Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 679: The posthumous title of the Yuan Dynasty was not plagiarized, but was borrowed
In addition to the two leaders, there were many other people accompanying them, some of whom Guo Kang knew.

In addition to Breton, there were several other scholars preparing to attend the religious conference.

The old man standing next to him is the famous theologian Professor Manuel Chrysoloras. When Antonio's grandfather opened the academy, he was the first master invited to teach Greek literature. It is said that he was the first person in northern Italy to systematically teach classical literature in 700 years. Therefore, he has many disciples in Italy and is quite influential.

According to the original history, he was later appointed by his motherland to attend the Council of Constance chaired by Sigismund as an envoy of the Palaiologos dynasty, but he suddenly died on the way and was unable to complete his task of requesting reinforcements from the Catholic world by taking advantage of the Ecumenical Council.

However, here, although Sigismund still tried hard to convene a conference in an attempt to end the Great Schism of the Catholic Church, and had agreed on the agenda of the conference in Constance last year, the existence of the Purple Tent caused many monks and laymen to become more hesitant and wait and see.

Constantinople does not need reinforcements from the West at all. They even want to attack them. Therefore, Chrysoloras did not get his mission and was still giving lectures in Florence, Venice, and Rome. Guo Kang saw that he was in good spirits and did not seem to have any illness. He did not know if his sudden death in Constance was a conspiracy theory...

They both brought many students with them. The young man next to Breton was called Kurtsios. In Guo Kang's impression, he was also a theologian who supported the integration of various churches in his early years, just like his teacher. However, later on, perhaps because he was too disappointed with Western Europeans, he began to turn against the Catholic Church.

His most famous theological achievement was not his debate with the Catholic Church, but his statement of the core of his faith and his search for a consensus acceptable to both sides when dealing with Muslims - because he was the first patriarch appointed after 1453, and he often answered theological questions from Mehmed II and other Ottomans.

At this moment, he is just an apprentice. However, according to the religious plan determined by the Purple Tent Khanate, work in this area will probably be indispensable in the future.

Another older student was Bessarion of Trebizond. Unlike his teacher, he advocated a reconciliation between Plato and Aristotle. Although young, he also had a reputation in Italy, especially in religious circles.

According to historical development, he should be more famous in the future - Bessarion advocated moderation of desires and reform of the overly corrupt and bloated church, which was in line with the hopes of today's Catholics. In addition, he was knowledgeable and had good morals, which won the support of many locals inside and outside the church, so that he, a Greek, became a bishop in Italy.

At that time, the two families of Orsini and Colonna were fighting in Rome, and many people, even senior clergy, were tired of it. Therefore, he, an outsider, was twice nominated as a candidate for Pope, but failed because of opposition from the French.

As compensation, the church appointed him as the Patriarch of Constantinople. Since everyone recognized him as a neutral and honest elder, he was also asked to preside over various important ceremonies, including the election of a new pope. In short, he was a very reliable person.

In addition to them, there are also some theological and philosophical scholars who are visiting with the delegation. Qiao Feng said that they all support the merger of the Eastern and Western churches, so they came together.

"Among the delegation, there are some artists from our city who have come here to collect materials." He then introduced Guo Kang and others, "This is Mr. Donatello, the most outstanding sculptor here. I wonder if you have seen his works."

Guo Kang doesn't really know much about art. There are quite a few murals and sculptures in the Niangniang Temple, and the church regularly organizes artists to compete, selects the best works, and sends them to churches around the country for display. According to Da Lama Wang and his colleagues, through art works, believers can most directly feel the power of faith, so this investment is very worthwhile.

However, Guo Kang still felt that there were other more valuable things. His laboratory in the monastery was always short of money. Various research projects were like a bottomless pit, swallowing up the church's grants, his own pocket money, and even the expenses sponsored by several Anda. Therefore, as long as he could save money, he would try to save as much as possible. There was no artistic decoration in the monastery.

Therefore, he could only politely shake hands with the other party and express his expectation for his work.

However, Sun Shiwan next to him seemed to be inspired.

"Your city has so many skilled craftsmen, which means that culture and education are flourishing." He took the initiative to ask Qiao Feng: "Since the carving skills are so superb, I would also like to pay some money and ask him to make statues of famous people from the Yuan Dynasty. Just like here, they can be used for exhibitions in public places to show that they have not forgotten their homeland. What do you think?"

"I have no objection, as long as he can arrange the work within the time limit." Qiao Feng replied: "How many orders do you have?"

"Let's make a sculpture of Emperor Shengwu first and see the effect." Sun Shiwan said after thinking for a while.

"Who is this?" Qiao Feng didn't understand.

"This is Genghis Khan's posthumous title." Sun Shiwan told him, "Since the Taimiao was built, Emperor Taizu posthumously conferred the title of Emperor Shenyuan on my great-grandfather Yesugei and the title of Emperor Shengwu on my grandfather Genghis Khan. All the emperors who came after me also had posthumous titles. We address them this way in formal occasions."

"Oh, I see." Qiao Feng nodded immediately: "I remember he has a portrait, so there should be no problem. The culture and education of the Yuan Dynasty were also very prosperous. I thought I had read a lot of books, but I have never heard of this posthumous title before." "We are not officials of the Ministry of Rites. When reading history, it is enough to know who it is." Guo Kang deliberately comforted him: "Otherwise, with the stacking level of titles and official positions in the Yuan Dynasty, it will take a long time to memorize them."

"Also, there are many repetitions of posthumous titles, which can easily confuse people. It's better to remember them by names that are not easily confused." He thought for a moment and added, "As far as I can remember, the Emperor Shenyuan was Tuoba Liwei, the ancestor of the Northern Wei Dynasty; the Emperor Shengwu was Tuoba Jiefen. These were all copied directly from the Northern Wei Dynasty by the Yuan Dynasty."

"No, no, no, how can it be called plagiarism." Upon hearing this, Sun Shiwan quickly waved his hands and said, "This is just us... learning from their experience. The Tuoba Xianbei who founded the Northern Wei Dynasty also originated from the Shiwei area. Some people say that these two words have the same origin. Emperor Taizu probably wanted to refer to the story of the Northern Wei Dynasty to see how they integrated into and governed the Central Plains. These posthumous titles are also a tribute to them."

"...Okay." He insisted on explaining it this way. Guo Kang didn't know what to say next, so he just gave up.

After meeting everyone, Guo Kang asked his entourage to entertain the guests well. According to the schedule, the scholars and the representatives of the Knights Templar had to meet with the Catholic Mission first, and Guo Kang also had to meet other people. So everyone said goodbye to each other and dispersed.

"You brought so many people with you." On the way, Guo Kang said to Qiao Feng; "Master Wang told me that there will be no debate or formal talks this time, it's just for everyone to meet. In fact, there is no need to bring all the scholars here."

"That's just a superficial statement." Joanna interjected, "What this means is not that there will be no debate, but that there will be no public debate."

"Is that so?" Guo Kang had never thought about it carefully.

"We can't meet for nothing." Joanna spread her hands and said with a smile, "Our family got its start by dealing with the Catholic Church. Based on our experience over the years, anything that is made public is usually just a result for people to see, not a process."

"This is especially true in places where the system is more mature and the organization is more bureaucratic. Because they already have a series of rules that allow everyone to reach a consensus before the meeting. The public debate at the end... can't be said to be fake, but the results are often already determined, and everyone is just putting on a show."

"On the contrary, if a quarrel really breaks out in a public meeting, it means that the negotiation mechanism has failed, and the meeting will probably be difficult. Recently, due to the problem of church division, such meetings have been held many times, and everyone quarreled fiercely. In the end, the problem has never been solved."

"That's true." Guo Kang nodded and admitted, "But it has nothing to do with me. I haven't thought about it seriously before..."

"Aren't you the person in charge?" Qiao Feng asked curiously.

"No, I just came here to show my face. I have a lot of work to do in Cairo." Guo Kang replied: "Wu Han and the others can stay here. I have nothing to do here."

"You've been sent here, how could nothing happen?" Joanna said helplessly, "You haven't thought about it seriously. Now that you're here, how can the various factions not come looking for you? With your status and prestige in the God Worshipping Society, even if you don't want to, won't everyone let you express your opinion?"

"Even if you don't meet anyone and say nothing, it is also a statement," Qiao Feng added.

"Huh?" Guo Kang hadn't expected this: "Oh my god, why are you so enthusiastic? The old man is trying to trick me into doing my job again..."

"Don't worry, I think your church is well prepared." Joanna advised: "Others are also here with the goal of cooperation. At least we can cooperate."

"Yes, Cardinal Matteo has always been pro-Oriental. The Vatican's intention of letting him lead the team this time is very clear." Qiao Feng also said: "My father's news said that many people in the Vatican have no confidence in Sigismund's mediation."

"Now, many grassroots monks are also putting pressure on bishops, saying that believers are increasingly dissatisfied with the current state of the church and calling for changes as soon as possible. In addition, the Franciscans have also warned the Holy See that if the various internal conflicts of the church cannot be resolved as soon as possible, the public's distrust and heretical tendencies in various places will only become more and more serious."

"Many people think that since they need to find someone to help mediate, they should look for you instead of the unreliable Sigismund. Some priests in Rome have also begun to publicly express that treating you as heretics was a serious misjudgment made by the church during the period of decadence and chaos. At present, you are the right direction for the development of the church, and you are also the model shown by the Heavenly Father to everyone. Therefore, we must now count on you to help."

(End of this chapter)