Chapter 503: Three Happinesses, the Imperial Seal

In a war, how can anyone not die?

Regardless of whether the Song Dynasty sold firearms to the Western world or not, they would still fight and kill people.

It would be better to let the Song Dynasty sell firearms to them and stimulate scientific development.

And this development does not mean that the West will advance by leaps and bounds.

They did not receive the scientific education system of the Song Dynasty. Even if they had firearms, they were just people from a feudal society who knew how to use firearms like the people of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Therefore, the war was fought by the West, and what really drove it was the technological level of the Song Dynasty.

This is what Zhao Jun has laid out this time.

The simplest point is that so many Western envoys came over. Seeing the current prosperity of the Song Dynasty, they would definitely want to bring advanced seeds back.

Then the arms trade first stimulated the military industry system, and Western orders will continue to be used.

Secondly, the related industrial chains, including various metal products, leather textiles, paper books, pencils and inks, etc., will be greatly developed.

Later it will be spread to other industries.

Just like Emperor Mold didn't participate at all during World War I, World War II only came to an end at a later stage.

Just by making war fortune, Emperor Mold was a second- and third-rate country before World War I, became a first-rate country after World War I, and became a global hegemon after World War II.

Therefore, the official-dominated comprehensive development of basic science in the Song Dynasty was driven by the state in promoting the formation of the industrial chain, and the war in the West would become a catalyst for this series and accelerate its progress.

According to Zhao Jun's estimation, he believes that as long as basic science is promoted in this way, basic science that originally took more than a hundred years to complete may be completed within fifty years, or even thirty years at a faster rate.

The current situation is the best time. In the past ten years or so, the overall administrative construction, economic construction, and industrial layout have been completed.

Just like using materials to build a human body model, after the bones and flesh are constructed, all that is left is to perfect the various internal organs and skin tissues, and refine the facial features and body, so that the model can be considered complete.

The current Song Dynasty belongs to the stage where the skeleton is set up, and then it is time to expand.

Time flies quickly.

The end of the year has come in the blink of an eye.

In early December of the twelfth year of Qingli, after more than three months of rough seas, the envoy finally arrived in Guangzhou.

The news came back, exciting.

In the morning of December 6, good news came from Wu'an Iron and Steel Plant.

In the afternoon, at the regular meeting of the Chongzheng Hall, Zhao Zhen sat high on the throne. On his desk, a notebook that had seen a lot of vicissitudes of life was placed there, next to it was the jade seal of the Song Dynasty.

"After several years of R&D and improvement, Cai Zhi finally came up with an internal combustion engine. It was not easy."

Looking at the notes in his hand, Zhao Zhen was very emotional and said: "Industry is really not that simple. Even if you can point out the direction and have future generations to give guidance, it is still very difficult."

"Cai Zhi gave me the drawings. I looked at the structure inside and said it was not complicated at all. In fact, it uses fuel power to drive a lever to drive the connecting rod to perform a reciprocating stroke. In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was like Mohist Luban. It should be possible.”

Zhao Jun said: "The difficulty lies in the progress of industry. Cai Zhi has been trying to use steam as power before, but the power is very poor, and the lubricating oil is not good, and the brush is not good at cleaning dust and rust. It can work, but it is too easy to break. ”

"It's better that you suggested it, Hanlong. Use pig bristles as brushes, use tung oil squeezed from tung trees as lubricating oil, and use distilled petroleum as fuel instead of steam. Only then can it be truly realized."

Yan Shu said with a smile.

Zhao Jun also laughed: "This thing is really good luck. I once read a post on the Internet about why bristles and tung oil are national strategic reserve resources. After reading it, I realized that their uses are so great, and they can have such great impact on industry. It had a great impact, so I gave Cai Zhi a proper mention. However, the current internal combustion engine is still the first generation of internal combustion engine. With the advancement of industry, it will get better and better in the future. "

"Does that mean I can have a car?"

Zhao Zhen smiled from ear to ear.

"It's not that easy. Cai Zhi has basically perfected the internal combustion engine structure a few years ago. The reason why it is only coming out now is because the ignition device has not been perfected."

Zhao Jun shook his head and said: "I remember that later generations used electric sparks as ignition devices to really perfect the internal combustion engine. This time, it was also the School of Physics that made the ignition device, and it was a rocker ignition. But in addition to the internal combustion engine, a car also has There must be a complete cooling system, fuel supply system and a large number of other devices, otherwise just an internal combustion engine will break down as soon as the temperature is high, which all require a lot of research and improvement. "

"That's it."

Zhao Zhen was a little disappointed. He didn't expect a car to be so complicated.

Seeing his disappointed look, Zhao Jun comforted him: "But don't worry too much. As the power source of a car, the internal combustion engine is the most difficult part. If the internal combustion engine is solved, the rest of the work will be done quickly, and it will only take one or two." Within the year.”

Historically, the French built the first steam-powered car nine years after Britain started the Industrial Revolution. Then a hundred years later, German engineer Karl Benz officially developed a two-stroke experimental engine.

The development history of the internal combustion engine took a full hundred years from its prototype to being actually used in automobiles. Is it really that difficult?

Not really.

During this process, many engineers have been studying it. In a hundred years, no matter how complex the structure of the internal combustion engine is, it has already been thoroughly understood. How to make the working stroke is simple and clear.

The real difficulty lies in what fuel should be used to drive the internal combustion engine.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, engineers have tried to manufacture internal combustion engines with gunpowder, steam, gas and even air as power, but they all failed because they could not last long.

This situation was not until Karl Benz and Daimler built an internal combustion engine fueled by gasoline, and the internal combustion engine really appeared in the world.

So many times, a certain machine is not difficult to manufacture because it is complex.

The difficulty lies in materials and power.

Just like the wooden kite in the Mohist mechanical art recorded in ancient Chinese books such as "Mozi" and "Han Feizi", the conception is also extremely exquisite.

Mozi and Lu Ban have both done it, making wood fly, and even fly for three days and three nights.

But what's the use?

No matter how exquisite the design is, it will eventually be just a decoration without a power source.

Therefore, it is not wrong to say that the essence of human development is to boil water.

The first power to use steam was to boil water, then gas, coal, and then oil.

It can be said that except for electricity, the rest of the power is mainly based on combustion.

So now that the Song Dynasty has solved the power problem of the internal combustion engine, other problems can basically be solved.

The excitement of the internal combustion engine in the room only lasted for a while.

Zhao Zhen was also quite regretful when he learned that he would not see cars in the short term, and then he started talking about other government affairs.

For example, the fiscal revenue in the first half of this year, various data, educational development, and the improvement of agricultural productivity, machinery factories and construction companies in various places have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, and state-owned and private enterprises have gradually risen.

Especially private enterprises.

Official seal enterprises have the foundation of the original officialdom, and with the guidance of the court, they will soon be able to take root and expand their business scope to all parts of the country.

Like all the large steel mills in various routes, almost all of them are state-owned, especially Wu'an Steel Plant, and then the Tangshan Steel Plant that Zhao Jun had previously drawn in Tangshan, two state-owned steel mills directly under the central government.

There are also salt companies, grain and oil companies, shipping companies, construction companies, etc., which almost monopolize the basic manufacturing industries developed by most countries.

Private enterprises have gradually developed in recent years.

The source is Zhao Jun's policy in those days, which forced a large number of landlords to sell their land to the government.

In ancient times, fields were registered, and except for fields, the rest of the land belonged to the court. If you want to reclaim land, you must get the court's consent.

Although the court generally allows, and even encourages people to reclaim land and cultivate land, and gives a lot of tax exemptions.

But by the Song Dynasty, most fertile fields basically had owners, and even if people reclaimed land, they could only reclaim some inferior land, and the quality was very poor.

Therefore, after the landlords who lost their land were forced by the court to hand over the land, it was difficult to reclaim new land or buy land from farmers, so they could only use the money in their hands for other places.

At this time, with the development of the industrial revolution, steam engines gradually became popular, and it became a trend to open factories and invest in manufacturing.

For a time, a large number of brick factories, cement factories, and even small steel processing plants were born.

Landlords who invested in manufacturing bought steel from various steel mills and steam engines, processed the steel in factories, and manufactured farm tools, kitchen utensils, and other parts.

Various iron pots, iron bowls, iron basins, and other daily necessities began to appear widely among the people.

Although iron pot cooking has appeared since the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and cooking has gradually appeared in large numbers during the Tang and Song Dynasties, such as in "Dongjing Menghualu", it has not really been popularized to every household.

It was not until the Ming and Qing Dynasties that productivity reached the peak of the feudal dynasty, and iron pots as household kitchen utensils really entered thousands of households.

So the current situation is that when this kind of utensils are widely popularized, the people of the Song Dynasty are no longer like before, cooking mainly by boiling, frying, steaming, and baking, and now stir-frying has been added.

In the future, when edible oil is sufficient, fried foods may appear.

According to statistics, the edible oil of the people in the Song Dynasty is already relatively abundant, and lard, soybean oil, sesame oil, and peanut oil are all common.

Especially with the popularization of steam engines, the output of pressed soybean oil, sesame oil and peanut oil has increased significantly.

Therefore, the development focus of the court in recent years is still mainly on agriculture, and the output of soybeans, sesame and peanuts has been increased, so that the people can afford to eat and use oil.

Unlike before, they often looked pale because of the lack of oil and water.

"Well."

After listening to the statistical data report for the first half of this year, Zhao Zhen was very satisfied and said: "Now my Song Dynasty is prosperous, and everyone can afford to eat and wear warm clothes. It is really the prosperity of the country."

Yan Shu sighed: "Yes, once upon a time, the people suffered and the people were hungry and cold. These things are still vivid. Who knew that in just over ten years, such earth-shaking changes would happen."

"So I have said long ago that the improvement of productivity is the foundation of national prosperity. You also said before that since sweet potatoes, corn, peanuts and the like cannot be used as staple foods, why spend such a huge price to bring them back from America."

Zhao Jun said with a smile: "Now you know, sweet potatoes, sweet potato vines and corn can all be used as pig feed. Peanuts can be used to extract oil, which are all good things. It indirectly helps increase the production of pork and edible oil, isn't that quite Is it due to the great increase in food supply?”

"Hmm."

Zhao Zhen nodded and said: "Then what should we do next, Dasun, you said before that this kind of productivity can only satisfy four to five billion people at most. When there are more people, we still need to increase crops again. Now I, Dasun, can produce crops every year The population has grown to 150 million.”

During the reign of Jingyou, the census was only over 70 million, and the concealed population was only over 80 million. In just over ten years, the population has grown explosively. At the beginning of this year, the Statistics Department handed over last year's census results.

This sight shocked me.

After more than ten years of the Song Dynasty, the population nearly doubled.

The annual growth rate exceeds 10%.

Although this growth rate is normal, it is even considered slow.

Because of the post-war baby boom in our country, the annual population growth rate averaged more than 20% every year, including 33.5% in 1963.

However, this was in the Song Dynasty.

The medical conditions of later generations in our country have kept pace with the times, and various antibiotics and penicillins have become popular. Deaths and dystocia among pregnant women due to infection have been greatly reduced, so the high birth rate is normal.

On the other hand, the medical conditions in the Song Dynasty were actually far from as good as those in the early days of our country. Even though Zhao Zhen had developed penicillin, the problem of mass production was still not solved.

Therefore, even though the medical conditions were not that good, the Song Dynasty was still able to maintain such a high population growth. It can be seen that in a few decades, it will be a matter of time before the population exceeds 4.5 billion.

This requires planning for the future.

Zhao Jun mused: "This is indeed a problem. The Agricultural College has done research for so long, but hybrid rice has still not been developed, but there is nothing we can do about it. We need the right time, place, and people. We really have to try our luck. Now we can only produce one generation. The other part is the research on chemical fertilizers. Hybrid high-yielding varieties are one of them. The other part is chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The School of Chemistry should work harder. Chemical fertilizers are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. It can be done.”

"Okay, then I will study it when the time comes. It affects the lives of the people of the Song Dynasty, and I can't just sit aside and watch."

Zhao Zhen looked serious. He is also a great chemist now and loves to do chemical experiments. Since fertilizer is a chemical product, it is his academic category.

If he could develop chemical fertilizers, plus the wear-resistant rubber, penicillin, redox theory, periodic table of elements, etc. he had previously developed, I am afraid that he would definitely be well-deserved as the father of chemistry in the future.

"Dong dong dong!"

At this moment, there was a crisp knock on the door.

It was obviously Wang Shouzhong knocking on the door.

Under normal circumstances, the afternoon Chongzheng Hall meeting is not allowed to be interrupted unless something particularly big happens temporarily.

So Zhao Zhen immediately said: "Come in."

Wang Shouzhong pushed the door open and said, "Guan family, urgent report from Guangzhou."

"oh?"

Zhao Zhen asked: "What happened?"

"The envoys from the West have returned, and they said they have brought back a large number of envoys from various countries and the gifts they brought."

Reported by Wang Shouzhong.

"Hahahahahahahaha."

Zhao Zhen was overjoyed and said: "Double happiness has come to us. There is an internal combustion engine in front of us, and now envoys from the West are also here."

"A happy event indeed."

Zhao Jun also smiled.

What Zhao Zhen is concerned about is that this Song Dynasty celebration will shock the whole world.

Let the whole world know the power and greatness of the Song Dynasty.

What he is concerned about is that this celebration will bring huge benefits to the Song Dynasty.

In addition to the arms trade, other trade is also essential.

In this way, the Song Dynasty will get a lot of benefits. Compared with the previous face-saving projects that all nations came to court, benefits are the last word.

However, Wang Shouzhong said: "Guan family, there is one more thing."

"oh?"

Zhao Zhen asked in surprise: "What's the matter?"

"When Luoyang was building a railway a few days ago, workers dug out a black stone in the ground. They didn't pay attention to it at the time and threw it aside."

Wang Shouzhong said: "However, there was a very knowledgeable supervisor in charge of the construction of that section of the railway. He heard that the country was protecting ancient cultural relics. When he saw the workers throwing the stones, he picked them up and looked at them. Unexpectedly, there were incomprehensible words on them. , so it was handed over to the Luoyang Cultural Relics Bureau. After identification, it was found to be Qin Xiaozhuan with eight characters written on it. "

"Eight words?"

Zhao Zhen suddenly realized something and his breathing became rapid: "Which eight characters?"

"If you receive orders from Heaven, you will live a long and prosperous life!"

"Bang!"

Zhao Zhen stood up immediately with his hands on the desk and his eyes wide open.