People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 444 Industrial Construction and New Inventions

After noon, the carriage followed the official road and saw Wu'an County from afar.

At this moment, there were already people waiting outside the county town.

In addition to Wei Huanzhi, the Transport Commissioner of Hebei Road, Tian You, the Director of the Ministry of Revenue, Wang Ding, the Director of the Ministry of Censors, Han Fang and others.

There were also Yan Zhongfu, the prefect of Cizhou, Zhang Zhaowen, the magistrate of Wuan, and other assistant officials of the prefecture and county governments.

Dozens of officials of all ranks wearing robes of various colors were standing there. They saw the team slowly approaching from afar, and then they walked to the roadside, lined up and waited there.

Zhao Jun lifted the car window curtain and took a look.

Although he advocated "four no's and two direct", that is, no notification, no greeting, no report, no accompanying reception, but going straight to the grassroots and the scene.

For example, after the New Deal of the Qingli Period, the Lu Censorate would send censors to various places every month to conduct open and secret inspections.

In addition, the central government would send out censors from time to time to travel around and supervise local discipline, using these two approaches to achieve the goal of supervising officials across the country.

The Constitutional Court allowed the censors to conduct surprise investigations in this way.

But the problem is that Zhao Jun was neither a local inspector nor a touring inspector sent by the central government.

As the head of a national government, second only to Zhao Zhen as the head of state, his every word and action was watched by the world. His status and position meant that he could not follow the "four no's and two direct's" approach.

So basically, whenever he arrives at a place, the local county magistrate may not know about it, but high-ranking officials such as the road transport envoy will definitely always be aware of his movements and be ready to welcome him at any time.

Soon the convoy came closer, and Wei Huanzhi and others hurriedly came up to pay their respects and said, "Your subordinates pay their respects to the governor."

"Well, no gifts."

Zhao Jun got off the carriage and frowned when he saw so many people. "Why are there so many people? Didn't we say that everything should be kept simple and there is no need to be on duty at the government office?"

Everyone's hearts tightened.

Wei Huanzhi hurriedly said, "Please forgive me, I asked you not to disturb me, but many people wanted to come and see me, so..."

"That's it."

Zhao Jun did not get angry, but just nodded and said: "Since you have read it, only the chief officers should stay here immediately, and the rest of you should hurry back to the government office to preside over your work."

"Yes Yes Yes."

Wei Huanzhi agreed repeatedly.

Afterwards, except for local officials such as Wei Huanzhi, Tian You, Yan Zhongfu, and Zhang Zhaowen, everyone else prepared to leave.

Zhao Jun suddenly remembered something and asked, "Are Cai Zhi and Han Gongyan here?"

One of these two people was the supervisor of iron smelting and casting when Wu'an Iron and Steel Plant was first established, and the other was the magistrate of Wu'an County, who was very knowledgeable about steel smelting.

However, Wuan Iron and Steel Plant was established in the third year of the Qingli period, and now it is already the sixth year, so the two people should have left their jobs long ago.

However, Zhao Jun knew the whereabouts of Cai Zhi.

In the past few years, the imperial court established a large number of state-owned enterprises, incorporating necessities and important strategic materials into them.

Including state-owned grain, oil and salt companies, state-owned steel and coal companies, etc.

The word "company" is native to China and was first found in Confucius' "Datong" and "Lieci Zhuan".

Zhuangzi also said: "The accumulation of evils leads to greatness, the combination of small things leads to greatness, and the fusion of things leads to public goodness. This is called 'company'.

The meaning is the same as in later generations, gathering everyone’s financial resources to create an operating organization.

But the chairman is an imported product, produced by Western boards of directors.

Therefore, the company’s board of directors is currently called “Si Li Hui” in the Song Dynasty. The chairman of the board naturally becomes the chairman of the board, and private enterprises also follow the official name of Zhi Si.

After the establishment of Wuan Iron and Steel Group, the original manager Cai Zhi became the director of Wuan Iron and Steel Company. He is currently a fifth-rank official, directly under the Central Political System Council, and indirectly under Hebei Road.

As for where Han Gongyan, Han Qi's nephew and Jia Changchao's cousin-in-law, had gone, Zhao Jun did not pay attention.

However, he remembered that these two people were very capable, so he would definitely ask them when he arrived in Wuan.

"Reporting to the magistrate, Han Gongyan was transferred to the position of Tongpan of Shenzhou four years ago because of his achievements in government. Last year, he was promoted to the position of Zhizhou of Jizhou. However, before he took up the post, his father passed away due to illness. Now he has resigned and returned home to observe mourning."

Wei Huanzhi said: "As for Cai Zhi, he said that he is currently doing some research and development and has no time to come to greet the dean. If the dean wants to see it, he can go find him."

"Hahahahaha."

Zhao Jun laughed and said, "Cai Zhi is a technical official. His ancestors have been iron smelting for three generations. He is very capable. He said he is doing some research and development. I am really curious. I want to see what he is up to."

As he said this, he put his hands behind his back and walked forward.

"Yes, yes, yes. Although this guy is arrogant, he is really good at work. He often goes down to work with the workers in person. He is very motivated and has lived up to the court's cultivation."

Wei Huanzhi also smiled and followed behind Zhao Jun, responding.

Zhao Jun raised his head and saw Wu'an city in front of him. Wu'an today was no longer the shabby little county town it once was, with tall buildings rising from the ground.

The originally narrow old city area is no longer visible. Outside, there are five-, six-, or seven-story tube-shaped buildings like those in Bianliang, with people coming and going, and it is prosperous and thriving.

Although it is similar to many backward and impoverished counties in later generations, you have to remember that this is the Song Dynasty.

It is very good to have such development.

It can be predicted that before Qian'an City, which has the largest steel production in Tangshan, is developed, Wu'an, as the second largest county in Hebei Province in terms of steel production in the future, will probably lead Hebei Province for a long time.

"Yes, Wu'an is developing very well."

Seeing this scene, Zhao Jun nodded with satisfaction and said, "After I crossed the Yellow River, the development of other counties along the way was not satisfactory, but Wu'an made me very happy."

Then he looked at Wei Huanzhi and said, "It has been three years since Commander Wei took office as the Hebei Road Transport Commissioner."

"Yes."

Wei Huanzhi nodded and said, "Since I took over from Minister Lu, and was fortunate enough to have followed Prime Minister Fan to fight in Yanyun, it has indeed been three years now, but I will soon be leaving my post."

"Minister Lu? Lu Gongbi?"

Zhao Jun joked, "He is very lucky. His father is a prime minister. He can be a transport envoy at the age of 37 and a minister at the age of 40."

"I read an article in the newspaper that said that a good blacksmith must have strong skills. In addition to his wealthy family background, Minister Lu is also a top-notch scholar and has the ability to live up to his reputation."

Wei Huanzhi didn't dare to joke like Zhao Jun, so he tried to smooth things over: "If it weren't for this, how could you have risen to higher positions if you were just a mediocre person?"

he thought.

I've heard that the director is narrow-minded, and it seems to be true.

In those days, Prime Minister Lu offended the prefect.

It is said that the two often disagreed and quarreled with each other in the Constitutional Yuan.

Now Lu Xiang is gone.

The chancellor also occasionally made fun of Prime Minister Lu.

He is really narrow-minded.

What Wei Huanzhi didn't know was that Zhao Jun was just making a casual complaint.

Although Old Man Lu is gone, the Lu family is still standing and has already paved the way for all its descendants except the eldest son.

Three generations of tobacco people in later generations, and now three generations of prime ministers of the Lu family.

A true political family.

If things go on like this, won't the imperial court still be filled with children from aristocratic families?
If it weren't for the fact that the two brothers Lu Gongbi and Lu Gongzhu were really capable, and if it weren't for Lu Yijian's words on his deathbed, Zhao Jun would have killed them long ago.

of course.

That’s basically it.

Anyway, Zhao Jun’s principle is that if you are a child of aristocratic family and have ability and talent, you can get promoted through family connections.

This can also be regarded as attracting talents for the country.

If you don't have the ability and talent, it's useless even if you have a powerful background.

Like Lu Yijian's other sons, including the eldest son who was not capable, they could only be given honorary official positions and it was impossible for them to ascend to high positions.

This is Zhao Jun's philosophy of life.

Although people are selfish, if his son Zhao Tan is not very capable, would he consider abusing his power for personal gain?

But this is a matter of principle. Zhao Jun has made up his mind that if his son's ability is really not that good in the future, he will basically just give him an honorary sinecure.

I would rather my family become an ordinary family than have a mediocre person enter the Constitutional Court and bring disaster to the country in the future.

Even their own descendants.

Anyway, Zhao Zhen also gave him the title and fiefdom, and he was equally comfortable relying on the high salary from the title and the income from the fiefdom.

However, given Zhao Jun's historical and political status, there is a high probability that his descendants may be treated as teachers. Even if they have no power, it is good to be supported by the country at least.

At least in the future, when the Song Dynasty completes its strategy of becoming the only pole in the East, its national strength will certainly far exceed that of the U.S. Emperor and Big Brother Russia at their peak in later generations. It will be easy to support a few idle people by paying them some salary subsidies every year.

Therefore, Zhao Jun is very open-minded about the future. He believes that it would be best if his descendants are talented, but it doesn't matter if they are not. It is enough for him to do what he should do in his own generation.

He said, "Okay, I'm just sighing at the Lu family's many talented people. I don't mean anything else. Don't take it to heart. Take me to see Wu'an." "Yes."

Wei Huanzhi nodded hurriedly.

A group of people surrounded Zhao Jun and came to the outside of Wu'an City.

Since Wu'an is currently the largest steel production base in the Song Dynasty, there are many merchants coming and going.

Worried about traffic jams entering the city, Zhao Jun looked around outside the city.

County towns in ancient times were not big, usually only two or three square kilometers. Now Wu'an has expanded by at least five or six square kilometers, which looks pretty good.

Zhao Jun took a walk around the periphery, affirmed the current development of Wu'an, and pointed out some problems currently faced by the city.

For example, pollution caused by industry, urban planning issues, future development issues, etc.

Strictly speaking, Zhao Jun is not a talent in this area.

But later generations have been influenced by what they have seen and heard, and are much better than the ancients in both knowledge and ideas.

Moreover, emerging industrial cities like Wu'an were among the best in the Song Dynasty. The ancients had no experience in building modern cities and basically only solved problems when they encountered them.

Zhao Jun not only had the insights of later generations, but also the experience summary of Bianliang's urbanization development, so he could naturally help them with some forward-looking suggestions.

In this way, Wu'an can also avoid many minefields and obstacles encountered by later county towns in the process of urbanization.

At the same time, these experiences will be accumulated to help other cities in the country to develop urbanization.

After visiting Wuan Construction, the group headed to the steel plant in the northeast of the city.

The steel plant is several miles away from the city. The Wu'an Iron and Steel Plant is now completely different from when it was first established.

When everyone arrived near the steel plant, they saw from a distance a row of factory buildings surrounded by walls. It was said that many thieves broke into the factory in the middle of the night to steal steel.

All kinds of steam were coming out of it, and there was also gas from uneven combustion mixed with coal ash gushing out.

The ground was covered with coal dust and the air was filled with the smell of coal.

Looking up at the sky, the clouds in the sky seemed to have a gray haze.

Zhao Jun frowned slightly, but said nothing.

That's what heavy industry is like.

polluted environment.

But there is no way around many things.

Britain was the first to start the Industrial Revolution, and London became a foggy city.

The Rust Belt industry has also caused serious pollution to the Great Lakes.

The same is true of my country's Northeast region in later generations.

This is a hurdle that must be overcome in the development of human history.

We cannot say that we should not develop industry just for the sake of green mountains and clear waters, or that we should give up scientific progress just for the sake of breathing fresh air.

What is the difference between this and “not caring about the rise of big countries, but only caring about the dignity of the common people”?
So even if there are sacrifices, they are inevitable.

"Zhiyuan, they are here."

Wei Huanzhi pointed forward.

The east gate of the steel plant in the distance is Mingshui, later called Nanming River.

When Zhao Jun first requested to build a canal, it was to connect this water, then go southeast to Handan and Cheng'an, and finally connect with the Yongji Canal.

In this way, Wuan's steel can be transported in large quantities through the canal, which is much more cost-effective than land transportation.

At this moment, there are ships coming and going on the Mingshui River. The maximum carrying capacity of the canal is only 2000 tons, such as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which is at this level.

The flow of the Ming River is not large, so its carrying capacity is just over 1000 tons, which means that only ships with a carrying capacity of about 1000 tons can navigate, which is far inferior to later generations.

But nowadays it is very good. Many of them carry hundreds of tons of steel and are transported to various places through the canal. Steel sales are far ahead.

Their location is in the south.

There is a wide road in the south that connects to Wu'an City. There are also many convoys on the official road, all of which transport scattered steel materials to the city for processing.

At the end of the road in the distance, a group of people came out in a hurry, walked quickly to Zhao Jun, bowed and said, "Your subordinate greets the governor."

The leader was probably in his forties, with very rough hands. He stood there somewhat awkwardly with a flattering smile on his face.

Wei Huanzhi introduced: "This is the current factory director Liu Dagui. He was born a worker, but he has a quick mind and has solved many technical problems. He was recommended by Cai Zhisi for promotion. In fact, it was the Constitutional Council that ordered him to be promoted and become the current factory director."

"Oh, I remember now. I approved this."

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "It's good to know technology. The court needs such people who know technology. We are just starting out now, and we have to explore and learn many things by ourselves. If those laymen come to command the experts, isn't that just nonsense? In the future, it is better for technical talents to take up important positions like these."

"Yes Yes Yes."

Wei Huanzhi nodded repeatedly.

They didn't know much about steel mills, so they just did whatever the imperial court approved.

Liu Dagui scratched his head and smiled innocently: "Back to the Dean, actually I don't know any technology, I just figured it out on my own and did whatever I thought was appropriate, but it turned out that a blind cat met a dead mouse."

"Hahahahahaha."

Zhao Jun laughed and said, "This thing is still in its infancy and no one understands it. If we have figured out the technology, it is naturally innovation. There is no need to be modest."

He added: "But there is one thing you should pay attention to. If the workers below have developed good technology, you are not allowed to suppress them. You should seek truth from facts. You have trained good workers, and you have made contributions. You can't be jealous of their talents."

Liu Dagui was anxious and said hurriedly, "How can I do that? I am well-known for my integrity among the workers. That's why they respect me. If I were jealous of others, they would stab me in the back. The dean cannot ruin my reputation."

"That's not what the dean meant."

Wei Huanzhi said: "The academy wants you to be generous with your skills and train more talented people."

"Yes, you have cultivated talents and created new technologies, which is also a merit. The court will reward you greatly."

Zhao Jun also added a sentence.

In fact, he mainly gave this warning because he had seen a lot of intrigue in official circles, where people harmed others for their own benefit.

What if Liu Dagui becomes a factory director by engaging in technical skills, gains power and forgets his original intention, and becomes afraid that others will also engage in technical skills and take his position, and then suppress him?
So take precautions in advance.

Now it can be seen that he has a good character, and I have judged others by my own petty mind. At the same time, it also means that he did not approve the wrong special entry note and selected a talent for the court.

After all, the current situation is similar to that of the first industrial revolution in Britain in later generations.

After the first industrial revolution in Britain, various inventions and technologies emerged one after another. Is it really because Britain had a good basic education and a high rate of popularization of mathematics, physics and chemistry?
Actually not.

Henry Bessemer, the founder of the Bessemer process of steelmaking, never went to school for a day and developed this technology through his own exploration.

Watt didn't receive much education; his mother taught him the basics at home.

Edison was considered a moron by his teacher and was expelled from school after only a few months of elementary school. After that, he had to rely on self-study.

It doesn’t mean that you don’t need to study to invent things, but for many technologies, it’s not that there is theory before practice, but there is practice first, and then people come up with a theory of why things happen that way.

Just like when Farid Berg discovered saccharin, he only knew that he did not wash his hands before eating, but the food that day was particularly sweet. After confirming that his wife did not put sugar in the cooking today, he realized that he seemed to have invented something amazing.

Theoretical knowledge is important, as it helps people understand why things are the way they are.

But many inventions and creations had no theory before that. There was not even basic calculation. They were simply created by scientists accidentally or figured out by front-line workers.

Therefore, in this early days of industry, it is very useful to train more skilled frontline workers. Who knows, maybe one of these workers will come up with an amazing invention?

"Okay, take us on a tour."

Wei Huanzhi saw that Liu Dagui wanted to say something, so he interrupted him and said, "The director also wants to see your results."

"Yes."

Liu Dagui agreed.

Then he led everyone into the steel plant.

The steel plant is very prosperous, with the converters running continuously and sparks from the molten iron visible from time to time.

Many officials who had never seen these things exclaimed in amazement even though they were far away.

Zhao Jun was very satisfied with what he saw and praised it frequently, and could be said to be full of praise.

Under the leadership of Liu Dagui, they visited the iron smelting workshop, steelmaking workshop, quenching workshop, steel rolling workshop, etc.

By the afternoon, they arrived at a large factory building in the northwest corner of the steel plant. There were a lot of steel materials piled up in the shed. Liu Dagui said they were some waste materials.

Originally, these waste materials might have to be recycled, but Cai Zhi said that they could be recycled and used for small-scale refining to create some inventions.

I saw Cai Zhi and several workers banging on something in the factory. It was a machine about one person tall and one meter wide, with various pipes connected to it and a small boiler at the back.

Although we don't know what this machine is used for, the only thing we know is that it is powered by steam.

(End of this chapter)