Chapter 321 Let the Bullets Fly for a While (Happy New Year to Everyone!)

On October 24, the fifth year of Qingli, it was already the beginning of winter. The weather had already turned cold. Although it had not snowed yet, it had already formed frost.

However, Bianliang and Kaifeng are still a vibrant scene.

At the end of the morning, that is, at nine o'clock in the morning, Zhao Jun and other prime ministers were at work. They were all looking at the documents submitted by the departments in charge in the past few days.

The door to the house is closed tightly, and the window is only opened a crack. The layout of the house has already undergone new changes, the most intuitive one is the heating table.

This kind of table is an ordinary Eight Immortals table, and a bit like a mahjong table. The difference is that it is made of all steel and has a cover on it, which can be opened to put burning briquettes.

And there is a steel pipe below that connects to the outdoors, allowing carbon monoxide to be discharged outdoors to prevent gas poisoning.

It is not difficult to make this kind of heating table. The difficulty is the briquettes inside. But Zhao Zhen found the formula for briquettes. After the imperial court built a briquettes factory in the suburbs, heating tables and coal stoves gradually became popular.

At this moment, a bunch of old men were sitting around the iron table talking about official business in the past few days.

"This is the internship report of this year's new Jinshi from each college. This one named Feng Jing is worthy of being the number one scholar, and he also passed the third grade. He has performed well in the taxation department and has received high evaluations."

"This guy named Jia An is not bad, but his personality is a bit upright. He was rated second in the rankings. Otherwise, in a normal year, he would have been the top pick."

Otherwise, if our thinking cannot be expanded, there may be a phenomenon where conservatives resist science, regard science as a strange skill, and become immersed in the backward ideas of the past.

"Twenty-one thousand six hundred and forty-two households."

"That's just right. At the end of this year, we will draft a charter document on promoting the construction of private steel plants, cement plants, textile plants, and brick factories, and let the Ministry of Industry and Commerce organize more domestic businessmen to talk about it, and organize important meetings in various places. The city has established a certain industrial system.”

"Let's see."

Lu Yijian raised his head and said.

"Give."

Zhao Jun took it, glanced at it a few times, and said with a smile: "Sure enough, it has to be motivated by profit, so the businessmen will follow suit."

Therefore, the competition in the imperial examinations in the past two years has been very stressful. Many people have heard about this and had to take part in the imperial examinations in advance. For example, Feng Jing was in the eighth year of Qingli in history, and Jia An was in the sixth year of Qingli in history. Now they both took the imperial examination in advance.

Zhao Jun turned to look at Lu Yijian again and said: "Old Lu, how are the official reports from the Censorship Department and Luzhou County in various places? Can they be counted at the end of the year?"

"How many new people have been added?"

"This kind of thing really needs the guidance of the state."

"Well, I'll keep an eye on this."

However, their level is still good enough. They won the first and second place respectively, which obviously did not insult their ability in history.

Only now did they understand Zhao Jun's foresight.

Zhao Jun naturally understood that the imperial court alone would not be able to build an industrial system so quickly, and would also have to rely on the subjective initiative of capital, so this was also part of his plan.

As a result, the built steel plants and cement plants were put to use. Just building official residences, building official dormitories, renovating palaces, etc., used up the entire production capacity of the Bianliang cement plant and steel plant, and at the same time, it also supported several brick-and-mortar businesses. Brickyard.

"Hanlong's move is indeed effective. Construction is going on all over the city now. Rivers and canals are being opened, and new houses are being built. When the businessmen see them, they will naturally come to ask."

"Is this what Han Long said? The imperial court will set an example first, and then those with capital will also follow suit?"

Yan Shu next to him handed the official document to Zhao Jun.

Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and others talked one after another.

Zhao Jun nodded and said with a smile: "Yes, that's how capital is. As long as the rumor comes out next year that the court will purchase large quantities of reinforced concrete to build river embankments and city walls, it won't be long before steel plants, cement plants, and brick and tile factories will It’s everywhere.”

Everyone praised him.

After the factory was built, the court happened to need to build a large number of public housing in order to deal with the rising housing prices, so low-rent houses similar to tube buildings were built one after another.

It also happened that the population of Bianliang increased sharply, the city began to expand outwards, and the suburbs outside the city were gradually included in the urban system, which required a lot of construction.

Confucian scriptures will not teach you the principles of being an official, nor will mathematics and physics. But officials must know everything, and they still need to have basic scientific knowledge.

In recent years, although the imperial examination is still the most valuable official ticket, starting from the next year, he plans to officially start to include certain physics and biological knowledge.

Zhao Jun's hand shook and he almost dropped the official document on the ground.

Zhao Jun buried himself in the official documents and said without raising his head.

There are clay mines, but if you want to make steel and cement, they have to be transported from other places every time, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and you have to build a factory to do anything.

Zhao Jun asked casually while taking it.

"Hanlong, this is the letter from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce today, take a look."

"Houses made of reinforced concrete are still sturdier. Although they are not necessarily beautiful, they are much better than wooden houses in terms of fire protection. If there was a fire in Bianliang, I don't know how many people would die."

"Yes, if I were a businessman, I would also like to ask how to build this house. Businessmen are all profit-seeking, and if new gadgets appear, they will follow suit."

"Ouch."

When the businessmen took a look, the steel and cement plants seemed to be quite profitable, and many big businessmen who were familiar with the officials came to inquire. Including those giants supported by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, they all wanted to get involved.

Zhao Jun thought for a while and said: "For example, places like Chengdu, Guangzhou, Zhejiang, Damingfu, Henanfu, Yingtianfu, etc. Let the Ministry of Natural Resources conduct an on-site inspection to see if there are any places that are close to the canal and have sufficient resources. place."

Yan Shu was responsible for communicating with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, so he nodded to express his understanding.

In the past, they could not understand that there were no suitable iron ore, coal or limestone mines in Bianliang.

"The data in this area are still being compiled, but the population of Gyeonggi Road has been censused. Do you want to take a look?"

"Select the better ones and let them serve as county magistrates at the beginning of next year to see their political performance. Good performance during the internship does not mean that they will perform well at the local level. They still need to hone their skills."

Li Di stopped the paperwork in his hand, turned his head and patted the horse without leaving any trace.

Historical records show that during the Baoyuan reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, the population was 10.17 million households, of which the male population reached 20.5953 million.

Calculated based on an average of five people per household, the total population was about 50 million. By the end of Song Renzong, the population had grown to 12.46 million households, with a male population of 26.42 million.

But this is obviously just an approximate number recorded, because in ancient times it was not only difficult to collect household registration information, but also there were many illegal households who did not want to pay taxes, so this number is basically for reference only, and the actual number is definitely more than that.

The most typical one is that there are far more than five people in a household.

In the Song Dynasty, it was forbidden to separate the family while the parents were still alive. If neither parent passed away or one person was still alive, then the brothers must continue to stay in the household registration book.

Even if several brothers have each married a wife, have children, and have a huge family, even if the family has more than ten or twenty people, as long as their parents are still there, they are still considered one household, rather than being divided into several separate families. small family.

In addition, the statistics on the number of men are also somewhat confusing, because many aspects of the Song Dynasty’s population statistics were based on the number of taxpayers.

In the Song Dynasty, only adult men between the ages of 15 and 60 who paid Ding tax were counted.

At that time, there was no need to pay the Dingkou tax before the age of 15. It was only started after the age of 15, so there was a saying of "15 Chengding" in the Song Dynasty. Since the elderly are considered old at the age of 60, they do not need to pay, and naturally they will not be included in tax statistics.

Even if there is an elderly person over 80 years old in the family, or if the family is over 30 and has no children, or the parents are old and have no one to support them, they can be exempted from Ding tax, so they do not need to be recorded in the tax record.

Therefore, taking everything into account, it is easy to conclude that under these official statistics, there is still a huge population that has not been counted.

In the second year of Qingli, Zhao Jun asked the Ministry of Statistics and the Ministry of Household Affairs to jointly conduct a census. At that time, the court issued new policies, which were more conducive to population growth, so the census results at that time already had 12 million households and a total population of about 7,000. Thousands.

But Zhao Jun never dreamed that after the tenants started to live in their homes this year, more than 20,000 households, or more than 100,000 people, would suddenly appear on Gyeonggi Road alone. If you put this ratio across the country, you’d know how many people would pop up.

"Gyeonggi Road is not big, and the previous population census was only over 1.8 million people. The main population is also concentrated in Bianliang. It is unexpected that there are so many shady households hiding under the emperor's feet."

Zhao Jun sighed with emotion, then looked at everyone and said with a smile: "But this also shows that our Song Dynasty is still very rich in population resources. I predict that after this census, if not 100 million, there will be at least 89 million in the country." ”

"This shows what?"

As he spoke, he put the official document he had just scanned on the desk and said to everyone: "This shows that the Song Dynasty has basically laid the foundation for industrialization. Now everything is ready and we only need Dongfeng. As soon as the money is in place, we can immediately Let’s get started.”

“How long will it take to build trains and ships?”

Lu Yijian asked what he was concerned about. He had always wanted to see a machine that could be driven without human power.

Zhao Jun thought for a while and said, "I should be able to make a model next year."

"What kind of board?"

Wang Zeng also became interested.

"At that time, we can first build a train from Bianliang to Weishi. Kaifeng is well connected in all directions, so you can go anywhere. But there is no canal to the south, and you have to take the land route to Nanyang."

Zhao Jun said with a smile: “If the Beijing-Jinggong train route can be opened, goods from Sichuan, Hunan, and Guangzhou can be transferred to Kaifeng by train in Hubei, without having to first go through the Yangtze River to Zhejiang, and then take the canal from Zhejiang to the northwest to Bianliang. "

"This is to seek for the country."

Everyone nodded.

Now there is the Bianhe River to the west of Kaifeng that connects to the Yellow River, which can communicate with Shaanxi.

The canal in the north has also been dug. Soon, people coming from Hebei to Bianliang will no longer need to go upstream from the Yellow River for a period of time and then take the Bianhe River.

To the east, take the Bianhe River to Damingfu, then go to Huainan, Jiangsu and finally flow into the Yangtze River.

This way it can be circulated in most areas of the country.

The only problem is to go from Sichuan to Bianliang. Logically speaking, the boat should stop in Hubei, and then go north to Kaifeng, which is closer.

However, due to shipping, Sichuan merchants had to go to Zhejiang first, and then go north from the canal to Bianliang, which resulted in a long unnecessary journey.

Therefore, it would be much more convenient to build a railway from Bianliang to Hubei.

The significance and reason why Zhang Zhidong wanted to build the Pinghan Railway in later generations were basically here, which brought great unprecedented prosperity to Wuhan, Zhengzhou and Beiping at that time.

Although the rubber could not be used to mass-produce steam engines after it was transported back, it was no problem to bring back a certain amount of rubber raw materials to build hundreds or thousands of units.

At that time, we will build a small section of rails to try it out, and then we will start building railways with the whole country's strength. I hope that before the old Dengs die, their wishes will be fulfilled.

As the prime ministers were talking, the door outside suddenly opened and a cold wind blew in.

The prime ministers of the Constitutional Court were not always there. Some prime ministers needed to inspect various ministries, and some had to deal with affairs. For example, Lao Fan went to the Ministry of War this morning to ask about the military.

After the door was opened, Lao Fan came in, exhausted, and shouted as soon as he came in: "There is good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"Let's talk about the good news first."

Zhao Jun raised his head and looked at him.

Old Fan raised the official document in his hand and said, "I was just at the Ministry of War. Annan received an official document. Di Qing successfully destroyed Annan in September and supported the descendants of the former Le Dynasty to take the throne."

"Oh?"

Zhao Jun laughed and said, "He set out in March and arrived in Yongzhou in June. He destroyed Annan in September?"

Fan Zhongyan said proudly, "That's my favorite general."

"It has nothing to do with you. He had been listening to me talk about military tactics before. I trained him."

Zhao Jun was not happy.

Which passionate young man in later generations didn't have a dream of fighting with swords and horses and conquering the wolf and the Xu?

But unfortunately, Zhao Jun was in an important position and couldn't lead the troops himself.

Of course.

His military theory only existed in theory.

Although he was familiar with the military books of great men, he was probably very weak in actual operation and didn't dare to go into battle.

But Di Qing was taught by him, so how could Old Fan take the credit?

"What are you saying? What's the point of teaching him military tactics? I have to take him out to fight in order for him to grow up."

"You talk as if you are so great. Yue Fei is about to recover the country. I have told you who the enemy is and how the enemy should fight us, but you haven't destroyed Xixia and Liao."

"You make it sound easy."

"Okay, stop fighting for credit."

Lü Yijian coughed and said, "Let's talk about the bad news."

"Bad news"

Old Fan came over and sat down, threw the official document on the table, put his hand into the iron table to warm himself by the fire and said, "On the way here just now, I saw a new note from the Jinzouyuan. I took it and took a look. Guess what I saw?"

"Can't you finish it all at once?"

Zhao Jun rolled his eyes.

Fan Zhongyan smiled and said, "I saw a memorial from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Road Office, saying that many landlords are colluding and intending to protest the new policy to the court. The Jiangsu and Zhejiang Road Transport Commissioner asked us how to deal with it."

"What can we do? Suppression is enough."

Wang Zeng said indifferently, "Now many young and strong people in the country are attracted, either recruited by the court to repair canals, or to reclaim wasteland and incorporate it into official fields. How many people can a few landlords have? What kind of storm can they cause?"

"Well, I will write a reply later and ask the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Road to send people to suppress it!"

Fan Zhongyan said casually.

Originally, although this matter was bad news, it was really not a big deal.

Uprisings also need various reasons. If the people live a rich and healthy life and have food to eat, who would risk being beheaded to rebel?

So the more productive forces there are and everyone has enough food to eat, the less likely it is that rebellion will occur.

After several years of the Qingli New Deal, productivity has greatly improved. Even if there are disasters across the country, the court has the ability to provide disaster relief in the first place, so as not to cause starvation.

In this case, although these landlords have a lot of food and population, they also need their people to be willing to follow them in rebellion.

However, just when Fan Zhongyan was about to approve the letter and respond like this.

Zhao Jun narrowed his eyes and said lightly: "No!"

"No what?"

Everyone looked at him in confusion.

"Don't send people to suppress it!"

Zhao Jun looked at Lao Fan and said: "I will approve this letter later."

"What do you want to do?"

Lu Yijian smelled the smell and looked at him warily: "Hanlong, are you going to do something big again?"

"What big move can it be?"

Zhao Jun smiled indifferently and said: "I just told the Jiangzhe Road to not care about it."

Don't care about it?

Everyone frowned.

What does this mean?

If you don't care about it, won't the trouble get bigger and bigger?

Wait a minute.

The trouble gets bigger and bigger?

Everyone looked at Zhao Jun, thinking.

Hanlong.

Still as cruel as ever.