Xinshun 1730

Chapter 289 Can't see the difference

This joke is really funny. I wanted to show my face, but I showed my butt.

It's just... Liu Yu thought to himself, I didn't tell you to go there to watch a joke.

"Fourth brother, don't you just remember a joke?"

"how come?!"

Dang Xuanming jumped up as if stepped on a nail, and said repeatedly: "Don't talk nonsense."

"Of course you have to read this joke, but watching them fight is the purpose of His Majesty sending us there this time. It's just...you know, it's hard to talk about this kind of thing."

"Knowing that the French are showing off their force, what can we say? It's hard to say, your country is really good at fighting, and the gun skills of this army are terrific? Isn't it falling into the country's prestige?"

"Duke Qi made it clear. You can see it, but don't be surprised on your face. Even if you are surprised in your heart, you should hide it in your heart and record it when you come back. In front of the French, you must never show your timidity."

I went out and turned around, just in time for the War of Polish Succession. France, Russia and Obo are both at war, and the main battlefield is on the Rhine.

Since Marshal Vauban, France has had a "hobby" for people to visit the siege battle. Philipsburg can be said to be the place where Marshal Vauban became famous, and it is also the birthplace of the zigzag trench attack method. Lipsburg is more familiar than Paris.

However, this time it was a joke. The illegitimate son of King James II of England and the Duke of Berwick, Marshal of France, was killed by the defenders during the siege of Philipsburg.

Dang Xuanming said in his heart that I can't be blamed for laughing, anyone else has to laugh.Before departure, the French were bragging a lot. Who would have thought that this would be more interesting than watching a play?
If it was in the past, it would be a joke.But since Liu Yu asked, now Liu Yu is different from him who has no official status. Although he is a relative, he is not easy to smile at this time.

"Hey...it's hard to say. Shouchang, in fact, after we saw it, Qi Guogong was also deeply worried. He felt that the Westerners' army formation was very different. So at that time, Qi Guogong also asked some of us if we were willing to stay. of."

"There were also a few who stayed there because they wanted to serve His Majesty after they had finished their studies. We were stupid, because it was difficult to learn French alone, so we came back."

"I never thought that when I arrived at Rakshasa, I heard that your Qingzhou Army fought a good battle in the Western Regions, using a new formation. When the Selenge River was about to return, I heard that Your Majesty was also practicing The military has been reformed. At that time, I thought, those few who stayed were left for nothing.”

Liu Yu also smiled a little embarrassedly, and understood that none of these people wanted to stay there.

Most of those who traveled with the mission were from honorable families, or heirs of officials who were qualified to be shadowed. Not to mention the place where they were unfamiliar, and their lives were far from comfortable in China.

The army's affairs, in fact, are just that. There is not much to learn from France's military thinking on the army at this time.

Liu Yu is very confident in this point. He uses a set of tactical thinking born out of the new drills of the People's Security Committee of the French Revolutionary Committee. It will never be outdated before the popularity of rifled guns, and it is also very suitable for the situation around Dashun.

Artillery reform requires technology, and he also wants a light and powerful six-pound gun, and cancels the eight-pound and four-pound guns, but the technology is still not good enough. This is not a purely hardware problem that can be solved by tactical thinking.

I originally thought that these people would go to Europe to observe and come back to facilitate the military reform.

But the battle of the Western Regions was too dazzling and more intuitive. The emperor allowed the military reform attempt, so the meaning of those who stayed in France was not very great.

In terms of shipbuilding and navy, it is still worth learning.

Liu Yu tentatively asked: "Did anyone take the initiative to think about the navy?"

"There are also a few. Qi Guogong kept a few smart ones. Didn't I hear that the French mission came a while ago, and they also sent people here?"

"Well, that's true. Qi Guogong is still very discerning."

Dang Xuanming smiled and said: "That's natural, otherwise His Majesty wouldn't let him lead the team. Could it be that it was just to participate in the coronation ceremony of the Raksha Tsar? He has the right to make decisions. Who dare not follow? It’s just that I’m a bit stupid, but it’s a blessing in disguise, so I don’t need to stay there.”

Liu Yu thought in his heart, Fu?Not lucky at all, what can you do when you come back?
He didn't try to persuade scholars, anyway, learning such things can't be persuaded.

I mainly wanted to know how these people felt when they went to Europe, so I asked: "Then you have been around Europa, and you don't have any feelings?"

Dang Xuanming pondered for a while, then shook his head and said, "It's not very impressive. I have never seen something that made my jaw drop after seeing it."

"I don't know anyone else except the military formation. Anyway, in my eyes, the Celestial Dynasty is superior everywhere, and the Westerners are not good enough. Oh, by the way, the Westerners also have powerful ships and sailors. The battleships are huge, and the white sails are raised. Blot out the sky. But that’s about it.”

"Oh, that's right. I didn't know until I arrived in Paris that there are some Westerners playing the trick of returning to their caves on the streets."

"Uh..." Liu Yu was quite speechless, thinking to himself, what are you going to see?

But thinking about it again, it seems to be the same. Europe still doesn't have black chimneys everywhere, which can make people feel the kind of shock that people on earth see Trisolarans.

Except for the army, it is this theorem and that theorem that really widen the gap, but these things are not intuitive.

The differences in science are difficult to detect, and the differences in culture are not orthodox Confucianism, and it is difficult to distinguish clearly.

In terms of life, according to the absolute average, France is slightly better.But how do these sons of Zixungui know the real life of the people at the bottom?

According to the average salary, the UK at this time is four to five times that of Dashun, and France may be similar. Except for luxuries such as tea shreds, food is not expensive.

But it is impossible to expect these people to see these things.

Thinking of this, Liu Yu thought of Chen Zhen who had had conflicts with him in the mission, and asked, "Where is that Chen Zhen?"

Dang Xuanming knew that Liu Yu and Chen Zhen had conflicts, but when he left, Liu Yu gave gold and silver and cotton clothes, so Dang Xuanming didn't partner with the noble children to torment him anymore.

"This man has stayed in France. There is a man in France, probably named Voltaire, who is very interested in Confucius. We don't know much about it, but Chen Zhen does. It didn't take long for France to engage in a literary inquisition. Said that the book written by Voltaire 'criticized the imperial court, praised the British and barbarian, and evil theory', but they didn't catch it. They knew that they had gone to his concubine, and the French court turned a blind eye. Chen Zhen Staying in Paris, chatting with those friends introduced by Voltaire all day long, we don’t know what we talked about.”

Dang Xuanming naturally looked at France from the perspective of the Celestial Dynasty, and felt very familiar with France's literary inquisition.

There are people playing "Three Immortals Returning to the Cave" on the street, and the court is engaged in literary inquisition. I can't help but feel that it's no wonder that France and China came into contact much later than Britain, Holland and other countries, but the relationship is naturally close.

Hearing that Chen Zhen didn't come back this time, but chatted with Voltaire and others in Paris, he was secretly relieved.

It is not necessarily a good thing that the person who is the easiest to slam the West from a Confucian point of view has not come back, because it is difficult to say that he understands it after watching it, and understanding is the premise of spraying something. I don’t know that Chen Zhen has lived in Paris for a long time. After a long time, will there be a different idea?

Speaking of Voltaire and his "concubine", Liu Yu couldn't help feeling emotional.

Speaking of it, although France is located in Europe, the speed of the spread of this idea is not so fast.

Anyway, in my memory, when "The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" was written, Kui Yi, who fought with Zheng Chenggong, was still alive; but until now, it was translated into French by Voltaire's lover, and Newton's theory was the first time Spread in France in French.

It's just across a strait, and even so, it seems that the idea of ​​starting from scratch instead of "learn from east to west" is correct.

It took nearly 60 years for France to spread Western learning to the east, and it took nearly 30 years for the "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy", and nearly [-] years for the steam engine, which is still only separated by the English Channel. If Dashun does this, it will always be decades away , I am afraid it is difficult to talk about "in order to surpass the victory".

At the very least, that book "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" gave Liu Yu a headache because it was too obscure.

I feel that Dang Xuanming has too little life experience after all, and his education level is not enough, so he may not be able to see too many things.

But since he knows that the military formation and navy of the Westerners are worth learning, this is enough. At least this group of people who have traveled around Europe will firmly support the military reform and the navy, and even tell the emperor more intuitively, The fleet of the Westerners is indeed very strong, so we should be vigilant.

After asking again, Dang Xuanming didn't think there were too many things to be surprised about. He just talked about the lives of those nobles in France, but after all, he didn't see much.

"You go back and forth all the way, what do the rest of you think?"

"Hey, what do you think? Most people are about the same as me."

As he said that, Dang Xuanming smiled and nodded at the pile of books and said: "Maybe there are some things in such books, but we can't understand them. We can understand court etiquette, but they are simple and ridiculous; , I thought I had learned something, but I never thought that when I came back, I would know that the military reform of the Celestial Dynasty was over; the remaining great Confucianism, the way of heaven and earth, I can't speak French well, and I can only say a few stupid pigs and silly donkeys. So do I."

"As for the Raksha Kingdom, let alone. I originally went to attend the coronation ceremony of that little Peter, but after going there, the descendants disappeared. It was a good show of the rooster raising the morning. It was chaotic, messy, and the capital was moved. The capital was moved again, Petersburg, Moscow, back and forth, nothing to see."

Speaking of this, Dang Xuanming couldn't help muttering: "Shouchang, I heard you often talk about Westerners. We thought that we would see all kinds of jaw-dropping things after we went there, but how could there be many? After I went out, I actually I feel that the word "Tianchao" is more appropriate."

"Let's put it this way, I followed Qi Guogong to visit some dignitaries in France. The porcelain and silk they used to entertain us... To be honest, if we want to treat guests at home, such porcelain can't be served on the table, and we can't afford to lose that person. "

Hearing this, Liu Yu could only laugh along.

Dang Xuanming asked in a low voice: "Have you heard any news? How does His Majesty plan to use us?"

This is what those people who returned after visiting Duke Qi are most concerned about.Many people were reluctant to leave at that time, thinking that even if they were petty officials, they would gain seniority in the court.

If you are enterprising, you can also go to the southwest, reform the land and suppress the rebellion, and make some contributions; or take advantage of the opportunity of the imperial court to pacify the Western Regions, and make a name for yourself.

It's just that among these people, those who don't want to eat and wait to die, when they return to Moscow from Paris, their mentality is completely different from when they went there.

There, they heard about the Tianchao pacification of the Zhunbu and the recapture of the Western Regions.Liu Yu's battle north of the Altai Mountains cut off the idea of ​​many people who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make meritorious service, and crushed the dreams of countless nobles and concubines who yearned to become famous.

I just thought that this trip was a blessing in disguise, otherwise, even if I stayed in the court, I would have no merits to claim, so I might as well go out for a walk.

But after turning around and thinking about it carefully, I saw the means of the Western Army.However, Dashun has already started the military reform, including Dang Xuanming, they are all thinking about what to do when they come back?
Liu Yu said with a smile: "I've been in Weihai all year round, you ask me? Who should I ask? On the contrary, Uncle came back from the southwest. Is it possible that I know better than Uncle about the news from the court?"

Dang Xuanming shook his head and said: "Hugh, Hugh. Your uncle is also worried about me. Those who went with me, those who are ambitious, stayed in France to study in a military academy. The lesser ones also learned some French and Latin. , Rakshasa language. I really didn’t learn anything. According to the original rules, your uncle has made meritorious service in the Southwest, and I want to be an official. But now the military reform, we can only start from scratch , to be a company commander the size of a sesame mung bean or something. What your uncle means is to ask if it would be better to go to the navy?"

"The main thing is to ask what is good about the navy. I also know the risks at sea. It is best not to board the ship and manage the logistics. You don't need to come forward to do this, just ask what is a good place to go. , it’s good to have a number.”

(End of this chapter)