unclear

Chapter 1072 A Big Fish in the Net 3
Descartes was the most vulgar. He secretly used some saliva to comb his hair that was messed up by the sea breeze, so that it would not fly around as much as possible. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he could not make up for his natural shortcomings. Sitting next to the emperor who was majestic and imposing, he looked like a groom.

Who says that all great scholars are detached from the secular world and regard money, beauty, power and reputation as dirt? They just slightly adjust the importance of these external things to a lower level, but they don’t refuse them. It’s best to have all of them.

Without high remuneration and high-standard treatment, and without the promise of a bright future, few of them would risk drowning and travel across the ocean to a strange country for academic exchanges.

This is also the bottom line of human nature, interest. Hong Tao is not good at anything else, but he is good at taking advantage of human weaknesses. When dealing with different people, he will use different interests to tempt them, and most of them will succeed.

The journey from Dagukou to the Nanhaizi Imperial Academy in Beijing was still full of temptations of benefits. After these scholars from faraway Europe completed this journey, their attitudes would change dramatically.

I didn’t really believe what Galileo said in the letter before, but now I believe 80% of it. Those who had planned to stay for a month or so and then leave after getting paid have started to make new plans in their minds. Those who were undecided about whether to teach at the Royal Academy are now thinking about how to teach students.

These changes come from what everyone sees and hears. Before leaving the port, the novel shape of the naval warships not far away will catch your eye. When you go upstream along the Haihe River for more than ten miles, the huge industrial area will shock you again.

Once we got on the smooth and fast-moving rail carriage, passed by the large fields, villages and markets along the way, and saw the crowded Dongmen Market and the dazzling array of goods, the thought of going home faded away.

What finally stopped them from going home was the Royal College, its laboratories, and its unprecedented equipment. Compared to European universities, the Royal College, located in a vast expanse of lush forests and lakes, was indescribably huge.

Three-story buildings of similar appearance were looming in the air, and the wide road was unusually smooth and soft. Yes, it was soft. For Europeans who had never seen asphalt roads, the feeling under their feet was indeed much softer than that of stone roads, and walking on them was basically silent and invisible.

The sparse crowds passing by, both men and women, were all wearing the same clothes. Regardless of whether they looked good or not, everyone had a sincere smile on their face, and even when they saw the emperor and had to bow, they did not show any fear.

Institute of Mathematics, Institute of Physics, Institute of Physical Geography, Institute of Chemistry, Institute of Architecture... Each institute is worthy of its name and has its own separate small building and courtyard.

The Water Conservancy Research Institute and the Astronomy Research Institute are the most unique. The former is built on an island in the lake, and a dam is built in the lake, dividing the lake into two parts. The water level difference between the two parts is at least seven or eight meters. The purpose is to simulate the hydrological conditions in nature and create a more realistic experimental environment for students.

The latter was built on the top of a hill a hundred meters high. In addition to the three-story buildings that looked identical and as if poured out of the same mold, there was also a cylindrical dome building that was more than three times taller than the small building.

"That is the Emperor's observatory. The base of the dome can be driven by manpower to rotate 360 ​​degrees. There are three four-meter-long telescopes installed inside. Looking at the moon with them is like standing on a balcony and looking at the backyard!"

As soon as we entered the gate of the academy, Kepler and Galileo took over the role of tour guide. Although not a single brick, tile, blade of grass or tree belonged to them, they subconsciously considered themselves the masters and worked hard to introduce the various furnishings in their home to the guests.

"Mr. Mason, please do not leave the team without permission, or you will get lost!"

But it is not easy to be a tour guide for a group of highly intelligent people who have no organization or discipline and are very selfish. Kepler almost broke his voice, but still could not get the team to move according to his ideas.

Every time I passed a research institute, I would find that someone was missing from the team, and then I would find someone outside a laboratory looking in. I just came out of the Mathematics Institute and turned around. Wow, this time only half of the team was left. Mersenne, Cavalieri, Roberval, Girard, Fermat, and Torricelli, who had just recovered from seasickness, were standing at the door of the building, gesticulating at a few students, and I couldn't call them back.

"Kepler, you should definitely come and have a look. The students here are using a very peculiar method to calculate the area of ​​irregular figures." Finally, there was a reply, but it was not a response. Instead, it was asking Kepler to join in the fun.

"The area of ​​an irregular figure... Your Majesty, I suddenly remembered a question. Last time..."

Kepler's brain wasn't actually normal, he just had been here for a long time and had developed immunity to certain things. But when he heard Mason's shout, his illness came back to him, and he stopped being a tour guide and turned his attention to the emperor who was whispering with Glauber.

"…Your Majesty, urgent news from the palace: the imperial meeting is ready, and the ministers are waiting for your orders outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation!"

As soon as Hong Tao heard what Mason said, he knew that something bad was going to happen, but he did not panic. He continued to have an in-depth discussion with Glauber on the efficacy and side effects of sodium sulfate.

But Wang Chengen on the side took action. He waved his hands behind his back quietly towards the distance. Immediately, a man dressed as a eunuch ran over breathlessly, knelt on one leg about ten steps away, and reported loudly.

"Oh, it's so annoying, having meetings every day! Dear guests, please make yourselves at ease. If you have any questions or requests, please talk to Mr. Kepler or Galileo. I will be able to find out and solve them quickly. I'm leaving first. Sorry, sorry!"

Hong Tao frowned, his face full of anger, but he suppressed his anger, forced a smile, and saluted the European scholars present. Then, surrounded by a group of imperial horse guards, he walked towards the imperial carriage, looking back every few steps.

"He is probably the richest and most generous emperor in the world. Compared with Europe, which is full of wars and religious disputes, this place is like heaven. It's a pity that I came too late!"

Watching the emperor's carriage going further and further away, Descartes smoothed his long hair and expressed his inner feelings to Galileo beside him.

Even though the salary for teaching in this college has not been finalized, he is reluctant to leave. Even if the students here are stone-headed and unteachable, he is willing to be their teacher. Not for teaching and educating people, but to stay in this environment that is very conducive to research, and no longer be entangled in mundane affairs.

"Your evaluation of His Majesty is not comprehensive enough. He is supposed to be the smartest emperor in the world. Come with me. There are some things you should see. They are all the emperor's works."

Galileo had also expressed this sentiment before, and he did not find it new. However, there was one issue that had to be explained to the new scholars, which was the research results obtained by the emperor in various disciplines.

That's right, the conclusions and formulas in the college textbooks were written by the emperor, and there was no doubt about that. The next step was to work together to see how to get the answer from the emperor.

(End of this chapter)