People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 481 Li Gui Meets Li Kui Again

"Ah!"

The next morning, Zhao Jun, who was working in the Constitutional Yuan, sneezed.

He touched the youth uniform which was not thick but was a long gown, and looked at the scorching April sun outside, beginning to doubt his life.

Is it because I am not wearing enough?

He raised his head and looked at the other prime ministers in the courtyard. They were dressed thinner than each other, and none of them seemed to have a cold.

It’s weird.

Zhao Jun scratched his head, not understanding what was going on, so he had to continue marking the notes.

At this time, there were new changes in the Constitutional Court. In addition to changes in furniture and decoration styles, the prime ministers' clothing styles also changed drastically.

I saw that everyone was wearing black or gray Mao suits and executive jackets.

Although their hair was not shaved, it was covered with hats, and they wore reading glasses and the emblem of the Song Dynasty on their chests. These old men looked more elegant and easy-going.

The clothing of the Song Dynasty was quite distinct and distinctive. The daily clothes of dignitaries mainly consisted of silk round-necked robes, 楑 robes, wild clothes, silk round-necked robes with missing crotch, etc., while officials wore official robes.

Normally, prime ministers wore purple robes. Although they looked elegant and luxurious, they were not very convenient because the hem and sleeves were too long and could easily get bumped when doing things.

Therefore, we often see in movies and TV shows that when ancient people wrote, they needed to hold the sleeve of their right hand with their left hand to prevent the sleeve from getting stained with ink.

Since Zhao Jun came to power, he has always advocated simplicity, efficiency and practicality.

The dressing style of the ancients was ethereal and showed the gentleness and beauty of Hanfu, and it was in line with Confucian culture, which believed that wearing revealing clothes was a sign of the collapse of etiquette and music, so ancient clothing was all long robes.

However, this kind of robe has wide sleeves and a flowing long skirt, and is mainly designed for the comfort of the powerful and wealthy who do not need to work. It is very inconvenient in real life.

For example, when writing, walking, or eating; it is common to rub against sleeves, step on folded skirts, and get stains on clothes.

Therefore, Zhao Jun advocates cultural clothing that is down-to-earth and close to the people.

The so-called "going down to the people" means being close to people's lives and advocating clothing that is simple, comfortable and easy to work in.

Such as tight-fitting clothes, short tops and long pants, etc.

In fact, the short shirt and long pants of later generations existed in ancient times. People at that time called it a coarse cloth short shirt. It was made of ramie and linen. The upper body was a short shirt, and the lower body was called "褌" or "袴".

The style of the short jacket with a front opening is similar to the short-sleeved shirt of later generations, while the 褌 and 袴 are very similar to ordinary trousers, which were worn by ordinary people in ancient times.

The gorgeous Hanfu that people see on the Internet in later generations are the clothes worn by nobles and dignitaries, and have nothing to do with poor people.

Therefore, after going down to the people, Zhao Jun believed that the court's official uniforms should no longer be inconvenient for office work as before, but should be mainly close-fitting formal attire that is convenient for walking and working.

For example, in the reform at the beginning of this year, Zhongshan suits and executive jackets were introduced as the official uniform for central court officials to wear in their offices.

Executive jackets need no further explanation.

The Zhongshan suit, designed by the founding father of the People's Republic of China, is a garment with Chinese characteristics. It is one of the representative garments of later generations in my country and is most suitable as formal wear.

The clothes worn by the prime ministers were all produced by the Bianliang Weaving Factory. They were made of silk, cashmere and pure cotton, had high-end craftsmanship and were extremely comfortable to wear.

Ordinary people can try new shirts and short-sleeved shirts, and have more diverse clothing choices.

Nowadays, people have no resistance to new clothing. After more than ten years of promotion, short-sleeved shirts and long pants have taken root among the people.

The upper class dignitaries did have some opinions, believing that it was against etiquette.

But the prime ministers set an example by wearing Zhongshan suits and executive jackets, and naturally the trend spread from top to bottom, winning the favor of all officials.

The thinking of Yan Shu and Fan Zhongyan is no longer as old-fashioned as it used to be.

Apart from the traditional idea of ​​shaving hair that "the hair on your body is given by your parents", people are quite open-minded about clothing and can accept it quickly.

The main reason is that in the movies they watched, this kind of clothing looked quite beautiful and capable when worn.

Compared to the original official uniforms with long fluttering sleeves, which are more gorgeous than serious, the Zhongshan suit and executive jacket can better reflect the stability and depth of these senior officials.

Therefore, as long as they do not wear revealing clothes and do not violate etiquette, they are willing to try it.

However, in Zhao Jun's opinion, traditional costumes cannot be completely abandoned.

The clothing of the common people is already very similar to that of later generations, and can be developed in the direction of short sleeves, shirts, shorts, and long pants.

Officials' attire gradually became more formal.

The original Hanfu can be used as traditional national costume, and officials must wear it when attending court meetings, celebrations, sacrifices, ceremonies and other activities.

Ordinary people should wear appropriate traditional clothing during festivals, coming-of-age ceremonies, graduations, weddings, funerals and other events.

In this way, we can promote new things while preserving the gorgeous and beautiful ancient national costumes.

In this regard, although Hanfu has become more and more popular among the people in later generations, it is less present in daily life and major celebrations.

It is a pity at this point.

Therefore, Zhao Jun had to preserve these traditional cultures instead of completely denying them.

This is also in line with the concept in later high school political books that traditional culture should be "taken from its essence and discarded from its dross" and "reformed the old and established the new, bringing forth something new from the old."

"Zhiyuan."

Just as Zhao Jun was writing furiously, reviewing the official documents submitted by some departments.

Su Huan walked in with official documents in his hand.

"Wenfu, what's wrong?"

Zhao Jun raised his head, slightly surprised.

"This is an official document that was just delivered by the Ministry of Railways. I met the Minister of Railways, Fan Zhen, at the door, and I helped him get the document."

Su Huan said.

He was in charge of the Imperial Decree Department, responsible for organizing and summarizing the documents of the Constitutional Council, drafting government decrees, etc. His main task was to convey the decisions and instructions of the prime ministers in an accurate, concise and easy-to-understand manner.

The job of delivering documents should not have been his responsibility, but the Constitutional Council is now located in the Imperial Palace, and its previous location in the Daqing Hall of the old Imperial Palace has not changed.

Except for some important departments such as the Ministry of Finance, the Privy Council, and the Six Ministries, almost all other departments were moved to the newly expanded imperial city, outside the former Xuande Gate, far away from the Yuan of Constitutional Affairs.

Therefore, when ordinary official documents were sent to the palace, if an official happened to be on his way to the Constitutional Council, it was common for them to meet each other on the way and help bring the documents over if they knew each other.

After hearing Su Huan's words, Zhao Jun took the document and took a look at it. After understanding the contents, he laughed and said, "This Fan Zhen is quite interesting."

"what happened?"

Fan Zhongyan turned his head and came closer curiously.

"Fan Zhen thought that since electricity can be conducted through copper, it would be better to install a device on the top of the train to connect the wires above. In this way, the train can be powered at all times to ensure long-distance telegraph communication, and there is no need to stop to connect wires."

Zhao Jun said.

"Is this possible?"

Yan Shu also asked.

"It should be feasible."

Zhao Jun recalled some movies and TV series from the Republic of China that he had watched before.

The most typical example is "Kung Fu", in which Stephen Chow's character Sing Zai and Lam Chi Chung's character Fatty Chung were beaten up by Bespectacled in the car.

That type of car is a typical tram in the Republic of China. It has a pantograph connected to the electric wires to ensure the power supply of the vehicle.

Although he didn't know much about this aspect, since it had already appeared during the Republic of China period, it meant that providing continuous power supply to trains was not a difficult technical problem to solve.

"If it's feasible, let him try it."

Yan Shu nodded.

Zhao Jun said: "Well, let him cooperate with the School of Physics to continue to conduct in-depth research."

"Dean, I'm a little worried."

The newly appointed Prime Minister Zeng Gongliang suddenly spoke up.

Now the Constitutional Yuan has been reshuffled again.

Except for Fan Zhongyan and Yan Shu who were among the first eight and were allowed to stay by Zhao Zhen, Song Shou and Cai Qi no longer served as prime ministers.

Among the first eight people, except Fan Zhongyan and Yan Shu, four of the three prime ministers and three assistant ministers, Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng, Wang Sui and Sheng Du, died of illness, and Song Shou and Cai Qi retired.

The second batch of prime ministers who entered the Political System Council were Zhang Shixun, Li Di, Jia Changchao, and Jiang Tang.

The first two died of illness, and among the latter two, Jiang Tang retired and Jia Changchao was re-hired as an advisor to the Political System Council, mainly providing construction matters to the Ministry of Works.

Therefore, only six people remained from the old group of prime ministers: Zhao Jun, Yan Shu, Fan Zhongyan, Xia Song, Du Yan and Zheng Jian.

In the change of leadership in October last year, with the support of Zhao Jun, three people from Fan Zhongyan's faction, Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo and Han Qi, entered the academy.

Yan Shu recommended Pang Ji, Du Yan recommended Zeng Gongliang, and Zheng Jian recommended his good friend Song Xiang.

These six people had been promoted one after another in the past few years and had all become ministers of first-level departments, qualified to become prime ministers. They were officially admitted to the academy because of their talents and also knew Zhao Jun's identity.

The only pity is that, for fear that the notebook would break, the newly admitted prime minister only watched the movie once, on the day he became prime minister and revealed Zhao Jun's identity.

The six newcomers will never forget it.

Fan Zhongyan and Yan Shu, because they had the longest seniority, had already read all the books in Zhao Zhen's notebook except the "Man and Nature" folder, which became their capital for showing off.

Hearing Zeng Gongliang's words, Zhao Jun said calmly, "Tell me about it?"

"The School of Physics solved the problem of air resistance in trains by designing a streamlined shape and installing rubber plates to alleviate air resistance. Later, the wheels were changed to a conical shape to make the train run more stably. Now the speed of steam trains has also been greatly improved, and the maximum speed can even reach more than 300 miles in half an hour. This is certainly a good thing." Zeng Gongliang said with a worried look on his face, "But the faster the speed, the more unsafe it is. If someone deliberately throws obstacles onto the railway, or if there is snow or mud and rock flow, it will be very dangerous. If there is derailment or overturning, the consequences will be disastrous."

"Yes, there are fewer railway lines now, and there are railway soldiers guarding them along the way, so safety can be guaranteed. Once the number of lines increases, it will inevitably be impossible to take care of them all. Do we still need to send soldiers to guard everywhere?"

Wen Yanbo also said: "Once a train derails, the consequences will be very serious. At the very least, the people and goods on the train will be seriously injured, with heavy casualties. At the worst, the people of the whole country will be terrified of train accidents and no longer trust the safety of trains. No one will dare to ride trains in the future.

"Yes, if you think about it carefully, it is indeed this path."

"It's fine now, but what should I do in the future?"

"We have to think of a way."

The other prime ministers also felt that what they said made sense.

"Well"

Zhao Jun fell silent, thinking about what the two had said.

There are no train accidents in the Song Dynasty now, that's because the trains in the Song Dynasty run very cautiously, with only one train every three hours.

From the locomotive to the tracks to the wheels, everything has undergone continuous testing and improvement, which has greatly increased safety.

In addition, there were patrol booths every ten miles, a team of railway soldiers stationed there for patrol, and a barbed wire fence was built outside.

With so many security measures in place, it is still very difficult for ordinary people to steal the rails or place obstacles such as stones on the rails.

But now there is only one railway line open, and its service objects are freight and dignitaries. The high freight and ticket prices can recover the operating costs in themselves, so this can be done.

However, once trains become popular and are laid across the country, the costs will not be recoverable.

So we must consider the issue of safety.

He thought for a moment and said, "You guys are right. In that case, let's brainstorm. Do you have any good suggestions?"

"Professionals do professional things. We don't have any ideas."

“This matter can be handed over to engineers from the Ministry of Railways and the School of Physics. With safety as the priority, a department dedicated to studying train safety can be set up.”

"That's good advice."

"Well, that's it, Wenfu."

Zhao Jun called out.

Su Huan came over and said, "Dean."

"Draft a decree and send it to the Ministry of Railways and the Academy of Sciences."

Zhao Jun ordered: "Let them set up a train safety team and gather a group of engineers to study how to prevent train accidents."

"Yes."

Su Huan was just about to leave, so he turned right and went to the office of the Imperial Decree Bureau to draft an imperial decree.

"Wait a minute."

Zhao Jun stopped him again, thought for a moment and said, "Go and draft another decree for the Minister of Finance Wu Yu, asking him to approve 100,000 guan for this group. If it is not enough, we can apply for more. We cannot be careless about the safety of the trains, and we must spend money when necessary."

"Yes."

Su Huan responded and was about to leave, but suddenly remembered something and stood there with an embarrassed expression.

Zhao Jun saw that he didn't leave, and asked curiously: "What's wrong?"

"I suddenly remembered something."

"what's up?"

"Yesterday, my brother Su Xun and his family came to Beijing by train for an inspection. My nephews Su Shi and Su Zhe were quite interested in trains and asked questions about them with people who were familiar with train affairs."

Su Huan said: "After returning home, they also pointed out that there are many unsafe places on the train. I think they may have talent in this area."

"Oh?"

Zhao Jun opened his eyes wide, then thought for a moment before asking, "Did they make any suggestions?"

Su Huan said, "They said that once the train hits the obstacle ahead, it will probably derail immediately, and every carriage will be thrown out. If something can be installed in the middle of the train connection, it may be avoided. However, they don't have the relevant knowledge, and they don't know what to install."

Su Shi and Su Zhe did talk about this with Su Huan yesterday.

Although they felt that the train was running smoothly at the time, they saw with their own eyes that the train was running on the rails when they got on and off the train.

So I instinctively thought that if there was a stone on the railroad track, or an obstacle like a mudslide appeared ahead, and there was no time to brake and it crashed into it, the carriages behind would derail due to inertia, and then rush out one by one in a mess, which would be very dangerous.

But if a device is installed in the middle of each carriage, like a bamboo snake, it may appear to be composed of sections, but once the front of the train is hit, this device can pull each carriage straight and prevent any carriage from flying off the track.

This will be much safer.

This thing was called a bogie in later generations, which can make the vehicle more stable and flexible.

But Su Shi and Su Zhe were just curious about this kind of thing. They just thought that it was too dangerous if each carriage of the train could not be fixed, and they needed something to secure it, but they didn't know what it was and how to do it.

However, even so, Zhao Jun was very surprised.

Because this means that Su Shi and Su Zhe are indeed very talented in this area, just like many people were interested in radios when they were young and liked to disassemble small appliances to satisfy their curiosity.

Satisfying curiosity is one thing, but being able to disassemble something, understand its principles, put it back together, and come up with sudden inspiration and clever ideas is another.

So Zhao Jun pondered for a moment and said, "Your nephews are very talented. Have they studied science before?"

"Nothing."

Su Huan shook his head.

"How old are they?"

"Su Shi was sixteen, Su Zhe was fourteen."

"very good."

Zhao Jun nodded with satisfaction and said, "Let them go to Bianliang Junior High School and learn science systematically. Maybe they will be the future great scientists of the Song Dynasty."

"Thank you, Zhiyuan."

Su Huan was very happy.

You have to know that admission to Bianliang Junior High School requires an exam. Most people don't have the talent, or even if they have the talent, they are worse off in other aspects and can't get in at all.

It would be great if you could be directly recruited now. As long as you get a high school or even college diploma step by step, you will become more and more popular in the future.

"Go ahead, let Su Xun report to the Ministry of Personnel first. Ask him to come to the Constitutional Court this afternoon so I can talk to him."

Zhao Jun waved his hand, signaling Su Huan to go and do his work first.

Su Xun was still very talented. I thought highly of him at the beginning. He should have been a key training target like Wang Anshi and others.

Unfortunately, because his father passed away, he had to stay at home in mourning for many years, following in Bao Zheng's footsteps. Without these five years of experience, it would probably take him a few more years to catch up with Wang Anshi and others in the future.

"That's right, Liaozhiyuan."

Su Huan was about to leave, but when he saw that Zhao Jun was happier, he remembered something else.

"Any thing else?"

Zhao Jun asked.

"That's right. I wonder what the relationship between the prefect and Mr. Lu Xun is like?"

Su Huan hesitated slightly.

He actually heard that Zhao Jun and Lu Xun were good friends.

Few people in Bianliang have ever seen Mr. Lu Xun, who only existed in legends.

Including Ouyang Xiu, who is now the head of the Censorate, everyone admires Mr. Lu Xun very much, but unfortunately he has never had the opportunity to meet him.

However, many people know that the dean knows this gentleman.

And it was not just the chancellor who knew him. It was said that Prime Minister Yan and Prime Minister Fan knew them all. It seemed that Mr. Lu Xun belonged to the prime minister's circle.

So now I dare to ask.

"Why, do you also want to meet Mr. Lu Xun?"

Zhao Jun waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Don't you know that this gentleman likes quietness and doesn't like to be disturbed by outsiders? He often hides in the busy city to observe the various aspects of the people and doesn't want to be discovered?"

"I know, of course, but..."

"Just what?"

"It's just my nephew Su Shi."

Su Huan smiled bitterly and said, "Yesterday he was clamoring to see you, and he even said that you were the person he admired the most, and that the poems you wrote seemed to have touched his heart."

The smile on Zhao Jun's face froze.

People around him, such as Yan Shu and Fan Zhongyan who knew the inside story, looked at him with an expression as if they were enjoying a good show.

broken.

Li Gui ran into Li Kui again.

(End of this chapter)