Quick Travel to the Clouds

Chapter 711 Talent for Governing the Country 10

Located in the east of Handan, the newly built Gewu Academy covers an area of ​​ten acres, exuding a simple and solemn atmosphere amidst its blue bricks and gray tiles.

The courtyard contains four main halls: the Agricultural Hall, the Medical Hall, the Water Conservancy Hall, and the Astronomical Pavilion. In front of each hall stands a stone tablet inscribed with the four characters "格物致知" (investigating things to acquire knowledge), written in a vigorous and powerful style.

Yun Chu stood in the courtyard, watching groups of students dressed in plain clothes file in.

Unlike the Imperial Academy, this place is open to all social classes, including sons of officials and children from farming families; it is also open to both men and women, with several women walking proudly into the classroom.

She gently stroked the bamboo slips at her waist, which were the "New Strategies for Investigating Things" written by King Xiaocheng of Zhao himself. In them, it was written: "Knowledge is like water; its channels should be wide open so that it can nourish all people."

"Sir," a young student bowed respectfully, "the Agricultural Department will be demonstrating the new curved plow today. Do you need any adjustments?"

Yun Chu smiled and nodded: "The way of investigating things lies in practice. Go and prepare, I will be there soon."

Just as she was about to turn around, she suddenly heard a commotion in the distance. She saw King Xiaocheng of Zhao, dressed in plain clothes, chatting and laughing with a group of simply dressed children.

Yun Chu's heart skipped a beat—those were the eleven children she had taught at the thatched-roof schoolhouse in Wang County!

“Sir, I know you care about your former students, so I have specially ordered them to be brought here from Wang County.” King Zhao Xiaocheng approached, a smile in his eyes. “From today onwards, they may all enter the Academy of Natural Sciences to study, with free room and board.”

Yun Chu's eyes welled up with tears, and she bowed deeply to the king: "Your Majesty's kindness is beyond measure, and I am deeply grateful."

When the children saw Yun Chu, they all gathered around her. Shi Dan had grown much taller, and A He had also lost her childishness, but what moved Yun Chu the most was the little girl standing quietly in the corner—Yuen Nü.

“Moon Slave,” she called softly, “your stutter…”

"Greetings, sir." Yue Nu's voice was still somewhat slow, but it was already clearly audible. "I...I have been practicing according to the method you left behind."

Yun Chu squatted down to be at eye level with Yue Nu: "You did very well."

“She has made rapid progress,” Wang, a villager from the county who was accompanying them, interjected. “Now she speaks slowly, but every word is clear. What’s even more remarkable is that this child has a special sensitivity to water. When the village is building irrigation canals, she can always point out the problems.”

The Institute of Physics had a dedicated water conservancy workshop, with a small model of a water channel for students to experiment with. Yuenu took a liking to the place at first sight and came here every morning to observe the water flow.

One day, Yun Chu saw Yue Nu squatting by the irrigation ditch, drawing something in the sand with a small stick.

"Moon Slave, what are you doing?"

“Sir…” Yue Nu looked up, her eyes sparkling, “I discovered… I discovered that the water flow slows down at bends, and silt tends to accumulate. If… if a slope is added here, the water can wash away the silt.”

Yun Chu carefully examined Yue Nu's sketches, her heart filled with surprise. This was precisely the key to solving the channel blockage! She crouched down and discussed it with Yue Nu:

"If the slope angle is too large, the water flow will be too rapid and will wash away the embankment; if the angle is too small, it will not be able to carry away the silt. What angle do you think is most suitable?"

Yue Nu pondered for a moment, then took out a small bamboo tube from her bosom, filled with water and sand. "I...I made a model, and tried it three times...30 degrees is the best."

Yun Chu took the bamboo tube and looked at the simple experimental device that Yue Nu had carefully designed. She couldn't help but smile: "You have a lot of talent. How about you demonstrate this discovery in tomorrow's water conservancy class?"

A hint of nervousness flashed in Yue Nu's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination: "Okay...okay, sir."

In her water conservancy class, Yue Nu stood at the front of the classroom, facing dozens of students, holding her bamboo tube model in her hands. She took a deep breath and began her explanation.

“When the water flows through the bend…” her voice was slow but exceptionally clear, “it will form… it will form a whirlpool, with the outer side flowing faster and the inner side slower. Silt… silt will accumulate on the inner side, causing… causing the channel to become shallow.”

She slowly poured the water from the bamboo tube into the model, and sure enough, everyone saw the mud and sand accumulating on the inside of the curve.

“If…if a 30-degree slope were added here,” Yue Nu continued, “the water would…would form a new eddy, washing away the silt…the silt.”

She adjusted the model and demonstrated it again. This time, the silt was indeed carried away by the water flow, and the channel remained unobstructed.

The classroom fell silent, then erupted in enthusiastic applause. An older student exclaimed, "Such a simple principle can solve a real-world problem; it truly demonstrates the wonder of the study of things!"

Yun Chu stood aside, feeling gratified. Yue Nu had not only overcome her stutter, but had also transformed her observations and reflections into practical knowledge, which was the true essence of "investigating things to acquire knowledge."

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. In the Institute of Physics, Yue Nu had become a "little teacher" in the Hydraulic Engineering Department, often explaining the principles of hydraulics to other students. Her stutter had been largely cured; although her speech was still slightly slow, every word was eloquent and full of wisdom.

That morning, Yun Chu summoned Yue Nu to his study.

"Yuenü," Yun Chu said gently, "you have made rapid progress in the past six months. You have not only mastered water conservancy knowledge, but also learned to observe, think, and experiment. Would you be willing to formally become my disciple and inherit my teachings?"

Tears welled in Yue Nu's eyes. She straightened her clothes and respectfully performed the apprenticeship ceremony: "Disciple...disciple Yue Nu is willing to follow Master, study the Way of Investigation, and benefit the people."

Yun Chu helped Yue Nu up and took a bamboo scroll from the table: "This is a handwritten copy of the Commentary on the Waterways Classic, passed down by my late master. From today onwards, you are my formal disciple. You should keep in mind 'understanding principles, being pragmatic, and benefiting the people,' and you must not slack off."

"Disciple...will remember."

"Do you know why I chose you as my disciple?" Yun Chu asked.

Yuenu shook her head.

“Because you understand,” Yun Chu said softly, “water flows around rocks and falls over cliffs, eventually reaching the sea. You did not give up expressing yourself because of your stutter, just as water does not stop flowing because of obstacles. This is the true spirit of ‘investigating things’.”

VI. A New Chapter in the Investigation of Things

Several months later, a drought struck southern Zhao. Yun Chu led students from the Academy of Natural Sciences to provide disaster relief, with Yue Nu accompanying him.

Local irrigation canals were silted up, and farmland was cracked. Yuenu carefully surveyed the terrain and proposed a plan to build diversion ramps at key bends. After seven days of hard work, the canals were cleared, and water once again nourished the parched land.

On the way back, King Xiaocheng of Zhao personally visited and comforted him.

"Mr. Yun Chu, I have heard that Yue Nu has made great contributions in the disaster relief efforts?"

Yun Chu smiled: "It was Yue Nu who discovered the problem and proposed the solution herself. She is now able to solve practical problems independently."

King Xiaocheng of Zhao turned to Yue Nu and said, “You are so young yet you have such insight; you will surely achieve great things in the future.”

Yuenu bowed respectfully: "Thank you... Your Majesty for the praise. This is... this is thanks to the Way of Investigation. Knowledge is like water, and thought is like a channel. Only with... a channel to draw water can fertile fields be irrigated."

King Xiaocheng of Zhao laughed heartily: "What a wonderful saying, 'Only with a canal to draw water can irrigate fertile fields'! Master Yunchu, your student has truly grasped the essence of this!"

As the sun sets, the sound of students reciting aloud drifts from the direction of the Gewu Institute: "The course of Heaven is constant; it does not exist for Yao, nor does it perish for Jie..."

Yun Chu gazed into the distance, where Yue Nu was discussing a new hydraulic model with her classmates. She knew in her heart that the tree of knowledge had taken root and sprouted in the land of Zhao, and Yue Nu, this sapling, would eventually grow into a towering tree, sheltering more people from the wind and rain.

Like water flowing ceaselessly, the bond between teacher and student endures forever. On this ancient land, a quiet revolution of knowledge is gently changing the destinies of millions, carried along by the flowing water.