APSIL -Chapter 191 A Feint to the East

To Zhang Kang, Tingyu Pavilion was not a means of making money. It served another purpose entirely.

Although he was not exactly the type of man who cherished and pitied women, after generation upon generation of the Twelve Rain Beauties grew old and faded from the stage, not many of them were able to enter the households of nobles or officials. Aside from a small number who chose to cultivate Daoism or Buddhism, most remained in Tingyu Pavilion, teaching and guiding the younger generations.

Whenever he thought of the effort and dedication that had gone into cultivating these women in the past, he inevitably felt a lingering sense of regret.

If they could still return to the stage in their later years, if they could continue to be pursued and admired by people, that would certainly be far better than allowing their talents to go to waste.

Therefore, when he and Zhang Shou left the small courtyard one after another and slowly walked toward the rear garden, crossing a small lotus pond and stopping in the middle of a wooden bridge, Zhang Kang glanced at the pond full of withered lotus leaves. He then turned around and looked at Zhang Shou.

“Doctor Zhang, is there something you wish to discuss with me?”

Zhang Shou lightly shook his sleeve, revealing the watch on his right wrist.

Seeing Zhang Kang first freeze in surprise, then raise his eyebrows as he clearly remembered where this object had come from, Zhang Shou spoke frankly.

“Does the Marquis of Weinan believe that I have already figured out the function of this object?”

If someone else had said such a thing in front of him, Zhang Kang would certainly have scoffed.

However, Zhang Shou had repeatedly displayed extraordinary talent in many areas, so after hesitating for a moment, Zhang Kang finally replied half seriously and half casually: “Of course I believe Doctor Zhang’s words. However, that day only His Majesty examined it carefully. I did not get a good look myself. Could Doctor Zhang enlighten me?”

Seeing Zhang Shou remove the object from his wrist without the slightest hesitation and hand it over with a smile, Zhang Kang accepted it without hesitation and carefully examined it.

Although others viewed him as a barbarian from the northern frontier, in reality he was one of the staunchest followers of Emperor Taizu’s ideas. At this moment, he first fiddled with the watch strap buckle, then turned his attention to the evenly spaced markings on the circular dial.

After examining it for quite some time, he finally returned the object exactly as it was and said thoughtfully: “Looking at these markings on this round plate… could this object be something Emperor Taizu used when creating the secret key for the hidden box, to calculate something?”

Uh… Marquis Weinan, your imagination is truly impressive…

Zhang Shou was practically speechless with laughter.

Yet he had no way to look down on the other man. In this era, how could most people possibly imagine how prosperous and advanced the world would become hundreds of years later?

He lightly coughed, stepped closer, and seriously showed Zhang Kang the winding crown on the right side of the watch. He then demonstrated how to wind it.

“I accidentally turned this part and discovered that the hands on the watch began moving. After observing it for a while, I found that one hand repeatedly completed a full circle in a short period of time. The other two hands moved forward at different speeds. At first, I did not understand what this represented. But when I happened to pass by the sundial at the Imperial Academy, I suddenly had a thought—could this be something used to measure time?”

After hearing Zhang Shou’s explanation, Zhang Kang looked at the circular dial that had previously seemed mysterious and incomprehensible to him. Suddenly, it was as though a layer of fog had been lifted.

“You mean the markings on the circular plate, which look like the measuring rulers used in cloth shops, represent hours?”

He carefully examined the dial again and unknowingly smiled.

“I see. The large markings total twelve. They should represent the twelve double-hours…”

“But one double-hour is divided into four quarters. Why does each large marking have five smaller markings?”

The difference between Chinese and Western methods of measuring time is just a minor issue, Marquis. Please don’t get too hung up on it…

Seeing that Zhang Kang had instinctively connected the twelve markings with the twelve traditional hours, Zhang Shou wondered whether the emperor had failed to make this connection after seeing the watch and the manuscripts, or whether he had simply not thought about it carefully—or perhaps he had recognized Zhang Shou’s talent in this field and deliberately handed everything over to him at once.

Either way, Zhang Shou could only cough again.

“The fastest-moving hand completes one revolution, and the longer hand moves by one small marking. When the longer hand completes one revolution, the shorter hand moves by one large marking. However, the time required is not one double-hour. I observed the sundial and determined that it should be half a double-hour. In other words, within one entire day, this shorter hand circles the dial twice.”

In this era, Zhang Shou knew that Western clockmaking was only beginning to develop. Pendulum clocks and pocket watches had not yet appeared.

Therefore, he patiently explained his “observations” to Zhang Kang.

Sure enough, Zhang Kang inhaled lightly and nodded heavily.

“I understand what you mean. If this is truly the case, then this object really is an extremely precise timekeeping device.”

He paused, then looked at Zhang Shou with a faintly amused expression.

“Back then, Han Shantong, the father of Empress Han, once claimed that Emperor Taizu was a descendant of Emperor Huizong of Song. After ascending the throne, Emperor Taizu even granted Han Shantong the title of king. Doctor Zhang, do you think Emperor Taizu was truly a descendant of the Song imperial family?”

“Of course not. Our dynasty’s name is Ming, not Song. Emperor Taizu never changed his surname from Zheng to Zhao. Moreover, just this single ingenious object proves that Taizu’s origins were extraordinary.”

Seeing the satisfied and approving look appear on Zhang Kang’s face, Zhang Shou continued: “This object was an artifact left behind by Emperor Taizu. Although His Majesty bestowed it upon me, I cannot dismantle it merely because of its extraordinary timekeeping function. However, because of this object, I thought of something else.”

“Oh? What?”

Zhang Shou answered directly: “Guo Shoujing’s Daming Hall Clepsydra from the Yuan Dynasty.”

Although Zhang Kang had previously shown him a globe, a globe was still far different from a true astronomical instrument.

If Marquis Weinan Zhang Kang even knew about such things, then this man absolutely could not be called some northern barbarian.

“Daming Hall Clepsydra? The one mentioned in the Treatise on Astronomy of the History of Yuan, the device used for measuring time?”

Zhang Kang first raised his eyebrows, then laughed.

“After Doctor Zhang mentioned it, I remember now. The Treatise on Astronomy of the History of Yuan praised it extravagantly and recorded many other strange devices as well. If I recall correctly, that Daming Hall Clepsydra was powered by water, unlike the object in your hand.”

At this point, he sighed.

“Emperor Taizu said that one of the reasons for the chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty was because those greedy Semu people accumulated countless wealth, leaving the common people unable to survive. After the empire collapsed, those people either fled into the northern deserts or were completely wiped out by rebel armies throughout the land. Therefore, many Western-region astronomical instruments recorded in the History of Yuan were lost. The Daming Hall Clepsydra of Yuan’s capital was also destroyed long ago.”

Zhang Shou smiled faintly and asked: “What about instruments like the astronomical clock tower from the Song Dynasty?”

“That was something managed by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. I do not know much about it.”

Zhang Kang laughed awkwardly, then folded his hands into his sleeves and looked at Zhang Shou.

“Speaking of which, back then Grand Preceptor Ge and Grand Astrologer Qi both managed the Imperial Astronomical Bureau at different times. Therefore, those officials and astronomers there respected them. But you, a young man who suddenly rose through the ranks because of your mathematical achievements, naturally make them uncomfortable. If you wish to obtain instruments from them and uncover the secrets of this timekeeping device, I fear it will be difficult.”

Zhang Shou had not expected Zhang Kang to worry that the people of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau would make things difficult for him.

Even if one gathered all the mathematical geniuses in the entire country, trying to decipher the working principles of a mechanical watch would not be easy.

Although later generations proudly claimed that China built its first automobile entirely through manual methods, that was because they at least had machine tools and other manufacturing equipment.

With the theoretical knowledge and craftsmanship of this era…

Heh.

Therefore, Zhang Shou simply shook his head with a smile.

“I do not expect assistance from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. I merely wish to improve the current methods of measuring time. That is why I wanted to inform Marquis Weinan. I will probably have Lu Sanlang recruit two or three young craftsmen with clever minds to return and conduct research. Of course, they will not be from the Military Arsenal Bureau.”

Zhang Kang did not ask the foolish question of why Zhang Shou needed to inform him about such a matter.

After all, when Lu Sanlang had previously taken several craftsmen to work at the bookstore, he had personally paid close attention to the matter.

Now, seeing the faint smile on Zhang Shou’s handsome face, Zhang Kang thought of how this young man from another ethnic background had once been trusted and appointed by Emperor Ruizong, eventually becoming a marquis, and then had spent half his life obsessively studying.

He could not help but sigh inwardly:

One cannot achieve greatness without becoming obsessed.

Then he smiled.

“Since Doctor Zhang has such an interest, this outsider can only wish you success in your endeavors.”

“I hope I may borrow Marquis’ good words.”

While desperately recalling the pitiful amount of knowledge he possessed about clocks, Zhang Shou continued enthusiastically explaining a whole bunch of half-correct principles to Zhang Kang.

He even directly explained the formula for the pendulum principle.

Of course, he had never expected Zhang Kang to actually understand it.

Seeing Zhang Kang’s eyes gradually flickering, clearly wanting to end the conversation as soon as possible, Zhang Shou secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Actually, a pendulum clock required not only the pendulum principle and escapement mechanism, but also countless other components. It was absolutely impossible to manufacture one quickly.

Even if they succeeded, it would only become a luxury item.

With the same effort, it would be better to find craftsmen and experiment with quartz sand and alkaline materials to produce glass.

However, precisely because clock research would take a long time, it was perfect for disguising his true intentions.

It would make outsiders think he was merely obsessed with strange mechanical inventions and lower their guard.

It would also give the emperor an explanation for the object he had bestowed upon him.

Of course, if he could eventually create a pendulum clock, that would be an unexpected blessing.

During this period, he could naturally assign those craftsmen to other tasks for his own purposes.

When Zhang Shou and Zhang Kang returned to the room where they had previously been, Zhang Shou heard Lu Sanlang loudly proclaiming from inside: “Excellent! Qingyu, it’s you! Everyone agrees—you will play Li Xiangjun!

“But I’m not looking down on you. If you want to write the entire story exactly as it happened, it probably won’t be finished in one or two days. So don’t write it all at once. Write one section, perform one section!”

Lu Sanlang paused, then chuckled.

“Once you perform a section, I’ll have the bookstore print that part of the story you wrote and distribute it throughout the city. At first, we won’t charge any money. With your reputation and such a unique story, do you really think people won’t buy it later? Not to mention, if we combine this Peach Blossom Fan story with the newly published collections of examination essays, the books will definitely sell even better!”

“And once your play and book become popular, I’ll invite famous playwrights, add songs and lyrics, and have it performed throughout the city. That will be the true meaning of becoming famous and beloved by everyone!”

When Zhang Shou had joked with Lu Sanlang in the carriage before that books were inferior to plays, he had already thought of such an idea.

Now, seeing that Lu Sanlang had actually understood and expanded upon it so cleverly, Zhang Shou could not help but laugh.

Zhang Kang, meanwhile, was both amused and speechless. He glanced sideways at Zhang Shou and teased: “Doctor Zhang, you are obsessed with mathematics and strange devices, while Lu San is obsessed with making money. Indeed, like teacher, like student!”