I

It took 2.5 million taels of silver and 100,000 craftsmen, military servicemen and civilian husbands to build the Dabaoen Temple in Nanjing, which took 19 years to complete. In the new dynasty of Datong, not only was it not demolished, but the royal family allocated funds for repairs.

Four years ago, Zhao Han allocated a full 150,000 taels of silver to repair the decayed palaces and reinforce the top of the tilted pagoda.

The monks were very excited about this, thinking that the emperor finally worshiped Buddha.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Han asked the craftsmen to erect a stele at the gate of the temple. The general content is: Nanjing is densely populated, and the small people in Shengdou lack places for recreation. This temple covers a vast area and has beautiful scenery, which can open the door of convenience to the common people. The monks who welcome guests are not allowed to turn away the little people, nor are they allowed to forcefully collect incense money from the little people.

To put it bluntly, it is a temple-like park.

Even the name of the temple "Dabaoen Temple" was changed to "Zhongshan Temple" by Zhao Han himself. From "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals", Yao is good and everyone is good, Jie is wrong and everyone is wrong.

The monks without certificates in the temple have long been ordered to return to vulgarity, and all the temple land has been confiscated and distributed to farmers.

The monks now only have two incomes, one is incense money and donations from believers, and the other is printing and publishing Buddhist scriptures.

There is a full set of base plates of "Yongle Southern Tibet", with a total of 1,640 Buddhist scriptures engraved. You can print whichever one you want. Most of the Buddhist scriptures in the country are printed here.

Since the number of monks has dropped sharply, it should be used for other purposes.

There were more than 30 halls and pavilions, 148 monasteries, 118 corridors, and 38 scripture rooms in the temple. It is the largest temple in China's past dynasties. During the Wanli period, a fire burned down many buildings. After Zhao Han rebuilt it, he set aside an area and opened another gate to house envoys from various countries.

The number of foreign envoys coming to Nanjing is increasing. Sometimes, there are dozens of people in a mission. The Honglu Temple was very troublesome, and occasionally they couldn't find a place to live, so they had to throw the accompanying people into the inn.

If you want to build another Fanguan in the city, you can't spare such a big space, and you have to demolish some houses.

Isn't there a place in Dabaoen Temple? Although it is outside the city, it is not far from the South City Gate.

Of course, it should be called Zhongshan Temple now.

On the day when Zhongshan Temple reopened, countless people, faithful men and women, flocked to visit and watch the excitement.

The envoys from various countries who stayed in Nanjing also moved into an area through the side door, and you can see the 78.2-meter-high glazed pagoda when you look up.

This is also an important reason why Zhao Han threw envoys from various countries here. The pagoda made of glazed glass is almost 80 meters high, and 146 ever-burning lamps are lit at night. You foreign envoys, watch me day and night, and keep a little more reverence for the Celestial Dynasty from now on.

Prince Charles and two London country teenagers currently live here.

They have already enrolled in Jinling University, and the tuition comes from the bride price money from the British princess. The school starts in August of the lunar calendar, and I will move to live in the school in a few days.

The envoys live in the temple, and they don't eat and drink for free. Generally, they only entertain for free for two months, and they have to pay for it beyond the period. At most half a year, after half a year, no money will be allowed to live, and I will go to the city to find an inn by myself.

Of course, French, Persian, and Mughal envoys are certainly exceptions.

Especially in France, the king and queen mother were so polite, they gave Zhao Han a golden carriage, and they also sent a lot of horse breeds to China. French friends can live wherever they want, for three to five years, without paying any board and lodging fees!

On the night of moving in, envoys from all over the world saw the glazed pagoda glowing at night for the first time, and they were still watching it up close in the temple. During the four-year renovation period, the lights have not been turned on.

Everyone raised their necks, staring at the pagoda in a daze.

At this time, the glazed pagoda is brighter than before, because of the addition of a glass convex lens, the brightness is several times that of the original.

The envoy sent by the King of Cambodia to ask for help, knelt down devoutly and kowtowed, and then recited scriptures with palms together.

In Southeast Asia today, the Buddhist center is in Laos, and monks from all over the world will go to Laos to learn Buddhism. The envoy in front of him, together with the monks on the mission, have already regarded this place as a Buddhist holy place.

Several French visiting scholars are now in a daze.

Among them, there are writers, artists, and architects. During the day, I visited the glazed pagoda, studied the architectural structure of the pagoda, and tried to return to Paris to build one for Louis XIV.

But after a while of research, these people feel even more powerless. Even if they learn it, the French royal family lacks the manpower and material resources to build it.

The French painter and architect planned to paint the glazed pagoda and throw it to Louis XIV to have a dry addiction. If you have to imitate it, you can build a 20-meter-high one on the outskirts of Paris. It can also be called "European Little Nanjing" in the future.

There is also a French writer who praised Zhao Han in his notes:

"This great Asian monarch, he used his extraordinary performance to end the war and plague in China, and defeated the brutal Tatars in the north (mistaking Jianzhou Jurchen for Mongolia)... Under his rule, China, Everything came into order. His art of ruling, even across the ocean, spread to Europe, and benefited each of us..."

"He is an upbringer of the upper class, and all his virtues are reflected in him. His appearance, manners, and figure are all breathtaking, showing a kind of demeanor in his majesty, and his inner quality is even more respectable..."

"He has a decisive decision-making power and can give the most reasonable answer to any problem, so that officials can follow his instructions...His unique understanding of art is unmatched by the world, and he even has a comprehensive understanding of European culture and systems. Fang Xiang understands that these are the reasons why people are willing to obey and love him..."

In fact, this writer had never met Zhao Han at all, and only got a few words from the mouth of the French envoy.

The more you have never seen the emperor with your own eyes, the more you witness the prosperity and magnificence of Nanjing, the more you feel the Chinese emperor is mysterious and great.

...

When Baykov arrived in Nanjing, Prince Charles had already gone to study.

The tuition fees of the three Britons were all borne by Prince Charles, and he gave a lot of gifts to marry the British princess. To treat these foreign students, Jinling University has special teachers who are drawn from elementary school teachers.

A group of Russian envoys had already been numb from the shock on the way.

Baykov even tore up the credentials, soaked them in water, and destroyed all the rude contents. Because in the letter of credence, there are sentences that make the "Emperor Khitan" surrender to the Tsar.

What the hell is this? Baykov, who lived in Moscow since he was a child, felt like he came from the countryside when he came to Yangzhou.

They were taken to Nanjing City, and after reporting to Honglu Temple, they went to stay at Zhongshan Temple outside the southern city.

When they were in the city, they saw the glazed pagoda. After getting out of the city gate, it became clearer that a towering pagoda stood there.

Baykov, who had been shocked countless times, was dumbfounded again facing the pagoda.

"What's that... what's that?" Baykov asked.

The official of Honglu Temple replied: "The pagoda."

With the increasing number of foreign affairs, Honglu Temple became stronger and stronger, and even raised a group of translators.

It is not necessary to learn all the languages ​​​​of European countries, as long as you learn Latin. In Europe at this time, all diplomatic documents were written in Latin.

Baykov knew Buddhism. When he was in Siberia, he had dealings with Buddhist Mongolians. When I came to China, I saw some pagodas along the way, but where did I see such a tall one? This is definitely the tallest building in the world, equivalent to a "skyscraper" with more than 20 floors!

Arriving at the dormitory area of ​​Fanshi, more than a dozen Russians were thrown in a courtyard, and there were also French envoys living in the same courtyard (arranged on purpose).

Colbert, the leader of the French mission, was reading the Latin version of "Da Tong Ji" provided by the missionaries. Hearing the commotion outside, he went out of the room to look at it for a while, and couldn't help but ask, "Poles?"

"I'm Russian," Baykov said.

Colbert said disdainfully: "It's all the same."

All the same rednecks!

Colbert is exquisite in all aspects. He even made friends with Persian envoys, but he dismissed Russian envoys.

"Which country's envoy are you?" Baykov asked.

Colbert turned his nostrils to the sky: "I am sent to Datong by the order of the King of France."

Both of them speak Latin. Although the accent is heavy, they can basically communicate normally.

Baykov, who was still somewhat arrogant in Heilongjiang, could not help but feel ashamed when he heard that he was the French envoy, like a countryman meeting a rich man in the city.

Of course, although he was a little short psychologically, he could not lose his momentum. Baykov held his head high, then bowed and saluted and said, "On behalf of His Majesty the Tsar, I send my regards to the King of France."

No matter how defiant Colbert was, he could not lose diplomatic etiquette, so he bent down to return: "On behalf of the King of France, I send my regards to Your Majesty."

Not Emperor, not Tsar, because the French do not recognize that title.

Baykov asked: "Has Khitan established diplomacy with France?"

Colbert said: "This is China, also called Datong Kingdom, not some Khitan."

Daming Kingdom, Datong Kingdom, this is the official name of China in Europe, and it is a transliteration.

"Okay, Datong Kingdom." Baykov didn't bother to bother.

Colbert said: "The Emperor of China and His Majesty have exchanged letters long ago, and the friendship between their monarchs will surely become a good story all over the world. As a French envoy, I will bring French literature and art to the East. Bring Chinese literature and art back to Europe. How about you? What are you doing here? Could it be that you came to China to exchange art?"

Baykov got a little angry, he was mocking Russia for not understanding art.

Baykov said: "Russia and China have some small border frictions, and I was ordered to clear up the misunderstanding."

Colbert laughed: "Does Russia still want to go to war with China? You don't know, do you? In the past ten years, China first defeated Spain, and then defeated the Netherlands. How many troops can Russia send to the East?"

China beat Spain and Holland?

Baykov's pupils narrowed sharply. This is important information. It seems that the Chinese army is very powerful.