At the end of the Tang Dynasty, it was a feudal town, but in Western Europe

"I'm also very puzzled, but that's the truth." Wang Sima's face remained unchanged, "Don't say it's you, our Jingnan Army has [-] people, didn't they also fly thousands of miles from the Central Plains?"

"Is the prince teasing me? There is no magic that can fly thousands of miles!" Chen Chongyi also couldn't accept it.

Lei Jun asked timidly, "Then can we go back?"

"I can't go back." Wang Sima shook his head helplessly, "Many scholars from Jiangnan to Guanzhong die on the road every year. The distance of [-] miles is only a straight line. Among them, mountains, rivers, deserts, grasslands The ocean is even more difficult to cross..."

"But didn't Duke Du go back?"

"It took Duke Du a total of 11 years from being captured to returning home. Not long after he arrived home and wrote this book, he passed away." Wang Sima lowered his head, his expression darkened, "In fact, he didn't go home at all, but went to the Dashi couldn’t move anymore, and finally, luckily, he found a merchant ship heading to Datang for trade, and there were Han people on board to take him for a ride.”

"Then I want to go home too." Yang Fuchen said stubbornly.

"If you want to go back, of course you can go back. We can also give you a horse and food, but the problem is that we don't have a map, and you don't understand the language of the people here. How do you want to go back?" Wang Sima revealed the cold facts without any consideration.

After saying this sentence, the air was a little dull for a while.

Wang Sima sighed softly: "If you want to go, of course you can go, but it will take a while. The barbarian kingdom here is at war with the rebels, and we are located in the central area of ​​the war. Let's talk about it when the war is calmed down and stabilized."

Chapter 88 The Order of Worshiping the Father

Zhongyongfang covers an area of ​​about [-] hectares, and is divided into a cross by two vertical and horizontal avenues, and the two roads beside the wall of the square divide the entire Zhongyongfang into a "field" shape.

At the northernmost end of this field is a general's mansion, the center of the entire Hamburg. This general's mansion was once the fortress of Han Castle. From the north gate of the general's mansion, you can directly lead to the hilltop castle on the mound.

However, since Feng Sen arrived here, the role of the hilltop castle has changed from the original defense and political center to a purely protective fortress, forming a corner with Zhongyongfang.

Feng Sen has recently been considering whether to repair the main building of the hilltop castle, replace the original wooden wall with a mud brick wall, and then build an arrow tower and sentry tower on the basis of the original castle to warn and protect each other.

As for the original trial and meeting functions in Hamburg, Feng Sen also divided them into two, and the meeting function was transferred to the wooden platform beside the Alster River. Feng Sen's latest idea is to renovate the wooden platform and design it as a semi-permanent new meeting place.

The trial function was transferred to a small courtyard next to the Jiangfu, which Feng Sen called the Hanyi Yamen.

Since the number of people in Hamburg is not large, it is not as good as a county in the Central Plains. In the rural areas, it is not necessary to have itinerant priests and hundreds of households sent by Feng Sen to judge.

Most of the laws here are based on the local customary law, but Feng Sen has also made adjustments, that is, the Han people use the Han law, while the Franks and Saxons use the Saxon law, and if there is nothing stipulated in the Saxon law, look for the regulations in the Sun Salutation Sutra.

Zhenhui and Wang Sima are in charge of the specific affairs and work of the yamen in turn.

Next to the yamen, there is a newly built courtyard, which is about the same size as the small yamen courtyard, and can accommodate about [-] people to move freely. This is the monastery of the Heavenly Father Society, and it is collectively known as the Hamburg Monastery to the outside world.

The sun was shining brightly and the kingfishers were singing.

In the Hamburg monastery, Feng Sen was sitting facing south, speaking impassionedly, standing in front of a cross, with Zhenhui on both sides of him, a total of 12 people were seated, and this was the last remaining attendant monk.

"I am very happy to see that you can stay, because those who leave will be extremely annoyed decades later, annoyed why they did not participate in Worshiping the Father. When they die and ascend to the kingdom of heaven, they can only look at the past and regret, but when you ascend to the kingdom of heaven, you will be able to stand up and proudly say that my life is for spreading the true glory of God!"

"Elder Kelvin and I have thought about this religious order for a long time. Although we may risk being criticized, I still hope that everyone will not regard us as a secret organization or a hermit religious order, and we are an aboveboard religious order.

Our congregation is not so much about any activities, it is just an academic society, a discussion meeting of a small circle, so don't be nervous.

The so-called monasticism in the name of the association is just because the proposals in the association will be attacked by the corrupt people in the church. I hope that the monks in the association can keep the content of the association's discussion a secret for the time being!Until we have enough strength to fight them, we need to keep it secret for a while. "

Looking at the curious and eager eyes of these young attendants, Feng Sen continued: "I would like to ask you all, what should be the most important thing we should do as monks and believers?"

"Pray!" shouted an attendant monk.

"Worship the Heavenly Father!"

"Reading!"

"Spread the Gospel of the Father!"

The attendant monks answered one after another.

"So among these obligations, what should monks do most? Is it worship? Is it reading the scriptures?" Feng Sen shook his head. "In my opinion, it is to spread the gospel of the Heavenly Father. Why do you say that? Have you ever wondered what Europe was like in ancient times? What was Rome like?"

"Gaul in ancient times was inhabited by ignorant and ignorant Gauls who believed in Celtic evil gods, while on the south bank of the Elbe River lived more barbaric Germanic Goths, and the extravagant Roman nobles oppressed slaves and forced them to work by evil means.

The barbarians invaded the corrupt Rome. In the vast land of Europa, countless bloodshed and sacrifices, countless wars and plagues are happening, and countless painful creatures are crying. When the gospel of God is preached, the bloodshed disappears. , the pain disappeared, and in the glory of God, they got civilization and peace.

But I want to ask, is it possible that the ignorant barbarians can wake up and voluntarily give up their evil beliefs?No, it was the missionaries, who told the barbarians over and over again the greatness of the Heavenly Father with their blood and tongue.

The missionaries set out from Egypt and Jerusalem. During the 300 years, the glory of God shone across the Mediterranean Sea. From the 300 years since the saint came to the world to the present, a total of nearly 500 years, what have our missionaries done? "

The monks bowed their heads in shame, and Feng Sen smiled lightly: "Spreading the Gospel is the priest's first priority. But countless priests bound in the monastery by the Benedictine canon have been corrupted.

Most of them came from noble families, lived in tall castles and churches for too long, and have already forgotten the wishes of their ancestors. They used the Benedictine canons as a cover to openly use the land that was supposed to support their lives for pleasure. Is this the right thing to do? "

To be honest, the corruption of the church at this time is actually quite slight compared with the corruption of the church in later generations, but if the church is corrupt, a speck of dust falls on the heads of the people at the bottom like a mountain.

In the feudal era with low productivity, there was never a way to survive for the bottom people. Charlemagne and Emperor, his successive years of wars also led to the famine pandemic. These bankrupt refugees were the main force in the later German reclamation activities.

Feng Sen is confident that his words will definitely resonate with some people, because no matter how small the probability is multiplied by the huge population base, there will be a large number of people who resonate.

It doesn’t matter if there are few people who resonate. Whether it is a nation or a religion, its essence is an imagined community. As long as a large number of individual cases are taken out, with more words and louder voices, people will imagine a cloak that floats on the surface of the church, a cloak called corruption and backwardness, even if it is only imagined.

Most people never realize that their destiny is in their own hands, they need a catharsis, a culprit.

In the big village named Frank, there are countless slaves wondering why I believe in the heavenly father and still be a slave.

This is enough to unite people's hearts, but it is imaginary. If it is to be implemented, it must have effective actions and economic benefits.

The most important thing is to win over all the forces that can be won over, whether he is a martyr of idealism or just a villain who is greedy for profit.

It's not about that, Feng Sen just wants to be a powerful minister, as long as he can achieve his goal, he doesn't mind his team being dirty.

As a feudal lord, Feng Sen himself was even filthy.

"According to what I said, the most important point of our worship of the Father is to preach, and everything is for mission. In order to preach, we have to clean up the moths in the church. In order to preach, we have to spread the gospel to the barbarians.

Unlike other monasteries, in order to preach, I hope that you can join the world, and even be secular. Therefore, I hope that our church can accommodate some different thoughts and accommodate some secular people, such as myself. "

Having said that, Feng Sen shrugged his shoulders, and the attendant monks also let out a burst of laughter.

"Of course, whether these statements are correct or not depends on practice, and based on what I said, I decided to set up the canon for Worshiping Heavenly Father."

"[-]. Poverty life. The monks who join the order must live a frugal, practical, and simple life where everyone is equal before the Father. All surplus materials must be used for production to obtain more materials, which can feed more poor people. , because the Father is the leader of the poor."

This is to prevent this group of priests from using gold to make crosses instead of gold coins in the future.

"Second, distinguish between public and private. The priest's own private property and religious property must be separated. In other words, the priests in the church can lease land at a low price and then sublease it, but the church cannot own land, and the church's expenses are the responsibility of the lord himself. This is to prevent the priests from embezzling the religious property."

This is for the priests to be more active in their work, instead of being full of knowledge but hiding in the deep wall compound as a hermit. Feng Sen is very short of educated people who can assist in political affairs.

"Third, open your mind. Be firm in the main teachings of the Father, but for missionary purposes, you can also refer to other knowledge, and allow everyone to spread the Gospel to pagans in a way they can understand."

This is for the convenience of distorting the scriptures.

Looking at the attendant monks who were thinking or frowning, Feng Sen smiled and said: "Of course, these canons and doctrines are just prototypes, more specific and more in line with the Gospel of the Father needs to be completed by you, I am only responsible for giving Money, fame and lectures.

Elder Kelvin, it's up to you to preside over it. "

Sitting back on the chair again, Feng Sen couldn't help showing a smile as he looked at the attendant monks who were discussing more and more intensely.

Chapter 89 Bridge and Paving Program

With the support of Kang Dezhen and Ador, Lyudmila supported the door frame, stepped over the threshold of the wing of the general's mansion, and finally walked out of the room.

For more than ten days, Lyudmila stood under the sun for the first time. The scorching sun shone on her face, as if it was so white that it could emit a layer of fluorescence.

Lyudmila was wearing a long muslin dress and a beanie. The girl sat on the edge of the flower bed and let out a breath slowly.

"What day is it today?"

"June [-]th." Ador also sat next to Lyudmila, "It's been almost twelve days since you were attacked."

"Then why are you still here?" Lyudmila's voice was weak.

"Right now, the Saxon tribes in Dannenberg have given up their previous suspicions and launched an uprising to respond to Vidukind and his army." Ador looked up at the blue sky, "It's okay to let one or two cavalry pass quickly, but It was too difficult to get a group of people to escort me to Paderborn, I had to stay in Hamburg."

Lowering his head, Ador looked at Lyudmila and showed a bright smile: "And it's very good here. I don't have to be stuck in the room every day to learn brocade and embroidery. Now I can ride horses, fish, and shoot arrows. I also have many playmates. I can do what my father and priests don't let me do here, and I can say what I don't want to say."

Looking at Ador's smiling face, Lyudmila asked helplessly, "Do you know what's going on with Eupolit now?"

Ador frowned and thought for a while, and finally said: "Oupolit was not attacked by Vidukind, but was attacked by the Vileti, but Vidukind's cavalry blocked the news. What is the specific situation? Know."

"I want to see His Excellency the Earl, may I?"

"Of course." Ador agreed, "But Feng is dealing with the problem of building the bridge now. There seems to be something wrong with the bridge over the Ulster River. Feng has been outside. You probably won't be able to see his people until evening. Why don't we go hunting, let's go."

In fact, if Ador and Lyudmila had decided to go left to go fishing instead of right to go hunting after going out, they would have been able to see that Feng Sen was actually on the Ulster River.

He rolled up his trouser legs, stepped on the water, knocked on the rotten wooden bridge pier, and asked Olean behind him, "How long has this bridge been in use?"

"It was there when we came here, and I don't know how many years." Olean shook his head, wringing his fingers, "We have to rebuild the pier every summer after the Ulster River floods, otherwise the entire wooden bridge It will all collapse."

"How many times has it collapsed?"

"If it is not repaired, a section will definitely collapse in the next year, and heavy things cannot be walked on the bridge, otherwise it will also collapse."

The wooden bridge on the Alster River has no name, and the local people call it a wooden bridge as a matter of course. The bridges are all made of pure wood as the name suggests.

The length of the wooden bridge is about 20 meters, and the width is about three meters. It can accommodate a carriage at most. When the population of Hamburg was not large, such a wooden bridge was sufficient for use, but with the [-] soldiers and nearly [-] slaves brought by Feng Sen, the wooden bridge is already crumbling.

The wooden bridge here was built very casually, that is, two logs were crossed into an X shape and firmly tied with leather and hemp rope, and then inserted into the river bed like a herringbone.

Just like this, the sections are connected to form a bridge. This bridge should only allow one or two people to pass side by side.

Later, it seemed that as the population increased, the locals added another wooden bridge to the left side of the original wooden bridge, and also used X-shaped frames to make bridge piers, widening the bridge deck to about three meters.

With the entry of Frankish immigrants, guardrails were added on both sides of the wooden bridge, and it became what it is now.

However, with the passage of time, the bridge has been in disrepair for a long time, and with the large population, it has recently collapsed.

"Chen Dalang, what do you think of this bridge?"

"It's really rude to be polite, so I can't flatter you."

"Have you ever supervised the construction of bridges in your hometown?" Feng Sen walked ashore and wiped his hands with the towel handed by the servant.

Chen Chongyi was also straightforward: "Suzhou Inspector Wei Gong once ordered me to build a stone bridge in Suzhou City, and it took three years to complete. I am really ashamed."

"How did you do that?"

Chen Chongyi thought for a while, then bowed his head and cupped his hands and replied: "First, let people measure the width and depth of the river, send their children (the slaves in Tang Dynasty called them children) down the river to clean up the river bed, and then draw a baseline between the two banks, and sprinkle a large amount of water along the baseline. The stones are built into a low embankment under the water.

After standing like this for a period of time, the river mud is soft and the stones are heavy and firm, and the stones will naturally sink into the river mud. Then, based on this, bricks and stones are built layer by layer to form bridge piers. Finally, during the dry season in winter, long stone slabs are placed on the bridge piers with boats, and glutinous rice juice is glued to form a stone bridge. "

Feng Sen only felt very comfortable, that is to say, the scholars of the Tang Dynasty still had the practical spirit left by the ancient Confucianism, and most of them were born as gentry and landlords, with a lot of books in their families and a wide range of knowledge. Abba aba.

Feng Sen held Chen Chongyi's hand intimately, grinning and said, "Is Chen Dalang still used to coming here?"

"Foreign lands and rivers, although there is a bit of the style of the Han family, but..." Chen Chongyi smiled wistfully, "But how can I get used to it?"

"Is the old man Yang still calling to go back to his hometown recently?"

"I was almost bitten to death by a wolf in the forest a few days ago. I have become more honest recently. I am learning the local Frankish with Wang Sima. How will Jieshuai plan to arrange him?" Thinking about the sheep Fuchen dressed in fishing nets that day, the corners of Chen Chongyi's mouth twitched. Can't help but bring a smile.

"I'm going to ask him to be the Chinese teacher for those young soldiers. Those veterans in the army can't understand the foul language, so I can only let them teach the beginners." Feng Sen said helplessly.

"What preparations does Chen Dalang have in the future?"

"I am not familiar with the place here, and Jie Shuai rescued us again. Of course, I am willing to worship under Jie Shuai's family. To eat the king's salary and be loyal to the king, just be a small Kongmu official."

"This idea is good, but I want to modify it a little bit." Feng Sen walked on the wooden bridge, turned around and said to Chen Chongyi, "I plan to build a new bridge over the Alster River in the coming year, and the old bridge will also need to be built." It will be repaired before the rainy season in August, since you have experience in building bridges, I will leave this matter to you."

"Here, I must do my best."

"Wait, you haven't listened to my request yet. I want you to double the width of this bridge and accommodate two full-loaded ox carts. I'll give you a month and a half. Manpower can be deployed as you like. Everything is cheap, but Dare to obey orders?"

"Dare to obey."

"Okay, if the old bridge can be repaired successfully, I will order you to be the construction secretary, responsible for all road construction, house construction and bridge construction in Hamburg."

"Here!" Chen Chongyi opened his eyes much brighter, and bowed his hands to Feng Sen.

Chapter 90 Eureka!

After talking to Chen Chongyi about the construction of the bridge here, Feng Sen rushed to the general's mansion without stopping, found Wang Sima, and began to hand over the work of the registered bannermen.

Since the spring, Feng Sen's Feng Mansion was officially changed to General Mansion, and a courtyard was added to the south of the original Feng Mansion, where Feng Sen's close ministers and guests lived, and it was also where he worked.

In fact, Feng Sen didn't spend many days working in the general's mansion. Most of the time, he was traveling outside to investigate the resources and geographical situation of various places, and then went to various obedient villages to inspect and brush his face, and then took people to deter them in a small area. A village that is not very obedient or even has crooked thoughts.

Except for military affairs and finances, Feng Sen was in charge of the specific affairs, and he distributed the rest to his advisers with confidence.

For example, Feng Sen handed over the inspection department responsible for public security, fire prevention, and robbery to the military judge Cui Xutuo, and Feng Sen assigned Zhenhui to be the chief officer of the department responsible for population statistics, education, and preaching; the Zhongshu department responsible for allocating labor and material allocation was in charge of Wang Sima. If there was a construction department in the future, Chen Chongyi should be in charge.

At present, Feng Sen has only these three divisions under his command. Among them, the inspection division has a total of [-] archers, of which [-] are veterans injured and retired from the battlefield, and the rest are mostly young soldiers who are part-time and part-study.

The Department of Education and Practice is composed of seven or eight of the eleven attendant monks plus three or five Kongmu officials, and with Orion on board, there are twelve people in total.