Since Ling Yuan was blind, he naturally had no idea that his students were extremely puzzled.
He reached back, and the deaf-mute eunuch who usually followed him immediately handed him something.
Just a few days ago, Ling Yuan drew this on paper and had them create it.
Zhu Youjian was also curious, so he looked up and saw that it was a small boat made of iron.
After Gao Qingyun took the boat, he was about to put it into the lake.
The deaf-mute eunuch behind him then took a wooden stick and smashed the surrounding ice to expose the water.
Zhu Youjian shook his head repeatedly.
"What is Master Gao trying to do?"
Although Zhu Youjian did not understand the intricacies of craftsmanship, his beloved elder brother was one of the most skilled carpenters in the Ming Dynasty.
Through his exposure to this world, he also learned some of the most basic principles.
"Won't this small iron boat sink immediately once it enters the water?"
Not only did Zhu Youjian think this way, but several of Ling Yuan's students did as well.
Zhang Xianzhong grinned and shook his head.
"Sir, what do you mean by this?"
"Should we build a shipwreck?"
Gao Qingyun looked up, annoyed.
"Where would I sink a ship? It's that guy with the same name as you who likes to do that!"
"Hmph, see for yourself."
As he spoke, Gao Qingyun released his hands and placed the iron boat into the water.
To everyone's surprise, after bobbing up and down a few times, the iron ship actually floated on the water.
Zhu Youjian's eyes widened, and he rushed over quickly, staring intently at the iron boat on the water.
"Master Gao, is this some kind of magical magic?"
Gao Qingyun sighed.
"Xiao Zhu, I know you're here to help me with the teaching, but your acting is a bit too exaggerated."
"I refuse to believe it. No matter how remote your Dahe Village is, you still don't know about buoyancy, and you've never seen an iron boat before?"
"Alright, you can step aside now."
With that, he returned to the blackboard, wrote the buoyancy formula on it, and then began teaching the students a physics lesson.
However, Gao Qingyun was unaware that the students had no interest in listening to the lecture and were all staring intently at the small iron ship.
Zheng Chenggong's eyes lit up.
"Wow, that's amazing! If we could build even bigger iron ships, wouldn't our Zheng family's fleet be able to roam the four seas?"
"Whether it's the Japanese Atakebune or the red-haired galleons, they're no match for us!"
But what Zhu Youjian thought of was more abstract.
He received a Confucian education from a young age, and even though Gao Qingyun had inspired him several times, he still subconsciously thinks in this direction.
"Is Master Gao trying to tell me the principle that water can carry a boat?"
"Yes, yes, that must be it."
"The hearts of the people are like water, and the state is like a boat."
"As long as the court wins the hearts of the people, even an iron ship can float on the water."
Zhu Youjian nodded in admiration: "I never expected that although Master Gao doesn't usually talk about benevolence and morality, he can silently convey the great principles of the sages!"
Upon hearing this, Cao Huachun, who was standing next to him, twitched at the corner of his mouth, barely able to suppress his laughter.
Cao Huachun had been by Gao Qingyun's side for some time, and he knew best that Gao Qingyun definitely didn't understand any Confucian classics.
That iron ship now is definitely meant to illustrate the "principle of buoyancy," rather than to say that water can carry a boat.
However, Cao Huachun wouldn't spoil the mood.
He nodded quickly and said, "Your Majesty is right. Master Gao's lessons are full of profound meanings and he is a model teacher."
Zhu Youjian was very satisfied.
"Master Gao is a role model."
After thinking for a moment, he suddenly said to Cao Huachun:
"Do you think I should promote Master Gao's reputation?"
Although Zhu Youjian still did not want to expose Gao Qingyun's true identity, he felt somewhat guilty.
"Master Gao has helped me so many times and taught me so many things. Today, he has seized the opportunity to give me some pointers."
"But I haven't done anything to help Master Gao, and I always feel guilty about it!"
If Gao Qingyun heard this, he would definitely tell Zhu Youjian to quickly gather a hundred students for him as a thank-you gift.
However, he was busy lecturing at the time and did not hear what Zhu Youjian said at all.
Upon hearing this, Cao Huachun smiled and said:
"Your Majesty, this old servant has a suggestion."
"Next year will be the first year of the Chongzhen reign, and in principle, an imperial examination should be held."
"Why not take this opportunity to make Master Gao famous?"
The imperial examination in the first year of the Chongzhen reign was not actually a special examination.
Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, the imperial examinations have been held every three years.
Even if a new emperor ascends the throne, there is usually no additional imperial examination.
Zhu Youjian immediately became interested.
"Oh? How do you plan to make Master Gao famous?"
Cao Huachun casually said, "Isn't that simple?"
"Isn't His Majesty just looking for a way to deal with the Donglin Party?"
"Let's make use of these waste materials."
"Those Donglin officials were not good officials, but they were quite good at composing poems and essays."
“You forced them to compose some poems and songs, then put Master Gao’s name on them and spread them around.”
"Didn't Master Gao's reputation spread as a result?"
Zhu Youjian nodded repeatedly.
"You're absolutely right, Cao Daban!"
Gao Qingyun, who was giving a lecture, suddenly sneezed.
Little did he know, he was giving a lecture here.
Zhu Youjian was going to force him to do it, to copy the official documents in reverse.
However, his sneeze did interrupt the conversation between the emperor and Cao Huachun.
Zhu Youjian said with concern, "It must be because it's too cold outside. Master Gao went to the lake to launch the iron boat just now, and that's why he caught a cold."
"Quickly, someone come and take Master Gao back inside."
Gao Qingyun was not happy, but she was also really afraid that she would cause a problem and delay her lectures to the students.
Although he could buy antibiotics from the system store, the illness could be cured, but time would be wasted.
Besides, being sick is never a good thing.
So he nodded and said, "Okay, let's go back inside and go to class."
The students glanced longingly at the iron ship before following Gao Qingyun into the house.
After they left, Zhu Youjian went straight to the lakeside and scooped up the iron boat.
Cao Huachun, who was standing nearby, was nearly scared to death when he saw this.
"Oh dear, Your Majesty, you just fell into the water not long ago, how dare you take such a risk again?"
He rushed over to pull Zhu Youjian back.
However, Zhu Youjian was not afraid at all.
"Don't worry, Cao Daban. Master Gao is so smart, how could he not guess that I'm coming to take this iron boat?"
"He guessed I wanted the iron ship, so how could there be any danger here?"
"Besides, even if I fall into the water, I'll be protected by Master Gao's miraculous medicine, so nothing will happen to me."
Zhu Youjian waved his hand dismissively, throwing the water off the iron boat.
Upon hearing this, Cao Huachun sighed inwardly once more:
"His Majesty's trust in Master Gao is truly profound."
"It seems I'll have to be even more attentive to Master Gao from now on."
"His casual remark can change a lot of things!"
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