Chapter 351 Study hard to learn what Daming is doing, and what have you done?
In the fifth year of Longwu, from spring to autumn,
For eight full months, due to the secret and sloppy north-south negotiations between the Ming and Qing courts, China finally maintained peace. In this troubled time, it gave the people an extra window of recuperation and respite.
The secret negotiations were reached in April and were carried out by both parties in a private show of goodwill.
After this was achieved, the armistice continued for a full five months.
From this five-month period of absolute silence, it can be clearly seen that Ming Dynasty is a country of etiquette and faith. Although Beijing has not yet been restored, we have strictly fulfilled all the things we promised people in private.
If there is another friction incident in the future, it will definitely be the fault of the treacherous Tatars. It is those ignorant white-eyed wolves who are despicable and shameless.
It's a pity that the two forces in the north and the south have completely different ways of utilizing this period of peace.
Hauge was consolidating his power and cleaning up internally. After a long time of hard work, he did not do any farming and construction work, and he suffered further chronic blood loss due to the struggle for power and profit.
On the Ming side, Qing Mimi's daily farming progressed steadily, and even ushered in a new breakthrough.
In the long run, it will definitely have infinite effectiveness in further improving the comprehensive national strength of the Ming Dynasty.
It turned out that in April of this year, when the secret peace talks between the north and the south were reached, Zheng Chenggong, who was far away in Fujian and a senior official, brought back to Zhu Shuren a long-lost and far-reaching good news -
In the battle to recapture Dajuan, which lasted from the winter of the second year of Longwu to the spring of the third year of Longwu, the two to three thousand Dutch soldiers captured by the Ming Dynasty, as well as tens of thousands of other Dutch employees, civilians, women and children, finally arrived.
It's time to be released.
These people served in construction on Taiyuan Island for a full two years and two months. Finally, they returned to the Netherlands to seek instructions from the intermediary navigator Jansen Tasman.
Since Yang Sen. Tasman dared to return to the Ming Dynasty, he obviously asked for instructions from the Dutch rulers and showed sincerity to meet the conditions for the release of prisoners that Zhu Shuren had explained more than two years ago.
Along with Janssen Tasman's trade fleet, there was an important figure, the great scientist Rene Descartes, who had previously only been able to get along in the Netherlands among European countries.
In terms of blood and origin, Descartes is of course undoubtedly French, but France is still a Catholic country.
Therefore, during the years when Descartes was engaged in scientific work in the second half of his life, he could only hide in the Netherlands and never return to his motherland. If he dared to go back, the cardinals in France would definitely not spare him.
It was the end of 1646 when Jansen Tasman was preparing to set sail from the Netherlands, and it was only the beginning of 1648 when he returned to East Asia and landed in the Ming Dynasty.
Historically, the Thirty Years of Religious War in Europe lasted from 1618 to 1648. The Treaty of Westphalia, which opened the international diplomatic system of later generations, was also signed in 1648. This established the Western concept of "all countries, regardless of their size, can
"All persons have equal right to speak in the field of diplomatic negotiations".
Therefore, when Janssen Tasman took over Descartes and set off, it was exactly one year before the birth of the modern diplomatic system and religious reconciliation.
Descartes had not yet had time to see equality, reconciliation and tolerance in Europe, so he was naturally not so resistant to traveling across the ocean to see the world in a new environment that was tolerant of scientific research.
Moreover, even if Descartes himself resisted, the new Dutch ruler William II, Prince of Orange, who had just taken power, would not allow Descartes to refuse. (William II succeeded to the throne in March 1647, which is when Descartes set sail.
A few months after setting off. But in the last year before he succeeded to the throne, his father Frederick Hendrick had become seriously ill and left the affairs of state to his young son)
After all, Zhu Shuren had made a clear price: get Descartes before releasing all the prisoners from Dayuan Island and the Dutch reinforcement fleet. Otherwise, these prisoners would be allowed to work as coolies in Dayuan for the rest of their lives!
In the eyes of William II, a man who was obsessed with research was nothing compared to the lives of thousands of Dutch soldiers, employees, and adventurers! Of course he would sell Descartes.
…
After more than a year of stop-and-go, occasionally waiting for the monsoon to sail, Descartes finally set foot on the mysterious land of the Ming Dynasty.
Although he was forced to come, there was not much resistance in his heart, and he even had a little bit of expectation.
Because he sensed the importance that the Ming Regent attached to scientific research as revealed by Jan Sen. Tasman's narration.
That great Eastern prince was willing to exchange the lives of thousands of prisoners of war for a scientist. Then he must be the most enlightened and sage ruler in the world!
Even before they met, Descartes had already imagined Zhu Shuren as the kind of "philosopher king" described in Plato's "Utopia" who only existed in an ideal state.
When sages rule the world, it is truly a sign of great unity in the world.
Zheng Chenggong, who was responsible for receiving them, also knew how much the prince's eldest brother valued this "Red Yi scholar".
So when he docked at Quanzhou for supplies, he eagerly hosted a banquet for the Dutch to entertain them and let them take a break to relieve the fatigue of months of continuous sailing.
Originally, according to the Ming Dynasty system, red barbarian ships were not allowed to sail inland. They had to unload their cargo in Macau or Daguang, and the Ming merchants would then transfer the cargo to various places along the coast.
This time Zheng Chenggong was also ordered to make an exception and show mercy to the West. This was also to show the West that our Ming Dynasty is now open and tolerant. So he sent the Zheng family's warships to escort the Dutch ship and allowed them to sail to Nanjing on their own -
Of course, in order to enter the Yangtze River Estuary, all the cannons on the Dutch ship must be unloaded in Chongming County, Suzhou, and temporarily handed over to the Ming government and the local garrison for safekeeping!
Merchant ships can enter and sail freely, but warships must not enter!
Cannons belonging to foreigners must not be brought into the Yangtze River! This is the majesty of the Ming Dynasty’s national defense and cannot be compromised!
Janssen Tasman was worried about his own safety at first. After all, the Dutch had to carry gunboats all over the world. But Zheng Chenggong sternly assured:
In the territorial waters and internal waters of the Ming Dynasty, all safety is protected by the imperial navy. Before entering the Yangtze River Estuary, the coastal areas of Fujian and Zhejiang are in charge of Zheng. After entering the Yangtze River Estuary, Zhenhai Marquis Zhang Mingzhen is in charge, and no one will be hurt.
To be friendly to foreigners visiting North Korea!
Later, in order to show the majesty of the Celestial Empire, Zheng Chenggong naturally pulled out all the most dignified and powerful warships of the Zheng family. It does not require a large number, but it must be large in tonnage, large in size, and equipped with large cannons to show the great power of tomorrow.
The warships of the Ming Dynasty may not have more firepower than the three-layer gun-deck Galen warship, the heaviest in this era, but just looking at the size of the hull, it is no less than the heavy Galen. Moreover, the warships assembled by Zheng Chenggong at the launch ceremony
More quantity.
Descartes and Jansen Tasman were also horrified when they saw it.
"The size of the fleet owned by the Ming Dynasty in the East is actually not inferior to that of the Netherlands. The other European countries are not worthy of being compared with it. I am afraid Spain and Portugal are slightly inferior."
The other comparison objects that Descartes could think of were Spain and Portugal. After all, even the United Kingdom is not yet a rival to the above three powers.
The Ming Dynasty has a regent who controls such a large and elite fleet, as well as a huge land territory and subjects, coupled with an enlightened attitude of seeking talents, I am afraid that when it is completely revived, even the far west will be affected by it, so
Tremble.
Descartes' inner thoughts of surrender became more and more dominant.
…
It took more than half a month of sailing from Fujian to Nanjing. When Descartes disembarked at the Nanjing Pier at the mouth of the Qinhuai River, he was quickly shocked by the grandeur and luxury of Nanjing.
The news of their impending arrival was naturally delivered in advance, so Zhu Shuren was well prepared.
Nowadays, Zhu Shuren does not need to live in the city all the time. He prefers to go to the country manor in Zijin Mountain or Jiangning Town.
This time I wanted to meet foreign scientists, so of course I chose the palace in Jiangning Town. After all, there were a bunch of research institutes and museums built by Zhu Shuren out of their own pockets.
"Oh, God, what is this? Is it the 'leopard room' of the regent of the Ming Dynasty? I heard other captains say that when they first came to the Ming Dynasty for trade decades ago, they heard that the Ming Dynasty had some extravagant emperors.
, like to build a place called the Leopard Room in the palace to raise wild beasts for fun?"
Descartes was quite literate. Before he came, he went to the well-informed Dutch captains to inquire about the customs and customs of the Ming Dynasty. So he was pulled by a carriage to the town of Jiangning, and when officials from the Ming Dynasty took him on a tour, his first reaction was
Treat the zoo as a leopard room.
Of course, he would never dare to ask Ming officials this kind of question, and he didn't understand Chinese, so he just asked Jansen Tasman in Dutch.
Jansen-Tasman has learned a lot of daily Chinese conversations and no longer needs translation. He actually introduced Descartes with a little pride:
"Mr. Descartes, they say that you are the most knowledgeable person in Europe, but it seems that your knowledge is out of date. What you asked about is old almanac. This is the Nanjing Zoo, how can it be the leopard room.
The Leopard House was built by a luxurious and lustful tyrant for his personal enjoyment, but the zoo is open to all civilians. However, if you are a naturalist, or even just an assistant to a naturalist, and have a court certification, you can do so without restrictions.
Free visits, observation and research.
If you are not a scholar, but just an ordinary civilian, you can come in, but you must pay a fee to prevent too many people from interfering with normal academic research.
The emperors and regents of the Ming Dynasty were extremely enlightened and benevolent rulers - at least those who are in power today are so. As for the past when there were faint emperors and the farmers were so troubled that they armed themselves in various ways, it is not something you and I can discuss now.
You will know when you see me, so I plan to stay and serve the Regent of the Ming Dynasty only after I complete the mission entrusted by the Prince of Orange this time. Release those prisoners from Damuan Island and let the other captains take them back to Batavia.
."
It took 150 years for European zoos and botanical gardens to appear. Descartes was greatly moved when he heard that the regent of the Ming Dynasty provided such excellent research conditions for naturalists.
Descartes: "Oh my God, it turns out that there really is such an enlightened ruler on the earth. Are you saying that we try to collect as many rare birds and animals, exotic flowers and plants from all continents around the world as possible for free for scholars to study?
It seems that the wisest decision I have made in my life is to agree to the Prince of Orange’s request and spend the rest of my life in the Ming Dynasty. Although I am fifty-two years old, I have a hunch that I will spend the rest of my life in the Ming Dynasty.
In the rest of my life, I may produce more research results than I did in the first fifty-two years of my life combined.”
Jansen Tasman explained the wonderful features of the Zoo, Botanical Garden and Museum here, which made Descartes marvel many times.
In the process, Tasman himself became more and more proud as he spoke, seemingly because "I made up my mind to be Ming Dynasty's dog two years earlier than you, so I have more seniority than you."
The two of them walked through the forest and across the lake, passing many parks with beautiful scenery and dazzling exotic flowers and plants, and finally arrived at Zhu Shuren's palace.
At this time, Western garden art was still very primitive. Louis XIV was still an eleven-year-old kid who had just succeeded to the throne for six years. The Palace of Versailles left by his father did not yet have a garden.
Therefore, Zhu Shuren built the palace next to the botanical garden, and specially planned an additional square in front of the palace to display flowers and plants. It can be regarded as a combination of Chinese and Western styles and created a new trend.
When more Western scholars come to join him in the future, and if they pass on what they have learned here, Louis XIV may also learn from it when he repairs the gardens of the Palace of Versailles.
There is no such thing as Western-style gardens in the textbooks on garden architecture in later generations. The French must have copied them from the Ming Dynasty.
…
A group of Dutch people who had never seen the world, after being shocked for a long time, waited in the palace for a long time, ate and drank a lot of refreshments, and then waited until His Royal Highness the Regent took the time to receive them.
Descartes did not understand the red tape of the Han people, so when Zhu Shuren came in, he boldly looked directly at him, observed curiously, and did not lower his head to avoid looking.
After Zhu Shuren sat down, he just stepped forward to touch his chest with one hand and bowed.
Zhu Shuren didn't mind their European etiquette and just talked in Chinese: "Are you Mr. Descartes? I have admired your knowledge for a long time. I knew your mathematical and optical discoveries even in the Ming Dynasty."
Tasman was in the middle to help with the translation. Descartes was naturally flattered when he heard this, and quickly doubled the offer and boasted to each other:
"Your Highness the Regent, you hold such a high position, yet you travel thousands of miles away to seek talents, and you don't hesitate to spend money. Your sages and wise men are known to everyone from Ireland to Fusang."
When Zhu Shuren heard this, he almost couldn't help but laugh. He always felt that these words sounded familiar to him. Do foreigners have a more expensive vocabulary when praising people?
Since both parties were very generous, there was no need to say more in some situations. Zhu Shuren went straight to the point, chatted with Yang Sen. Tasman and Descartes about the treatment, and made a price.
"Mr. Descartes, are you willing to work at the Academy of Sciences of Ming Dynasty? This is a new institution established by my king in the past two years. The president is Song Yingxing, a doctor from the Ministry of Industry of Ming Dynasty. It has many research institutes under its jurisdiction, and the director can be appointed by the director.
The title of honor.
You have just arrived, and you are not well-versed in all subjects, so it is impossible to hold a college-level position, not even a deputy position with Yuanwailang treatment. I heard that you are best at mathematics, so I will first take the title of sixth-grade principal and be the director of the Institute of Mathematics.
.
As for funding and salary, I give all the staff of the Academy of Sciences far better treatment than other positions. You can get a monthly salary of one thousand taels of silver, in addition to other supporting entertainment expenses, and huge bonuses if you achieve results -
—
Especially the bonus is the big one. We here encourage researchers to produce results. If the results can benefit the common people, it is not surprising to receive a one-time reward of tens of thousands taels or more, which is equivalent to several years or even ten years of salary."
After Zhu Shuren finished speaking to Descartes, he gave Descartes some time to think, and then turned to Yang Sen. Tasman: "Mr. Tasman, I know that when you were working for the East India Company in Batavia, you worked for you.
The former governor of the Dutch discovered some continental islands in the South Seas.
I value your talent very much and am willing to appoint you as the director of the Institute of Geography of the Ming Academy of Sciences. You will also have other part-time jobs and enjoy the treatment of a member of the Ministry of Industry. You will only be responsible for discovering new unclaimed lands for the Ming Dynasty.
, collect those new species from the Borderlands and bring them back.
Every time you discover an unowned territory, I will give you a reward ranging from tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of taels of silver based on the economic value of the territory! If you find new varieties of food and vegetable crops worth planting, the reward will be doubled and doubled again.
There is no ceiling!”
Yang Sentasman was originally an adventurer, and of course he was even more unscrupulous than a scientist. When he heard that there was so much money, he immediately agreed.
But Zhu Shuren quickly proposed that he also had his own conditions, and asked Tasman to help train Ming Dynasty sailors and assistants, because he could no longer take a group of Dutch sailors to go on adventures at sea.
Moreover, Zhu Shuren did not let him wander aimlessly. He directly pointed out that Tasman should take the lead in surveying Australia, which the Dutch did not care about -
The coastline on the northeast coast of Australia was what Tasman first sailed to a few years ago, but he did not complete the feat of sailing around the entire Australia. The Dutch East India Company was not interested in that task at the time, thinking it was just a wilderness, and the Governor also
No more funds were allocated to him.
But Zhu Shuren was willing to allocate this money, so let Ming Dynasty complete the task of fully surveying Oceania.
Descartes thought about it for a long time, and seeing that Tasman was already convinced, he agreed.
However, after seeing so much strength displayed by Zhu Shuren and the price he offered Tasman, Descartes was also a little curious and asked to ask a few operational questions.
Of course Zhu Shuren said he could just ask.
Descartes: "Dear Prince Regent, you are so willing to spend a lot of money on species collection and research. I would like to know what you have gained?
As far as I know, discovering new species is indeed very valuable. For example, Columbus brought corn and potatoes back from the Americas, which greatly increased food production. But for species that have been discovered, shouldn’t we just promote large-scale planting? Focus specifically on
Can we gain anything new by displaying the plants and studying their habits?”
It is not surprising that Descartes had this question. Who made the ancients lack knowledge of genetics and did not know how to conduct controlled experiments, carry out cross-breeding, and select the best from the best from generation to generation?
Zhu Shuren has thoughts in this regard, although he cannot do any three-line hybrid rice or conduct those complicated biological breeding experiments.
But he is very good at planning things like finding various subspecies with huge differences in traits, and then randomly crossing them, doing more experiments, comparing groups, selecting excellent genes and saving seeds. He only needs to spend money and time to do it well.
Just record the data.
This kind of superior seed breeding experiment cannot achieve the incredible increase in yield of modern hybrid rice, but it will take ten or eight years to increase the yield of Ming crop seeds by 10 to 20%.
It may be possible to prevent certain diseases and insect pests, to be waterproof, windproof and lodging, or to improve drought resistance and make the root system more developed.
When asked by Descartes, Zhu Shuren proudly announced: "Mr. Descartes, there is an old saying in our Ming Dynasty that there is a priority in learning and a specialization in skills. It seems that your expertise is not in natural history.
All things are born with good and bad varieties. Survival of the fittest, selection and improvement can be done at any time. I have focused on research in this area of investment. Although it has only been three or four years, I have already achieved some success.
In the experimental fields of the Nanjing Botanical Garden, the root system strength of rice is already several times stronger than that of naturally growing folk varieties. It can withstand drought and is not prone to lodging.
One or two varieties of wheat have also been selected that are resistant to specific pests, and the yield per mu can be slightly increased by 10%. Over time, these studies will benefit the world, and you are not the only one who knows it."
When Descartes was told this, he couldn't help but be fascinated. It was simply unheard of that there could be a monarch in the world who could find ways to preside over agricultural research, increase the world's yield per acre by 10% or 20%, or resist several more disasters.
Feeling ashamed, Descartes became more and more determined to work hard, because he was convinced that contributing to the Zhushu people would definitely leave a lasting name in history, and would be praised by historical materials in all languages in the East and West in the future.
Who doesn't want to live forever.
At the end of the day, Descartes was still a little worried, so he asked again: "May I ask, Your Highness, do our Ming Dynasty have any excellent research conditions in the field of mathematics and physics research? What I mean is that, for example, biologists can use
We have the support of zoological and botanical gardens, museums and other facilities.”
Zhu Shuren thought for a while: "Isn't it enough for math to just have paper, pen, and ruler? Then give the mathematician a high salary so that he can have enough food and clothing. As for physics, there are some facilities -
You can go back to Nanjing in a few days and see for yourself. On the Purple Mountain, an observatory and a meteorological observatory were built. One is stargazing, correcting the calendar, and corroborating physics. It uses a technology invented forty years ago by Europeans.
A more sophisticated mirror for Galileo's telescope.
As for the meteorological observatory, it is also to help everyone understand the changes in phenology and weather. I have discovered that in the past twenty years, the weather has often been out of alignment, and the weather has been colder than in ancient times. People use the twenty-four solar terms passed down from ancient times to
Ancient agricultural proverbs guide production, but many of them have delayed the farming season and have poor results.
When the weather is cold and there is little rain, planting on time according to the ancient method is often too early, and it should be delayed until it is warmer and wetter. When harvesting, there are often such problems. Sometimes if there are conditions and the grain filling is not sufficient, you should wait a few more days.
All this is because the past perception of weather phenology was too general. People use half-condensed water as ice as zero degree, water boiling as gas as 100 degrees, and equal parts as hundred degrees to record the phenology of the four seasons.
In the future, weather stations will be set up not only in Nanjing, but also in all provinces. The monthly temperature and humidity of every province in the world will be collected, accurate to degrees, over many years. Only after forming historical data can we guide the farming season based on the comparison of the temperature and temperature of a specific year with history.
, let officials make slight adjustments when persuading farmers.
This is also the research that benefits all people in the world. There are many equipments in it. If you want to study heat in physics, you can also use it - how about it, do you really want to serve me right away?"
Zhu Shuren didn't need to paint a big picture. He just took out the many small physics research facilities and achievements he had built around Nanjing in the past two years and described them truthfully, which made Descartes drool with envy.
A new telescope that is a generation more advanced than the Galilean telescope! There is also an accurate mercury thermometer! Basic research in physics and arithmetic can definitely be a big step forward.
Descartes completely decided to devote his life to Zhu Shuren.
——
PS: Time is a bit tight to prepare a new book, and the updates are not stable. Sorry. I have to find time to write in the morning every day, and I have no manuscripts at all.