Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 137 Arabic Numerals

His thoughts were wandering, and Yang Chen instantly brought himself back to reality from his deep thinking process, and all his fantasies returned to the real world before his eyes.

"So, in your opinion, it would take at least a year for those veterans to master addition and subtraction within 100, right?"

"But what if I say I only need two months?"

"What? Brother Yang, do you know what you are talking about?"

"Young friend Yang, please don't joke around. His Majesty is still here. If you take this seriously, it would probably be a military order."

Zhu Biao and Yang Siyi were both shocked.

The difference between two months and the time limit of "year" they proposed was too big, so big that they all thought Yang Chen was joking.

"To be honest, I've already said two months is a long time. In the future, these two months can teach an adult man to master more abilities. But I'm only saying two months for the sake of caution."

"Brother Yang, could you please explain yourself more clearly?"

Zhu Biao stared at him with eyes wide open, trying to make Yang Chen understand something.

Seeing that everyone was still somewhat confused, Yang Chen thought for a moment and explained:
"In your opinion, the person who is in charge of tax collection must have extremely advanced mathematical skills and at least one year of experience.

But if we just let them collect taxes, those rough soldiers will definitely be deceived.

Therefore, in order to prevent them from being cheated, they also need to be taught how to identify account books and master the ability to do accounting.

Collecting taxes is a very important job. In the future, we will become accountants. Every time we pay taxes, we need to report them. "

"But Brother Yang, this is not an easy task. Can we leave it to them?"

Thinking back to when he had spent an entire afternoon racking his brains in school but still couldn't figure out the difficult math problem of putting chickens and rabbits in the same cage, Zhu Di couldn't help but wonder if those retired veterans could do it.

Yang Siyi couldn't help but remind him again:
"How can you teach these veterans to learn math and writing? You know, math is not just about calculations, you also need to be able to write. It is not impossible that a ledger needs to contain thousands or even tens of thousands of words."

"Master Yang, I have my own unique way of teaching them, and I want to find another way to create a more convenient symbol for recording numbers."

Yang Siyi frowned slightly and added:

"That won't work either. Even if you say there are more convenient arithmetic symbols, with such a long string of numbers, how can you guarantee that your symbols are good?

Thousands of years have passed since Cangjie created characters and many characters have been developed, but numbers have not changed for thousands of years.

You are not even thirty years old, how dare you say that you can create a better symbol than the current one?"

After that, in order to let Yang Chen know his level, he used the records in "Sui Shu·Lüli Zhi".

Zu Chongzhi calculated the value of pi to seven decimal places and wrote the numbers in uppercase Chinese characters on the rice paper on the table.

Thirty feet, one foot, four inches, one minute, five centimeters, nine millimeters, two seconds, and six seconds.

However, Yang Chen directly wrote Arabic numerals, which even elementary school students could write, under this line of words.

3.1415926.

"what!"

Yang Siyi's face suddenly changed and he put his hands on the table. Zhu Biao hurried over to look. Old Zhu, who was sitting above, also wanted to get closer, but for the sake of his own status, he did not leave.

Instead, he was poking his head out there.

It seemed that he also wanted to see what could have shocked his Minister of Revenue so much.

"Is it that simple? Just add one point?" Yang Siyi came back to his senses, looked at Yang Chen in a daze and asked.

"Yes, it's that simple. 3.1415926 is also a numerical symbol based on the decimal system. Compared with the eight difficult characters of zhang, chi, cun, fen, li, hao, siao, and hu, it is also a numerical symbol based on the decimal system.

These Arabic numerals are more acceptable to people without any foundation.”

"Arabic numerals are not a knowledge of the Central Plains."

Yang Chen was the fastest at the moment and directly stated the Arabic numerals. Yang Siyi seemed to have grasped the key point immediately and looked at him with suspicion.

"Didn't you grow up in Ningming County? How come you know this barbarian knowledge?"

"Ahem, well, Minister Yang, Yang Chen has come into contact with the barbarians who sailed to visit the Ming Dynasty before, so he naturally knows the barbarians' knowledge."

If Yang Siyi continued to ask questions, Yang Chen's identity as a time traveler would be exposed, so Lao Zhu quickly came out to smooth things over.

As a smart man, no matter how stupid Yang Siyi is, he knows that his Majesty has something that he is not telling.

"I wonder what Minister Yang thinks of these unique numbers of mine?"

After he finished speaking, a description from one to ten appeared on the rice paper.

The top row contains Chinese numerals, and the bottom row contains Arabic numerals.

Corresponding to each other, anyone with a discerning eye can see the clues.

"Very good. The same number of characters in the account book can be recorded much more using these weird numbers than using Chinese characters."

Being able to serve as the Minister of Revenue, Yang Siyi's comprehension ability is far beyond that of ordinary people.

He mastered the Arabic numerals in less than a few minutes, and Zhu Biao was watching from the side.

"Brother Yang, these numbers are different from the Chinese characters, so how about addition and subtraction?"

"That's not a big problem. The numbers are the same over and over again. I will rewrite a new content suitable for these numbers according to the multiplication table and post it on the door. Not to mention adults, even children can master it. They are exposed to these things all day long and can remember them by rote."

As for mathematics, Yang Chen has already done some research and found that many people generally believe that fractions, square roots, squares, etc., which did not exist in ancient times, are all imported words.

In fact, this is a wrong perception.

Substitutes for these contents can be found in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art.

Some words do not need to be changed, such as fractions.

"Numerology can be mastered with these, but what about Chinese characters? Mathematical skills alone are not enough to be a tax guard."

Yang Siyi asked this question after careful consideration.

There is no need to talk about the cultural level of the military, everyone knows it well.

He can't read a single word and can only speak "woman" and all kinds of vulgar words.

It is not an exaggeration to say that they are illiterate.

Yang Chen also knows the answer to this question.

Literacy was a luxury in ancient times, and it was a resource that only people with wealthy families could enjoy.

Even the schools run by Lao Zhu only taught children basic songs and poems. Being able to speak, write and recognize were two different standards.

At this moment in the Ming Dynasty, Yang Chen conservatively estimated that the illiteracy rate reached over 95%.

That is to say, out of a hundred people, only four or five can write Chinese characters. As for whether they can know 500 commonly used characters, that is another matter.

If the standard is raised to 3,000 commonly used Chinese characters, I am afraid the selection criteria will have to be raised from one in a hundred to one in a thousand.

There are many reasons for this sign.

For example, the economy.

The Song Dynasty was the most economically prosperous dynasty in ancient feudal times, and the literacy rate of the people had reached nearly 40%.

This can be seen from the Qingming Festival Along the River.

After the Song Dynasty, the Central Plains was devastated by foreign races, which almost interrupted its culture and caused the people’s literacy rate to approach zero.

By the Ming Dynasty, after years of development and integration between the north and the south, people's lives became better.

But literacy rate is still a headache.

People in this era only needed hoes and cows to work, unlike in modern society, which has various agricultural machines and fertilizers.

If you want to use these things, you can't understand how to operate them according to the instructions without a certain cultural foundation. In addition, due to the inconvenience of movement, many people's lifelong cognition is only within a few dozen miles of where they were born.

Most people will never leave the area where they live in their entire lives. Since they can communicate with people around them, it is more practical for them to do more work in the fields by learning to recognize words.

"What Minister Yang said makes sense, you bastard, don't ever think that teaching soldiers is an easy task.

Those who join the army and survive until they are discharged are basically several years older than you.

They came from all corners of the Ming Dynasty and had all kinds of identities, but without exception, in a battlefield environment, even those with the best tempers would become extremely hot-tempered.

Tell me, facing a group of hot-tempered old men, how can you patiently teach them to read? "

It was rare for Old Zhu to calm down and say something nice. These words were meant to remind Yang Chen not to be arrogant and not to be too ambitious.

In fact, the fact that Yang Chen could come up with the novel idea of ​​Arabic numerals was enough to surprise Old Zhu.

Reducing the time it takes to register tax and security figures means they can have more time to work.

In the long run, many tasks in the Ming Dynasty became more convenient.

As for literacy.

Old Zhu knows best the pain of learning to write and recognize words.

At the beginning, he was studying under the supervision of Empress Ma. Even if Empress Ma taught him personally, it still took Zhu Yuanzhang nearly three years to write a complete poem.

Moreover, only Empress Ma could understand it. No one else could understand what he wrote. It was completely like chicken claws stepping on the ground. Even the ghostly scribbles were more beautiful than his handwriting.

Facing everyone's persuasion and doubts, Yang Chen asked back:
"They do have a hot temper. If they do have a hot temper, can I assume that they must swear a lot in their daily lives?"

Zhu Di's mouth corners curled up, his brows frowned in confusion, and his whole expression was very distorted, as if the question Yang Chen asked was equivalent to not asking it at all.

"No, Brother Yang, although there are all kinds of people in the army, they all have one thing in common, which is that they speak very fast, especially some vulgar words and jokes."

The others nodded involuntarily, acknowledging that what Zhu Di said was the truth.

Although I don't want to admit it, there must be good and bad people among the millions of troops. Their common characteristic is that they like to vent their emotions by doing things that others don't like.

For example, greed and slaughter.

All he talks about is which girl he married recently, or how many people he killed.

“Your Highness can give it a try for two months. Give me some normal and healthy people, preferably those with a military background. I don’t care about their moral character or how they behave in their daily lives. They just need to obey orders.

I can teach them 500 common Chinese characters in two months, and addition and subtraction within 100."

"Brother Yang, are you kidding?"

Zhu Biao stared at Yang Chen in disbelief with his eyes wide open. It was not that he did not believe it, but the combination of these two things made it hard for him to believe.

You have to know that the general military has very little patience. If you want to teach them 500 commonly used characters and addition, subtraction, multiplication and division within 100, at that time, no one dared to guarantee that they could do it.

Yang Siyi, the person who knew this best, couldn't help but give a reminder.

"Young friend Yang, don't be ridiculous! Those warriors can't even write their own names. You want to teach them to write 500 characters in two months. This is simply a fantasy!"

Yang Chen was unmoved by this and asked in return:

"Who is kidding you? You don't really think I'm talking nonsense, do you?
Minister Yang, you just said that they can't even write their own names. Don't you think this is a kind of sadness?"

After the words fell, everyone was stunned.

It is indeed sad that after living for decades, a person cannot even write his own name.

“They have all been in this world for many years, met many people, and experienced many things.

But no matter how rich their experience is, they may only see their names carved on the tombstone on the day they die.

Some people, in order to be able to write their own names themselves, even ask others to prepare chisels and carve tombstones for them by themselves. But in the end, don’t they still live their lives in a muddle?

Is it interesting for such a person to live?

I just feel extremely pitiful.”

"Biao'er, what do you think?"

Old Zhu looked at his son and personally handed the right to speak to him.

Zhu Biao, who was sitting below, did not answer immediately.

It was Yang Siyi's voice that sounded in Lao Zhu's ears first.

"Your Majesty, as a newly promoted official, it is natural for Young Master Yang to be a little arrogant, but I, an old minister, think this is just an illusion and unrealistic!

This old minister originally wanted to better help Your Majesty share the world's affairs in the Ministry of Revenue.

I specially hired a teacher from the court to teach me. It would take at least four months to learn 500 words even for a talented person.

It’s not that the old ministers look down on those warriors, but the conditions are too bad and they can’t do it at all!”

Old Zhu nodded in response to Yang Siyi's reminder, which was considered as an acknowledgement.

Taking all the conditions into consideration, he also thought this was completely unrealistic.

Even though I had the best resources at the time, it still took me a long time to understand the handwriting of those poems.

"Brother Yang, how confident are you that you can succeed?"

Zhu Biao did not show the full-scale questioning that Zhu Yuanzhang had expected.

Instead, I feel a vague sense of anticipation.

"Prince, since I said I am sure, then I am absolutely sure. Just give me a chance."

Yang Chen didn't waste any words and made things clear directly.

"Okay! I believe you!"

Zhu Biao chose to trust Yang Chen again. It was he who had joined forces with the other party in the first place, and the other party had already found a solution to the mathematical problem. As for the writing aspect, he believed that Yang Chen would definitely have a corresponding solution.

"Okay! I am grateful for your trust, Your Majesty. So whenever Your Majesty plans to select talents for me, I will personally teach them in front of you how to master 500 commonly used characters in the shortest possible time."

"We really want to see what you can do, so let Biaoer handle the finding of people.

As for where to teach, we will set it in the Imperial Palace and we will personally inspect it. Don't think you can get away with it!"

Old Zhu said to Yang Chen with interest.

Yang Siyi, who was standing beside him, had a confused look on his face. What Yang Chen was going to do was unprecedented and unparalleled.

He didn't want such a young person to die.

Just as he was about to say something, the other party picked up the pen and started writing on the rice paper.

first step:
It is possible to organize an independent taxation agency which is not necessarily responsible only for taxation but can also incorporate the functions of supervision.

The second step:
Recruiting personnel who are capable of mastering mathematics, literacy, and the ability to work in different locations will be possible in the future.

third step:
The same can be achieved by promoting policies, decomposing the central imperial power, and broadcasting them to the people so that the people know that His Majesty knows about their affairs and that the people do not misunderstand all of His Majesty's measures.

"Brother Yang, I have a question."

"please say."

Zhu Biao raised a question and said:

“If according to what you said before, the Daming Mass Service Center has not only tax guards, but also the imperial power going to the countryside, but you have to know that the people work hard all day and have almost no extra money and knowledge to read about the Daming.

Everything depends on the tax guards, and it is certainly impossible to explain it to everyone personally.

Is there any way to get people to participate voluntarily? "

(End of this chapter)