BSI Chapter 96 0094 [Preparing for Lift-off]
Chapter 96 0094 [Preparing for Lift-off]
Chapter 96 0094 [Preparing for Lift-off]
The Imperial Academy has officially started classes. No matter how often you skip classes, you have to put on a show at the beginning of the semester.
Two donkeys weren't enough to ride, and since the school wasn't far away anyway, the group decided to walk out.
Shen Kuo was left at home to design hot air balloons.
"Can it really fly?" Yu Sigong expressed his concern.
Yu Shuying said, "It can definitely fly; it's just a matter of making the sky lantern bigger."
Xu Anshi asked, "Why did Xingzhi send Brother Cunzhong to the blacksmith shop to inspect the furnace first?"
"Do you think bellows are used for blacksmithing?" Xu Lai asked rhetorically.
Xu Anshi said, "It's about blowing air. Only with air blowing can the fire burn brightly. Do you intend to install bellows under the hot air balloon?"
"We need Cunzhong to design the air intake," Xu said. "Without an air intake, if we just use an iron pot to burn charcoal, the fire will definitely not be strong in the long run. In addition to the air intake, we also need a flame nozzle to make the flames shoot upwards."
Xu Anshi thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "I understand."
The four strolled up the Imperial Street and then followed it to the outer city.
"Folding fan!"
Xu Anshi suddenly pointed ahead: "The snow has just melted, and people are already using folding fans."
Inside the city of Tokyo, there were only two folding fans.
One was a gift from Yu Jing to Ouyang Xiu, and the other was brought from Guangzhou by Lu Zhiyuan.
Since it wasn't summer yet, no one was making a copy of that thing.
Xu looked at the person in front of him and saw that he was wearing a long robe, his hair was tied up with a small crown, and a page was with him. In the chilly spring weather, the person did not seem to mind the cold and would fan himself from time to time.
The more I looked at his back, the more familiar he seemed.
"Wen Yuan!" Xu Lai called out tentatively.
Chen Yanhong suddenly stopped and turned around, quite delighted, saying, "On my first day studying at the Imperial Academy, I actually ran into Xingzhi on the road."
It really was this guy.
Besides Chen Yanhong, who else would use a folding fan in this kind of weather?
Xu Lai introduced them, and the group greeted each other with bows.
Chen Yanhong's demeanor had improved again; his speech and behavior were more natural, and his manners were impeccable and elegant, which even impressed Xu Anshi and the others.
A true master of showing off!
Xu Lai asked curiously, "When did Brother Wenyuan arrive in the capital?"
"A few days ago," Chen Yanhong said, "I just finished the entrance exam for the Imperial Academy yesterday, and today we are being assigned to different rooms based on the exam results."
At that time, the Imperial Academy's various systems were still imperfect.
Every two years, each prefecture (military prefecture) school in the country would send one student to the Imperial Academy, with the time set for the year following the completion of the imperial examination.
It's quite obvious that Chen Yanhong got the only "guaranteed admission" spot in Guangzhou this year.
First, he curried favor with Principal Chen Cigong and became Chen Cigong's disciple.
Secondly, he was promoted to the state school's inner wing last year based on his own merit.
Third, his family must have spent a lot of money to get many teachers in the school to recommend him. The teachers' opinions were relayed to the principal, and since the recommended person was the principal's protégé, the principal naturally approved it.
Fourth, the principal was personally invited by Yu Jing, so it was impossible for Yu Jing to reject his recommendation.
Xu Lai couldn't help but think: Liang Wensu's talent was clearly superior to Chen Yanhong's, and he even won an award for participating in water conservancy surveys. Moreover, Liang Wensu's family was quite wealthy. Just how much money did the Chen family spend to eliminate Liang Wensu?
No wonder his family owns a bank!
But Chen Yanhong would certainly not admit it, as he believed he was admitted to the Imperial Academy based on his own merit.
He didn't even know that his family had given money to the teachers.
"Where do you live now?" Xu Lai asked.
Chen Yanhong smiled and said, "In order to devote myself wholeheartedly to my studies, I lived in a meditation room at Taiping Xingguo Temple until I passed the imperial examination."
Upon hearing this, Xu Anshi was immediately filled with admiration.
He was captivated by Chen Yanhong's demeanor and concluded that the man must come from a scholarly family. Upon hearing Chen Yanhong mention living in a meditation room, he became even more convinced that the man was a virtuous gentleman devoted to learning.
Xu Anshi thought to himself: Xingzhi's friends are indeed no ordinary people. This Chen Wenyuan in front of me looks like a gentleman, and he will surely achieve great things in the future.
Xu Lai, however, was thinking: Shen Kuo's hot air balloon project must be quite expensive; he needs someone to sponsor it. Sigh, why is my first reaction to this guy always to think he's trying to extort money? That's so wrong of me. We're practically friends; he even played the zither for me last year as a farewell gift.
The group chatted idly as they arrived at the Imperial Academy.
Chen Yanhong made an excuse that he was not familiar with the place and asked Xu Lai to take him to complete the enrollment procedures.
Seeing the others heading to their respective dormitories, Chen Yanhong said in a low voice, "I came to the capital on an official boat, and Cai Caosi was also on that boat."
"Is Cai Cao Si coming to the capital?" Xu Lai asked, quite surprised.
Last year, Tsai Ing-wen reformed the old regime in Guangdong, but the new law was still unstable. She chose to leave her post early and go to Beijing, most likely because she was urgently recalled.
Chen Yanhong said, "The new post of Cai Cao Si seems to be Salt and Iron Judge."
What does this job entail?
It was in charge of managing the nation's strategic resources and collecting taxes.
The previous Salt and Iron Judge was Zhang Heng, the top scholar in the second year of the Jiayou era who was skilled in both literature and martial arts.
Zhang Heng introduced the "annual fiscal budget system," established the "triple ledger verification system," and investigated and dealt with the corruption case involving the Huainan salt tax.
So, Zhang Heng was fired!
Because he plugged all the financial loopholes, made the accounts extremely transparent, and investigated and punished a large number of corrupt officials. As the Minister of the Three Departments, Cai Xiang simply could not tolerate such a subordinate.
So the famous ministers of the Qingli era have turned from dragon slayers into evil dragons.
In order to unite with the worthless Cai Xiang, Han Qi not only tolerated Cai Xiang's embezzlement during the construction of the imperial mausoleum, but also demoted Zhang Heng, who had outstanding political achievements, to the position of prefect.
Ouyang Xiu surprisingly chose to remain silent about this.
He was Zhang Heng's mentor, and it was through Zhang Heng's rapid promotion that he was able to achieve such a high position. How close were they? When Ouyang Xiu was dying, he entrusted all his unfinished manuscripts to Zhang Heng!
Whether it's Han Qi or Ouyang Xiu, their only concern now is unity. To stabilize the situation, they disregard everything else, even abandoning fundamental principles.
Despite Xu Lai's frequent visits to Ouyang Xiu's house, if Xu Lai were to offend Han Qi one day, Ouyang Xiu probably wouldn't speak up for him; at most, he would privately advise Han Qi to show leniency.
You can't rely on anyone else; in times of crisis, you can only rely on yourself!
Xu Lai took Chen Yanhong to complete the enrollment procedures, then went to the lecture hall alone to listen to the class, and then returned to the dormitory to study the "Correct Meaning of the Book of Rites".
We've almost finished studying this major classic; the next one we'll study is the "Shangshu Zhengyi" (The Correct Meaning of the Book of Documents).
I should be able to learn the "Shangshu Zhengyi" (Commentary on the Book of Documents) very quickly, since it only has a little over 500,000 characters.
"I heard Chen Yanhong is here too?" Lu Zhiyuan asked.
Xu Lai smiled and said, "You know him too?"
Lu Zhiyuan laughed heartily: "Although I didn't attend classes at the Guangzhou State School, I was still considered a student there. This Chen Yanhong is quite famous. He was arrogant and aloof at first, but later became very polite. Everyone says that Professor Chen (Chen Cigong) taught him so well that he could transform his students."
Xu Lai didn't continue the topic and buried himself in his book.
Having made a fool of himself, Lu Zhiyuan then went to chat with Xu Anshi, only to find that Xu Anshi was also studying.
Damn, they're all working so hard.
Lu Zhiyuan sighed and simply returned to his seat to read. But instead of books for the imperial examinations, he read books on engineering and construction.
The Imperial Academy had teachers who taught this kind of course, and Lu Zhiyuan often went to listen to their lectures.
Xu Lai studied all day, ate lunch in the cafeteria, and didn't go back with his friends until evening.
Just as they arrived at the Yu family's backyard, they heard Shen Kuo shout, "You're finally back! This is the hot air balloon I designed!"
There were more than a dozen design drawings.
The illustrations were drawn with a quill pen, while the captions were written with a brush.
Shen Kuo's hot air balloon design was very similar to those of later hot air balloons.
"I plan to make the flamethrower using clay and sheet metal. The inner layer will be clay, and the outer layer will be sheet metal. There will be four holes at the bottom for air intake. A small chimney will be built on top to serve as the flame outlet. It works on the same principle as the furnace in the blacksmith's shop. Fuel can be added at any time, and the flame size can be adjusted—" Shen Kuo explained enthusiastically.
Xu Lai interrupted, "The furnace is simple, but how do we make the airbag? It must be lightweight, sturdy, airtight, and resistant to high temperatures."
"You can apply tung oil and alum water, which will make it durable, fireproof, moisture-proof, and insect-proof," Shen Kuo said.
Alum was a strategic resource in the Song Dynasty and was subject to a monopoly system.
The ancients had long ago explored various uses for alum, one of which was fire prevention and flame retardancy.
The children all gathered around, listening to Shen Kuo explain the airbag design in detail: "The airbag is made of two layers of hemp cloth, coated with multiple layers of tung oil, making it not only airtight but also fireproof, insect-proof, and moisture-proof. The bottom of the airbag is then coated with alum water to enhance its fire resistance—"
"Do you have enough money? I still have some left," Xu Anshi said.
Yu Shuying said, "That should be enough. We can also contribute some."
Shen Kuo said, "I will hire several women to sew linen, and then hire craftsmen to apply tung oil and alum water. I will also hire craftsmen to make the stove. If everything goes smoothly, it can be built in twenty days."
Xu Lai advised, "Before carrying people, conduct several experiments with livestock. You don't necessarily need livestock; just two or three bags of sand will suffice."
"Don't worry, I won't be careless." Shen Kuo was confident.
Seeing his friends' enthusiasm, Xu Lai couldn't resist the urge to make a telescope.
Without a telescope, how will we see the scenery after takeoff?
"If someone has poor eyesight, how should they read a book?" Xu Lai wanted to know if eyeglasses existed in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Xu Anshi said, "A crystal mirror."
The term "Aida" only appeared in the Southern Song Dynasty, but eyeglasses certainly existed in the Northern Song Dynasty.
The first recorded user of glasses was Shi Chen, an official during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song. Unsure of his degree of nearsightedness, he commissioned craftsmen to create over a dozen crystal lenses to use in rotation.
Xu Lai asked, "Are there craftsmen in Kaifeng who specialize in polishing crystal mirrors?"
"Yes. Some older officials with failing eyesight often buy crystal glasses," Xu Anshi said.
For the next two weeks or so, Xu Lai spent most of his time reading, occasionally taking a break to visit the mirror grinder.
With the help of the Yu family uncle and nephew and Xu Anshi, Shen Kuo also managed to create the first version of the hot air balloon.
The fuel is charcoal and pine resin.
The first flight test was conducted in the Yu family's courtyard, with a donkey stuffed into a wicker basket.
The donkey brayed loudly in fright. Once it reached a height of about ten feet, the rope was quickly secured, the time for a batch of fuel to remain suspended in the air was calculated, and the airtightness of the airbag was checked at the same time.
The second launch experiment, however, took place outside the city on the banks of the Yellow River.
Dozens of people near the ferry crossing watched curiously as the scholars took strange things off the donkey's back and assembled them.
Across the Yellow River lies Chenqiao, the place where Zhao Kuangyin once donned his yellow robe.
"Ignition, preheating."
"Tie the rope tight. The wind is blowing from the southeast. Even if you fall, you'll end up in the Yellow River. Don't fly too high, or you'll definitely survive the fall."
"Xingzhi, how about I go first?"
"You can't swim. It would be ridiculous if you fell in and drowned instead of dying from the fall."
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"7
The hot air balloon's air bladder inflated little by little.
The attention of everyone in the vicinity was drawn to the hot air balloon. The boatman even forgot to steer the boat, and the passengers forgot to urge it on.
Then, people's mouths slowly opened wide and remained open for a long time.
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