People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 520: Song Dynasty is getting better day by day
At the end of the 13th year of the Qingli period of the Song Dynasty, a decisive battle broke out between Liao and Jin in the north.

Apart from the Northern Military District deployed in Youyan Road, not many people in the Song Dynasty paid attention to this battle.

Apart from some newspapers in Bianliang briefly mentioning the changes in the domestic situation in Liao, no one paid attention to it.

It’s not that the people of the Song Dynasty have lost interest in such a major event as the destruction of a country.

Rather, the culture and entertainment of the people of the Song Dynasty are booming, and various performance forms such as opera, novels, storytelling, etc. are rapidly becoming popular.

New changes appear every day, attracting the attention of most of the people in Bianliang.

Just like in later generations, no matter how chaotic the war is abroad, the people at home live a peaceful life. At most, they will just take a look. Who would focus all their attention on foreign countries?
What's more, this is also a trend.

Societies that are materially scarce tend to lag behind in cultural industries.

It does not refer to poetry, songs, or prose, but to folk culture.

People live with no food to eat, and all they think about every day is how to fill their stomachs. Naturally, they don’t consider issues like this.

Therefore, from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Tang Dynasty, folk entertainment was not so developed.

In the past, various forms of performance only had a rudimentary form at most, or even if they did appear, they only served the rich and powerful and were difficult to provide to the common people.

This situation did not change until the Song Dynasty.

During the first agricultural revolution in the Song Dynasty, grain production increased explosively, productivity improved, and people’s lives became slightly more affluent. In addition to filling their stomachs, they could also enjoy spiritual nourishment.

As a result, culture and art developed rapidly.

A large number of folk entertainment forms have emerged from various theaters and restaurants.

Art forms such as drama, novels, storytelling, and juggling flourished and a hundred schools of thought contended.

This situation is somewhat similar to the "Double Hundred" policy mentioned in high school history books, which allowed various art forms to flourish.

However, in later times, it was the government that proposed and promoted it, while now it is mainly private construction, which the court is pleased to see and highly praises.

Under such circumstances, the construction of material and spiritual civilization forms a virtuous circle.

Because not only are there many people working in the arts and literature who are constantly exploring new art forms, but there are also many people with scientific research and business acumen who are also trying to develop better artistic expression methods.

Perhaps cameras, camcorders, and televisions may all appear in the future. As long as people have spiritual needs in this regard, someone will definitely find a way to satisfy them.

This is the general trend and what Zhao Jun hopes to see the most. After all, demand is the only way for technology to develop at the speed of light.

As Professor Wen, Zhao Jun's mentor, once said, war promotes technology. But it is also because of the needs of war that the rulers vigorously promote the development of technology, right?
After the Laba Festival in December, Zhao Jun's fleet slowly arrived at the Guangji River wharf outside the city of Bianliang.

There was already a convoy waiting for him at the dock.

Since August this year, Zhao Jun has not been in Bianliang, but went to Wuan Iron and Steel Plant first.

Because Cai Zhi said that they had already demonstrated a lot of results in automobile research and development, he went to see it in person and found that the other party had already built a prototype of a car.

And it was not the three-wheeled car similar to the tricycle invented by Karl Benz, but a car with a roof built according to Zhao Jun's instructions.

Except for the simple appearance, the overall framework has been built, including the cooling system, fuel supply system, ignition device, etc.

Zhao Jun couldn't help but admire their execution ability.

Although the most difficult engine in the automotive industry has been completed, other systems are not so simple either.

However, Cai Zhi and his team actually managed to develop a relatively complete car in just nine months, which is a miracle.

of course.

There is still a big difference between polishing a car and mass production.

Karl Benz, the founder of Mercedes-Benz, quickly established the Mercedes-Benz company after inventing the three-wheeled car.

But it was not until more than ten years later that the commercial car was invented, which saved the Mercedes-Benz company from bankruptcy.

Therefore, even if a prototype has been developed, it is not so easy to mass produce it.

But it shouldn't take too long.

After all, Karl Benz of later generations fought alone and completed the invention of the entire car by himself.

As the chairman of Wuan Iron and Steel Group, Cai Zhi has a huge steel group as his backing, as well as support from the imperial court and guidance from Zhao Jun.

So with the technical and material conditions, it was possible to quickly accomplish what took Benz decades to accomplish.

This is the benefit of mobilizing the whole nation's strength. For example, Japan in later generations mobilized the whole nation's strength and completed the entire industrial accumulation in just a few decades.

After inspecting the Wu'an Iron and Steel Plant and giving Cai Zhi some advice, Zhao Jun left Wu'an without stopping and headed for Dengzhou, Shandong.

He was going there to inspect the newly built Weihai Shipyard.

This was the third large state-owned shipyard in the Song Dynasty. Before industrialization, the shipbuilding industry in the Song Dynasty was well developed, with 26 shipyards in Quanzhou, Qianzhou, Tanzhou and other places.

However, among these places, only Quanzhou is mainly used to build seagoing ships, while the rest of the shipyards mostly build canal ships and domestic river ships. The seagoing ship industry is monopolized by Quanzhou.

After industrialization, the Song Dynasty first built a shipyard in Zhejiang to build large ocean-going ships to facilitate trade with Japan and Goryeo.

Soon after, steam engine technology was applied to ships, and the first ironclad ship was born in Zhejiang Shipyard. Liu Yong, the deputy transport envoy of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Road at that time, became a witness.

In the ninth year of the Qingli period, the Song Dynasty coordinated the entire state-owned shipbuilding industry in Quanzhou and established a second large-scale shipyard, which was directly operated by Fujian Road and formed a competitive relationship with the shipyards in Liangzhe Road, in order to increase technological upgrades and investment.

The year before last, which was the eleventh year of the Qingli period, the shipyard project in Weihai, Shandong was also launched. After two years of construction, a new shipyard larger than Zhejiang Shipyard and Quanzhou Shipyard was completed.

However, unlike the first two, Zhejiang Shipyard and Quanzhou Shipyard were state-owned in Dasong, allowing them to mainly engage in private sea-going ships, including transport ships and passenger ships.

The Weihai Shipyard is directly under the Administrative System Yuan and is an affiliated shipyard of the Song Dynasty Navy which was officially established this year. Its main purpose is to build warships.

The Song Dynasty now has only seven ironclad ships, one for each navy. Except for one ironclad ship, the rest of the ships are wooden warships. Although they are sufficient in Southeast Asia, they are still too weak.

If you want to travel to the open sea, you need a steam-powered ironclad ship.

Even though the Wuan Iron and Steel Plant has developed the engine, it is a trend that oil will replace steam engines as the main power source for ships in the future. Continuing to build steam engine warships now would be a backward behavior.

However, Zhao Jun knew very well that Dongfang was a country that was very short of oil, and developing the engine so early might not be a good thing.

Therefore, he had to plan ahead and produce steam-powered warships in large numbers and have a powerful navy, so that he could usher in the oil age and ensure that the Song Dynasty had enough military force to ensure the acquisition of oil.

Otherwise, having technology without resources is just castles in the air.

"Zhiyuan, we're here."

Inside the cabin, Li Xiaoji's words reached the room where Zhao Jun was resting.

He came back from Shandong by taking the Guangji River Canal.

This time, he was accompanied by Li Xiaoji, the director of the Military Equipment Bureau, and Wang Anshi, the director of the Court of Censors.

They were promoted after Zhao Jun returned from his second tour of the country in the ninth year of the Qingli period. They were first promoted from the fifth-rank prefect to the fifth-rank Tongpan of Jingji Road.

He was then transferred to the position of Deputy Transport Commissioner of Gyeonggi Road, a fourth-rank official. Wang Anshi then went to the Court of Examiners, while Li Xiaoji went to the Military Equipment Bureau.

Currently promoted to the fourth rank.

But this is the limit of what they can achieve at present. It will take another five years to be promoted to the head of a department in a second-level institution, and another five years to be promoted to the head of a first-level institution.

On the contrary, Su Huan has been working in the Imperial Decree Bureau for four years since his last tour of the country. Chen Xiliang and Zhao Yan are also about to complete their five-year terms in the third-level institutions and need to continue to be promoted.

As for Yang Cha and Yang Gao, since they were previously first-level agency ministers, one was promoted to Counselor and the other was promoted to Minister of Police.

Basically it's next year's thing.

Therefore, it is foreseeable that in the 1056th year of the Qingli period, that is, in October 10 AD, when the fourth Political System Council was established, Yang Cha and Yang Gao would come forward.

In the next term, that is, in 1061, Su Huan, Chen Xiliang and Zhao Yan were promoted to prime ministers.

It was not until 1066 that it was Wang Anshi and Li Xiaoji's turn.

But it's normal.

After all, one of them is only 33 years old and the other is 35 years old, and they belong to the younger generation.

Yang Cha, Yang Gao and others have been in the officialdom for many years. They are not from the same era, so their situations are naturally different.

After 13 years, they were 46 and 48 years old, just in their prime, the same age as Fu Bi and his friends now. Therefore, the main focus for now is training and gilding.

Otherwise, without gilding, how could they be transferred directly from the head of a third-level agency to the head of a second-level agency?

For normal promotion, one needs to be promoted from the chief of a third-level institution to the deputy chief of a second-level institution of the third rank, with a term of five years. It would take them twenty years to be promoted to the minister of a first-level institution, which is a long time in sight.

Zhao Jun should take them with him more often when he goes on tours. With this qualification, he can help them skip this term and get promoted faster.

And the most important thing is that we can provide them with more guidance and train successors.

Hearing Li Xiaoji's words, Zhao Jun, who was resting in the cabin, slowly climbed up from the boat. He had a good sleep last night and arrived in Bianliang in the morning. The canal was still relatively unobstructed.

"Oh, I see."

Zhao Jun replied.

I looked out the window and saw that it was already bright outside.

Moreover, the ship was not sailing, but had been stopped for a long time, and might have already entered the dock.

I guess they had arrived a long time ago, but they didn't want to disturb my rest, so I kept waiting. When there was no response, I asked tentatively.

In fact, Zhao Jun would have woken up by this time usually.

But recently, because he had been traveling for too long and had been on the boat all the time, even though he was from the south, did not get seasick and was good at swimming, he still felt uncomfortable.

I have been feeling dizzy these days and not in a very good mental state. I didn't fall asleep until midnight last night, so I didn't wake up yet today.

"I'm old, I have to accept it."

Zhao Jun smiled bitterly and shook his head. It has been his seventeenth year since he came to the Song Dynasty.

In a few months, it will be my eighteenth year. After the Chinese New Year, I will be 41 years old. I am still dealing with state affairs all day long. My energy is indeed not as good as that of a young and strong guy.

After getting dressed and coming out of the cabin, the guards were already waiting.

It wasn't just his Prime Minister's guards. A small space had been cleared on the dock outside and the palace guards were there to greet him.

When Zhao Jun got off the boat, Su Huan came to greet him. As the official in charge of imperial edicts, his main job was actually to be Zhao Jun's secretary. However, he needed to stay in the imperial edicts office during his trip out of Beijing, so two temporary secretaries were transferred over.

Now that Zhao Jun is back, of course he has to welcome him.

"Zhiyuan."

"Ah."

Zhao Jun nodded and invited him to get on the carriage.

Although bicycles are popular now, as a prime minister, you can't just ride a bicycle around town.

Cars had not yet been manufactured, so people could only ride in horse-drawn carriages.

His carriage was very spacious, more than enough to accommodate more than a dozen people. Zhao Jun sat in the main seat of the carriage and closed his eyes to rest.

Su Huan came up first, followed by Li Xiaoji and Wang Anshi, who all sat on one side.

"What happened during this time?"

"Wanyan Wugunai led his troops out of Changchun last month and captured Ningzhou. I'm afraid the Liao and Jin will have a decisive battle."

"Ah."

Zhao Jun closed his eyes and said nothing.

He had nothing to worry about regarding the Liao and Jin kingdoms.

The Song Dynasty had few troops deployed in Youzhou, only less than 30,000.

Because although Zhao Jun reformed the army and improved the status of soldiers, it did not mean that he would change the previous policy of strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches.

That is the method formulated during the reign of Zhao Kuangyin, which was to place the main military forces in Bianliang for easy control.

After all, even in later generations, there were many cases of military coups d'état coming to power, the most famous of which was Masao Takagi, so strict control is still necessary.

But this does not mean that less than 30,000 people cannot destroy the Liao and Jin dynasties. In fact, 30,000 people are not even needed. 10,000 people will be enough.

Not to mention machine guns, just rifles, howitzers and mortars, if they cannot destroy the Liao and Jin dynasties, then the commanders of the armies stationed in Youzhou should be dealt with by military law.

"Also, last month, the Chengdu-Chang'an railway was put into operation for the first time. Prime Minister Yan personally wrote a congratulatory couplet and sent it over to express his best wishes for the opening of the railway."

"Ah."

"The Ministry of Railways also said that the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway is expected to be fully operational by early next year, probably around February."

"In addition, the Ministry of Finance will first collect statistics in the second half of this year."

"Wait, is this all the railway is?"

"That's all."

"The railway from Bianliang to Chang'an has been under construction for a long time, but there is still no progress?"

"Forehead"

Speaking of this, Su Huan smiled bitterly and said, "The dean forgot that Chang'an to Luoyang is the ancient capital of several dynasties. If they were to build the road, they might dig up the tombs of some princes or nobles from the Han and Tang dynasties. The Cultural Relics Bureau had to stop the construction everywhere, and the route had to be changed several times."

“I didn’t expect that there would be so many graves just because of the railway.”

Zhao Jun shook his head.

Building a railway only requires leveling the ground along the line. There is no need to dig underground. Only digging a subway requires digging underground.

But I didn't expect that the number of cultural relics in Chang'an and Luoyang was so outrageous. Even if they just did some minor repairs on the ground, they could find a lot of things. Even the imperial seal was found in this way. It was really unexpected.

But this is normal.

Antiques from the golden age of troubled times.

During the thousand years of the Han and Tang dynasties, there were often turbulent times, so tomb robbers were everywhere.

They are actually not interested in those antique porcelains.

Only precious gold and jewelry are wanted.

The result was that many tombs in Chang'an and Luoyang were robbed, and messy porcelain was thrown everywhere. It would naturally cost a lot for the newly established Cultural Relics Bureau to study it.

"Statistics submitted by the Ministry of Finance show that GDP has reached 19 billion guan in the first half of this year. It should be no problem to exceed 35 billion guan this year. Based on the fiscal revenue accounting for about 15% of GDP in previous years, the tax revenue this year may reach 5 million guan."

"The Ministry of Industry wants to allocate funds to build a hydroelectric power station in the upper reaches of the Bian River. Prime Minister Fan and his team have already approved the document. Currently, it is just..."

Su Huan was still thinking about the important affairs of the court.

Zhao Jun was lying in the recliner, supporting his chin with one hand and pulling open the curtains with the other.

He saw.

The streets on both sides are crowded with people.

A bicycle passed by with the jingle of its bells.

There were electric poles with electric wires hanging above people's heads.

The sound of opera singing could be heard from the second-floor restaurant.

At a street tea stall, a storyteller was happily telling the story of a monkey causing havoc in heaven.

Although there was no "Journey to the West" during this period, the prototype of the monkey's story had already been formed in the Song Dynasty. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that a large number of folk images of Sun Wukong were gathered and compiled into "Journey to the West".

Therefore, although the Havoc in Heaven at this time was another version, it could be regarded as one of the blueprints for the later "Journey to the West", and the people present listened with great interest.

Zhao Jun listened to Su Huan's report, but he was looking at the common people with his eyes.

The lives of the people in the Song Dynasty are getting better and better.

(End of this chapter)