Shen Kuo was arranged by Gan Qi in Daojian Academy, where food and lodging were free, and he was paid, and he had to give some narratives a lesson in "natural science" from time to time.

Gan Qi also instructed Di Yong to cooperate with Shen Kuo temporarily, what materials to want, what craftsmen to want, what equipment to use, as long as Shen Kuo opened his mouth, he would arrange it for Shen Kuo. This is the good thing in the capital, all over the country, there is no shortage of everything, everything can be found, and all craftsmen have it.

A guest came to Gan Qi's house, it was Zhao Zonghan. Gan Qi was actually waiting for him to come, and now at this time, Gan Qi couldn't just come to the door to see Zhao Shu, so he had to wait for Zhao Zonghan to come to the door.

Zhao Zonghan brought a very secret news: "Dao Jian, the official family's body is getting weaker and weaker, and he suddenly fainted on the imperial case in the first few days, this matter is top secret, and few people know about it." ”

"When I went to court yesterday, I saw that the official family was in good spirits, and they laughed frequently, but they didn't look frail." Gan Qi was a little surprised, the old emperor in the court yesterday seemed to be in good spirits, and he could still let out a hearty laugh.

But then again, the old emperor is really running out of time.

Thinking that the old emperor's time was running out, Gan Qi suddenly remembered another thing, the old emperor's time was running out, Bao Zheng seemed to be still walking in front of the old emperor, and the two were only a few months apart.

Doesn't this mean that Bao Zheng also has to ......

Gan Qi was inexplicably a little sad, Bao Zheng was about to pass away, I used to think about this problem, just as a question, but now Bao Zheng is really leaving, close at hand, this is really a little unacceptable.

Zhao Zonghan said again: "The official family has been diligent all his life in the court, and when he goes to the court, he must make a full appearance of energy no matter what, and when he can stay in the court, he will sit paralyzed like a prostration......

When Zhao Zonghan said this, he was hinting at the matter of the throne, Gan Qi understood it, and asked, "What are the actions of Han Qi's side?" ”

Zhao Zonghan thought about it seriously, shook his head and said, "I don't see any movement from Han Qi. ”

"No movement?" Gan Qi also fell into deep thought, even Zhao Zonghan knew that the emperor's health was getting worse and worse, how could Han Qi not know? How could Han Qi not make any moves?

"Isn't he secretly planning something?" Zhao Zonghan asked.

"Well, there's no way he doesn't make any moves." Gan Qi was sure of that.

"That'...... What shall we do? Zhao Zonghan was a little worried.

"Be prepared for everything, that's the only way to deal with everything." There is no other way to do things in the open and in the dark, but to be prepared.

"Then all this has to be entrusted to Dao Jian, and now my brother is not suitable to show up, and there is no way out, my brother told me that now only Dao Jian can rely on." Zhao Zonghan said.

Zhao Shu finally recognized the reality and knew that now only Dao Jian could rely on it.

Gan Qi felt a little comfortable in his heart, Gan Qi thought seriously for a while, and asked, "What is the relationship between Li Zhang, the commander of the palace, and the royal family?" ”

The commander of the palace is the chief of the palace guards, and at some point, this position is quite important. Nowadays, the power of the former division of the Renzong Dynasty is still relatively small, but it is also the most important. If you go to the Huizong Dynasty, the front division of the palace can even mobilize an army of 100,000.

"Dao Jian, Li Zhang is the cousin of the official family, the biological mother of the official family is the Empress Dowager Li, and Li Zhang is the son of the younger brother Li Yonghe of the Empress Dowager Li." Zhao Zonghan replied.

"The cousin of the official family, the nephew of the biological mother of the official family, then this person must be loyal to the official family." Gan Qi said again.

"That's natural, otherwise how could the official family let him be in charge of such a confidential place as the front secretary of the palace? Li commanded this person, has always been unkind, lived in a simple place, only cared about errands, never made friends, so His Majesty trusted him, he for His Majesty's trust, but also for the public, never extraneous branches, even the people who came to visit most of them refused, His Majesty's handwritten 'Loyalty and Filial Piety Li Zhang' gave him as encouragement. ”

"If you are loyal to the official family, you will also be loyal to any decision made by the official family......"

"Dao Jian's meaning, didn't you mean that we are going to Command Li's embassy for a walk?"

"No, such a person who is loyal to the official family can't be attached, otherwise he will be looked down upon. Since he is loyal to the official family, it is a good thing for us, as long as the official family does not change his will, there will be no mistakes in this matter of ascending the throne. The crux of the problem is not here...... "Gan Qi's first thought is military affairs, since ancient times, there have been too many things to mobilize troops for the throne, but with Li Zhang in charge of the front of the palace, this possibility is very small, Han Qi does not have the ability to mobilize the army, this Great Song Dynasty mobilizes the army, the prime minister can say that it does not count, it has to be the emperor's will."

At the critical moment, when the emperor died, it was impossible for Han Qi to mobilize the army by himself, and Li Zhang, the commander in front of the palace, was not something that Han Qi could buy, so the military disaster could basically be ruled out. Another point is that Han Qi has no useful people from the royal family, which Han Qi can't get around.

So what else can Han Qi do? He can't control the change of throne, so what will he do if he wants to keep his wealth?

Gan Qi had a person in his mind, Empress Cao.

If the old emperor dies, everything the old emperor will be in the hands of Empress Cao, and the jade seal and the like will inevitably be in the hands of Empress Cao.

Thinking of this, Gan Qi seemed to understand many joints.

Gan Qi frowned, if Han Qi really stood by Empress Cao's side, then the ring with Empress Cao after Zhao Shu ascended the throne in history would be difficult to fight, and the difficulty would increase exponentially.

There is some insoluble here. In history, Empress Cao didn't like Zhao Shu, so after Zhao Shu ascended the throne, Empress Cao always held the emperor's treasure and refused to take it out, and directly listened to the government, and everything had to go through the big seal in her hand.

In order to compete for power and profit, Zhao Shu and Queen Cao fought in the ring for a long time, but they couldn't get the big seal, and Zhao Shu even stayed at home for a long time and didn't go to the court.

Now if Han Qi is really on Queen Cao's side, then there will be a real problem in this ring, because Zhao Shu is very short-lived, things will drag on casually, three or four years, Zhao Shu will die, so the future of this court, isn't it really decided by Queen Cao's words?

How could Gan Qi, who offended Queen Cao, still have a life?

"Dao Jian, what did you think of?" Zhao Zonghan saw Gan Qi's contemplative appearance and asked.

Gan Qi waved his hand: "No, you go back first, I will do my best to prepare for everything." ”

"Then I'll go first, please leave everything to Dao Jian." Zhao Zonghan bowed.

Gan Qi remembered one more thing and said, "Wait a minute, there is one more thing I forgot to say." ”

"What?"

"You go and talk to the eldest sister, after the ministry has made my edict, the Quanzhou Zhizhou will be vacant, and now it is suitable for Wu Chengwu, let the eldest sister operate, let Chengwu go to Quanzhou to fill the official vacancy, and come back in a few years, and be promoted again." Gan Qi said.

Zhao Zonghan said with a smile: "This is a good thing, but Quanzhou is too far away." ”

"It's because it's far away that it works. Look at me, didn't I come back in a year and a half? When you come back, you will be promoted, and you will say this to the eldest sister. Gan Qi said again.

"Okay, then I'll go and tell the eldest sister, just say it's your meaning, compared to it, the eldest sister must believe in Dao Jian's plan more." Zhao Zonghan replied.

"Well, but I also have to let the eldest sister not tell others that this is my plan, otherwise it will be difficult to do it." Gan Qi admonished.

"Got it."

After Zhao Zonghan left, Gan Qi hurriedly taught someone to invite Li Ming, the Imperial City Guard, Li Ming.

There are some things that should be discussed in secret, and you can't really end up being caught off guard.

Sending Li Ming away, Gan Qi personally went to the yamen of the commercial tax supervisor to see Li Ding and the tax collector in the commercial tax supervisor.

Gan Qi is a ruthless man, he is always ready to the last hand, and if he really wants to solve the problem, it is not ambiguous.

After the official work was temporarily over, Gan Qi began to be busy with private affairs again, preparing to buy some stores in the outer city of Bianliang for dumping ironware, Bianliang was originally a very developed place for iron smelting, when Ganqi's Quanzhou iron ware arrived in Bianliang by boat, for Bianliang iron smelting industry, it was almost a disaster.

The cost of raw materials for Ganqi's iron tools is almost zero, and there is almost no other cost for the iron ore and preliminary smelting obtained by Ganqi, except for the purchase of slaves and the grain to feed the slaves. Even in the process of forging, Ganqi's mass production cost much lower than the countless family workshops in Bianliang City.

When the time comes, Quanzhou ironware to Bianliang, one percent lower than the market price, can quickly enter the market, if two percent lower than the market price, can force a large number of family workshops in Bianliang City to go bankrupt, if it is as low as three percent, you can monopolize the entire Bianliang iron market.

Of course, Gan Qi wouldn't really force the blacksmiths in Bianliang to the point where they had no way out.

The market has the laws and means of the market, and what Gan Qi wants to do is to integrate the entire industry, and the goal is to monopolize the market. But the means will be much more relaxed.

In the early stage, all the finished irons in Quanzhou came over, and directly destroyed the workshops in Bianliang City, and then Gan Qi would come forward to hire all the skilled blacksmiths who were unemployed to set up a factory.

In the end, Quanzhou does not have to transport finished ironware, and can directly transport pig iron to Bianliang for production.

At that time, relying on Bianliang, the iron business will be radiated to the entire north. There are two other iron yards in Quanzhou, which will continue to be developed and supply more raw materials.

If you really want to do such a big business, it is far from enough to rely on Quanzhou to supply raw materials, but as long as there is an upstream market in hand, it is not difficult to go back and monopolize downstream raw materials.

What Gan Qi has to do now is to monopolize the upstream market, starting from Bianliang in the north and Jiangnan in the south.

This kind of business strategy was too common in later generations, and in this era, no one has heard of it, and even when it is said to people in this era, few people can understand it.

Gan Qi personally laid out the layout, preparing to crush the iron products market in the entire Bianliang City in one fell swoop in a short period of time.

There is also a benefit to this, that is, the production of weapons in the future, iron, is weapons.

So Shen Kuo asked a lot of iron to do the test, and for Gan Qi, it was not pressure at all. On the contrary, skilled smelting and forging talents are in short supply.

Zhang Blacksmith, who used to make simple bearings for Gan Qi on the dock, was now hired by Gan Qi to work for Shen Kuo in the academy with a lot of money, but there was still a shortage of manpower.

After being busy for several days, Gan Qi finally officially went to work in the Imperial Academy, and the second-in-command of the Tongzhi Academy, the second-in-command of the Eight Classics, and the boss was Tang Jie.

There is also a difference between the Imperial Court and the Imperial Historical Observatory, that is, the Imperial Historical Observatory also has the power to arrest officials and try and decide. The House only has the power to spray, and can only be said with the mouth.

Gan Qi's mouth was naturally only on Han Qi, and Han Qi was also unlucky, so he finally took Gan Qi away, but he didn't expect Gan Qi to jump around by himself, and in less than two years, he came back again.

Above the court, no matter what Han Qi said, it was important for Gan Qi to seize any loopholes and spray it, even if a word was caught by Gan Qi, Gan Qi would come out and ask a few questions.

Han Qi is already tired of it, fortunately, he doesn't have to go to court every day, only a few times a month, and most of the time there are small-scale meetings around the emperor, so there is no Ganqi.

Gan Qi, the same intellectual, sprayed Han Qi in the last court, and there was nothing to be busy with in the next court, and his boss Tang Jie was extremely tolerant of him.

Ganchi is one of the rare times to enjoy a normal family life.

Holding Gan Youyou in her arms, she walked around the yard while coaxing her, and teasing the little girl in her baby a few times from time to time.

Zhao Zonglan followed behind, also with a smile on her face, this family is rare to have such a comfortable and happy moment.

"Husband, at this year's Mid-Autumn Festival poetry meeting, someone actually posted a post to invite the concubine to ......" Zhao Zonglan said this, in fact, she wanted to ask Gan Qi if she could go, after all, she was a woman, and it was somewhat inconvenient to go to what poetry meeting. However, Zhao Zonglan is no longer a young lady in the boudoir, but now she is an official wife, it doesn't hurt to show her face in front of people when she goes out, the mother of the family is going to show her face in front of people.

"Where's the poetry meeting?" Gan Qi asked.

"This year's Mid-Autumn Festival poetry meeting is mainly in the hot spring hotel."

"At our hotel?" Gan Qi himself doesn't know about this matter, but it doesn't necessarily have to be known to Gan Qi, the organizers of the poetry club are all leaders in various scholar circles, they have set the place, and they go to the door to consume, and there is no need to let Gan Qi, the big boss behind the scenes, know.

"Well, this year, they set a hot spring hotel, saying that the hot spring hotel is elegant, the weather is getting colder during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and there is a warm bath, which is very suitable."

"In the past, when Lao Taishan was still there, the poetry meeting of the Runan County Palace, that was called magnificent, and the officials and dignitaries of the court flocked to it. Today's poetry club, there is only a group of young people, and those dignitaries and dignitaries are less present. Gan Qi remembered that he went to the palace to participate in the poetry meeting, at that time, Fu Bi, Han Qi, Bao Zheng, Ouyang Xiu, Zeng Gongliang and other bigwigs went back, and now they can't hold such a poetry meeting anymore.

"It is also beneficial for those nobles not to participate in the poetry meeting, at least the poetry society is not formal, and the scholars and literati can indulge in fun." Zhao Zonglan's angle is really a little different.

"When the time comes, you will go, I don't think it will be you a woman, there should be a lot of officials and ladies who will go to catch the fun, otherwise this invitation will not come to you. When the time comes, you will be alone in the courtyard, and you will be happy. Ganchi didn't care about his wife's going out to have fun.

"Well, the concubine agreed." Zhao Zonglan is a little happy, it has always been her idea to participate in this kind of literary event openly and honestly, but she is a daughter.

"It's also strange, why didn't anyone post this year to invite her husband to attend the poetry meeting?" Gan Qi said.

Zhao Zonglan smiled: "Husband, you are all a member of the five grades, how dare those scholars send you a post easily?" ”

"You mean I'm old? No longer a circle of young people? Gan Qi asked with a smile.

"The concubine body does not mean this, the concubine body means that the status of the husband is different now, and he is no longer a young scholar, but a high-ranking official in the court." Zhao Zonglan explained with a smile, and also knew that Gan Qi was joking with him.

"So you mean I want to go to the poetry meeting and can't go?" Ganchi asked again.

"Do you want to send an invitation to your husband, please be there at that time, as long as your husband is present, I don't know how many people will beat their chests."

"Am I so hated?"

"Isn't it? The husband is gone, so what is the matter of the chief winning the championship, where is there anything else? How can those great talents not beat their chests and pause, shouting loudly that they are both Shengyu and He Shengliang? ”

Gan Qi held the child in one hand, scratched Zhao Zonglan's nose with the other, and said, "You are really a little clever ghost!" ”