"Your Majesty, I obey your command." Xu Guangqi bowed and thanked him. After a pause, he continued, "Your Majesty, most of the gunpowder stored at Wanggongchang has been moved and dispersed. The gunpowder allocated to the various military garrisons will also begin to be shipped out."
Wanggongchang was the royal arsenal, also known as the Gunpowder Bureau, a place dedicated to making gunpowder, and was used by the imperial guards in the Beijing camp.
Considering that if a war broke out, the city would definitely be closed and defended, and gunpowder was an important combat material, it was placed inside the city instead of outside.
The gunpowder factory must have been very dangerous. For the safety of the imperial palace, it was placed in a remote corner of the city, about three kilometers away. This was probably the safe distance considered at the time!
According to statistics, Wanggongchang produced about two tons of gunpowder per day, with a regular reserve of about 1,000 tons. If there had been no war, gunpowder consumption would have been lower, and reserves would have been much higher, perhaps even reaching 2,000 to 3,000 tons.
Zhu Youxiao remembered nothing else, but he could never forget the Wanggongchang explosion. Regardless of whether it was sparks from gunpowder or some other mysterious cause, he felt safer moving out as soon as possible.
One thousand tons, two thousand or three thousand tons, right in the city, it's scary.
Even if it was black powder, how many bombs would there be? It's scary to think about it.
After listening to Xu Guangqi's report, Zhu Youxiao felt relieved. He gave a few more instructions and ended the meeting.
Watching Xu Guangqi and a few foreigners leave the hall, Zhu Youxiao pursed his lips while sitting on the throne.
Scientists who don’t want to be foreign teachers are not good missionaries. Just work hard for me!
As for Catholicism and Christianity, there's no need to be afraid of them. At least compared to Buddhism and Taoism, they're not necessarily any less useful, and they even have the advantage of natural science!
A strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. Zhu Youxiao believed that the foreign "God" would most likely not be able to defeat the Chinese "God".
God is ours, with black hair and yellow skin.
Moreover, you can look at Xu Guangqi, Sun Yuanhua and other Chinese people who threw themselves into the arms of God. Aren’t they still loyal to the emperor and patriotic, and behave much better than those civil servants who talk about benevolence, righteousness and morality and denounce them as "pagans".
From another perspective, Xu Guangqi was worshipping truth rather than God. He believed that truth had no kingdom and could be used to "enhance the rule of the king, influence Confucianism, and correct Buddhism."
Xu Guangqi once talked with Zhu Youxiao about his attitude towards these foreign friends. He believed that these foreigners had characteristics that the ancient Chinese scholars did not have: they were well-educated and could develop the country through technology.
Zhu Youxiao also had to admit that these missionaries who came to China did not have the ugly image of those colonial people in history. On the contrary, the foreigners that Xu Guangqi knew did have some personal charm.
As for those who worry about and fear the invasion of foreign cultures, they insist that the technology of the Ming Dynasty was not backward, but just scattered, and that the dynasty was fully capable of self-reliance and catching up.
Zhu Youxiao disagreed, because he had seen and heard it firsthand, rather than typing away on a computer keyboard or searching through piles of old papers for evidence that Ming Dynasty technology was ahead of the world.
Being self-contained and working in isolation, insisting on creating a theoretical system of basic science to abandon existing science, and regarding a few missionaries as a scourge is really a bit too worrying.
There is also the criticism that "the King of Chu likes thin waists and many people in the palace starved to death". As an emperor, if you admire Western learning, aren't you corrupting social customs and facilitating cultural invasion by foreigners?
I don't advocate Western learning, I advocate science. If that's a problem, I admit it. As for cultural invasion, it's still a mystery. Should we throw the baby out with the bathwater?
In fact, when it comes down to it, the blacksmith must be strong himself and it also depends on the country's governance.
Both the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty perished due to the corruption of their own systems and the poverty of the people.
As long as the country is strong, the people are prosperous, and the national pride is overflowing, the long and excellent cultural traditions can be passed on forever.
Besides, I am the emperor, I am "God". You can only spread it if I allow you to, and if I don't allow you to spread it, get out!
You may not know about the Tokugawa Shogunate's ban on religion in Japan. If I were to do it, I would be more ruthless and efficient than them.
Western learning spread to the East, and China and the West exchanged ideas. Zhu Youxiao's mind was now full of these words.
Although the impact of Western culture on traditional culture has both advantages and disadvantages, he also has some concerns.
But he also knew that Chinese civilization and culture should not be closed and isolated, but should be inclusive and open to all.
But in the late Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youxiao was disappointed to see that the literati and scholars stubbornly opposed all reforms and often used ancestral systems as an excuse.
Even when the country was repeatedly defeated by the Later Jin in military battles, it was firmly opposed to introducing foreign technology to manufacture muskets and artillery. He knew that the Confucian tradition had lost its magnanimous and open spirit.
I am anxious to seek good governance, but you tell me to reflect on my mind first; I need all kinds of talents, but you say ethics come first; I ask for advice on how to defeat the enemy and win the battle, but you say benevolence and righteousness are the basis, and you even say that the benevolent are invincible!
Having lost its practical effectiveness and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances and times, all that remains are clichés and empty slogans such as "be close to virtuous ministers", "stay away from villains", "uphold the law", "respect the national system", and "punish corrupt officials".
Faced with internal and external troubles, I do not have the courage and ability to start over. So I will use external shocks to force internal reforms and updates of concepts!
What about appeasing and siding with the distant? I will let you know the "law of the jungle"; what about the immutable laws of our ancestors? I will bring out the old demon of evolution, Darwin...
"Your Majesty." Zhang Yu'er approached quietly and reminded softly, "The old ghost is gone!"
Zhu Youxiao looked up and immediately understood what the girl was thinking. He stood up and said with a smile, "Let's go and see the tribute sent by the foreigners."
Zhang Yu'er immediately smiled happily, followed the emperor out of the hall happily.
Speaking of these foreigners, they are very familiar with Chinese etiquette and rules. They don’t come here empty-handed.
There were a total of eighteen tribute items listed on the gift list, including a telescope, a chime clock, a music piano, a globe, an atlas of all nations, and an atlantic piano.
They were all European artifacts. Zhang Yuer was curious about them and wanted to take a closer look at them and play with them. She also wanted to know what they were used for.
Atlantic piano, I can still play a song for all the women I have (four for now), singing "Are You Afraid of Loving Me?", "Don't Be Afraid," "Don't Be Afraid," "Don't Be Afraid," "Don't Be Afraid, Don't Be Afraid," "What Are You Afraid Of? Nothing at All..."
Zhu Youxiao was in a good mood as he should be. Apart from the contributions of the foreigners, he also earned more than four million by defeating Li Sancai. He could almost make it through the year.
Damn it, I finally see the return of my money, it’s not easy for me!
………………
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