Chapter 7107 This Science Brain
Chapter 7107 This Science Brain
“How can something that can benefit the entire country have an owner? It should belong to the Han Dynasty, or at the very least to Marquis Chen, and Marquis Chen should be the one to distribute it!” Yang Xin said, patting his chest. He indicated that such a thing could not be controlled by local governments; it had to be in the hands of the state. Otherwise, wouldn’t that be a rebellion against the Heavenly Spirits?
"What you're saying is a bit much, but to be honest, I agree." Wang Rou looked around to make sure there were no Jiangdong spies, then nodded decisively. After all, these unlucky kids in Central Asia really needed volcanic ash and guano, and of course, they also needed the Thunderclap Tower. However, judging from the Wang family's construction speed and the speed at which lightning destroyed the Thunderclap Tower, it seemed that this generation had no hope.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't go too far. We can talk, but don't make things so tense. And don't say it was me who said this. I'm just an architect, don't involve me, thank you." Wang Liang put his hands together, looking kind.
"By the way, has your family considered how to deal with the damage caused by the direct lightning strike to the Leijitai?" Upon hearing Wang Liang's words, Yuan Tao naturally changed the subject. After all, the Leijitai in Youzhou, Jizhou, and Bingzhou had already started to have problems, and the governors and prefects of the three places were eager to compete with those in the south. They all knew this.
“We’ve already used the best warming and strengthening techniques, but it’s not enough. After all, high temperatures will destroy the warming and strengthening structure, and lightning also generates high temperatures, especially super lightning, which is extremely powerful. It can generate terrifying temperatures that can instantly ignite a person and then reduce them to ashes. Normal warming and strengthening simply cannot withstand it.” Wang Liang said with some helplessness.
Wang Liang originally thought that his family would be able to complete the first phase of the Thunder Platform within fifteen years, and with the increase in the family population, they would be able to complete the second phase within thirty to forty years. However, only seven years have passed, and the early Thunder Platform has already encountered problems.
The problem is that it will probably take seven or eight years to finish repairing those places in Jiangnan.
This is extremely problematic; in other words, it's a situation that will never be fully resolved.
“We’ve already implemented the latest version of the nurturing and strengthening technique, but it seems to be failing us. We don’t have any good solutions at this stage. We’ve already sent relevant materials to the Secret Arts Research Institute to see if they can develop a targeted secret technique.” Wang Liang was also quite troubled by this. “However, the Secret Arts Research Institute isn’t very optimistic about their ability to develop one.”
“If we can’t solve this problem, then we can only race against time to destroy and repair. According to our calculations, when our Kuaiji Wang clan has five hundred able-bodied men, we should be able to keep Leijitai in a dynamically stable state.” Wang Liang said with a hint of weariness. But then he turned to Deng Tong and said, “Marquis of Gaomi, do you have any eligible girls in your family who are good at taking care of people? Marry a few of them for my family. There are hardly any elders left in our clan. I’m so busy all day that I don’t have time to arrange anything.”
Too busy with work to go on blind dates, plus the clan elders all have important matters to attend to and occasionally die from overwork, the older generation of the Kuaiji Wang clan no longer has the time to arrange marriages for their descendants.
As for relying on young people to find wives on their own, well, these young people who study electrical engineering will be assigned jobs after graduation, and their jobs are full. They have no time to find wives. As a result, Wang Liang did some calculations this year and found that his family's population growth rate was negative. He also did some more calculations and found that there were several bachelors over the age of eighteen. They need to be arranged for them.
“No problem, you need someone who can take care of people, right? We have that.” Deng Tong readily agreed.
“My family also has some daughters of marriageable age.” Wei Kai, who had been pretending to be dead and eavesdropping, couldn’t help but speak up. Although the Wei family of Hedong had been doing quite poorly in recent years, they still had strength. Moreover, they were still a large family. They had quite a few daughters, and they were of marriageable age and knew how to take care of people. Weren’t they lacking in conditions?
“My family has some too,” Wang Rou said with a smile. The three Wang families have merged into one, and there are not many left in Taiyuan, but that doesn’t mean that the Langya Wang family and the Donghai Wang family don’t have any of their right age.
Besides, marrying into the Wang family of Kuaiji wouldn't be a bad deal. If she treats her daughter and grandson well, she might even be able to trick her grandson into coming over, right?
This is an investment. Besides, even if we can't fool them, it's still a marriage alliance with the Wang family of Kuaiji. There's no loss or gain, so we're making a profit either way!
Immediately, a group of people started making noise. Even Yong Kai, who was socially anxious, didn't communicate much with people, and was semi-introverted, spoke up, saying that his family actually had suitable people.
"I don't know what's wrong with our family. The young people are all grown up, but they don't know how to get married. Sigh, if the elders don't take charge, can't they find someone themselves? On the third day of the third lunar month in mid-spring, they can go to the waterside and try to flirt with someone. Do you think I, Wang Liang, am that kind of old-fashioned family head?" Wang Liang didn't refuse any of them and planned to gather all the young members of his family to start matchmaking.
"Uh, isn't this a bit too wild, Your Highness?" Yang Xin's face was starting to tense up. This is an illicit affair, isn't it? This is definitely an illicit affair. Does your family accept people like this? It's too unconventional and indiscriminate.
"It's alright, is there any problem with this?" Wang Rou asked Yang Xin with some curiosity.
"Hey guys, don't you guys have any sense of propriety?" Yang Xin asked Wang Rou, who was slightly older than him, with a puzzled look. "Isn't this a bit excessive?"
"So what? I participated back then." Yuan Huan said nonchalantly. His family was the epitome of integrity, a family among families, a truly noble and prestigious clan. Yet, this was the first thing they said. To be fair, Yuan Huan really had participated.
"This isn't right!" Yang Xin looked at the group of people around her with some confusion. What, don't you guys think there's a problem?
"What's the problem?" Wang Liang asked Yang Xin, puzzled. "Si Wuxie! Don't you understand? This kind of fun is fine, but besides, it doesn't always work out."
Looking at the group of people around him, Yang Xin understood to some extent. Back then, after Yang Dao abducted ten-year-old Cai Zhenji, Cai Yong gritted his teeth and said, "In the third month of spring, those who run away are not prohibited." Then no one else thought there was a problem. So it turns out that our Yang family is conservative, right? Do you guys really go to the river to steal other people's little girls in the third month of spring?
"What's wrong?" Cui Lin asked Yang Xin with some curiosity.
“I just suddenly realized that our family is the conservative one, and none of you are,” Yang Xin said through gritted teeth. He had never participated in such activities; he had only read about them in books. Every year around that time, his family would have them stay home and read.
"What's wrong with that? Every family has its own conservative side," Cui Lin said nonchalantly. The major families all inherited a certain family tradition, and since there has been no break in the lineage, they will naturally inherit a certain tendency in their scholarship, which will lead to a relatively conservative and closed-off side.
"When my children come, I'll bring them to you all to meet them. They must get married during these fifteen days of the New Year. The only reason I came to Chang'an besides the Grand Court Assembly is for this!" Wang Liang said through gritted teeth. They're all eighteen years old and still can't find wives on their own. It's really going to be a disaster!
“Alright, we happen to have some girls from our clan at the girls’ school. Bring them over so they can meet. If things go well, we can arrange a marriage.” Yuan Tao nodded. In his opinion, a talented young man who was eighteen years old and still unmarried definitely needed to be set up on blind dates.
"Well, if possible, the girls you arrange should ideally have some political acumen," Wang Liang said somewhat reluctantly. He knew this request was a bit excessive. Being beautiful, having a good personality, a good figure, and being caring were not problems for the people around him, but having political acumen, that is, having a broad perspective and being able to analyze situations, was not easy.
Such women are considered potential marriage partners even by powerful families. Even if they are illegitimate daughters, they are still highly capable, like Zhang Yingying and Zheng Ling.
If we need one or two, given the current situation of the Wang family of Kuaiji, it shouldn't be a big problem; we can squeeze them out. But Wang Liang's current idea is that each one needs to meet this prerequisite. To be honest, after screening through the previous conditions, adding this one would make them all elites in their respective families.
After all, most beautiful people find it difficult to concentrate on their studies when they should be studying. What kind of conditions did Cai Zhenji have? Her father was a renowned Confucian scholar, a leading figure in education, a terrifying figure who could even rank ahead of Zheng Xuan. Yet, Cai Zhenji went looking for a boyfriend when she should have been studying.
Being beautiful is not necessarily a good thing for many women who pursue knowledge, because it will inevitably lead to distraction. And once distracted, it will take even more talent to reach the top, which is a vicious cycle. Therefore, the requirements that Wang Liang made before, plus this requirement, will make it very difficult.
"Oh, no problem," Deng Tong said unhurriedly, as if he hadn't understood what Wang Liang had said. As for the other families, most of them hesitated.
After all, Wang Liang's criteria, which can be summarized as a beautiful, intelligent woman between the ages of fourteen and thirty who is also good at taking care of others, are only available to a few women from other families, and they can't just throw them out like that.
"Then I'll have to trouble Marquis Gaomi," Wang Liang quickly said.
“There’s no need for that. I’m just curious. What happened? Why did you make such a condition?” Deng Tong asked Wang Liang with a hint of curiosity. The other family leaders who hadn’t responded before also looked at Wang Liang.
"Well, it's probably because they've built too many thunder-repairing platforms. This generation of young people has developed some problems with their minds, not in terms of intelligence, but in terms of their way of thinking," Wang Liang said with a hint of distress. "Their thinking has become a purely problem-solving mindset."
"Isn't this good?" Deng Tong looked at Wang Liang, puzzled.
"Well, do you know what suggestions the younger generation in the family have made regarding how to repair the Leijitai?" Wang Liang's blood pressure rose slightly as he said this.
"They suggested that the veterans from each village fight it out and then build according to their ranking," Wang Liang said expressionlessly, causing the heads of the surrounding aristocratic families to gasp in shock.
Damn, you dare to suggest something like that? Don't you have enough people to die?
If you really suggest that, then all the old and new grudges will be settled together. Someone will definitely die, and the loser won't even have to go back to their hometown.
In an era where honor and morality still served as the cornerstone of the Han dynasty, playing like this was tantamount to digging up one's own roots. Moreover, the value of Leijitai was greater than the value of competing for water between upstream and downstream rivers in the past. Although the difference between three and five shi of output may seem like only two shi, that is a 66% increase, which is enough for ordinary people to risk their lives to the death.
You must know that in the past, disputes over water often resulted in battles between the two villages, with several people killed or injured. If the idea of repairing the Leijitai were to be followed by the young people of the Wang family, then the village would be doomed.
"So I think we have to change the mindset of this group of people. Is this the way to solve problems?" Wang Liang cursed under his breath. "I even thought about taking him to the Thunder Platform to experience it for myself. But then I thought, there are only a few young people left. Even if they are animals, we have to take care of them first."
"Uh." Deng Tong wanted to laugh. He felt that if it were one of his own clansmen, and they had such thoughts of wanting the world to be in chaos, with rivers of blood flowing and grudges arising, they would definitely be eliminated quickly. But the Kuaiji Wang clan was just a small, insignificant group. Elimination was out of the question. Even if they were bad seeds, as long as they could still repair the Thunder Platform, they were an important resource. At worst, they could be treated as resources, not as human beings.
Is it normal for resources to have negative effects?
Conversely, as long as it can still be used as a resource and has important value, then even if there are negative aspects, it is completely acceptable.
"After thinking about it, I realized that our family might have lacked in the education of this generation, but we can't spare anyone right now, so we can only hope that you guys can lend a hand and help us find someone with a broader perspective, so that they don't come up with such outrageous remarks. He even promoted it in Yangzhou and said he would offer suggestions. I just wanted to send him packing," Wang Liang said angrily.
Just thinking about it is already a huge disrespect, and yet he dared to say it to others. Wang Liang figured he really couldn't find a substitute. If he could, this guy would have to take two super lightning bolts and learn a lesson.
"No, you're even promoting it?" Yuan Huan was dumbfounded. This guy was really fearless. This was practically stirring up local conflict.
“Yes, I told him to shut up later, but I talked to him carefully and made sure that this was really what he thought, and that he didn’t have any bad intentions. He just felt that it could solve the problem.” Wang Liang said helplessly, “So this is a problem of the older generation in our Wang family. But as you know, we can’t teach them that lesson now. We can only let their wives teach them.”
“Is that so? Then count my family in. Although there aren’t many, we should still help in this situation.” Yuan Huan thought for a moment and said. He had thought Wang Liang was just trying to take advantage of him, so he was reluctant to agree. But now that things were like this, he had to help. After all, there was no conflict of interest between them. If he helped the Wang family of Kuaiji, the Wang family would help him in the future.
With Wang Liang's explanation, the heads of each household were willing to make arrangements. After all, success or failure was still uncertain, but agreeing to the matter and gaining goodwill was worthwhile.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you. If they have two children, I'll count you in." Wang Liang thanked them repeatedly, even prepared to sell some of his offspring. To be honest, it was quite a huge sacrifice.
"Let's forget about this," Deng Tong thought for a moment and refused. "It's only natural that they've helped us since they've grown up. After all, they're my uncle's family, so it's only right that the children come to help. But if you're asking us to count them in, let's not. That's not how it works."
Once Deng Tong spoke up, the others followed suit, advising that since they were all respectable people, there was no need to argue about such matters. Even if the Wang family were truly willing, there might be other twists and turns later on. In that case, it would be better not to agree in the first place, at least to leave a basic impression.
"This is not the Marquis of Fenglong Township. I am sorry for not welcoming you properly!" Just then, Huangfu Jianshou arrived with Huangfu Song. Originally, Huangfu Li was accompanying them, but since Wang Liang had arrived, Huangfu Song had to come over as well. Of course, Huangfu Song also had to show his face when the heads of other noble families came over, as it was the least he could do.
"General, it's been a long time. You're still in such good health." Wang Liang stood up, smiled, and bowed. "General, please don't mind that I came here just to freeload with two jade buckles."
"My Huangfu family is large and powerful, how could your family eat us out of business? Call all the able-bodied men in your family who can come." Huangfu Song waved his hand and said very casually.
"Then thank you very much, General." Wang Liang laughed heartily in response.
After exchanging greetings with Wang Liang, Huangfu Song quickly left. As the head of the Huangfu family, he could not stay and needed to pray and offer blessings at the ancestral hall.
Wang Liang looked at Huangfu Song's retreating figure with some helplessness, but he knew this was not the time to speak. He had come here specifically because, in addition to his good relationship with Huangfu Jianshou, there was another important reason: he had heard from veterans in southern Yuzhou that Huangfu Song had a method of summoning lightning. Wang Liang was currently having a headache dealing with the lightning platform and wanted to learn from it.
As for the fact that the Wang family of Huiji used scientific methods while Huangfu Song used metaphysical methods, it doesn't matter. Anyway, the difference isn't that big. They can learn from each other and maybe even optimize their own lightning summoning technology.
Of course, what Wang Liang really wanted was the original copy of the Taiping Qingling Book. This was the only special book that Wang Liang could confirm would allow ordinary people to master lightning. At this stage, Wang Liang, who was already somewhat numb to the development of electromagnetism, wanted to try to make connections with other things.
This was the real reason Wang Liang came to this banquet; incidentally, it also helped resolve the current problems facing the Wang family.
While the humanities have many problems, the sheer volume of rote memorization within them can be incredibly effective at brainwashing, whereas the thinking in the sciences can sometimes be truly absurd.












