People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 516 I won’t be hungry anymore

Just after the New Year, the time came to the 1053th year of the Qingli period of the Song Dynasty, which was AD.

This day in history is the fifth year of Huangyou in the Northern Song Dynasty. In this year, the situation in the Song Dynasty was temporarily stabilized and prosperous.

However, it was very passive in the international arena. It was defeated three times in a row by Li Yuanhao in the northwest and was forced to sign the "Qingli Peace Agreement".

Later, he was blackmailed by the Liao Kingdom and signed the "Chongxi Increase in Currency", and had to send a large amount of annual tribute abroad.

After suffering repeated invasions from the Vietnamese Ly Dynasty in the southwest, Guangxi's ethnic minority leader Nong Zhigao was dissatisfied with the court's indulgence of the Vietnamese Dynasty's oppression of them, so he angrily started a war.

It can be said that in history, the diplomatic situation of the Song Dynasty was very bad in the fifth year of Huangyou. Not only was there war, but there were also many conflicts with neighboring countries.

But now the situation in the Song Dynasty has undergone earth-shaking changes.

Not only was the country peaceful and stable, but the Song Dynasty was also unrivaled in the international environment of East Asia.

In particular, the grand military parade on the eve of the New Year was so awe-inspiring that it not only struck fear into the hearts of East Asian countries, but also shocked countries in Central Asia, the Indian Peninsula, Southeast Asia, Europe and even Africa.

None of them had imagined that when they were still in the feudal era or even the tribal slave era, civilization had already shown a qualitative leap.

Compared with the Song Dynasty, other countries in the world seemed to be in a barbaric era, lagging far behind in civilization.

So just after the New Year, before the Lantern Festival on the 15th, envoys from some countries began to bid farewell to the Song Dynasty court one after another, and immediately send back the domestic intelligence of the Song Dynasty.

However, they were basically envoys from neighboring countries, such as Dali, Vietnam, Goryeo, Japan, Liao, etc. They wanted to buy weapons, but the lifeline of the entire country was controlled by the Song Dynasty. Without the Song Dynasty's approval, how could they have any autonomy?

As for other countries, they were all waiting for the Song Dynasty to ship the goods they purchased to Guangzhou.

You have to know that this is not just a few points. Many of the country's top tycoons only transport goods worth hundreds of thousands of strings of coins at a time, and at most no more than one or two million strings of coins.

This batch of goods was worth over 100 million strings of cash. In addition to firearms, there were many other commodities, including Song Dynasty tea, porcelain, books, paper, pencils and even telescopes. It would take at least two or three months to transport them to Guangzhou.

Therefore, from December last year to January of this year, just over a month, it became the busiest time for the Bianliang Firearms Bureau.

There were too many stocks, which required a lot of maintenance and transportation. The goods had to be shipped to Guangzhou in batches according to the return time of the envoys from various countries. Otherwise, the canal would be easily blocked if they were transported all at once.

Just after the New Year, Bianliang experienced a brief period of depression.

Factories stopped production, shops closed, government offices were at a standstill, and Jiaozi shops were unable to exchange coins. People were eager to exchange currency for food. Many families posted slogans at their doors to express their demands, and the streets were filled with the smell of gunpowder from explosives.

Most people had nothing to do and stayed at home all day drinking and playing cards. There were fewer people walking around the streets. It seemed that the economy of Bianliang, the once prosperous capital of the Song Dynasty, suddenly became depressed overnight.

The Chinese call this scene the Chinese New Year.

People in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen should have experienced this the most in future generations. When the Chinese New Year arrives, the big cities that originally had a population of 10 to 20 million will immediately become empty, with every household closing their businesses and there being few pedestrians on the streets.

This situation is gradually emerging in Bianliang today.

After all, the local population of Bianliang was actually very small before the Jingyou period, only 200,000 or 300,000, and most of them were migrant workers.

Originally, many of these migrant workers settled in Bianliang, but most of them were from the counties and cities surrounding Bianliang, and they were willing to spend a day or two going home during the Chinese New Year.

It’s just that there were fewer people at that time and the city construction was not that large, so it naturally didn’t seem that serious.

After the Qingli year, the population of Bianliang soared from one million to three or four million. By the twelfth year of the Qingli period, it was close to five million. It was only a matter of time before it exceeded five million this year.

There are so many migrant workers in the city and few native residents. There are also many holidays from the first to the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year. With the New Year holiday, Tiansheng Festival holiday and Lantern Festival holiday, a large number of people leave Bianliang and go home to celebrate the New Year. Doesn't it seem depressed?

However, this depression only lasted for a few days. Basically, after the Tiansheng Festival holiday, that is, after the third and fourth days of the Chinese New Year, migrant workers began to return to Beijing one after another.

Now the official roads are well built, and many people ride bicycles to travel between the counties and cities around Gyeonggi-do. The roads that extend in all directions can be seen everywhere with bicycles, just like the motorcycle army that went home for the New Year in the millennium in later generations.

Basically after the seventh day of the New Year, Bianliang quickly regained its former prosperity, and the depression of those days seemed to have never happened.

Shops opened for business one after another, factories returned to work, and the two major transportation hubs, the dock and the train station, were crowded with people. The bustle returned to Bianliang again, and the city and streets were full of vitality.

Zhao Jun did not have a few days of leisure during this New Year. There were celebrations on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. On the second and third days of the New Year, he had to go to the palace to have dinner with Zhao Zhen's family.

Later, the Cao family came to pay New Year's greetings and brought the whole family with them. In addition to Cao Cong, there were also brothers Cao Xiu and Cao Ren.

Zhao Jun doesn't have many relatives in this world, and his relationship with Zhao Zhen can only be described as distant relatives of 20 or 30 generations ago. Naturally, he can only be closer to his wife's family.

Moreover, the Cao family also had to rely on the Zhao family. No matter whether it was Zhao Zhen or Zhao Jun, they had to hold on to their power. Therefore, it was normal for the several families to move around frequently.

On the fifth and sixth days of the first lunar month, all the prime ministers' families, including the Lu family, Wang family, Yan family, Fan family, Song family, etc., would come to pay New Year's greetings.

Although Zhao Jun rarely took the initiative to pay New Year's greetings, his family was always full of guests. Even if the heads of other prime ministers' families did not come, they would at least send one of their children or grandchildren to pay their respects.

This also meant that the Zhao family's home was basically restless after the New Year. From the New Year to the Lantern Festival, it was not until after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month that it became quiet. It was a rare few days of comfort.

Unfortunately, we have to go back to work right after the Lantern Festival holiday.

On the 21st day of the first lunar month, Zhao Jun arrived at the Institute of Political System early in the morning. The door of the Institute of Political System had just been opened, and Su Huan and several clerks from the Imperial Decree Office were still moving documents.

Seeing Zhao Jun coming over, Su Huan, still holding the documents in his hands, stood at the door and bowed slightly and said, "Director."

"Ah."

Zhao Jun nodded and walked into the house.

I haven't worked in the office for more than 20 days, and the room seems to be covered with a layer of dust.

Su Huan placed the document in his hand on the clerk's desk near the door, and then went to turn on the light.

With a "pop" sound.

The electric light hanging from the ceiling of the Constitutional Court was turned on, and the originally dim room quickly became bright.

Zhao Jun walked all the way to his own table at the back of the room, then waved to Su Huan and said, "Wenfu, come here."

"Zhiyuan."

Su Huan came over after turning on the light.

"Are those the official documents accumulated before and after the New Year?"

"Yes, shall I bring it to the dean?"

"Ah."

Zhao Jun responded.

He still has the same old habit of caring about work.

It's not about power.

At this position, the power is so great that there is no limit, so naturally there is no such thing as power-hungry behavior.

Some people, when they have such power, just enjoy it, like a feudal emperor.

But Zhao Jun felt uncomfortable at home. If he didn't read official documents or care about national affairs every day, he felt that he had no value in existence.

This may also be the meaning of his life now.

I put all my hopes on the fact that as long as I work hard, the future of the Song Dynasty will be better.

Su Huan took the official document.

There are naturally some rules for this thing. Those placed at the top will be seen by the prime minister first, and those placed at the bottom will be seen last, or even ignored.

Otherwise, why does the Imperial Decree Bureau have such great power?

Every department has to curry favor.

However, Su Huan knew very well what Zhao Jun was concerned about first, so he did not play so many tricks, but put the important things first.

Zhao Jun took the first document and took a look at it. It was a joint document between the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

These days, the Song Dynasty is celebrating the New Year and Bianliang is celebrating the New Year. The streets have been a little deserted for a few days after the New Year, and many foreign envoys have been hosted jointly by the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In addition to the expenses reported for entertainment, the two departments also have many matters to deal with with various diplomatic missions.

For example, the dates for the envoys from various countries to return home were almost set. They entrusted the goods they brought to their own merchants in Bianliang for sale, and then purchased a lot of things.

After the purchased materials had been loaded onto the ship and their missions had been completed, many messengers were eager to leave.

Some of them had already placed orders, but they did not bring so much money this time, so they decided to take some of the goods back first, and come to Song Dynasty to purchase again when they had enough money.

Therefore, basically from late January to mid-February, envoys from more than 20 countries will leave one after another. The official documents list in detail the orders from these countries and the goods to be sent to Guangzhou.

"Ah."

After reading the official document, Zhao Jun said with satisfaction: "This is a good start. Trade between countries will become more and more frequent in the future."

Su Huan smiled and said, "It's also because of this celebration that all the countries in the world came to the Song Dynasty and were shocked by its prosperity. They all admired the Celestial Empire. I heard that there are princes from Goryeo and Dali who don't want to leave Beijing and want to stay in Bianliang as hostages." "It's really interesting."

Zhao Jun laughed: "My Song Dynasty doesn't like hostages, and there are still people who want to stay as hostages."

Su Huan also laughed: "I guess it's because the spring flowers and autumn moons in Bianliang are too attractive. These days, foreign vassals are lingering in various theaters, brothels, and restaurants. They are the benefactors of various stores. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that they collected a lot of extra taxes at the end of the year."

The smile on Zhao Jun's face slowly disappeared, and he became pensive again.

Su Huan saw that his expression was not right and was confused for a moment. He thought that he had said something wrong, so he quickly shut up.

In fact, he didn't say anything wrong.

But when Zhao Jun heard the words "tavern", "brothel" and "restaurant", he remembered something bad.

That is, although the emergence of textile factories greatly improved the status of women in the old society, many women were able to be self-reliant and work in factories to support themselves.

But this is only a minority after all.

The status of the vast majority of women has not changed much. The fifty-four brothels in Bianliang are still open for business as usual, with music and dance going on every night.

Although the imperial court prohibited coercion, many people did it voluntarily. There were also many parents who favored boys over girls and forced their daughters to go because this job made money quickly and could make the family rich quickly.

It is no wonder that a total ban was imposed in later generations. However, if there had not been a major revolution in ancient times, the resistance to banning this industry would have been extremely great.

This is not something that can be accomplished by simply killing a large number of officials, landlords, and nobles. It can only be done step by step.

"Well"

Zhao Jun put down the official documents from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and started looking at other documents.

Before and after the New Year, there are mountains of documents piling up. For many things, I can only take a quick glance to understand the situation before making a decision.

After about half an hour, it was already past eight o'clock in the morning, and many men began to go to work one after another.

According to the original convention, court officials had to go to the Chuigong Hall for the morning court session. However, over the years, the morning court sessions gradually became a formality, and Zhao Zhen gradually reduced the number of morning court sessions.

It is usually opened once every three to five days, so there is no need to run to the Chuigong Hall at seven o'clock in the morning to sit in jail.

"Hanlong, so early."

When Yan Shu stepped into the Constitutional Court, he was not surprised to see Zhao Jun and greeted him.

"Well, I'm bored at home."

Zhao Jun had already read a lot of documents and was still looking at them, responding casually with a remark.

"It's good to be young."

Yan Shu came to his desk and sat down.

Zhao Jun glanced around the office and asked, "Has Lord Xiwen not arrived yet?"

At this time, including Xia Song, Zheng Jian, Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, Han Qi, Pang Ji, Zeng Gongliang, Song Xiang and others were basically all present.

Only the oldest two, Du Yan and Fan Zhongyan, had not arrived yet. Du Yan was not surprised. The old man was 75 years old this year, and it was normal for him to be late.

It was a strange thing that Fan Zhongyan arrived unexpectedly late.

Fu Bi said: "Maybe something delayed him."

Said that Cao Cao Cao Cao arrived.

Fan Zhongyan walked into the room, holding an official document in his hand and looking very happy.

"What's wrong, Lord Xiwen, are you so happy eating honey shit?"

Zhao Jun joked.

Fan Zhongyan rolled his eyes at him and said, "Speak properly."

"Just kidding."

Zhao Jun asked curiously: "What happened?"

Fan Zhongyan threw the document in his hand on the table and said, "Read it yourself."

Zhao Jun took the document and saw the seal of the Ministry of Agriculture on it. He immediately thought of something.

When I opened it, I saw that it was clearly written that the Agricultural College and the Agricultural University Research Institute under the Ministry of Agriculture had found a male sterile rice seedling in an acre of experimental field after extensive searches.

“Hybrid rice?”

Zhao Jun opened his eyes wide.

Fan Zhongyan smiled and said, "Yes, it was just sent over by the Ministry of Agriculture, and I came across it."

"Great."

A bright smile broke out on Zhao Jun's face.

Rice is a typical self-pollinating crop with male and female flowers, and can pollinate itself to produce rice.

However, the result of long-term self-pollination is the reduction of the excellent characteristics of the cultivated varieties, such as disease resistance and drought tolerance, leading to a significant reduction in yield.

This is the same as consanguineous marriage, which will greatly increase the probability of offspring being deformed.

If you want to complete hybridization, you must find a male sterile rice that can be passed on to the next generation, and then pollinate it with other rice to complete the hybridization.

Hybrid rice inherits a lot of advantages and has a higher yield, so this is why hybrid rice has advantages.

The Ministry of Agriculture of the Song Dynasty has been established for more than ten years. Over the years, it has been forming a team of experts to conduct extensive research in genetics.

Although there are not many major research results, at least a lot of theoretical knowledge has been explored. In biology, the School of Life Sciences of the Academy of Sciences has been working hard to explore the issue of increasing grain production.

It is not easy to produce hybrid rice, and it is even more difficult to find a male sterile rice seedling. It took so many years to finally find it.

Zhao Jun immediately gave instructions, "This is indeed a valuable opportunity, but my high school biology class taught me that hybrid rice must be maintained using the three-line method, and the taste and quality must be continuously improved. I hope the College of Agriculture will make good use of this hard-won opportunity and speed up research."

"Well, I'll approve it when the time comes."

Fan Zhongyan nodded, then took out an official document from his bosom and said, "By the way, the Wuxi River water diversion project that was planned at the end of last year will start this year. The Ministry of Finance will allocate funds. Please sign it."

"Old Fan, it's bad enough that you're late, but you're always out getting some official documents back. Can't you just leave them in the Imperial Decree Office?"

Zhao Jun joked.

"We can wait, but the people can't."

Fan Zhongyan smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“Wuxi River water diversion project?”

Zhao Jun took the document and glanced at it. He was suddenly stunned and asked, "Is it the one from Quzhou?"

"Yes, the one in Quzhou."

Fan Zhongyan said.

Zhao Jun was silent for a moment, picked up the pen and signed, saying, "Let them speed up the project. The people really can't wait."

That year there was a drought in the south of the Yangtze River, and people in Quzhou were cannibals.

Although Quzhou is located in the western part of Jinqu Basin and the upper reaches of Qiantang River, the Qujiang River flows through it.

However, the special terrain here makes floods more likely to occur in the rainy season and droughts more likely to occur in the summer and autumn. In history, there was a saying in Quzhou that "there is a minor drought every year and a major drought every three years".

This is an old historical problem. Over the past thousand years, repeated droughts have caused great suffering to the people of Quzhou. The history of cannibalism exists not only in the Tang Dynasty, but also in the Republic of China.

For example, in the third year of the Republic of China, there was a severe drought from May to July, and the rice seedlings spontaneously combusted. The people were starving and displaced, and they dug the soil of Guanyin for food.

The problem was not solved until the Wuxi River water diversion project was dug in the new era.

Although productivity is abundant in various parts of the Song Dynasty today, disasters still occur frequently. It’s just that productivity has improved and the court has the ability to resist risks, so the degree of harm caused by disasters is much smaller.

But this does not mean that the Song Dynasty has always had such ability.

As the population grows, food will become increasingly insufficient. The current productivity is more than enough to feed 300 to 400 million people, but what if the population reaches 700 to 800 million?
Therefore, whether it is various engineering projects or agricultural technology levels, they must always be continuously improved so that every citizen can hold on to their jobs.

After Zhao Jun signed the note approving the funds, he said softly, "From now on, the Han Chinese will never go hungry again."

(End of this chapter)