People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 527 History Will Always Remember Us (Finale)

In the spring of the 14th year of the Qingli period of the Song Dynasty, His Majesty Zhao Zhen, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, traveled by train to tour the country and understand the people's sentiments.

He went to Luoyang, the ancient capital of thirteen dynasties, and also came to Chang'an, also the ancient capital of thirteen dynasties.

I have seen the scenery of Mangshan Mountain and stayed in the Weiyang Palace for a night.

What made him most reluctant to part with and unforgettable about this trip to Guanzhong, apart from the scenery along the way, were the working people he met along the way.

According to the records of the accompanying reporters, Zhao Zhen cordially comforted every needy person he saw and had a friendly conversation with everyone he met, which left a deep impression on everyone who accompanied him.

The written description was sent back to Bianliang via telegram, and various newspapers competed to report it.

For a time, Zhao Zhen's image of being close to the people quickly spread among the people, and his reputation naturally reached its peak.

In contrast, Zhao Jun has always been a bystander.

He neither told Zhao Zhen what to do, nor did he support or obstruct Zhao Zhen's actions to go deep into the people.

He was just a bystander.

Because in Zhao Jun's view, this itself is a social practice of Zhao Zhen himself.

Or it could be said that Zhao Zhen was trying to save the royal regime.

Did Zhao Zhen understand the dragon-slaying technique?
Maybe he understood.

But it was precisely because he understood this that he clearly realized that the royal regime had no future.

After the Industrial Revolution, there are only two possible destinations for the world: one is capital controlling the world, and the other is a social ideology that stands on the side of the people and serves the people.

The former is that capital controls the world, and the latter is that the working class and peasant class control the world. No matter which one it is, it has nothing to do with feudal imperial power.

The essence of the dragon-slaying technique is to slay a dragon like Zhao Zhen. How could it possibly teach Zhao Zhen to secure his own kingdom?

It is for this reason that Zhao Zhen had to explore a path of his own through his own practice.

After all, for an emperor, even Renzong, it was impossible to hand over the imperial power.

This is also the direction he is looking for now.

As for Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun's position has been fixed, and helping Zhao Zhen is just due to some subjective and objective reasons.

After all, it’s meaningless to pursue any path in this era. Only when you have enough food to eat can you consider what path you will take in the future.

But if every citizen can have enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear, then what is the point of talking about other roads?

Because this in itself has already achieved a utopian ideal world.

So now Zhao Zhen is trying to save himself, but Zhao Jun still has a long way to go in the future. If he wants to realize the ideal world in his heart, it will not become a reality overnight.

In this case, he would naturally only watch Zhao Zhen from the perspective of a bystander and try to find a way out for himself, without giving him any help or reminders.

To put it simply, it was Zhao Zhen's own ability to figure out which path he wanted.

Zhao Jun has his own path to follow, and both sides just need to refrain from interfering with each other.

In mid-February, after staying in the Weiyang Palace in Chang'an for a few days, the group left Guanzhong and took a train to Chengdu.

Zhao Zhen visited the Wuhou Temple and the Temple of Emperor Zhaolie. From the Three Kingdoms period to the present Song Dynasty, over the thousands of years, the Wuhou Temple and the Temple of Emperor Zhaolie have long been in disrepair.

Historically, it was not until the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty that King Zhu Chun of Shu renovated and integrated the Temple of Emperor Zhaolie, Huiling and Wuhou Temple, and things started to improve again.

However, when Zhao Jun traveled around the world for the second time, he asked local governments and the Cultural Relics Bureau to carry out restoration work in these places.

Now, after many years, it has completely changed from its original dilapidated and old appearance.

At this moment, the Wuhou Temple is reflected by bamboo forests, and the Zhaolie Emperor Temple is lush with vegetation. Not only have various decaying buildings been repaired, but even the external layout has become different from what it was before.

The flower beds made of bluestone are full of flowers, the evergreen shrubs are full of vitality, and the branches of the large trees that block out the sun sway in the wind, making the entire Wuhou Temple and Emperor Zhaolie Temple full of beautiful scenery.

After visiting the two places, Zhao Zhen highly praised the relationship between Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang as a monarch and his subject, and also affirmed that Zhuge Liang set an example as a minister throughout his life.

He said that although Zhuge Liang was powerless to save the situation and unable to lead Ji Han to fulfill Emperor Zhaolie's long-cherished wish, this cannot erase Zhuge Liang's life achievements, nor can it deny Zhuge Liang's achievements in politics and military affairs.

What's more, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang were both people who loved their people. They were kind to the people during their lifetime, and after their death they welcomed all the people who came here to pay their respects and visit.

Therefore, the Wuhou Temple and the Emperor Zhaolie Temple should be open to the public so that all the people who want to come can have a look and learn about the glorious and legendary life of Emperor Zhaolie and Zhuge Wuhou.

When the speech was over, there was thunderous applause.

Afterwards, Zhao Zhen inspected the situation in the city again, walking through the streets and alleys. Although there were many guards separating him from the people.

But it did not prevent him from taking the initiative to contact those people and chat casually, which was also a good thing.

In late February, Zhao Zhen left Chengdu.

In fact, he had only been away from Beijing for less than ten days. The entire journey was to take a train to Luoyang, then to Chang'an, and then to Chengdu, a distance of more than a thousand kilometers. But in the past, it would take at least a month to take a horse carriage.

Now even the Shu Road, which was once difficult to travel, has been opened up, greatly deepening the trade ties between Chengdu and Chang'an and bringing the economies of the two places to a higher level.

The only regret is that the railway from Chengdu to Xiangyang had not yet been built, so when Zhao Zhen and his party left Chengdu, they could only take a boat.

However, the route down the Yangtze River by boat has been developed for two or three thousand years and has long been very mature. It is also very fast and can reach Jiangling by boat in a few days, so it is not a big deal.

The fleet soon left Chengdu and arrived in Jiangling in early March.

Zhao Zhen took a train south to Guangzhou.

He lived in the imperial palace left by the Southern Han Dynasty in Guangzhou, met with local merchants, and envoys from various countries around the world who stayed in the Song Dynasty.

Most Western countries left their diplomatic corps in the Song Dynasty. They bought a house in Bianliang with their own money. Most of the poorer countries bought a house in the outer cities where housing prices were low, and they could use it as a diplomatic corps after a little decoration.

Moreover, the number of envoys was not large, with one or two at the least and five or six at the most. Together with the entourage and servants, there were basically no more than ten people, which was no different from an office.

But what they have in common is that in addition to having an embassy in Bianliang, there is also one in Guangzhou.

This is the advice given to them by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The main reason why various countries left embassies in Bianliang was to facilitate communication with the central government of the Song Dynasty at any time and anywhere, hoping to obtain information about diplomacy and foreign trade that would benefit their side.

However, how to quickly transmit the information back to the country after obtaining it is another problem.

Therefore, it was necessary to set up another office in Guangzhou. After the diplomatic embassy completed the communication in Bianliang, it could be sent to Guangzhou via telegram, and then sent back to the country by Guangzhou's own merchant ships. This was very necessary.

Although this will still be slow and the news will be very delayed, it may take several months for countries in the Middle East and Europe.

However, this is already the fastest way.

Zhao Zhen cordially met with envoys from various countries and listened to their requests and ideas.

As the international image and international status of the Song Dynasty continued to improve, the emperor, as the head of state, would inevitably need to experience such diplomatic occasions in the future.

With so much training, we will be able to be more calm and confident when discussing economic and trade cooperation and international relations with heads of state of other countries in the future.

As a foreign trade base that is on par with Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the Song Dynasty, Guangzhou has become an object of support from the Song Dynasty court.

Zhao Zhen knew this very well, so he stayed in Guangzhou for a few more days.

Didn't leave until mid-March.

After that, I went around in circles and took a train from Guangzhou north to Hankou, and then took a boat east to Zhejiang.

He first went to Hangzhou, inspected the local foreign trade with Goryeo, Japan and other countries, learned about the local industrial characteristics, and conducted in-depth research on Song-Japan relations and the forms of private trade.

It was not until April that Zhao Zhen took the train back to Bianliang, but he did not go back. Instead, he passed by Bianliang and headed north to the Yanyun area, gazing affectionately at this homeland that the Song Dynasty had lost for hundreds of years and had only returned to seven or eight years ago.

He came to the newly renovated city of Peking and also went to the Tangshan Iron and Steel Plant to learn about the local steel industry. He then went through Shanhaiguan to Liaodong to comfort the local garrison troops.

When all these trips were over, it was basically May. On the way, Zhao Zhen also visited the Wu'an Iron and Steel Plant to inspect the local steel production and surrounding supporting factories. Then he took the train back to Bianliang.

Zhao Zhen's trip lasted about three and a half months from early February to late May, and he visited large areas including Peking, Chang'an, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and Huainan.

Basically, he visited all the major cities in the country, which allowed Zhao Zhen to quickly accumulate a lot of useful knowledge.

In fact, his knowledge was very broad, but it was all theoretical knowledge, which only existed in a seemingly plausible way. He had never seen it with his own eyes, nor had he conducted a serious investigation. Therefore, Zhao Zhen had always belonged to the theoretician school.

At least it has been put into practice now, although the effect may not be particularly good, because what he sees are often the urban middle class, and the real lower class rarely appears in front of him.

But even so, it is already good. For an emperor who is high above everyone else, making some progress is much better than standing still.

On May 26, the 14th year of the Qingli period, Zhao Zhen returned to his loyal Bianliang.

It is midsummer and the temperature is rising. The temperature in Bianliang has remained around 30 degrees in recent days. It is not too hot, but it is definitely very uncomfortable during the day.

In the afternoon, the wind was whistling in Chongzheng Hall, and with the ice placed around, the wind barely brought a hint of chill.

The group returned to Bianliang in the morning. Zhao Zhen took Empress Cao and their two daughters to the harem, while Zhao Jun went home. Both families needed to rest for a while, take a bath, and shake off the dust on their bodies.

It was not until the afternoon, when the prime ministers had finished their work, that they gathered in the Chongzheng Hall.

First, they talked about the important events of the court since they left Beijing. Second, they talked about what Zhao Zhen had gained since leaving Beijing, which could be regarded as a way for the prime ministers to gain more knowledge.

"Now I understand why my grandson must go to the grassroots level to have a look. The experience along the way has benefited me a lot."

Zhao Zhen waited for everyone to sit down, then he sat behind the desk and said with emotion.

Yan Shu asked curiously, "What did the emperor gain from this trip?"

Zhao Zhen sighed, "I only knew about the suffering of the people before, but I didn't know why they suffered. Now I have seen with my own eyes, I have seen the poverty of the people, I have seen their family experiences, some are disabled, some are suffering from diseases, some are treated like slaves by landlords, some have never had even a pair of pants, it is normal for them to be hungry and pale, even if they are beaten to death by those powerful people, they are just like grass and have no dignity. This kind of personal experience has made me understand many things. After returning to Beijing, it feels like a lifetime ago."

Zhao Jun smiled.

He had also experienced what Zhao Zhen had experienced along the way.

But compared with the two tours around the world that year, this trip was just child's play and nothing at all.

But from another perspective, the suffering of the people in the Song Dynasty was universal. The high taxes and levies imposed by the imperial court and the oppression of landlords and bureaucrats made most people miserable and struggle on the brink of life and death.

Now, Zhao Jun has removed several huge mountains that were weighing on the people's heads. From a general perspective, more than 99% of people have been freed from the trouble of hunger.

The rest are due to illness, accidents, poverty and other reasons, and the vast majority of them are illness.

Because as long as there are male adults in a poor family, in the current era when the entire Song Dynasty society is in the process of comprehensive infrastructure construction, having male adults means labor force, and they can work to support the family and not let the family go hungry.

But if an illness or accident occurs, the pillar of the family is gone, or most of the family’s wealth and resources have to be used to treat the illness, it will drag down the entire family.

So the Song Dynasty that Zhao Zhen sees now is more than ten times better than before, but even so, it still makes people feel deeply.

Compared to their luxurious living, most people were just barely able to have enough food to eat. Such a gap allowed anyone who could look at the problem in depth to clearly see the class differences and why there were always people rebelling in ancient times.

"It is a very good thing that the government has such an understanding. In this case, they should love the people like their own children and be lenient and benevolent."

Fan Zhongyan immediately said: "The Song Dynasty today is hard-won. Don't indulge in pleasure and indulge in lust just because the Song Dynasty is rich and the people are living a better life. If you think like this, the country will be in danger."

"Yes, the Song Dynasty now has a way out. We no longer have to worry about the people not having enough food to eat. But because of this, we still have to work harder and do better."

Yan Shu also said: "If there is something wrong, correct it; if there is nothing wrong, try to improve it. Now is the time for us to work hard and make the Song Dynasty reach a higher level."

"Well, I know what you said. From today on, I will not stay in the palace all the time. In addition to conducting experiments in the palace, I am also willing to visit various departments more often to see their development and visit the people to understand their wishes."

Zhao Zhen looked at everyone and saw that everyone looked unhappy, so he quickly added: "Of course, I will not interfere with the planning of the Constitutional Council and the various ministries. I certainly know the consequences of an outsider intervening in the affairs of the people, so you don't have to worry."

Everyone was relieved, and Yan Shu said, "Your Majesty is wise. Although Han Long once said that the Holy Son of Heaven ruling by doing nothing was a conspiracy of the civil service group to make the emperor give up power, Han Long also said that not every emperor has the ability to rule the world. I am not doubting your ability, but your talent is not shown in governing the country, but in science. Isn't this a gift from God to you? If you don't make good use of it, create more science and technology, and benefit the people, it will be a disgrace to your talent."

It must be said that this statement is quite heavy, and another emperor would definitely be unhappy. But for Zhao Zhen, it is acceptable.

First, the establishment of the Zhao Zhen Award was enough to establish his position in the scientific community.

Secondly, he really liked scientific inventions. The sense of accomplishment of creating history was not something that could be experienced while sitting in the Chuigong Hall and looking at the civil and military officials below.

So Zhao Zhen was not angry, but very happy. He smiled and nodded and said, "Of course I know."

"Let's talk about politics."

Zhao Jun suddenly interrupted their conversation.

It would be rude to go into this further.

Now their relationship with Zhao Zhen is very harmonious, so there is no need to talk about some things in such depth.

Zhao Zhen is not a fool and he understands many principles.

Now is not the time anymore.

At the beginning, there were conflicts between Zhao Jun and the civil service group. The two sides fought against each other, and Zhao Zhen held the real power tightly.

But over the years, Zhao Jun not only established a firm foothold, but also used the group of prime ministers to control the entire civil service group.

Even the entire civil service group has formed a new interest community headed by the Constitutional Yuan.

This community may have internal strife and different factions, but on the basic foundation of maintaining the governance power of the Constitutional Yuan, an alliance of interests has basically been reached.

Even if the emperor wanted to seize the power of governance from the Constitutional Court, he would be resisted by them.

The same is true for military power. Fan Zhongyan and Zhang Kang are both powerful military figures among the civil service group. Di Qing was also taught by Zhao Jun and had a great influence on the entire army.

In addition, when he purged the army, Zhao Jun also placed many people in the army and made many arrangements in the army.

It has nothing to do with whether they are loyal subjects or not.

The consensus they reached was the national strength represented by Zhao Jun, which was also the supremacy of national interests that Zhao Jun emphasized many times.

Even the royal family must make concessions in the face of national interests.

Compared to an emperor who knows nothing and wants to dictate the current prosperous Song Dynasty, they believe more in the ability of themselves and the Political System Institute represented by Zhao Jun to govern the country well.

So to some extent, the current Song Dynasty is no longer the original Song Dynasty, and Zhao Zhen’s authority in the entire civil service group is no longer as great as that of the Political System Council.

Although he can mobilize the army, if Zhao Zhen wants to mobilize the army to clear out the Political System Council, I'm afraid everyone in the army will have to think twice.

It’s not that they are afraid of Zhao Jun, but as long as Fan Zhongyan and Zhang Kang are there, the army will not be able to make any waves.

Therefore, it can be said that the power of the Song Dynasty is no longer a complete monarchy, but a semi-monarchy and semi-prime minister system.

Power was not concentrated in the hands of Zhao Jun alone, but in the hands of the Constitutional Yuan.

However, these things were not made public. On the surface, the emperor was still the main leader of the Song Dynasty, and the Political System Council was only an assistant.

A lot of things exist in the dark.

However, even so, it means that the Constitutional Council has formed a new interest group, replacing the original civil service group, which is fundamentally a change between the power of the prime minister and the power of the emperor.

Does Zhao Zhen know this?
Of course he knew.

But he also knew that this was the wheel of history, and he had no way to resist or stop it.

Because it is just as Zhao Jun said.

You can be a powerful emperor and a wise ruler for your whole life, but can you guarantee that every generation will have wise rulers and that there won’t be a Hu Hai who will cause the demise of the Second Qin Dynasty?
Therefore, compared with a dynasty that has real power but only lasts two or three hundred years or even shorter, Zhao Zhen knows that it is more meaningful to have a country with a system of nominal monarch that has a longer lifespan.

Even if it was a constitutional monarchy, as long as it could allow the Song Dynasty and the royal family to continue to exist, he would not object to it.

At least it was enough for him to have real power while he was alive. It didn't matter whether his descendants had real power or not. It was better than having real power from generation to generation but ending up with a useless king, which led to the demise of the country and the loss of the Zhao family's kingdom.

So this is the root of the problem.

It is because we can see clearly that we understand what the general trend is.

What he is doing now, to some extent, is the same as what Queen Elizabeth II did in later generations.

Attend various important occasions and use your high prestige to stabilize the people and maintain the existence of the royal family.

As for what will happen next, Zhao Zhen doesn't know. The only thing he can do is to let the Zhao royal family continue, that's all.

"Yes, let's talk about government affairs."

"Alas, Guan Jia, Han Long, we have suffered a lot in your absence."

"That's right. Without Guan Jia and Han Long to make decisions, we often end up arguing over important matters. Even if eleven people vote, there will occasionally be abstentions, resulting in a tie. This slows down efficiency."

"When Hanlong was handling official business, he could review hundreds of documents a day. We don't have that ability. Sometimes we have to admit that we are old and can't compare to the young."

Everyone quickly and tacitly changed the subject, started joking, and didn't talk about anything else.

In fact, everyone knows that the Constitutional Court is becoming younger and younger. There are several people who became prime ministers at the age of 47 or 48, such as Han Qi, Zeng Gongliang, Fu Bi, and Wen Yanbo.

If this happened in later generations, it would be good enough to be able to reach the vice-provincial level at the age of 47 or 48, but they sat on the position of prime minister. It was not just because of their background, but also because they were naturally gifted and talented, so there was no need to worry about efficiency.

So these are just excuses.

Zhao Zhen did not think deeply, nor did he want to think deeply. Seeing that everyone was talking about government affairs, he immediately said, "Then tell me about last year and the first half of this year?"

Last year’s overall data was basically submitted and collated in February.

But Zhao Jun did not go to see it at that time, but left Beijing with Zhao Zhen. Naturally, he had to report the situation in the first half of this year at the same time.

I saw everyone looking at each other, and then they all laughed.

Judging from everyone’s expressions, the data from last year and this year must be very good.

really.

Then I heard Yan Shu say: "After the emperor and Han Long left Beijing, we spent half a month integrating the data collected from all over the country and found that the changes last year were encouraging."

"First, the gross national product. When we reached 19 billion guan in the first half of last year, we predicted that the total value would be 35 billion guan, but in fact it reached 39 billion guan. The predicted tax revenue was 5 million guan, but in fact it was 6.24 million guan."

"The predicted steel production last year was 1200 million tons, and the actual production reached 1600 million tons. Four years ago, in the 100th year of the Qingli period, we just reached the 4 million ton level. In just four years, it has increased 16 times."

"In the 9.6732th year of the Qingli period, our total foreign import and export trade was 29.1 million guan, accounting for 14.7965% of the national GDP. Last year, our total foreign export trade reached 37.93 billion guan, accounting for % of the GDP, which is an explosive growth."

"According to our import and export tax calculations, last year we collected more than 10 million in import and export tax alone. Compared to the annual trade revenue of the major Maritime Customs during the Jingyou period, which was less than million, the throughput was also more than times higher."

"There are also industrial output value, population, education index, employed people, farmers, employees, salary standards"

Yan Shu mentioned more than ten major statistical data in one breath. In fact, the Ministry of Statistics has more than 40 or 50 data standards, including crime rates in various places and official integrity indexes, but the ones Yan Shu mentioned first are indices for measuring national development.

These data can be used to observe how much progress the Song Dynasty has made last year. Since they are the main data, they should naturally be brought out first to report the good news.

Hearing his words, Zhao Zhen took a deep breath and said, "6.24 million guan of tax revenue? That's ten times more than before!"

"More than ten times, it should be twenty times."

Zhao Jun pointed out: "The previous tax rate was at least 30% due to various exorbitant taxes and fees. Now it has basically dropped to below 15%, so it must be doubled compared to before."

"Doesn't that mean that the size of our Song Dynasty has increased twenty times?"

Zhao Zhen opened his mouth wide.

He never expected that the size of the Song Dynasty would grow to this extent in just eighteen years.

However, Zhao Jun smiled and said, "It's not that exaggerated. Last year was a special case. We sold so many arms and signed so many trade orders. It is normal for foreign trade data to surge in a short period of time. It is estimated that it should decline next year."

Last year, foreign trade orders alone increased by more than 5 million guan compared to the year before. This was of course not an increase out of thin air, but rather the result of the Song Dynasty opening up new markets around the world, bringing together countries around the world and signing a large number of orders.

In addition to arms orders, there are also other porcelain, tea, silk, books, etc., and this data does not only include exports, but also import data.

That is to say, the import and export volume of the Song Dynasty increased by 5 million strings of coins last year. It is unknown how much gold and silver minerals, spices, woods, gems, rare treasures and other raw materials continued to flow into the Song Dynasty.

Countries around the world received arms and a large number of newly-made industrial and handmade products, and the Song Dynasty obtained a large amount of gold and silver wealth. Both sides got what they needed, just like Qin Shihuang touching the wire and playing with clones - both sides won.

But this explosive growth basically only happened last year. It will definitely decline slightly this year, and it will decline every year. It is impossible to grow as horribly as last year.

the reason is simple.

First, the current global market is so small. The world's population, including the current 1.6 million people of the Song Dynasty, is at most 10 billion. Although it is impossible for the Song Dynasty's industrial products to fill the market all at once, other countries have to digest them first.

Second, selling too many arms would certainly lead to the escalation of global war. Once a war breaks out, there would be no time for construction, the economy would go downhill, and it would be reasonable that there would not be enough money to buy Song Dynasty's products.

Therefore, last year’s glory is estimated to be just a peak for a long time to come. If we want to replicate it, the global productivity must be upgraded again.

But even so, it is already a very exaggerated figure for the Song Dynasty.

Basically compared with the Jingyou period, in less than twenty years, except for the population, all other data of the Song Dynasty have increased more than ten times.

Even the population has more than doubled. It is normal for a couple to have three or four, five or six, or even seven or eight children. It is only a matter of time before the population of the Song Dynasty exceeds 200 million in a few years.

If this trend continues, by 1100 AD, 46 years later, the population of the Song Dynasty should reach 8-9 million, or even 10 billion.

This is not alarmist.

因为后世我国建国初期，于1954年第一次人口普查是6亿人，结果10年后的1964年再次普查就变成了7亿，等到18年后的1982年，人口到了10亿。

In less than 30 years, the population has nearly doubled, and this was when my country was in a relatively poor stage. If it were not for family planning, the population would probably have exceeded 2023 billion by 20.

Therefore, with the development of industry, productivity is increasing and a large increase in population is an inevitable trend, including the early days of the Western Industrial Revolution.

The only difference from later generations is that although my country’s population increased greatly in later generations, the domestic economic situation was very general.

Today, the economy is booming, and population growth will keep up with the economic dividends. In this way, the economy and population will complement each other, and there will be no need for family planning as in later generations.

After all, the poorer you are, the more children you have. When you become rich, you have less motivation to have children.

In forty or fifty years, even if the population exceeds one billion or even 10 billion, and the industrialization process has developed to a higher level, the fertility rate will naturally decline, and there will be no need to worry too much about it.

"Well, last year's growth is really gratifying. In this way, the funds for the national education upgrade and three years of free compulsory education that we set before will be secured."

Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "We should also put the development of Northeast China on the agenda. Both of these projects will cost a lot of money. The national treasury made a lot of money last year. With the extra 100 million Guan as a foundation, we don't have to worry about these two money-eating beasts in the next few years."

"But at the same time, we can't just sit back and enjoy the huge profits we made last year. We still have to expand our sources of income and continue to grow bigger and stronger to create greater success."

Zhao Jun said.

Yan Shu asked, "What does Hanlong think?"

"It's simple, just keep exploring!"

Zhao Jun looked at the world map hanging on the right wall of Chongzheng Hall and said, "We should increase our efforts to develop Australia and America, and first send a large number of immigrants to make them our Han territory."

"Well, Australia and America are rich in minerals, but now they are like a wild land, which makes people salivate."

"It's a pity it's too far away from us."

"We have been sending fleets over the years, and many people from the public have also gone to America, but the population of the settlements there is still too small, and it is difficult to get along with the locals."

"We'll see when the time comes. We can formulate policies to live in harmony with the locals and develop together. After all, we are not the barbaric Angsa people."

Everyone chatted for a while.

The situation in the Song Dynasty is getting better and better, and the entire economic construction has been put on the right track. Perhaps it won’t be long before a behemoth that will be ahead of the rest of the world by many years will emerge.

As we were discussing, we didn't realize it was already the beginning of the afternoon, which was around five in the afternoon.

The sun was still shining brightly outside, just like it was noon, but the color of the sunlight was no longer the golden yellow of noon, but a light orange.

"Okay, that's about all I have to say. I'm tired, let's take a rest."

Seeing that today's topic had basically been discussed and time was almost up, Zhao Zhen prepared to go off work.

He had just arrived in Bianliang in the morning and had spent the previous night on the train. The fatigue from the long journey had not yet subsided and he felt a little tired.

"Then let's break up the meeting."

Zhao Jun also said.

"Then I'll take my leave."

Everyone stood up and prepared to leave.

Zeng Gongliang suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, sir, there is one more thing I forgot to mention."

"what's up?"

Zhao Zhen asked.

“The School of Physics and the School of Chemistry collaborated to make the camera.”

Zeng Gongliang said, "The School of Physics made the lens and darkbox, and the School of Chemistry developed the photosensitive materials and developer. This project has been going on for several years. Last month, all the debugging was completed. We took pictures of many things, but not people. They said that the first portrait in history will be decided by your majesty."

"The camera is out?"

Zhao Zhen opened his eyes wide.

Zhao Jun’s notebook also has a photo-taking function.

But it's of no use.

Because it does not have a printing function, after taking the photo, it is just a picture in the computer and cannot be printed out at all.

But a real camera is different, it can develop images.

In this day and age, who doesn’t want to leave behind a photo for future generations to admire, or at least leave behind a true appearance so that future generations know what they look like?

So Zhao Zhen always wanted to make a camera.

The only problem was that he was working on a tape project some time ago and had no time to do it.

Secondly, photosensitive materials and developers are chemicals, which are said to be highly toxic, and the prime ministers did not want him to come into contact with them.

So it's quite regrettable.

Unexpectedly, the School of Chemistry and the School of Physics successfully developed it through cooperation.

"Yes."

Zeng Gongliang said: "I almost forgot about this, and I just remembered it just now."

"Grandson, how about leaving a picture for future generations?"

Zhao Zhen looked at Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "It's better to do it today than to wait for a day. Let's do it today."

“Let them come, and let’s take a photo together, a photo that will go down in history.”

Zhao Zhen greeted everyone with a smile.

"That's great! It's the first photograph of a person in history. It will go down in history."

"Although I am old and don't care whether people will remember what I look like, it would be a good thing if I could pass down my photos."

"Okay, okay, let's take a picture together."

Everyone was naturally very happy to hear that they could take photos. Who doesn’t want to be remembered by future generations?
Zhao Zhen immediately asked Wang Shouzhong to go to the Academy of Sciences to notify them to send someone over immediately.

The people who were about to leave were no longer in a hurry and sat back down.

About half an hour later, at about 2:15 p.m., Su Song, who had been promoted to vice-president of the School of Physics, finally arrived.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you all!"

Su Song came on a tricycle. Besides him, there were two assistants riding bicycles. There was a camera in the bucket at the back of the tricycle.

Zhao Jun looked over and found that it was indeed similar to the camera in the history textbook, a dark box with a lens on the outside. There was also a person pulling an electric wire next to it and holding a flashlight in his hand.

"let's start."

Zhao Zhen sat in his seat.

Su Song glanced around and said in embarrassment: "Your Majesty, it's not easy to take pictures like this."

Zhao Jun took a look and found that the place where they were sitting was actually a standard Chinese-style living room. At the back was Zhao Zhen's desk, and Zhao Zhen sat at the back.

Then, following the direction of Zhao Zhen's left and right hands, there was a row of seats on each side, leaving an aisle in the middle.

If the photo was taken with later cameras, with everyone sitting on chairs and looking in the direction of the camera, it would definitely be a good photo that would look majestic and domineering.

But after all, it is a primitive camera, with insufficient depth of field and difficult to adjust focal length. The resulting picture will inevitably be that the closer the distance, the larger and clearer the image of the person, and the farther the distance, the smaller and blurrier the image.

So it was indeed a bit difficult for Su Song to shoot like this.

Zhao Jun said, "The depth of field is not enough, let's sit in two rows and shoot together. The official will sit in the middle, and we can stand in two rows behind him."

"it is good."

"The light inside is not good, let's go outside."

"Let's go."

Everyone was very excited and came out of the house one after another.

Wang Shouzhong took out Zhao Zhen's chair and placed it under the marble steps outside the Chongzheng Hall.

Zhao Zhen came over and sat down, with Zhao Jun and Yan Shu standing on either side of him.

The other prime ministers were also lined up in two rows, with the ones in front standing behind Zhao Zhen, and those behind standing on the first step, slightly higher than the ones in front by a head.

Everyone stood straight. They were not wearing official uniforms, but Zhongshan suits or youth suits.

They look more vigorous and energetic. Even though they are middle-aged or elderly, they are nothing like the backward and decadent appearance of officials in the Qing Dynasty who were photographed in official uniforms in later generations.

"Get ready to shoot. The flash may be dazzling, but don't worry."

Su Song went into the darkroom and turned the lens. After everyone's appearance in the lens became clear, he made a gesture to the assistant holding the flashlight.

then.

"one!"

"two!"

"three!"

"Crack!"

The intense white light from the flash almost blinded everyone, even though they were mentally prepared.

"Oh, I have to wear glasses because of my presbyopia."

“It feels invisible.”

"Just take a moment to get used to it. Close your eyes first and open them after a few breaths."

Zhao Jun was also shaken a bit, and it felt like looking directly at an electric welding machine, but fortunately he was mentally prepared and adapted quickly.

Su Song waited until everyone was almost there before asking, "Your Majesty, gentlemen, do you want to take another photo?"

"Stop filming, stop filming. My eyes are going blind."

“Then I won’t shoot it.”

"Let me take a picture."

"That was the first group photo in history. The first individual photo should be taken by an official."

Some people want to take pictures, some don’t.

However, the spot was soon given to Zhao Zhen. Naturally, he had to take the first solo photo in history.

Zhao Zhen did not refuse, and sat on the chair and said, "Then I will take the first solo photo."

Everyone dispersed and gave their seat to Zhao Zhen alone.

Soon Su Song took another photo.

The next thing I wanted to do was take a solo photo of myself, as well as a group photo of two or three people.

Zhao Zhen took two pictures and then stopped - the light was indeed dazzling.

He stood up and walked to Zhao Jun. Seeing that he didn't take a solo photo, he asked curiously, "Grandson, why don't you take one?"

“Let them shoot first.”

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "I got tired of filming before, but now they are still enjoying the new things. Let them have their fun. There will be a long time to film in the future."

When Zhao Zhen looked over, he saw that everyone was smiling.

Even those who had said before that they didn't want to take solo photos, after getting used to the flash, all came over and shamelessly asked for another photo.

The warm orange sun shines down, shining on everyone's smiling face.

In a trance, it was like a golden afterglow.

Before I knew it, eighteen years had passed.

The Constitutional Yuan has been replaced several times.

Of the original old people, only Yan Shu and Fan Zhongyan are left.

Lü Yijian, Wang Zeng, Sheng Du, Wang Sui and others passed away one after another and could not see the present Song Dynasty.

The rest of the people are also getting old, and no one knows when they will go to the grave.

The memories of the past came flooding back like a tide.

Lu Yijian's patient and persuasive approach.

Wang Zeng’s earnest teachings.

Shengdu is tireless in teaching.

Wang Sui is tolerant and easy-going.

Their appearances and smiles seem to be vivid in my mind.

Looking around, I saw that the old ministers all had white hair.

Even Zhao Jun had gray hair on his temples and looked a little weathered.

Zhao Zhen felt a little sad for some reason and said softly, "If only time could be like a photo, and could be frozen in this moment forever."

Zhao Jun stood beside him and whispered, "Time cannot be frozen, but history can. History will always remember us, remember our former glory, remember our hard work for the rise of the Song Dynasty, and remember the new look we will bring to the world after our death. That is enough."

"Let's go, let's take a photo together, grandparents and grandchildren."

Zhao Zhen took Zhao Jun's hand.

The two walked in front of the camera, and this time Zhao Zhen did not sit down.

"Crack!"

After changing a plate of photosensitive material, Su Song pressed the shutter again.

In the picture, Zhao Jun and Zhao Zhen both smiled, and they didn't look as serious as they did in the previous photo.

The two men stood side by side, like a pair of brothers.

time.

It stops at this moment.

Don’t know the future.

Where will it go?

(Finish)

(End of this chapter)