Chapter 116: The Emperor's Astronomy and the Zheng Prince's Son

Zhang Hong and Feng Bao, the two of them, maintained the same expression throughout the entire time they listened to the Emperor and the Grand Secretary discuss astronomy. They acted as if they were deaf to it; they didn't understand why they had to listen. The things the Emperor and the Grand Secretary wanted to study were called the Dao of Heaven. As palace servants, they just needed to stand by and loudly proclaim that the Master was brilliant and the Emperor was wise, and that the Great Ming was both powerful and resilient—that was enough.

The exchange between two geniuses had nothing to do with the two of them. Although they didn't understand it, they had done their best.

As for the final few words, the two great eunuchs heard them clearly and distinctly.

The key tool the Emperor needed to summon that mad scholar Zhu Zhu Zaiyu to the capital was the reinforced sextant they had made. Using this object as bait, he would lure Zhu Zhu Zaiyu, this big fish, into the capital.

There were three benefits to summoning Zhu Zhu Zaiyu to the capital.

The first was that it could quell the criticisms from the imperial court and save the court officials from constantly chattering and bickering endlessly. If the imperial court had silver and grain, who wouldn't want to be generous and pay the stipends of the imperial clan? But wasn't it the case that they didn't have any?

In the future, whenever someone attacked the Emperor for lacking familial affection, he could simply bestow generous rewards upon this distant imperial uncle—wouldn't that be wonderful?

The second was to continue pushing the Great Ming's proposal to reduce the stipends of the imperial clan. After the Emperor Jiajing and Emperor Longqing reigns, letting those below the rank of Commandery Prince seek their own livelihood was a practical necessity based on the imperial court's massive financial deficit. It had to be pushed forward; otherwise, if the court didn't pay the stipends and didn't let people seek their own livelihood, wasn't that forcing people to their deaths?

This was a complete set of procedures. According to Hou Hou Yuzhao's memorial, from then on, those below the rank of Commandery Prince would no longer be issued imperial clan certificates; they would have neither judicial privileges nor tax privileges.

The third was its scientific significance. Zhang Zhang Juzheng was very busy; he could look at these astronomical records to prevent the Emperor from being deceived, and even more so to prevent anyone from using the "interaction between heaven and man" to influence state affairs. The "guest star" invading the Emperor's seat in the sixth year of Emperor Longqing had also made Zhang Zhang Juzheng very passive, even though the Assistant Director of the Imperial Observatory, Zhou Xiang, had already tried his best to make amends.

For astronomical matters, one should find a professional talent, a member of the imperial clan proficient in calendar calculation, to come and preside over them.

The dual effect of political significance and scientific significance!

"Your Majesty, in fact, summoning vassal kings to the capital to manifest familial affection has been done in every dynasty. Even if he doesn't want to come, he must come," Feng Bao said quite confidently. "Gentlemen are actually the easiest to bully."

"Goody-two-shoes" are the easiest to bully. That is always the way of all things: too much is demanded of good people, and too much tolerance is shown to bad people.

Gentlemen are actually the easiest to deal with. The Zhejiang Provincial Governor Zhu Wan was a gentleman; he was forced to the point of committing suicide to prove his integrity after pacifying the Japanese pirates. Zhang Zhang Juzheng, Yin Yin Zhengmao, Ling Ling Yunyi, Pan Pan Jixun, and the rest of that crowd would not commit suicide to prove their integrity; they would only fight with others, fighting until you die or I live, biting until they were covered in wounds.

"Let's begin the lecture," Zhu Zhu Yijun said with a wave of his small hand, starting the day's lecture.

In the afternoon, the Cabinet drafted an imperial decree, and the palace official Xu Jue and the Supervising Secretary Hou Hou Yuzhao galloped toward the Zheng Prince's mansion.

Zhu Zhu Yijun spent all day with a bunch of people studying the length of the sun's shadow. The young Emperor under Zhang Zhang Juzheng's guidance was not a person who was broad but not resolute; he was a monarch who believed in practical implementation. The reason he wanted to take people to study the length of the sun's shadow was because Zhu Zhu Yijun wanted to revise the calendar.

To revise the calendar, one must have a reason; inaccurate agricultural timing was the best reason.

The Assistant Director of the Imperial Observatory, Zhou Xiang, had actually already determined that the Great Ming's "Datong Calendar" was indeed inaccurate, being about one day behind the correct calendar, which was why all sorts of chaotic phenomena were appearing frequently.

The old saying that one doesn't encounter a leap twelfth month in ten years is actually inaccurate. The twelfth month of the second year of Emperor Wanli was a leap month. Counting forward, the next leap twelfth month would be after 1784, which is 338 AD.

Leap months are for patching the loopholes in the calendar. The Zi Xia calendar has thirty days for a long month and twenty-nine days for a short month. With twelve months, each year is eleven or twelve days shorter than the solar year.

To patch the calendar's loopholes, leap months appeared: three leap months in eight years is too few, two leap months in three years is too many; three leap months in eight years is too few, seven leap months in nineteen years is too many. Actually, the excess isn't much, just an extra double-hour, but it can't withstand the accumulation over time, so the calendar must be revised repeatedly.

To address this loophole of one double-hour every nineteen years, Zu Zu Chongzhi had to make this issue precise, eventually proposing 144 leap months in 391 years. Converted, that is 144 leap months in 391 years, making the solar year 365.2428 days, which is only 3 seconds longer than the year obtained by later generations.

Later, after Guo Guo Shoujing's "Shoushi Calendar" in the Yuan Dynasty, the solar year was 365.2425 days, which is 6 seconds longer than the year obtained by later generations. This is what Zhang Zhang Juzheng meant when he said that the methods of later generations are often superior to ancient methods, and that while they are revised repeatedly to become more precise, the calendar is the most significant example.

It is a coincidence that in the tenth year of Emperor Wanli, Pope Gregory XIII reformed the Julian calendar commonly used in the West, promulgating the Gregorian calendar, and the Gregorian calendar calculated the solar year as 365.2425 days, which is exactly the same as the "Shoushi Calendar."

In the tenth year of Emperor Wanli, the calculation of the Western calendar finally caught up to the level of the Yuan Dynasty.

And in these two hundred years, has the Great Ming really remained completely motionless?

Successive astronomical students, for the sake of the calendar, submitted memorials repeatedly until their tongues were almost worn out, and the Emperor also issued decrees several times wanting to revise it. After all, being unable to calculate lunar and solar eclipses accurately was truly a loss of the imperial court's dignity, making it seem as if the Emperor did not have the favor of Heaven.

During the Emperor Jingtai and Emperor Jiajing reigns, they even really moved slightly against the calendar, which was part of the "ancestral laws that cannot be changed," but in the end, it was never completely altered.

Take, for example, the current Assistant Director of the Imperial Observatory, Zhou Xiang. He is a professional astronomical student. He has already determined that the Great Ming Dynasty's calendar is inaccurate, and he has roughly calculated the time, but his voice is too small. Who in the imperial court can hear him?

Being easily slapped with the big hat of "destroying the ancestral laws," Zhou Xiang, as a mere Assistant Director, simply could not withstand the pressure of public opinion in the imperial court.

In Confucius's era, to avoid the three-year mourning ritual, the scholar-officials of the Zhou Dynasty invented the "no avoidance for military affairs" method to bypass the three-year mourning period. By the Great Ming, since the Xiaozong reign, there was the "retention of office during mourning," which was merely for a Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

The scholar-officials in the imperial court, holding onto the rituals and laws from before the Three Dynasties, even opposed Confucius's words! These pedantic scholars who clung to outdated rules were even more adherent to the Zhou Rites than the scholars of the Zhou Dynasty.

Zhou Xiang could not withstand this pressure, so Zhu Zhu Yijun wanted to try it out—to push for an inch and then a foot, to be aggressive.

And Zhu Zhu Yijun was really observing the shadow length of the eight-foot gnomon seriously. Actually, the Great Ming also had a forty-foot high gnomon in Yingtian Prefecture; that thing was even more precise.

Zhu Zhu Yijun organized the collected data and picked out three numbers, saying, "On the tenth day of the tenth month, the shadow length was one zhang, seven cun, seven and a half fen. On the twenty-fifth day of the eleventh month, it was one zhang, eight cun, one fen and a bit. On the twenty-sixth, it was one zhang, seven cun, five fen and a bit. That is to say, the shadow length on the tenth day of the tenth month was 10.770 chi, on the twenty-fifth of the eleventh month it was 10.817 chi, and on the twenty-sixth it was 10.708 chi. That is to say, the Winter Solstice must have occurred on the third day of the eleventh month."

"A bit" and "strong" both represent fractions, and Zhu Zhu Yijun calculated them into decimals, which made it simpler.

The first shadow length and the third shadow length were almost equal, so the Winter Solstice occurred on the third day of the eleventh month.

Zhang Hong and Feng Bao looked at each other. The young Emperor was writing and drawing with a pencil, seemingly knowing which day the Winter Solstice was on.

The Emperor is the Emperor, his words are the law of Heaven. Which day the Winter Solstice falls on is not decided by the Emperor's golden words?

"The change in the shadow length of the gnomon around the Winter Solstice is very slow. Finding a symmetrical set of data and taking the average gives it to you. Isn't it very simple? It's not some kind of magic or anything, what's so magical about it?" Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at the inquisitive gazes of Zhang Hong and Feng Bao and explained his algorithm. This was Zu Zu Chongzhi's algorithm for calculating the time of the Winter Solstice by symmetry.

The basic introductory astronomical mathematics taught to the young Emperor by the Assistant Director of the Imperial Observatory, Zhou Xiang, was patented by Zu Zu Chongzhi over 1,070 years ago.

Zhu Zhu Yijun flipped through the drawings on the table and said, "Guo Guo Shoujing is worthy of being an old immortal. He raised two doubts about Zu Zu Chongzhi's algorithm: the first is that the change in shadow length around the Winter Solstice is not completely symmetrical, and the second is that the change in shadow length during a day is also not uniform. This is the practical experience Guo Guo Shoujing gained from years of personal observation. These two errors are not large, but added together, they will affect the precision a little bit."

Zhu Zhu Yijun pressed his thumb against his index finger to make a "little bit" gesture and said, "With just this little bit of precision, three minutes and forty seconds of 'water' are removed from a year, making the Shoushi Calendar even more precise. The old immortal is indeed amazing."

Guo Guo Shoujing measured the gnomon for nearly twenty years, averaged the solar years of twenty years, and further improved the precision of the solar year.

"How long is three minutes and forty seconds?" Zhang Hong finally asked tentatively.

Zhu Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, "Do you know the timekeeping method of our Great Ming besides the double-hours?"

Feng Bao said quite confidently, "I know, 'ke' (quarter-hours). There are one hundred 'ke' in a day and night. The Doctor of Clepsydra is specifically in charge of this matter."

"What about below one hundred 'ke'?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked again.

Zhang Hong and Feng Bao both shook their heads. They were just eunuchs in the palace, not astronomical students of the Imperial Observatory. How would they know about such things?

"You need to read more books." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Hong and Feng Bao and said, "I know you have already read many books, but it is still not enough. The officials from the outer court—from the assistant ministers, court officials, capital officials, to local officials—they are all educated people. If you don't read enough, you won't be able to compete with them, you won't be able to compete for the power of interpretation, you won't be able to compete for the power of definition, and they will ride on top of my head."

"As the claws and teeth of the inner court, you must dare to bite, and you must be able to win the bite."

Feng Bao recalled very, very seriously and bowed his head, saying, "Your Majesty, this servant can still bite, and should also be able to win."

Zhu Zhu Yijun heard this and was quite approving. He was still very satisfied with Feng Bao's combat effectiveness. The Great Ming's top scholar Sun Sun Jigao was crushed by Feng Bao; Sun Sun Jigao hadn't even understood Mencius. In just one day, the reputation that Sun Sun Jigao's learning was inferior to a palace official spread throughout the capital, and even the Minister of Rites, Wan Wan Shihe, was implicated.

Wan Wan Shihe submitted another memorial to resign, but the court discussion still did not approve it. Sun Sun Jigao is Sun Sun Jigao, and Wan Wan Shihe is Wan Wan Shihe. Since they didn't deal with Wan Wan Shihe using Gao Zhu Qiyu's handling of Zhang Zhang Juzheng, naturally they wouldn't deal with Wan Wan Shihe using Sun Sun Jigao.

Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "I know of Feng Da's prowess. If the inner court knows more than the outer court, the outer court won't be able to bully the inner court. The 'guest star' in the sixth year of Emperor Longqing is the same principle. If the inner court knew what the 'guest star' was, would we still be led by the nose by the outer court? Every month we have to perform self-reflection, and I still need to reflect to Heaven on my lack of virtue and youth?"

"Back to the three minutes and forty seconds I mentioned." Zhu Zhu Yijun sat up straight and began to speak like a little teacher, "Our Great Ming's 'Datong Calendar' is actually the 'Shoushi Calendar.' After nearly three hundred years of use, it is already inaccurate."

"The Shoushi Calendar has a definition: one day is one hundred 'ke', one 'ke' is one hundred 'fen', one 'fen' is one hundred 'miao'. This way of speaking is actually not accurate. 'Fen' and 'miao' describe the depth of a solar eclipse, not time."

"Can you understand?"

Zhang Hong and Feng Bao shook their heads in confusion at the same time. They knew nothing about astronomy.

Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "Alright then, it's a bit complicated to explain. One day is one hundred 'ke', you know this. One 'ke' is one hundred 'fen', one 'fen' is one hundred 'miao'. Then a whole day is ten thousand 'fen'. Three 'fen' is three ten-thousandths of a day."

"Yuan Shizu Kublai Khan issued a decree to verify the seven matters. Guo Guo Shoujing, Xu Heng, and Wang Xun verified it as 365.24 days, which is also the first time decimals were used in the calendar."

"The Song Dynasty had a water-powered armillary sphere that divided the twelve double-hours into twenty-four 'chu' and 'zheng' hours."

"In the beginning of the third month of the eighth year of Tianshun, the Imperial Observatory's Gu Bin and others reported that there would be a solar eclipse of three minutes and fourteen seconds, with the beginning of the eclipse at the second 'ke' of the 'you' hour, and the eclipse visible at the third 'ke' of the 'you' hour for only fifty seconds. Since the eclipse did not reach a 'fen', there was no need for rescue rituals."

"That is to say, the Imperial Observatory reported that there would be a solar eclipse on the first day of the fourth month, with the sun and moon meeting for about three minutes and fourteen seconds. At the 'you' hour, which is the eighteenth hour of the day, it would begin at the second 'ke', and end at the third 'ke', with the visible time being only fifty seconds. It's not that it didn't reach a 'fen', it's just that there was no need to beat gongs and drums to hold sacrificial rescue rituals."

"The Imperial Observatory's Jia Xin reported that the Assistant Director of the Imperial Observatory was talking nonsense and deceiving the Emperor, saying that the sun and moon meeting should be six minutes and six seconds, not that the solar eclipse didn't reach a 'fen', and that rescue rituals were needed."

"On the first day of the fourth month, there was indeed no solar eclipse, and Jia Xin was thrown into prison."

Jia Xin was also unlucky in this matter, because what the Imperial Observatory said was also wrong. Actually, one couldn't observe a solar eclipse in Shuntian Prefecture at all that day. To see a total solar eclipse, one would have to run to Helin, which was the capital where Genghis Khan established the Mongol Empire.

Because the calendar used by the Great Ming was the Yuan Dynasty's "Shoushi Calendar," the data used was also the data from Helin. On the first day of the fourth month, one could only see a partial solar eclipse in Helin.

"Alright, the Great Ming's double-hours, 'chu' and 'zheng' hours, 'ke', 'fen', and 'miao' are like this." Zhu Zhu Yijun ended his lecture on the Great Ming Imperial Observatory's timekeeping method. This was what he had seen from reading the Shoushi Calendar, and it was also the content taught by the Assistant Director of the Imperial Observatory, Zhou Xiang.

In the Shoushi Calendar, the time of one 'fen' is too short. Converted to later generations, it is only about 8.6 seconds. If you lose focus for a moment, it's gone.

"Let me calculate the specific time of the Winter Solstice. The 'fa' equals the difference between the shadow length of the twenty-fifth and the twenty-sixth multiplied by two. The 'shi' equals the shadow length of the twenty-sixth minus the tenth multiplied by one hundred. Dividing the 'shi' by the 'fa' gives thirty-one 'ke' after midnight on the third day. Converting it is really troublesome; one double-hour is 8.33 'ke', which is not easy to convert." Zhu Zhu Yijun calculated the time of the Winter Solstice.

Zhu Zhu Yijun said with great emotion, "The Datong Calendar is indeed wrong by one day."

This is Zu Zu Chongzhi's algorithm. It is actually not precise and needs to wait until Zhu Zhu Zaiyu enters the capital for further precision.

But Zhu Zhu Yijun used Zu Zu Chongzhi's algorithm to determine that the day with the longest gnomon shadow in a year was the third day of the eleventh month, not the fourth day of the eleventh month as in the Datong Calendar.

Zu Zu Chongzhi's algorithm has many imprecise places, such as the end of the gnomon shadow blurring, making it impossible to determine the length, etc. Even if it is not precise, it is enough to open fire.

This is an algorithm obtained by Zu Zu Chongzhi standing on the shoulders of sages through the ages and using more than forty years of practical experience.

Not to mention Guo Guo Shoujing's immortal algorithm from three hundred years ago, even if Zhu Zhu Yijun took out Zu Zu Chongzhi's algorithm from a thousand years ago, it would be enough to turn these pedantic scholars of the Great Ming into slag.

He understands it, the pedantic scholars don't, so he completely masters the power of interpretation and definition of the calendar.

"General Qi, Liang Liang Menglong, Chen Chen Dacheng, Liu Liu Yingjie, and the others have already been in Liaodong for almost a month, right? Has there been no news from Li Li Chengliang's side yet? Don't urge them. We in the capital don't know the details of the front line, so don't urge them." Zhu Zhu Yijun asked about the war in Liaodong, emphasizing that the Emperor cannot directly command border battles.

Feng Bao said very solemnly, "Regional Commander Li submitted a memorial saying he is waiting for snow. When it snows, horses cannot move, making it easy to kill the enemy."

"The Master said that we should give them some authority, so we will listen to Regional Commander Li." Zhu Zhu Yijun did not ask any more questions and continued to tinker with his sextant and telescope.

Zhu Zhu Yijun did not urge them. If Li Li Chengliang lost, there was still Qi Qi Jiguang's capital battalion. If Qi Qi Jiguang lost, there was still Liu Liu Yingjie supervising the elite troops of the three towns in the Jia Shanhai Pass, Xifengkou, and other areas as reserves.

Zhu Zhu Yijun was really, really surprised. The Great Ming's three-wave gradient, two-layer reserve formation truly opened the young Emperor's eyes. The young Emperor put himself in the shoes of the rebel leader Wang Gao and simply didn't know how he could win.

This Great Ming fighting style had no other disadvantages except for being expensive. By the end of the Emperor Wanli reign, the Great Ming, which was like the setting sun, could no longer produce such a formation.

Zhu Zhu Yijun did not completely immerse his mind in the light of day and asked with an uncertain expression, "Is there no movement in the Northwest?"

Feng Bao said, "The Viceroy of Xuan-Da, Wang Wang Chonggu, submitted a memorial yesterday saying that he has already invited the Great Ming Jin Kingdom's Prince Prince Shunyi's consort, San San Niangzi, to Xuanfu as a guest. After Altan Khan was enfeoffed as Prince Prince Shunyi, he was getting a bit old, and San San Niangzi is in charge. San San Niangzi drank too much at Wu Dui's private residence and injured a servant."

"Hmm, Wang Wang Chonggu is still sensible." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at the firmament.

The Northern Barbarians are run by San San Niangzi. From the Jin Kingdom to Xuanfu, singing and dancing with the Jin Party, the danger of the Northern Barbarians moving south is eighty percent resolved.

But once Liaodong is defeated and the Great Ming armies are mired in the mud, Altan Khan will certainly not care about Qi Qi Jiguang's 100,000 border troops and 10,000 capital troops, but will lead his army south to plunder the capital region and force the young Emperor to sign a treaty under the city walls.

So the key lies in Liaodong. Whether you win or lose, if you don't win on the battlefield, everything is equal to zero.

Military administration has always been like this: the winner takes all, there is no middle ground, so war is also a concrete manifestation of contradictions intensifying to the point of being irreconcilable.

When Zhu Zhu Yijun was measuring the shadow length of the Winter Solstice, Zhu Zhu Zaiyu of the Zheng Prince's mansion was also measuring the time of the Winter Solstice. He wasn't angry when he didn't measure, but the more he measured, the angrier Zhu Zhu Zaiyu became. What was the use of measuring it? Who would listen to him?

Just as Zhang Zhang Juzheng said, more than half of the Zheng Prince's mansion had collapsed, and a few more rooms had collapsed in the past few years.

The Great Ming's Prince's mansions were all built according to the Yingtian Prefecture Imperial Palace, with a fixed system, about five hundred mu, with a moat and city walls outside, four city gates, and inside there were the Huangji Hall, Zhongji Hall, and Zhu Jianji Hall, which were extremely similar to the layout of the Imperial Palace, totaling more than eight hundred rooms including palaces, pavilions, water pavilions, palace chambers, halls, and ancestral temples.

The Zheng Prince's mansion was located in Henei County of Huaiqing Prefecture. Since the twenty-ninth year of Emperor Jiajing, when the Zheng Prince submitted a memorial asking the Emperor Jiajing old Daoist priest not to practice Daoism and was demoted to a commoner, the Zheng Prince's mansion had not been repaired for twenty-seven years. Of the eight hundred rooms, only fifty or so remained, and weeds were growing everywhere, appearing extremely desolate.

And the Zheng Prince and Zhu Zhu Zaiyu lived in this dilapidated Prince's mansion, and they had lived there for eight years. The place where they lived was extremely clean, and it was kept quite clean. The "Regulations on Imperial Clans" in the forty-fourth year of Emperor Jiajing abolished the redundant personnel of the Prince's mansion. Besides the Zheng Prince's family, there were fourteen officials and less than twenty guards.

The Zheng Prince's mansion should have had 1,600 guards, but the clan stipends were cut again and again, and these guards fled or scattered, and in the end, only twenty or so remained, which was considered enough to support.

The Zheng Prince Zhu Zhu Houwan and Zhu Zhu Zaiyu did not care about this at all. The clan stipends given by the imperial court were enough for them to live on.

"My son, the imperial court has not treated us poorly. They give three thousand shi of stipends every year, and added four hundred shi of real stipends during the Emperor Longqing reign. Why be so stubborn?" Zhu Zhu Houwan said with worry. His son was a stubborn donkey, and seeing his son sulking, Zhu Zhu Houwan was also anxious.

Three thousand four hundred shi of stipends a year, and Huaiqing Prefecture was not in chaos at this time. The average price of rice was seven qian per shi, which was two thousand four hundred taels of silver a year. This was already a lot. The annual expenditure of Zhang Zhang Juzheng's Quanchu Guild Hall was only a little over one thousand taels of silver.

So, while there was enough money to spend, it was actually possible to repair the Prince's mansion, but Zhu Zhu Zaiyu did not agree.

"The events of that year have already passed, why be so persistent? Look at the twenty-six Prince's mansions right now, only our family was specially decreed by the late Emperor to be given full stipends. Which other family hasn't had theirs deducted?" Zhu Zhu Houwan really didn't know how to persuade his son. When he left, the child was only fifteen and had just gotten married. Now his son was already forty-two. At thirty one stands, at forty one has no doubts. A grown son is not controlled by his father.

Zhu Zhu Zaiyu put down the zither in his hand and said solemnly, "My son is not being persistent, I just want to argue for right and wrong. In the affairs of this world, there is right and there is wrong. This is not right, but what is going on with not being wrong?"

"My father was imprisoned within high walls that year, and released in the first year of Emperor Longqing. What exactly happened that year? Is there a conclusion?"

Zhu Zhu Houwan said helplessly, "Have you really not read a single word of the 'Contradiction Theory' sent from the court? How can there be so many rights and wrongs? Since the late Emperor released me and increased the stipends, isn't this saying that the Shimmiao (Emperor Jiajing Emperor) did wrong and gave compensation? What else do you want? Let the main branch apologize to the side branch? That's about enough."

"I didn't read it." Zhu Zhu Zaiyu said quite confidently, "They are just a group of foolish men, ordinary people who don't understand the supreme principles and Dao of the world."

Zhu Zhu Houwan flicked his sleeve and said with three parts anger, "You are indeed intelligent, but there are so many intelligent people in this world. There are people beyond people, and heavens beyond heavens. I have always asked you to read the 'Contradiction Theory', but you refused to read it!"

"I have never seen anyone who knows the Dao of the world better than I do." Zhu Zhu Zaiyu's words were arrogant, but his expression was exceptionally calm. He was stating a fact. How many people are there who could read historical books like the "Minister Panggeng" since the age of ten?

For so many years, Zhu Zhu Zaiyu had really never met anyone smarter than him, so he had the qualifications to be arrogant.

There was not a trace of a Confucian scholar about Zhu Zhu Zaiyu. He never humbled himself. The name of "mad scholar" was well-deserved.

A nameless fire rose in Zhu Zhu Houwan's heart, and he said, "The imperial court currently has a total of 19 million shi and 4 million taels of silver. Such a large imperial court needs money everywhere and grain everywhere. The day before yesterday, the court gazette arrived at the mansion, and the gazette said that the Emperor has reduced the Aoshan fireworks and is practicing frugality."

Zhu Zhu Zaiyu commented indifferently, "Oh? That's not bad. Wealth is limited, and expenses are infinite. One should measure income and expenses to be good. It should be like this. The Emperor has benevolence and virtue."

In Zhu Zhu Zaiyu's view, the young Emperor who practices frugality is just: "That's not bad."

Zhu Zhu Houwan frowned and said, "Since the eleventh month of last year, the Emperor has opened the Huangji Hall. Everything he said has chapters and sentences, and everything he responded to has a calendar. The court officials were asked until they were speechless. The Emperor is wise and born, bearing his rule, and will soon manifest his glory. The image of a wise monarch is becoming clear."

Zhu Zhu Zaiyu raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh? Not bad. Most of the court officials are pedantic scholars who talk eloquently but are broad and not resolute, and are best at reversing right and wrong, taking things out of context, and confusing black and white. The Emperor was able to ask them until they were speechless. It seems he really learned it. The Grand Secretary is still very talented."

In Zhu Zhu Zaiyu's view, the young Emperor who is eloquent and able to argue is just: "Not bad."

Zhu Zhu Houwan said anxiously, "In my opinion, Zhang Zhang Juzheng and the Emperor are both much smarter than you. This 'Contradiction Theory' of the Grand Secretary makes people suddenly enlightened and bright. And you? All day long you only know how to hold a zither, look at the sky, and have nothing to show for it."

Zhu Zhu Zaiyu looked at Zhu Zhu Houwan and said very definitely, "Achievements? Father, have you forgotten the memorial you sent to the capital that year, and the nineteen years of separation by high walls? When members of the imperial clan involve themselves in government affairs, it is like a thunderbolt. Even if I am full of talent, what can I do?"

"The Grand Secretary is very amazing. It is worldly learning. I am different from the Grand Secretary; it is otherworldly learning."

"This is the right and wrong I want to argue about, and it is the only thing I want to argue about with this turbid and vulgar world!"

"The Great Ming calendar has been around for 208 years, with errors everywhere, lunar and solar eclipses are miscalculated, precession is miscalculated, the Earth's axis is miscalculated, the angle of the North Star is also miscalculated. Right is right, wrong is wrong. The calendar should be reformed!"

Zhu Zhu Zaiyu was extremely arrogant. These words had the meaning of "looking at the heroes of the world, there are only the Grand Secretary and Zhu Zaiyu."

In Zhu Zhu Zaiyu's view, one of them was a great worldly talent, and the other was a great otherworldly talent.

Zhu Zhu Zaiyu showed disdain and said, "Guo Guo Shoujing said: 'The basis of the calendar lies in measurement, and the instruments for measurement are the most important.' He exhausted the infinite mysteries of the calendar. Only after making good instruments can one measure, and only after measuring accurately can one formulate a calendar."

"And the Confucian scholars in the court? Holding onto the rotten old methods that should have been buried in the soil, they say: 'Those who have machines must have mechanical hearts, and those who have mechanical hearts must have mechanical intentions,' confusing machines with human nature."

"Saying 'haste makes waste,' it's just for their own selfish interests."

Zhu Zhu Zaiyu looked at the sextant in front of him. This was an astronomical instrument he had made himself over many years, specifically for measuring the angle of the North Star.

He knew the solar year and the sidereal year, he knew precession, he knew the precession of the equinoxes, he knew that the stars move east and the solar terms move west, he knew the division of 'chu' and 'zheng' hours, he knew degrees, minutes, and seconds, he knew that minutes and seconds only describe the depth of a solar eclipse, he could draw the ecliptic star map, he calculated the tilt of the Earth's axis, the angle between the ecliptic and the celestial equator, he knew that the Earth under his feet was a sphere, and he even wanted to calculate how deep the Earth was by the difference in longitude and latitude.

He understood the principles of the operation of heaven and earth. He knew everything, but what could he do? He was originally the Prince's son, how could he display his talent? It was just self-entertainment.

The only thing he could do was to argue for right and wrong for his father. This was his strong unwillingness to be unrecognized, and the only thing he could protest against in this world. Even so, this kind of protest could only be to offer the Prince's crown and belt in the temple, and not wear the crown and belt to protest.

He was the son of a vassal king. Under the vassal ban, he could not leave the Prince's mansion, and he could not associate with any like-minded people. Even if he protested, he could only build a mud room in front of the Prince's mansion and live there for nineteen years to express his unwillingness and dissatisfaction.

He was lonely, and he was arrogant.

Therefore, Zhu Zhu Zaiyu hated that he was a member of the Zhu family.

"Your... Your Highness, the Henei County Magistrate suddenly sent news that an... an imperial envoy has arrived!" The Zheng Prince's mansion's Chief Clerk ran in, stumbling and falling. It was really that the long gown was not suitable for running, and he didn't pay attention and took a big tumble. It was really too unexpected.

It was the first time the Chief Clerk had heard of an imperial decree arriving at the mansion since he had been at the Zheng Prince's mansion for so many years.

"Welcome them quickly. What happened again?" Zhu Zhu Houwan was full of sorrow as soon as he heard it. Historically, there had never been any good news when an imperial decree arrived from the palace.

Xu Jue was good at riding horses, but the Supervising Secretary Hou Hou Yuzhao could not. To save time, the accompanying guards directly tied Hou Hou Yuzhao to their backs and began to gallop wildly. In less than three days, they arrived at Henei County. Xu Jue let the guards inform the county office, but he didn't go at all. After bathing and changing clothes at the post house, he went to the Zheng Prince's mansion.

Before arriving at the Zheng Prince's mansion, looking from afar, Xu Jue frowned. According to the system, the city tower on the city gate should have green glazed tiles, but the city gate was bare, and even the city tower had collapsed. The moat was flowing quietly, but no one was taking care of it, and branches were growing wildly, presenting a scene of extreme desolation.

Xu Jue walked into the Zheng Prince's mansion and saw the people of the Zheng Prince's mansion who had been waiting for a long time. He opened the imperial decree and read, "By the order of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:..."

The imperial decree was drafted by the Cabinet and stamped by the Emperor. The content of the imperial decree was roughly:

The events of that year were all a misunderstanding, and the Shimmiao (Emperor Jiajing Emperor) was also deceived by others. The Zheng Prince's mansion also had internal ghosts who falsely accused them, which eventually led to unpleasant things. The late Emperor had already restored the title and gave more stipends.

The Emperor heard of the grievances of the Prince's mansion and could not bear it, so he specially sent a palace envoy to reiterate that the young Emperor would not violate the late Emperor's decisive judgment, and would still give full stipends, and added one hundred shi of real stipends, not converted into treasure notes, and bestowed some wealth and a bottle of "National Cellar Sweet Potato Liquor" brewed by the young Emperor himself.

Summon the Prince's son to the capital to manifest familial affection, and then explain the events of that year.

This decree was written by Zhang Zhang Juzheng, and there was no excessive reprimand for Zhu Zhu Zaiyu's remarks about not being a member of the Zhu family, treating it as if it never happened.

"This servant cannot accept the decree to enter the capital." Zhu Zhu Zaiyu chose to refuse as soon as the imperial decree was read, his attitude very firm, with no intention of accepting the decree at all.

"You!" Zhu Zhu Houwan sighed when he heard this and hurriedly took the imperial decree and said, "Don't blame the palace envoy. My son is a mad scholar, as everyone knows. I will definitely persuade him."

Zhu Zhu Houwan said and handed over a salt certificate. This object was most suitable for bribery, but Xu Jue pushed it away and said, "The old ancestor instructed the palace officials who go out to handle affairs that if they receive silver outside and something goes wrong, they will have to bear it themselves. If the old ancestor finds out, he will cut off their hands and throw them in the corridor when they return. This servant came out to handle affairs, and the Emperor has already bestowed rewards."

"Supervising Secretary Hou is accompanying to proclaim the decree, which is to supervise, right? Supervising Secretary Hou."

Xu Jue looked at Hou Hou Yuzhao, who was vomiting and having diarrhea, and laughed.

Xu Jue looked at Zhu Zhu Zaiyu and pretended to be surprised, saying, "The Prince's son refuses to accept the decree to enter the capital? Oh my, what should be done? The Emperor heard that the Prince's son learned astronomy, calendar calculation, and mathematics from his maternal great-uncle He Tang, and is exceptionally proficient in the Dao of the calendar, so he specially bestowed two good objects. The Prince's son refuses to accept the decree, that is really a pity."

Xu Jue asked people to open two red silk cloths, revealing the telescope and sextant, and said with full regret, "Since the Prince's son refuses to go, this servant will return."

Xu Jue would not stay for even a second and even turned around in advance, intending to leave.

"Palace envoy, stay your step." Zhu Zhu Zaiyu's eyes widened immediately after seeing the telescope and sextant. He rushed over and looked at Xu Jue, saying, "Palace envoy, can you leave these objects behind?"

Xu Jue showed a successful smile, turned around, and said, "The Prince's son is joking. These are imperial bestowals. If the Prince's son doesn't go, and this servant leaves them behind without authorization, the Emperor will be furious when I return to the capital, and this servant's head will not be guaranteed."

"Prince's son, let go."

Zhu Zhu Zaiyu held the sextant, his expression ferocious, and said, "I won't let go."

"Let go."

"I won't let go!"

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