Chapter 1268: Chapter 1235: Different Foundations
Zhang Pingzi is Zhang Heng; separated by two hundred years, Guo Pu unilaterally regards Zhang Heng as his teacher. Zhang Heng believed that the heavens are like an egg, with the sky being the shell and the earth being the yolk; hence, the concept of the heavens being a larger circle encompassing a smaller one.
This is a minor divergence within the broader university theory. They all believe the heavens are circular, but define the details of the circle differently.
Zhao Hanzhang thought, they could very well seek common ground while preserving differences.
"...I agree with Ting Han on this point. But regardless of whether it’s dual circles or single ones, can’t we set aside the controversy first? They’re all circles; why not calculate the eclipse times first?"
Guo Pu: "No, this is an academic dispute. How can one muddle through it? If he doesn’t acknowledge the dual circles, I will not calculate this with him."
Zhao Cheng said: "How can the Earth Star be round? If it were round, how could we stand? The Earth Star should be a sphere with heavens round and land flat."
This was yet another perspective, which Guo Pu fiercely opposed, "You cannot conclude the earth is flat just because your eyes perceive it as flat; even Fu Tinghan’s argument is better than yours."
Zhao Cheng: "You say the earth is round, but what evidence do you have? Even Zhang Heng couldn’t produce evidence for it."
Guo Pu was stumped.
From the side, Yuan Li slightly nodded.
Zhao Hanzhang glared at him, "Why are you nodding? Do you even know who Zhang Heng is?"
Yuan Li truly didn’t know, but he understood their discourse. He could comprehend round heavens and flat lands, but not round earth and heavens.
However, he didn’t wish to openly oppose Zhao Hanzhang and decided to silently agree with Zhao Cheng’s notion.
Guo Pu frowned slightly and questioned Zhao Cheng, "If heavens are round and land is flat, there are bound to be edges the circle cannot cover. Wouldn’t those corners be left exposed? What do they see when they look up and find no sky overhead?"
Zhao Cheng: "It’s plausible with heavens large and land small."
Zhao Cheng used Guo Pu’s own argument to counter Zhao Hanzhang, "If the Earth Star is a single circle, what is the sky we gaze upon? Wouldn’t everything be exposed to the universe?"
Guo Pu fretted, turned to Zhao Hanzhang and said, "I have no concrete proof to demonstrate the circular heavens and earth. If you and Fu Tinghan have some way to prove it to the world and convince obstinate-minded people like Zhao Cheng, I can temporarily set aside my differences, as you suggest, seeking common ground while reserving differences."
Zhao Hanzhang opened her mouth, realizing that even with her persuasive eloquence, it was challenging to gain Zhao Cheng’s acceptance of her viewpoint.
Suddenly, Zhao Hanzhang thought of a question: Fu Tinghan was full of natural science knowledge, and she could agree with him, but what about others?
If they couldn’t gain the acceptance of mainstream intellectuals, such natural knowledge could not be disseminated or verified. What use was it if only they knew?
Only through gaining acceptance can knowledge be passed on.
Zhao Hanzhang became serious and nodded to Guo Pu, "Tinghan and I will find a way to verify that the Earth Star is round and that we live on a circle, just one circle!"
Guo Pu couldn’t hold back and started disputing with her again over single versus dual circles. He pointed a finger upward and asked, "Then what is that? If we are on a circle, then what is this sky? It too is circular, enveloping us right now."
Zhao Hanzhang countered, "If there were a shell like an egg above us, how then do we see the stars, sun, and moon in the universe?"
Guo Pu fell silent.
Zhao Cheng chimed in at the right time, "The earth is flat and the sky is round; as for why we can see the stars, sun, and moon through the sky, even I do not know."
Yuan Li looked at one person and then the other, unable to refrain from speaking, "Stars are in the sky."
The three spoke in unison, "Shut up!"
Yuan Li felt rather wronged, not feeling he was mistaken — the stars are indeed in the sky.
Guo Pu found it beneath him to explain to a commoner like Yuan Li.
Stars are certainly not in the sky, but outside of it.
Still Zhang Heng, he said, "The cosmos has no boundary, and time has no end."
Guo Pu’s astronomical knowledge inherited Zhang Heng’s doctrine, differing from typical mystics. Guo Pu hailed from a noble family, having superior learning environments and abundant resources since youth.
Zhao Cheng’s knowledge on this aspect was somewhat lacking, but he still knew fundamental astronomy. The concept of an infinite universe wasn’t initiated by Zhang Heng but existed since antiquity. Zhang Heng merely simplified it and clearly presented it.
As a teacher, he further explained to Yuan Li during Guo Pu’s contemplation of Zhao Hanzhang’s query, "The universe is space, comprising four directions and the vertical. There is no ultimate limit to these directions; time is composed of the past and future, which have no bounds."
"And as the sky has an end, stars are not in the sky but outside it; the moon and sun alike," Zhao Cheng explained. "It is because the moon and sun are outside the sky that solar and lunar eclipses occur."
Yuan Li appeared bewildered, hearing but not comprehending.
Guo Pu had already returned to his senses, glimpsed it, and said, "Don’t teach him anymore; there are too many fools in this world. Not everyone can grasp the way of the skies."
Yuan Li: ...
If it was any other minister, he would surely be upset, but Guo Pu... alright, in this aspect, he is indeed clueless.
"So do you, like Fu Tinghan, believe the so-called sky is a layer of gas?"
Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "Indeed!"
Guo Pu furrowed his brow tightly; after a long pause, he shook his head, "No, I still don’t believe it. However, this matter can be temporarily set aside; for now, let’s prioritize proving the sky is round. I dislike arguing whether the earth is flat or round every time I report on the progress of the almanac."
Zhao Hanzhang lowered her eyes in thought for a moment, "Then there are only two ways to solve it."
Guo Pu’s eyes lit up, "What ways?"
"One is to find a ship to go eastward out to sea, keep going east, and see if we can return here."
Guo Pu: "...Tell me the second."
"The second is observation," Zhao Hanzhang smiled and said, "I think Ting Han must have talked to you about latitude and longitude. Everyone doesn’t believe it, so let’s observe. From various locations, observe the height of the North Star. Look at the angle difference in different locations; you will discover latitude. Since you’re able to calculate the solar eclipse, you must also be able to calculate the lunar eclipse. When a solar or lunar eclipse occurs, calculate the time differences in their appearances in various places east and west; you will discover longitude."
Guo Pu opened his mouth wide; these were things Fu Tinghan hadn’t had time to tell him, he looked at Zhao Hanzhang skeptically, "Have you and Ting Han measured and calculated?"
She had lived only so long, before the age of fourteen, she lived in Luoyang, and after fourteen every day someone was with her. How could she deceive him?
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t hesitate for a moment and directly said, "I know from dreams, taught by dreams, it is heavenly mandate I know."
Others would surely not believe it, such as Zhao Cheng and Yuan Li, they would instinctively doubt the authenticity of what she said.
But Guo Pu immediately believed it.
He muttered, "So that’s how it is, no wonder he always knows things I don’t, and everything you mention, he understands; everything he says, you can comprehend — it turns out to be taught by dreams..."
Guo Pu’s eyes grew brighter, "Hmph, he still wants to keep it from me. No matter how I question him, he refuses to tell."
Guo Pu praised Zhao Hanzhang: "The Great General is indeed sincere with people."
Zhao Hanzhang nodded, accepting his praise.
Zhao Cheng and Yuan Li: ...
What to do, feeling uneasy, shouldn’t it be Fu Tinghan who is the one being honest without boasting, while the lady...
Bah, bah, bah, Yuan Li suppressed his thoughts, not daring to express them.
Zhao Hanzhang said to Guo Pu: "Put aside the debate over the single circle and double circle for now, let’s deal with the misunderstanding between Earth being round and places being divergent. Once Ting Han returns from the Yellow River, I’ll have him make observation tools for you. The urgent matter is to calculate the specific time of the solar eclipse."
Only then did Guo Pu set aside his prejudice and solemnly agree.
Fu Tinghan and Zhao Hanzhang believe, a solar eclipse is just a solar eclipse, merely a natural phenomenon, but Zhao Hanzhang knows that the ancients didn’t think this way.
Such as Guo Pu, this ancient person.
At this moment, he spoke solemnly to Zhao Hanzhang, "The sun represents the emperor. The sun being obscured means the emperor is no longer fit to rule. Right now, even a person with such meager cultivation as myself can see the signs, it’s unchangeable, so it’s only right to have Your Majesty issue a self-reproach edict or step down and let a worthy successor take over."
Zhao Hanzhang lowered her eyes, contemplating for a moment, then spoke gravely, "Let’s not talk about this for now, first calculate the specific time."
She would also think it over upon returning, to see if she can recall this matter in her mind.
She needed to prepare in advance to avoid any unexpected events.
It’s not just the emperor being impious, there’s another interpretation: traitorous ministers are in power.
Her reputation among the people is good, but no matter how good, there would still be opponents, so she must prepare there ahead of time.
Zhao Hanzhang warned Zhao Cheng and Yuan Li, "This matter is confidential, it must not be disclosed."
Zhao Cheng and Yuan Li bowed in agreement.
Zhao Hanzhang then looked at Guo Pu, feeling slightly troubled.
Zhao Cheng and Yuan Li were both famously tight-lipped, otherwise, one wouldn’t be able to be a good teacher, and the other wouldn’t become a head of intelligence, but Guo Pu...
He was a paradox.
Saying he can’t keep quiet, ordinary people couldn’t pry a single word out of him; saying he can keep quiet, since befriending Fu Tinghan, whenever resting or bored, Fu Tinghan could hear all kinds of gossip from him.
Fu Tinghan would go back and tell her, encompassing such a wide range and so confidential, it was simply unheard of.
The one thing that shattered her worldview was when Guo Pu, in his early years, traveled to a place and did fortune-telling for a wealthy landlord. The landlord was very grateful to him, thinking he had excellent genes, and thus invited him to sleep with his wife to leave a child for him.
Although Guo Pu liked beauty, he didn’t like leaving offspring, so frightened, he ran away overnight. He secretly gossiped with Fu Tinghan, "I don’t know how many of his five sons are truly his, or maybe all are borrowed seeds. It’s a pity I only saw one at the time, coincidentally, from his appearance, that young man was not his biological son."
Fu Tinghan: ......
He couldn’t help but ask Guo Pu, "You told me this, aren’t you afraid I might spread it?"
Guo Pu looked at him disdainfully, "Besides General Zhao, who else could you spread it to? Such trivial matters, spread them if you wish."
Originally, he told these things to Fu Tinghan without fearing Zhao Hanzhang knowing; in a way, it was an alternative form of information transmission.
Thus leaving Zhao Hanzhang with an impression of him being selectively tight-lipped.
Guo Pu met Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze and defended himself, "For such significant matters, I’m very tight-lipped, alright?"
Only then did Zhao Hanzhang let him go.
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