Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 272 The late emperor's undertaking was half-finished and the budget was exhausted.

Listening to Shen Kuo's eloquent introduction of his astronomical observations of the universe.

“Brother Cunzhong’s insights and understandings are all thought-provoking!”

Zhang Zai nodded repeatedly, interrupting, "The movement of the heavens and the flow of energy, its subtleties, truly require thorough investigation to glimpse even a fraction of their true meaning."

After he finished speaking, he changed the subject and pointed to Lu Beigu: "However, the reason I brought my brother Lu here today is because I have a wonderful idea about the 'reality of Qi'. I believe that without your ingenuity and skill, it would be difficult to make a real object. That is why I came to visit you."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Kuo immediately looked up from his notebook and stared at Lu Beigu with curiosity.

In Shen Kuo's first impression, Lu Beigu seemed to be a very traditional scholar, not someone who, like him, enjoyed studying these miscellaneous subjects that were not valued by scholars.

Lu Beigu didn't beat around the bush and concisely explained the cause and effect of the matter.

"The Ming Cult master actually claims that the theory of Qi is absurd and baseless?"

Shen Kuo frowned. Although he was young, he had long been immersed in astronomy, calendrical calculations, and the study of things. He instinctively felt a sense of rejection towards Qi Song's argument that completely denied objective reality.

"The universe operates according to its own rules, and all things are born and die in an orderly manner. How can the words 'no evidence' completely conceal this? The Zen master's argument is somewhat biased!"

“That’s right.” Lu Beigu nodded. “And I have a method that can clearly prove the existence, nature and principle of this ‘qi’ before the eyes of the world. This method is tied to the ‘Kongming Lantern’!”

"Kongming lanterns?" Shen Kuo was taken aback.

"That toy made of paper and bamboo frame with pine resin underneath? Can it prove the 'real existence of qi'?"

Shen Kuo had observed Kongming lanterns rising into the sky, but he never connected them with the origin of the universe or the principle of qi.

"Almost, but bigger, big enough to carry people."

Lu Beigu explained the principle to Shen Kuo in a concise and clear manner.

"The hot air fills the balloon, and the air inside expands due to the heat, greatly reducing its density and becoming extremely light. The cold air outside the balloon is much denser, and its heavy force compresses the balloon, trying to fill the 'gap' left by the rising hot air. This downward compressive force is transformed into upward buoyancy. When this buoyancy is greater than the weight of the entire hot air balloon, it can carry people into the air!"

"With a continuous heat source and a constant supply of hot air, buoyancy will continue to exist. The rope traction can control its height and stabilize its position on the ground, making it easier to observe and record."

"Imagine this: when this object carries a person and truly rises off the ground, suspended several feet or tens of feet in the air, isn't this the most direct, shocking, and irrefutable empirical evidence of the 'real existence of Qi,' the 'rising of the clear and descending of the turbid,' and the dynamic force generated by the interaction of the contradictory Yin and Yang energies?!"

Even Shen Kuo, with his boundless imagination and endless stream of ingenious ideas, was so shocked by the groundbreaking concept of "manned flight" that he took a half-step back and looked at Lu Beigu with disbelief.

—This person has such a great idea!
At this moment, Zhang Zai asked nervously, "Brother Cunzhong, can you do it?"

"Just knowing the principles isn't enough; you need to tell me about the specific structure."

Shen Kuo came to the desk, picked up a charcoal pencil and a piece of cardboard for sketching.

As Lu Beigu continued to describe the structure of the hot air balloon, Shen Kuo's lines quickly sketched out a spherical outline on the cardboard, with a basket structure below that supported the flames.

"If the drawing is too small, the balloon needs to be huge! Extremely huge! In order to hold enough 'hot air' to generate buoyancy."

As Shen Kuo revised the design, he pondered: "The material needs to be light, tough, and airtight. Ordinary mulberry bark paper cannot be used to paste bamboo frames! We need to find a superior, tough, and lightweight fabric, and repeatedly soak the frame with fish glue or tree lacquer. But does the frame need to be made of light and strong bamboo strips? That would be too coarse and cumbersome. Perhaps we could use finer and tougher rattan to weave a net-like support?"

His mind raced like a wild horse, leaping from principles to every detail of engineering implementation in an instant.

Lu Beigu nodded repeatedly. As expected of the "Da Vinci of the Song Dynasty," Shen Kuo grasped all the key points of hot air balloon construction almost immediately after hearing the description, and even began to think about alternative materials and structural optimization.

"Fuel is also a major problem!" Shen Kuo frowned. "Ordinary pine resin produces a lot of smoke, has a weak flame, and does not burn for long. It is also easy to drip and ignite the bladder! We need high-heat, stable fuel. The smoke from the fierce oil is as black as ink, has a pungent smell, and is more prone to explosion. That's not suitable. If we use high-quality refined charcoal, the firepower may be sufficient, but how can we ensure continuous combustion? We'll probably need special equipment."

He was immersed in his own world of deduction, sometimes writing furiously, sometimes pausing to ponder.

After a long while, Shen Kuo finally raised his head and said to Zhang Zai with a troubled expression.

"Although this idea is quite shocking, it is not difficult to manufacture. However, it is very expensive. The materials and processes required need to be repeatedly tested and explored. It is by no means something that can be accomplished in a few days."

Lu Beigu almost fainted when he heard him say that.

Nobody expected Shen Kuo to be able to conjure up a manned hot air balloon by hand in just a few days!
However, judging from Shen Kuo's tone, he was quite confident that he could build it in ten days or half a month.

"The materials are indeed available."

Zhang Zai looked troubled; he was concerned about another aspect of Shen Kuo's words, namely the cost of the materials.

Even if Shen Kuo didn't charge him for labor, he still had to spend money to buy materials, especially since many of them were not cheap. Zhang Zai couldn't possibly shamelessly ask Shen Kuo to pay for them.

But Zhang Zai really didn't have much money. His trip to the capital for the imperial examination had already used up a lot of his savings, and now he was not far from being "penniless".

A moment of silence fell over the room. Seeing that the Song Dynasty's grand "manned spaceflight" project was about to be stalled due to insufficient funding, Lu Beigu coughed.

He unstitched the seam of the inner pocket of his coat and pinched out a gold bean with his fingers.

"This can be exchanged for more than a hundred thousand yuan. Let's use it to buy some materials and make a prototype of the hot air balloon. If we don't have enough money later, we'll see."

This golden bean was the one Lu Beigu ate during the Buddha's Birthday Festival in Hejiang County. His sister-in-law sewed it into his inner garment. It was originally intended for emergency use on his way to the capital for the imperial examination, but he never used it. Now he's using it to sponsor Shen Kuo's research project.

After all, we can't let the project fall short of the goal of "the late emperor spending all his budget before starting his business." We should at least start by making a prototype and see if it works.

As for what happens after the budget is completely spent, we'll talk about that later.

"Brother Lu, how can this be!"

Zhang Zai looked ashamed. He had once again delayed Lu Beigu's exam preparation time and made Lu Beigu pay for the hot air balloon. He felt really bad about it.

Shen Kuo, however, was not polite and took it directly from Lu Beigu's hand, saying...

“Cunzhong is not an extravagant person. The key to this item lies in its ingenious design and efficient use of materials. The bladder can be made of the lightest and toughest silk. There are many silk shops in Bianliang. I will search carefully and may be able to find plain silk at a lower price. The frame can be made of flexible rattan, which is lightweight and tough. The fish glue can be made from ordinary fish bladders. The cost is limited, but the fuel will cost more. I know that there is a charcoal yard outside the city with very good quality ‘silver frost charcoal’. It produces little smoke and burns evenly. I will buy some and find a blacksmith to make a special stove that can prevent wind and allow the heat to rise evenly.”

"Although it doesn't need to fly high, just two or three zhang off the ground would be conclusive proof. However, the rope needs to be made of the strongest hemp rope, with multiple strands twisted together for safety. The basket, on the other hand, should be made of the lightest rattan, just big enough for one person to stand in. Considering all this, Brother Lu's money is truly enough to support us in creating a prototype of a 'manned hot air balloon'!"

As Shen Kuo spoke, Zhang Zai felt increasingly embarrassed, so he simply bowed deeply to Lu Beigu.

Lu Beigu quickly helped him up: "It is my heartfelt wish to use this meager strength to prove 'the Great Void is Qi'. Moreover, if this thing is completed, its significance will not be limited to the debate between Confucianism and Buddhism. It will be a milestone in investigating things and extending knowledge, and thoroughly exploring the principles of Heaven!"

He paused, looked at Zhang Zai, and said sincerely, "Brother Zihou, you really don't need to feel guilty. If you can promote the spirit of investigating things and verifying facts, it will be the greatest blessing for us scholars and for the world's learning."

Zhang Zai looked into Lu Beigu's sincere eyes, and his throat tightened slightly.

He said nothing more, but patted Lu Beigu's back forcefully, everything was understood without words.

Lu Beigu's kindness was something Zhang Zai would never forget.

"In that case, Brother Cunzhong, I entrust everything to you!"

"Don't worry!" Shen Kuo readily agreed.

Looking at the pure passion for science in Shen Kuo's eyes, Lu Beigu was filled with emotion.

He might actually be able to leverage a pivotal moment in this cold winter of the first year of the Jiayou era, a moment that would change the world's understanding. The soft sound of that huge sphere breaking free from gravity under the surging flames was destined to shatter the long-silent sky of the Song Dynasty's intellectual world!

Lu Beigu and Zhang Zai bid farewell to Shen Kuo and began to walk back to find the mule cart that had been parked on the side of the road at the Imperial College.

"What are you trying to do? Have you no regard for the law? Aren't you afraid I'll report you to Bao Zheng?"

A pleasant woman's voice, filled with barely suppressed anger, pierced through the surrounding noise.

Lu Beigu and Zhang Zai looked in the direction of the sound.

In front of a tofu shop with a cloth banner hanging, two clerks dressed in black robes and carrying iron rulers at their waists stood there impatiently.

One of them was slightly overweight with a face full of fat, and he was pointing at the woman standing inside the shop with his finger.

"Stop trying to scare me!" the fat clerk sneered, spitting almost onto the woman's face. "What do you know about the rules, woman? Even if it were the very emperor himself, let alone Bao Zheng, the 'exemption fee' and 'mat fee' would still have to be paid!"

The woman was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, dressed in simple clothes and a plain hairpin. Her lips were a little blue from the cold wind in the twelfth lunar month, but her back was ramrod straight.

"What rules? Rules for extortion?" The woman refused to back down, her voice rising several decibels with agitation. "Yesterday we were charged 'cleaning fee,' the day before 'lamp oil fee,' and today it's this 'exemption fee'? My family runs a small tofu business; how many copper coins can we earn in a day? Are you trying to force us to freeze or starve to death in Bianjing by exploiting us like this?"

Hey! You're asking for it!

Another tall, thin clerk stepped forward and reached out to shove the stalls in front of the shop.

"Stop talking nonsense! You're paying today whether you like it or not! If you dare to make another sound, I'll wreck your tofu stall! Let's see how you'll make a living then!"

"What a tragedy," an old man selling steamed buns nearby sighed softly, shaking his head, but dared not step forward.

"That's right." A woman carrying a shopping basket muttered to her companion, "Those damned guys come here every other day to skim money off us."

"Shh! Keep your voice down! They have powerful backers. Kaifeng Prefecture is so big that even if Bao Longtu is powerful, he can't control this corner of the country for a while."

"Brother Lu."

Just then, Zhang Zai, who had been observing silently, suddenly whispered, "Look at that woman, doesn't she resemble you in some way?"

(End of this chapter)