The moon is clear and the wind is clear, a full moon hangs high, and the Bianhe River in the distance is sparkling in the moonlight.

Today, in Yongcheng County, not only the officials of the yamen, but also some idle people who are involved in the case have all been arrested. For a while, the family was closed, and there was not even a pedestrian on the road. It wasn't until notices were posted all over the street, saying that the government was arresting criminals, and there were no pedestrians on the road until evening.

The taxi seat of the patrol village requisitioned the ferry boats on the Bianhe River and kept transporting people to the other side.

In the backyard of the village, Du Zhongxiao and Liu Ji sat opposite each other, and a pot of charcoal was placed in the middle, silently testing the fire. Su Song sat on the side, holding an ancient book in his hand, and his expression was serene. Now is the time to hear the case, and they are not needed.

Listening to the noise of people outside, Liu Ji said: "I'm afraid that the people outside will be busy all night tonight." There is nothing to do left and right, I heard that the official has newly accepted a little prostitute, and he can play a piano, so it is better to come out and play a song. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "This is the best. I don't know the rhythm of music, and I'm about to be judged. ”

Liu Ji smiled slightly and did not answer. He has learned a lot of things, and he is proficient in music, so he needs not be modest in this point.

Not long after, Qu Wuniang hugged the pipa, took Xiaoqing out, and set up the guqin in the courtyard. Among the officials at the same level, Du Zhongxiao is considered to have a very wealthy family. Since entering the Du family, Qu Wuniang and Xiaoqing have been pampered, which is different from the previous days.

The two stepped forward and saluted, and Liu Ji asked, "I heard that you are highly skilled, but I don't know what tunes you are good at." ”

Qu Wuniang was blessed and picked a few popular tunes to say.

Liu Ji smiled: "These tunes are too vulgar. If your colleagues drink during the day, play these tunes and sing a little word. Tonight the moon is clear and the wind is clear, won't playing these again pollute people's ears and eyes? A few days ago, I made a "Plum Blossom Song", although it is not very fine, it is better than not being cheesy. You take the piano, I have played it, and you figure it out for yourselves. ”

Xiaoqing stepped forward and put the piano in front of Liu Ji, bowed and retreated.

Du Zhongxiao was born at the bottom, there was no such environment at home, and later there was no famous teacher to teach, what he lacked was this kind of literary and artistic accomplishment. Seeing that Liu wanted to play the piano on a whim, he hurriedly burned a good incense.

A melodious piano sounded, piercing the quiet night, like an ink painting unfolding in front of you.

Du Zhongxiao doesn't know anything about music, he can only tell whether it sounds good or bad by feeling, and he doesn't know anything about it. Seeing Su Song sitting on the side, he also learned to concentrate and listen to Liu Ji playing the piano.

Scholars may not know musical instruments, but they have a knowledge of music theory, which is part of their knowledge system. Sometimes, even the imperial examination will test relevant knowledge, but most of them are relatively simple. Since Emperor Taizong, Zhenzong and the current emperor have been proficient in music theory, and many new songs have been made in the palace, many of which have been circulated among the people. At this time, the lyrics and songs that became more and more prosperous were related to the music of Taizong.

Since accepting Qu Wuniang and Xiaoqing at home, Du Zhongxiao has occasionally learned some music theory knowledge. However, his talent in this area is limited, and the theoretical knowledge of the two is poor, so there is no major breakthrough.

Du Zhongxiao's accidental exposure to this knowledge was like opening up a new world. However, due to the influence of his previous life, Du Zhongxiao's interest and knowledge in music are not biased towards art, but more towards science.

This is where music attracts Du Zhongxiao, and ancient Chinese music is part of the scientific system. The simplest example, the unity of weights and measures, is the unity of rhythm. From scale to capacity, combined with specific instruments, it forms a complete system.

According to the practice of Du Zhongxiao in his previous life, to unify weights and measures, the standard length should be determined first, and then the standard time should be determined. For example, the speed of light, atomic clocks, water and other physical quantities are used to set the standard for universal use. In this era, there is another way, to produce a ruler by law, and to determine the volume by a clock, so as to produce a complete set of weights and measures. Judging from Du Zhongxiao's limited knowledge, with the technical level of this era, the accuracy is higher than the methods of his previous life.

Real musicians are scientists, and this is the charm of music in this era. Just like Su Song on the side, he has learned a lot, and the great scientist who has left a name in history is no stranger to music, and he listens to it with relish there.

Listening to the melodious sound of the piano, Du Zhongxiao recalled the knowledge of his previous life, as if at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, many scientists had good artistic qualities. According to the previous life, art can cultivate people's sentiments, and according to the understanding of this era, art and science are inherently connected.

Others are feeling the charm of art, but Du Zhongxiao can't help but think of the tuning fork from the frequency and timbre of the music, think of the pitch and audio, think of a large number of special phenomena with constant frequency, and think——

When Du Zhongxiao was thinking wildly, Liu Ji's piano sound stopped abruptly, and the afterglow lingered.

The crowd applauded.

Liu Jiwei stroked the piano and said to Xiao Qing, who could listen attentively: "Listen to a song, can you try to play a song?" ”

Xiaoqing saluted, stepped forward and took the piano and put it in front of him, and played it, a little green.

Liu Ji laughed and didn't care. The music he made was not complicated, and he casually mentioned a few words, and Xiaoqing played smoothly.

Seeing Xiaoqing engrossed in playing the piano there, Du Zhongxiao smiled. These days, I listened to Xiaoqing play a song when I had nothing to do, and finally slowly understood a truth. Just as music is divided into elegant music and folk music, in fact, science and technology are also divided into two parts. On the one hand, it is scientific, like Yale, which is elegant learning, and on the other hand, it is technology, just like secular music. In fact, the development of science and technology is due to the fact that these two parts complement each other and promote each other to develop and flourish. The education he received in his previous life was always intentional or unintentional, and he skipped the scientific and elegant side.

Over the millennium, Du Zhongxiao's first thought was to develop science and technology in this era. How can science and technology be developed? From the point of view learned in the previous life, it seems that we should build factories on a large scale and rely on skilled workers. Until the establishment of technical schools, smart people were constantly sent to factories.

After these days of musical influence, and then looking back at the process of European science that I learned in my previous life, I find that this is not the case. The development of science and technology in Europe is also carried out in two lines. One line is to do all kinds of experiments, conduct theoretical research, and constantly open up new fields of knowledge with the support of the noble nobility. The other line is the skilled workers in the factory, driven by profits, to improve production technology. Capitalists enthusiastically promote the application of new technologies for the sake of higher profits. These two threads are intertwined to play the movement of the Industrial Revolution.

Du Zhongxiao didn't know if the content of European scientific research was related to music, or whether it took other forms in different cultural contexts. But under the ancient Chinese heritage, the combination of science and music has a lot to offer.

It is good to say that China's cultural tradition naturally suppresses and rejects science. In the previous life, after being beaten backward, he always had to give an explanation. At least in this era, no matter what aspect it is, China's cultural tradition is still the most friendly civilization system to science and technology, and it only depends on whether it can carry it forward.