Thanks to [Billybilly] book friend for the first reward of 20,000 coins and the second reward of 30,000 coins! ~Thanks to [White Sugar Mixed with Tomatoes] book friend for the reward of 10,000 coins! ~Thanks to the book friend [Joan of Arc of the Holy Roman Empire] for the reward of 100,000 coins! ~Thank you thank you~
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On the way back to the city after the exercise, Song officials were beaming and chatting and laughing, but Xiao Xiaoyou, Xiao Guhe, Qiu Hong and other Liao envoys were like eggplants beaten by frost, their heads drooped and their voices completely lost.
"This is no less than a great victory!"
After returning to Chui Gong Hall, Zhao Zhen praised Zhao Yang in front of Chen Zhizhong, Wen Yanbo, Song Xiang, Pang Ji, Gao Ruona, Ye Qingchen, Fan Zhongyan and others: "Zhao Yang, you did a good job this time, especially It was that 'last sound' that was truly amazing."
Pang Ji smiled and echoed: "In the official family, Zhao Zhengyan said, it's called 'tiger roars and dragon roars'."
"Yes! The tiger roars and the dragon roars, this name is well chosen! That is my Song Dynasty's tiger roars and the dragon roars!" the official praised excitedly.
All the ministers congratulated one after another, because they were happy in their hearts, and they also had many words to flatter the officials and praise the Song Dynasty. Even Wen Yanbo, who had the worst relationship with Zhao Yang, rarely said a few words that were pleasant to him. Only Fan Zhongyan said something about gunpowder bullets, The technical department and others knew nothing about it. They wanted to ask but were afraid of spoiling everyone's interest. They laughed awkwardly and looked a little out of place.
"Where is it?" Under the praise of the monarchs and ministers, Zhao Yang was also in a good mood.
After the excitement subsided, Ye Qingchen, the Third Chief of Staff who was most sensitive to finances, couldn't help but said: "Today's drill was really shocking, but I don't know how much it cost?"
As soon as these words came out, the official's excitement stopped abruptly and he turned to look at Zhao Yang.
Zhao Yang had already guessed that someone would ask, scratched his face and said: "I have a question for the officials and you gentlemen to relieve their boredom... This time, 800 gunpowder bombs were used, including 200 fire bombs and 200 smoke bombs each. The amount of gunpowder used is three kilograms of fire bombs and two kilograms of smoke bombs; there are four hundred left, three hundred explosive bombs and one hundred sub-munitions. The amount of gunpowder used in each explosive bomb is ten kilograms, and the sub-munitions...are roughly twenty kilograms. Dare Ask, how much gunpowder do these eight hundred gunpowder bombs share?"
"..."
There was silence in the hall, and most of the ministers looked at Zhao Yang dumbfounded. Among them, the official looked the worst, and had a bad feeling in his heart.
"How about Ye Xianggong come to answer?" Song Xiang said to Ye Qingchen with a deep meaning.
"Then it would be embarrassing." Although Ye Qingchen vaguely felt Song Xiang's hostility, as the Third Secretary, he could not back down. After some calculations, he replied: "As Zhao Zhengyan said, the fire bomb should use gunpowder six One hundred catties, smoke bombs four hundred catties, explosive bombs three thousand catties, sub-munitions two thousand catties, a total of six thousand catties of gunpowder."
"As expected of the Third Secretary Envoy!" Zhao Yang clapped his hands and praised.
When Ye Qingchen was dumbfounded, the official said angrily: "You still want to tease me and all the gentlemen? Tell me, how much did it cost!"
Zhao Yang spread his hands and said: "According to the average price purchased by our technical department from various markets in the city, one pound of gunpowder is about one thousand four hundred Wen..."
"Eight thousand four hundred strings?" Ye Qingchen asked tentatively.
"As expected of Xianggong Ye." Zhao Yang praised with a thumbs up.
Before he finished speaking, Wen Yanbo said quietly: "Isn't it right? What about the last sound...the roar of the tiger and the roar of the dragon?"
Zhao Yang raised his right hand: "Double it."
"What do you mean?" Zhao Zhen asked suspiciously.
"It means..." Zhao Yang shrugged and said, "There is almost the same amount of gunpowder buried under that mound."
You buried six thousand kilograms of gunpowder under that mound?
All the ministers gasped in shock, while Zhao Zhen was shocked on the other hand. He grabbed his chest and shirt and said in horror: "Sixteen thousand eight hundred thousand strings?! In just one afternoon, you spent sixteen thousand thousand strings." Eight hundred strings?!"
"More than that." Gao Ruona said expressionlessly from the side: "The officials forgot that there are still 600 sets of sergeant's armor and ten war horses... Although the 600 sets of sergeant's armor were created twenty years ago, At that time, the cost was twenty-six guan and another five hundred guan. The discounted price was calculated as 20 guan, which is one thousand two hundred guan. As for the war horses, the horse market today is 30 guan each, but the war horse is nearly 100 guan. Ten horses are Nearly a thousand strings, in other words, there will be another two thousand two hundred strings."
Zhao Yang glanced at Gao Ruona and said quietly: "Xiao Gao, you will make me very unhappy if you stab me in the back like this."
Gao Ruona was ashamed and angry, but did not dare to show off. His face turned red, making everyone present laugh secretly, except Fan Zhongyan who was surprised and confused.
"That's right." Zhao Zhen was even more shocked and said with a change of expression: "We need to add another 2,200 guan, that is, 19,000 guan!... Didn't you say five thousand guan before?"
"Five thousand guan can buy up to 5,000 jins of gunpowder. I don't think it's shocking enough... So I doubled it and used 12,000 jins of gunpowder. Isn't it shocking?"
When everyone was dumbfounded, Zhao Zhen was so angry that he couldn't speak. After a while, he laughed angrily and said: "Thank you for being able to collect twelve thousand kilograms of gunpowder in such a short period of time. The gunpowder in Zhufang City in the city I’m afraid they’ve all been evacuated by you, right?”
Zhao Yang didn't care about Zhao Zhen's sarcasm and said with a smile: "The officials are looking down on Bianjing, aren't they? Bianjing is so prosperous, there are more than a hundred fireworks shops in the city, and if each of my families buys 100 catties, they will get 10,000 catties." Yes, even though the price has fluctuated, it has soared from about eight or nine hundred cents per catty to one thousand six hundred cents per pound. However, time is short, so I have no choice but to bite the bullet and reluctantly buy..."
Zhao Zhen was very happy: "I gritted my teeth and reluctantly bought 12,000 kilograms? If you grit your teeth again, my internal treasury will be emptied by you!"
"The officials calm down, the officials calm down." Pang Ji came forward to smooth things over: "Zhao Zhengyan did spend a little more money this time... but the results were impressive. With these 20,000 yuan thrown in, how could the Khitan dare to raise the issue of increasing money and ceding territory again? ?”
Ye Qingchen also helped to persuade the officials: "If we finally have no choice but to agree to Khitan's additional 50,000 silver silk, it will far exceed what Zhao Zhengyan spent in just one year... I also think it is worth it."
Hearing what Ye Qingchen said as the Third Secretary's envoy, Zhao Zhen's face softened a little, and he immediately asked: "However, this money is allocated from my internal treasury... Since it is a state matter, should I go to the Third Secretary's Yamen?"
"Hehe." Ye Qingchen laughed dryly and said: "Only a wise king like Guan Jia can choose a leader like Zhao Zhengyan with unique discernment, and he does not hesitate to waste money from the inner treasury. This is what a benevolent king does..."
What followed was a flurry of flattery and praise, and Zhao Zhen was too embarrassed to ask for the money from the Sansi Yamen.
Although a mere 20,000 yuan is not a big sum for an official, let alone the Sansi Yamen, this kind of precedent cannot be set. As the Third Division Envoy, Ye Qingchen will never agree to it, otherwise he will not be able to take office in the future. If the monarch also asks for money from the third division, wouldn't he become the culprit?
After saying all the hardships, Zhao Zhen scolded Zhao Yang angrily: "You prodigal, you spent nearly 20,000 yuan on me in just half a day!"
Zhao Yang scratched his head. He probably felt that the amount spent was indeed a bit large, but he was embarrassed to change his expression. He spread his hands and said: "The officials asked me to scare the Liao envoy... As the saying goes, you can't trap the wolf if you don't want your children, no. How can we intimidate the Liao envoys if we are not willing to spend money?"
"Then why did you kill the horse? Don't you know that my country, Song Dynasty, lacks war horses?"
"Because the Liao cavalry rides horses. If he rides a sheep, I will kill the sheep." Zhao Yang looked matter-of-fact, and Zhao Zhen was speechless.
All the ministers in the palace were amused by this conversation, but Fan Zhongyan was the only one who was a little surprised by Zhao Yang's attitude towards the officials and felt a little incredible.
After coughing, Ye Qingchen held back his laughter and said, "I have something to say about war horses..."
As he spoke, his expression gradually became serious: "... A few days ago, the government recruited ministers to discuss the matter of war horses. At that time, the minister reported the shortcomings of the Qun Mu Division, occupying more than 90,000 hectares of fertile land, and investing millions of dollars every year. However, during the Taiping years, only 30,000 to 40,000 horses were obtained each year. In the event of emergency recruitment, most of the horses were not available. ... After I returned, I thought hard and thought that if I wanted to get war horses as quickly as possible without spending money, it would be better to go to Hebei. The area under the jurisdiction of East and West Roads of Hedong, Shaanxi, and Beijing implements the policy of "raising horses for service". Each household with a well-off family will be given a horse, and every two households with a medium-income family will be given a horse. Those who raise horses will lose one strong man. According to this By doing this, the court can get two hundred thousand war horses without much effort."
Zhao Yang looked at Ye Qingchen in surprise and thought to himself: Isn't this Wang Anshi's method of protecting horses? So it was Ye Qingchen who mentioned it first?
"What a plan!" Zhao Zhen praised, stroking his palms, and all the ministers nodded thoughtfully.
Seeing this, Zhao Yang decisively stopped him: "No!"
All the monarchs and ministers in the palace looked at Zhao Yang in astonishment. During this period, Ye Qingchen frowned and asked: "Zhao Zhengyan, is there anything wrong with Ye's policy...?"
Zhao Yang asked Ye Qingchen seriously: "Did Xianggong Ye propose this strategy to get horses or soldiers?"
"Of course we need war horses." Ye Qingchen said without knowing why.
"That's right." Zhao Yang said solemnly: "In the past, the king of Chu was so thin that many people died of starvation in the palace; the king of Qi was so fond of purple clothes that there was no difference in the country... If something was good at the top, it would be worse at the bottom. Since the imperial court The purpose of promulgating this law is to obtain war horses, so local state and road officials will definitely focus on this when enforcing it. I don’t even need to think too much to guess that in the future, in order to obtain more war horses, the court will probably allocate various states and roads. Tasks, stipulate how many war horses each locality submits each year; or simply link the number of war horses each locality submits each year with the performance of local officials... If this is true, local state and road officials will inevitably force this to complete the tasks assigned by the court or for their personal achievements. Things were divided among the households. After a few years, the imperial court might be able to obtain 200,000 war horses. However, in the areas under the jurisdiction of Hebei, Hedong, Shaanxi, and the East and West Roads of Beijing, unless the local gentry was the local gentry, it would be difficult to see a wealthy family. Most of them were forced to live in homes where their wives and children were separated and their families were destroyed!”
The words were so precise and well-founded that the monarchs and ministers in the palace were shocked.
Ye Qingchen broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly bowed to Zhao Yang and said, "If it weren't for Zhao Zhengyan, Ye would be a criminal."
Zhao Zhen also looked frightened.
Although the other ministers were concerned about Ye Qingchen's face and did not speak, they could not help but look at Zhao Yang again with surprised eyes, especially Fan Zhongyan, who was least familiar with Zhao Yang.
After a long while, Zhao Zhen asked Zhao Yang: "Zhao Yang, do you have a plan to solve the problem of the lack of horses in the Song Dynasty?"
Zhao Yang thought for a while and said: "First of all, don't even think about asking households to raise horses for the imperial court. First, horses and cattle are both strategic materials. As far as I know, there are laws to follow and they must not be killed indiscriminately. Otherwise, horses and cattle are strategic materials. If a household accidentally raises a horse to death, the state road officials will seek compensation from them, and may even take the opportunity to add insult to injury and seek personal gain. This is what I said before, and they may be forced to have their homes destroyed and their families killed."
"That's it..." Zhao Zhen and the other ministers nodded suddenly.
"Secondly, the effort of raising horses and sheep and cattle is not proportional to the income. Raising cattle can be used to cultivate the land, and the cattle only need to eat grass; but raising horses is different, especially war horses with excellent endurance, which need to be fed with high-quality feed. , the land they eat is better than that of ordinary people. How can ordinary households afford it? Thirdly, horses not only eat a lot of land, but also pull a lot of land, and their feces are acidic and not suitable for fertile soil. Furthermore, considering that ordinary households also It is unlikely that they would dare or be willing to use horses for transportation. In other words, raising horses is of no use to ordinary households and is really a burden. Fourth, the place where horses are raised should be a vast and open place with abundant water and grass. To be able to let them gallop and raise horses among the people, there is no such condition... In short, it is completely unfeasible to raise horses among the people. Therefore, if the court wants to obtain war horses, the first priority must be to start with the Qun Mu Division and eliminate those officials who are inactive and do nothing. , to recruit people who are good at raising horses from both the government and the public; secondly, try to purchase them through trade with other countries, such as...Liao Kingdom."
Zhao Zhen had nodded repeatedly before hearing this, but when Zhao Yang mentioned the Liao Kingdom, he shook his head and said: "How could the Khitan sell war horses to me, the Song Dynasty?"
"I didn't say war horses, I said horses, that is, ordinary carrying horses."
Seeing that the monarchs and ministers looked puzzled, Zhao Yang explained: "The only or best use of high-quality war horses is to serve as cavalry mounts for fighting on the battlefield. But I dare to ask the officials and gentlemen, the Song Dynasty has Can the cavalry defeat the Liao and Xia cavalry?... Impossible, right? Regardless of the Liao people or the Xia people, people grow up on horseback from childhood, and when they grow up, they will naturally be proficient in bows and horses; while the Song cavalry, Are there any who have been trained for more than ten years? Impossible, right? Then let me ask, how can the Song Dynasty cavalry who have been trained for less than ten years be better than the Liaoxia cavalry who grew up on horseback and have been proficient in equestrian skills for more than ten or twenty years? ?”
"..." Zhao Zhen and others were stopped by the question.
After a while, Pang Ji hesitated and said: "Even so, I, the Song Dynasty, have to build cavalry, right?"
"It's not impossible, but in my opinion, it can only make up for shortcomings at best, but it is not enough to be the key to the victory or defeat of Song, Liao and Song Xia. ... The strengths of the soldiers of the Song Dynasty are crossbows and infantry, and they are especially good at defending battles. Therefore, I proposed the strategy of "camping step by step". The cavalry is really not what the Song Dynasty sergeants are good at. In this case, why not give up the cavalry, or postpone the expansion, and use the money used to train and purchase high-quality war horses to purchase ordinary pack horses to enhance the strength of our Song Dynasty infantry. Ability to move?... I don’t think the Liao Kingdom is even allowed to sell ordinary draft horses. Don’t they love money?”
Wen Yanbo half questioned and half asked for advice: "If we don't add more cavalry, how will the Liao and Xia cavalry resist in the future?"
"How about 'mounted infantry'?" Zhao Yang replied: "That is, you only use pack horses to move, and when you reach the designated battlefield, you will dismount and fight on foot. With the same number of people, even heavy armored cavalry may not be able to defeat heavy armored infantry. In this way, it does not have to be protracted. To train cavalry, you don’t have to buy high-quality war horses, which is more economical and saves money, and the training schedule can be greatly shortened.”
Zhao Zhen was moved when he heard this. He clicked his fingers and said, "This is a good idea. What do you think?"
"this……"
All the ministers looked at each other in confusion. After a long time, Pang Ji stroked his beard and said, "It seems... it's not impossible?"
"You can definitely try it."
Song Xiang and Gao Ruona also nodded slightly, including Fan Zhongyan, who had been in Shaanxi Fourth Road for a long time, looking at Zhao Yang in surprise.
Seeing that none of the ministers objected, Zhao Zhen was both happy and emotional. He looked at Zhao Yang and nodded slightly, then said seriously: "In that case, the purchase of pack horses will be left to the Privy Council and the Third Division."
Song Xiang and Ye Qingchen looked at each other, cupped their hands and said, "I obey. ... However, I sincerely ask the officials to allow Zhao Zhengyan to assist."
It was a lie that they wanted Zhao Yang's help, but it was true that they used Zhao Yang to suppress the Liao envoy's arrogance.
Anyone can see that those Liao envoys were really shocked today.
"Of course." Zhao Zhen nodded in agreement, and then looked at Zhao Yang with a complicated expression. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart: This kid is an ignorant prodigal. He can really come in handy at critical moments, but it's a pity that he has to be used at other times. Make people mad.
Wang Shugui, who was watching from the sidelines, misunderstood and said with a smile: "Little Mr. Zhao has made great achievements this time and provided a clever strategy. Do the officials want to reward him?"
"He spent nearly 20,000 yuan from me in half a day, and he still wants a reward?" Zhao Zhen looked annoyed, but his eyes swept over the several husbands present. Seeing that they had no intention of stopping him, he took advantage of the situation and said: "But , at any rate, he has indeed made meritorious service. In that case, he will be awarded the title of Zhao Yangtongzhilang, the doctor of the Ministry of Industry, and the title of Gai Shizhong, and he will be given the right to advise..."
Tongzhilang is a Wensan official name, which is only used to determine the color of clothes and the cost of clothing materials. However, Zhao Yang has long been granted the privilege of "specially granting clothes of Fei and purple", so for him, the Wensan official rank is Every year in spring and autumn, when the court distributes clothing materials, it is just a matter of how much clothing materials are paid to him. Even considering that most of what Zhao Yang wears now is made by Zhang Guifei, or the official ordered the undergarment warehouse to tailor and give it in the name of Zhang Guifei, so the article Casual official rank is almost useless to him.
As for the doctor of the Ministry of Industry, this is the title of the official who sent the salary, and it is also the main basis for the official rank. Compared with Zhao Yang's previous position, Wai Lang, the director of the Ministry of Industry, he was promoted half a rank, which is the sixth rank.
Even though they are only half-ranked, there are several senior ranks in the middle: Zhao Yang's former Ministry of Works Department Member Wailang was a "Rear Branch Member Wailang" and was the 22nd rank. According to common sense, when he was promoted, he had to first be promoted to a "Chinese Banking Council Member Wailang" ", that is, those with the rank of Yuanwailang in the Ministry of Husbandry and the Ministry of Punishments, and those with the same rank in the daily living room. Even if they cross the rank, they will be promoted as "former Yuanwailang", that is, those with the rank of Yuanwailang in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel, and those with the same rank. You can also serve as a censor.
However, Zhao Yang was directly promoted to the rank of Doctor of the Ministry of Industry, that is, the "Hou Xing Doctor", which is the nineteenth level, which is equivalent to being promoted to the third level. Even if he has a Jinshi background and can jump up the ranks, it will still take three years of grinding.
In subsequent appointments, he was nominally an official secretary, but it was basically regarded as a privileged position. The privilege was that he could freely enter and leave the palace and meet with officials, but it was of little use to Zhao Yang. After all, he did not have this official position. He can enter and leave the palace freely, but he doesn't like to come since he had conflicts with the officials.
As for the final You Si Jian, he was only promoted to a higher rank than You Zhengyan and was a seventh-grade admonishment officer, but his authority was basically the same as that of You Zhengyan.
Therefore, in summary, this reward is basically a half-grade promotion for Zhao Yang, which is equivalent to at least three years of hard work for an official with a Jinshi background, but the essence has not changed. After all, Zhao Yang has already had some of the privileges he should have. , so it’s no wonder that Wen Yanbo, who had the worst relationship with Zhao Yang among all the ministers, had no reaction after hearing this: This guy spent twenty years of hard work as an ordinary person as soon as he was appointed. What does it mean to have only three years today?
However, Zhao Yang didn't know the secret and took the opportunity to say: "It doesn't matter whether the civil service is promoted or not. Should I mention my military position? The officials also saw it today. The five hundred forbidden troops were managed by me like an arm. Driven.”
"Is that your credit? Isn't that the credit of the three brothers of the Zhong family?" Zhao Zhen said angrily, but finally agreed: "Fine, I will grant you the position of commander of the Tianwu Fifth Army. The sergeant will dispatch you. Let’s discuss it with Cao Yi.”
"Thank you, officials." Zhao Yang got what he wanted and was in a good mood. He was happier than being promoted to a civilian position.
From the side, Fan Zhongyan looked incredulous.
After all, compared with Zhao Yang's promotion from Yuanwailang to Langzhong, and from the commander of a battalion to the commander of a military level, he jumped several levels in a row, and the number of troops under his command increased from 500 to 2,500. Lifted a full four times.
I recall that when he was fifty years old, he knew the Yongxing Army. He and Han Qi were both Xia Song's deputies, and they marched through Shaanxi together. The number of troops was only this number. How old was he?
Looking at the gentlemen who were not surprised, and then looking at Zhao Yang, Fan Zhongyan didn't know how to judge.
