Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4854 Great Scholar of the Time
Li Chengqian had always believed that the power of muskets and cannons lies in gunpowder, but this was the first time he heard that the craftsmanship of making muskets and cannons was equally important. He asked in confusion, "Is it really so difficult to make muskets and cannons?"

Fang Jun smiled and said, "The Ministry of War is the richest among the six ministries. This matter has been impeached by the censors. However, the Ministry of War usually has no difference in welfare, treatment, and expenses from the other five ministries. So where is the money spent? The answer is the Foundry."

After taking a sip of tea, he felt it necessary to popularize the power of natural science to these people: "Whether it is a gun barrel or a cannon barrel, if you want to maximize the power of gunpowder, it must be tightly fitted and airtight, so it can only be cast. As we all know, the biggest problem with casting devices is the uneven density distribution. I won't go into details about how to solve this problem, but just think about it and you will know that it requires large-scale experiments, continuous improvement of steel formulas, continuous improvement of casting processes, and tens of thousands of skilled and experienced craftsmen surrounding dozens or hundreds of blast furnaces day and night, year after year, to make steel and cast. How much money does it cost? How much energy? Moreover, if there is no correct direction, it will be useless to work ten or a hundred times harder, and this is the advantage of the Tang Dynasty."

He looked at Li Chengqian sternly and said, "Your Majesty, compared to casting technology and steel formula, these craftsmen are where the Tang Dynasty far surpasses the smelting skills of the world. A technology may only be created in the thought of a genius, but it requires great efforts from excellent craftsmen to achieve it. These craftsmen need a long time, high intensity, and immeasurable money to train. They are the real wealth of the Tang Dynasty."

Li Chengqian didn't think much of craftsmen, but he understood the reason: "I'm not a tyrant who would bury these craftsmen. Before, you promoted and rewarded craftsmen in the Ministry of Works and now in the Ministry of War. I don't know how many people impeached you every day, but I blocked them all for you. I don't understand this kind of thing, just work hard, and I will block any trouble for you."

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

"So what you mean is that even if the Hu people learn the formula of gunpowder, they will definitely not be able to learn the craftsmanship and smelting of making guns and cannons?"

"The formula is easy to learn, but the craftsmanship requires years and countless amounts of money to accumulate and settle. While they are chasing us, we are still moving forward, and at a faster speed than them. How can they catch up?"

Fang Jun looked directly at Li Chengqian, his eyes sparkling: "But the most important thing is that we can deeply realize the importance of these things. We can't just focus on classics, history, and moral articles. We should take Confucianism as the main line and nature as the supplement. We should grasp both hands and do both well!"

We cannot just keep clamoring about the importance of natural science. When people lose their moral ethics, benevolence, and moral principles, powerful scientific and technological technologies will become a tiger out of the cage and will eventually backfire.

Even though Confucianism has obvious flaws, it can make society peaceful and human nature pure. “A country of etiquette” is not a sarcastic term, and not everyone can learn it if they want to.

Li Chengqian nodded solemnly: "Don't worry. Although I am not as wise and brave as the previous emperor, I am definitely not a foolish king. Since I have seen the wonders of nature and the power of studying things, how could I go against the trend and cut off my own arms? No matter when, the Foundry will always be the top priority of the empire's exploration of natural sciences, and no one can stop it."

Although Emperor Taizong had almost already achieved all the merits on land, and had reached the pinnacle in conquering cities and expanding territory, and it would have been extremely difficult to make further progress, the Tang Dynasty was now rampant on the ocean, destroying countless countries, and countless ships were spreading the power of the Tang Dynasty throughout the world along the routes. This was the basis for him, the emperor, to prove his "competence" to the world.

The foundation of his maritime hegemony was natural science, shipbuilding, gunpowder, guns, and navigation...

New materials and new technologies have opened a new door. We have already appreciated the world's scenery through this door, so how can we close it?
When the merchant ships and warships of the Tang Dynasty crisscrossed the seven seas, its ports and docks spread throughout the world, and its divine might intimidated all nations, who dared to say that he, Li Chengqian, was unworthy of the throne of the Tang Emperor?

Liu Li shook his head and sighed secretly. Fang Jun was very good at sweet talk. Look at His Majesty's excited and high morale. Not only could the goal of restricting the power of the navy not be achieved, but even the current contract would definitely not be changed.

He did not think he was short-sighted or narrow-minded, but the expansion of sea power far exceeded that of land power, which was unprecedented in history. The sea, which used to be rough and treacherous, became a smooth path for accumulating wealth and promoting national prestige. Countless merchant ships and warships cruised on the ocean thousands of miles away all day long...

The operating rules and risk control made him feel confused and at a loss, which is why he developed an aversion to everything at sea.

But now it seems that sea power has become a necessity for the development of the times. Whoever cannot control the sea will be eliminated.

Liu Li frowned and worried secretly. He was already this old and had become the prime minister. Did he still have to study hard every night? But if he didn't study, he would fall behind. There were countless people behind him who were eyeing this position covetously.

He didn't know what "volume" meant, but he felt the malicious feeling of "if you don't advance, you will retreat" in this era. Many things are not about whether you want to do them or not, but if others do them and you don't do them, you will face elimination...

*****
Fang Jun did not go home after leaving Taiji Palace. Instead, he rode out of the city through Chunming Gate, crossed Baqiao and headed straight to Mount Li, to inspect the Fang family farm. This year was another bumper year. The corn yield of half of Mount Li had increased sharply. Screening and saving seeds was naturally the top priority. After all, corn had proven to be a high-quality food that was no less than wheat. As long as the field was not suitable for growing rice, wheat and corn were the best crops...

It was snowing heavily and there was no wind. While riding, the snowflakes were blowing in my face but I didn't feel much cold. The whole Mount Li was shrouded in a vast expanse of snow, which gave it a poetic and picturesque feeling.

Going straight along the mountain road, you will see a river originating from the top of Mount Li on the side of the road. The gurgling river water just submerges the middle section of the river. The riverbeds on both sides are exposed due to the lack of water. Halfway through, there is a simple dam across the river to block the water from upstream, which causes the water volume to be shallow and small in the downstream.

There was an ox cart parked by the riverside. An old man wearing a fu hat and with a hunched back was getting off the cart with the help of his servants. He turned around and saw Fang Jun and his party rushing towards him. Fortunately, he was standing by the roadside with his hands behind his back.

When Fang Jun got close, he quickly reined in his horse, stood still, dismounted, and walked a few steps quickly, saying with a smile: "It's snowing now, why don't you stay at home and enjoy the fire instead of running to the mountains? If you get bumped into something, I'm afraid Brother Shigu will come after me and kill me."

The old man had white hair and a youthful face, and was thin. Although he was so old that his whole body was almost hunched, he was in good spirits. He looked at Fang Jun with a smile and said with a toothless mouth: "You are so disrespectful, your father would call me uncle when he saw me, how come you call Shi Gu your brother?"

The old man's name was Yan Silu, the head of the Langya Yan family, the eldest son of Yan Zhitui, a great Confucian scholar and famous figure in the Sui and Tang dynasties, and the father of Yan Shigu, a great Confucian scholar.

Originally, Yan Shigu should have died while following Emperor Taizong on his expedition to the east, but Emperor Taizong did not allow Yan Shigu to accompany him on his expedition, so he has not died yet...

Yan Silu once served as a military officer in the Qin Palace, and had a comrade-in-arms relationship with Fang Xuanling. The two families were also old friends.

Fang Junping had grown up all his life in vain, and he took advantage of it and said, "Didn't Brother Gu pull me to kowtow and become sworn brothers last time when we were drinking? I could only agree to it with reluctance, so you won't deny it, right?"

"Hehe, I don't care about your little shit."

Yan Silu didn't care whether this guy was his son or grandson, and turned to walk towards the dam. "I was bored at home, so I went to Mount Li for a walk. I wanted to go to the beacon tower where King You of Zhou played tricks on the princes with beacons to drink and reminisce about the past. I happened to see this dam, so I came to take a look. You always come up with new things all day long, what is the use of this dam?"

The old man walked steadily and was in good spirits. Fang Jun felt relieved and supported his arm as he walked slowly. Hearing this, he said, "It's a rice mill, used to grind corn."

After the corn produced by Lishan Farm is screened and kept for seeds, the rest is naturally used as food. However, the whole corn cannot be eaten. It is either ground into flour or crushed into grits...

Yan Silu muttered, "What kind of machine is this again?"

Walk into a house with your hands behind your back.

There are several houses built side by side on the river dam, which are rumbling at this moment. The river water flows out from the waterway under the dam, and the water hits the cast iron propeller driving the gear to drive the machine in the house. The flying blades quickly break the corn poured into it, and the corn grits flow out from another outlet...

Yan Silu watched this scene in silence.

Fang Jun followed behind, feeling a little smug: "This is the power of machinery. If it were done manually, it would take at least several hundred people working day and night to equal the daily output here."

"It is indeed very convenient, but in this case, won't many people not be able to earn money from working?"

"..."

Fang Jun was a little surprised. As expected, a true Confucian scholar was by no means conservative or pedantic. He not only kept pace with the times but also paid attention to the affairs of the country and the people's livelihood from the details.

"When a new thing emerges, no matter whether it has more advantages than disadvantages or more disadvantages than advantages, the first thing we need to do is to correctly recognize it and then guide it, rather than restricting it or even blocking or rejecting it because of its short-term disadvantages. The rules of heaven and earth are nothing more than the mutual generation and mutual restraint of yin and yang and the five elements. How can there be a consistent correctness in the world? The advantages and disadvantages are mutually generated, and the positive and negative are mutually restrained. This is the correctness of the world, rather than one party dominating and rejecting others."