The Ming Dynasty: A bookstore sells the history of the Ming Dynasty, leaving Emperor Chongzhen bewil

Seeing Chongzhen looking at him with burning eyes, Zhu Ziming immediately guessed what the other was thinking and poured cold water on him.

"It's too early to talk about those things. The Ming Dynasty hasn't even escaped the fate of destruction yet, so how can we talk about being unprecedented or a super empire?"

Zhu Ziming's words brought Chongzhen back to reality.

Emperor Chongzhen then realized that he had been indulging in wishful thinking again.

Zhu Ziming had only casually mentioned some possibilities for the future of the Ming Dynasty, yet it had already stirred up a great deal of excitement in Emperor Chongzhen.

In fact, you can say that Chongzhen was ambitious but lacked talent, but you absolutely cannot doubt his ambition. Chongzhen was a man with great ambitions. He demanded of himself the standards of a sage ruler and spurred himself on by the achievements of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu. Unfortunately, he did not have the ability.

This made him quite embarrassed.

He still dreamed of being a legend, but in the original historical timeline, he was a ruler who lost his country.

Zhu Ziming didn't care about these things and continued, "Besides Xu Guangqi, there is another person you need to find."

"Who?"

Emperor Chongzhen hurriedly asked.

Zhu Ziming replied, "A man from the Ming Dynasty named Song Yingxing."

"Song Yingxing?"

Emperor Chongzhen frowned immediately.

Unlike Xu Guangqi, he had never heard of this name before. What kind of person was he?

Before he could ask, Zhu Ziming replied, "That was another great scientist of the Ming Dynasty."

Another scientist?

Emperor Chongzhen didn't understand what the scientists meant, but he felt they were very impressive, especially since Zhu Ziming added the word "great".

However, Zhu Ziming did not intend to explain, but instead said:

"Song Yingxing was a native of Fengxin, Jiangxi. In the 43rd year of the Wanli reign, he and his brother Song Yingsheng passed the provincial examination. Among the students from Fengxin, only the two brothers passed. After failing the examination six times, he gave up the idea of ​​taking the imperial examination."

That's all the information I can give you.

"If you find him, you can make an exception and hire him as Xu Guangqi's assistant."

Emperor Chongzhen nodded: "Good."

Zhu Ziming suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, right, I have a few books here. You can take them back and give them to the two of them."

With that, Zhu Ziming got up and walked towards the bookshelf.

A short while later.

Zhu Ziming then brought back several books and handed them to Chongzhen.

When Chongzhen took the books, he found that they were all books he had never seen before, and he could not even understand the meaning of the titles. The books were titled: "General Knowledge of Natural Sciences", "Introduction to Astronomy", "Modern Crop Breeding and Pest and Disease Control", "Fundamentals of Hydraulic Engineering"...

……

Ming dynasty.

On the official road leading from the capital to Shaanxi, a troop of people was moving quickly forward.

Several dragon flags embroidered with golden dragon patterns hung in the procession, informing passersby that this was a royal procession and that they should not approach.

However, this royal procession looked rather meager compared to previous royal processes. In the past, the royal procession had at least three thousand people and stretched for miles, while this royal procession only had two hundred people, most of whom were Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) used for defense.

Two hundred Imperial Guards stood on either side, their scarlet flying fish robes fading to dark brown in the hazy sky, guarding the two carriages in the procession.

This was the procession that Emperor Chongzhen led when he went on an inspection tour.

After returning from the bookstore, Chongzhen immediately went to Shaanxi for an inspection tour. He did not make a big fuss, but chose to travel light.

Accompanying him was Xu Guangqi, the Minister of Rites.

In the main carriage, Emperor Chongzhen closed his eyes to rest, while in another carriage, Xu Guangqi was reading a book.

Xu Guangqi was already sixty-seven years old this year, and his eyesight had begun to dim. At this moment, even though the carriage was bumpy, he was reading with exceptional focus, his mind seemingly immersed in the book.

His expressions shifted between confusion, sudden realization, excitement, and amazement, making for a truly fascinating display.

It can be seen that the book he was reading was called "Introduction to Astronomy".

This was one of the books the emperor had given him before he set off.

Today, Xu Guangqi was summoned by the Emperor and told that he was to accompany him on an inspection tour of Shaanxi. Xu Guangqi was puzzled. As the Minister of Rites, in charge of etiquette, civil service examinations, education, calendar, and music, why would the Emperor want him to go on an inspection tour? Moreover, this was a crucial time for him to revise the calendar.

Is it just to observe the celestial phenomena in the disaster area?

Xu Guangqi couldn't understand it, but what puzzled him even more was that the emperor also gave him several books and instructed him to read them carefully.

The style of these books was completely different from anything he had ever seen before. The layout and the simplified Chinese characters throughout were unlike anything he had ever seen before, not to mention the strange titles.

However, time was of the essence, and despite his great curiosity, he didn't have time to look.

After hastily packing his luggage and boarding the carriage bound for Shaanxi, Xu Guangqi finally had time to open the books the Emperor had given him.

He chose one of the books that interested him most, "Introduction to Astronomy," because he was currently compiling a calendar for the Ming Dynasty.

Currently, the Ming Dynasty uses the "Datong Calendar" to calculate the lunar calendar, but it is no longer very accurate.

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the "Shoushi Calendar" was slightly adjusted and renamed "Datong Calendar" for continued use. After more than two hundred years, by the Wanli reign, too many errors had accumulated and there was a lack of effective calculation and correction, resulting in many inaccurate predictions of solar and lunar eclipses. At the same time, the Huihui calendar, which was introduced from the Yuan Dynasty, also had similar problems, and the eclipse predictions based on it were also unreliable.

The need for timely calendar revision became a consensus among both the government and the public.

Therefore, Xu Guangqi suggested to the emperor that Western astronomical knowledge be used to improve the traditional calendar of the Ming Dynasty, and began to compile the "Chongzhen Calendar".

To gain the emperor's approval, he also decorated a screen with a star map drawn using Western astronomical methods and presented it to the emperor, naming it "General Star Map of the North and South Equator".

Unexpectedly, the emperor now gave him a copy of "An Introduction to Astronomy".

Xu Guangqi didn't know where the emperor had obtained these books, but the titles had already piqued his curiosity. He read on out of curiosity and was soon drawn in.

The book covers everything from daytime astronomy to everyday astronomical phenomena, explaining why the sky is blue, whether it's a celestial rotation or a celestial rotation, and topics such as dusk, white nights, solar eclipses, and clear skies.

Xu Guangqi felt as if he had opened the door to a new world.

He was already the first person in the Ming Dynasty to open his eyes to the world. He came into contact with many knowledge systems that were different from traditional Chinese knowledge, and he was also able to integrate these knowledge systems. This made his understanding of the world arguably the pinnacle of this era.

At the same time, he had more questions and thoughts about the world, but he didn't know if they were right or wrong, and no one could give him answers or guidance.

The book the Emperor gave him gave him a sense of clarity, like seeing the sun after the clouds had parted. So that's how it is! Many problems that had troubled him for a long time were solved, and there were also answers to many questions he had never thought of before.

It's not just about understanding the world, but also about understanding the universe.

The stars stretch far and wide, the Milky Way shines brightly.

The earliest curiosity that arose among the early people who emerged from the wilderness was perhaps the sun, moon, and stars that could be seen when they looked up.

The book systematically explains the basic concepts and observation methods of planets, stars, and constellations, and covers practical knowledge such as atmospheric optics and star chart recognition.

In Eastern culture, astronomy, calendars, and astrology are considered to be closely connected with human affairs, but this book allows Xu Guangqi to look at all of this from a completely new perspective.

At this moment, Xu Guangqi was like a top martial arts master who had been stuck at a certain level, and suddenly obtained a secret manual, and was enlightened and his mind became clear.

At the same time, Xu Guangqi became even more curious about what kind of books the others were and what surprises they would bring him...