The Plan of the Brother-Doting Demon

"So, my dear brother, since you have made such a judgment, you must have a further plan, right? The French Revolution is a major event; I do not believe you intend to just stand by and watch. You must have a further plan, don't you?" Napoleon asked.

"This is a matter for the French," Joseph said. "I do not wish to interfere too deeply; I only intend to take advantage of the momentum. Do you know what a revolution means?"

"Large-scale civil war, just like in England," Napoleon said.

"No, it is more than that. France's problems are far greater than England's, and its people are far more enraged than the English people," Joseph said. "Moreover, France is a continental nation. In a sense, it is the core of the entire European continent. Any change within it will cause a chain reaction across Europe. If the French King's crown falls, it will bring down many other crowns across the continent along with it. The war will drag on for a long time, and the flames of war may consume all of Europe."

"Countless people, no matter how noble or humble they once were, will be ground into dust. Just like little bugs in front of a carriage wheel, whether it is a small beetle or a mantis that eats beetles, they are all equally ground into powder—death is the great equalizer, don't you think, Napoleon? As for me, I want to stay far away from that wheel. Once the wheel has passed, I will come to feast on the corpses of the bugs that were crushed, just like a vulture or a hyena."

"Ah, my brother, this is truly you!" Napoleon said with a look of disdain. "You have eyelashes that can brush away the dust of the era and pupils that can see through the fog of society, but you lack a brave heart to steer the torrent of the times. I am different; I will jump onto that chariot, control it, and make it move according to my will."

"Helios's foolish son, my silly brother!" Joseph said. "You dream of driving your father's sun chariot, burning with raging flames, into the sky, but have you considered whether you possess such power? You poor creature, born in the morning and dead by evening, son of impermanence and sorrow, have you forgotten that phrase from Delphi, 'Know yourself'?" Ah, how unlucky I am to have a brother as foolish as you. I must be prepared at all times so that when you flip the sun chariot and come crashing down from the high heavens, I can catch you."

Napoleon laughed happily upon hearing this. Because in his words just now, Joseph had compared him to the ancient Greek sun god Helios's son, the hero Phaethon. This hero had driven his father's sun chariot without a license, causing a serious accident and losing his own life in the process. But regardless, he was still an extraordinary hero who dared to forge ahead.

"My arrogant brother, you also need to 'Know yourself.' When the sun chariot falls, you actually think you can catch it? Who do you think you are? Zeus?" Napoleon laughed. "But my dear hyena, let's talk specifically about your plan."

"Whatever we do in the future, we will always need some material preparation. So, I intend to make a fortune when the revolution arrives," Joseph said.

"Hmm, if you can accurately judge the timing of the revolution and the war, you can indeed make a lot of money. After the war breaks out, many things will become very scarce," Napoleon said. "But just as Archimedes needed a long lever and a fulcrum to move the Earth, the more money you have in your hands before that opportunity arrives, the greater your harvest will be. How do you intend to obtain your lever and fulcrum?"

"That is indeed a big problem," Joseph frowned. In pre-revolutionary France, it was truly too difficult for a poor person to save money, even if he were a transmigrator. Then again, if a poor person could earn money just by having some ability, then who on earth would want a revolution? The reason there is a revolution is precisely because the current French system blocks everyone's path to a good life, isn't it?

"True, if getting rich were easy, no one would want a revolution," Napoleon also nodded and said. "So you won't have a very long lever or a very sturdy fulcrum. You can only continue to honestly eat black bread without butter and have a lamb chop only once a month."

"Relying on just these is not enough," Joseph shook his head.

"The Academy of Sciences is offering a prize for papers recently," Napoleon suddenly said. "The prize money is quite good. I intend to write one to try. Joseph, you could try too."

The Paris Royal Academy of Sciences was founded under the direction of Richelieu, the Prime Minister of Louis XIII. It is now located within the Louvre and is the highest academic institution in France. The prize money offered for the papers it solicits is very generous, reaching as high as six hundred francs. Furthermore, if one can win this prize, one can also gain immense glory. For someone like Napoleon, the latter might be what truly moves him. In his eyes, this thing might be like the laurel wreath in the ancient Greek Olympic games, a symbol of a hero. However, Joseph also felt that this was a good idea. As a transmigrator, he knew a lot of scientific knowledge far beyond this era; finding something from it to swindle some money, and incidentally polishing his own reputation, would also be very beneficial for the future.

"It's just that, considering the scientific foundation of this era, what can I bring out that is explosive but doesn't require too much preparatory work?" Joseph couldn't help but think. "How about I throw out the most terrifying double-slit diffraction experiment in the history of physics ahead of time and scare them to death?"

Regarding the nature of light, there have always been two opposing viewpoints: the wave theory represented by the British scientist Hooke, and the particle theory represented by the British scientist Newton. Because of the influence of Sir Newton's great achievements, people were more willing to believe his viewpoint. Therefore, for a considerable period—until the monster known as "double-slit diffraction," which shook the entire field of physics more than once, was released—the particle theory held an overwhelming advantage.

The first to release this monster and complete the double-slit diffraction experiment was the British scientist Thomas Young. In 1801, he used this experiment as a weapon to challenge the long-dominant particle theory. However, he was British, and in England, although Sir Newton had been dead for over seventy years, his prestige had grown with each passing day over those seven decades. Any attempt to challenge Newton's theory was seen as "absurd" and "illogical." Furthermore, Thomas Young failed to provide a perfect mathematical explanation, and because he mistakenly treated light as a longitudinal wave, it led to a series of inexplicable problems. Thus, this monster was ignored by the British physics community at the time.

It was not until more than a decade later that the French scientist Fresnel, based on the Huygens principle and the principle of interference, treated light as a transverse wave and established the Huygens-Fresnel principle in a new quantitative form, perfecting the theory of light diffraction and perfectly explaining the double-slit diffraction experiment, that the wave theory took the initiative and gained the upper hand in the battle against the particle theory. (Of course, this also had to do with Fresnel being French. Basically, as long as the British opposed something, the French were always happy to support it. Although supporters of the particle theory were still in the majority at the French Academy of Sciences at the time, it was not enough to keep Fresnel from being heard.)

"To realize this experiment, in terms of conditions, it is not difficult," Joseph thought. "In fact, in later generations, this experiment can be completed in a high school laboratory. As for Fresnel's proof, the required preparatory work is also relatively limited. Of course, there is still some, but it is mainly mathematical preparation, which is not impossible to complete. I could even bring out the Poisson spot experiment as well and leave them all dumbfounded."

Thinking of this, Joseph smiled and said: "My foolish brother, it is rare that you actually have a good idea. It seems that even a fool, after thinking a thousand times, can produce a flash of brilliance."

"My arrogant brother, do you know, I have been preparing for this for a while, and I think my chances of winning are much higher than yours," Napoleon replied.

"Very well, let us each prepare a paper and see whose paper is of a higher level," Joseph said.

"Fine," Napoleon said, but he quickly reacted and added: "No, Joseph, there is a trap in your words. You said to see whose paper is of a higher level, not who wins the prize. My brother, the level of a paper can be entirely subjective. In this way, even if I am the one who wins the prize, you can completely make the excuse that those old fogies at the Academy of Sciences are blind, and that your paper's level is far superior to mine, and then you can welch on the bet and refuse to admit defeat. Honestly, Joseph, are you planning something like that?"

Upon hearing this, Joseph took a step back, looked at Napoleon, shook his head, and said in a very sorrowful tone: "Ah, Napoleon, how can you suspect me like this? You break my heart. And..." The tone was as desolate as Medea abandoned by Jason. But he suddenly changed his tone and said: "You know, the Academy, or any other place, is full of idiots. The probability of them being blind is not low. Of course, to be honest, there are quite a few people in the Paris Academy of Sciences who are not idiots. My brother, therefore, it is very possible that they might take a fancy to your foolish article and simply fail to understand mine. So their judgment cannot be used as a standard for evaluation."

"However... my brother, how about this: whether my paper is of a higher level than yours, let you be the judge. Although you are a foolish guy, you are also a proud guy; you would disdain to say insincere words about such a matter."