Chapter 2504 Private Visit on Weibo
For the entire "Pan-Chinese Cultural Circle", the Central Plains Dynasty will always be the "Celestial Kingdom", and the Han people will always be a race that needs to be looked up to.
Nowadays, with the rise of sea trade, the merchant ships of the Tang Dynasty reached various countries in the East and Southeast Asia along the sea routes, bringing with them unparalleled wealth and the splendid culture of the Tang Dynasty.
Without resistance or hatred, these ignorant aborigines happily accepted everything brought by the Tang people, because the Tang people greatly improved the local economy, culture and even productivity in a very short period of time. They are all proud to be bathed in Chinese culture.
This was the beginning of colonization, but the current Tang Dynasty, from the rulers of the court to the ordinary merchants, did not have a clear and accurate understanding of this.
Chinese culture is not good at invasion, let alone plunder. From ancient times to the present, the Han people have only silently and diligently created wealth. They do as the Romans do, but they retain the pride in their bones.
Therefore, compared with the barbaric peoples of later generations who used strong ships and cannons to colonize the world, the Han people were more easily accepted by those primitive and backward indigenous peoples.
This is the conquest of civilization, which moistens things silently, but is unstoppable.
*****
Chengnan Academy.
The main buildings of the academy have been completed, and various landmark buildings are scattered on the hillside beside Kunming Pool, hidden among the trees, majestic yet delicate and beautiful.
Nowadays, the entire academy has been brand new. The courtyards belonging to various disciplines have been decorated with lights and colorful decorations. Students are busy coming in and out, and they are busy nervously under the command of the academy teachers to make the final arrangements before the opening ceremony.
His Majesty Li Er was dressed in casual clothes, "white dragon fish suit", with only the prince and Fang Jun following him.
Walking in the beautiful academy, looking at the enthusiastic students running around him from time to time, His Majesty Li Er was very interested. He turned his head and asked: "How are the preparations for your mysterious opening ceremony going? ?”
Fang Jun was full of confidence: "Your Majesty, don't worry, everything is under control."
His Majesty Li Er nodded and walked to the door of a courtyard. Through the wide gate, he saw a majestic three-story building in the courtyard, so he walked in.
Li Chengqian and Fang Jun naturally followed closely behind. The former couldn't help but ask: "What kind of mystery is it that is hidden in a ceremony?"
Fang Jun saw His Majesty Li Er walking towards the three-story building with great interest, raised his feet to follow, and whispered: "Your Highness will know tomorrow, I promise, by then the entire Tang Dynasty, and even the entire world, will I am deeply shocked by this! Let everyone feel the power of the Tang Dynasty, and all the barbarians will be shocked and prostrate themselves under the power of the Tang Dynasty!”
"Haha!"
Li Chengqian sneered, with a look of doubt on his face: "Stop talking nonsense! It's just a ceremony. Is it possible that you can gather all the artillery you have created and blast at Chang'an City for an hour? So are those barbarians now. Well-informed, not so easy to intimidate.”
Fang Jun disagreed and said: "Your Highness, just wait and see. This ceremony is the embodiment of Wei Chen's lifelong learning. It combines the highest achievements of the Tang Dynasty in physics, geometry, smelting and other subjects. Once it is born, it will definitely Shocking the past and the present! ”
He was so confident that Li Chengqian's suspicion suddenly weakened a bit, and he became a bit more hopeful.
Everyone knows that Fang Jun's greatest strength lies in his attainments in poetry and his unpredictable way of studying objects. He can delve into the magic of turning stone into gold such as glass and gunpowder. Who knows whether he will be able to turn stone into gold again this time? A novel thing that shocks the world?
Ahead, His Majesty Li Er had stopped and stood in front of the main entrance of the three-story building with his hands behind his back. He raised his head slightly and looked at the plaque on the door.
"Gewuyuan?"
His Majesty Li Er read a sentence, then turned back and asked: "Is this the place where you can study things and achieve knowledge that you have been talking about all day?"
Fang Jun hurriedly said: "Exactly."
His Majesty Li Er nodded, stepped on the white marble steps in front of the door, stepped on it, and snorted: "It's so luxurious and extravagant, it's even more generous than my Tai Chi Palace."
After saying this, Fang Jun, who was sweating profusely, walked straight into the main entrance.
Li Chengqian looked at the crystal white white marble steps under his feet, looked around, and saw that the entire building's base was made of white marble. He couldn't help but shake his head and whispered: "It is indeed a bit extravagant!"
He raised his feet and followed His Majesty Li Er through the door.
Fang Jun followed closely, not daring to speak...
The cost of the entire academy is indeed an astronomical figure. Because of the huge profits of the Royal Navy and the Eastern Datang Company, as well as the strong support of His Majesty Li Er, Fang Jun can withdraw the construction budget of the academy at will without going through the court's review.
Although His Majesty Li Er is wise and mighty, he is an emperor after all. He has great ambitions and is sitting on the country. Naturally, he will not compete with Fang Jun. He lets Fang Jun make his own decisions and does not interfere too much in the budget. Many times Don't even ask.
Anyway, I can’t spend all the gold and silver in my internal funds...
Fang Jun's ideal was not only to create a prosperous age of natural science in the Tang Dynasty, but also to make Zhenguan Academy a monument in history that would never collapse. Even if the current situation changes and dynasties change in the years to come, this academy will remain the same. The academy can still stand by the Kunming Pool on the west side of Chang'an City, resisting the erosion of wind, frost, rain and snow, allowing future generations to admire its glory.
Therefore, most buildings do not use all-wooden structures from ancient times to the present, but are mainly made of stone. Although the ornamental value is slightly reduced and the overall cost is increased, it will not be affected by a natural disaster or The flames of war were completely extinguished.
Ancient Chinese architecture paid too much attention to beautiful forms, so most of them used precious wood and exquisite carvings to make them as gorgeous as palaces in the sky. However, no matter how precious wood is, it often cannot withstand the ruthless erosion of water and fire. Countless countless wonderful buildings have been destroyed by natural disasters and wars, leaving only ruins all over the ground and a few words in history books. Later generations can only From the ruins, imagine the great achievements created by our ancestors out of thin air.
This has to be said to be a pity...
Because of the cement, the construction of stone buildings is easier, the difficulty is reduced, and the construction period is shortened.
The three of them entered the lobby one after the other. His Majesty Li Er and his son were immediately shocked by the spacious and bright hall. The entire lobby is extremely spacious, with polished white marble at its feet. Several stone pillars raise the dome high, and sunlight pours down from the dome. Dozens of lamps are installed on the stone pillars, making them brightly lit even at night. .
Looking around from the lobby, there are railings on each floor of the three-story building, surrounding the hollow building and reaching the roof. This construction method is extremely rare and has a somewhat exotic feel.
In the lobby facing the door, there is a rectangular object one foot high and three feet wide.
Made of precious rosewood, there is a disk embedded in the upper part, with scales arranged in equal rows around it. There are three pointers in the middle of the disk, and the thinnest and longest one is rotating visibly to the naked eye.
The lower part is a huge... pendulum?
His Majesty Li Er didn't know what this was, but suddenly he remembered that Fang Jun had discussed with Li Chunfeng about the manufacture of timers before, and had heard the "pendulum principle" of Lao Shizi. He confirmed it with each other, and then looked at the scale on the original plate. , it is not difficult to guess what this is.
His Majesty Li Er came closer, looked at it carefully, and asked: "Is this your so-called...clock?"
Li Chengqian also walked over and looked curiously.
Fang Jun said: "Your Majesty is wise, powerful, and a man of heaven. He really understands the mysteries and misses nothing... This thing is the clock just made by Li Taishi. It divides the twelve hours of the day into twenty-four parts, and each mark on the scale is Two dots represent an hour, and each dot is divided into sixty minutes, and sixty minutes is further divided into sixty seconds... The time is distinguished by the hour hand, minute hand, and second hand respectively, which can achieve the most accurate level possible. .”
His Majesty Li Er looked closer, listened carefully, and discovered the sound of "tick-tock", which should be the sound of the "escapement". With the "tick-tock" sound, the lower pendulum swings rhythmically, The hour and minute hands rotate too slowly to be seen clearly, but the second hand is rotating, and the tip of the needle passes through the scale, representing the passage of time.
Li Chengqian wondered: "This thing is so ingenious, but why is it called a 'bell'?"
Fang Jun explained: "There is a mechanism inside this thing. Every time it hits the hour, it makes a sound. It hits several times at each o'clock, so Li Taishi named it 'bell'."
"Bell" is a ritual vessel, made of metal, hollow, and can produce sound when struck.
"Zhongding" is the general name for ritual vessels, which represents "rituals and music" and symbolizes noble status and heavy authority. This is also the so-called "bells and tripods". (End of chapter)