Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 136 Developing Scientific Foundations
According to Yang Chen’s proposal, those old soldiers who are still farming in the garrisons and cannot go to the battlefield will now have a place to go.

At the beginning, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to keep the Ming army from consuming too much food from the imperial court.

A completely new system of military farms and guard posts was established.

Afterwards, Yang Chen told him that this policy full of loopholes that he had formulated did reduce the court's military spending to a certain extent.

But in reality, this measure does more harm than good.

The last time Yang Chen spoke in front of a group of generals and talked about the spirit of Drawing the Sword, it made Old Zhu suddenly realize.

Soldiers should be professional, not part-time.

As a border guarding general, how could he maintain his combat capability while farming and fighting at the same time?

Not to mention that once those centurions and captains show signs of greed, the grassroots officers and soldiers under their command will suffer.

Now, according to Zhu's idea, the establishment of the garrisons can reduce the burden on the court on the one hand, and on the other hand, prevent those battle-hardened soldiers from returning to the Central Plains with blood and fur on their bodies.

Without the restraint of their superiors, these soldiers might return to the Central Plains and cause trouble.

It is possible that someone carrying a hoe during the day is a farmer, and at night he changes into night clothes and holds a knife and becomes a robber.

When a common man gets angry, blood will splatter five feet. If there are hundreds or thousands of them, it may not be possible to take them down relying on the strength of the local government.

During the Three Kingdoms period, wasn’t Zhao Yun also trapped in the city by bandits and unable to escape for a while?
According to Zhu Yuanzhang's idea, the Wei Suo was the new home for the military households. If the military status was passed down, the veterans would be able to pass on what they had learned throughout their lives to their sons.

In this way, the soldiers' combat effectiveness will only become stronger and stronger.

But he didn't take into account that no one would be willing to be at the bottom forever.

There won't always be someone who can inherit this endless family business.

“With the above blessings.

The issues of tax guard loyalty and integrity have been successfully resolved.

These military veterans can also become a force for law and order in the local area. When the government does something wrong or someone is tyrannical, the people can go there for help.

"It's a good idea to kill two birds with one stone, so why not do it?"

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"I think this method is okay, but I feel like something is missing. Biao'er, can you tell me what it is?"

Old Zhu thought for a moment and then looked at his son and said.

Zhu Biao, who had originally opposed Yang Chen, hummed slightly and then directed his criticism to the original question.

“Since we are asking the veterans to form the Tax Guard, then you should know, Brother Yang, that their important responsibility is to collect taxes and ensure the fairness of Ming’s taxation.

These veterans used to be responsible for killing people. Raising a knife and dropping a knife are no small matter compared to settling accounts. "

After Zhu Biao's reminder, Yang Siyi also echoed:

"Yes, the loyalty of a tax collector is secondary, the most important thing is to know mathematics.

It's not just about numerology, you also have to be able to master certain writing skills. You should know this yourself, as you just mentioned it.

These two skills are essential for a tax collector. Otherwise, if he can't even write his own name or do addition and subtraction within ten, how can he collect taxes? Others will trick him into selling his property, and he will have to help them count the money.

Throughout history, the extension of imperial power to the countryside must ultimately be implemented among the people below.

Your Majesty is in charge of the central government, and we assist Your Majesty in governing the world, but in the end, we still need talented people to go down and do the work personally.

If good people convey your Majesty's orders, the people will think that your Majesty is a wise ruler.

If someone with a quick temper and who does not know how to explain things to the people is in charge of conveying the message, the people will misunderstand Your Majesty and think that he is a foolish and tyrannical ruler.

It is necessary to let the people know how to speak so that your majesty's will will not be distorted or misunderstood by the people."

“Lord Yang is right, grassroots management is often an extremely difficult task.

It can be seen that this is a stubborn disease, just like curing corruption, we can only try to reduce it as much as possible, but it is impossible to completely eliminate it. "

Everyone in the study looked at Yang Chen and they didn't understand why he would do such a thing as heading towards a dangerous place even though he knew there was a tiger there.

Faced with the puzzled looks of the crowd, Yang Chen was not affected.

I turned around and planned the key points on the rice paper blackboard.

"first step!
The organization was established, whose main task was to be responsible for taxation, and secondly to bring imperial power to the countryside, so that the people would know the true intentions of His Majesty and prevent those with ulterior motives from interfering.

Step two!
When recruiting personnel, they must meet the following conditions: working in a different place, being loyal to the court, being honest and upright, etc.

The third step is to promote the policy.

At present, we are only at the second step. The talents only have a little ability, and we still need them to master mathematical knowledge and other abilities.

Only when the previous preparatory work is completed can the subsequent work proceed.

Since you all say that the key point is numerology, I would like to know, in your opinion, to what extent the numerology ability of a tax collector should be qualified for this job?

If you want to teach a person who knows nothing about mathematics, how long will it take him to learn it before he can master it?

Two questions came one after another, and everyone fell into deep thought.

Zhu Biao was the first to answer:
"Not to mention a lot, but at least you should be able to add and subtract within a hundred. Otherwise, you can't be a tax collector at all."

“Your Highness is right. Whether it is selecting soldiers or selecting generals, or even daily life, a certain level of numerology skills is required. Otherwise, everything will be extremely difficult.

Let’s not talk about other things. For example, a centurion, he doesn’t even know how many people are missing from his team. How can he be in such an important position as a centurion?”

Zhu Di also came in to chat.

"I think it should take at least seven or eight years. When I was a kid, I had a teacher who taught me how to do accounting, but the process was extremely complicated. I got annoyed when I saw those numbers. I always felt that they were a bit long-winded. Anyway, it was a mess to learn.

Didn't Brother Yang just say that he wanted to draw people from the army? If we really want to let those rough guys learn, it will probably take at least ten years."

This was the conclusion Zhu Di came to based on his long-term interactions with warriors.

Yang Siyi, however, held an opposing view.

“What the King of Yan said may make sense, but if we really want to let the accountant teach us, I have a different opinion.

This matter is of great importance. I can find an accountant who can teach the retired soldiers. It will only take one year for them to master the accounting skills within one hundred.

Although practice doesn’t make perfect, at least you can use a pen and paper and an abacus to calculate step by step, it just takes a little longer.”

"Oh? Why do you say that, Minister Yang? Are you so sure you can teach them in just one year?"

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw Yang Siyi's confident look, he couldn't help but ask him the reason out of curiosity.

Yang Siyi replied modestly:
“Your Majesty, as the Minister of Revenue, I naturally will not speak easily. Mathematics may seem difficult and complicated, but as long as you master the skills, you will be able to do it easily in the future. I knew nothing at the beginning, but after following a very skilled accountant for a long time, I was able to master it naturally.” Yang Siyi’s answer was so confident, not just nonsense, but based on facts.

The Ministry of Revenue is the department responsible for the most mathematical work among the six ministries. Without proficient "mathematical" knowledge, one cannot be qualified for the job of the Minister of Revenue.

This is why Yang Siyi was repeatedly promoted to this position by Zhu Yuanzhang.

The previous ministers of the Ministry of Revenue were all recommended by themselves, but Zhu Yuanzhang discovered that some of them tried to falsify accounts to get away with it, and from then on he began to frequently replace the ministers.

In the thousands of years of Chinese history, there was actually no "mathematics" in the modern sense, but it cannot be denied that China's mathematical level was absolutely high.

It was even ahead of the world for a long period of time, and this timeline was divided into thousands of years.

Therefore, Yang Chen knew that it was impossible for him to do what was done in modern amateur literature, such as memorizing the multiplication table and shocking and amazed a crowd of people.

The reason is simple. In the "Guan Zi" written during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was mentioned that "An Xi created the number of ninety-nine to respond to the way of heaven."

More than a thousand years ago, the multiplication table was already circulated in learning circles in the form of songs.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, in the turbulent times, Zu Chongzhi calculated the value of pi, with the decimal point accurate to seven digits. This achievement made him rank among the top in the mathematics department of Moscow State University, a top mathematics institution in later generations, and a god to be admired.

You must know that the Department of Mathematics of Moscow State University once boasted that even if the world were destroyed, as long as the Department of Mathematics of Moscow State University existed, it would still be able to rebuild the world's glory.

Zu Chongzhi was able to enter the hall of fame as an ancient figure, so it is impossible to say that he did not make much contribution to modern mathematics.

Since China has such a long history of studying mathematics, why is it that in modern times, it lags behind the world's best?

The reason is simple. Yang Chen has discovered in recent days that in today's Chinese era, people lack summary books.

Without summary, there will be no classification, and then there will be no unified subject representation.

For example, in the eyes of the ancients, mathematics, to a certain extent, has some connection with the Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and the Eight Trigrams.

Some masters of numerology use the "spiritual travel" method to calculate. Others use paper, pen and abacus, but they only need tortoise shells and three copper coins to solve problems that ordinary people cannot understand.

It is precisely because of this unique way of arithmetic that it is difficult for Hua Xia to summarize and compile a subject that normal people can understand.

However, some books on numerology are obscure and difficult to understand, and people with average talent can only learn what is needed in daily life.

For example, it was a compulsory course for students at the Imperial College in the Tang Dynasty.

"Ten Books on Mathematics".

This book is a collection of the ten mathematical classics that were required by the Imperial College in the Tang Dynasty as compulsory courses for students, including the Zhoubi Mathematical Classic, the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, the Haidao Mathematical Classic, the Sunzi Mathematical Classic, the Zhangqiujian Mathematical Classic, the Xiahouyang Mathematical Classic, the Wucao Mathematical Classic, the Five Classics Mathematical Art, the Jigu Mathematical Classic and the Zhuishu Mathematical Classic.

These books are summaries of our ancestors, and it would take a lot of hard work for ordinary people to study them.

If you want to go deeper into research, you can only rely on time and talent.

In addition to the lack of summary books, there is another very important reason.

Under the Chinese feudal ideology, many disciplines were limited to the status of "just enough to be sufficient".

There are geniuses, but they just don't have the time and energy to learn, just like Fang Zhongyong.

He became a poet when he was young, but later on when he grew up he could only be an ordinary person who did nothing.

Yang Chen believed that there must be many similar geniuses, but there was a lack of mentors to discover them, and there were not enough inductive books to nourish their brains and enrich their knowledge.

Besides this, there is another flaw.

That's language!

The language of each country determines in which areas the country will be ahead of other countries.

Chinese focuses mainly on "artistic conception", with the main characteristics of meaning unifying form and form being scattered but meaning being united. It is not as good as Russian in terms of logic.

Russian is more formalistic.

Russian sentences tend to have clear logical relationships, and usually require the use of clear language forms to express the logical relationships between sentences.

This provided mathematics with certain resources for growth in the northern giants, and many founders of modern science emerged during the Industrial Revolution in the 17th century.

For example, Euler, Kolmogorov, Perelman, etc., many people have even founded a school of mathematics because of this.

Yang Chen couldn't solve the flaws, so he could only start from other areas to break the defects in Chinese mathematics.

First point first.

To lower the threshold of learning, he clearly remembered the Qin bamboo slips unearthed in Liye in later generations. The multiplication method started from 9981 to 2 and a half.

The concept of fractions appears together with multiplication, which ordinary people cannot learn at all, not to mention that there are many obscure words on it.

Therefore, he wanted to unify and promote Arabic numerals for later generations. Compared with numbers described by words, Arabic numerals are already the simplest way of mathematical recording.

Second point.

He had already compiled a mathematics book for third graders. Last time, he asked the eunuch Liu Jian and others from the Secretariat to copy it.

Originally, he planned to let the other party copy books on Chinese Pinyin and call it a day.

Later, Yang Chen realized that since he was already here, he might as well copy a few more copies, and then he wrote a math textbook on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division within 100.

It was given to Liu Jian and others to copy, and they copied about seventy or eighty books.

Now he just needs to add some formal logic to it.

If we do not pay attention to logic but focus on artistic conception, then the soil for scientific development cannot be developed in China.

The reason why China has been unable to make breakthroughs for a long time is that it has focused too much on artistic conception and practicality and lacked logic and a strict framework.

A classic example is the binomial theorem. If China's famous Pascal's triangle can be further studied, it will become the modern binomial theorem.

Its expression and thinking are different, which leads to the continuous failure of the deduction process of later generations.

The binomial theorem is different. It is deduced based on logical reasoning. Newton directly gave the derivation process of the binomial theorem and finally summarized the general formula. Anyone who can understand it can use this method to solve related mathematical problems.

In contrast, in China, once something is gone, it is gone. Only the people involved can understand how to solve the problem and then record it down, but later generations cannot use it, which leads to a gap in mathematics.

Yang Chen once wanted to rely on his own strength to benefit the Ming Dynasty and lead the Ming Dynasty to become a technological power.

Later he discovered that this was a complete joke. Even if he had a system that could create a computer connected to a virtual network out of thin air, when he died in the future he could pass the thing on to his descendants.

In a world without logical scientific views, as time goes by, these things will only be eaten up by future generations.

Why is the technology tree called the technology tree?
Isn't it because logical thinking is needed as a foundation in order to flourish in this world?
The scientific world without foundation can only be a fleeting glory, fleeting and gone in the blink of an eye.

Establishing a solid system and cultivating talents is the only way for a country to become prosperous and strong.

(End of this chapter)