Wanli 1592

Chapter 325 The General Knows Mathematics?

Xiao Ruxun put down the teacup, with a mysterious smile on his face, which made Ricci panic.

Qu Taisu didn't like it, so he interrupted immediately to explain.

"Xiao Hou, in fact, Lu Song and Daming have long since severed their vassal relationship, and they haven't been in touch for a long time. Later, Franji came to Lu Song to do business exchanges, and he also worked with Daming to exterminate the great pirate Lin Feng. It is my Daming. Allies."

Xiao Ruxun smiled and replied to Qu Taisu: "Mr. Qu, don't panic, I didn't come here this time for Lu Song, and I didn't have any interest in Lu Song, but I just wanted to hunt down thieves, just to clean up the arrogant and ignorant Dongwu Kingdom. Lu Song, hehe, don’t worry, I will not attack Lu Song.”

Qu Taisu glanced at Ricci, and Ricci heaved a sigh of relief, and said, "Thank you, General, for your understanding. This old man is very grateful, General."

"Thank me for what? I didn't have that plan at first, but the Western firearms brought by Mr. Matteo Ricci are very interesting. I will be very interested, especially this one. This gun seems to be different from the one I used in Ming Dynasty? "

Xiao Ruxun looked at Matteo Ricci, and Matteo Ricci immediately explained: "That's right, this kind of musket is called a flintlock gun. Instead of using a matchlock to ignite, it is ignited by friction with the flint here, which avoids the difficulty of using a matchlock. It’s just that the technology is not very mature and the production cost is relatively high, so this kind of musket is still not very popular in the army. The old man thought that the general would be very interested in this kind of musket, so he gave it to the general as a gift.”

Xiao Ruxun nodded and said with a smile: "You are right. I am indeed very interested in your Western utensils. Apart from this, do you have any other Western utensils like this? To tell you the truth, During this journey, I have heard a lot of strange things in the western lands, and I am quite interested."

Qu Taisu and Matteo Ricci looked at each other and were speechless. They did not expect Xiao Ruxun to be interested in Western objects other than firearms, which was different from most generals.

Matteo Ricci actually prepared a lot of scientific instruments before he came, but after hearing what Qu Taisu said, most of them were not brought with him, and only a few chapters of "Elements of Geometry" that he translated with Qu Taisu were left on him. Whether it suits Xiao Ruxun's appetite or not, she bites the bullet and took it out.

"I didn't expect the general to be interested in these equipment. I only have this book with me. I don't know if the general can accept it."

Xiao Ruxun took it over and took a look. It was a book without a cover. On the first page there were some unknown characters written on it. On the second page, Xiao Ruxun saw triangular patterns, corners and other figures, as well as some Chinese characters. He explained that he was very familiar with these graphics in elementary school textbooks, so he further realized that this book is the "Elements of Geometry" that has not yet been translated.

In a sense, the translation work of "Elements of Geometry" reflects the development of science in China. In the 35th year of Wanli, that is, in 1607 AD, Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci worked together to translate the first six volumes of "Elements of Geometry". The death of Xu Guangqi's father and the death of Matteo Ricci ended, and the translation of the last nine volumes had to wait until the seventh year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty, and in 1857 AD, it was completed by Li Shanlan and the British missionary William Williams.

Perhaps it can also be understood in this way. During the entire 35 years from the 250th year of Wanli to the seventh year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty, China's scientific level has not improved. The great prosperity of Kangxi and Qianlong seems to have not been well confirmed.

Holding this fragmented volume that has not been translated much, Xiao Ruxun flipped through it, turned to the back, and saw the famous Pythagorean Theorem.

"Hook three strands, four strings and five? Isn't this the theory of Pythagorean shares? I remember that Zhou Ren Shanggao first proposed it, more than two thousand years ago. Why, Mr. Ricci, someone in your place also discovered this?"

Xiao Ruxun talked about the Pythagorean theorem with Ricci with great interest, because Ricci was also a person with rich mathematical knowledge, and Qu Taisu was also very interested in mathematics. With his help, before Xu Guangqi, Ricci Translated the first volume of the Elements.

Xiao Ruxun thought it was normal for him to say these things, but in the eyes of Qu Taisu and Ricci, his speech could be described as horror rather than surprise. They were so surprised that they reached the point of horror.

"The general... also knows math?"

Matteo Ricci tentatively asked.

"Mathematics, well, the study of arithmetic is also very useful for marching and fighting. I have learned it, and because I am interested, I also know about the previous mathematics. Shang Gao is one, Liu Hui is one, Zu Chongzhi It is also considered as one. Shang Gao has a lot of research on triangles, and Zu Chongzhi is working hard on circles. Liu Hui's "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic Notes" is also very good, hook three strands, four strings and five, and use the length of these two sides to calculate this. The length of the string is quite interesting, but it doesn’t look like the translation is finished?”

Xiao Ruxun looked at Matteo Ricci with a smile, and Matteo Ricci nodded quickly: "Yes, with the help of Tai Su, only the first volume of this book has been translated, and the rest have not been translated in time. Written by a well-known mathematician in the Land of the Earth, who was also more than 1000 years ago."

"Sages!" Xiao Ruxun nodded, and then returned the fragmented volume to Matteo Ricci: "It's better to take it back and translate it. After the translation, show it to me. I also want to read it for more than 1000 years. How did the former Taixi sages view arithmetic? Of course, if there is a need for Ben to help, Ben will not refuse."

When Matteo Ricci finished the translation, he looked at Xiao Ruxun in disbelief, and Qu Taisu looked at Xiao Ruxun even more strangely.

The soldiers who fight and fight on the battlefield actually have knowledge of mathematics. Could it be that he not only likes fighting and military affairs, but also Western science?
After the first meeting, the two parties had a pleasant discussion and both got what they wanted. However, what Xiao Ruxun did not expect was that before he set off from Guangdong to Siam, Matteo Ricci came to visit again. It's not the same things as last time, but globes, Western clocks, glassware and other objects, as well as a world map, and a message from a Macau Francophone asking to see Xiao Ruxun.

For these familiar and unfamiliar scientific instruments, Xiao Ruxun was very interested in them as if they were treasures. He fiddled with the globe and fiddled with it with great joy. He also liked Western clocks very much. I felt a little surprised, but didn't object, so I took Matteo Ricci to Macau, where I met the local Portuguese governor and learned of their request.

These Portuguese hoped to go to Dongwu Kingdom with Xiao Ruxun to make contributions. As for the reason, they said that they hoped to gain further favor and cooperation from Daming.

(End of this chapter)