"That should be the case." Han Du nodded, but he didn't say too sure, but said with a guessing tone.
After a pause, Han Du continued: "Qin Tian Jian records various celestial phenomena, and the broom star is the most important thing they record. If there is detailed data on each appearance of the broom star, and Qin Tian Jian has the proficiency Doing math, it’s not too difficult to predict that a bad star will appear this year.”
Lao Zhu was silent when he heard this, and suddenly looked at Han Du and said, "You are considered a master of mathematics, and now you have seen the broom star, have you ever calculated when it will appear?"
Han Du nodded truthfully and replied: "I have calculated it."
"Oh?" Lao Zhu suddenly became curious and asked quickly: "When will the broom star appear?"
Han Du handed over his hands in shame and replied: "With my ability, I can only calculate that in ten to fifteen days, the broom star will appear in the sky. As for the specific day, I can't calculate it."
Standing up straight, Han Du continued: "But the Crown Princess is a hundred times better at arithmetic than her ministers. If the Crown Princess is willing to take action, she may be able to accurately calculate the day when the broom star will appear."
"Han Jingyun..." Lao Zhu nodded in agreement. He was not dissatisfied at all with Han Jingyun, his daughter-in-law.
Lao Zhu turned back and glanced at Zhu Biao. Zhu Biao immediately understood and said: "When I get back, my son will tell Jing Yun that he will go home to visit his relatives tomorrow." Going home to visit his relatives is a rare opportunity for women who have entered the palace to relax. . Although Han Jingyun would come back from time to time, she would not refuse such an opportunity.
When Han Du heard this, he nodded to Lao Zhu and said that when the girl comes back tomorrow, he will help her calculate the time when the broom star will appear.
Lao Zhu nodded with eyes full, and suddenly saw the clear light shining from the bright moon above his head. He looked up at the moon and said, "Didn't you say that this telescope can still see the moon clearly? I just wanted to take a look."
"Your Majesty, please." Han Du stepped forward and began to teach Lao Zhu how to use the telescope to aim at the target.
Even though the moon was very big, Lao Zhu worked hard for a long time before aiming at the moon under Han Du's persuasion. Only then did he realize that Han Du's ability to find traces of the broom star was only half lucky.
Lao Zhu looked down at the mirror again, and after just one glance, Lao Zhu couldn't help but said: "How could this be?"
The moon that caught the eye not only did not feel as bright as a white jade plate, but instead gave people a devastated scene, just like what An Qing said.
When Zhu Biao heard this, he was not only curious, but also asked: "Father, can I have a look?"
When Lao Zhu saw the true face of the moon, all the good expectations in his heart suddenly burst like bubbles. The thoughts in his heart were gone, and he even saw a hint of darkness. Lao Zhu suddenly lost the desire to continue reading.
He straightened up, took two steps back, and gave up the place to Zhu Biao.
Sure enough, as Lao Zhu expected, Zhu Biao couldn't stand it after just one glance.
"This...how on earth could this be? How could the moon become like that?" Lao Zhu raised his hand and pointed towards the bright moon, looking at Han Du in confusion.
Han Du smiled bitterly when he heard this. Do I still have to explain to you the craters made by meteorites? He had no choice but to say: "Your Majesty, this is what I saw when I saw it. Maybe this is the original appearance of the moon."
"Is this the true face of the moon?" Lao Zhu shook his head and did not continue to say anything.
Just at this time, An Qing climbed up to the attic and walked in. He went up and took Lao Zhu's arm and said: "Father, you have been here for so long, you must be starving. I have already ordered people to prepare wine and food, why don't you go down and eat something first?"
"Okay." Lao Zhu smiled and patted An Qing's hand, nodding without any hesitation.
An Qing was overjoyed when he heard this. He supported Lao Zhu and turned around to walk down the attic. "Father, be careful where you step."
Han Du looked at Lao Zhu who was about to disappear at the door and asked quickly: "Your Majesty, then..." He brought Lao Zhu here not to watch the moon or eat, but he had a purpose. .
Lao Zhu paused for a moment and said without looking back: "You can wait until you calculate the time when it will appear." After that, he followed An Qing and walked down.
Seeing that Han Du was a little disappointed, Zhu Biao stepped forward and patted his arm, comforting him: "Let's go, don't worry, I will speak for the Duke of Han*."
...
The next day, Han Jingyun was told by Zhu Biao that she could go home to have a wedding, and she jumped up and down with joy. He immediately ordered his personal maids and female officials to prepare everything, threw Zhu Biao behind, and rushed towards the Zhenhai Hou Mansion without stopping.
The arrival of Han Jingyun made Mr. Han De very happy.
But after dinner, Han Du found his sister and told her: "It is the emperor's will that you go home to visit your relatives this time."
Han Jingyun was stunned when he heard this, and asked with some confusion: "Isn't it enough for the prince to agree? How come I go home and ask His Majesty to issue an order?"
So, Han Du told the girl exactly what happened.
After hearing this, Han Jingyun was not only not angry, but also became very excited. He stood up, walked around twice in front of Han Du, and said, "However, I have never calculated such a problem. I don't know if it will work."
"If you can't do it, no one in the world can do it. Come on, I'll take you to have a look." Han Du didn't waste any time and took Han Jingyun directly to the attic.
After she saw the telescope and the broom star, she told her the problem of calculating the broom star.
After hearing this, Han Jingyun didn't ponder for long before nodding and saying: "It sounds a bit complicated, but it's not impossible to calculate. Brother, although your calculation method is feasible, the error is too big. Let me think about it, wait for me There should be no problem if we rebuild a mathematical model."
Han Du was assisting Han Jingyun on the side, and there were some astronomical knowledge that Han Jingyun didn't understand, such as the orbital shape of stars, the speed changes of stars when they orbit, etc.
Just one day later, Han Jingyun calculated the exact time when the broom star appeared. Not only that, she also integrated the existing trajectory of the Broom Star into the star chart, and calculated the celestial phenomena caused by the Broom Star one by one.
After finishing, Han Jingyun added, "It's a very simple thing. How come you can't figure it out, brother?"
What else can Han Du say? He could only lower his head and pretend not to hear the girl's words, and take away the note in front of her with one hand.
Han Du took the results calculated by Han Jingyun and immediately entered the palace.
Lao Zhu took the note, stood up and walked around, reading at the same time: "At three o'clock in the hour after the fourteenth day, the star will be seen in the northeast of Wuchagon. Sweep the inner steps and enter the Ziwei Palace. Sweep the five stars in the North Pole to offend Dongyuan Shaozai. Enter Tianshiyuan, invade Tianshi."
After he finished reading, Lao Zhu's face suddenly turned bad.
Lao Zhu's face turned sour because of the information on the note. Originally, Lao Zhu just thought that the broom star appeared this time, just like what Qin Tianjian reported, and that there were important ministers to deal with the problem. But now after seeing the results calculated by Han Jingyun, Lao Zhu's face darkened.
Entering Ziwei Palace is a polite way of saying it. To put it bluntly, it's called cheating Ziwei. The Ziwei Star Palace represents the emperor. Corresponding to the present, that is Lao Zhu. As for Ziwei, if it is based on the theory of heaven and man's induction, then there will be a disaster in the world that will impact the emperor. If one thing goes wrong, the emperor may die and the dynasty may fall.
This is far beyond what an important minister can do to cope with a difficult situation.
Sweep the North Pole Star, that is, if this celestial phenomenon is real. Then not only Lao Zhu is in danger, but even the entire Ming Dynasty is in danger.
As for other crimes such as committing crimes against Dongyuan Shaozai, entering Tianshiyuan, committing crimes against Tianshi, etc., compared with the previous two, they are all childish.
But now that Ming Dynasty is prospering, what power, or who can make Ming Dynasty overthrow? It's not that Lao Zhu is arrogant. He thought about it carefully and really didn't expect anyone to be able to do it.
The biggest threat to the Ming Dynasty was Meng Yuan in the north. However, since Meng Yuan was annihilated by Lan Yu in the imperial court, the group of dragons has been leaderless and has become a piece of loose sand. In addition, with the frontier fortress kings and Lan Yu and Fu Youde guarding it, Meng Yuan has not even disturbed the border in the past two years, let alone went south to seize the border.
On the contrary, in the past two years, the Ming Dynasty would go deep into the grasslands to clean up and suppress the Mongolian Yuan every time the grass grows in spring.
As for the capital, Lao Zhu doesn't have to worry. Nearly half of the Ming Navy’s troops are
Stay in the capital.
Moreover, some of the garrison in the capital were already equipped with revolvers. Lao Zhu really couldn't think of anyone who could invade Ziwei.
He thought so, but just in case, Lao Zhu spread out the note in his hand, raised his head and asked Han Du: "What do you think?"
Han Du suddenly laughed and said: "Your Majesty, this is just a celestial phenomenon, and has nothing to do with the so-called celestial induction or celestial warning. In history books, there are not many records of such celestial phenomena, and some of them are included in Ziwei. time, but the world is still peaceful and prosperous. It can be seen that the theory of the induction of heaven and man is simply untenable."
After hearing this, Lao Zhu finally laughed slowly and said, "Yes, this is just a celestial phenomenon."
Shaking his head, Lao Zhu casually threw the note on the imperial desk and sighed: "But I think so, and you think so too, but the people of the world may not think so too."
Lao Zhu immediately grasped the key to this matter, which was both big and small. The key between big and small lies in how the people of the world will view it.
If the people all over the world feel that the world is peaceful and the broom star is just walking around in this world, then everyone will naturally be happy. But if the people think this is a sign of chaos in the world, then Lao Zhu is not afraid. However, he was worried that the ignorant people would be taken advantage of by those with ulterior motives. Once trouble broke out, it would be Ming Dynasty and Zhu Yuanzhang who would lose.
Han Du thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I have an idea."
The reason why Lao Zhu said that just now was that, firstly, he had such worries in his heart, and secondly, he wanted to see if Han Du, who had always been resourceful, could think of a solution.
Seeing that Han Du was speaking as he expected, a smile suddenly appeared on his face, he nodded and said, "If you have any good ideas, tell me quickly."
After Han Du smiled, he pondered and said: "It's not a good idea, but I feel that since the people don't understand that this broom star is a celestial phenomenon, it doesn't mean anything. Then why don't we let the people know? "
"Oh? Is there any way you can make the people agree that this is an ordinary celestial phenomenon?" Lao Zhu asked curiously.
Han Du smiled and pointed at the note on the imperial case and said: "Isn't this a ready-made method? The broom star has not yet appeared. If we can let the people see it, the court can accurately predict the appearance of the broom star. , and can even calculate how long it appears clearly. This will reveal the mystery of the Broom Star. Without this mystery, the Broom Star is just a star to the common people, just like the moon above their heads. That’s all.”
When Lao Zhu heard this, the sadness on his face suddenly melted like ice and snow, he nodded slightly and said with a grin: "It's not a bad idea."
Seeing Lao Zhu nodding in agreement, Han Du said nothing more.
"Then I'll leave this matter to you." Lao Zhu waved his hand, and the matter fell on Han Du.
Han Du suddenly coughed twice.
Lao Zhu suddenly frowned and looked at Han Du, and asked with some dissatisfaction: "What? Are you still not happy?"
"The emperor has a decree, and I will definitely go through fire and water without delay." Han Du waved his hands repeatedly and said with a look of fear.
But what he said next made people unable to see any trace of panic in Han Du. I saw Han Du continue to say: "But explaining to the people is not a simple job. If nothing else, there are more than a million people in this capital. Just explaining to them requires a lot of manpower. Moreover, Time is so tight, and it will be even more difficult to convince the people within a few days."
Facing Han Du's constant complaints, Lao Zhu remained calm. He felt that Han Du was not trying to shirk, but had a deeper reason.
Sure enough, after Han Du paused for a few breaths, he continued: "If we need more manpower, I can only ask for help. With more manpower, the cost will be..."
He is just a marquis, and now, in addition to holding positions in the Shipping Department and the Ordnance Bureau, he lives off the salary of the marquis. Although he has a lot of people under his command, he can't let navy officers take part in the task of providing basic science knowledge to the people, right?
"What exactly do you want to do?" Lao Zhu frowned and shouted displeased.
Seeing that Lao Zhu was a little impatient, Han Du did not dare to go around in circles anymore and said straightforwardly: "I want to ask the students of the academy for help, but we can't let them work in vain, right? I want to give them some financial rewards so that Make them work harder.”
"How much do you want?" Lao Zhu knew Han Du well and knew that Han Du would not take the initiative to take out the money, so he asked.
Han Du's face smiled like a sunflower, and he nodded quickly and said: "It's not much. I think 20,000 guan is about the same. If it's not enough, the emperor can add more."
"How dare you ask me for 20,000 yuan for such a big deal?" Lao Zhu's voice suddenly rose an octave and he stared at Han Du with wide eyes.
Han Du said matter-of-factly, "Your Majesty, the students in the academy are different from ordinary people, and their time is precious."
Lao Zhu gritted his teeth bitterly and cursed angrily: "No matter how expensive the money is, there is no reason for twenty thousand guan. Isn't it just to explain to the people? You are too expensive. I won't trouble you. I will find someone else. I don't believe it anymore. Without you, Butcher, why can’t I eat sheep?”
Han Du shook his head lightly and said with a smile: "The emperor still has to use students from the academy!"
Lao Zhu raised his eyebrows and sneered: "Are you forcing me?"
"Even if I take the courage of a bear's heart and a leopard's courage, I would never dare to have such an idea." Han Du quickly explained.
"You still have some self-awareness." Lao Zhu thought Han Du had given in and had no intention of pursuing him further.
However, Han Du said with a smile: "People who don't understand mathematics may not even know what's going on. How can we explain it to the people? Apart from the academy, where can the emperor find so many things? Someone who’s good at math?”
When Lao Zhu heard this, his expression suddenly darkened.
Han Du waited quietly aside, sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai, not looking anxious at all.
Sure enough, after just a moment, Lao Zhu had to bargain and said: "Twenty thousand guan is too much, let's have 10,000 guan."
When he heard that Lao Zhu was willing to give 10,000 yuan, Han Du felt happy. If it were Han Du who made the bid, he would be able to offer up to five thousand guan at most. Unexpectedly, Lao Zhu actually asked for 10,000 guan.
Sure enough, now that Lao Zhu is rich, he is spending money lavishly. If it had been around ten years since Hongwu, it would not have been so easy to get Lao Zhu to willingly shell out 10,000 yuan.
"Nineteen thousand guan, after all, I am a student of the academy. Even if I give up my face, I will give in for them." Han Du looked like he could no longer give in.
However, Lao Zhu still felt that it was too expensive, so he continued: "Ten thousand to ten."
"Eighteen thousand."
"twelve thousand."
When Han Du saw Lao Zhu counteroffering bit by bit, he immediately waved his hand and said, "Your Majesty, actually we all know it well and want to pay back fifteen thousand, so why don't we just settle the deal for fifteen thousand."
"That's right." Lao Zhu nodded neatly.
Han Du took the order and came out.
After Han Du left, Lao Zhu ordered: "Go and bring Qin Tian Jian Zheng."
"Pass! Qin Tian Jian is entering the palace to pay an audience~"
Soon, Qin Tian Jian Zheng came to Lao Zhu.
Lao Zhu spared his courtesy, looked at him and asked: "Ding Shimei, tell me the truth. Who else knows about the broom star?"
Ding Shimei bowed and said: "I assure your Majesty that I will never leak this matter to anyone else."
Lao Zhu pondered for a moment, and did not continue to question Ding Shimei. Instead, he asked: "Since Qin Tianjian has calculated that the broom star will appear, then I ask you, when will it appear?"
"This, this, this... Your Majesty, Qin Tianjian can predict that the Broom Star will appear this year. It is already the result of everyone's joint efforts. It is simply impossible to know when the Broom Star will appear. matter." Ding Shimei quickly defended.
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