Chapter 85 Shining Brightly Over the World
February 24th
Soon the half-burned human head mask was dug out. Shen Kuo was very familiar with this thing. A few days ago, under the Kaibao Pagoda, he saw Yu Jing wearing it to scare him. However, there was one thing that puzzled him: the ox-headed jailer he saw that day was clearly more than ten feet tall, and Yu Jing was obviously not that tall.
Then the dead body wearing heavy armor was dug out, and the body had been burned beyond recognition. However, Xu Chong said that he could recognize it even if it was burned to ashes, so he had to trouble him to identify it.
It didn't take Xu Chong much time to confirm that it was Yu Jing who had fought with him last night. He was very sure about what he said, but this matter was of great importance. The government was still waiting for the final confirmation that the chief culprit of Maitreya Sect had been brought to justice. Xu Chong had only seen Yu Jing once in the thick smoke of the tunnel, and was it Yu Jing who he saw in the tunnel that time? If not, the one in front of him might not be Yu Jing either.
Fortunately, Yu Jing had many old friends in the capital. Kaifeng Prefecture tied these people up with iron chains early in the morning and went to the scene to look at the corpse. Although the face could no longer be seen clearly, the old acquaintances thought it was him from the body shape. Eight or nine of the dozen people signed their names. The calluses on the hands of the corpse clearly showed that he was a carpenter.
Soon, another dead body was found under the burnt Seven Stars Terrace. This person was not burnt to charcoal, but his face was clear. Xu Chong also mentioned that this person was killed by Yu Jing's crossbow when he sneaked under the Seven Stars Terrace. At that time, he seemed to want to assassinate Yu Jing, but was killed by Yu Jing who was prepared.
The body was carried in front of Bao Zheng and Wen Yanbo. Bao Zheng frowned and said nothing. It was obvious that the identity and motive of this person were a mystery. It really became another mystery that might never be solved after Yu Jing's death. Wen Yanbo glanced at it expressionlessly and turned away.
Shen Kuo thought this person looked familiar. He had a good memory and felt that he had seen this face recently, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it. This usually meant that he saw this person in bad light or his beard and hair had changed. He couldn't help but make a deep match in his mind based on these possibilities.
He suddenly recalled that on the night of the 28th day of the first lunar month, he was unable to recite a poem at the bow, and Xiaoping and Jin'er came to ask for help, saying that thieves were chasing them. He patted his chest and told them to hide, and then he stayed on the deck to deal with it. Sure enough, the old man named Jiugong arrived with a group of people. Shen Kuo was born without the talent for lying, and his response was not very good at that time. However, when the old man hesitated. A young man with a big beard and a dog came out and said that the dog smelled the smell and went north, so the threat was lifted. Jiugong led the group to the north.
The deceased was the big man with curly beard, but now he had no beard. At that time, Shen Kuo was wondering why the nose of the village dog was so bad. Now it seems that it was not the dog's fault, but the big man deliberately helped Xiao Ping out. So, he was actually on Xiao Ping's side? When Xiao Ping left, she seemed to have some premonition that the world would return to peace. It might be related to this man's stay in Maitreya, because he would kill Yu Jing. If the identity of this man could be solved, many other problems would also be solved, but unfortunately it could not be solved. Those who knew Yu Jing did not know him at all.
Soon, some parts of Wang Ze's skin were dug out, but they were useless. The principle of this floating head was obviously lost because of Yu Jing's death. Although the principle that heat can lift heavy objects is not difficult to understand, it was suspended in the air without rotating left and right and could determine the height. The mystery is still worth a look. Shen Kuo couldn't help thinking that if he could meet Huai Liang again in his lifetime, he could ask him for advice, but unfortunately he might not have the chance. Soon, the crossbow was found under Yu Jing's body. Unfortunately, most of it was burned.
Judging from the remaining parts, it is very similar to a common crossbow, with a crossbow arm and a crossbow mechanism, but there is an additional quiver for short arrows underneath. The principle of its firing of continuous arrows is unknown. Xu Chong said that it can fire more than just continuous arrows. In fact, when this small crossbow fires continuously, the crossbow arm does not move, and it seems to be just a decoration. In addition, the three crossbow arrows that hit the big man are completely preserved, and it can be seen that the arrow shaft is actually hollow and rolled with red copper sheets. Xu Chong once said that although this thing can fire continuously, it is very light and it is not difficult to dodge it. It may be related to its hollowness and lightness.
The method of firing the crossbow in succession was indeed very thoughtful. Shen Kuo remembered that Huai Liang had mentioned the problem of "the situation changes, and the reciprocating motion does not last long", which he realized when designing the skyscraper. The essence of this problem is that any machine that needs to reciprocate, no matter how sophisticated the design, cannot run over and over again, and will always stop, so there is a feeling that the reciprocating motion does not last long. Just like the skyscraper he designed and the improved water-powered armillary sphere, if they want to run continuously, they must be driven by water flow. Huai Liang's thinking also went deep into the stage of situation change. He felt that just like water is static in high places and dynamic in low places; its momentum is also different. It accumulates momentum in high places, and loses momentum when it goes to low places. However, once it loses momentum, the situation changes from static to dynamic, and the still water can become a torrent. If it is a bow, when the bow is drawn, the bow is curved and accumulates momentum, and when the arrow is released, the bow is straight and releases momentum. The situation changes, and the arrow gains speed and shoots out. So from this perspective, the crossbow itself does not conform to the principle of situation change. It would be even more unreasonable if the bow arm did not move.
This crossbow can shoot arrows continuously without moving the crossbow arm and seemingly without accumulating strength. This is not "reciprocating for a short time" but " reciprocating endlessly". What is the reason for this? It's a pity that Huailiang is not here, otherwise his curiosity would definitely be ignited. What a pity.
Another suspicious point is that the escape passage left by Yu Jing leads to the river, which shows that he must have prepared a boat, but there were actually imperial guards guarding the river and no boat was seen.
Of course, Xu Chong also provided an interesting thing, that is, he overheard the conversation between Yu Jing and the big man, which roughly said that he infiltrated the Maitreya Sect not only to ruin his good deeds, but also to steal his hat demon magic like Monk Huailiang. This conversation also mentioned that Yu Jing had tried to kill Xiao Ping several times by breaking the verdict, but was destroyed by this person. This is actually close to Shen Kuo's guess. Xiao Ping can escape danger repeatedly, and there must be an insider, such as secretly giving her the key before sinking the Tan, or taking the pursuers away in the name of the dog smelling the smell. Unfortunately, this person also died, and Yu Jing also died. From then on, the skills of the hat demon may have been lost, which is also a pity. Wen Yanbo regarded all these skills as the root cause of the country's disaster, and was optimistic that they were taken underground by Yu Jing.
Shen Kuo couldn't understand Wen Yanbo's idea at all. Wen Yanbo believed that if the people's wisdom was opened, it would be detrimental to the governance of the country, and these strange and lewd skills would probably increase the diversity of the common people's methods of resisting the court. He gave three examples at the time: a giant flying bird, a sea-sweeping warship, and a fire-breathing chariot. Shen Kuo was also impressed by the old man's imagination. If such a thing could be made by some "strange and lewd skills", it would be no problem to sweep the Northern Liao and Western Xia. Moreover, such a machine that can understand the principles of heaven and earth and see through the mysteries of the universe can not only strengthen the army, but also enrich the country. However, Wen Yanbo was afraid of skills like a wolf and afraid of the people's wisdom like a tiger. He only thought of boastful things like "a gentleman is not an instrument".
By night, the search was largely completed, and no more clues were found. So far, the thread of the prophecy that started on the eighth day of the first lunar month has been roughly clear. At first, the Saint Lady and Yu Jing conspired to create such a big event in the capital. Then they carried out the prophecy one by one until it was destroyed. However, there are still a few unsolved problems. The first is what exactly is the hat monster that has been interspersed with everything in the past month or so? Secondly, from all the signs, there must be a Maitreya cult inside the palace, so the news of the imperial concubine's death can be conveyed by releasing the prayer lanterns, which started this prophecy, but this person has not been found yet.
Another thing is Xiaoping's role in the whole incident. It seems that she had been in the Maitreya Sect as early as two years ago, when Wang Ze rebelled in Hebei. She was also one of the four masters of the hexagram. However, she was not tolerated by Yu Jing, who joined later and wanted to get rid of her everywhere. However, she was able to tip off herself and find out Huailiang, the master of the hexagram behind Yu Jing. What was the reason behind these actions?
When he thought of Xiao Ping, he couldn't help but feel jealous. Although she seemed very cold when she saw him for the last time, and said that they never had to meet again, she still stole the second volume of Yu Jing's "Wood Classic" for him. Does it mean that she still has him in her heart?
Of course, there is one last question that the emperor may want to know most, which is whether Maitreya has really disappeared? Now that Saint Aunt and Yu Jing are dead, the ten prophecies have also been deciphered. Maitreya predicted that the king would be resurrected, and it did, but it was immediately destroyed in the air, witnessed by tens of thousands of people. The demon in the sky was broken, and the demon in the heart would naturally dissipate into nothingness. You can't think of a more perfect way to defeat magic with magic than this. So, although there are many questions left unanswered, has the crisis of the Song Dynasty really been resolved?
February 25th at noon
Bao Zheng visited Laoya Lane again, but Wen Yanbo did not come with him this time. Perhaps the two old men had some grudges against each other after the debate yesterday.
Bao Zheng did not have many questions to ask. As Shen Kuo had expected yesterday, he only asked one question on behalf of the emperor: whether the Maitreya sect had been solved once and for all and would not make a comeback. Although it was not Shen Kuo who finally gave the emperor the conclusion of the case, his conclusion was crucial.
If the case can be concluded, the emperor will announce it to the world and declare that the case is closed. This will undoubtedly suppress the emperor's credibility, just like Wang Ze's shrunken and weak body falling from the sky in full view of the public, which means that Maitreya is doomed to lose everything. However, this position of being slapped in the face is indeed interchangeable. So the emperor wants to know for sure whether he can declare victory.
Shen Kuo gave an almost definite conclusion. He believed that the prophecy had ended and Yu Jing's death also meant that no one would have the ability to repeat such a spectacle.
However, Shen Kuo did not say anything definitive. Because Maitreyaism has not really perished, the Maitreya scriptures all mention that there are four hexagram masters below the two saints. Now, Wang Ze Shenggu has died, and the three hexagram masters have left the temple, but there seems to be one less. In addition, the entire prophecy stops at the ninth sentence, but the ninth sentence is quite cleverly designed. Wang Ze's resurrection is linked to a word Zhao, which is seemingly true or false. In this way, Maitreyaism actually gained a certain flexibility in interpretation. Now the lie about Wang Ze's resurrection has been shattered, but if they can create another miracle of the sun and the moon in the same sky, the folk interpretation may still be distorted.
Bao Zheng burst into laughter after hearing this. It turned out that he was worried about the same thing as Shen Kuo. As the saying goes, great minds think alike.
On February 26, Bao Zheng was summoned by the emperor alone after the morning court session. He concluded that the Maitreya sect had been largely annihilated and the investigation team could be closed. The emperor was a little scared, so he waited for a few more days. Nothing happened in the whole of February, and the hat monster did not reappear.
It was almost the beginning of March when the Song Dynasty court announced to the world that the Maitreya rebels had been brought to justice, and the hat monster and other evil magic had been suppressed by the national magician. From then on, the world was peaceful. Of course, the common people in Bianjing still did not quite believe this conclusion, and they were still trembling with fear and did not dare to go out at night. However, the world was indeed peaceful, and there were no more strange sightings and sensational rumors. So the night market in the capital gradually became lively, and shops also had night business. The wealthy families hiding outside the city also gradually came back. The house in Lao Ya Lane where Shen Kuo and Xu Chong lived was also urged by the original owner, so the spies here had to disband and go back to their own places. Xu Chong limped back to his military head office next to the barracks, and Shen Kuo returned to Yang Weide's house, but he could not go back to his hometown, because the official still needed him to wait and see if there would be any place where he was needed again. So he stayed there to prepare for the exam and prepare for this year's imperial examination. During this period, he tried several times to write letters to Huailiang at Tianning Temple in Zhengding, Hebei, to discuss some unresolved issues. However, in the end, none of these letters were sent because he was still worried that these letters would expose Huailiang's secluded place.
The court changed the reign title to "Zhihe" in early March, which seemed to be a sign of guilt. The court officials also suggested that since they had to change the reign title to "Huangyou", they might as well wait until the beginning of next year as usual, instead of rushing to change the reign title in March, which seemed out of place. However, the emperor was a little impatient. He wanted to change the reign title to show that the Mandate of Heaven remained the same and put an end to the prophecy. Throughout March, Yang Weide's colleagues in the Sitianjian and Hanlin Astronomical Garden were very busy, looking for strange stars everywhere, forcibly interpreting them as auspicious signs to prove that the Mandate of Heaven had returned to the Song Dynasty. Yuqing Zhaoying Palace was also open for a few days for civilians to burn incense, so that ordinary people could look up and see the "Heavenly Book" hanging in the hall. Everything seemed to have returned to the way it should have been. Things were exactly as the emperor had planned. As time passed, the prosperity of Tokyo City soon returned to its former glory. The people also quickly put aside their fear of the hat monster from January to February, and everything seemed to have subsided.
But will things really end like this? If we try to attribute the randomness of various celestial phenomena to some kind of inevitable destiny, then one day we may be bitten back by randomness.
No one knew that a new crisis was on its way, and it had no concern for the Song Dynasty. It had set out long before the Maitreya sect had planned its conspiracy, and even long before Wu Zetian created the character Zhao, which represented the harmony of yin and yang and the sun and moon in the same sky. In fact, it had already set out 6,500 years ago, and was traveling across the vast starry sky towards the Song Dynasty, which had just changed its era name.
Midnight of May
Yang Weide went to the Sitianjian as usual in the morning to be on duty. He brought some cold dishes and a pot of good wine from home to the observatory, intending to have a good drink and be lazy while it was still cool in the morning. In the past few months, he had been catching wind and shadows for the government and searching for various auspicious signs. It was indeed too hard. Now he could finally take a break. In just a few days, because Shen Kuo shot down Wang Ze's floating head with an arrow that day, the delayed 72 Earthly Evil Burial Ceremony had to be re-held. He would have to work overtime again to find various clues revealed in the stars for the government.
He had just poured a glass of wine, and before the glass reached his lips, he saw a dazzling light in the sky. This flickering, jumping light was unlike any other star. It grew stronger and stronger, and for a moment it made the night sky as bright as dusk or early morning.
Yang Weide watched the ominous evil light grow several inches long, and its brightness overwhelmed the weak waning moon of the Yichou day, shining in the sky like a pale cold sun. This was a celestial phenomenon different from all the observable celestial bodies that appeared repeatedly, a phenomenon that was not recorded in ancient astronomical books, and a wonder caused by the explosion of a supernova far away on the other side of the galaxy.
The wine glass in Yang Weide's hand fell and he sat down on the ground.
At that moment, he opened his mouth and couldn't speak, and even forgot to breathe.
He knew that the Song Dynasty was doomed again, because the prophecy of "the sun and the moon will be in the same sky, shining brightly on the world" had actually come true.
As a result, he became the first human astronomer to observe and describe this "guest star, rising in the east in the morning, guarding the sky."
