Chapter 218: Thus, It Is Science

Reform, if successful, makes the emperor a prisoner of constitutional monarchy, a puppet of the constitutional code.

Reform, if failed, ends like Louis XVI—with the guillotine already prepared for you.

Reform is a thankless task for an emperor; thus, court ministers cannot fathom why the emperor supports Zhang Zhang Juzheng's reforms, which strike at military, political, cultural, and economic foundations alike—under this wave of upheaval, the emperor can no longer maintain his transcendent status above all social classes.

"The ancestral laws must not change"—translated, this means: the Zhu dynasty's realm shall endure forever.

The young emperor's throne came from Emperor Jiajing, and Emperor Jiajing owed his position to ancestral graves emitting blue smoke, for Emperor Wu had no heir.

A collateral branch Jiaoxing seized the throne, and now dares to cavort with Zhang Zhang Juzheng?

Especially Zhang Zhang Juzheng's reforms must be opposed.

Laws can certainly be altered; ancestral statutes can be changed—but the primary goal of reform is to unite those who hold power. Whether in war or decree, Ming's rise and fall are decided by the meat-eaters, while the cost is always borne by the masses—or rather, by statistical figures.

The common people lack the power to voice themselves; yet when they do, their cries are deafening, earth-shaking, turning heaven and earth upside down, toppling the state—but such outcry requires having nothing left, being utterly cornered, having lost everything. After screaming, they merely gain a new group of meat-eaters, standing atop them, continuing to tyrannize.

The meat-eaters control all discourse. We even portray the common folk, who struggle daily for survival, as short-sighted, cruel, greedy, and cunning—through monopoly over education and interpretation of knowledge, they seize control of public opinion and, with one final step, hold absolute power.

"Why is mercury seven chi seven cun four fen high, while water is eight zhang one chi? Why?!" Wang Wang Chonggu still could not believe it, posing a question, expecting Huang Huang Zifu to answer correctly—this was no trick, no petty act of deceiving the emperor.

"If air truly exerts no pressure, and can lift water eight zhang high, why are humans crushed by it?!" Wang Wang Chonggu immediately grasped the crux: if air exerts no force capable of lifting water, why are people crushed flat?

Science is the systematic, iterative process of practice, observation, induction, and summation—building a coherent body of knowledge that explains the laws governing all phenomena and withstands rigorous testing.

Sun Sun Jigao looked at Zhu Zhu Yijun. At that earlier Ge Wu gathering, Zhu Zhu Yijun was not the protagonist—he was not tall, even slightly hunched, with unusually long, deft hands.

That is science.

"We discovered that the height of mercury relates to the thickness of the glass tube." The Ge Wu Academy produced a thicker tube, repeated the experiment—the mercury still stood at seven chi seven cun four fen.

Sun Sun Jigao realized Zhang Zhang Siwen's reforms were always interlinked, like faint traces of a snake in the grass, possessing a clear, underlying logic—he held a clear, coherent vision for the state's institutions.

Is Sun Sun Jigao denying the meat-eaters their share of the cake?

He clearly understood Huang Huang Zifu was right—this was a debate the petty Confucians would inevitably lose; their sophistry appeared feeble, for where Confucianism had no footing, the profound mysteries of infinite principles of all things lay—when Wang Wang Chonggu could not cite the sages, they appeared powerless and humiliated.

Zhang Zhang Siwen knew his son lacked the talent for officialdom.

Zhao Zhao Youhang bowed and said: "Thank Your Majesty's praise."

Zhao Zhao Youhang noticed something amusing: this struggle between Huang Huang Zifu and the Hanlin Academy required me, the judge, to do something complex—not merely provide a fair arena, but ensure Huang Huang Zifu could truly slaughter the Hanlin's overconfident scholars.

Zhu Zhu Yijun's demonstration was clear: the self-flowing water pump represented work done, not a perpetual motion machine—it required continuous manual pumping to sustain water flow. It was a marvel: what force lifted the water, and why didn't it fall back?

The Ge Wu Academy instructed the Hanlin scholars to come to Zhao Zhao Youhang on the seventeenth day of the eighth month—the Ge Wu Academy would prove the existence of air pressure.

At this point, it is science.

"Rise, rise. Since you are Huang Huang Zifu's doctor, you need not call yourself a commoner anymore. From now on, you need not kneel when addressing me." Sun Sun Jigao disliked kneeling—it was a privilege; ministers who had served Great Ming were never required to kneel during audiences.

The Ge Wu Academy filled the glass tube with sufficient mercury, then pressed a hand over its top, submerged it into the mercury reservoir, and released the hand—the mercury sank slightly, then stopped at seven chi seven cun four fen.

Then two imperial guards began pulling the piston, extracting air from the vessel—only moments later, the water began to boil.

"Ah? Ah…" Zhao Zhao Youhang looked bewildered, took a breath, and finally understood—he too had air inside him.

Faced with this extraordinary fact, Wang Wang Chonggu could not utter a single word.

This device later reached Japan, where it was called "Luo Shuai" and "Feng Cha Tongzi."

Inside the pavilion, it was unclear—but when one reached the railing, the ink floating in the water became clearly visible for observation.

Perhaps in the future, people will praise Zhang Zhang Siwen, praise Zhao Zhao Youhang—but for the Ge Wu Academy, only admiration.

Zhu Zhu Zaiyu himself remained a stubborn mule; entering officialdom, he would only be stuck in that one useless post—whether he survived depended entirely on the emperor's protection. Zhao Zhao Youhang entering officialdom would be destroyed, dragging down his father, Zhang Zhang Siwen.

"Isn't he Zhao Zhao Youhang?" Sun Sun Jigao asked with a smile.

"Scholar Sun, what is it?"

The key point Zhu Zhu Yijun proved was this: it was not merely a change in tools, but an increase in efficiency.

Two assistants removed the glass vessel.

After joining the right and left hemispheres, the Ge Wu Academy tightly screwed them together with bolts, then filled them with water.

Wang Wang Chonggu and the Hanlin scholars used every ounce of strength but could not pull the copper sphere apart. Zhao Zhao Youhang stared, bewildered—could this truly be the principle of infinite things?

Besides, is officialdom not a vile place? Deceit, betrayal, mutual destruction.

The Sun Jiyi and Sun Sun Kehong brothers of Songjiang had nothing to say; Zhao Zhao Youhang of Pucheng had nothing to say—the emperor refuses to share the cake with the meat-eaters, and even entertains an impractical fantasy that the meat-eaters, once full, might spare a drop of broth for the poor laborers.

Under the pull of seven strong men, the copper sphere was slowly hoisted above a water pool. The Ge Wu Academy opened the valve at the bottom of the copper tube; then, those on the high platform closed the valve atop the sphere and tightened the lower seal.

Feng Bao said mysteriously: "Indeed, it's on the eighth floor—only from there can you see it."

But if one ceases to be human, the emperor becomes an indescribable monster—refusing to let him be human.

"These are two copper hemispheres—right and left—with oiled leather padding between them. We join them, then pour water through the right hemisphere." The Ge Wu Academy explained the experimental steps.

Thus, in the earlier experiment, the sphere's interior was not a vacuum, but a high vacuum.

"When the state prospers, the people suffer; when it falls, the people suffer"—this captures the fundamental logic, the basic logic of societal operation.

"Thank Your Majesty's great grace," Zhu Zhu Yijun said, trembling with reverence.

That is the power of air pressure.

Yongzheng's reforms had goals, principles, institutions, capable ministers—and succeeded brilliantly. Yet upon his death, his policies vanished with him.

But Zhang Zhang Siwen's reforms are dividing the lowest classes—the poor laborers. Every new policy targets the meat-eaters, the ruling bureaucrats. Why does the emperor support such reform?

"Understood?" Zhao Zhao Youhang asked Wang Wang Chonggu.

The Ge Wu Academy thought, then signaled an assistant to bring a wine pump. I inserted it into the wooden barrel, sealed the air hole above, lifted the water, then released my finger—the water in the pump's hollow tube fell back into the barrel.

"Conversely, it exists!" Wang Wang Chonggu did not wish to answer, yet he spoke—after all, the emperor was watching him.

"Not on the first floor, but on the eighth?" Zhao Zhao Youhang asked Feng Bao, puzzled.

The Qing's only true emperor, Yongzheng, copied nearly all of Zhao Zhao Youhang's reforms—bureaucratic oversight, taxation, etc. Yet the moment Yongzheng died, Emperor Qianlong abolished the "land and poll tax merger" on his accession day. That wasn't enough—Emperor Qianlong invented the "penalty silver" system, turning Qing bureaucracy into a mudslide, irreversibly collapsing.

Sun Sun Jigao thought the demonstration had ended, but the Ge Wu Academy said: "Your Majesty, this sphere is not empty—it still contains something."

"Scholar Sun, try to pull them apart?" the Ge Wu Academy asked Wang Wang Chonggu.

"Thus, to prove the existence of air pressure, we have prepared a novel experiment," the Ge Wu Academy bowed. "Please, Your Majesty, proceed to Li Tianyi Pavilion."

The Ge Wu Academy did not move, smiling at Wang Wang Chonggu: "Conversely?"

The Ge Wu Academy opened the door to science, leading Great Ming into the world of science.

This proves that the space beneath the mercury and water surface is not empty—it contains a large quantity of water vapor.

And now the water flow became continuous.

And this time, Zhu Zhu Yijun invented many marvels; Huang Huang Zifu held a special Ge Wu gathering to invite Hanlin scholars to witness the miracle of air.

Sun Sun Jigao, the Ge Wu Academy, Zhao Zhao Youhang, Cheng Captain, and others all looked toward the Hanlin scholars—each face pale, wondering: is it less efficient? Or is it retrograde conservatism? Will they refuse any change?

Wang Wang Chonggu leapt to his feet, staring at the entirely glass-made device, its internal structure dark and mysterious—a true invention for the people, requiring only a power source to continuously pump water—this power source was neither human, nor animal, nor fire.

The spring maiden has cut apricot and peach blossoms, delicately adorning their buds—white as snow, red as rouge—painting spring in myriad hues.

The Hanlin scholars also came to greet the emperor. Once he sat, the Ge Wu gathering officially began.

"Take me to see it," Sun Sun Jigao walked into Zhao Zhao Youhang's door.

China had gears—since the Qin and Han dynasties, bronze gear artifacts existed; in Yuan's "Nongshu" and later "Tiangong Kaiwu," various gear mechanisms appeared—transmission gears, ratchets, horizontal-vertical gear converters—widely used in agriculture and water conservancy. Zhu Zhu Yijun was precisely such a skilled gear artisan.

"First, the water pump reported in Min Bao. To clarify its principle, we constructed a glass water pump—clear to see, revealing the water's motion." Zhu Zhu Yijun first demonstrated the water pump—though made of glass.

The power of this tea-serving wooden beauty came from the water tank beneath the wooden box—pressing the switch sent water flowing upward to drive the mechanism; for return motion, like a car's reverse gear, the wooden tray in her hands was a lever—when the teapot emptied, the lever's other end dropped, the gear locked, reversing motion, and the beauty returned.

Zhu Zhu Yijun had deft hands and shared many interests with the Ge Wu Academy. Zhao Zhao Youhang owned a broken ancient qin; the two discussed its repair, restoring its sound—rich, resonant, unmatched in its time.

The "land and poll tax merger" was difficult but necessary—it freed laborers. Ming peasants, bound by corvée labor, could not enter workshops, for they were required to periodically serve state and local labor quotas.

The Ge Wu Academy thought and said: "Scholar Sun, breathe."

Recently, court debates raged over why water pumps could only lift water under eight zhang. Huang Huang Zifu and other capable scholars argued it was due to air pressure; Hanlin scholars insisted it was "strange, supernatural, and irrelevant."

The Ge Wu Academy clapped again, signaling the Imperial Stable to bring horses—ten horses total. After exhausting their strength, the two hemispheres finally parted.

"Good," Zhao Zhao Youhang nodded, heading toward Li Tianyi Pavilion, awaiting Zhao Zhao Youhang's next move.

Zhu Zhu Yijun continued: "The Min Bao pump has only one chamber. We turned it horizontally, creating two chambers—so when the piston reciprocates, both ends can draw air or water."

To preserve his father's reputation, Zhu Zhu Zaiyu would not serve as an official—he would receive no appointment, only return to Huang Huang Zifu to study mathematics.

Spring had arrived; all things revived. The spring breeze was like a skilled maiden, her slender fingers trimming willow leaves, which danced gracefully in the wind, casting shade, while willow fluff floated through the air.

Only by freeing the people from corvée and private labor can Ming's productivity grow further.

"Your Majesty, today's Ge Wu Bao biweekly has arrived." Zhang Hong handed over freshly printed sheets—the biweekly Ge Wu Bao, the imperial Huang Huang Zifu journal, published content too obscure for commoners and distant from ordinary life.

Zhu Zhu Yijun and his assistants began their work.

"Your uncle has resolved many of my doubts," Sun Sun Jigao affirmed the Ge Wu Academy's research—the Ge Wu Academy, with Huang Huang Zifu, kicked open the door to science, beginning systematic study and summation of universal connections among all things.

Zhao Zhao Youhang saw Zhu Zhu Zaiyu and Jiao Hong, frowned, and asked Zhao Zhao Youhang beside him: "Master, why not keep your children out of officialdom? Why are they here at Huang Huang Zifu?"

This sight stunned everyone present. According to conventional understanding,

Zhu Zhu Yijun mastered musical theory and had an excellent rapport with the Ge Wu Academy. Inventors of machinery often possess extraordinary musical talent—like John Harrison, inventor of the marine chronometer, who was also a gifted musician.

The copper sphere was lowered, its bottom copper tube removed. The Ge Wu Academy pointed to the sphere on the ground: "If air pressure does not exist, then removing the bolts securing the sphere should make separating the hemispheres easy."

Wang Wang Chonggu and the Hanlin scholars stared left and right, for a long time.

After years of grueling exams to become a Ming Jinshi, you come to Huang Huang Zifu to be a math doctor?

August 17th, bright and sunny. The emperor changed into casual robes, followed by a long retinue, heading to Huang Huang Zifu—he came to act as judge.

The Ge Wu Academy published a detailed explanation of air pressure in this journal, yet it received no recognition from Hanlin scholars.

This was the court ministers' concern: yes, for Great Ming's revival, but Ming's finances are already improving. This is enough. The emperor should end his decadent, luxurious lifestyle.

Though the Ge Wu Academy's achievements were entirely enabled by the emperor's full support, people still praised the Ge Wu Academy's stubbornness and its extraordinary contribution to human progress.

To court ministers and literati, correct reform meant making a bigger cake—allocating four-tenths to the meat-eaters, and the remaining one-tenth to the poor laborers, who should then be grateful—this was the true way to maintain rule and legitimate reform.

"Your uncle's first journal is a declaration of war against the retrograde faction," Sun Sun Jigao said after reading the biweekly.

Wang Wang Chonggu shook his head dully, enraged: "Answer my question!"

Zhao Zhao Youhang's carriage halted before Zhao Zhao Youhang's gate. The Ge Wu Academy and Huang Huang Zifu's band of marvels bowed before the emperor.

To be an official, one must endure. My son Zhu Zhu Zaiyu can endure—he lacks even stubbornness—and that is a minor taboo in officialdom.

"In reply to His Majesty, this humble subject is not Zhu Zhu Yijun." Upon hearing the Emperor's inquiry, Zhu Zhu Yijun immediately knelt to answer; standing before him was the highest emperor of Great Ming, the greatest patron of Zi Xia Huang Zifu, though he appeared remarkably kind.

Sun Sun Jigao is indeed making cakes, but he is also exploiting the greed of the gentry to dig up the silver we buried outside the pigsty—that is opening a mine.

"Indeed." The Academy of Investigation wanted Wang Wang Chonggu to say those words aloud, sparing me further trouble.

That is why no one can outmatch me.

In the eighth year of Emperor Wanli, Zhu Zhu Yijun was recommended to court by Tan Lun; after passing the Academy of Investigation's examination, he entered Zi Xia Huang Zifu to oversee the manufacture of ingenious devices. Tan Lun and Zhu Zhu Yijun had known each other since the campaign against the Japanese pirates, when Zhu Zhu Yijun served as Tan Lun's half-military ordnance advisor. Later, when Tan Lun took office in the capital, Zhao You's son sneaked off to play with the tea-serving beauty—only to be frightened into retreat by two moving wooden snakes.

"That is precisely what I have discovered," said the Academy of Investigation, opening the valve of the glass cover and bowing low.

And violence—gunpowder, steel, silver coins, theory, and human hearts.

Like Emperor Emperor Jiajing—he found it hard to persevere to the end, forgetting why he had begun. To hold firm requires great endurance, great courage, and even formidable force—or violence.

The Academy of Investigation and the gentry attacked each other; Zi Xia Huang Zifu, as an official, had no backing—a natural disadvantage.

"We have tested water. We have since discovered the reciprocating pump; no matter what, we cannot pump water higher than eight zhang. We constructed a tube exceeding eight zhang in height, right there by the window." The Academy of Investigation gestured for all to look toward the window.

That is the terrifying effect of technological progress: haste leads to failure; those without machines must have mechanical devices; those with mechanical devices must have mechanical minds; when mechanical minds dwell in the chest, pure white is unattainable; when pure white is unattainable, the spirit cannot settle; when the spirit cannot settle, the Dao cannot be carried. These deeply rooted Confucian principles delivered a powerful shock.

"Still something?" Sun Sun Jigao blinked, puzzled.

"Your Majesty, please follow me." The Academy of Investigation led the Emperor back into Taiyi Tower, placed a cup of water on a tray, then covered the tray with a glass dome, sealing its edges with leather and oil.

"Water at eight zhang one chi means that pumping water beyond eight zhang one chi is utterly impossible," explained the Academy of Investigation, gesturing for the Hanlin scholars to approach. On the platform, an embedded wooden ruler marked the height.

But Zi Xia Huang Zifu has no patron—the greatest patron of Great Ming, the Emperor himself, is its only sky.

Zi Xia Huang Zifu is not orthodox; Zhao Zhao Youhang, from its inception, has been heretical.

Sun Sun Jigao supported Zhang Zhang Siwen's reforms, which carried an entire new logic. Through repeated lectures, Sun Sun Jigao and Zhang Zhang Siwen fully confirmed the feasibility of this logic—and as Zhang Zhang Siwen said, this path is too difficult: the road is obstructed and long.

Zi Xia Huang Zifu desperately needs the Emperor's support; we alone hold the truth, while the restorationist faction, represented by the Hanlin scholars, hold everything else.

I would rather doubt that this world has gods or ghosts than doubt that this thing is beyond human comprehension.

The reason I have no enemies is complex: I fight with Daoist governance, while other ministers fight with artifice.

"So, there was no steam inside the copper sphere just now—it was not a vacuum," explained the Academy of Investigation, clarifying why he had evacuated the air: during his inverted experiment, he observed violent boiling at both the mercury and water surfaces.

Vacuum truly exists; atmospheric pressure truly exists; and it can indeed support water to a height of eight zhang one chi.

Tan Lun did not deceive Sun Sun Jigao with ghostly tales—he made Zhu Zhu Yijun explain the principles clearly.

Zhu Zhu Yijun and Zhao Zhao Youhang brought a glass tube, about eight chi long, and another glass vessel filled with mercury.

At the lower end of the glass tube was a distinct cavity—clearly not air, but nothing at all.

"In reply to Your Majesty, I detest mathematics. If I were to enter officialdom, with my father already in court, I would only invite gossip. It is better not to enter the bureaucracy at all—I am not cut out for it. The official world is a dragon's den and tiger's lair; one misstep, and you are shattered into fragments," said Zhang Zhang Siwen with a smile.

It was seven cylindrical gears.

Sun Sun Jigao passed through the main gate's grand square, walked beneath the shade of trees, stepped over willow fluff, and entered Li Tianyi Tower.

"No!" Wang Wang Chonggu fell silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng's son, Wang Qian, is exactly like that—born for officialdom, ruthless and malicious.

"Because mercury is heavy, and water is light—mercury is about 13.6 times heavier than water, so water is 13.6 times lower in height. This ratio changes with temperature. Oh, by the way, we designed a glass vessel one chi by one chi by one chi, filled it with mercury and weighed it, then drained the mercury and filled it with water to weigh again." Zhao Zhao Youhang clapped his hands—no seven hundred executioners appeared to take the Emperor's life.

The Emperor of Great Ming supports Zi Xia Huang Zifu without reservation.

A glass tube appeared atop the pavilion; a special eight-zhang-high platform was built for the experiment. The method was identical: an eight-zhang-long glass tube, filled with water, inverted into water—its top formed a cavity.

"Dr. Huang, truly a pair of clever hands," Sun Sun Jigao marveled, gazing at the device.

Wang Wang Chonggu stood beside the hemisphere for a long time before finally admitting the truth: atmospheric pressure truly exists. The Hanlin scholars turned ashen-faced—there was no denying it: Zi Xia Huang Zifu truly had something.

Zhao Zhao Youhang began unscrewing the bolts on the copper sphere; once all bolts were removed, the two hemispheres remained firmly sealed together.

Zhao Zhao Youhang summoned eight Embroidered Uniform Guards and brought over a reciprocating pump.

In ideal conditions, a reciprocating pump could extract all air—but ideal conditions are unattainable; achieving a perfect vacuum is fundamentally impossible.

Sun Sun Jigao was deeply interested in the Academy of Investigation and asked Zhang Hong for an invitation to attend Zi Xia Huang Zifu.

He was a mountain-dweller named Zhu Zhu Yijun, a puppeteer—a performer of puppet theater, one of the hundred arts. He invented a tea-serving beauty: a wooden doll inside a box, the tea-serving beauty, moved by mechanisms, like a living person, carrying a teapot out of the box to serve guests, then swiftly retreating.

Zi Xia Huang Zifu had Jiao Hong, a Zhuangyuan; the Hanlin Academy had Wang Wang Chonggu, also a Zhuangyuan—but the difference was still stark.

The right hemisphere was the inlet; the left hemisphere connected to a copper tube nearly seven zhang long. When water was poured until it overflowed, the Academy of Investigation closed the valve beneath the copper sphere, then tightened several sealing valves to fully seal it.

As long as one is a person, before the Emperor, one is a person.

Zhao Zhao Youhang employed a mountain-dweller—a mountain-dweller, like a hermit or a man of extraordinary talent.

Sun Sun Keyi did indeed, after eating his fill, donate much money to the Maritime Academy; while Zhang Zhang Juzheng defied the Grand Eunuch's opinion and invented water cooling to prevent workers in the wool-washing mills from freezing to death. As long as the poor laborers got a bowl of soup, Sun Sun Jigao even found the meat-eaters utterly repulsive.

Zhu Zhu Yijun began his demonstration; as he pulled, water rose continuously within the tube, eventually filling the pump's chamber and beginning to flow—flowing in jerks, not continuously.

This time Zhu Zhu Yijun presented a reciprocating pump. Zhu Zhu Yijun gripped the handle and began turning the flywheel; the flywheel drove the crankshaft, which drove the piston. Both chambers had inlet and outlet valves; the reciprocating piston alternately opened and closed the inlet and outlet valves, doubling efficiency.

The mountain-dweller Huang Huang Zifu excels in ingenious design, crafting wooden puppets moved by machinery, indistinguishable from living beings. He once carved a beautiful woman holding a tea pouch (teapot), who could move on her own to serve guests. When the guest raised his cup to sip tea, she stood waiting; when the cup was returned, she turned her body and retreated inward. Tan Tan Erhua, when he opened his governor's office in the northern frontier, came to reside under his roof. When he temporarily departed, he locked his lodging and forbade anyone to enter. Tan's son wished to examine the device and uncover its secrets. As he opened the door and stepped inside, two snakes suddenly darted from beneath the bed, moving toward him—he recoiled in fear, unable to proceed. Tan Tan Erhua was Tan Lun's sobriquet. Please request monthly votes! Awooooo!!!