People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 438: No matter how time changes, I stand alone at the top

New year and a new look.

When the year 1049 arrived, Zhao Zhen did not change the reign title to Huangyou as done in history.

Instead, the Qingli era continued.

Starting from the first day of the Lunar New Year, Bianliang gradually became lively.

Shops are opening one after another.

Some of the migrant workers who came to Bianliang did not go home for the New Year, but started working early to find jobs.

Even when on vacation, you can still do some odd jobs at the dock.

By the end of January, the city had returned to its former prosperity.

The streets and alleys were crowded with people.

Newspapers have all kinds of headlines every day, and various magazines and popular science books are also on sale one by one.

Bianliang is even going to build a huge library this year.

Whether you are a street worker, a small shop owner, or even a prostitute, you can get a library card and go in to read books.

What is more interesting is that since there were many foreigners in Bianliang and Chinese people were very curious about the situation abroad, foreigners published articles about the situation abroad in some magazines.

On the one hand, it is to defraud the author's fees, and on the other hand, it caters to people's curiosity about the situation abroad.

Some people describe America as a land of gold; some people describe Southeast Asia as a country of spices; and some people describe the Middle East as a land full of black water when a hoe is dug.

As for Europe.

Europe, which was in the Middle Ages, was poor, dirty, and had poor public security, and became a negative example of barbarism and backwardness.

Although the content is definitely distorted.

But these magazines also added a bit of novelty to the people of the Song Dynasty.

Many people only then realized that in addition to the countries surrounding the Song Dynasty, there were many countries in the far West that were countless times more backward than the Song Dynasty.

After reading this information, many people were inspired to go south to Guangzhou or Zhejiang and other places to go out to sea.

In the past two years, many people have sailed to Southeast Asia, Korea and Japan. Some of them were not afraid of death and participated in the third and fourth ocean-going fleets formed by the imperial court, and many of them set sail for America.

By early February, after rushing to complete the work at the end of last year and from late January to early February, the Ministry of Statistics also submitted the data for November and December of last year.

The data were indeed satisfactory. The fiscal revenue reached 2 million guan, and the GDP reached 30 billion as expected.

As a result, the Song Dynasty was thriving. By this year, the national strength had doubled compared to before the Qingli period.

The national GDP has increased from about 15 billion guan to 30 billion guan, and the development can be said to be in full swing.

Although there is certainly a lot of water in this, such as the significant increase in the area of ​​newly produced grain, in addition to the growth rate of staple foods such as wheat and rice from the construction of water conservancy projects and the reclamation of wasteland.

Most of them are grown in the form of sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes and other foods that most people do not eat, but are also counted as part of grain production, greatly increasing GDP.

However, these foods are often made into livestock feed, used to feed chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, pigs, and fish, providing meat, eggs, and milk to the people of the Song Dynasty, and the water content is not too high.

In comparison, the situation in other neighboring countries is not so good.

After the demise of Western Xia, Japan and Vietnam became semi-colonies of the Song Dynasty. The Liao Dynasty was unable to take care of itself, and only Dali and Goryeo were in a slightly better situation.

But it's not much better.

The Song Dynasty was lacking in both strength and virtue. Due to the upgrading of cold weapons in the country, the weapons used by the 800,000 imperial guards and 400,000 garrison troops were piled up like a mountain.

In order to dispose of these weapons, the Song Dynasty sold them all to foreign countries.

For a time, the surrounding countries were in chaos.

The neighboring countries are naturally not united, but have varying degrees of opposition forces.

Those opposition forces purchased weapons from the Song Dynasty and their strength increased greatly.

When the neighboring countries saw that this would not work, they had no choice but to buy weapons from the Song Dynasty and arm their own armies to ensure the security of their regimes.

The result was that within just two years, many of the weapons and armaments originally stockpiled by the Song Dynasty were quickly sold out.

You have to know that at the peak of Renzong's reign, he had 1.259 million troops, and the weapons and equipment of this army of more than 1.2 million were not as simple as just 1.2 million sets.

In order to ensure the consumption of weapons and armaments such as swords, guns, bows, crossbows, and armor during combat damage and daily training.

In addition to the soldiers' daily equipment, there is a large amount of inventory in the warehouse.

This means that there are millions of ordinary cold weapons, and all kinds of armor, horse equipment, arrows and other supplies are piled up like mountains.

The Song Dynasty spent five-sixths of its fiscal revenue on military expenditures every year, of which soldiers' salaries accounted for only a small portion, while these military weapons and equipment were the real bulk.

Even if we eliminate the large number of defective products and the reselling of weapons in the army, there are still a lot of weapons and equipment piled up.

Now selling it to neighboring countries has directly increased the political power and opposition strength of countries and nations such as Dali, Japan, Vietnam, Goryeo, Jurchen, and Bohai by more than one level.

But correspondingly, the cost of making cold weapons is relatively high, and if they have to be transported abroad, the cost will definitely be even higher.

The price these countries and the opposition will have to pay is also very high.

In the past two years, the Song Dynasty’s state-owned enterprises have been selling military equipment to neighboring countries. What should the neighboring countries do if they don’t have money?
easy to do.

If you don’t have money, don’t you have mines?
Even if there are no mines, isn't there still plenty of land?

So under such circumstances, the state-owned enterprises of the Song Dynasty owned a lot of minerals and land in neighboring countries.

A large amount of state-owned resources were controlled by the Song Dynasty, just like the capital invasion from the West in later generations. In countries like Argentina, the state resources were controlled by the capital of the American Empire.

Through this silent invasion, many gold and silver mines in countries like Japan and Vietnam were firmly controlled by the Song Dynasty and they almost became semi-colonies.

In just over a decade, the Song Dynasty once again became the most powerful country in East Asia and even the world after the Tang Dynasty, and its achievements are world-famous.

However, Zhao Jun, the head of the Political System Council of the Song Dynasty and the top official of the imperial court, knew that many problems were bound to be hidden under this prosperity.

In order to prevent problems from happening and for the better development of the country, he must conduct research at the grassroots level from time to time, so as to ensure that the grassroots level will not be dark, corrupt, degenerate and infested with insects.

February 27th is the National Day of the Song Dynasty, and there is another seven-day holiday.

But Zhao Jun had to go to work.

Because the Constitutional Yuan stipulates that in order to deal with emergencies, all court departments across the country must adopt a rotation system when encountering holidays.

Each department must retain at least one-third of its staff and two capable officers.

Therefore, two of the many prime ministers of the Constitutional Council must remain.

For example, during the Chinese New Year holiday this year, it was the new prime ministers Du Yan and Zheng Jian who entered the court in the previous term.

During the Tiansheng Festival and Lantern Festival holidays, they were replaced by Cai Qi, Jia Changchao, Xia Song and Jiang Tang respectively.

Basically, except for Zhang Shixun and Li Di, two old men in their seventies and eighties who were specially allowed by Zhao Zhen to not rotate, the rest of the people had to take turns to guard the holiday.

This National Day, naturally, it was Zhao Jun and Fan Zhongyan, and next time it would be Yan Shu and Song Shou.

It was Zhao Jun's privilege to be assigned to the same team as Fan Zhongyan.

In the final analysis, although many prime ministers obeyed his orders, they basically would not oppose the things and policies he proposed.

But in terms of political stance and close relationships, even though he had a good relationship with Yan Shu and called him "La Ri Shu" all the time, Fan Zhongyan was the one who understood Zhao Jun's ideas after all.

So whenever he encountered policy adjustments and reforms, he still liked to talk with Fan Zhongyan.

It's raining outside today.

Originally, Zhao Zhen planned to celebrate National Day yesterday with a big celebration and hold some ceremonial activities or something.

But in mid-February, when everything comes back to life and the spring rain moistens everything silently, it will rain for a few days from time to time, which is not suitable for holding celebrations.

This made Zhao Zhen say that he had miscalculated. He should not have put the National Day in February, which made it more difficult to organize any activities.

But Zhao Jun likes it very much, and it would be better if there were fewer activities.

Each large-scale sacrifice was quite troublesome. We had to wear formal court robes and stand there for a long time, which was like being in prison and very torturous.

The hall was unusually empty. Apart from Zhao Jun and Fan Zhongyan, there were only a few officials on duty outside.

"Hanlong, when do you plan to leave Beijing?"

Fan Zhongyan asked casually while reviewing official documents. "We were originally planning to leave in early February, but the government insisted that we leave after the National Day, saying that they were going to hold some kind of celebration."

Zhao Jun glanced at the drizzle outside and said, "As a result, the celebration has not been completed yet, and people haven't set out yet. Now they plan to leave in a few days, in early March."

Fan Zhongyan asked, "Have you planned your route? When do you plan to come back?"

"It's hard to say when we'll be back. As for the route, we'll first go to Youzhou Prefecture to inspect the situation in Peking, then go along the lines of Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Huaibei, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and finally go north from Sichuan to Guanzhong to the northwest."

Zhao Jun said: "Basically, I'm just going around the country. It's much more convenient to go to places like Nanyang and Hubei where there are trains. The main thing is to visit places with inconvenient transportation."

"That's it."

Fan Zhongyan frowned, put down his pen and paper and said, "Then you should be careful on the way and take more rest. Don't get sick like last time."

Zhao Jun's health has not been too bad in recent years, but he is not completely ill either.

The last time I traveled around the world and conducted research in various parts of the country, I fell ill in Hunan, and I also had a cold some time ago.

Although it is said that everyone gets sick.

But Zhao Jun was responsible for the rise of the Song Dynasty, and Zhao Zhen regarded him as more precious than himself. The last time he caught a cold, he kept worrying about his eldest grandson's health, and he traveled all the time out of fear of such accidents.

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Don't worry. In fact, the most fearful thing when going to the south is contracting malaria, but now that we have quinine cream, we don't have to be afraid anymore. As for other illnesses, I will bring a box of penicillin, which can deal with common diseases."

Zhao Zhen had already developed penicillin, but it could not be mass-produced due to problems such as high cost and difficulty in extraction. However, it was not a problem to produce it on a small scale.

"That's good."

Fan Zhongyan nodded, and then said, "I saw that you sent someone to the Ministry of Personnel to retrieve some documents a few days ago. Are you going to make personnel changes?"

"You know, I usually don't interfere with personnel transfers. I just brought a few officials' files here."

Zhao Jun said.

"Oh?"

Fan Zhongyan became interested and asked with a smile: "Why, who are you planning to promote?"

"It's not about promotion, but training."

Zhao Jun said.

"How to say?"

"I have to take a few people with me when I leave Beijing this time."

"You are planning to take an apprentice."

"That's pretty much it."

"Why, you want to find a successor?"

"It's time to find a successor."

"Is it true?"

Fan Zhongyan was surprised and said, "It's too early for you now."

Zhao Jun gave him a meaningful look and said, "He's not my successor, he's yours."

Fan Zhongyan was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "That's right."

Zhao Jun traveled through time from 2023. He was born on February 2 and just turned 15 years old.

The date of the time travel was April 1036 AD, and now it is February 4 AD.

He just celebrated his birthday on the 15th of this month, so he is only 36 years old.

If nothing unexpected happens, assuming he can only live to 70 years old, he still has 34 years of time in the future.

If you are lucky, you can live to 80 or even 90 years old, and living for half a century will not be a problem.

And what about Fan Zhongyan and others?
Old Fan would have been 10 years old in October this year, and historically he died of illness three years later.

Yan Shu just turned 58 at the end of last year, but historically he died of illness six years later.

The others, Li Di and Zhang Shixun, were 79 and 85 years old respectively. Historically, they died around these two years.

Cai Qi and Song Shou are about the same age as Yan Shu and Fan Zhongyan. However, in history, they both died young, in their early 50s. By that time, the grass on their graves should be three feet high.

Even if Zhao Jun's appearance changed history and allowed them to live a few more years.

But the question is how long can you live?
In ancient times when medical conditions were relatively poor, when you were over 60 years old, you could only live one day longer. No one could tell when you would die, just like Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng.

In addition, the term of office of the Constitutional Council is normally only ten years, and Cai Qi and Song Shou were specially appointed by Zhao Zhen, which made it clear that the next term would not be able to continue to be re-elected.

Yan Shu and Fan Zhongyan were the first prime ministers who were not deputy prime ministers, but alternate prime ministers.

They were not admitted until the second term in 1041, and now it is the third year of the third term in 1046. Normally, they should step down after two years. Even if Zhao Zhen still gives them special permission, they can only serve for another seven years at most.

So if nothing unexpected happens, most of the familiar faces of the current prime ministers will be replaced within the next seven years.

Including Zhang Shixun, Li Di and other older people.

There are also Jiang Tang and Jia Changchao who entered the second session, so it is basically impossible for them to be in the fourth session.

When the Constitutional Council was re-elected in October 1051, if Zhao Jun did not intend to kick anyone out, then including the special permission Zhao Zhen gave to Yan Shu and Fan Zhongyan, there would only be six people left: Zhao Jun, Yan Shu, Fan Zhongyan, Xia Song, Zheng Jian, and Du Yan.

By the fifth session in 1056, there was only Zhao Jun, so a new person had to be appointed.

If you think about it carefully, it seems that there is not much time left for Fan Zhongyan and others.

Fan Zhongyan sighed, "I didn't expect that 13 years have passed in a flash."

"Be content."

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "You have been the prime minister for eight years now, and you have also fulfilled your long-cherished wish of reform. This is much better than the historical situation where you only served as the deputy prime minister for more than a year, and then the Qingli New Deal failed, and you were finally banished from the capital and died in depression."

"That's true."

Fan Zhongyan laughed, shook his head and said: "People should learn to be content."

“Be content with what you have and cherish these last few years.”

Zhao Jun also smiled.

After saying this, he felt dazed and emotional for a moment.

Time flies and the years change.

Thirteen years passed in a flash, and he saw too many people go.

Lü Yijian, Wang Zeng, Sheng Du, Wang Sui and so on.

Although it was good enough that they could serve as prime ministers for so many years in their later years.

However, as regimes changed, the prime ministers remained like flowing water. Even if Zhao Zhen granted special permission, it would only last for fifteen years at most.

This pinnacle of power will eventually be succumbed to term of office and time.

And he.

But it never changed.

The five-year term was never a constraint for him.

The prime minister may come and go, but the chancellor remains forever.

No one can shake his position, not even Zhao Zhen!

No matter how many prime ministers are changed.

No matter who the emperor is or not.

In the end, he is the only one standing at the pinnacle of power until his death!
Until the time of death, they are all the supreme rulers.

What’s the difference with the emperor?
think carefully.

It’s pretty damn cool.

(End of this chapter)