Chapter Eighty-Five: The Foolish and the Displeased

It is said that, if cost and output are set aside, even a purely handmade machine can be brought to an astonishing degree of precision.

And the windmill and deep-well pump assembled at Zhang Village were proof enough of it.

With the help of master craftsmen from the Imperial Armory, this money-burning marvel, whose main parts were wrought iron and whose precision components were fashioned from bronze, and which used wood only in the base, casing, and other unimportant places, had not even been fully assembled before its antique form and the near-perfect fit of its parts dazzled everyone present.

And when the money-burning marvel was finally set in place, after Zhang Qian personally removed the brake that had locked the windmill blades, its rhythmic roar and formidable pumping power left everyone there dazed and enthralled.

Driven by the northwesterly wind, the blades turned slowly. The gears rapidly converted wind into kinetic force, passing the power upward through successive stages, and at last, through the lifting transmission rod, raised and lowered the deep-well pump’s piston again and again. The leather seal around the piston swiftly drew the water bucket into a near vacuum.

Under the pressure difference, the muddy canal water gushed continuously through the sealed bamboo pipe into the water bucket above the embankment, then was poured without ceasing into a fixed trough, where it gathered into a stream and raced away toward the distant creek.

It worked.

Because he had imagined the moment this windmill-pump combination would operate not less than a hundred times in his mind, Zhang Qian felt no excitement at all. He merely watched for about half a minute before making his final judgment.

Its efficiency was only on par with the hand-cranked deep-well pumps that had long since been eliminated even in the Chinese countryside of the twenty-first century, and it was far inferior to an electric water pump. As for the cost, even with Zhang Qian’s current wealth, the mere thought of it made him wince.

The only advantage was that, with another handle, the two bamboo pipes inside and outside the embankment could be switched at any time. Thus, when there was flooding, canal water could be endlessly drained into the creek; when there was drought, creek water could be endlessly drawn into the canal.

There was still plenty of room for improvement. For instance, those bronze gears could, if produced on a large scale, be cast in fine iron and then polished smooth. As for most of the windmill’s structural parts, replacing wrought iron with hardwood would not affect efficiency either. The problem of the wood’s service life could be solved entirely through regular inspection and replacement. Otherwise, across the whole capital region, the number of households willing to spend such a fortune on a thing like this would probably not exceed three hundred.

“My young friend, my young friend, this thing is truly divine, truly divine! It is worth ten thousand times more than gunpowder!” Before Zhang Qian had even finished considering how much more the cost might be reduced, Bi Gou had already seized his arm.

At that moment, the old gentleman was trembling, his beard was trembling, and even his voice shook violently. Not giving Zhang Qian the slightest chance to demur, he went on, eyes reddening as he exclaimed, “If this thing were spread across the land, the floods and droughts of our Great Tang could surely be reduced by half! Tens of thousands of disaster victims would no longer have to sell their sons and daughters or wander homeless from place to place. Households of modest comfort would no longer have to fear that, because they had stored away a few extra measures of grain, disaster victims would smash down their doors and leave them with neither property nor peace!”

As he spoke, he suddenly released Zhang Qian’s hand, stepped back quickly, lifted his outer robe, and was about to kneel with both knees to the ground. “Yongzhao, please permit this old man to write of this device in full, and to spread its diagrams, structure, and function throughout the world. This old man is willing, on behalf of all the people under heaven, to kowtow in gratitude for the gift of life!”

Alarmed, Zhang Qian hurried over and firmly supported him by the elbow. “No, no, not like this! I beg you, sir, do not do this. I grant you permission to write and draw whatever you like, all right? It’s already set up on the embankment—when have I ever said no to imitation?”

“Yongzhao’s great benevolence and righteousness deserve Zhang’s deepest bow!” On this side, while Zhang Qian was busy steadying Bi Gou, Zhang Ruoxu on the other side also bent low in a profound salute.

“Yongzhao’s great benevolence and righteousness—I, Sun, thank you on behalf of the tenant farmers and servants of my own estate for teaching us this art!” Sun Anzu loved nothing more than joining in, and never lagged behind others. Following Zhang Ruoxu’s movement, he too bowed deeply to the ground.

“Three of you, three seniors, you’re flattering me far too much!” Zhang Qian tried to hold one man and not lose the next, flustered and at a loss. “It’s just a windmill and a pump—I’ve mentioned them to the three of you before, haven’t I? If you like them so much, I’ll make each of you an identical set. Once you take them back, you can take them apart to study, or assemble them and use them for pumping water or draining floodwater, whichever you please!”

“Yongzhao is so generous that Zhang dares not decline—then I shall accept with delight!” Zhang Ruoxu immediately straightened from his deep bow, all smiles.

“Though I feel unworthy to receive it, I dare not refuse Yongzhao’s kindness!” Sun Anzu also quickly stood upright, smiling and nodding.

“Mm—” A muffled groan rose in Zhang Qian’s heart; he nearly fainted on the spot.

He had been fooled again, fooled again. How many times had he already suffered at the hands of these old foxes, and yet he still had learned nothing?

This was not merely a few jars of white liquor anymore, but two complete windmill-pump assemblies. In the twenty-first century, the cost of each one would have been more than enough to buy a Ferrari.

Fortunately, this time the two old gentlemen were only joking with him. After the pleasantries, they both shook their heads with smiles. “From what I see, this thing uses quite a bit of copper and iron, so I would not dare let Yongzhao waste money on my account. As for materials, just send me a list and I will have everything prepared for you as soon as possible.”

“I dislike trouble. As for the money, have someone from Yongzhao’s side come to my house to collect it. I only hope Yongzhao will finish building the windmill as soon as possible, so that my estate may also gain a new sight to behold!”

“I knew that you two, Uncle Zhang and Senior Sun, wouldn’t keep cheating me without end!” Zhang Qian secretly let out a breath and muttered to himself. Then he turned his attention quickly to Bi Gou, whose elbow he had still been supporting tightly. “Senior, yours will be a gift from me. I won’t accept a single coin from you; consider it a small token of respect from me. Also, the relevant drawings are in my study. I’ll make a copy and send it to your residence as soon as possible.”

“I am already past sixty; what use have I for so much wealth?” Bi Gou tried several times, but because his strength was far inferior to Zhang Qian’s, he could not get the bow down and had no choice but to give up regretfully. “By relying on my seniority and forcing you, my young friend, to bring out your master’s secret art and make it known to the world, I already feel deeply ashamed. I would never dare let you spend another coin on the windmill and pump.”

Though he could have saved a great deal of money, Zhang Qian stubbornly shook his head. “Senior, I truly want to give it to you. I have already heard about what you have recently done. I confess I could never be as brave as you, but I do wish to offer you a gift, to strengthen your resolve for the road ahead.”

He did not know how to use words to express his respect for Bi Gou. Though the old gentleman’s memorial had urged the emperor to stop selling offices and titles, to abolish all the crookedly bestowed posts throughout the realm, and had thus cut off his own shortcut to instant success.

He felt that, even if the twenty-first century and his present self were combined, they still could not be as brave or as decisive as Bi Gou. And yet he hoped that, in the official circles of both eras, there would be more men like Bi Gou and fewer like Empress Wei and Wei Shu Ban.

He did not know how many people in the twenty-first century and in the eighth century shared his thoughts. But he knew clearly that the reason the Central Kingdom is the Central Kingdom is because, across thousands of years, there have always been people like Bi Gou—rising one after another, throwing themselves forward at the critical moment, and pulling the whole nation back onto the right path.

These people may not have been famous enough, and their virtue may not have been flawless, but their figures and deeds were destined to shine in the histories and illuminate the eyes of those who came after.

That day, Zhang Qian no longer remembered how many times Bi Gou had refused.

That day, Zhang Qian also no longer remembered who had proposed the farewell banquet for Bi Gou and, on his own authority, brought the guests to the Zhang household.

He only remembered that, when he copied the drawings that day, he did so with extraordinary care.

He only remembered that, in the end, he still gave Bi Gou, free of charge, a whole windmill-pump set, a complete set of design drawings, and a cartload of strong liquor.

He also remembered Bi Gou’s white-haired figure as he finished the liquor and climbed onto the cart with the drawings in hand. Faintly, it possessed the same tragic grandeur as that day a thousand years ago by the Yi River.

The wind sighs; the Yi is cold.

In that moment, Jing Ke had no head, and Gao Jianli was not pleased.