Hearing Zhao Yunze mention today's solar eclipse, Li Shimin frowned and asked, "Could it be that Peng Yu also has any opinion on today's solar eclipse?" ”

Zhao Yunze smiled slightly and said, "I heard that many ministers think that it is the resentment between King Xi and the King of Hailing County that obscures the sun, I wonder if Your Majesty believes this statement?" ”

"Since you already know the 'King of Xi' and the 'King of Hailing County', it means that you know the content of the edict I just issued. Because of this solar eclipse, I hereby issue this edict, you say that I don't believe the statements of those ministers? Li Shimin asked Zhao Yunze angrily.

Zhao Yunze smiled and said, "Today's birthday food, some ministers said that it was the resentment of the deceased; If he has a lunar eclipse on the day and another minister, and the minister says that the Son of Heaven is in power and makes a mistake to warn the heavens, or that the king is immoral, how should His Majesty deal with himself? ”

Li Shimin said: "You are a person of Ming history. In the annals, there are many records in which ministers wrote to the king and impeached the king's mistakes or immorality due to natural visions. What you just said is not alarmist. If this really happened to him in the future, I would have no choice but to condemn myself like those kings in history. ”

"Will Your Majesty be willing?" Zhao Yunze asked again.

"How willing, how unwilling. An edict can appease the subjects of the world, so how can I not do it? ”

Zhao Yunze shook his head and said, "Solar and lunar eclipses are the natural laws of celestial movements, what do you do in the sky?" It is far-fetched for the subjects to forcibly link the natural phenomena of celestial motion with the administration and virtue of the king. What's more, taking advantage of this vision of heaven to disregard the merits and demerits of the king and the court is really ulterior motives. ”

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Actually, I don't believe in ghosts and gods. However, throughout the ages, no one has been able to explain the true cause of the vision of the heavens, and most of the subjects believe in ghosts and gods, so I have no choice but to follow them. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Shimin said again: "Listening to what you just said, it seems that you also have some opinions on the movement of celestial bodies. Do you know the causes of solar and lunar eclipses? ”

Zhao Yunze pointed to the three balls and said, "It is precisely because the minister knows a little about the causes of the solar and lunar eclipses that he brought these three juju to relieve His Majesty's doubts." ”

"Three bows can explain the causes of solar and lunar eclipses?" Li Shimin wondered.

"Yes!" Zhao Yunze nodded very pretending to be 13.

Li Shimin became interested: "Then Peng Yu will come to me quickly." ”

Zhao Yunze picked up a ball and said, "If you want to understand the causes of solar and lunar eclipses, you must first understand the world we live in, as well as the shape of the sun and moon. Your Majesty, in fact, the world we live in is not a round heaven as the ancients said, but a sphere. ”

"Spheres?" Li Shimin frowned, thought for a while, suddenly his eyes lit up, and said: "Yes, you are Zhang Pingzi's 'Hun Tian Theory' of the Han Dynasty." ”

"Who is Zhang Pingzi?" At this time, it was Zhao Yunze's turn to wonder.

"Zhang Heng, don't you even know him?"

"Oh, it turned out to be Zhang Heng. Chen naturally knew Zhang Heng, wasn't he the one who made the armillary sphere! Zhao Yunze said embarrassedly.

Li Shimin nodded and said, "I remember that when I was a teenager, I read the Book of the Later Han Dynasty and the Astronomical Chronicles. In the chronicles, Zhang Pingzi wrote "Lingxian", saying, "The sky is like a chicken, the celestial body is round like a projectile, the earth is like a chicken in the yellow, living alone in the sky, the sky is big and the earth is small." Zhang Pingzi thinks that 'the earth is like a chicken in the yellow', isn't it exactly the sphere you said? ”

Zhao Yunze was shocked by Li Shimin's words, he never knew that in the Han Dynasty, someone in China had already put forward the concept of "earth". Originally, Zhao Yunze came to give Li Shimin a science lesson, but he didn't expect that Li Shimin would give him a history lesson first.

"Well, this statement of the minister comes from the 'Hun Tian Theory'." Zhao Yunze immediately climbed along the pole.

"Your Majesty, the minister calls the earth the earth. In fact, not only the earth is spherical, but the sun and the moon are also spherical. This is what His Majesty just mentioned, 'celestial bodies are as round as projectiles'. Zhao Yunze continued, "The moon revolves around the earth, and the earth revolves around the sun......

"Wait, I see that the sun and the moon both revolve around the earth you say, how can you say that the earth revolves around the sun."

"Well...... The earliest also came from Zhang Heng's 'Hun Tian Theory', and the minister just made some discussions on the basis of 'Hun Tian Theory'. Zhao Yunze couldn't think of a concise explanation, so he took Zhang Heng out of the top cylinder.

"Oh, it turns out that Hun Tian is so broad. It's a pity that Zhang Pingzi's book "Lingxian" has not been handed down, and I only read a little bit of "Hun Tian Shuo" from "Hou Han Shu Tianwen Zhi". If you hadn't mentioned the earth today, I would have forgotten Zhang Pingzi's remarks. Li Shimin said with regret.

"The minister also saw some records of Zhang Heng's celestial movements from some miscellaneous books." Zhao Yunze flickered.

"You should continue to explain to me the causes of the solar and lunar eclipses, and I won't interrupt you." Li Shimin said.

Zhao Yunze nodded, and said: "The sun is luminous, and the moon itself does not shine, it is the reflected sunlight." ”

When Li Shimin heard this, his brows furrowed slightly, but he didn't interrupt Zhao Yunze's words this time.

Zhao Yunze continued: "Because of the relationship between the sun, the moon, and the earth, when the earth moves to the position between the sun and the moon, it blocks the sun's rays on the moon, and a lunar eclipse will be formed; In the same way, when the moon moves between the sun and the earth, it obscures the sun, forming a solar eclipse. ”

After speaking, Zhao Yunze saw that Li Shimin was in thought, and said: "The minister said this, it is a bit abstract, the minister brought these three juju here to demonstrate to His Majesty the movement between the sun, the earth, and the moon, as well as the causes of the lunar and solar eclipses. ”

"Oh, then Peng Yu quickly demonstrate for me." Li Shimin was impatient.

Zhao Yunze arranged for three palace maids in the palace, each holding a juju, and according to his command, he demonstrated the operation of the sun, moon, and earth for Li Shimin. Zhao Yunze himself, while commanding the three palace maids, once again explained the causes of the solar and lunar eclipses for Li Shimin.

Now, Li Shimin finally understood.

"Looking at Pengyu's demonstration, I finally understand the clues. It seems that this interpretation of yours is really impeccable. Li Shimin said.

Zhao Yunze put away the three balls and said, "This is the truth. ”

"You're pretty confident." Li Shimin laughed. "With your explanation, I am not afraid that when there is another solar or lunar eclipse, some subjects will attack me or the court based on this."

Zhao Yunze shook his head lightly and said, "Not really!" The theory just now can win the trust of His Majesty, because Your Majesty has opened it and can tolerate the minister. If you explain the causes of solar and lunar eclipses to pedantic people in this way, I am afraid that you will be denounced as a fallacy. ”

After a pause, Zhao Yunze said again: "Actually, whether it is an innate vision or everything else in the world, the reason why it exists is that it has its own scientific truth. The minister has come today to explain to His Majesty the causes of the solar and lunar eclipses, not just for today's solar eclipses. The minister thinks that I have always attached importance to Confucianism in the Central Plains, but the views of other schools of thought are biased. For example, Zhang Heng's Hun Tian mentioned by His Majesty may not be known to most readers.

However, the art of governing the country and helping the people cannot be covered by Confucian doctrine alone. For example, the firearms made by the ministers are derived from the Mohist doctrine; For example, when the imperial court calculates the official income and state taxes, it must use arithmetic. What the minister means is that His Majesty should attach importance to all doctrines, and as long as they are beneficial to the country and the people, they should be popularized. In order to reproduce the grand event of 'a hundred schools of thought contending and a hundred flowers blooming' in the spring and autumn. In this way, we will broaden the wisdom of the people, apply all kinds of useful knowledge to the world, strengthen the national strength of our Datang, and enrich the people of Datang. ”