The prince is more stable

Chapter 1048 Another Good News
At Zhao Xiaoqian's command, the Imperial City Guard of Bianjing dispatched scouts that very day, heading straight for Zhen Ding Prefecture.

The couple was also settled in the inn and were monitored day and night by the Imperial City Guard's spies.

The sudden visit to claim kinship was too strange. Zhao Xiaoqian had to find out the truth and tell Niaoniao so she could decide whether or not to acknowledge the couple.

That night, Zhao Xiaoqian slept in Niao Niao's bedroom, specifically to soothe her mood.

The next day, before dawn, before Zhao Xiaoqian had even woken up, he heard Zheng Chunhe urgently knocking on the door outside the palace.

Startled awake, Niao Niao recognized Zheng Chunhe's voice outside the hall and hurriedly shook Zhao Xiaoqian awake.

Zhao Xiaoqian was very grumpy when he woke up, and he was furious at being disturbed. He yelled at the palace gate, "Get out!"

Zheng Chunhe's knocking on the door outside the hall paused for a moment, then resumed relentlessly.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Military report from the northwest, eight hundred li away!"

Zhao Xiaoqian, lying on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes, got out of bed in his undergarments, and personally opened the palace door.

"Where's the military report?" Zhao Xiaoqian, now fully awake, reached out to Zheng Chunhe.

Zheng Chunhe hurriedly handed over a memorial sealed with sealing wax.

After Zhao Xiaoqian checked that the sealing wax mark was intact, he opened the memorial. Niao Niao, being very sensible, held up a candlestick and came over.

In the dim light, Zhao Xiaoqian read the memorial word by word for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Good job, Old Zhong!"

"A great victory was achieved at Xingqing Prefecture in the Northwest. Zhong Jianzhong led his troops to annihilate more than 40,000 Liao soldiers. Yelü Chun was unable to withstand the attack and led his remaining troops westward to Xiliang Prefecture..."

"Yelü Chun is desperate, daring to attack Xingqing Prefecture. He probably hasn't learned his lesson from the Song Dynasty's firearms yet," Zhao Xiaoqian sneered.

Zheng Chunhe smiled and said, "This servant congratulates Your Majesty and the great victory of our Song Dynasty army!"

Zhao Xiaoqian read the memorial again, his expression of surprise gradually faded, and his brows suddenly furrowed.

"Our army suffered more than 5,000 casualties in this battle... What happened? Why were the casualties so high? Since I began leading troops in Zhen Ding Prefecture, I have never seen such heavy casualties. The soldiers had firearms in hand, so how could the casualties be so high? Is it a problem with the command of the generals?" Zhao Xiaoqian said coldly.

At the end of his memorial, Zhong Jianzhong also explained the cause of the casualties.

In order to break through from the west, Yelü Chun ordered 80,000 Liao troops to charge, while the Song army on the western defense line numbered less than 20,000. The loading speed of flintlock muskets was ultimately limited, and the Liao army broke through the front line, tore open a gap in the battle formation, and broke through to the west.

Zhao Xiaoqian looked calmly at the memorial, sighed, and said, "Currently, the firearms of the Great Song Dynasty still need to be improved. The firearms we are equipped with now are not enough. It would be great if we could manufacture a breech-loading repeating gun."

This is a very difficult problem to solve. The biggest problem with breech-loading, rapid-fire ammunition is the bullets.

Nowadays, flintlock muskets use paper cartridges, which, to be honest, makes them the most advanced firearms in the world.

Paper-cased bullets first appeared in 19th-century Europe, about 700 years ago.

Zhao Xiaoqian's creation of such powerful firearms is already remarkable. At least in today's world, the Song Dynasty's weaponry is far more advanced than any other.

If the Song Dynasty was still not satisfied and wanted to continue to improve firearms, then the bullets could only be made of modern copper casings, filled with bullets, gunpowder, and primers.

Zhao Xiaoqian understood the manufacturing principle, but the problem was that the current technological level of the Song Dynasty could not keep up, and this thing could only be made with machine tools.

In an era where industrial capacity was essentially equivalent to that of primitive society, the idea of ​​manufacturing standard bullets was simply a pipe dream. How could machine tools possibly be manufactured under the current conditions?

For a nation to progress, its technological level must also gradually catch up. Otherwise, if it rests on its laurels and fails to make progress, the Song Dynasty will sooner or later be coveted and invaded by powerful enemies.

Zhao Xiaoqian is a time traveler, but his strength is limited. For example, the physics and chemistry knowledge required to improve firearms is already quite challenging for someone like Zhao Xiaoqian who only has a smattering of knowledge. With the advancement of technology, he is already finding it difficult to keep up.

A thought involuntarily popped into my mind.

The Song Dynasty should establish an Academy of Sciences.

The Academy of Sciences gathers the world's best talents, but not the kind of bookworms who memorize the classics and spend their lives studying them. Instead, it seeks science and technology talents who study only mathematics, physics, and chemistry and specialize in scientific research.

The Imperial College had a Department of Mathematics and Classics, which could be considered as a science-oriented department. However, the science knowledge they learned was still at the basic level of mathematics, and the textbooks were only the "Mathematical Classic", "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art", and "Dream Pool Essays" written by the contemporary scientist Shen Kuo.

Unfortunately, Shen Kuo, the famous ancient scientist, had already passed away a year before Zhao Xiaoqian traveled to this world. Otherwise, if he were alive today, he would be the perfect candidate to become the president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Shen Kuo is dead, but the science and technology of the Song Dynasty cannot stagnate. We must start now to cultivate a large number of scientific and technological talents, starting with basic disciplines, gradually improving scientific theories, and finally putting them into practice and surpassing them.

From establishing the Academy of Sciences to cultivating science talents, it was an extremely tortuous and lengthy process. Even during Zhao Xiaoqian's lifetime, he might not have been able to see the Academy of Sciences give back to him.

However, it is still very necessary to establish it; it is a great thing that will benefit future generations.

It's too early now, and the matter of improving the flintlock musket can only be put on hold for the time being. Instead of personally improving firearms, Zhao Xiaoqian would be better off writing down the meager basic science knowledge he had from his previous life and compiling it into textbooks to lay a solid foundation for the scientific and technological talents of the Song Dynasty. Hmm, let's put chickens and rabbits in a cage and let the Song Dynasty's science and technology talents count their feet.

There were also crazy pool managers who were filling and draining the pool like lunatics.

Foreman A and foreman B, who cooperate to make money, disregard safety laws, and train drivers who are ruthless and deranged, all while engaging in a deadly confrontation...

These questions are a testament to the love and care shown to the scientific talents of the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Xiaoqian decided to keep the idea of ​​establishing an academy of sciences in his mind for the time being, feeling that it was not yet time to talk about it.

The establishment of the Military Academy not long ago was already unorthodox and shocking, and there are still voices of opposition in the court.

If the Song Dynasty were to establish an Academy of Sciences, the emperor would be going further and further down the path of unorthodoxy. Zhao Xiaoqian was quite certain that those stubborn and conservative old ministers would really kill themselves outside the palace gates.

There are many veteran officials in the court, and for the sake of their health, we should not provoke them any further for the time being.

"Old Zheng, send Zhong Jianzhong's report of victory to the Hall of State Affairs and proclaim it to the world. Let the people be happy. When they are happy, they will drink, visit brothels, and buy cloth to make new clothes. The economy of the Song Dynasty will be stimulated again. What a good thing!" Zhao Xiaoqian said with a smile.

Zhao Xiaoqian paused, then turned his head and saw that the sky outside the palace was still pitch black. His face immediately froze.

This urgent report, delivered from 800 li away, truly shows no regard for my sleep duration or quality. It's like a sudden telephone ring in later generations—an unwelcome guest who arrives without prior notice.

After pursing his lips, Zhao Xiaoqian continued, "Issue an imperial decree to wake up all the old fellows in the Council of State Affairs and convene a court assembly in the Wende Hall."

Zheng Chunhe froze, subconsciously glancing at the sky, and stammered, "Now...now?"

“That’s right, now!” Zhao Xiaoqian emphasized, “If I can’t sleep peacefully, why should those old fogies be able to?”

"When the ruler is worried, the minister is disgraced; when the ruler is disgraced, the minister dies. When the ruler has insomnia, the minister must keep playing music and dancing for him like he's on steroids! I don't care what time it is. It's none of my business if I get a stroke or a blood vessel burst from getting up too early."

Behind him, Niao Niao covered her mouth and laughed silently. Zheng Chunhe's old face twitched, but he still bowed and went to deliver the imperial decree.

…………

At the hour of Yin, around 3 a.m., a group of prime ministers from the Council of State Affairs, dressed in their finest attire, sat in the Wende Hall, drowsy and yawning.

A faint aura of resentment permeated the hall, an aura Zhao Xiaoqian was very familiar with, having experienced it far too often in his past life. The worker, called in by his boss to work overtime, was still in a state of separation between body and soul; his spirit had not yet returned.

Inside the Wende Hall, where resentment filled the air, Zhao Xiaoqian's lips curled into a satisfied smile.

Yes, that’s the taste!
Before me stood rows of resentful and weary old ministers, faces that looked as if they had nearly died suddenly, and this thick aura of resentment, making the Wende Hall resemble the hellish palace.

This is the taste. It's what Zhao Xiaoqian experienced in his previous life. He must let the prime ministers in front of him taste it and see how miserable their great and wise emperor was in his previous life.

Working people are born to be exploited, and even prime ministers are no exception.

Unfortunately, that old fellow Zhang Dun is still recuperating in his mansion; otherwise, he would surely have died from overwork.

"I've summoned you all in the middle of the night; I'm sorry to have troubled you. I'll have the palace servants serve you strong tea to help you stay awake," Zhao Xiaoqian said with a smile.

Cai Jing covered his mouth and yawned quietly, looking over with teary eyes, still wearing a fawning smile.

"Your Majesty is too kind. In one's position, one should fulfill one's duties. Your Majesty has devoted yourself wholeheartedly to the cause of the Great Song Dynasty. We, your subjects, only regret our lack of ability to share Your Majesty's burdens. How could we... Ooh, how could we have any disrespectful intentions in complaining that Your Majesty woke us up?" Cai Jing said while yawning.

The other senior officials secretly rolled their eyes, their disdain flashing across their faces.

This guy is so obvious. He's not even awake yet, his soul is still on its way back to its place, and he's already licking the boots with perfect precision. Is this guy's talent for flattery ingrained in his genes?

Even though Cai Jing was still half asleep, his flattery was as familiar and appropriate as ever, and Zhao Xiaoqian smiled with satisfaction.

He turned his head and gestured to Zheng Chunhe beside him. Zheng Chunhe understood and handed Zhong Jianzhong's memorial to Cai Jing first.

"Please pass this around, everyone. It's an urgent report from Zhong Jianzhong in the Northwest, covering eight hundred li. The royal army has won another great victory, annihilating over 40,000 Liao troops. It's yet another great triumph," Zhao Xiaoqian said with a smile.

After reading the memorial, Cai Jing immediately passed it on to the next person.

After everyone in the hall finished reading the memorial, they all showed speechless expressions, and their gazes toward Zhao Xiaoqian became increasingly resentful.

Why were we woken up in the middle of the night and summoned to the palace just for this?

Nowadays, the Song army's great victories are commonplace. Although the annihilation of 40,000 Liao troops this time is considered quite outstanding among the many victories, is it really worth dragging us old folks out of bed in the middle of the night for a meeting?

Even a prime minister's fate is a fate!

(End of this chapter)