Zhang Dai's family has a rich collection of books and such a family atmosphere, so he is well-versed in many things, and he should know everything about the subset of history: astronomy and geography, and he is not involved. Although he didn't have a fame, he had the ambition to write. I have been working hard all my life. He left many writings, the most famous of which are "Dream Memories of Tao'an" and "Night Sailing Boat" that these people have read.

In addition to his rich knowledge, he is also a gentleman who is good at enjoyment, and he said in the article: Less for the gentleman, he loves prosperity. Good house, good beautiful maid, good child, good fresh clothes, good food, good horses, good lanterns, good fireworks, good pear orchards, good propaganda, good antiques, good flowers and birds, and tea and orange abuse, books and poems. It can be said that the extravagant hedonistic habits of the gentlemen and the decadent style of the late Ming Dynasty celebrities and literati indulged in cynicism.

Such a figure was of little value in the eyes of the Senate. But for the Foreign Intelligence Service, it was an important figure.

Zhang Dai was not only a well-written, knowledgeable, and enjoyable literati, but he was also a member of the Fushe Society who had a strong influence on the political situation in the late Ming Dynasty. Although he was not a person who was keen on politics, he participated in many activities of the Restoration Society, and became friendly with many key members of the Restoration Society.

The Gangnam area is the basic plate of the Fusha, and the local shili is extremely strong. The Fushe not only controlled the "public opinion" of Jiangnan Shilin, but also influenced the administration of local officials in Jiangnan to a certain extent. Many of the magistrates themselves were Fushe or Donglin people.

Zhao Yinggong wants to carry out activities in the Jiangnan area, and obtaining the support or acquiescence of the Fushe is a crucial part.

Zhang Dai is a "gentleman with deep cultural attainments". Obviously, Lingao's "kit kat lewd skills" can impress him faster. Zhao Yinggong's eager gaze suddenly focused on the building ship in front.

"What's the place ahead?" He asked, "Weishenme Zhang Xianggong's boat is going in such a hurry?" Cai Shi said: "If you go back to the master, it is the dragon boat that is out of the bunch." I'm all in a hurry to see it. ”

Zhao Yinggong nodded: "Follow up, let's also go to watch the dragon boat race."

In other places, most of the dragon boat races are held on the fifth day of May every year, while the dragon boat races in Hangzhou's West Lake have been held twice a year since the Song Dynasty. In addition to one of the Dragon Boat Festival, the other is said to be a sacrifice to Wu Zixu on the eighth day of the second month, and it is said that it is because of the birthday of Zhang Zhenjun of the ancestral mountain

The second dragon boat race in West Lake starts on the first day of May and ends on the tenth day of May. The farmers and industrialists outside the city, as long as they can't open the pot at home, will come to see the excitement.

The boatman listened to the guest's instructions, and hurriedly propped up the penny and rocked the oar, and went to the direction of the lake pavilion where the dragon boat was located.

On the lake surface of this side of the Lake Center Pavilion, many large and small boats have gathered, in addition to all kinds of painting boat pleasure boats, there are also "big viewing boats" specially for ordinary people to watch and amuse, all kinds of boats are almost to the point of end to end, the scene is very lively.

Zhao Yinggong was still looking for Zhang Dai's ship, and at this moment, "Knock knock!" Knock knock! But the sound of drums and cymbals rang out. Five dragon boats crashed into the waves and appeared on the lake. These dragon boats are equipped with finely carved dragon heads and dragon tails, each with its head held high and its scales and armor distinct. Each boat is four or five feet long. Unlike the canoe-like dragon boats that the patriarchs saw in another time and space, these dragon boats are much larger, with two levels in the middle cabin, and in front of them are a dragon-headed prince dressed as a child and a swing frame, on which a child rolls back and forth, making all kinds of movements. There are weapons racks displayed next to it, and eighteen kinds of martial arts swords, guns, swords, and halberds are listed, and there are various flags. There is a high and low five-colored umbrella in the middle, and a centipede flag on the tail. On the lower floor, drums are displayed, and gongs and drums are constantly beaten. Twenty sturdy men were bound together and mighty, and sat in two rows on either side of the long and narrow cabin. Each man has a large oar in his hand, and he should rise and fall in unison with the gongs and drums of the ship, rowing the boat like a loose horse, like an arrow off the string. The eight- or nine-year-old child on the swing frame kept making all kinds of thrilling poses in the high-speed progress of the dragon boat, which made the onlookers marvel and couldn't help but sweat for them.

It is said to be a "dragon boat race", but in fact, it is not like the old time and space with an end. Some idlers threw silver money playthings into the water, and the sailors on the dragon boat jumped down and dived into the water to pick them up. The sailors who fish quickly and enter the water in the most beautiful and dashing posture often cause a round of applause, and of course, there are more silver money players thrown.

On the cruise, play and sing, play juban. It's really like flowers blooming with brocade, and the fire is cooking oil. Even the veterans, who were accustomed to seeing big scenes, were moved by such a prosperous scene.

If you just look at such a situation, where is there any sign of the Ming Dynasty going to die! It is simply an unprecedented "prosperous era".

Zhao Yinggong was sighing, and suddenly a wet head appeared on the water, holding a yellow, long-shaped object in his hand, and a very bright light was suddenly reflected in the sun. The patriarchs on the terrace were taken aback for a moment, this was the reflection of glass, but they were nervous:

"Lao Zhao! What is that? Zhao Yinggong didn't speak, and immediately took care of Cai Shi: Get that thing.

Cai Shi immediately went to the bow of the boat to greet him, said a few words, and ran back out of breath:

"Sir! He had to ask for a penny, a copper pipe that he didn't know what to do—it was a rip-off

Zhao Yingong cut off his words with a bow covering his face: "Give it to him, bring something!"

Cai Shi hurriedly took it again, and after a while, he came over with a "copper pipe". Zhao Yingong snatched it, put it in his hand and pulled it, and then put it in his eyes and looked at it: That's right, this is a monocular.

The elaborate brass double-knuckle barrel and the hand-polished glass lens indicate that this is a Dutch telescope that was invented not long ago in this time and space. Even in Europe, it's pretty rare. The Foreign Intelligence Bureau knew that Tang Yunwen had one, and a small number of officials and wealthy people in Guangdong also had one. In addition to the generals of the Ming Dynasty, most people use it as a rare Western toy.

I didn't expect there to be such a telescope in Hangzhou! Of course, there is a Catholic Church in Hangzhou, and it is possible for missionaries to use such "tricky" objects to give to local gentry officials in order to gain favor. Just as Matteo Ricci did in Guangdong and Beijing.

Xu Xu took it and looked at it: "The magnification is not large, at most it is 1~2 times."

"It's a Galilean telescope." Zhou Dongtian said: "The structure is very simple. ”

The Galilean telescope was the earliest telescope, with a simple principle and easy to manufacture. However, the magnification is extremely limited, and there are a series of problems such as distortion, and later it was mainly used as a children's telescope and a theater viewing mirror.

But in this plane, this thing is quite a useful militaristic weapon. Who would have such an extremely rare Western product? And what is he going to throw into the water?

This rare Western commodity is not simply something that can be calculated in terms of money. When Zhao Yingong went to Guangzhou for "internship", he saw a Dutch telescope imported from Europe. The price is thirty or forty taels of silver. The telescope was just regarded as a "toy" by people at the time. The market demand is minimal. Because the demand is small, unlike glassware, Western cloth, spices, ivory, etc., which often arrive, it often takes one or two years for one or twenty to be imported.

Extremely rare. The owner will never easily throw it into the West Lake for fun.

Zhou Dongtian checked again and again and said, "It seems that it has been lost in the lake for a while, not just left."

The barrel was already filled with water, and there were some traces of silt and aquatic weeds, which obviously could not be caused by a moment at the bottom of the lake, but it fell about a few days ago and was accidentally picked up by the sailors on the dragon boat today.

Zhou Dongtian suddenly asked, "Lao Zhao, what are you looking at?" It seems to be a word. Zhao Yinggong took it and took a closer look. The font is so finely engraved on the barrel that it is almost impossible to see unless you look closely at the light.

"Dragon's Sleep Fool Self-Actioner".

The fonts are all small seals, if it weren't for Zhao Yinggong's hard practice of calligraphy in the training class, these words would simply be a book from heaven. He thought about it, "Dragon Sleeping Fool" should be someone's number. Judging from the words engraved on the cylinder, he cherished this telescope very much. It was never thrown into the lake for fun, most of the time it was a mistake.

Zhao Yingong said with a smile: "It's a pity that I don't know who this Longmian Fool is. But I can deduce a rough idea of this person. ”

Xu Xu and Zhou Dongtian both smiled: "I didn't expect you to be a big detective, I would like to hear about it."

Zhao Yingong deduced: This person is a Confucian scholar from a well-to-do family - a person from an ordinary family would not use a lot of silver to buy such a rare thing that has no practical use. Without a certain level of cultural literacy, he will not engrave a small seal on the telescope: this person has a strong interest in new things, otherwise he would not buy an unpopular foreign goods, and the telescope is lost at the bottom of the lake, indicating that he has been to the West Lake a few days ago to see the dragon boat. He must have had some dealings with the Catholic Church or the Confucian scholars in Hangzhou, from whom the telescope was probably obtained.

"Zuihou, I don't think he's very old, it's probably a young man."

"Not necessarily, although people who like new things are mainly young people, but Sun Yuanhua and Xu Guangqi were middle-aged when they came into contact with Catholicism and Western science. I haven't seen them eat the ancients? Permission said.

"I think young people will be more willing to show off their novelties," Zhao said. You see that the people who are dangling around with iPhones are teenagers, and people over 30 are unlikely to hold an iPhone in their hands all day long, even if they buy an iPhone. So I feel that this person's age is thirty at most. ”