Who is Li Zhizao?

Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple, the director of the Ministry of Industry, for a person who has been up and down in the sea for more than 20 years, his official position is not high. However, carefully opening his resume, Zhang Ke couldn't help but admire.

This was a young secretary in the capital, a prefect in the local area, governed the Yellow River, and used the Western method of clearing accounts to solve the shortcomings of the money valley. Recommended by Xu Guangqi, after entering Beijing, he served as an official of the Ministry of Industry, and built artillery to enhance combat effectiveness.

During his official period, he cooperated with Matteo Ricci and translated a large number of books, including "Geometric Originals", "Famous Detectives", etc., and his Western academic attainments are no longer under Xu Guangqi.

Among the missionaries, Li Zhizao is known as the "Three Pillars of the Holy Religion".

After listening to Sun Yuanhua's introduction, Zhang Ke couldn't help but be surprised, roughly calculated, Li Zhizao was proficient in mathematics, astronomy, calendar, water conservancy, firearms, and logic. It is especially rare and valuable, he has rich experience in local administration, such a strong tech www.uuxs.cc nocrat is definitely rarer than dinosaurs in the Ming Dynasty.

"Please, please come here!" Zhang Ke hurriedly said, Sun Yuanhua turned around and was about to leave.

"Slow, I'll invite it myself, such a talent, but don't be lazy."

Zhang Ke muttered, and he was going to change his clothes and follow Sun Yuanhua together. This can frighten Sun Yuanhua, Li Zhizao is just a petty official of the fourth grade, compared to Zhang Ke, a super national prince, the world is far away, and the etiquette must not be messed up.

("Grandpa Guo, if you go to greet me, I'm afraid of scaring my uncle, so let my subordinates go!")

"Well, that's fine! I was waiting for him in front of the study. ”

Saying that, Zhang Ke really stood with his hands in his hands and stood at the bottom of the steps. The surrounding guards were all startled, and said in their hearts that even if a high-ranking official from the ministry came, the adults might not be like this, what did this Li Zhizao do, he had such a status?

Everyone is wondering. In fact, Zhang Ke not only loves talents, but also has a hard-to-find expectation.

Speaking of which, the general trend of the next 500 years is like a heavy stone, pressing on my heart. I can't tell anyone about it, not to mention what happened decades later, even what has happened, such as the Great Voyage, the discovery of the New World, and even the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan. The scholars of the Ming Dynasty all shook their heads, not interested at all.

The most difficult thing in the world is to stuff thoughts into other people's heads, and Zhang Ke can only pin his hopes on some young people. As for Li Zhizao, who is proficient in Western studies, he is regarded as a bosom friend by Zhang Ke, I am afraid that only he can understand some of his own thoughts.

was pacing back and forth, when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps, Sun Yuanhua hurriedly walked in from outside with an old man and a young man.

"Uncle Shi, Brother Xiuyuan, Grandpa Guo is waiting for you!"

The old man listened. His face turned red, and he hurriedly trotted to the front and bowed deeply.

"Xiaguan Li Zhizao, meet the Duke of Pingliao!"

"Huh. Mr. Li doesn't have to be polite, I heard Chuyang talk about you, Benjue just has something to ask Mr., and I hope Mr. will give me some guidance! ”

"Don't dare, don't dare!" Li Zhizao said in a panic: "Xia Guan is just a derogatory. If Grandpa Guo can afford it, he will naturally know everything. ”

Zhang Ke took the initiative to lead Li Zhizao, and Sun Yuanhua took "Xiuyuan" into the hall together. The guests and hosts sat down, their subordinates served tea, and everyone exchanged a few words.

Zhang Ke smiled and said: "Mr. Li, I am a martial artist, so I won't go around the corner, you come to Liaodong, do you feel that there are some shortcomings?" ”

Li Zhizao also put down the teacup, he came to visit Zhang Ke, in fact, it was just out of curiosity, he never expected Zhang Ke to be so gracious, he couldn't let people look down on him, he thought about it carefully, and smiled slightly.

"Grandpa Guo is the top in the world whether he governs the place or leads the troops to fight, although the war in Liaodong is endless, but there is no food on the faces of the people, all the way, not to mention that the road is not left behind, and the night is not closed, it is about the same, and the grandpa of the country has made great contributions."

Li Zhizao said a few words of compliment, and then changed his words: "If you want to talk about the shortcomings, the old man thinks that the biggest problem is that there are too few people. Originally, there were more than 3 million households in Liaodong, but the actual number is much higher than this, there are black households everywhere in Daming, but the most black households are Liaodong! ”

That's right, there are constant wars in Liaodong, and there are many people of all kinds living together. Moreover, the generals have a large number of tenants, most of whom are black households fleeing the famine.

According to conservative estimates, before the wild boar skin rebellion, the actual population of Liaodong was about 5 million.

"As far as Lao Yu knows, in places such as the Liaoxi Corridor and Jinzhou Fuzhou, the total Dingkou is only two million, and there is still one million under the Jiannu control. In a few years, two million living beings have lost their lives, and the soldiers have been in trouble, how innocent the common people are! ”

Li Zhizao said that he was excited, his fists were clenched and gurgling, and it seemed that Jiannu was in front of him, and he could grab it and bite a few bites.

"Uncle Shi, what you always said is true, but is there any clever plan?"

"The old man doesn't know how to scatter beans into soldiers, only stupid ideas." Li Zhizao said with a smile: "If there is a shortage of population, just immigrate from the mainland and move over." ”

His words made Zhang Ke a little discouraged, don't be the light outside the donkey dung ball! Could it be that this great talent, who has high hopes for himself, has such a little ability!

"Mr. Li, immigration is easy to say, but it is difficult to do, not to mention the cost of eating, drinking, and settling, the yamen in various places alone cannot release people, you must know that the increase in population is also the political achievement of local officials, how can they release people lightly!"

"Hahaha, Grandpa Guo, you only know one and don't know the other!"

Li Zhizao laughed: "The increase in population is certainly a political achievement, but the decrease in refugees is also a political achievement!" Compared with the two, there are more refugees who have to consume food and take risks, and they don't know when they will cause chaos. How many people are eager to send it out, it depends on whether Grandpa Guo dares to ask for it! ”

"Dare, why don't you dare!"

Zhang Ke's eyes lit up, and he suddenly became a lot more humble. Don't think that you are great if you have hundreds of years of knowledge, you must know that the strong dragon can't suppress the ground snake, what Zhang Ke lacks in his hands is the ground snake who is familiar with the situation of the Ming Dynasty!

"Grandpa Guo, the old man has governed the Yellow River in Shandong and Henan, in normal years, the people are hungry, every disaster year, there is no cooking smoke in the alleys, there are many violent bones in the wild, the depression is miserable, I can't bear to look at it, the mother abandons the child, the father eats the dead son, the hell on earth, and the people are struggling on the verge of death!"

Zhang Ke took a breath of cold air and asked puzzledly: "The war and disaster in Liaodong are continuous, and it is understandable. Could it be that the people of the Central Plains are also so unbearable? ”

"Well, the old man said that it is less than a tenth. The Central Plains disaster is three parts natural disasters and seven parts man-made disasters. The vassal kings and large households exploited excessively, encroaching on acres of land, nine times out of ten, but did not bear the slightest tax. The great burden fell on the poor people, and in order to pay taxes for food, they even had to sell their sons and daughters. To put it mildly, the Central Plains is already full of fish. Dry wood and fire, just waiting for a spark, you will set yourself on fire. ”

Sure enough, nothing is accidental, and by now, the trend of peasant uprisings has become irreversible.

"Mr. Li, you asked Benjue to move the refugees to Liaodong to relieve the pressure on the Central Plains."

"Let's do it!" Li Zhizao sneered: "The old man has just been impeached, and he has been transferred to Nanjing to serve as the young secretary of Dali Temple, but I am afraid that he will have to go home soon." I heard that Grandpa Guo likes Western learning. If you have good governance, you will have the courage to see it. Talking nonsense, please don't be surprised. ”

Zhang Ke glanced at Li Zhizao and smiled secretly in his heart. Since he was transferred to Nanjing, he didn't go south, but went north to Liaodong, how could it be just to see!

But Zhang Ke also knows. The literati have a good face, and if they want them to work, they must smooth out their hair.

"Mr. Lee. Just your mention yì, at least one governor's position. Since the imperial court doesn't use it, I don't know if Mr. is willing to go to Liaodong to give in? ”

A hint of joy flashed on his face, and then Li Zhizao waved his hand and said with a smile: "The old man is old, and his brain is not clear, I am afraid that I will live up to the hospitality of Grandpa Guo." ”

Sun Yuanhua couldn't help it, and said in his heart, uncle, uncle, what a good opportunity, you must not slip away!

"Uncle Shi, you don't know that there is indeed a shortage of talents in Liaodong, especially civil officials. Take the little nephew as an example, he has to be in charge of cannon building, iron smelting, and even shipbuilding. I also have to calculate all kinds of accounts, the number is so large that it makes people anxious, if your old man is poor little nephew, stay in Liaodong and help me! ”

Sun Yuanhua opened his mouth to request, and Li Zhizao suddenly hesitated.

Zhang Ke smiled and said: "Mr. Li, if you don't dislike it, you are the governor of Liaodong." The imperial court gave me the power to appoint and dismiss officials below the third rank, and I was ready to set up under the governor, set up various departments, and handle government affairs. If there is a suitable candidate, please recommend one or two. ”

"Not busy!" Li Zhizao said with a smile: "Grandpa Guo, the old decay can also be hypocritical, can you tell me what to do?" ”

"This, mainly in three aspects, the most important is Tuntian, followed by the construction of roads and bridges, the supervision of the construction of cities, and the spread of Western learning."

"Western studies?" Li Zhizao, as well as the young man who had not spoken at the door, all widened their eyes.

"That's right, it's Western learning!" Zhang Ke emphasized: "My Ming scholars put their spiritual heads on the Confucian saints and Meng saints, and let them talk about human nature, self-cultivation, and even the five elements of yin and yang...... They can talk about these things for three days and three nights, and their mouths are like a river, and they talk endlessly. But let them calculate the taxes, deal with the river work, how many overseas merchant ships come to Daming every year, and how much a cotton cloth is worth, I'm afraid few can say clearly. ”

Zhang Ke was also excited, and he couldn't wait to hold those doctors who were moaning without illness, don't be benevolent and righteous all day long, full of morality, can't save the people, can't fill their stomachs.

Or do you want firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea, put it in the imperial court, or how to collect taxes, how to train troops, how to build, everything else is false!

"In the past hundred years, the Westerners have advanced by leaps and bounds, and have surpassed the Ming Dynasty in many aspects. It is especially valuable that they have analyzed each subject in detail and studied more and more deeply. On the other hand, we still hold on to the plausible sage's subtle words, and if we continue like this, we will be left behind sooner or later. I plan to establish a Western College in Liaodong, hire famous teachers, select outstanding young people, and study Western studies. After completing his studies, he became an official in Liaodong and showed his strengths. ”

"Good!" Li Zhizao couldn't help but slap his face and sighed: "The old man has always wanted to promote Western learning, but there is no such enlightened person as the grandfather of the country in the court. However, running a school requires an understanding of people, and the old man recommends one, and this person is named Yang Tingyun. Although when it comes to the astronomical calendar, it is not as old as Lao Yu and Xu Ge Lao. But in his early years, he was a scholar of the mind and made a wide range of friends. As long as he is invited, it is guaranteed to attract young talents and study in the West. (To be continued......) R1292