Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 036 Primitive Capital Accumulation (XI)
"Mr. Xu, Mr. Xu!"
"Ah? Please forgive me, my Lord. I was distracted."
"It's okay, Mr. Xu. Do you think this arrangement is okay?"
"Your Highness is truly a man of heaven. Well, I have said this many times in front of you or in private with other colleagues. Your Highness has arranged it very well. I have nothing to say. Er, no, I am actually thinking that in terms of the art of studying things, I am no longer able to be your teacher. It would be more appropriate for you to ask your Highness to be my teacher."
"I don't deserve such praise from Mr. Xu. I only know a little bit about everything. If I really want to go deeper, I will definitely be at a loss. Mr. Xu, you have had a lot of contact with Mr. Leach of the Jesuit Society. You should be able to feel that in the art of studying things, our Ming Dynasty has begun to gradually fall behind the West. If we don't catch up, I'm afraid that our Ming Dynasty will not be able to stand proudly among the nations of the world like the Han and Tang Dynasties. I won't hide it from you. My layout here is to make my Ming Dynasty's level of studying things catch up with or even surpass the West, and ultimately provide protection for the peace and stability of my Ming Dynasty. However, to achieve these goals, these masters alone are not enough."
After saying this, Zhu Youdong couldn't help but sigh in his heart: China does have a technological gap with the West at this time, but it is only a little bit behind in some aspects, and there are still winners in more aspects.
Take glass as an example. Yes, Italians knew how to make glass in the 13th century, but now all the glassmakers in Italy are concentrated on a deserted island and are not allowed to leave the island for life. In the historical plane, Italy's glassmaking skills were not leaked until 1688.
Glass is still a very precious decoration in Europe and cannot be widely used. Yes, the microscope was invented in Europe in 1590, but it was not widely used until after 1648. Similarly, the invention of the telescope was not until after 1608.
Of course, there are time travelers in the West now. If they are like Zhu Youdong , who spends all day reading time travel stories on Qidian and has acquired enough knowledge, or if they are already knowledgeable, then these things may come out earlier. But no matter what, the gap between the Ming Dynasty and the West is not big or there is no essential gap.
So, there is still hope.
"I understand your ambition. I am grateful for your trust, so I will tell you my true feelings. I took the imperial examinations for my family's status, and I took the Jinshi exam to do something. Whatever I did, it was because I was more interested in the art of studying things, and I felt that if the Ming Dynasty continued like this, it would sooner or later be left behind by the West. Therefore, I took the Jinshi exam. Therefore, it is my good fortune to meet you. I am willing to be driven by you."
"Thank you for your trust, Mr. Xu. Then, Mr. Xu, please follow me."
With your own Zhuangzi, you can do many secret things here. For example, the memory of the time traveler will become more and more blurred as time goes by. It is very necessary to record it with pen and paper while you still remember some of it.
"Mr. Xu, I heard that you have been translating and organizing books on the principles of geometry with Mr. Leach?"
"true."
"What do you think?"
"Grandson, the more I read the books on the study of things in the West, the more horrified I feel. The sages of the West extracted axioms from real life, and then used the axioms to deduce new theories, and then used the new theories to guide practice. If they repeat this process over and over again, it will probably not take many years for the industry in the West to achieve a great leap forward."
"Well, Mr. Xu, what you said makes a lot of sense. Then, Mr. Xu, please take a look at these booklets."
…
"Your Highness, where did these books come from?! This, this, this is simply a heavenly book!"
"Haha, Mr. Xu, don't ask where these come from. Are these things useful?"
"It's more than useful. It can push our Ming Dynasty a big step forward!"
What Zhu Youdong gave Xu Guangqi was actually just some math, physics, chemistry, biology, and medical knowledge that Zhu Youdong could still recall. Except for the medical books, which were indeed the highest level of this era, the other things were at most junior high school level in the 21st century.
It was messy, low-level, and unsystematic, and especially in physics and chemistry, many of which needed to be verified by relevant experiments. Of course, Zhu Youdong could not do experiments at this time, so he could only write down the results roughly.
For example, the most basic periodic table of elements in chemistry, he didn't even have the most primitive microscope, how could he observe molecules and atoms? But he wrote it directly in the book: and he specifically stated that regardless of whether it can be verified by experiments, he is correct.
Who is Xu Guangqi? He is the most powerful scientist of this era. Perhaps due to the current technological level, his insights and knowledge are not high, but his thinking and IQ are enough to crush Zhu Youdong. Therefore, after reading these brochures carefully again, Xu Guangqi raised many questions.
"Well, Mr. Xu, many of these things cannot be verified now, but I can guarantee that they are all correct. Just write them down first. As for verification, when the masters outside have built the blast furnace, the thermometer is available, and the quality of the ceramics is further improved... I will have them try to make a crucible kiln, and then start firing glass. By that time, we will have test tubes and beakers. Then you can do a lot of experiments."
"Glass? I heard Mr. Li introduce this thing. It is said that there is only one isolated island in the whole of Taixi that can produce it. Could it be that the prince also knows how to make it?"
"Yeah. I know."
"Ouch! Uh, I lost my composure. Mr. Li said that this glass is very expensive in the West and only the rich and powerful can buy it."
"Hahahaha, the raw materials for glass are everywhere and very cheap. As long as I know the method, I can sell it at a very low price. However, I can't sell it too cheaply for the time being, unless I know clearly that the glass production technology in the West has been fully spread. Otherwise, this thing will become the new generation of income for my Honghe Manor in the future!"
Imagining the silver rolling in in the future, Zhu Youdong wiped his saliva without grace, then turned around and said to Xu Guangqi seriously: "Mr. Xu, I won't say more. You are not allowed to take these things away. You can only look at them here. And you are not allowed to spread them outside!"
"Yes, I will definitely follow your orders."
"Mr. Li Qi is humble and polite, but no matter what, those who are not of our race must have different hearts. Moreover, his ideal is not to help our Ming Dynasty develop the study of things, but to shine the so-called glory of the Lord to our entire Ming Dynasty. I would also like to say something to Mr. Xu here. If you are interested in Christianity, you can join the church. But I need you to always remember which race and country you are from!"
"Please rest assured, Grandson." Facing Zhu Youdong, who was now serious, Xu Guangqi simply half-knelt down and said, "I am a Confucian disciple, and I know clearly what I believe in. I joined Christianity only to make Mr. Li less wary and reserved when introducing Western learning to me. I have already said that I am willing to serve you, Grandson!"
"Well, Mr. Xu." The four-and-a-half-year-old child gently placed his hand on the shoulder of the forty-something middle-aged man: "Those craftsmen outside are my hands. But they have no knowledge, only experience. And you are my confidant! In the future, under your guidance, my Ming Dynasty's skills in studying things will definitely surpass those of the West! I have no doubt about this!"
