I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 119 Art Director Zhao Ji
...

Genyue Wansui Mountain.

When Zhao Ji looked around, he saw that such a large and good piece of land had been divided into experimental fields and a large number of aesthetically pleasing dilapidated factories had been built. He felt that it was a waste of resources.

"If a garden were built here, with hills and mountains connected, facing east and west, stretching front and back, with mountains on the left and water on the right, a stream behind and ridges on the side, stretching and filling, swallowing the mountains and embracing the valley, with exotic flowers and trees planted in the garden, rare birds and animals raised, and towering pavilions built, a garden of the utmost luxury, what a magnificent sight it would be..."

Zhao Ji closed his eyes, and that extremely beautiful picture appeared in his mind.

But when Zhao Ji opened his eyes, he saw experimental fields and dilapidated factory buildings, with black smoke rising from some places.

'Alas, what a pity for this beautiful place!'

At this time, Liang Shicheng, who had come to meet Zhao Ji, came over and saluted, saying, "Greetings to His Royal Highness Prince Duan."

Zhao Ji quickly returned the greeting: "No need to be so polite, General Manager."

Today, Liang Shicheng is the eunuch appointed by Zhao Ya to welcome and see off guests. Not only does he have great power, but he can also have a say in front of Zhao Ya. How could a mere idle prince like him dare to act so arrogantly?
What's more, it is rumored that Liang Shicheng is the son of Su Shi, the leader of the Shu Party, and has a strong background.

What is more crucial is that because he had competed with Zhao Ya for the throne, Zhao Ji must now behave himself, otherwise he will become the second Zhao Si.

Seeing Zhao Ji so humble and cautious, Liang Shicheng could not help but guess that Zhao Ji must have been frightened by the Zhao Si case not long ago.

Come to think of it, although Zhao Ji cannot be said to be absolutely free now, at least in the city of Bianliang, he can go wherever he wants. He can even visit a brothel from time to time or ask for leave to play polo outside the city. If he were like Zhao Si, he would probably be locked up until he died. What's the difference between him and a pig?
If he suffered the same fate, it would be worse than death for Zhao Ji, who loved freedom.

Thinking that Zhao Ya wanted to employ Zhao Ji and would likely mend their relationship, Liang Shicheng offered Zhao Ji a favor: "The other day, the emperor inspected the glass factory and saw that the craftsmen's wares were unsatisfactory. He said that Your Majesty is the master of this craft. If you were to put Your Majesty in charge, wouldn't you worry about scholars and writers vying for your support? In my opinion, the emperor may be planning to use Your Majesty to manage the arts."

Zhao Ji was overjoyed!

Firstly, Zhao Ji liked literature and art, and letting him do these things was exactly what he wanted.

Secondly, Zhao Ji was unwilling to continue wasting his time like this. If he really had something to do, he would not have studied so hard for so many years in vain.

Third, if Zhao Ya was willing to give Zhao Ji something to do, it meant that Zhao Ya was willing to let Zhao Ji go, which was the most important thing.

Zhao Ji quickly bowed to Liang Shicheng and said, "Thank you, General Manager, for your reminder."

Soon, Zhao Ji followed Liang Shicheng to the industrial base and met Zhao Ya and a large group of Zhao Ya's entourage.

Zhao Ji bowed to Zhao Ya and said, "Your Majesty, I, Zhao Ji, pay my respects to you."

Anyone could see that Zhao Ji behaved very humbly.

Zhao Ya asked Zhao Ji to stand up without any formalities, and then said to him: "Prince Duan has come at the right time. I will take you to see the treasure."

Soon, Zhao Ya brought Zhao Ji to a huge cement production line.

Its main structure was a furnace built of stones, the gaps between the stones sealed with clay. Dozens of ventilation holes of varying sizes dotted the bottom. At the very bottom, burning coal (also known as coal) radiated billowing heat. The top of the furnace was completely open, revealing what was burning inside: stones.

This thing was so strange that Zhao Ji had no idea what it was used for.

But Zhao Ji was very clever. He looked directly at the end of this set of things and found that it actually produced... a pile of lime...

What Zhao Ji didn't expect was that Zhao Ya actually pointed at the pile of lime and said excitedly: "This is the good treasure I told you about."

Zhao Ji was speechless!

He knew that some people would develop strange hobbies after becoming emperors.

I won’t talk about such trivial things as the homosexual habit.

Some emperors liked to pretend to be beggars, set up a slum in the palace, and beg for food with the palace maids and eunuchs in rags every day;
Some emperors liked to pretend to be businessmen and built a market in the palace. Not only did they ask eunuchs and palace maids to perform live, they also let their favorite concubines be managers. Anyone who did not follow the rules would be whipped.

Some emperors liked to be thieves. They would go to prison to worship famous thieves as their teachers, and then go to the homes of their ministers to steal things.

Zhao Ji thought:

"Could Zhao Ya also have some strange hobbies? Like burning stones or playing with lime?"

"Our dynasty has already produced an emperor of heavenly books, so we can't produce another emperor of lime, right?"

"If that is the case, how blind they are to choose Zhao Ya as emperor instead of me, a man who is a hundred times more capable in both civil and military affairs!"

Later, after the explanation of the R&D personnel, Zhao Ji learned that this gray lime was not ordinary lime, but a building material called "cement" that could be used to build houses.

Zhao Ji was not only interested in beautiful things, he was also interested in new things.

After listening to the R&D personnel’s introduction to the magic of cement, Zhao Ji went to see the walls built by the craftsmen with cement and red bricks, as well as the main body of the small factory building cast with concrete and bamboo. He also went to see the concrete production process.

After looking around, Zhao Ji said, "This cement is truly miraculous. If all the houses in the capital were built with this method, why would we be afraid of fire?"

Zhao Ya knew that brick-concrete houses were not as magical as Zhao Ji said, but they were definitely more fire-resistant than wooden houses. If all the houses in Bianliang City were made of bricks and stones, the situation of a large area being burned down should not have occurred.

Zhao Ya asked the cement R&D personnel to tell Zhao Ji: "This cement still has some shortcomings..."

It turned out that the cement that Ma Xiaojiao directed people to make was not the qualified cement of later generations, but the low-quality cement made by people trying to survive in the wilderness.

That is, cement is obtained by burning quicklime from natural limestone and natural clay, mixing quicklime and clay in a ratio of three to one, adding a small amount of water, stirring evenly, and calcining.

This type of cement has low purity, inaccurate proportions, insufficient and uneven firing temperature, and uneven particle size. In short, it has a lot of problems.

The key is that Ma Xiaojiao can't solve these problems. She learned how to make cement because she likes watching survival shows and learned the trick from the masters there. It doesn't mean that she actually knows how to make cement.

All she could do was help get started and then help upgrade the machinery, such as using water power for stirring.

Ma Xiaojiao could do nothing else.

After figuring out the defects of cement at this stage, Zhao Ji couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

It was only then that Zhao Ya told Zhao Ji the reason why he had called him over: "The palace is dilapidated and small, and I want to build a new palace area outside the palace city..."

Zhao Ji had long felt that the current imperial palace was not only old and outdated, but also unattractive. He had long considered building a new palace complex upon becoming emperor. However, he was ultimately defeated by Zhao Ya, rendering Zhao Ji's grand vision useless.

Who would have thought that Zhao Ya now also wanted to build a new palace.

Zhao Ji, who finally had the opportunity to please Zhao Ya, said hurriedly: "I think we can build palaces, pavilions and terraces in the palace, one after another, dig a pool to make a sea, and divert springs to make a lake. We can also set up bronze sculptures of birds and beasts in various poses, plant fine flowers and famous trees, and move strange rocks and rocks to make them extremely wonderful..."

Zhao Ya listened patiently and said, "Very good. However, it is also okay if it does not require the mobilization of troops, nor does it waste people's money and resources..."

Zhao Ya didn't have time to discuss the construction of Yanfu Palace with Zhao Ji. He quickly handed the matter over to the newly appointed Minister of Works Li Jie, the Chief Eunuch Huang Jingchen and Zhao Ji, and let them discuss it themselves.

……

After Zhao Ji, Huang Jingchen, and Li Jie met, Zhao Ji, eager to get this done and clear up the "misunderstanding" between him and Zhao Ya, couldn't wait to ask Li Jie and Huang Jingchen, "How much money is your majesty prepared to spend on the renovation of this palace?"

"One million strings of cash." Huang Jingchen said a number that Zhao Ji could not believe.

You want to build a magnificent and artistic palace with such little money? What a joke!
"Just buying wood is not enough." Li Jie also frowned.

"Didn't the emperor take you two to see cement, sand, red bricks, concrete, and bamboo? The raw materials are all available in the nearby mountains and rivers. You can just ask the soldiers to get them. Why spend money?" Huang Jingchen said.

"Those kinds of things can be built, but they are not strong enough to be used to build palaces. If one of them collapses and injures an important person, our lives will be in danger," said Li Jie.

Li Jie possessed exceptional talent and profound knowledge in the field of architecture. Historically, he engaged in the construction of palace buildings for a long time, overseeing the construction of over ten major projects, including the Five Princes' Residence, the Biyong Palace, the Secretariat, the Longde Palace, the Dihua Residence, the Suzaku Gate, the Jinglong Gate, the Jiucheng Hall, the Kaifeng Prefecture Hall, the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and the Empress Dowager Qinci Buddhist Temple. He possessed extensive practical experience and theoretical knowledge in engineering construction. His compilation, "Yingzao Fashi," systematically standardized and summarized aspects of architectural design, construction, and materials.

It is no exaggeration to say that Li Jie is definitely the top architectural expert of this era.

Therefore, Li Jie said that the building materials produced by Ma Xiaojiao and others were not strong enough and would definitely not be of sufficient use.

"Cement can still be improved. They are currently researching and developing it. As for the rest, we have to see the Shangshu's real talent and knowledge." Huang Jingchen passed the difficult problem to Li Jie.

Zhao Ji felt some sympathy for Li Jie. "Your Majesty wants to build a palace, but you are stingy with the money and forbid disturbing the people. These things are contradictory. How can you have the best of both worlds? Fortunately, I am only responsible for the design and planning. Otherwise, I really don't know what to do."

Huang Jingchen added, "We have this one million on hand. If we can use it, then we don't. If we can save some for the government and still get the job done, the three of us will reward you handsomely."

Zhao Ji and Li Jie were almost going crazy. It was good enough that they could use the mere one million strings of cash, but they even wanted to take back part of it.

Is there any emperor more stingy than Zhao Ya?

……

Zhao Ya actually didn't want to build the Yanfu Palace. He felt that it was unnecessary to waste the money, because if conditions allowed, he wanted to move the capital to Yanjing in the future and establish a system where the emperor guarded the national border and the king died for the country.

But Zhang Chun hinted to Zhao Ya that when building this palace, the craftsmen used a large amount of mercury in the materials to prevent insects and extend the service life of the building.

Mercury is a highly toxic substance that evaporates slowly at room temperature, releasing toxic vapors.

If this steam spread silently to every corner of the palace, it would surely corrode the bodies of everyone in the palace day after day.

If children live in this toxic environment since childhood, their fragile bodies will definitely not be able to resist the invasion of mercury. Over time, they will develop various diseases, become increasingly weak, and even die.

What’s more serious is that mercury can also cause great damage to the reproductive system, making it difficult for people to get pregnant.

Zhao Ya, who wrote several historical novels about the Song Dynasty, had also heard of this incident.

The key point is that in history, Zhao Ji built the Yanfu Palace and moved out. Before the Jingkang Incident, he had five queens, four imperial concubines and twenty-seven imperial concubines. There were as many as 143 women with titles in the harem, and 504 women without titles had been favored by him. And these were only the living ones. If the dead were counted, he should have killed thousands of people. What's more crucial is that many women were favored by him more than once (several women gave birth to more than five children for him).

In the end, before the Jingkang Incident, Zhao Ji had given birth to a total of sixty-six children.

It is said that after Zhao Ji was captured by the Jin people and taken to the northeast, his women gave birth to a total of 19 children for him, of which "six sons and eight daughters" were Zhao Ji's flesh and blood, and the other five women gave birth to the Jin people's children.

This shows how good Zhao Ji's health was.

In order to have a good body like Zhao Ji and to let his children grow up healthily, Zhao Ya planned to follow Zhao Ji's example and build a Yanfu Palace, and then spend most of his time in Yanfu Palace like Zhao Ji.

By the way, the reason why Zhao Ya had this plan was because Wang Chuchu and Guo Wei had given birth to a son for Zhao Ya one after another in the past few days, and Ma Xiaojiao's due date was in the next few days.

By the way, after Zheng Xiansu, Wang Yisu, Guo Ting and Zhang Nan have also become pregnant recently.

If you count, including the ones he gave birth to and the ones he didn't, Zhao Ya had seven children.

At the current rate, it is only a matter of time before Zhao Ya catches up with Zhao Ji or even surpasses him.

……

Because Ma Xiaojiao is a treasure that Zhao Ya absolutely cannot lose.

Moreover, women in later generations are a bit troublesome, as they are more likely to suffer from prenatal depression and other things.

Therefore, in the past two days, whenever he had time, Zhao Ya would personally stay by Ma Xiaojiao's side. He had even arranged a large number of midwives, imperial doctors, eunuchs, and eunuchs to prepare all the necessary items and wait by Ma Xiaojiao's side.

Zhao Ya also specifically instructed Li Lin and Ye Shiyun to stay with Ma Xiaojiao at all times, just in case.

At this moment, Zhao Ya had just returned from Genyue Wansui Mountain and went straight to Ma Xiaojiao's palace.

As soon as they met, Zhao Ya asked with concern: "How is it? Any reaction?"

Ma Xiaojiao ate dried lychees and said heartlessly, "Your Majesty, there's no need to rush. When it's time for him to meet you, he will come out and meet you."

Seeing that Ma Xiaojiao had such a good attitude, Zhao Ya felt relieved and thought that she would not suffer from prenatal depression.

Zhao Ya walked over to Ma Xiaojiao, fed her dried lychees himself, and talked to Zhang Chun and other girls beside him about what they wanted to build in Yanfu Palace.

Soon, a maid came to report: "Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen, Miss Li from the family of the Minister of Rites requests an audience..."

……

(End of this chapter)