Chapter 160 Mohist Research Institute
They were skilled in manufacturing various instruments and had city defense technology unique to the Mohists. Those siege instruments and defense equipment are still in use today.
Li Mu had only heard of them but had never seen them.
"Thank you for the invitation from the Queen Mother. I would like to go with you." Li Mu clasped his fists and saluted, feeling very curious about where this place in the Qin State was.
Zhao Yuanxi said, "General Li, there's no need to be so polite. This is my first time here too. Let's just treat it as a visit."
Quji was still staring at her eagerly. Zhao Yuanxi smiled helplessly, "Come along!"
"Thank you, Queen Mother!"
"Go get some clothes from Li later and take them back."
"clothing?"
Zhao Yuanxi smiled and said, "Don't you know yet? The king has ordered new uniforms for you all. Soon everyone in the Qin army will receive these new uniforms, but the ones you have now are a separate gift from me. They are the same style as what Li is wearing now."
Zhao Yuanxi had no intention of paying for the more than 500,000 sets of clothes himself. After all, they were for the Qin army to wear, so naturally Ying Zheng had to pay for it.
How can an army not have uniform military uniforms?
Zhao Yuanxi only had to persuade him a little, and thanks to Ying Zheng's personality of pursuing perfection, he easily negotiated this big order.
Ying Zheng even considered designing uniforms based on the different branches of the military, but Zhao Yuanxi rejected this idea. It's good enough to have something to eat, but you're asking for such high standards! Did you give enough money?
But since he was the biggest customer after all, Zhao Yuanxi still gave face to Ying Zheng and used different collar colors to distinguish the types of generals.
Zhao Yuanxi regarded the mass production of these military uniforms as a public welfare project and had no intention of making a lot of money from it. As long as the garment factories could operate normally, the real money would come from selling the extremely low-cost cloth.
Quji's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but touch the clothes on Li's body, grinning foolishly, "It looks so beautiful! And it's so soft!"
The clothes and armor of Qin soldiers were all distributed uniformly by the government. However, this uniformly distributed clothing was made of coarse cloth and was called "brown clothes". It was almost not beautiful and was extremely uncomfortable. It was no match for the new clothes we have now.
"Can everyone really get one set? How much would that be worth?"
Oak explained the origin of the clothes.
Quji's eyes seemed to be shining, and he exclaimed to Zhao Yuanxi, "You are really amazing."
Qu Ji didn't know if he could ever see the so-called peace in the world, but in just over a year, thanks to the Queen Mother, Yongcheng had changed its appearance, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. This had given him a glimpse of the future appearance of the Qin State.
"I'm not the one who's amazing. The machines were made by Li and his team, and the clothes were made by the women workers."
Before Quji could refute, Li spoke first, his face serious, "Your Majesty the Queen Mother is wrong. Without you, I would be nothing more than an unknown craftsman in the countryside, and those women workers would only be able to weave cloth and make clothes for their families. You are the key to making all this happen."
Zhao Yuanxi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed out loud, "So, I'm really amazing."
Everyone laughed as well.
Li Mu was deeply confused. He was not only surprised by what Queen Dowager Zhao had done, but also by the intimacy between them.
He tried to find memories of Queen Dowager Zhao's past, but there was only a vague figure, which had no resemblance to the current Queen Dowager Qin.
"General Li, please!"
Before they knew it, they had reached the gate.
That gate alone makes people feel that it is not simple. From a distance it looks like an ordinary gate, but when you get closer you can vaguely glimpse the mystery inside.
The gate is made of two whole logs, and the relief carvings on the gate are pictures of beasts. The eyes of the beasts can move, and the eyes are connected to the door lock in the middle. It is not difficult to imagine what would come out of these eyes if someone broke in here.
The door was pushed open with a dull sound. The door was made of wood and shouldn't be so heavy. Zhao Yuanxi suspected that Meng Xi might have added something to the door.
However, today she was not here to study Meng Xi's anti-theft skills, but to see his magical little inventions. Besides, anti-theft means it is safer if it is a little mysterious, so why should it be exposed!
Li Mu's gaze also lingered on the gate for a moment, and then he followed Queen Dowager Zhao inside.
Compared with the simple appearance outside, the inside looks much more "lively", and a giant stone carving in the middle is particularly eye-catching.
Water flows through the stone carving, drips along the small hole in the middle, and drips into the bottom disc. The water circulates over and over again without stopping.
If you observe carefully, you will find that as the water level rises, the two birds in the disc are also moving upwards. When their beaks move up one notch, they will activate the mechanism in the corresponding position, causing the large copper bell hanging on the top to make a tinkling sound.
"Is this a water clock? It's quite exquisitely made!" Zhao Yuanxi looked at the two unique little birds and couldn't help laughing.
Nowadays, the commonly used timekeeping tool is still the sundial, which must rely on sunlight and is not very useful on rainy days. There are also water clocks, but they need to be added with water regularly to keep the water flow rate stable to ensure accurate time.
This new water clock can automatically draw water from the bottom and bring it up, eliminating the need to add water and allowing for better control of water volume and speed.
Zhao Yuanxi became more and more interested.
Li smiled and said, "It is indeed a water clock. We originally made a wooden water clock, but since wood would be easily damaged by water, we used these stones instead. As long as the water keeps flowing underneath, this water clock will continue to tell the time accurately."
Zhao Yuanxi nodded, but secretly thought to himself, this thing will not become a cultural relic in thousands of years! Wood, copper and iron may disappear after hundreds of years, but this stone may really be preserved forever.
When Meng Xi heard that Queen Dowager Zhao was coming with her people, he rushed to appear in front of Zhao Yuanxi.
"I pay my respects to the Queen Mother!"
Zhao Yuanxi looked at the black stain on his face that hadn't been wiped clean and joked, "Master Meng is still so impatient."
Meng Xi was confused. Li carefully pointed at his face. He quickly wiped it with his sleeve and found a large black stain on his sleeve. He wiped it again and again in embarrassment, "I'm sorry to have embarrassed the Queen Mother."
Zhao Yuanxi smiled and said, "Master Meng, could you please show us around here?"
"Of course, I'm honored. Please, Queen Mother, and everyone else, please!"
Most of the items placed in the front yard are the instruments that have been developed and promoted by the Mohist school. In addition to the waterwheel, loom, spinning machine, etc. invented by Li, there are also the Mohist school's most proud crossbow chariot, revolving machine, catapult, and even wooden kite.
After truly witnessing the technical level of the Mohists, Zhao Yuanxi was dazzled. These large instruments were huge in size and their power should not be underestimated. Before the emergence of firearms, these were the most advanced weapons of the era.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
