Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

With Zhang Pu's "On Science" and Liu Lishun's article, the first issue of "Science" had two papers that could rival those in "Hanlin".

But that wasn't enough. These two top scorers were just juniors in academia, far less famous than Liu Zongzhou and Qian Qianyi.

In particular, the first issue of "Hanlin" published an article by the emperor, which made all scholars pay attention to it and study it.

After his initial excitement, Chen Zilong asked Zhang Pu:

"The dialectics proposed by His Majesty in the Yin-Yang Theory, although most people cannot understand it, have been praised by many, who believe that it can be compared with the doctrines of ancient sages."

"The book 'Gathering the Best from Hundreds of Sources, Letting a Hundred Flowers Bloom' has pointed out the direction for the development of literature, and many people have already begun to explore new literary styles."

"If our journal *Science* did not contain His Majesty's articles, it would inevitably be inferior to *Hanlin*."

Zhang Pu had also pondered this question, and sighed:

"Although I wrote 'On Science,' the meaning of it all comes from Your Majesty, so it should be considered a co-authorship."

"However, His Majesty is unwilling to publicly favor a particular school of thought, so he can only publish it in my personal capacity."

"However, Your Majesty also has an article entitled 'On Contradiction,' which is a deepening of the 'Theory of Yin and Yang.' Perhaps we can try to win it over."

This article is basically finalized. Han Kuang and other Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet have already read it and raised questions and suggestions.

Zhang Pu had also read the article and thought it was acceptable to publish it.

However, Chen Zilong was not optimistic, because "On Yin and Yang" had just been published and not many people had accepted it yet, and the emperor would not publish "On Contradiction" so soon.

Ultimately, he and Zhang Pu reserved a space for one article for the emperor, and then continued to discuss how many more articles could be published.

Zhang Pu smiled and said to Chen Zilong:
"Zilong is now a member of the Hanlin Academy, so he must have some literary works, right?"

"You are a key figure in the scientific school of thought; your article should be included in the first issue."

Chen Zilong smiled and said:

"I do have some superficial opinions, mainly written when revising 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'."

"Your Majesty mentioned to me the dual monarchical view at the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. I tried to analyze it in depth and explore the reasons for the chaos in the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties and the usurpation of power by many powerful ministers."

"It was discovered that powerful ministers at that time often established their own 'domestic offices,' and then had officials from these offices concurrently serve as officials in the imperial court, eventually replacing the court itself."

"Therefore, those powerful states were also called powerful dynasties at that time, and people regarded them as the imperial court."

"However, the officials of the hegemon's mansion were actually the private advisors of powerful ministers. They transformed their advisors into court officials and transferred court powers into the hegemon's mansion, thereby completing their control over the court."

"Now His Majesty has allowed the feudal lords to establish their own fiefdoms. They can nominate and appoint some officials and have their own armies."

"How to prevent them from using their private subordinates to control the government's power is a problem that deserves attention."

This is a direction worth exploring, and Zhang Pu is also very interested in it.

At the beginning of the year, the emperor used his situation to refine the teacher-student relationship and the principle of avoidance between teacher and student.

Mid-year, the rule that meritorious officials should not participate in the affairs of the Nine Ministers was reiterated, and further refined to stipulate that high-ranking nobles should not serve as ministers.

As a result, Yuan Keli and other court officials were not granted the titles of marquis or earl, and their titles were limited to viscount before they retired.

However, viscounts also have fiefs, armies, and officials, and the restrictions on them should also be strengthened.

Considering that when the emperor implemented the collective deliberation system, he specifically emphasized that local affairs could not be decided by the chief official and his advisors while other officials were completely unaware of them, this was clearly a restriction on the staff.

Zhang Pu instructed Chen Zilong to refine the paper in these directions, as a thesis on administrative management.
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In this way, there are now four articles, Zhang Pu said:

"Science is based on mathematics, and there must be papers on mathematics."

“Our teacher, Xu Xueshi, is an expert in this field. We can ask him to contribute two articles.”

"The banner of the scientific school still needs the help of the teacher to carry it. He is a Grand Scholar and can handle pressure from all sides."

Chen Zilong agreed, as they were both disciples of Xu Guangqi and had been introduced by the emperor. The emperor encouraged them to develop science, using this broader concept to replace Xu Guangqi's Western learning.

Although this caused a subtle rift between master and disciple, they still shared many common principles.

For example, Xu Guangqi's "investigating things to understand principles," "reaching principles through numbers," and "understanding through numbers" are quite similar to Zhu Zaiyu's "reasons are revealed through numbers, and numbers originate from principles," and both were incorporated into the field of science. The Institute of Physics and Mathematics was specially established to study this discipline.

Xu Guangqi's position as a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet also helped them deflect many attacks.

Although Zhang Pu and Chen Zilong disagreed with some of their teacher's ideas, they still respected his position.

Then, Chen Zilong mentioned Chen Jiru and Chen Renxi, who were also famous figures who turned to science.

Chen Zilong, who had been in the capital and interacted with them frequently, said:
"Mei Gong intends to write an essay on democracy, but it is not yet finished."

"However, he has basically finished the article 'Citizens' Rights and Responsibilities,' also known as 'Minmin,' and it can be published."

"That's why he became a Yuanshi, and he'll definitely attract a lot of people."

Zhang Pu nodded, trusting Chen Jiru's expertise in this area. Especially considering Chen Jiru's significant influence among the public, his articles could help sell more copies of *Science*. He asked:

"Is Master Zhitai studying the Mozi? I wonder what great work he has produced?"

“I heard that he is very close to the Wensi Institute and often goes there to give lectures.”

Chen Zilong said with a smile:

"He studied the optics in the Mozi and figured out pinhole imaging and focal point."

"Ming Pao's 'Focus' column is named after this research, focusing on a specific issue."

"There are indeed some tricks to this; we can get them to publish papers in the Institute of Physics."

"After all, our science is about drawing on the knowledge of all schools of thought and using it to supplement Confucianism. We can also learn from the beneficial aspects of Mozi's teachings."

By piecing things together here and there, a total of eight papers were produced.

However, compared to the first issue of "Hanlin," which was not of high enough quality, Zhang Pu plans to publish more articles to try to win by sheer quantity.
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Thinking of how the emperor had once praised Zhu Zaiyu and even intended to include him among the meritorious officials of the Purple Pavilion, Zhang Pu said:

"The Crown Prince Duanqing's studies of calendars and laws are based on mathematics and are scientific disciplines."

"The Royal Orchestra has a deep understanding of equal temperament and has improved some instruments."

"We can ask Li Yu to contribute an article and invite him to publish it."

"With this great musician's article, everyone who studies music must read 'Science'."

Chen Zilong clapped his hands in approval, expressing his strong agreement, and added:

"Those people in the Imperial Observatory are studying Prince Duanqing's calendar, and even using it to argue with missionaries."

"The Academy of Sciences and the Imperial Observatory have a joint Academy of Astronomy; they should also publish an article on this topic."

With astronomy established, geography cannot be neglected. Although the Academy of Geography, like the Academy of Astronomy, is still in its infancy, they intend to solicit articles from relevant government departments, such as Zhang Jiude, the Vice Minister in charge of river management, who is sure to have articles to write about.

There's also the Academy of Medical Sciences, which is currently mainly researching the dosage issues of ancient medical books and prescriptions. They can also publish articles that doctors all over the world can read.

Chen Zilong from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences also thought of something: the emperor had once ordered the measurement of rainfall in various places and used the 400 mm isohyet to divide agricultural areas into semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral areas.

Northern Shaanxi has been designated a semi-agricultural, semi-pastoral area because of its rainfall of less than 400 milliliters in recent years. This is also a matter of science and could be the subject of an article.

The measurements of wave height and ocean currents by the Ocean Science Academy, and the application of range and firing tables by the Military Science Academy, are both worthy of being the subject of articles.

This way, you can produce seven or eight papers, and the quality is acceptable.

To prevent anyone from being unable to produce the necessary information, Zhang Pu compiled his previous articles on grain bulk density, storage and transportation losses into a paper as a supplementary preparation.

Then he and Chen Zilong split up, aiming to collect enough papers within ten days. (End of Chapter)