unclear

Chapter 371 Point, Line, Surface

"It's good to have this kind of intention, but you can't help me now. If you want to relieve me of my worries, learn your skills quickly. It's no use just talking nice. Xiong Sanba ranked you at the bottom of the year-end exam again. Did you waste too much time waiting for me?"

Hong Tao didn't even raise his eyelids and continued to copy something from a memorial. But his mouth was not idle either, and he hit Wang Chengen hard. As the young eunuch grew older, in addition to gaining skills and experience, he also acquired some old-school habits and always liked to talk about respect.

Not only him, but also the young eunuchs in the Cuju team. The reason for this change is very simple, it’s the environment that affects everything. With seniors like Wang An and Zhang Ran nurturing them all day long, it is impossible for anyone to completely avoid learning. But it's better to keep it as little as possible. Listening to this nonsense all day long will make your brain swollen.

"Slave, you must study hard and never dare to do it again..." Wang Chengen was really frightened by this, and he threw his head on the carpet and begged for mercy with tears in his eyes.

"Then why don't you get the ladder quickly! If you don't study well, if you don't listen to me, what will I do with you?"

But Hong Tao didn't let his pitiful appearance deter him at all. He was obedient, strict-tongued, and conscientious in his work. However, it was also true that he was not good at studying. He was always on the edge of passing or failing in every exam. He often beat and failed, but he still didn't make progress. If you relax a little more, you won't be able to pass every test.

Wang Chengen ran out rolling and crawling, and ran back a moment later with two eunuchs carrying a herringbone ladder. At this time, the curtain behind the Royal Bookcase has been opened, revealing the snow-white wall.

But if you look carefully, you will immediately find that the wall here is different from other places, smoother and flatter. In fact, there was nothing special about this wall originally, but after the emperor moved here, he had people cover it with a layer of wooden boards and carefully paint it with paint. Many lines were drawn on it, like a big chessboard.

Of course, there was no way to play chess on this big chessboard, and the emperor didn't like playing chess either. What finally appeared on the chessboard was a map, with the Ming Dynasty, Beilu, Jianlu, Korea, Japan and many other countries drawn on it, which was called a world map.

"Long live my Lord, please wait a minute..." Not only is the map specially made, the ladder and the ground are also specially made.

There are six wooden wheels underneath the ladder and two wooden tracks on the ground. The emperor sat on the ladder and sketched with charcoal. When he needed to change his position, he did not need to get down. He only had to push the ladder to slide left and right.

This is not the end yet. The charcoal pencil can only be used as a temporary sketch, and will fade and disappear over time or if it is scratched by the curtain. So after the emperor finished painting, he had to find the imperial supervisor's painter to paint it again with various colors of paint.

Wang Chengen probably knows what a map is, it is a map capable of being mapped. Can the emperor draw a map? This is certain. Not only can he draw, he also has a unique skill, which is called surveying and mapping.

This stunt has long been practiced in Nanhai Zihuangzhuang and the Cuju team. The equipment used includes several rulers of different shapes, as well as sextants and levels. However, ordinary people cannot draw it with tools, because the tricks all come from mathematics. with geometry.

When performing it, you only need to go to the place where the mountains and rivers are, first use a sextant and a level to look at the sun to determine the orientation, and then use formulas to calculate carefully, and finally you can get two sets of numbers, called longitude and latitude coordinate points.

Each longitude and latitude coordinate point is just a small black dot on the map, but after connecting many small black dots, you can see the rough outline of mountains, rivers, woods, farmland, and cities. The more black dots, the more accurate it is.

This is the surveying and mapping technology that Wang Chengen understands in his mind. He knows the general idea but has not gone into it deeply. The main reason is that he is not good at mathematics and geometry. Even the sextant is not working properly and he cannot calculate the longitude and latitude coordinate points at all. The emperor did not require everyone to learn surveying and mapping, but whoever could learn it could get the privilege of going out on official business, such as going to various imperial estates to inspect accounts and approve fields, or serving in border customs or even the navy.

Although I am a little tired from going out to do errands and sometimes encounter various dangers, the benefits are obvious. Not only can you take the opportunity to experience the colorful world outside, you can even marry a wife, start a family and adopt children. As long as it is reported to the emperor in advance, it will usually be approved.

For the eunuchs, this grace is probably no less tempting than the temptation to be promoted to the eunuch's palm. Many Cuju team members who are smart and good at mathematics and geometry have chosen to specialize in surveying and mapping, and dozens of them have already obtained the qualifications to work in the palace.

What the emperor copied from the memorial was the latitude and longitude coordinate points. They came from members of the Cuju team and the Haikou Division who went to the two capitals and thirteen provinces on missions. These copies should have been sent from Shanhaiguan and placed together with the memorials of Du Song and Sun Chengzong.

In total, this world map has been drawn for two years, but the progress is very slow. The outlines of the two capitals and thirteen provinces have not been completely drawn. There are intermittent lines everywhere, like traces of earthworms crawling.

The shapes of the surrounding countries are even more unclear. Only Shuntian Prefecture, Yongping Prefecture, Hejian Prefecture, and Xuanfu Town in Northern Zhili, Datong Prefecture in Shanxi, Yulinwei, Ningxiawei in Shaanxi, and Guangdong and Fujian are relatively detailed.

"It turns out there is such a large mountain in the north of the capital!" Wang Chengen saw clearly that the location outlined by the emperor today was the outside of the side walls of Miyun Guard and Yongping Mansion. The previous Kan map also showed the ups and downs of Yanshan Mountain, but it was not as clear as the one in front of me. Even the Great Wall Pass was depicted.

"Across this mountain is the Mongolian Plateau. Do you want to see the vast sky, wild fields, wind-swept grass, and cows and sheep?" There wasn't much information about the coordinate points, so Hong Tao quickly marked them. He put down his pen and compared them while chatting. .

"Long live the Lord, I will follow you if you go!" Wang Chengen didn't say whether he wanted to go or not, and threw the question back slyly.

"Then why don't you push the ladder? It will delay my trip and chop your head off... take two steps to the right!" Unexpectedly, I was scolded anyway. This thing is just like how you don't wear a hat. It blocks both ends and you can't hide at all. Don't go there.

"Long live my lord, outside the Great Wall is the territory of the Beibei, why do you want to draw a map for them?"

However, Wang Chengen was no longer afraid of such an intense reprimand. He still focused on the map, looking at it and picking up some clues. Unlike usual, the area outlined by the emperor was not within the Great Wall, but had crossed the border wall and entered the territory of the Mongolian tribes.

"I will measure it for them to see where it is suitable for grazing and where it is suitable for farming."

Hong Tao did not stop. While answering, he measured the longitude and latitude with a ruler, drew two small door openings on the Great Wall at the junction of Shuntian Prefecture and Yongping Prefecture, and wrote the names, Panjiakou and Xifengkou. Looking left and right, he seemed quite satisfied with the font, and got off the ladder with a smile.

(End of this chapter)