Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 346: The new era of the Ming Dynasty adds fuel to the fire!

The news of the imperial examination reform and the emperor's banquet for "craftsmen" in the palace quickly spread throughout Jinling.

It immediately attracted countless heated discussions.

"The imperial examination is going to include other subjects. It seems that in the future, we can't just read books by sages!"

"The new emperor is determined to make reforms. This world is going to change dramatically!"

"You don't understand this, right? In the past, when the imperial examination was first launched, there were many subjects. There were ten subjects: scholar, classics, talented scholar, jinshi, law, calligraphy, mathematics, history, three histories, Kaiyuan ritual, and Daoju. Later, it became a pure selection based on classics."

"That's right. At that time, there was a saying that 'Fifty is too young to be a Jinshi, and thirty is too old to be a Mingjing'. Now the new emperor's reform is nothing more than a restoration of the old system!"

The four words "restore the ancient system" have always had a strong appeal among the people.

In the naive imagination of many ordinary people, ancient society was extremely beautiful.

Later on, things started to go from bad to worse.

Therefore, many dynasties’ reforms would use the restoration of ancient systems as a “slogan” to rally people’s hearts.

Whenever people criticized the society at that time, they would mention the four words "people's hearts are not the same as they used to be."

This is because in the fantasies of many people, people in ancient society were simple-minded and the society was beautiful!
"It's still different. Your Majesty has added medicine, agriculture, mathematics, economics, physics and other subjects to the imperial examination this time, which is different from the ancient system."

"In my opinion, your majesty has made good changes. Especially medicine and agriculture, which are closely related to us ordinary people!"

"Hahaha, can our old farmers also take part in the imperial examinations?"

"What are you imagining? Your Majesty wants someone who can farm scientifically, not someone who can't even read."

"Do you think that one really needs to be literate to cultivate this kind of land? We don't know a single word, but we still cultivate it anyway, don't we?"

"That's different. The farming methods written in other people's books are much better than our two tricks!"

"No matter how powerful he is, he still has to go to the fields to plant crops. Can food grow in his books?"

"But I heard that those who were admitted in other subjects could only become teachers or students in the newly established Imperial University, but they could not directly become officials!"

"That's not bad! The salary given by the imperial court to teachers at the Imperial University should be quite high."

"No matter how high you are, you can't compare to the officials!"

"I heard that they will first enter the Imperial University, and then they will select the best people from there to become officials."

"It seems that times have really changed!"

Since ancient times, everything is inferior except reading.

But this kind of reading is actually different from the reading in later generations.

This reading refers specifically to reading the books of sages.

People in other professions, such as carpenters, doctors, accountants... and even the lowest class of actors, do they read?
In fact, by the standards of later generations, they also read!

It’s just that they read “professional books” in their respective industries.

Actors have to memorize their lines and learn to read and write.

However, they are not recognized as "scholars" by society.

Just because they are not reading the books of sages!
Compared with those old scholars who have spent their entire lives studying books, their cultural knowledge is also more superficial.

In the eyes of Confucian scholars, they just knew a few words at most and could not be considered scholars.

However, now these people have become qualified to take the imperial examinations overnight, which naturally comes as a great shock to people.

"Hey, stop arguing. The emperor has invited the workers who developed the steam engine to the palace for a banquet."

"It's unimaginable that a craftsman would have the opportunity to enjoy a royal banquet!"

"Not only can you enjoy the imperial banquet, I heard you will also be granted a title."

"It is said that the person who makes the greatest contribution will be canonized as a duke, but I don't know if it is true or not."

"This has been circulating for a long time, I guess it can't be false."

"Are you really going to confer the title of Duke? I'm afraid that man's ancestral grave is smoking."

"Your Majesty has spoken the truth. He said that whoever invents the steam engine will be granted the title of Duke. It's worth a thousand gold to buy a horse bone. Since Your Majesty has said so, then he must be granted the title."

"What on earth is that steam engine? Why is it so important to Your Majesty?"

"I've seen it, I've seen it, it's used to pump water, it's amazing, a steam engine is equivalent to a hundred water wheels, and it doesn't even require human intervention."

"I heard that it can be used for more than just pumping water. It has other uses. We are just using it for pumping water for now."

"Yes, I heard that steam engines have many uses."

……

The next morning, the sun shone through the thin clouds and fell on the Science Museum in the palace, giving the brand new building a golden edge.

Zhu Yunhuan came here wearing a dragon robe and walking like a dragon and a tiger.

Today, he will hold a grand banquet here to reward those heroes who have made great contributions to the development of Ming Dynasty science and technology.

This science museum is a recently completed building. Its most notable feature is the extra-large span created by the arched design.

In the thousands of years of traditional Chinese architecture, large-span buildings have always been rare.

In the past, the magnificent palaces in the imperial palace were towering, with carved beams and painted rafters, but there were many pillars inside the palaces, and few exquisite designs with large spans were used.

If we look into the root cause, we will find that it is because for a long time, the application of mathematics in the field of architecture has been almost non-existent.

This is not because the ancients had poor mathematical skills.

In fact, it is in the traditional construction method that craftsmen have passed down from generation to generation, relying on their rich experience accumulated to build houses.

Few people actively use mathematical methods to analyze the stress conditions on building structures, let alone perform accurate calculations.

Without strong mathematical support, rigorous force analysis and precise mathematical calculations, it would be a pipe dream to build a large-span building.

After all, in this way, the safety of the building is like a lone boat drifting in the wind and rain, which cannot be guaranteed at all.

However, times have changed. Since Zhu Yunhuan, against all odds, founded the journal Science and established the Ming Academy of Sciences, all this has undergone earth-shaking changes.

Mathematical knowledge surged like a spring tide and quickly integrated into the field of architecture. Coupled with the widespread popularity of cement and steel, this led to the stunning birth of the Science Museum.

As you enter the museum, you can see the spacious and open space.

As far as the eye can see, there is not a single pillar in the way. The sense of grandeur and magnificence is overwhelming and shocking.

It is worth mentioning that this is not the only building in this newly built palace that uses advanced design concepts.

However, most of them are still in the intensive construction stage.

The Science Museum happened to be the first one to be completed and presented to the world.

Zhu Yunhuan had always been thinking about the establishment of a university, so he arrived at the Science Museum's annex early in the morning.

As soon as he sat down, he immediately asked someone to bring the latest issue of Science magazine and its various sub-journals.

Speaking of which, he hasn't read these professional journals for quite some time.

It's not because he's lazy.

In fact, since the day he ascended the throne, Zhu Yunhuan has been as diligent as a wound-up spring.

Even he himself was surprised at his diligence.

Looking back to the past, Zhu Yunhuan had the dream of becoming an "capable" emperor.

On the one hand, he vowed to govern the Ming Dynasty in an orderly manner and make it the most developed and prosperous country on the blue planet.

Let the common people of the Ming Dynasty live a prosperous life that makes people from other countries envy.

On the other hand, he also looked forward to enjoying the honor of an emperor.

What about the harem of three thousand beauties, the delicious food, the singing and dancing, and the extremely luxurious palace...

In short, he wanted to experience everything that had something to do with "extravagance and extravagance". In his heart, he often had this thought: I worked so hard to be the emperor, if I can't enjoy myself a little, is it just to be a selfless and dedicated bodhisattva, seeking the welfare of others?

Zhu Yunhuan thought he did not have such noble sentiments.

But after he truly came to rule the world, he suddenly realized that the joy of being an emperor was not in the beautiful women, fine wine and delicious food, and magnificent buildings.

It is about being able to truly control the universe, to make decisions with great force, and to let the universe unfold slowly according to one's grand blueprint.

Before he knew it, he had become immersed in it and devoted himself to the affairs of state with such enthusiasm that he had completely forgotten what fatigue was.

It is no wonder that those who wanted to retire early since ancient times were all the lower-class slaves.

And officials in high positions are simply unwilling to retire.

Even if I’m 80 or 90 years old, I still want to keep working!

The same is true when being an emperor.

He not only did not feel tired from reviewing memorials and handling state affairs every day, but he became more and more interested and wished he could continue to work day and night.

Power is more fascinating than beauty!
It was precisely because of the pile of government affairs that he had to deal with that he had not paid attention to these Science journals for a long time.

Today, taking advantage of the banquet at the Science Museum, he finally had time to look through the journal again.

It would have been fine if he hadn't looked at it, but once he did, Zhu Yunhuan was stunned.

He saw that the math problems published in the "Mathematics" journal were so complicated and intricate that he opened his eyes wide, completely confused and unable to understand them at all.

When I turned my attention to the journal Physics, I was even more shocked.

The article clearly begins with the three major laws he proposed, but the subsequent deductions, demonstrations, and practical applications are as complicated as a tangled mess.

Even he, the "instigator", was confused.

Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but fall into memories, and recalled a sentence that his classmates and friends often joked about when they were in college in his previous life: The mathematical knowledge we learn now, when placed in the long river of human history, is antiques from hundreds of years ago.

At that time, he had nothing to do and on a whim he decided to read the famous "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy".

However, he had not expected that much of the content in the book was obscure and difficult to understand, especially some math problems. Mr. Niu actually drew more than 20 auxiliary lines to solve the problems, which made his head buzz.

You know, when I was in school, I would get a splitting headache whenever I had to draw more than three auxiliary lines to solve geometry problems.

Not to mention these twenty or so items.

Just looking at it makes me dizzy.

Now, in the "Mathematics" journal under the "Science" journal, the math problems often use more than a dozen auxiliary lines. How could he not be shocked?
Zhu Yunhuan sat there in a daze, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.

In fact, if you think about it carefully, it's no wonder that he lost his composure. For a long time, most people have underestimated the level of mathematics and physics in ancient China.

It is true that in ancient times, the mathematical attainments of most people were indeed shallow.

An ordinary person in later generations who has received nine years of compulsory education can easily crush the vast majority of people in ancient times in terms of knowledge.

Even those well-educated scholars are no exception.

But mathematics is a very peculiar subject, and it requires extremely high personal talent.

In ancient times, although the overall level was uneven, there were also some individuals with extraordinary talents.

Those top mathematicians in ancient times, relying solely on their extraordinary mathematical talent and keen intuition, could easily cope with ordinary math problems of later generations, even without the help of many advanced mathematical tools of later generations, and were able to leave many ordinary people far behind.

Since Zhu Yunhuan founded the journal "Science" and opened a special issue "Mathematics", introducing later mathematical ideas and sophisticated tools into the Ming Dynasty, it was undoubtedly like opening a door to a new world for these hidden mathematical geniuses, and their sudden enlightenment greatly broadened the boundaries of their thinking and the breadth of their vision.

With the nourishment of this new knowledge, they grew rapidly like seedlings that finally received a rain after a long drought. They fully displayed their talents and soon pushed the mathematics level of the Ming Dynasty to an unprecedented new height.

The same is true in the field of physics.

The three laws proposed by Zhu Yunhuan at the beginning seemed like mirages in the eyes of everyone. Most people did not understand them and had no idea where to start.

However, the Ming Dynasty had a vast territory and was home to many talented people. There were always a few special geniuses with unique vision who could gain insight into new treasures of knowledge from these three laws and skillfully apply them to practical engineering projects.

"Wen Yuanliu?" Zhu Yunhuan's eyes were fixed on the author's signature of an article in the journal "Physics".

This article is easy to understand and uses the three major laws as its cornerstone to cleverly solve a difficult practical engineering problem.

The discussion in the article is incisive and the logic is rigorous.

Even if it were put into later times, it could be regarded as a top-notch work of graduate students in related majors, and Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but marvel at it.

"It seems that in the list submitted by the Academy of Sciences and the Assets Department, this person has made outstanding contributions in steam engine manufacturing and ranks first. He really has real talent and knowledge!"

Zhu Yunhuan was secretly amazed.

Originally, he was full of doubts about the appointment of Duke.

The position of Duke is one of high power and great importance.

If we easily award such a high position now, how should we reward people who make great contributions in the future?

But the words have been spoken, and I am not joking. How can he go back on his word and get away with it?

With no other choice, he could only reward according to the agreement.

Now it seems that if this person really has such ability, it would be feasible to confer the title of Duke on him.

After all, the science and technology of the Ming Dynasty was just taking off, and it urgently needed a benchmark leader to set an example for the people of the world and become a role model for everyone to pursue.

It is only natural that the court would give high positions and generous salaries to such people.

"The development of science is much faster than I expected."

Zhu Yunhuan closed the journal and couldn't help feeling a lot of emotion.

Looking back at history, the development of science and technology is as slow and difficult as a snail crawling. It often takes more than ten years or even decades to make a little progress.

This deadlock continued until the flames of the Industrial Revolution were ignited, at which time it was completely reversed.

In that turbulent era, technology was like a long-sleeping lion that suddenly awakened and ushered in explosive growth.

When the wave of the Second Industrial Revolution swept in, it spread like wildfire, so fast that it was hard to keep up.

Now that I think about it, the slow progress of science and technology at that time was due to the lack of an effective catalytic mechanism in society.

Countries do not pay enough attention to science and technology, and most rely on the capitalist model of natural and disorderly development, leaving things to fend for themselves.

Today's Ming Dynasty is completely different. It has a far-sighted vision that points out the direction of progress; a mature and complete scientific research incentive mechanism; professional and authoritative journals as a communication platform; and specialized and cutting-edge research institutions that bring together talents from all sides...

All of this was like giving the Ming Dynasty's technological development strong wings, allowing it to soar a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand times faster than it would have under natural development conditions.

you do not say!

Isn’t it that the Industrial Revolution brought about a radical change in the environment for the development of science and technology?

Considering IQ alone, how big a difference can there be between people thousands of years ago and people of later generations?

In the long journey of species evolution, this time interval is insignificant.

However, the achievements of human scientific and technological development have surpassed the total of the past several thousand years in just one or two hundred years.

At its core, isn’t it because of the changes in the development environment?

His reshaping of the Ming Dynasty's technological environment was more rapid and thorough than during the Industrial Revolution in history.

In this light, the rapid development of science and technology in the Ming Dynasty was a natural thing.

Soon, Zhu Yunhuan's doubts and worries disappeared.

"Since it has developed to this point, I might as well add more fuel to the fire to help it burn even more vigorously."

His eyes were shining, as if he saw the bright future of Ming Dynasty technology.

"We must make the technology of the Ming Dynasty truly enter a brand new era."

After saying that, he picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote the three words "Calculus" on the paper in front of him with great speed!

……

(End of this chapter)