Chapter 65: The Terrifying Power of Steam!

However, Feng Quji seemed entirely oblivious to this mood. He brazenly stepped closer and picked up the memorial that Qin Shi Huang had tossed aside to take a look.

The moment he looked, he received a severe shock.

This...

"Aren't these numbers?"

"This old fellow really had the nerve!"

"He actually gave this to Your Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Shi Huang looked toward the memorial as well and asked, "Minister Feng, do you recognize these symbols?"

Feng Quji's hand trembled slightly as he held the memorial, and he said with pleasant surprise, "Your Majesty, this is an absolute treasure!"

"Look at these numbers; every single one of them is extremely convenient to write and very easy to recognize."

"When Hu Qinqiang first mentioned this to me, I advised him not to report it to you immediately, but to wait until he had thoroughly researched it before presenting it."

"I never expected that this old codger would actually crack it completely."

"Look, these are the numbers corresponding to our Great Qin's lesser seal script!"

"1, 2, 3..."

Qin Shi Huang earnestly followed along, reading the numbers aloud, and within a moment, he grasped their meaning.

Then, Feng Quji pointed further down the page and said, "Your Majesty, look here: this is 1 + 5 = 6!"

"Even our Great Qin's multiplication table has been expressed using these numbers."

"Furthermore, these numbers are much simpler to write and much easier to identify!"

"Once implemented nationwide, our Great Qin's computational capabilities will rise to an entirely new level!"

Prompted by Feng Quji's explanation, Li Si and the others curiously crowded around as well.

The more Qin Shi Huang listened, the more interested he became. By the time he had completely mastered the numerals, a look of sudden realization dawned on him, and he declared, "These numbers and the abacus complement each other perfectly!"

Feng Quji chimed in with pleasant surprise, "Your Majesty, you've noticed it too."

"Just look at the number 1—it's written with a single stroke. How simple is that to record!"

Qin Shi Huang tried writing a few numbers himself and found that they indeed proved to be quite simple. Consequently, he asked, "This Hu Qinqiang is truly a talent!"

"To be able to research such a creation is practically no less significant than inventing a new script!"

At this point, Qin Shi Huang seemed to have discovered something else and spoke up again, "Just listen to this—even Hu Qinqiang's name has such profound meaning!"

"Qinqiang—doesn't that mean making Qin prosperous and strong?"

"He must be a loyal and patriotic subject!"

Feng Quji nodded in agreement. "This man possesses immense erudition, is exceptionally skilled in the art of calculation, and is one of my closest confidants."

Qin Shi Huang immediately nodded. "These numbers can also be granted a patent!"

"Go, summon Hu Qinqiang and establish a patent for him!"

"From now on, our Great Qin shall provide for him!"

Feng Quji was slightly taken aback. He looked at Qin Shi Huang and asked in confusion, "Your Majesty, why summon Hu Qinqiang over regarding a patent for these numbers?"

Hearing this, Qin Shi Huang felt a sudden thump in his chest.

He couldn't help but look at Feng Quji and ask, "Are you telling me these numbers were not invented and created by Hu Qinqiang?"

Feng Quji shook his head immediately. "Of course not!"

"I am well aware of his capabilities!"

"He doesn't have the ability to do this!"

Qin Shi Huang instinctively asked, "Then these numbers are..."

"Fusu!"

"His Highness Fusu!"

Feng Quji seemed to beam with such delight at the mere mention of Fusu that he danced with joy as he said, "A few days ago, His Highness Fusu took up an official post at the Imperial Stud and Arsenal, where he saw Hu Qinqiang and Assistant Minister Zhang calculating the assets confiscated from a raided estate."

"His Highness Fusu saw how painstakingly they were calculating and how frequently they made errors, so he handed these numbers over to them."

"He also taught them the specific methods for using the abacus and these numerals."

"That is the only reason Hu Qinqiang came to know of these things and shared them with this old minister!"

Qin Shi Huang: "..."

As Feng Quji's words trailed off, the various officials inside the grand hall fell into a heavy silence.

...

Inside the workshop of the Imperial Arsenal, the Director of the Imperial Stud and Arsenal looked around as various talented artisans bustled about.

Yet, all these men were somewhat advanced in years, and one could hardly spot any young and robust workers here.

Fusu had originally hoped to find a few strong young artisans skilled in blacksmithing, but at present, things looked rather disappointing.

He had already been coming here for two consecutive days.

These fellows shut themselves up in their individual rooms, refusing to let anyone enter except for their own apprentices.

They lived in mortal terror of others stealing their secret techniques.

Consequently, Fusu found himself completely at a loss when he wanted to inspect the state of manufacturing technology and development in the Qin Dynasty.

In the end, having no other recourse, Fusu leveraged his status to summon everyone together.

"Greetings, everyone!"

"The reason I have called you all together today is because I have discovered something very interesting that I wish to share with you."

"Many of you sitting here may have noticed it yourselves as well."

"It's just that none of you realized the precious value of this thing."

"Therefore, I will demonstrate it for you right here."

As Fusu's words fell, artisans possessed of various crafts cast their gazes upon him.

Someone muttered in the crowd:

"Is that His Highness Fusu?"

"That's right, he's the one who invented paper!"

"It seems the abacus was his creation as well!"

...

As the murmurs rose, a few old artisans who had been frowning in deep thought within their own worlds immediately lit up.

They, too, fixed their eyes on this young man of barely twenty years.

In their eyes, while Fusu's status was undoubtedly noble, the things Fusu actually accomplished were what truly commanded their attention.

An old man leaning on a walking stick spoke up, "Your Highness, if you have a discovery, spit it out quickly! This old man still has plenty of work left undone!"

Fusu glanced at the old man and saw that he was holding a mechanical bird, seemingly in the middle of refining a mechanism to make it fly.

Fusu smiled and replied, "Here it is!"

With that, several men carried a large cauldron into the courtyard and began to stoke a fire beneath it.

Before long, the water in the large cauldron came to a rolling boil.

"Everyone, have you noticed this?" Fusu asked, his eyes gleaming.

Noticed what???

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances, staring at the massive pot in the courtyard for a moment, completely at a loss for words!

Was he about to cook a communal meal for everyone?

The hundreds of people who had previously been filled with anticipation now wore looks of disappointment.

Young people really were unreliable when doing things.

Even if they possessed a bit of cleverness and invented some decent things, they ultimately lacked steadfastness.

Making everyone wait here for so long just to watch a pot being used for cooking—it was simply too farcical.

Just as some people began to shake their heads and prepare to leave, Fusu also wore a look of disappointment and said, "It seems none of you have noticed anything!"

"Noticed what??" a bearded man could no longer contain himself and blurted out the question.

Fusu pointed at the heavy pot lid being pushed up and down by the boiling pressure, saying, "You didn't notice this?"

Everyone stared at the lid, feeling even more mystified.

Fusu stopped keeping them in suspense and asked directly, "How heavy is this pot lid?"

At this moment, an old man who appeared skilled in making cookware spoke up, "Judging by sight, it must weigh a dozen or so catties!"

Fusu nodded and said, "A lid weighing a dozen or so catties, resting on a pot of boiling water, can be continuously pushed up and down."

"How is this accomplished?"

"Fire?" someone asked tentatively.

"No, it's the water in the pot!" another said.

"Neither is correct. It's because the heat—the heated lid is rising!"

...

Seeing everyone begin to argue, Fusu smiled and said, "Very well, you have all identified the problem."

Then, Fusu had someone bring out a specially crafted kettle, filled it with hot water from the cauldron, and set it to boil again.

The water inside the kettle kept boiling. Because Fusu had blocked the spout and continued to heat it, pressure built up.

Bang!

Suddenly, the kettle lid was violently blown off, striking the wall before clattering to the ground.

This spectacle left everyone filled with wonder.

Fusu retrieved the lid, poured the water from the kettle back into the cauldron, covered it, and said, "Everyone, try to lift this lid with force!"

At his words, someone stepped forward and tried hard to pull the lid off.

Yet, despite exerting a great deal of effort, he could not budge it.

Following that, a man in his forties with a physique suggesting years of physical conditioning stepped up and used all his strength to finally pry the lid open.

At this sight, everyone was dumbfounded.

How on earth had that kettle lid been blasted into the air just moments ago?

While everyone remained perplexed, a middle-aged man of about forty stepped forward and declared, "It's the power of water!"

"I've studied water for half a lifetime, and the power of water is unimaginable!"

Fusu immediately looked at this middle-aged man and asked, "You could say it's the power of water, but I would say this is the power of steam!"

"The power of steam?" The middle-aged man frowned.

Fusu nodded. "When water encounters heat, it produces a vast amount of vapor. This vapor continuously multiplies inside the pot until the space can no longer hold any more vapor, at which point it forces the lid open and escapes."

Fusu's words plunged many into deep contemplation.

"Vapor..."

Guiding them step-by-step, Fusu continued, "If we must be specific, we call it water vapor!"

Fusu lifted the pot lid, pointed to the water inside, and said, "I am certain you are all familiar with this change."

"Water turns into water vapor when heated. The molecular gaps in water vapor are large, so its volume is greater than that of liquid water!"

"The same enclosed space can hold a certain volume of liquid water, but it cannot contain the same volume of that water once it has transformed into vapor!"

"Therefore, the phenomenon occurs wherein the water vapor strives to escape."

"Similarly, water turns to ice when it encounters cold!"

"When that same water turns to ice, its volume shrinks!"

"Thermal expansion and contraction—that is the very principle at work here."

"I wonder, have I made myself clear?" Fusu looked at all the master artisans lost in thought, waiting patiently.

Suddenly, someone's eyes lit up. "That's right, what His Highness said is entirely correct. That is the exact principle."

The middle-aged man also nodded and said, "His Highness is truly erudite!"

Several others likewise wore expressions of admiration.

Seeing that the moment was ripe, Fusu immediately guided them further: "You all know this principle, and you have witnessed it countless times."

"Yet do you realize the immense motive force hidden within it?"

"Imagine if we had two enclosed spaces, one containing water and the other empty!"

"As the water is heated and turns into water vapor, it demands more space; it will push against a piston to compress the space elsewhere."

"If we heat and cool it repeatedly, that lid will be driven up and down continuously!"

"My lords and masters, think about it—what interesting things might happen if we do this?"