Reborn Ming Dynasty as Emperor

Chapter 169 Xu Guangqi's wrong understanding of evolution theory

The Royal Academy of Sciences, as the place of basic research in the Ming Dynasty, is an important place for the export of theoretical science. Therefore, Zhu Youxiao's interference with the Royal Academy of Sciences is much smaller than that of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Zhu Youxiao didn't expect the Royal Academy of Sciences to bring him any economic benefits in a short period of time. He only hoped that the Royal Academy of Sciences in Ming Dynasty would catch up with the West, or even surpass the West, in the construction of scientific theories.

Only if the scientific theory and concepts lead the world, can the downstream scientific research and development make progress, and make the national power far surpass other empires.

Daming has not yet completely escaped from the world's top track, and everything is still in time, and the Royal Academy of Sciences will be used as the engine to catch up and surpass. Although Zhu Youxiao spent a lot of money, the prospects it brings are exciting. reverie.

For example, once Mao Yuanyi's steam engine is built, it will definitely change the industrial model of the entire country, and the production model that relies mainly on humans will be replaced by machinery.

And more human energy will be applied to the innovation of knowledge and technological progress and, of course, the extension of war.

However, there are not many people in the Royal Academy of Sciences, and there are not yet 30 academicians, most of whom are old Confucian scholars or retired officials who are easy to learn.

But there is no way around it. In a Confucian dynasty, it is extremely difficult to find a few people who are engaged in science. Xu Guangqi summoned the thirty or so people himself, and many of them were not accepted. A deviant who is valued and even ridiculed by others.

Fortunately, the current emperor, His Majesty Zhu Youxiao, is "doing nothing" just like them, which gives them the opportunity to study their interests with their salaries.

The activeness of new ideas and the questioning of Cheng-Zhu Confucianism can be regarded as a rare bright spot in late Ming society. What Zhu Youxiao has to do is to magnify this bright spot and bring about a major change in the field of thought in the Ming Dynasty that has not been seen in 3000 years.

Instead of letting this new trend of thought come to an abrupt end after the Qing Dynasty, it even left behind a bunch of slaves and insensitive people in the world.

Xu Guangqi is now obsessed with Mendel's genetic laws to the point where he doesn't think about eating and drinking. He even made a self-fertilization experiment on jasmine after learning about Mendel's pea self-fertilization experiment from the information provided by Zhu Youxiao. , but he was surprised to find that when the piebald jasmine was self-crossed, three colors of white, green, and piebald jasmine appeared.

As soon as Zhu Youxiao came to the Royal Academy of Sciences, he found Zhu Youxiao and brought up the matter with some doubts: "Your Majesty, what this man named Mendel said is wrong, if there are any genetic factors like what he said According to the law of inheritance, the offspring of this variegated jasmine should also appear green and white, and the ratio of three to one is correct, so how come there are three colors."

Zhu Youxiao wanted to tell Xu Guangqi that the color of the petals of jasmine is not determined by the genes in the nucleus, but by the genetic material outside the nucleus, and Mendel's genetic law is for alleles in the nucleus.

However, Zhu Youxiao believes that Xu Guangqi may not understand even after listening to it. Frankly speaking, biological research has not yet been applied in large-scale industries in modern times. It can be regarded as a sunrise science, and many theoretical systems have not yet been fully established. Now even the physical and chemical sciences are still only in the enlightenment stage of the Ming Dynasty. Even Mendel in the West proposed the law of separation and the law of free exchange after the middle of the nineteenth century.

But since it is the Royal Academy of Sciences, the pursuit is not profit, but the progress of science, so Zhu Youxiao does not intend to stop Xu Guangqi from going deeper and deeper in biology.

But Zhu Youxiao can guide that the discovery of biological phenomena may not directly promote the improvement of productivity, but it can indirectly change people's inherent thinking. Just like Darwin's origin of species, it caused a shock in almost the entire Western thought circle.

"Mendel is a pea, and yours is a jasmine. If everything in this world follows a set of genetic laws, then I'm afraid there are differences." Zhu Youxiao said vaguely He broke off a jasmine flower and another wild flower, and said to Xu Guangqi: "Look at these two kinds of different flowers, but the core of the flower is a stamen wrapped in a style. For example, why do you say that monkey is with us?" Humans have five fingers, and even their faces are somewhat similar, except that they have more hair, don't you think there is something to do with it?"

"What your Majesty said is that I have also seen it from the Evolution Theory you gave me. If you want to say these are really appalling remarks, they seem to be heresies but they have some truth. In fact, I have read the ancient books of the previous dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, some ministers also seriously discussed whether the Hu people were human beings. According to the theory of evolution, I am afraid that these Tartars are not human. After all, many of them do not even understand their etiquette, and they are not evolved enough. Well, take it that way."

Xu Guangqi's words surprised Zhu Youxiao. He didn't expect that he sold Darwin's theory of evolution in this era, but it would be understood by Xu Guangqi and others, which would lead to racial discrimination.

Zhu Youxiao's original intention was only to completely change the thinking mode of adoring the past and worshiping the present in the entire Ming Dynasty through the emergence of the theory of biological evolution. Don't take Yao, Shun and Yu Tang as idols at every turn, and even try to restore the system and social style of ancient times. It should be believed that the development of civilization is progressive in general, and the Ming Dynasty should not follow any ancestral system and should seek changes.

He really wanted to tell Xu Guangqi that everyone in this world has the same level of evolution and is Homo sapiens, but he didn't know what to say to make Xu Guangqi understand.

However, this also made Zhu Youxiao feel that the Han people in the Ming Dynasty do have a sense of superiority. Even after reading Darwin's theory of evolution, they still feel that they are better evolved than the Hu people.

Just when Zhu Youxiao didn't know what to say to Xu Guangqi, he heard cheers coming from the next door, and Zhu Youxiao couldn't help asking, "Why are you so happy?"

Xu Guangqi couldn't help laughing and said, "It's Mao Yuanyi's voice, I'm afraid it's because his loom, which relies on water vapor instead of human power, succeeded in making it."

Zhu Youxiao rushed over as soon as he heard this, and he couldn't help being overjoyed in his heart, secretly thinking that if the steam engine can be improved successfully, it will be more surprising than the flintlock gun.

When Mao Yuanyi saw Zhu Youxiao coming, he was too busy to salute, so he hurriedly said, "Look, Your Majesty, this is Weichen's re-improved steam loom. According to the information you provided, Weichen used the hot air after pushing the piston first Introduce it into another cylinder for cooling. In this way, the loss of hot air will be smaller, and the piston you mentioned can rotate faster. In addition, there is a valve here, through which the cooling degree of hot air can be adjusted, so that it can be adjusted It’s fast and slow, and once the valve is opened to the maximum, the turntable can be driven, so that the whole loom will also move.”

Zhu Youxiao looked at this semi-autonomous (some important parts were purchased from the system) Daming version steam engine and the textile machine connected to it, and couldn't help laughing: "Let me have a look."

(End of this chapter)