The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 49: Principles of Mechanical Engineering

"After my Mohist ancestor's tireless research and painstaking efforts, he finally found a way to introduce the vitality of heaven and earth into dead objects."

"On the items that meet the requirements, draw special rune lines, and use the energy of heaven and earth as power to drive them into motion."

"The techniques used by humans and mechanical arts are different, and the final results are also different. Because everyone has different physical conditions, even if the techniques used are the same, due to individual differences, the final results of the practice will also be somewhat different. Of course, this difference can be naturally transformed and adapted by the human body."

"But inanimate objects are different. We can use giant trees, hardwoods, jade, copper-iron alloys, etc. made of excellent materials. As long as there is spiritual energy, we can draw special and correct patterns and spells on them, and add human control to make them move."

"As long as the mechanical creation is large enough and strong enough, human power can never compare to it."

“And it can be mass-produced.”

"Of course, the advantage of living people is that they have thoughts and can better utilize and manipulate the energy of heaven and earth."

"It is extremely difficult to train a master. You have to choose a talented seed, train him carefully, and make sure he doesn't die halfway. Even if you succeed in training him, whether you can have his loyalty is still a question."

"But mechanical creations are different. An ordinary person can use them after training. In large-scale wars and sieges, their power is even greater than that of many ordinary masters."

Ying Zheng nodded: "I see."

"That doesn't mean that all things and all materials can be made into mechanical objects, right?"

Xiang Lisheng nodded: "Yes, mechanical creations also have requirements for materials."

"It must contain spiritual energy. Generally, only thousand-year-old giant trees, as well as jade and minerals grown in places with rich spiritual energy can do this. If the material is too fragile, it will be useless."

Xiang Lisheng continued, "In addition, copper and iron objects mixed with some special precious metals are also acceptable, and gold must be used in all of them. All mechanical creations must use gold."

"The use of copper and iron tools is Gongshu's forte, while my Mohist school is mainly good at using wood and stone."

"So, once they are built, these mechanical creations can be used forever?"

Xiang Lisheng shook his head: "That's not the case. The spiritual energy inside the mechanical creation will disappear over time. The more it is used, the faster it disappears. Once the spiritual energy disappears completely, or the symbol patterns on important parts are destroyed, it will be unusable."

After hesitating for a moment, he continued:
"Moreover, the vitality of heaven and earth is becoming increasingly thinner. I am afraid that in a hundred years at most, all the mechanical devices will no longer be usable, and there will probably be no masters in the martial arts world who can mobilize the vitality of heaven and earth."

Ying Zheng asked: "Why is this? Will the vitality of heaven and earth also become less? Isn't everything between heaven and earth?"

Xiang Lisheng replied: "Everything in the world is naturally circulating between heaven and earth. This thinning does not mean that it has really decreased, but that the available heaven and earth energy has become less."

"If we compare the energy of heaven and earth to a person, if a person does strenuous exercise, he needs to rest to recover his strength, and the same is true for the energy of heaven and earth."

"The vitality between heaven and earth will not decrease, but the vitality that has been used needs time to recover before it can be used again."

"But for humans, the time it takes to restore the vitality of heaven and earth to a state where it can be used again is too long." "My Mohist ancestor discovered this a long time ago, and history has proven it."

"In the ancient times, whether it was individual force or giant mechanical creations, the great wars would often cause the earth to break apart and the sky to collapse."

"Because at that time, all the energy in the world had not been used. All the energy was well-rested and waiting for people to use it. It was extremely abundant, so people could naturally squander it at will and use simpler methods to exert greater power."

"But the population is increasing, and development is getting faster and faster. However, the time it takes for the heaven and earth's vital energy to recover is far less than the speed at which people consume it."

"In ancient times, some simple runes could drive mechanical creations. Now the vitality of heaven and earth can no longer support them. More complex runes must be used."

"This is also why some giant mechanical creations are becoming less and less common, and most of them are unusable."

"On the one hand, the materials for making giant mechanical devices are no longer available. On the other hand, even if there were still materials, the available energy in the area where the mechanical devices are located would not be enough to support them in moving."

"Today, we are actually using more complex and sophisticated technology to barely achieve results worse than in ancient times."

"Now, whether it is our Mohist or Gongshu School, they are only technically superior to the past. The newly created mechanical creations are more sophisticated, but of course smaller. We are like a temple in a snail shell. Our power is far inferior."

Xiang Lisheng was willing to reveal these things to Ying Zheng because, on the one hand, these things naturally could not be kept secret.

On the other hand, there is also a feeling of anxiety. After all, the Mohist School now relies on the art of mobile communication to survive in the world. If they want to still have a foothold in this world, they naturally need to change to new mechanisms and roads. They can no longer rely all their technology on the vitality of heaven and earth, and they need to find new energy to drive it.

All of this requires strong support from a powerful country.

Make good connections and plant seeds now in order to reap the rewards in the future.

Ying Zheng nodded: "I see."

I thought: "No wonder martial arts in later generations are inferior to the previous generation. A good cook cannot cook without rice. Without the energy of heaven and earth, we can only rely on our own blood and energy. Naturally, human power is limited. This is a good thing. The knights break the law with martial arts. The stronger the individual power, the greater the threat to the imperial order."

"But it's a shame for technology that the energy of heaven and earth, a clean energy source that is so useful and pollution-free, is gone."

'It's no wonder that despite the advanced technology, there is no industrial revolution. Of course, there are many problems such as social system, economic development and basic education, but the most important thing is energy. Without energy, nothing can be done.'

"The limited energy we have can only be used for war and for the enjoyment of the upper class. It seems that if we want to develop technology, we still have to consider coal and oil."

"But these are not very important now. There is no rush. Let's wait until the world is unified before we can do it slowly."

"If we take too big a step, we will end up hurting ourselves. The right thing to do is to develop basic productivity first."

Now there are more important things for the Mohists to do.

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(End of this chapter)