54 Chapter 54
◎It's a pleasure to cooperate with you.◎
Ying Zheng, who was inside the hall, looked at the four departing figures, then at Fusu, and said with a sudden smile, "No wonder you've become stupid. You must have been with them for too long."
Fusu defended himself again, "Father, I'm not stupid."
Ying Zheng rubbed his head and said, "Give the ice-making method to Meng Yi and have him make more."
Fusu had no choice but to skip the discussion and nodded, "I'll give it to Meng Qing when I get back. Also, Father, I've asked Meng Hua and the others to oversee the ice making. Yesterday, I promised my sisters and brothers that I would give it to them."
Ying Zheng raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Not bad, you have quite the elder brotherly demeanor."
The children were still young and followed their mother around. It was said that the ice was given to them, but in fact it was given to their mother.
Ying Zheng didn't care much about the concubines in his harem, but he cared about his children. Otherwise, he would not have restricted the use of ice in the school. With more ice in the palace for the concubines, the children would have a better life after school. Naturally, he had no objection.
Fusu smiled and said, "Father is usually busy with important matters, so I can only help you with these small matters."
Ying Zheng said, "You are also very capable of helping me with important matters."
Fusu exclaimed, "Wow!" and said, "Then I'm really awesome."
Ying Zheng laughed: "I just praised you for being like an older brother, and in the blink of an eye, you're a child again."
"Well, I am just a child here, my father." Fusu said with a smile.
Ying Zheng rubbed his head again and said with a smile, "Okay, you are a child, so just be good and sit still. I am busy now."
Seeing his father about to get the memorial again, Fusu hurriedly said, "Father, I have one more thing to do!"
Ying Zheng asked, "What's the matter?"
Thinking of the telescope, Fusu couldn't help but frowned: "Father, I would like to ask you to send someone to find some Mohist disciples..."
Before Fusu could finish his words, Ying Zheng turned and stared at him: "Mohism? Have you read Mohist books?"
"Ah... yes." Fusu was a little confused. "Xiao Kong Chengxiang, Father, haven't you read the books of Mohism?"
Ying Zheng paused and asked in confusion, "What do you mean by pinhole imaging?"
Fusu subconsciously recited: "The reflection. The light is warm and shining. The lower one is higher; the higher one is lower. The feet block the light below, so the reflection is above; the head blocks the light above, so the reflection is below. There is a limit to the distance and it is in harmony with the light, so the reflection is inside the storehouse."
Ying Zheng paused longer this time. He asked in confusion, "Is this what you're reading about when you study Mohism?"
"Otherwise...Father, what should I read?" Fusu blinked, not quite understanding his father's reaction.
Ying Zheng showed a strange expression, then nodded slowly: "Reading this... is not bad."
Fusu thought about it, but still didn't understand his father's reaction, so he simply asked, "Then, Father, find a disciple of the Mohist School..."
"What can you use this pinhole imaging for?" Ying Zheng asked first.
Fusu then talked a lot about the principles and functions of the telescope, which made his father's eyes widen.
Ying Zheng rubbed his forehead and said helplessly, "This is much less important than ice. Why didn't you tell me this first? Why did you spend so much time making ice?"
Fusu was even more helpless: "But father, no matter how urgent it is, if we really can't make it, ice would be better. At least it can keep us cool."
Ying Zheng disagreed with his eldest son's dejected view. He said, "After just two days of trying, you're already giving up? Think about how far behind the other states our Qin once was. Did Duke Mu ever give up? Did Duke Xian and Duke Xiao ever give up? If it weren't for their pioneering efforts, how could Qin be so powerful today, feared by the other states?"
Facts have proved that chicken soup is very useful. Perhaps it was because everything had been going too smoothly since Fusu came back, and suddenly there were some setbacks in the telescope issue, which was a bit hard for him to accept.
But no matter what, his father's words gave Fusu a shot in the arm. He regained his spirits and determined to try a few more times until he could make a telescope.
On his side, Ying Zheng also issued orders to all counties, ordering them to find disciples of the Mohist school and invite them to Xianyang. Anyone with great talent would be valued by the King of Qin.
…
Ice cubes were soon produced in large quantities. Fusu not only gave some to his brothers and sisters, but also to Queen Dowager Huayang.
Ying Zheng generously rewarded his ministers. Everyone looked at the large chunks of ice and felt grateful.
Is there anything better than ice in the hot summer?
Your Majesty is truly benevolent and kind, blessing the world!
This time, with the king's specific explanation, the ministers naturally knew that the ice was said to have come from the eldest son's hands.
Enjoying the cool breeze brought by the ice, the court officials, whether sincere or not, would sigh from the bottom of their hearts at this time:
The king is truly a god descended to the earth!
The eldest son is also a god descended to the earth!
This summer, the court officials had their own logic: the king was a god, and the eldest son, as his son, was also a god. Isn't this a natural and logical thing?
Such remarks did not reach Fusu's ears, because while he was looking for Mohist disciples, he was still concentrating on trying to make two types of lenses. However, perhaps because he really had no scientific talent, he did not get any better results except failure.
Then Fusu was dragged away by his father, who was afraid that he would get too stubborn, to read memorials and meet ministers. He also met many scholars who had recently arrived in Xianyang.
Most of the scholars were attracted by paper. After arriving in Qin, they were even more surprised to find that Qin had a new skill of writing on paper. Unfortunately, the King of Qin kept it too secret, and even the ministers of Qin were clueless about it. Even though they spent a lot of gold, silver and jewelry, they could not get any clues.
In comparison, they did notice some clues about paper. After all, the Qin State had already begun to use paper widely, but there were still cartloads of bamboo transported to the Qin Palace. It couldn't be that they were still being used to make bamboo slips.
The Qin court officials had long speculated that the paper they used was made of bamboo, and they were also recruiting craftsmen to try to make it, but they really had no clue and could only sigh in despair.
Because from the beginning, his father had regarded paper and printing as top secret. After learning about the speculation and attempts outside, Fusu was still worried and suggested to his father: "Father, we can move the papermaking workshop to a place with fewer people."
Ying Zheng refused, "No need. Even if they knew the raw materials, it wouldn't be that fast to make them. Furthermore, the quality of the paper, whether it can be written on, is not something that can be easily determined. If paper could be made so easily, how could we have used bamboo slips for so many years?"
Fusu thought about it and realized that it was indeed difficult to start from scratch. Moreover, as time went on, papermaking would inevitably become popular in a small area, and no amount of concealment would stop this trend.
But apart from paper, there was another thing about the arrival of these scholars that made Fusu very unhappy, that is, most of them had no intention of serving the Qin State at all, they just came to find out the changes in the Qin State.
Fusu saw from his subordinates that many people had already taken note of Qin's new agricultural tools, composting methods, etc., and wanted to take them back to their own country.
Fortunately, iron smelting was the highest military secret of the Qin State, and very few people knew about it, so they couldn't learn it even if they wanted to.
Ying Zheng was very calm about this. He would take a look at the letter and if he thought it was pleasing to the eye, he would invite the person to come and meet him. As for whether the person would stay in the end, it didn't seem to be important to Ying Zheng.
—Where’s the energy that kept Wei Liao at the beginning? This is what Li Ying said.
However, although Fusu couldn't help being angry - thinking that those people were ungrateful and had let down his father's love for talent, he understood his father's meaning very well.
Li Ying got to the bottom of the matter and asked, "Young Master, what exactly does your father mean?"
"If you're talking about people..." Fusu said, "Now they still have Zhao and Wei in their eyes, but in the end, there will only be one Great Qin on this land."
Li Ying suddenly realized: "If you don't surrender now, when there is no other choice but Qin in the future, it will be your father who makes the offer."
Fusu nodded and continued, "Things like farm tools and compost cannot be hidden. Not to mention now, the people of neighboring countries have already learned about them since last year."
Li Ying said: "That's true, but..."
"Besides, what if they learned it?" Fusu asked. "Qin's widespread use of agricultural tools and other things is due to the imperial court's leadership. Do you think that among the vassal states today, other than Qin, which country has such strength?"
"That's true. Most people who rely on farming to buy iron farm tools themselves will never be able to afford them in their lifetime." Li Ying only half agreed. "But, Master, don't act like the Qin State is a living Buddha. The farm tools you give to the people are not free."
Fusu said: "It is impossible to abolish corvee labor, military service and agricultural taxes in a feudal peasant society. Otherwise, the society will not be able to function."
As an ordinary citizen, Li Ying always empathized with the lower classes of this era. He stretched out his fingers and gestured, saying, "Then... could we collect less, and reduce the excessive taxes and fees?"
"Of course I want to do this," Fusu said. "If nothing else, you know, I want the Qin dynasty to continue, so I have to do this."
Li Ying nodded in conviction. It was quite convincing to say that the feudal rulers loved their people like their own children and wanted to maintain their rule so that the people could live a better life.
Fusu smiled and said, "That's perfect. You can supervise me."
Li Ying quickly waved his hands and said, "No, Master. I know I'm being unreasonable. This is not my job scope, and I have no right or qualifications to ask you to do so. Thank you for considering my opinion."
"No." Fusu shook his head. "In fact, your opinion is quite important to me. Although we have different starting points, if your views can make the Qin Dynasty more stable, I will certainly listen to them. Thank you for your suggestion."
Li Ying thought for a moment, then extended her hand and said, "Then... happy cooperation?"
Fusu did not hesitate this time. He shook his hand and said, "It's a pleasure to work with you."
【Author’s words】
Mo Jing: Mirror. The light shines brightly, as if reflecting. Those below are higher; those above are lower. The feet block the light below, creating a mirror above; the head blocks the light above, creating a mirror below. There are boundaries between far and near, and they are connected to the light, so the mirror is within the reservoir.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
