Tang Dynasty: Taking the Empress Dowager to a brothel, Father Emperor, what a coincidence!

Although the land along the Wei River had been designated, building a school was not something that could be done overnight.

Changsun Chong, holding the blueprints, asked:

"Your Highness, the craftsmen are working through the night, but it will take at least a month to erect the framework of this school. Should we wait until it's finished before hiring anyone?"

"I can't wait."

Li Chengqian pointed to the path on the west side of the East Palace.

"Clear up that abandoned horse farm to the west and build a few dozen large wooden sheds to make do for now."

"Hang up the plaque for me today; it shall be called the First Academy of Natural Sciences of the Great Tang Dynasty."

Cheng Chumo, carrying a thick stack of notices, led dozens of Imperial Guards and charged directly onto the streets of Chang'an.

The walls of Zhuque Avenue, the West Market, and even the wall directly opposite the Imperial Academy were covered with notices.

Cheng Chumo stood at the entrance of the Imperial Academy and roared:

"Open your eyes wide and look carefully."

When the Crown Prince recruits students, he doesn't care who your father is, and he doesn't test you on the Four Books and Five Classics.

"As long as you're quick-witted, good at calculating, and efficient, His Highness the Crown Prince will take care of everything."

The onlookers, including commoners and scholars, crowded around to take a look and immediately erupted in uproar.

The notice clearly states:

Tuition is free, meals and accommodation are provided, and a monthly allowance of two strings of cash is given.

Most importantly, as long as you graduate successfully, you will be directly assigned to the Royal Trading Company as the head manager or to the Imperial Guard as an officer, with a generous salary.

Several young men from aristocratic families, dressed in long silk robes, waved folding fans and said with disdain:

"This is utter nonsense! Why test arithmetic instead of classical texts? How can we select capable rulers this way?"

"Free food and lodging, plus a salary? Is the Crown Prince recruiting students or farmhands? Doesn't he care about making the place dirty by bringing these peasants into the Eastern Palace?"

Cheng Chumo glared and roared:

"Who do you think you are? If you're not convinced, then come and take the exam. I'm afraid you can't even figure out how to use an abacus properly, so you won't even be selected as a farmhand."

The scions of prominent families were frightened by Cheng Chumo's fierce appearance and left, swishing their sleeves and cursing.

But the poor students and failed scholars on the periphery of the crowd, dressed in patched clothes, had eyes that shone with an alarming light.

A poor scholar named Ma Zhou stared intently at the notice, his throat involuntarily swallowing.

He came from a poor family and studied the classics for more than ten years, but because he had no powerful family background, he could not even become a low-ranking official and suffered from hunger every day in Chang'an.

A companion next to him tugged at his sleeve:

"Brother Ma, you've learned a lot, why don't you give it a try?"

Ma Zhou gritted his teeth:

"Go! Why shouldn't I go? Even if I have to work as an accountant, it's better than starving to death on the streets."

The next morning, the side courtyard on the west side of the East Palace was packed with people, numbering over a thousand.

Li Chengqian moved a grand master's chair and sat at the entrance of the courtyard.

"Without further ado, let's get to the first question."

Li Chengqian picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"There are pheasants and rabbits in the same cage. There are 35 heads and 94 feet. How many pheasants and rabbits are there?"

Those who can calculate it within one incense stick's time, stand on the left. Those who can't calculate it, just get out.

Upon hearing this, a chorus of groans erupted from below.

Many people were counting on their fingers, sweating profusely with anxiety.

Ma Zhou squatted down, picked up a twig, scratched it a few times in the mud, then stood up, raised his hand high, and said:

"Your Highness! There are twenty-three chickens and twelve rabbits."

Li Chengqian raised an eyebrow and carefully examined the man:

"What's your name?"

"Ma Zhou, a commoner."

Li Chengqian was immediately delighted upon hearing this.

This was a prime minister of the Tang Dynasty in history, and he actually delivered himself to our doorstep.

Now that he has Du Ruhui and Ma Zhou under his command, what can Lao Deng use to compare with him?

"Good lad, you're quick on the uptake. Go inside and get your clothes ready, then we'll get ready for dinner."

Ma Zhou walked into the courtyard in a daze, and was handed a brand-new set of light blue student clothes and a large bowl of stewed braised pork.

The rich aroma of meat almost brought tears to his eyes.

I've never tasted meat this good in my life.

After half a day of screening, Li Chengqian managed to pick out one hundred quick-witted young men from poor families from among thousands of applicants.

With the student body full, the next step is the textbooks.

Li Chengqian locked himself in his study and secluded himself for three whole days.

Using his memories from later generations, he managed to transcribe a remarkable book called "Nature and Science" from memory.

Xiao Shunzi curiously flipped through two pages of the draft on the table, and was so frightened that he sat down on the floor with a thud.

"Your Highness...it says the earth is a sphere? Are we standing on a sphere? If this gets out, those people in the Censorate will definitely tear down the Eastern Palace."

Li Chengqian snatched the manuscript and sneered:

"The idea that the heavens are round and the earth is square is nonsense. I'm going to shatter that shell in their heads."

And then there's gravity. Why do apples fall to the ground and not fly into the sky?

Xiao Shunzi scratched his head and asked:

"Your Highness, where else could this apple go if it didn't fall to the ground?"

"That's science. If you don't understand, shut up."

Li Chengqian was too lazy to waste words with him and turned around to continue writing furiously.

Three days later, the school officially started classes.

One hundred students from impoverished families, dressed in matching blue long gowns, sat upright in a simple wooden shed.

Each person had a newly printed copy of "Nature and Science" in front of them.

Li Chengqian walked up to the podium and glanced at the tense faces below.

"You've been studying the Four Books and Five Classics for over a decade; today I'll teach you something different."

Li Chengqian waved his hand, and Cheng Chumo immediately led his men to close the doors and windows of the wooden shed and draw a thick black cloth over them.

The entire room instantly darkened, leaving only a small hole in the roof through which a beam of blinding sunlight shone.

Li Chengqian took out a smooth, transparent glass triangular mirror from his sleeve and placed it in the sunlight.

"Open your eyes wide and watch carefully."

The white sunlight pierced through the prism and was instantly refracted.

On the white wall behind the podium, a dazzling seven-colored rainbow was laid out directly.

Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple.

The students in the room were so shocked that they dared not make a sound.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of people kneeling down filled the air.

Ma Zhou lay on the ground and shouted excitedly:

"A miracle! Your Highness, this is divine magic!"

"Celestial magic my ass."

Li Chengqian kicked the leg of the podium.

"All of you, stand up!"

Everyone stood up cautiously, their eyes fixed on the rainbow on the wall.

"This is called optical refraction."

Li Chengqian pointed to the three-sided mirror in his hand.

"Sunlight isn't white; it's a mixture of seven colors. By altering its path with a piece of glass of a specific shape, you can separate it."

Li Chengqian casually tossed the triangular mirror to Ma Zhou in the first row:

"Go try it yourself."

Ma Zhou took the three-sided mirror with trembling hands and, imitating Li Chengqian, placed it under the beam of light.

He tried rotating the wall, and the rainbow on the wall started to rotate as well.

"This...this isn't a miracle, it's just the natural order?"

Ma Zhou muttered to himself.

He felt as if something in his brain had been knocked open.

"That's right, that's physics."

Li Chengqian nodded in satisfaction.

Everything in the universe has its own rules.

Once you grasp these principles, you will be able to forge swords that can cut through iron like mud, build bridges that will never collapse, and grow grains that yield thousands of kilograms per acre.

This is the true foundation of governing a country. Memorizing a few sentimental poems won't save the people of the Tang Dynasty.

One hundred students from impoverished families listened with great enthusiasm.

Their worldview, built up over a decade ago, was utterly shattered at this moment and reshaped by an unprecedented grand theory.

Imperial Academy.

Li Gang, tutor to three emperors and a great Confucian scholar, was sitting in the lecture hall, lecturing on the Analects with his head swaying back and forth.

This person was tricked into coming by Kong Yingda.

For this, he paid Li Gang twice the amount of money.

The few students below, however, were not paying attention at all and were whispering among themselves.

"Have you heard? The Crown Prince used sorcery in the Eastern Palace and conjured a rainbow out of thin air."

"What kind of sorcery is this? The Crown Prince says it's called optical refraction. And the textbook issued by the Eastern Palace even says that the ground beneath our feet is a sphere."

Snapped!

Li Gang slammed the ruler in his hand heavily on the table.

"Absurd! This is utterly ridiculous!"

Li Gang threw down the book in his hand and roared:

"The idea that heaven is round and earth is square is a saying of the sages. How dare the Crown Prince teach such heretical and deceptive skills in the Eastern Palace?"

"Someone! Prepare the car!"

Li Gang shoved aside the page who came to help him and stormed out.

"Even if I die on the threshold of the Eastern Palace today, I will personally expose this devil's deception."