Chapter 455
Female Scientists of This Era
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After leaving Nanjing, Zhao Yu and his entourage continued their journey south of the Yangtze River.
Travel along the way, have fun, and admire the beauties of Jiangnan.
By the time he arrived in Hangzhou, Zhao Yu had taken in nearly eight hundred beauties.
After arriving in Hangzhou, Zhao Yu stayed briefly at the Wuyue Kingdom Palace on Phoenix Mountain in Hangzhou.
When talking about the Wuyue Kingdom, one cannot help but mention Qian Liu.
This person is not well-known in history; at least, people unfamiliar with the history of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms should not be familiar with this name.
Qian Liu was originally a salt merchant from Shijing Township in Lin'an. During the chaos at the end of the Tang Dynasty, he gathered local militia and first quelled the Wang Ying Rebellion in western Zhejiang. When Huang Chao's army swept across Jiangnan, he defended Lin'an City to the death, winning with fewer troops and managing to keep the army of the "Soaring General" out of eastern Zhejiang.
Later, with the fragmentation of the country by regional warlords and the struggle for power, Qian Liu, relying on his bravery and exceptional strategy, successively subdued the separatist forces of Liu Han Hong in eastern Zhejiang and Dong Chang in Suzhou, and established a foothold in the southeastern coastal region.
Seeing Qian Liu's growing power, the Tang court appointed him as the military governor of Zhenhai and Zhendong.
Later, Qian Liu repeatedly made military achievements and rose to the highest position in the court. He was promoted to King of Yue and later changed to King of Wu.
Not long after, Zhu Yougui, the Prince of Liangying, murdered his father and usurped the throne, and then honored Qian Liu as "Shangfu" (a title of respect for the emperor).
The term "Shangfu" originally referred to Jiang Ziya during the Zhou Dynasty, meaning a respectable father figure. Later, it was used as a title to honor high-ranking officials.
Three years later, Zhu Youzhen, the Prince of Jun of the Later Liang Dynasty, launched a coup and seized the throne.
With the country fragmented and the emperors of the Later Liang dynasty changing frequently, feudal lords in places like Xichuan, Huainan, Lingnan, and Fujian established their own states and declared themselves emperors.
These people all advised Qian Liu to establish a separatist regime in Wuyue and declare himself emperor, but Qian Liu politely declined them all.
It wasn't until the third year of the Longde era of the Later Liang Dynasty that Qian Liu was officially enfeoffed as the King of Wuyue by the Later Liang, and only then did he formally establish the Wuyue Kingdom.
The Wuyue Kingdom established its capital in Hangzhou, marking the earliest time Hangzhou became a formal capital city.
After Qian Liu became the King of Wuyue, he did not participate in the struggle for power like other warlords in chaotic times. Instead, he established the national policy of "serving China well and protecting the borders and people". He never participated in the conflicts in the Central Plains and focused on governing the country.
Qian Liu knew that the Wuyue Kingdom was flat, lacked natural barriers, and was small in territory. Surrounded by powerful enemies on three sides, relying on the protection of the powerful Central Plains dynasty was the best strategy for the Wuyue Kingdom to survive. Therefore, he remained steadfast and loyal, always respecting the Central Plains court and paying tribute as usual. As a result, he won the respect of several emperors of the Later Liang Dynasty.
It was precisely because of this that the Suzhou and Hangzhou region under Qian Liu's rule was spared from the ravages of war.
He ordered the dredging of West Lake and the construction of seawalls. The famous Qiantang River seawall was built by him, mobilizing laborers and spending several years of effort. It stopped the surging tides and prevented the fertile fields along the coast from being eroded by the sea.
He also vigorously promoted water conservancy projects and encouraged agriculture and sericulture, resulting in crisscrossing fields and abundant harvests within the Wuyue Kingdom. Even during the years of war in the Central Plains, the Jiangnan region remained a prosperous and peaceful place.
He also valued education, established numerous academies, and recruited scholars and literati who had fled from the Central Plains, leading to a flourishing of literature in the Wu and Yue regions.
Thus, Qian Liu became the person in Chinese history who made the greatest contribution to the development of the Jiangnan region, laying a solid foundation for the reputation of "Suzhou and Hangzhou as paradise".
Throughout his life, Qian Liu faced a turbulent, complex, and ever-changing political situation, fraught with crises. Yet, he remained steadfast, ruling over a region for decades before passing away peacefully at the age of 18. Moreover, his remarkable achievements in governance can be considered a historical miracle.
The Wuyue Kingdom, founded by Qian Liu, was hereditary and always paid tribute to the Central Plains dynasty. As a result, the Central Plains dynasty recognized the royal family, which lasted for three generations and five rulers.
Later, his grandson Qian Hongchu, in the third year of the Taiping Xingguo era of the Northern Song Dynasty, voluntarily surrendered the territory of the Wuyue Kingdom and submitted to the Song Dynasty, allowing the Jiangnan region to transition peacefully and avoid the ravages of war.
Zhao Kuangyin said, "The Qian family is the only one that is truly loyal and filial."
This resulted in the "Hundred Family Surnames" compiled in the Song Dynasty starting with "Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li", with the surname "Qian" being second only to the imperial surname "Zhao".
The Qian family of Wuyue has a history of over a thousand years and has been recognized by later generations as a "prominent family with a thousand-year history and the first family in Zhejiang". It has produced great figures who have benefited the country and the people, such as Qian Xuesen.
Moreover, Qian's inscribed iron tablets were passed down to later generations and were eventually presented to the state by Qian.
A family that can prosper for over a thousand years and remain glorious must possess not only good fortune but also wisdom.
Take the Qian family for example.
When Zhao Yu implemented the "Equalization of Land Tax and Labor Service" and the "Equalization of Grain Payment by Gentry and Scholars," almost all the gentry and landlords in the country resisted, especially the gentry group in Jiangnan, who wished they could unite together to oppose the court and try every means to trip it up.
The Qian family, however, were different. They actually "betrayed" the gentry and landlords of Jiangnan and embraced the "Equalization of Land Tax and Labor Tax" and the "Equalization of Land Tax for Gentry" at the first opportunity. They even decisively split up the land they owned and sold it to the common people at a price 30% lower than the market price. From then on, the Qian family never touched land again and instead invested all their funds in maritime trade and the Industrial Revolution.
Furthermore, the Qian family cleverly invested some of their assets in the north, and even in the newly recovered areas of the Song Dynasty.
Furthermore, when the chaos broke out in the southeast, the Qian family decisively and temporarily withdrew from Hangzhou.
This meant that even though Hangzhou was first occupied by Fang La, who massacred the gentry and landlords, then captured by Song Jiang's rebel army, who purged the gentry and landlords again, and later recaptured by the Western Army, whose military discipline was not good, the Qian family suffered almost no losses.
When the Song Dynasty began to govern the Jiangnan region, the Qian family returned to Hangzhou and remained the leading family in the Liangzhe region.
Over the years, the Qian family has consistently followed the policies of the imperial court and has made a considerable amount of money.
This time, when Zhao Yu went to the south of the Yangtze River, although the Qian family was not as high-profile as the Wang family of Fuzhou, they still organized the gentry and wealthy merchants in the Zhejiang region to donate nearly 100 million strings of cash to Zhao Yu, and the Qian family alone donated 30 million strings of cash.
It was for this reason that Zhao Yu decided to stay briefly in the abandoned Wuyue Palace in order to elevate the Qian family.
Upon learning that Zhao Yu intended to stay at the Wuyue Palace, Qian Zai, the current head of the Qian family, quickly wrote to Zhao Yu, advising him to abandon the idea. He also mentioned that the gentry and wealthy merchants of Liangzhe had prepared a magnificent estate for Zhao Yu. Furthermore, he explained that the Wuyue Palace had suffered a major fire in the sixth year of the Tianfu era of the Later Jin Dynasty, with most of the palace complex overseen by King Qian Yuanguan of Wuyue being destroyed. Although it was later rebuilt, its scale and layout were far inferior to the original. In the third year of the Taiping Xingguo era, Qian Hongchu surrendered the territory to the Song Dynasty, and the palace was downgraded to a prefectural seat and government office, no longer serving as a royal palace. Its daily maintenance and regulations had been significantly reduced, making it unsuitable for an emperor to reside in.
Zhao Yu knew that Qian Shi was doing this because she was worried that this move was too ostentatious and would attract criticism from both the court and the public.
After all, the Wuyue Palace was ultimately the palace of a former vassal state. Although its scale was far inferior to that of the Song Dynasty's imperial city, it still bore the mark of an "imperial residence." What Qian feared was that if news of the emperor's stay there spread, those outspoken officials in the court would seize upon it relentlessly. At best, they would accuse Qian of "using the former dynasty's palace to curry favor with the emperor and harboring ulterior motives," and at worst, they would label him as "privately preserving the old imperial system and coveting undue ambitions."
What's even more critical is that the Jiangnan region has been prosperous for centuries and has always been a financial hub attracting attention from both the court and the public. As the leading family in Zhejiang, the Qian family is already in the eye of the storm. If they are targeted by political enemies because of the emperor's stay at the old palace, they might get into trouble.
Therefore, Qian Zai's letter was written with utmost sincerity. He expressed his gratitude to Zhao Yu for his favor and detailed the dilapidated state of the Wuyue Palace. The beams were rotten, the palace walls were mottled, and weeds grew rampant in the corridors. Moreover, its layout was incompatible with the imperial palace of the Song Dynasty and was truly unfit to be a place for the emperor to stay.
Qian Zai then praised the waterside palace that the gentry and wealthy merchants of the Liangzhe region had built for Zhao Yu on the shore of West Lake, saying that the place was beautiful with clear waters and lush mountains, and that the palace was decorated with carved beams and painted rafters, and that all the furnishings were of the highest quality, making it suitable for the emperor's presence.
After reading the letter, Zhao Yu smiled slightly. He had Zhang Nan write a reply on his behalf, saying to Qian Zai: "My stay at Phoenix Mountain is not out of admiration for the extravagance of palaces, but out of consideration for the merits of the Qian family. In the past, King Qian Wusu protected the borders and people, dredged lakes and seas, and benefited the Jiangnan region; King Qian Zhongyi surrendered his territory to the Song Dynasty, sparing the people from war. Such loyalty and filial piety can serve as a model for the world..."
At Zhao Yu's insistence, the Qian family had no choice but to lead the gentry and wealthy merchants of Liangzhe to renovate the Wuyue Palace to make it befit Zhao Yu's status as the first emperor of all time.
After Zhao Yu moved into the Wuyue Palace, Lady Qian offered all of her dozen or so direct daughters to him, and led the gentry and wealthy merchants of the Liangzhe region to present him with a large amount of treasures and food.
A rhinoceros horn belt, a jade tablet, a gilded bronze tripod, a jade book with dragon and phoenix patterns, a ceremonial sword inlaid with gold and silver, a pearl-embroidered crown, a dragon robe with gold thread, a jade carriage, ivory carvings of immortals feasting, rhinoceros horn cups, lacquerware with gold and silver inlay, a brocade robe with dragon and phoenix patterns covered in gold, colorful cloud brocade, a Shu brocade imperial robe, jade mountain carvings, agate bowls, crystal pen holders, oyster shells, purple shells, tortoiseshells, luminous pearls, emeralds, sapphires, and so on and so forth…
It can be said that these treasures exist in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad, and some of them were not even received by the imperial court.
This was all thanks to Zhao Yu's vigorous development of trade, especially maritime trade.
There were also scallops (the adductor muscles of large scallops, considered a delicacy in this era, with firm and delicious meat, often used to enhance the flavor of soups and dishes at high-end banquets; due to the difficulty of catching and transporting them, they were very expensive), Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, and king crabs (the former, plump with roe and full of fat, was an autumn delicacy sought after by literati and the powerful; Su Shi praised it, saying, "Not visiting Mount Lu is a waste of the eyes, not eating crabs is a waste of the stomach," and fresh, top-quality crabs were already quite valuable at this time; the latter, located in the north...). The cold, deep waters of the Pacific Ocean are extremely difficult to catch and transport. If it weren't for Ye Shiyun's cravings and the Song Dynasty's great geographical discoveries, this kind of ingredient would never have been served on the tables of people in this era in such a short time. Mandarin fish (the finest freshwater fish, with tender flesh and no fine bones, which was highly valued by the literati of this era and often cooked by steaming or braising, and the market price of high-quality river fish was much higher than that of ordinary fish at this time) and other of the best ingredients of this era were all served on Zhao Yu's table.
In fact, none of these things were enough to impress Zhao Yu. He was not some poor emperor who had never seen the world. Over the years, he had destroyed countless dynasties and forces, plundering the treasures accumulated by their generations. What good things did he not have?
As for delicacies like scallops, Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, king crabs, and mandarin fish, with Ye Shiyun, a wealthy, powerful, and discerning foodie, Zhao Yu not only eats them every day, but also frequently savors them.
Even seafood such as Almas caviar and California red abalone were frequently eaten by Zhao Yu.
Of course, this should not negate the sentiments of the gentry and wealthy merchants in the Zhejiang region.
They must have done their best to present so many fine things to Zhao Yu.
However, what pleased Zhao Yu the most was that Qian Zai also gave him his youngest daughter, Qian Youniang.
Some might say that Zhao Yu already had more than 20,000 women, and he took in nearly 1,000 during this trip to the south. What's so special about Qian Zai's daughter?
It's really not.
Qian Zai's youngest daughter was a mathematical genius of her time. Some people exaggeratedly said that there was no number that Qian Youniang couldn't calculate.
Qian Zai doted on his youngest daughter. Even at the age of twenty-three, he couldn't bear to marry her off and instead allowed her to stay at home and study mathematics.
Unexpectedly, when Zhao Yu went to Jiangnan, Lady Qian took the initiative to offer this extraordinary woman to him.
When Zhao Yu first met Qian Youniang, he noticed that although she was very beautiful, she seemed a bit dull, or at least not clever or tactful enough.
Who would have thought that Qian Youniang's first question to Zhao Yu was: "There is a wall ten feet thick, and two rats are going through it. The larger rat makes one foot of hole each day, and the smaller rat also makes one foot of hole each day. The larger rat doubles its hole each day, and the smaller rat halves its hole each day. When will they meet? And how much hole has each rat made?"
Zhao Yu was stunned!
This was the first time in all these years that Zhao Yu had encountered someone who dared to ask him questions.
The key point is that Qian Youniang immediately stumped Zhao Yu.
It's not that Zhao Yu really couldn't answer the question, but if Zhao Yu were to set up an equation to solve the question, wouldn't Zhang Chun and Li Lin know that Zhao Yu was also a time traveler?
Just as Zhao Yu was about to be hung up by Qian Youniang, Ye Shiyun smiled and came to Zhao Yu's rescue, saying, "This question is easy, there is no need for Your Majesty to take action."
After saying that, Ye Shiyun easily solved the problem using the arithmetic method of "the method of excess and deficiency".
That wasn't all. Ye Shiyun then came up with more than a dozen solutions, completely overwhelming Qian Youniang.
To Zhao Yu's surprise, Qian Youniang not only did not hold a grudge against Ye Shiyun, but her eyes also grew brighter and brighter, and she said, "Why didn't I think of these algorithms?"
Then, Qian Youniang earnestly asked Ye Shiyun for advice.
Ye Shiyun intended to show off, so she used all sorts of mathematical problems from later generations to thoroughly humiliate Qian Youniang.
Unexpectedly, Qian Youniang became more determined after each setback and instead pursued Ye Shiyun's learning. She even became obsessed to the point that one day, after serving Zhao Yu to the emperor and being tormented to the point that her bones were almost falling apart, she still secretly got up in the middle of the night to solve the math problems that Ye Shiyun had given her.
Zhao Yu asked Ye Shiyun, "How is the Qian family?"
To Zhao Yu's great surprise, Ye Shiyun, who had previously been cynical, said very seriously, "She is smarter and more focused than me. If I were willing to teach her, her math skills would definitely surpass mine in three years at most."
Ye Shiyun's answer greatly exceeded Zhao Yu's expectations.
It's worth noting that in terms of intelligence, Zhao Yu has always been outmatched by Ye Shiyun.
Now, someone even smarter than Ye Shiyun has come to my side.
How could Zhao Yu bear this?
However, Zhao Yu thought again that mathematics is the foundation of scientific research. Almost all scientific research is inseparable from mathematics, such as computers and missiles, which all require mathematics as a foundation.
The value of Qian Youniang is simply immeasurable.
There's nothing more to say; Zhao Yu would definitely keep such a talent by his side and use her for his own purposes.
...(End of chapter)