149: Chapter 149 The Yongle Encyclopedia

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. There was an indescribable feeling in his chest—not entirely the excitement of discovering treasure, but more of a sense of silence that arises when facing a secret.

These items had been sleeping in this dark, damp cave for nearly three hundred years, from being unknown to anyone, until today, when he stood here alone, shining a beam of light from a flashlight, illuminating them one by one in the silence.

The sound of the waves outside came faintly through the rock, very distant and blurred, like a sound coming from another world.

The moment he opened the lid of the box, Hu Tian was stunned for a moment.

He had thought it would be gold or silver artifacts, or some kind of valuable items, but what was inside was a book.

No, to be more precise, it was an ancient book.

The book was carefully wrapped in cut oil paper, cover facing up. Although the paper had yellowed and the edges were slightly damaged, it was generally well-preserved, and the handwriting was clear and legible.

Hu Tian brought the flashlight closer and, with the help of the light, made out the characters on the cover—《Essentials of Craftsmanship and Investigation of Things》.

He frowned slightly and gently turned the page. The paper made a very faint rustling sound at his fingertips, as if it would shatter at a touch. He lightened his touch and carefully turned the page.

The handwriting on the inner pages was neat, handwritten regular script. The ink had turned from dark black to dark brown, but it was still clear. The content was a treatise on the investigation of things regarding machinery manufacturing, involving some principles of hydraulic machinery. The writing was concise and well-organized; it didn't look like the casual notes of a folk craftsman, but rather like the work of a scholar well-versed in the study of investigating things.

song dynasty.

Hu Tian narrowed his eyes, his mind racing.

The paper, ink color, calligraphy style, and some of the vocabulary and usage in this book all pointed in the same direction: song dynasty.

He carefully placed the ancient book back into the box, sealed it up again, and sent it directly into the System Space.

Then, he picked up the second box next to it.

Opened it—a book.

The third one, also a book.

The fourth one, a book.

Hu Tian did not examine each book in detail anymore. He began to speed up, picking up the boxes one by one, opening them, glancing at them, sealing them, and sending them into the System Space. His movements became increasingly fluid, yet he always maintained enough gentleness, not daring to be the slightest bit careless.

As one box after another was opened, he gradually figured out the thread of this collection.

The scope of the ancient books inside far exceeded his initial expectations.

Books on the art of investigating things accounted for nearly half, ranging from hydraulic machinery and textile machinery of the song dynasty, to records of agricultural tool improvements in the Yuan dynasty, and then to treatises on casting, iron smelting, porcelain making, and shipbuilding technology from various periods of the ming dynasty. The variety was vast, and the details of the craftsmanship involved were so fine that every time he opened a new box, it was like uncovering a buried history. The wisdom and experience accumulated by the ancestors through their labor were lying quietly in these redwood boxes, waiting for hundreds of years.

There was another category: ideological literature.

Hu Tian picked up a volume; the cover read 《Commentary on Mozi's Universal Love》, a handwritten compilation of Mohist thought.

Further down was a volume of annotations on 《Xunzi's Human Nature is Evil》, next to it was an excerpt of 《Guanzi's Light and Heavy》, and several other volumes were texts on Legalist theories of governance. The handwriting varied, clearly coming from different scribes, but the content consisted of core chapters of the various schools of thought that had been strictly selected.

Hu Tian collected these into the System Space one by one, and that indescribable sense of silence in his heart grew heavier and heavier.

It wasn't that he hadn't seen ancient books; antique markets occasionally had ancient editions in good condition, but those couldn't be compared to this batch in front of him. This batch was not a collection of fragments or unique copies, but a complete, systematic compilation. It was as if someone had done it deliberately, weaving together the crystallization of Chinese technology and thought throughout the ages, thread by thread, and hiding it deep in the darkness of this island.

Who did this?

Why do it?

Just as he picked up a batch of ancient books on the investigation of things from the ming dynasty, his movements paused.

The characters written on the cover made his fingers freeze in place—《Tiangong Kaiwu》.

This was the world-renowned masterpiece written by Song Yingxing of the ming dynasty. He recognized this book; he had seen fragments in antique markets, but the condition of this copy was far more complete than any he had ever seen. The handwriting on the cover was neat, the pages were flat, and the oil paper protection was intact. It was a near-perfect handwritten copy.

He didn't send it into the System Space immediately but flipped through a few more pages. The illustrations inside were detailed, the text was complete, and it covered many categories such as rice cultivation, textiles, salt making, iron casting, papermaking, and weapon manufacturing. It almost encompassed the most comprehensive encyclopedia of craftsmanship from the ming dynasty.

He took a deep breath, closed it, and gently placed it into the System Space.

The next few boxes contained literature on the investigation of things and ideology from various periods between the Yongle and jiajing eras of the ming dynasty. Each volume was in a different condition, but all were quite well-preserved. It was evident that someone had performed meticulous moisture-proofing treatment when they were stored away back then.

As Hu Tian cleared them away, he estimated the approximate number of items in his mind.

Dozens of boxes, at least several hundred volumes.

Then, his hand touched that box.

It was not much different in appearance from the other boxes; it was also made of redwood and covered with yellowed oil paper. However, this box was a circle larger than the ones next to it, and it was significantly heavier. When Hu Tian picked it up, he felt the difference. He didn't rush to open it, first examining its exterior before using a tool to pry open the sealed paper layer.

The lid opened.

Inside was a stack of books, neatly stacked. Each volume was individually wrapped in cloth. Hu Tian picked up the top volume, uncovered the cloth, and revealed the cover.

The moment he saw the characters clearly, his hand trembled.

It was not a slight tremor, but a genuine, uncontrollable trembling, so much so that the beam of light from the flashlight even flickered.

《Yongle Dadian》.

In the upper right corner of the cover was another line of small characters: Handwritten copy, 19th year of Yongle.

Hu Tian stared at those characters for a long time, so long that he almost forgot to breathe.

《Yongle Dadian》, this monumental masterpiece commissioned by Emperor Chengzu of Ming, Zhu Di, which gathered all the classic texts of Chinese history into one, had its original copy missing to this day. The copies were lost in the flames of war and dispersion throughout history. The existing fragments scattered around the world, when added together, amounted to less than four percent of the original book.

And what he was holding in his hand was a handwritten copy from the Yongle era.

The books in this box were not just one volume.

With slightly trembling hands, he unwrapped the cloth roll by roll and counted them one by one. There were eleven volumes in total. Each cover had the same format but different volume numbers. The handwriting was neat, and they were well-preserved. Judging from the color and texture of the paper, they had a history of several hundred years and were definitely not modern imitations.

Hu Tian squatted there, not moving for a long time.

The stone chamber was so quiet that it felt as if time had stopped. The sound of the waves outside came from afar, as light as a breath.

He wanted to say something, but nothing came out. He just pressed his lips together tightly, slowly wrapped the eleven handwritten volumes one by one, and, with extreme solemnity, sent them into the System Space.

The moment he sent them in, he said a sentence silently in his heart: "I have brought you out."

Afterward, he took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in his chest, stood up, and continued to clear the remaining boxes.

The following boxes were opened, and they were still books. He could already roughly grasp the full picture of this batch of ancient books. The shock in his heart had not completely dissipated, but his movements had stabilized again. Open, scan, collect into the System Space—his movements were fluid and focused.

Until that box.

This box was lighter than the others. Hu Tian noticed it when he picked it up. He shook it, and there was a faint sound inside, not like books, but more like thin sheets of paper placed loosely inside.

He opened the lid.

There were no books inside.

It was letters.

A stack of letters, folded neatly, tied together with a brittle string. The string broke at a touch, scattering and revealing a dozen folded letters inside. The paper was thinner and more brittle than the paper used for the books, and the edges were slightly frayed, but the ink was still clear.

Hu Tian gently unfolded the top one.

There were two types of scripts on the letter paper: one was neat Chinese characters, and the other was something he could recognize: latin.

He glanced at the signature on the Chinese character part, and his nerves suddenly tightened.

Respectfully submitted by Adam Schall von Bell.

Below it was another line of characters: Third year of Tianqi, the twelfth lunar month.

Hu Tian moved his gaze to the beginning of the letter and read it word by word.

The Chinese character part of this letter was written in Chinese, with smooth phrasing. It began with polite pleasantries, then the tone shifted to discuss the whereabouts and safekeeping of a batch of books. The letter mentioned a title many times: "Brother Pu." It seemed the recipient of this letter was indeed that descendant of the Fujian Province Jewish family with the surname Pu.

Adam Schall von Bell.

Hu Tian quickly went over this name in his mind.

Adam Schall von Bell, a German missionary, a Catholic Jesuit, who came to China at the end of the ming dynasty. He was well-versed in astronomy, calendars, and Western machinery, and had served in the Ming court. Later, he became the Director of the Imperial Board of Astronomy for the Qing court. He was an extremely important figure in the history of cultural exchange between China and the West during the late ming and early Qing dynasties.

And the recipient of the letter was a descendant of a Jewish family in Fujian Province with the surname Pu.

Hu Tian carefully turned the letter over to the back. On the back was another type of handwriting, clearly a draft of the recipient's reply. It was written in Chinese characters, with a different handwriting style from the front, vigorous and powerful. The signature was Pu Liangchen.

Hu Tian took a deep breath and unfolded the second letter.

It was still two types of scripts. The Chinese character part was still in Adam Schall von Bell's handwriting, but this time, his gaze stopped after almost just a glance.

The beginning of the letter was still polite, but immediately after, the tone suddenly became urgent, revealing a hidden anxiety between the lines.

"Brother Pu, the matter entrusted to you last time must be handled as soon as possible. The East India side is urging very urgently, especially regarding the methods of firearm casting and nautical compass manufacturing; they have waited too long. I know the batch of books in your hands is extremely precious, but our mission is more important than this. If this knowledge can be passed to the West, it will surely change the landscape of the whole world."

Hu Tian's fingers tightened slightly.

He continued to read down.

"As for the issue of unique copies that you are worried about, I have already thought of a way. We only need to make a handwritten copy and leave the original in its place, without anyone knowing. Over the years, we have used this method to pass many classic texts to the West, whether it be astronomical calendars, gunpowder formulas, or textile technology and smelting craftsmanship; they have already taken root and sprouted over there. What you and I have done will eventually be remembered by history."