Chapter 256: The Iron-Handed Official Butcher and Qi Xinxiao's Filial Devotion

Xiong Mingyu's speech was, to be sure, impassioned and fervent.

But to the overwhelming majority of the county magistrates present, it sounded utterly baffling.

The power of the atmosphere was certainly an ingenious concept, and most believed that, given the new sovereign's style, he would have thoroughly verified it before presenting it. But to forcibly extrapolate from it to some struggle between man and land, or some method of surpassing and prevailing — that seemed rather far-fetched.

The crowd exchanged glances; though restrained by official rank and protocol from voicing doubts aloud, their eyes were mostly filled with skepticism.

But when Qi Xinxiao, who oversaw the new policies in Northern Zhili, took the stage, the crowd still showed their respect.

This man, once one of the "Five Sons of Statecraft," had, over the course of a month, acquired another moniker.

The Iron-Handed Official Butcher!

The county magistrates and examination officials he had reported, resulting in green-branding or dismissal, numbered eighty-four in total this month alone!

What was more terrifying was that no one could do a single thing about him.

He took no bribes, showed no favoritism, and even after his salary was raised by twenty taels, he still lived in that same ramshackle house! He hadn't even brought his family to the capital! On what grounds could anyone impeach him?!

The crowd had submitted some impeachment memorials, but fearing the new policy's law of reciprocal punishment for false accusation, they dared not recklessly slander him. They could only cite issues like acting too hastily, lacking thoroughness, or being overly harsh — all of which were utterly inconsequential.

But after Sun Zhixie, a Junior Compiler of the Hanlin Academy, took money from some unknown source and, acting on someone's orders, dared to impeach Qi Xinxiao on the charge of "forming a faction for personal gain," the matter slid toward a chilling conclusion.

The Emperor, departing from his past benevolent style, bypassed his own established rule that new-policy impeachments must undergo joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices. He personally issued a vermilion rescript, branding Sun Zhixie with ten green marks and demoting him straight back to his hometown.

Had it ended there, it would not have been so remarkable.

The crux was that the content of that vermilion rescript was caustic and cutting to the extreme.

"If you want to make an arrest, then seize solid evidence. If you can produce solid proof, I will deal with not just one Qi Xinxiao, but ten Qi Xinxiaos, right before your eyes." "But you have no evidence, yet you still seek to emulate Qin Hui in fabricating a 'groundless' charge. It seems you are cut from the same cloth as Qin Hui."

"The xiezhi is a divine beast, just, incorruptible, and able to distinguish right from wrong. How is it that in your hands, you have instead learned the deeds of Qin Hui?"

"Zhixie, Zhixie — I think you had best change your name to Crab of Yangcheng Lake!"

With that single vermilion rescript bestowed, Sun Zhixie's reputation was utterly destroyed, and what was worse, the good name of Yangcheng Lake crabs was also tragically besmirched!

From that day forward, in the impeachment memorials concerning the new policies, no one dared use the phrase "forming a faction for personal gain" ever again.

When this Iron-Handed Official Butcher, Qi Xinxiao, stepped forward and merely swept his gaze around the room, the crowd fell as silent as cicadas in winter.

He dispensed with pleasantries and spoke directly.

"You gentlemen are to set out for your posts tomorrow, yet His Majesty has specially arranged this ceremony for this afternoon. There is naturally a reason for it."

"Follow me."

With that, paying no heed to their reactions, he strode off first, heading straight for the barracks area at one side of the parade ground.

This swift and decisive manner made the county magistrates' hearts tighten.

Without a word, they shed the casual inattention with which they had listened to Xiong Mingyu and obediently followed.

This place was originally the garrison of the Tengxiang Four Guards. Though long abandoned, its basic layout remained.

They had not walked far before arriving at an open space in the center of the barracks.

There, conspicuously, stood three wells.

A discerning eye could tell at a glance that the freshly turned earth around two of them was distinctly different in color, clearly indicating they had been newly dug not long ago.

The three wells were of different designs: the one on the left was fitted with the most common windlass; the one in the middle had a long counterweighted lever; and the one on the far right had nothing at all.

Besides these three wells, there also stood a strange object.

Its lower half was buried in the earth, its upper half stood about waist-high, and from its top extended a long iron handle. It looked neither like a weapon nor a farm tool — truly an oddity.

In front of each of the three wells and that strange object, four large wooden buckets had been placed.

Qi Xinxiao halted, turned around, and said flatly, "I will not explain the principle first. Gentlemen, please observe carefully."

With a wave of his hand, eight brawny soldiers immediately stepped forward from the ranks.

These men had clearly been handpicked; they were all of a uniform height, and even the bulk of the muscles on their arms was roughly the same.

The eight men divided into four teams, three of which took their places before the three wells.

The remaining team stood beside the strange object.

By now, most of the officials understood what this was about.

A contest of water-drawing speed!

And they were going to pit that bizarre iron contraption against the windlass, the counterweighted lever, and the ordinary rope-and-bucket method!

Moreover, this device was surely connected to the principle of the atmosphere that Xiong Mingyu had spoken of earlier!

Qi Xinxiao turned his head, looked toward Duke Xingguo, Zhang Tongchang, and gave a slight nod.

The young duke was clearly brimming with excitement as well.

He wound the pocket watch bestowed by the Emperor, then turned his back and began to count.

"One! Two! Three..."

The moment the counting began, the four teams of soldiers sprang into motion simultaneously!

One soldier cranked the windlass, its rope creaking and groaning.

Another soldier hung onto the counterweighted lever, using his own body weight to lower the bucket.

The third soldier had it worst; with no tools at all, he could only use the simplest rope-and-bucket method — that is, tossing the bucket in and hauling it up by hand. Yet the crowd's gaze did not fall on these three men at all.

They all looked squarely at the last soldier.

They saw him grip that long iron handle with both hands and pump it vigorously up and down.

(Attached image, haha, forgive any imprecise details, just get the general idea.)

"Gurgle—"

The strange device first emitted a few odd sounds, startling Lu Zhenfei into involuntarily stepping back again.

One stroke, two strokes, three strokes.

The mouth of the iron pipe remained empty; not a single drop of water was seen.

Just as the crowd was growing thoroughly bewildered.

Splash!

A stream of clear, cold water suddenly burst from the iron pipe's mouth!

The force of the water was so strong it struck the wooden bucket below with a muffled thud.

The soldier was clearly long familiar with the device; his hands kept moving without pause.

The flow of water never broke again, pouring into the bucket in an unending stream like a band of white silk.

In the mere blink of an eye, one small bucket was already full.

A soldier waiting nearby was quick of eye and hand — he snatched the full bucket away and smoothly slid an empty one in its place, the whole motion flowing like water.

And at that moment, at the other three wells, the soldiers there had not even managed to draw up their first bucket of water!

The superiority was instantly clear!

No — it was the difference between clouds and mud!

A barely suppressed stir rippled through the crowd, like water about to boil.

"Hiss — this thing is so formidable?!"

"But where does the water come from?"

"Looking at the soil around that contraption, I suppose it draws water from the bottom of the well too? But how does it come up so easily?"

One exceptionally sharp official had already figured out the mechanism. He clapped his hands and declared the secret:

"By the reasoning explained earlier, the air inside this iron cylinder must have been pumped out?"

"With no air inside the iron cylinder — just as with no air in a bottle or a ball — the qi beneath the earth naturally pushes the water up!"

"That being the case, could it be that the earth-qi from which all things under heaven sprout is also connected to the principles of atmospheric qi?!"

None of the assembled officials who had fought their way through countless examinations to stand here were fools.

Though their breadth of knowledge prevented them from grasping the true principles — some even linking it to earth-qi — their general conception was actually close to the mark. Yet the path of science, in the end, had little to do with them. What concerned them most was the path of statecraft — or, to put it another way, the path of official careers. "If this thing were promoted widely, wouldn't one woman be able to do the work of two strong men?"

"Only, what would the cost be? If it is too expensive, I fear the common people could not afford to build one."

"An earthen well costs five qian, a brick-lined well one tael. This iron lump looks like it uses a lot of iron, but I think if the cost could be kept within two taels — no, three taels of silver — it would have tremendous potential!"

"No, no! You can't reckon the account that way! Is the labor saved not money? The efficiency is more than doubled!"

"You are the one who is wrong! At a single brick-lined well, many people can draw water at once. It may be slower, but the total volume is greater. This device may be faster, but it still cannot match a brick-lined well!"

The officials debated heatedly, their voices growing louder and louder, until they even drowned out Zhang Tongchang's originally booming counting voice.

Qi Xinxiao's brow furrowed slightly.

"Silence!" A sharp shout rang out like a sudden clap of thunder.

The county magistrates, who had spent a month under the authority of this "Iron-Handed Official Butcher," immediately shut their mouths. The parade ground returned to silence.

Zhang Tongchang's counting voice, trembling slightly with excitement, became clear once more.

"Seventy-two, seventy-three…"

By this point, the large wooden barrel beside the soldier operating the new device was already full!

The soldier stopped his hand movements. The iron mouth trickled residual water for a moment longer before reluctantly falling still.

And now, looking to the side —

At the fastest well-sweep, the large barrel there was not yet thirty percent full; the windlass was at barely twenty percent; as for the most primitive rope-and-jar, the bottom of the barrel had only just been covered. The contest was decided, and it was a crushing victory.

Zhang Tongchang, however, knew nothing of this. With his back turned, he was still counting: "Six hundred sixty-two, six hundred sixty-three…"

By the time he reached this count, the slowest rope-and-jar had only just finished filling its water barrel.

Only then did Qi Xinxiao raise a hand and pat Zhang Tongchang on the shoulder, and speak.

"Gentlemen, you have seen it."

"This device has been personally named by His Majesty. It is called an 'air well,' and may also be termed a 'pressure well.'"

"In terms of water-drawing efficiency, one man can do the work of five."

"Not to mention comparing it to the rope-and-jar — even against the previously fastest well-sweep, it is three or four times quicker."

"And the cost of this device, made entirely of iron, is no more than two taels of silver."

"Furthermore…"

"This is still not the final result. The Academy of Sciences is currently refining the optimal design — what the ideal width and length should be, where iron must be used and where bamboo or wood can substitute — all of this is still under deliberation and experiment."

"Thus, its efficiency may yet be raised further, and its cost may yet be lowered further."

"These verification matters should be completed within this month. At that time, the finalized engineering manual will be issued down to every county, and each of you may promote it locally as you see fit."

"As for what you gentlemen were just saying…"

Qi Xinxiao paused briefly, then continued.

"I heard it all. Most of it was correct, but some was mistaken. I will pick out two points and briefly correct them."

"First, some said we should promote this device to replace wells. That is incorrect."

"In all matters, one must adapt to local conditions, and the same holds true for this air well."

"In some places, build a water well; in others, build an air well. The only consideration is which saves more expense and which is more convenient. Second, your conjectures about earth-qi and such are partly right and partly wrong, but I will not explain further."

"Within a month or so, Director Xiong will have the theoretical principles, the applied principles, and the complete engineering manual for this matter printed and bound into a volume, to be issued down to every county. You gentlemen have seen this device with your own eyes today, and have also witnessed the hemisphere experiment. You may be considered somewhat familiar with it now. When you go down to your localities, you must not only make good use of this device, but must also properly explain the theoretical principles behind it to the students of the county schools…"

As these words fell, some officials with keen political instincts felt their hearts lurch.

The first of these two points, to the assembled officials, sounded merely ordinary.

This style — taking reality as the guide, insisting on thorough perfection in all matters before promoting them — was very much in keeping with this new sovereign's manner of doing things.

But that final remark, about explaining the principles of the atmosphere to the students of the county schools — when one chewed on that, it became truly rather interesting.

Could this be a change to the civil examination questions? Or was this another instance of the new sovereign's method of "sending out trial balloons"? What wind was he stirring up this time? Would it affect their performance evaluations?

Lu Zhenfei, that obsessive overthinker, was mingling at the back of the crowd, his mind already spinning out a thousand associations.

That's it! That's it!

Science! The name itself puts the answer right on the surface of the riddle!

Though the new sovereign explained this new term as dividing knowledge into categories, the learning of each branch.

But why not call it Branch Learning?! Why not call it Category Learning?! Why must it be called Science!

Is this not plainly saying that the way of science will, in the end, affect the present learning of the civil examinations?

This is a veiled allusion, pure and simple — this is a case of "no three hundred taels of silver buried here"!

When Lu Zhenfei's thoughts reached this point, a great light dawned in his mind, and he elevated the matter of science to an unprecedented level of attention.

Though he had already passed the examinations and become an official — had already climbed ashore, so to speak —

what of his clan? What of his sons? What of his younger cousins?

Even his third son, born just this year!

If the civil examinations of the future, beyond the Four Books and Five Classics, were also to test this "principle of the gas well," this "way of science"...

Then whoever first mastered this branch of learning would be the next direct-line heir of "Zhu Xi" for a new age!

In this path of science, to gain a single step ahead is to lead ten thousand men — to lead an entire era!

At this thought, Lu Zhenfei's breathing grew rapid.

He stared fixedly at Qi Xinxiao's youthful face, trying to read more clues from the other man's expression, yet saw only perfect composure. But even so, Lu Zhenfei had made up his mind: he would find a channel, probe into the details of this "way of science" as quickly as possible, and see whether his guess was truly correct.

Qi Xinxiao, however, had not actually noticed a single word of what he himself had said.

Whatever His Majesty told him to say, he said — relayed faithfully, not a word more, not a word less.

"Gentlemen."

Qi Xinxiao's voice rang out again, forcibly pulling back the crowd's wandering thoughts.

"If it were merely for a single gas well, for these matters of gas studies and science, there would be no need to gather you all here."

"The reason you have been invited today to observe these two experiments is, in truth, to provide a genuine answer to the very first question raised by the New Policies." He paused, then asked:

"Do you all still remember why our Great Ming undertook the New Policies?!"

The words had barely left Qi Xinxiao's mouth, and he had not intended to wait for a reply before continuing.

Yet a stir ran through the crowd.

Lu Zhenfei, heedless of all decorum and official dignity, shoved forward with all his might, pushed aside the two colleagues blocking his way, and was the first to speak: "The New Policies enacted by His Majesty are precisely to rescue the realm from collapse! To break the thousand-year cycle! To accomplish a work of merit surpassing all past dynasties!"

Though his voice cracked somewhat from agitation, it was the model answer through and through.

The county magistrates around him were startled by this sudden outburst and turned to look, one after another.

Once they saw it was Lu Zhenfei, their expressions varied: some scorned him for currying favor, while others silently regretted their own reactions had been too slow.

Qi Xinxiao, having been interrupted, showed no anger.

He paused his speech and gave Lu Zhenfei a long, deep look.

Their eyes met.

Lu Zhenfei's chest heaved violently, but his eyes were filled with fervor and hope.

Qi Xinxiao was silent for a moment, then the corner of his mouth tugged into a smile, and he gave Lu Zhenfei a slight nod.

"Precisely so."

At these four words, Lu Zhenfei could not help a smug inward smile, knowing he had now registered on the radar of this red-hot favorite of the New Policies. Qi Xinxiao withdrew his gaze and looked out over the assembly once more.

"You all leave for your posts tomorrow, and His Majesty has no wish to speak at length. He has merely charged me to convey three principles."

"Three principles concerning how the New Policies are to rescue the realm from collapse, how they are to resolve the struggle between man and land, and how they are to surpass all past dynasties."

These words, the moment one heard them, could absolutely only have been spoken by the Yongchang Emperor.

The assembled officials immediately listened with reverent attention.