"I still don't understand something, and I hope the commander can give me some advice!"
"Master Liu, even if you open your mouth, if I knew it, I would definitely tell you everything I know!"
"I don't know why Your Highness wants to incorporate the Western talisman characters into my Ming Dynasty dictionary, so..."
Liu Zongzhou was unwilling to allow Western characters to appear in the dictionary. He was somewhat repulsive. Since it was a famous classic of the Ming Dynasty, it was best to use the Ming Dynasty characters, otherwise it would appear nondescript and harmful to elegance.
"When His Highness taught King Dingzhong, I was also present to listen. Especially when teaching the pronunciation of Chinese characters, the teacher must have extremely precise pronunciation so that the students will not pronounce them wrong. After using Western symbols as auxiliary pronunciation explanations, as long as the students learn each word When the pronunciations of the letters are combined, a certain word will definitely not be pronounced incorrectly. And if you search for the word in the dictionary according to the pinyin of the letters, it will be much faster than searching according to the radicals. His Highness said that for Xiyi, go to From its dross, take its essence, imitate its advantages, and understand its shortcomings. Not only that, but we should also adopt the strategy of "using the past for our own use, the past for the present, being inclusive, and advancing with the times" in order to make our Ming Dynasty in an invincible position. . His Highness once gave an example, such as the Hongyi cannon, which is an imitation of the firearms of the Western Yi. As for the Western Yi's vulgar custom of not liking bathing, I, the Ming Dynasty, will naturally not imitate it."
As the head of the Hanlin Academy, Wang Wei still maintains a good desire to learn although his knowledge is not low.
When the prince gave a lecture to Prince Dingzhong, he naturally had the opportunity to observe it, and the gains were obvious.
Prince's courses are all-encompassing and cover a wide range of topics, and they are never boring. You can open your eyes after listening to them several times.
After arranging the daily work at the Hanlin Academy, Wang Wei took his deputies such as the Bachelor of Commerce and the Bachelor of Lectures together to attend the lectures without fail every time.
The more they listened, the more they felt like a frog at the bottom of a well, with little knowledge and low abilities. Many of the contents were things they had never seen or even heard of.
However, as long as you have the desire to learn, even if you attend a class with a kid like King Dingzhong, these people in the Hanlin Academy will find it extremely worthwhile and cherish it even more.
"I see, then this thing called 'simplified Chinese characters'..."
"'Simplified Chinese' was originally called 'Military Chinese'. It was the font used by His Highness in the East Palace Guards. It was later expanded to be used in the Jifu area and even the entire Beiting. Since the same character has fewer strokes than traditional characters, it is also It's called 'simplified Chinese characters'. His Highness considered that the literacy rate of the East Palace Guards is not high and there are many illiterates, so he adopted this character imitated from the fairy world. Simplified Chinese characters are easy to write and easy to be mastered by the common people."
The reason why the East Palace Guards were able to quickly eliminate illiteracy was inseparable from the promotion of simplified Chinese characters.
Now the Hanlin Academy has also added an exam subject, that is, identifying simplified characters.
If the topic is a sentence in traditional Chinese characters, students should write the corresponding simplified Chinese characters, and vice versa.
Otherwise, wouldn't it be a big joke that scholars who graduated from the Hanlin Academy could not understand simplified Chinese characters when they went outside?
"...And then there's the photo. Do you really think it won't affect ordinary people's minds and bodies?"
Since what Wang Wei said made sense, Liu Zongzhou would not dwell on it and asked about the photo again.
When Zhang Pu described it as seductive, he felt that it was a bit exaggerated, but he also felt that it was strange in his heart.
"I know a little bit about this, and I can give you some answers. Photos are the product of photography. Photography uses the principle of small hole imaging to fix the human figure on the copper plate by exposing it, and then uses some chemical agents to After fixing, you can create a photo visible to us. If Master Liu wants to know more details, he will ask His Highness."
Wang Wei also has a general understanding of the principles of photography, but it is enough to explain it to others.
This is already considered advanced knowledge that 99% of the people in the entire Ming Dynasty do not understand. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is showing off.
"I see, that airship can really fly into the sky? Can it also carry people into the sky? Before, I only had Kongming lanterns that could fly into the sky!"
Compared with other things, the object Liu Zongzhou was most curious about was naturally the airship.
On the way north, even Zhang Pu, who had always been very proud of himself, was extremely curious about this matter.
"That's true. The airship has been tested several times before, and when it counterattacked the Donglu in the city, it dropped bombs from a high altitude and bombed the Donglu. The morale of Master Wang was greatly boosted, and it was a weapon to kill the enemy and win. Master Liu, there is no need to be impatient, Academy of Sciences There are routine flight tests every month, and Master Liu will be able to see the true face of the airship in Lushan. Not only can he see the airship, but he can also see the train. I am sure that Master Liu will be satisfied!"
"Train? What is this?"
"It is a large vehicle that relies on burning coal. It does not need to be dragged by mules and horses. It can travel hundreds of miles day and night using only boilers and steam engines. His Highness said that as long as the railways along the Great Wall are fully connected, Master Wang With the help of trains, we can rush to the rescue, and the pressure from Menggu can be suddenly relieved. After a few decades, it will be gone, and there will no longer be any threat to our Ming Dynasty."
"Can you let me have a look?"
"His Highness said that after New Year's Day, courtiers and merchants will be arranged to take the train to experience the superior enjoyment brought by the train!"
"Merchant?"
"Exactly! Since it was necessary to mine the Monan Jinshan Mountain and build a railway to the Jinshan Mountain, the cost of building a railway to the Jinshan Mountain was high and the imperial court could not afford it on its own. His Highness invited many merchants to invest in shares. When the merchants saw the profits, they rushed to join. His Highness said, this is This is a mutually beneficial move, and this can be done for any project that is short of funds in the future."
"... What the commander just said was Jinshan?"
"Oh! That's right! Master Liu didn't know that his Highness had received instructions from His Majesty Taizu Gao Emperor in the immortal world, and also obtained the true biography of military advisor Liu Bowen. He knew that there were two gold mountains in Monan, one of which could mine gold worth hundreds of millions of taels. Gold, silver, and copper worth billions of taels of silver. This mountain attracts the attention of both the government and the public. However, the amount of ore involved in transporting is so huge that it cannot be carried by mules and horses. It is urgent to build a railway to Jinshan. The railway is Tracks for trains to run on. According to estimates, just building the railway between Beijing and Jinshan will cost no less than millions of taels of silver, so His Highness will implement this strategy. By the way, I still have the funds raised at that time Liu Normal University can take a look at the newspapers."
His words were unfounded, so Wang Wei rummaged through the journal shelf in his office, found the newspaper, and showed it to Liu Zongzhou.
The reason why I remember it so clearly is because Wang Wei needs to look through it from time to time. He also has such a copy at home. After buying Jinshan shares, every family is like this.
This kind of project can be called "making money while lying down". From the chief minister to the merchants, everyone is involved in it. No one wants to miss such a good thing.
"...If it were within the ancient territory of Jinshan Monanmeng, wouldn't it be possible that mining would be controlled by others?"
Liu Zongzhou initially felt that this matter was very strange, or that it was a scam, but after reading the news on the front page, he felt that even if it was true, mining would be difficult because the location of Jinshan was too dangerous.
"That's why His Highness sent Uncle Da Zong to persuade the tribes in the Jinshan area and invite them to join forces. The Ming Dynasty is responsible for mining and transportation. The local tribes only need to send troops to protect them and avoid illegal mining. His Highness also proposed a number of things that are beneficial to the other side. The terms, such as mutual trading, etc., will also be distributed to each other a large amount of silver every year. In the past, these tribes took refuge with the Qi chiefs, but after the Ming Dynasty showed good intentions, these tribes will also abandon the dark side and join the Ming Dynasty. "
Can you get any benefits from hanging out with Huang Taiji?
At least in this siege of the capital, the Menggu people had seen Huang Taiji lose his troops, but they had not gained any benefit.
After the Ming Dynasty became strong again, the Menggu people who were just like grass on the wall would weigh the pros and cons again and think about it before making a decision.
"If the Menggu tribe knew the location of Jinshan and occupied it, wouldn't my Ming Dynasty be happy in vain?"
Liu Zongzhou still felt that this project was very dangerous, comparable to fishing for money from a frying pan.
"His Highness said that the Menggu tribe does not understand smelting technology and has no smelting equipment. Even if the ore is placed in front of it, it will not turn into yellow and white things. As long as it agrees to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty, it does not need to send a single soldier every year. If you get a lot of silver, you can also buy Ming products. The Ming Dynasty will take all the cattle and sheep they raise according to the order. In this way, wouldn't it be much more comfortable than charging into battle for the captive chief?"
This is much better than the mutual trading conditions offered by the court when Lin Dan Khan was alive.
Unless the other party is a fool and is determined to work for Huang Taiji, they will seriously consider it.
"That's not bad, but if Meng Gu is strengthened because of this, what if Wala appears again..."
Menggu and Donglu can be called the "two enemies in the north", but one comes first and the other comes last.
"If every household in the Jinshan area has enough food and clothing, enough food and clothing, and no worries about selling their cattle and sheep, who would want to go to war with the Ming Dynasty? Then there will be an airship above the king's division, a train below, and tanks to help. , facing such a powerful division, the Menggu tribe could only surrender. In the words of His Highness, as long as the Ming Dynasty develops steadily and continues to make progress, after the king's division is equipped with advanced weapons, its combat effectiveness will initially increase, and it will be completely incompetent in the future. Fear Menggu and Donglu’s hundreds of thousands of cavalry.”
Originally, Wang Wei did not dare to boast so highly of Haikou in front of the great scholar, but after defending the capital and winning, it confirmed what the prince said and strengthened Wang Wei's confidence.
"..."
Liu Zongzhou didn't comment on this, just stroking his beard and thinking deeply.
"By the way, I'm watching the two of you running around. Your boots are already a little old and wrinkled, and a batch of new boots just came to the courtyard. The soles of these boots were made by refining petroleum, and they are extremely comfortable to wear. Everyone in the imperial court was impressed by this. I’m full of praise for the boots, why don’t you two try them on first? This is a gift from His Highness, there’s no need for you to shirk it!”
This is also an item that can be reimbursed to the prince, so it is perfect as a gift.
This pair given to Wang Wei by the prince has already been worn by him. It is really warm and beautiful.
"Then I'd rather be respectful than obey your orders!"
Liu Zongzhou had already seen the thing on Wang Wei's feet and was very curious about its novel appearance. However, the other party never explained it, so he didn't bother to ask more questions to avoid spending money.
"May I ask what your foot sizes are?"
"……This is……"
"I'm being rude, don't blame me!"
Since he was a guest from the south and didn't know the rules here in the capital, Wang Wei sent someone to bring over multiple pairs of boots of different sizes and let the two of them try them on one by one.
"Wonderful! Wonderful!"
"These boots are really rare, thank you so much!"
Liu Zongzhou had been asking questions before, and Huang Zongxi was listening and couldn't get in a word. Now he finally had a chance to comment, and he couldn't bear to take it off after putting it on.
"May I ask the commander, how much are these boots worth?"
"Twelve pairs!"
"hiss……"
"These boots are double-layered on the inside and outside, with fleece inside, and the soles are made of rubber, which has excellent shock-absorbing effect. Combined with the quality and workmanship, a pair of twelve is not too expensive."
Wang Wei has already bought some for his wives and concubines. Although it will cost dozens of taels of silver just to buy boots, it is worth the money to keep them warm throughout the winter and no longer suffer from cold feet.
For Liu Zongzhou and Huang Zongxi, that was not the case. Such a high price was equivalent to wearing silk on their feet.
"It's getting late, why don't you two go to the restaurant first to avoid keeping everyone waiting?"
"Yes!"
"Very good!"
These two were guests, so they could go later, but Wang Wei, as the host, had to arrive first, and the banquet was for high-ranking officials, so it would be rude to arrive late.
The banquet time that had been arranged was approaching, and the first assistant Xue Guoguan, the second assistant Wu Zong, and the minister of rites Feng Quan had just arrived at the same time because they came from the military plane together.
After the two parties exchanged pleasantries, they took their seats one after another. After repeated shirks, the guest Liu Zongzhou was given the best seat. The first assistant and the second assistant were on both sides.
Wang Wei sat smartly at the door, so he could greet the waiters at any time and serve food and wine to everyone in the room.
Those who are doing this are all smart people who can speak well and are not afraid that no one will catch their words.
As the owner, Wang Wei briefly described what happened that day when he took the two of them sightseeing, just as the beginning of the topic.
"There are many novelties in the capital, and Master Liu should take some photos as a souvenir. If you have time, everyone can take a group photo, and it will be a happy event from now on."
Xue Guoguan has regarded taking photos as a very trendy thing. Not only does he have a bunch of photos at home, but there is also a photo of himself and his prospective son-in-law on his desk.
"What the first assistant said is absolutely true. The dictionary project can be helped by Master Liu and Taichong (Huang Zongxi), which is even more powerful. In the future, we will see more novel things in the capital, and everyone can take pictures. When the airship comes back again After taking off, I want to take a photo with the airship!"
Feng Quan has taken photos of people and scenery, but he has never taken photos of airships. This is an unprecedented thing, and it would be a pity to miss it.
"The five of us and I took a photo with the airship. It's really a great thing!"
Wu Di also thinks this idea is good. It seems that no one has photographed it yet, but as long as the prince has no objections, then it can be like this.
"I wonder how the master plans tomorrow's itinerary?"
"I plan to invite Master Liu and Taichong to visit the Academy of Sciences and the factory run by His Highness, and then go to the headquarters to relax in the evening!"
"Very good! Very good!"
When Liu Zongzhou saw several people at the table showing secretive smiles, he felt a little strange, but it was not easy to ask directly.
He was not afraid that Wang Wei would harm him, but he was a little anxious and expectant because he couldn't know the truth in advance.
When it comes to the General Meeting, it is a place that attracts the hearts of the wealthy gentry in the entire capital and even the Jifu area.
No matter how hard or tiring life is, once you enter that place, you will feel physically and mentally happy and completely relaxed.
Compared with the flower boats on the banks of the Qinhuai River, the programs at the Beijing Convention and Exhibition Center are just as good as the ones on the banks of the Qinhuai River, and the variety of shows is so dazzling.
I'm afraid these two can play to the point where they are too happy to miss Shu...
