The Eighth Prince suffered a heavy loss from Liu Zhiliang in the Tianbo Yang Mansion, but the affairs of the Liao Kingdom still had to be dealt with. None of the generals of the Song Dynasty were really any match for the generals of the Liao Kingdom. The current emperor Zhao Heng had just succeeded to the throne and appointed Likeng was the prime minister, and he was considered a capable minister. He was diligent in political affairs and divided the Song Dynasty into fifteen roads. Envoys from each road came to Beijing in turn to report on their duties and exempted them from the tax arrears of the Five Dynasties. However, unlike the battle-hardened Taizu and Taizong, Zhao Heng, who had lived in a deep palace since childhood, had a cowardly character and lacked the determination and courage to pioneer and innovate. In his view, he insisted on adhering to Huang Lao's inaction thought that Taizong admired in his later years and continued to maintain his legacy. situation is the best choice. After the Song and Liao Dynasties signed the Chanyuan Alliance, Zhenzong did nothing politically. Instead, he devoted himself to the affairs of worship, whitewashed peace, built palaces and temples, wasted people and money, and made the "internal and external troubles" of the Song Dynasty increasingly serious.
The Eighth Prince came to the court early the next day. In the morning, the Eighth Prince told Emperor Zhenzong about what happened in the Yang family. At this time, the court suddenly became chaotic. Wang Qinruo and Ding Wei shouted, saying that this was going to happen. Rebellion? He clearly doesn't take the court seriously, and now Wang Qinruo is also the deputy prime minister. How could such a literati put such a humble person in his eyes?
Wang Qinruo, whose courtesy name was Dingguo, was a member of the Linjiang Army. His father, Wang Zhonghua, accompanied his grandfather Wang Yu to serve as an official in Ezhou. When the water in the Yangtze River surged, he moved to the Yellow Crane Tower. People in Hanyang saw that there seemed to be light on the Yellow Crane Tower. That night, Wang Qinruo was born. Wang Qinruo lost his father in his early years, and Wang Yu loved him very much.
When Taizong conquered Taiyuan, Wang Qinruo was only eighteen years old. He wrote "Ping Jin Fu Lun" and presented it to Taizong's camp. Wang Yu was appointed as a judge in Haozhou, and when he was about to die, he told his family: "I have been an official for more than fifty years, and I am very cautious in the use of punishment, so that many people can survive. In the future, there will be someone who will greatly rejuvenate my family, probably my grandson!"
Wang Qinruo was selected as Jinshi Jiake, appointed as Bozhou defense promotion officer, promoted to secretary and provincial secretarylang, and supervised Luzhou tax. He was changed to Taichang Cheng, judged the third manager and owed Pingyousi. At that time, Wu Bingu was appointed as the magistrate of Duzhi. He once said: "The people of the world have defaulted on tax arrears. From the Five Dynasties to the present, the payment has never stopped. The people are hungry and suffering unbearable. I want to report to the emperor to reduce it." Wang Qinruo ordered the officials to Check and verify the number in the evening, and report it to the emperor the next day. Zhenzong was shocked and said: "The late emperor didn't know?" Wang Qinruo said slowly: "Of course the late emperor knew, probably he left it to the emperor to win over the people." That day, he ordered to reduce the taxes owed by the people by more than 10 million, and released more than 3,000 prisoners. . Zhenzong paid more attention to Wang Qinruo, summoned him to the Bachelor's Academy, taught you Zhengyan, knew how to make imperial edicts, and called him a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy.
The bandits Wang Jun in Shu had just been put down, and Wang Qinruo was appointed as the pacifier of Xichuan. Wherever he went, he questioned prisoners and reduced their sentences in order from those with capital crimes to those with capital crimes. He listed things that were beneficial to the country and suitable for the time, and most of them were implemented. When Wang Qinruo returned to the court, he was appointed Zuo Jianyi, a senior official, and an official in charge of political affairs. Due to the kindness of the Suburban Sacrifice, he was also appointed to Shizhong.
In the early years of Jingde, the Khitan invaded, and the Zhenzong personally conquered Chanyuan. Wang Qinruo himself requested to go north, to serve as Minister of the Ministry of Works, to be a counselor in political affairs, to judge the Tianxiong Army, and to promote the Hebei Transportation Department. Zhenzong personally hosted a banquet to see him off. Wang Qinruo had always been at odds with Kou Zhun. When he returned to the court, he expressed his willingness to be relieved and participate in political affairs many times, and he was relieved of his duties as minister of the Ministry of punishment and bachelor of Zizheng palace.
Soon after, he judged Shangdu Province and compiled "Cefu Yuangui". There were praises and praises. Wang Qinruo wrote his name at the top of the memorial to express his gratitude to the emperor. When there were mistakes and accusations, Wang Qinruo warned the scribes to ask him. It is only said that it was done by people below Yang Yi, and most of what he did was like this. In the middle of the year, he was appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of War, and was promoted to a bachelor's degree.
At first, when Wang Qinruo was dismissed from office, Zhenzong favored him by setting up the post of Bachelor of Zizheng Palace for him, and Kou Zhun set his rank below that of Hanlin Bachelor. Wang Qinruo complained to Zhenzong, and Zhenzong added the word "da" to him as a bachelor, and his rank was above Chengzhi. Wang Qinruo also informed the privy council affairs of Zuo Cheng, the minister, and compiled the history of the country.
At this time, the Eighth Prince said to Emperor Zhao Heng, "Guan family, I think we should send people to Cangzhou to have a look first. From Cangzhou to the Tianjing New City that Liu Zhiliang mentioned, Liu Zhiliang was talking about It's not true. Besides, we don't want to take things seriously. It's better to send people to Zhengzhou to find Yang Liulang so we can make plans. They said they have a way to deal with the Khitan cavalry, so does seeing it mean believing it? In this case, I will go there myself. Once I go there, the imperial court will send someone to go with me, and I will go back to Yang’s house to call Mrs. She over, so that it will be much easier for us."
Emperor Zhenzong, Zhao Heng, who had lived in a deep palace since childhood, had a relatively weak character and lacked the determination and courage to pioneer and innovate. In his opinion, adhering to Huang Lao's inaction thought advocated by Taizong in his later years and continuing to maintain the established situation was the best choice. It was right to think about this, so Wang Qinruo and Kou Zhun went to Tianjing New City with the Eighth Prince. By the way, they asked the old lady to go with them, and sent Jiao Zan to Zhengzhou to find Yang Liulang and return to Bianjing.
The Eighth Prince's real idea was not to create a new enemy for the Song Dynasty. Zhenzong ascended the throne and was awarded the title of Taibao of the school, General Zuowei, and the title of Cao Guogong. Next year, he will serve as Ping Haijun's envoy, pay homage to Tong Zhongshu's disciple Ping Zhangshi, become the Grand Tutor of the School, and be granted the title of Prince of Guangling County. He was granted the title of Taishan, changed to the military governor of Zhaowu and Ande, and promoted to the title of King Rong; he worshiped Fenyin, and he was also a minister in the middle; he was changed to the town of Anjing and Wuxin, and he was a captain of the inspection school; he was enshrined in the Taiqing Palace, and he was also the official of Zhongshu Ling. Sitting in the maid's seat, he set fire to Yanzhen, seized the Wuxin Festival, surrendered to the Feng Duan King, and left to live in Shibaojidi, the former Prince Consort Du Wei. Every time I see the emperor, I feel pain, but the emperor pities him. Xunjia Zhenhai and Anhua Army were envoys, granted the title of King Peng, and became Taibao. Renzong was the prince and the imperial tutor. Li Henghai Yongqing Baoping Dingguo Jiedu, the governor of Shaanxi Province, changed to the king of Tong and the king of Jing.
After going to court, Kou Zhun came to the Eighth Prince's official residence and said to the Eighth Prince, "Your Majesty, if there is anything you haven't said to me in court this morning, I could see it early and tell me." The Eighth Prince was still thinking about it at this time. Liu Zhiliang's words yesterday made me angry, but the Eighth Prince was really thinking about the Song Dynasty court, and he could endure such great grievances. At this time, he happened to have someone to talk to, and the Eighth Prince poured out yesterday's story What Liu Zhiliang said in Tianbo Yang Mansion was repeated to Kou Zhun. The Eighth Prince said, "The court still made a mistake regarding the Yang family, but what they didn't expect was that Lin Qing'er ran away from home and became a monk in the mountains. Yang Qilang's incident broke Lin Qing'er's heart. Now people's request is to kill the nine Pan family members and leave no chickens or dogs alive. If it is true as Liu Zhiliang said, then the Pan family may be the beginning of the demise of the Song Dynasty."
Kou Zhun said, "Let's take it and take a look first. But if their salt processing and casting skills are so good, it shows that these people are not simple. Also, if they built a new city without anyone's help in just two years, It shows that this group of people has the talent to change the world. We will think of a way with the officials after we come back. Tomorrow I will go to Tianbo Yang Mansion with you to ask Mrs. She to go to Cangzhou with us."
Yang Peng was excited there when Zha Yunke, the boss of Yuan Xingxing, came up and said, "What a big deal, Lord City Lord!" Yang Peng smiled and said, "Master Zha bought two sets of wine sets, and he can also make a lot of money. Right!" Zha Yunke said: "The hard-earned money I spent on these two sets of glass is really thin compared with the profits of the city lord! They say that there are eight major merchants in Bianjing. I think it should have been changed to nine major merchants! "
Yang Peng knew that Cha Yunke was in the overseas business and made a lot of profits in a year. The profit from selling two sets of glass wine sets was not a big deal for him. Thinking of sea ships, Yang Peng asked casually: "Master Zha made a lot of money by going to sea. Did Master Zha build his own ship?"
Seeing Yang Peng asking about it, Zha Yunke thought for a while and said, "To be honest with the city lord, I hired a shipbuilder to build my ship myself. When the city lord asked this, did he also want to do this sea business?" The Song Dynasty lifted the sea ban, but There is no limit on the number of ships that can sail to the sea. Only merchants who have received a "ship pilot" from the Municipal Shipping Department can set out from Fujian Yuegang to sail to the sea. There are only more than a hundred copies of this ship's quotation every year, and they are all collected by some of the most well-connected businessmen. There are many maritime merchants who want to go to sea but do not have connections with shipping companies, so they can only smuggle.
However, smuggling ships are officially regarded as pirates and cannot operate without local connections. Cha Yunke is the nephew of Bing Bei Dao, and Bing Bei Dao is in charge of coastal defense matters in Dengzhou. This allows Cha Yunke to sail into the sea from Dengzhou with confidence. Yang Peng only cares about Tianjing New City. It is currently impossible to do this kind of transaction. Yang Peng also asked casually.
Yang Peng smiled and said: "If I want to build a ship in the future, I will ask Mr. Zha to introduce a shipbuilder!" Zha Yunke looked at Yang Peng, smiled arrogantly, and said carelessly: "It is easy for the city lord to build a ship, if you can You can't go to the sea. Things on the sea are not that easy. However, if the city lord wants to build a ship, just come to me."
After making a lot of money from the glass business, Yang Peng set up a medical examination tent in Tianjing New City to recruit troops. This time, Yang Peng wants to recruit another 5,000 new soldiers. Yang Peng understood that having soldiers was the most important thing in these troubled times. With strong soldiers and horses, the governor, the commander-in-chief and even the prime minister will respect you. Although killing all the Khitans cannot be included in the bag and must be divided among other high-ranking military officers, it is still possible to gradually rise through the ranks with military exploits. Besides, I am facing two countries here. One is the Liao Kingdom and the other is the Song Dynasty. Fortunately, the Liao Kingdom can say that the Song Dynasty is its biggest enemy, because the people still recognize the Song Dynasty as the emperor.
Although Zhang Xiang and Zhao Jinxi currently do not agree with Yang Peng's ideas, they feel that he is using money to build a strong army, which is too wasteful. But these people don't know that Yang Peng, as a manager of the tens of thousands of people in the new city, has more to think about. Making money is not too difficult, and losing money is not a stupid thing. As long as he has more and more soldiers in his hands, as long as he slowly improves his status between the two countries, Yang Peng will have real strength, be able to protect his own industry, and make more money.
And speaking of it, Tianjing is a dangerous place, and the Khitans are prone to come in and plunder. Once a city is captured by the Khitans, there is often a bloodbath. Tianjing is located on the east side of Yingzhou, so it is naturally not a safe place. From the perspective of self-protection, Yang Peng must also quickly train more powerful soldiers and horses. Yang Peng's soldiers and horses were treated well, and the first batch of 2,000 soldiers had already gone to a well-off society. This was something that residents dozens of miles around knew. As soon as the second batch of recruitment notices went out, tens of thousands of people flocked to Tianjing New City to apply. They hoped to join the team that selected Yang Peng and become soldiers with three to two months' salary and three meals of meat.
Physical examinations and interviews were carried out step by step. In the first year of Xianping, Yang Peng recruited five thousand soldiers before the year had passed. The new five thousand soldiers formed a new regiment, called the Polu Regiment, and the regiment leader was Duan Zhixian, who was rescued by Yang Peng for the first time. Yang Peng selected outstanding officers and soldiers from the Selection Regiment to serve as officers in the Polu Regiment, and established an organizational framework.
Fang Laosan is a new soldier in the Polu Regiment. He was originally a son of a common family in Fangjia Village in the west of Cangzhou. A few days ago, he heard from someone who was a scholar in the village that a notice was posted in the town saying that Tianjing New City was recruiting soldiers. Soldiers in Tianjing New City, what a coveted job it is. I once heard a well-informed person in the village say: Soldiers in Tianjing New City are provided with three full meals a day, including meat and vegetables, and they are also given a monthly allowance. Three taels of silver. This is a good thing that you can’t even find with a lantern!
Although the soldiers of Tianjing New City went out to fight, they were victorious every time, and no one was heard of being injured or killed in battle. Fang Laosan's third sister is already married and has an eldest brother and a younger brother at home. The family only has 33 acres of dry farmland, and it cannot afford to support three men to start a family. Fang Laosan is desperate to find a way out! After hearing the news about recruitment in Tianjing New City, Fang Laosan immediately came to apply for the job together with a dozen young people in the village. After the final physical examination and interview, only Fang Laosan was hired.
He has been in good health since childhood, has no night blindness, and is honest, which meets the requirements of a soldier in Tianjing New City. The news that Fang Laosan was hired spread, and the entire Fangjia Village came to congratulate Fang Laosan's family. Fang Laosan's father was so happy that he simply borrowed three taels of silver to set up two tables of running water mats in front of his house and invited the whole village to eat.
The whole village came to eat the flowing water table happily, and the atmosphere was like Fang Laosan being a scholar. Fang Laosan's father told Fang Laosan rudely that Fang Laosan would have to repay the three taels of silver for the flowing mat in the future - that is, he knew that Fang Laosan would have the money to repay the debt in the future, so others lent the three taels of silver to him. Fang family.
Two days later, Fang Laosan's father borrowed another four taels of silver from the village and made a set of decent new cotton-padded clothes for each member of the family of five, saying that Fang Laosan would have to repay the money in the future. Now everyone in the Fang family regards Fang Laosan as a rich man. After all, he has three taels of monthly money! If we were more frugal these days, one person's monthly expenses for food, clothing, housing and transportation would only cost seven or eight taels of silver. Three taels of silver could support a family of four. Fang Laosan is a single man who has food and lodging in the military camp. Where can he spend three taels of silver?
Fang Laosan could only agree to these debts with a smile - he was recruited as a recruit by Tianjing New City and encountered such a great thing. It was really unreasonable not to spend some money to make his family happy. After having fun at home for half a month, Fang Laosan said goodbye to his family and reported to Tianjing New City as required.
He was assigned to the first squad of the third platoon of the third company of the first battalion of the Polu Regiment. On the day of the report, the company commander gave him a wooden waist badge engraved with his name. After getting the waist card, Fang Laosan followed the squad leader to the military camp to put his luggage. Fang Laosan's squad leader is called Jiang Chong, and he is a very strong veteran. Jiang Chong didn't speak to Fang Laosan along the way. He looked down upon Fang Laosan, a new recruit.
The military camp was built in the south of the city. It was a large dormitory, with each class having a room with four bunk beds. There is a public bathhouse and toilet for every five dormitories. The bathhouse was equipped with free soap and hot water. When squad leader Jiang Chong arrived at the military camp, he told Fang Laosan that the recruits should take a bath in the bathhouse immediately after entering the camp, and they would have to take a bath every three days in the winter. Take a shower every day in spring, autumn and summer.
Fang Laosan quickly found an empty bed to put down his luggage, and took the wooden basin with his hair to the bathhouse to take a bath with the magic soap he had never used before, and took a very comfortable hot bath. Then in the evening, Fang Laosan and six other recruits followed the squad leader into the cafeteria of the Polu Regiment. The soldiers' mess hall is very large and divided into ten, from the first mess hall to the tenth mess hall. Squad leader Jiang Chong looked down upon those country bumpkins like Shang Laosan who had never seen the world. He didn't say a word to the recruits on the way to the cafeteria, and only gave a few words of advice when they arrived at the seventh cafeteria.
Following the instructions of the squad leader, Fang Laosan showed his wooden waist tag at the window of the seventh cafeteria where he received meals, and the cook handed out dinner to Fang Laosan: a three-ounce piece of pork belly, a large spoonful of boiled Chinese cabbage, There is also plenty of white rice. The meat is red and white pork belly, and the rice is white rice without any bran.
Except for the Chinese New Year, this was the first time that Fang Laosan had a meal with meat and vegetables. He devoured it as if he had never eaten such a delicious meal. After finishing a bowl of rice, Fang Laosan went to the window to get another bowl, eating until his stomach was bulging before giving up.
After eating a full meal, Fang Laosan felt comfortable all over. The other soldiers also had a hard life, and they all howled and ate rice and meat dishes. Squad leader Jiang Chong only ate more than half a bowl of rice and sat there looking at the recruits who were immersed in eating with a look of contempt on his face. After dinner and returning to the dormitory, Jiang Chong didn't say a word. He just asked the recruits to go to bed at midnight, saying that anyone who didn't sleep and bombed the camp would be punished by beheading!
The words frightened the recruits so much that they lay on their beds and dared not speak out. Early the next morning, the recruits had a breakfast of eggs, pickles and porridge in the cafeteria, and were led to the training ground outside the city by their squad leader. Jiang Chong stood in front of the team and glanced at the new recruits who looked like country bumpkins.
"You are all new recruits and don't understand anything! But you will understand soon!" "Do you know how long it took me to become this squad leader?" "I don't know!" The recruits shook their heads, and Jiang Chong said loudly : "It took me a year and four months! In this year and four months, I practiced target shooting 480 times, and hit the target every time from 130 steps away! I participated in two battles! Killed I killed eight thieves, three of them were the thieves’ leaders! That’s why I am today, your squad leader!”
After hearing Jiang Chong's achievements, the recruits looked at Jiang Chong differently, with a bit of admiration. Killed eight thieves, what a powerful person this is. Jiang Chong walked a few steps in front of the seven recruits and said loudly: "There are food and meat here, and a high monthly salary. How is this life?" Jiang Chong asked and answered himself: "It's a very good life here. Good! But can it be better?" Jiang Chong said loudly: "It can be better!"
"As long as you train hard, start shooting hard after the recruit period, and perform normally when participating in battles. In two or three years, each of you will be able to be a squad leader, and you will be able to lead seven soldiers like me! Get four Two monthly payments!" "Now I took a loan from the city lord and bought my own two-story villa! I have my own house! I'm not bragging, the matchmaker who came to propose marriage to me has crossed the threshold of my house! I chose My wife is spoiled for choice!"
"As long as you obey the command, you can do what I do." Hearing Jiang Chong's encouraging remarks, the seven recruits felt that their future was bright. As long as you obey orders, good times seem to be waving towards you. The recruits stood straight with their chests puffed out. Several recruits came from very poor backgrounds. When they heard the bright future described by Jiang Chong, their faces flushed with excitement.
Jiang Chong looked at the new recruits, changed the topic, and said: "However, if someone disobeys orders, has no discipline, deserts in training, or makes mistakes during battle, then military law will be served!" "Not only that, but also obey the confidentiality regulations! The performance of the weapons you use in the Polu Regiment cannot be leaked, even if officials of the Song Dynasty ask you. You cannot shoot in front of other civilians during target practice! You cannot discuss the situation during your battle with people other than soldiers! Do it Keep it a secret!"
The recruits looked at Jiang Chong firmly, expressing their determination to abide by the regulations with their eyes. Violation of regulations? Such a great day! Even if you force them with a knife, they won't violate the regulations! Jiang Chong saw the excitement of the recruits, smiled, and said lightly: "The first day of physical training, a twenty-mile cross-country run, everyone will follow me!"
After he was busy recruiting new soldiers, Yang Peng had some free time and began to develop new industries. What Yang Peng wants to buy this time is reading glasses. Because the master's eyes are not very good, he is a little short-sighted, which is mainly related to the fact that the master often eats vegetables. In Yang Peng's opinion, if the master has a little problem, it is a big deal to Yang Peng.
With colorless and transparent glass, making glasses is a matter of course. There were not many people studying in the Song Dynasty these days, and not many people with myopia. It is estimated that few pairs of glasses for myopia could be sold, but there were many people with presbyopia. Presbyopia occurs when the ciliary muscles of the eye relax and the lens becomes flat, causing the image of objects to appear behind the retina, making it difficult to see objects clearly. Reading glasses are actually convex lenses that use their light-gathering function to move the image of objects forward onto the retina.
To put it simply, as long as the round glass is processed into a convex lens with a suitable focal length and installed in a wooden frame, it will be a pair of reading glasses. The Song Dynasty advocated etiquette and filial piety as the first priority. Officials and heads of large families were all old people. These old people controlled most of the wealth of the Song Dynasty, but they were basically presbyopic. People with old glasses cannot see clearly memorials, documents, letters and famous posts. This problem troubled the old people of the Song Dynasty, and Yang Peng was going to help them solve this problem.
As long as you spend some money, you can restore your vision and read documents clearly again. This must be a good deal for many old people. To make glass convex lenses, you can use a molding machine to mold slurry glass, but the glass lenses made in this way are still very rough and need to be polished, which requires specialized talents.
Yang Peng thought for a while and decided to find some jade craftsmen to polish the glass lenses. The hardness of glass is basically the same as that of jade. Generally speaking, glass is harder than nephrite such as Hetian jade, and softer than jadeite such as jadeite. Craftsmen who can polish jade can handle glass lenses.
Yang Peng took Zhao Jinxi to a well-decorated jade shop in Cangzhou City, and asked the jade point owner about the craftsman who handled the jade. When the boss saw Yang Peng walking into the store wearing a red official uniform, he saluted and served him very attentively. He heard that Yang Peng wanted to hire a jade craftsman, and he didn't hide his secrets. He directly told Yang Peng that jade was produced in Yutian County, Hengzhou, saying that there were jade craftsmen gathered there and he could find jade craftsmen.
Yang Peng immediately took Zhao Jinxi and several soldiers to Yutian County. He spent a day riding horseback to Yutian County. When he arrived in Yutian County, he inquired about it and found an alley selling jade. He found that there were dozens of jade processing and sales merchants gathered in the alley. Yang Peng heard people say that those jade shops have front shops and back factories, and jade craftsmen process jade in the yard behind the shops.
Yang Peng chose a jade shop with the most luxurious decoration and walked in. When the owner of the jade shop saw a fourth-grade military attache walking in with a few followers, he hurriedly greeted him, saluted, and said nervously: "What do you want me to do here?" Zhao Jinxi said loudly: "My master wants to hire someone. Do you have a few jade craftsmen here who know how to polish jade?" The shop owner was stunned when he heard this, and said in panic: "My lord, the shop has just enough jade craftsmen to polish jade, and there are no extra people. You can’t be hired by an official!”
If you want to know what happens next, let’s look at the breakdown in the next chapter.
