Goose Three Kingdoms

Chapter 597 Continues to Spread
In Wudang County, the tomb of Liu Biao and Wuhou is located in Taihe Mountain.

From beginning to end, Guanzhong did not posthumously confer a posthumous title on Liu Biao.

There was neither a good posthumous title nor a bad one, it just seemed ordinary.

It was not until late April that Liu Qi finally found time to visit the grave.

The mausoleum is located in a valley, with mountain ridges on both sides embracing it as if outstretched arms. More than a hundred households of Liu's clan were settled at the foot of the mountain under the shallow bay of the valley.

Liu Qi's third brother was here to observe mourning and was also responsible for managing several nearby villas.

Wudang County was under the jurisdiction of Nanxiang Commandery, but Yi Ji ignored the matter and handled it vaguely, allowing Liu Qi to occupy four valleys and gullies in the surrounding area and settle more than 600 households of various sizes.

When he came to sweep the tomb, the ridges on both sides of the tomb had been roughly prepared, and on the terraces were rows of planted tea tree seedlings.

After sweeping and burning incense, Liu Qi climbed the mountain ridge to inspect the tea seedlings and said to his brother-in-law Wang Kai, who was following him, "I have repeatedly sent letters to Guanzhong, fearing that the Grand Marshal was deceived by villains. I am uneasy that the Grand Marshal has not replied. The Danshui Canal has been opened for transportation, and I would like to ask you to go to Guanzhong as an envoy to make suggestions on my behalf."

Wang Kai leaned on his cane, feeling the mountain breeze, and squinted his eyes to observe: "There are many loyal and righteous people in Guanzhong. If the Grand Marshal is deceived, even the heroes in Guanzhong cannot correct it, let alone us. If we forcefully advise, we will be hated by the villains."

Liu Qi stopped, picked up a piece of fresh green tea leaves with his hands, chewed it gently, and looked back at Wang Kai: "You mean to be in the dust? First there was the steam engine, then there was the ambition to fly, and then there was Zhang Lu's ascension in broad daylight... After the Grand Marshal won You and Ji, looking at the country, he was invincible. In my opinion, he is already surrounded by evil. If we don't correct it now, the evil will deceive the Grand Marshal's eyes and ears and abuse power in the future. How can we have a good end?"

Wang Kai thought of the worst-case scenario and was silent for a long time. He couldn't help but speak in a dry voice: "But do you want to die for your remonstrance?"

Liu Qi smiled and said, "It depends on your choice, whether you want to live in disgrace or go down in history."

As he said this, he looked up at the sky and said, "Jingxiang is in a state of turmoil, so I cannot leave easily. Otherwise, I would not have asked you for anything."

He held back a little on Pang Tong, resulting in the destruction of Jingxiang.

The war situation is now very clear. There is really no one on the battlefield who can compete with Guanzhong.

Then the internal power struggle in Guanzhong must have reached a critical moment. At this time, who would dare to stand up and say something that would displease the Grand Marshal?

Each faction was vying for favor and was unwilling to tell the truth, but they tacitly deceived the Grand Marshal's eyes and ears.

In Liu Qi's eyes, he didn't believe at all that the Heavenly Master could ascend to heaven in broad daylight. He just thought it was a lie made up by the shogunate and the Heavenly Master Sect.

It is not difficult to understand that Zhang Lu risked his life to set up the game.

Wang Kai also understood that if the situation was as Liu Qi guessed, then the various factions in Guanzhong would not only deceive the Grand Marshal, but would also eliminate Liu Qi's faction before fighting among themselves.

The reason is very simple. Liu Qi is a friend of the Grand Marshal and has a unique position.

Liu Qi's crucial advice could not be obstructed by his ministers.

If Liu Qi could enlighten the Grand Marshal, with the Grand Marshal's prestige, he could immediately purge all the ministers and factions.

Therefore, before any changes occur in Guanzhong, Liu Qi's faction must be eliminated.

If Liu Qi falls, how can Wang Kai, as Liu Qi's brother-in-law, survive?

However, at this moment in Guanzhong, as steam bicycles were placed at Chang'an University for scholars to study, various Mohist classics were naturally dug out of the ground.

The times are changing, and in the face of mechanized farming and flying, the prosperity of Mohism has almost become inevitable.

A Confucian scholar is a scholar, but a scholar does not necessarily have to be a Confucian scholar.

When Kong Rong had a straw mat at home and studied gears and crankshafts with his guests every day, the defeat of Confucian scholars was inevitable.

Even the growing and powerful Caixue was on the verge of collapse.

There is no record of steam engines in the classics left by Cai Yong.

Mathematics and geometry are most closely related to mechanics and Mohist classics. When scholars were freed from the Six Classics, they discovered that there were many things in the world worth studying.

Unlike the young scholars who were surrounded by novelty, the older generation of scholars clearly sensed that a new era was about to begin.

Yuan Huan also felt this change. Like most senior officials and scholars, he scoffed at the legend of Zhang Lu's ascension to heaven in broad daylight.

Based on his own understanding of the black bear, it is highly likely that Zhang Lu's inappropriate words and actions angered the black bear, and he was accidentally killed by Tai Shi Wen Gong.

Due to certain considerations, Zhang Tianshi ascended to heaven in broad daylight without leaving any body, and both the shogunate and the Tianshi Dao were very happy.

Compared to Zhang Lu's ascension to immortality, Yuan Huan believed more that Taishi Wengong would ascend to immortality.

In this period of turmoil and great ideological changes, Yuan Huan was unwilling to become a conservative and eliminated person.

So he came to the central square of the university town, which was already crowded with people when he arrived.

In the middle of the square are the shogunate guards in charge of exhibiting steam bicycles. These guards wear new armor that protects themselves perfectly.

This is a copper plate armor forged in my spare time. It is not resistant to stabbing or slashing, and it is easy to deform. But when combined with armor, it can effectively prevent steam burns.

Moreover, the plate armor is silver-plated, and from a distance it looks like it is made of steel, which is very intimidating.

Even Yuan Huan could only squeeze to the front row with the help of his fellow villagers and followers.

Young students nowadays have less and less respect for teachers. Even if they recognize an old senior like him, they will pretend not to know him.

When he squeezed to the front row, the steam bicycle had just been displayed and parked under the wooden shed.

The guards were replaced during the drill, first refilling with hot water and fuel, and then applying the common fish oil.

Among all the common fats in daily life, fish oil is the most likely to accumulate, but few people like to eat it.

The air was filled with the stench of fish oil, and the guard then turned over and mounted the steam bicycle. He first pushed the pull rod, and after the whistle sounded several times, he supported himself on the ground with his right foot, pushed up the support rod with his left foot, then supported himself on the ground with his left foot, and put the toes of his right foot on the pedal.

When steam starts to spurt out of the rear wheel, he presses the pedal to connect the power, holds the handles with both hands, and walks around the wooden shed for the demonstration.

Yuan Huan heard people around him say: "This thing is not very practical. One pound of charcoal can only go around more than 20 times, which is less than 5 miles. In my opinion, it is better to remove the steam engine, keep the body and two wheels, and use the two legs to push the ground to gain momentum, which is lighter and more labor-saving."

Yuan Huan turned his head and glanced at the young scholar. The other party obviously recognized him and bowed slightly on the spot.

Yuan Huan also bowed in return and asked the disciples around him: "May I go forward and observe?"

"You have to pay a hundred coins to try riding. If you don't pay, you can't go forward."

The doorman pointed to the place not far away where people were waiting with wooden signs. "Only fifty places are sold every day. Use the money to buy charcoal or coal."

Another disciple said, "There is also a notice saying that the steam engine is dangerous and can explode, so you need to wear armor when you try it out. If you want to borrow the armor of the shogunate guards, you have to pay a rent."

After hearing this, Yuan Huan said to his attendants, "Come earlier tomorrow to buy some spots."

He caught a glimpse of Chen Qun, who was leading a few scholars towards him. Yuan Huan turned around and said, "Go back to the academy, quickly!"

The disciples around him pushed the crowd apart and Yuan Huan quickly escaped.

Chen Qun could only stop, and the scholars who were accompanying him all sighed deeply.

Yuan Huan was born in the State of Chen, so it was difficult for him to be recommended by important officials of the shogunate. It was even more difficult for other scholars from Yan and Yu states, especially those from Ru and Ying, to enter officialdom.

Even the scholars of Chenliu had their careers blocked because of Lu Cui's killing.

If it weren't for the pressure from Cai Zhaoji, someone would have come to the door with a sword to take revenge on Lu Cui's family.

At this moment, at the Jin Duwei's residence in Shanglinyuan, Ma Liang held the blueprint in his hands and looked up from time to time to observe the steam engine being assembled.

He originally thought that Da Sima's steam locomotive was cast and polished after smelting iron, but he didn't expect that it was made by heating the wrought iron and forging it with hammers. If there were cracks or holes, it would be immediately discarded.

Only the joints will be polished and the yin and yang concave and convex lines will be chiseled, so that the yin and yang fit together more tightly when spliced.

What he envied most was a set of cutting tools used by Tai Shi Wen Gong for drilling holes and cutting copper and iron. It was said that they were made of meteorite iron from outer space and could cut iron like mud.

There were also shogunate guards who took off their armor and worked harder than each other to forge iron, and their workmanship was very fine.

He could already conclude that the shogunate guards all fit the image of the disciples described in ancient Mohist legends.

He is content with poverty, takes life and death lightly, and takes pride in it.

If he also had a group of such Mohist disciples, he would have improved the existing coinage and armor forging equipment and improved work efficiency.

While Ma Liang was thinking about it day and night, Black Bear spent thirteen days to help him build a steam engine. It was difficult to calculate how much power it could output, but it could easily drive the original coin minting machine... The subsequent improvement of the stamping coin minting machine was Ma Liang's job.

Time was precious, so Kurokuma ordered the shogunate to move to Nakago while he himself headed towards Hancheng.

Hancheng is far more important than Sijin Duwei. Building a giant steam engine here can integrate smelting and forging, and with the help of craftsmen's manual polishing, even if the efficiency is low, it can produce the steam engine used by Sijin Duwei.

There is a shortage of labor everywhere now. The coal from Hedong, Taiyuan and Hexi can be sold to various places in Guanzhong through water transport. Steam engines are needed everywhere to improve labor efficiency.

When the population grows and the labor force becomes abundant, it will actually curb the development of the steam engine.

As for the amphibious warships that he envisioned, he would have to wait a long time.

Just when the steam engine was being promoted in full swing in Guanzhong, the blueprint of the steam bicycle drawn by Cao Zhi was smuggled in front of Cao Cao.

Cao Cao could recognize pictures, and probably could also understand power structures.

Jia Xu and Cheng Yu were called in to study the matter together, and they both looked at each other in bewilderment.

(End of this chapter)