Rong Xi had learned from Cheng Hao that the Si Nan instrument from ancient times has been passed down to the present day and has evolved into a water compass.
As the name suggests, a water compass has a magnetic needle floating on the water in the center of a circular disk, using magnetic force to indicate the direction.
However, the water compass has its drawbacks. If a boat is sailing on the sea and is tossed by wind and waves, the water in the center of the disk will sway and the floating needle will find it difficult to maintain the correct direction. Therefore, using a water compass during navigation cannot completely guarantee the accuracy of the direction.
Rong Xi borrowed methods from later generations to improve the water compass.
A small hole is opened at the center of gravity of the magnetic needle, and an axis is supported underneath it. In this way, the magnetic needle will not lose its direction due to the shaking of water.
This is a dry compass.
However, a dry compass cannot completely avoid bumpy sailing.
But Rong Xi never underestimated the wisdom of ancient craftsmen.
In the previous dynasty, skilled craftsmen made the "incense burner in the quilt". This incense burner has a unique structure. No matter how it rolls, its mouth remains horizontal and will not spill.
This is because there is a leveling frame inside the furnace.
If the gimbal can be used for a compass, the compass will definitely not be affected by external forces.
After some research and development, Rong Xi and Cheng Hao finally made a constant level compass.
The reason why he asked Jin Jili was that he wanted to know whether the secret method of Baisha Kingdom was more practical than the Changping Compass.
One is for the sake of the lives of the soldiers, and the other is pure curiosity.
After returning home, the four went to the laboratory.
Rong Xi took out the Changping compass. Jin Jili looked at it for a while and said with admiration, "It is a work of art beyond compare."
Although he praised it like this, he still looked confident.
Rong Xi smiled and said, "I wonder if I could see your country's compass?"
Jin Jili no longer kept it to himself and took out a copper disc with a pointer on it and a small hole at each end.
"Star chart?" Rong Xi blurted out.
In his previous world, the astrolabe was used in ancient foreign countries and could measure the angles of stars, so it was called an "astrolabe".
The celestial bodies include the sun, moon and stars.
Jin Jili was extremely surprised, "Da Lang actually recognized this thing?"
After he made money from selling fish, he asked a craftsman to help him make an astrolabe. As far as he knew, no one in Wei knew the use of an astrolabe.
"I heard it from traveling merchants." Rong Xi replied calmly.
The astrolabe can measure time, longitude and latitude, etc., which is indeed more advanced, but it still has its drawbacks.
"The astrolabe is extremely useful, but how can we measure it if it rains?"
Jin Jili smiled helplessly and said, "So whether you can survive depends on God's will."
While he was talking, Wei Zhan had already taken the astrolabe and was playing with it. After not understanding the principle, he asked, "How do you tell the direction?"
Jin Jili no longer hid it. After all, Wei Zhan would go out to sea with him next year, and as the commander, he had to learn it. So he took Wei Zhan to the courtyard and patiently taught him the method.
After Wei Zhan learned it, he frowned and thought for a while, then said, "What Rong Dalang said just now makes some sense. If it is rainy and the sun, moon and stars are not visible, how can we tell the direction? It is better to bring a compass."
He felt that the gimbal could ensure the direction of navigation.
Jin Jili glanced at him and realized that this idiot had the same idea as him.
"Da Lang, I do need a compass."
The combination of the two is double protection.
There was no reason for Rong Xi to refuse. He developed the compass for the purpose of navigation.
"I'll ask the craftsmen to make more and give them to you when the time comes."
Jin Jili nodded gratefully and said, "Thank you very much."
"No need for that. You taught the Maritime Bureau the art of shipbuilding, so we both owe each other nothing." Rong Xi said sincerely.
This is what I really think.
Although Rong Xi was not good at shipbuilding, he knew that there was a huge gap between river ships and sea ships. There are many rivers in the Wei Dynasty, and boats often rely on the power of rowing and poles.
However, the Baisha Kingdom is good at building seagoing ships and has already used sails to harness the power of the wind.
There is a lot of knowledge involved in how to operate a sail.
Jinjili teaches more than just sails. The types of seagoing vessels are also quite particular. Without Jin Jili's instruction, the Shipping Company would not have been able to build so many seagoing vessels in such a short period of time.
The Ship Administration was under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, and Jin Jili showed great sincerity by exchanging his shipbuilding skills for military forces.
Time flies and the end of the year is approaching.
After the Ordnance Inspectorate used machine tools to make the gun barrel, not only did the efficiency increase several times, but the gun barrel could also withstand the impact force of gunpowder far beyond before.
Craftsmen in various workshops used the principle of this machine tool to create other machine tools for other uses.
For example, in a crusher, a heavy hammer uses the power of the machine to fall from a high altitude and repeatedly hit the ore, turning it into powder. This saves a lot of time and effort compared to craftsmen hammering it themselves.
Qin Ke presented a secret report to the emperor.
After reading it, the emperor was very happy and wrote back, asking him when he would return to Beijing.
After taking a shower, Rong Xi entered the bedroom and saw Qin Ke reading a letter with a frown on his face.
"What happened?"
Qin Ke raised his head and said, "I need to go back to Beijing."
"When do we set off?" Rong Xi asked while wiping his hair.
He had anticipated this matter. Qin Ke was only working in Mengshan. In the eyes of others, Rongzhai was just a temporary residence for him, not his home.
"Ten days later."
Rong Xi looked calm, sitting on the chair, and asked again: "When will you come back?"
"I will definitely be back before the Lantern Festival." Qin Ke suddenly smiled.
Rong Xi's heart skipped a beat, and he changed the subject, saying, "Please bring some gifts back to Beijing for me."
As for who to give it to, both of them knew it clearly.
The next day, Rong Xi returned from prison. Just as he drank a cup of hot tea, he heard Liu He say, "My dear, Guo Silang wants to see you."
Guo Silang is Guo Zigui.
Rong Xi was curious, so he said, "Let him in."
After a moment, Guo Zigui stepped into the study. His cheeks were red from the cold, his voice was trembling, but his eyes were very bright.
"My dear."
Rong Xi smiled gently and asked, "Zigui, what do you want to see me for?"
Guo Zigui looked nervous, but he mustered up the courage to say, "My dear, I heard that Mr. Jin wants to return to his homeland. Can I go with him?"
Since Rong Xi was unable to explain to Qin Ke and others last time, he had compiled basic teaching materials to teach students in his free time, just like the related courses for primary education in later generations.
The students have a strong desire for knowledge. Although Guo Zigui has an eccentric personality, he has a very flexible mind, otherwise he would not be able to compete with Guo Yao for the first place.
After he learned the textbooks, he was full of desire for the outside world.
In his spare time, Guo Yao asked Rong Mo for advice on arithmetic, and Guo Zigui learned Baisha Mandarin from Jin Jili whenever he had time.
Rong Xi saw that he was full of expectation and said seriously, "The journey back to Jili is extremely dangerous. There will be dangers everywhere after you return. The soldiers will be busy taking care of themselves, let alone protecting you. Do you really want to go?"
Guo Zigui nodded firmly, "My dear, Mr. Jin has already told me that I know this journey is dangerous, but I still want to go."
He knew that his action was a betrayal of his husband's kindness, but the thoughts in his mind were too strong and kept him awake all night.
"Why do you want to go?" Rong Xi asked expressionlessly.
He would rather take great risks and travel across the ocean to a foreign country.
Guo Zigui said sincerely: "My dear, you said that beyond Linxi is Mount Meng, beyond Mount Meng is Qingzhou, beyond Qingzhou is Dawei, and beyond Dawei is vast and endless. I want to go and see what vast and endless means."
"Even if we are swept into the deep sea by wind and waves, it doesn't matter?" Rong Xi admired his fearless spirit, but logically did not want him to take the risk.
Jin Jili and Prince Shun still had their missions to accomplish, but Guo Zigui, with his lofty spirit and weak body, might die due to the bad weather at sea before he even reached Baisha Kingdom.
Guo Zigui knew Rong Xi was worried about him, and he felt guilty and touched. He said, "My dear, you said that the Wei Dynasty knew very little about the ocean and foreign countries. It was like a craftsman working behind closed doors, and would eventually fall behind others."
Rong Xi waited for his next words.
"My dear, if you allow me to go with you, I will record the scenes along the way. Even if I die, I will leave behind some experience."
He himself took upon himself the task.
The boy was only fifteen years old. Although he was thin, he was full of energy. Saying these words had exhausted most of his courage.
Rong Xi was silent for a long time, and said in Guo Zigui's anxious eyes: "I will not restrict your freedom, but you are young and weak now, so you are not qualified for this."
"My dear, I have been practicing martial arts with Brother Zishi for several months, and I also asked Lord Jin how to swim. You don't have to worry." Guo Zigui was quite firm.
Rong Xi did not supervise the students' daily lives, so he did not know that Guo Zigui was secretly making such efforts for this.
He sighed in his heart, but he couldn't bear to destroy other people's dreams, so he said earnestly: "You can go with Jili, but you must come back alive."
Guo Zigui's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said gratefully, "Thank you, my dear!"
"Why thank me?" Rong Xi shook his head and smiled gently, "It's great that you have such a keen desire for knowledge. Please take care of yourself."
Guo Zigui responded excitedly.
A few days later, Qin Ke returned to Beijing and Chen Chuangu accompanied him. Rong Xi was somewhat bored, so he devoted himself to the laboratory.
After Qin Ke returned to the capital, he went straight into the Mansion of Marquis Changxin.
Princess Mingyi looked behind him and saw that only Chen Chuangu was there, so she was a little disappointed.
"Didn't Dalang return with you?"
Qin Ke smiled and said, "Mother, there is no Rong Mansion in Shengjing now, how can he return to the capital? Don't worry, Dalang also misses you, so he asked me to bring some toys for you to enjoy."
After he finished speaking, he took out some exquisite objects from the cloth package. These were all things Princess Mingyi had never seen before, and they were to Princess Mingyi's liking, so they were quite novel.
Princess Mingyi smiled happily, "Not bad."
After New Year's Eve, Qin Ke was thinking about how to say goodbye to his parents when he was called over by Princess Mingyi.
"When will you set off back to Linxi?" She glanced at Qin Ke, as if she was dissatisfied with him.
Qin Ke didn't understand what she meant and was considering his answer when Princess Mingyi grabbed his arm.
"Do you know that the Queen Mother has always wanted to arrange a marriage for Dalang?" She said angrily, "If I hadn't seized the opportunity, Dalang might have been married now. You are my son, I can still stop you in this life, but I can't decide Dalang's marriage."
Qin Ke frowned.
"It has been half a month since you left Linxi. Why haven't you left yet?" Princess Mingyi was worried about him.
Qin Ke: “…” He had only been back in Beijing for two days!
"I will set off tomorrow. Thank you for your advice, mother."
Marriage is indeed difficult.
The Queen Mother loved to act as matchmaker for others. Fortunately, A Niang was smart and took on this matter to get away with it. But as time went on, the Queen Mother saw that there was no progress and perhaps she had new thoughts.
It would be better to return to Linxi as soon as possible and discuss it with Lanzhi.
The next morning, Qin Ke rode his horse at full speed and headed straight for Linxi.
Chen Chuangu complained all the way, saying that Qin was too impatient and he was awakened while he was still sleeping, which was extremely painful.
Linxi Rongzhai.
Liu Zishi was making snowmen and having snowball fights with the students. Rong Xi saw that they were quite childish, so he joined in and played with them.
Suddenly, a cold ball of snow hit the back of Rong Xi's neck, and he shuddered all over.
Rong Xi quickly shook off the snowball and turned to look.
Wei Zhan was seen grinning wildly and waving at him provocatively.
He sneered, pinched out a huge snowball and threw it straight over.
However, Wei Zhan was agile and dodged it easily, then fought back. Rong Xi was hit by him several times but was unable to fight back, which made him feel quite frustrated.
Jin Jili discovered that Wei Zhan was "bullying" Rong Xi, so he naturally wanted to seek justice for Rong Xi, so he fought back together with Rong Xi.
It was two against one, and Jin Jili had excellent accuracy, so Wei Zhan was inevitably hit a few times, but he became more and more excited.
After a while, the sound of horse hooves came from far away. Rong Xi suddenly felt something and turned around to look.
Qin Ke came riding a fine horse, his appearance and demeanor were even more dazzling than the sunlight behind him.
He stared at Rong Xi closely, then swiftly dismounted from his horse. Just as he was about to approach, he saw a snowball flying across the sky, heading straight for his chest.
Qin Ke was not paying attention for a moment and was hit directly.
“Hahahaha,” Wei Zhan’s laughter almost broke through the sky, “Qin Ke, take another hit from me!”
Another snowball came crashing down.
Rong Xi was startled and before he had time to think, he had already blocked Qin Ke, and the snowball hit him directly on the neck.
Qin Ke's face darkened, and he carefully took the snowball out of Rong Xi's collar, saying, "Just stand here and I will avenge you."
Chen Chuangu: “…” Your Highness Prince Shun, take care!
So next, Wei Zhan suffered double abuse from Qin Ke and Jin Jili. The two were extremely powerful, and Wei Zhan could not defeat four of them alone. No matter where he escaped, Xuetuan would follow him like a shadow.
In just a moment, his head and body were covered with snow and mud, and he looked so miserable that it was heartbreaking.
Rong Xijing stood aside, staring at Qin Ke's figure, and his mood suddenly became cheerful.
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