Chapter 926 Scientific Investigation
Six years ago, when the Time Travel Group recruited members, they would basically use personal expertise or knowledge areas as one of the criteria for reference. Talents in professional fields such as engineering, agriculture, commerce, and military are more likely to be favored by the organizing committee, but not all members recruited are such practical talents. There are also a small number of people engaged in scientific research who have joined the team. Zhang Yun is one of them.
Zhang Yun was a middle school biology teacher before he traveled through time. However, rather than teaching, he was more willing to devote his energy to professional research. He was once obsessed with studying some extinct animals and plants. This kind of "not doing his job properly" also affected his own job. Although he taught students knowledge that far exceeded the scope of textbooks and test-taking, the school hoped that he could devote more energy to improving students' test-taking ability rather than cultivating students. Student interest in biology.
Zhang Yun doesn't like this kind of job scope, but his academic qualifications are not enough to enter a professional research institute. After all, he still has to have a stable income to support his life, even if he has the dream of becoming a great biologist. , but had to bow to reality until he learned of the existence of the time travel plan by chance.
When Zhang Yun confirmed from the organizing committee that the target time and space would be at the end of the Ming Dynasty, he immediately made up his mind to participate in this plan. The reason was also closely related to his major - he would have a great chance to take the lead. Charles Robert Darwin published his theories about biological species for two centuries, and with these theories he became the founder of biologists that later generations worshiped.
Of course, what Zhang Yun wants to do is not just to plagiarize Darwin's "On the Origin of Species". He hopes to contribute all the knowledge in his head to improve biology in the natural sciences. position in. He has received more than a hundred years of professional education compared to Darwin who lived in the 19th century and lacked a systematic theoretical knowledge base. He has mastered much more professional knowledge and skills than this great man. If nothing else, by the time Darwin was born in Shropshire, England, in 1809, he would have already become the world-recognized founder of the discipline of biology. If Darwin would eventually enter this academic field, then Yun must be one of the sages he worships as a god.
But it was not easy for Darwin to become a great man in this field in his original time and space. When he was in his early twenties, he embarked on a five-year voyage around the world on the British warship HMS Beagle, during which he inspected The flora, fauna and geology of the world. It was precisely because of his extensive observations and collections, coupled with long-term research, that he was able to publish the book "The Origin of Species" that shocked the academic community at the age of fifty. Compared with Zhang Yun, his theoretical knowledge is even better, but his practical experience is far behind him.
Darwin had the opportunity to sail around the world and inspect various places in his early twenties, but when Zhang Yun was in his twenties, he could only learn knowledge by looking at specimens, and the little income he earned after working could only support him in the country during the winter and summer vacations every year. Turn around, I don’t have enough conditions to fly to various places around the world to do scientific research. So when he learned about the time-travel plan, he thought it was an excellent environment to realize his personal dream - provided that his plan could be supported by the organizers of the operation.
The organizing committee at that time decided to recruit Zhang Yun after listening to his idea. There was no shortage of professionals such as engineers, soldiers, and businessmen in the team, but scholars studying natural sciences were really rare. Although Zhang Yun's professional field may not bring much economic or military help to the team, and it may even require the team to invest resources to provide him with research conditions, the organizing committee believes that this can probably influence A major event in the history of human scientific development, it is worth paying some price for it.
So biology teacher Zhang Yun said goodbye to his past life and joined the team to travel back to this era. In the first two years of time travel, Zhang Yun actually did not get the treatment he imagined, because the executive committee spent almost all its human resources on early infrastructure construction and expansion, and really couldn't take care of Zhang Yun's " Great ambitions". Zhang Yun himself knew that it was difficult to obtain resources during this period, so he honestly followed the arrangements of the executive committee and joined an educational institution under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, teaching literacy in Shengli Port.
After working in his old job for two years, Zhang Yun finally got the opportunity to change jobs. During this period, the civil war in Annan ended. Haihan sent people to Annan to inspect the people's sentiments to determine which industries would be more suitable to introduce to the local area. Zhang Yun also joined the inspection team to Annan as a representative of the education system. His original mission was to inspect the local cultural and educational undertakings, but the opportunity was rare, so he did some collecting of animal and plant specimens. After returning, Zhang Yun made a report requesting the Executive Committee to allocate funds to establish a zoological and botanical museum to store biological specimens and various graphic and textual materials that would continue to increase in the future. At this time, the executive committee remembered that there was still a biologist at home who was not of any real use, so it immediately rearranged Zhang Yun's work and provided conditions for him to start conducting academic research with peace of mind.
In the next few years, Zhang Yun took a warship and visited every new area under Hai Han's control, including Halong Bay in Annan, Tamsui River in Taiwan Island, and even Anbu Na Island in the South China Sea. He had already visited Have set foot on. When the military arranged for the fleet to go south this time, they did not forget to inform Zhang Yun. After all, the place they were going to this time was beyond Haihan's control and was an area they had never set foot in before. Zhang Yun's decision was also very decisive. When he heard that he was going to Borneo, he started to calculate his work schedule. After all, he had "been abroad" so many times and had never crossed the equator to see the scenery of the southern hemisphere. It was a completely new experience for him.
So Zhang Yun packed up his luggage early, took all his outdoor equipment, and the only two disciples he had in the past six years, counted the days to report to the Victory Port Naval Base, and then followed the fleet south. However, Zhang Yun did not gain much in the first few stops. After all, this was not his first time inspecting the environment in Indochina, and his thoughts were all on the South China Sea. After struggling on this journey for more than half a month, I finally arrived at the Borneo that I had longed for.
"Borneo has a tropical rainforest climate. There are only two seasons in a year. The monsoon period from October to March of the following year is the monsoon period. The rest of the time is the dry summer...I am talking about the months of the Haihan calendar. I remembered it wrong!" Zhang used the hiking pole in his hand to push aside the bushes and told the two apprentices some local knowledge while walking.
The two disciples Zhang Yun took in were two brothers. Their parents died in the famine of China. They were less than ten years old when they were taken to Sanya. According to the immigration law, the two brothers were sent to a school in Sanya to learn cultural knowledge. According to the normal process, they will definitely be sent to a military school or a technical school in the future. However, after the two brothers arrived in Zhang Yun's class, they showed their intelligence. Zhang moved selfishly, so he accepted them as disciples and changed their scientific names to Zhang Dong and Zhang Zhi, which were simple and crude but easy to remember.
Different from the ordinary students in the school, being able to be accepted as a direct disciple by the chief is a rare treat for the naturalized people. What's more, Zhang Yun also changed their brother's name, which is just a shortcoming It was an extremely rare honor to not have sex. Although the two brothers are young, they also know that they are like a carp jumping over the dragon's gate now, and their status is very different. Although externally they are master and apprentice, in fact they are an adoptive father and an adopted son.
Zhang Yun focused on his studies and had no intention of starting a family. Whenever he had the opportunity, he took the two boys to the sea and the mountains. Anyway, they are supported by the special scientific research funds of the Executive Committee. Although they are not rich, the three of them live happily and comfortably. This time when they came to the South China Sea for inspection with the fleet, the three of them also enjoyed special expert-level treatment. The combined fleet even extended their stay in Borneo for this purpose so that they could collect enough specimens.
"There is nothing good in Borneo. The land is relatively barren and the income from growing food is not high. We can only plant cash crops such as pepper, rubber trees, tobacco leaves, and coffee trees on a large scale... Stop!" Zhang Yun walked. Suddenly he raised his hand, and the two brothers Zhang Dong and Zhang Zhi who were following him immediately stopped.
"Bring the insect net!" Zhang Yun ordered.
Nutong immediately handed the retractable insect catching net in his hand to his hand. This thing was brought here when he traveled through time. The metal pole can be retracted between half a meter and one and a half meters, making it easier to carry in the wild. Zhang Zhi, on the other hand, took off his backpack and took out an empty glass bottle, ready to contain Zhang Yun's target to be captured later. "Change to a bigger one, this bottle won't fit!" Zhang Yun glanced at him and reminded him: "Look at the moths on the banana tree in front of you!"
Zhang Zhi glanced in the direction Zhang Yun pointed and almost dropped the glass bottle to the ground. He had seen moths before, but he had never seen one this big. The width of its wings was larger than the size of his hand.
"This is the largest moth in the world, the Atlas moth, whose scientific name is the tallow moth. The female moth is larger than the male moth. However, its survival period after emerging from the cocoon is only half a month, so You have to rely on luck to catch it alive. After all, there are many predators in this jungle who want to feed on it." After taking over the insect catching net, Zhang Yun did not rush to take action, but stood at a distance to observe. By the way, I would like to explain the origin of this thing to two disciples.
"Teacher, the wings of these moths... look like snake heads!" Zhang Dong expressed his impressions.
"Yes, the protruding part of the forewing of this moth looks like a snake head, which has the effect of intimidating natural enemies, so it is also nicknamed the snake-headed moth." Zhang Yun affirmed the disciple's statement.
After observing for a moment, Zhang Yun tiptoed closer, and then gently covered the huge moth with a bug-catching net. Zhang Zhi quickly carried the glass jar over, caught the prey, and then closed the iron lid. The master and apprentice held the glass jar and admired it for a long time before putting it into their backpack.
"Teacher, there is only one empty bottle left. Do you want to take out some more?" Zhang Zhi asked.
Zhang Yun nodded and said: "That's necessary. It's still early and we can still walk around. Give the container with the specimens to the people in the militia. These things are so heavy that it will be difficult for you to carry them."
The three masters and apprentices did not go ashore alone. In order to ensure their safety, Yan Chujie specially sent a platoon of infantry to protect them. Of course, this job was not left to others, but was snatched away by Roger who was eager to let his subordinates perform well. Zhang Yun was not polite and directly used these soldiers as migrant workers. Among the equipment he carried were a large number of glass bottles and jars, which were quite heavy. The two brothers Zhang Dong and Zhang Zhi were only teenagers, and the weight of the equipment they could carry was also very limited, so more household tools were left to the soldiers to carry. .
The man who carried the specimens for the three masters and apprentices was the black soldier Marcus. Although he carried a large bag of bottles and cans, it did not cause much hindrance to his movements. When he heard Zhang Yun greeting him, he hurriedly walked He rushed over and took the glass jar containing the big moth from Zhang Zhi's hand.
Before Marcus could put the glass jar into his backpack, his expression suddenly changed. He put the glass jar on the ground, pulled out the machete from his waist with one hand, and pulled Zhang Zhi behind him with the other hand: "Back off." After!”
As soon as Marcus called the police, other soldiers also realized that something was wrong and immediately rushed forward to protect the three masters and apprentices of Zhang Yun. Several soldiers on the periphery have raised their rifles and pointed them at the forest. If any beasts such as wild boars, clouded leopards, etc. rush out, they will immediately open fire without hesitation.
However, the beasts lurking in the forest were not wild beasts. Several natives holding bamboo spears slowly emerged from the bushes, but they did not try to get closer. They probably sensed the alertness and hostility of the Haihan people. After a moment of confrontation, they slowly retreated and quickly disappeared into the dense forest.
"Don't be too nervous. These natives are probably the Bajau people. They live on the west coast of Borneo...which is the area we are standing in now. Speaking of which, they are the owners of this land, and we are just passing by. Guest." Seeing that the crisis was over, Zhang Yun quickly said a few words to comfort everyone.
"Teacher, don't these natives have any clothes to wear?" Zhang asked, noticing the naked upper body of the natives.
"Part of the reason is due to the local hot and humid climate. Not only do the indigenous men here wear no shirts, but so do the women." Zhang Yun explained. He was not just talking nonsense. Before traveling through time, he had seen photos of the indigenous tribes of Borneo taken by a Malaysian photographer in the 1950s. Almost all the women were topless, and there was no pretense, because since ancient times, This has been the living habit since then.
(End of chapter)