"What is this?" Sun Jingting's eyes were drawn to a strange machine. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

The boxy machine is lined with symbols and numbers, the machine looks heavy, but not big, with a noticeable joystick on the side of the machine.

"It's a computing machine." Jose said with a smile on his face: "I can only do some simple additions and subtractions, it is the prototype of a famous scientist in France, it is not very useful, but the price is not too expensive, Lord Zhang asked us to buy all the new machines in Europe, so although this thing is still just a prototype, we also asked someone to buy it back." ”

"Oh, I'll try."

Sun Jingting stood next to the machine and shook the machine with a rocker.

The machine makes a creaking sound, and then according to Sun Jingting's setting, the numbers move on the surface of the machine and start to calculate the simplest addition and subtraction problems.

After trying many times in a row, Sun Jingting said to the military personnel around him: "It is indeed a calculation machine, and there are no mistakes." ”、

"But it's too simple." A military officer smiled: "It's not as convenient as the abacus, at least the abacus is light." ”

"This represents a direction and a future." Sun Jingting said very seriously: "It is simple now, and it will definitely be able to do more complex operations in the future, not only addition and subtraction, but also multiplication and division." This is a direction, using an abacus to make complex calculations, and children will use this machine when they get started, understand? ”

The official arched his hand and said, "Yes, the subordinate has lost his word." ”

"Even though we've been financially strapped lately." Sun Jingting turned to Jose and said: "Please Mr. return to Macao to greet this French scientist for me, we can provide him with funds for continuing his research, or we can hire him to come to China to continue his research, and we can provide him with a research fund of 2,000 louis a year." ”

Of course, this treatment is not low, one gold louis is equal to twelve livres, that is, equal to twenty francs later, and the annual income of tens of thousands of francs is enough for a French gentry to live very comfortably.

Jose was not surprised by Sun Jingting's decision, Zhang Han had made this request to the Jesu Council many times before, but unfortunately so far, no European scientists who met the criteria of He Yusheng have been recruited.

Quite simply, this era was the era of adventurers, who set sail, drove privateers to rob goods, and plundered the wealth of backward natives in the colonies and sent them back to Europe, which was the mainstream of the colonial and maritime eras.

In Asia, the activities of the colonizers were in the ascendant, and Macau was also forcibly occupied by the Portuguese by all means, although it was not a colony, but the Portuguese had lived in this small land for decades, and even Jose, a serious Portuguese, was born on the soil of the Ming Dynasty.

In such an environment, how can a real scientist who is interested in scientific research live with sailors on a dirty and smelly long-distance ship and sail to the vast and unknown sea?

In this era, it is not a fun thing to go to sea, scurvy and all kinds of diseases, treacherous winds and reefs at sea, and pirates who plunder, any one of which may kill the whole ship, and only forty percent of the ships that go to sea will eventually return to Europe, and at least more than fifty percent of the voyagers will die at sea or on colonial land.

Even in a place like Macao, there were not many adventurers from Europe, and the population base never exceeded 1,000, the Portuguese relied on strong forts and cannons to resist the later invaders, and the Dutch, British, and many attacks on Macao were defeated by shore-based batteries.

In this kind of place, at most a few famous experts in cannon casting came, but also mercenaries, adventurers, sailors who sailed on long voyages, merchants who ventured to the colonies to speculate, beggars who failed to invest, and so on.

Scientists, that's too mysterious......

"I'm sorry......" Jose said indeed, "In the past two years, we have posted recruitment information authorized by Master Zhang in universities in various European countries, but unfortunately no scholars are willing to travel to China to serve as faculty members or for Ming officials. ”

"It doesn't matter." Sun Jingting said: "The recruitment continues, and the treatment is as we said before." ”

Formal scholars and professors are at least a few thousand louis or pounds a year, and some well-known young scholars also have quite generous salaries, since they can't attract talents geographically, they can only throw money.

Fortunately, those scholars in Europe do not have the social status and corresponding arrogance of Chinese scholars, and they can also be said to be pedantic. It is not good to compare with Europe on the Ming side, for example, there is no way for professors to simply compare Jinshi, but in fact, from an academic point of view, Jinshi is a scholar at the top level of the Ming Dynasty, which is similar to the professors and scholars of universities in Europe, but China's Jinshi is just starting out in officialdom, which is completely different from Europe.

Reading can solve everything, but it is not the beginning of an academic career, and the attitude of both the East and the West towards knowledge is also very interesting.

"It's a microscope that can look at microorganisms, and it's the latest achievement that has just come out." José went on to explain.

"Well, I'll take a look." Sun Jingting was still very interested in the work in front of him, and he began to study it.

……

"Chang Gung, there are a few new machines over there in the Military Command Division today, you may be very interested!"

Under the bright lights, Song Yingsheng, the head of the Miscellaneous Bureau Research Institute of the Military Command Division, strolled into the hall, took off his outer robe casually, and changed into a robe at home.

At the end of the year, it is also the coldest time in Datong, but the house is warm like spring, the Miscellaneous Bureau does this kind of copper stove to keep warm and heat dissipation function is very good, not afraid of smoke, the long furnace pipe brings the smoke to the outside, the indoor temperature is at least about 20 degrees, this temperature is the best temperature to make people feel very warm and comfortable.

Song Yingsheng was thirty-seven or eighteen years old, short and thin, with a few long hairs on his face, although he looked gentle and elegant, but his stature was even shorter.

His official dialect has an obvious southern accent, but fortunately, it is quite authentic.

Each bureau of Yusheng has a research institute, and the researchers in the institute, whether they are in the institute or with the title of doctor, are on an equal footing with the director of the bureau, at least in terms of level treatment, these researchers are almost the same, and there are more institutes, and the administrative treatment is the same as that of the director of the bureau.

According to Yusheng's private algorithm, the director of the bureau is the same as the director of the six departments of the Ming Dynasty, and he is also regarded as a six-rank official, and the deputy director of the Military Order Department is considered to be a four-rank Langzhong, and the official is even a third-grade squire or a second-grade Shangshu, and the real power of the company's director title is greater, and the officers of the marching division will not be worse than the officials of each division in terms of real power in the future.

The small officials at the bottom, such as the record, the main book, the supervisor, etc., are all at the level of officials, but compared with the small officials of the Ming Dynasty, the status of the officials of Heyusheng is not low, because not only is the salary good, but they will never give a few buckets of rice a month even if they are sent away, and they also retain the rising channel, even if it is the lowest level of records, they can also do the main thing all the way until the secretary.

The highest level of civil and military officials, of course, is the regimental commander, but the civilian position is not only the director of each division or the director of the company, but the director of several highest-level bosses, Sun Jingting and Li Shenming and others, in the words of the joke below, these are the elders of the cabinet who are promoted by Yusheng, and their status is far above that of ordinary directors or officials.

"Oh?" Known as "Chang Geng", he is about thirty-five or sixteen years old, his big name is Song Yingxing, he is Song Yingsheng's younger brother, he is of medium height, and his body looks burly and strong, which is considered a good figure among the people, but it is a little too strong among literati and officials, and his appearance is also a southerner and a northerner, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and some perseverance and courage on his face, but he is used to frowning and tilting his head, which somewhat destroys his temperament.

"I've already taken care of it." Song Yingsheng sat down, and a servant brought the soaked incense tablets, he took a sip, and said with a comfortable expression: "In a few days, the research institute of our Miscellaneous Bureau will study these machines, and you can study them with me at that time." ”

"It's a pity that I was assigned to the research institute of the Agricultural Administration Bureau." Song Yingxing said: "Every time I look at these things, it's still too troublesome." ”

"Hehe......" Song Yingsheng laughed a few times, and said without sympathy: "Who told you that you were too good in the agricultural answer sheet." ”

"Actually, the paper that my brother answered is a very simple thing."

"It's simple," Song Yingsheng looked contemplative, and said slowly: "But my two brothers, from Jiangxi to Jingshi, have seen all the way, and they will farm according to the agricultural books, and there is no one in ten thousand. ”

"So," Song Yingxing said: "I still admire Xuan Hugong the most, and of course I also admire Kong Zhizhi." ”

The two brothers of the Song family are both lifters, and now there are a lot of officials and researchers here in Lizhuang.

Zhang Han's attitude has always been that knowledge is far more expensive than gold and silver, and in the daily expenses of nearly one million yuan a year, attracting and collecting qualified talents is also the top priority.

Although the traditional talent is useless, and Zhang Han, who only reads Bagu articles, looks down on them, but like the Song family brothers, the identity of the person and the proficiency of miscellaneous studies are a different matter.

European scientists can't be recruited, and local miscellaneous experts can be seen as half scientists.

Song Yingsheng's miscellaneous level is in the collection and construction of various machines, so he successfully became the director of the Institute of Miscellaneous Affairs, and the treatment is very good, while Song Yingxing was assigned to the research institute of the Department of Agricultural Administration, which is also at the level of the institute.

If it weren't for the Song brothers insisting on staying in Lizhuang and only doing research work, in fact, both of them could be awarded the main level and hold real power.