Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 975 The Most Difficult Path to Knowledge and Investigation of Things
On November 23, just as the Song army in Sichuan was retreating back to Sichuan with the same complex thoughts as Yue Fei's army on that day, Yanjing (Beijing) was a scene of festivity and prosperity.

On this day, Tudan Wulian, the former garrison commander of the Eastern Jin capital, arrived at the gates of Yanjing. Along with him arrived the head of Tudan Kening, the Grand Marshal of the Eastern Jin.

This highest-ranking military officer of the Eastern Jin, who resisted to the last moment, repaid Wanyan Yong's trust with his actions. Despite being surrounded and pursued by the Han army, he still refused to surrender. After being entangled in fishing nets and hooks by the militia, he was stabbed to death by a hail of bullets and had his head cut off.

With this man entering the city, the only remaining resistance force in Dongjin was Wanyan Yongdao, who occupied Datong.

Yes, in less than half a month, Wanyan Yongdao lost Xuande Prefecture, and the original defense line between Xuanfu and Datong immediately collapsed.

As for the process of retaking Xuande Prefecture, Liu Huai felt that it had a certain sense of destiny.

After recapturing Yanjing, Guan Chongyan led more than 5,000 cavalrymen from the Flying Tiger and White Horse armies from Huailai to Xuande, recapturing cities without bloodshed.

The Jin generals stationed in Rouyuan were acting strangely. Perhaps they were truly loyal to Wanyan Yongdao, or perhaps they wanted to show off their strength to the Han army, like thugs showing off their horses before a fight, hoping to let the Han army know that they were also heroes and gain benefits after the battle.

In short, the Jin army gathered nearly 10,000 Jurchen troops from the Northwest Route Pacification Commission, plus some Jurchen and Mongol soldiers and some Han bandits, forming a mixed force of up to 40,000 men, stationed on the hills south of Rouyuan, to confront Guan Chongyan head-on.

After Guan Chongyan led his army to the foot of a hill called Yehuling, he immediately realized that the Jin army was outwardly strong but inwardly weak.

It makes sense. The main force of the Jin army capable of field battles was wiped out in Zhen Ding Prefecture. What remains now are either remnants or second- or third-rate Jin troops. How could Guan Chongyan possibly take notice of them?
Moreover, Yefuling is not a towering mountain range, but merely a spur of the northern foothills of the Yanshan Mountains.

The day after their arrival, the Han army launched a general offensive. Within an hour, the Jin army collapsed completely in this fateful place, and several of its leading generals lost their heads cleanly and decisively.

At this point, Xuande Prefecture had no more organized resistance forces. Guan Chongyan recruited and accepted defectors, and his army quickly swelled to about 20,000. They bypassed the main force in the north and entered Datong Prefecture, forming a siege of Datong with Shi Qilang's troops.

"Shi Qilang has sent a document inquiring whether Wanyan Yongdao's surrender can be accepted."

Liang Su arrived carrying a stack of documents, speaking hurriedly, and as usual, first inquired about military matters.

Liu Huai was engrossed in reading a book when he heard this, and without even looking up, said, "Didn't we already announce our military policy before? We reiterated to Shi Qilang that our army only accepts unconditional surrender; nothing else will be accepted. If Wanyan Yongdao dares to make demands, we'll fight him until he has no demands left!"

"Also, send a letter to Wanyan Yongdao, saying that he has already lost his title, and if the fighting continues, he might not even be able to keep his commoner status."

Liang Su nodded, then chuckled: "This Wanyan Yongdao is truly ambitious, but it is this ambition that has clouded his judgment."

He didn't even consider that if he had surrendered with tens of thousands of troops and two prefectures back then, he would have certainly been granted a dukedom or marquisate. But now, what right did he have to bargain?!

Liu Huai didn't even look up: "He's a young man, and he's surnamed Wanyan, so it's normal that he hasn't been through the harsh realities of society."

Liang Su finally became curious: "Young Master, what are you looking at?"

"A new achievement from the Academy of Sciences." Liu Huai finally looked up and handed over the book in his hand: "It is a summary book, composed of the achievements of many professors, with Zhu Fuzi as the chief editor. It was just completed a few days ago, and he sent me a copy to write a preface and make corrections."

Liang Su glanced at the book and frowned when he saw the sentence, "All things are either in motion or stillness, and can only be changed by external forces."

"Young Master, your ascension to the throne is imminent, and the Han Dynasty is about to be established. How can you devote your attention to such trivial matters?"

Faced with Liang Su's advice, Liu Huai couldn't help but shake his head and laugh: "Mr. Liang is wrong this time. Establishing a country is a matter of a hundred years, but literature is a matter of a thousand years. How can it not be more important than re-establishing the Han Dynasty?"

As he spoke, Liu Huai pointed to the book in Liang Su's hand: "Do you believe that even if two or three hundred years pass and our great Han Dynasty falls, this book will still shine brightly and illuminate the ages?"

Liang Su's face immediately fell, and he sighed sincerely, "Young Master, the country hasn't even been established yet, and you're already thinking about what will happen after the country falls. You really are just like Emperor Gaozu."

Liu Huai had recently been cramming on knowledge about the Han Dynasty, so he naturally remembered what Liang Su was talking about. He immediately laughed and said, "Mr. Liang, please don't call me a ruler who lost his country. If I wanted to jump on your back, you wouldn't be able to carry me."

Liang Su was both amused and exasperated, but upon hearing Liu Huai's words, he couldn't help but become curious about the book in his hand, flipping through it incessantly.

It is said that although Confucianism has not reached the dead end of the Ming and Qing dynasties, it has become increasingly narrow.

While there are various reasons why Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism ultimately developed into its current form, the foundation laid by Zhu Xi was undoubtedly a significant factor. When the investigation of things shifted from materialism to idealism, many of its achievements inevitably became castles in the air.

Now, since Zhu Xi found the correct methodology through medicine, the study of things has finally made great progress. Zhu Xi's book "On the Investigation of Things" has spread throughout the north and south of the Yangtze River and the banks of the Yellow River with the support of Liu Huai. People from both the Song and Jin dynasties studied it.

Of course, as an officially supported doctrine, the study of things was the first to gain widespread acceptance among the Han army.

Besides the desire for promotion and wealth, those Confucian scholars were not fools. The classics they studied did not support further academic progress, so change became a natural course of action.

Conversely, many scholars of the study of natural philosophy served under Liu Huai; to put it bluntly, they were the ones who helped Liu Huai conquer the world.

Besides Zhu Xi, Zhang Xiaoxiang, Chen Liang, Shi Ju, He Boqiu, Xin Qiji and others were all supporters of the study of natural phenomena. The rapid advancement of the regime also led to their rising status, resulting in the increasing acceptance of the study of natural phenomena.

With so many intelligent people researching day and night, and with Liu Huai, the time traveler, offering guidance both openly and secretly, those natural sciences naturally had nowhere to hide.

The "Gewu Bao" newspaper was also in short supply. It was already published every three days, but many great scholars still said that if they wanted to find the results that interested them, they had to look for the previous newspapers, which was very inconvenient. They hoped that the Academy of Sciences could come forward and summarize the findings.

This book represents the first phase of research by Zhu Xi and others, compiling knowledge about mechanics for publication.

Liang Su flipped through the book, gradually becoming engrossed in it, until after a long while he sighed, "There are so many smart people in the Academy of Sciences. With this book published, the principles of all things can be said to have been revealed to some extent. What do you think of this book, young master?"

Liu Huai chuckled: "Regardless of everything else, I need to change the title of this book first."

Liang Su quickly flipped to the first page of the book: "Gree, this is a good name. The 'ge' in 'gewuzhizhi' (investigating things to acquire knowledge) and the 'li' in 'liqu' (mechanics) are both respectable names."

Liu Huai rolled his eyes, thinking to himself that the name sounded like an employee handbook, what was so good about it?

But he didn't say it explicitly, nor could he say it explicitly. He simply put it another way: "This book is not meant to be a collection for the wealthy and powerful, but for everyone. How can it be so literary? Nowadays, paper and printing technology have been improved. It would be unreasonable to be so stingy with words."

As he spoke, Liu Huai wrote several large characters on the paper: "This is the title of the book, 'An Introduction to Mechanics'."

"Besides that, Master Zhu and his colleagues made a big mistake, which was that they did not adjust the order of the theorems. For example, the buoyancy theorem discovered by Dang Huaiying should obviously be placed later."

If readers don't even understand what force is, how can they understand buoyancy?
Moreover, the experimental descriptions are too few and not presented in a simple and accessible way, making it difficult for ordinary people to replicate…

"Sigh, I'll write a draft opinion later, Mr. Liang, could you please help me organize it?"

With the air of a great Confucian scholar, Liu Huai wielded his brush and ink, adding yet another heavy burden to Liang Su's shoulders with a smile.

Liang Su's face turned somewhat bitter, but he understood the importance of this matter and could only agree.

"After this book is completed, Master Zhu will probably become Master Zhu himself." Liang Su sighed with a mix of emotion and envy, looking at the large stack of documents on the table. He said with a long sigh, "Now I understand why some people give up high-ranking positions and titles to seek the Way. How I wish I could give up worldly affairs and follow Master Zhu to seek the ultimate truth of the universe."

Liu Huai was startled and quickly stepped forward to press Liang Su into a chair, as if afraid that his chief of staff would run away: "Mr. Liang, you can't leave! If you become a free spirit, I'll be busy until I die."

Liang Su immediately became somewhat amused and exasperated, but took the opportunity to get to the point: "Young Master, now that the new dynasty has just been established, the country's name is naturally Great Han, but there are still some things that only you, Young Master, can decide."

"What are they all? Just pick the most important one."

"First, who should be honored at the ancestral temple? Second, which reign title should be used?"

"The ancestral temple naturally worships Emperor Taizu Gao, Emperor Guangwu, and Emperor Zhaolie, and then my father, Duke Wei."

"As for the reign title, I have already decided on 'Hongwu'. It will put my mind at ease."

(End of this chapter)