"Since we can't uproot it, adding sand into it is also a good idea. Since saints all advocate counting, then adding mathematics into the mix will make it impossible for anyone to refute it. Unless, they want to refute it with the saints as well." Han Du chuckled.
.
Don't literati pay attention to the reputation of their teachers? Then Han Du is now holding high the banner of a saint to see how they refute.
Saints are the roots of scholars. No matter how shameless these people are, they can't throw away their roots. Otherwise, what are they, unfilial descendants?
Many people think that Lao Zhu was responsible for the eight-part essay, but this is not the case. Lao Zhu was not a genius and a time traveler. How could he come up with a complete system of imperial examinations in an instant? This thing dates back to the Song Dynasty.
It began to appear, it was called Shiwen at that time, and then after the development of the Yuan Dynasty, it gradually formed the current imperial examination system.
Moreover, Lao Zhu had been herding cattle since he was a child and had no chance to study. Although he later started to read and write with the help of Queen Ma in order to succeed in his career as a high-ranking official. However, Lao Zhu had never experienced the traditional literati education for a day.
He is completely a dark horse that bursts out of nowhere.
Since he has not received a systematic literati education, Lao Zhu naturally does not understand this system and does not understand it. How to formulate it?
Lao Zhu nodded in agreement. If the imperial examinations were to be canceled directly, it would be too drastic and would inevitably be strongly resisted by scholars all over the world. But if it was just to increase the number of subjects, the scholars would still be dissatisfied, but they would certainly not dare.
Fierce opposition.
After all, counting was a subject that was tested in the past, that is, it was gradually canceled starting from Shiwen. Now that the test is resumed, most people can accept it.
In the end, Lao Zhu did not tell Han Du what he was going to do.
Han Du didn't care. Anyway, he had said everything he needed to say. As for how to decide that it was Lao Zhu's business, it had nothing to do with him.
Back home, Anqing learned that Han Du was going to sea again, and he was depressed for several days.
There was no other way, so Han Du could only coax patiently. After all, other people's talkative princesses would hug and lift her up every day. She was a real princess, so how could she not coax her?
"Anqing, I heard that there is a Dharma assembly in Tianjie Temple now. Why don't we go to Tianjie Temple to have some fun?"
An Qing gave Han Du a weak look and threw the fish food in his hand into the water, causing a school of fish to scramble for it.
"Not going"
He even turned his face to one side, not wanting to look at Han Du.
Han Du shamelessly turned to the other side. When An Qing saw him, he immediately twisted his waist back.
Han Du continued to turn around, and An Qing became very angry when he saw Han Du's reluctance. With a bit of crying, he complained: "You promised me that you would never go to sea again when you come back, but how can you break your promise and get fat?"
Han Du knew that he was in the wrong. He smiled dryly and touched his nose. He squatted down and grabbed An Qing's hand and said, "I can't help it. You said that my father has a decree. How can I disobey it?"
Anqing also knew that it was hard to disobey the emperor's order, but she just couldn't reconcile it and felt uncomfortable. It had been more than two years since Han Du left. Now that she thinks about it, she doesn't know how she survived those days. Now when she looks at Han Du
She still has to go to sea, and the time will definitely be long, so it’s only wonder she can accept it.
"I promise this is the last time, how about it?" Han Du saw An Qing's expression softening and swore quickly.
An Qing looked at Han Du with a downcast face, and muttered reluctantly: "You said so, for the last time!"
"This is the last time, I promise." Han Du estimated that after going to sea once, he would probably not have the chance to go to sea again, so he quickly said to An Qing.
Although An Qing was relieved, he still looked at Han Du with a dissatisfied look on his face and said aggrievedly: "Then how long will it take for you to go to sea this time?"
Han Du took the opportunity to come to An Qing's side, put his arms around her waist, and said: "This time, I will take the Prince to visit the Old Port and then come back. At most, a year and a half will be enough. Don't worry, it won't be long.
of."
"One and a half years is not long yet?" An Qing shouted loudly, "Can you come back as soon as possible?"
Han Du quickly reached out and stroked An Qing's back and said softly: "Okay, okay, I will come back as soon as possible."
Seeing that An Qing didn't speak, Han Du tried to hold her in his arms. Seeing that An Qing didn't refuse, Han Du felt relieved.
But before Han Du could set out, Tao Chengdao came to the door.
When Han Du got the news, his face was full of surprise. He hurriedly walked from the yard to the front hall. Stepping in, he saw his father sitting inside drinking tea with Tao Chengdao. As he walked, he smiled without saying anything: "Wanhu
It’s really a great time for us to have such a great presence.”
Han Du stepped forward with a smile. After finishing speaking, he nodded towards his father and greeted: "Dad."
Han De smiled, nodded slightly, and stood up: "Tao Wanhu comes to see you for something, so you have to accompany Wanhu well."
"Don't worry, Dad." Han Du nodded.
When Han De saw it, he turned around and said to Tao Chengdao: "Tao Wanhu, are you going to say goodbye then?"
"Go and do your work. I'll be fine as long as Han Du stays with the old man." Tao Chengdao waved to Han De.
Wait until dad leaves
After driving, Han Du sat down next to Tao Chengdao. He was about to pour himself tea, but Tao Chengdao reached out and held him down.
Han Du looked up at him in surprise and asked doubtfully: "What does Wanhu mean by this?"
This is in my house. I can't even take a sip of tea? If this were in Tao Chengdao's house, Han Du would wonder if he was a digger.
Tao Chengdao put down the tea cup in his hand, took Han Du's hand and stood up, saying: "What are you drinking? There is good tea for you to drink at my house. Let's go!"
If you have a damn good tea in your house, doesn’t your good tea come from you?
While Han Du was still stunned, he couldn't help being pulled towards the door by Tao Chengdao.
Han Du was pulled out by Tao Chengdao. He really couldn't bear the awkward look, "Wanhu, can you let go first? If you have anything to say, can't we talk it over?"
However, Tao Chengdao stubbornly held Han Du's hand tightly and did not let go until he got into the carriage.
Han Du sat at the head of Tao Chengdao, rubbed his wrist, and asked with a wry smile: "What's going on? Can Wanhu tell me now?"
Tao Chengdao then laughed and said: "I am really impatient. I hope Marquis Zhenhai won't be surprised."
Han Du lowered his head and complained in his heart, how dare he blame you? If he had the courage, he wouldn't let you pull him out.
However, Han Du couldn't say this and instead said, "Is Wan Hu's health okay? I apologize for not coming to visit Wan Hu."
Han Du was quite embarrassed to say that he and Tao Chengdao had lived and died together. Logically speaking, he was frozen to the point of unconsciousness, so he should have gone to visit him. But since then,
Troublesome things happened one after another, so Han Du couldn't find time to visit.
Tao Chengdao smiled and waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter, you saved my life. I owe it to you to thank you. If it weren't for you, my life would have been left in the sky."
Looking back now, Han Du was still frightened. He couldn't help but said: "Now Wanhu knows what the sky looks like, right? Don't do such dangerous things again in the future."
If it was about other things, Tao Chengdao might have answered Han Du without hesitation. But in this matter, he just smiled and said nothing. Originally, he thought that there was nothing in the sky, and it was enough to go up there once.
But as time went by, he couldn't help but keep thinking about heaven in his heart.
Seeing that Tao Chengdao couldn't be persuaded, Han Du sighed: "Well, I can't stop Wanhu anyway. As long as Wanhu doesn't come to me when he flies to the sky next time. Tell Wanhu the truth, I haven't lived enough yet."
, I have no idea of flying up at all.”
Tao Chengdao smiled awkwardly. Han Du was still very young, so it was normal for him to cherish his life.
Han Du no longer struggled with this issue and asked instead: "Wanhu came to see me in a hurry today. What's the matter?"
The awkward smile on Tao Chengdao's face gradually disappeared. He looked at Han Du dissatisfied and asked, "You haven't forgotten, have you?"
"Forgot what?" Han Du looked back at him with a strange expression.
Tao Chengdao looked as if this was the case, and was too lazy to argue with Han Du. He said directly: "Have you really forgotten all about the fire dragon coming out of the water?"
"The fire dragon emerged from the water? Did you really create it?" Han Du asked in surprise.
Tao Chengdao's face looked a little ugly, and he said frustrated in front of Han Du: "How can it be so easy? If I created it, why would I come to you?"
"What's going on? Is it difficult?" Han Du frowned and asked in confusion.
Tao Chengdao let out a long sigh: "You will know after you go and see it."
When they arrived at Tao Mansion, Tao Chengdao took the lead and led Han Du straight towards the courtyard dam.
"Master, are you back?" Someone came up to meet me halfway.
Han Du glanced at this man and recognized that he seemed to be Tao Chengdao's great disciple.
Tao Chengdao nodded and immediately ordered: "Go and move the things out and show them to Marquis Zhenhai."
The eldest disciple quickly looked at Han Du, bowed his hands and said, "Greetings to Mr. Marquis, Mr. Marquis, please."
Han Du smiled and nodded in response, "You're welcome."
By the time Tao Chengdao brought Han Du to the courtyard dam, a group of apprentices had already pushed a wooden frame to the middle of the courtyard dam. An iron pipe about four feet long and as thick as a cup was placed on the frame.
Han Du stepped forward and took a closer look, then looked back at Tao Chengdao, "Is this the new one?"
Tao Chengdao walked forward with some dejection, "Of course. Didn't you say that the paper ones should be replaced by iron ones? Hasn't this already been changed?"
Han Du suddenly couldn't understand. I asked you not to use paper and use steel, but in the end you really just replaced paper with steel and did nothing else?
Han Du sneered and asked, "Have you tried it? How far can it fly?"
Tao Chengdao then said with a dissatisfied look: "I tried it, but do you think there is a problem with replacing paper with steel?"
"What's wrong?" How could there be a problem? Han Du was very puzzled. Everything he had ever seen was like this.
"What's wrong?" Tao Chengdao sneered, "To be honest, this thing can't fly half as far as the original fire dragon out of the water. It's not as good as the original one."
Han Du had a strange look on his face and looked back at the things on the shelf. He shouldn't have!
Suddenly, Han Du thought about it. Which of the things he had seen was not thick and long? He had never seen such a small thing before.
Whether it can fly far or not must be closely related to how much gunpowder is packed in it. With such a small thing in front of you, how far can it fly even if it can't hold much gunpowder?
Han Du wanted to understand and suddenly laughed.
When Tao Chengdao saw it, he stepped forward with a happy face and asked, "Do you have a solution?"
Han Du nodded slowly and said: "If there is less gunpowder, the thrust will be insufficient and it will not fly far. If we want it to fly far enough, we must make it bigger and longer so that it can hold more gunpowder."
That’s it?”
"Is this possible?" Although Tao Chengdao also felt that what Han Du said was reasonable, he still subconsciously doubted it.
Han Du pursed his lips and smiled, "Of course it works, why not? If it works, you will know if you try it?"
Tao Chengdao nodded. This is indeed the truth. You will know if it works after giving it a try. "Okay, then I will make a longer and bigger one. But how long and how big should I make this thing?"
Han Du recalled it and said, "Well, let's make it one foot long and four inches thick first. Let's try it out first."
Tao Chengdao frowned and lowered his head after hearing this. After a moment, he said, "Okay, but it's so small and so long. I can only give it a try. I don't know if it will work."
A few days later, Tao Chengdao finished building the thing and sent someone to invite Han Du to take a look.
Han Du saw that it was still in the original courtyard, but the shelf was much larger than last time, and something like a dark iron pillar was placed on the shelf.
"Did you make it?" Han Du stepped forward with a smile and asked with a happy face.
After hearing this, Tao Chengdao's face was full of exhaustion, but there was also an inexplicable excitement in his expression, and he said: "Of course, although it is very troublesome to make such a long fire dragon emerge from the water, it did not trouble me in the end."
He said this, but Tao Chengdao's heart was bleeding. For such a pipe, he didn't know how much material was wasted and how many apprentices worked day and night to make it.
Tao Chengdao and his disciples had never made anything of this length before, so everything needed to be modified before it could be used.
Han Du saw that Tao Chengdao said it easily, so he didn't pay too much attention. "Now that the thing is made, how about we try it?"
Hearing this, Tao Chengdao nodded seriously, "It's time to try." How could he be willing to give it a try if he didn't try it after spending so much effort?
"Come here, fill it with gunpowder."
Under the leadership of the eldest apprentice, everyone worked together to lift the heavy iron pipe. Among the other people, one held a piece of paper rolled into a funnel shape and placed it at the mouth of the iron pipe, while the other two poured gunpowder into the funnel.
Han Du watched the black powdered gunpowder being poured in and frowned slightly, but did not say anything.
The apprentices filled up the gunpowder and pounded it tightly with a piece of wood, leaving a lead hanging down.
"Come here, light the fire!" Seeing that it was done, Tao Chengdao couldn't wait to order people to light the fire.
"Wait a minute." Han Du, covered in cold sweat, quickly waved his hand to stop him.
Just put it on the shelf like this and light it on fire? God knows where it will fly. If it flies towards the capital, Han Du cannot imagine the scene.
"What's wrong?" Tao Chengdao looked at Han Du with a puzzled face. Han Du agreed to the test, but why was it that when he was about to finish the test, Han Du shouted to stop?
Han Du quickly waved his hand to calm the others and explained: "Try, we will definitely try, Wanhu, don't be anxious, but we can't try it right now. After this thing is ignited, no one can guarantee that it will start from the center.
When it burns, no one knows where it will fly. We also need to add a chute on this shelf to fix its direction."
Adding a chute was not a big deal for Tao Chengdao. He casually ordered his apprentices to bring in a few wooden boards, compare them to the size of the fire dragon iron pipe, and fix the wooden boards with nails.
In just one meal, the chute was ready.
At this time, Tao Chengdao looked at Han Du and asked, "Can we try it now?"
Han Du nodded, then pulled Tao Chengdao back, saying as he did so: "Let's stay away first, and you guys should stay away too."
Except for the person who lit the fire, everyone else immediately retreated when they heard this. Ever since they saw Han Du's last judgment, they were deeply concerned about Han Du's words.
Believe it or not. If you don’t believe it, you can easily lose your life.
After retreating until he felt it was almost done, Han Du nodded to Tao Chengdao and said, "Let's light the fire."
Tao Chengdao looked impatient and felt that Han Du was making a fuss. He didn't know how many times he had done it with the fire dragon. Although the one Han Du asked for was a little longer and thicker, in Tao Chengdao's opinion, it was nothing special.
.
"Light the fire." Tao Chengdao immediately shouted towards his apprentice holding a torch in the distance.
When the apprentice heard this, he immediately lit the fuse, threw down the torch, and ran towards Tao Chengdao as if running for his life.
After he ran to the master, he just turned around and looked back when he saw a huge plume of smoke covering the shelf, and a broom-shaped orange flame appeared.
"call out!"
With a scream, the iron pipe in front of them flew straight out from the shelf, faster and faster. A scene that stunned everyone appeared in their eyes, only a long dark pipe was visible.
A ball of broom flames appeared behind my butt, and it flew steadily in the sky.
As soon as everyone finished sighing, they saw the pipe in the sky shaking instantly, and then fell headlong towards the ground.
Tao Chengdao was still happy just now, but now he looked dumbfounded and asked blankly: "How could this happen?"
It's a pity that none of his disciples can answer his question, and Han Du, the only one with hope, is frowning and thinking deeply about something.
Tao Chengdao waited for a moment and saw that Han Du had no reaction. He couldn't help but stepped forward and asked: "What's going on? It was obviously flying fine, why did it suddenly fall?"
Han Du was awakened by Tao Chengdao, and slowly recovered, secretly sighing that things were not as simple as he thought.
Seeing Tao Chengdao staring at him with burning eyes, Han Du shook his head and replied: "I don't know what's going on, but let's go and take a look first."
Tao Chengdao nodded, turned around and shouted to the disciples: "Let's go find the things and see what's going on."
The group of people walked vigorously towards the direction where the thing fell, and so many people quickly discovered the location where it fell.
I saw only a dark iron pillar, most of which was inserted into the soil, leaving only a section less than four feet long exposed, and a faint smoke was still floating around the mouth of the pipe.
After Tao Chengdao saw it, he stepped forward, but Han Du held him back.
"Wait, don't go there now. No one knows whether the flames inside have burned out. If it explodes, it will be dangerous. Besides, that thing must be very hot to touch now. Let's wait and go there."
After waiting for a while, Han Du saw that there was no problem, so he asked one of Tao Chengdao's apprentices to pour some water in. When he saw that there was no problem, Han Du came forward with Tao Chengdao.
Tao Chengdao didn't understand Han Du's caution, and asked doubtfully: "You are also a firearms maker, why are you so timid and afraid of death?"
Han Du heard this and looked back at Tao Chengdao speechlessly, "Gunpowder can explode, don't you know?"
"I know."
Han Du glanced at Tao Chengdao speechlessly, "Since it will explode, of course you have to be careful. One mistake can be fatal. If your life is gone, what's the use of making the best firearm?"
Han Du would not imitate someone else. He played with explosives and blew up his own home and factory. He was even blown up several times. If he wasn't lucky, why would he have made explosives? Grass would have grown on his grave long ago.
I'm so old.
Tao Chengdao looked at Han Du speechlessly. He did not expect that Han Du, the dignified Marquis of Zhenhai, was so afraid of death. Whether he was making firearms or wanting to fly, Tao Chengdao had always put his own life and death aside. Why would he care about firearms?
Curiosity? It was because he blew up the alchemy furnace in an instant when he was refining alchemy. He suddenly realized how powerful it was, so he became curious about firearms and started developing them.
You can imagine that when the alchemy furnace exploded, Tao Chengdao must have been nearby.
Han Du didn't know how lucky Tao Chengdao was to survive the furnace explosion.
Needless to say about Feitian, Han Du had already witnessed Tao Chengdao's madness in a hot air balloon, so he really didn't care about his own life.
Tao Chengdao glanced at Han Du, hesitated and said nothing.
Han Du tentatively reached out and touched the iron pipe. The temperature of the iron pipe was still a bit high, but it was still bearable.
Tao Chengdao asked quickly: "It was obviously flying well, why did it suddenly fall? Do you know what happened?"
Han Du looked at the bare iron pipe and sighed, "We are in too much of a hurry."
Seeing that Tao Chengdao was puzzled, Han Du explained: "This is just like archery. What will happen if an arrow without feathers is shot?"
Arrows without fletching are not uncommon in the Ming Dynasty. The arrows used in the army do not have fletching. Because making arrow fletching is very labor-intensive, and the number of arrows required by the army is very large.
, if you have to add feathers to each arrow, the cost of making arrows will increase significantly, which is not a cost-effective thing.