People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 502: The World's Progress Requires War
On July 6, the 12th year of the Qingli period of the Song Dynasty, a delegation of envoys from the Song Dynasty was invited by the Abbasid Caliph to help him defeat his rebellious subjects, the Seljuks.

At that time, the Seljuks were at their peak. They first defeated the Ghaznavid Empire, then occupied most of the territory of the Buyid Empire, and then defeated the Eastern Roman Empire and the Georgian coalition forces, becoming the most powerful people at the time.

Under such circumstances, the Song Dynasty envoys defeated tens of thousands of Seljuk troops with only two or three thousand people. The impact and shock it caused to the entire Western world was unimaginable.

After all, the country they couldn't defeat was replaced by the Song Dynasty. Even though they were not the main force of the Song Dynasty, they were just the entourage of the envoys, and they were able to accomplish things that they couldn't do.

This also forced the Western world, including the Middle East, Europe, and the entire Mediterranean countries, to re-evaluate and examine how powerful that distant Eastern superpower is.

Therefore, by late July, when the news spread quickly, all countries were shocked. After assessing the situation, they immediately sent envoys with a large number of gifts to Baghdad to meet with the Song Dynasty delegation.

The supremacy of national strength is an eternal truth. When Wang Xuance went to India, although other countries treated him with courtesy, they only sent envoys with money and goods, preparing to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty together with Wang Xuance.

After Wang Xuance went to Tubo and Nepal to mobilize troops to destroy Central India because of the rebellion in Central India, the other Indian countries were shocked and frightened, and the kings came in person with treasures.

For example, the king of East India, Shijumo, sent 30,000 cattle and horses as a gift to the army, as well as bows, swords, and precious tassels. The kingdom of Kameru presented various foreign objects, maps, and requested a statue of Laozi, etc.

The others, including the king of Western India, Silayitta, the king of Southern India, Chalukyabalava, the king of Northern India, Louqinana, and the newly appointed king of Central India, Dibasina, also came to the court to pay tribute.

It can be seen that dignity is always above the edge of the sword, and truth is only within the range of the cannon.

The same is true at this time.

The distant Song Dynasty was a strange country to them. They could not imagine how powerful the Song Dynasty was. Therefore, their attitude towards the Song Dynasty naturally depended on the mood of their own king.

But once the Song Dynasty demonstrated its powerful strength to destroy their country, they would have to stand up immediately, otherwise their country would be destroyed.

So in August, the Fatimid Caliphate sent envoys to Baghdad, bringing 1,000 kilograms of gold and silver, 80,000 kilograms of spices, 10,000 camels, and about 100,000 kilograms of various specialties, minerals, and herbs produced in North Africa.

The Eastern Roman Empire sent envoys to bring 100,000 kilograms of oil for making Greek fire, 800 sets of armor, 10,000 bows, spears, and swords, 2,000 kilograms of gold, and other specialties.

Neighboring countries such as Yemen, Oman, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Ghazni, Ibadi, and Makulia also sent envoys.

By mid-August, the news had even reached the Holy Roman Empire in Europe. Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, and Cyprus also sent envoys.

These countries did not necessarily express their respect to the Song Dynasty wholeheartedly, but they hoped to understand the reasons for the Song Dynasty's strength.

Especially artillery and rifles became their most interesting things.

All envoys were welcome. As long as they were willing to send envoys to the Song Dynasty and pay tribute to the Song Dynasty, they would be eligible to engage in arms trade with the Song Dynasty.

At one time, messengers and orders came in like a tide.

Baghdad was still in chaos in early July, with many people leaving their homes and fleeing. In less than two months, by late August, the city was bustling with people and traffic.

The delegation stayed in Baghdad until August 28th. After handling all diplomatic affairs concerning the delegations of various countries, they set off for home on the morning of the 28th.

This time they will no longer stop in various countries, but except for the necessary supplies, they will go directly back to Guangzhou along the route and then go to Bianliang City.

Soon, on the morning of the 28th, with the farewell of the Abbasid Caliph Kaim and the people of Baghdad, the fleet of the Song Dynasty envoys sailed down the Tigris River in a mighty manner.

In addition to the dozens of ships of the delegation itself, there were dozens of ships of various sizes following behind them. These were envoys sent by various countries and the gifts presented on board.

They will follow the Song Dynasty envoys on the sea for more than three months and finally arrive in Guangzhou, coming to the distant Eastern country to witness the power of the great country.

Amidst this hustle and bustle, the delegation successfully completed their mission.

at the same time.

The Song Dynasty, far away in the east, is also preparing for next year's grand ceremony.

At the beginning of September in the twelfth year of the Qingli period, with four months left before the end of the year, the city of Bianliang became increasingly lively and prosperous.

Starting from the second half of this year, Zhao Jun plans to focus his focus and energy on three things.

One is agriculture.

Agriculture is the foundation of a country. If the people do not have enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear, it is the country's dereliction of duty, so agriculture is the top priority.

The second is education.

Agriculture only guarantees the existence of the country, while the popularization of basic education can make the country prosperous and developed, so the education cause should not be slackened.

The third is technological development.

This is also the direction that Zhao Jun focuses on.

Because after the British Industrial Revolution, in just two hundred years, science and technology developed rapidly and changed with each passing day.

Especially after the end of World War II, industrial civilization was extremely brilliant for decades and developed into the information age. Human beings also landed on the moon and even set their sights on Mars.

On the other hand, in the Song Dynasty, the Industrial Revolution had already begun seven or eight years ago, but basically only steel production had soared, and other technologies had not developed.

Although it was simply because the industrial development of the Song Dynasty had just started and basic education was not universal, the most important thing was that the main development direction of the Song Dynasty court in the past few years was not focused on this.

Many things would naturally be much slower if left to the free development of the people.

But if there is a pioneer who already knows how the future should develop, and he also holds the power of the country and mobilizes the whole country, development will be very rapid.

The most intuitive example is Japan.

Before the Meiji Restoration, Japan was extremely backward. Through thirty years of targeted development, after the Meiji Restoration, Japan became the only independently developed country in Asia, able to compete with the old industrial powers.

Although the Meiji Restoration followed the path of Europe's old industrial powers, Japan was able to directly copy and paste an industrial system from abroad, which enabled Japan to quickly complete its modern industrial transformation.

But Zhao Jun believed that Japan's targeted development with the whole country's strength was very important. Otherwise, why did the Westernization Movement, which was also intended to reform, fail?
Therefore, Zhao Jun felt that in the next few decades, in addition to vigorously developing basic education and cultivating a large number of professional talents, this targeted approach of mobilizing the whole country to conduct research in a certain development direction was also indispensable.

In this way, daily necessities of all kinds will soon be produced in large quantities, and factories will not be limited to textile mills and steel mills. The emergence of such a large number of jobs will become the cornerstone of the healthy development of the country.

"Is this person Shen Kuo?"

"The author of Dream Pool Essays is very famous."

"Well, he was admitted to Bianliang University with excellent grades, and is now studying for a doctorate in physics. His future is limitless."

Inside the Constitutional Court, several prime ministers were looking at the list of candidates who had applied for doctoral degrees in various disciplines this year, which was sent by the Ministry of Education. Among them, Shen Kuo, who ranked first, was prominently listed.

The doctors in the Song Dynasty are not the same as those in later generations. Doctors in later generations cannot be said to be rampant, but at least they are not rare.

It is normal for a key university to have thousands or even tens of thousands of master's students and hundreds or even thousands of doctoral students.

For example, when Zhao Jun entered the university in 2018, there were more than 4000 master's students and more than 1000 doctoral students at Renmin University. By the time he graduated, there were more than master's students.

It was different in the Song Dynasty. There were only more than 50 universities in the country, of which there was only one top-notch university, namely Bianliang University. Then there were more than ten first-class key universities and one agricultural university directly under the Ministry of Agriculture.

The rest are normal schools established in the last two years and night schools for skills training and literacy for employees run by steel mills.

The former can be considered a regular university, while the latter can only be considered a vocational training school.

Therefore, the Song Dynasty is not only seriously lacking in educational resources, but also has very few professional talents.

Even with the current full treasury and financial appropriations, it is not difficult to set up more schools.

The difficulty lies in the fact that the current level of relevant research knowledge in the School of Chemistry, School of Mathematics, School of Physics, and School of Biology is generally at the level of high school and university knowledge.

Only a very small amount of professional knowledge reached the level of later graduate students.

Moreover, basic education has not yet been fully popularized. There were 100 primary schools built across the country back then, but now, after more than ten years of efforts, there are only more than 1,000 schools, which means there is basically only one primary school in every county.

Many county towns do not have junior high schools and high schools. There are only state capitals or road offices, which are equivalent to the few junior high schools and high schools in cities and provincial capitals in later generations. Naturally, basic education cannot keep up.

Therefore, the level at which one could study for a doctorate in the Song Dynasty at that time was actually not the level of doctoral students in later generations.

Instead, it is a level that allows one to access the most cutting-edge scientific research knowledge in the Song Dynasty.

He should be barely considered a master's student in his professional field, or a junior or senior year student in some majors with relatively backward scientific research levels.

Even if we divide the majors into more specific ones, such as thermodynamics in physics, the level is not even at the junior high school level, and the scientific research ability is extremely lacking.

But even so, the existing doctoral students are already the treasures of the Song Dynasty.

Among them, the largest number of doctoral students are in mathematics. After all, ancient mathematics has made great achievements, and there have been many studies in advanced mathematics such as geometry, algebra, number series, higher-order equations, and functions.

After Zhao Jun helped establish the mathematical system, the School of Mathematics has even developed calculus, and other advanced mathematics are also expanding.

Therefore, the largest number of doctoral students at present are those in mathematics.

There are only more than 60 applicants this year, and there are only 12 PhDs in physics, chemistry, and biology. This shows that apart from mathematics, the rest of the disciplines in the Song Dynasty are still quite backward.

However, Shen Kuo applied for a PhD in physics.

After more than ten years of summarization and conclusion, the existing physics in the Song Dynasty is still uneven. Some majors can reach the university level, some are not even as good as junior high school, and most of them are at the junior high school and high school level.

According to the reported information, Shen Kuo had great research talent in mechanics, optics and electromagnetism, the most advanced physics in the Song Dynasty, and his grades were ranked first.

If he could successfully complete his doctoral studies at the School of Physics, then with this degree he would receive significant preferential treatment when taking the imperial examinations. In fact, even if his Confucian studies were only at the level of a scholar, he would still be among the top three.

This is enough to show how much the Constitutional Yuan values ​​such scientific research talents.

"In later generations, doctoral students are the main force in scientific research. Many breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies rely on them. It is common for a professor to lead several doctoral and master's students in scientific research."

Zhao Jun said: "In the next 20 years, the focus of the Song Dynasty should be on scientific research, increasing investment in scientific research, and using the power of the country to accumulate comprehensive knowledge. I believe that within 50 years, it will not be difficult to complete the completion of all basic sciences."

“Complete all basic science in fifty years?”

Yan Shu was surprised and asked, "What Hanlong meant is to raise all scientific levels to the level of later generations?"

"Ah."

Zhao Jun nodded and said, "You may not know that these basic theoretical knowledge were completed as early as after World War II. After the 21st century, basic science has not made any major breakthroughs for a hundred years, because humans have discovered all the most basic laws of nature at that time. Scientific progress is mainly based on using existing knowledge to solve routine problems, rather than solving abnormal problems by changing or overturning the foundation of existing knowledge. Therefore, it is impossible for basic theories to have any results."

"How could such a thing happen?"

Everyone was stunned.

“Don’t underestimate human wisdom.”

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "In many cases, a great scientist can achieve a major breakthrough. Newton and Einstein are both outstanding examples. As long as humans focus on scientific research and produce a few great scientists, it is possible to complete the accumulation of basic science in a very short period of time."

"I see. This might be the technological explosion mentioned in the movie I watched before."

"What a pity. Back then, Lu Yijian often lamented that he was born too early and died too early. He didn't see many things. He only saw the train appear. Now I can understand this feeling. I really want to see what the Song Dynasty will be like fifty years later."

"You old men, forget it. Han Long is the only one here who can live a few more years. He might live to be over 80 and see such a prosperous era. The rest of us should just get into the coffin obediently."

"Hahahahaha."

Everyone laughed and joked.

Fan Zhongyan suddenly thought of a question and said, "Can it be achieved just by relying on the promotion of the state?"

"Of course more than that."

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "In addition to subjective promotion, certain objective conditions are also required. After all, the country can only control the general direction. It is difficult for a country to control all the details of the real context."

"Oh?"

Fan Zhongyan became interested and asked, "What ideas do you have?"

"Of course."

Zhao Jun looked out the door with deep eyes and said softly, "Do you remember what I said before? My mentor, Professor Wen, once said that modern science was born because of war. Because Europe had not yet completed its unification, it developed vigorously to meet the needs of war weapons."

"so?"

Fan Zhongyan pondered: "Do you want to start a war?"

"Do not."

Zhao Jun looked at him, grinned and said, "I just want to bring peace, peace in the name of the Song Dynasty!"

(End of this chapter)