One Piece of Song Dynasty

The reason why Song Huizong was unhappy was because he was disappointed with Tong Guan's northern expedition to recapture Yanjing. He knew very well in his heart that these majestic performances in front of him were just some showmanship, and they were not effective at all. Once they got serious, they would disappear. The imperial court spends a large amount of military expenditures to support such officers and soldiers every year. How can this make him happy?

Song Huizong returned to the Zichen Hall, accepted the congratulations of the ministers, and after the ceremony, the prime minister and other senior officials were given seats. Then, according to the reward convention of "Emperor Shenzong went to Xihe, and Chongning went to Qingtang", he untied a jade belt and rewarded Wang Fu. For Wang Fu, this is a great honor. This shows that as prime minister, Wang Fu's achievements in opening up territory for the Song Dynasty were as famous as Wang Anshi and Cai Jing.

When Tong Guan and Cai You saw that the emperor had given Wang Fu his first contribution, they were jealous and angry, but they did not dare to show it. Tong Guan felt nervous when he thought of the note written by the emperor to him.

Tong Guan reported: "Your Majesty, I have led the army for a whole year and spent a lot of money. However, the Xuanfu Department has been careful in every aspect. Now we have hundreds of large pearls, four thousand taels of gold, rhinoceros, coins, silk and some local products. Then serve it.”

After hearing this, Song Huizong showed a hint of joy on his face and "then he took credit to the temple."

The next day, the seventy-seven-year-old Cai Jing entered the palace after hearing the news and presented a congratulatory form to Song Huizong. Although Cai Jing has retired and is at home, he still pays close attention to changes in the political situation every day. This may be a habit he has had in politics for many years, or maybe he still harbors some kind of political dream.

The original text of the congratulatory note is as follows: The teacher moved for justice and went to the city in Fang; the country came with peace and surrendered without fighting. Lift the entire Yan's homeland, pay homage to the remnants of Di. He wears white clothes and hangs down his hair, cheers and untie his trousers; pots of pulp and mats of food are stuffed and carried on the road. All nations come together to unite, one party is determined, the universe is moving, and temples are exhausted. But there is a state in the north, which is the wilderness of Ji. It is separated from Yu the Great, and there is Yu who often patrols. When Guangdong was founded as a nation, we became enemies of our country. At the beginning, we made an appointment with brothers, respecting our ancestors and grandchildren. We established a good relationship with Jin Zhan and sent a message to them. He was too strong and unruly, and he had a false name for two hundred years; he still had ambitions, and he made sixty-seven works of a more sage king. But in the past, during the Yuanfeng period of Shen Kao, the generals were divided into soldiers, and the people were united to teach martial arts. Review the division formation of the Ninth Army and build a yellow flag to the north. There is no provocation to take advantage of, and there is training. Your Majesty, the Emperor's deeds of emphasizing China's splendor and emphasizing civility and martial arts have become a sweeping force at the time of heaven's demise. The minister Gu Wei has a long tooth, and has been misinformed by his family for a long time. He often passes by the court of poetry and etiquette, and has never heard of the military affairs. Observe it while talking, laughing and drinking, and then give it to the soldiers on the battlefield. Take advantage of the perfect meeting and give them the opportunity to make hundreds of hits. How can it be done by people only if they carry the ax to conquer the mountains, rivers, grass and trees? According to the map of the land, the nobles, women, and subjects will pay tribute to each other if they fulfill their duties. This is the result of His Majesty the Emperor's great virtues, Yu Jun's forefathers, people's expectations and abilities, the help of nature, his unparalleled achievements, and his unparalleled achievements. The kings and ministers of thousands of years meet at the right time; a father and a son become a family of honorable relatives.

Soon, Song Huizong received a memorial from Wang Anzhong, saying that heavy rains had fallen in Yanshan and that the drought had been lifted since last winter solstice and this spring. People all over Yanshan cheered and burned incense to worship in the south to thank the emperor for his kindness.

Good rain knows the season, when spring is here. Song Huizong read the memorial several times, and he seemed to see heavy rain pouring down Yanshan Mountain, and the cracked earth was being moistened by the spring rain.

At this time, Li Xin was reading the secret letter from Gao Ping. What was written in the letter was what happened in Tokyo recently. After reading it, Li Xin said: "The official family has fulfilled the dream of the Zhao family for many years. It’s a pity that what the money bought was just a few empty cities, and they were not complete.”

Liang Hongyu said: "It's better than nothing."

Li Xin waved his hand and said: "That's not what you say. Although it is better than nothing, the imperial court has given the Jin Kingdom a large amount of money and food every year since then. Don't forget that the Nanla Rebellion in the Southeast has just passed, and the Southeast has not recovered yet, and The wealthy households in several prefectures in Yanjing purchased by the imperial court were taken away by the Jin people, and the city defenses were also destroyed. It would cost a lot of money and food to rebuild the city defenses and appease the refugees. Although the imperial court acquired several cities, it was still equivalent to It’s a big burden on my back.”

Liang Hongyu frowned and said, "In that case, the imperial court has suffered a great loss."

Li Xin nodded and said: "Yes, okay, let's not talk about this anymore. I'm going to go out and take a look."

Li Xin walked around Xinghan City. Now the six imperial schools in Xinghan City have started school this year. The first batch of students are hundreds of orphans adopted by the Li family in 1117 and 1118, as well as those from the army. All officials, as well as some outstanding soldiers, after all, Chongwu Academy is equivalent to a military academy, and Li Xin also serves as the teacher of the martial arts academy. After all, there are some things that only Li Xin understands. Although most of them are just talking on paper, being able to talk on paper is better than It's better not to have one.

Li Xin walked to the Craftsman College. The Craftsman College is positioned as the future University of Science and Technology. Li Xin walked around the college and found Zhao Xi, the supervisor of the physics team: "I heard from my sister that your physics team recently Study the steam engine"

Zhao Xi nodded and said: "Chief Commander, yes, we have already begun to prepare to study steam. For this purpose, we also asked the steel workshop to specially manufacture a pneumatic ball, and also made an agreement with the metallurgical group of the machine tool group and the School of Mining At that time, our three groups will work together to trial-produce the steam engine."

The steam ball, the earliest known machine that converts steam into power, was invented by Hero of Alexandria in the first century AD. The steam ball is mainly composed of a hollow ball and a sealed pot filled with water connected together by two hollow tubes. The water heated at the bottom of the pot boils and then turns into water vapor and then enters the ball through the tube. Finally Water vapor will be ejected from both sides of the sphere and cause the sphere to rotate. The steam ball is simply a novelty and has no practical application.

Li Xin nodded and said: "Okay, boiling water is a very profound knowledge. I have also given you the schematic diagram of the steam engine. You should study it carefully and strive to make the steam engine as soon as possible."

Zhao Xi cupped his fists and said, "Yes, Chief of the Mountain."

Li Xin asked again: "Since you plan to cooperate with the machine tool team, what are the results of their machine tool team?"

Zhao Xi replied: "Because of the research on mechanics, we have always cooperated with them. Recently, we have built a lot of hydraulic machinery by the river in the west of the city, such as hydraulic forging hammers, hydraulic drilling machines, and hydraulic sawing machines. Many craftsmen have praised these machines. Juekou, having these hydraulic machines can save a lot of effort."

Li Xin said thoughtfully: "Okay, I understand."

Before entering the steam age, hydraulic power was the only option to improve mechanical efficiency. Of course, wind could also be used, but wind power was not as stable as hydraulic power.