There were voices of opposition to this series of unequal treaties within and outside the Japanese government, as they seriously damaged Japan's interests.

But the Japanese high-level officials had no choice, otherwise Zhou Gang, commander of the Song Dynasty's Zhenhai Army, and Ma Mao, commander of the Ninghai Army, could give an order to change the dynasty in Japan.

Moreover, these high-ranking officials had also thought that signing these treaties would mean deeper exchanges with the Song Dynasty. They could find ways to introduce the Song Dynasty's technology and systems to enhance Japan's national strength, and there was a possibility of a turnaround in the future.

Therefore, under this situation, Japan was forced to sign this agreement, known in history as the "Treaty of Heian-kyo."

Late July.

When Zhao Jun returned to Bianliang, the treaty signed by Song and Japan happened to be delivered to him.

After the morning court session on the 20th, Zhao Jun returned to the Constitutional Court.

He actually came back on the afternoon of the 18th, but it happened to be the "Beginning of Autumn". During the Song Dynasty, several of the 24 solar terms required a day off, so he didn't have to go to work on the 19th.

He simply rested at home for a day and only officially attended court today, the 20th, and reported on his inspection of the Yellow River during the morning court session.

As for the matter of Li Yuanhao, he planned to talk about it at the morning meeting of the Constitutional Council and discuss it with Zhao Zhen in the afternoon.

Unexpectedly, there was news from Xiao Rizi as well.

"He's a scoundrel like Xiao Ri. If he's not given a good beating, he'll go crazy. Now that he's been beaten up, he'll be much more obedient."

Zhao Jun looked at the official document just delivered by the Jinzouyuan and said with a smile.

Yan Shu raised his head and said, "It seems that just as Han Long expected, Japan does not have the courage to start a full-scale war with the Song Dynasty."

"They probably want to emulate Goujian's selfless devotion, but unfortunately, this is no longer the Spring and Autumn Period or the Warring States Period. I'm afraid that as they continue to eat, all they'll end up with is bitterness."

Zhao Jun smiled and shook his head.

"Is Hanlong going to support the rebel forces in Japan and weaken Japan's national strength next?"

Fan Zhongyan turned his head and asked.

Zhao Jun laughed and said, "There's nothing much to weaken about their national strength. The main thing is to weaken the authority of their emperor."

"The Emperor's authority?"

Everyone leaned over, not understanding what this meant.

"Yes, they are different from us. Ever since Chen Sheng and Wu Guang started the uprising and issued the question, 'Are there any kings, princes, generals, or ministers of the same species?', there have been countless insurgents challenging the emperor's authority."

Zhao Jun explained, "Japan's dynasty is one dynasty for thousands of years, and the emperor's authority is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Even if there is a rebellion, they will not destroy the emperor and become emperor themselves. At most, they will use the imperial power to become powerful ministers. If the authority of the Japanese emperor is not quelled, then the country will ultimately be difficult to conquer."

"Then we can just send someone to kill their emperor. Why go through so much trouble?"

Someone asked puzzledly.

"Haven't you heard that even if there are only three households in Chu, it will be Chu that will destroy Qin?"

Yan Shu was clever enough to immediately connect the dots and said with a smile, "If a foreign enemy invades and destroys the Emperor, the prestige he holds among the Japanese people will only create resentment and make future rule more difficult. But if they themselves continually challenge the Emperor's authority and ultimately dethrone him, his prestige among the Japanese people will inevitably plummet."

"good."

Zhao Jun gave a thumbs up and said, "Uncle Lari is really awesome, that's what I think."

At this moment, Wang Shouzhong walked in from the gate of the Political Bureau, followed by several eunuchs. He bowed and said, "Minister, ministers, it's been hot recently. The emperor is worried that you will get heatstroke, so he asked me to send you some white jelly."

"Thank the officials for us."

Everyone said hurriedly.

The young eunuch came in and placed the white jelly on the table of each prime minister.

This thing is suitable for people of all ages in later generations. It is recorded in "Dongjing Menghualu". It is made of plant pectin and added with a little ice cubes. It has a cool taste and is a must-have for relieving summer heat.

"What is the official busy with now?"

This bowl of soup was brought to Zhao Jun by Wang Shouzhong himself. He came back very late the day before yesterday and had a rest yesterday. He hadn't seen Zhao Zhen for three months, so he casually asked Wang Shouzhong about it.

Wang Shouzhong laughed and said, "The Minister may not know this yet, but the government is currently experimenting with generating electricity using two steam engines in the Jinshui River."

Everyone knows that there were four canals passing through the city of Bianliang in the Northern Song Dynasty, but few people know that the Jinshui River directly passed through the back garden of the imperial palace and was the only river within the palace.

However, the Jinshui River is close to the wall of the North Palace, behind the Guanjia Palace. There is also a small garden and woods there, which is where the concubines usually play. Therefore, under normal circumstances, they don’t have many opportunities to go to the river.

Hearing that Zhao Zhen was conducting a power generation experiment, Zhao Jun smiled.

Things like the technology tree are actually not difficult as long as you click on them. For example, Tesla invented electromagnetic induction in 1831 and developed the first generator. Fifty years later, Edison used six steam engines to build the world's first power plant.

It looks like it took fifty years, but the principle is actually the same, and no one did it because building a power plant is pointless.

At that time, the only use of electricity was for lighting.

However, even though arc lamps were invented in the early 19th century, the duration of illumination was still very short.

It was not until Edison improved the carbonized bamboo filament lamp, extending the original 400 hours of continuous lighting to 1,200 hours, that electricity became commercially valuable.

Therefore, it was easy for the Song Dynasty to build power plants, but it was very troublesome to manufacture electric lights.

Even though Zhao Jun knew that bamboo filament lamps were not effective and that tungsten filaments should be used for longer-lasting lighting, the electric lighting industry had not been able to develop due to limitations in vacuum technology and another major reason, and power plants naturally had no place to use them.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!