The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 211

"Investigation of things?"

When Wang Yangming heard the word "investigation of things," his eyes lit up immediately.

About thirty years ago, when he was still young, he stared at the bamboo in the yard and seemed to have an epiphany. At that moment, he seemed to see the profound principles of heaven and earth contained in the bamboo. He tried to study bamboo, but due to the lack of basic theory, he failed and fell seriously ill.

He had studied Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism since elementary school, but he lacked the basic theories of investigating things or physics. At that time, he felt that the bamboo seemed to contain time, space and even many worldly truths, but he couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried.

He was almost driven mad at the time, but found himself with nowhere to go.

"Indeed, I was very disappointed to hear that Master Yangming had tried to investigate bamboo but failed. Our Ming Dynasty lacks a theory on the investigation of things. But everything in the world has its own profound principles, and we need to study these principles and make use of them."

Zhou Chu spoke eloquently.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yangming's eyes lit up even more.

"Does the weighing instrument understand the principle behind this?"

Wang Yangming hurriedly pressed for answers, showing no trace of the demeanor of a high-ranking official or senior, but rather a thirst for knowledge.

"I have studied it, but my knowledge is very superficial. I have managed to extract some basic information, which I have recorded over the years and compiled into a book. I will have someone give it to Mr. Yangming later."

Zhou Chu's words were not a lie.

In recent years, whenever Zhou Chu has free time, he writes down some basic physics knowledge he knows, writing down whatever comes to mind. In addition to physics knowledge, he also writes down some basic mathematical theories.

Of course, even Zhou Chu, who was at a higher level, wouldn't understand. After all, he wasn't a science student, and these theories were basically basic theories from junior high school.

As the saying goes, everyone has their own expertise, and Zhou Chu's knowledge of science is simply too mediocre.

Even so, Wang Yangming was very pleased to hear this. As the saying goes, one can make connections between different things. Wang Yangming's comprehension was first-rate. In Zhou Chu's opinion, after teaching him these basic theories, he might be able to apply them to other situations and develop many advanced theories.

Zhou Chu did not want to show off his shallow knowledge of physics.

“I have received His Majesty’s decree, which is why I have come here to prepare to take over military power. Once I have military power in hand, I can then proceed with the military affairs without restraint.”

Wang Yangming smiled.

"What are your plans for the next step, sir?"

Zhang Cong was also very curious about Zhou Chu's next plans. In his opinion, every step the young man took seemed to be in a place that others could not have predicted, but in retrospect, they were all strokes of genius.

"Of course, we should measure the land and give the common people and military households a fair reckoning."

Zhou Chu didn't try to hide anything and directly revealed his next plan.

"Measuring land? I do know that our Great Ming Dynasty has many hidden lands, but the interests involved are far too great..."

Yan Song hesitated before speaking.

Yan Song's meaning was clear: this matter was probably not going to be easy.

Zhou Chu smiled when he heard this. If it were that easy, he wouldn't have had to do it himself.

“After Emperor Xuanzong, the officials of the garrison have been encroaching on the land of the military households. Originally, the military households owned their own land and were completely self-sufficient. Even if they supported a million soldiers, they would not need to spend a single penny from the court.”

"But now, the garrison system is practically defunct. The Ming army relies entirely on the court's funding. Even so, countless people are still exploiting soldiers, receiving salaries and military expenses without working. Many soldiers in the Ming army do not receive their pay. As a result, how can the army have cohesion? How can it fight?"

Zhou Chu sneered.

"These problems have existed for more than just a day or two; they are deeply ingrained and difficult to resolve."

Wang Yangming sighed.

"Mr. Jiexi, do you know what other filth exists in this land?"

Zhou Chu looked at Yan Song in front of him and asked.

"I have heard that many gentry have hidden their land, so that they can avoid paying taxes on the hidden land. As a result, there are more and more hidden lands in the Ming Dynasty, and taxes are decreasing."

Yan Song hesitated for a moment before speaking.

Zhou Chu nodded, then shook his head.

"That's both right and wrong. Hidden fields definitely exist, and their numbers are increasing, but the problems involved go far beyond that."

Zhou Chu looked at the puzzled expressions on everyone's faces and said...

“At that time, the gentry and clerks were in cahoots. The clerks in charge of measuring land were all quite cunning. When measuring land for the people, they would measure one mu of land as one mu and two fen. As a result, the people who originally had one mu of land had to pay taxes of one mu and two fen.”

“When these gentry were measuring land, one mu of land might only be measured as eight or even seven fen. The shortfall was then distributed among the common people. As a result, the common people could not afford to pay taxes and had no choice but to give their land to the gentry and then rent land from them to cultivate.”

"They used this method to continuously annex land."

When Zhou Chu said this, his eyes were filled with a cold glint.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yangming and the others were filled with worry. The more Zhou Chu spoke, the more they felt that the problems facing the Ming Dynasty were too numerous and too serious.

There were so many tasks that if Yan Song or Zhang Cong were to do them, they wouldn't even know where to begin.

"Is the weighing equipment company planning to start in the Jiangnan region?"

Wang Yangming asked.

Zhou Chu nodded.

“If the Jiangnan region can be measured clearly, other places will be easier to measure.”

Zhou Chu was well aware of the resistance that would come, but this was something that had to be done, otherwise the situation would only get worse.

As for the academy, it was a move Zhou Chu had made in advance, planting a seed.

It will take many years for this seed to take root and sprout. The academy is merely leaving a glimmer of hope for the future of the Ming Dynasty. As for developing technology? It will take at least several decades.

This is not a problem that can be solved in one generation.

Zhou Chu's focus should be on the immediate situation, resolving as many problems as possible.

"Hengqi's thoughts are all for the country and the people. To be honest, I have wasted half my life and accomplished nothing. If I can pass the imperial examination this time, I will go to the capital to take the exam next year. Even if I can help Hengqi in some way, it would be a great thing."

Only then did Wen Zhengming realize how heavy the burden on his student's shoulders was; just listening to it made him feel breathless.

Hearing this, Zhou Chu was very pleased. If others said this, he would only think that the person was greedy for power, but Zhou Chu believed Wen Zhengming's words.

In the original history, Wen Zhengming was recommended by someone and entered officialdom as a tribute student, but he resigned after a short time.

He originally didn't care much about becoming an official, but his insistence on taking the imperial examination was probably because he wanted to prove his talent.

There's really no need to prove it. Everyone knows Wen Zhengming's talent. It's just that his friend Tang Bohu passed the imperial examinations in three rounds of the imperial examinations, which made him a little unconvinced.

"Then you should try harder. I'm not good enough for it. I've figured it out. Hengqi is right. With my temperament, I'm not suited for officialdom."

Tang Bohu laughed nonchalantly.

"My lord, Governor Cui Wen-kui is at the door, saying he has come to congratulate you on the birth of your son."

Just as everyone was having a pleasant conversation, the steward of the Tang family came up to Tang Bohu and said something.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu immediately perked up.