Chapter 308: Chapter 263 Tea Water
Railways spanning the Yu Country, machines roaring in factories, flying aircraft crisscrossing the skies, ironclad ships cleaving through the waves...
Li Ang snapped back from his endless reverie and asked in a deep voice, "What is the cost?"
"Um..."
Su Feng rummaged around on the desk and picked up a sheet of draft paper stained with a circular watermark from the bottom of a teacup. "Six hundred thousand strings of coins per unit."
"How much?!"
Li Ang instinctively raised his voice. "Six hundred thousand strings?!"
Keep in mind that for a lower-class family in the Yu Country, the living expenses for a family of three or four were only a hundred coins. A daily consumption level of two hundred coins was considered well-off. Six hundred thousand strings of coins could support a well-off family for eight thousand years.
"Pretty expensive, huh?"
Su Feng chuckled. "This must be the most expensive project the Academic Palace has developed in the last two hundred years. Even the ships Dr. Gongyang Deming built in Dengzhou cost only twenty to thirty thousand strings each. Mine is thirty times that!"
High costs are not something to be proud of...
Li Ang found Su Feng’s competitive nature amusingly frustrating and asked, "Why is it so high?"
"Consumables, labor."
Su Feng spread his hands. "There’s a reason the Divine Evil Cloud Talisman was phased out by cultivators. Its effect is potent, equivalent to a modern talisman. However, its instability is a fatal flaw. The slightest error in a stroke, a misplaced speck of ink in the talismanic script, could blast the cultivator and everything within a hundred feet sky-high. Even after completion, it remained unstable, prone to premature activation due to fluctuations in external spiritual energy.
To permanently engrave the Divine Evil Cloud Talisman onto metal plates, Master Tantai convened several Doctors of Talismanic Study. They repeatedly discussed and experimented, drew up schematics, and then had Sword Study Master Cui Yixian—with the control of a Candle Cloud Realm Sword Master—meticulously carve the hollowed-out Cloud Talismans into thick Fine Gold plates. The margin of error for every stroke was less than one-tenth the width of a human hair. Other components, to withstand the impact of nature’s spiritual energy, were made from the highest-grade materials possible. Even if not Fine Gold or Mountain Copper, they were still painstakingly forged, high-quality metals. Add all that up, and the cost stacked up to six hundred thousand strings."
Having said this, Su Feng paused, then muttered softly, "Tch. When I invented the clock, I only asked the Mountain Master for two thousand strings. I really sold myself short back then."
Such a staggering cost. Forget the Academic Palace; even the entire Yu Kingdom’s Court would have to brace for a painful sacrifice to produce even one.
"Can the cost be reduced further?"
Li Ang asked tactfully. "Six hundred thousand is truly steep. I’m afraid only the imperial court could possibly afford it."
Afford it? In the Chang’an Ghost Market, six thousand strings of coins could buy an assassin’s loyalty for a life-threatening mission, and sixty thousand could hire a Cloud Patrol Monk to take a life.
"It could be. If we significantly downgraded the metal quality, had workshops mass-produce the components, and then had Cloud Patrol Realm Talisman Masters carve the Cloud Talismans, the cost could probably be brought down to... fifty thousand strings."
Su Feng squinted, rubbing his chin as he calculated, "The prototype, costing six hundred thousand strings, is designed for a fifty-year lifespan. As long as there are spiritual energy fluctuations, it can operate in the most adverse environments. The mass-produced version at fifty thousand strings, however, would likely require large-scale parts replacement after about five years. After ten years, the most critical component, the Divine Evil Cloud Talisman Plate, would fail completely. If not replaced, it could explode at any moment."
A production cost of fifty thousand strings, plus a daily talisman upkeep of fifty strings... that would be within the means of many merchant houses.
Li Ang himself came from an ordinary family and was intimately familiar with civilian labor costs. A laborer at the Yizhou Pier earns one hundred to one hundred and fifty coins a day, meals included. In Suzhou’s textile workshops, an experienced female weaver earns between one hundred eighty and two hundred fifty coins a day, excluding food.
Assuming the engine’s output is equivalent to one hundred laborers, the final cost analysis shows... they’re roughly comparable.
"Hmm, the fifth-generation engine is still too heavy. It would be difficult to mount it on an aircraft. But it’s more than sufficient for textile machines. In places like Suzhou and Hangzhou, where workshops are concentrated and labor wages are higher, some businesses might be the first to purchase one for trial."
Su Feng nodded and said, "The Academic Palace’s textile machine technology is already quite mature. I plan to hand that part over to Ou Zhiyuan and his team. My own project is the railway locomotive you, Risheng, mentioned earlier."
He paused, then chuckled bitterly. "Though the Mountain Master’s proficiency in Natural Science isn’t exactly stellar, his understanding of spiritual energy is truly unparalleled. When I submitted the costs earlier, he merely glanced at the schematics and declared that this engine couldn’t possibly be mounted on an airplane. I had no choice but to redraw the locomotive schematics based on your idea, Risheng. Only then did the old man deem it feasible and finally agree to allocate the funds. Sigh, it looks like I won’t have any time to rest for the next few months."
"Dr. Su, the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility," Li Ang said with sincerity. "If the railway locomotive can truly be realized, allowing travel across vast distances, setting out at dawn and arriving by dusk, the movement of goods and people would become hundreds, even thousands of times more convenient than before. This is truly a monumental undertaking, beneficial to the nation and its people, potentially even more valuable than the Grand Canal. Dr. Su, you are a true genius. The ’Spiritual Energy Machine’ you’ve invented has already diverged from the technological paths I’m familiar with from other worlds, venturing into uncharted territory."
"Heh heh, let’s hope so."
Su Feng chuckled and poured another cup of tea, casually asking, "By the way, the academic exchange ends in two months. You’ve been in Suzhou all this time and haven’t participated much, which is a real shame. How about I exempt you from my course assignments? No need to make them up. After all, you’d ace the final exam anyway."
"Would that really be alright?"
Li Ang couldn’t help but smile wryly. "Oh, right. I saw the notice at the Academic Palace entrance. Is there another competition today?"
"Yes," Su Feng nodded and said, "the preliminary auditions for the arena tournament. The chance to pursue further studies at Zhanquan is the grand prize for this academic exchange. Even our Academic Palace hopes our disciples can go and see Zhanquan. The scores for the previous mathematics, agricultural science, and debate events are already out. All the upcoming events will focus on comparing the cultivation levels of disciples from the various nations."
"I see."
Li Ang thought for a moment. According to the rules, the arena tournament would be divided into two tiers: one for the Rain Listening Realm and another for the Cloud Patrol Realm. Because the arena provides protection, disciples can fight with their full strength, which should make for some exceptionally spectacular and entertaining matches.
Perhaps I’ll go take a look this afternoon?
Outside Chang’an City, at the Haotian Taoist Temple, in a courtyard.
The Faith Cultivation Cardinal was still sipping his tea. His hands were exceptionally steady; even the simple acts of brewing and pouring tea possessed a unique tranquility, as if he were an indivisible part of the universe itself.
TAP. TAP. TAP.
Footsteps approached from a distance.
Yu Feiyu and Shangguan Yangyao entered the courtyard. They respectfully unrolled a curled-up slip of paper and spread it open on the table before the Faith Cultivation Cardinal.
"Cardinal."
Yu Feiyu nodded respectfully. "This is top-secret intelligence transmitted from the Haotian Taoist Temple in Yu Country’s Jiangnan Road: the medicine developed by Li Ang of the Academic Palace in Suzhou is suspected to be a cure for malaria."
The Faith Cultivation Cardinal’s movements faltered for the barest fraction of a second, but he instantly resumed his composed demeanor, calmly pouring tea. "I am aware."
Yu Feiyu’s mouth opened slightly, an instinctive urge to stress the importance of this news rising within him. However, mindful of the Cardinal’s status, he forced himself to remain silent. Exchanging a glance with Shangguan Yangyao, they quietly withdrew from the courtyard and moved to another section of the Haotian Taoist Temple.
"...What does the Cardinal mean by that?"
Shangguan Yangyao couldn’t help but ask. "Should we, on behalf of Taihao Mountain, take some action? This is malaria we’re talking about!"
"I know."
Yu Feiyu’s brow furrowed as well. Malaria wasn’t just the primary scourge of the Yu Country; it was also the disease responsible for the most deaths among Haotian believers worldwide.
If the artesunate mentioned in the secret dispatch truly could cure malaria, the influence the Academic Palace would gain would be colossal. Imagine if the common people of all nations began using medicine bearing the Academic Palace’s insignia, viewing the Palace as saviors who freed them from their suffering. Where would that leave Haotian, and where would that leave Taihao Mountain?
Taihao Mountain could tolerate the spread of various religions across the nations, so long as those religions first acknowledged Haotian’s supreme authority. Whether Buddhas, Saints, or prophets, all were considered creations of Haotian, bound by the rules He had established.
The Academic Palace, however, was different. While its members outwardly acknowledged Haotian’s existence, the more ardently they promoted Natural Science, the more conspicuous their underlying heretical nature became. They were curious, filled with doubts, and even went so far as to question and investigate Haotian’s existence.
This was something Taihao Mountain found intolerable.
And Li Ang was a prominent figure representing Natural Science within the Academic Palace.
Yu Feiyu was a disciple of the Torch Language Cardinal, and Shangguan Yangyao a protégé of the Holy Rite Cardinal. As high-ranking members of Taihao Mountain, they understood more profoundly than most what a medicine capable of treating millions signified.
Yu Feiyu turned his head, his gaze fixed as if attempting to penetrate the brick wall and see the man at the other end of the Daoist Temple.
The Faith Cultivation Cardinal... What was he thinking?