Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 118: The Foundation of the Imperial Household Department, the Source of Disputes
Zhang Shou, who was well versed in the art of borrowing positions, was very confident that even if Lu Wan turned around, his action of seemingly wiping Zhu Ying's tears would not reveal any flaws. He did not put down his hand until the person completely disappeared outside the door, and then smiled apologetically at Zhu Ying who was standing there, "No one can tell how much of Lu Shangshu's words are true and how much are false, I think it would be better to scare him."
Zhu Ying was so ashamed and angry, especially when she saw Ge Yong, Chu Ying and Qi Jingshan were all smiling, she was even more furious: "A Shou! If you want to scare people, why did you have to say that I cried!"
"It's because in his impression, you're not the kind of person who would cry when angry. He would be shocked if you said you cried, right? He's a delicate and thoughtful person. If you scare him, he won't be able to sleep or eat well for several days. After all, we can't do anything to him now."
Zhang Shou laughed as if teasing a child, and then said innocently, "Who told you not to believe me? Why do you suddenly rush out to question him? If you don't scare him, what if he goes back and burns his boats and joins forces with those who have grudges against your father to launch a general attack?"
"I..." Zhu Ying was speechless. After a while, she had to lower her head, "I didn't know you had met him yesterday and asked him. Isn't it enough for me to apologize to you..."
"Of course not! You were so majestic and arrogant when you came to question me just now. Even Lu Wan, the Minister of War, was shocked by you, not to mention me. If I am wrong, it is because I did not explain things clearly to you first. How can I let you apologize to me?"
“I…” Zhu Ying was choked by Zhang Shou’s first four words and turned pale. When she heard the last part, even though she was generous, she couldn’t help blushing and had to shout, “You’re playing tricks on me again!”
Seeing Zhu Ying showing her childish behavior, Ge Yong couldn't help but sigh, and then said to the two people on his left and right: "Look, Yingying, such a cunning and powerful girl, has surrendered to Zhang Shou!"
Chu Ying exchanged glances with Qi Jingshan.
Today, one of Zhang Huaili and Lu Wan was defeated by Zhang Shou directly, and the other was defeated by Zhang Shou indirectly. Moreover, Zhang Shou also received the support of both Wang Jie and Zhou Xun, and obtained great authority that a Doctor of the Imperial College would never have been able to obtain. Speaking of which, Ge Yong, the closed disciple with a good talent for mathematics, has good luck in love, and in fact, his luck in officialdom is also quite strong.
But at this moment, Zhang Shou had finished teasing Zhu Ying and came up to them with a smile on his face.
"Teacher, Mr. Chu, Mr. Qi, the emperor suddenly brought so many people here today, why didn't we see Chu Kuan, the secretary of the Imperial Household Department who went to the Imperial College that day?"
As soon as these words came out, Ge Yong's face darkened. He took a step forward angrily and suddenly poked Zhang Shou's forehead with his fingers. Zhang Shou, who had already experienced this powerful move from his teacher, subconsciously slid forward, and Ge Yong's move immediately failed.
"You still dare to hide? You still have the nerve to ask Chu Kuan! You went to the outer court of the Imperial Household Department yesterday, and a bunch of idiots thought you were the second prince. You are simply causing trouble for no reason!"
"Do you know where the outer court of the Imperial Household Department is? That's where Taizu used to castrate people! The earliest eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department were all orphans from the northern barbarians and southern barbarians. They started brainwashing at the age of three or four, and were castrated at the age of five or six. The word brainwashing was also invented by Emperor Taizu... Anyway, generation after generation, they were all raised to be loyal and faithful. They would not hesitate to chop off their ancestors and parents even if they were standing in front of them!"
Zhang Shou took a deep breath. At that moment, he thought of the Demisemie system of the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan sent people to the conquered Christian villages to recruit slaves, and then took them into the Guards for training, completely isolating them from their families. After a long period of brainwashing and military training, these people remained single for life, did not marry, and did not have children, becoming the most powerful army around the Sultan.
Later, the Janissary Guards abolished the celibacy system, and gradually abolished the Demiseme system. At that time, the Janissary Guards of the Ottoman Empire were a mixed bag of people, and a once famous army was almost collapsed.
Although there are differences between celibacy and eunuchism, it must be said that the principles are the same although the feelings are different.
Because of this distraction, Zhang Shou was poked in the forehead by Ge Yong. He stood up straight, without dodging, and said embarrassedly: "That day in Yuehua Tower, when Chu Kuan mentioned that the emperor wanted me to be a doctor of the Imperial College, didn't I put forward a condition that he should find those people who had caused trouble here to be my students? I just asked him to ask for students."
"Oh?" Ge Yong then withdrew his hand and frowned, as if he was a little confused. Qi Jingshan, who was standing by, was also a witness to the Ge Mansion blocking the door. He knew that Zhang Shou had judged that these people were at least familiar with mathematics, so he asked with interest, "What did Chu Kuan say?"
Zhang Shou thought about it and told him everything Chu Kuan had said to him. When he said that most of the remaining students in the Imperial College had bad careers and were eventually summoned by dignitaries to teach servants, the faces of the three masters in the department of mathematics in front of him were all very bad. It was not until he said what he had said to Chu Kuan that Ge Yong's stiff face softened a little.
"The servants of wealthy families are arrogant and bully their superiors. Even if they have learned a little bit of mathematics, most of them have bad intentions. Let alone the quiet place of the Imperial College, others will definitely not tolerate being in the same class as servants. If you really recruit them, it will easily corrupt the atmosphere! You are right. First, look at those with clean backgrounds. If they are not good enough, you can recruit students with questions. Old Qi and Old Chu can support you in this matter."
Zhang Shou saw Qi Jingshan nod slightly, and Chu Ying beside him also nodded repeatedly. He couldn't help but ask the question he wanted to ask the most in recent days: "Teacher, Mr. Qi, Mr. Chu, I don't understand. You are all masters of mathematics. If you insist, and the emperor insists, the Jiuzhang Hall of the Imperial College will not be in such a state... Why is it me?"
Zhu Ying finally got rid of the complicated emotions just now. When she heard Zhang Shou's last words, she couldn't help but be stunned. When she saw that Ge Yong, Qi Jingshan and Chu Ying were all silent, she couldn't help but say: "Of course it's because you taught well, Shou!"
Ge Yong immediately laughed: "Xiao Yingying, you are half right. Zhang Shou, you brought up two good students in Rongshui Village. Later, when Zhang Chen and Lu Sanlang flocked there, you discovered Lu Sanlang. From this point of view, you are very lucky in your students. The most important thing is that your students are all young men in their prime."
Chu Ying had not intended to speak, but now he could not help but say, "That's right. In the past, even those who were considered as imperial students with some talent were aiming to become officials. Some were in their twenties, and some were in their thirties or forties. They could not wait. Once the official career was wasted, who would still stick to what they learned?"
Qi Jingshan also laughed and said, "Among the three of us, Old Ge is from a famous family that was praised by Emperor Taizu. Old Chu is from a wealthy family. After passing the imperial examination, he was too lazy to become an official. I was also a second-class imperial scholar. I was in charge of the Imperial Observatory and worked my way up to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Wang Datou was discovered by Old Ge because of his talent, and he was dragged into the pirate ship. In addition, Old Ge's disciple who served as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue..."
He paused and said meaningfully: "If you count them, there are only a few high-ranking officials in the court who are proficient in mathematics, but there are almost no young successors... Even the children and grandchildren of Lao Ge know almost nothing about it. It's the same for me and Lao Chu. Our students back then are now in their forties or fifties. The Ten Mathematical Classics... are too difficult, and few young people are willing to put in the effort to learn them."
Well, Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art was simple at first, but the Shang Gong Chapter could drive one crazy, let alone other books… Ancient Chinese mathematics, from terminology to words and sentences to problems, was too unfriendly to beginners, and those who could learn it were almost all geniuses!
Zhang Shou finally understood the purpose of letting him serve as the doctor of the Imperial College, but at this time, Ge Yong made a fatal move.
"Emperor Taizu did leave behind some very simple mathematics books, but because they were too simple, civil and military officials only used them to teach their children. Later, when Emperor Taizu abdicated, the fleet went out to sea but was capsized by a storm..."
The abdicated Taizu actually died in a boat capsize? Zhang Shou immediately took a breath of cold air. He saw Ge Yong paused for a moment, as if he was hesitating whether to continue, but in the end, his teacher still spoke out.
"The court was very secretive about the shipwreck, and only said to the outside world that the emperor had died. This also changed a lot of things afterwards. A lot of blood was shed. Although many people still admired Emperor Taizu's achievements, those superficial enlightenment books were gradually lost and no longer organized. It was then that everyone realized that those things seemed simple back then, but if one or two of them were missing, it would still be difficult to understand."
"Wherever the big ships sailed across the seas, we saw the southern and western barbarians. In the eyes of the people in our court, it was not prosperous at all, let alone a flourishing age. Especially in the western barbarians, which Emperor Taizu always said we should be wary of, we only saw a large number of small countries. However, a small prefecture in our country dared to claim to be a king, and saw silk and tea as treasures. It really made people more disappointed the more they looked at it."
"Our dynasty has been developing various artillery since the early years of Emperor Taizu. A few shots from a large ship will immediately bring any country to its knees. The land of the Western Barbarians is not as rich as ours, so it is hard to believe that occupying such a small country would be pointless."
"As for those Western characters and pictures, they are either scribbling or immoral. When they are brought back, they are denounced as heresy. Many things are also incomprehensible when translated."
"In short, many things have been debated for many years."
In fact, many things have been debated for many years, and Zhang Shou has vaguely understood the complexity of it.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the population was small, and even the land could not be cultivated. Even if the elder mentioned colonization, it would attract countless opposition. When the exploration results showed that those countries were just small countries, and everyone was inferior to them, there would definitely be officials who felt that it was meaningless to show off in such a place.
What about America? That is the richest place in the world, even the richest place in the world. Because only in America, there are no deserts, no Gobi, only endless jungles. Why didn't there be any ships to go to America to grab land?
Perhaps the fleet that Taizu organized after his abdication capsized on the way to America? If we convert the current time into the Gregorian calendar, it seems that it is not yet the time when Columbus discovered America, right?
The several domestic struggles for the throne seemed to involve not only palace bloodshed but also civil war. This made some people who were centered on the Celestial Empire naturally feel that it was completely unnecessary to spend energy abroad, and it would be better for them to concentrate on running their own great Celestial Empire first.
"The two parties in the court are fighting over one thing: not allowing foreign books to enter the country, and the other thing: not allowing Western barbarians to live permanently in our country. As for seagoing ships, both the Southern and Western barbarians admire our silk and porcelain. In addition, the court still attaches great importance to Southeast Asia. The kings and nobles there are easy to deal with. As long as a large number of luxury goods are shipped over, countless spices, gems and mahogany will be shipped back. Mahogany has always been Taizu's favorite!"
However, Ge Yong instinctively concealed one thing and did not say it.
Thirdly, the imperial court was worried that Taizu had not died but had never returned to the country, and that his descendants were scattered abroad and had founded a country and become kings, so they had been quietly looking for him! Otherwise, although merchant ships would not be banned, the imperial court's official ships would cost a lot of money every time they went to sea, so how could they afford to send them out all the time?
Why were the artillery of the Ming Dynasty so powerful? Wasn't it because Taizu rewarded skilled craftsmen and even personally instructed them, so that they could make those incredible weapons weighing more than a thousand pounds? It's a pity that the descendants of some skilled craftsmen were not good enough and ended up in the north. Otherwise, even if the northern barbarians colluded with the Donghu, how could they be the opponent of the Ming Dynasty?
