Chapter 175: A Mechanical Egg

San San Niangzi proposed a proposal the court could not possibly refuse: raise more sheep, raise fewer horses.

"Do you know what this means?" Ma Ma Ziqiang frowned as he heard San San Niangzi speak, as if the court's attempt to profit from wool had already been detected by the barbarian chieftain.

"I know. The Eternal Heaven granted us the ability to live on horseback, to draw bows and shoot arrows, but it did not grant us livelihood—we lack pots, cloth, salt, and tea. Killing is constant, everywhere. With fewer horses, we cannot raid. With fewer horses, we cannot march south." San San Niangzi spoke with certainty: "Perhaps with fewer horses, our lives will become stable."

"The powerful elites of Great Ming are greedier than the chieftains of every tribe."

San San Niangzi, or rather her backers, clearly understood the consequences of increasing wool supply—it was not hard to grasp; Great Ming was playing an undeniable strategic game.

"Altan Khan spent his life hunting eagles, yet ended up blinded by one." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at San San Niangzi and spoke words everyone could understand, yet which others found suspicious.

Altan Khan's base was the Tumet tribe; he himself was a myriarch, having fought alongside his brother his entire life—he was a staunch war hawk, advocating war to sustain war, forming a path-dependent mindset; his core supporters were the war hawks.

Altan Khan staged a farce of tribute and trade using a woman, only to be directly sidelined by that same woman.

San San Niangzi's supporters were peace advocates, and she herself was a firm proponent of peace and appeasement, believing negotiation was better than war; the tribute and border trade had been conducted with great success, drawing ever more supporters.

During the imperial court deliberation on Altan Khan's tribute in the fifth year of Emperor Longqing, court ministers concluded: "The successful initiation of tribute was entirely San San Niangzi's idea."

The various tribes of the steppe operated under a fully feudal system: the khan granted myriarchies, myriarchs granted chiliarchies, chiliarchies granted centurions. Unlike Great Ming's chiliarchs and centurions, these were tribal chieftains who held absolute control over military, political, and economic affairs—more akin to the hereditary native officials of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Guangxi in Great Ming.

Thus, if the court refused to yield benefits, the policy of raising more sheep would be difficult to implement.

Because only by raising more horses could they maintain mobility to invade southward; even without invading Great Ming, horses were used for inter-tribal warfare. But San San Niangzi wished to replace this with non-military means to resolve and end hostilities.

San San Niangzi could be seen as a symbol—the symbol within the northern barbarians of those advocating peace.

When Altan Khan succeeded in raids, all followed his lead. But his fifteen-year war with Great Ming yielded no good result; ultimately, those advocating peace became the majority.

"How much do you want to raise the price per sack?" Wang Wang Chonggu frowned, his woolen factory under his charge; San San Niangzi's demands were too high—he would never agree.

San San Niangzi shook her head again: "I am not asking for a price hike. What good is raising the price per jin or per sack? If you raise prices on iron pots, cloth, salt, and tea, it's like shifting money from left hand to right—it's useless."

"The steppe demands a long-term, stable price—reassessed every five years, offering a stable, and above all, enduring price."

"You Ming people are too cunning. Your current prices are fair, but as our sheep multiply, you buy wool from the northeast and suddenly cut off northwest wool. Who will buy the wool we shear?"

"We do not control the woolen manufacturing method. It seems simple, but it is a trap. Even merchants in Great Ming cannot succeed at it, let alone on the northwest steppe."

"The Ming people wish for peace and prosperity; we steppe people wish for peace and prosperity too."

San San Niangzi raised a critical issue: now Great Ming and the Tumet Khan are fighting to the death; tomorrow, if the Tumet suddenly accept tribute and buy wool from the northeast, the northwest will immediately sink into chaos.

Thus, San San Niangzi hoped the court would agree: her faction would abandon military force, and Great Ming would set a long-term stable price, allowing the steppe to settle down.

"Then what of the Tumet Khan?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked San San Niangzi: "The Tumet Khan is the Mongol overlord. They fear Altan Khan's troops migrating eastward. If they return, what of Altan Khan?"

"The Tumet Khan poses no threat," San San Niangzi said with certainty: "Those fleeing in terror are rats, not tigers."

The Tumet Khan's strength was weak; as overlord, he lacked overlord's power. Even if he returned west of the Da Xianbei Mountains, the Left Wing's three myriarchies would not fear him. The Tumet Khan, driven into hiding by Great Ming, would lose the most vital thing: courage.

Wang Wang Chonggu finally smiled: "Now I am certain you came to the court to do business."

Enfeoffment is political control; tribute trade is economic control; the wool trade can effectively enhance the efficiency of economic control. San San Niangzi speaking Mandarin with the Left Wing's three myriarchs is cultural control.

But without military control, all these controls are castles in the air, illusions.

San San Niangzi truly came to do business. A long-term stable price benefits Great Ming; Great Ming also does not wish for drastic fluctuations in raw material prices, which would severely disrupt its production.

At least San San Niangzi was not foolish enough to say: "If you don't raise our prices, we'll march south with our army"; nor foolish enough to say: "You may only buy our wool, not wool from elsewhere"; at least she was not foolish enough to demand the emperor recognize her as uncle and nephew, speaking with brazen arrogance.

Instead, she negotiated real business. This pragmatic attitude and approach benefit mutual exchange; business—Wang Wang Chonggu was very skilled at it.

Zhu Zhu Yijun said: "Madam's request, discuss it with the Grand Censor. The woolen factory's affairs fall under the Grand Censor's jurisdiction."

As emperor, Zhu Zhu Yijun agreed: negotiations were permitted.

Could Great Ming and the northern barbarians remain at peace forever? If Great Ming did not seek to reclaim the Ordos, perhaps it could remain stable—as history showed. But if Great Ming sought to reclaim the Ordos, it would strike the northern barbarians' vital point, and war would inevitably resume.

San San Niangzi, this staunch peace advocate, would instantly become a war hawk. The Ordos is the greatest point of conflict between Great Ming and the Left Wing's three tribes. Agreeing to Altan's tribute meant agreeing never to reclaim the Ordos.

Great Ming must reclaim the Ordos, for without it, the northwest cannot be self-sufficient in grain. The great droughts in the late Ming in the three frontier regions—Yansui, Gansu, and Ningxia—directly triggered massive, decades-long rebellions. With the Ordos, even in drought, there would still be food.

Without reclaiming the Ordos, the Yellow River cannot be effectively managed; each year's ice floes destroy the dikes built over the year.

Reclaiming the Ordos is imperative; thus, Great Ming and the northern barbarians will still fight.

But before fighting, it is essential to properly divide the northern barbarians.

"Your Majesty, I have an impertinent request," San San Niangzi said, relieved now that the emperor agreed to trade. She knew well the court's disdain for profit—it was impractical, obsessed with face.

But San San Niangzi saw the bare foundation; the new emperor received envoys here—how could he possibly care about face?

Then it was easy: if all were pragmatic, negotiation was possible; if not, negotiation was pointless.

"If it is an impertinent request, then do not make it," Zhu Zhu Yijun replied, refusing her request. If she knew it would embarrass the court, why speak at all?

San San Niangzi froze, then bowed deeply: "I wish to visit Daining Wei."

"You wish to see whether Great Ming can truly hold Daining Wei? Or whether the white earth of Taotushan truly exists? Go if you wish," Zhu Zhu Yijun deliberated, then finally agreed.

Military deterrence requires the northern barbarians to see real force; otherwise, it is not deterrence. Now the capital troops are stationed in Daining Wei—let San San Niangzi see for herself the results of Great Ming's military revitalization these years.

"What do you think, Master?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked Zhang Zhang Juzheng for his opinion; whether San San Niangzi could go involved military affairs, especially troop deployments and frontlines.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng bowed: "Your Majesty is wise."

Zhang Zhang Juzheng fully supported the emperor's decision: letting San San Niangzi see Great Ming's current military strength would prevent Altan Khan from developing dangerous thoughts, making strategic miscalculations—such as uniting with the Tumet Khan or launching a dual eastern-western offensive to force Great Ming to abandon Daining Wei.

"Then go and see," Zhu Zhu Yijun waved his hand—it was no great matter.

San San Niangzi knelt again, bowing low: "I humbly thank Your Majesty's heavenly grace."

San San Niangzi stepped past the threshold; Chen Chen Xuehui led her away from the Huangji Sect. The next envoys waited for audience, including those from Jeju Island.

"Your Great Ming is ruled by the Grand Secretary, yet why did he only say 'Your Majesty is wise'?" San San Niangzi asked as she stepped past the Wumen, preparing to board her carriage back to the Yuan Siyi Pavilion.

She added: "This differs from my expectations. Wu Dui, Fang Fang Fengshi, and others in the northwest said the Grand Secretary dominates the emperor, usurps imperial authority. I heard his reforms have been effective, yet today, observing the court, it is not so—hence my question."

San San Niangzi could not understand: in the northwest, she had sidelined Altan Khan, a warlord who had fought his entire life. Yet Zhang Zhang Juzheng in Great Ming only says "Your Majesty is wise." But she had heard of Zhang Zhang Juzheng's reforms in the steppe—he was no incompetent.

"I do not know why you ask this," Chen Chen Xuehui explained to San San Niangzi. "Why would the Grand Secretary usurp the emperor's authority? He wishes the emperor to mature." San San Niangzi was puzzled; Gao Gong was puzzled; even Great Ming's ministers were puzzled: Zhang Zhang Juzheng, when will you ever truly act to dominate the emperor?

"I understand now. The Grand Secretary is truly a great man, a true hero," San San Niangzi pondered and said: "I thought men like Zhuge Liang existed only in stories. But today, seeing the Grand Secretary, I know such heroes truly exist."

"Not many, indeed. Great Ming has only one such man," Chen Chen Xuehui replied. "A minister who governs without usurping imperial authority, who seeks only revival—Great Ming has few like him."

San San Niangzi smiled: "What of Qi General Qi Jiguang Jiguang, Yu Yu Dayou? Li Li Chengliang counts as half. All are heroes. Knowing Great Ming harshly treats military men, yet they never gave up."

"Go."

San San Niangzi came herself to negotiate simply: starting war was unlikely to succeed; only when raiding became impossible did she willingly negotiate business. She lowered her carriage window and headed toward the Yuan Siyi Pavilion.

Chen Chen Xuehui shook his head. As San San Niangzi said, Great Ming's great men and heroes were not few: Zhang Zhang Juzheng, Qi General Qi Jiguang Jiguang, Yu Yu Dayou, Tan Lun, Hai Rui—even figures like Yin Yin Zhengmao and Li Li Chengliang, though called regional warlords, still followed the court's lead.

Many call these men foolish. Indeed, they are not clever. Holding such power, they could form factions, enrich themselves, hollow out Great Ming's foundations—everyone else does it.

Chen Chen Xuehui led the next group of envoys for audience: envoys from Jeju Island.

These envoys did not speak Mandarin. They offered sea goods, fish oil, and others, received gifts in return. Through gestures and guesses, Zhu Zhu Yijun understood: a storm had blown their ship away; they begged Great Ming to send them home.

Zhu Zhu Yijun agreed. Great Ming must conduct hydrographic surveys of Jeju Island; Japan was increasing influence over Ryukyu; Great Ming must increase influence over Japan.

The third group of envoys were from Joseon: Li Li Houbai and Yin Yin Genshou. They requested the court correct an error: Great Ming was revising the Great Ming Compendium, which contained a mistake in recording Joseon's founding ancestors, and they requested correction.

Since the Hongzhi era, when Great Ming published the Great Ming Compendium nationwide, Joseon envoys had persistently petitioned, claiming the record was wrong: Great Ming had recorded Li Li Chenggui as the son of Li Li Renren.

This error occurred during Emperor Hongwu's reign; Li Li Chenggui himself petitioned, stating he was not Li Li Renren's son.

During Yongle's reign, the error was corrected.

But during Hongzhi's reign, the error reappeared in the Great Ming Compendium. Hearing the court planned to revise the compendium, appointing chief and deputy editors and opening an editorial office, they immediately dispatched envoys, hoping this time the mistake would not recur.

Li Li Houbai and Yin Yin Genshou entered the Wumen and were stunned—utterly shocked.

The emperor received foreign envoys sitting on a bare foundation. Joseon's kings had been enfeoffed by Great Ming for two centuries—it was a vassal state. Yet never before had an emperor received foreign ministers on such a bare foundation, making Joseon seem luxurious by comparison.

When they came in Emperor Wanli's first year to congratulate the new emperor, the Huangjidian had been dazzling. Now it was stark, shocking.

Joseon was now divided by factional strife: Easterners, Westerners, Southerners, Northerners. But compared to Great Ming's palace fire, Joseon's factionalism was child's play. Great Ming was Great Ming—even its factionalism was grand!

The magnificent central axis buildings—burned in an instant.

Zhu Zhu Yijun agreed to Li Li Houbai and Yin Yin Genshou's request. The Veritable Records of Taizu recorded Li Li Chenggui's own statement that his father was not Li Li Renren; the Emperor Hongwu emperor had not issued an edict to correct it. The Veritable Records of Taizong also recorded this, and the imperial edict had corrected the error.

It was indeed a mistake.

But during Hongzhi's reign, under the dominance of Neo-Confucianism and Idealist philosophy in historiography, few studied history seriously; even few knew the Yongle emperor had issued an edict to correct it. The error, already corrected, was boldly written into the Great Ming Compendium.

Thus, Zhang Zhang Juzheng's revision of the Great Ming Compendium was truly necessary; the original text contained far too many errors.

All say Hongzhi's reign was a golden age of civil governance, yet when revising state compendiums, even the Yongle emperor's corrected edict was overlooked—was this cultural flourishing?

Zhu Zhu Yijun had read the national histories—he knew these facts. Were those scholar-officials, reclining on women's laps, compiling the state compendium?

Li Li Houbai and Yin Yin Genshou, seeing the emperor agree, wept with joy. The father of their founding monarch had been misrecorded by the suzerain state; now, finally, it would be corrected in the new compendium.

The fourth group of envoys came from Ryukyu. They offered fish oil and other goods, denounced Japan, and requested Great Ming's navy patrol Ryukyu to eliminate Japanese pirates and restore peace. Zhu Zhu Yijun replied that Great Ming was currently unable to reach them; the navy was being revitalized, and within a few years, it would surely go.

The Ryukyu envoys wept bitterly. For years, the Great Ming court had never given an inch; today, they finally received a promise that was not quite a promise.

The fifth group to enter the hall was Li Li Yashi—a familiar face. He had met the emperor twice before; this was his third audience.

After respectfully bowing, Li Li Yashi looked at the empty foundation and sighed: "Mighty, wise, invincible, supreme emperor, your humble foreigner has a question: this grand, towering Huangjidian—has it truly burned? Is this Great Ming's wealth?"

The emperor had begun investigating the palace fire—it was arson, not natural disaster. The rumor had long spread among the people, and reached Li Li Yashi in the capital.

"Before I came here, I thought Francisco was the greatest fool on earth—he claimed forty men could conquer Great Ming, then raised it to twenty thousand. But now, I think he may not be so foolish." Li Li Yashi, speaking halting Mandarin with a theatrical tone, mocked the Great Ming emperor.

If you, Great Ming emperor, are not angered by this, you should no longer be emperor.

"Do you think twenty thousand men are enough?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked calmly.

Li Li Yashi was startled, then quickly bowed respectfully: "Francisco is a fool. I am here—I believe two million men would not be enough. The loyal subjects of the great emperor, the loyal subjects of Great Ming, are the silent majority."

"Turning loyal, silent subjects into traitors—that is a mistake that should not happen, though it always does."

A little mockery, a little shock over the palace fire—enough. Push too far, and the Great Ming emperor will throw you into the Taiye Pool to feed the fish.

"Are you here for the spectacle, or do you have something to say?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked. Today's audience was concentrated; since Li Li Yashi requested an audience, let him be seen with the others.

Li Li Yashi smiled: "Last time, my king sent you a clock—it tells time conveniently. But when it crossed the sea to Great Ming, a reckless servant dropped and broke it. I recently repaired it, though with great difficulty, and now present it to Your Majesty: the Nuremberg Egg Clock from Germany."

"Exchange of goods and knowledge always depends on time."

Li Li Yashi's final sentence was in Latin—a Western proverb. Who said it does not matter; what matters is that it came from the fallen Rome.

"Time, once gone, cannot return. Present it." Zhu Zhu Yijun, hearing a gift, smiled brightly. He spoke this sentence in Latin too—a Roman proverb.

Zhu Zhu Yijun was truly studying a foreign language again, and his pronunciation was even more authentic than Li Yashih's, leaving Li Yashih utterly astonished.

A egg, roughly the size of Zhu Zhu Yijun's fist, was presented before the throne; Zhu Zhu Yijun stared at it—not so much an egg as a pocket watch, one that could be hung around the neck.

The dial was entirely crafted of gold, the body a single hexagonal piece of Colombian emerald, adorned with enamel floral patterns and a gemstone movement inside, from which the ticking of the escapement could be clearly heard; there were no second hands on the dial, only hour and minute hands—but the ticking proved a second hand was internally designed.

"Bestowed!" Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled. "I am pleased with your gift. So what is your request?"

"It's a small matter," Li Yashih said with evident distress. "Could the war in Lu Song be paused? Or better yet, ended in peace? Great Ming has been continuously attacking Mindanao; I've received letters—the situation is dire. The conflict harms trade."

Zhu Zhu Yijun wore a look of deep sorrow. "Emissary, you have seen for yourself—I am still young, and have not yet assumed personal rule. Even if I promised you, I cannot guarantee it. Lu Song is too distant. Yes, they pay tribute, but Emissary Li Yashih, I cannot effectively restrain them, just as Philip II cannot control the New World."

Zhang Zhang Juzheng raised his head and glanced at the emperor. The emperor had accepted Li Yashih's gift but refused to act on his request. This style of conduct—whose influence was this? Zhang Zhang Juzheng's student, Li Le.

Li Le was the first to open the precedent of taking silver without delivering results, followed by Fan Fan Yingqi and Wang Wang Jiaoping—and now even the young emperor does the same!

The young emperor complains that Yin Yin Zhengmao, Zhang Zhang Yuanxun, and Deng Deng Zilong disobey imperial edicts—could that be true? The Great Ming's very first five-masted ocean-going ship was entrusted to Yin Yin Zhengmao! Ask Yin Yin Zhengmao himself whether he obeys court orders!

Yin Yin Zhengmao is called "Lord of the Imperial Surname" wherever he goes! The emperor's favor is excessively generous.

It was the emperor's own decree ordering the continued expulsion of the Red-Haired Barbarians!

Keep acting! Keep acting!

"Emissary, do you not agree? Even my orders fall on deaf ears," Zhu Zhu Yijun said with exaggerated despair.

"Indeed," Li Yashih replied, deeply sympathetic. "These overseas commanders and governors are always so hard to control! Even Philip II could not rein in the New World—how much less this young emperor of Great Ming?"

Cape Verde is close to Spain, yet it has become a land abandoned by the gods; no one knows how many pirates and smugglers dwell there.

"Since it is a state gift, Great Ming must not appear stingy," Zhu Zhu Yijun said calmly. "Zhang Feng Da Ban, bring me a double-sided velvet dragon-embroidered robe with four-panel auspicious motifs. As a state gift, reciprocity must be observed." His tone was even, but his gesture was lavish—a velvet dragon-embroidered robe was a court-exclusive item, as precious as the golden-threaded phoenix-cap he wore.

"I humbly thank Your Majesty's grace," Li Yashih said, profoundly delighted. This gift, sent home, would fully satisfy Philip II's vanity—he had long sought to propose marriage to Queen Elizabeth I, but she had consistently refused.

Spain had a long-standing tradition of dynastic marriages to expand territory.

Li Yashih departed, and Zhu Zhu Yijun held the golden egg in his hands, studying it intently. "Master," he said, "this is a precision mechanism. If any single component is even slightly inaccurate, its error grows. Small errors accumulate, and the timekeeping becomes unreliable. The Westerners use it for navigation—to determine longitude through time."

"It is not shameful to admit one's inferiority. Great Ming lacks the craftsmanship to make such a timepiece."

Zhu Zhu Yijun rose and walked toward the side hall of Zhao Wenhua Hall; Zhang Zhang Juzheng followed closely behind.

In the side hall of Zhao Wenhua Hall—the Royal Laboratory of Great Ming—Zhu Zhu Yijun sat before the grand chair and carefully removed the hour hand, then pried open the golden egg to reveal its inner movement.

Zhu Zhu Yijun studied the movement closely: the mainspring, the escapement, the fusee. The mainspring provided power; the escapement's oscillating motion regulated it; the fusee compensated for the changing tension of the mainspring's coil.

The escapement was easy to understand, but the fusee was far more difficult.

It was a conical disc with a raised spiral groove; a chain wrapped around it and connected to the mainspring. As the mainspring was wound, the spiral's diameter decreased—the mainspring grew tighter, yet the force at the chain's end remained constant, delivering steady power to the escapement.

Zhu Zhu Yijun began disassembling the mechanism, removing the fusee and holding it toward the sunlight. "Master, look at this curve—does it seem familiar?"

"Hmm?" Zhang Zhang Juzheng studied it for a long while, then pulled a tablet from a stack. "Is this the projection map?"

The longitudinal cross-section of the conical wheel was, in fact, a hyperbola of a cone; the chain's path along the fusee traced a spiral.

"The Western version is imperfect," Zhang Zhang Juzheng said after careful examination. "Great Ming can make this far more precise—we possess the mathematical tools."

This was the benefit of cross-disciplinary knowledge.

Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled. "Let us begin by replicating this egg. First, we need spring steel—highly elastic steel sheets. Then, we must manufacture gears. Once replicated, we must understand each gear's function. Finally, we will craft Great Ming's own egg."

"Precision machinery is not easily made. We need patience."

"Leave it to you, Master."

Zhu Zhu Yijun meticulously disassembled every component, drew detailed diagrams, and handed them to Zhang Zhang Juzheng for replication. Replication was easy for Great Ming—but understanding the precise function of each gear would take considerable time.

Zhu Zhu Yijun was still young. He could wait.

And he trusted Great Ming's craftsmen—they would eventually comprehend every gear's purpose, then improve it, making it even more accurate.

On Zhao Wenhua Hall hung the Official Roster Screen; at its center was a world map, but its proportions were severely distorted, unnaturally flattened. The sextant and the timepiece could render this map far more precise.

Wang Wang Chonggu's commercial negotiations with Lady San Niang ended in mid-May, and Wang Wang Chonggu submitted the results to the throne. Wang Wang Chonggu was the supervisor of the Yongding Woolen Imperial Factory—not his personal business, though he was, of course, a shareholder, receiving a ten percent profit share.

When the results reached the emperor, Zhu Zhu Yijun stared at them blankly, then turned to Zhang Hong. "Are scholar-officials' minds always this corrupt?"

"Your Majesty," Zhang Hong said, studying the document with a complex expression, "scholar-officials' minds have always been this corrupt."

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(End of Chapter)