One day in November in early winter, near the end of the year, Zhou Ming, together with thousands of farmers in the Gran Territory, was sent by the lord to St. Marne's Abbey, more than 100 miles south of the territory, to do a month-long "love work" for the church. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

This form of "love work" is similar to the three-day weekly work for the lord during the busy farming period, and it is also a form of unpaid voluntary labor, except that the service object becomes the church.

However, it is strange that the farmers in all the territories are not resistant to this kind of "love work", and some people even cheered when they heard that there was love work done, and without the need for the lord to urge, they packed their things and prepared to work in the monastery, which was very positive.

After two days of walking, and arriving at St. Marne's Abbey, I understood why the peasants loved to do love work.

Spacious and bright cathedral, clean and tidy accommodation, free hot water in the bathhouse, delicious hot meals three times a day......

There are also many priests and monks who walk among the peasants and pray for these lost lambs, and they soothe their hearts with gentle words, so that this place is as comfortable as heaven...... Even the amount of work that needs to be done on a daily basis is not easy.

"Sure enough, it's not for nothing that the church in this world is above the king, just to win the hearts of the people, the church simply threw off more than a dozen streets of those lords!"

It is not difficult to explain why, when the harvest comes, the peasants do not store their surplus grain and bread, but send them to the monastery in one go.

It is not difficult to explain why the farmers who have been dying for many years do not leave their wealth to their children and grandchildren, but donate all of it to the church in order to ascend to "heaven".

It's not that these peasants are ignorant or stupid, but that the lords of this world oppress them so hard that they don't have the slightest sense of security about their private property, and instead of being deprived by the lords by all kinds of means, it is better to give them all to the church for spiritual sustenance.

And during the break, when he followed the collective prayer, he saw the extremely pious appearance of the farmers who were prostrate on the ground, and Zhou Ming understood that if he wanted to conquer this world, the more terrible enemy than the lord was this church, which had won the support of almost all the people at the bottom.

The power of the people is great, Zhou Ming has never doubted this, and in the face of these peasants who have been brainwashed by the church and are often organized to do collective prayer, Zhou Ming knows that it is impossible to shake this power and simply use force.

Not only that, but looking at the various beautiful patterns and colorful patterns painted on the walls and ceilings of the monastery, and the various parchment books in the library, Zhou Ming knew that the church not only monopolized faith, but also knowledge and art...... And these things are more important than force.

"Knowledge, I need to know the knowledge of the world, preferably as much as possible!"

After seeing the library, Zhou Ming, who immediately wanted to "arm" his mind, begged Sister Mary, who was in charge of managing the library, to repeatedly promise that she would not destroy the books, and then she obtained Sister Mary's consent and entered the library.

From the shelf, he gently pulled out a thick parchment book similar to an Oxford dictionary, and Zhou Ming couldn't wait to flip through it.

But in the books, except for a few dozens, I don't know any of the tadpole-like alphabets.

"I should have begged Madame Madeleine to teach me a little bit of culture, she knew a lot of words, and if she could have taken me to the first place and taught me these pinyin characters, I wouldn't have been unable to understand them. ”

Unfortunately, he made the wrong choice, and the opportunity to ask Madame Madeleine for help was gone...... He didn't want to run into her son Edward again in the castle.

"Kid, what are you doing?"

At this time, an old man wearing a gray robe with a kind smile on his face stood quietly behind him at some time.

"Oh, I'm sorry Father Robert, I'm reading the book, I'll put it back right away!"

Zhou Ming knew this old man, he was Father Robert, who stood in front of the altar and prayed during prayer these days, a benevolent priest with great prestige among the faithful.

"No need child, I see curiosity and desire in your eyes, do you want to know about this book?"

Father Robert smiled, his voice full of magnetism and a soothing force.

"Yes Father, I would love to know what the beginning, the first page, the first paragraph of the book mean?"

Zhou Ming showed "urgency", put the book in front of the priest, and looked at him directly, hoping that he could help solve his doubts.

"The meaning of this passage is: God is above, and the angel is below, to declare to the world, in the beginning the heavens were dark, and the earth was empty and chaotic, and the gods, moving on the waters, and God said, Let there be light......

Father Robert was pleased to take this lost lamb to the Holy Father's Book, a religious treasure, to guide him to his way forward and to convert him to the arms of the merciful Lord......

Time flies.

A whole night passed, and the candles burned to the end, and in this night's time, Zhou Ming memorized four hundred words.

"Kid, I am amazed at your talent, you have learned something that others would take half a year to learn in just one night. ”

Father Robert said with a look of amazement, he has taught many students, and some are gifted and intelligent, but they are not so intelligent that they can read more than ten pages of the Holy Father's Sutra in one night like Zhou Ming.

This child must be related to God, he must be an apostle of God who has been left behind in the world, and even this child is qualified to become his priest's attendant.

But......

In the child's eyes, there didn't seem to be the kind of conversion and devotion to God, but he was simply interested in the words.

"Dear Father Robert, can I come back tomorrow, can I learn more from you in the Holy Father's Sutra?"

Zhou Ming, whose excitement had not yet faded on his face, looked at Father Robert expectantly.

"Yes child, as long as you want to come. ”

Robert smiled kindly, as the most devout apostle of God, he would not give up even the most humble lost lamb, even if it was not pious enough.

"Thank you, thank you, Father!"

……

For most of the next half month, no matter how tired he was during the day, Zhou Ming would come to the library on time at night to ask Father Robert for advice.

However, in about 20 days, he was able to read the "Holy Father's Sutra", a church classic with tens of thousands of words, and recognized more than 90% of the words in it.

"Oh God, this boy is so gifted that if he can become my attendant, he will surely inherit my mantle in the future, and pass on my devotion and understanding of God......

"But ......"

"This child is the son of an ordinary farmer, even if he inherits my mantle, he will be suppressed and ostracized in the church......"

Father Robert was a little moved, but he was very hesitant, like the knightly class, the monastic class also mainly came from the nobility, and there were very few commoners, and only in the poorest and remote dioceses, those priests from commoner backgrounds had a chance to get ahead.

For example, Father Robert himself, who was born into a declining aristocracy who lost his title, worked tirelessly for more than twenty years for the Abbey of St. Marne, and was only a blessed abbot, and his authority was in the seventh or eighth place in the Abbey of St. Marne, and he was still seriously excluded, if little Lane ......

Eventually, Father Robert dismissed the idea.

Zhou Ming didn't know that there was an opportunity to change his fate, and he had missed him, but he had learned a lot of knowledge and received a handwritten note from Father Robert, and on the way back to the Grand Collar, he felt that the trip was huge.

"If there is still an opportunity to do love work in the future, I must ask Father Robert some more questions!"

Zhou Ming, who found a staircase leading to the palace of knowledge, naturally wanted to pass through this staircase and climb a little higher.