White-robed Minister

Chapter 99 0097 [High-level political struggles are often simple and unpretentious]

Although Zhang Anji described it vividly, Zhao Xu still did not believe that man-made objects could fly.

The next day, the three teachers came to visit as usual.

Taking the opportunity, Zhao Xu asked, "I heard that Xu Lai and other scholars released a very large balloon on the banks of the Yellow River, capable of carrying people into the sky, attracting tens of thousands of onlookers from the capital. Is this true?"

"The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits; Your Highness, please do not believe such rumors," Wang Tao advised first. He had also heard of the hot air balloon, but thought it was definitely fake and didn't even bother to send anyone to inquire.

Han Wei said, "I have also heard about it, but there are many conflicting accounts, and it is really difficult to tell the truth from the falsehood."

Sun Sigong said, "That is indeed true."

Wang Tao glared at Sun Sigong: "Matters concerning ghosts and spirits should be kept at a distance, how dare you mislead His Highness?"

"What does this have to do with ghosts and gods?" Sun Sigong said. "Every year on the Lantern Festival, people release sky lanterns. They simply make the sky lanterns bigger, big enough to carry people and animals into the air."

Han Wei exclaimed in surprise, "It's true? I have several servants, yet they say they're connected to monks and Taoists."

Sun Sigong now has two identities.

One was a storyteller at the Prince Ying's mansion, who specialized in explaining classics and history to Zhao and Xiang.

One was the Imperial Academy Lecturer, who taught the students of the Imperial Academy.

Two days ago, during a break from lecturing at the Imperial Academy, he specifically called Xu Lai over to inquire about his situation.

He not only learned the principle of buoyancy, but also began to seriously study mechanics, requesting experimental records from Xu Lai, Shen Kuo, and others.

Sun Sigong himself was studying mechanical and natural phenomena!

Historically, Shen Kuo's repair and improvement of the armillary sphere was a succession to Sun Sigong's work, as Sun Sigong had already completed the preliminary work.

Moreover, Shen Kuo later acquired a large number of Sun Sigong's posthumous manuscripts. Even in his "Dream Pool Essays," which describes the phenomenon of rainbows, Shen Kuo directly quoted Sun Sigong's explanation.

Sun Sigong continued, "Su Song, Lin Yi, Shen Kuo, and Xu Lai are still working together to sort out the mathematical classics of past dynasties. They have a new method of mathematics that is extremely useful and takes a different approach. They plan to use this new method to recompile and compile all the mathematical classics of past dynasties into two books: 'Mathematics' and 'Geometry'."

"Are these two books finished?" Zhao Xu asked.

Sun Sigong said, "They meet every ten days to discuss and verify the content they have compiled. I heard that it is almost finished, and I am planning to make a copy."

Seeing that Zhao Xu was becoming increasingly interested, Wang Tao quickly advised, "Your Highness, the way of a ruler lies in governing people and the country. Although mathematical classics are of great use to the country, they are a minor skill for a monarch. What Your Highness should learn is how to select virtuous and capable officials, and you must not get bogged down in those trivial skills."

Zhao Xu nodded in agreement: "Mr. Wang is right."

After saying this, Zhao Xu asked Sun Sigong, "Who is Su Song? I think I've heard that name before."

Sun Sigong elaborated: "His father was the late Su Shen, a drafter of imperial edicts and a Hanlin scholar. Last year, when he was in charge of the affairs of the counties and towns within the Kaifeng Prefecture, he refused to levy materials that were not produced locally during the repair of the late emperor's mausoleum. The people of Kaifeng Prefecture all benefited from his actions, and he was praised by the people."

Zhao Xu took down the name "Su Song" in his notebook, thinking that he was a benevolent official who cared for the people. Moreover, Su Song was very bold, daring to confront Cai Xiang, the Commissioner of the Three Departments, because it was Cai Xiang who arranged the collection of materials.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Xu asked Lin Yi and Shen Kuo.

When Sun Sigong introduced the two men, Zhao Xu took it all to heart.

After finishing this casual conversation, Han Wei went on to explain the recent major events in the imperial court.

However, officials and censors such as Gong Dingchen, Sima Guang, Lü Hui, Wang Chou, and Sun Bian took turns submitting memorials requesting Empress Dowager Cao to return power to the emperor.

Sun Bian, in particular, was on his deathbed, yet he was still writing memorials to the throne.

A few days later, Sun Sigong presented Zhao Xu with two books, "Mathematics" and "Geometry".

"Mathematics" is based on Xu Lai's "New Methods of Mathematics," supplemented with numerous examples (word problems) from historical mathematical classics. It also standardizes all the complex terminology from these classics into a single set of terms and adds content not found in "New Methods of Mathematics."

Much of the content in *Geometry* also comes from mathematical classics of various dynasties, and it also standardizes terminology. It distinguishes between points, lines, rays, and...

Line segments — all are given strict definitions, and a large number of theorems and formulas are summarized.

In addition, Sun Sigong even brought many manuscripts, all of which contained the contents of physical experiments conducted by Shen Kuo and others.

Zhao Xu dared not let Wang Tao know about these manuscripts, otherwise his teacher would surely criticize him.

Zhao Xu would secretly peruse the books every night, not only reading and studying but also doing calculations. This quickly became his hobby, because studying classics and history during the day was too tedious, and studying mathematics and geometry at night could refresh his mind.

They studied until mid-April, when Zhao Xu wrote a letter and gave it to Zhang Anji, saying, "Take this and give it to Xu Lai tomorrow."

Zhang Anji quickly advised, "Your Highness, a prince should not have correspondence with outsiders."

Zhao Xu smiled and said, "Be careful, just don't reveal my identity. Remember, I'm just the son of an official in the capital. Because of strict family education, I can only study the classics and history, and I can't study minor arts."

Zhang Anji felt uneasy.

The next day, during his day off, he disguised himself and went out, found the Yu family's house, and gave the old gatekeeper a string of copper coins.

Xu Lai was chatting with Su Song and Lin Yi.

They have made final corrections to "Mathematics" and "Geometry" and are discussing today whether they should be published.

Su Song wanted to have it printed as a book.

But Lin Yi said, "Printing books is expensive, and these kinds of books don't sell well. It's better to have a copyist make dozens of copies and give them to friends who like this kind of thing. They will naturally spread."

"That's true." Xu Lai agreed with Lin Yi's idea.

These two tattered books have no market; if they were printed, they could only be given away as gifts. And even then, you have to choose the right recipients, otherwise, people will just take them home and toss them into a corner to gather dust.

It would be better to hire a copyist to transcribe it, since printing requires carving woodblocks. The time and money spent on making the woodblocks would be enough to hire a copyist to transcribe a hundred or so copies.

After much deliberation, Su Song decided that the minority should submit to the majority.

After chatting for a while, Su Song and Lin Yi said their goodbyes and left. They both had full-time jobs, and editing "Mathematics" and "Geometry" textbooks was just a hobby. That's why they were editing so slowly, and sometimes they wouldn't touch them for days at a time.

Xu Anshi is not home today; it's his cousin's birthday.

As for Shen Kuo, he went to take the imperial examination.

The literal meaning of "召试" is that the emperor summons someone for an interview. The content of the interview is random; it might simply be a chat with the emperor.

This is the first time Zhao Shu has personally interviewed officials since he ascended the throne!

"Sanlang, someone has come to visit. They say they've come to deliver a message and want to see you in person," the old gatekeeper ran over to report.

"Please let him in."

Every time he does something to gain fame, it gives Xu Lai a lot of trouble.

Take this hot air balloon launch as an example. For the next two weeks after the news spread, people came to visit us almost every day.

Some merchants even approached us, wanting to collaborate on manufacturing hot air balloons for launch services in the countryside. They charged two strings of cash per launch.

If Han Qi hadn't forbidden him from touching this thing again, Xu Lai would have actually planned to make money with the businessman.

"I am Ji'an, and I have come to pay my respects to Mr. Xu on the orders of my husband. This is a letter from my husband." As Zhang Anji handed over the letter, he carefully examined Xu Lai.

Xu Lai glanced at the signature on the envelope.

The letter was written by "Song Xiaomai".

What a terrible name!

Xu Lai opened and read the letter on the spot.

The other party claimed to be the son of a high-ranking official, whose family was forcing him to study hard to pass the imperial examination. However, he was not very interested in the classics and history. He accidentally came across a manuscript of "Mathematics" and heard that Xu Lai had flown a hot air balloon, so he greatly admired Xu Lai.

This person wanted to be pen pals with Xu and ask him some math questions.

Zhang Anji asked, "Does Mr. Xu have time to reply? My husband is waiting."

Xu Lai smiled and went back into his room to get paper and pen. He was happy to be able to cultivate more math enthusiasts. He immediately wrote some casual remarks, advised the other party not to neglect the imperial examination, and finally answered the math questions in the letter.

"Thank you, Mr. Xu." Zhang Anji took the reply and left.

The guy had a full beard and an unusually loud voice, so Xu Lai couldn't tell that he was a eunuch.

In the afternoon, Xu Lai was reading when Shen Kuo finally returned from his interview.

He had barely arrived home when the Yu family uncle and nephew pulled him aside to instruct him on physics experiments. The uncle and nephew were quite engrossed in their studies and were too embarrassed to disturb Xu Lai's reading.

After a while of fussing, Xu came over to ask, "How did the examination go?"

Yu Shuying said, "If it's recommended by Minister Han, it's bound to pass. So I didn't even bother to ask."

Shen Kuo excitedly recounted his experience: "I entered the palace in the morning and was taken to a side hall to wait. There were several other people waiting with me. After waiting for a long time, one by one we were taken to meet the emperor."

"His Majesty is in good spirits, though he has lost some weight. This time, he is recruiting staff for the compilation of the 'Veritable Records of Emperor Renzong,' so the questions asked are related to that."

"The Emperor first asked me about etiquette, then about an anecdote from the Records of the Grand Historian, and then about my knowledge of astronomy and calendar. I answered them all correctly, and the Emperor even praised me."

Xu Lai cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations, Brother Cunzhong."

Shen Kuo then said to the Yu family uncle and nephew, "After I am officially appointed, I will find a house to rent and bring my wife and children to the capital."

I have troubled you all greatly these days.

Yu Sigong said, "It's alright, my house is empty anyway. You can come visit often."

It's uncertain whether Shen Kuo's first wife will still die of illness after he brings her and their children to the capital. After all, the location, climate, and daily diet are different.

A few days later, Shen Kuo officially obtained a position in the Imperial Academy, responsible for assisting in the compilation of the "Veritable Records of Emperor Renzong".

Meanwhile, in the inner palace, Empress Dowager Cao was filled with shock and anger.

"Where is the imperial seal?" Empress Dowager Cao demanded.

The eunuch Ren Shouzhong said with a mournful face, "After I used the seal to pray for rain, I was about to put it back in the box when Lord Han snatched it away."

""

Empress Dowager Cao exclaimed incredulously, "He just forcibly took it?"

"It was just robbery," Ren Shouzhong said.

Empress Dowager Cao sat there speechlessly for a long time.

High-level business battles are often simple and unpretentious.

They steal company seals, they pour boiling water on money trees—the methods are varied and numerous, making them difficult to guard against.

The same applies to high-level political struggles.

Since the beginning of spring this year, there has been very little rain, and Han Qi is making a fuss about praying for rain.

Empress Dowager Cao originally wanted to perform the ritual herself, but the emperor had already recovered. No matter how much the empress dowager ruled from behind the curtain, she could not possibly perform the rain-praying ceremony on behalf of the emperor.

Since the emperor goes on a tour to pray for rain, the imperial seal must accompany him.

Furthermore, a prayer for rain had to be written, which required the emperor's signature and the imperial seal.

Left with no other choice, the Empress Dowager had to send Ren Shouzhong with the imperial seal to accompany the emperor out of the palace to pray for rain.

Ren Shouzhong had just finished stamping the seal when, in a moment of distraction, Han Qi snatched it away!

They just robbed it by force.

After the imperial seal was stolen, Ren Shouzhong was completely bewildered and couldn't even remember how he got back to the palace.

Ren Shouzhong felt he was about to die.

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