"What's his name? Why is he still taking the imperial examination at such an old age?" Zhu Youxiao turned to look at Shen Tingyun and asked.
"Your Majesty, his name is Wang Zheng." Shen Tingyun said quickly.
Obviously, Xu Guangqi used his own carriage to send Wang Zheng, which made His Majesty somewhat suspicious, so Shen Tingyun did not hesitate and decided to tell His Majesty everything about Wang Zheng.
But after hearing this name, Zhu Youxiao was stunned.
Anyone familiar with the history of the late Ming Dynasty will have heard of Wang Zheng. This is a name you can't avoid. Although not as famous as Lu Xiangsheng or Sun Chuanting, this person played a significant and important role.
"Your Majesty, Wang Zheng's father was a private school teacher who excelled in mathematics; his uncle was well-versed in military tactics and skilled in making weapons; and Wang Zheng himself was also very knowledgeable, having passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty-four."
Shen Tingyun kept talking, but Zhu Youxiao didn't continue listening, because the information about Wang Zheng kept appearing in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the clearer he understood.
Wang Zheng, like Xu Guangqi, was a leader in Western learning. Later generations called them Xu in the South and Wang in the North, which was a very high compliment to them.
The reason why Wang Zheng failed to pass the imperial examination for so many years was that he put most of his energy into science.
Moreover, Wang Zheng had very strong ideas about ideology. He believed that there was something wrong with the ideology of the Ming Dynasty, the academic atmosphere was very problematic, corruption was rampant in the officialdom, and the armies in various places had no fighting spirit. There was something wrong with this country.
Wang Zheng once sought help from Buddhism, and later converted to Taoism, giving himself the Taoist name "Le Yi Dao Ren".
Later, after discovering that Taoism could not save the country, Wang Zheng turned to Catholicism.
After the Battle of Sarhu, Wang Zheng wrote a letter to the imperial court, vigorously advocating practical learning in the hope of enriching the country and strengthening the military.
When Wang Zheng went to Beijing for the imperial examination, he wrote a letter to the emperor as a juren, expressing his willingness to serve the country by "joining the army as a commoner" and actively training troops for war.
Later, Wang Zheng referred to various ancient military books and wrote the book "Bing Yue"; soon after, he wrote the book "Ke Wen", in which he put forward specific strategies to defeat the enemy.
This was a man who had his own ideas about serving his country, just like Xu Guangqi. He was also torn between the Ming Dynasty and Western learning. After converting to Catholicism, he was very conflicted about the issue of taking a concubine without having children.
He also had a deep understanding of mechanics, wind power, and mechanical manufacturing. He compiled a book called "Illustrated Explanation of New Instruments" which elaborated on many of his ideas.
It can be said that this person was one of the most accomplished scientists in the Ming Dynasty, and he had very high talents in both mechanics and mechanical manufacturing.
At the same time, he also cares about the country and the people, and can be said to be a very remarkable person.
Wang Zheng entered the officialdom in his fifties, and served as the magistrate of Guangping Prefecture in Zhili, the magistrate of Yangzhou Prefecture in Southern Zhili, and the assistant censor of Shandong Censorate. He never reached a high position and had no chance to realize his ideals.
He was also very good at mathematics and had very high attainments in mathematics and geometry.
Zhu Youxiao breathed a sigh of relief, turned to look at Shen Tingyun beside him, and asked, "Why don't you say anything?"
Shen Tingyun felt helpless.
I've been talking for so long, but you haven't responded at all. What else can I say?
But naturally, he didn't dare to say this out loud. Shen Tingyun could only say, "Your Majesty, I have finished speaking. I don't know much about the rest. If Your Majesty wants to know more, you can ask Lord Xu."
After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said, "Forget it, no need to ask."
After saying this, Zhu Youxiao no longer wanted to continue reading. He turned around and walked back, saying, "Let's go back to the palace!"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Everyone did not dare to delay and hurriedly followed Zhu Youxiao back.
After Zhu Youxiao came downstairs, he turned to Chen Hong and ordered: "Send someone to find Xu Guangqi and ask him to come to the palace immediately. I have something to say to him."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will arrange someone right away." Chen Hong said hurriedly.
By the time Zhu Youxiao returned to Xiyuan, Xu Guangqi had also arrived.
Seeing Zhu Youxiao walk in from outside in casual clothes, Xu Guangqi was startled, then quickly saluted and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you, Xu Guangqi."
Zhu Youxiao motioned him to excuse himself and said, "Alright, let's talk about this."
After Xu Guangqi sat down, Zhu Youxiao asked, "Wang Zheng, are you familiar with him?"
"Your Majesty, I'm not very familiar with him." Xu Guangqi said.
After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao frowned and asked directly, "Today, I went to the Imperial Examination Hall and saw your carriage taking him to the examination hall. Are you not familiar with him yet?"
"Your Majesty, we just share the same ideals," Xu Guangqi said quickly.
Zhu Youxiao nodded.
Zhu Youxiao still believed what Xu Guangqi said because there was no need for him to hide it from him.
He was not unaware of the factions among these people in the court, so there was no need to hide this matter from him.
"Then tell me about it." Zhu Youxiao nodded and said.
After hearing what Zhu Youxiao said, Xu Guangqi quickly said, "I heard about Wang Zheng because I saw a book he wrote called 'Illustrated Explanation of Strange Instruments from the Far West'."
"The book 'Illustrated Explanation of Strange Instruments from the Far West' is divided into three volumes. The first volume discusses various mechanical principles such as center of gravity and specific gravity. It states that "because this technique can use a small force to move a large one, it is called gravity, also known as force art. The general idea is that all living things in the universe have numbers, degrees, and weights. Numbers are algorithms, degrees are measurements, and weight is the study of force art. They all complement each other, so the essence of gravity is discussed first to clarify the reason for the law."
"The second volume discusses various mechanical devices such as levers, pulleys, wheels and axles, inclined planes, etc.;"
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