Chapter 708: The terror of being ruled by a school bully, the pillar of the country
Huang Guan, actually Zhu Ying has met him many times.
After all, he is a third-rank official and the right minister of the Ministry of Rites.
But I have never talked alone.
Thirty-five-year-old Huang Guan looks very young, as if he is in his twenties.
Fair and clean, with a dignified appearance and a tall and straight figure.
He has a goatee, which is carefully groomed, and his eyes are clear and energetic, giving people a very clean and comfortable feeling.
This was the first time Zhu Ying took a serious look at Huang Guan.
In the past, I was mostly in the Jinluan Palace. After all, I was only ten meters away, so I never took a close look at him.
Those who can become the number one scholar will never be bad in appearance.
After all, in the palace examination, appearance is also an assessment item.
"Your Highness, Huang Guan, pays homage to His Highness Taisun." Huang Guan's eyes were filled with doubts. He didn't know why His Highness Taisun suddenly summoned him today. After all, Taisun had never had any opinion about the Ministry of Rites before, and even the Ministry of Rites had no idea.
Been there.
Among the six departments, only the Ministry of Rites now has the least say. Previously, the minister had been vacant for three years, and later when the grandson came to power, he never cared about the Ministry of Rites.
Of course Huang Guan would not have thought that Zhu Yinghui would summon him because he won six yuan in a row.
From Huang Guang's point of view, shouldn't everyone know that he won six yuan in a row, which was a first in history?
However, before today, Zhu Ying really didn't know that there was such a big figure as Huang Guan.
"Without courtesy, I will give you a seat." Zhu Ying ordered.
Guo Zhong, who was next to him, quickly moved the prepared chairs over himself.
When Liu He came earlier, Guo Zhong could see clearly that the grandson must have attached great importance to Huang Guan.
"Thank you, Your Highness." After bowing his hands, Huang Guan sat down with half his buttocks, to show respect for his grandson. This is also the etiquette of a courtier.
At the same time, Huang Guan's heart was much more stable, and being given a seat by a superior usually meant that he was optimistic.
Zhu Ying did not hide it. As a grandson, he had nothing to worry about. He said bluntly: "I heard that Huang Shilang has been a child prodigy since he was a child. From the childhood examination to the palace examination, he won six yuan in a row. Since the establishment of the imperial examination, he has been
The first person in eight hundred years."
"I admire scholars the most. I wonder what the secret of Huang Shilang's study is."
Huang Guan really didn't expect that His Highness Taisun didn't know about the fact that he won six yuan in a row. Although he didn't say it explicitly, he could already guess it.
"Reporting to Your Highness, I have a very good memory since childhood. I can easily remember an article after reading it once or twice."
Zhu Ying paused slightly and asked, "Do you have photographic memory?"
Huang Guan said bluntly: "It's not yet to this level, but it's not that different."
Good guy, there is a bit of humility in these words, but it has been explained that this is basically confirmed.
Photographic memory is a god-level talent.
Especially when it comes to reading.
This means that in the field of reading, especially the Four Books and Five Classics, I have a great advantage.
Of course, the imperial examination is not just about memory, flexible application is also an important aspect.
After thinking for a while, Zhu Ying asked: "Let me test you. There are pheasants and rabbits in the same cage today. There are thirty-five heads on the top and ninety-four legs on the bottom. What are the pheasants and rabbits?"
Huang Guan didn't even think about it, and directly replied: "Your Highness, this question comes from "Sun Zi Suan Jing", but I took advantage of it. I have already seen this question, and I can use the nine-chapter arithmetic method of 'surplus and deficiency' to get Pheasant Twenty-Three
,Rabbit Twelve.”
Zhu Ying didn't want to ask about the meaning of the scriptures. The current imperial examinations paid more attention to the meaning of the scriptures. If he could win six yuan in a row, his talent in this area must be unmatched.
So I casually asked an arithmetic question. After all, arithmetic was not tested in the imperial examination, and Huang Guan, who was in the Ministry of Rites, did not know arithmetic.
Later generations were famous for being like chickens and rabbits in the same cage, because later generations focused on arithmetic, but in today's Ming Dynasty, there are not many officials who have read the Arithmetic Scripture. Understanding the Four Books and Five Classics is already a lifetime thing, so there is no energy left to study other things.
Just from this question, it is obvious that Huang Guan has done a lot of research on arithmetic.
What, why would I think of taking the exam for him?
Zhu Ying reacted immediately.
Because he really couldn't think of any more topics.
The simple ones seem low-level, and the complex ones seem to have never been explored.
After all, there is no need to take any exams to become a grandson.
As for the issue of past lives.
Well, he is a college student. College students understand everything.
There is simply no need to worry about the assessment aspect.
Zhu Ying asked directly: "I think Huang Aiqing must have heard about the Weeping Tree."
Huang Guandian nodded: "I did hear something."
Zhu Ying continued: "How does Huang Aiqing feel about such a big reward from me?"
Huang Guan felt a little happy when he heard this.
Saying "Ai Qing" twice means that the grandson has already recognized him quite a lot.
In fact, Huang Guan still had great ambitions in his heart. He was a minister himself, and his grandson was also the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty.
In fact, when Zhu Ying first appeared, Huang Guan analyzed whether Zhu Ying was the real eldest grandson of the emperor. However, although the results obtained were a bit bizarre, he was convinced.
Especially in these years, after Zhu Ying took control of the imperial power, he carried out the reforms of the Ming Dynasty and the changes brought about by the Ming Dynasty, Huang Guan had long since surrendered in his heart.
Regarding Taisun's question, Huang Guan felt that he was still testing himself in the school.
Therefore, after organizing some words in his mind, he replied: "The weeping tree must have played a very important role in the Ming Dynasty. A few days ago, I heard that Taisun issued an order to the army to recruit 50,000 people for a ten-year expedition. This
It means that the grandson already knows the location of this tree."
"Ten years means this place should be quite far away."
"His Highness has dispatched 50,000 troops, all of which are mainly infantry, not the Ming Dynasty navy. This shows that the place where the Weeping Tree is located can be reached on foot, and His Highness has offered a reward of tens of millions of treasures, and a hereditary
The position of Huhou, it is also stated that it can be converted into silver."
"This means that His Highness believes that those foreign businessmen may have a very low chance of finding this tree. Even though it is slim, His Highness does not want to give up."
"When I was young, I was fond of reading miscellaneous books, and I had some knowledge about the squares of the world. In the 27th year of Hongwu, I was fortunate enough to see the Mixed Map of the Ming Dynasty. In addition to the topography of the Ming Dynasty, it records the geographical records of the Ming Dynasty, including Nanyang, the West and other places."
"The tree your Highness is looking for must not be in the Southern Ocean, the Western Ocean, nor in the Western Regions, Tibet, or even in other places in East Asia. It must be an undiscovered place."
"If this were not the case, with the Ming Dynasty being strong today and the treasury being full, we could send a large army there, and the country where it is located would have no reason not to follow suit."
"The name of the Weeping Tree reminded me of the description in the Dongshan Sutra in the Shan Hai Jing, and I thought to myself that the army and auxiliary troops needed by Your Highness were many, and it had been borrowed for ten years. Only the place described in the Dong Shan Sutra could be found.
possible."
"Therefore, I infer that this place must be at the end of the East China Sea, and from the north to the east, there must be a way across the East China Sea to where the Weeping Tree is."
Hearing this, Zhu Ying already felt what it means to be a highly intelligent person.
In other words, Huang Guan has deduced the existence of the American continent through the information obtained so far, and also deduced that the Bering Strait in the northeast has crossed the entire East China Sea.
The East China Sea mentioned today refers to the Pacific Ocean.
This method of searching for clues is very similar to the reasoning of later generations, and it is also the direction of study for the current eucalyptus-breaking experts of the Ministry of Punishment.
Huang Guan was in the Ministry of Rites, so he was not often exposed to the analysis and reasoning of cases.
If Huang Guan had participated in the eucalyptus breaking in the Ministry of Punishment before, he would definitely have a name. Zhu Ying had previously sent Di Yusen to James's house and had learned about some of the eucalyptus breaking experts in the Punishment Department, but Huang Guan's name was not there.
The right minister of the Ministry of Rites is a third-rank official. Anyone who participates in the broken eucalyptus will definitely cause great repercussions.
This means that this inference can be made entirely because Huang Guan himself is knowledgeable and has clear ideas.
This is a seriously underestimated talent.
"Very good, your inference is very correct. When I was in the Western Region, the wandering businessman I met did indeed say something about that beautiful and rich land."
"It is a vast land, even wider than our Ming Dynasty. It is vast and rich in resources, and there is no shortage of food all year round. It is located at the end of the East China Sea."
Having said this, Zhu Ying ordered Guo Zhong next to him: "Ask Yue Qing to come over with the map he made."
After a slight pause, Zhu Ying stood up and added: "No need."
He turned to Huang Guan and said, "Please follow me to the study."
Huang Guan stood up and bowed to receive his order.
In the study, Ye Yueqing was still changing the map.
"Huang Guan, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, pays homage to the Grand Concubine." Huang Guan bowed respectfully.
Ye Yueqing saw Huang Guan approaching, stood up and replied, "No courtesy."
Then he looked at Zhu Ying: "Your Highness has a new idea."
Zhu Ying replied: "Huang Aiqing is a rare talent. I asked him to come here this time to jointly advise on the march of the expeditionary force."
Ye Yueqing naturally understood what Zhu Ying meant, and left the study after saying goodbye.
Although she is a grandson, His Majesty has already issued an edict prohibiting women in the palace from participating in political affairs.
Of course, the grandfather and grandson didn't take this seriously. Ye Yueqing left because he didn't want to show it in front of his ministers.
After Ye Yueqing left, Zhu Ying invited Huang Guan to come to the eucalyptus table and look at the pictures together.
"This is a simple map I drew based on the description of the wandering merchant in the Western Regions. I have inquired about the Jurchens in the East China Sea in the far north of the Ming Dynasty, and it is indeed very similar to the description."
Zhu Ying pointed to the Bering Strait and said: "This is where the wandering merchant said he would cross the East China Sea. The connection between the two places is very short, less than a hundred miles."
"This place is less than a hundred miles away, but it is extremely dangerous. It is a cold winter all year round in the far north, covered with ice and snow, and ships cannot cross it."
"If you want to cross here, you can only wait for winter when the sea is frozen, and then cross on foot to America."
Speaking of America, Zhu Ying explained casually: "Buddhist scriptures say there are four major continents. I think it may be the location of Dongsheng Shenzhou, and because the wandering merchant said it was a beautiful and fertile land, I named it
America."
Huang Guan didn't worry about the name. Since it was his grandson who named him, America could do it.
After thinking about it in his mind, Huang Guan pointed to the northeastern part of Asia and said: "The distance of the East China Sea seems endless, and our land and the Americas are connected end to end, which must encompass half of the East China Sea."
"The map drawn by His Highness, Chen Guan, is very close to the Jurchen descriptions of the East China Sea and the memories of wandering merchants in the Western Regions. Among them, the proportions drawn by the Ming Dynasty are particularly close to the Hunyi map."
"Just now, Cai Chen, in his mind, based on the nine chapters of arithmetic, the first chapter is Fangtian, the fourth chapter is Shaoguang, and the ninth chapter is Pythagorean combined with Li Shu, he deduced that the required road must be ten thousand miles long."
"The closer you get to the extreme north, the colder and more turbulent the weather will become, covered with ice and snow, and the land is vast and sparsely populated, making it difficult to supply a large army. Among them, keeping out the cold and food are the biggest problems in this expedition."
To put it simply, Huang Guan calculated the approximate straight-line distance from the northern border of the Ming Dynasty to the Bering Strait based on the size of the map, his own understanding of topography, and Jiuzhang arithmetic.
He is the strongest academic in the past 800 years, but he is so unreasonable.
Zhu Ying looked calm, as if she was not moved by it.
"Yes, the most critical issue now is the baggage. The march takes too long, and there is no supply here, so it is difficult to continue. When we reach the strait, we have to wait for the ice to freeze, so it is difficult to ensure the food of the soldiers."
After hearing what Taisun said, Huang Guan looked at the map carefully and said: "I think it may be possible to take the water route, use sea ships to escort the expeditionary force first, and go north along the coast. As for the inaccessible places, we can get off the ships and walk."
"This can preserve the physical strength of the soldiers, and can also transport things to keep out the cold. If we are closer, we might as well send more people to help transport the baggage, and wait for the sea to freeze and cross."
Zhu Ying blinked.
It seems like the problem that I have been thinking about in the past few days has been solved just like that?
From the moment I came here to now, I haven't even had a single moment to burn incense.
Can someone with a high IQ be so reckless?
In the final analysis, Zhu Ying was overjoyed, because he knew earlier that the ship would not be able to pass, so he subconsciously ignored the possibility of taking the ship.
Moreover, in history and in later generations, stories about crossing the Bering Strait on foot are often told, and the Pacific is so vast that it is impossible for ships to cross it now, so the role of the fleet is subconsciously ignored.
In fact, Zhu Ying has felt that he has overlooked something recently. Maybe in two days, he will be able to think of using ships to transport food and grass to solve the problem.
It's just that Huang Guan's performance was a bit exaggerated.
Just by taking a few glances and calculating in my mind, I not only deduced the distance, but also flexibly solved the grain and grass distribution plan.
Moreover, Huang Guan is also very particular about his choice of words. He does not show any pride at all, and does not mean to take over the host. He takes care of Zhu Ying's face as the grandson and acts as a think tank to solve problems.
However, this feeling made Zhu Ying feel that in the examination room of her previous life, when she was meditating hard on the test paper, the top student next to her finished it eloquently, then stood up and handed in the paper, and finally got perfect marks.
At this point, Zhu Ying finally felt why Cao Cao wanted to kill Yang Xiu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
This feeling is really uncomfortable.
Fortunately, Zhu Ying is not a jealous person, and the most surprising thing is the emergence of talents like Huang Guan.
For now, Zhu Ying has the understanding that Comrade Huang Guan is like a brick and needs to be moved wherever it goes.
"Continue to talk and add some details about supplies." Zhu Ying has obviously mastered the use of Huang Guan.
Huang Guan didn't hide it. After a little calculation in his mind, he started to tell.
How much food and fodder is needed for an army of 50,000, what should be the ratio of the fleet, and the rations required for round trip.
Then we will discuss the response plan if there is no ice on the sea surface, exercise when encountering ice after it freezes, and rescue methods for soldiers who fall into the water.
Huang Guan explained it very carefully, and even calculated the basic numbers. It was as if he had already prepared the draft before he came here, and now he is just repeating it.
He continued talking like this for about a cup of tea, so Zhu Ying naturally didn't listen much.
For these specific matters, Huang Guan can be asked to write a charter afterwards and then send it to the Ministry of War for reference.
As a grandson, he doesn't need to worry about these details.