Chapter 336 Scholars and Businessmen
"You want to serve the Ming Dynasty?" After hearing Jacob's story, Li Jie pondered for a moment before asking with a smile.
"Yes, among us are merchants, craftsmen, and some knowledgeable scholars. As long as the Count gives us a chance, we will not disappoint the Count!" Jacob stood up straight and saluted Li Jie again solemnly.
This Jacob was naturally outstanding when he was promoted to the leader by the Jews. For example, he was very keen to discover that Li Jie was the opportunity for him. If he could get the common sense and recommendation of the other party, he might really be able to enter the Ming Dynasty court, so that these Jews could take root in the Ming Dynasty.
Li Jie naturally saw Jacob’s plan, and saw him smile again and said, “I will give you a chance to gather all your people and let me see what you have. If you can impress me, I will arrange a job for you!”
"Mr. Xie!" Jacob immediately said excitedly when he heard this. After saying that, he asked Li Jie to wait, and then he ran out to gather his companions.
But at this moment, Mahama next to him suddenly whispered with a worried look: "Mr. Prince Consort, these Jews may indeed have some talent, but their reputation in the West is quite bad. There are reasons why countries don't like them, so please be careful!"
Although Mahama is not a Chinese, both generations of them have served as officials in the Ming Dynasty and have long regarded themselves as Ming people from the bottom of their hearts. Therefore, they are also sincerely considering the Ming Dynasty. If the Jews really find opportunities, it may have some bad impact on the Ming Dynasty.
"Don't worry, I have heard of the reputation of these Jews, but if they really have any talent, they might as well use it, but when they use it, they will also be supervised!" Li Jie replied with a smile. He was guarding against these Jews who were known as "vampires" from the beginning.
"Brother-in-law, you really know everything. I took them in before and found that these people were indeed talented, but they didn't dare to use them out of caution. Now that I know their background, it's okay to use them in the future!" Zhu Yunxiu also smiled at this time. As a superior, knowing people and using them well is a great knowledge, and he is also learning and exploring now.
"It's good if the prince consort and His Highness know it. I had a preliminary understanding before and found that these Jews are indeed good, especially the Jews are good at doing business and managing finances. There is a saying in our hometown that it is to give the Jews a gold coin, and it only takes one month to get back two gold coins. Although it's a bit exaggerated, these people's ability to manage finances is indeed very powerful!" Mahama replied with a smile when she heard this.
While speaking, Jacob had already gathered all the people he brought. Li Jie and the other two walked out of the tent. Jacob immediately stepped forward enthusiastically and then brought Li Jie to the number of people to introduce them.
There were 101 people in this group of Jews, and they were obviously divided into three different circles. Jacob first brought Li Jie and the others to the group with the least number of people. He saw that there were only a dozen people in this group, and they were all older, and two of them were women. Although the group of people were dressed in a relatively worn-out manner, their eyes were calm. When they saw Li Jie and others, they also came forward to salute.
"Master Earl, these are all scholars among us Jews. Each of them is a knowledgeable person and the most precious treasure among us Jews!" Jacob pointed at these dozen Jewish scholars and introduced.
"Oh? What are you all good at?" Li Jie and Zhu Yun-chan and Mahama all looked at each other and smiled at each other, and then asked.
Perhaps Li Jie's condescending attitude made these scholars a little unhappy. Although they were all in trouble, they were still very confident in their talents. So at this time, a Jew with a big beard stood up and said, "Sir, I am best at astronomy. I have personally observed the astronomical phenomena for thirty years and recorded a large number of astronomical changes!"
"Astronomy?" Li Jie was stunned when he heard this, and then smiled at Mahama next to him, "This is the strength of your Imperial Heaven Supervision. You can take the exam!"
Mahama was not polite, and immediately walked up to the bearded man and asked, "I wonder what you think of the geocentric theory?"
"The geocentric theory originated from the ancient Greek scholar Ptolemy. Through astronomical observations and mathematical calculations, he concluded that the sky is spherical, and the earth is located in the center of the sky. The moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are revolving around the earth. Through my observations, this theory has also been verified..."
This bearded man is indeed very knowledgeable about the theory of the geocentric theory. Not only is he very proficient in the theory of the geocentric theory of the Ptolemy, but he also occasionally adds some of his research ideas. Other Jews who understand astronomy around him nodded repeatedly.
If it were a few years ago, Mahama might have admired the research of this bearded man, but now he shook his head secretly, and finally he couldn't help interrupting him: "Don't say it, although the Earth-center theory can explain some astronomical phenomena, after the research of our Daming Imperial Heaven Supervision, especially the prompts of the prince consort around me, we have proved that the Earth-center theory is actually a wrong theory, so no matter how much you study it on mistakes, it is useless at all!"
"What? This... this is impossible. How could the geocentric theory be wrong?" The bearded man couldn't help but scream in shock when he heard this, and the other Jewish scholars all showed a look of surprise.
"If you are wrong, you are wrong. My father was also an astronomer in the Eastern Roman Empire. I was also a loyal believer of the geocentric theory, but now we have proved that the geocentric theory is wrong. The sun should be the one that is truly in the center, so we have established the heliocentric theory now!" Mahama said again. In recent years, the astronomical sciences in the Ming Dynasty have changed a lot, but astronomy is far away from ordinary people, so it has not attracted much attention.
"Hidal-centric theory? This is simply absurd! Why do you say that the sun is in the center?" A bearded scholar couldn't help but angrily when he heard Mahama's words. After all, the geocentric theory was the theory he had studied for a lifetime, but now it was denied by someone in one sentence. This is simply an insult to him.
"Why?" Mahama smiled proudly, "Just because our Ming Dynasty can fly into the sky with a hot air balloon, and observe various celestial bodies closer together. Just because we have astronomical telescopes, we can clearly see the surface of the moon. Do you know there are circular mountains on the moon?"
Mahama's words made all Jewish scholars widen their eyes in shock. After a while, someone finally woke up and shouted, "You... can you really fly to the sky?"
"Of course, I'm not afraid to tell you that the person who invented the hot air balloon was the Earl in front of you!" Mahama said with a finger at Li Jie at the end.
All the Jewish scholars now showed incredible expressions. They had been studying their own subjects for many years to achieve their current achievements. However, the count in front of them looked very young and did not look like a scholar no matter how they looked. At most, they were just an apprentice.
"Okay, let's put astronomy aside for the time being, what else do you know?" Li Jie interrupted everyone at this time. If he really wanted to discuss astronomy, he would probably not be able to finish talking for a few days or nights. He doesn't have time now.
"I... I am also proficient in mathematics!" At this time, the bearded man said again. This is normal. After all, those who are engaged in astronomy are generally proficient in mathematics. In addition to the bearded man, several other scholars who are proficient in mathematics have also come forward.
Li Jie casually asked a few mathematical problems to test the abilities of these people. As a result, some of these people could solve them, while others were blushing and could not solve them at all. At the same time, this also completely dispelled their suspicion. The young count in front of him was indeed a scholar, otherwise such problems would not be able to be solved at all.
Then Li Jie asked about the research direction of other scholars, but no matter what these people studied, Li Jie could ask several professional questions, which shocked the Jews even more, and even doubted whether the Ming Dynasty was a country of scholars. Otherwise, how could there be such a knowledgeable person?
After asking a while, Li Jie was still very disappointed. Although these Jewish scholars had a certain level, they were just average for the Ming Dynasty and had no use for them.
Jacob was a personal genius, and at this time he saw the disappointment in Li Jie's eyes, so he immediately pulled Li Jie to the second group of Jews and introduced: "Sir Earl, there are also our merchants here. We Jews are especially good at doing business. They are also the top merchants. If you want, just give them a certain amount of money and you can double the money in a few months!"
"Businessman?" Li Jie smiled disdainfully when he heard this, "No need, our Ming Dynasty does not lack businessmen. Let's introduce the next batch!"
Jacob did not expect Li Jie to be so repulsive of merchants, but when he thought of his experiences in the Ming Dynasty, it seemed that the merchants on the Ming Dynasty had a very low status, so he did not dare to say anything else.
In fact, Jacob didn't know that Li Jie did not look down on businessmen, but on these Jewish merchants. Perhaps they did have various business methods and even knew some basic financial knowledge, such as lending was what they were best at. Even later stocks, banks and other financial-related things were mostly related to Jews.
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However, the more this happens, the more Li Jie rejects these Jewish merchants, because he knows that although the finance in later generations looks gorgeous, he is actually a group of vampires in essence.
Chapter completed!