Jingming

Chapter 302 The Person Who Controls Temperature
The tribute scholars in the fifth year of Jiajing were greatly shocked by the material analysis questions.

In the third month of the lunar calendar, the sun is not strong, but many people sweat on their foreheads and bodies.

At the entrance of the main hall in front, there is the emperor standing in front and looking down at them, and there are 24 counselors behind the emperor.

That's another stress.

Let's go, you guys, anyway, it's just out of etiquette to come and have a look first.

Otherwise, it would be like playing a big knife in front of Guan Gong.

In fact, many people do not know how to play.

They can't answer this question, it's too difficult!

Now in the question review process, the first material roughly summarizes the tax and corvee system of the Ming Dynasty, and also gives the three major problems that the emperor thinks.Official land, preferential exemption, and discounted silver, the emperor has determined that sex is a disaster, you must at least know what they refer to, what specific circumstances are there, and why is it a disaster, right?
The second material is too grounded.What are friend names and unique names?What is dumping and trickling?What are the hardships of weighing, fire consumption, and routine, and who is suffering for them?Many tributes who don't hear things outside the window and can talk about current affairs and policy in a decent way are dumbfounded at the moment: Who am I?where am I?What am I going to do?
The third material only presents a point of view: Some people think that silver has led to more corruption, and silver has made the circulation of copper coins difficult, making officials treasure it and making people hate it.

Well, expropriation of silver is one of the three major problems of taxation and corvee. Expropriation of silver will cause a lot of troubles in the process, and it is suspected of exacerbating corruption. But why is the question not only about the disadvantages, but the advantages and disadvantages?Where is the profit?

Gong Yongqing looked at the imperial examination questions with some apprehension.

With his ingenuity, from a logical point of view, he subconsciously noticed that there was a pit.

In this palace examination question, a huge pit like an abyss was buried!

There are also materials other than policy topics, which are a kind of rumor that many people usually talk about: I heard that the imperial court is going to abolish banknotes.

No wind, no wave!
How do you know that the imperial court really has this intention, first release some news to see the reaction of the people?
Don't you see that the third question is suddenly raised to the level of pros and cons of today's money law?
But if the imperial court really wanted to bank, why did the palace examination question talk about the disadvantages of silver?
Sitting under the sun, the five-year-old scholars of the new division of Jiajing saw the current palace examination questions, and thought that they would not know what new tricks they would be tested in three years, they couldn't help crying in their hearts.

Finally!Finally, this year, I have seized the only chance in my life, passed the test by luck, and became a glorious Jinshi!

Still want to enter after three years?It's hard!
At this moment, Tang Shunzhi looked up at the emperor and his ministers in a strange way.

If we look at Wang Simana's "Practice and Dialectics", one of the viewpoints is that everything has both advantages and disadvantages. In its changes, danger may turn into opportunity. The truth is that it will be brought down by misfortune".

This palace examination strategy question... Now it seems that if you don't have a solid understanding of the practice and dialectics, you may miss the point and fall into a trap.

You must know that although there are words of the mean in the classics of sages and sages, Confucian students are often too clear about wrongs and too clear about right and wrong.Don't you see that the people above the court are either loyal, righteous, talented and virtuous, or treacherous, evil, greedy and fallacious?
So, in the face of such an intricate problem, how to solve it?

Tang Shunzhi closed his eyes lightly, and rubbed his own ink slowly with his hands.

... This question still needs to understand the history, how the precious banknotes at the beginning of the founding of the country became like this step by step, and why taxes began to be converted into silver.

Things will not become like this for no reason, and the word "benefit" among the pros and cons of this bank may be hidden in it.

Since there are always advantages and disadvantages in everything, I am afraid that it is impossible to eliminate the disadvantages, so we can only find ways to show the advantages and prevent the disadvantages.

Tang Shunzhi opened his eyes, and was the first to put pen to ink:
[Minister to:]

[I heard that misfortune and good fortune depend on each other, and the wise know the way; before and after cause and effect, the wise king observes the situation and guides it.The popularity of Gai Dao cannot be enforced when the ups and downs change;To rule the world, a sage should observe the ups and downs, understand the cause and effect, and then make the best use of the situation, turn danger into disaster, and bring good fortune out of misfortune...]

After solving the problem, what follows is a routine praise of Emperor Taizu Gao and the current emperor.Everyone has already thought about how to write these contents in advance, so Tang Shunzhi wrote more and more smoothly.

Entering this link, Zhu Houcong looked at the candidates with different expressions, and also looked at a few people specially, and then left first.

Let them answer it.

When they arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Empress Dowager Jiang stepped forward and asked, "How is it?"

Zhu Houcong had no choice but to say, "...Those people are indeed very handsome."

Yes, there is another task today. Empress Dowager Jiang specially told him to take a good look at some of the famous talents in Zhang Zuo's report.

My younger sister is thinking about spring and wants to get married, so Zhu Houcong doesn't bother to worry about it anymore.

It's strange to block something, and sending her sister's son-in-law out on business for two years also made Zhu Houcong's words in front of his mother and sister unconvincing: What do you mean by being a sister?

It can only be said to respect the fate of others, and if you want to get married, you can do it.

Empress Dowager Jiang beamed with joy when she heard Zhu Houcong's words: "Since the son-in-law can also be an official, then it will be done. After the palace examination, the emperor will remember this matter and make a decision earlier, so as not to be snatched away."

The matter of catching a son-in-law under the list, every subject has it.

The younger sister, Zhu Qingyi, is a face-controller. She grew up as a princess in the palace in the few years when her personality began to grow, and she is much more daring to express than Zhu Houcong's sister.

There is nothing wrong with face control, and Zhu Houcong is also face control.

It's just that reusing the son-in-law will make one's sister's family life less happy, so it's better for the younger sister's son-in-law to take a job in Beijing first.

That being the case, it is strongly recommended that mothers choose less talented people.

Zhu Houcong first agreed to his mother's words, and then said: "Mother, my son is going to Qin'an Hall."

Just like the day when the exam started, Zhu Houcong was going to see Tao Zhongwen again to discuss refining (chemical) alchemy (learning).

"I heard that Master Shao is also in the capital?"

"...The queen mother wants to see him?"

Empress Dowager Jiang sighed and said: "Your father respected Daoist Shao very much in the past. You also got Daoist Shao's talisman when you were young, and then grew up in peace and safety, and inherited this great line. It is reasonable and reasonable, I should pay back my wish. "

Zhu Houcong thought about it for a while, and with his current attitude towards the Taoists, it wouldn't cause anything for both mother and son to show "worshiping the Tao".The queen mother only pays homage to the temple and respects the spiritual life of the elderly.

"The son will arrange it when he turns back, and the queen mother can choose an auspicious day to go to pilgrimage."

Arrived at Qin'an Hall, here is the real business.

There is no better tool. Tao Zhongwen's "laboratory" is just a set of alchemy equipment he is familiar with: alchemy well, altar, furnace, shrine, kiln, cauldron, ancient mirror, pure sword, incense burner, tripod, trachea, basin, Mallets, bowls, ash ponds, pressed stones, bamboo tubes, trembling...

Now, there are still a few little Taoist priests in the Qin'an Temple, and there are also a few apprentices who "worshiped" Tao Zhongwen's disciples under Zhu Houcong's order-their identities are the first batch of children adopted in the Huangzhuangli Salesian Hospital Those who have grown into their teens.

Tao Zhongwen has become more and more strange: now the emperor does come to see him every day and chat for half an hour.But he didn't talk about Taoism, he didn't ask for advice on alchemy, and he didn't mention much about making fertilizer from the gold and rubbish.

At least what Tao Zhongwen does every day can't see anything related to fertilizer making.

The emperor didn't treat him as a man of morality, and Tao Zhongwen knew it now.

He is a subject with the ability that the emperor needs.

But the status and reputation he wants, he also needs to be able to make the credit he wants for the emperor.Nowadays, when trying various things, the raw materials can be easily obtained, and this convenience also requires the support of the emperor.

"Your Majesty, what I have practiced for more than ten days is Liuli, right?"

Tao Zhongwen knows how to make things, so he has been tossing and turning all these days, which seems to be similar to the way of making colored glaze.

Zhu Houcong couldn't help asking today when he heard him ask, and couldn't help admiring: "The real man has a good opinion. It's just that it's not glass, but glass."

"Glass?"

"Its quality is colorless and translucent."

From the simplest telescopes made of relatively transparent colored colored glass back then, no truly good transparent glass has been fired up to now.

Those under Alfonso knew about glass, but not how to make it.After a few words and some comparisons, it seems that it finally fell on the alkali head-someone mentioned that it seems that the glass craftsman used a lot of straw ash.

Resources vary from place to place, so Zhu Houcong asked people to ask a lot. It seems that there is no place in Daming to find a large number of trona mines similar to that alkali powder.Or there is, but it has not been discovered because of impurities, other properties, and no one cares about these.

In short, alkali is now related to many things: if glass is made, then telescopes, magnifying glasses, thermometers, measuring cups... are not only practical things, but also allow many researches to really start quantitative experiments.

Similarly, alkali is also related to fertilizers.

Even if there is no way to produce chemical fertilizers, it is good to smelt alkali with higher purity and use it as a standard to find where there is alkali ore.

Tao Zhongwen confirmed that he was indeed burning colored glaze, and he looked at the emperor with a complicated expression.

Zhu Houcong said seriously, "Don't Master Tao think that I treat you as a craftsman. Now, several major supervisory bureaus have received orders to try out this glass. Do you know how long this order has been in place?"

Of course Tao Zhongwen didn't know, Zhu Houcong stretched out three fingers: "It's been three years. For three years, I only know that sandstone, lime, alkali powder and other things should be fired together, but it still can't be done. Now, I'm firing this glass. The reward set for his meritorious deeds has already been promoted to a county title."

"...is it so difficult?"

Tao Zhongwen said it was difficult, but he was actually shocked by the importance the emperor attached to this thing.

Even colored glaze, isn't it just a decoration?Fellow daoists of the previous generation have already verified that the colored glaze suit is ineffective.

With the emperor attaching so much importance to it, and having clear raw materials, how come nothing has been obtained in the past three years?
"It's not nothing." Zhu Houcong shook his head, "Occasionally, but the next furnace is different. Similarly, how to slowly cool down the boiling hot glass water without bubbles or cracks in it is a difficult problem." Heavy. The truth is nothing more than three points."

"... I need to ask for advice."

"First, it is the same sand, lime, and alkali powder. Even if you know how much to take each of them, there are many impurities in them, and the purity is different. In fact, the ratio will change again, which is uncontrollable. Second, although you know that each How much to take, but there is still a slight difference in measuring and weighing. Third, how hot it is to burn, and how hot it is to set the shape, but now it is all based on experience, and the temperature cannot be measured.”

"...Wrong color, how to measure the temperature?" Tao Zhongwen asked a professional question.

The so-called mastery of fire, craftsman smelting, Taoist alchemy, observing the color of the flame and the color changes of various other things in the fire, that is the basic skill, which is the so-called mastering the heat.

How can this temperature be measured like a ruler?

"The real person is very familiar with mercury, right?"

Tao Zhongwen said he was very familiar with it: ""Baopuzi Golden Pill" says: When the cinnabar is refined, it turns into mercury. Its color is small and white, and its poisonousness is heavy. It cannot enter the abdomen unless it is forged by secret methods. However, after the toxicity is gone, it is really good Such as immortal medicine. There is also a clear proof in "Zhang Zhenren's Theory of Gold, Stone and Spirit Sand": Mercury is the basis of immortality. Combining yellow and white, flying into pills. The changes of gods are like mercury."

After finishing speaking, he looked at Zhu Houcong, and Zhu Houcong also looked at him.

The eyes of the two people changed from being serious at the beginning to later:
Tao Zhongwen bowed his head and said, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Zhu Houcong started to confirm his meaning carefully, and now looks at him with deep eyes until he raises his head again: "I said before, I don't expect to live forever. Zhenren is a smart person, there must be no next time."

Tao Zhongwen reconfirmed the emperor's attitude, and also reconfirmed his own value to the emperor. As a wise man, he became humble: "I will remember it in my heart. I don't know what this mercury has to do with measuring that temperature?"

"It has something to do with glass." Zhu Houcong said succinctly, "If a real person can distinguish how to measure the purity of sand, lime, and alkali powder, how long to burn, how long to burn, and make glass, then glass can be used as chopsticks. Ordinary thin tubes seal mercury inside. Real people are familiar with the habits of mercury, they should know that it expands when heated, and boils when it is extremely hot, and it becomes gas, right?"

Tao Zhongwen nodded: "Its smoke is poisonous, you can't smell it."

He understood: "Based on the principle that mercury expands when heated, measure the temperature?"

"There is still a long way to go, and how even the pores are left is also a problem. But there will be no mistakes in the way. In this, first of all, there is an extremely important point: From my point of view, everything should have three states, which are called solid , liquid, and gas. When a solid becomes a liquid, the temperature is the melting point; when a liquid becomes a gas, the temperature is the boiling point. If you want to measure the temperature, you can measure it based on the most common thing, the melting point and boiling point of water. .”

Zhu Houcong talked about physics to the "chemist who went astray", but it was for his later research: "Just think about it, if the temperature of the fire in the furnace can be measured, wouldn't it be easier to control the fire? What are different things? If the temperature changes after melting, wouldn’t it be easier to master the trick? If a craftsman wants to do a good job, he must first sharpen his tool. What do real people think? This glass is transparent and clear, and the mercury sealed inside can be seen at a glance. It is also engraved on the outside like a ruler for measurement , won’t you be able to know the cold and the hot at any time in the future?”

Tao Zhongwen's heart was shocked: This is the truth.

And look at the various tools in the alchemy room, they actually don't reject tools.

However, the same reason why it feels like the Tianling cover has been lifted today is that the emperor has such a clear idea of ​​how to measure the temperature.

The reason is very clear, the design is too reasonable, and Tao Zhongwen feels that the only thing left to do is to burn the glass, and he can become the pioneer of measuring the fire temperature and the person who controls the temperature.

The ancestors made fire with flint wood, and for tens of thousands of years, it was nothing more than making fire.

But if this thing is done, it will be like a mile after a mile, and in the future you can clearly know: what is the temperature of the fire in the furnace at this moment!It's so cold outside right now!
Farming, don't you also talk about hot and cold weather?
How many things do you need to know how hot or cold?
His eyes lit up, and his heart was full of enthusiasm: "I understand! Your Majesty's ingenuity, I admire you! I know the habits of mercury, but I never thought of it!"

Zhu Houcong knew that he saw the historical reputation and the importance of this matter, so he smiled and asked, "Then tell me, what was the result of yesterday's experiment? Let me look at the records..."

In the northernmost part of the Forbidden City, the emperor and Taoist priests continued to study something that was both physics and chemistry, and continued to seek solutions from experienced Taoist priests in "refining".

At the palace examination site, Yang Shen, who was downgraded to become the invigilator of the palace examination, only saw one examinee scratch his hat off his head.

Zhuangyuan Lang made a sad expression for his junior candidates.

Although the palace examination is not dethroned, although everyone is already a quasi-official, this is the highest stage to prove one's talents after all.

It was precisely because the palace examination was not dismissed that the emperor asked such difficult questions after the number of tributes expanded to 24 and Yijia increased to [-].

The actual situation, he and the gongshi below have figured it out.

Under this level of difficulty, only the Yijia can really be called a first-class talent.

Unless they are among the best, there is not much difference between them and those who are vice-ranked and Jinshi. They will all start as low-level officials and slowly climb up from the turbid current.

As for the first class, the champion, the second place, and the best candidate in this subject, the emperor is obviously selecting the prime minister.

It is not the kind of talent that is boasted about as a prime minister, but one must have a deep understanding and understanding of governance and practical affairs before entering an official position.

Near the end of the palace examination, many people looked up at the emperor who appeared here again with resentment.

To be fair, we were all students before.

To do things at a stage at a stage, everyone was only obsessed with learning before.

Always give a chance to exercise your ability step by step!How can someone be so solid in the exam?

However, Zhu Houcong looked at those Gongshi who had a calmer expression: the whole Daming took five hundred, and there were still some people who were confident in themselves among them.

Some people complain, but it can only explain a cruel fact: Although they are all tributes, the gap between tributes may be greater than the gap between pigs and humans.

How could a real genius be afraid of such a challenge?

"The ceremony is over! All the tributes are leaving the palace in order to wait for the grand ceremony of passing on people."

The palace examination was finally over, and Tang Shunzhi was surrounded as soon as he left Chengtian Gate.

"Tang Huiyuan, how did you answer?"

(End of this chapter)