People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 485 Shake
"Master, I thought before that this business might hurt farmers. If Xuanxia continues like this, there will definitely be chaos. But now it seems that I underestimated Xu Chen. I never thought that this business could be so powerful. In just a dozen years, it has caused such a huge upheaval. If it lasts longer, I dare not imagine what the scene will be like."

In the food shop, the master and the disciple ordered two bowls of noodles and started discussing while watching the passers-by.

After arriving in Xuanxia, ​​even Zuo Ci, who always regarded himself as a master and was unwilling to submit to others, could not help but praise Xu Chen.

He really had to accept it. The world before him was completely beyond his understanding. He could only admit that Xu Chen had blazed a trail that no one had ever taken before.

How could the promotion of industry and commerce have such miraculous results? Even now Zuo Ci still couldn't understand why.

Having lived in agricultural civilization for most of his life, he could vaguely feel that Xuanxia was quietly undergoing tremendous changes, but he still could not understand how this change was taking place and how it would develop.

It turns out that in order to feed the world's population, not everyone needs to farm.

"Master, look, this newspaper has a report on population statistics." Ge Hong pushed the newspaper forward while slurping his noodles and pointed: "According to the statistics of the Xuanxia court, the number of workers in Youzhou alone is now as many as 140,000 or 150,000."

Zuo Ci leaned over to take a look, and indeed saw that this was exactly what was written in the newspaper, which made him take a deep breath.

This number was so huge that he could hardly believe it. However, when he thought carefully about the factories he saw along the way, he felt that perhaps it was not so outrageous.

According to his understanding, in any garment factory, the entire production process from spinning to tailoring can employ hundreds of workers.

There are countless garment factories like this one in Youzhou today, not to mention various other industries. The total scale is simply unimaginable, and hundreds of thousands of workers are indeed not an exaggeration.

Now that I think about it, many of Xuanxia's policies were actually extremely far-sighted. For example, its foreign policy of expanding external contacts also seemed so wise. This was actually closely related to the grand plan of promoting industry and commerce.

This is enough to show that Xuan Xia never does things on a whim, but has long-term plans, so outsiders don't seem to have to worry.

Zuo Ci had to admit that Xuanxia's prosperity was inseparable from the prevalence of industry and commerce. It would be impossible to create a capital city like this just by farming.

However, Ge Xuan is obviously concerned about something else now.

He slurped the last noodle, picked up the bowl and drank the soup in one gulp. After wiping his mouth, Ge Xuan continued the conversation with satisfaction.

"Master, you should also realize that the foundation of the development of industry and commerce is actually the advancement of technology. The things we see, whether they are novelties like soap, matches, and telescopes, or ordinary items like sweaters, cotton coats, and ironware, have all benefited greatly from the advancement of technology. This seems to prove that Xu Chen's natural science methodology is correct."

At this point, Ge Xuan said uncertainly: "If this natural science methodology is really so useful, then what should we choose in the future? Should we abandon our previous knowledge and turn to Xu's school, or continue to stick to our own path?"

Zuo Ci was silent. This question was actually the purpose of their trip.

Having spent his whole life studying esoteric knowledge and making elixirs with perseverance, it now seems that his achievements are not as good as those of just over a decade under the natural science system. This has shaken Zuo Ci, who has always been firm in his own studies.

Today, the study of alchemy has already branched out, one is the traditional alchemy school, and the other is the Xuanxia school of chemistry.

……

While they were still muttering, a middle-aged man walked away unknowingly and stood in front of them.

Zuo Ci looked up. Although he had not seen the person in front of him for many years, the face still seemed very familiar to him. He thought back to the days of the Han Dynasty, when there were several world-famous alchemists, and the person in front of him was one of them.

The visitor looked at them and then laughed. "I have been waiting for Yuan Fang's letter for a long time. Today, I finally see you. It reminds me of the past when we talked about philosophy. It seems like yesterday."

Gan Shi, who was speaking, had the same immortal demeanor as Zuo Ci. He stroked his beard and chuckled, and his white hair and crane-like face showed his extraordinary temperament.

Zuo Ci looked his old friend up and down and soon noticed subtle differences in Gan Shi. Compared to before, Gan Shi seemed to be much more capable.

But it is not surprising when you think about it. Unlike the wandering Taoist priests in the past, Gan Shi has now been recruited by Xu Chen and became an academician of the Institute of Engineering.

Eating Xuan Xia's public meals would naturally lose some of the spiritual energy.

"Yes, the past is like yesterday, and the words of the Tao are still ringing in my ears."

Zuo Ci looked at Gan Shi and sighed. Then he said meaningfully, "The discussion at that time did not produce any results, which ended up being a regret for both of us. Perhaps we can make up for it this time."

Gan Shi naturally understood the deep meaning of Zuo Ci's words when he heard them, and he became a little proud: "Now is different from the past. I have reached a new peak in academics and even founded a school of thought. If Yuan Fang comes to discuss the Dao again, he must be prepared to return empty-handed."

These words sounded a bit arrogant, but Zuo Ci knew that they were not excessive, because Gan Shi was indeed qualified to be arrogant.

This guy learned Xu Chen's natural science methodology and worked hard to develop a new theory and system based on alchemy. He truly founded a new school of thought without any water in the process.

Many years ago, when he first heard about this, Zuo Ci did not take it seriously and strictly forbade his beloved disciple Ge Xuan to study it. But now Zuo Ci has to face up to this new school of thought.

Today, Gan Shi's alchemy has become a system of its own. Although it is still far from perfect, it can already be self-consistent, and there is a lot of evidence to verify the theoretical system.

Even if it was just this extent, it was already very exaggerated in Zuo Ci's eyes.

Not to mention that Gan Shi only had a little evidence to verify his theoretical system. In comparison, traditional alchemy techniques did not even have a way to verify them. In terms of persuasiveness, those that could be verified were naturally more convincing.

No matter who says it, it cannot be denied that Gan Shi’s current achievement is an incredible breakthrough in alchemy.

Traditional techniques of alchemy are extremely mysterious and all rely on personal experience. Even Zuo Ci himself doesn't dare to say how reliable they are.

Gan Shi's approach can verify the theory. Although there is not much proof available now, the greatest significance of this is that it shows that there is hope for exploring this approach. As long as it can be explored, the evidence will naturally increase from little to much. This is much better than traditional methods that rely entirely on imagination.

This also forced Zuo Ci to start thinking about whether he should continue to stick to the traditional route.

He had to clarify this matter with Gan Shi face to face.

It is imperative to discuss the truth.

"This is not a place for communication. Yuanrang, please come to my house so we can reminisce about the past." Gan Shi laughed, put some money on the table to pay for them, and then extended his right hand forward.

Zuo Ci was not polite and stood up immediately: "In that case, I'm sorry to bother you."

The few of them walked forward, and soon they disappeared on the street.

(End of this chapter)