Chapter 782: Civil and Military Affairs
Zhang Fei still didn't quite understand Zhao Xu's complaints.
Little do people know that there is no big matter in business and no small matter among literati.
No matter what a businessman does, no matter how big the matter is, the rulers can ignore it. He is just a merchant.
But once the literati start to care about it, no matter how small the matter is, it will become a big deal. Zhao Xu was also very scared and had to make up for it quickly, otherwise something bad would happen.
This task naturally fell on Zhang Fei.
Because Zhao Xu didn't know how to do it.
However, there is still a difference between theoretical knowledge and actual inventions in the law, especially since the Copyright Law has been promulgated before and has been written into the "Interim Law".
Without this method, how could Yan Jidao have made so much money for the Dibaoyuan with his stories? It was because in many places, no one dared to use pirated copies.
If the articles written by literati are used for motivational purposes again, it would obviously be inappropriate.
...
...
It can only be reflected in the form of rewards.
Zhang Fei suggested to Zhao Xu that we should create a big prize to fool, oh no, to appease these literati.
Moreover, you have to create a gimmick.
The academic article on state governance is named the Mencius Award.
Naming this award after an ancient saint is quite a gimmick.
The reason why Confucius was not used was that Confucius' status was too high, so Zhang Fei was a little hesitant to use him. However, Mencius' status began to rise sharply during the Song Dynasty, and he was also highly respected by the literati of the Song Dynasty. Both Sima Guang and Wang Anshi respected Mencius.
Because Mencius' thoughts can effectively alleviate the current social contradictions in the Song Dynasty. At the same time, the relationship between the monarch and his subjects emphasized by Mencius is also very consistent with the idea of co-governance of the world.
In Mencius's thought, if the monarch treats his subjects as his own hands and feet, the subjects will treat the monarch as their own confidant; if the monarch treats his subjects as dogs and horses, the subjects will treat the monarch as passers-by; if the monarch treats his subjects as dirt and grass, the subjects will treat the monarch as an enemy.
It is a two-way relationship. Many ministers of the Song Dynasty believed this: If the monarch is unhappy with me, I will not coax you and will go back to my hometown to farm. Who can live without whom?
The establishment of a temple to worship Mencius began in the fourth year of Jingyou in the Northern Song Dynasty (1037).
But he has not been deified yet, so naming him after Mencius will neither offend anyone nor increase his weight.
Since there is an award for literary men, military men naturally cannot be left out, otherwise, something might go wrong again. The key point is that Zhao Xu now attaches great importance to military development.
Therefore, the Taigong Award was established for academic articles on military matters.
This Taigong is Jiang Taigong.
It will be evaluated jointly by scholars from various cabinets.
Evaluated every five years.
Then the emperor personally issued an award - the prize was 10,000 strings of cash.
In short, the cards are good enough.
Once the news came out, it immediately set off a sensation in the literary world.
The literati were ecstatic!
Mencius Award.
Listen to this name!
It’s incredible!
And it is the Grand Secretaries of various cabinets who will make the evaluation.
This professionalism.
Moreover, the selection is only held once every five years, and the imperial examination lasts only three years, which shows how important it is.
With all these added factors, this award immediately became the highest honor hall for writers as soon as it was announced.
emperor?
Even if the emperor didn't issue the decree himself, it wouldn't matter. The emperor knows nothing. He is just a mascot for awarding the prizes.
The literati expressed great satisfaction with this.
One of the factors here is the rise of the Imperial College, which led to the gradual weakening of the imperial examination system. Moreover, the imperial examination system only involved young students, not all literati.
There has never been a stage for intellectuals to compete for the best in the world.
Although there is no best writer, writers love to compete with each other, especially those in the Song Dynasty, because the political environment was relatively tolerant. When Wang Anshi and Su Shi were young, they wrote articles every day, commenting on current affairs and criticizing prime ministers.
This award comes at just the right time.
No one complains about incentives anymore.
Writers are all eager to take action and set this award as their ultimate goal.
Not long after the award was established, the first batch of winners were announced. They were actually chosen by Zhao Xu, namely the twin stars Wang Anshi and Sima Guang.
The scholars of various cabinets did not refute this. After all, the court had been their duo for the past ten years, and the current political landscape was also established by the two of them.
This is all indisputable.
But the award was given to the work, not the person, for the two articles they published in the Mingshi Daily.
One of them is an article published by Wang Anshi regarding his new policy ideas. The main idea is that those who enrich their families can invest in the country, those who enrich their country can invest in the world, and if you want to enrich the world, you should invest in heaven and earth.
No matter what Wang Anshi was thinking at the time, it was almost the same as the trend of national development at that time.
The other article is about Sima Guang's article targeting the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.
The success of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs is even more undisputed.
It absolutely lives up to its reputation.
Zhao Xu was also quite satisfied with this.
But as soon as the news came out, the two of them were immediately scolded like dogs.
Are you worthy?
This is the literati.
There is no best in writing.
They cited articles by Wen Yanbo, Ouyang Xiu, Fu Bi and others. Look, aren’t these more beautiful than those two articles?
What.
Are all the scholars in the cabinet blind?
Or is there something behind this?
Zhao Xu expressed his exhaustion.
What do you want?
Zhang Fei also quickly explained in the newspapers that the criterion for winning the award is creativity. For example, no matter how well or correctly the idea of "rest and recuperation" was written, it would certainly not win the award because it was only a policy, not a theory worthy of study, and there must be sufficient evidence to prove its feasibility.
Don't curse first, understand the rules first.
Three offices.
"Although Zhang San's articles are not very good, they are always original and to the point. Very good!"
Wang Anshi closed the newspaper, smiled and nodded, saying, "This is how the award should be given. Everyone knows what Sima Junshi said before about recuperating. But it doesn't solve the problem at all. This is how the award should be given."
Xue Xiang said: "But those people outside don't care at all, and they even slandered me, saying that the country's prosperity lies in the public security, procuratorate and courts, not because of my husband's new policy.
But the abomination is that they turned around and also cursed Sima Xianggong. I think they were just pure jealousy. "
“This is the nature of literati.”
Wang Anshi laughed and asked, "By the way, is there no one in the court who would defend me?"
Xue Xiang nodded and said, "Of course."
Wang Anshi said: "It is not fashionable to just talk about it now, you have to publish it in an article."
"ah?"
Xue Xiang was stunned for a moment, "Doesn't my husband always not care about these things?"
"I don't care, but the New Deal does." Wang Anshi said: "This award doesn't mean much to me personally, but it is an affirmation of my New Deal philosophy, which is crucial. If we want to continue the New Deal, we must get more people to agree with it."
Xue Xiang nodded in deep agreement.
If it weren't for Wang Anshi's new policies, he wouldn't be where he is today. This concept is very important.
Wang Anshi said again: "No, they are still used to talking, not writing. So, you can send someone to the Imperial Newspaper Institute and ask it to cooperate with the colleges to develop a newspaper for the colleges to publish articles for the teachers and students. Those teachers and students will be very happy. Besides, the Mencius Award also requires this. They must be published before they can be included in the selection."
But as he was talking, he suddenly thought of something and said to Xue Xiang, "I'd better go by myself. You have been busy calculating taxes recently, and you are also very busy. Besides, this article thing is not your forte."
Xue Xiang thought, you don’t have to say the second half of the sentence.
Of course, he didn't have the temper when Wang Anshi said his writing was not good!
But Xue Xiang changed his mind and decided that he also needed to practice his writing skills. He also had his own political ideas and he also wanted to win the Mencius Prize.
Zhang Fei, who was about to go out, just walked out of the door when he met Sima Guang walking towards him.
"Zhang Fei has seen it. Ah! Sima Xueshi, your face..."
Just as he was about to salute, Zhang Fei suddenly noticed some red rashes on Sima Guang's face. He was startled and quickly distanced himself.
Sima Guang was very unhappy and said, "Isn't this all thanks to you?"
"I?"
Zhang Fei pointed at himself in surprise, and then hurriedly explained: "I didn't poison Sima Xueshi."
Sima Guang asked, "Is the Mencius Prize what you wanted?"
"Uh, what does this have to do with Mr. Sima's face?" Zhang Fei asked curiously.
Sima Guang said, "Why did you give me this Mencius Award? You know that the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems were all proposed by you. Isn't this a sincere attempt to embarrass me?"
"But this is different from Sima Xueshi's face..."
"Because of this award, I feel unwell all over. As a result, I have developed this rash in the past two days."
"ah?"
Zhang Fei was stunned when he heard this.
Sima Guang couldn't stand this kind of thing. He refused to be the prime minister when he was asked to do so.
It was such a big deal and pushed him to the forefront, and he became allergic to it.
Zhang Fei was also drunk.
Sima Guang said anxiously: "Before the award is given, you should quickly think of a way to give it to you. I feel unworthy of it."
Zhang Fei was slightly startled, and shook his head: "I'm afraid this won't work. This is granted by the emperor himself, and it can't be changed at will. Besides, I think it's reasonable to grant Sima Xueshi!"
Sima Guang blew his beard and glared, "Don't you feel hypocritical when you say this? Don't you understand what's going on?"
Zhang Fei asked: "But the article was indeed written by you, Sima Xueshi, and everyone knows that the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems were also created by Sima Xueshi. If this is not awarded to Sima Xueshi, who should it be awarded to?"
“You!”
Sima Guang pointed at Zhang Fei.
"I."
Zhang Fei wanted to cry but had no tears. After all, this was not awarded to the law of the legal system, but to the system of public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. At the beginning, he had suggested Sima Guang's judicial reform through Xu Zun. Because he was just a small writer at that time, he was even more inappropriate. Suddenly, he had an idea and said, "In fact, I also want to win this award. How about Sima Xueshi, please help me write an article to brag about mine, so that I can get this award justifiedly."
Sima Guang was overjoyed and nodded, "Okay, okay, I'll help you write it. I'll help you write it."
“But say it well.”
Zhang Fei said: "Mr. Sima must write anonymously, and no one can tell that it is written by Mr. Sima."
Sima Guang nodded repeatedly and said, "Of course I know that."
Zhang Fei said: "Also, Mr. Sima, you can't say that this public security, procuratorial and judicial system was suggested by my father-in-law, or that it was my idea."
Sima Guang asked: "Why is this?"
Zhang Fei said: "Although it was my father-in-law who gave the suggestion to Sima Xueshi, there is no evidence. My father-in-law has not even published an article. It is even more confusing to drag him into this."
Sima Guang asked curiously, "How do you write it?"
"Blur this point." Zhang Fei said: "Mainly emphasize my contribution to the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs."
Sima Guang thought for a while, nodded and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say."
As he was speaking, Long Wu suddenly drove a carriage to the door.
Sima Guang tilted his head and asked, "Are you going out?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "There is something urgent going on at the charity foundation. I have to go over and take a look."
"Just go do your thing! Leave the article to me."
"Master Sima, I really don't seek fame. I am doing this entirely to help Master Sima."
"I know. I appreciate it, too."
Sima Guang even bowed to express his gratitude.
Zhang Fei hurriedly said: "I don't dare! I don't dare!"
I laughed secretly in my heart, this old man is really...
After Sima Guang left, Zhang Fei also hurriedly got on the carriage. Of course, he was not going to the charity foundation, but to see the new firearms with the emperor.
Western suburbs, the headquarters of the Dianqian Division.
Those stationed here are all the emperor's personal troops. If the emperor wants to escape, he will definitely take this group of people with him.
Testing new firearms here means that this is the highest military secret of the Song Dynasty.
After all, the Liao Kingdom’s spies were not just for show, and the Liao Kingdom had always been trying to obtain the Song Dynasty’s gunpowder.
boom!
There was a loud bang.
Zhao Xu, who was sitting on the high platform on the east side, was so scared that he stood up and watched a black shadow draw a beautiful arc in the air, which made his eyes widen like copper bells.
Bang!
There was another loud bang, and a wooden defensive structure three hundred steps away was directly destroyed, and then a thick dust rose from the ground.
After a while, Zhao Xu finally reacted. He looked around and didn't see any large catapults. He couldn't help asking, "What kind of weapon is that?"
"I don't know either."
Zhang Fei scratched his head and thought, didn’t I ask them to invent the musket? How come he invented the cannon? This is really a surprising breakthrough.
The king and his minister immediately hurried over to the open space.
But he was stopped by the guards downstairs, and the captain of the guards told the emperor that if the emperor wanted to come in person, all the gunpowder must be removed.
major!
After waiting for a long time, Zhao Xu and Zhang Fei were finally able to enter the venue.
"That big black egg just now came out from this 'copper mortar'?"
Zhao Xu pointed at the thing on the ground that looked like a mortar but not a mortar, and like a bell but not a bell, and was very surprised, because this thing was much shorter than he expected, and looked quite thick.
It turned out to be a mortar, Zhang Fei said secretly.
He was not surprised by this. Since the musket had already been produced, the principle was the same anyway. It was not impossible to change it to metal with the current technology. The key was the R&D cost and the emperor's attitude.
The craftsmen's idea was very simple. If the container was smaller and stronger, they could hold more gunpowder, which would naturally make the gun more powerful.
So this mortar was made.
Chen Wu, the Junior Supervisor of the Military Equipment Bureau, said: "Your Majesty, the shooting just now was done with this weapon."
Zhao Xu was surprised and said, "Such a small thing has the same power as a catapult. It's really amazing."
In the past, stones were thrown using trebuchets. This was the first time he had seen stones being thrown in this way.
Chen Wu immediately said, "Your Majesty, we can actually make a more powerful firearm that is more powerful than the current catapult."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei secretly frowned and thought, could this guy be hiding some tricks to defraud donations from the charity foundation?
Zhao Xu asked, "Why not do it? Is it because the training ground is too small and the enemy will be attacked?"
"No, that's not it."
Chen Wu hurriedly explained: "It's mainly because it's too expensive, so we can't make it. This firearm alone used more than 500 kilograms of copper."
Zhao Xu gasped, this copper is money!
Chen Wu said again, "To be honest with you, Your Majesty, the biggest drawback of this firearm is that it is too expensive. The copper here was borrowed from the Three Departments. Some people even think that if we take it to the battlefield, it might be stolen by the soldiers."
This is absolutely possible. If I steal this piece of copper, I will be rich! Zhang Fei asked, "Can't we use iron?"
Zhao Xu nodded repeatedly.
Chen Wu replied, "Prosecutor Zhang, don't underestimate this firearm. It may seem simple, but it was developed by more than 20 of the best bell-casting craftsmen in the capital. The process is very complicated. We have also tried to use iron casting, but the effect was not good and it is very likely to explode.
We are thinking of trying copper first to see if this firearm is feasible. If Your Majesty thinks it is feasible, we will then try to cast it with iron."
To produce this kind of weapon, casting is definitely still the way to go, because the Song Dynasty is a country that casts copper coins, and the copper casting technology is relatively mature. If forging is used, many technological breakthroughs will need to be made before it can be completed.
If it's iron, it won't work for now.
Zhao Xu nodded repeatedly after hearing this. "Of course this is feasible. It is much more convenient than a catapult and requires less manpower. Two or three people can complete it."
Chen Wu added: "In addition, we have also developed a copper firearm."
"Yeah?"
Zhao Xu hurriedly said, "Bring it up quickly and let us have a look."
But a soldier came up with a one-meter-long firearm, which was probably half copper and half wood. The caliber was about the same as the bamboo tube before. It was then tightened with an iron hoop and leather, and there was a circle of spikes on the iron hoop.
Zhao Xu did not show much surprise about this weapon. It was similar to the one he saw last time, except that the bamboo tube was replaced with a copper tube and became longer.
Zhang Fei suddenly said, "Chen Shaojian, I remember I gave you some suggestions to change the wooden part into a hand rest that is convenient for shooting. Why do you just stick to this handle?"
Chen Wudao: "We have tried Prosecutor Zhang's suggestion, but if we only want to make it easier to shoot, it will not be convenient to kill the enemy at close range. For this reason, we also have spikes on the iron hoop, which is used to kill the enemy at close range."
Yes! This has to be used as a mace! Zhang Fei nodded, "That's true."
At present, it is absolutely impossible to rely solely on musketeers to keep the cavalry away.
After Zhao Xu and Zhang Fei retreated far away, they saw a team of soldiers coming up, about 100 people, divided into 25 groups of four. There were 25 soldiers holding huge shields in front, but there was a gap on the huge shield. The other three people, one was responsible for loading, one was responsible for ignition, and one was responsible for shooting. One end of the firearm was placed on the gap on the huge shield, and the other end was carried on the shoulder. The soldiers standing next to them immediately stepped forward to ignite the fire.
After seeing this, Zhao Xu asked Chen Wu, "It's just a demonstration of firearms, why do you need so many people?"
Chen Wu said: "Your Majesty, this kind of firearm can only show its power when it is fired in unison."
Zhao Xu nodded.
After a series of uncoordinated explosions, the air was suddenly filled with smoke and confusion, and one could see that the dummy about fifty steps away had been shot into a sieve.
For this type of firearm, they used gravel and iron filings as ammunition, unlike the small cannon just now, which used stone bullets.
Zhao Xu went forward to inspect the results in person, and found that it was indeed much more powerful than the bamboo tube last time. Combined with the bronze cannon just now, he agreed more with Zhang Fei's previous statement.
At present, although it seems inferior to bows and arrows, the prospects of firearms are unlimited and their power can be continuously enhanced, but bows and arrows have reached a critical point.
"This firearm is good, but it's a little too expensive."
Zhao Xu sighed: "It would be even better if it could be replaced with iron."
This copper is really too expensive, and it has to be used for coinage. The Song Dynasty could not afford it at all, and it was impossible to produce it on a large scale.
Chen Wu immediately said: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will work hard to develop the artillery."
Zhao Xu smiled and nodded, then looked at Zhang Fei and said, "Zhang San, Chen Shaojian and his team developed such a powerful firearm, should your charity foundation donate more?"
Zhang Fei nodded quickly and said, "The charity foundation will double its donation to the Military Equipment Bureau next year. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Zhao Xu pondered for a moment and said, "It's still a little short, but let's leave it at that for now. I'll donate more next time."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Yes."
Is this not enough? Then should we donate twice as much next time?
Chen Wu was ecstatic and full of motivation after hearing this!
You should know that only a small part of the donations from charitable foundations is used to cover research and development expenses, and most of them are bonuses given to officials and craftsmen, and the main raw materials are still provided by the court.
Without the support of those bonuses, how could those craftsmen rack their brains every day to think about developing firearms.
It is said that only when there is a great reward will there be brave men.
While Zhao Xu was leaving first, Zhang Fei whispered, "Chen Shaojian, tell me honestly, is this really the best option? Or are you guys holding back and planning to ask for more donations from the charity foundation?"
Chen Wu hurriedly said, "What Prosecutor Zhang said is true. Even if we dare to lie to you, we dare not lie to Your Majesty. This is a crime of deceiving the emperor."
"Yeah?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I regret teaching you this trick now. If you double the money at any time, even the charity foundation can't handle it."
Chen Wu chuckled and said, "Prosecutor Zhang is too modest. Does the charity fund still need this little money?"
"I knew it. I knew it."
Zhang Fei pointed at Chen Wu and said, "You must be watching."
Chen Wu just laughed.
Afterwards, Zhang Fei and Zhao Xu came to the attic of the royal garden, where wine and food had been prepared.
After inspecting the new firearms, Zhao Xu was very happy. He drank several cups with Zhang Fei before he was willing to stop.
Zhang Fei said: "Your Majesty, if you can make a more powerful firearm, you must make it even if it is made of copper!"
He knew that if he wanted to change to iron, he would have to develop metallurgy, which was a long way to go. However, given the current situation, he might not be able to wait that long.
Zhao Xu nodded and said, "I know that, but the court does not have that much copper, and that copper has to be used for minting coins."
Zhang Fei thought for a while and said, "Now that tax money is deeply rooted in people's hearts, although the Legislative Council requires the use of deposited copper as capital, the Legislative Council has not stipulated in what form the copper should be stored. If it is cast into firearms and placed there, it is still copper!"
Zhao Xu nodded and said, "So what do you mean?"
Zhang Fei said: "On the one hand, we will study iron for future firearms, and now we will have them speed up the development of mature firearms, and then release the production to prepare for this emergency. In addition, we can also secretly purchase copperware for firearm manufacturing."
Zhao Xu thought for a while, then nodded and said, "That's it. I'll also think about how powerful this final firearm is."
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