Xiao Ruxun put down his teacup with a mysterious smile on his face, causing Ricci to panic.
Qu Taisu immediately interrupted and explained.
"Marquis Xiao, in fact, Luzon and the Daming have already severed their vassal relationship for a long time. Later on, Franco came to Luzon to do business. They also worked together with the Daming to eliminate the great pirate Lin Feng. They are friends of the Daming."
Xiao Ruxun smiled and replied to Qu Taisu, "Mister Qu, don't panic. I am not here for Luzon. I am not interested in Luzon. I am only here to deal with the arrogant and ignorant Dongwu Kingdom. As for Luzon, hehe, don't worry. I will not attack Luzon."
Qu Taisu glanced at Ricci. Ricci was slightly relieved and said, "Thank you for your understanding. I am very grateful to you."
"What are you thanking me for? I have no intention of doing so. However, the western firearms that Mister Ricci brought are very interesting. I am very interested in them, especially this one. This gun seems to be different from the one used by the Daming. "
Xiao Ruxun looked at Ricci. Ricci immediately explained, "It's like this. This gun is called a flintlock. It is not lit with a match, but with the friction of the flint here. This eliminates the difficulty of using a match. However, the technology is not very mature and the production cost is relatively high. Therefore, the army is not very welcoming of this kind of gun. I thought that you would be very interested in this kind of gun, so I gave it to you as a gift."
Xiao Ruxun nodded and said with a smile, "You're right on this point. This general is indeed very interested in your western wares. Other than this, do you have any other western wares like this? To tell you the truth, I have heard a lot of strange things about the western world. I am very interested in them. "
Qu Taisu and Ricci looked at each other, speechless. They did not expect Xiao Ruxun to be interested in Western objects other than firearms. This was different from most generals.
Ricci had actually prepared a lot of scientific instruments before he came, but after listening to Qu Taisu's words, he didn't bring most of them. He only had a few chapters of "The Fundamentals of Geometry" that he had translated with Qu Taisu. He didn't know if it suited Xiao Ruxun's taste, so he bit the bullet and took it out.
"I didn't expect the general to be interested in these tools. I only have this book with me. I don't know if the general will accept it."
Xiao Ruxun took it and looked at it. It was a book without a cover. The first page was filled with some unknown big characters. On the second page, Xiao Ruxun saw the pattern of triangles and angles. There were also some explanations in Chinese. He was very familiar with these patterns in primary school textbooks, so he further realized that this book was the unfinished translation of "The Fundamentals of Geometry."
The translation of "The Fundamentals of Geometry" in a sense reflected the development of science in China. In the 35th year of Wanli, that was 1607 AD, Xu Guangqi and Ricci worked together to translate the first six volumes of "The Fundamentals of Geometry." Later, because of the death of Xu Guangqi's father and the death of Ricci, the translation of the remaining nine volumes had to wait until the 7th year of Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty, 1857 AD before the translation was completed by Li Shanlan and the British missionary Elijah.
Perhaps it could be understood this way. From the 35th year of Wanli to the 7th year of Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty, a total of 250 years, the level of science in China did not improve. The great Kangxi and Qianlong Dynasties did not seem to be well verified. It was a cruel joke.
Holding the half-translated volume, Xiao Ruxun flipped through it. When he reached the end, he saw the famous Pythagorean Theorem.
"Pythagorean Theorem? Isn't this the Pythagorean Theorem? I remember it was first proposed by Shang Gao of the Zhou Dynasty, more than 2,000 years ago. Why, Mr. Ricci, did someone from your place also discover this? "
Xiao Ruxun was interested in talking about the Pythagorean Theorem with Ricci. Because Ricci was also a person with a rich knowledge of mathematics, and Qu Taisu was also very interested in mathematics, with his help, before Xu Guangqi, Ricci translated the first volume of "The Fundamentals of Geometry."
Xiao Ruxun felt that it was normal for him to say these things, but in the eyes of Qu Taisu and Ricci, his words could only be described as horrifying. They were so surprised that they were horrified.
"General … you also know mathematics?"
Ricci probed.
Shang Gao is one of them, Liu Hui is another, and Zu Chongzhi is another. Shang Gao is very good at triangles, while Zu Chongzhi is good at circles. Liu Hui's Nine Chapters of Arithmetic Annotation is also very good. It uses the length of the two sides to calculate the length of the string. It's quite interesting, but it looks like it hasn't finished translating? "
Xiao Ruxun looked at Ricci with a smile. Ricci quickly nodded and said, "Yes, with Tai Su's help, I have only managed to translate the first volume of this book. I haven't had the time to translate the rest. This book was written by a very famous mathematician of our Tessie Land. He is also a figure from over a thousand years ago."
"A wise man!" Xiao Ruxun nodded and then returned the incomplete book to Ricci. "You'd better take it back and finish translating it. When you are done, show it to me. I also want to see how the wise man from Tessie Land viewed arithmetic more than a thousand years ago. Of course, if there is anything I can help with, I will not refuse."
Ricci took the translation and looked at Xiao Ruxun in disbelief. Qu Taisu looked at Xiao Ruxun with an even more strange expression.
A soldier who fought and killed on the battlefield actually had the knowledge of mathematics. Could it be that he not only liked war and military affairs, but also liked Western science?
After the first meeting, the two sides had a pleasant conversation and got what they wanted. However, what Xiao Ruxun did not expect was that before he left Guangdong for Siam, Ricci would come to visit again. This time, he did not bring the things he brought last time. Instead, he brought a globe, Western clocks, glassware, and other items. There was also a world map, as well as the news that a Franco from Macau had requested to see Xiao Ruxun.
Xiao Ruxun was very interested in these familiar yet unfamiliar scientific instruments. He was very interested in them. He fiddled with the globe happily. He also liked Western clocks very much. However, he was a little surprised that the Portuguese from Macau wanted to see him, but he did not object. Hence, he took Ricci with him to Macau. In Macau, they met the local Portuguese governor and learned about their request.
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