Although he was a military officer, Xia Song had also switched from military service to a civil service position. Given Zhao Jun's power, if he could do his job well, he might even be able to become a civil official in the future.
Thinking of this, Song Cai bowed repeatedly and said excitedly: "I will definitely not let the governor down."
"Um."
Zhao Jun smiled and said, "When you go to another country, the most important thing is your own safety. Everything should be based on gathering information. Don't put yourself in danger."
"Yes, yes, yes."
"Go ahead."
"Thank you, Master Zhi."
Song Cai happily took a few steps back, stood respectfully aside, and watched the carriage leave.
The carriage started slowly and headed towards the outer city.
In the car, Zhao Jun started reading the booklet given by Song Cai.
He had some time at noon today, so he planned to go to the outer city's former Guangbei Siege Bureau, now the Firearms Bureau.
Zeng Gongliang's mourning period ended and he was transferred back to the court. He now serves as the acting director of the Firearms Department, specifically responsible for the research and development of firearms equipment.
Zhao Jun went there to point out the research and development direction for him, and also to see the development of firearms in the Song Dynasty.
Unexpectedly, he met Song Cai again on the road, and she gave him a big gift.
At present, Zhao Jun has established a firm foothold in Bianliang.
They eliminated a large number of evil forces such as Wuyou Cave and Guifan Tower, and swept away corrupt officials in Kaifeng Prefecture. The court also brought down two big tigers at the vice-prime minister level, Han Yi and Liu Yuanyu.
Many other people from the Imperial Censors, the Three Yamen, the Three Departments, the Six Ministries, and the Privy Council were also arrested. The prime ministers' families, such as the Han family and the Ma family, were also destroyed. It can be said that a lot of big things were done.
He has a lot of supporters in the officialdom. Basically, no matter how much the opposition cheers, they can't do anything to him. Zhao Jun's position as the chancellor is as stable as a rock.
But doing these things only makes Bianliang a better place.
Today, the entire Song Dynasty is still in a precarious stage. Land annexation is serious in various places and the people are living in dire straits. If you only look at the romance in Bianliang, you must not forget the people all over the world.
Therefore, he planned to leave Beijing next year, based on the principle of seeking truth from facts, to visit various places to inspect the situation, conduct research at the grassroots level, and find problems in various parts of the Song Dynasty.
It just so happens that next year Fan Zhongyan will also go to the northwest, and Song Cai will go to Japan, so the three lines will run parallel.
Zhao Jun will handle local land annexation issues in various parts of the Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan will handle national defense issues in the northwest, and Song Cai will look for foreign exchange issues in Japan. The efforts in these three directions may bring unexpected results.
The carriage moved forward slowly, crossed the Cai River, and arrived at West Street. Near the west side of Yanzhen Temple, there was a large courtyard covering a vast area. It was surrounded by walls and was larger than a market town.
This is the East Workshop and Wanquan Workshop of Bianliang, which houses the Armoury Department, the Imperial Armoury Department, the Armoury Manufacturing Department and the Capital Workshop, etc. It is the place where military equipment is manufactured. Di Qing's later residence is nearby. Opposite the West Jiaofang to the west, it was the home of Empress Wencheng Zhang in history.
After arriving at the East Workshop, the carriage with a sign of the Political System Bureau hanging on it allowed them to enter without any obstruction. When they arrived at the former Guangbei Siege Bureau, which has now been renamed the Firearms Bureau, Zeng Gongliang had already received the news and went out to greet them.
"Your humble servant Zeng Gongliang greets the prefect."
Zhao Jun got off the carriage, and Zeng Gongliang, dressed in a red robe, stepped forward and bowed.
Before he went into mourning, Zeng Gongliang was only a seventh-rank secretary. Although his career was slow, he had a relatively long career. He was a Jinshi in the second year of Tiansheng, and was in the same class as Song Xiang.
Song Xiang was already a fourth-rank Right Counselor and held an important position in the Censorate, while Zeng Gongliang, who was on the same list, was still struggling at the seventh or eighth rank.
After Zeng Gongliang was recalled to Beijing this time, Cai Qi promoted him to be the Chief Secretary of the Political System and Director of the Firearms Department.
The Director of the Firearms Department was an errand boy, while the Chief of Political System was a salaried official, a subordinate of the Political System Council, and of the fifth rank.
Now Zeng Gongliang also put on the crimson robe.
Zhao Jun looked him up and down. He was a middle-aged man in his forties with an elegant appearance. He nodded and said, "I have heard of Mr. Mingzhong's great name. I heard that you have a wide range of knowledge and are good at military equipment."
Zeng Gongliang laughed and said, "I've read a lot of miscellaneous books before, but I never thought that because of this, the court would let me take charge of the Firearms Bureau."
At this time, it was still three years before he and Tintoretto co-authored "Wujing Zongyao", but before that, Zeng Gongliang had accumulated a lot of knowledge about military equipment, which enabled him to write that famous military work.
Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Firearms are the future direction of weapon development. The Song Dynasty must move forward in this direction. The Firearms Department must develop better firearms."
"yes."
Zeng Gongliang nodded and extended his hand, saying, "Please come in and take a look."
Zhao Jun followed him into the Firearms Department.
As I walked in, a strong smell of saltpeter hit me in the face, but the yard was very clean and there was no debris.
Walking through the hall and courtyard in the front and arriving at the workshop in the back, you can see a large number of craftsmen making firearms in various wooden houses and sheds.
There are various medicines and minerals in it. The craftsmen obtain what they want through burning, hammering, distillation, etc., and then mix these things together, pack them up, and turn them into a small ball.
Zeng Gongliang introduced them one by one: "Master, this is a fireball, this is a smokeball, this is an iron-billed fire kite, and this is a bamboo fire kite."
He listed more than a dozen types of firearms in one breath, all of which were recorded in "Wujing Zongyao", but there was no musket or cannon, because these two things were invented in the Southern Song Dynasty, one during the reign of Song Xiaozong and the other during the reign of Song Lizong.
Moreover, the power of arquebuses and cannons was not great, especially arquebuses, which were made of bamboo and were basically disposable items. Compared with the matchlock guns of the Ming and Qing dynasties, they were backward products.
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