Qin Official

"So if this sea market is not a miracle, what is going on?"

On the way to Jimo City, after hearing the news from the Western Regions, the curious baby Zhang Cang asked. Although he didn't know that he, a learned man, always had to ask the big boss Heifu, but he always felt that Heifu should can explain this problem.

Strange to say, Hei Fu didn't understand some of the common sense of this era at all, but Hei Fu was able to point out some things that Zhang Cang couldn't figure out.

"This is what is said, good people must have their differences, right?" Zhang Cang could only comfort himself in this way.

Hei Fu simply asked him to get on his carriage and talk in detail. As soon as Zhang Cang got on the carriage, the horse immediately let out a mournful cry. After all, the carriage suddenly weighed two hundred kilograms.

After the two sat down, Heifu said: "This thing is called Haishi, and it often appears on the sea. The magician said that it is a fairyland appearing in the world. Some people think that it is a mirage belonging to the dragon family, which exhales to form a tower. The city outline is also called a mirage."

"However, mirages are not only found on the coast of Yanqi. In snowfields, deserts, Gobi and other places, phantoms such as tall buildings, city walls, and trees will occasionally appear. I saw it once when I was in the Saibei Desert, but it was a pity that I could not come here. It goes quickly. It’s okay if there are dragons on the seashore, but are they also found in the snowfields of the desert?"

"But if you say that the mirage that appears in the desert of the Western Region is the ruins of Kunlun and the Queen Mother State of the West, I don't believe it either..."

Zhang Cang, like Xun Qing, is a staunch solipsist who scorns all strange powers and deranged gods, but he cannot explain everything in this world.

Heifu said: "When I was in Saibei, I talked about this matter with the Mohists who were ordered to assist there. Among them, Tang Duo, under the young master Fusu, believed that ghosts and gods were magic, but Cheng Shang felt that it should be related to ghosts and gods. It has nothing to do with it, it’s because of the light..."

"Light?"

Zhang Cang raised his head, looked at the sky and clouds, and thought about it.

At this time, Hei Fu asked Zhang Cang a question first.

"I heard that Xun Qing had twelve sons, including Mozi."

Zhang Cang laughed. That was the map cannon fired by his master. Not only Mozi, but also twelve modern masters of various sects, including Song Lun, Shen Dao, Tian Pian, Hui Shi, Deng Xi, Zisi, and Meng Ke, all He was criticized many times by Xunzi.

It is said that Mozi's problem was that he did not understand the laws of the world and the establishment of a country, advocated utility and practicality, valued frugality and despised class differences, and did not even allow distinctions and differences between people, nor did he allow superiority and inferiority between monarchs and ministers. Great disparity. It's just that the argument is well-founded and the argument is explained in a logical manner, which is enough to deceive and deceive the ignorant people...

In Heifu's opinion, this is not so much a criticism as an exaggeration, because the Mo family's logical ability is really the most solid among hundreds of families.

In addition, the Mohists loved to understand ghosts and used ghosts and gods as their banners, which was also criticized by Confucian and Legalists.

"But does Mozi really believe in ghosts and gods?"

Heifu raised this question: "As early as the first expedition to Chu, I had contacts with Mohists, and I got a copy of the "Mo Jing" from Cheng Shang..."

Of course, Cheng Shang showed Heifu the Mohist scriptures that were not easily shown to others, with the intention of attracting him to Christianity, but Heifu got a unique feeling from it.

"Thanks to you, I read hundreds of books in Xianyang and also read the Confucian Analects. It can be seen that when Confucius entrusted Dharma to the Duke of Zhou, he had devout faith in the Duke of Zhou. But when I read "Ming Gui", However, I feel that although Mozi always referred to ghosts and gods, it is hard to say whether he believed in ghosts and gods wholeheartedly."

"What do you mean by this?"

"Mozi understood that ghosts are not fate, but there are many contradictions. If he believed in ghosts and gods, this would not be the case... I have a guess, maybe Mozi just wanted to rely on ghosts and gods to establish righteousness, and what he offered was not the ghosts and gods themselves, but The power of rewards and punishments of ghosts and gods is used to make the world awe-inspiring. Using ghosts and gods as a surface, in fact, Mozi spent more time on talking about universal love rather than aggression, the world is unified, and the study of things... "

Observing objects is the definition given by Heifu and Zhang Cang to study the changes and properties of matter. If you want to prove something, you must first investigate things, that is, observe and study things, and understand the principles of things thoroughly.

The fireflies that Heifu called were not transformed from rotten grass. Zhang Cang found out the principle of the method of making salt by leaching brine, which was all the result of observation and investigation of objects.

The Mohists also had a method of studying things, and their method of studying things was really at the forefront of the world!

"For example, regarding light, it was only after Cheng Shang explained it to me in detail that I was shocked to see how far Mozi had achieved it!"

In the "Jing Xia Shuo" in the "Mo Jing", Mozi conducted an experiment: open a small hole in the wall of a dark room facing the sun, and stand outside the room facing the small hole. An upside-down figure appeared. Why is there this strange phenomenon? Mozi believed that light passing through a small hole travels in a straight line like an arrow. A person's head blocks the light above and forms a shadow below. A person's feet blocks the light below and forms a shadow above. It forms an inverted shadow...

After Heifu heard what the poet said, he immediately fell asleep! Isn't this the small hole imaging experiment and the first law of optics that "light propagates in a straight line"!

Mozi's experiments did not stop there. He also used this characteristic of light to explain the relationship between objects and shadows. The shadow of a flying bird seems to be flying. Mohists analyzed the relationship between light, birds, and shadows, and revealed the secret that shadows themselves do not directly participate in movement.

At the same time, "Jing Xia Shuo" also explains the imaging of plane mirrors, concave mirrors, and convex mirrors, and explains the relationship between focal length and object imaging.

The most amazing thing is that these "eight optical theories" recorded in the "Mo Jing" were all verified using water and copper mirrors without glass!

"How did he figure it out?"

After reading it, Heifu admired Mozi so much that he even came up with the idea: "Is Mozi also a time traveler?"

And he must be a science major! Because in addition to optics, Mozi also covered mathematics, mechanics, and the law of levers.

It’s not surprising that the Mohist family has an endless stream of black technologies, because they are not just craftsmen, they have a whole set of theories, and Mozi is a true...

"the scientist!"

Mozi, he is simply the light of hope for ancient Chinese science.

Heifu didn't know who was the great master of optics in ancient Greece, but it must have been much later than Mozi. After learning this, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional, and at the same time he had a question.

“What exactly has China been doing in the next two thousand years?”

It was not until modern times, when gunboats invaded the country and Western learning spread eastward, that the Chinese opened their eyes to the world. They planned to learn from the foreigners and use their skills to control them, and they tried their best to translate various scientific books. While admiring the greatness of Newton and being fascinated by those Western physical laws, I opened the ancient "Mozi" and suddenly discovered that our Mozi had proposed these things as early as the Warring States Period!

As you can imagine, the situation was very embarrassing at that time. It turned out that it was not that the ancestors were not smart, but that the later students were not up to par!

There is nothing we can do about this. In history, Qi, Mo, and Chu Mo all declined, but Qin Mo also declined day by day. The successors of the Mohist School did not pay much attention to this part of the "Mo Jing", and few people studied it.

When the fire of Qin came, the books of hundreds of folk schools were wiped out, and the works of Mohism were also affected, and there were not many left. However, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty only respected Confucianism. After deposing hundreds of schools of thought, the Mohist school completely declined. After that, these things were forgotten by the Chinese for two thousand years.

So Hei Fu was very proud of preventing the burning of books and allowing Mo Jing to escape disaster!

After talking about the Mohist research on optics, Hei Fu said to Zhang Cang: "According to the records in the Mohist Scripture, Cheng Shang believes that this mirage seems complicated, but if you understand it clearly, it is not surprising, or it may be the skylight coming from somewhere in the distance. Fools don't recognize the shadows cast by mountains and cities, so they think they are gods. This is just like rotting grass turning into fireflies."

"It's just that it's hard to find it in the sea, and there's no way to start studying it. If you're lucky, you'll bump into it. If you're not lucky..."

Heifu smiled: "Then he will be like the Alchemist. No matter how much spices are burned and how many altars are placed in Chengshanjiao, Haishi will not come out to let them meet. This is another kind of 'not doing it for you'." Yao cun, don't die for Jie..."

"The magic of nature is really amazing. I hope I can see it in person one day."

Zhang Cang quite agreed with Hei Fu's statement, and at the same time he also developed a new interest in Mo Zhe's theory.

Heifu also suggested: "Brother Zihu, after you return to Xianyang, you should read more about Mohist's theories and talk more with Cheng Shang. There are all kinds of wonders in the world and all things. It is not possible to rely on one person to distinguish between things and falsehoods. Yes, and Mr. Mo may be our best companion."

"must!"

Zhang Cang nodded heavily and lowered his voice: "So you also think that the appearance of mirages in the desert is just a coincidence and has nothing to do with the Queen Mother State of the West and the Kunlun Ruins?"

The two of them were probably the only ones who told the truth. The officials outside were all congratulating Qin Shihuang for this, and the emperor believed it.

Heifu said firmly: "It has nothing to do with it!"

"I still don't know something."

The carriage stopped by the pavilion. Before Zhang Cang got out of the car, he bowed to Hei Fu and said, "You have repeatedly obstructed the ship to sail eastward to find immortals, but why do you look so happy to see the success of the search for the Queen Mother Kingdom in the West? Attitude? If I remember correctly..."

Zhang Cang said: "Is it you who brought the Queen Mother of the West's witchy elegance from Chen Bao Temple in front of His Majesty?"

We are all smart people, and it goes without saying that we can see through it. Hei Fu smiled and said: "The difference between hollowing out the Western Region and exploring the East China Sea may seem not big, but in fact, it is a world of difference."

The reason is simple: the time cost and the benefits obtained are not of the same magnitude at all.

"Although the west is far away and blocked by deserts and snowy mountains, it can take at least three to five years to make a round trip, and the envoys and caravans may be able to bring back some good things that are not found in the Central Plains."

Horses with a shoulder height of seven or eight feet, alfalfa that can be eaten by humans as well as livestock, watermelon, cantaloupe and grapes, and cotton that Hei Fu is obsessed with... How much change can bring back so many good things to the life of the Central Plains? Not to mention, domestic silk and sugar can also be continuously shipped out in exchange for what the Central Plains needs.

In the East and America, it is true that there are corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes and tomatoes, but to what extent have these things been cultivated now? have no idea. With Qin's navigation technology, how long would it take to arrive? have no idea. Can you come back if you go? have no idea.

As for the silver mountains in Japan... The population of Daqin is only about 30 million. There are countless gold and silver mountains in the Jiangnan area and there are not enough manpower to develop them. Why bother looking far away when you are close?

As a rational person, Heifu believes that going east early is just a waste of water. Hollow out the Western Region and connect with West Asia and Europe, which are equally advanced in civilization. Stop amusing yourself with the East Asian circles. In the end, the right path is to stick to your own laurels.

There is no way to tell Zhang Cang these reasons. Hei Fu can only tell him this...

"Therefore, I support going west, regardless of ghosts and gods."

Heifu said seriously: "It only concerns the common people!"

"And what your Majesty will see next in Jimo will also be pure people's livelihood, how humans transform nature and control it through animals, and have nothing to do with ghosts and gods!"

…

ps: Chapter 2, there is no need to wait at night, it’s time to go out for the holidays, happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone.