Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 877 Unexpected
I have no choice but to do my duty... I'm not a science major! No, even if I am, I'm not like that Emperor Taizu, whose graduation thesis was about weapon systems, and who traveled through time in person, not only with a bow and arrow, but also with a good rapid-fire skill, and even with reference books!
Zhang Shou had so much to complain about, especially Chu Kuan's fanatical look at this moment, which was exactly the same as some middle school boys who were nitpicking. But to say that this guy was wrong in his suspicion... then he was not wrong in his suspicion. He immediately sighed deeply again, and then laughed.
"It turns out that Eunuch Chu went to such lengths to create this situation just for this."
This time, before Chu Kuan could say anything, Duke Zhu Jing of Zhao immediately frowned, "How come I haven't heard about the Military Equipment Bureau? And, Zhang Shou, what are you talking about? What do you mean by just? If there is a problem with the Military Equipment Bureau, those magical weapons that enabled our dynasty to be superior to the Northern Barbarians and even caused chaos several times without causing a major disaster will never be produced again, then..."
Before Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing finished speaking, Zhang Shou calmly interrupted him and said, "Father-in-law, let me refute you. So what if you can't make it? The so-called magic weapons are never important. What's important is the people."
"For example, in a war, no matter how good the soldiers are, if they are led by a weak scholar who has only read a few military books and can only talk, then it will be a loss of troops and a disgrace to the country. However, even if it is a group of farmers or miners who have never been on a battlefield, if they are led by a famous general who is proficient in leading troops, then it may not take three to five years, but three to five months to form an army."
"It's the same with magic weapons. Nowadays, because there are no people who truly understand the principles behind them, the blueprints are gone, and there are no people who can assemble them, so they are in danger of being lost. But if someone knew how to draw such a blueprint, what the function of each component is, and how to minimize the error during assembly, wouldn't there be as many magic weapons as possible?"
"Besides, because people are constantly studying and refining them, the original magic weapons can soon be updated to the second, third, and even Nth generation." Zhang Shou didn't bother to care whether the two people in front of him could understand what the so-called N meant. He smiled and said word by word, "Otherwise, if we stick to our ancestors' things, they will be lost if we are not careful."
This time, although Zhu Jing was upset by the rebuke, he had to admit that Zhang Shou was right. However, Chu Kuan was not annoyed by the squeeze, but the expression on his face became stronger.
"I knew that the person who could unlock the secret box of Emperor Taizu would not be like those mediocre mortals. No wonder you have devoted yourself to various schools in the past two years. It turns out that you have long understood the intentions of Emperor Taizu."
"Everyone in the world thinks that the most proud thing in Emperor Taizu's life was his unprecedented achievement of expelling the Tartars and establishing his rule over the world. They all think it was the magic weapons in the Military Equipment Bureau, but they don't know..."
"Emperor Taizu was most proud of the various colleges and universities in the Imperial College. But now, the Jiuzhang Hall has been reopened, but those miscellaneous subjects have disappeared. Emperor Taizu even wanted to open a school to train carpenters and blacksmiths, but he had to give up temporarily because of strong opposition. Even the story about him setting sail after abdicating has another version."
"It is said that he hated some people for being conservative and stubborn, but he couldn't just kill all the scholars and then promote his own ideas. So he passed the throne to Emperor Taizong in anger, and with a large number of supporters, he planned to find a piece of pure land in Haidong, expand the territory in a foreign land, and rebuild his business!"
Wake up , that was Xu Fu's script, not the Taizu of this dynasty! Only a crazy person would do this!
Although he knew that Emperor Taizu was as good as a god in the eyes of some people, including the emperor and Zhu Ying, Zhang Shou could not help but sneer at this moment: "Mediocre people only know how to expand territory on land, but they don't know that there are countless unowned fertile lands overseas. Therefore, Emperor Taizu's act of setting sail to explore the universe is of course unprecedented, but..."
"However, in the past during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Xu Fu set sail and disappeared without a trace under the pretext of searching for the elixir of immortality, taking with him 3,000 boys and girls. Today's Japan claims to be the home of his descendants. But that is only a legend. After all, no one knows what the isolated island was like during the Qin Dynasty."
"But there is one thing that is very clear, and that is population reproduction. Xu Fu brought 3,000 boys and girls with him. After eliminating a certain mortality rate, they married each other, so at least they could have a lot of children, and then reproduced from generation to generation. After more than a thousand years, they were able to accumulate a considerable population. Of course, the premise is that there have not been too many losses of ships and people at sea."
"And the Haidong Continent is more than ten times farther away than Japan. How many ships and how many people can arrive safely? After arriving, if they really want to reproduce, expand overseas territory, and establish a nation...then, how many women went with the ship? Most importantly, over the years, have there been signs of large-scale population outflows from various parts of the Ming Dynasty?"
"If there is no continuous replenishment of population, it is impossible to establish a state in a distant foreign land unless 200,000 troops are sent out at once, just like the story of You Houxi's 200,000 troops disappearing at the end of the Shang Dynasty. Then it is still possible to establish a state of some scale in a foreign land, because there is a foundation for recuperation. Otherwise, even if you are a sage and wise ruler, you can't cook without rice."
"So, if Emperor Taizu was really prepared, he would have raised his arm and called for at least 100,000 or 200,000 soldiers and civilians to accompany him to the sea, if not millions. But, for such a big event, how come the so-called descendants of Emperor Taizu have only appeared now?"
Chu Kuan looked at Zhang Shou with ambiguous eyes, his mood was extremely complicated and chaotic.
Compared with him, Zhu Jing's reaction was relatively calm and restrained. After all, he could be said to have been held hostage here. Even though he had always admired Taizu, he actually scoffed at the idea of establishing a country in Haidong, and what Zhang Shou said at this time was indeed reasonable.
Which founding emperor would be willing to abandon the country he had conquered with great difficulty and go to a foreign land to continue fighting? Emperor Taizu was still young and strong when he abdicated, but you have to know that he was not much different from his current age. The damage caused by half a lifetime of military service cannot be seen from the surface!
Therefore, Zhu Jing made a prompt decision and said, "Chu Kuan, Zhang Shou has said everything he should say. What else do you want to say? He is proficient in mathematics and has dabbled in miscellaneous studies, but just like he knows nothing about astronomy and astrology, he can't recognize the stars of the 28 Mansions, and he is even a little confused about the Emperor Star Ziwei. He knows nothing about things like cannons and muskets."
"Do you still want to put a knife on his neck and force him to dream of the Emperor of Heaven for you? Back then, Wang Jinggong also wrote an article called "Shang Zhongyong". Wasn't that a child prodigy born in an ordinary family? The only difference is that Zhang Shou was mediocre because of his stupid father, while Zhang Shou was studious and had the guidance of Master Ge, so he was able to shine."
Zhang Shou rarely heard Zhu Jing praise him to others, especially in front of Chu Kuan, so he couldn't help but stand there with a smile. After Zhu Jing finished speaking, he said very sincerely: "Thank you for the compliment, father-in-law."
I'm not praising you, I'm hinting to Chu Kuan to stop before it's too late!
Zhu Jing was furious, but he couldn't say it out loud. Although he was proud of his martial arts, the Baiyun Temple was now full of imperial attendants brought by Chu Kuan. He did try to blame them for the greater good, but these people were like deaf ears, selectively ignoring his words, so he certainly didn't expect to be able to rush out with Zhang Shou.
Even though he knew that Zhang Shou should have brought Ah Liu with him, he didn't dare to take such a risk. Otherwise, if Zhang Shou got hurt, how could he be worthy of his precious daughter! Moreover, according to Zhang Shou, Zhu Ying and Zhu Tingfang might also be included in Chu Kuan's plan!
Therefore, seeing Chu Kuan's face becoming more uncertain, he became anxious and shouted again: "What's more, when I asked Wu to take Zhang Shou to Rongshui Village, I did transfer some old soldiers to look after him nearby, but it was just to give those old soldiers a place to settle down, and I didn't let anyone keep an eye on him all the time. He and his mother are not prisoners!"
"Perhaps there really is a wise man overseas who discovered his identity and thought there was an opportunity, so he taught him specially? You should know that Emperor Taizu sailed to the sea after abdicating, and when he disappeared and Emperor Taizong held a funeral for him, there were wise men who once studied in the Imperial Academy who also sailed to the sea! After so many years, they may not be without students!"
This is the benefit of having someone behind you...
Zhang Shou took a deep breath and thought to himself that he had only suffered a little during those three years in the countryside - it couldn't even be called hardship, because it was just the life of a frugal small landlord - since he had a teacher and an engagement, although he had more hardships and was sometimes inexplicably targeted, he also had the support of a big tree at all times.
Therefore, he looked back at Chu Kuan innocently, until he saw the other party gently turn his wrist and reveal a sharp knife, then his face gradually turned cold. The next moment, he heard Zhu Jing's voice from behind.
"Zhang Shou, come behind me! This guy is crazy!"
Almost as soon as Zhu Jing finished speaking, Zhang Shou threw himself to the ground without thinking, and rolled to the side without caring about his image. Sure enough, there were a series of explosions. He did not rush to approach his father-in-law because of Zhu Jing's words, but directly aimed at the pillar standing tall beside him.
It was not until his back hit the pillar and he stopped, and he heard the sound of a fierce fight in the center, that Zhang Shou smiled bitterly in his heart.
Zhu Jing could see that Chu Kuan was crazy, not to mention Ah Liu who was sharp-eyed and sharp-handed. However, if a fight broke out, the other guys in Baiyun Temple would arrive in an instant. Two fists could not defeat four hands. Could this kid really take down all the imperial attendants?
Even if Hua Qi arrived, he probably wouldn't be able to stop such a group of people! Sure enough, the next moment, he heard Chu Kuan's relaxed laughter.
"Mr. Zhang, Duke Zhao just said that you don't know about artillery and muskets, and that you don't understand astronomical figures. He was just short of saying that you are just a nerd who knows mathematics. But what was that thing that just now sounded like a musket exploding and sparks flying everywhere? Do you dare to say that you only made clocks and spinning machines in your workshop that day? You have never made such exquisite firearms?"
Knowing that Chu Kuan wanted to distract Ah Liu and wait for an opportunity to get close to him, he could still hear the explosions and the smoke still filled the side hall. Zhang Shou, who had covered his mouth and nose with a silk scarf soaked in his jade gourd while rolling over, still did not speak.
However, Ah Liu, who was always silent, spoke up: "Young Master wants to say that it was a poisonous fire bomb, do you believe it?"
Duke Zhu Jing of Zhao, who had retreated to a corner of the hall and was about to approach Zhang Shou, could not help but shudder. However, he was in a hurry to tear off his sleeves to cover his mouth and nose, and the next sentence that Ah Liu said almost made him choke with anger.
"I'm kidding. Those are the firecrackers that children play with during the Chinese New Year. They explode when thrown on the ground, and emit smoke and a loud noise. The young master only got a little gunpowder and had one box made. He was afraid that if he made too many, the Tiangong Workshop in the basement would blow up!"
Zhu Jing usually had no feelings towards Ah Liu. This boy was most qualified to be a guard, but as a housekeeper... Zhang Shou was making trouble, and Zhu Ying followed suit, so he was too lazy to say anything. But now that he hadn't taken the , he had actually directly exposed the mystery that had just exploded. How could he fight back?
However, Chu Kuan couldn't help but pause for a moment, and was hit on the shoulder due to a moment of distraction. He then angrily shouted, "Throwing firecrackers? Zhang Shou, the things you made in your workshop that day were either novel and ingenious, or could benefit the people's livelihood. Why didn't you think of something more useful, but made such a useless thing?"
Noticing the hurried footsteps around him, Zhang Shou, who had already half sat up, turned his head and found that Zhu Jing had already arrived beside him. He waved his hand to stop his father-in-law from pulling him up, and instead sat there and laughed.
"Why, Eunuch Chu, what do you think is in that box that Ah Liu is holding? A magical box that spews out countless hidden weapons once it is opened, a mysterious mechanism that can send out flying knives to take people's heads, or a magical weapon that can take people's lives with a single strike?"
After throwing out a series of sarcasm in a bad mood, he smiled lazily and said, "My ability stops here. At most, I can only benefit the people's livelihood. But the disciple is better than the master. Among my students, maybe someone will be able to surpass me in the future and make a breakthrough in the field of magic weapons. Even if they can't, their students, and their students' students, will definitely be able to do it."
"Learning has no end. As long as the school exists, the inheritance will always be there. The result of continuous generations is that there will be talented people in each generation, and the old will be replaced by the new. In the future, there will always be people who can restore those magical weapons based on the existing physical objects, and then update and iterate to create better ones. Eunuch Chu, conspiracies may end at some point, but learning has no end. You are not old yet, and you still have the time to use your brain to plot conspiracies..."
"Why not learn something more useful instead of being so stubborn!"
