Martin. Ludd's conversation with Henry VIII did not last long, for soon Martin was called away by Brother Desi's attendants, who had no prominent position in the English court for the time being, but he was highly respected by Henry VIII, and this was enough to give him enough power and power that even the king sometimes had to listen to him, as now, when he asked Martin to get out of his way, and the king had to say goodbye to this interesting new friend and go on with his previous work, which was hunting.

But throughout the hunt, the king was visibly absent-minded, and the attendants who served him immediately noticed this, and about dinner time it was time for Wolsey, who had been promoted to Privy Counsellor by the new king only a few months earlier. When Thomas got the news, the clergyman, who was particularly attentive and sensitive to power, was immediately alarmed, saying that he had many enemies in the court, but there was no one who worried him the most than Desidwu. Erasmus. Like Wolsey, the Dutch priest was chosen by Henry VII for his maturity of wisdom and vision—and their trajectories were even cleverly combined, as they became close to the new king, Henry VIII, after the death of the old king.

And unlike Walsey, who came from a humble background, Desi Dewu. Although Erasmus was only the illegitimate son of the daughter of a priest and a doctor, he was ordained by a prominent archbishop, and was invited by Pope Pius III to be his secretary, and it is said that he once politely refused the position of cardinal granted to him by the Pope, so that no one can say that he is a man of power, and even those who hate him the most must admit that he has a noble temperament - and even if Erasmus is always dissatisfied with some of the practices and actions of the Church now, such as the fact that he considers holy things, False appearances such as indulgences and sacraments have gone beyond the pious duty of human beings, and have made great mockery of the extravagant and extravagant ceremonies and costumes of the Church. Instead of reprimanding or punishing him, the Medici gave him praise and some recognition, which only made his reputation even more invigorating.

Henry VIII always regarded him as a respectable teacher, and the nobles treated him like a saint, and although he did not have great power, he was also not oppressed and disturbed by the powerful.

Wolsey's path was much more difficult than Erasmus's, and he had always claimed to be the second son of a textile guild chief, but the court people always ridiculed his father as a lowly cattle dealer and butcher, and his path in the church was much longer than Erasmus's, and compared to Brother Desi, who became a leader in classical studies at the age of twelve, Wolsey obtained a bachelor of arts degree at the age of fifteen, and then served as junior treasurer in the academy, and then was promoted to senior treasurer, and then after several twists and turns. He became a priest in the diocese of Leamington, and after another four years, he managed to become Sir Richard's personal priest through bribes and flattery, and on the recommendation of his manager, Sir Chad, he finally met Henry VII in 1507 and became the king's personal priest. 、

To say that Wolsey was also a man of intelligence and talent, perhaps because of this, he was able to win the king's trust with ease. Erasmus is not very pleasing to the eye, after all, he still has to grovel and do everything possible to gain the trust of Henry VIII, while Erasmus is already above the king, pointing fingers at him in the name of his teacher, and what is even more hateful is that the young and vigorous Henry VIII is not willing to obey the orders of others, but he will not easily disobey Erasmus's wishes, even if Erasmus sometimes does not respect His Majesty so much.

Therefore, one Erasmus was enough to annoy Wolsey, and Wolsey would never want to see another person to occupy what little patience and favor Henry VIII had left.

In particular, compared to Walsey, who is now thirty-five years old in Chinese New Year's Eve, Erasmus at forty-four years old, and Martin at twenty-seven years old. Lud was evidently closer to the twenty-year-old Henry VIII, and they had only met once to negotiate such a deed that the king was so bored that he was bored with his favorite hunting activity.

Wolsey. Thomas felt he had to make a move.

Not only Wolsey. Thomas thought so, and so did Brother Desi, whom he regarded as a thorn in the flesh.

"What did you say to Your Majesty?" Brother Desi asked sternly.

"My ...... Some thoughts. "Martin. Although Rudd was a little afraid, he answered the teacher's question firmly.

"Did you know that he was a king?"

"I know."

"Do you know then, then, the past and the present between England and the Church?"

"I know."

"So you're here with a purpose." "On the surface, you have come to visit me, but the person you really want to see is another student of mine, Henry VIII," said Brother Desi with grief. ”

Martin swallowed empty, "Yes. ”

"Do you know what you're doing?" Brother Desi said: "You have sinned once, Martin, it was the Lord who forgave you, but now you are going to break his heart again." ”

"I didn't!" "It's the church, it's the teacher, it's the fallen church, it's the church that forced me here—you don't know, you don't know what the church has become today, it's a swamp of sin, it's a hell of money, it's a stomach bag that never gets enough," Martin said quickly, "I used to think that I would spend my life peacefully in Magdeburg, but you know what I saw?!" I admit that Julius II was an excessively harsh and cruel enforcer and judge, but even you have to admit that his seven decrees cleared the whole Church, but now, all his efforts have been destroyed, and the teacher, Leo X, has annulled all his decrees, and the sins that had been suppressed have returned, and even become more rampant—the clergy have become more and more unscrupulous, they have lost not only their faith, but they have also lost their morality, they are more inferior than prostitutes, More vicious than the robbers, more greedy than the officials, their hands reached not only into the pockets of the people, but also into the walls of castles and courts...... They are no longer satisfied with the name of the divine, but even the authority of the world! ”

"Then why don't you go to Rome?" Far from being as moved as Martin expected, Brother Desi said, "Do you think that the Lord will not see you?" ”

"He may meet me," Martin said bitterly, "but isn't that the one who is in this situation?" Will he change his approach because of my plea? Teacher, he has changed, and so is everyone in power, or rather, for his tolerance, I owe him a debt of gratitude, but as a ...... As a former clergyman, I can't continue to watch the Church fall so far. ”

"What you see is what you see, and what you think is only what you think," said Brother Desi coldly, "and as far as I can see, while Leo X was still buying and selling the priesthood, the relics, the indulgences, and the inhumane trade, he was also changing the Church—only in a clearly different way than Julius II." Martin, I had also recognized Julius II, but his reforms proved to be too drastic, like a drastic potion, which killed not only the pests on the plant, but also the branches and roots of the plant, which was absolutely undesirable - Leo X's methods were not so bright, but the results were what I wanted to see. ”

"Do you mean the monks of the Friars of Charity, and their schools and students?"

"You're their teacher, do you see anything ominous or evil?"

Martin was silent.

"No, right?" "But they are clearly making the church go where some people don't want it," Brother Desi said. "Martin. Rudd's teacher smiled sarcastically, "You say the church is more depraved, right, isn't that what some people expect?" They don't want to see a church that has been transformed to become strong and powerful, they just want to see a church that is turbulent and weak, otherwise how can they take the ripe fruit from it? He looked at Martin with some disappointment in his eyes: "I can see what you see, Martin, I asked you before, do you know the past and present of the royal family, the nobles and the church in England - that's what you're here for, right?" Are you working for ...... You are working for a duke, prince or king, you are in Magdeburg, so the most likely possibility is that the Elector, or more Electors, or even the Emperor, they sent you to find an ally for themselves, after all, an Elector, or an Emperor, is a little thin to deal with the Church. ”

"Teacher, I can swear to God," Martin discerned, "I have no selfishness." ”

"But you're ambitious." Erasmus said softly, "I should have known when I was in Rome, Giulio. The Medici treat you like a brother and nephew, but you know that Julius II is his enemy, but you still choose to take refuge in him—and it is not a bad thing that you want to make a difference, but you should know that even with my letter, there is no Julio. Medici may not be able to leave Rome so smoothly. ”

Martin lowered his head, and after a long moment, he asked in a lower voice, "Then why don't you know that this may be what the adult wants to see?" ”

Erasmus really laughed this time: "Because if this is what the lord wants to see—the person standing next to the emperor, the king, and the elector, it won't be me, let alone you." ”

————————

When Henry VIII returned from the hunt, he heard that his new friend, the ambitious and ambitious Martin. Rudd, for some unknown reason, suddenly and hurried out of London and returned to his Magdeburg.

He knew, not Wolsey. Thomas, that is, Desi Dewu. Erasmus, or both, drove Martin away. Ludd, though they did not necessarily have the same starting point, after a period of regret, the young king gave up the idea of chasing him back, and he had been king of England for less than a year, and his foundation was shaky, and he was against the church...... It's better to wait, and in that case, let's assume that he doesn't know anything.

It's just that that night, he didn't drink wine, nor did he call in a maid, but thought quietly in the dark for a long time.

The next day, he summoned Wolsey. Thomas, let him ask if there are schools or school districts in London and some of the surrounding areas that have been founded by the Monks of Mercy. Wolsey soon sent him the corresponding information, indeed, on the southwest side of London, in Richmond on the Thames, a primary school of the Monks of Mercy had appeared, and it was said that it was admitting students.

"Beginner?" Henry VIII asked, "So there is a higher rank?" ”

"Yes, the beginners are children between the ages of five and nine, and children from the age of twelve can take advanced courses, from which the priests are said to choose their disciples, who can become merchants, goldsmiths, or painters."

"Let's go into more detail." The king commanded.

Wolsey. Thomas hesitated for a moment, but still told the king truthfully, in fact, he did more for the new king Henry VIII than Henry VII - he not only let his intelligence officers check, but also went personally, he disguised himself as a parent who had children to enroll, Wolsey is Chinese New Year's Eve this year, indeed, quite in line with the age of his father at this time, and he does have two illegitimate children, one eleven and one six, which makes him make a gesture of inspection and inquiry without any suspicion.

The Monks of Mercy also managed to acquire an abandoned church and surrounding land in Richmond to use as classrooms and dormitories for the school, building new buildings with cement and marble from Italy, leveling horse farms, cultivating vegetable and fields, and recruiting teachers, servants, and handymen.

Of course, the clergy spent more of their efforts on teaching affairs, as Wolsey said, the religious schools were divided into two levels, the junior college had five grades, which required six years of study (the last year was two years), and the senior college required three years of study, but there was no senior college in Richmond for the time being, but if the students were really good and diligent, they could be recommended to study the advanced courses in the religious schools in Florence or elsewhere, and the best of them would have the privilege of going to Rome, There he completed five years of theological studies at the University of the Friars of Mercy and went on to become a priest or an official of the Holy See.

"That's pretty tempting." Henry VIII couldn't help but blurt out.

Wolsey nodded with affection, knowing that even if a clergyman outside Rome bribed him with five or ten years of money, he might not be able to enter the Holy See in Rome, and these children, as soon as they finished their studies, they had the privilege of serving a bishop or even a pope, this starting point was undoubtedly higher than most people, and even he couldn't help but want to secretly send the children there.

"And, Your Majesty," Wolsey. Thomas continued, "Their curriculum is undoubtedly more open, specialized and complex than that of the previous church schools. ”

"How?"

"In addition to the traditional seven arts (mathematics, geometry, astronomy, music, grammar, rhetoric, logic), they added faith, ethics, alchemy, nature, ...... And so on, and the classics, and they used a lot of ancient Roman and Greek texts, and even some of the Arabs and Ottomans, which I didn't have time to go into - they also had sports classes, and yes, everyone had to learn horseback riding, driving, and martial arts......"

Henry VIII raised his head in surprise: "You say horseback riding and martial arts?" He shouted: "Do they still have to prepare horses and weapons for the students?" ”

"Though it was just a few horses, some swords that had been knocked out, leather and cotton armor," said Wolsey with an uneasy expression, "but, your majesty, they did prepare about twenty sets or so, which were supposedly to be used by the students in turn. ”

"If it's just a school, I'm not worried at all," said Henry VIII, "but how many of them do they have now?" How many of those students are there? I can now see why Martin. The benefactors of Rode, the Elector of Saxony, would hate them so much. ”

"So what are we going to do?" Wolsey asked.

"What can we do? That is the Lord's abode on earth," said Henry VIII, shaking his head, "It seems that I am really going to Rome once, Wolsey, you come with me, and we are going to meet our Holy Father, and the uncrowned King Julio. Cardinal Medici. ”

He looked at Wolsey: "Also, let's see if we can get you an archbishop's position." ”

。 m.