Chapter 157: The Five Women of Great Renown

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After deciding to hold the imperial examination, Zhao Yu discussed the specific matters with Seeing Zhang Dun and Han Zhongyan, who had already returned from Gongyi.

Afterwards, Zhao Yu had Han Zhongyan oversee examination-related affairs, while Seeing Zhang Dun, as usual, took charge of the overall situation.

Soon, the Ministry of Rites posted announcements at important venues in Jingcheng, such as the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Academy, clearly stating detailed information including the examination's time, location, subjects, and eligibility requirements.

At the same time, the Ministry of Rites also dispatched officials to various regions to convey examination-related information, so that local scholars would be informed.

In addition, the court also spread news of the examination through official court bulletins. These bulletins were distributed to officials in every region, thereby allowing more people to learn the specific circumstances of the examination.

The issuance of these announcements aimed to ensure that scholars throughout the realm could obtain examination information in a timely and accurate manner, so as to prepare for the tests.

In late autumn of the first year of Hongwu, the prefectural-level examination was held smoothly.

Before holding the examination, Zhao Yu deliberately issued an imperial edict, clearly stating: this round would select two thousand officials, the most in history.

Precisely because of this, the number of people participating in this year's examination was enormous. A great many who had originally not planned to sit for it this year also chose to give it a try.

The Longyou Protectorate General Office also had no small number of candidates like this.

Having passed the prefectural-level examination at Xizhou City, they streamed into the capital right after the New Year of the second year of Hongwu, preparing to take the metropolitan examination, that is, the provincial-level examination.

And Li Gang was one of them.

Li Gang was born in Huating, Xiuzhou (that is, modern-day Shanghai Song Jiang); he was nineteen this year. His father Li Kui was a jinshi of the third year of Yuanfeng, and in the second year of Empress Yuanyou's reign was transferred to serve as county wujia and concurrent zhuma of Songxi in Fujian. Li Gang and his mother, née Wu, accompanied his father to his post.

Lu Huiqing, then serving as Grand Academician of the Guanwen Hall and Prefect of Jianzhou, greatly appreciated Li Kui's talents.

Later, when Lu Huiqing became Military Commissioner of the Fuyan Circuit, he recruited Li Kui to serve as a clerk in the Military Planning and Pacification Commission.

In the third year of Shaosheng, Li Kui arrived in Yan'an to take up his post, and the fourteen-year-old Li Gang accompanied him.

Born into a family of officials, Li Gang received a Lianghaode Sect education from childhood. Add to that his diligence and love of learning, his mastery of poetry and fu, and a talent renowned far and wide. Even more valuable was that Li Gang harbored great ambitions from infancy; from his youth he paid close attention to the affairs of the state, and in every word and deed he strictly observed the law, earning considerable appreciation from his elders.

Li Kui's friend Chen Guan had once asserted that Li Gang would surely become a great talent in the future.

At that time the Western Xia army invaded and besieged the city with great urgency. Li Gang refused to imitate the sons of various subordinates, who pretended to climb the city walls to repel the enemy in order to receive rewards, but he would often "ride around atop the city walls," demonstrating his own bravery.

The year before last, when Zhao Yu had Lu Huiqing garrison the Xihe Circuit to prepare for the recovery of Western Xia, Lu Huiqing once again recruited Li Kui, assigning him to serve as Prefect of Huangzhou, and Li Gang accompanied him once more.

When Li Gang first arrived at the Longyou Protectorate General Office, everything within sight was a scene of desolation.

Politically, tribes stood like a forest at that time, each ruling itself, with no order to speak of. To contest pastures and water sources, conflicts between tribes erupted frequently, and the shadow of war hung over the land at all times. A regime without any credibility lacked the power to settle disputes; every tribe acted solely by force, and the common people could not guarantee their safety from one day to the next, living in constant dread.

Economically, the situation was even more utterly decayed. Agricultural techniques were primitive and backward; farmers toiled with crude, rough implements, yields were extremely low, and food was often in short supply.

Commercially, apart from the existing Silk Road, all other regions were cut off, with very little external exchange. Commercial activity was limited to simple barter, the variety of goods on the market was sparse, and trade was sluggish.

In terms of culture and education, the place was like a desert. There were almost no systematic educational institutions; the transmission of knowledge depended entirely on oral instruction from elders, making it hard to accumulate and widely disseminate knowledge. Writing was used only by a few elites and religious figures; the common people were for the most part illiterate, their thinking was benighted, and their spiritual world was extremely impoverished.

In terms of healthcare and sanitation, conditions were terribly harsh. Once an epidemic broke out, it spread rapidly, and people were helpless, able only to struggle painfully amid sickness and fear.

But ever since Zhao Yu and his ministers, with Lei Ting-like measures, uprooted every noble and powerful chieftain from this land, then transplanted a million Han settlers here, and dispatched Lu Huiqing along with a large number of capable officials and vigorous administrators of the Zhao Song dynasty to govern it, the Longyou Protectorate General Office was finally able to regain its vitality, gradually taking on the appearance of a densely populated and culturally flourishing region.

It can be said that Li Gang personally witnessed the hardships and the glory of this transformation.

The process need not be belabored.

Suffice it to say that, through the efforts of Zhao Yu and his ministers, the political landscape of the Longyou Protectorate General Office now wears a completely new look under the governance of the Zhao Song dynasty. The tribes have been wiped out, the backward slave system has become history, and the prefecture-county system has taken its place. What followed was the establishment of unified laws and order; the people could finally live and work in peace, and the contradictions between the various ethnic groups gradually dissolved under official mediation, with the ideas of cooperation and mutual benefit taking root and sprouting on this land.

Economically, the Zhao Song dynasty introduced advanced agricultural techniques (especially the advanced industrial and farming implements developed by Ma Xiao Jiao and the advanced farming techniques developed by Yuan Qing Cheng). People of all ethnic groups tilled diligently on this fertile land, and all of this drove grain output up sharply; the people here no longer had to be tormented by hunger.

Commercially, because the dynasty controlled the key junction of the Silk Road and transportation had improved, external exchange was greatly promoted, commercial activity grew ever more prosperous, the variety of goods on the market steadily increased, and trade was in full swing.

In terms of culture and education, the Zhao Song dynasty established a systematic Sanshefa and Shenggongfa here, allowing knowledge to be widely disseminated and accumulated. Children of all ethnic groups were able to receive systematic education in schools, learning cultural knowledge and cultivating moral character. Chinese characters gradually spread among the common people, their thinking grew more enlightened, and their spiritual world was greatly enriched.

Healthcare and sanitation conditions also improved dramatically with the introduction of the Ye Shi Yun Medical Canon; outbreaks of epidemic disease were effectively controlled, and people no longer stood helpless before illness, but regained their health through scientific treatment.

This transformed Li Gang from an initial conservative into the firm member of the Gaige Sect he is today. He strongly supports Zhao Yu's reforms and the recovery of Western Xia.

In Li Gang's view, as long as the Zhao Song dynasty can recover Western Xia and then replicate the success of the Longyou Protectorate General Office, the northwest can be completely stabilized, and then vigorously developed. Within a few years, the people there will be able to recuperate and live and work in peace.

In order to better serve the country, and also to support Zhao Yu's recovery of Western Xia through concrete action, Li Gang sat for this year's examination and passed the prefectural-level test at one stroke.

Once the New Year was over, Li Gang bade farewell to his parents, and with one horse, one attendant, one wooden bicycle that had already begun to spread in the northwest, and the provisions needed by master and servant for the journey, he left Longyou and set out for the Xihe Circuit.

The materials for making a wooden bicycle were mostly readily available timber, so the cost was quite low. If one made it oneself, even the frame cost nothing extra (the technical threshold for making a wooden bicycle was relatively low—as long as one had basic carpentry skills and tools, one could make one). The greatest expense was nothing more than the cost of the bearings, and even a pair of the finest bearings cost less than one guan.

But the purchase price of a horse was far higher. Even buying in Longyou, a fine horse would cost several tens of guan, or even over a hundred, and ongoing costs for feed and care were also required afterward.

Crucially, the wooden bicycle had excellent carrying capacity; some enlarged versions could bear loads of a thousand jin or even fifteen hundred jin. An ordinary horse could also carry or haul a certain weight of goods, but compared with a specially made heavy-duty wooden bicycle, it might be slightly inferior in carrying capacity.

In addition, the wooden bicycle was simple in construction; daily maintenance mainly involved checking and reinforcing the wooden parts and servicing components like the wheels, without needing the professional care a horse required.

Moreover, the wooden bicycle was highly adaptable, able to travel on dirt roads, mountain paths, or muddy tracks alike. Ma Pi, in some extreme road conditions, might have their progress affected by problems such as injured hooves.

Furthermore, unlike horses, the wooden bicycle would not have its working capacity reduced by factors like climate or disease.

In short, from an economical and practical standpoint, the wooden bicycle was a very convenient means of transportation and haulage in this era.

Precisely because of this, from more than two years ago, as soon as the wooden bicycle appeared, it rapidly spread to every region of the Zhao Song dynasty.

However, even after more than two years of development, the wooden bicycle still had some problems.

The biggest of these was that its bearings wore out very easily.

In addition, there was no suspension, so when riding, one had to rely on the rider's body to absorb the shocks.

Speaking of this matter, Ma Xiao Jiao really had done her utmost.

Ma Xiao Jiao possessed knowledge of modern bearings; she understood their structure and principles, and knew that suitable materials such as steel should be used to manufacture the inner and outer races and the balls. She had already made full use of the iron-smelting and forging techniques already available in this era, and by improving the processes, had produced the simplest rolling bearings. At the same time, based on actual needs, she designed different types of bearings, such as plain bearings or rolling bearings, for use in vehicles, machinery, and other fields, improving the operating efficiency and performance of machines.

But because of the lack of professional processing equipment (the precision of Ma Xiao Jiao's wooden-and-iron machine tools was, after all, somewhat lacking), and crucially because the hardness of the steel was insufficient, the bearings currently produced still fell considerably short.

Fortunately, since Ma Xiao Jiao had developed a lubricant, and through continual trial and improvement, she had already developed bearings that met certain usage requirements.

On this basis, the Palace Attendants' Office opened several bearing factories and made a good deal of money.

Some shrewd merchants, seeing that producing bearings and promoting wooden bicycles was profitable, also set up bearing factories one after another, or even opened wooden bicycle factories directly.

Soon, bearing factories and wooden bicycle factories spread along with the wooden bicycle to Jingzhao Prefecture, and from there diffused throughout the entire northwest.

Because opening bearing factories and wooden bicycle factories was quite profitable, skilled people among the common folk were also developing bearings and improving the wooden bicycle.

This made the development of bearings fairly smooth, and also allowed the wooden bicycle to be widely promoted.

As for suspension, however, it was hard to develop at present.

Spring steel is an alloy steel with high elastic limit, high fatigue strength, and good toughness; its production requires advanced metallurgical technology and equipment.

During this period, although metallurgical technology had made great progress and could produce various iron and steel products, it was still unable to precisely control the composition and properties of steel, nor could it produce materials meeting the requirements of spring steel.

——At this time, steelmaking techniques were primarily traditional methods such as stir-casting and pour-casting, which could not achieve precise alloy element ratios or fine control over the microstructure of steel, both of which are essential for producing spring steel.

As for wrapping a layer of rubber padding around wooden wheels, this was certainly impossible, since China currently had no rubber.

Fortunately, even without shock absorption, the wooden bicycle could still be used; it merely meant enduring discomfort and repairing it more often.

During their journey, Li Gang and his servant, when going uphill, had the horse pull the wooden bicycle; on flat ground, they pushed it while the horse pulled; when going downhill, the wooden bicycle outpaced the horse, and they arrived smoothly at Xizhou, the administrative seat of Xihé Road.

There, Li Gang specially came on behalf of his father, Li Kui, to pay respects to Lu Huiqing.

Lu Huiqing told Li Gang that His Majesty had expanded recruitment this year to cultivate talent for the recovery of Western Xia; if Li Gang studied hard for this examination, he should pass.

After bidding farewell to Lu Huiqing, Li Gang and his servant continued eastward.

As they passed through Dasan Pass, Li Gang encountered a candidate whose wooden bicycle's axle bearing had broken.

Li Gang generously lent the candidate a spare bearing.

"When I crossed the Jialing River, I dropped a bag containing all my spare bearings; after enduring the bumpy Shu Road, I finally broke down here. I forgot to introduce myself—I am Yuwen Huangzhong, from Guangdu in Chengdu Prefecture. May I ask your honorable name, Elder Brother?" said Yuwen Huangzhong.

Li Gang returned the courtesy: "I am Li Gang. Elder Brother bears the compound surname Yuwen and hails from Guangdu in Chengdu Prefecture. As I understand, during the Taihe era of Emperor Wenzong of Tang, there was a Censor Yuwen Ji who served in Sichuan; his son settled in Shu. Might I ask if you are a descendant of the Northern Zhou imperial house?"

Yuwen Huangzhong admired: "Elder Brother has such insight! I noticed your accent is heavily northwest, yet carries a strong Wuxi inflection. There is a branch of the Li clan in Wuxi, descendants of the Tang imperial house, who settled in Shao Wu after serving as Inspector of Jianzhou, then moved to Wuxi. I wonder…"

Li Gang laughed heartily: "Elder Brother has the better insight—you've already traced my origins in just a few words."

Yuwen Huangzhong smiled apologetically: "It was Elder Brother who first revealed my lineage."

The two instantly took to each other and began chatting casually.

At that moment, with the help of Li Gang's servant, Yuwen Huangzhong's servant skillfully replaced the bearing.

Then, the two groups traveled together.

Along the road, many people, like them, pushed wooden bicycles; among them were numerous caravans using wooden bicycles as their primary transport.

Yuwen Huangzhong sighed: "Empress Ma is truly a genius; she invented the bicycle, bringing great benefit to all who travel."

Li Gang said: "Not just the bicycle—my Longyou region has many agricultural and industrial tools, all created by Empress Ma, each wondrous in its own way…"

Then Li Gang told Yuwen Huangzhong about Empress Ma Xiao Jiao's many inventions and their marvels: the wooden ox and flowing horse irrigation carts; the foot-treadle multi-heddle, multi-pedal loom; the improved curved-plow that reduced human and animal labor; the seed drill that simultaneously furrows, sows, and covers soil, saving labor and increasing efficiency—especially suited for wheat and millet; the wooden ox and substitute plow frame invented to compensate for insufficient animal power; various tools such as military shovels, planes, and files…

After hearing this, Yuwen Huangzhong sighed: "I cannot imagine where His Majesty found such a remarkable woman."

Li Gang smiled: "Not just one remarkable woman—there are five. But besides Empress Ma, I only know of two others: Empress Ye and Empress Yuan; both are no less extraordinary than Empress Ma. As for the other two imperial consorts, I have yet to hear of their wonders…"

According to Li Gang's account, the Ye Shi Yun Medical Canon had saved countless lives in Longyou; and if Longyou has enjoyed consecutive bountiful harvests these past two years, it is less due to Empress Ma Xiao Jiao's efforts than to Empress Yuan Qing Cheng's Qingcheng Agricultural Treatise.

As for what talents Zhang Chun and Li Lin possessed, Li Gang truly did not know.

After hearing Li Gang's words, Yuwen Huangzhong sincerely said: "I have also heard the names of these five imperial consorts. But the deeds of Empress Zhang and Empress Li are obscure. Although the court once promoted the Ye Shi Yun Medical Canon and the Qingcheng Agricultural Treatise in my Guangdu, our locals resisted them; magistrates were even dismissed for it. I never imagined these two books were so wondrous—our local magnates are utterly ignorant."

Li Gang said with deep feeling: "Had we not eradicated all the Qingtang Tubo nobles and local chieftains in Longyou, we would have suffered the same fate as your region, unable to reap such benefits in a short time…"

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(End of Chapter)