People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 503: Three Happinesses, the Imperial Seal

How can there be no casualties in war?
Regardless of whether the Song Dynasty sells firearms to the Western world or not, they will fight and people will die.

It would be better to let the Song Dynasty sell firearms to them to promote scientific development.

And this development does not mean that the West will make rapid progress.

They did not receive the scientific system education of the Song Dynasty. Even if they had firearms, they were just feudal people who knew about firearms like the people of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

So the war was fought in the West, but what really drove it was the technological level of the Song Dynasty.

This was the plan that Zhao Jun had set up this time.

The simplest point is that so many Western envoys coming here, seeing how powerful the Song Dynasty is today, will definitely want to bring advanced seeds back.

Then the arms trade will first drive the military-industrial system, and Western orders will be used continuously.

Secondly, it will also drive the related industrial chain, including various metal products, leather textiles, paper books, pencils and ink, etc., which will all develop substantially.

Then it will radiate to other industries.

Just like the Moldy Emperor did not participate in the First World War at all, and only ended up in the later stages of the Second World War.

Just by making money from wars, the United States was able to transform from a second- or third-rate country before World War I to a first-rate country after World War I, and even became the global hegemon after World War II.

Therefore, the official development of basic science led by the Song Dynasty is the country's way of promoting the formation of an industrial chain, and the war in the West will become a catalyst for this series and accelerate its progress.

According to Zhao Jun's estimation, he believes that as long as basic science is promoted in this targeted manner, the basic science that originally took more than 100 years to perfect may be completed within 50 years, or even in about 30 years at the fastest.

The current situation is the best time. In the past ten years, the overall administrative construction, economic construction and industrial layout have been completed.

Just like using materials to build a human body model, after the bones and flesh are constructed, what remains is to perfect the various internal organs, skin tissues, and refine the facial features and physique, so that the model can be considered complete.

The Song Dynasty is currently in the stage of having its skeleton built, and then it will be time to expand.

Time flies quickly.

In the blink of an eye, it is the end of the year.

In early December of the twelfth year of the Qingli period, after more than three months of turbulence on the sea, the diplomatic corps finally arrived in Guangzhou.

The news came back, which was exciting.

On the morning of December 6, good news came from Wuan Iron and Steel Plant.

In the afternoon, at the regular meeting in Chongzheng Hall, Zhao Zhen sat in the main seat. On his desk, a slightly weathered notebook was placed there, and next to it was the imperial seal of the Song Dynasty.

"After several years of research and development, Cai Zhi finally developed the internal combustion engine. It was not easy."

Looking at the note in his hand, Zhao Zhen was very emotional and said, "Industry is really not that simple. Even if we can point out the direction and have future generations to guide us, it will still be extremely difficult."

"Cai Zhi gave me the blueprint. I took a look at the structure. It's not complicated. It's just a lever that drives the connecting rod to do reciprocating stroke motion through fuel power. If it were the Spring and Autumn Period or the Warring States Period, anyone like Lu Ban from the Mohist School should be able to make it."

Zhao Jun said: "Its difficulty lies in industrial progress. Cai Zhi had been trying to use steam as power before, but the power was very poor, and the lubricating oil was not very good. The brush was not easy to clean dust and rust. It could do work, but it was too easy to break."

"Hanlong, your suggestion is a good one. Use pig bristles to make brushes, use tung oil squeezed from tung tree fruits as lubricating oil, and use distilled petroleum as fuel to propel it instead of steam. Only then can it be truly realized."

Yan Shu said with a smile.

Zhao Jun also laughed: "This thing is really lucky. I saw a post on the Internet before, which said why pig bristles and tung oil are national strategic reserve resources. After reading it, I realized that their uses are so great and can have a great impact on industry. I mentioned it to Cai Zhi appropriately. However, the current internal combustion engine should only belong to the first generation of internal combustion engines. With the advancement of industry, it will get better and better in the future."

"Does that mean I can have a car?"

Zhao Zhen couldn't stop smiling.

"It's not that easy. Cai Zhi had basically perfected the internal combustion engine structure a few years ago. The reason why it came out only now is because the ignition device has not been properly developed."

Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "I remember that later generations used electric sparks as ignition devices to truly perfect the internal combustion engine. This time, the School of Physics was also very helpful in making the ignition spark device, and it was a rocker-type ignition. But in addition to the internal combustion engine, a car must also have a complete cooling system, fuel supply system and a large number of other devices. Otherwise, relying solely on an internal combustion engine, it will break down as soon as the temperature rises. These all require a lot of research and improvement."

"That's it."

Zhao Zhen was a little disappointed. He didn't expect a car to be so complicated.

Seeing his lost expression, Zhao Jun comforted him, "But don't worry too much. The internal combustion engine as the power source of the car is the most difficult part to work on. If the internal combustion engine is done, the rest of the parts will soon produce results as long as they are done well. It will probably take only one or two years."

In history, nine years after the Industrial Revolution began in Britain, the French built the first steam-powered car. Then a hundred years later, German engineer Karl Benz officially developed a two-stroke experimental engine.

It took a full hundred years for the internal combustion engine to develop from its prototype to its actual application in automobiles. Is it really that difficult?

Not really.

During this process, many engineers have been studying it. After a hundred years, no matter how complicated the structure of the internal combustion engine is, they have already figured it out thoroughly, and how to make the working stroke is simple and clear.

The real difficulty lies in what fuel should be used to power the internal combustion engine.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, engineers have tried to create internal combustion engines powered by gunpowder, steam, gas, and even air, but they all failed because they could not last long.

This situation did not last until Karl Benz and Daimler invented the gasoline-fueled internal combustion engine, which marked the true emergence of the internal combustion engine into the world.

So many times a machine is difficult to manufacture not because it is complex.

The difficulty lies in materials and power.

Just like the wooden kite in the Mohist mechanical techniques recorded in ancient Chinese books such as "Mozi" and "Han Feizi", the conception is also extremely ingenious.

Both Mozi and Lu Ban have done it, making wood fly, and even fly for three days and three nights.

But what's the use?
No matter how ingenious the design is, without a power source it will ultimately be just a decoration.

Therefore, it is not wrong to say that the essence of human development is to boil water.

Steam was first used as a power source to boil water, then gas, coal, and then oil.

It can be said that apart from electricity, the rest of the power is mainly based on combustion.

So now that the Song Dynasty has solved the power problem of the internal combustion engine, other problems can basically be easily solved.

The excitement of the internal combustion engine in the room only lasted for a short while.

Zhao Zhen felt quite regretful when he learned that he would not be able to see the car in the short term, and then he started talking about other government affairs.

Judging from the fiscal revenue, various data, educational development, and improved agricultural productivity in the first half of this year, machinery factories and construction companies have sprung up everywhere, and state-owned and private enterprises have also gradually risen.

Especially private enterprises.

The official seal enterprises had a foundation in official monopoly and, with the guidance of the imperial court, they were able to take root quickly and expand their business scope to all parts of the country.

Like all the large steel mills at present, almost all of them are state-owned, especially the Wu'an Iron and Steel Plant, and then the Tangshan Iron and Steel Plant that Zhao Jun had previously designated in Tangshan, two state-owned steel mills directly under the central government.

There are also salt companies, grain and oil companies, shipping companies, construction companies, etc., which almost monopolize most of the basic manufacturing industries developed in the country.

Private enterprises have gradually developed in recent years.

The source was Zhao Jun’s policy at the time, which forced a large number of landlords to sell their land to the government.

In ancient times, fields were registered, and apart from the fields, all other land belonged to the imperial court. If they wanted to reclaim the land, they had to get the imperial court’s consent.

Although the imperial court generally allowed and even encouraged people to reclaim wasteland and cultivate land, it also provided many tax exemptions.

But by the Song Dynasty, most of the fertile land was owned by others, and even if the common people wanted to reclaim wasteland, they could only cultivate some inferior land with very poor quality.

Therefore, after the landless landlords were forced by the imperial court to hand over their land, it was difficult for them to reclaim new land or buy land from farmers, so they could only use their money for other purposes. At this time, with the development of the Industrial Revolution, steam engines gradually became popular, and opening factories and investing in manufacturing became a trend.

At one time, a large number of brick factories, cement factories and even small steel processing plants were born.

Landlords who entered the manufacturing industry bought steel from various steel mills and purchased steam engines, which they processed in factories to make farm tools, kitchen utensils, and other parts.

Various daily necessities such as iron pots, iron bowls, and iron basins began to appear widely among the people.

Although cooking in iron pans has been around since the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and gradually became more common during the Tang and Song Dynasties, such as in "Dongjing Menghualu", it has not really become popular in every household.

It was not until the Ming and Qing dynasties, when productivity reached the peak of the feudal dynasty, that iron pots truly became popular as household kitchen utensils.

So the current situation is that when this kind of utensils are widely popularized, the people of the Song Dynasty no longer cook mainly by boiling, frying, steaming and baking as before, but now stir-frying has been added.

In the future, when there is enough edible oil, fried foods may appear.

According to statistics, the people of the Song Dynasty had a relatively abundant supply of edible oils, including lard, soybean oil, sesame oil and peanut oil.

Especially with the popularization of steam engines, the output of squeezed soybean oil, sesame oil and peanut oil increased significantly.

Therefore, the court's development focus in recent years has been on agriculture, increasing the output of soybeans, sesame and peanuts so that the people can afford to eat and use oil.

Unlike before, when people often looked pale because of lack of oil or water.

"Ah."

After listening to the statistical data report for the first half of this year, Zhao Zhen was very satisfied and said: "Now our Song Dynasty is thriving, and everyone can afford to eat and wear warm clothes. This is truly a prosperous country."

Yan Shu sighed, "Yes, not long ago, the people suffered from hunger and cold, and these things are still vivid in my mind. Who would have thought that in just over a decade, such earth-shaking changes would take place."

"So I have long said that the improvement of productivity is the foundation of a country's prosperity. You also said before that since sweet potatoes, corn, peanuts and the like cannot be used as staple foods, why should we spend such a huge price to bring them back from America."

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Now you know, sweet potatoes, sweet potato vines and corn can all be used as pig feed. Peanuts can be used to extract oil, which are all good things. They indirectly help increase the production of pork and cooking oil, which is equivalent to a major increase in grain production, isn't it?"

"Well."

Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "Then what should we do next, Grandson? You said before that this kind of productivity can only satisfy 1.5 to million people at most. As the population increases, we still need to improve crops again. Now, the population of our Song Dynasty has increased by million every year."

During the Jingyou period, the population was only over 70 million, and even with the concealed population, the total was no more than 80 million. In just over a decade, the population has grown explosively. At the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Statistics submitted the results of last year's census.

This sight gave me a shock.

After the land tax was implemented, the population of the Song Dynasty almost doubled in more than ten years.

The annual growth rate exceeds 10%.

Although this growth rate is normal, it is even considered slow.

Because of my country's post-war baby boom, the annual population growth rate has averaged over 20%, reaching 1963% in 33.5.

But this was in the Song Dynasty.

my country's medical conditions have kept pace with the times. Various antibiotics and penicillin have become popular. Deaths and dystocia caused by infections in pregnant women have been greatly reduced, so it is normal for the birth rate to be high.

In contrast, the medical conditions in the Song Dynasty were actually far inferior to those in the early days of my country. Even though Zhao Zhen had developed penicillin, the problem of mass production was still not solved.

Therefore, even though the medical conditions were not that good, the Song Dynasty was still able to maintain such a high population growth. This shows that it is only a matter of time before the population exceeds 400 million or 500 million in a few decades.

This requires planning for the future.

Zhao Jun pondered and said, "This is indeed a problem. The College of Agriculture has been researching for so long, but hybrid rice has not been developed. But there is nothing we can do about it. It requires the right time, right place, and right people. It really depends on luck. Now we can only cultivate and support generation after generation to increase production. Another thing is the research on fertilizers. Hybrid high-yield varieties are one of them, and the other part is fertilizers and pesticides. The College of Chemistry must work harder. Fertilizers are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and they should be able to be developed."

"Okay, then I will study it when the time comes. This is related to the lives of the people of the Song Dynasty, and I cannot just sit by and watch."

Zhao Zhen's face turned serious. He was now also a great chemist and loved doing chemical experiments. Since fertilizer was a chemical product, it fell within his academic scope.

If he could develop fertilizer, combined with his previous inventions such as wear-resistant rubber, penicillin, redox theory, the periodic table, etc., he would probably deserve the title of the future father of chemistry.

"Boom boom boom!"

At this moment, there was a crisp knock on the door.

It was obviously Wang Shouzhong knocking on the door.

Generally speaking, the afternoon Chongzheng Hall meetings are not allowed to be interrupted unless something particularly big happens suddenly.

So Zhao Zhen immediately said, "Come in."

Wang Shouzhong pushed the door open and said, "Sir, urgent news from Guangzhou."

"Oh?"

Zhao Zhen asked, "What happened?"

"The diplomatic mission to the West has returned. They said they brought back a large number of envoys from various countries, as well as the gifts they brought with them."

Wang Shouzhong reported.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha."

Zhao Zhen was overjoyed and said, "Double happiness has come. First there is the internal combustion engine, and now the envoys from the West have also arrived."

"A happy event indeed."

Zhao Jun also smiled.

What Zhao Zhen was concerned about was that the celebration activities held by the Song Dynasty would shock the whole world.

Let the whole world know the strength and greatness of the Song Dynasty.

What he was concerned about was that this celebration would bring huge benefits to the Song Dynasty.

In addition to arms trade, other trade is also indispensable.

In this way, the Song Dynasty will gain a lot of benefits. Compared with the previous face-saving projects that attracted all nations to pay tribute, benefits are the real truth.

However, Wang Shouzhong said, "Sir, there is one more thing."

"Oh?"

Zhao Zhen was surprised and asked, "What's the matter?"

"A few days ago, when the railway was being built in Luoyang, workers dug up a black stone from the ground. At the time, they didn't pay much attention to it and just threw it aside."

Wang Shouzhong said: "However, there was a supervisor in charge of the construction of that section of the railway who was quite knowledgeable. He heard that the country was protecting ancient cultural relics. When he saw the workers throwing the stone away, he picked it up and looked at it. Unexpectedly, there was incomprehensible text on it, so he handed it to the Luoyang Cultural Relics Bureau. After identification, it was found to be Qin Xiaozhuan with eight characters written on it."

"Eight words?"

Zhao Zhen suddenly realized something and his breathing quickened: "Which eight words?"

"If you receive orders from Heaven, you will live forever!"

"boom!"

Zhao Zhen stood up suddenly, put his hands on the desk, and opened his eyes wide.

(End of this chapter)