in size; otherwise, the world would be extremely boring.

As a time traveler, Lu De was well aware of the enormous role that culture and entertainment played in spreading ideas. He remembered his student days, the heyday of the most rampant public intellectuals and traitors in China. Apart from those so-called "opinion leaders" who were paid to stir up trouble online, most people were actually brainwashed fans who had been brainwashed by entertainment products from developed Western countries.

This kind of propaganda method usually has a specific term: "cultural export".

Lude also used to love Hollywood blockbusters. In fact, he still watched them often after he grew up and started working. But during his naive student days, he really believed that the US military was the "righteous messenger" protecting world peace. He thought the soldiers, armed to the teeth, were cool and handsome, and that they made criminals, dictators and aliens run away in terror.

In contrast, their own country's army was truly filthy from head to toe!

CCTV's military channel broadcast "Getting Rich" programs every day, teaching how to raise livestock. A certain military unit held an all-army skills competition, and a few cooks from the mess hall actually won the championship. How could such a people's army look like it had any fighting power? This made Lu De, who was in junior high school at the time, feel deeply worried!

Of course! As Ludwig grew up and his horizons broadened, he gradually saw through these tricks. He would watch American patriotic blockbusters for fun, but he couldn't deny that he had been fooled before.

However, it doesn't matter if you don't like the United States. That doesn't mean Ludo can't emulate the United States' methods in another world and take the initiative to strike while no opponent has yet realized the importance of cultural strongholds.

However, despite his good idea, a major problem loomed before Lud: he lacked a corresponding "professional team".

Despite having been immersed in modern culture for over thirty years in his previous life and experiencing the information age brought by the internet, which gave Lu De an unimaginable amount of knowledge in the eyes of people from other worlds, making him seem like he knew a little bit about everything, some things are useless just by knowing them!

For example, when it came to making kilns and firing pottery, Lu De had seen the traditional rural firing techniques when he was a child because his grandparents were pottery workers. He even made a vase by hand under his grandfather's guidance. However, after transmigrating, he was still flustered and confused when he tried to make it from scratch. In the end, he barely succeeded with the help of the village's bricklayer.

Bank, the blacksmith who later moved to the village, also received a lot of amazing "genius ideas" from Ludd, who continuously helped the village's blacksmith shops improve their techniques. Recently, Bank even led a group of villagers to try "traditional steelmaking" according to Ludd's suggestions.

The craftsmen all thought that Lud was a learned mentor who generously passed on these advanced skills to them, but Lud himself knew that he was more of an advisor than a mentor. If he were to personally take charge of these tasks, he would probably make quite a fool of himself in the early and middle stages.

So when Lude discovered that Servis, the circus owner, not only had a group of highly skilled performers under her command, but was also a singer and dancer with a keen ear for music, he had already had the idea of ​​winning her over to his side after watching the performance the night before.

The simplest and most direct way to recruit this kind of performing group is undoubtedly to throw a bag in front of Servis and then, like a nouveau riche, arrogantly declare, "I'm going to support you myself!"

But Lude could tell that Servis wasn't the kind of person who would sell both her art and her body. If she were to do that, she would most likely refuse on the spot and then angrily leave Pine Village with her circus overnight.

Just then, the other party came to the school, and Lu De felt this was an opportunity.

Under Lud's personal guidance, Servis toured the school. The entire academy currently has 312 students, accounting for 100% of the village's school-age population. There are also some older students who still want to study, and Lud has made an exception and allowed them to enroll.

Lude's next step is to recruit children from surrounding villages and also run some adult literacy classes to help the adults in the villages learn to read.

Servais observed the children's basic education with little interest. While she was literate for her profession, she didn't consider it a remarkable skill. This was simply the common sense of the world; literacy wasn't a necessary skill for ordinary life.

However, Servis soon discovered something that interested her—a music classroom filled with musical instruments.

"Priest, do you still teach wind instruments here?"

"Uh...we're thinking of that, but we're short of a teacher."

Lude scratched his cheek. In the entire village of Pine Trees, with more than 3,000 people, there wasn't a single person who knew anything about music. The only instrument they could use was the drum. Therefore, in the village, for any occasion requiring musical accompaniment, whether it was a wedding or a funeral, the drums were the only instrument used, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of an African tribe.

With Ludwig's permission, Servis entered the music room and immediately noticed that all the seemingly numerous musical instruments inside were brand new. She casually picked up a seven-stringed lyre, and with a few deft plucks of her ten fingers, she produced a very pleasant melody.

“You played very well, Miss Servis. If I didn’t know you were leaving in a few days, I would really like to hire you as a music teacher at our school.”

"Your Excellency, you must be joking. With my mediocre skills, how could I possibly be qualified to be a teacher!"

"Haha! You're too modest."

The two chatted casually in the music classroom. Lude knew that Servais, a traveling performer, must have a wealth of experience and, as a professional in the field, must know more about the current state of the cultural and entertainment industries in various countries than businessmen or adventurers.

Through Servis, Ludwig learned that in the current human world, the Southern Empire was undoubtedly the cultural leader. From her description, it was clear that the developed regions of the Empire were already showing signs of a Renaissance. This powerful and wealthy country had seen a surge in opera popularity in recent years, and the imperial capital had even built the world's largest opera house for this purpose, which was said to be frequently attended by even the emperor.

It is worth mentioning that the old emperor passed away last winter. Due to some undisclosed special reasons, the edict left by the old emperor did not select an heir from among several popular electors, but instead placed an illegitimate son who had been secretly fostered in a rural noble family on the throne.

The electors naturally objected, but they couldn't stand by and watch as the commanders of the empire's four major army groups led their troops in swearing allegiance to the new emperor. Their overwhelming military superiority left them with no choice but to remain silent.

This momentous news was something Lud, who was in the north of the kingdom, had only heard about for the first time in more than half a year. He couldn't help but feel nostalgic for the convenience of being on Earth in his previous life, when he could know everything happening in the world just by lying in bed and scrolling through his phone.

"So, opera is very popular in the Empire now?"

“That’s right! And with the Empire taking the lead, it won’t be long before neighboring countries follow suit. I’m not afraid to admit it, but even our circus, which mainly performs acrobatics, has recently started incorporating opera elements into our performances to cater to changing tastes.”

Servis was referring to the final performance of last night, "The Canary Who Sings Love Songs." However, she herself admitted that the script was very clichéd, a very formulaic love story, written by a third-rate playwright—the best writer she could find.

"A critically acclaimed and commercially successful opera requires both an excellent script and excellent actors, but these days, even literate people are few and far between, let alone playwrights who can write good stories. And to be honest, being a writer is much worse than being a street performer like us. You can practice hard even if you don't have talent in acrobatics, but you really can't make a living writing if you don't have talent. So those who do this are mostly wealthy and leisurely noblemen who write as a hobby. People like us have no chance of ever getting involved."

"If you put it that way, I do know a genius playwright."

"Who?"

"His name is... William Shakespeare!"

End of this chapter

William Shakespeare is a name that resonates with people around the world in the 21st century. He is one of the leading figures of the European Renaissance, a world-renowned playwright and poet, whose thirty-seven comedies and hundreds of poems have been passed down to us.

Of course! For a certain mobile game player group, this Englishman's most famous deed is probably that he wrote a "promiscuous doujinshi" (a reference to Henry VI) that got Joan of Arc pregnant!

Putting aside the trivial matter of the Black Church of France resisting the English, Shakespeare's achievements in dramatic literature are undeniable. Lu De still remembers that his junior high school homeroom teacher in his previous life was a Shakespearean fan, and the summer homework he assigned them in the first year of junior high was to read through the complete works of Shakespeare.

Therefore, Ludd had read all of Shakespeare's famous works. He couldn't memorize them word for word, but he remembered most of the general plots and classic lines. So, as early as last winter, Ludd had already begun to work on replicating these classic works from Earth.

However, this is not Earth after all, and Shakespeare's fame is not so great that it can be seen across the world. Therefore, Servis looked blank when she heard the name.

"Uh... I'm sorry, Your Excellency, forgive my ignorance, but this Mr. Shakespeare... what country is he a playwright from?"

"It doesn't matter what country he was from. Besides, Mr. Shakespeare has been gone for many years. I only learned about such a genius in this world because I read his manuscripts by chance."

"So... you've never actually met this playwright named William Shakespeare?"

"Yes, but I have been fortunate enough to read many of his works, so although we were born at different times, we have long admired each other!"

"..."

Although she had never heard of Shakespeare, since Ludd so highly praised him, Servis thought he must be quite capable, so she asked if she could read the manuscripts left by this master.

However, Ludwig regretfully stated that the manuscript was not there, but he could pick one of the more representative works to talk to her about briefly.

Since Servis had previously mentioned that the current mainstream preference for drama is for romance plays, Ludd specifically chose "Romeo and Juliet." Although this work is not among Shakespeare's "Four Great Tragedies," its fame is certainly no less, and it is also the work Ludd is most familiar with!

In his previous life, when Lu De was in the second year of junior high school, his school held an arts performance. The school required each class in the first and second years of junior high to put on a program. Therefore, Lu De's class decided to put on a play under the sole opinion of their Shakespearean fan homeroom teacher. The script was Romeo and Juliet.

At the time, Lu De was influenced by his homeroom teacher and aspired to be an artistic youth, so he took the rehearsals for the play very seriously. In order to play the lead role, he read the original novel repeatedly and even took character analysis notes like Stephen Chow in "King of Comedy".

Unfortunately, Ludwig didn't get to play his beloved Romeo; instead, he played Juliet... a pillar under the balcony of his house.

It's funny, back in Lu De's school, the head of student affairs was a menopausal spinster who didn't care about anything else but focused on cracking down on students dating early, breaking up as many couples as she could.

Lude's homeroom teacher, fearing to offend this guy and genuinely worried that the teenage boys and girls in the class might actually develop feelings for each other, decided to favor girls over boys when it came to casting. All the roles were played by girls from the class, while the boys, based on the principle of participation, either did odd jobs backstage or wore cardboard props.

Years later, when Lu De recalled this incident, he couldn't help but feel regret and complain that his junior high school homeroom teacher was too "naive".

Do you think girls don't fall in love at first?

Thanks to this experience, Luther was intimately familiar with the plot of Romeo and Juliet. Indeed, the original text is quite short; the Chinese translation is only about 70,000 words long, and the story is divided into five acts.

However, Shakespeare's use of contradictions and coincidences creates dramatic tension throughout the story, making the tragic ending all the more memorable! At the same time, the story's core message is positive and uplifting, praising true love and friendship and urging people to let go of hatred.

So after only hearing Ludd's rather rough outline of the play, Servis was deeply captivated by the tortuous love story. If she had previously harbored doubts about Ludd's claim of being a "genius playwright," she was now completely convinced.

To be able to construct such an exquisite story is truly genius-level! Servis couldn't wait to read the actual manuscript.

"As for the manuscript, I'm afraid I can't show you the original manuscript from Shakespeare. I only have some handwritten copies. Also, I have to teach a math class to my students later. Since you'll be staying in the village for a few more days, how about we meet at the school tomorrow morning? I'll bring the manuscript with me then."

In fact, given the distance between the school and the temple, Ludwig could easily send someone back now to retrieve the manuscript he had left on the basement bookshelf in less than half an hour. However, he deliberately delayed until tomorrow. This was mainly to whet Servis's appetite and pave the way for further "traps."

Lude could tell that the Rainbow Circus was doing well. It might not be as good as the best, but it was definitely better than the worst. It hadn't reached the point of despair yet.

Therefore, in this situation, it is obviously not appropriate for Ludd to simply throw money at their circus if he wants to take them over. It might even cause misunderstandings. So, in addition to throwing money at them, Ludd needs to come up with something else that can attract Servis. An excellent script is undoubtedly the most suitable choice.

If Ludd could bring Servis's Rainbow Circus under his wing, he would not only provide them with ample funding but also excellent scripts, helping them transform and upgrade into a top-tier song and dance troupe and making them famous.

In return, Lud will not only earn money, but the upgraded Rainbow Dance Troupe will also become a powerful propaganda tool for him, helping him conquer cultural territories that traditional sects do not value.

And this is just the first step in Ludd's series of plans, which will bring a true "Renaissance" to the world!

The two then chatted about current mainstream musicals and dance dramas, and had a very pleasant conversation, making the classroom atmosphere quite lively.

No one noticed that two pairs of bright eyes were secretly watching their every move through the small window at the back of the classroom, occasionally whispering something to each other.

End of this chapter

In the hallway outside the classroom, Aina and Shanis were secretly observing from the back window. Watching the two seemingly congenial figures inside, Shanis suddenly spoke.

"Aina, it seems like our master is interested in that woman!"

"Ha! What do you mean by 'interesting'?"

"You don't even understand this? It's this!"

As Shanis spoke, she made an "OK" sign with her left hand, then moved her right index finger in and out of the circle in her left hand. Aina was startled at first, then her fair cheeks flushed rapidly.

For the innocent Aina, this strange knowledge has been added yet!

"No, that can't be, right?"

"I think it's very likely. Don't forget what kind of goddess I am. You have to trust my professional judgment! I think as long as no one disturbs them, they should get started very soon."

Listening to Shanis's "professional analysis," Aina couldn't help but believe it to some extent, considering that this guy was the god in charge of love and desire.

Shanis continued to watch the two people in the classroom with great interest. Although she now had a stable source of faith and the days of not having enough to eat were long gone, she didn't mind occasionally having some "coarse grains" as an extra meal. However, Aina, who was next to her, felt a strange sense of irritation.

Then, as if by some strange twist of fate, Aina suddenly stood up, strode towards the classroom door, and slammed it open.

"Master, are you there?"

Aina's sudden burst into the room startled Lud, making him tremble and feel inexplicably guilty. Servis was also taken aback, then recognized Aina as the young nun who had been by Lud's side since their first meeting. Servis's first impression of Aina was that she had large breasts, and judging by her nutrition, she couldn't be from a poor family. She was also very pretty, but she seemed a bit silly.

After entering the room, Aina glanced at Servis with a stern face, then spoke to Lud, who was looking embarrassed, in a completely emotionless voice.

"Master, you still have class to attend later."

"Uh... I know."

"I thought you had forgotten."

"..."