prosperous age

"It can be manufactured, but it is not easy to grind this crystal lens, and the production volume is very small."

Yin Zhengmao replied.

"This can also be made in the palace. Last time, I asked the craftsmen to make a binocular telescope according to the drawing drawn by Master Wei. It is not yet finished because the crystal lens is not polished."

The little emperor also put down the telescope and said.

"Binocular telescope?"

Yin Zhengmao was stunned and immediately looked at Wei Guangde.

"It's actually two telescopes connected together, so it doesn't take so much energy to see with both eyes."

Wei Guangde said casually, while taking the telescope from Shen Shixing next to him, and placed it together with his own in front of his eyes.

"Oh I got it.

Before, I used the telescope that Zhifu gave me to see far away, and after a while, I really felt my eyes were tired. "

Yin Zhengmao understood. He had nothing to do on the boat, so he just took this thing and looked at it everywhere.

Although this thing is indeed magical and can bring distant objects closer, it does cause my eyes to hurt after a long time.

What the little emperor said can solve this problem.

Seeing with two eyes is certainly not as difficult as seeing with one eye.

"This telescope is so good, can't our Ming Dynasty produce a large number of them?"

Zhang Juzheng also spoke at this time.

In fact, it is still a unclear question as to who invented the telescope.

According to some historical sources, the invention of the telescope is attributed to Lippershey, an eyeglass maker in Middelburg, the Netherlands, in 1608.

Later, the famous scientist Kepler improved it and developed a variety of new telescopes, especially astronomical telescopes with double convex lens design.

Lippershey, a man from the late 16th century to the early 17th century, was a Dutch-German hybrid who made great glasses.

He was born in what is now Wesel, Germany, but later moved to Middelburg, the Netherlands, where he opened a store specializing in selling lenses.

In a Dutch spectacles workshop, Lippershey was playing with two lenses in a straight line, one in front of the other.

Therefore, he discovered that through these two lenses, distant objects were brought closer, and this was the earliest telescope.

But this may be a legend, because telescopes actually appeared earlier.

However, things like telescopes were mostly used by sailors and were not noticed by other people.

However, Lippershey's unintentional "plagiarism" may have inspired Galileo to develop the astronomical telescope.

In fact, this thing was not originally created for stargazing.

In fact, there is also a piece of information recorded in domestic documents, that is, the telescope was brought into the country by Matteo Ricci.

Matteo Ricci arrived in China in 1582 and settled in Beijing in 1600. Wang Fuzhi of the early Qing Dynasty also wrote in his "Wenwenlu·Wai Pian" that "Matteo Ricci was in the earth, and his eyesight was the same as that of ordinary people. He relied on the skill of a telescope to calculate that the earth was miles away."

What this means is that Matteo Ricci was able to gain a foothold in China because he knew how to make telescopes, which were a rare and valuable commodity.

As for the purpose of the telescope, it's nonsense. In addition to being used for navigation, this thing is said to be one of the "strange skills and tricks". It is said that it is quite popular among some ladies from wealthy families. It is a good thing for gentlemen to pursue beautiful ladies.

As for why the fair ladies need a telescope, it is because they have become young ladies who never go out of their homes due to the suppression of rationalism. But they are too restrained and want to see what the outside world looks like.

Telescope, it seems that as long as you find a high platform, you can see very far.

This is the treasure that ladies know about the outside world, so they help gentlemen to please their loved ones.

Let's talk about the past. It would have been very difficult to mass-produce telescopes in this era. In fact, telescopes were not mass-produced until 200 years later, after the emergence of the glass industry.

Because only glass that can be produced in large quantities with known purity can provide the material for manufacturing the lenses needed for telescopes.

Although glass could be manufactured in this era, the purity of the glass was very low and it was not suitable for making lenses.

Therefore, most telescope lenses of this era were made from natural crystal, which was naturally laborious and time-consuming.

As early as the Warring States Period, crystal vessels appeared in China.

In the Han Dynasty, people even made magnifying glasses out of crystal.

These historical records show that ancient Chinese craftsmen had already mastered crystal processing technology and applied it to daily life and scientific exploration.

Crystal products played an important role in ancient Chinese civilization, witnessing the wisdom of our ancestors in the fields of material processing and optics.

In particular, in 1990, a batch of crystal products from the late Warring States Period were discovered in Shitang Village, Banshan Town, Hangzhou. One of the crystal cups was almost identical to the glass cups used today, and it was difficult to distinguish the authenticity with the naked eye. These cultural relics are currently preserved in the Hangzhou Museum.

In the first year of Daye in the Sui Dynasty, Chao Yuanfang, who served as the imperial physician, took the lead in compiling the medical work "Treatise on the Causes and Symptoms of Various Diseases".

The book discusses in detail the condition of "inability to see far", which is what we now call myopia.

He also proposed corresponding treatment methods, which provided important basis for the development of medical theories of vision correction.

In the Tang Dynasty, people had invented a unique vision aid called "single photo".

This device consists of a circular lens and a handle, and its main function is to magnify the field of vision.

Historical documents mention that Ju Zhishan, a famous scholar at the time, had used this early type of monocle.

During the Song Dynasty, a type of double-lens reading glasses was frequently mentioned in literature, which people at that time called "叆叇".

The emergence of this type of glasses marked the advancement of ancient optical technology and became an important tool for vision correction at that time.

Zhao Xigu, a member of the Southern Song Dynasty royal family, mentioned in his book Dongtian Qinglu:

The old man's eyesight is declining and he can't see the small characters clearly. After wearing the 叆叆, his vision becomes clear. Its appearance is similar to mica stone, and its texture is close to glass, but it is lighter and thinner.

Elderly people have blurred vision and have difficulty recognizing small text. By placing the 叆叆 in front of their eyes, the text will appear larger and clearer.

According to Zhang Zilie's record in "Zheng Zi Tong", the word "叆叇" actually refers to what we now call glasses.

These documents and unearthed objects have proved that Chinese craftsmen were able to grind crystal lenses 1,500 years ago.

Therefore, the invention of the telescope may really be that some lucky guy discovered the imaging principle by overlapping two lenses, but it is definitely not as people in the West say, that it was discovered and made by Lippershey in the early seventeenth century.

Because long before that, telescopes had already appeared and were widely used in navigation.

Lippershey may have been the first person to plan to turn this thing into an industry. The most important thing is that his discovery was known to Galileo, and the reason for Galileo's discovery was recorded.

As for whether it was invented by the Chinese, it is hard to say. It is more likely that merchants who came to China to trade discovered it accidentally. After all, the telescope in the hands of the Ming Dynasty was obtained through trading with foreign merchants.

However, this thing has a simple structure and can be easily made by Ming Dynasty craftsmen by disassembling a telescope.

"I will contact the Ministry of Industry later and ask them to arrange some craftsmen to grind the lenses and make telescopes."

Zhang Ke held the telescope in his hand and said seriously.

"The Nanjing Ministry of Industry has more experience. Zhifu sent a pair to the Nanjing Ministry of Industry after he got this thing. Some of the telescopes in the hands of the navy were obtained through trade with the barbarians, and some were made by the Nanjing Ministry of Industry."

Yin Zhengmao said, "It's just that lenses are hard to come by there, and only about ten pairs are made a year."

They were discussing this here, while Duke Dingguo Xu Wenbi on the side said nothing, but he was actually thinking about this matter in his heart.

Although there are many craftsmen in the Ministry of Works, there are actually quite a few family members under the Ministry of War. There is a special team of craftsmen in his mansion. In addition to doing some house repairs, they also make some exquisite things, such as processing jade, crystal, agate and pearls.

Xu Wenbi still remembers that there seemed to be a gold magnifying glass inlaid with crystal at home, which could magnify the text several times through the crystal.

That thing was not for his use, but was needed by the previous two generations of dukes.

As I get older, my eyesight deteriorates, and I need that thing to read text.

It seems that some people can also grind crystal lenses at home.

If we could get more craftsmen in this field, we could set up a special workshop to produce telescopes and sell them directly to the Ministry of War and other chambers of commerce that need telescopes.

Yes, it seems that anyone who sails on a ship should need this thing.

After more contact with Wei Guangde, Xu Wenbi had become a strong businessman and he discovered a business opportunity just from their conversation.

Thinking of this, Xu Wenbi couldn't help but feel a little excited and even very proud.

They only wanted the Ministry of Industry to make things, but they didn't know that these valuable things could also make money.

I didn't pay much attention to it before, and just thought it was a gimmick. But now it seems that gimmicks can actually make money.

Here, the court officials gathered together to discuss having the Ministry of Works produce a large number of telescopes, while Xu Wenbi was making his own plans. At this time, Feng Bao, Chen Ju and several other eunuchs were holding the railings and looking ahead.

Finally, Feng Bao came to his senses and suddenly shouted: "Your Majesty, look, there are so many ships, the sea is really covered with them."

After hearing Feng Bao's words, the little emperor turned his attention to the front and opened his mouth unconsciously.

Yes, Wei Guangde had told Feng Bao before that he would fill the sea with the warships of the Ming navy. When Feng Bao returned to the Qianqing Palace to serve, he said this to the little emperor.

At first, he still didn't believe it to some extent.

After all, the book also says that the sea is so vast, how can it be covered?

But he didn't expect that the so-called vastness was actually just what the eye could see.

You can’t see things that are too far away, so what does it matter whether there are ships or not?

“Lots of boats.”

The little emperor also exclaimed at this time.

In front of them, one navy warship after another was fully displayed before their eyes. The huge hulls and dense numbers created a huge visual impact.

Just like the grand review in the fourth year of Longqing's reign, the inspection of 100,000 troops also opened the eyes of Emperor Longqing.

These are rare grand occasions. At this moment, everyone here is shouting with excitement and feels that their trip is worthwhile.

Wei Guangde was also shocked. He had only seen it on TV and had never seen it with his own eyes.

Perhaps, only the sailors and Yin Zhengmao didn't think anything was a big deal. They were already used to it and being shocked was something that happened many years ago.

At this moment, all that appeared before everyone's eyes were endless warships.

From left to right, dozens of warships were lined up neatly, and behind them were still rows of warships.

"Master Weiwei, are those in front double-decker warships? They look exactly like the gunboats in my study."

The little emperor had come back to his senses and spoke to Wei Guangde with some stammering.

"Your Majesty, the one in front is indeed a double-decker gunboat, and the one behind is a gunboat and a large Fuchuan ship."

Emperor Wanli liked all kinds of embossing very much. After Wei Guangde took out the exquisitely made model, because he could not leave the palace, the young emperor asked someone to have skilled craftsmen make embossing samples for him of things that interested him but could not bring the real thing to him.

The hot sample is actually a three-dimensional model of later generations. It is a unique product of ancient Chinese architecture and was made for the emperor to view.

The bows and sterns of these ships were filled with naval officers and soldiers. They didn't need to do anything, their huge numbers alone were enough to create a sense of oppression.

"Master Wei, you said that the Western Barbarians have thousands of warships of various sizes. How do they compare to my navy?

My dear Lord Yin, how many warships does my navy have?"

The little emperor was holding the railing with both hands at this time, eager to try.

Wei Guangde didn't open his mouth, but smiled and glanced at Yin Zhengmao, understanding that he should speak first.

Yin Zhengmao understood and immediately replied: "Your Majesty, our Ming navy has more than 500 large and small warships, and this is the main force of our Ming navy, with more than 400 ships of various types.

In addition, there are more than a hundred warships in ports across the country responsible for patrolling the Ming Sea.

As for what Your Majesty has heard about the Western Barbarians, as far as I know, the Western Barbarians do have an absolutely huge number of naval warships used today, probably more than a thousand.

However, it is said that they are distributed in distant Europe and the New World, and there are not many warships around our Ming Dynasty.

The main ones are the twenty or so large and small warships in Luzon, and they also have some armed merchant ships here, but the number will definitely not exceed forty. "

Yin Zhengmao's trip really broadened his horizons. Although the countries he visited were not powerful, he did hear from them about the wealth of Spain and Portugal.

Spain in particular, through colonial plunder and maritime trade, now has almost complete control over gold and silver production.

In fact, from 1500 to 1650, Spain plundered about 180 tons of gold and 1.6 tons of silver from the Americas, accounting for more than 80% of the world's precious metal mining at the time.

In order to maintain their overseas colonies, most of the buyers of European ships in these years were Spanish, allowing them to quickly build up the world's leading maritime power.

Although the Spanish fleet did not enter the Indian Ocean, their myth quickly spread throughout the world through the mouths of the Ottomans and the Portuguese.

After acquiring huge amounts of precious metals, the Spanish nobles, in addition to extravagant consumption, used almost all of their money to arm the army and consumed it through wars, rather than investing it in industrial production.

The consequences were also fatal. The influx of precious metals triggered a "price revolution" across Europe. Prices in Spain rose by 400% in a hundred years, the cost of living for civilians soared, artisans became beggars, and the gap between the rich and the poor in society widened sharply.

Economist Landes pointed out that Spain's tragedy was that it "used its wealth for enjoyment rather than creation", missed the opportunity of the Industrial Revolution, and eventually became a vassal of the European economy. (End of this chapter)