More effective than the emperor?

This aroused Ji Qingwen's curiosity, and he hurriedly asked, "Dad, don't sell it, who are you talking about?" ”

Ji Guangming smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed into slits: "A thousand years younger than the Long Live Lord, but a nine-thousand-year-old Wei husband!" ”

Ji Qingwen was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly asked: "The 'nine thousand years old' in Daddy's mouth is talking about Wei Zhongxian......"

"Yes, that's right!" Ji Guangming smiled and said, "It's Wei Zhongxian, Wei's husband." Daddy didn't lie to you, Grandpa Wei spoke, isn't it more effective than Long Live Lord? ”

"No, Daddy." Ji Qingwen hurriedly said, "Didn't the Emperor of the Apocalypse die?" So how many days can Wei Zhongxian have a good life? ”

Ji Guangming looked nervous, and hurriedly said: "Qing'er, don't talk nonsense, be careful to ask the people from Dongchang and Jinyiwei to listen." Wei's husband leaned towards the government and the opposition, and was a pillar of the imperial court. Now that King Xin has ascended the throne, he has no foundation in the court, and if he doesn't rely on Wei's husband, who else can he rely on? I think that Husband Wei is here in the new emperor, and his power is even more overwhelming. I heard Lord Dai say that the emperor also said two days ago......"

Ji Guangming was still talking, but Ji Qingwen had other plans in his heart.

Although he is not proficient in the history of the Ming Dynasty, he also knows that Emperor Chongzhen and Wei Zhongxian are mortal enemies who are not in the same place - Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne for only a year, and he took down Wei Zhongxian.

Ji Qingwen was thinking about it, but he heard Ji Guangming continue: "Qing'er, you understand now. Governor Dai is a celebrity next to Husband Wei, and he came forward to say a few good words in front of Husband Wei, and Husband Wei nodded and agreed, so you are not sure to take the exam in Beijing this time? ”

When Ji Qingwen heard this, although he didn't say anything in his mouth, his heart was as clear as a mirror.

He knew that if he followed Wei Zhongxian's path and became a jinshi, wouldn't he become a member of the "eunuch party"? And since Emperor Chongzhen has ascended to the pole, Wei Zhongxian's bad luck is in front of him, won't his little "eunuch" suffer with him?

Thinking of this, Ji Qingwen had already decided that he would rather not be a jinshi than wade into the troubled waters of the "eunuch party".

So Ji Qingwen asked tentatively: "Dad, Wei Zhongxian didn't open a charity workshop, he wouldn't help our Ji family for no reason, right?" ”

Ji Guangming smiled with satisfaction and said, "Qing'er has grown up and still understands the rules here." In fact, it's nothing, it's just that Governor Dai wants to build a shrine for Wei's husband in Xi'an City, but unfortunately there is no money. Therefore, my father took this matter over, and my Ji family paid for it to repair the temple for Lord Dai. Lord Dai opened his mouth, saying that he would spend 2,000 taels of silver to build a shrine that was better than anyone else. Alas! Two thousand taels of silver is not a small amount, but it doesn't matter, it can be exchanged for Qing'er's dignified Jinshi fame...... Value! It's worth it! ”

Ji Guangming's heart of love for his son can't help but move Ji Qingwen. But if this ancestral hall of Wei Zhongxian in Xi'an City is really built, the Ji family who came forward to do things is not a eunuch, but also a eunuch. When Wei Zhongxian's was disposed of by Emperor Chongzhen, not only would Ji Guangming be implicated, but he would not be able to stand as a rich second generation.

This situation is what Ji Qingwen wants to avoid.

Faced with such a problem, Ji Qingwen suddenly had an idea, and thought of an idea to hide from the world, so he said: "Dad, I think that since this ancestral hall is going to be built, it must be built." In the past two days, I met a Westerner named John Tang, who is very capable of building an ancestral hall or something, so why don't you ask him to preside over the construction? ”

Ji Guangming frowned and said: "Westerners' clocks and instruments are indeed outstanding, but I don't know that I still have the ability to build an ancestral hall, Qing'er, is what you said reliable?" ”

Ji Qingwen patted his chest and said, "That's nature." Even the prince of the Qin Palace's mansion wanted to ask him to take the lead in building a house, and there must be nothing wrong. ”

Ji Guangming heard that his son brought out Zhu Cunshu, the son of King Qin, but he was still a little hesitant.

Seeing his hesitant look, Ji Qingwen hurriedly added: "Dad, you don't agree to my little request, then I won't go to Jingshi, and I won't take the exam, and I will not have fun, what is not better than having fun in Xi'an City?" ”

When Ji Guangming heard this, his attitude immediately softened, and he agreed: "Okay, then I will transfer two thousand taels of silver to you from the account, and let the foreigner surnamed Tang build this ancestral hall." ”

Ji Guangming paused, and then said, "Okay." I heard Master Dai say that Enke will take the exam in February next year. Our Xi'an City is thousands of miles away from Beijing, and it will take two or three months to make a trip in the past. You can prepare first, and next month, in the first month of September, you will be leaving. ”

…………

With the approval of his father Ji Guangming, Ming Xiu Plank Road and Secret Chen Cangdi will make the matter of Wei Zhongxian's Cultivation Ancestral Hall, in Ji Qingwen's eyes, it seems to have become a more important matter than entering Beijing to catch the exam.

Fortunately, when Ji Qingwen met John Tang before, he specially asked him for the address of his temporary residence, so he immediately followed the address to find this foreign missionary.

John Tang was also running up and down to raise money for the construction of the church, and when he heard Ji Qingwen send money, he was naturally overjoyed, and agreed without thinking about it.

Ji Qingwen was going to Beijing next month to take the exam, and he wanted to confirm this matter before he left, so he didn't want to delay it longer. Therefore, when he saw that John Tong agreed to his suggestion, he immediately took out three hundred taels of silver and handed it to John Tang, asking him to immediately choose the site, draw the drawings, and start the construction of the church.

John Tang was actually prepared, and after taking the money, he immediately purchased a vacant land in Xi'an City as the foundation for the construction of the church. As for the drawings, he had already prepared them, and after measuring the length and width of the plot, and after making slight modifications, he showed the drawings to Ji Qingwen.

Ji Qingwen didn't know anything about architecture, but when he saw the two towers on the drawings, he blurted out: "This is not Notre Dame Cathedral!" ”

John Tang was shocked and replied: "Childe is well-informed, this church is designed in the style of Notre Dame Cathedral. It's a pity that the church in Cologne was not completed, otherwise it would have been built in the same way as the church in Cologne......"

Ji Qingwen hurriedly asked: "Notre Dame Cathedral is a big project, I don't know how much silver it will cost?" ”

Tang Ruowang made a guarantee and said: "Don't worry, Master Ji, this church in Xi'an City is much smaller than the one in Paris, I calculated that two thousand five hundred taels of silver is enough." Childe had already given me three hundred taels before, and another two thousand taels would be enough. ”

Ji Qingwen calculated that his father gave him a budget of two thousand taels, and when the church was built, he had to take out a few hundred taels of silver from his private money, which made Ji Qingwen a little painful.

However, in the face of such a life-and-death turmoil as the eunuch party, the cost of these hundreds of taels of silver is really a trivial matter. So Ji Qingwen scraped together the amount of two thousand taels of silver and handed it to Tang Ruowang, asking him to start the project immediately.

John Tong was a devout missionary, and he was eager to start and finish the church project as soon as possible, and as soon as the money for the project arrived, he procured materials, gathered manpower, and began to build the church in full swing.

Only three to five days after the start of the project, Dai Liyin, the governor of Yansui, heard that the ancestral hall he built for Wei Zhongxian was presided over by a foreigner, and he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy, so he asked Ji Guangming to come to the construction site to check.

At this time, the project was only a little large-scale, and there was no clue to it, Dai Liyin walked around twice, only to see that the project was progressing smoothly, but he couldn't see anything weird, so he left stupidly.

This incident reminded Ji Qingwen, so he found John Tang and asked him to slow down the progress of the construction of the church, no matter what, he had to wait until the second year of Chongzhen to complete the construction, otherwise he would have to withdraw all the investment.

John Tang was an honest man, and he was really afraid that the construction of the church would be abandoned halfway, so he hurriedly agreed, and gradually slowed down the progress of the project.

Ji Guangming saw that the progress of the project was not fast, so he came over to ask, Ji Qingwen only shirked and said that foreigners pay attention to slow work and meticulous work in building houses, although the speed of construction is slower, but after it is completed, it will be different, and the custody can attract attention, and now that the silver has been released, it can't be recovered and rebuilt, right?

So Ji Qingwen sometimes paid attention to Tang Ruowang's church, sometimes looked for the prince of Qin to go out to play, and sometimes read and flipped through the sermons of the scientific examination, and before he knew it, it was the middle of September, and it was time for him to leave for the Beijing Normal Examination.