Thousands of years of Chinese civilization have made many readers have a deep dependence on ancient books, as if any problem, the ancients must have solved it, as long as you turn the book to get the answers you need. However, the world is always changing, and the vast majority of Chinese knowledge is not passed on through books - word of mouth from father to son is the mainstream.

If you talk about the knowledge of physics, maybe there are still people who can dig out some words from the unpopular ancient books - the Song people also have many enthusiasts in this area, such as Shen Kuo. But chemistry is so young that there is not even a single person on the whole earth who knows what kind of gas they breathe, and a large number of chemical experiments only exist in the mysterious huts of alchemists and alchemists.

Xu Yuanzuo didn't have a microscope in his hand, and when he was in Songjiang, he reluctantly used litmus to make some reagents, but at the moment, far water could not quench his thirst, so he could only use the ubiquitous oxidation reaction as an example. However, in the opinions of the senior brothers, these contents are more regarded as "hypothetical", and there is no way to verify them empirically: you say that it was done by oxygen, and he said that it was done by the gods, and the key is how to prove it!

Abominable positivist thought!

The more Xu Yuanzuo talked, the more experiments he needed to do. The senior brothers bite to see the empirical evidence, and each of them seems to be possessed by scientists - with such a firm positivist thought, they have not even pushed the Ming Dynasty into the steam age, it is definitely because the Ming Dynasty emperor is too scum! (Note)

Xu Yuanzuo's tongue was dry, it was getting late outside, and there was not much content in the back. He said, "Senior brothers, if you really want to get a glimpse of this. Let's let the little brother buy some utensils in Guangdong, let's verify them one by one. ”

Everyone has been aroused by Xu Yuanzuo's interest, especially a few senior brothers who have property in their families. They all came up to greet Xu Yuanzuo and offered to help. They had already seen a mountain of gold from the question and answer just now, and their sensitivity to money was not inferior to Xu Yuanzuo's.

Lin Keming introduced them one by one on the side, and was naturally very happy to see this righteous little brother open up his contacts. These people are the backbone of the Lin family - to put it simply, they are rich. Guangzhou in Guangdong was a gathering place for Arabs as early as the Tang Dynasty, and economic thought was deeply rooted in the bone marrow. The people of the Central Plains thought that this was a wild place, but they themselves knew that it was prejudice. In the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court imposed a sea ban. Guangzhou is a window to the outside world, and every year there is also the Canton Fair - the Portuguese enter the city to buy all kinds of foreign trade goods. The strong mercantile thinking here even diluted their thirst for fame.

Many people have been lifted after being lifted. I didn't bother to go north to take the exam. As a person, he bought property in the countryside, engaged in commercial activities, obtained a large amount of overseas silver, and then bought land and land. Expansion of production. If it is said that the weavers in Jiangnan represent the germ of capitalist production relations. Guangdong has long become the base camp of foreign trade companies.

Xu Yuanzuo was also very happy to learn about the family industry of these senior brothers. These families have their own iron factories and magnetic kilns. This is also the main product of Guangdong's exports, especially the iron mills in Guangdong, the amount of pig iron produced every year accounts for most of the national iron production of the Ming Dynasty, if you open it up, it is the world's iron capital - Britain will be able to catch up with Guangdong Province at this time after two hundred years.

However, although Guangdong's iron production is high, the refined iron comes from Wuhu, and there is an obvious price gap. Although the owners of the iron works are not aware that it is a problem of materials and workmanship. But there must be a reason. And the chemistry that Xu Yuanzuo mentioned today made them find a door to find out the reason.

Xu Yuanzuo briefly introduced the problem of fuel. In some places, coal is used. Some places use charcoal, some places use coke, and different fuels directly affect the quality of iron. For example, the output of Lutie in Shanxi is not small, but the pyrite used is also a lot of impurities in the coal, so the Lutie can only be used to make civilian iron pots, which are barely used to make agricultural tools, and cannot be smelted into weapons at all. However, this contributed to the defense of the Ming Dynasty, and it was impossible for these iron pots that were smuggled and sold to the Mongols to be recast into iron tools and then used by the Mongols to enter the country.

These problems are not secret, and some people have known about them for a long time, but they are not deliberately improved for cost reasons. Because rich people will never be interested in technology, they will only be interested in wealth. Without sufficient profit driven, they will be indifferent to the Zenith technology if you take out the Zenith technology.

As for the brothers who open the magnetic kiln, they want to know the temperature of the furnace. The difference between pottery and porcelain is, to put it bluntly, temperature. And the price is known to everyone, the pottery bowl can only be used to ballast the warehouse, but the porcelain is wrapped in silk and carefully served.

Xu Yuanzuo spit out some knowledge slightly and asked them to go back to experiment. At the same time, he also asked for a lot of help, on the one hand, he had no roots here, and the silver he promised out could not be fulfilled for a while, and Mr. Lin's family actually only had a face, and it was also very difficult to get the silver, so he had to ask these senior brothers to borrow some cash to facilitate turnover. When the fleet he sent back to transport the "silver" came, he would naturally be able to return it -- of course, if he really brought the silver to Guangdong, he would be a brain-dead. The same volume is obviously the commercial goods from the south and north of the canal, which are more calculated.

Of course, these senior brothers are also clear about this method, and immediately said that they should not return the silver, and just use the commercial goods to offset the price. Both sides were acquaintances, so they could naturally be trusted, so the deal was quickly finalized.

Xu Yuanzuo's next step was to ask these senior brothers to help recruit shipbuilders from Guangdong, as well as craftsmen who had repaired ships for the Portuguese. Seeing that the nautical chart is about to be opened, it is not possible to do without a good enough ship. The Ming ship does not have a special concept of warships - I am afraid that Europe does not have any, and they are basically armed sailing ships, so it is especially necessary to gather skilled craftsmen from all over the world to develop their own special naval large-tonnage warships.

It is simply incomprehensible to conduct maritime trade, but not control sea power.

"In addition to the craftsmen, I also have to ask the senior brothers to help find some crops." Xu Yuanzuo said: "These crops are in the hands of the Spaniards, and if necessary, I am willing to go to Luzon in person." ”

Everyone was quite curious, what kind of crop was so worthy of Xu Yuanzuo's attention.

Nature is the three treasures of high-yield crops: sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn.

Potatoes are still used as ornamental plants, and corn is only found in Europe. It is not considered a high yield until it has been bred. You can't even take it directly to Liaodong to open it, because it is very likely that these species will not be able to withstand the cold. Sowing seeds in the south of the Yangtze River first, and then gradually pushing north. When Shandong can be widely planted, it can be planted in Shenyang and Liaoyang with confidence. If there is no human interference in this process, I am afraid it will take more than 100 years, but with careful selection, about five years is enough.

Now sweet potatoes have become famous.

As a high-yielding, easy-to-grow, and food ration agricultural product, sweet potatoes are highly valued in Southeast Asia. According to the laws of the Spaniards, this crop was not allowed to be taken out of Luzon.

Lin Keming didn't know Xu Yuanzuo's broad blueprint. Just out of support for the sworn brothers, he came up with an idea: "Can't you smuggle it back?" ”

"Is it okay to wrap the sweet potato vine in a cable?" Xu Yuanzuo came up with an idea. This is also the method used for the first time when sweet potatoes were smuggled into China.

Those senior brothers were not good at refusing Xu Yuanzuo because of such a simple matter, and they promised to find someone to go to Luzon when they went back. There are not many Spaniards on Luzon right now. However, it is very tight to take care of one's own territory, and it is unrealistic to bring back a large batch, and it should not be difficult to smuggle some in small quantities.

Xu Yuanzuo was relieved because of this, and after making an appointment with the senior brothers. Don't worry about these chores anymore. Concentrate on nurturing library staff. In later generations, library science is a specialized major, but now it does not need to be so high, as long as there is a high school library management level, it is enough to ensure that there are no problems in the process.

Luo Zhenquan suddenly disappeared from everyone's field of vision when Xu Yuanzuo was busy. He was inconspicuous in the first place—not that he wasn't prominent enough, but because he wasn't a scholar, he was naturally ignored. When he returned to Xu Yuanzuo again. There was no surprise to the people, it was really like air.

"Zogoer. The ship is in the harbor, and it is not leaving? As soon as Luo Zhenquan came back, he mysteriously said code words to Xu Yuanzuo.

Xu Yuanzuo still had to wait for news from Luzon, shook his head slightly, and said, "Is it going well?" ”

"It went very well." Luo Zhenquan said: "No one has found out, but if you stay here for a few more days, I'm afraid you will be noticed by someone with a heart." "He is really in a hurry to go back to give out the year-end bonus, the year-end bonus of Longqing for four years has not yet been issued, and the whole Songjiang must be looking forward to Xu Yuanzuo going back!

Luo Zhenquan said again: "He also brought a pop." ”

Xu Yuanzuo turned his head: "He has a snap!?" ”

"Yes!" Luo Zhenquan said: "They don't have sweet potatoes in their hands, but there are a few pots of pops. As for the corn that Zogor wanted, he said that it should also be found in Manila, and if it wasn't enough, the ship from New Spain would bring it next year. ”

Papa is the real name of the potato, a transliteration from South America, and the Spanish spell it "papa". Considering the person's identity, it is not unobtrusive to have a few pots of this ornamental plant around.

Xu Yuanzuo was very interested because of the potatoes, and said, "Let's go, get on the boat, I'll talk to him." ”

That night, when the moon was dark and the wind was high, two men in cloaks covered most of their faces with their hoods and jumped onto a long-moored building ship. These two people are naturally Xu Yuanzuo and Luo Zhenquan, and Lou Chuan is also the flagship of their trip to Fujian and Guangdong. The reason why I don't want people to see it is simply because there is an unknown guest on the ship.

Once the guest returned to Macau alive in the future, the action would naturally be recorded in the history books of the East and the West.

Because he was a Jesuit, a clergyman who believed in God. If all goes well, he will be the first Catholic missionary to enter the Ming Dynasty, an important person who will open the curtain of cultural exchanges between the East and the West.

Xu Yuanzuo knew that the Jesuits were the elite of Western society, and he had some expectations for them. The two met in the cabin, and Xu Yuanzuo took off his cloak and solemnly sat down across from the preacher with a mustache. The two didn't need to speak, they had already read the same sentence from each other's eyes: This Nima is too young!

"It's an honor to meet you." The young monk greeted Xu Yuanzuo in Chinese, with a strong accent, and gave his name. His Chinese was so bad that Xu Yuanzuo couldn't hear what he was saying for a while.

- This is a bit inconsistent with the basic personality!

Xu Yuanzuo looked at the young man and said, "I am the host of this trip, you can call me Jinglian or Zuo Ge'er." ”

The young man had a puzzled look on his face. I didn't understand Xu Yuanzuo's self-introduction, nor did I understand why there were two names.

Xu Yuanzuo saw the gap between the two: "Where did you learn Chinese?" How long have you been studying? ”

"I studied Chinese with Father Xavier. From being his retinue until his death. "Young people have obviously been asked this question by a lot of people, and they have reacted much quicker.

Xu Yuanzuo suppressed his dissatisfaction by dispelling clearly too high expectations. He said, "What's your Han name?" ”

"Han name?" The young man wondered, "I'm Portuguese." ”

"You are going to enter the Ming mission. But there is no Han Chinese name? The corners of Xu Yuanzuo's mouth twitched: "Your Chinese is also so bad, you don't have a priest with better Chinese?" ”

The young man's face was ruddy, and he was obviously struck: "I'm so sorry. Among us, my Chinese is quite good. ”

Xu Yuanzuo almost jumped up: "Do you know the significance of your trip to Daming?" This is the first direct exchange between Eastern and Western civilizations, which is destined to be written in the annals of history, and you are not prepared for anything! I don't even have a minimum of words. You tell me what I took you to smuggle in at great risk! ”

The young missionary became restrained. Becoming more and more stammering: "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry!" But I'm just a pathfinder, and we urgently need to know about the Ming ...... I am the pigeon that brought back the olive branch......"

"No matter what kind of bird you are, you have to be able to speak Chinese." Xu Yuanzuo said coldly: "What other academic background do you have?" In the eyes of many people in the Ming Dynasty. Tessie is a barren land. If you don't want to make a bad impression. It's better to behave like a civilized person. ”

"I am a civilized man." The young man hurriedly stated: "I studied at the Saint-Barbe Academy in Paris, and I am good at literature, law and theology. ”

Xu Yuanzuo gently supported his forehead: Is there a more wasted skill among the missionaries?

"For at least a hundred years, your literature will be completely meaningless to us." Xu Yuanzuo said coldly: "And once you can't prove that you are a civilized person, then your theology will be the same as the witchcraft of barbarians. ”

The young monk blushed and exclaimed, "You are the one who has been inspired by our Lord, and you should not say this." ”

Xu Yuanzuo pursed his lips: "I wanted to help you, but you wasted my kindness." I now want you to go back and tell your priest that you will be replaced by a missionary who is proficient in mathematics, naturalism, geography, or drawing, or art. Otherwise, even if it comes to Daming. They can only be regarded as barbarians, unable to communicate with people. ”

The young monk pinched his fingers and counted all the missionaries in Macao. With a bitter face, he said, "Sir, I'm afraid I'm still the only one who can go." The other priests were either in positions of responsibility or were old. ”

"Heavy duty? Where else is there a more important market than Daming...... I mean the country! Xu Yuanzuo was almost about to roar.

These missionaries don't understand the situation!

"The young monk of the "Japanese ......" said timidly: "Although Father Xavier thinks that the Ming Dynasty in the East is great and should be more worthy of receiving the Gospel, many priests in Macao now want to spread the Gospel in Japan. ”

Xu Yuanzuo grinded his back molars, exhaled heavily from his nostrils, and said, "Okay, you've made a lot of money!" I'll take you into the Ming Dynasty and let history slap those stupid pig priests in the face, but you've missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity...... I'm afraid even Matteo Ricci has been cheated by you! ”

The young monk barely understood Xu Yuanzuo's words. Half of it was because Xu Yuanzuo didn't have a good tone, and half because of the speed of speech. He just nodded timidly, knowing that his trip seemed to be up to the task.

Xu Yuanzuo threw up his sleeves and left an order: "From now on, as long as you are in the territory of Daming, you have to remember your name: Andewang." ”

The young monk sat in the cabin, completely unsure of what to do. He knew that he had been forcibly given a name by this powerful teenager, but he had no idea what the name meant. He wanted to ask Lao Luo, the honest middle-aged man he had come into contact with in the past few days, but that Lao Luo was obviously the young man's entourage, and he also left quickly.

"My Lord will shine on my path......" In the dark cabin, the young monk held the cross he carried with him, cheering himself up.

*

Note: Just as many people nowadays see everything and say, "It's the fault of the system." There is also a wave of people who can end all discussions of Ming history with the words "Ming Dynasty Emperor is too scum". In this article, Xiaotang is weak and complains, not Xiaotang's habitual brain pumping.

PS: The word asterisk in the previous chapter is the surname of Mr. Zhou Dunyi, Ercheng, Zhu Xi, Lu Jiuyuan, etc., I don't know why it was blocked. Innocently Koyu begs for a recommendation ticket and a monthly pass to comfort me!

*(To be continued.) )