In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

In late September, the sharp autumn wind blew across the Hebei Plain and reached the foot of Bianliang City.

The city is still prosperous, or even more prosperous.

The war between the Song Dynasty and Xixia did not seem to affect this place at all, except that the price of food increased slightly by more than ten yuan per stone.

However, these are normal fluctuations. The reason is that an accident occurred in the canal, which caused the grain transport ship to arrive in Kaifeng more than half a month later than the original date. It cannot be said that it was affected by the war.

This morning's court meeting on the Song-Xia war did not even occupy much time for discussion except for the Ministry of War and the Privy Council's report on the dispatch of a batch of supplies to Shaanxi yesterday and the report on the frontline situation to the court.

Because the Song Army had already won the battle, the battle report came not long ago. The main force of the Song Army began to divide its troops after breaking through the river mouth. Led by Jingtai, they went north to attack Zhuoluo City. Go all the way west and continue to attack Huangzhou.

The news just sent yesterday is that Jingtai, in cooperation with the Song army on the Jingyuan Road, has adopted an encirclement approach to Zhuoluo and Nan areas in Xixia. Zhuoluo City is already in a shaky situation.

The Western Front is also progressing very smoothly. The main force of the Song Army has arrived outside Miaochuan City and is now pulling out the nails arranged by Li Yuanhao outside the city. Once the Xixia Army outside the city is dealt with, they will besiege Miaochuan City and hold the entire Qingtang in their hands. In the hands, it will be a matter of time.

So in summary, it has been less than two months since the war started, and less than a month since the Song Army officially set off. The Xixia Army has lost consecutive battles, losing thousands of troops, and strategic locations and defensive areas have been lost one after another. It can be said that it was a complete defeat.

This led to everyone in the Song Dynasty to be very optimistic about the outcome of this battle. Many people even felt that this was just an ordinary battle on the border, not as important as domestic affairs.

Therefore, in addition to the daily reports from the Ministry of War and the Privy Council on the situation, other departments also only occasionally mentioned it, and just did what they should do. It was really not worth talking about it every day for a battle that must be won.

"I told you, any dog ​​in the northwest can win. The gap in national power between us and Xixia is already very large. Even if they have all the people in the army, they are just here to kill people."

After returning to the Constitutional Yuan, many prime ministers opened regular meetings. Zhao Jun looked at the official documents on the northwest war on the table, smiled and said to everyone: "I think the Bianliang Forbidden Army in the northwest should not be a big deal if they come back for the New Year. Problem."

"Well, the war in the northwest is indeed going relatively smoothly, but let's not talk about that for now. Let's talk about today's topic first."

Yan Shu's face looked serious at this time.

Because today's topic is still relatively important. Apart from some other domestic trivial matters, the biggest topic is the reorganization of the Constitutional Yuan in October.

Since Wang Zeng died of illness in July, Lu Yijian has basically been in a state of retirement and relegation to the second line.

For a person like Lu Yijian, who has a strong desire for power, he only has one or two days a week to sit in the Constitutional Yuan. Sometimes he can't hold on for a while and goes home to rest, which shows that his condition is serious.

Therefore, the October reorganization is already a certainty, and all the ministers are eyeing this position. Both the government and the public are paying much greater attention to the October reorganization than in the northwest.

Hearing Yan Shu's words, Zhao Jun nodded and said, "Let's talk about it first."

"The Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Railways have completed their inspections along the Changchun-Chengdu Railway. The report was submitted this morning. I took a brief look at it. Judging from the current situation, I am afraid that there are many difficulties. The biggest problem is still The road conditions are complicated and there are too many mountains to make it smooth.”

Yan Shu said: "Should this railway be shelved for now and discussed later?"

The Changcheng Railway is the second railway planned by Zhao Jun. The first railway is the Biannan Railway, which runs from Bianliang to Nanyang. It has now been built to Xuchang. The progress is neither fast nor slow.

In order to complete the economic cycle proposed by Zhao Jun, the second railway must connect Chang'an in Shaanxi and Chengdu in Sichuan.

But obviously the road between Sichuan and Shaanxi...

"It cannot be shelved. In fact, you should also understand that I plan this railway not only to complete the internal economic circulation, but also to strengthen the control of the Sichuan-Sichuan region and pave the way for the return of Yunnan in the future."

Zhao Jun crossed his hands under his nose and said in a deep voice: "Its strategic significance is very important to the country, and even if we don't consider the future, we have to consider the present. Nowadays, Badong and Bazhong are full of powerful people, and the local society is almost the same as Slavery is no different. If the court wants to improve the situation, railway construction is imperative. "

"What about the roads?"

"King Qin Hui spent a lot of manpower and material resources in order to open the Shu Road. He finally built a plank road and went south to annex the Shu Kingdom, which strengthened the national power. Now our productivity is much stronger than that of the Qin State. Are we still afraid that we will not be able to open the Shu Road? When a mountain breaks out, just use gunpowder to explode it.”

"Okay, then I will inform the governments along the line and ask them to estimate the expenses and investment costs required when the railway passes through their area."

Yan Shu wrote down this matter.

It is not that we are going to start building the second railway directly now, but it is in the planning and research stage.

For national development, some things need to be taken immediately, because if you delay, you may miss good opportunities.

But for other things, you can't be too hasty, and you can't make a decision as soon as you have to get money immediately, and you have to go through various research and planning.

Otherwise, like the railway, if it is built as soon as it is said to be built, if it is not repaired, it will involve wasted investment, obstacles and difficulties encountered during the actual construction, and various safety issues.

So in order to successfully complete the task, you must be cautious.

"The next thing is that the School of Physics also submitted the design drawings of the steamship this morning. They formed an expert team with the ship case to use a steam engine for the ship experiment."

Yan Shu changed to the next state road: "After many tests and research and modifications, they think they can build a steel steamship over ten feet to give it a try first."

"Ten feet, almost thirty meters. I remember that the first steamship "Clermont" in history was 45 meters. It was trialled on the Hudson River in the United States and sailed 91.4 kilometers at a speed of 6.4 kilometers per hour. Marks the birth of the steamship.”

Zhao Jun pondered for a moment, and then said: "I think ships don't need to be so conservative. After the Song Dynasty, we will open up the world. The navigation industry must be supported, and ships are the top priority. I told the School of Physics that I Appreciate their pioneering spirit and do it boldly without any worries, the country will support them.”

"okay."

Yan Shu nodded.

Then Li Di also pushed up his glasses.

Since the emergence of transparent glass, it has gradually begun to be used in daily life.

Products such as glasses, telescopes, and microscopes have naturally been used for research by the School of Physics.

As a result, optical shops opened in Bianliang last year, bringing great benefits to patients with myopia, presbyopia, hyperopia and other eye diseases.

Li Di said: "This year the Ministry of Punishment plans to promote a judicial reform, which is about the principles of international crimes."

"Has it been legislated yet?"

"Yes, according to your opinion Hanlong, the four principles of territoriality, personal belonging, protection and universality are currently established."

"Well, as our international trade deepens and transactions with neighboring countries become more frequent, those who commit crimes like this and then flee abroad, or commit crimes abroad, still have to strictly enforce legislative requirements."

Zhao Jun said.

In recent years, the trend of going abroad has become more and more popular.

Especially many went to Japan and Korea. With the discovery of many gold and silver mines in Japan, many people went to Japan to pan for gold.

But the crime rate has also soared.

Many people committed crimes in China and absconded, and then smuggled themselves to Korea, Japan, where they committed evil crimes and formed a huge evil force.

The Japanese side was very annoyed, but they were also afraid of the Song Dynasty stationing troops on Tsushima Island, so they wrote to the Song Dynasty, hoping that the Song Dynasty could come up with a solution.

Zhao Jun then remembered that with the emergence of steamships in the future, international trade would inevitably become more prosperous, and such criminal problems would continue to occur, so he began to work on legislation in this area. Now the Ministry of Punishment has already prepared a bill.

"Then I will approve it and it will be officially promulgated next year."

Li Di said.

"Um."

Zhao Jun nodded in agreement.

Then Jia Changchao, Zhang Shixun, Jiang Tang and others also talked about some major issues of the departments in charge.

The Ministry of Education will organize the imperial examination again this year. According to the requirements of the Constitutional Yuan, the content of mathematics, physics and chemistry should be increased to 20% this year. This puts the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Rites in a bit of a dilemma.

In the fourth year of Qingli's education reform, mathematics was first included in the curriculum. After all, mathematics was one of the contents of the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, due to the developed commodity economy in the Song Dynasty, it was obvious that learning mathematics was more popular, so no one objected to this.

However, since last year, physics and chemistry have been included, which has caused considerable controversy. Many scholars have protested against this reform, and many interested courtiers both inside and outside the court have written petitions, hoping that the court can suspend it.

However, this decree was still forcibly promoted by Zhao Jun. However, at the beginning, the content of mathematics, physics and chemistry was not much, accounting for about 10% of the entire exam content.

This year the ratio is to be increased again, but the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Rites are opposed to it.

Unfortunately, the objection was ineffective.

no way.

This period is definitely a period of labor pains.

It damaged the interests of a large number of scholars who previously only paid attention to Confucian classics.

But these things must be done anyway, otherwise it will not be possible to improve people's enthusiasm for learning mathematics, physics and chemistry.

The idea of ​​taking the imperial examination to become an official has been deeply ingrained. If mathematics and physics are not included in the imperial examination, it will not be easy to popularize it quickly.

After everyone had discussed all the major matters of each department, the atmosphere finally reached the final critical point.

"Okay, now comes the last thing."

Zhao Jun gently raised the official document in his hand and said: "This is the resignation that Lu Xugong submitted to the officials this morning. He said that he was suffering from old age and illness and wanted to take care of himself. Although the officials couldn't bear it, firstly, Lu Gong was indeed seriously ill. Secondly, When the next ten years are up, that’s all. Next month, the Constitutional Yuan will be re-elected.”

When he said this, Professor Song and Cai Qi both became nervous.

Lu Yijian is a person with a strong desire for power. Since the past few years, his condition has been unstable, good and bad.

But even so, he was still unwilling to retire from illness. Even when Zhao Zhen gave him a sick leave, he insisted on working despite being sick. As long as his health improved, he would go to the Constitutional Yuan to make his presence felt.

Is it because he loves his work and is willing to dedicate himself to the country and the people?

of course not.

This is because the power of the Constitutional Yuan ostensibly comes from Zhao Zhen, but in fact it comes from the fact that they sit in the Constitutional Yuan and have the power to review memorials and influence personnel transfers.

In addition to national affairs, personnel changes in various departments, promotions and demotions of officials are all controlled by many prime ministers.

This means that as long as Lu Yijian is still in the Constitutional Yuan, he can still hold power and provide his disciples and disciples with "political resources" for promotion.

Especially since he had to sit there and protect his sons.

Once he is gone, that person will be gone. Whether his faction encounters pressure from political opponents or encounters some other things, it may end the faction.

So he could only hold on.

But now it is obvious that he can no longer hold on, especially after Wang Zeng's death. Lu Yijian's physical condition is also deteriorating. It is said that he has been lying in bed for several days. It is difficult to say whether he can hold on through this year.

Therefore, at this time, he could only choose to loosen the power in his hands.

If he left, Professor Song and Cai Qi would be in trouble. Historically, they both died young, dying around the age of fifty.

But it's still safe and sound now. Depending on the situation, it shouldn't be a big problem if I work for another ten years.

If Zhao Jun uses the ten-year term as an excuse, the two of them will have to step down and let people who are accustomed to power let go of their authority. I'm afraid it will be more uncomfortable than killing them.

"I have some suggestions regarding the ten-year term."

Jia Changchao suddenly spoke.

Zhao Jun knew what he wanted to say, but he didn't stop him. He just looked at him and said, "What proposal."

"Prime Minister Cai and Prime Minister Song have worked very hard and are not very old. Retiring early is a loss to the country. I think if there are no other factors, it is better to stay in office."

Jia Changchao said.

"Do you think so too?"

Zhao Jun looked at everyone.

"I agree with this suggestion. After all, I have worked hard for the country for half my life and have rich governance experience. It would be a waste to retire early."

"I agree."

"I agree too."

Everyone agreed, even Fan Zhongyan did not object and raised his hands in agreement.

"Then we'll report it to the officials then."

Zhao Jun said.

"call."

Cai Qi and Professor Song breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, they know that everyone's approval is not for the two of them, but for their own interests.

After all, they are all the people at the top of power, so who wants to step down early?

So in the final analysis it is for yourself.

As long as they get this started, they will have a reason to stay in the future.

For Zhao Jun, it didn't matter. First of all, these people were quite obedient and handled things smoothly, unlike Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng, who were always making trouble.

Secondly, although he had set a term of office of up to ten years, it would be another matter if the emperor retained him and was not allowed to serve.

This is asking veteran cadres to use their remaining energy, and it does not count as breaking the rules set by Zhao Jun.

If you encounter someone who is disobedient in the future, after working for a few years and your term is up, if Zhao Jun is dissatisfied, then just ask Zhao Zhen not to retain him, wouldn't you just retire normally?

So politics, in many cases, is actually a means to achieve one's own ends.

"That's it, you guys will make a list of the people you want to recommend next week, and you can officially submit the list at the court meeting next month."

Zhao Jun knocked on the table and said: "I hope everyone will be careful about the list. The prime minister is not only a high-power position, but also a position for the country and the people. If there is a problem in the future, I will correct the recommender. "

The issue referred to here is not only an issue of processing ability, but also an issue of personal ethics and quality. If the prime minister is found to be a corrupt official in the future, the Constitutional Yuan will lose face, so it is reasonable for the prime minister to have higher requirements.

Everyone nodded to show their understanding.

"Okay, let's break up the meeting."

Zhao Jun stood up, packed up the documents, and prepared to go out to work.

At this moment, someone suddenly knocked on the door several times.

"Come in."

Zhao Jun had already stood up and turned to look at the door.

Someone pushed the door open and came in. It was an official from the Constitutional Yuan who was on duty today. He bowed his hand before entering.

"What's up?"

Zhao Jun asked.

The official hurriedly walked to Zhao Jun, bent down and whispered: "Zhiyuan, the Liao Kingdom is attacking Goryeo. It is extremely urgent!"

The Liao Kingdom attacked Goryeo?

Zhao Jun was stunned for a moment, and then asked involuntarily: "What's the situation now?"

"The Liao Kingdom has broken through the northern defense line of Goryeo. The King of Goryeo retreats to Goryeo's Xijing, fearing that the Liao army will continue to attack and Kaikyo cannot be defended."

The official said: "The King of Goryeo sent an envoy to ask for help from us. He arrived in Dengzhou a few days ago. Knowing that the situation was critical, the governor of Dengzhou immediately sent a six hundred mile rush to the court. He just arrived."

"Their offensive is so fast?"

Zhao Jun frowned.

Although there is a direct ship from Goryeo to Song Dynasty, it would take more than half a month at the fastest for the ship to arrive and then send the message from the sea to Bianliang.

After such a long time, Goryeo has been beaten to Xijing and is probably in danger.

Could it be that Gao Li, a good second son, is going to be left in the cold soon?