Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 439 Two Tools (asking for monthly tickets)
Lu Jin wanted to accept Tao Guangyi as his personal disciple, and this caused a great shock in the central government. It was not that he had never accepted disciples before, but it had never been as formal as this time, so it attracted the attention of many people.

Three days later, the ceremony of paying homage to the master was held in a side hall of the central government. This place was temporarily arranged into a ancestral hall, where the tablet of the ancestor Gongshu Ban was enshrined. It would be used in the coronation ceremony in a few days.

In order to maintain balance within the sect and prevent Tao Guangyi from taking advantage of his position as a direct disciple, Lu Jin also called Meng Zhifang, a student he had accepted before, to attend the apprenticeship ceremony. It was not until then that Tao Guangyi realized that he actually had a senior brother, and that he did not have a shaved head like him.
He ran to Lu Jin to ask why, but Lu Jin dismissed him with a single sentence, "He doesn't plan to go to heaven like you."

On the sixth day of July, the day of formal apprenticeship, many people from the central government came to watch the ceremony. The Minister of Rites Tao An even presided over the ceremony personally. After Meng Zhifang and Tao Guangyi burned incense to the ancestral tablet and kowtowed three times, they were supposed to kowtow three times to Master Lu Jin and offer them gift and tea. However, Lu Jin raised his hand to interrupt.

"Wait a minute, since you two want to formally become Gongshu's disciples, you must know that there are six sect rules that need to be followed. If you don't agree, then I will not accept you as my disciples."

The two were stunned when they heard this, but they were not too surprised. Every trade has its own rules, and every family has its own rules. It was normal for the Gongshu clan to have its own rules as Lu Jin said, so the two of them immediately bowed and said, "Please give us your instructions, Master."

Lu Jin then said, "The first rule is that apart from Laozi's Taoism, Gongshu disciples are not allowed to believe in any other religions, whether it is the Muslim religion of the Semites or any other sect, including Buddhism. Can you do this?"

"Yes." The two agreed without thinking. Both of them were born as Confucian scholars, and Confucian scholars don't get along well with Buddhism. Those who just visit temples for fun don't count. There are only a few who truly worship and worship Buddha. This is the case with Buddhism, not to mention others. So the two agreed without any psychological burden.

"Second, the Gongshu Secret Code will only be passed down to the descendants of Yan and Huang. You must be loyal to your ancestral country. You are not allowed to teach anything I teach you to foreign barbarians, and you are not allowed to use what you have learned to serve the barbarians, especially to help the Tartars and Semites against the Han people. Do you understand?"

"Disciple will remember this." The two of them agreed immediately again. This one seemed quite normal, until the third one.

"Third, you are not allowed to show off what you have learned from your master, especially you are not allowed to use what you have learned to act like a god in front of ignorant men and women, and to do illegal things. Gongshu does not believe in ghosts and gods, and even more disdains to act like a god or ghost. Even if others take the initiative to treat you as a god or ghost, you must explain clearly that you are just a mortal, understand?"

"Understood." The two looked at each other and agreed again. The other people watching the ceremony also looked at each other in bewilderment. Which normal master would specifically instruct his disciples not to go out and play tricks, but Lu Jin specifically put this in the sect rules.
"Fourth, the Gongshu Secret Canon has great powers, but you must use the skills you have learned to do the right thing. What is the right thing? Benefiting the country and the people, enriching the country and strengthening the army, and benefiting the people. The Gongshu family emphasizes the unity of knowledge and action, and applying what you have learned. No matter what you do, you must first think about whether it can benefit the people and the country.

"Don't use the skills you have learned to do things that harm the people, betray your ancestors, or betray your country and surrender to the enemy, otherwise I will personally clean up the mess and get rid of you."

The two of them solemnly promised again, "Disciple will obey the master's order!"

"Fifth, do not do anything that is against human ethics, and always have a reverent heart towards life."

This time, the two frowned. Before Tao Guangyi could ask, Meng Zhifang asked first, "Master, what does this fifth rule mean? Isn't it common sense to not do things that violate human ethics? Why should it be included in the sect rules? And what does it mean to have a reverent heart towards life? Does it mean not to kill?"

"No, the human relations I'm talking about are certainly not moral human relations. You don't need me to teach you this. I don't care who you marry." Lu Jin explained immediately.

"When I said not to violate human ethics, I was referring to the technical aspect. To put it more bluntly, don't try to crossbreed humans and animals."

"This" everyone present was immediately shocked. It is said that behind every outrageous rule there is an even more outrageous story. Lu Jin put this in the sect rules. Could it be that someone has done this before? ? ?
"Yes, disciple, remember this. Then have a fear of life?"

"Having a fearful heart does not mean that you cannot kill animals. On the contrary, many experiments in biology or chemistry require the use of animals, or even humans, as experimental materials. However, the biological materials used for the experiment must be euthanized as soon as possible to prevent them from continuing to suffer. And when it is possible not to use humans for experiments, try not to use humans."

"." Everyone present looked at each other in bewilderment when they heard this. This was another outrageous rule. How could this feel like following a side path?
But the two still agreed, "Yes, disciples will definitely keep it in mind."

"Sixth, when learning the Gongshu Secret Canon, you must always keep in mind your human nature. No matter what skills you have learned that are comparable to those of gods and ghosts, you must always remember that you are a human being, not a ghost or god. Do not think that you are superior to others. You must know that all technology is for the benefit of all people and is for the service of mankind. Do not put the cart before the horse.

"I hope that when you study technology, you will not get stuck in a rut or go too far and do something that is harmful to the world."

Lu Jin pointed at Tao Guangyi and said, "Especially you. As the Minister of the Privy Council, you usually research weapons, and weapons are used to kill people. So you have to promise me in front of the ancestor's tablet that you will try not to do anything that is against the harmony of heaven."

"This..." Tao Guangyi hesitated and asked, "Master, can you please explain clearly, aren't these guns and cannons made to kill the enemy? How can we use them so as not to harm the harmony of nature?"

Lu Jin then said, "Guns and cannons are considered conventional weapons. What I'm talking about are weapons that are beyond the reach of ordinary people, such as chemical agents. Some of these things only require a small spoonful to kill hundreds of thousands of people in the entire city. There are also chemical gases that can kill people instantly upon smelling them."

"There is such a thing?" At this time, even Qin Conglong, who was standing aside watching the ceremony, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Lu Jin nodded affirmatively, "Yes, there is such a thing, it is not completely impossible to use it, but it depends on the occasion. First, you can't use it on your compatriots. Even if the Xin Dynasty is about to perish, you can't use it on your own people. If the country is destroyed, you can just build another one. The Han, Tang and Song dynasties all came this way. How long the Xin Dynasty will last is also determined by fate.

"Second, when fighting a foreign war, if you can win with conventional weapons, never give priority to using weapons that are harmful to nature. If the enemy uses them on us first, you can retaliate twice as much!
"Then when can I use it? For example, when foreign barbarians invade our motherland again, they will not only destroy our country, but also our race. When they can't even protect hundreds of millions of compatriots, there is no need to worry about anything else. I will use whatever I have. Even if we perish together, I don't want the Shenzhou passed down by my ancestors to fall into the hands of barbarians again, and my compatriots will be treated as slaves. Do you remember?"

"Yes, disciples will definitely keep it in mind!" The two immediately agreed solemnly.

The others also looked at each other. If Lu Jin's words were true, even if the Xin Dynasty was overthrown by the people, there would be no more foreign invaders into China. Otherwise, who knows what kind of insane killing methods these disciples of Lu Jin would come up with.
After announcing the six sect rules, the two men presented Lu Jin with gifts and tea, and then kowtowed three times, and Tao An announced that the ceremony was over. After the apprenticeship ceremony was over, Lu Jin simply stopped performing. He didn't accept these two disciples for nothing, they were all tools that he was going to use to work for him.

Lu Jin took the two to the central hall, where they usually held meetings, and then said to them, "You all know about the reform of the Marshal's Mansion, right?"

"Yes, I see." The two nodded immediately.

Lu Jin then continued, "From now on, the Marshal's Mansion will be changed to the Prince's Mansion. Under me, there will be the Cabinet, the Imperial Academy, the Privy Council, and the Administrative Council. But there are still two academies of science and engineering that have not been settled. There were no suitable candidates before, but now that you two have become my disciples, the organization and construction of these two academies will fall on your shoulders."

As the eldest senior brother, Meng Zhifang immediately said, "Your Highness, please give us your orders. We will do our best to build these two courtyards."

Tao Guangyi asked curiously, "Your Highness, I wonder what the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Engineering do, and what departments they have?"

Lu Jin took out a list that he had kept in his notebook for a long time, handed it to the two of them and said, "The two academies of science and engineering do not have government offices, but various research institutes. Both departments are used to research technology. The only difference is that the Academy of Sciences focuses on theoretical research, while the Academy of Engineering is responsible for turning the theoretical results of the Academy of Sciences into reality.

"This is the research institute that needs to be set up under the two academies. Zhifang has been helping me teach before, and he focuses on theory, so from now on, Zhifang will be in charge of the Academy of Sciences. Siwen is more hands-on and dares to try risks, so you will be in charge of the construction of the Engineering Academy. You two can take a look at this list first."

"Yes."

The two of them immediately took the list and took a look at it, and immediately frowned. There was a long list of densely packed research institutes, and there would be a lot of tasks in the future.

The column for the Academy of Sciences read: theoretical physics, chemistry, mathematics, astronomy, geology, electricity, optics, mechanics, fluid mechanics, biology, human medicine, and agriculture.

The list of the Academy of Engineering is even longer, including Shipbuilding, Drilling, Furnaces, Steel Research Institute, Nonferrous Metallurgy, Construction, Materials, Agricultural Machinery, Machine Tools, Engineering Machinery, Road and Bridge, Power, Precision Instruments, Textiles, Papermaking, Printing, a total of 16 research institutes. This is really the rhythm of using the apprentice to death.
The two of them looked at each other while holding the paper, and immediately asked, "Your Highness, there are so many departments, many of which we don't even know how to manage. How should we organize and build this?"

Lu Jin said immediately, "Organizational construction is certainly not something that can be built all at once. Besides, there are not that many talents now, so the top priority is to train more talents and spread Gongshu's knowledge.

"The specific approach is that I will have people build a few universities. By then, Zhi Fang will continue to study and teach as before, imparting knowledge to me. When you have trained the first batch of college students, those with excellent science scores will be assigned to the various research institutes of the two academies of science and engineering. Then the framework of the two academies will be established.

"But the Academy of Engineering needs to get moving first. Before the first batch of college students come in, we need to do some preliminary construction. There are some things you need to do first."

Lu Jin pointed to the word "power" in the list and said, "The Power Research Institute was established first. They should make a steam engine for me first. Without it, we can't do anything. We can't even provide power for the steel mills. Today's steel mills only rely on hydraulic machinery, which greatly affects production efficiency."

Meng Zhifang nodded immediately, "Yes, Your Highness, I understand."

Tao Guangyi asked in confusion, "Your Highness, what is this steam engine, and why is it placed under the Power Research Institute?"

Lu Jin explained, "Power, as the name suggests, is the force that can drive things to move. For example, carrying something on one's shoulders or in one's hands is human power, oxen plowing, horses carrying loads, and donkeys pulling mills are called animal power, waterwheel mills and water-powered pestles are called water power, and using windmills to drive the millstones to rotate is called wind power. These are all power.

“But using human labor is not only very tiring, but people also need to eat, and so do livestock, so they get tired and hungry. Although water power is strong, it is affected by the seasons. Spring and summer are the flood seasons, while autumn and winter are the dry seasons. Therefore, water power is not stable enough. The same is true for wind power. The wind is sometimes strong and sometimes weak, and the wind direction is uncertain.

"So we need a power machine that is tireless, does not need to eat, has stable power, and can be controlled by people. This is the steam engine. With it, we can help people work tirelessly, save a lot of manpower, and improve production efficiency."

Tao Guangyi was surprised when he heard this, "There is such a thing? When are we going to make it?"

Lu Jin said immediately, "Don't worry, you don't have any foundation yet, and I don't have time these days. It's early July now, and I have to finish the ceremony of becoming king first, and then go out of the city to meet with the generals of various fronts. I don't think I will have much time before September.

“So, you should study with your senior brother for the next two months and catch up on the basics. We’ll talk about it when I have time in September.

“I have already arranged what you are going to do in the next two years. First, make a steam engine, then study chemistry. Hurry up and make three acids and two bases for me. Otherwise, let alone flying into the sky, you won’t even be able to run on the ground.

"Take iron casting for example. They are still using the clay mold casting method, which is too backward. They can't even cast iron with a slightly more complicated shape. Moreover, the efficiency of the clay mold is too low, making it difficult to mass-cast certain steel parts.

"I need the sand casting method. All future cannons will also be converted to sand casting. However, the sand used for casting needs to be shaped with water glass, which is a sodium silicate solution. This thing needs to be made with hydrochloric acid. So you don't have time to be idle. You must learn it quickly. Whether we can make better cannons depends on how fast you can learn."

Tao Guangyi then frowned and nodded, "I understand."
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PS: Ask for the monthly ticket at the beginning of this month

(End of this chapter)