Han Gang returned to his accommodation, and it didn't take long for Shen Kuo to come over and bring his eldest son Shen Boyi to visit Han Gang.

Shen Boyi's eyebrows and eyes are somewhat similar to Shen Kuo, he has not yet been admitted to the Jinshi, he was originally studying at home, but he was looked at by his stepmother and was kicked out of the house. is twenty-six or seventeen years old, about the same age as Han Gang.

It's just that although the two are about the same age, their temperament is very different. Han Gang has been in a high position for a long time, and when he speaks, his dark eyes are staring at each other's eyes, and his slow and logical tone gives people invisible pressure anytime and anywhere. Ordinary officials were already sweating when they were stared at by him, and few could still think about his age.

And Shen Boyi has not had much experience, so he is far behind. was a little restrained in front of Han Gang, and he couldn't let go.

Han Gang chatted with him casually, and when he saw that he asked a question before answering, he looked very nervous, knowing that his identity was too much pressure on people, so he didn't say more to him, encouraged him a few words, and turned to chat with Shen Kuo.

"I don't know if Brother Cun has heard of Gu Swelling?"

"It's only found in the south." Shen Kuo nodded, this is a very terrible epidemic, of course he will not be ignorant, "I have seen it in Liangzhejiang, and the epidemic has reached it, and there are no men in several villages. There are cases in all parts of the Yangtze River, and there are hundreds of thousands of people in total...... Could it be that Yukun knows how to heal the Dao? ”

"In fact, there are Gu swelling in Guangxi, but there are not many patients, far less than Xiangzhou." Han Gang shook his head and replied to the question.

"Xiangzhou?" Shen Kuo's face changed when he heard this.

Han Gang nodded: "It's Xiangzhou." ”

The difficulties of the Xianghan Cao Canal are not only at the pass of Fangcheng. Other locations are actually some difficult problems to solve. For example, the port of Xiangzhou must be expanded, but there has always been an epidemic called Gu Bloat, which spreads widely, and if the prevention and treatment are not done properly, it will greatly delay the future development of Xiangzhou.

Han Gang has seen several villages in the epidemic area, most of the villagers in them are seriously ill, all faces are yellow and thin, many people are terminally ill, the whole person is dry and thin, and the stomach is high and erect due to ascites - the name Gu swelling comes from this. Children with the epidemic are as short as dwarfs.

In Han Gang's view, the so-called Gu swelling is schistosomiasis at all. There are many rivers and lakes in the south, and it is natural that there will be no shortage of such diseases. In this era, there is a lack of effective medicines in later generations, and the prescriptions that can only have an effect after taking as many doses as they take are not something that the villagers can afford.

"As soon as this disease occurs, it is diarrhea and blood in the stool, and one of the three people will die, and when the acute illness subsides, it will become chronic, and the belly will swell as a result. I have asked a number of people, mainly acute onset, all of whom have flare-ups shortly after entering the water, so it seems that the disease is transmitted by water. ”

Han Gang's speculation made Shen Kuo feel a little far-fetched, "There are many rivers and lakes in Jingxiang, and there are many places with water. When you walk by the river, how can you not get your shoes wet? ”

"Indeed." Han Gang nodded, "It's not that where there is water, there is an epidemic. The onset of Gu swelling only depends on the region, and few people get sick out of the epidemic area, and it can only be that the water and soil are different from other places. So I had people take soil from the river banks in the endemic and non-endemic areas, and took 50 portions from different locations. After some comparison, it was found that the composition of these soils was similar, except that the former was significantly more than the latter, which was much more. ”

"What is it?" Shen Kuo immediately asked. Han Gang's reasoning made some sense, and Shen Kuo also focused.

"Snails." Han Gang said, "Of course it's not an ordinary snail. It was only two or three minutes long and one minute wide, like a tiny nail, so I named it a snail by the way. And this snail is the source of the Gu worm. ”

"The source of the Gu worm? How do you know? ”

"If you put it under the microscope, you can see countless Gu worms scattered from the snail, with a head and a tail, and can swim in the water."

Hearing Han Gang say this, Shen Kuo was impatient, and just wanted to find a snail to take a look. He and Han Gang share a lot of languages, not just the upcoming Xianghan Cao Yun.

"The old microscope is not successful, it is too blurry, and it must be reflected with a mercury mirror." Han Gang further added.

Shen Kuo put down his impatience and said with a smile: "Yukun, I have already installed the mercury mirror you sent the day before yesterday on the microscope. With the reflection of the mercury mirror, you can see things much more clearly when using a microscope. What is not visible in the first place, even if it is as thin as a hair, falls into the microscope and is delicately exposed. ”

"My little brother was also worried about how to make the microscope more effective. Later, I suddenly had an idea, so as soon as the mercury mirror was built, the younger brother immediately installed it on the microscope. ”

Han Gang asked people to build mercury mirrors not to use them as mirrors for their wives and concubines at home, and the copper mirrors can also make do with them, and they are also durable. The small silver lens is actually an accessory attached to the microscope.

"Before you, Yukun, no one thought that mercury tin qi [Note 1] could come in handy like this." Shen Kuo was very excited when he talked about the microscope, "Two days ago, I took a look at the leaves, and there were veins everywhere, as fine as a net. I thought it was already rare, but I didn't expect to see Gu worms. ”

Shen Boyi, who had been silent, suddenly interjected: "Actually, the child also took the microscope to take pictures everywhere, dried leaves, dried onion skin, through the microscope, you can see that there is a grid inside like a beehive." ”

"That's what I call a cell." Han Gang was surprised that Shen Kuo's son was also interested in microscopes, while Shen Kuo's father and son were surprised by Han Gang's almost omniscient ability, "The so-called gathering sand into a tower, a tower of a hundred zhang, starts from sand and gravel masonry. Animals and plants are all the same, and they are all made up of countless cells. ”

“…… It is very similar to elementalism. One is the atoms that form everything, and the other is the cells that synthesize living things. ”

Han Gang did not publish the theory of elements and atomism, but he had already mentioned it in front of Shen Kuo and discussed it many times.

Taixu is qi, and these four words are the foundation of qi. All things are transformed by qi, which is the so-called 'plug of heaven and earth, my body'. But how the origin qi of heaven and earth—or more appropriately 'qi'—turned into all things, Zhang Zai didn't say, and naturally he couldn't say. The Five Elements are too illusory to be empirically proven.

But Han Gang can make it clear. Qi condenses into different elements, and the elements become all things. Everything in heaven and earth can be reduced to a certain element, or a collection of elements.

Han Gang had already explained the theory of atoms, molecules, and elements to Shen Kuo, and finally got Shen Kuo's approval. As a scholar who focuses on the way of nature, in Shen Kuo's view, the theory proposed by Han Gang is at least the most practical and the most useful.

"Atoms are indivisible, they don't change, but cells cannot. So it's a dream bubble to say that a little stone turns into gold...... It's a fool's dream! ”

"It can still be done by turning stones into gold. As long as you can return the stone to the original Qi first, and then recondense it into gold. ”

"Return to the Origin? That has to have the power to reopen the heavens and the earth. Han Gang said with a smile, "Heaven and earth are first opened, the void is divided, the clear Qi is the sky, the turbidity is the earth, and the elements are condensed between the clear and turbid, turning into all things." It is easy to trace back to the source, but it is difficult to revert to the origin. ”

This is Han Gang's view of the world, which combines the results of qi science and science.

In the past ten years, Han Gang has devoted most of his energy to his spare time, and he has developed his own set of academic theories developed from Qi science. The original intention of coating the scientific system of later generations with a layer of Confucianism is now a small success.

Chemistry must be based on the theory of elements, atoms, and molecules, otherwise it will lack the most important foundation, and although it is difficult to overturn the theory of the five elements, it will not be possible without passing through this pass.

However, the characteristics of this civilization made it much easier for Han Gang to preach scientific theories than Western sages. Basically, they are pragmatists, and as long as they can bring real-world results, any truth can be convincing.

It's like Han Gang casually took amalgamis as a mirror, so he could prove his point with it.

This is the work of Ming Tida. All things are born and have their own uses. If you know the fundamentals, you can use them in practice. Han Gang sneered, "Those Taoist priests in the past, they took the furnace and burned it around, just to refine a foreign Dan, and the Dan method mentioned in the Taoist book was all a mysterious talk surrounded by clouds and mountains, and there was no practical one, and the last thing was to deceive such greedy squires." ”

Mercury mirrors are essentially compounds formed after mercury has melted tin, also known as amalgam. Alchemists have long discovered the preparation of this shiny compound, but it has never been put into practice, and now it has become a common alchemical deception in the world today.

As long as the gold is plated with a layer of amalgam, it will look like a piece of silver. When this silver is sent to the fire, the plating is burned, and the gold inside is revealed. How many liars rely on this hand to swindle and deceive, deceive one after another, and there are too many uninformed local tyrants in this world.

Shen Kuo shook his head and sighed: "That kind of liar, if you really have half of your vision in Yukun, you can become a huge fortune in a few years just by relying on mirror-making, why bother to deceive people." Even if it is used to shine on people, it is much stronger than a bronze mirror. ”

Han Gang disagreed with Shen Kuo's statement, "The mercury mirror is good, but it's too easy*, and it's not very practical, unless there is a layer of translucent ice on it to cover it." ”

"A piece of crystal is the most convenient." Shen Kuo suddenly smiled, "This can be regarded as a clear body, right?" ”

Han Gang nodded, "First learn from things, and then use them wisely." ”

Through the study of the essence of things, we can understand the way of nature, that is, the law. After understanding the laws of nature, we can put it into practical application - 'Ming Ti', and then 'Reach Us'.

…… This is Han Gang's way.

Note 1: In ancient China, compounds were called Qi.