Chapter 28

In the Hall of Sweet Dew, Li Er sat behind a desk, his face wearing a half-smile, watching Zhao Chen enter with great interest.

Old Qin sat on a mat not far from Li Er, his eyes fixed on his nose, his mind focused, like an old monk in deep meditation. It was clear that the next move would be up to Zhao Chen, as everything that needed to be said had already been said. Whether the emperor's doubts could be dispelled would depend on Zhao Chen alone.

Seeing Old Qin's demeanor, Zhao Chen knew exactly what was expected of him. He quickly took a few steps forward and loudly bowed, saying, "Your humble servant, the head of the Academy of Natural Philosophy, pays respects to His Majesty!"

"Hmm!" Li Er grunted indifferently, not hurrying to let Zhao Chen stand up, but instead asked, "Just now, I heard what Qin Ai said. Now I want to hear it from you personally!"

"Yes!" Zhao Chen respectfully agreed and then spoke in a loud voice, "Your humble servant was taken in by my master from a young age and has lived with him in the valley since then..."

"I don't want to hear this nonsense!" Unexpectedly, Zhao Chen was coldly interrupted by Li Er, who then spoke in a clearly displeased tone, echoing through the hall.

"What does His Majesty want to hear?" Zhao Chen looked up, puzzled, and asked cautiously.

"What I want to hear is, what is the relationship between you and your master and the Hidden Sect?" Li Er glared at Zhao Chen, his face dark, and spoke coldly.

"Your Majesty, it was only today that I heard about the Hidden Sect from Lord Qin. Before that, I had never even heard the name Hidden Sect!"

"Did your master never mention the Hidden Sect?"

"No!" Zhao Chen shook his head and said firmly, "Your humble servant has been with my master since childhood, and he has never mentioned the Hidden Sect to me!"

Li Er listened to this, his gaze coldly fixed on Zhao Chen, trying to discern any hint of deceit. But after a long while, he saw only Zhao Chen's calm face.

Pausing for a moment, Li Er sighed and said, "Then tell me about your master!"

"Your humble servant doesn't really know how to describe my master. As far as I can remember, he has always been the same, fishing and growing vegetables every day, and teaching me to read and write in his spare time. He has never left the valley!"

Li Er, listening to Zhao Chen, suddenly frowned and repeated an old question, "You really can't find that valley?"

Seeing Zhao Chen shake his head, Li Er felt a bit disappointed. In fact, the hundred cavalry he had sent had already returned from the depths of the Qinling Mountains. According to the secret reports of the cavalry, they had followed the traces left by Zhao Chen and indeed found the place where Zhao Chen had appeared.

However, as Zhao Chen had said, they found nothing there, as if Zhao Chen had appeared out of nowhere.

"Continue talking about your master!" Li Er sighed in disappointment and then looked at Zhao Chen.

What more could he say? Zhao Chen blinked, thinking he had already explained everything. But since Li Er wanted him to continue, he had no choice but to do so.

Taking a deep breath, he looked up at Li Er and said loudly, "Your humble servant may not know my master's past, but I do know that he is a man of unparalleled wisdom, unmatched in history, especially in the field of natural philosophy, where he has reached an unimaginable level!"

"Like the steel-making technique I presented to Your Majesty a few days ago, to my master, it is nothing more than a child's play, mere scrap metal!"

After saying this, Zhao Chen couldn't help but secretly observe Li Er's expression. Indeed, Li Er looked stunned, clearly shocked by the term "scrap metal."

Imagine something you consider incredibly precious, but to someone else, it's just scrap metal. Anyone would feel a bit upset in such a situation.

"Go on!" Li Er clenched his fists and stared straight at Zhao Chen, trying to suppress his inner agitation, and continued.

Zhao Chen took a deep breath and then said earnestly, "My master once said, 'All things in the world have their principles. It is only because we have not fully explored these principles that our knowledge is incomplete!'"

"For example, our clothing, food, shelter, and transportation. In ancient times, before the discovery of fire, our ancestors could only eat raw food. Later, with the discovery of fire, they learned to cook. Then, with the discovery of grains, they learned to farm, build houses, and make vehicles..."

"Are these all part of natural philosophy?" Li Er's eyes were clearly unfriendly, and he asked coldly, with a slight curl of his lips.

"Yes!" Zhao Chen took a deep breath, pretending not to notice Li Er's unfriendly gaze, and continued, "These are all things that our ancestors gradually discovered through their struggle for survival. However, this process was very long. Why?"

"If we don't think about a piece of wood, it's just a piece of wood. But if we do think about it, this piece of wood can be used for many things: building houses, making vehicles, creating pen holders, making furniture, and much more!"

"This is the essence of natural philosophy. By using the principles of natural philosophy, we can uncover the true nature of all things in the world. For example, the telescope on Your Majesty's desk, besides being used to see distant objects, can it be used for anything else?"

As Zhao Chen spoke, he noticed the telescope on the desk in front of Li Er and continued.

Hearing Zhao Chen's words, Li Er subconsciously looked at the telescope and couldn't help but frown, not knowing what else this telescope could be used for!

"Your humble servant can burn down the entire Qinling Mountains with just this telescope if I so wish!" Zhao Chen, seeing Li Er's inquisitive gaze, said confidently. He didn't dare to say he could burn down the hall, as that would surely result in his immediate execution by Old Qin.

"You dare!" As soon as Zhao Chen finished speaking, Old Qin, in a fit of rage, stood up and loudly rebuked Zhao Chen.

"I would like to see how you can burn down the Qinling Mountains!" Li Er raised his hand to calm the furious Old Qin, gestured for a servant to bring a log, and then handed the telescope to Zhao Chen, watching him with a cold smile.

Zhao Chen was overjoyed, having successfully diverted Li Er's attention from one strange topic to another. He knew that once Li Er saw this, he would be intrigued.

Although he felt this way inside, he maintained a serious and focused demeanor on the surface.

Taking the telescope from the servant, he carefully removed one of the lenses, walked to the sunlight, and held the lens up to focus the sunlight. Immediately, a white spot appeared on the log on the ground.

The hall was silent. Li Er and Old Qin both frowned, watching the white spot, unable to understand how it could ignite the log.

However, before long, they smelled the scent of burning wood and saw a wisp of smoke rising from the log.

It's burning! It's really burning!

Old Qin watched this scene in shock, his facial muscles twitching. Witnessing a fire without a source was a revelation that completely颠覆ed his worldview.

Li Er clenched his fists tightly, his inner agitation mirroring Old Qin's, but he gritted his teeth and cast an inquisitive gaze at Zhao Chen, waiting for an explanation.

"Your Majesty, the principle is actually quite simple!" Zhao Chen looked at Li Er and explained earnestly, "Your humble servant merely focused the sunlight through this lens. In essence, it's the effect of light!"

Seeing Li Er frown, Zhao Chen thought for a moment and said, "For example, if you poke a small hole in the bottom of a cup and apply pressure, the water will spray out of the hole. If the seal is good enough, the water jet will be more powerful!"

"Similarly, I just focused the sunlight through this lens and used it to ignite the wood!"

"Is this the way of natural philosophy?" Li Er, after hearing the explanation, sighed, his expression complex, not sure if he truly understood.

"Yes!" Zhao Chen nodded and said, "This is just a small aspect of natural philosophy. Compared to the true essence of natural philosophy, it's nothing! My master once said that by exploring the principles of natural philosophy, humans could even fly in the sky, which would not be a strange thing at all!"

"That's something only immortals can do!" Li Er looked at Zhao Chen with disdain and sneered.

Zhao Chen felt a bit annoyed inside. This was a common flaw of the ancients. When faced with something they couldn't understand, they would attribute it to gods and spirits, worship them, and ultimately feed them to the birds.

"Your Majesty, my master only revered heaven and earth and did not believe in ghosts and spirits! When he said humans could fly in the sky, I believe him, and it's not a difficult thing at all!"

Li Er, hearing Zhao Chen's words, looked at him thoughtfully, not sure if he had truly understood. Zhao Chen continued, "This principle is similar to how I used the light to ignite the wood. Similarly, humans can fly in the sky by using the power of the wind! For example, a kite can fly in the sky because it uses the power of the wind!"

"Suppose we make a large kite based on the principle of a kite, and use the power of the wind, could we not fly in the sky as well?"

Zhao Chen was still enthusiastically expounding on his natural philosophy, but Li Er, listening, suddenly interrupted him, staring at Zhao Chen with a serious expression.

"Just now, I heard you say that your master only revered heaven and earth and did not believe in ghosts and spirits. Is that correct?"

Zhao Chen, hearing this, almost choked. He had spoken for so long, and Li Er had only remembered this one sentence.

Taking a deep breath, he lowered his head and said, "Yes, my master spent his life studying natural philosophy, believing that all things in the world have principles and can be traced, so he only revered heaven and earth and did not believe in ghosts and spirits!"

"Since that is the case, I will entrust you with a task. If you can solve it for me, I will consider your natural philosophy!" Li Er, hearing this, suddenly took a deep breath, looked straight at Zhao Chen, and said in a bargaining tone.

Zhao Chen, hearing this, inwardly lamented. Clearly, the true development of natural philosophy would benefit the rulers of the Tang Dynasty, yet it was being framed as his personal achievement.

However, to ensure that natural philosophy would be taken seriously in the Tang Dynasty, Zhao Chen had no choice but to nod in agreement!