As soon as the war on the grassland stopped, the tribes on the grassland began to move. With the permission of the Tang Army, the small tribes were ready to come to Chang 'an to pay tribute as soon as possible. The defeated Xue Yantuo was ready to ask for the Heaven Khan's forgiveness with a large sum of money. The Turks were ready to make the Tang Dynasty fall into civil strife and get rid of the control of the Tang Dynasty. However, all these plans had to be realized in Chang' an.
In Chang 'an City, Yin Yangzi looked at the black clouds above Chang' an City and could not help but frown. He had been in Chang 'an City for a month, but he did not find any flaws in the Mo family, nor did he find the Son of Fate who could break the situation.
What made Yin-yang Zi more embarrassed was that he had not only failed to do anything to the Mo family, but also the Mo family's luck had become stronger.
Yin-yang Zi turned his head slightly and looked at the tall building of the Mo family under the black clouds. His face was full of seriousness. Today was the day when the Mo family revealed the method of accurate time, and the towering building was the trump card of the Mo family.
"The Mo family has built such a high building on the mechanical city. Isn't it overstepping the law?" A Confucian scholar gloated.
A merchant next to him sneered and said, "You are really wishful thinking. Mo Jiazi can't think of this. Since ancient times, all the tall buildings must have a special meaning, just like the Buddhist pagoda. It is also overstepping the law, but it is allowed by the imperial court."
The Confucian scholar snorted and said, "You are dreaming. The Buddhist pagoda worships the Buddha and communicates with the gods. The Mo family does not believe in ghosts and gods. How can they be compared with the Buddhist pagoda?"
The merchant smiled mysteriously and said, "You don't know this. The overstepping building on the mechanical city was built by the Mo family to redefine time. It is called the Four-faced Clock. Everyone needs accurate time. In time, the Four-faced Clock will be spread all over the cities of the Tang Dynasty for the convenience of millions of people. Its scale and function may not be inferior to the Buddhist pagoda."
There might not be a Buddhist pagoda in every city, but the merchant believed that if the Mo family really built a practical Four-faced Clock, it would definitely appear in every city.
"Four-faced Clock!" The scholar couldn't help but be taken aback. He quickly looked up at the tall building above him and discovered that it was indeed possible to see from all sides. He instantly understood the purpose of the four-faced clock.
"Mo Jiazi is indeed quick-witted. The Daoists use sundials to represent time, so people can only look at them from a close distance. However, Mo Jiazi is willing to go beyond the norm and build the Four-Faced Clock to be as tall as a Buddhist pagoda. This way, it can be seen even from far away. This time, I'm afraid the Daoists will have a headache." The Confucian scholar gloated. Just from this point alone, the Four-Faced Clock was already superior to the Daoists' sundials.
"A sundial has the sun that points to the time. A four-faced clock can only have two sides facing the sun. How can the two sides with the back of the sun indicate the time?" A person of faith said unhappily.
"That will depend on Mo Jiazi's ability! At most, we'll just use manpower! " The Confucian scholar chuckled. If even he could think of this method, he believed that Mo Jiazi would be able to think of it as well. In this way, the Taoist school would be the first to be eliminated from the competition between the three schools.
"Clang!"
However, before the Confucian scholar's smile froze, a loud bell sound came from the Four-Faced Clock. Clearly, Mo Jiazi was testing the sound in the Four-Faced Clock.
"Mo Jiazi is so despicable. After copying the Daoists, he copied the Confucians!" The Confucian scholar was flustered and exasperated. The bell sound in the Four-Faced Clock was so loud that it could almost be heard in half of Chang 'an City. Using the bell sound to replace the sound of the night watch was obviously much better than only being heard in one street.
"It's not just the Daoists and the Confucians. The bell used by the Four-Faced Clock is the same as the morning bell in the temple. This time, I'm afraid even the Buddhists will be hopping mad." Yin-yang Zi, who was listening at the side, chuckled.
"Master, Mo Jiazi is indeed despicable. First, he threw out the bait of redefining time, inciting the Daoists and the Buddhists to change the time. Then, he combined the strengths of the three schools and attacked later. There's no need to compete now. The winner is obvious. Mo Jiazi has won this round." The Little Sorcerer shook his head and sighed.
"Mo Jiazi has won, but it's an unfair victory. I'm afraid neither the Daoists nor the Confucians will accept it." Yin-yang Zi gloated. The Yin-Yang School was happy to see the conflicts between the other schools. This way, the Yin-Yang School would be able to find their flaws and exploit them.
"Mo Jiazi is just so-so!" The Little Sorcerer said disapprovingly. Chang 'an City had been full of praises for Mo Jiazi. But now, it seemed that Mo Jiazi was just an unscrupulous person.
As soon as the Little Sorcerer finished speaking, the cloth covering the Four-Faced Clock suddenly fell down. A huge hollow sundial suddenly appeared in front of everyone's eyes.
"Just as I thought!" The Little Sorcerer saw the sundial pattern in the sky and couldn't help but snort. The Confucians had indeed copied the Daoists' sundial. Although the Yin-Yang School and the Daoists didn't get along, they had a deep relationship. The Little Sorcerer instantly felt the same way and stood up for the injustice.
"No, Mo Jiazi is quite capable. He actually gave up on the sundial method and used three hands to replace time. This way, even if it's the back of the clock, or if it's a cloudy day or night, it won't affect the Four-Faced Clock's operation. This is a step better than the Daoists' sundial method." Yin-yang Zi took a deep breath and said. Mo Jiazi's greatest strength was that he could improve on the foundation of others.
"No matter how great he is, he's not copying others." The Confucian scholar snorted.
"Hour, minute, second!"
Soon, the latest news came. The Mohist's Four-Faced Clock's three hands represented the hour, minute, and second. It was different from the traditional sundial's method of measuring time.
"Look, the longest hand of the Four-Faced Clock is moving!" Suddenly, someone in the crowd exclaimed.
"That's the second hand!" Someone explained. Every time the second hand moved, it meant that time was passing.
"The passing of time is like water. In the past, I didn't understand the essence of the Headmaster. Now that I see that the second hand hasn't moved, it means that one second of my life has passed." A scholar sighed.
Yin-yang Zi's eyes focused as he stared at the second hand. As the second hand moved, he became more and more shocked. This was because he realized that the second hand's time was exactly the same every time. In other words, the Mohist's most accurate unit of time was the second.
"The minute hand is also moving!" A sharp-eyed commoner in the crowd exclaimed.
Yin-yang Zi's eyes focused. Indeed, as the second hand moved, the minute hand of the medium length also moved. From this, he deduced that once the minute hand of the medium length moved, the hand that represented the hour would also move to the corresponding position.
"One minute is sixty seconds! It's the same as sixty-one cycles, and every second is incomparably accurate. " Yin-yang Zi's expression was serious. This battle of time had ended with Mo Jiazi's victory. Mo Jiazi had indeed accurately calculated the smallest unit of time — the second.
The Mohist had won this battle of time.
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