Spoiler History: Starting from the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 646: The End of the Era
〖Success and failure are both due to Xiao He. The technological development in the Song Dynasty was due to the emphasis on culture over military affairs, and his death and the destruction of his country were also due to the emphasis on culture over military affairs.

I don't agree. Can it still be called science if it is a vassal of rationalism? Shouldn't the focus of science be the exploration of truth?
I agree. Science is a powerful tool that needs to be guided by the correct methodology and world view. Neo-Confucianism has not even begun to develop its own world view, let alone guide science.

There is no need to use today's cannons to attack officials of the feudal era. After all, the understanding of the world involves many aspects, from mathematics to astronomy to navigation to astronomical innovation. You couldn't do it in the Song Dynasty because there are too many prerequisites in the technology tree.

Therefore, this is also the shackles of the feudal era, which means that advanced science will inevitably become a tool for building classes and oppression, and will ultimately only give rise to religious superstition and feudal rule in the name of science.

How did the Song Dynasty manage to have such a large population when its foundation was so weak?

As for agriculture, commerce and agriculture had already risen in the south during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Although Zhao Da bullied orphans and widows, he did put an end to the chaos. The north and south exchanged handicrafts, agricultural tools and seeds, which was a digestion of the achievements of the Tang Dynasty in a sense. Any development is inseparable from exchanges.

Although it is now speculated that the population of the Song Dynasty may have exceeded 100 million at its peak, in fact the North China Plain has been in a state of waste. If it can be managed well, there is still a lot of room for growth. It can only be said that the God of Driving has "ability".

It's a pity to see the Southern Song Dynasty from this perspective. The threshold for mathematics has been lowered, and it may not be impossible given some time...

What a pity! The Northern Song Dynasty was not so bad as it had many civilian prime ministers. The Southern Song Dynasty read a lot of books but forgot what it meant that "a prime minister must come from the prefectures and counties, and a brave general must start from the ranks of soldiers." No matter how well the people are doing, if the emperor is either corrupt, crazy or lying down, and the prime minister is either treacherous or deposed, then it will be all in vain. All things are full of vitality and are competing to flourish.

But such a scientific atmosphere was already a rare peak in ancient China. Compared with the Song Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty was more advanced in the application of science and technology, but it was indeed a regression in the development of scientific and technological ideas and theories, which is a pity.

"How come Emperor Hongwu, who was so talented and ambitious, didn't like mathematics?"

Zhang Fei sighed with regret.

According to his usual practice, he would write down such questions on paper and project them onto the screen so that he could have a good debate with the new party.

But unfortunately, because of what was said on the light curtain, everyone was busy at this moment, even Zhang Fei was no exception.

Just like now, he was facing the desk that was moved over, and using his pen like a spear to copy down the diagram called "Axis Frame Warping Method" in its entirety.

In the words of the military advisor, this item could be used to "create livelihoods for all people", so even though he felt a pity for it, his wrist did not tremble at all, and he carefully reproduced the pattern he had memorized in his mind on paper, stroke by stroke.

At the same time, Kong Ming could be said to have written very quickly. Those words from ancient books, which were only selected as a background by later generations, were firmly engraved in his heart and poured out through his pen.

The origin of wine is pulp. If there is no pulp, water can be used to dissolve vinegar... add onions, peppers, etc. and fry them. This is called old pulp... First, glutinous rice should be mixed... It must be swirled, pounded, and winnowed to make it white, and then washed with water...

Wash the buds cleanly, wash the utensils cleanly, steam and press appropriately, grind the paste with heat, and roast with good fire…

Whether it's making wine, making tea, pressing oil, or printing, all kinds of skills are described through these texts. There are also some simple diagrams that were completed by Kong Ming in one go.

However, when copying the content related to tea making, Kong Ming was subconsciously amazed:
"Zhao Ji, the author of Daguan Tea Theory... What about Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty?"

Although he spoke in a low voice, the words were heard by the people around him. Lu Su, who was also busy organizing his scientific thoughts, still had time to say:
"This Huizong was nicknamed the Brothel Emperor by later generations, and he even tried to enter the imperial examination with his paintings. He even had the leisure to write this book. If he had not been an emperor, everything would have been fine."

Nodding without saying anything, Kong Ming's hands moved even faster.

Even Liu Bei was writing in silence, copying the words that passed by the screen.

From these unruly words, it becomes clearer why later generations called the era in which they lived "feudal".

At first, I thought that the origin of this name was the Zhou emperor's enfeoffment of various states, but now I have overturned this speculation. Instead, as later generations occasionally talk about the mistakes in the progress of the country, I have a clearer understanding of this concept in my mind. This is a road that is still difficult to see clearly, but Liu Bei has a vague feeling that the answers to why the emperors of later generations disappeared and how the feudal era ended may all be at the end of this road.

……

The scene of Ganlu Hall is not much different from that of Luoyang Villa.

While the ministers were busy, Li Shimin was deep in thought.

Empress Chang Sun hesitated to speak, but seeing her husband frowning, she finally chose to lean over and asked softly:

"Ji Lang is..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Shimin shook his head and said meaningfully:

"I... am not worried."

Seeing the disbelief in Empress Changsun's eyes, Li Shimin smiled and simply took her in his arms and said,
“Knowing the wishes of the younger generations and the sorrow of future generations, I would feel guilty if I abandoned this path of seeking truth.”

"Only by looking back on yourself can you go before thousands of people, with a broad and generous face and no fear."

"I rely on this courage and reason to pacify the chaotic world and survive. Why should I abandon it?"

It was a bit complicated, but Li Shimin was thinking very clearly at this moment.

Instead of dwelling on unreliable things like Tang Chuan Wanshi, it is better to practically advance the path of seeking truth that is presented to you by the light curtain.

After all, all the historical events have been explained in great detail on the light screen. Even the greatest emperor in history would be powerless to do anything about what happens a hundred years after his death.

No... let alone the events of the past hundred years, just think about what happened between Zhi Nu and Wu Zetian.

Although Guangmu was very secretive about this, based on what happened to Wu Zetian, we can infer that Li Shimin could not even decide what would happen three to five years after his death.

Therefore, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was in a very calm state of mind at this time - I am only 33 years old now, what am I afraid of?
He even had time to think about the Hongwu Emperor he had just spoken to:
This Zhu Baba...how could he so calmly accept Zhu Qizhen, who was equally capable of fighting against Zhao Gou?
Because later generations joked that he and Zhu Qizhen had "traveled through time" with each other, he remembered Zhu Qizhen's family background quite clearly.

It is really incomprehensible that he inherited a prosperous era and led a strong army, but was captured alive by the Northern Hu.

But... after later generations described Wanyan Gou's mistakes in such detail, think about how he felt when he learned about the disaster of Emperor Xuanzong, the Zhou Dynasty replacing the Tang Dynasty, the Wu Wei Rebellion and other messy things.

Li Shimin couldn't help but look forward to the future.

……

Zhu Yuanzhang in Kunning Palace couldn't understand:

"What does this text mean to us?"

(End of this chapter)