Xinsi (nineteenth) in June of the eighth year of Yuanfeng.
Because there was a Sutra feast, Shen Kuo happened to ask for an audience.
Zhao Xu then came to Chongzheng Hall again to meet with Shen Kuo.
This time Shen Kuo did not come alone. He brought with him the ministers sent by Song Yongchen to assist him.
Together, these ministers carried something covered with cloth to the temple.
Zhao Xu almost guessed what it was when he saw it?
Sure enough, after Shen Kuo opened the covering, a miniature model of Bianjing City appeared in front of him.
Zhao Xu walked to the hall and looked at the model of Bianjing made of clay in person.
Even Zhao Xu, who had studied abroad in modern times, was amazed by the scale of Bianjing.
There are thirty-six squares for the left army and ten squares for the right army in the old city.
There are nine squares in the east wing of the new city, twenty-six squares in the west wing, twenty squares in the north wing, and twenty squares in the south wing!
In addition, there are Tokyo, Jingdong, Jingxi, Jingnan, and Jingbei compartments.
There are truly hundreds of thousands of households, stretching endlessly.
Royal streets, rivers, bridges, roads...
Workshops, field services, and stacking yards can also be found on this clay sandbox model.
"Is this Tianmafang?" Zhao Xu asked, pointing to a wing outside Anshang's door.
"Your Majesty, it's Tianmafang!" Shen Kuo replied.
"I heard that one of the three charcoal farms is in Tianmafang?"
"It is indeed as your Majesty knows!" Shen Kuo introduced: "Tianmafang Charcoal Farm, coal and charcoal are divided into 400,000 scales, and they are often piled up for daily use in the old city..."
Zhao Xu nodded, he naturally knew this.
Bianjing is a city that uses coal as fuel.
At the beginning of the founding of the Song Dynasty, Taizu and Taizong had already set up charcoal fields to supply fuel to the people in the capital.
After all, the Han and Tang Dynasties established Guanzhong as their capital, and finally cut down all the trees in Guanzhong. The lesson is profound!
When the Song Dynasty was founded, it already knew the importance of vegetation!
The entire Bianhe River and the embankments of the Yellow River near the capital are planted with elms, willows, and even ancestral trees of the Song Dynasty. It is also the obligation of the people along the embankments of the Bianhe River.
This is based on the edict.
In the third year of Jianlong's reign, Taizu issued an edict: On both sides of the Bian and Yellow Rivers, every year, the people appointed by their father-in-law should plant more elms and willows to prevent the rivers from bursting.
In the fifth year of Kaibao's reign, another edict was issued: From now on, in Hezhou counties such as Huang, Bian, Qing, and Yu, in addition to the old planting method of mulberry and jujube, the committee chief will teach the people to plant elms, willows, and other suitable crops on the land, and they will still be ranked according to their household registration. It is divided into five levels, with fifty copies for the first class and ten copies for the second class and below. People who want to cultivate arts extensively will be spared if they exceed the original number, and those who are lonely, widowed and poor will be spared.
Therefore, the biggest reason why the old party attacks the Embankment Department is to change the ancestral sacred law for petty profits, while neglecting the national river defense!
If you don't plant trees for money, are you still human?
Therefore, the use of charcoal (coal) in large cities throughout the Song Dynasty was very high.
It has become the main fuel used by ordinary people for heating and cooking.
Especially in Bianjing, the state has laws prohibiting arbitrary cutting of trees and burning charcoal.
Those who can burn charcoal are high-ranking officials.
Ordinary people can only use coal as fuel!
As a result, the amount of coal used in Bianjing City has increased year after year, and it has become a major national policy!
During the Song Dynasty, three large-scale charcoal fields were set up inside and outside Bianjing to specialize in selling charcoal.
At first, coal was taxed.
But now, the carbon tax has been completely abolished and merchants are encouraged to transport coal to Bianjing.
In fact, coal, like grain, is too important to Bianjing City.
Especially in the cold winter, the attention of the governors will be focused on the price and supply of coal.
Because, a huge man-made disaster once occurred - during the Zhenmiao period, Emperor Consort Chai Zongqing and a group of relatives and ministers took advantage of the severe cold weather in Bianjing to monopolize the supply of charcoal and manipulate prices, resulting in hundreds of people freezing to death in Bianjing. people!
This is still recorded by the government. I don’t know how many there are without records!
Chai Zongqing and others made a lot of money.
It is precisely because of this tragedy that since then, every winter, the supply and price of coal have become the focus of the capital's prime minister.
Zhao Xu's father even issued an edict to build additional charcoal fields in the seventh and tenth years of Xining's reign.
Thinking about this, Zhao Xu asked: "Shen Tiju, how do people burn charcoal?"
Shen Kuo looked at Zhao Xu and replied: "Your Majesty, just put the charcoal in the furnace and burn it..."
Zhao Xu nodded.
He naturally knew that the current utilization of coal in the Song Dynasty was still at a very rudimentary level.
If you don’t know how to wash carbon to remove sulfur, you certainly don’t know how to make briquettes and coal stoves.
Not to mention how to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
As for the high technology of scorching, most people don't understand it - Zhao Xu doesn't understand it either, he has only heard of it.
But it doesn't matter, isn't there Shen Kuo and the thousands of craftsmen who specialize in manufacturing weapons?
Therefore, Zhao Xu said casually: "Think about things and gain knowledge. All things can be investigated..."
"This charcoal might as well be lifted into a standard..."
"If we can come up with some truth, maybe we can bless the world!"
Shen Kuo's heart moved as he listened.
Can charcoal also make sense?
He looked at the young master in front of him and couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty, please give me some advice..."
Zhao Xu then asked: "Shen Tiju, what are the flaws of charcoal?"
Shen Kuo thought for a while and remembered some things he had heard: "I heard that coal seems to be poisonous...it has poisoned many people..."
"Where is the poison?" Zhao Xu said: "This is the place where you can pass!"
"Besides..." Zhao Xu was in a good mood today, so he said more: "Can the way people use charcoal be improved? Can it be made more convenient and cost-effective for people to use charcoal?"
After saying that, Zhao Xu shook his head and said: "If this happens, Aiqing will have too much burden on her!"
"How about I ask Song Yongchen to share your burden?"
Shen Kuo immediately shook his head like a rattle: "Reporting to your Majesty, I now get up early in the morning and come home late every day, and I never feel tired!"
"It's the day of rest..."
Then, Shen Kuo saw the young master's half-smiling look, and he quickly bowed his head respectfully and stopped talking.
Zhao Xu also stopped mentioning the charcoal matter.
Instead, he looked at the locations of other workshops marked on the sand table.
Shen Kuo was asked one by one and compared.
Zhao Xu has a deeper understanding of this city.
Bianjing City, as Zhao Xu’s teacher in modern times said, is a city based on industry and commerce, standing before the era of capital.
There are hundreds of government-run workshops, large and small, scattered throughout the city.
There are countless private workshops!
This is a huge untapped gold mine!
In the Song Dynasty, there were several large-scale gold mines like Bianjing City!
With emotion in his heart, Zhao Xu suddenly asked: "Shen Qing, is there any ratio conversion for this thing?"
"Reporting to your majesty, based on the picture of flying birds, one mile can be divided into two inches!" Shen Kuo replied respectfully.
As he spoke, he introduced: "I was once ordered by Emperor Daxing to draw a map of the prefectures and counties in the world. I also used the flying bird map to measure... One hundred miles is divided into two inches!"
Zhao Xu nodded, this was indeed a technique mastered by Shen Kuo.
It is also the most advanced measurement technology in the contemporary era.
Converting the distance a bird flew into a ratio, Shen Kuo was the first person in the world to use a scale for map drawing.
"All sandboxes presented in the future will have their proportions written on them!"
"Sand table?" Shen Kuo's eyes lit up when he heard the words Zhao Xu mentioned casually, and he immediately bowed down.
"I obey the decree!"
Emperor Daxing liked to give names to things.
Be it weapons, cities, rivers or whatever.
Therefore, Shen Kuo was not surprised that Zhao Xu suddenly named the clay model he made "Sand Table".
…
He sent Shen Kuo away and told him to make the sand table in the Gyeonggi area as soon as possible.
Zhao Xu ordered people to bring the sand table made by Shen Kuo to Baoci Palace.
Assemble this sand table in Bao Ci Palace.
When the two palaces met, their eyes lit up.
Zhao Xu introduced the two palaces, and the two palaces were also interested. They pointed around the sand table and looked for streets and alleys.
Especially the Queen Mother, who grew up among the people.
Looking at the sand table, especially the place where Xinchangfang is located on the sand table, and the familiar streets nearby.
Queen Mother Xiang then praised: "What a wonderful workmanship! What a wonderful workmanship!"
"Yu Hao's reincarnation may be nothing more than this!"
The Empress Dowager was also very happy because she entered the palace as a child and only left the palace to marry the Yingmiao when she grew up. After getting married, she has been living in the Pu residence and has basically no time to go out.
For decades, the Empress Dowager's activities in Bianjing City were only Kaibao Temple, Daxiangguo Temple, Jinming Pool, and Jingling Palace.
She is naturally curious about the outside world.
The sand table brought by Zhao Xu satisfied the curiosity of the Empress Dowager.
For the first time, she knew how big the city of Bianjing was, and for the first time, she knew that the city of Bianjing was so prosperous and lively.
Zhao Xu took the opportunity to say from the side: "With this thing, the mother-in-law and the queen mother will be able to know at any time what is happening in Bianjing City and where it is..."
"In the future, we will even be able to see at a glance the trends of mountains, rivers and rivers in the world... and know the geography and landforms thousands of miles away..."
As the two palaces listened, their eyes gradually brightened.
Things they hadn't thought of before were now understood when Zhao Xu mentioned it.
This is an important military weapon!
Therefore, the two palaces issued an edict, ordering Shen Kuo to set up a special department in the bureau dedicated to manufacturing weapons to be responsible for the construction of sand tables.
Ten thousand guan of internal funds were also allocated as funds for the Shatai Division.
He also ordered that all the sand trays built by the Shapan Si should be sent to the palace. The beams should only be simple and stone. In the palace, a side hall near the Funing Hall should be selected to specifically store these sand trays.
At the same time, Shen Kuo was also ordered to give five copies of the short-term name Zhazi, and he would nominate and recommend meritorious craftsmen for official appointments.
This is the system that has been in place since the Song Dynasty.
Those who create useful or useful things that involve the military will be rewarded with officials.
Although their official ranks are very low, most of them are not of the upper class.
But it’s also an incentive for craftsmen!
After doing these things, the two palaces, on Zhao Xu's suggestion, ordered people to send the sand table to the Yanhe Hall.
He also ordered people to open a special place on one side of the temple to place the sand table.
Zhao Xu's reason is naturally very upright - this is so that when the court meets in the future, when the courtiers report their speeches, the top and bottom can know the geography of the place where they are talking!
Note: Shen Kuo's flying bird drawing technique was later lost.
But in the Northern Song Dynasty, it was widely used and was used many times to delineate national borders or military-state boundaries.
Note 2: Coal was widely used in the Song Dynasty and was also the main fuel in Bianjing City.
Note 3: In the Northern Song Dynasty, river management included planting trees in addition to building embankments.
Therefore, in Song Dynasty paintings, there are dense trees on both sides of the Yellow River.
(End of chapter)
