Reincarnation of the powerful minister

Su Yan rushed to make a memorial overnight, expounding the importance of "obtaining knowledge from things" from various aspects such as people's livelihood, economy, and military affairs, applying for new schools and departments, and comparing Ming Dynasty with the current technological level of Western countries .

In order to attract the attention of the emperor and the court chiefs, he even drew a rough outline of a world map, pointing out that as early as 50 years ago, Portugal had formed an ocean-going fleet, established colonial strongholds on the west coast of Africa, and traded gold and slaves. trading. Three years ago, the Portuguese fleet circumvented the Cape of Good Hope and discovered India, officially opening the route to the East.At the same time, the Spanish fleet sailed west and discovered the American continent.And it is estimated that in 3 years, the two countries will complete the first human voyage around the world.

On the other hand, through the tributary system, Great Ming established a political order in East Asia, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and even Central Asia, with the Ming court as the core and surrounded by vassals and barbarians, which indeed once demonstrated the influence of Shangguo at home and abroad.However, after Zheng He, there was no more Zheng He, and the treasure ships gradually disappeared in Jingbo in the East China Sea, and the tributary system began to disintegrate.The suzerain-vassal relationship that Da Ming emphasized, the international order of caring for people far away and favoring exchanges, is now being replaced by the West's pursuit of military conquest, colonial rule and monopoly trade.

Western countries have grabbed huge profits from colonial expansion, which will inevitably cause earth-shaking changes in the world structure and pose a huge threat to Da Ming's status as a superior country.At the end of the memorial, Su Yan summed it up in a speculative tone:

"Pordugal in the continent of Europe (Su Yan's note: the old translation is inconvenient to pronounce, it should be translated as Portugal), and Xibaniya (should be translated as Spain), although it is a small country, its national strength is far inferior to that of Daming, but The benefits of guns and guns are still there, and the ambition of the wolf is not dead. Its fleet is spying on the vassal states of Manlajia, Sulu, and Gumaralang in Southeast Asia, and it will eventually have a battle with my Ming Dynasty."

The next day, Emperor Jinglong summoned five cabinet ministers and academicians in Zhongji Hall, and presented this long memorial with rich pictures and texts submitted by Su Yan.

The elders in the pavilion looked at each other after reading it, and then talked a lot.

Some questioned that Su Yan was young and inexperienced, how did he learn about the political affairs of the various countries in the universe?It must have been fabricated out of thin air and sensationalized.

You are self-confident that there are all kinds of wonders in the upper kingdom of heaven, so why bother to learn Lao Shizi's "Gewu Xue" like Fanbang in a barbarian country.

Feeling touched, but worried that the radical new learning will disrupt the imperial examination system and be detrimental to the stability of the people.

There are also people who hide their books and meditate, and don't say a word for a long time.

The emperor asked: "Old Li Ge, why don't you speak?"

Chief Assistant Li Chengfeng caressed the sketchy map of the world hand-painted by Su Yan, and asked: "Dare to ask your majesty, when the emperor Zu, he used the "Shengjiao Guangbei Picture" by Li Zemin, a great geologist at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and Sitiantai, the capital of the Yuan Dynasty. Referring to Zaru Martin's "Globe" as a basis, the "Great Inscription Mixed Picture" that was drawn is still in the palace?"

"Naturally. Such a detailed and detailed map must not flow out of the court."

Since ancient times, maps have been exclusive to the imperial court because they involve military secrets, and the people are not allowed to touch them.What's more, "Da Ming Hun Yi Tu", centered on the Da Ming map, extends from the Mongolian Plateau in the north, Java Island in the south, Japan in the east, and Europe and Africa in the west, listing hundreds of geographical names, including rivers, lakes and seas. , and some exotic customs, the distance from the Great Ming and the local natural conditions are far more important than ordinary maps.

Li Chengfeng asked again: "Did Your Majesty show this diagram to Su Shaoqing?"

The emperor said: "Not at all."

"Your Majesty, please take out this picture and show it to your lords."

The emperor ordered Lan Xi to go to the storeroom, took out the "Da Ming Huan Yi Tu" locked in the cabinet, and spread it carefully on the table.

Li Chengfeng spread Su Yan's hand-drawn map next to the "Da Ming Hun Yi Tu", and said, "Masters, please compare the two pictures and see what are the similarities and differences?"

The elders gathered in a circle, and after comparing and researching with the emperor, they discovered that, outside of the great inscription, the shapes of the oceans and lands in the east, west, north, south, and north directions were quite consistent, and the many foreign countries involved were marked in more detail.However, beyond the reach of the "Da Ming Hun Yi Tu", Su Yan depicted the Grand Duchy of Moscow (with a note: the scope of the Golden Account of the Yuan Dynasty), North and South America, Australia and other regions.

Li Chengfeng's finger went south along the southeast sea area of ​​Java, Manlaja and other Daming vassal states, all the way south, and poked at the northernmost tip of Australia: "The old minister remembers that this place was mentioned in the navigation chart of the eunuch Sanbao, saying There are also overseas Chinese from Manjaga, men and women with buns, dark bodies, some white ones, and people from the Tang Dynasty.”

Second assistant Yang Ting said in shock: "During the late emperor's time, Zheng He's nautical charts were lost. Could it be that they were handed down to Su Shaoqing? No wonder he was able to draw such accurate maps."

Li Chengfeng nodded and said: "If Su Shaoqing gets the authentic handwriting of the Three Treasures Eunuch, then he will go to visit the Western monks and inquire about the affairs of the other country, maybe about Boerdu... Du..." He also felt that the pronunciation of the name of the Yi country was confusing, so he simply used it directly. After reading Su Yan's new translated name, "The speculation about the Portuguese and Spanish fleet spying on our vassal state is true."

"From this point of view, this son is quite far-sighted, and it may not be impossible to promote the study of 'Gewu'." The emperor said.

Jiao Yang, the second assistant, still resolutely opposed it, and said eloquently: "How can the ancestors' rules and etiquette be abolished and changed easily? How will your majesty face the ancestors in the future if you are so light on the ancestors' laws?"

These words seemed aggressive and disrespectful.Emperor Jinglong's eyes were fixed, and he was about to speak. Xie Shiyan, who is used to winking, immediately retorted: "It's just an academy. Jiao Ge always talks about ancestor etiquette. It's too high-level. , you can run a school first, to see the effect later, and slowly figure it out, why do you speak so rudely to His Majesty?"

Jiao Yang had no choice but to prostrate on the ground and beg for guilt. The emperor said coldly, "It's not uncommon for people to hold their own opinions when discussing political affairs. I won't take responsibility for this. However, how I will face my ancestors after my funeral in the future is not about Jiao Shang. Yang Yang, you can conclude with your own words—or, at that time, you will go with me to meet the ancestors and see with your own eyes?"

Jiao Yang kowtowed in cold sweat and wet his clothes because of the words of the emperor's hidden needle.

The emperor waited for him to swell his forehead before pardoning him to get up.

In this way, the other elders did not dare to object anymore.Li Chengfeng, the chief assistant, originally agreed with it, and immediately agreed with the emperor to roughly establish the "Tiangongyuan" in the name of the imperial court, which is affiliated to the Ministry of Rites and recruits talents from all over the world.

As for the specific matters of running the school, it cannot be finalized in a day or two. First, a principal official must be elected.

Li Chengfeng is interested in Su Yan, but he is also worried that he is too young and inexperienced. It is better to be an assistant and let the Minister of Rites be in charge.

The emperor had other ideas.

"The development of penicillin and the promotion of Gewuxue are closely related. It was first mentioned to me by the king of Yu. Therefore, I want to entrust this matter to the king of Yu. As for Su Yan, as the young minister of Dali Temple, he assists the master Officials try serious and major cases, and control the country's prisons, and they are not idle, so they don't have to assist in running schools."

"King Yu?" Several cabinet ministers looked surprised.

The emperor knew what they were slandering, and showed his displeasure: "Why, my younger brother can't afford to run a school?"

The elders of the pavilion quickly denied it, and thought to themselves: Let him be in charge, run a school to recruit educated scholars from all over the world, and those young and handsome ones are not sent to the tiger's mouth!

Li Chengfeng didn't want to speak for him because one of his disciples had been involved with this flirtatious prince.

Xie Shiyan, who was given the nickname "Old Man of Xini Pavilion", smoothed things over again and said: "The king of Yu is young and vigorous, has outstanding intelligence, and has made achievements in both civil and military affairs, so he is worthy of this job." He didn't mention his virtues at all, and he probably felt that if he praised the king of Yu If you are virtuous, you are talking nonsense with your eyes open, trying to fall below your own moral bottom line.

In order to save the dignity of the clan, the emperor said: "The king of Yu has sworn to me that he will change his mind. He has been upright in the past two or three months, and he has never committed the old mistakes again. I think he has really awakened. The so-called prodigal son will not change money when he returns, so should you." Impressed."

Li Chengfeng felt uneasy after hearing this, and retreated to the next best thing: "After all, Su Yan is the one who suggested it, and he also knows a lot about the concept of Gewu and the world's pattern. He should cooperate with King Yu, but he only needs to make suggestions, and he doesn't need to hold related positions for the time being. So as not to be exhausted.”

The emperor was even more worried after hearing this, but it was hard to say on the surface: I don't want Su Yan to assist, but there is actually another reason, fearing that he will be harassed by King Yu.But after all, Li Chengfeng was a minister of the Zhu Kingdom, and what he said was well-founded, so the emperor reluctantly acquiesced.

Since the emperor made a guarantee and the chief assistant was thoughtful, the other court elders had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Xie Shiyan even thought to himself: Hearing that King Yu was interested in Su Shaoqing, he was willing to cut off the love for him. After the Dongyuan case, it was really rare that he never hooked up with officials for two or three months.Let him be in charge of running the school, but Zuo only harassed Su Yan, and he was able to make the best use of him. The emperor and Mr. Shoufu were really well-intentioned.

That's how things settled.

Li Chengfeng asked the emperor for Su Yan's memorial and map, and said that he would stay in the cabinet, and slowly consulted with several university scholars. He was quite admiring in his words, and even used the word "thousand-mile horse" to express his appreciation for his ability and strength. The potential is promising.

The second assistant Jiao Yang and the second assistant Wang Qianhe didn't take it seriously, and complained to each other in private: Su Yan was lucky to be a young man, and he didn't know the heights of heaven and earth. Li Chengfeng praised him so much because he was Zhuo Qi's student. The disciple of Chengfeng.The old guy is just protecting the calf.

King Yu's side was a little surprised when he heard about his new errand.

It's not that the emperor left him this troublesome matter by accident, but that those elders who were usually cold-eyed at him agreed to it.

He pondered the faint new changes in the current situation, and felt that the key still fell on Su Yan.

... Gu Wang has no experience in running a school, and he doesn't know enough about academic theories, so naturally he has to ask Su Shaoqing for advice from time to time.King Yu jokingly toasted the Forbidden City, and said with a low laugh, "Thank you, brother."

Su Yan stayed up all night to write a long essay, and with his 80 points in art class, he tried his best to draw a rough version of the world map, just like staying up all night before the exam. class.

Wu Ming drove him off as usual, and helped him get off the car at the gate of Dali Temple.

There seemed to be prying eyes behind him, Wu Ming turned his head sharply, and saw a brightly colored robe exposed by the wall at the corner, and after sending Su Yan into the official office without showing any emotion, he drove back the same way.

When he passed the corner, his figure slanted out, grabbed the person hiding behind the wall, cut the opponent's hands behind his back, pressed him against the wall, and shouted in a low voice: "Who is it!"

"Oh, it hurts so much! The hero let go, please forgive me..." The man begged for mercy softly.

Wu Ming shuddered when he heard the babbling tone, withdrew his hand and took half a step back to distance himself.

The man rubbed his wrist and turned around sadly, it was indeed Xiyan.

Wu Ming said indifferently: "If you can escape from the pursuit of soldiers and horses, you can be considered a master."

Xiyan was hurt by him, and said bitterly: "I can't run fast, how can I escape? This time I will be hurt badly by you!"

"I see that you have all beards and feathers, and you still have new clothes to change. What a pity." Wu Ming was unmoved.

Xiyan cried loudly: "It was the family member of the Hou's mansion who caught me. Seeing that I looked like your 'Master Su', the Marquis of Feng'an forcibly detained me in the woodshed of the Hou's mansion, saying that he would keep me for future schemes. People see that I am naturally beautiful and beautiful..."

Wu Ming shook goosebumps all over the floor, and took two steps back again.

"...Beautiful as peaches and plums, beautiful and delicious, all of them are trying to touch me, I am so annoyed, so I have to find a way to escape."

"Hou Mansion is heavily guarded, how did you escape?" Wu Ming asked.

Xiyan was ashamed, but couldn't resist his sharp and cold suspicious eyes, so she had to confess truthfully: "I slept with the steward of the back garden twice, and we were so hard-pressed that he promised to take me out of the firewood room to breathe. Then I used Brick knocked him unconscious, changed into his coat, and ran out of the back door with the management sign."

Wu Ming was speechless, and looked at him like an idiot: "You sleep with someone because you don't want to be taken advantage of by them? Which is more important?"

Xiyan was stunned: "..."

Furious, he stomped his feet and said, "At least I escaped! I don't have to be angry with that old bastard Feng Anhou - he got drunk once and took me for that person, and beat me severely with a whip. It still hurts to this day!"

"Congratulations on escaping from birth, I hope you will be blessed in the future." Wu Ming turned and left.

Xiyan called from behind him: "Wait! You want to kill that old bastard, right? I can provide you with information and help you kill him!"

Wu Ming's footsteps froze, hatred and anger began to roll in his chest again, he gritted his teeth and asked, "What information?"

Xiyan took a few steps forward, approached him and said: "The old beast will go to Lingguang Temple in the west of the city in two days, and ask the eminent monk Master Jiyao to perform deeds and pray for his mother who died so violently to eliminate karma."

Wu Ming turned his head, his eyes seemed to be pierced with sharp knives, trying to distinguish the truth from what Xiyan said.

Xiyan couldn't bear the awe-inspiring murderous aura, her face turned pale with fright, and she stared blankly at him.

Wu Ming looked at it for a while, and then said: "If you dare to lie to me, when I come back from Lingguang Temple, your head will fall to the ground!"

Xiyan's small pointed face suddenly turned red amidst the paleness, and she cried again: "You caused me to be arrested, I didn't hate you, I even gave you information, but you still want to kill me? The rascal who killed a thousand knives Scoundrel! You bastard! Your conscience has been eaten by dogs—”

Wu Ming's temples twitched wildly from his "ah", resisted the urge to draw his sword, grabbed the carriage, and galloped away with his whip.

No one was watching the play, so Xiyan stopped the play, choked up and said: "Everyone bullies me, a poor young man with good looks..."

Wiping away his tears, he stared at the vermilion gate of the official office of Dali Temple. He was stunned for a moment, and then murmured: "The one just now is 'Master Su', how am I like him? A group of blind treasures... I can compare He's much more charming."