Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 121: The Heavenly Army Marches
According to the original history, Zhu Yuanzhang defected to Guo Zixing in Haozhou in the intercalary March of 1352, and Zhang Shicheng started an uprising in Yancheng in March 1353, exactly one year later than Zhu Yuanzhang. This time point is easy to remember.

The two major salt smugglers along the coast at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Fang Guozhen and Zhang Shicheng, had personalities of two extremes.

Fang Guozhen was a very generous person. He never held grudges overnight, because he would take revenge on the spot and would not wait for others to live until the next day.
Zhang Shicheng was just the opposite of Fang Guozhen. Zhang Shicheng was a shrewd man. He could tolerate being bullied by others, but he would keep a blacklist. So on that night in March of the 13th year of Zhizheng, this guy led a dozen of his cronies and carried 18 carrying poles to kill everyone on the blacklist one by one.

Not only did they kill the enemy's entire family, they also burned down their houses. Historical records show that on that night, flames shot up into the sky outside Yancheng.

Then the matter got out of hand, and he couldn't just wait for the imperial court to arrest him, so he decided to go all out and gathered 10,000 salt workers to formally start a rebellion.

However, Zhang Shicheng did not intend to rebel against the Yuan Dynasty at the beginning. He rebelled only because he committed murder and wanted to resist arrest. But who knew that Taizhou could be taken so easily.

Later, after they captured Gaoyou, the imperial court sent people to offer amnesty, and he immediately agreed. He led his troops out of Gaoyou City. Then the imperial court ordered him to lead his troops to suppress Zhu Yuanzhang in Haozhou.

Zhang Shicheng said, "No, you think I'm stupid. I helped you to conquer Haozhou, so you'll come back to fight me. You're really good at recruiting rebels to fight rebels."

Then he rebelled again, carrying thousands of salt ships to attack the city, conquered Gaoyou again, and dragged the envoys sent by the court to recruit amnesty to the top of the city and killed them.

After that, Tuotuo led a "million-strong army" to attack Gaoyou.

Although Lu Jin knew the general trend of history, the changes he brought about in history can no longer be described by the butterfly effect; the changes were simply too great.

He killed Zuo Junbi and Kang Maocai in Huaixi in advance. After losing the pressure from the Yuan court, the five generals of Haozhou in the original history were ready to move and launched the uprising half a year in advance.

Guo Zixing was recruited by him in advance, Lu Ding took the initiative to surrender to Lu Jin, Pan Yuxing was killed by Zhu Liangzu, Sun Deya and Yu Shiliang were turned into bandits, and only two of the five generals were left. With their strength greatly reduced, they wondered whether they could still capture Haozhou.

Li Pusheng and Zhao Pusheng, who originally belonged to the Xu Song forces, also changed. Originally, Zhao Pusheng later defected to Xu Song, and Li Pusheng was drowned in the river by Zhu Yuanzhang. Now the situation is completely reversed. Zhao Pusheng was killed by Lu Jin, and Li Pusheng decided to defect to Lu Jin.

These two people are not important characters to Xu Song, but what influence will they have on Xu Song?

Now even the Five Marshals of Haozhou have started the rebellion ahead of schedule. It is hard for Lu Jin to judge whether Zhang Shicheng will start a rebellion again as he did in the original history.

Because of the changes in history, the role of prophets is gradually declining. At this time, we can no longer rely entirely on history, so we must collect intelligence on our own to constantly judge changes in the situation.

Now that I have come into contact with Lu Zhen, it is a good opportunity to make arrangements in advance.

Lu Jin was thinking about the construction of the intelligence organization. At noon, Zhang Yunxiu came to call him for lunch.

At present, all of Lu Jin's meals are prepared by Zhang Yunxiu himself to prevent him from being poisoned. He is also very cautious about this. Thanks to the powerful officials of the Yuan Dynasty, poisoning has become a common means of political struggle, making many people cautious about eating.

At the dinner table, Zhang Yunxiu served Lu Jin a bowl of fish soup, and then told him that Guo Zhang and her two daughters came to visit at noon.

"Mrs. Guo said she wanted her two daughters to help. I heard that Guo Huirong is good at music. My husband is worried that there is no one to write down the music, so I assigned this task to her.

"And there is Ma Xiuying. This girl is well versed in classics and history. When your husband is compiling a book, doesn't he want to be able to quote from classics and find someone to help him look up books? I'll let this girl Ma try first. It should be okay, right?"

"Well, you can handle this matter as you wish, but how do you plan to memorize the music score?" Lu Jin nodded and asked again.

Lu Jin knew that Guo Zixing's wife and daughter were coming to visit, after all, he had reported it in advance, and Zhang Yunxiu only agreed after Lu Jin nodded. However, Lu Jin really didn't know that they were asked to help with the music score.

But it would be nice to have someone to help, as Lu Jin really doesn’t know how to write music scores.

You can let him learn mechanics, physics and chemistry, but when it comes to music, he can't even understand modern musical notation and staff notation, let alone ancient music scores.

The musical notation used in the Yuan Dynasty was the Jianzi notation and Gongche notation passed down from the Tang and Song dynasties. That thing was full of radicals and components, and looked like Japanese katakana. It was really incomprehensible without someone to teach him, and he didn't have the time to learn it.

Zhang Yunxiu heard Lu Jin's question and thought for a moment before saying, "Can't you play it for them through the screen like my husband did last time?"

"No." Lu Jin rejected it immediately.

For the time being, only he and Zhang Yunxiu know about such a high-end item as a mobile phone. This thing must not be shown to outsiders easily, not even the maids in the inner courtyard. In this way, Zhang Yunxiu is the only person present. If Guo Huirong and Guo Zhang can't resist their curiosity and insist on taking a look, it will be very troublesome.

Zhang Yunxiu also knew that the thing was a treasure, and even she couldn't use it casually, let alone play it for outsiders.

"Then what is the husband going to do? If they don't hear it, they won't be able to remember it."

Lu Jin thought for a moment before speaking.

"Well, when they come, you call them to the central hall of the second entrance. I will take the phone to the side hall and put it behind the screen. You and I will be there at the time. With me in charge, I believe they won't dare to do anything reckless."

"Okay, then I'll get ready first. They may come tomorrow."

"Okay." Lu Jin nodded and continued eating.

Zhang Yunxiu asked again, "But hiding it like this doesn't make sense. How are you going to fool them, my husband?"

"That's easy. Just say it's a phonograph. It's not convenient for them to see it. I can just make a phonograph in the future." Lu Jin had already thought of a solution.

Zhang Yunxiu asked curiously, "Aren't you afraid that others will know about this phonograph?"

"That's different. A phonograph is just a hand-cranked record player. It's nothing special. We can open a factory and hire people to mass-produce it. We can sell it to the public."

Anyway, the thing of "competing with the people for profit" will never exist in Lu Jin's case. If he wants to sell things to make money, he will definitely sell things that others don't have. Who do you think I am competing with for profit?

If you have the ability to make the same one as mine, then you are awesome. At worst, I can sell something else, which will also be considered as promoting technological progress.

When the patent law is enacted in the future, he can even make money by selling patents. The royal family can do a lot of business, so there is no need to worry about not being able to make money.

Moreover, patent law is also a good thing. During the Industrial Revolution, Europe was able to experience a technological boom because patent law clarified the "industry-university-research relationship". Scientific researchers, big businessmen and the market were able to form a positive cycle and continuously obtain positive feedback. You don't even have to deliberately stimulate technological progress; naturally, someone will take the initiative to develop it.

There has been no shortage of skilled craftsmen or innovative spirit in Chinese history. The reason why the industrial revolution and technological boom did not occur in China is because positive feedback could not be obtained.

First of all, ordinary craftsmen have no time, no energy, no money, and no knowledge to engage in scientific and technological research and development. The knowledgeable Confucian scholars are all preparing for the imperial examinations. Occasionally, there are a few Confucian scholars who like "miscellaneous studies", such as "Zu Chongzhi" and "Shen Kuo", but they do it for love, and their obsession with miscellaneous studies will be despised by other Confucian scholars.

Even if some scientific research results are really born, it is difficult for the inventor to obtain any positive benefits, either money or fame.

No matter how amazing Zu Chongzhi's pi is, other Confucian scholars will just regard arithmetic as a minor subject and a miscellaneous study.

At the same time, even if Confucian scholars who love "miscellaneous studies" really come up with scientific research results, there will only be two consequences: either they have lofty ideals and a big picture, and directly disclose the technology to benefit the country, the people and the world, and give it away for free, or they despise merchants and are unwilling to put it into commercial use. In fact, there were also large-scale scientific research projects in ancient times that involved the efforts of the whole country, but in the end, without exception, they became wasteful behaviors that cost people money and labor, just because they could not get positive feedback.

Scientific research requires funds, but only money goes out and never comes in. Isn't this a waste of money?

For example, the Northern Song Dynasty court spent 100,000 strings of cash and gathered skilled craftsmen, astronomers, and mathematicians from all over the country to build the "Water-Powered Astronomical Observatory", which was the world's first astronomical clock with an escapement. All mechanical clocks in Europe in later generations used this escapement.

European watches are selling so many, but the research and development that the Song Dynasty spent 100,000 strings of cash on was like throwing it into the water, and you only heard a sound. There was no return at all, no profit, and it was a pure waste of money. If you carry out such a large-scale scientific research project in the future, who will support it?
The most infuriating thing is that the water-powered astronomical observatory was moved to Yanjing by the Jin soldiers during the Jingkang Incident, and was later destroyed due to poor preservation.

The chief designer of the Water Transport Observatory, Su Song, had a mechanical diagram preserved by his son, but since no one could understand it, it could not be reproduced.
The relationship between industry, academia and research is very important. China's technological blowout in later generations also happened after the new century. Before that, the large-scale projects hosted by the state were just laying the foundation and military industry. Those things were difficult to monetize, and ordinary civilian products were not competitive internationally.

After the relationship between industry, academia and research is straightened out, enterprises will have technological needs, scientific research departments will be able to obtain financial support and R&D directions, schools will be able to continuously provide talent, and enterprises will be able to obtain technology and make money in the market. Only with positive feedback and a positive cycle can a technological explosion occur.

During the European Industrial Revolution, anyone who came up with an invention would immediately seek financing to build a factory, and the technology could be monetized immediately. It was this continuous positive feedback that led to the explosion of technology.

"Okay, since my husband has a solution, I will arrange for them to come tomorrow."

"Well, yes."

The next day, before Bao Yu returned from Heyang, Guo Zhang came again with her two daughters, and this time they brought a lot of musical instruments.

In the central hall of the second entrance, Zhang Yunxiu was originally entertaining the mother and her two daughters. Unexpectedly, Lu Jin suddenly appeared, and the three of them hurriedly bowed.

"I've met the handsome man."

"No need to be so polite. I heard that Conductor Guo's daughter knows music, which is really a big help. I came here specially to see her. You don't have to be so reserved."

"Yes."

Lu Jin looked at the musical instruments Guo Huirong brought, including the seven-stringed guqin, pipa, bamboo flute and xiao. Seeing this, he immediately asked, "Don't you have a suona?"

Guo Huirong was still a little nervous, but she replied carefully, "Reporting to the commander, suona is not classical music."

Well, the ancient suona is really not an instrument that can be played in a home.

"But what I want to compose is music for battle, which requires suona. It doesn't matter if you don't bring it. Can you write down the suona music score first?" Lu Jin asked again.

"Okay, I'll do my best."

"Okay." Lu Jin nodded and said again.

"I have heard three pieces of music before, all of which are inherited from my family. Unfortunately, I don't understand music, so I can't write them down. But I brought this piece of music with me, and I'll play it for you later. See if you can compose the music."

"You brought the song? And you can play it?" Guo Huirong was immediately shocked and said she didn't understand what Lu Jin meant.

Guo Zhangshi and Ma Xiuying were also listening with confused looks on their faces.

Lu Jin explained, "My Gongshu family's mechanical skills once created a machine that can record and play sounds. It's called a phonograph. It can record sounds on a vinyl record and play them back exactly as they were. You'll know when you listen to it later."

Ma Xiuying was still shocked, but she was very brave and asked Lu Jin directly.

"Master, there is such a machine in the world. May I ask how the sound is recorded and can be reproduced?"

Lu Jin looked at the historical Queen Ma and couldn't help asking.

"Are you the girl Ma who wanted to help me organize the manuscript?"

"It's a folk girl."

"Then you may not have read the physics book in Gongshu Secret Classic. The physics chapter on acoustics says that objects can only make sounds when they vibrate, just like this string. Only when you pluck it and make it vibrate can it make a sound.

"In that case, if we can record the amplitude of the string's vibration, and then make the string vibrate again at that amplitude, wouldn't it be possible to produce exactly the same sound?"

Ma Xiuying was dumbfounded when she heard this. She didn't expect it could be done this way.

But she still asked in confusion, "How did that person make that sound?"

Lu Jin put his hand on his neck. "There is a vocal cord in the throat. When you speak, it vibrates and makes sounds. You can put your hand hard on the throat and feel the vibration when you speak. It's like a string."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xiuying tried it immediately and felt it was amazing.

"I understand. Please play the music, Marshal."

After saying that, she began to grind by the side, waiting for Guo Huirong to come and write the music.

"Okay, I'll play it for you to listen to first, and then you can memorize it."

As Lu Jin was talking, he turned behind the screen in the side hall, took out his cell phone and started playing music loudly. After putting the phone away, Lu Jin stood to the side of the screen to prevent anyone from coming over. Then everyone in the main hall heard a song that made their blood boil.

The song begins with the roar of war drums and deafening horns, followed by the sound of gongs. Suona is used extensively in the middle and the music is extremely shocking. As soon as the song comes out, it seems as if there are thousands of troops lined up in front of you, allowing several women who have never been to the battlefield to experience the passion of fighting on the battlefield.

The name of this piece of music is "Butterflies Dancing Across the World". It is the theme song of the martial arts TV series of the same name. It has no lyrics and is an ancient style pure music. It is of the same type as Lanling King's March into the Battle, but the style is completely different and it is more suitable for military parades.

The song "Butterflies Dancing Across the World" has caused a lot of controversy in later generations. Some people say it was composed by a Japanese, while others say it was composed by Hu Weili. But after listening to it several times, Lu Jin felt that no matter who wrote it, it was all plagiarism.

This piece of music is obviously a fusion of the ancient Tang Dynasty song "Jiangjunling", which is also the song that means "A Man Should Be Self-reliant", and the military song of the Beiyang Navy in the late Qing Dynasty. It can be regarded as a secondary creation at most.

As for who wrote it, all we can say is that it's possible. Hu Weili's style is to discover ancient music and then adapt it, not to mention the scripts. He stole a lot of ancient books and music scores from China. As the victorious side of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, it's normal for them to copy the military songs of the Beiyang Fleet. Anyway, they are all secondary creations.

After the song was over, the few people were still in shock. After a while, Ma Xiuying asked, "Excuse me, Marshal, does this song have a name?"

"This song is called 'The March of the Heavenly Army'!"

Lu Jin simply changed the sissy name "Die Wu Tian Ya".

(End of this chapter)