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When Gu Zheng was young, he had a very strong passion and interest in "investigating things and seeking knowledge" and had been constantly observing and exploring various natural phenomena.
If the jokes that resulted from this were written down, they would probably fill the entire book of "A New Account of Tales of the World".
In later generations, these were topics that scholars talked about with great relish, as if from his youth, one could glimpse certain qualities that could make him a saint.
In these stories, Gu Zheng did indeed observe many natural phenomena and formulate certain laws and theories. However, even though he was a genius, his research was not universally recognized. Without guidance and communication, his findings were mixed, specious, and ultimately useless.
Originally, Gu Zheng just regarded it as his own little hobby and didn't care whether it would have any results.
However, at this time, his life was suddenly shaken by major changes: family members passed away one after another. The shock and trauma of these separations profoundly affected Gu Zheng. He then spent several years in the Hanlin Academy, where he thoroughly read Confucian classics. This transformation transformed him from a materialist to an idealist, from a natural science researcher to a philosopher and thinker.
Then we went down this "wrong" path.
It was a mistake, but the achievements he made along this path were equally brilliant, making future generations yearn for him. But compared to the path he could have taken, it's a shame.
He could have saved an era, but in the end he only succeeded himself.
Which is more important, the individual or the collective? Perhaps no one knows except Gu Zheng, and there is no way to judge whether it is right or wrong.
In fact, some of Gu Zheng's ideas had already begun to take shape, but they had not been systematically organized, categorized, or refined. Even he himself was still confused about them. However, He Qing had accidentally paved another path for him.
Sometimes, historical turning points aren't thrilling; at the time, they seem like ordinary, simple days, unremarkable. Only in retrospect do we discover that, long before then, the beginnings of everything had already begun.
Although he had decided to research the issue He Qing raised, adhering to the principle of "keeping his word," Gu Zheng also had his own set of standards and requirements. He was unwilling to be perfunctory even on the smallest matters. So he took a serious approach and delved into the issue.
At first, there was only one person working on this, and it felt a bit difficult to know where to start. Later, after being promoted by several important officials, the young people in the court also began to study this issue. Most of them often came to Gu Zheng to discuss it, which gave him a lot of inspiration and opened up his mind.
Next, it was like entering a new world and embarking on his first adventure. Gu Zheng enjoyed it so much that he almost forgot why he wanted to study this in the first place.
Until this day, when he was having an audience with the emperor, he saw He Qing outside the Ziping Palace again.
He Qing was lost in thought, his brows furrowed, his face filled with worry, clearly troubled by something, and hadn't noticed his presence. Gu Zheng watched from afar for a moment, a strange feeling rising in his heart.
At first, he did misunderstand He Qing, thinking that she was instigating Empress Dowager Zhang to use the earthquake as an excuse to increase her voice in the court and compete for power with the Grand Empress Dowager.
Although he had served in the court for many years, Gu Zheng still hated the practice of using the people as leverage to fight for power and profit. Although he was well-versed in Confucian classics, he had no interest in whitewashing the situation.
These people who are high and mighty and ignorant of the suffering of the people rule this country, enjoy supreme privileges, and make the country a mess.
We can’t blame Gu Zheng for being extreme. After all, the previous Emperor Ling and Emperor Xian were both such people.
In Gu Zheng's opinion, the best way for an emperor to rule is to sit back and relax, appoint wise ministers, and then walk away and leave things to those who understand. This is the only way to avoid mistakes. They can continue to enjoy themselves.
This is the balance he found between Confucian ideas of loyalty to the emperor and his own ideals and ambitions.
And the fact that He Qing, a woman, was ambitious enough to get involved in these matters naturally made Gu Zheng even more dissatisfied. Because a woman in power is very likely to act arbitrarily and disrupt the government.
Yet the earthquake did occur.
After returning to the palace, He Qing and Empress Dowager Zhang did not take this opportunity to win over the hearts and minds of the people and fight for power. This surprised Gu Zheng and made him realize that he had misunderstood He Qing. Whatever she intended to do, it did not seem like she was going to disrupt the government.
However, as a woman in the harem, and now a monk, it is really surprising that she cares so much about national affairs.
So after standing there for a while, Gu Zheng took the initiative to step forward and greeted him, "Meet the True Master."
"Ah..." He Qing seemed startled. He came to his senses and subconsciously took a few steps back. When he looked up and saw that it was him, he slowly calmed down, "Master Gu."
"I already have the answer to the question Master Zhen asked last time. Master Zhen, would you like to listen to it?" Gu Zheng said.
He Qing was a little surprised, but still nodded and said, "I'd like to hear the details."
"If you put an object there and push it with your hand, it will move forward. So, I suspect that everything in mid-air will fall to the ground due to some kind of force." Gu Zheng spoke slowly, choosing his words as he thought. "I've done some experiments. A leaf will float in the air for a little longer, but if you stack a hundred leaves, they'll fall straight to the ground like a rock. And a pound of leaves, a pound of stone, and ten pounds of stone will all take almost the same amount of time to hit the ground."
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