Ex Oriente Lux: A Legacy of Song China Industrialization

You: "Another Timeline, Mr. Zhuge?"

Me: "Yes."

You: "But you haven't finished any yet-"

Me: "Yes."

You: "And I've heard of Ex Oriente Lux before..."

Me: "Yes."

You: "And you've gotten permission from ComradeHuxley, right?"

Me: "Yes."

So, without further to do, let me present...


"Your majesty," Wang said. "The Daifeng Engine, water-stuff, and a bunch of other things I still don’t know - they all help us work without the help of peasants.”

Emperor Shenzong looked back at the Chancellor. “Your ideas are intriguing,” he finally said. “Let’s test them out.”

Wang shot a victorious smirk at Sima Guang, who gritted his teeth in anger. “Thank you, your majesty. A thousand years! A thousand years!”

As the court mobilized in an effort to chant “Wanshui!”, Wang closed his eyes, reminiscing about how he had even reached this position in the first place.

“Nin hao, Shen Xiansheng, Su Xiansheng,” Wang said, nodding to the other men.

“Nin hao, Wang Xiansheng,” Shen Kuo said, nodding to Wang Anshi.

“Nin hao, Wang Xiansheng,” Su Song said, nodding to Wang Anshi.

“Why have you gathered us here?” Shen Kuo asked seriously and bluntly, cutting straight to the point. “I’m in the middle of finding a method of repeated forging of cast iron under a cold blast.”

Wang Anshi looked at him, curious. “Interesting,” he said. “I’ll make sure to talk to you about it later, since it sounds interesting. Right now, I’m thinking of creating a group - under the Emperor’s auspices - in favor of reforms.”

“Hm...” Su hummed. “It certainly sounds interesting, Wang.”

Shen nodded. “Definitely. Sima Guang wants to take my steel away from me. Never!”

Wang grinned. He had been really worried about these two and their reactions to his proposals. After Sima had formed the Conservative group with a consort’s backing, the Conservatives had been on the rise...

“That’s great,” he finally said. “Hopefully, after the agricultural reforms are finished, the peasants will be satisfied. That way, when our inventions are finally published, they’ll be noticed, instead of the peasants swarming the cities and taking jobs and lowering production costs.”

“I’ll drink to that!” Shen exclaimed, bringing a pint of beer out of nowhere. “My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaddy from the Han Dynasty said that he created a steam engine, but the peasants kept going to Luoyang and lowering production costs, so his invention disappeared.”

“No way,” Su gasped.

“Yeah,” Shen said. “I agree. That’s what my daddy said, though I don’t believe him.”

Wang snorted. “You certainly have a way of making jokes.”

“Bow!” the Emperor repeated louder.

“H-huh?” Wang asked, belatedly adding a “Your Majesty?”

“Bow!”

“O-oh!” Wang exclaimed, crouching and kow-towing. “A thousand years!”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Starring:

Wang Anshi​

It is worthwhile to note that Shenzong is a unified Song Emperor (not a southern one). Yeah, an Wang is a reformer ahead of his time that cause a lot of strife in Song that some claim ultimately doom Song.

Consider me subbed.

I assume the POD will butterfly Genghis?

Cueg said:

Consider me subbed.

I assume the POD will butterfly Genghis?

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probably not. Song will still fall to the Jurchens as the timeline is about South Song. Probably when the Mongols came South Song will have a better chance.

Consider me subscribed.

It looks promising. Wish you good luck!

Will follow.

zeppelinair said:

Will follow.

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ComradeHuxley said:

It looks promising. Wish you good luck!

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SlyDessertFox said:

Consider me subscribed.

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gianni_rivera said:

probably not. Song will still fall to the Jurchens as the timeline is about South Song. Probably when the Mongols came South Song will have a better chance.

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Cueg said:

Consider me subbed.

I assume the POD will butterfly Genghis?

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gianni_rivera is right over here. Them being industrialized doesn't mean anything for their military prowess, though after such a long time fighting with industrialized resources against the Jin, they'd inevitably have much better weapons...just in time for the Mongols.

gianni_rivera said:

It is worthwhile to note that Shenzong is a unified Song Emperor (not a southern one). Yeah, an Wang is a reformer ahead of his time that cause a lot of strife in Song that some claim ultimately doom Song.

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Darn, I like Wang.

Thanks for all the support! Next update will be on 12/19 or 12/20.

Sorry, the POD should probably be evident from the OP, but I'm not well read in this this area and period of history. So, what year is the POD?

Cueg said:

Sorry, the POD should probably be evident from the OP, but I'm not well read in this this area and period of history. So, what year is the POD?

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This is just a follow-up sequel to ComradeHuxley's Ex Oriente Lux, except my POD starts with Wang Anshi in the mid-1000's.

If it's necessary, I can quote/re-post all of ComradeHuxley's updates...

ZhugeLiang said:

This is just a follow-up sequel to ComradeHuxley's Ex Oriente Lux, except my POD starts with Wang Anshi in the mid-1000's.

If it's necessary, I can quote/re-post all of ComradeHuxley's updates...

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Ah, alright. In regard to the Mongols, wouldn't Genghis be butterflied with that POD? I'm not really aware of any consensus reached by this broad. Was the explosion of the Nomads out of that region predetermined, or was it the culmination of efforts by Genghis primarily?

Cueg said:

Ah, alright. In regard to the Mongols, wouldn't Genghis be butterflied with that POD? I'm not really aware of any consensus reached by this broad. Was the explosion of the Nomads out of that region predetermined, or was it the culmination of efforts by Genghis primarily?

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I think it's because of the Jin's stupidity. If they didn't move their capital south from modern-day Beijing, the Mongols wouldn't have gone for such a decisive blow.

It's definitely not predetermined for the Mongols to take over. If anything, the whole point of the timeline is to keep China OUT of the hands of the Mongols, so I'd be willing to hand over the nation to the Jin to keep the Mongols out. If anybody could ruin this industrialization, it'd be the Mongols.

On another hand, just because the industrialization STARTS in China doesn't mean it's going to stay there. Guess what countries lie west of China?

ZhugeLiang said:

I think it's because of the Jin's stupidity. If they didn't move their capital south from modern-day Beijing, the Mongols wouldn't have gone for such a decisive blow.

It's definitely not predetermined for the Mongols to take over. If anything, the whole point of the timeline is to keep China OUT of the hands of the Mongols, so I'd be willing to hand over the nation to the Jin to keep the Mongols out. If anybody could ruin this industrialization, it'd be the Mongols.

On another hand, just because the industrialization STARTS in China doesn't mean it's going to stay there. Guess what countries lie west of China?

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This would be during the Islamic Golden Age, so I suspect the jungles of the Kongo?

Really though, facetiousness aside, I've suddenly become a lot more interested in this timeline. Can't wait to see how it develops.

Cueg said:

This would be during the Islamic Golden Age, so I suspect the jungles of the Kongo?

Really though, facetiousness aside, I've suddenly become a lot more interested in this timeline. Can't wait to see how it develops.

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This 'Golden Age' might have to become a 'Steel Age', if you know what I mean

Ahah! Thought you'd end up doing this sooner or later ever since you mentioned it. Excellent, I've been waiting for this.

Say frankly, you aren't a Chinese, are you? Chinese, as a matter of fact, don't bow to others like the Westerners did.

Isfendil said:

Ahah! Thought you'd end up doing this sooner or later ever since you mentioned it. Excellent, I've been waiting for this.

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Ah, thanks!

alexei1979 said:

Say frankly, you aren't a Chinese, are you? Chinese, as a matter of fact, don't bow to others like the Westerners did.

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Er no, I don't live in China, nor was I born there, but my ancestors came from China. Is that relevant?

What it means to say is, essentially, the idea of submission. Wang forgot to kow-tow, which is what the Emperor is reminding him to do.

But it would sound awkward if he said "Kow-tow! NOW!"

Quotes from Wujing Zongyao, military texts from Song dynasty officials.​

“When troops encountered gloomy weather or dark nights, and the directions of space could not be distinguished, they let an old horse go on before to lead them, or else they made use of the south-pointing carriage, or the south-pointing fish to identify the directions. Now the carriage method has not been handed down, but in the fish method a thin leaf of iron is cut into the shape of a fish two inches long and half an inch broad, having a pointed head and tail. This is then heated in a charcoal fire, and when it has become thoroughly red-hot, it is taken out by the head with iron tongs and placed so that its tail points due north. In this position it is quenched with water in a basin, so that its tail is submerged for several tenths of an inch. It is then kept in a tightly closed box. To use it, a small bowl filled with water is set up in a windless place, and the fish is laid as flat as possible upon the water-surface so that it floats, whereupon its head will point south.

This technique is not unique to soldiers. Navigators and sailors from Quanzhou use it often, choosing to bring it with them on their long and perilous journeys. It allows them to navigate safely without fear of heading off-track.

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The 'igniter ball' (yin huo qiu) is made of paper round like a ball, inside which is put between three and five pounds of powdered bricks. Melt yellow wax and let it stand until clear, then add powdered charcoal and make it into a paste permeating the ball; bind it up with hempen string. When you want to find the range of anything, shoot off this fire-ball first, then other incendiary balls can follow.

It has seemed to help in our wars against the Qidan. It is our belief that we should nurture and develop this strange power to safely defend our nation against foreign invaders like the Qidan.

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On the right is the petrol flamethrower (lit. fierce fire oil-shooter). The tank is made of brass, and supported on four legs. From its upper surface arise four (vertical) tubes attached to a horizontal cylinder above; they are all connected with the tank. The head and the tail of the cylinder are large (the middle) is of narrow (diameter). In the tail end there is a small opening as big as a millet grain. The head end has (two) round openings 1½ inches in diameter. At the side of the tank there is a hole with a (little) tube which is used for filling, and this is fitted with a cover. Inside the cylinder there is a (piston-)rod packed with silk floss, the head of which is wound round with hemp waste about ½ inches thick. Before and behind, the two communicating tubes are (alternately) occluded (lit. controlled), and (the mechanism) thus determined. The tail has a horizontal handle (the pump handle), in front of which there is a round cover. When (the handle is pushed) in (the pistons) close the mouth of the tubes (in turn).

We believe that this invention should be able to help us greatly against the Qidan.

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Before use the tank is filled with rather more than three catties of the oil with a spoon through a filter; at the same time gunpowder (composition) is placed in the ignition chamber at the head. When the fire is to be started one applies a heated branding iron (to the ignition chamber), and the piston-rod is forced fully into the cylinder—then the man at the back is ordered to draw the piston rod fully backwards and work it (back and forth) as vigorously as possible. Whereupon the oil (the petrol) comes out through the ignition chamber and is shot forth as blazing flame.

Once again, we believe that this invention should be able to help us greatly against the Qidan.

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When filling, use the bowl, the spoon and filter; for igniting there is the branding iron; for maintaining (or renewing) the fire there is the container. The branding iron is made sharp like an awl so that it may be used ot unblock the tubes if they get stopped up. There are tongs with which to pick up the glowing fire, and there is a soldering iron for stopping up leaks. If the tanks or the tubes get cracked and leak they may be mended by using green wax. Altogether there are 12 items of equipment, all of brass except the tongs, the branding iron, and the soldering iron. Another method is to fix a brass gourd-shaped container inside a large tube; below it has two feet, and inside there are two small feet communicating with them (comm: all made of brass) and there is also the piston. The method of shooting is as described above. If the enemy comes to attack a city, these weapons are placed on the great ramparts, or else in outworks, so that large numbers of assailants cannot get through.”

This weapon seems to be useful, and we can use it to attack other castles.

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Note: Any changes to the original text are bolded

Any opinions about the recent update? It's in a different format...

Does the south-pointing chariot work at sea at all? On land it's not terribly useful when you take a lot of turns - small defects in manufacturing lead to large errors.