Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 271 What barbaric invasion? It was a powerful infusion of civilization into the West!
Just as Guyuk was personally leading his expedition to Europe, Zhao Shuo and his party arrived at Harka Guicheng in the Hulunbuir Grassland.

Although Zhao Shuo often lived in Zhongdu, he would return to Harka Guicheng with Hua Zheng every autumn to stay for two months.

Hua Zheng loves the vast grasslands outside Harkagui City.

Zhao Shuo, on the other hand, regarded the core workshops of Harka Guicheng as his top priority. He understood better than anyone else the immense power that technology truly possessed.

It is now springtime in 2012, and since he has already come to the grasslands, Zhao Shuo decided to stay in Harka Guicheng for a few days.

This time, Zhao Shuo's group was quite large. Zhao Shuo, Hua Zheng, Zhao Shuo's five adult sons, who had come to join Zhao Shuo's Zhenhai, the five Mongol commanders under Zhao Shuo's command, the military judge Mochibieduwen, and the Black Cavalry commander Hedaheibatuer, all of whom were qualified to attend the Khuriltai Conference.

Together with a thousand black-clad guards, they came in a grand procession.

Altana, the chieftain of the grasslands stationed in Harkha Guicheng, was also qualified to participate in the Khuriltai Conference. However, given the precedent of Tolui, Zhao Shuo needed to maintain a force on the grasslands that could provide support at any time, so he did not allow Altana to participate.

Altana, accompanied by Zhao Shuo's workshop manager Sun Wei, hybrid horse farm manager Zhang Yong, and hundreds of civil and military officials from Harka Guicheng, welcomed Zhao Shuo and his party into Harka Guicheng.

Twenty years ago, the total population of Harkagui City was close to 100,000, but even now it is only around 80,000.

After all, the carrying capacity of grasslands is limited, making long-distance transportation of grain or goods an extremely cost-effective option.

However, although the population of Harkagui City is small, they are quite shrewd.

Within the city of Harkha, besides the Black Cavalry and their families, there were various top-notch craftsmen and researchers, along with their families.

Only a few large workshops have been preserved.

The military-grade telescope, made of steel with even better performance than historical Wootz steel, and the manned hot air balloon could only be produced in the workshops of Kharka.

"Your Majesty, look!"

After resting for three days in the city of Harka, Zhao Shuo inspected the workshops, and Sun Wei presented him with a glittering object as a treasure.

This is a silver coin.

The obverse features a clear portrait of Zhao Shuo and the inscription "One Yuan," while the reverse bears the inscription "Zhao Shuo Khanate" and the date of manufacture. The sides also feature a clearly defined gear-like edge. Blowing on this silver coin produces a distinct and pleasant buzzing sound when held near the ear.

Zhao Shuo, of course, knew the technical complexity of this device, and said happily, "You finished the metal screw the autumn before last. I didn't expect you to produce the gear-shaped metal coin so quickly. Your progress is really fast!"

A screw is a cylindrical object with spiral grooves cut into its surface. This structure is used to convert rotational motion into linear motion or to generate enormous mechanical pressure.

The technical principle is not complicated at all; similar simple devices exist in both the West and China.

The key lies in the materials.

Wooden materials are too easily worn down, and even ordinary steel or copper materials are difficult to meet the hardness requirements of qualified screws.

It's all thanks to Zhao Shuo's talent.

In order to meet Zhao Shuo's requirements for Wootz steel, also known as Damascus steel, the Persian merchant Zardusht found a skilled craftsman named Harish from India.

The Damascus steel knives made by this person are not only extremely sharp, but also have excellent toughness.

In order to get Harish to serve Zhao Shuo wholeheartedly, Zardusht brought Harish's whole family to the grassland.

Harish has now passed away, but his son Vijay has surpassed him, working with the craftsmen in Zhao Shuo's workshop to create materials suitable for making metal screws.

With the combined efforts of top craftsmen from both the East and West in Zhao Shuo's workshop, the first qualified metal screw was finally produced the year before last.

The invention of the metal screw was of great significance. It not only made it possible to use power for precision machining, but also allowed us to "exchange distance for power", enabling humans to apply pressure to objects several times or even tens or hundreds of times greater than before.

From water pumping and irrigation to mechanical pressing, as well as paper printing and machining, it has profound applications.

Of course, there is still a long way to go before we can manufacture various machines that utilize metal screws, even after we have already produced metal screws.

The first application of metal screws in Zhao Shuo's workshops was to create hydraulic machinery for pressing metal coins.

Unexpectedly, in less than two years, they completed the task and produced silver coins with clearly defined gear edges!
Silver coins have clearly defined serrated edges, making it impossible for cunning merchants to file off metal scraps and alter the coin's silver content.

Moreover, such a significant technological advantage makes counterfeiting impossible.

The manufacture of these standard silver coins was Zhao Shuo's preparation for issuing paper money.

The people of northern China were exploited to the bone by the Jin dynasty's paper money. The people of southern China were also terrified of being oppressed by the Song dynasty's paper money.

Issuing paper money hastily will likely not be very effective.

Zhao Shuo decided to first mint several batches of standard gold and silver coins and put them into the market to establish credibility for the banks of the Zhao Shuo Khanate.

Then, paper money will be issued.

These banknotes can be exchanged for these gold and silver coins without any hindrance.

As the amount of currency issued gradually increases, the credibility of paper money is gradually established.

Of course, although these gold and silver coins were not paper money, the returns were still quite considerable.

Take this silver coin for example. As Zhao Shuo had instructed, using only silver would be too soft, so 10 percent copper was added to ensure the coin's hardness.

However, its value is still calculated based on pure silver.

One silver coin was worth one tael of silver.

That's about 10% seigniorage.

There's absolutely no need to worry about the people not accepting it.

How could ordinary people possibly distinguish the purity of a small piece of silver?
How heavy is it exactly? It's also easy for unscrupulous merchants to take advantage of it.

Needless to say, copper coins were too inconvenient to carry and trade due to their low value. Furthermore, counterfeit copper coins were prevalent, varying in quality, and presented complex exchange issues.

This kind of currency, which can be used to pay taxes, has a fixed value, cannot be counterfeited, and is very convenient to carry and trade, is much better than copper coins and loose silver coins used in daily transactions.

Sun Wei was quite proud of the workshop's progress, saying, "The workshop now has far more skilled craftsmen and researchers than before."

"Oh why?"

Sun Wei said, “Over the years, we have been constantly adding new craftsmen. Their fathers and elder brothers were mostly from our workshop. Your Majesty, think about it, what kind of learning environment did their fathers and elder brothers have? When did they complete their training? And what kind of treatment did they receive?”

"Our workshops pay high wages, so they all want their children to work in this trade. Not only that, Your Majesty has also decreed the construction of a school in the city of Harkha, so that these people's children can attend. The teachers of these children are the top craftsmen and researchers. In time, how can they not surpass their teachers?"

"Moreover, the new recruits are young, quick-witted, and full of ideas. I can clearly feel that in recent years, they have been completing various tasks assigned by the king more and more smoothly."

In fact, another important factor is that Zhao Shuo's workshop has gathered top talents from all over the world.

Their gathering was partly due to the language barrier, and it was merely a simple collaboration. Moreover, the Western craftsmen, having been abducted, weren't particularly dedicated.

Over time, as they learned each other's languages ​​and received good treatment, they were finally willing to pledge their true loyalty to Zhao Shuo.

The constant collision of ideas from the world's most brilliant minds generates a variety of inspirations, which in turn produce a wealth of results. Now, the time has come for a major explosion of these results.

However, Sun Wei had mentioned a similar idea to Zhao Shuo before, so there was no need to bring it up again this time. Moreover, what Sun Wei felt most deeply about now was the power of the school.

Zhao Shuo nodded slightly and said, "It seems that building specialized artisan schools is a good idea. Unfortunately, we don't have enough funds right now to send all the children in the country to school. However, it is still possible to set up an artisan school in each of the major cities in the future, select bright and clever children to enroll, and teach them with excellent artisans."

The name "Craftsmen School" doesn't actually sound very appealing.

However, Zhao Shuo, being of a certain status, didn't need to worry about such trivial matters. He simply pointed out a general direction, and Yang Weizhong, standing beside him, would naturally remember it.

Naturally, court officials would refine and embellish Zhao Shuo's demands in various ways, forming a complete and feasible plan for Zhao Shuo to decide.

Sun Wei said, "Your Majesty is wise. In fact, besides this coin, we have several other achievements."

"Oh? Let me see it quickly," Zhao Shuo said happily.

"Bring it up."

With a shout from Sun Wei, two men carried a huge wooden box, about half a person's height, into the hall.

He opened the wooden box, and something very familiar to Zhao Shuo appeared before him.

A giant pendulum clock!

The pendulum swung gently, displaying the current time in Arabic numerals as instructed by Zhao Shuo.

In this era, clocks are definitely considered high technology.

The principle is very simple, of course; it's the pendulum law, something taught in middle school textbooks. By using an escapement mechanism, a clock can be made.

However, knowing the pendulum law and escapement mechanism is completely different from making a qualified clock.

Historically, it took more than four hundred years for Europe to invent the pendulum clock.

Zhao Shuo asked with great interest, "Are the clocks you make accurate? How much difference can they make in a day?"

"After our improvements, this clock is currently off by about three minutes a day. However, we are working on further improvements and believe that within a year, we will be able to limit the daily time difference to within one minute."

"Excellent! You really did it within a minute, Sun Wei, I'll bestow upon you the title of Vice Minister of Works! Furthermore, you can nominate two people for their contributions to the invention of this clock and screw. One will be awarded a fifth-rank title, and the other a seventh-rank title. In addition, I'll reward you with three thousand taels of gold and four beautiful women. The two who receive fifth-rank titles will each receive one thousand taels of gold and two beautiful women. The one who receives seventh-rank titles will each receive five hundred taels of gold and one beautiful woman!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! I am willing to die for you!"

Boom boom boom!
Sun Wei knelt down and kowtowed three times to Zhao Shuo.

Zhao Shuo's workshop has a well-established reward and punishment system, and these artisans have already been rewarded. What Zhao Shuo just mentioned was an extra bonus, a standard windfall!

The beautiful woman and the gold naturally pleased Sun Wei greatly. However, what interested Sun Wei most was the official title of Vice Minister of Works.

What was Du Fu? He was just a minor official in the Ministry of Works.

Sun Wei, however, was the Vice Minister of Works, second only to the Minister of Works, and could rightfully be addressed as "Minister Sun of Works."

In fact, it's not just Sun Wei.
The craftsmen or researchers who received the reward would surely be thrilled upon hearing this news.

What Chinese people want most is to become officials.

Although Zhao Shuo couldn't actually give them official positions—their expertise was simply not a good fit—he could certainly offer them political benefits.

This move serves two purposes: firstly, to reward those who have done good deeds, and secondly, to set an example for others.

It wasn't just about joining the Eight Banners to become a military officer or taking the imperial examinations to become a civil official that led to officialdom and bringing honor to one's ancestors.

You can also be a craftsman and study various technologies!
Moreover, both inventions deserve such an award.

Needless to say, the screw is an achievement that has influenced the history of world science and technology. However, right now, only Zhao Shuo in the world knows its true significance.

The significance of clocks is also very powerful.

Time is something that cannot be seen or touched by anyone, but its existence can definitely be felt.

The Chinese people attach great importance to one word: "legitimate lineage".

The term "正朔" has three meanings.

Firstly, it refers to the first day of the first lunar month each year. Secondly, it refers to the new calendar promulgated by the newly established emperor during a dynastic change. Thirdly, it is a synonym for the legitimacy of a dynasty.

It was the imperial court's duty to promulgate a calendar.

Each vassal state was granted a calendar by the imperial court, and acting in accordance with the imperial calendar represented submission.

Therefore, providing accurate time was the imperial court's duty. The more accurate the time provided, the closer the relationship between the dynasty and Heaven, and the higher its level of civilization.

Zhao Shuo has decided to build a visible clock tower in every major city, including the conquered western cities. Larger cities may have four or five.

This will allow ordinary people to look up and clearly know the current time.

It both proclaimed the glorious power of the Zhao Shuo Khanate and represented the level of civilization of China.

In fact, this was not Zhao Shuo's invention, but rather a borrowing from later Western experiences.

Historical records indicate that in thirty years, the West would have clocks with purely mechanical mechanisms. However, these would use a pure gear structure instead of the pendulum structure Zhao Shuo was using, and their daily error would be around fifteen to half an hour.

They placed these huge and primitive mechanical clocks on the top of churches or in monasteries.

The ostensible purpose of these large pendulum clocks is to allow believers to easily see the time and pray on time.

Essentially, this enormous and advanced clock, which everyone can see at any time, is a "spectacle".

This action serves the same purpose as the magnificent Buddhist temples, solemn Buddha statues, and even the Egyptian pyramids.

Historically, Westerners used the spectacle of "clocks" to enhance the cohesion of the Roman Catholic Church.

Now, Zhao Shuo can also create wonders with clocks in the West, allowing Westerners to witness the power and civilization of China.

Who says that Zhao Shuo's army's journey to the West was merely a barbaric conquest?

That's pure slander!

Look at the giant clock on this huge clock tower! It tells you the exact time. Can Westerners do that themselves?

Look at the massive canal that Zhao Shuo pioneered, connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, linking the three continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa—something the West couldn't do either.

There was also the compass and printing, gunpowder, and exquisite porcelain and glassware!

Zhao Shuo's army came to the West simply to liberate these white monkeys from their state of ignorance and to infuse them with civilization!

(End of this chapter)