Chapter 426: Strong Foundation

“One zhang equals ten feet, and one foot equals ten inches. The dimensions are fixed, so take the three inches and round it off to one meter. One meter equals ten decimeters, one decimeter equals ten centimeters, one centimeter equals ten millimeters, one millimeter equals ten decimillimeters, and one decimillimeter equals one hundred micrometers. Although the decimillimeter and micrometer seem very small and are not widely applicable, let’s set it down so it can be a reference in the future…”

On the morning of the 16th day in the eleventh lunar month, a newly-fabricated signboard was hung in the courtyard of the Huanglong County manufacturing bureau. The signboard contained three golden characters —”Measuring Device Hall”. In one of the rooms inside the Measuring Device Hall, Yan Liqiang, Qian Su, and a group of craftsmen were carefully placing the brand new standard measuring devices that the manufacturing bureau had made in a display cabinet. From now on, these tools would be used by the manufacturing bureau as their standard measuring tools.

The new measuring tools were made of the most expensive meteoric iron, mixed with gold. They were firm, wear-resistant, and unbreakable as long as they weren’t thrown into a furnace.

Yan Liqiang felt strange when he looked at the metallic rulers of various lengths that felt heavy on his hands, including the metallic cubes of different weights and the metallic measuring cylinders. It could be said that he was creating a history in this world to a certain degree right now.

When he was still in the Imperial Capital, Yan Liqiang actually discussed unit measurements with Zhang Yourong. Zhang Yourong agreed with Yan Liqiang that there was indeed a huge flaw with the current measuring standards in this world. The flaw was unfavorable toward the development of the path of mechanics and the investigation of things. For example, the units of measurement in this world consisted of five types only —’li’, ‘zhang’, foot’, ‘inch’, and ‘fen’. One li was equivalent to 150 zhang, one zhang was equivalent to ten feet, one foot was equivalent to ten inches, and one inch was equivalent to ten fen. The smallest unit of length was ‘fen’ and one ‘fen’ was equivalent to 3.333 millimeters. The most precise measurement used by the craftsmen when manufacturing items was ‘fen’. The inaccuracy of around three millimeters at minimum was still acceptable visually when it came to manufacturing furniture, weapons, armor, and even buildings. However, when it came to manufacturing items that required precision, the problem with using ‘fen’ as the smallest unit of measurement would then be made obvious. Hence, the so-called ‘precision’ was no more than a subjective perception which lacked standards.

In view of this, Yan Liqiang spent two days introducing the units of measurement that he was familiar with to the manufacturing bureau. Using the standard of three feet was equivalent to one meter, he worked his way downward. When the unit went down to the millimeter, Yan Liqiang invented a new unit of length — the decimillimeter. It was the unit in between the millimeter and micrometer so that it’d be easier for the craftsmen to accept.

With these standard units of measurement for length, the units for area and volume were also set. The area with one centimeter sides would be equal to one square centimeter, while a cube with one centimeter on each side would have a volume of one cubic centimeter. At the same time, one cubic centimeter was equivalent to the volume of one milliliter and one cubic meter was a thousand liters…

With the introduction of area and volume, the four measurement units that were previously used by the manufacturing bureau —’hu’, ‘dou’, ‘sheng’, and ‘he’ paled in comparison to the new sets of measurement units.

With the measurement of volume and area, Yan Liqiang had set a new metric weight unit — one liter of water at room temperature was set to be equivalent to the weight of one kilogram. One kilogram was equivalent to a thousand grams, and one gram was equivalent to a thousand milligrams.

In the Measuring Device Hall, Yan Liqiang held those meticulously manufactured measuring tools and explained the connections between the different measurement units to the chief weaponsmiths in the manufacturing bureau.

After he put down the one kilogram standard weight that was made of metal, Yan Liqiang picked up a round disc and pointed to the marked scales and characters on the disc. He then explained to everyone, “Aside from those measuring tools, let me also introduce to all of you the standard way of measuring time. I am sure everybody is used to using the twelve earthly branches to tell the time in a day. One time period is divided into eight quarters of time, but even if you can split one quarter into two half quarters of time, this method of division is too unsophisticated. For an expert, half a quarter of time is enough to decide the life and death of a battle, and he can even kill hundreds of people within that time frame. Just a short half quarter of time is enough to affect numerous lives and affect the outcome of winning or losing. We as artisans should not be unsophisticated. In order to perfect something that is already outstanding, one should refine time. As artisans, we must believe that all things in this world are measurable…”

An old craftsman cleared his throat and chimed in, “Ahem… Actually, aside from the time period and one-quarter or half-quarter of time, we also refer to time in other ways. The shortest is ‘the space of one breath’, then we have ‘in a flash’, ‘the time it takes to finish a cup of tea’, and ‘the time it takes for an incense to burn’. These are measurements for length of time…”

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“Very well. You mentioned that ‘the space of a breath’, ‘in a flash’, ‘the time it takes to finish a cup of tea’, and ‘the time it takes for an incense to burn’ are all units of time. Let me ask all of you this: how much time is ‘the space of a breath’? One inhalation and one exhalation? If so, then how many breaths are there in one-quarter of time?” Yan Liqiang smiled as he raised the question.

“Well, I’ve never counted before. Perhaps… around two to three hundred?”

“Well then, let’s assume that in one quarter of time, you can breathe two hundred times. So you are implying that one quarter of time is equivalent to the space of two hundred breaths? Do you think everyone else will agree with what you just said? When you said ‘the space of ten breaths’, do you think the duration of ten breaths is the same for everybody?”

“Well…” The old craftsman was instantly rendered speechless.

“The answer is of course it is different. For different people, the time taken for one inhalation and one exhalation is different. Children and people with weak physical health may have shorter breaths, but their breathing is more rapid. People with stronger physical builds have longer breaths, especially martial practitioners. Their duration of one breath is equivalent to ten breaths for normal people. Just take this room for instance — my one breath is different from everyone else’s breath. Basically, the majority of you have to breathe six times or more while I breathe just once. So your ten breaths and my ten breaths are different. You said that one quarter of time is equal to the space of about two hundred breaths, but to me, one quarter of time is merely the space of several tens of breaths. The same goes for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Some people take a longer time to drink while some take a shorter time to drink. Therefore, the ‘time it takes to drink a cup of tea’ is also different for every individual. Likewise, it is the same for ‘the time it takes for an incense to burn’ as different types of incense take a different amount of time to burn. So for time, a standard measurement should be in place…”

“From now onward, the twelve time period will still be used in the manufacturing bureau, but every time period will now be divided into two hours. For example, the ‘hour of the rat’ will be classified as ‘the upper hour of the rat’ and ‘the lower hour of the rat’, with an hour each. At the same time, one hour is equivalent to sixty minutes, which is the same as four quarters. Every quarter is fifteen minutes and every minute is equivalent to sixty seconds. So then, how long is one second? That is about the length of time we use to pronounce one, two, three, four at a slightly fast speed. Everyone can try with me: one, two, three, four, and that’s about one second each. In order to be more precise, one second is the length of time for an egg to reach the ground when it falls from a five-meter tall tree. Currently, we do not have any tools to accurately measure one second, but not having it now does not imply that it will be unavailable in the future. Whoever can invent a measuring device to measure time in seconds will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver…”

‘Ten thousand taels of silver?’ Yan Liqiang’s words stirred a commotion among the group of craftsmen. Many craftsmen’s eyes sparkled immediately…

“From now on, everyone in the manufacturing bureau should establish the habit of using the measuring tools that are on display in the Measuring Device Hall to determine all measurements. Any items that are to be manufactured must use these sets of new measurement standards to accurately determine the length, weight, and size. The time required for each process should be accurate to the minutes. For example, the interval between applying the first and second coat of paint should be defined by the minutes to determine the exact amount of time to achieve the best result instead of solely relying on experience. The size for a lot of sophisticated tools and devices needs to be accurate to the millimeter or even a decimillimeter. Tools and devices made from processed metals should be accurate to the grams. Have a discussion amongst yourselves to set the error of uncertainty for the different measurements!”

“Some of you may not understand why am I emphasizing this in the manufacturing bureau. But let me tell you that just within these few days, we have already received orders for over thirty four-wheeled carriages. 170 to 180 thousand taels of silver are already in our accounts since we collect payment before we deliver the product. Half of those payments are yours. These are just the orders from Pingxi Prefecture alone and there will be more orders in the future. Many others will be envious of us and they will start replicating the carriage. If you are thinking of having a good life in the future and thinking of getting a big annual bonus, then we need to have better workmanship than the others. We need to be better than them and in order to do this, we must have the mindset of constantly striving to improve ourselves. By using these measuring tools…” Yan Liqiang turned around and pointed to the measuring devices and tools displayed in the room.

“Rest assured, Protectorate General. We know what to do!” The chief weaponsmiths spoke one after another.

Yan Liqiang finally felt relieved to see approving nods from the craftsmen. He turned his head to look at Qian Su, “Uncle Qian, I think the manufacturing bureau can take out fifty thousand taels of silver to distribute to everyone first as a reward for everyone’s hard work and an incentive. Let them experience the concept of bonus distribution. In the future, the more money the manufacturing bureau earns, the greater the bonus that will be distributed to everyone. The rules that I set in the bureau must be strictly adhered to. Every statement is real, as are the rewards and punishment…”

“Alright, I can arrange for that and distribute it by today so that everyone can be happy!” Qian Su nodded because he understood Yan Liqiang’s intentions.

The bonus distribution session started in the afternoon. Everyone in the manufacturing bureau, from the craftsmen to the chief weaponsmiths, soldiers, and servants, they were all excited. As per the calculations, the servants were the lowest-ranking members in the bureau and they had one share each. Even so, they still received fourteen taels and six maces of silver. The chief weaponsmiths and stewards held thirty shares each and everyone received about four hundred taels of silver. The most ordinary craftsmen and soldiers had three shares and they received forty taels of silver each. Many people were shedding tears of joy with the sparkling silver in their hands.

Ever since Yan Liqiang had come to the manufacturing bureau, he had made tremendous and effective changes to the manufacturing bureau within a short period of time. The distribution of the fifty thousand taels of silver was indeed effective. The morale of the entire manufacturing bureau was boiling like a volcano. This established Yan Liqiang’s esteemed reputation inside the hearts of those working in the manufacturing bureau…