Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 576: Magic...
Several strong eunuchs worked together to unload a long and narrow . People who were close could clearly see that the wooden trough was full of water, and there was a small boat floating in it. The boat was only about one foot long and did not look particularly delicate at first glance. It was not even worthy of being a toy for officials.
Zhang Shou completely ignored the commotion in the hall. After everything was settled and the water in the wooden trough gradually became stable, he walked forward and fiddled with the boat in the trough for a few times. After a while, he stood aside silently. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, for a long time, everyone around saw that the boat did not move at all.
At this point, Academician Kong, who had just been at loggerheads with Zhang Shou, could no longer hold back. He shouted, "Zhang Shou, this is the Imperial Lecture Hall in Wenhua Hall. Do you think this is a place for monkey shows?"
Zhang Shou glanced at the furious university scholar and said calmly, "What is a classic? The works written by saints and wise men that explain the principles of the world are classics. However, the principles of all things in the world are not just about teaching people how to behave in the world."
He paused, then raised his hand and pointed at the wooden trough, saying with a half-smile, "Just like Confucius, who claims to be well-read in classics and history, just said that small countries 108,000 miles away from our dynasty are nothing to be afraid of because they can't fly over with wings. However, there are actually things in this world that are not inferior to bird wings, you just never discovered it before."
Whether they were people who sneered or people who were excited, because of Zhang Shou's gesture, they all looked at the wooden trough. This time, they were shocked to find that the boat that had been motionless just now had a puff of white smoke on its top, and then it started moving forward in an instant, so fast that most people who were watching had just been amazed when the boat directly hit the other end of the wooden trough.
A strong eunuch wearing thick gloves was guarding there. He quickly reached out and caught the boat that had flipped out of the trough due to its rapid movement. Then he couldn't help but take a step back and shouted in a low voice: "This boat is so powerful!"
"Put the spring down, and don't let the small hole on the top face you to avoid getting burned!"
Zhang Shou hurriedly reminded him, and when he saw the eunuch carefully followed his instructions and finally put the boat steadily on the ground, he smiled and said, "Sea ships rely on sails, and river ships rely on sails and oars. If the wind direction is unfavorable, even the most experienced boatmen will not be able to travel quickly. But there was no wind in the hall just now, and there was no one paddling on this boat."
"Although the wooden trough is only a dozen feet wide, the boat can be seen moving forward automatically in it. In this case, Master Kong, can you tell me whether the boat has wings or how it moves?"
Academician Kong was driven crazy by Zhang Shou's questions. But before he could answer in a rage, he heard a stern voice: "Zhang Shou, you still dare to ask! This is clearly your magic, and you are actually showing off your magic in this grand Wenhua Hall!"
Hearing the word "demon magic", Zhang Shou didn't even blink, and didn't even bother to look for the person who spoke. Because he remembered that voice so clearly, who else could it be but the self-righteous Second Prince? He laughed and said calmly: "For those who don't understand the principles of the world and only care about gains and losses, when they see this boat moving by itself, they will naturally think it is a demon magic."
Without waiting for the other people in the Wenhua Palace to react, he looked up at the Third Prince, who was standing beside the emperor with sparkling eyes, and asked with a smile: "But, Third Prince, I dare to ask, what did you think of when you saw this boat?"
"I..." The Third Prince did not expect Zhang Shou to ask him this. He hesitated for a moment, then said frankly, "I just wanted to estimate how fast this ship is. If it is equipped with sails, how long will it take to sail from Ningbo to Tianjin when the wind is favorable? How much time and manpower can be saved in transporting grain from the south to the north? And..."
Although he knew that some people would suspect that he and Zhang Shou were acting together, he still couldn't help asking, "Also, when the wind is against us, if we lower the sails and use this boat, can we sail against the wind on the sea, and how fast can we go? In this way, when the wind direction is not right, do we not have to take the Caohe River instead of the sea route? After all, the Caohe River requires human paddling. For example, the waterway from Tianjin to the capital is often silted up, and even many places need boatmen."
The third prince had a lot of questions in his mind and wanted to continue talking, but when he heard his father beside him suddenly cough, he realized that he was not in the Jiuzhang Hall of the Imperial College, nor in the Kunning Palace where Zhang Shou had taught him these days, but in the Wenhua Hall, which was not suitable for a teacher and student to ask and answer questions.
He quickly took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "However, the teacher showed this boat in the Wenhua Hall. Are you trying to say that this boat also contains truths that we haven't discovered before?"
Zhang Shou nodded approvingly, still not paying attention to the resentful gazes from behind, and said calmly: "Everyone has his own opinion, and only those who have no gullies in their hearts and only calculate think that this is a sorcery. After all, whether it is a carriage or a ship, there have been many improvements over the past thousands of years, but in terms of increasing speed, at most the sails have been improved, and the power has never been improved."
He stepped forward and took the boat from the sturdy eunuch, then put it back into the water tank. Seeing that it did not move at all, he fiddled with it and let it slowly turn a circle.
Seeing that the boat was no longer moving, he smiled and said, "But this toy-like boat is different. It has another kind of power inside. It is even completely different from the mechanical power used in the clock I presented to the emperor before. It uses the boiling power of boiling water."
Only then did he slowly turn around and calmly look at the Second Prince who was staring at him as if he wanted to swallow him up, and said word by word: "And this is the truth about the magic you just mentioned, Second Prince!"
If this was somewhere else, the Second Prince would have rushed forward and torn Zhang Shou and the hateful face into pieces, but he knew how difficult it was to come to the Wenhua Palace today, so even though he was burning with anger, he had to suppress it.
He turned his head to look at his elder brother who was standing next to him with a gloomy face, his eyes revealing blatant contempt. It has come to this, and you still don't know how to fight to the death? Who do you think has caused you to this point?
The eldest prince, who had been silent to the point of seeming a little confused, did not ignore the provocation of the second prince after all.
He spoke slowly and dryly, "The Wenhua Hall is a place where many wise men gather to discuss scriptures and history. Dr. Zhang, don't you think it's a bit of a show of force to use this place to talk about the rise and fall of foreign countries that others have never heard of, and to demonstrate these worldly principles that you claim can bring convenience?"
"But you are also right. You are a person who seeks to attract attention. Otherwise, you would not have invented the so-called more efficient and labor-saving spinning wheels and looms, which have brought me to this point! Everyone says that I am the culprit for the civil unrest in Cangzhou... But ask yourself, after the spinning wheels and looms are popular throughout the world, how many people will be unable to get enough food and clothing!"
"Just these few days, some weavers in Yangzhou who were laid off by their owners have gathered in front of the government office to make trouble because they have nowhere else to go! If your boat is really built, how many boatmen will lose their livelihoods because of it!"
The eldest prince has actually improved. Could it be that the imprisonment has really made him sober? This was a thought that occurred to many people in an instant. However, Zhu Ying frowned thoughtfully, feeling that something was wrong. Others were not familiar with the eldest and second princes, but she knew them best.
Compared to the second prince who was too lazy to even pretend and always showed his tyrannical side, the eldest prince was good at disguising himself, but that disguise was only to pretend to be polite and kind, but deep down he was the same selfish person that the former queen had taught him. It was simply wishful thinking to expect him to have any long-term vision.
Therefore, it is absolutely impossible that these words were thought up by the eldest prince himself. Someone must have taught them to him!
Thinking of this, Zhu Ying ignored other people's reactions at this time, stood up directly, walked quickly to the side of the Queen Mother, and whispered: "Queen Mother, someone must have instigated them to cause trouble!"
The Queen Mother calmly shook Zhu Ying's hand, but her eyes were still calmly looking at Zhang Shou standing in the middle of Wenhua Hall. She was still standing calmly, as if she didn't care about the eldest prince's accusations at all, but she didn't refute him, but just looked at him quietly. When she looked at the eldest and second princes, she saw that one of them pretended to be calm, but his shoulders were shaking slightly, and the other was furious, wanting to rush up and fight. At this moment, she couldn't help but sigh deeply.
The two brothers were a few years older than Zhang Shou and had experienced the biggest setback in their lives. However, instead of waking up and reflecting on themselves, they tried their best to take revenge and turn the tables.
Even if you want to emulate Taijia who returned from Tong Palace, you must first learn Taijia's forbearance and repentance in Tong Palace. If you can't leave Tong Palace, then everything is over! The queen's two sons are really stupid, just like she buried herself!
The Queen Mother and Zhu Ying thought the eldest prince was extremely stupid, but Scholar Kong finally came to his senses because of what the eldest prince said. Realizing the breakthrough, he sneered and said, "Strange tools and tricks may bring temporary benefits, but they will never bring eternal benefits! If we ignore the internal affairs because of your temporary deception and only focus on those small countries that are fighting endlessly, it would be putting the cart before the horse!"
"This is hilarious, Grand Secretary Kong. When say that I would not take care of domestic affairs? Quite the contrary. It is precisely because the emperor worked hard to govern the country, appointed talented people, and personally presided over the northern expedition against all odds that the northern border has been brought peace for at least 10 to 20 years. This is the time of prosperity. But precisely because it is a time of prosperity, we have more time to think about danger in times of peace and turn our gaze from the Ming Dynasty to the rest of the world."
Everyone likes to hear good things, and the emperor is no exception. Especially when Zhang Shou hinted that it was his insistence that led to the great victory of the Northern Expedition, he was even more proud. Therefore, seeing that Grand Secretary Kong was furious and seemed to be going to confront Zhang Shou to the end, he immediately coughed and said, "Jiu Zhang, you just said that the power of boiling water made your boat move. What do you mean by that?"
The emperor personally came out to change the subject, and Zhang Shou certainly would not give him face. He immediately turned around and bowed, saying, "Everyone knows that when boiling water, if you let it boil, the boiling steam will directly lift the lid of the pot. If people stand too close at this time, they will be injured by the scalding steam. Therefore, the elders have always warned children to stay away from the stove, but they don't see the reason..."
Zhang Shou had talked about the tremendous force of boiling water in both Banshan Hall and Jiuzhang Hall. At the emperor's request, he explained it a little, then smiled and said, "There is actually only a very simple device in this boat, and what I just did was just to light the fire, boil the water, and then let the boiling steam drive a series of transmission devices, and finally start the propeller to push it forward."
"But the reason why I say simple is that all these things are very crude, with poor sealing and low efficiency. So if we want to make this boat move again, it is not enough to just add water. The lifespan of all the things inside is also limited. Moreover, this kind of heating is not only unsafe, but also very cumbersome. Just because of my request, Guan Qiu worked hard for half a month after those clocks."
"He hopes to be worthy of the title of Tiangongfang bestowed by the emperor, and I also hope that the so-called craftsmen can think about the principles behind certain natural phenomena while thinking about improving the appearance of the objects, just like the great craftsman Lu Ban in the past."
"Just now, Master Kong said that these are all strange and ingenious tools. Have you ever thought that if there were no cars and ships, then all transportation in the world would rely on mules and horses and other livestock. Wouldn't the court be unable to reach even slightly remote places? If there were no agricultural tools that were constantly changing, then the production of farmland would be limited to an extremely low level. Ordinary people could not even get enough food and clothing, so how could they study and understand reason?"
"If no one had thought of splitting hemp and using kudzu, raising silkworms and reeling silk, and growing cotton and weaving cloth, the people of the world would have had to use fur to keep warm. How would that be any different from the barbarians we laugh at who eat raw meat and drink blood?"
"Just now, the eldest prince said that the dismissed weaving operators in Yangzhou gathered outside the government office to protest. However, just like the simple porters who were forced into a desperate situation when mules and horses carried goods, better spinning wheels and looms will naturally reduce the demand for skilled workers. And now that the new spinning wheels and looms are promoted by the court, it is easier to make a response plan than if they were suddenly discovered by the people."
"Like Cangzhou, widening the canal, building a shipping terminal, constructing a new city... all these places need workers, isn't this also a solution to the problem of surplus labor? Even if there are no spinning wheels and looms that double the efficiency, the world is peaceful, the population is increasing, but there is only so much land, won't there be a dilemma where some people can't find a field to plant or a job to do? Has anyone ever thought about this kind of hardship that there are too many people and they can't feed themselves even if they have healthy limbs?"
"In times of war, population comes first, but in years of peace, once the population is too large, the arable land and per-acre yield cannot keep up. Once a disaster year comes , what will happen? Therefore, I try to introduce high-yield crops from overseas and try to find a way to solve the livelihood of the excessive population. I would like to ask, my prince, you just said that someone has no means of living, and someone else wants to have enough food and clothing but cannot get it, and you sound so righteous as if you are a benevolent and ambitious person, but who was the person who took away the benefits of the people in Cangzhou and made them hungry and cold?"
Seeing that the eldest prince's face was livid and he was speechless, Zhang Shou looked at Academician Kong again: "The elders in the court want to educate the world and make the people knowledgeable and reasonable. Am I not doing the same? However, when the granaries are full, people will know etiquette; when they have enough food and clothing, they will know honor and disgrace! If strange and ingenious tools can make it easy for the people of the world to have food and clothing, if they can turn natural barriers into roads, isn't that the right way?"
