Moma Liangshan

Chapter 129: A Trip by Car, Writing a New Book

Unlike inland cities, Laoshan County's streets did not follow a grid layout. Instead, a main road, ten li long and ten zhang wide, was built along Jiaozhou Bay. The reason for only ten li was that this size of urban area was sufficient to support Jiaozhou's current population. Although the Shu princess gifted Wang Hao two hundred Mongolian horses, he did not use them for training cavalry. Just as not everyone can be trained as a cavalryman, only one hundred and twenty of the two hundred Mongolian horses were suitable for combat. The eighty-odd horses that were discarded were bridled and used as draft horses. Traditional carriages in the Northern Song Dynasty were two-wheeled, thus limiting their carrying capacity. After Wang Hao took charge of Jiaozhou, he quickly ordered the design of a four-wheeled carriage, originally used in Europe.

In a two-wheeled carriage, the load-bearing frame is supported by the wheels at both ends of the axle and the shafts attached to the horse's back. Although the shafts on the horse's back are mainly responsible for balancing the frame and do not need to bear much weight, the undulations caused by the horse during movement are directly transmitted to the entire frame through the shafts, resulting in unavoidable swaying. Therefore, two-wheeled carriages are not very comfortable to ride in, and their load-bearing capacity is limited. Four-wheeled carriages, on the other hand, largely improve upon these shortcomings of two-wheeled carriages.

A four-wheeled carriage connects its front and rear axles via a robust axle, with the front wheels typically having a smaller diameter than the rear wheels. The axle is directly fixed to the rear axle using mortise and tenon joints, while it connects to the front axle via a vertical steering shaft. The steering shaft is also fixed to the front axle using mortise and tenon joints, but its connection to the axle is a flexible, rotating joint. Because the carriage receives sufficient support from the front and rear wheels, the horses only need to pull, not bear the weight. The shafts, rigidly attached to the frame, are also flexible, allowing them to move with the horses' backs without transmitting this movement to the carriage body. The number of horses pulling the carriage can be adjusted according to its size and load capacity.

Jiaozhou has only produced three four-wheeled carriages so far, all pulled by two horses. These three carriages are specifically for the use of the Jiaozhou county government, and therefore feature a relatively comfortable design. A separate carriage is specially designed on the frame, with two rows of seats installed in the front and back. The driver sits in a separate seat at the front of the carriage. Wang Hao, as the county magistrate, naturally occupies a seat alone, while Di Chunqiu, Qin Guanhai, and Di Gongkao sit opposite him. Wang Lun, Lin Chong, Yang Zhi, Lu Da, Lakshen, and Morigen share one carriage, Chen Song, Zhang Gou, and Ma Cao share another, and the rest ride horses.

Lu Da unconsciously shifted his body and looked at Wang Lun opposite him, saying, "Chief, do you know why the young master specifically requested that the six of us ride in one carriage?" Wang Lun smiled helplessly and said, "Because we six are the heaviest!" Lu Da was even more confused and said, "Since the young master knew that we six were the heaviest, shouldn't he have us sit separately? Chen Song's carriage has three empty seats!" Wang Lun didn't speak but looked at Lin Chong. Lin Chong explained, "The young master probably wants us to actually test the carriage's weight!" Lu Da suddenly understood and said, "To see if it can withstand the weight of six big men?" Wang Lun pointed to the coachman outside the carriage and said, "Seven people!" Lu Da was embarrassed and quickly said, "Yes! Yes!" Not far away, Wang Hao's carriage had already set off. The coachman in Wang Lun's carriage asked, "Gentlemen, shall we depart?" Wang Lun said, "Depart!"

Wang Hao glanced at the three people opposite him, who were somewhat cramped, then moved to one side of the seats and said, "Teacher, please come and sit down!" The Mohists were always forthright, and Di Chunqiu replied, "In that case, I will respectfully accept your offer!" Wang Hao pointed to the empty seat beside him and said, "Teacher, please sit down!" With the four of them seated on opposite sides, the space instantly became much more spacious. Di Gongkao gripped the armrest of the carriage and said, "Young Master's artisan thinking is probably enough to form its own school in this world!" Wang Hao said, "Astronomy, geography, arithmetic, and the study of things all have their own rules. I have merely gained a little more understanding than others!"

Di Chunqiu said, "I've studied the four arithmetic operations many times. Ten basic numbers, four basic symbols, a set of multiplication tables—yet these concise characters contain endless profound insights." Wang Hao said, "Profound knowledge and mysterious principles, if analyzed meticulously, will eventually reveal themselves to be nothing more than specific combinations of multiple basic principles or phenomena." Di Chunqiu said, "Hearing your words, sir, is better than reading for ten years!" Wang Hao laughed heartily and said, "Our master-disciple relationship cannot be reversed!" Di Chunqiu said, "Everyone has their own expertise, and there is a sequence to learning. There is no rule in the world that forbids a master from learning from a disciple!" Wang Hao's initial purpose in becoming Di Chunqiu's disciple was to gain the support of the Mohist school. Since their acquaintance, their master-disciple relationship has not significantly improved; instead, they have become more and more like like-minded friends. Wang Hao said, "In a little while, I plan to publish another book!" Di Chunqiu was surprised and asked, "Could you please tell me the title, young master?" Wang Hao pondered for a moment and said, "I plan to call it 'Principles of Geometry,' what do you think, teacher?"

Di Chunqiu asked, "What is 'geometry'?" Wang Hao suddenly realized, thinking, "This 'geometry' is probably a direct transliteration from the West, and there's no corresponding name in classical Chinese!" He said, "The word 'geometry' didn't originate from the Central Plains, but from the distant Qin Empire." Di Chunqiu asked in confusion, "The Qin Empire?" Wang Hao explained, "This Qin Empire isn't the one founded by the First Emperor Ying Zheng, but rather one that sailed from the southeast to the South Seas, crossed the South Seas westward to India, circled India to the Abbasid Caliphate. The Qin Empire was located northwest of the Abbasid Caliphate." Di Chunqiu suddenly understood. He said, "During the Han and Tang dynasties, the Silk Road was smooth and prosperous, and the Qin Dynasty existed in the land of the setting sun." Wang Hao nodded and said, "The word 'geometry' originated from a city-state of the Qin Dynasty. The people there initially called 'measuring the land' 'geometry.' Later, as time progressed, people began to call all knowledge about space 'geometry'!" Di Gongkao and Di Chunqiu were surprised to hear this. Di Gongkao said eagerly, "Young Master, you have already solved many difficulties in ship design with a book on the four arithmetic operations. If you had another book that specifically studied spatial configurations, I'm afraid Jiaozhou would be able to build giant ships with a capacity of over 10,000 shi?"