Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 822 The Sage of the World
Sutuo lowered his head, and the chill in his father's words made him shudder. Although he grew up on the island during his childhood and rarely had the opportunity to see Wang Wenzuo, this situation was not uncommon among ancient monarchs or large aristocratic families: the male master spent most of his time at home and abroad. In political life, the little time left to participate in inner house life has to be shared by many wives, concubines and their children. Those unfavored children cannot see their fathers a few times a year, not to mention Wang Wenzuo who is either leading troops or fighting outside. It is perfectly normal for those who serve the emperor in Chang'an.

When Sutuo came of age, he was able to follow his father and soon discovered that Wang Wenzuo was a kind and gentle man. Although he could not say that he treated all his sons equally, he did not look down upon and discriminate against a bastard like himself. He quickly won his admiration and darling. But those words just now seemed like a basin of cold water poured on the top of his head, which chilled his heart.

"Go and close the door first!" Wang Wenzuo repeated.

"Oh!" Sutuo responded, hurriedly closed the door, and returned to the cases. He saw Wang Wenzuo take down a ball from the desk and asked, "Let me ask you a question. When we stand on the seashore and see a ship sailing in the distance, do we see the sail or the ship's side first?"

"Of course it's the sail!" Sutuo replied subconsciously.

"Yes, but have you ever thought about why this is the case?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile.

"Why?" Sutuo was stunned when he heard this, and then shook his head: "Isn't this a matter of course?"

"How is that possible?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Everything in this world has a reason, and the same is true for those things that you think are just and natural. It's just that you have seen it so much that you are so used to it that you don't think about the reason behind it!"

"Really? But the kid still doesn't understand the reason behind seeing the sails first instead of the side of the ship on the beach!"

"It's very simple. There is a huge round ball under our feet, so when we stand on the shore, the first thing we see is the sails of sea ships in the distance instead of the ship's side!"

"Is there a round ball under our feet?" Sutuo was surprised: "How is this possible? The sea surface I see is all flat?"

"You think the sea is flat, just because the ball is too big, it looks flat to you!" Wang Wenzuo pushed the ball in his hand towards Sutuo: "Imagine, if this ball Magnify it tens of thousands of times, and if you become an ant and crawl on this ball, will it feel like there is flat ground under your feet?" Then Wang Wenzuo folded a small paper boat and placed it on the ball: "Then you are here? When crawling on the ball, was it the first time you saw the top of the ship and then felt that the whole ship was floating from the sea? "

"Yes, yes, I saw other ships on the sea, and they indeed seemed to be floating from under the sea!" Sutuo said with his hands: "It's just that I have been used to seeing it since I was a child, and I have never thought about the reason behind it! Could it be that we It’s really a big ball at our feet, so how can we stand still?”

Wang Wenzuo casually grabbed an ant and put it on the ball: "Didn't it roll down? Besides, as long as the ball is big enough, we will feel that it is almost flat ground under our feet, so how can it roll down?"

"That's true!" Sutuo nodded. He was a young man after all. When he heard Wang Wenzuo talk about such an interesting topic, he forgot all the things he had just done: "Father, you must be telling me these things. Does it have anything to do with the upcoming voyage?”

"Yeah!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "Sutuo, let me ask you, what is the most dangerous thing about sailing at sea?"

"Of course I got lost in the wind and waves and don't know where I am now!" Sutuo replied: "This is the most dangerous. Even the old sea dog has no choice but to resign himself to fate when encountering this kind of situation."

"That's right!" Wang Wenzuo smiled and nodded: "The reason why sea voyages are difficult and dangerous is that the sea is different from the land. There is sea water everywhere you look. There is no one to ask, and there are no mountains and valleys to refer to. So usually sea-going ships It should not be too far from the shore, it is best to be within sight, so that sailors can determine their position compared to the opposite shore. But this brings another trouble. There are many rocks on the coast, and once there is a sea breeze at night. If it blows to the shore, the ship will easily hit the rocks and sink. "

"There's nothing we can do about that!" Sutuo said with a bitter smile: "It's easy to run into rocks if you're close to the coast, but it's better than losing your way and missing your trace. At most, if you encounter areas with many rocks, you can just anchor down and rest at night. . If you encounter a big storm that cannot even be anchored, it can only be said to be a disaster!"

"Sutuo, what you are saying is common sense!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "Then have you ever thought about it, if there is a way that you can know the location and route of your ship even in the sea where you can't see the land? Does that mean there’s no need to take the risk of sailing ashore?”

Facing Wang Wenzuo's question, Sutuo fell into deep thought.

In ancient my country, many ancient scholars liked to study astronomy secretly in private. This was not because they were colleagues of Kepler and Galileo, but because these people were politically ambitious and hoped to predict the future and engage in political affairs through studying astronomy. Political conspiracy. Therefore, since the Western Han Dynasty in our country, private study of astronomy and witchcraft, private accumulation of armor, and covert escape are all serious crimes involving treason. If one wanted to study astronomy, the only legal way was to go to Taishitai, the ancient Chinese imperial astronomical institution.

It is not difficult to imagine that under this background, ancient Chinese astronomy must have developed slowly or even regressed. Fortunately, the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty gave ancient Chinese astronomy a breath of relief. The reason is very simple. The establishment of the Mongol Khanate allowed China to obtain a large amount of advanced cultural knowledge from the Mesopotamia and Mesopotamia, including a large amount of astronomy and mathematics. Secondly, the Yuan Dynasty was the only unified dynasty in ancient China that did not vigorously attack folk astronomy. The result was the formulation of the Yuan Dynasty's "Time Calendar" and the great improvement of navigation technology. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, it returned to the old way, so that by the end of the Ming Dynasty, local astronomy could not even revise the calendar and could only rely on Western missionaries.

That's why Wang Wenzuo didn't dare to teach his son about the round earth until now. This knowledge is too sensitive. Before he has the absolute power to protect himself, a man who studies astronomy privately and has evil intentions can make him unable to stand up forever!

In order to open up a sea route to the Americas, it is definitely not possible to just rely on the existing needle navigation method (that is, sailing along the coastline by recording the terrain as a reference), because as the fleet sails at higher and higher latitudes, the coast More and more glaciers and ice floes will appear on the coast, which is very dangerous for the fleet. Moreover, North America and the northeastern corner of Asia are separated by a sea, and the Bering Strait is much wider than the Tsushima Strait. Without mastering the navigation technology using longitude and latitude positioning, it would be very difficult to find the American continent. The division of longitude and latitude must be based on the fact that the earth is a sphere, so no matter how hard Sutuo listened, Wang Wenzuo had to explain clearly first, otherwise it would not be an adventure, but a trap.

"Father, I still don't understand what you are saying!" Sutuo said with a bitter smile, "Am I too stupid?"

"How could that be possible?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "It's not that Sotuo is stupid, it's that I'm too impatient. I want you to learn the knowledge accumulated over several generations and hundreds of years in just a few months. This is too difficult for you, but there is only so much time, we have to hurry up!"

Sutuo raised his head and saw helplessness and anxiety in his father's eyes for the first time in his life. Even when he begged Sibiyu in Peiping and broke through Chang'an in the west, he had never felt such a sense of powerlessness from Wang Wenzuo.

"Father, is this very important? I mean this voyage?" Sota whispered.

"Yes!" Wang Wenzuo said: "It can be said that everything I have done in the past twenty years is to prepare for this voyage. If possible, I even plan to command the fleet myself and sail eastward to the sea. Look for the new world on the other side! It's a pity that I can't!" "I understand!" Su Tuo raised his head: "I don't know if I can find the new world on the other side of the sea, but I will try my best. of."

"Very good!" Wang Wenzuo patted Sutuo on the shoulder: "That's it for today. Have a good rest after you go back. Come to me early tomorrow morning and I will continue to tell you what I know."

"Yes, father!"

Sutuo left Wang Wenzuo's study, still feeling happy about the novel knowledge he had just heard. He was sure that he was the only one who heard this from his father, not even his two brothers Hu Liang and Yan Liang. Pass. Compared with the half of the private property promised by Wang Wenzuo before, this made Sutuo even more excited, because it made him feel that the father-son relationship between the two had deepened.

"Soda, Sota!"

When Sutuo heard someone calling his name, he stopped and looked back, but it was Yuan Bao running over. He asked in surprise: "Why are you still here? Didn't Aye ask you to go back first?"

Yuan Bao looked at his half-brother with complicated emotions, and said with a forced smile: "It's nothing. Since we came together, I just wanted to wait for you to come out and go back together. I didn't expect Aye to talk to you for so long, I'm afraid it's not It’s been almost two hours, right? What did you say about his private treasury?”

"No! It has nothing to do with property!" Sutuo. He shook his head: "It's just some things about the earth ball. Aye knows so much. He talks a lot. I can't understand anything!"

"It has nothing to do with property? The earth ball?" Yuan Bao looked at his brother suspiciously: "Really or not? My father drove me away and said this after being alone with you for so long? If you don't want to say it, forget it. Anyway, This is not something I should know."

Sutuo couldn't hear Yuanbao's suspicion. He said anxiously: "What I said is true. Aye really didn't tell me about his private wealth. He talked to me about it all afternoon, as if it was for the future." It’s about the expedition fleet, so that you can sail in the deep sea without getting lost or worrying about hitting the rocks and being shipwrecked!”

Yuanbao snorted coldly: "Xudao, you and I are brothers from the same mother. I have never hidden anything from you since childhood. If you don't want to tell me about what happened just now, you don't have to tell me. Why do you have to make up lies to me? What about the earth being a round ball, and not getting lost in deep-sea sailing? Would you believe these nonsense? Yes, I know I chose the wrong job today, which made Aye angry and let you take advantage of me. But don't be too proud. One day I will turn things around. I may not be inferior to you!" After that, he flicked his sleeves and left quickly.

"Yuanbao, Yuanbao!" Sutuo shouted several times from behind, but Yuanbao seemed to be deaf and ignored him at all. Sutuo had no choice but to stop and shook his head: "What I told is the truth, but you don't believe it!"

Sutuo returned to his residence, picked up a pen and paper and copied down what Wang Wenzuo said today. He thought to himself, whether he understood it or not, he should write it on paper first, and think about it slowly, and one day he would understand.

"Master Sutuo!"

Sutuo raised his head and put down his brush: "It turns out to be Taoist Priest Chongjing. It's okay to come in and talk!"

Taoist priest Chongjing entered the door and glanced at the words Sutuo copied on the desks: "Young Master, is this—?"

"Oh, I went to my father's house today. My father told me a lot of things. I didn't understand much, so I copied them down and thought about them later."

"Young master is indeed diligent!" Taoist Chongjing said with a smile.

Sutuo glanced at Chongjing and had an idea: "Taoist Priest, why don't you come and take a look? One person can measure shortcomings, and two people can measure strengths. Maybe you can make me understand better!"

"This -" Chongjing was stunned: "This is a private conversation between you and your son. Is it inappropriate for me to know this?"

"It doesn't matter, you will know after you look at it. It is not some military and national event!" Sutuo stuffed the two sheets that he had copied over: "Taoist Master, please take a look at these two sheets first. If you don't understand anything, ask me first. Let's It’s much better for the two of us to go over the details together than for me to just think about it alone!”

Chongjing took the paper and his expression changed drastically after he read a few lines. Although the words on the paper were simple, the truth behind them was profound. Several examples in it were common to him, but he had never thought about it deeply. Passed. Unknowingly, he had read both pages, and felt sweat all over his body, as if he had been fighting a strong enemy for a long time.

"Master Xutuo, are these really what the general told you?" Chongjing asked carefully.

"Yes?" Sutuo replied while copying: "These are only part of it, and I am dictating the rest! My father also asked me to go to him tomorrow. He also has something new to say to me! Yes! He also said that it would be difficult for me to learn things that have been done for generations!”

"The general is really a sage in this world!" Chongjing sighed.

"Is my father a sage in this world?" Sutuo put down his pen: "Taoist Priest, are you kidding me?"

"No, what I said is true!" Chongjing pointed to the two pieces of paper in his hand: "If you don't say anything else, just with these two pieces of paper, your father can stand side by side with Laozi, Mozi and Confucius. !”