"No, it's wrong, you are all wrong!"
Jiajing's voice was not loud, but it gave everyone present a blow!
The theory of a round sky and a square earth has always been regarded as a standard by all scholars!
During this period, it is not that there were no other theories, such as the theory of Gaitian, the theory of Huntian, etc., but for various reasons, these theories did not attract people's attention and then gradually disappeared.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."
At this moment, Yan Song's face was full of disbelief and he murmured.
The same goes for the remaining people, all with horrified expressions on their faces.
Jiajing took in all the expressions on everyone's faces, paused, and then continued.
"There is a way, the way of heaven turns to the left, and the way of earth turns to the right."
"There are twelve months in a year, twelve hours in a day, Meridian is the longitude, Maoyou is the latitude, Yang governs the day, and Yin governs the night!"
"Let me ask, if the world is a round sky and a square place, how can the four corners of the earth be covered?"
"Therefore, the world is round, even the place where we stand is the same!"
After Jiajing finished speaking, he stood quietly aside and said no more words.
And everyone present couldn't help but fell into deep thought after hearing the emperor's words.
"Yes, if the world is a round sky and a square, then how can we cover the four corners of the earth?"
After a while, Yan Shifan stood up from his seat and asked.
"Your Majesty, you just said that the world is round, even the place where we stand is the same!"
"What Wei Chen wants to ask is, if this is the case, how can we stand?"
The question raised by Yan Shifan is undoubtedly a question that everyone present is concerned about.
"Yes, since the ground under our feet is round, how can we stand?"
Seeing that everyone's expectant eyes were focused on him, Jiajing smiled and took a wooden ball that had been prepared in advance from the hands of the Imperial College priest beside him. After coughing twice, he explained.
"Suppose that all of us currently live on this sphere! And the surface of this sphere is regarded as the place where we are currently standing."
"Now, as a whole, the ball is round, but what if you look at it from this angle?"
After Jiajing finished speaking, he came to the crowd with a wooden ball in hand.
When Yan Song and others looked at the emperor's point of view, they suddenly realized that what they were seeing was a flat surface.
"Ah, it's actually a flat surface!"
Jiajing saw this, chuckled, and then continued to explain.
"This involves knowledge called spherical surfaces, and I don't know much about this aspect."
Then, Jiajing changed the topic and continued.
"But, I do have a way to prove the authenticity of this theory."
"Please forgive me for having the courage to ask Your Majesty, what is the method you just mentioned..."
After hearing what Jiajing said, Yan Song plucked up the courage, stood up from his seat, and asked.
I don’t know if you have ever heard such a sentence. Jiajing put the wooden ball in his hand back to its original position, and then said it word by word.
"The sky and the earth are vast and unpredictable, and the earth is contained within the mysterious yellow. The four extremes and eight desolations can be brought together into one place!"
"That is to say, as long as you keep moving in one direction, you will eventually return to where you were."
Jiajing's words were undoubtedly equivalent to dropping a bombshell on the scene. Everyone was frightened by the emperor's bold idea!
As soon as he finished speaking, a Gongsheng student couldn't help but stood up from his seat and retorted.
"Your Majesty, the students believe that this method is wrong and there is no possibility of it being realized!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, this method simply won't work!"
Immediately afterwards, Xu Jie stood up and admonished.
"Your Majesty, I think this method is feasible."
At this moment, Yan Shifan, who had been silent, stood up with a firm expression.
"Yan Shifan, what are you talking about!"
Yan Song on the side looked panicked when he saw this, and he quickly scolded.
"Oh, Yan Shifan, what do you think?"
Seeing Yan Shifan standing up to support him, Jiajing's face showed a bit of surprise, and he said half-smilingly.
When the emperor asked him why, Yan Shifan suppressed the panic in his heart and answered respectfully.
"Your Majesty, I think that no matter whether it is right or wrong, you should always give it a try."
"Now that the theory of a round sky and a square earth has loopholes and can no longer be justified, the newly proposed theory should be verified!"
Jiajing was quite satisfied with what Yan Shifan said, and then came to Yan Shifan, patted his shoulder gently, and then said slowly.
"Well, yes, yes, Yan Shifan's words really touched my heart!"
"In order to verify the authenticity of this theory, I plan to send a fleet, starting from my Ming Dynasty, traveling in one direction, carrying out trade along the way, and collecting hydrological information and corresponding products along the way."
"What do you guys think, dear friends?"
Jiajing's voice was not loud, but many officials present could hear it, and there was an irrefutable meaning in it.
"Your Majesty, I think it is completely unnecessary to send a fleet to verify the authenticity of a theory!"
"What's more, our Ming Dynasty is a kingdom in heaven and has abundant products. There is no need to conduct trade with those countries."
Although he had heard the implications of the emperor's words, Xu Jie still stood up uneasily and admonished.
As for the reason why Xu Jie stood up, it was very simple.
"By then, dispatching a special fleet will be a huge expense, and the Ministry of Accounts will have to pay for it."
"Although the national treasury is full as never before, we must not spend money on this. We should save some money!"
When Xu Jie said those words, Jiajing's expression instantly turned cold, and then he turned his gaze to Yan Song aside and asked.
"Mr. Yan Ge, what do you think?"
"Should I send a special fleet?"
When Yan Song saw this, he secretly thought something was wrong, and at the same time, he scolded Xu Jie countless times in his heart.
"Xu Jie, you are a blind fellow, couldn't you hear the hint in His Majesty's words?"
"You made His Majesty angry again!"
Yan Song quickly suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his heart and answered carefully.
"Your Majesty, I think it is necessary to dispatch a special fleet for this purpose!"
"Because, this can not only verify the newly proposed theory, but also greatly demonstrate the strength of our Ming Dynasty!"
After hearing Yan Song's answer, Jiajing felt relieved, nodded, and then added.
"What Mr. Yan Ge said makes sense! However, the fleet sent out this time cannot continue to engage in the tribute model as before."
The emperor's words made everyone present feel confused.
Upon seeing this, Gao Gong stood up and asked Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being ignorant. What did you mean by what you just said?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, what if we don't conduct trade according to the previous tribute model this time?"
After Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng also chimed in.
Ps: The author has been tortured by the paper these days. His Taoist heart has been broken and he needs monthly tickets to repair it.
(End of chapter)
