Chapter 298: Gao Shiming in Dihua (Resumed Updates~~~)

The Academy of Sciences briefing ended, and the crowd dispersed.

In the plaza before Huangji Hall, a steady wind blew as guards and eunuchs fanned out in a wide circle, keeping watch over the perimeter.

At the very center, only Zhu Youjian, Gao Shiming, and that exceedingly crude bicycle remained.

Zhu Youjian reached out and patted the rigid, unyielding seat.

"Companion Gao, what do you make of this bicycle?"

Seeing Gao Shiming appear to be weighing his words, Zhu Youjian waved a hand and added:

"Speak plainly — no need to spare Our face."

At this, Gao Shiming's face showed a trace of helpless, wry amusement.

"That instruction of Your Majesty's is rather superfluous. When has this old servant ever spoken falsely to Your Majesty?"

Since the Emperor wanted the truth, he truly wished to hear the real quality of this thing.

Gao Shiming dispensed with further pleasantries. He paused a moment, stepped forward, and gripped the handlebars and the seat with both hands, attempting to lift this "curiosity" off the ground. "Heave!" Eunuch Gao barked, his arms straining.

Yet the frame merely wobbled, barely rising a few inches off the ground.

This solid block of elm was no light weight.

Though Gao Shiming's constitution was still reasonably robust, he was advanced in years and a palace servant long accustomed to desk work; his strength was plainly no match for Zhu Youjian, who was in his prime and trained constantly.

Lifting it cost him considerable effort.

He set the bicycle down, caught his breath, then pushed it forward a few steps.

The rope-wrapped wooden wheels ground across the white marble paving, producing a clunking, grating sound — rough, heavy, and far from smooth.

After a brief trial, Gao Shiming halted and gathered his thoughts.

"Your Majesty, this servant believes that while this vehicle is ingeniously conceived — a creation without precedent — nevertheless…"

"Nevertheless, I fear it cannot be widely adopted. It has no practical use whatsoever."

With a single sentence, he pronounced the death sentence.

Zhu Youjian raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to continue.

Gao Shiming went on:

"To borrow the words Your Majesty often uses in instructing us servants: in all matters, one must look past the surface to the essence."

"This vehicle, when all is said and done, is a tool for 'transport.'"

"And transport comes down to two things: moving people, and moving goods."

Gao Shiming spoke with fluent assurance:

"As for moving goods, this bicycle is naturally no match for mules and horses."

"Mules and horses eat grass. This vehicle must also 'eat' — it eats iron, it eats timber, it eats the craftsmen's time. Yet a mule or horse can bear several hundred jin, crossing mountains and ridges as if on level ground, passable no matter how rugged the mountain path."

"But this vehicle…" Gao Shiming pointed at the cumbersome frame. "Carrying cargo relies entirely on human strength. Once the load is too heavy, or the slope too steep, the man pushing it will likely be even more exhausted than if he were carrying a load on a shoulder pole."

So saying, he bent down and pointed at the belt-drive that stood in for a chain:

"And the craftsmen, by replacing an iron chain with this leather belt — though it saved on cost, it greatly diminishes the transmission force. If the load is heavy, this belt will likely slip and spin uselessly."

"Though the exact load capacity would require them to run comparative experiments to know for certain, this servant dares assert that it is far inferior to mules and horses." Zhu Youjian inclined his head slightly, noncommittal.

Gao Shiming extended a second finger:

"Next, consider moving people."

He pointed at the two rope-wrapped wheels and sighed:

"Your Majesty, this Great Ming realm spans ten thousand li. Yet apart from the capital, the Southern Metropolitan Region, and a few great cities, where else can one find roads this smooth?"

"The official highways across the provinces have gone unrepaired for years — pitted and rutted, strewn with broken stone."

"When rain comes, they turn to mire, impossibly treacherous, every step sinking deep."

"The wheels would constantly bog down in the mud. At that point, is it a man riding a vehicle? It's plainly a man carrying a vehicle!"

Before entering the palace in his youth, Gao Shiming had come from a poor family in the capital region, so he knew the hardships of the common people and the state of the roads like the back of his hand. He shook his head and said:

"This bicycle is driven by two wheels and relies entirely on the rider's balance. On such abysmal muddy roads, its performance would only be worse than a horse cart's. These wheels are so narrow — presumably to reduce weight or save effort — but in mud, they simply cannot move forward at all."

At this point, Gao Shiming glanced at Zhu Youjian. Seeing the Emperor listening intently, he held nothing back:

"Moreover, this item is not cheap to produce."

"This servant just heard the craftsmen report that although the cost can be pressed down to one tael and two mace of silver…"

"Even if it were pressed to one tael, what of it?"

Gao Shiming spread his hands and laid out the arithmetic:

"If the common folk had that one tael of silver, they would rather save up a bit more and buy a donkey."

"A donkey can turn a millstone, carry a rider, work the fields, and bear offspring for profit. When it grows old and dies, its meat can nourish the body, and its hide can be sold for money."

"Why would they spend it on this fussy lump of iron and wood?"

"It can only move people; it cannot move much in the way of goods. And when it breaks, it costs money to repair."

"As for the wealthy households…"

Gao Shiming shook his head, holding even less expectation:

"When they go out, they have sedan chairs to sit in, spacious horse-drawn carriages, or they simply ride forth in fine clothes upon spirited steeds — what grandeur that is!"

"Who would be willing to ride such a bizarre contraption, out in full public view, pumping their legs and sweating, panting for breath?"

"In the eyes of the scholar-officials, that would be an undignified act, utterly out of the question."

Gao Shiming finished speaking in one breath and gazed quietly at Zhu Youjian.

This analysis was devastatingly sharp, striking at nearly every fatal flaw of the bicycle.

The roads were unusable, the cost too high, the utility inferior to livestock, the sense of dignity inferior to sedan chairs and horses.

Even in terms of daily habits, it was utterly incompatible with the style of the present-day Ming scholar-official — that cultivated, leisurely, comfort-loving manner that prized "tranquility of spirit." This was the reality of the Great Ming edition of the bicycle.

Among these, the technical problems of the bicycle itself are minor — they can be improved. But the road conditions, the mindset of the target population, and the true cost-benefit calculus that follows from those, are the mountains too high to cross.

The grand promises Zhu Youjian had just painted for the Academy of Sciences crowd were almost entirely overturned by this speech.

Yet he was neither disappointed nor angry.

On the contrary — looking at Gao Shiming, who was speaking with such assurance before him, he broke into a smile instead.

"Companion Gao! It really had to be you, Companion Gao."

"What you have just said — you see it with such precision, such penetration!"

Zhu Youjian stepped forward and said with feeling:

"You are right. This first-generation bicycle is indeed a useless thing."

"Even if I forced its invention, it would most likely die out of its own accord from this age."

"Never mind spreading to the villages and the common folk — even in great cities like the capital or Nanjing, it would not stay popular for long."

Hearing this, Gao Shiming's gaze was distant, yet he showed no reaction whatsoever to the strange phrase "this age" he had just heard.

As the Son of Heaven's chief secretary, attending to affairs day and night for several months, he had already discerned certain clues from the Son of Heaven's gradually less restrained behavior. Since ascending the throne, the Son of Heaven's creative ideas had emerged in an endless stream.

If they merely differed from the customs of this world, that could be dismissed as lacking instruction, his nature forming on its own.

But with so many projects — the gas wells, the capital hemisphere, cement, the steam engine, the bicycle before them now — this Emperor was simply copying a cat from a tiger, pushing each one forward with the certainty of a man who had seen the finished product with his own eyes.

Moreover, this inventiveness was absolutely not the kind where one "holds the completed bamboo in mind" — first working through every detail mentally, then bringing it forth in a single flow. After all, who has ever seen a man who holds the completed bamboo in his mind speak eloquently on every point, yet have no idea what color the bamboo leaves are, or how many inches apart the nodes should be? Whenever this Emperor gave instructions on these projects, it was always "perhaps," "roughly," "it should be."

And occasionally he would mutter a few words like "that shouldn't be," "how can it not work"...

Yet somehow, under the guidance of this "power of 'I reckon,'" things actually got made.

On this matter, those close to him naturally had their own judgments and thoughts.

One: the Yongchang Son of Heaven possesses innate wisdom.

And Gao Shiming's judgment, drawing on many years of insight from Daoist health cultivation, had gone a step further.

One: the Yongchang Son of Heaven is a banished immortal!

Of course, this conclusion had never been spoken openly between sovereign and minister.

But Gao Shiming believed that between His Majesty and himself, a tacit understanding surely existed.

Tacit understanding is good!

The word "affinity" — its wonder cannot be spoken.

Since its wonder cannot be spoken, then naturally it need not be spoken.

So long as this matter is good for him, good for the Great Ming, good for all under Heaven — that is enough.

Why burn the zither and boil the crane, insisting on asking for clarity?

Besides, when an immortal descends to the mortal world to carry out his work, and when his merit is complete and he returns — can he not bring along a few chickens and dogs to rise to heaven?

Zhu Youjian had no idea that his own Companion had already placed him in the position of "chickens and dogs." He continued:

"Among the many projects, the reason I placed the bicycle on today's report was precisely to observe the wind direction for this kind of new thing."

Gao Shiming pondered for a moment, then picked up the thread:

"Is it like the spinach field and the factional struggle play from before?"

After working together for months, Zhu Youjian was no longer surprised by Gao Shiming's acuity. He simply nodded:

"Exactly. In my view —"

"An emperor's influence has both formal and informal dimensions."

"The implementation of the New Policies, the reform of official documents, the various meeting protocols — these are formal."

"This is taking up arms and spears, attacking men's hearts on the open field."

Gao Shiming followed the thread and continued:

"The Son of Heaven is supreme; his mouth pronounces heaven's decrees. Under heaven, none can withstand him."

"And with Your Majesty using so many deductions and grand discourses to seize the wind of discourse, it is naturally all the more unstoppable."

It was precisely because his belief in the "theory of the immortal" had deepened that Gao Shiming was now gradually casting aside some of his former inhibitions, even daring to discuss the way of rulership with Zhu Youjian.

After all, how could an immortal set his sights on a mere mortal throne?

What an immortal cared about was surely how many blessed deeds and meritorious works he could accomplish!

Zhu Youjian nodded, and just as Gao Shiming had expected, showed not the slightest anger. Instead, he launched into an exploration of the topic:

"However, beyond the formal, there is also informal influence."

"This is the power of the spring breeze turning rain, of moistening things silently — the power to change men's hearts."

"On this point, I have never been able to see clearly."

He clasped his hands behind his back and took two paces:

"I have read the Comprehensive Mirror, and it contains many stories of sage and worthy emperors."

"Emperor Wen of Han wore black silk and walked in leather sandals to display frugality, and so the rich of the realm wore no brocade, official governance was pure, and thus came the Rule of Wen and Jing." "But..." Zhu Youjian paused and turned around. "Is what the histories say necessarily true?"

"That the rich wore no brocade and willingly embraced simplicity — was it unwillingness... or was it that they dared not?"

"Did they dare not defy the imperial will, or were they truly transformed by the emperor's virtue?"

Zhu Youjian sighed:

"The old saying puts it well: what the superior favors, the inferior will exceed."

"Emperor Xuanzong loved cricket-fighting, and the price of crickets doubled, becoming a prevailing custom — some even bankrupted their families over it."

"Emperor Shizong loved immortality cultivation, and for a time the Daoist masters overshadowed the Buddhist masters, with 'Green Verse' Grand Secretaries emerging one after another."

"Emperor Shenzong loved jewels, and the realm chased after gems and jade until they reached astronomical prices — the Brocade Guard eunuchs, the ennobled and imperial in-laws, all used them to cling to imperial favor." "But have you noticed?"

Zhu Youjian extended one finger and gently wagged it:

"Human nature, at its root, loves ease and hates toil, favoring luxury and comfort."

"If what the sovereign favors caters to the greed and pleasure-seeking in human nature, it naturally sweeps the realm like a storm, irresistible as a splitting bamboo." "But what if what the sovereign favors goes against human nature — what if it demands hardship and suffering?"

"Like those ministers earlier who urged me to abolish the Jiangnan textile tribute, to signal leniency toward the people and frugality, to reform the prevailing ethos."

"Setting aside why every last one of them was registered as a native of South Zhili…"

"But if we truly consider only the matter of changing the prevailing ethos — can it actually be done?"

"Is the Son of Heaven's informal influence really that great?"

"Can one man's frugality — the Son of Heaven's alone — truly make the realm's culture of extravagance change its course?"

A cool, appraising scrutiny showed in Zhu Youjian's eyes:

"You must understand, the business of farming is something the Confucian school itself advocates. Spoken of, it is a refined pursuit. For those officials to occasionally go into the fields and put on a show — that's no disgrace."

"So when I grow spinach, or plant something else when spring comes, the various scholar-officials will surely only follow suit."

"Anyway, once the courtyard gate is shut, who knows whether they worked the soil themselves or had servants do it for them?"

"Once the things are grown, they can learn a few lines from the agricultural texts and become ardent devotees of sowing and reaping. Why wouldn't they be happy to?"

By now, the Depot and the Guard have lost the ability to spy into the households of the nobility and high officials.

Zhu Youjian had no intention of restoring that sort of grotesque secret-police rule either.

Yet although he had no intelligence reports, he spoke — almost as if he had witnessed it with his own eyes — the truth of how more than half of the capital's civil officials were "farming."

As for the other half, it was not that they would not do so, but simply that they lacked the money to rent a large residence or hire servants.

Zhu Youjian continued.

"As for the game of factional strife — though the name may give some offense — the intellectual contest within it: once these clever men have tried it, they will find it very hard to resist its pleasures."

"The younger, lower-ranked officials will be all the more drawn to its delights. It is the older, high-ranking officials, preoccupied with reputation and rank, mindful of decorum, who are unlikely to take it up in a big way."

He paused, then pronounced a direct prediction:

"Just watch. In the end, the circles where this game flourishes most will surely be among the Imperial Academy students and the juren. Eventually, the officials will gradually stop playing it too."

"Because the more they play, the more they reveal, and the more it harms their prospects for promotion and appointment in officialdom."

Zhu Youjian shook his head.

"But in any case, neither of these two things runs completely counter to what the scholar-officials favor."

"So the boundary of influence probed through them can only serve as a reference — it is still far from the limit."

Having said all this, Zhu Youjian suddenly seized the handlebars, swung a long leg over, and mounted the bicycle with clean, crisp efficiency.

"Therefore, I will use this."

He pushed off with one foot; the wheels turned, and naturally he was off and rolling.

"Suppose, starting today, I ride this bicycle every day as I move about the palace."

"Will those scholar-officials, the merchants and runners in the capital, the nobles and soldiers — will they follow the fashion and take up this curious device?"

"Even though this thing is clearly, in efficiency, in cost-effectiveness, in dignity, utterly inferior to mules and horses?"

"Suppose I order every threshold in the palace modified with a ramp, and issue these bikes to the palace eunuchs to facilitate their comings and goings?" "Suppose I wait until the bicycle is improved a bit more, and arrange for some to be placed in the Six Ministries, so they can ride them back and forth?"

"Will they abandon their tall, fine horses, abandon their comfortable sedan chairs, and use this inelegant contraption?"

Zhu Youjian rode faster and faster, his voice carrying back on the wind:

"I will issue no decree, and I will compel no one."

"I will say nothing at all — simply ride this bike, day after day."

"What, exactly, will every stratum of the capital, high and low, do in response?"

"It is precisely by measuring with something this jarring, this extreme, this almost absurd, that I will have a clear measure in my mind."

"Only then will I know what weight each card in my hand truly carries."

"Only then will I know at what pace the subsequent work of transforming customs and mores must proceed."

"Only then will I know, beyond the Great Ming Times, beyond administrative decrees, just how much power the guidance of the imperial house can actually exert."

As he spoke, Zhu Youjian simply stood up on the pedals from the saddle.

His waist and hips snapped with sudden force!

The front end jerked sharply upward — he actually lifted the bicycle's front wheel clean off the ground, gliding forward for a moment on the rear wheel alone.

A textbook "ghost-fire boy" move!

Then the front wheel slammed back down.

This bit of showing off had exceedingly poor consequences.

The wretched shock absorption channeled dozens of jin of gravitational potential energy straight through the rigid wood-and-iron frame, transmitting it back in reverse and jarring Zhu Youjian's backside into a numb tingle.

Warning: Son of Heaven of the Great Ming, Zhu Youjian, has suffered an unknown attack. HP −1.

This scene, bizarre to the extreme… a scene never once witnessed in all of history, rendered Gao Shiming, standing beside him, utterly speechless on the spot.

In the cold wind, the Son of Heaven's robes billowed as he rode that hideous wooden-wheeled contraption, pulling stunts before Huangji Hall.

The heavenly realm His Majesty dwelt in before descending to the mortal world… it seems… not quite what the books describe…

Or is it that true immortals are simply this free-spirited?

Watching that figure weaving freely through the wind, a line from the ancients suddenly surfaced in Gao Shiming's mind.

The great image has no form; the Dao is hidden and nameless.

Yes.

The true Dao does not confine itself to fixed forms.

The world believes an emperor should rule with robes hanging down, should be profoundly solemn and majestic.

Yet His Majesty does the very opposite — using this crude object to carry out the work of transformation and instruction, to plumb the hearts of all under Heaven.

It is like those legendary attained masters of the Dao, who often sport among the dust of the world, careless of their appearance, yet in their laughter and scolding enlighten mankind. There does seem some truth in it — after all, the Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao…

Gao Shiming was silent for a moment, laboring to repair his worldview. Only after a while did he recover his lost faculty of speech.

He hurried forward to meet him, but what he said was exceedingly pragmatic:

"If Your Majesty means to ride, you cannot ride this cart as it is now — it must be made more comfortable."

"At the very least, this seat cushion needs to be reworked."

"A plain exterior with a touch of luxury inside will not undermine the effort to shape public mores."

Zhu Youjian, who was rubbing his backside with a slightly twisted expression, nodded repeatedly, deeply convinced.

"Companion Gao speaks true."

Protecting the 00, after all, matters more than reforming customs.

If the expedition is not yet underway and the rear is already ruined, that would be no good.

"You make sense. Later, go find Xiong Mingyu and have him split the bicycle's development into two versions: an affordable edition and a luxury edition." "No need to go the vulgar route of jewel inlay, but… the comfort can certainly be improved."

"For instance, use fine calfskin, pad it with several layers of cotton inside, or see how to solve this shock-absorption problem."

"Also, that eucommia gum We have ordered them to find, and the rubber from the Far West — have them brought over for testing as quickly as possible."

Gao Shiming nodded, pondered a moment, and as the grand steward, he immediately began thinking about how to put this into practice.

"This subject has given it some thought. Your Majesty wishes to use this matter to observe the limits of how customs may shift."

"Then it can be carried out in several parts."

"First, the improvement of the bicycle — refine it as much as possible, push it to its limit, so that no one can find fault with it."

"Second, lay the ramps at the palace thresholds, and select by decree some junior eunuchs who regularly carry messages back and forth to begin learning to ride. Once the palace stirs, the outside will follow."

"Third, through a demonstration by the Academy of Sciences, push the bicycle out to the public and create a wave of sensation, so that everyone in the capital knows of this novel contraption."

"Fourth, at the patent auction, we can have Wu Jinbo bid up the price and produce an astronomical hammer figure to draw eyes. Merchants prize profit; if they see this thing is worth money, they will surely follow the trend."

"Fifth, perhaps we could stage an event…"

Gao Shiming thought for a moment and said:

"For example, riding a bicycle around the entire capital once, or riding from the capital all the way to the Southern Metropolitan Region — something to prove that this device is not incapable of long-distance travel." "Once these five things are done and the overall wind has been stirred up, then we can publicize His Majesty riding within the imperial city, and then discuss equipping the Six Ministries with bicycles."

"Proceeding step by step like this, the whole rhythm comes wave after wave, and we can clearly observe the shifts in the officials' mindset at every stage." "This subject feels this is far better than rolling everything out all at once."

Holy shit, a lap around the entire capital.

Zhu Youjian listened with eyes shining, so dazzled that for a moment he felt as if he were dreaming.

Which one of us actually transmigrated, you or me?

"Good, good, good! Step by step indeed!"

Zhu Youjian laughed heartily and praised:

"Do it exactly like that!"

"That lap around the capital — just turn it into a race. Call it the 'Tour of the Capital Bicycle Grand Prix'! Hold it once a year from now on!" "Set up prizes, and let all the people of the Great Ming enter!"

Zhu Youjian was overjoyed, practically unable to wait to see that scene.

He rubbed his hands together where he stood and added:

"Design the route so that it loops around the imperial city once — when the time comes, We want to watch from the city wall!"

"No, no, no… or set it around Longevity Hill. When the time comes, We shall invite all the nobles and ministers to ascend the hill together and watch the race!"

"Right, also note this down for Us — we can hold more of these grand contests later… a rowing grand prix, a craftsmanship grand prix, a textile grand prix… we can try them all."

"Yes, yes, yes! We can use competitions to mobilize the capital and skills of the common people! That may yield far more creativity than from craftsmen eating government rations!"

What rowing?

Gao Shiming had long grown accustomed to this life of hearing unfamiliar terms at every turn.

He merely watched the thoroughly excited Zhu Youjian with a smile, his gaze gentle.

It seemed that when His Majesty descended to the mortal world, his age was not very advanced?

Perhaps he is a newly ascended immortal?

Otherwise, how could he be so full of youthful vigor, so full of curiosity toward all things in this mortal realm.

He nodded. "Very well, Your Majesty. I shall withdraw shortly and arrange this matter."

Zhu Youjian, however, laughed aloud and shook his head instead:

"No rush. Leave this matter for next year. Let us first wrap up the tail end of this year."

"Come, Companion Gao, let us go to the meeting first! Strive to finalize the fiscal budget today!"

With that, Zhu Youjian, in excellent spirits, once more swung a leg over the vehicle.

"We go on ahead!"

He pushed off the ground, the wheels rolled, and he shot off at speed, heading straight for Huangji Gate.

Gao Shiming, at this moment, was no longer worried.

It occurred to him that when His Majesty was up in the heavens, this bicycle was perhaps his personal conveyance.

Otherwise, he could not possibly perform such fancy tricks or ride with such practiced ease.

A smile on his face, he strode forward, hurrying in the direction Zhu Youjian had gone.

However.

In the very next instant.

That Yongchang Son of Heaven, racing along like the wind, suddenly ground both feet hard against the ground before Huangji Gate, trying to use his shoe soles as brakes.

A harsh scraping sound rang out.

Oh no!

— The threshold of Huangji Gate had not yet been fitted with a ramp!

The smile on Gao Shiming's face froze instantly, and along with a crowd of guards and eunuchs who had been keeping watch at a distance, he turned pale with shock and broke into a desperate sprint. "Your Majesty!!!"

"His Majesty rode the 'self-moving cart,' which needed no ox or horse but moved by the treading of a man. In winter, he tested it at Huangji Hall, racing swift as the wind. Reaching the forbidden gate, His Majesty, fearing harm to the threshold, reined it in sharply. Though the carriage body shook, the dragon person was unharmed, and he soon decreed that the palace thresholds be sloped with padding." — Veritable Records of Yongchang of the Great Ming, Scroll Five