Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 575: Talking about Foreign Countries in Wenhua Palace
When Zhang Shou stepped into the Wenhua Hall, he noticed countless gazes, some of which were extremely fiery. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw a group of girls. He was stunned for a moment, and then he realized what was going on. It turned out that at the lecture in the Wenhua Hall, there were actually quite a few girls present, just as Zhu Ying said!
In that era when many heroes rose up to drive out the Mongols, unlike the previous dynasties, where dignitaries or warlords who had held military power for generations stole the fruits of victory, Emperor Taizu, who came from the grassroots, had the courage and ability to break the old rules by restoring China. Otherwise, what he saw now was not a group of girls attending the imperial lecture, but countless bound feet!
In this era without foot binding, it is really heartwarming to see this group of young and energetic girls!
The crown and clothes Zhang Shou wore today were specially tailored for him by Zhu Ying. Not only were they well-cut and required more than the work of an ordinary tailor, but even the accessories were all given by the emperor - these certainly could not have been his original ones, and it was said that Zhu Ying went to the emperor personally to ask for them for him.
At this moment, he did not avoid the girls' gazes, but looked over openly. When he saw Zhu Ying, he nodded to her without hesitation, with a hint of a smile on his face.
Zhu Ying was overjoyed to see Zhang Shou nodding to her in public. Although Liu Qing was pulling at her clothes and Princess Deyang was gently pulling her sleeves as a reminder, she still smiled brightly and even waved to Zhang Shou.
When this smile and gesture fell into the eyes of the rich girls nearby, some felt resentful, some envious, some jealous, and some disdainful. But when it fell into the eyes of the men on the opposite side who were secretly watching this side, both young and old, their hearts could not help but beat fast.
Everyone said that the eldest daughter of Duke Zhao's mansion was extremely bright and beautiful, and was the most beautiful woman in the capital. They had seen Zhu Ying riding a horse along the street in the past, unbridled and unrestrained. However, the heroic riding clothes could only show one side of Zhu Ying's beauty at best. How could it compare to the eldest daughter's look at this moment, as she carefully applied makeup for her ideal husband?
For a moment, someone even had a ridiculous idea: would it be a beautiful sight if Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying stood side by side in this hall?
But this was the Wenhua Hall's lecture after all, and Elder Wu just thought about it for a second, then shook his head in disappointment, his eyes instead fell on the artifact that was covered with a black cloth and pushed into the Wenhua Hall before Zhang Shou entered the hall. Not only him, but also Grand Secretary Kong, Grand Secretary Zhang Yu, and even most people in the hall were very curious about what it was.
Even someone who had spent a lot of money to order a table clock from Zhu Ying had a very subtle thought. Could it be that Zhang Shou was using the Imperial Lecture as a place to sell and display his products? Although Zhang Shou was said to have presented a formula for crystal glass to the emperor, and he did not seem to be greedy for money, the table clock that Zhu Ying had personally sold with great eloquence had already made a lot of money!
Even Zhu Jing and Zhu Tingfang, father and son, could not help but look worried, and then they both looked at Zhu Ying at the same time, only to see that she did not notice their gaze at all, and was smiling happily, as if she was talking to Liu Qing and Princess Deyang beside her. Therefore, the father and son, who were not sitting together, could only focus their attention on Zhang Shou.
Zhu Ying might do something rash on a whim, but Zhang Shou... probably wouldn't? They would rather Zhang Shou be like Ge Yong and talk about the complicated mathematics in the Wenhua Hall!
However, when Zhang Shou pulled back the black curtain and revealed the object underneath, Zhu Jing was stunned. Because others might not have seen it, but he had seen the real thing in the Military Equipment Bureau.
Because it is said that it was the instrument that Taizu made after he dreamed of the Emperor of Heaven! Of course, it is said that when Taizu saw the real thing, he immediately called a globe. The official name now was thought up by later generations, which added a layer of myth to Taizu's conquest of the world.
Why did Zhang Shou take out such a thing in such an occasion? No, why did Weinan Bo Zhang Kang give such a thing to Zhang Shou? Did he get the emperor's tacit approval? Or was there another intention?
There weren't many officials like Zhu Jing who had seen the globe, but there were at least a dozen of them in the Wenhua Hall. Some people just regarded it as one of the many things that Emperor Taizu had done on a whim, but some people had heard that the situation of foreign countries that the official ships had found out after going out to sea in the early years was somewhat different from what was drawn on the globe, but most of the information was still very accurate.
Zhang Shou looked around the huge Wenhua Hall and clapped his hands. At this time, another line of strong and powerful eunuchs came out and slowly unfolded a huge map.
The material of this map is a special kind of paper that has been painstakingly developed by skilled craftsmen in the Military Equipment Bureau over many years. The same pattern can be drawn on both sides without infecting each other. However, one side is positive and the other is negative. And when it is unfolded on the central axis of Wenhua Hall, of course the girls will suffer a little bit, because they can only see the reverse side.
But even so, they were still very curious when they saw such a large map for the first time, and for a moment they forgot that they were in the Wenhua Palace, and the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were looking at it. Especially when Zhu Ying actively explained to everyone and pointed out where the Ming Dynasty was today, they were even more amazed.
Even a huge country like China is not so conspicuous on such a map?
After unfolding a globe and a map , Zhang Shou smiled and said, "This is a treasure in the Military Equipment Bureau. It is a globe made by Emperor Taizu after he dreamed of Emperor Tian, and a world map made after unfolding the globe. This world map includes not only the Ming Dynasty, but also many countries in the far east and far west, many of which are tiny countries."
He paused, and then continued calmly: "It is said that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Therefore, according to the old system of Emperor Taizu of our dynasty, those who can enter the ministries and cabinets must have experience as people-friendly officials, so as to understand the customs and habits of the world and not be closed-door. Emperor Taizu had a far-sighted vision and looked at the whole world, not just the Ming Dynasty. This is a precedent for all dynasties."
The emperor, who always admired Taizu the most, of course agreed with Zhang Shou's words and nodded frequently. Others who had been planning to find fault with him became angry and helpless when they saw Zhang Shou repeatedly using Taizu's old system and quotations as his command.
The emperor was like this just now, and now Zhang Shou is doing the same thing too. Did the emperor and his minister have this discussion beforehand?
Just when Academician Kong secretly decided that if Zhang Shou said something heretical or tried to persuade the emperor to send the official ships out to sea again, he would stop him even at the risk of his life, he heard Zhang Shou laugh.
"In foreign countries, it is different from our dynasty. Although there are monarchs and ministers, the throne is hereditary. Even if there is no heir, as long as there are male descendants in the family, even grandchildren can inherit the title as long as they are managed properly. Even kings often have a family name that is completely cut off due to the extinction of the heir, and the son-in-law or grandchild is adopted as an heir with a different surname to start a new dynasty..."
"In many Western countries, people's futures are predetermined at birth. There is no imperial examination to select talents from the common people. The local systems are even somewhat similar to the feudal system of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. The lords and nobles are divided into five levels: duke, marquis, earl, viscount and baron. Below them are knights who are granted a piece of land or have no land at all. Lords and vassals of this level together rule a country..."
Zhang Shou briefly introduced the feudal system in Western Europe, and then pointed to the countries on the map and began to describe the situation of each country. For example, when talking about Britain and France, he talked about the wool trade in Flanders, the Salic succession law, and the Hundred Years' War between Britain and France.
However, the emperor and his ministers were very calm when they heard about a war between two countries that lasted for a hundred years. The reason was simple. The chaos of the Five Barbarians in the late Jin Dynasty lasted for 120 years, and the chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in the late Tang Dynasty lasted for 50 to 60 years. What's more, what kind of earth-shaking war could Zhang Shou's two small countries fight?
Zhang Shou was describing the legend of Joan of Arc in great detail. Although he knew that it was a religious myth that was created to boost morale, the story of Joan of Arc was very suitable for this moment. As expected, Zhu Ying was extremely interested in the fact that there was such an illiterate foreign woman who fought on the battlefield and won many victories over the enemy, and the other girls were also amazed.
Although Liang Hongyu's story happened only a few hundred years ago, none of the rich ladies present would really regard a singing girl from a brothel as one of their own. Instead, the song "The Ballad of Mulan" was more likely to resonate with people.
When they heard that a sixteen-year-old foreign farm girl raised her arms and commanded the three armies at a critical moment for the survival of her country, but was eventually captured because of betrayal by her own country's dignitaries, not only was Zhu Ying filled with righteous indignation, but even Princess Yongping could not help but curse her as despicable and shameless.
However, although the girls were filled with righteous indignation and threw themselves into the story, most of the bigwigs did not believe Zhang Shou's story. Scholar Kong even snorted and said, "It's just a fabrication!"
Zhang Shou didn't care what kind of reaction he would get. He talked about the war between Britain and France, the customs of the two countries, the staple food of the common people, black bread, the mediocre meals of the general lords and nobles, the gloomy castles and the large number of servants... But soon, he changed the topic and began to talk about the rise and fall of the powerful countries in the distant past.
Egypt, Assyria, Persia, ancient Rome, Macedonia, the Byzantine Empire… Each of these kingdoms was once powerful, but in the end they were all destroyed. In their place, a huge Ottoman Empire has gradually risen in recent years.
Although many officials found it resistant and absurd, for the girls, most of whom had never left Beijing or traveled far away since childhood, even if they were not housebound, what Zhang Shou said was bizarre but still enough to attract many people.
Zhang Shou knew very well that at this time in history, China stuck to its homeland and, except for pirates and smugglers, almost never went out to sea. The only time it went out to sea was to trade with Japan and Southeast Asia, so there was no conflict of interest with the Ottoman Empire. But in today's era when merchant ships sail around the world to make huge profits, it is hard to talk about conflict.
Even if there is no conflict now, when the Ottoman Empire completely becomes the overlord of the Middle East, then it will definitely control the trade. By then, as long as there are merchant ships going west to trade, conflicts will inevitably occur.
In history, the Tang Dynasty and the Arabs even fought a great war in Hengrus, which ended with Gao Xianzhi's defeat. He gave up the four Anxi towns and returned to the court to organize the fight against the An Lushan Rebellion. The two great powers never crossed paths again. But nowadays, it is hard to say!
When he gradually extended the topic from the Ottoman Empire to the Eurasian continent, and talked about how the eldest son of the Mongols had conquered many small countries in Europe and brought the dark clouds of national extinction to countless countries, Academician Kong finally couldn't help but say, "The eldest son's expedition to the west is fine, but what you just said about the rise and fall of these small countries is something I have never heard of before. How do I know whether it is true or not?"
Zhang Shou said with a smile: "If Master Kong thinks that I am lying, he can naturally commission a merchant ship to go to the Far West to investigate, or even invite a few foreign scholars to bring back a batch of foreign classics to refute my absurdity."
Am I just bored?! Confucius was so angry that his nose almost twisted, especially when he saw the emperor's beaming with joy. He immediately realized that if he didn't quickly plug this hole, the emperor might agree! He coughed instinctively, and then said stiffly: "No, it's just a small country, not worth bothering with!"
"That's right." Zhang Shou smiled and said calmly, "But the enemy of China throughout history was not even a small country before its rise. It was just a tribe in the north. It started with 1,800 people and then went on to fight with various tribes. Finally, it gathered into a country with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people."
"The Xiongnu are like this, the Turks are like this, the Huihe are like this, the Khitan are like this, the Jurchens are like this, and the Mongols are also like this! In times of peace and prosperity, shouldn't we look at the world and be prepared for danger? How can we ignore foreign countries just because they are small? How can we be a prime minister?"
During the lecture, one can question the speaker. This is a rule left over from the reign of Emperor Taizu, but it has become less and less common in recent years. Especially since most of those who can attend the lecture are highly respected scholars with many students all over the world, the court officials will generally give them face, and even some young and arrogant people will often be restrained.
However, Zhang Shou was too young today, and the one who questioned him was University Scholar Kong, who was not the Prime Minister (as determined by University Scholar Kong himself). Therefore, he was so angry that his face turned blue after being refuted by Zhang Shou.
"Ridiculous. The Xiongnu, Turks, Khitans, Jurchens, Mongols... all of them were once on our borders. Just look at this map and you'll know that these small countries you mentioned are a million miles away from our Ming Dynasty. Can they fly over here with wings? How could they threaten our country?"
Zhang Shou looked at the furious Grand Secretary Kong calmly, and then said calmly: "Grand Secretary Kong, have you never heard of what Emperor Taizu said? Sometimes, even natural barriers can be turned into roads!"
After he said this, he clapped his hands lightly. The next moment, the map was temporarily removed, but another object covered with black cloth was pushed out by several strong eunuchs. When he casually lifted the cloth, there was an uproar in the hall.
