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Chapter 1039: All at a Bargain Price 3
"I have never said that citizens are not allowed to have faith. As long as it complies with the laws of the Ming Dynasty, any religion can be freely spread in the empire. You should have met Grand Secretary Silva. He is still a devout Christian and goes to church every week. It does not prevent him from becoming a high-ranking official in the empire."

Hong Tao always said one thing in front of others and another behind their backs when it came to religious issues. He would answer anyone who asked him the same question, but anyone who dared to preach in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, including overseas territories, would be killed. Even if Newton came, he would be killed without mercy. This was a matter of principle, and no one was qualified to change it.

"Well, I hope it's as you said... Monk Marin Mersenne is also a mathematician. Mathematicians often gather in his monastery. I've attended one, too. It's called the Mersenne Society... Your Majesty, if you're not feeling well, you can take a rest first."

Galileo had obviously met Bachelor Silva, and the fat man obviously didn't say anything good about the emperor, so he was still skeptical about this issue. But whether he believed it or not, it should be okay to visit for a few days. But just after saying a word, he found that the emperor was coughing again, and his face was red.

"Cough cough cough... No no no, I was choked by the smoke. Please continue. Apart from the Mason monks, is there anyone else from the Mason Society coming?" Hong Tao was indeed choked by a puff of smoke, but it was not without reason. The reason was still the Mason Society.

He was not very good at math and never had a passion for it, but he had a math teacher father. His father used to tell him stories about mathematicians when he was young, and he encouraged him to follow in his footsteps. Mersenne primes were one of the stories he had to tell.

This monk was very idle and had no accomplishments in theology, but he had a wide range of interests. After his death, his notes showed his research on optics, mechanics, navigation, etc. Among them, he was the best at mathematics, and he became one of the top ten mathematicians in human history with his hobby.

But this was not his greatest achievement, or it was an unintentional one. What was really amazing was that he gathered a group of bad friends, who would whisper to each other in the monastery when they had nothing to do. As a result, these people became famous in their respective fields. People thought that this monastery had magical powers and called them the Mason Society.

Then these guys turned a non-governmental organization into an institution with a system. The most powerful unit in the French academic world was called the French Academy, which was roughly equivalent to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. There were five specialized academies under it, and the predecessor of the French Academy of Sciences was the Mersenne Society.

He was so excited at the thought of having the opportunity to capture all the French mathematicians, but his excitement turned into sorrow, and he inhaled a large mouthful of cigar smoke into his lungs, almost choking to death.

"Kepler smoked every day. If it can really cure diseases, I should try it someday."

Seeing that the emperor was fine, Galileo turned his attention to the medicinal effects of cigars. He asked Kepler why he smoked this choking smoke every day, and the answer he got was that it was effective in curing diseases.

"Of course you can, but please finish your business first, and then take my imperial cigar back to try it!" Should a man in his seventies smoke? Hong Tao didn't care.

At this age, the body's functions are irreversible, and it's too late to eat vegetarian food and pray to the Buddha every day. There's no point in praying for longevity. You should do whatever you want. But now is not the time to discuss whether cigars are good or bad for the body. It's more worthy of attention to who will come to the Mason Society.

"In addition to Mr. Mersenne himself, the confirmed visitors include Mr. Gilles Personnais de Roberval, professor at the Royal Academy of Paris, and Mr. Dezague Girard, architect. They are official members of the Mersenne Society and meet almost every week at the Mersenne monastery to discuss academic issues related to mathematics." Galileo did not wait for the reward. Instead, he walked forward and took out a cigar from the emperor's cigarette case and put it under his nose and sniffed it hard, as if he wanted to analyze the composition of this thing by his sense of smell. Wang Chengen could not help staring at him.

"...Some are definitely coming, and some are not?" Hong Tao really didn't know what Roberval had accomplished, but Dezag was a great man. Like Mason, he was not a graduate of a professional school, but he had achieved a level that made professionals ashamed, and he pioneered projective geometry.

However, with great names like Galileo and Kepler in front of him, Hong Tao's appetite increased. He was not satisfied with the three names he heard, but was more looking forward to the name of another person who was also a member of the Mason Society.

"Mr. Pierre de Fermat is a member of parliament in Toulouse. He replied that he might not be able to spare the time due to work, but if it can be resolved before sailing, he will go on board together.

Mr. René Descartes moved to the Netherlands. Like me, he published On the World last year, in which he affirmed Copernicus's theory. Even in the Protestant-controlled United Provinces, his situation was not very good. The threat from the Vatican was everywhere, and I was afraid that I would not be able to get to Paris to board the ship.

I guessed it right. Two members of the Mason Society also wanted to visit the East, probably because they were attracted by the wonderful academic environment described in Galileo's letter. But one was busy with work and the other was busy avoiding church persecution, so neither of them could confirm their itinerary.

"Is this okay? I will send someone to pick up Mr. Descartes alone, or his entire family, with your handwritten letter. Please rest assured that the East India Company is very capable in the United Provinces Republic, and there will be no problem with security.

As for Mr. Fermat...if he is willing to go with me, I can ask the Imperial Ambassador in Paris to provide the necessary assistance and see if I can ask the Parliament for a period of leave. As far as I know, many positions can be obtained through money."

Hearing these two names that were uncertain to come, Hong Tao pretended to ponder for a moment without changing his expression or heartbeat, and then gave two solutions that sounded feasible. In fact, his heart was already pounding!
Descartes, a genius and all-rounder! Mathematics is the foundation of science, but he came up with a plane rectangular coordinate system and combined algebra and geometry to create analytic geometry.

In this era, there is a lack of basic education and various reference books, so scholars must be versatile. It is difficult to carry out in-depth research with just a few skills.

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In addition to mathematics, he was also a physicist. He was the first to theoretically deduce the law of refraction of light, and he also fully expressed the law of inertia and proposed the law of conservation of momentum. To a large extent, Newton also stood on his shoulders.

But mathematics, optics, and mechanics were not Descartes’ majors. He was a philosopher who spent his life pondering the question of “I think, therefore I am.” When he got tired of thinking, he just used other subjects to change his mind. One time he accidentally came up with a law, and then another time he accidentally came up with a theorem. It was so annoying!
(End of this chapter)