Chapter 718: Ji Kun, Go to Europe as an Ambassador!

"Teacher, wonderful news! His Majesty has issued an edict to open the Imperial Academy!"

"Teacher, this is excellent! Now we Jiangnan scholars can finally take the examinations on our own merits!"

"Teacher, His Majesty has also issued a great edict, openly recruiting great scholars to enter the Imperial Academy and thoroughly study the Zilun Gewu Pian. What exactly is this Zilun Gewu Pian?"

"Yes, to enter the Imperial Academy one must understand the Zilun Gewu Pian, and also something called the New Mathematics. What is all this?"

At Qian Qianyi's grand residence by the Tangshan hot springs in Nanjing, Qian Qianyi, the Minister of Rites who had only returned to the capital yesterday, was surrounded by a group of disciples who had come to pay their respects. These disciples gathered around him were all juren — men who had failed to pass the last jinshi examination of the eighteenth year of Chongzhen, yet were unwilling to stoop to minor local posts, and had all been craning their necks waiting for the court to restore the high examinations — no, to restore the jinshi examinations.

Now that there was no jinshi examination, an Imperial Academy examination was good enough! It was just that this Imperial Academy examination did not test eight-legged essays or the Four Books and Five Classics, but instead tested something called the Zilun Gewu Pian and the New Mathematics. What were these?

"The Zilun Gewu Pian is a profound field of learning," Qian Qianyi said, stroking his beard. "This old man cannot explain it clearly in a moment. By the way, what is this New Mathematics?"

"My lord," Liu Rushi, who had accompanied Qian Qianyi out to receive the guests, had long anticipated this question and had already prepared a copy of the New Mathematics, which she presented to the old man with both hands. "This is the New Mathematics — all Western mathematics, including the learning from the Elements of Geometry. I have studied a little of it myself these past days, and I do not find it very difficult."

Not difficult?

That depends on who you ask! For a high-IQ science student, of course it is not difficult — just look at Liu Rushi's broad forehead and you can tell this woman is no fool. But for someone without that mathematical aptitude, they would curse Emperor Zhu to death!

"Is that so?" Qian Qianyi took the New Mathematics — a thick, heavy volume — and flipped through a few pages. "Indeed, it is not difficult. Self-study should not be too taxing."

Not difficult after reading only a few pages? The content that makes people scratch their heads in frustration is all in the back! And after entering the Imperial Academy, there would be Advanced New Mathematics waiting for them to self-study!

Of course, Qian Qianyi was also brilliant. The tanhua of the thirty-eighth year of Wanli! By later standards, that would be a score of over 720 on the national college entrance examination — raw score, no bonuses! For a brain like his, the New Mathematics was certainly not difficult.

"Teacher," Luo Dagong, the Prefect of Songjiang, had also arrived. He had come to the capital to report the "Hispania misunderstanding" to the court. "This student has also looked at the New Mathematics. While it is not particularly difficult, self-study is not easy either."

Although Luo Dagong was the zhuangyuan of the eighteenth year of Chongzhen, his was a "bonus-point zhuangyuan." His true level might not even have reached "equivalent jinshi." Zhu Cilang had added at least 100 points for him, and only then did he become zhuangyuan.

So in his view, the New Mathematics was somewhat difficult — though he could understand some of it, since he knew Western learning. Thanks to Xu Guangqi's efforts, the scholar-officials of Shanghai had made it fashionable to study Western learning. Luo Dagong had also followed the trend, and after becoming County Magistrate of Shanghai and taking charge of the Shanghai trading port, he had studied Western learning even more deeply. He could now even speak a little French and Dutch.

In his view, the content of the New Mathematics progressed from shallow to deep. The shallow parts could be self-studied, but the deep parts required a teacher. Anyone who could learn that on their own would be no ordinary genius!

"In the end, it is still an examination!" Qian Qianyi handed the New Mathematics back to Liu Rushi and said with a smile to his students, "Go back and study hard! When the time comes, all of you will enter the Imperial Academy, and when you come out, you will be pillars of the state!"

"Teacher's instruction is correct!"

"This student will go find a copy of the New Mathematics to study at once."

"If this student fails to enter the Imperial Academy, I vow never to return home!"

They all think the Imperial Academy is some wonderful place — the tears are still ahead of them!

Never mind self-studying advanced mathematics — even self-studying high school mathematics would make them weep! Self-study, mind you! And although there is no teacher, there is an Emperor who will set difficult and tricky problems for the examination!

Besides mathematics being extraordinarily difficult, philosophy will not be easy either! A whole pile of brain-twisting questions awaits them, and mere rote memorization will not suffice — they must have their own insights and write brilliant essays.

That will make people weep just as much!

And the Imperial Academy also has last-place elimination! After finally getting into the Imperial Academy, to be eliminated in the end and become an ordinary commoner again — that would truly be going from luxury to frugality, too ashamed to face one's parents back home!

Of course, Emperor Zhu still cherished talent!

Those who could self-study the New Mathematics and pass into the Imperial Academy were no fools, and even after elimination they would have somewhere to go.

They could go to the Army Military Academy beside the Xiaoling Guard to join the military. The Military Academy also had mathematics, but it was far easier — how hard could math problems from the era of volley fire be?

If they did not wish to join the military, they could also go to the Salt Merchants' Bank or the Sea Merchants' Bank to learn business.

Luo Dagong did not need to worry about difficult philosophical or mathematical problems for now, but he had another worry — a diplomatic dilemma!

He had already figured out that the "Japan" colluding with the Qing was not Japan, but Hispania — that is, Spain!

This was not the difficult part. The real difficulty was that the Great Ming Shanghai Foreign Trade and Diplomatic Office had already sent a warning through the Great Ming embassy in Japan to the Tokugawa shogunate, demanding that Japan not establish any form of official contact with the Qing, and demanding an explanation of the "Japan-Qing alliance" rumors. Otherwise, the consequences would be severe!

That had been handled rather sloppily!

And he could not shirk responsibility, because the Great Ming's foreign affairs were now conducted through the "Foreign Trade and Diplomatic Offices" at each trading port, with the Shanghai Foreign Trade and Diplomatic Office bearing the greatest responsibility.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Rites, due to institutional and personnel factors, mainly handled relations with tributary states and did not concern itself much with foreign countries.

"Your Majesty, this subject has sent men to investigate and has confirmed that this 'Japan' allied with the Qing is actually Spain. The Qing call them Hispania."

The Forbidden City, Hall of Fengtian, inside the Eastern Warm Pavilion.

Emperor Zhu listened to Luo Dagong's report and for a moment did not know whether to laugh or cry. This sort of low-level mistake was one thing for the Qing, but the Great Ming was ruled by a wise sovereign — how could such a muddle-headed error occur? Truly inexcusable!

"It is no great matter — just a misunderstanding." Zhu Cilang frowned and said, "Send someone to explain it, and that will be that." He paused. "We will write to Tokugawa Iemitsu and tell him that the Spanish are plotting to seize several key harbor sites near the Divine Continent as bases for their further schemes against Japan and China."

"Your Majesty," Luo Dagong was startled. "Do you intend to ally with Japan against Spain?"

"Ally? With Japan?" Zhu Cilang shook his head. "Japan has been in seclusion for many years and long ago stopped concerning itself with overseas matters."

He was in fact especially reluctant to disturb Japan's seclusion — staying closed was fine. Why open the country? There were so many bad actors in the world now; what if you Japanese learned bad habits from them?

But he also knew that Japan's opening was only a matter of time!

Because in this era, the Great Ming was the big brother of the Eastern world. Japan, Joseon, and Annam all modeled many of their national policies on the Great Ming. Now that the Great Ming had opened up and was striding out into the world, there were certainly people in Japan who wanted to follow suit.

So Zhu Cilang could only try to delay it; he could not completely prevent Japan's opening.

As for conquering Japan — at least for now, there was no such possibility, and it did not align with the Great Ming's southward national strategy.

After resolving Annam and Champa, the next to be dealt with was Chenla, after Chenla came Siam, after Siam perhaps Burma, perhaps Malaya. If conflict with Spain could be avoided, Zhu Cilang did not even wish to seize the Philippines. The Spanish Empire was already on its last legs, but its existence was of great significance for maintaining the balance of the Western world.

If Spain collapsed too early, would France become the heir to the Spanish world empire's legacy?

That was why Zhu Cilang had been avoiding military conflict with Spain, that brainless world empire!

But what if conflict could not be avoided? Zhu Cilang wondered — should he pull Japan in as an ally? At the very least, Japan must not be won over by Spain. Just thinking about it gave him a headache!