Chapter 4: The Two Worthies

  The two great scientists that Zhu Yinglong had been expecting for a long time finally arrived in Kaifeng. Song Yingxing was easy to talk to and was still studying hard at his old home in Jiangxi, preparing for the imperial examination next year. He had taken the exam four times but had not passed yet, however he did not give up and continued to study diligently at home. When Zhou Huan arrived at his house and explained the purpose of his visit, Song immediately packed his bags and followed him. Xu Guangqi was different, this old man was very stubborn and refused to come, saying that his "Complete Treatise on Agricultural Administration" was almost finished and he could not leave. In the end, Zhou Huan had no choice but to use every trick in the book, and one night he even stole Xu's manuscript, which finally brought him over. Therefore, when Xu Guangqi saw Zhu Yinglong, he did not have a good expression on his face.

  After settling down the family members of both families, Zhu Yinglong set up a banquet in Tingyu Pavilion at Yinglong Villa to entertain the two sages.

  As soon as he sat down, Xu Guangqi turned to Zhu Yinglong with a cold bow and asked: "Your Highness, when will you return the manuscript of my 'Nong Zheng Quan Shu'?"

  Xu Guangqi's "Nong Zheng Quan Shu" is not as good as Song Yingxing's later book "Tian Gong Kai Wu", but it is also a good book for governing the world, especially some measures in the most disastrous years are very effective. Zhu Yinglong originally wanted to keep it himself to take a look, and let Xu Guangqi get familiar with Kaifeng first before returning the manuscript, which also implied keeping him around. He hesitated for a moment, then said: "I have long heard of your 'Nong Zheng Quan Shu', agriculture is the foundation of the country, the pillar of the society, can I take a look at it first and return it in a few days?"

  Xu Guangqi's expression improved slightly upon hearing that Zhu Yinglong was interested in his book, and he said: "If the prince wants to read it, I will naturally obey. However, the time cannot be too long. This book is my life's work, and it has not been completed yet. May I take back the unfinished parts first?"

  "This can be done naturally!" Zhu Yinglong smiled and nodded in agreement.

  Compared to him, Song Yingxing was even more constrained. He was still a juren, and after four attempts at the imperial examination, he had yet to pass. Now that he was already past his prime, he still had no achievements to speak of. As the younger brother of the current emperor's son-in-law, how could Emperor Xianzong possibly take notice of someone as insignificant as himself? His heart was filled with anxiety and unease.

  "Mr. Song, do you know why I have sent for you?" Zhu Yinglong asked, noticing that Song Yingxing seemed to be deep in thought.

  "The student doesn't know, please tell the student, Your Majesty." Song Yingxing hastily stood up and clasped his fists, Zhu Yinglong gestured for him to sit down, smiling: "I heard that Mr. loves to study strange skills and clever things, is this true?"

  "The student is ignorant and unlearned, Your Excellency please forgive him!" Song Yingxing thought that Zhu Yinglong was blaming him for not reading the classics, but instead doing those lewd things. A thin layer of sweat had already formed on his forehead. He was not like Xu Guangqi, without status or position, with his future entirely dependent on the imperial examination.

  Zhu Yinglong looked at him with a nervous expression, knowing what he was thinking in his heart. He smiled and said, "Sir, you are overthinking. I have come for the knowledge you possess." He then took out three books from his sleeve: "The Theory of Techniques", "The Theory of Objects" and "The Theory of Elixirs". He handed them to Song Yingxing and said, "Mr. Song, this is my humble opinion on extraordinary skills and cunning tricks. Please take a look and offer your advice."

  "Your Highness, what's this?" Song Yingxiong took the three books from Zhu Yinglong's hands and stared at him in confusion with wide eyes.

  "Let's not talk about that anymore. Today is for the two gentlemen to wash the dust, let's not discuss other matters, drink and eat." Zhu Yinglong didn't want to say more now, and slightly smiled to change the subject.

  A sumptuous banquet to wash away the dust of travel was not exactly a joyful occasion for both host and guest, but it was still quite harmonious; each just had their own thoughts.

  Since the invention of movable type printing by Bi Sheng in the Song Dynasty, it has been widely promoted. Clay movable type and metal movable type have become rare, but wooden movable type printing has survived in large numbers. Many books printed during the Ming Dynasty were printed using wooden movable type. When Zhu Yinglong built his printing factory, he first adopted wooden movable type printing. Zhu Yinglong also knew that lead movable type could replace clay movable type, but the ink used for printing had no place to go. The traditional ink used for wooden movable type printing was not suitable for lead movable type printing. At that time, petroleum was not yet applied, and China's oil fields were mostly thousands or even tens of thousands of meters underground, without advanced drilling tools, let alone extraction. Therefore, Zhu Yinglong began the arduous task of reforming ink. Fortunately, he studied chemistry, otherwise, he really didn't know where to start!

  The printing workshop inside Yinglong Villa was very small, and Zhu Yinglong didn't even think of making money by printing books because he didn't have the energy to manage so many things. The only use of the printing workshop was to print books for himself. After the autumn harvest, Zhu Yinglong had Shi Kefa bring all the children under 16 years old, including those exactly 16 years old, from the families of his tenant farmers to Yinglong Villa. Both boys and girls were taken in, and this matter was carried out secretly. To outsiders, it was announced that the King's Yinglong Villa was recruiting servants and maids, with over a thousand people arriving. Therefore, this small printing workshop was only enough to print books for these people.

  After reading Zhu Yinglong's three books, Song Yingxing immediately agreed to stay and teach at the Shadow Dragon Academy. Although he had put his future on hold for the imperial examination, he had taken it four times without passing, and his interests were not in those obscure Four Books and Five Classics. Now that someone had given him another space, he naturally forgot about the imperial examination and took over Zhu Yinglong's laboratory at Shadow Dragon Villa. Zhu Yinglong was finally relieved, from now on he only needed to give directions, provide hints when encountering difficulties, and let Song Yingxing take care of it.

  For Xu Guangqi, Zhu Yinglong not only returned his "Complete Book of Agricultural Administration", but also attached a "Supplement to the Complete Book of Agricultural Administration" to the back of the manuscript, listing some advanced management and grain planting methods in later generations. One by one, he immediately convinced this stubborn old man, not only did his whole family stay behind, but he also wrote letters to help Zhu Yinglong invite several talents, including several down-and-out foreigners. Zhu Yinglong planned to invest a sum of money to build a small church in the Shadow Dragon Garden, so that they could safely teach Western technology to Xu Guangqi and others, and then pass it on to these children, as well as the "Original Geometry" and other books translated by him and Xiong Sanba.

  Zhu Yinglong obtained Xu Guangqi and Song Yingxing, two great talents, secretly announced the establishment of Yinglong Academy, with Xu Guangqi as the president and Song Yingxing as a professor. Then, he divided more than 1,000 children into two parts: those who had read books were all assigned to the Military Academy, while those who had not been enlightened were all assigned to Yinglong Academy.

  Xu Guangqi was very dissatisfied with Zhu Yinglong's allocation method. Why were the people allocated to the Military Academy all literate, while those allocated to his own Yinglong Academy were basically uneducated? He went to find Zhu Yinglong to demand an explanation.

  "Your Majesty is so unfair, giving all the children who can recognize characters to Zhi Zhuang and leaving only uneducated children for my Shadow Dragon Academy? What kind of reason is this?" Xu Guangqi rushed over, angrily questioning Zhu Yinglong.

  Zhu Yinglong knew that doing so would inevitably lead to controversy, and he was just about to go find Xu Guangqi to explain things, but because he had instructed Zhou Huai'an on several matters, he was delayed, and unexpectedly Xu Guangqi's impatient nature had already led him to come over.

  Zhu Yinglong gestured to Zhou Huai'an to leave first, then smiled and said to Xu Guangqi: "Old sir, please calm down, I also had no choice. The imperial court has been at war with the Later Jin every year, and military talents are in dire need. I can only prioritize giving it to Old Master Sun."

  "Your Highness is doing this, I'm afraid it's a bit presumptuous. Cultivating military talent is the court's business. Your Highness doesn't have an imperial edict and isn't an official of the court. This move might invite criticism!" Xu Guangqi was a Catholic, although he had loyalist ideas, but not as deeply rooted as others.

  "The rise and fall of a nation, every individual has a responsibility. Although I don't have an imperial edict, nor am I an official of the court, I still can't just watch as the great Ming dynasty declines like this. At present, eunuchs are in power, the emperor is being deceived, and I, the king, cannot bear to see the empire our ancestors built be destroyed by a group of traitorous eunuchs who bring calamity to the nation and its people. Therefore, I want to cultivate a batch of talented individuals to send to the Liaodong army to render their service. I hope the elder understands."

  Xu Guangqi fell silent for a moment, then calmly said: "Your Highness, although I am old and confused, I understand in my heart that you have ambitions, Zhi Xiong also knows it, the people around you all know it. You are not willing to be just a king, is that right?"

  Zhu Yinglong was very calm, not feeling surprised at all. If Xu Guangqi hadn't seen through it, he wouldn't be Xu Guangqi. He said, "The old man is right, I do have ambitions, otherwise I wouldn't have used coercion to bring the old man to Kaifeng. The Ming dynasty has accumulated too many problems and needs a drastic change to alter its fate of impending doom. To complete this great transformation, my power alone is far from enough, so I need people like the old man to help me."

  "Does the king want to rebel?" Xu Guangqi asked in surprise.

  "Rebel? Does this king need to? Zhu Yinglong burst out laughing: "Since the emperor fell into the water in the garden, his body has been getting worse day by day. He indulges in sensual pleasures and won't last a few more years before he dies. I am his only brother, and he has no children. I am the only candidate to inherit the throne. Why would I need to rebel?"

  Xu Guangqi fell silent, and every word Zhu Yinglong said was a piercing remark, but also the truth. The truth is that if Tianqi Emperor were to die without an heir, the current Prince of Xin would indeed be the first in line to inherit the throne. "Is the prince so certain that His Majesty will not have any children?"

  Zhu Yinglong gave a mysterious smile and said: "There is, of course there will be, but I don't know if it's really my imperial brother himself."

  "What does your lordship mean? I don't understand," Xu Guangqi replied evasively.

  Zhu Yinglong suddenly looked at Xu Guangqi with sincerity: "No matter what the future holds, whether I become emperor or not, I will make our Great Ming Dynasty prosperous and strong. This is my greatest wish! Don't worry, elder, I won't become a sinner for all eternity."

  Xu Guangqi was suddenly moved by Zhu Yinglong's clear and unwavering gaze, and his heart shook as he said: "Your Highness has such a grand ambition, this old man is willing to follow Your Highness with his remaining strength, and make one last effort for the great Ming dynasty!"

  Xu Guangqi also knew that since he had come, it would be difficult to leave. Although he had some reservations about Zhu Yinglong in his heart, he also understood that if he were to die now, and if the King of Xin were not actually relying on treason to become emperor, but instead became a capable emperor, then his own death would be too worthless. After several days of contact, he discovered that the knowledge in the chest of the King of Xin was not inferior to his own, and in many places even surpassed him. Moreover, the king's treatment of the people within his fiefdom was very good, loving and protecting them, truly caring about these commoners. Of course, there may have been other factors at play, but without him, the King of Xin would still do the same things, achieving his goals. He really couldn't think that the King of Xin, who was called the "foolish prince" by everyone in the court and the countryside, was actually a wise and ambitious leader with a talent for kingship, and he wondered if the king would become another Yan Wang Zhu Di.

  After Xu Guangqi left, Zhu Yinglong immediately felt regretful. Was he too impulsive? He had revealed all the secrets in his heart. Then he let it go. Some things were said, and comparing hearts, hiding and concealing was not necessarily a good thing.

  Song Yingxing did not disappoint Zhu Yinglong's expectations. Under his guidance, he quickly produced oil-based ink for use with movable type and improved the printing machine, increasing its speed by several times. Since it was used for military purposes, none of the books printed at that time contained simplified characters or Arabic numerals. These things are now being promoted in the army as a means to an end, but I believe there will be little opposition when they spread from the army to the people and their benefits are recognized, making it much easier to promote them with less effort and resistance.

  After that conversation with Zhu Yinglong, Xu Guangqi went to see Sun Chengzong once. What the two of them talked about was unknown to Zhu Yinglong, but Xu Guangqi did enter the preparation for the establishment of Yinglong Academy very actively.