On the seventh day of the first lunar month, the second prime minister and minister of the Government Council were sworn in!

There is a big difference between this and the previous one, in addition to the change in the position of the minister of the DPRK and China, another important change is the addition of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and the Ministry of Medicine.

The Ministry of the Sea is to manage the maritime affairs of the Empire, while the Ministry of Medicine is a practical need.

In this era, medicine is very backward, the average life expectancy of ordinary people is extremely low, in addition, for the current Da Song, there is a medical problem that needs to be solved urgently, that is, the survival rate of newborns is too low!

In ancient China, it was quite good for ten newborns to survive six or seven, including the current Great Song Dynasty.

There are many reasons for this, one of the most important is that the ancients did not pay attention to their lives, and newborns and fetuses often suffered from bacterial infections! In fact, if boiling hot water is used during delivery, and the midwife cleans personal hygiene in advance, etc., the neonatal mortality rate can be greatly curbed! Another point, the ancients believed that pregnant women could not see the wind, generally pregnant women from the beginning of a month or two to hide in a sealed hut, pregnant women in this two months can not wash their hair and bathe, pregnant women can not get out of bed activities, pregnant women can not eat any "cool" things, including nutritious fruits can not eat, these have a certain impact on the survival rate of newborns! In fact, modern science has long proved that the room where pregnant women live should not only not be sealed, but should be properly ventilated, pregnant women should get out of bed and move, wash their hair and take a bath, and eat fruits.

Since coming to this era, Zhao Chen has made many changes, but he rarely gets involved in the development of natural science, because he feels that this is to pull out the seedlings to help grow! Only after difficult explorations will the Chinese truly master various scientific research methods, and the thinking of the Chinese will also be changed in these scientific explorations and scientific thinking will be formed! However, the survival rate of newborns is very important, and Zhao Chen has to interfere!

After the establishment of the Ministry of Medicine, Zhao Chen personally guided and told the Minister of Medicine some of the knowledge he had mastered, so that the Minister of Medicine could spread it. For what Zhao Chen said, the Minister of Medicine will be suspicious, he feels incredible, but Zhao Chen's prestige is extremely high, and the Minister of Medicine still decided to choose a place as a pilot, if what the emperor said is really useful, then promote it throughout the country.

On the 15th day of the first lunar month, the current Government Council promulgated the policy plan.

The Government Council plans to make the country's agriculture, industry, commerce, and academia grow by two to three times in five years! The most difficult of all is agriculture!

In order to triple agricultural output in just five years, it is first necessary to vigorously promote the sowing method of double cropping in one year in the south of the Yangtze River, and in addition, it is necessary to continue to build all kinds of water conservancy facilities throughout the country, popularize all kinds of new agricultural tools, breed ploughing cattle, and study new farming methods! This is also a huge challenge for the Government Council. If this is done, in five years' time, China's grain reserves will reach an incredible level, there will be a huge surplus of grain in the homes of ordinary people, and more and more farmers will be liberated from the farmland, and they will devote themselves to handicraft workshops, business, waiters, etc., and then China will change dramatically again.

******

On the 15th day of the third month of the lunar calendar, the Yanyun area has entered spring.

Zhao Chen and Yu Yunwen set off from Yanjing for Tianjin Wei, and then they will take a boat from Tianjin Wei to Dengzhou.

On 19 March, Zhao Chen and Yu Yunwen landed at a hidden wharf in Dengzhou.

It was a shipyard under the imperial court, now under the control of the Ministry of the Sea, and Yu Yunwen was the Minister of the Sea in this government, in charge of maritime affairs that were vital to the Empire.

"Your Majesty!" On the pier, officials of the shipyard were greeted here.

"How's the big ship doing?" Zhao Chen said.

"It's finished, just wait for Your Majesty to check it out!" Superintendent of the shipyard.

"Take me with you now." Zhao Chen said.

At that moment, the shipyard superintendent took Zhao Chen and Yu Yunwen to the front, and after a quarter of an hour, they entered the shipyard, and after walking for a while, they came to a huge dock!

It's a dry dock from which ships can sail directly into the ocean after they've been built, but not a drop of water is there now.

Dry docks are an epoch-making invention in the shipbuilding industry, and dry docks did not appear in Europe until the 15th century, while dry docks appeared in China in the Song Dynasty to solve related technical problems.

A big ship with a length of 100 meters and a height of 10 meters appeared in front of Zhao Chen!

The overall shape of the big ship is streamlined, and the sunlight shines on the hull of the big ship, giving people a feeling of shimmering and shining!

Coming to the big boat, Zhao Chen took a deep breath, and he felt a deep shock! Since coming to this era, there are fewer and fewer things that can shock him, but the big ship in front of him is such a thing!

"How many captains are there?" Zhao Chen said.

"It's forty-two feet long!" Shipyard Superintendent.

The length of one zhang in the Song Dynasty is not far from the length of one zhang now, and Zhao Chen really estimated that the ship was more than 100 meters long.

"Is there no problem with such a big ship sailing on the sea?" Standing in front of the big boat, Zhao Chen felt extremely small, and he couldn't help asking.

"Your Majesty, we already made a prototype ship last year! Except for the lack of decoration and no room division, the rest of the ship is basically the same as this ship, and we have been on trial voyage for half a year! The shipyard superintendent said.

"What was the result of the sea trials?" Zhao Chen said.

"No problems in half a year! Whether it's driving on an empty ship or with a full load of cargo, there has never been a problem! The speed of the prototype ship is extremely fast, and it only takes ten days to get from Dengzhou to Hangzhou when it is fully loaded! The shipyard superintendent said.

"Only ten days?" Zhao Chen's face showed an expression of disbelief!

It took him nearly a month to travel from Hangzhou to Tianjinwei, and now it only takes ten days for this big ship to travel from Dengzhou to Hangzhou?

"Yes, it only took ten days! The sails on this large ship have been specially modified, and there are also unique large oars on board, and 200 sailors row at the same time, like an arrow! The shipyard superintendent said.

"How many people can be on this big ship? How much cargo? Zhao Chen said again.

"With the sailors, it is possible to carry more than six hundred people! As for the cargo, it can be loaded with five million catties! The shipyard superintendent said.

"So much cargo?" Yu Yunwen next to him had a shocked expression on his face.

"How strong is this ship?" Zhao Chen walked forward, and there were still workers busy on the big ship at this moment, Zhao Chen asked.

"Your Majesty, no matter how strong the wind and waves on the sea are, it is difficult to overturn this big ship! In addition, we used the rest of the ships for ramming experiments, and each time the big ship was unharmed! Your Majesty, do you know that the key parts of this big ship are made of steel as the skeleton and covered with wood, so it is extremely strong! We also conducted a fire drill and the ship was made of a special kind of wood from the province of Ratebin, which was not only strong, but also extremely difficult to burn! In Wechen's opinion, this ship has almost no shortcomings! "The shipyard superintendent looked at the ship as if he were his own child.

"This is the biggest, sturdiest, and most perfect ship in the world!" Another shipyard official next to him said.

Most of these shipyard officials were promoted from the bottom of the shipwright, and each of them was highly skilled, and they were very proud to be able to design such a big ship!

"How many of these ships can you produce in a year?" Zhao Chen said.

"Your Majesty, you can produce at most two ships a year! First, the production of such a large ship requires the construction of a very large dock, which costs hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and second, the structure of such a large ship is extremely complex, and it is very difficult to build, and it takes more than 3,000 craftsmen in our Dengzhou shipyard to produce one in half a year! The timber needed for a large ship is also very rare, even in the Subin Mansion, and the iron structure of the key parts of the large ship is even more difficult to build! However, Your Majesty, in addition to the Dengzhou Shipyard, the imperial court also has Tianjin Shipyard, Hangzhou Shipyard, Quanzhou Shipyard, and Pyongyang Shipyard, which are all very large-scale shipyards, and they can all produce such large ships! The shipyard superintendent said.

"I see!" Zhao Chen nodded.

"Your Majesty, after this big ship was built, there is no name, please give it a name!" Shipyard Superintendent.

"In my opinion, this ship is the treasure of the ship, so let's call it a treasure ship!" Zhao Chen pondered for a long time and said.

There were "treasure ships" in Chinese history, but that was in the early Ming Dynasty! Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, was born from a destitute peasant, his parents and brothers died of starvation, after Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, he believed that agriculture and mulberry were the foundation of governing the country, and handicrafts and commerce were all sacrificed to the end, which may lead to famine in the world, coupled with the invasion of the Wu Kou, Zhu Yuanzhang decreed that "no boat can enter the sea", he not only forbade the Chinese to engage in overseas trade, but even forbade fishermen to go to the sea to fish, making China miss the most important era of navigation in history, and the Chinese nation has become more conservative and restrained! However, after Zhu Yuanzhang's son Zhu Di succeeded to the throne, he gathered the strength of the whole country to build a treasure ship, and then ordered Zheng He to go to the Western Ocean, but Zheng He went to the Western Ocean not for trade, but to find Zhu Yunwen who had no trace.

Speaking the word "treasure boat" in his mouth, Zhao Chen was full of emotion.

Now that he is in control of the country, naturally he can no longer tolerate such a thing!

"Yu Yunwen, your Ministry of Oceanography should carefully discuss the necessity of equipping the treasure ship! If there is really such a demand, then send the ship drawings of the treasure ship to shipyards all over the country and step up construction! In addition, the ocean is becoming more and more important to the country, and the Ministry of Ocean should formulate a strategy to subsidize shipyards in various places, not only government-run shipyards, but also private shipyards, without discrimination! For the inventors of new ship-making technology and navigation technology, a big reward will be given, and there will be no stinginess! If necessary, I can even be a marquis again! Zhao Chen said.

"Wechen obeys!" Yu Yunwen said.

******

Zhao Chen, Yu Yunwen and others stayed at the Dengzhou shipyard for several days, and on the third day of the fourth month, they took a treasure ship to Quanzhou in the south.

This is the first voyage of the treasure ship, sitting on the boat, Zhao Chen's biggest feeling is stability! The wind and waves outside were extremely strong, but the boat was extremely stable! In addition, hundreds of guards followed Zhao Chen and Yu Yunwen to the south, and they also stayed on the treasure ship, and there was still not much crowding here.

The ship can store a lot of grain, grass and water, and according to Zhao Chen's estimate, it can supply the needs of the soldiers for up to half a year! It can be said that such a treasure ship can be regarded as an aircraft carrier of this era, and with the assistance of the treasure ship, other warships accompanying the voyage can also be replenished together, and with the treasure ship, the Great Song Navy has the ability to fight in the ocean.

The boat traveled extremely fast, and in only twelve days, they actually came from Dengzhou in the north to Quanzhou in the south! Whether it is Zhao Chen or Yu Yunwen, they are very excited in their hearts, and having such a speed is also very important for the governance of the empire! The empire was enormous, and important affairs spread to the north and south by sea.

"Your Majesty!" Zhao Chen, Yu Yunwen and others dressed in uniforms and got off the ship, and the prefect of Quanzhou was waiting for them here at this moment.

The prefect of Quanzhou was one of the military aircraft Zhangjing of that year, and he was also a cronie of Zhao Chen.

He was just about to kneel, but Zhao Chen had already lifted him up.

"I'm here from Weifu, let's go, let's take a look at this pier first!" Zhao Chen said with a smile.

Everyone walked forward, and the dock in front of them was extremely prosperous, and it was not under Tianjin Wei at all! Tianjin Wei is mainly engaged in domestic trade, and the materials from the north and south are transported to Tianjin Wei, and then transported to all parts of the Central Plains by river! Although Tianjin Wei also has sea trade, the proportion of sea trade is very small, and in Quanzhou, most of the merchants here are engaged in sea trade business.

The docks are full of shops, people coming and going, and the sound is very noisy, and all kinds of goods are shipped from here to overseas and from overseas! There are all kinds of people on the dock, nearly a third of them are foreign businessmen, many of them have yellow hair and blue eyes, after seeing these people, Yu Yunwen and the others showed a look of surprise on their faces, but it was Zhao Chen, with a faint smile on his face! He had already sent someone to investigate, and the number of Arab and Indian merchants stationed in Quanzhou alone exceeded 120,000 in this era, not to mention some Arab and Indian merchants passing by.

"Your Majesty, after you changed the tax system back then, Quanzhou has almost become several times more prosperous than before! There are some shops on the wharf, and there are countless workshops in Quanzhou City! Especially after His Majesty canonized the woman Wang as the marquis of clothing a few years ago, the textile machine spread, and now there are several large-scale prevention workshops in Quanzhou City! In the beginning, the peasants were still weaving and embroidering in their own homes, and they only did these things in their spare time, and then they all came to the city of Quanzhou and worked in the city! There was a very large workshop with more than 300 peasant women in it. "Quanzhou prefect said.

"And such a thing? Take me to see it! Zhao Chen said.

They went all the way to Quanzhou City, where there are many inns and hotels, and it is also a prosperous scene.

Half an hour later, Zhao Chen, Yu Yunwen and others came to the workshop that the Quanzhou prefect said, and the owner of the workshop had been notified that the emperor had gone all the way south from the north to inspect the situation of Quanzhou's maritime trade.

"Your Majesty, this is where the spinners do their work!" Coming to a huge courtyard, the workshop owner bent over and said with a humble expression on his face.

Zhao Chen nodded, he strode into here, only to see hundreds of women huddled together in this courtyard, the hum of the loom kept coming, and these women didn't look up when they saw someone coming in, they were still working.

"Your Majesty, they should be allowed to come and see you." The workshop owner was nervous, sweat was left on his forehead, and he said in a low voice.

"No, keep going, how did you pay them?" Zhao Chen said.

"They are paid as much work as they do! Your Majesty, the villains will never treat them badly, they make more money in a year than their family does farm work in a year! "The master of the workshop said.

Zhao Chen nodded and continued to walk forward.

Soon they came to another courtyard, where the weavers worked.

After coming out of here, you come to the place where the garment workers work, and then there are some other processing.

Zhao Chen carefully observed and asked carefully everywhere he went, and the workshop owner answered nervously.

This textile workshop with more than 300 workers is already somewhat similar to the "streamlined operation" of later generations, with a clear demarcation between spinning workers, weavers, garment workers, and post-processing, and the efficiency of the workshop is extremely high, beyond Zhao Chen's expectations.

After coming out, Zhao Chen stood there, as if thinking about something, with a nervous expression on the workshop owner's face.

"Your Majesty, is there anything wrong?" In the end, the workshop owner finally couldn't help but be cautious.

"There's nothing wrong with that! Very good, I really didn't expect that there would be such a big handicraft workshop in Quanzhou! I'm going to teach you a trick, but I'm going to introduce more technology and see if anyone can make a better weaving machine!" Also, if someone does a good job, you can ask her why she did a good job, and then carry forward the experience! You're not actually a workshop here, I think you can call it a textile factory! Zhao Chen said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the name!" The workshop owner was overjoyed, and immediately knelt down and said.

"I feel that this trip is worthwhile when I come to you!" Zhao Chen said again.

"Your Majesty, the villain has already prepared a feast, it's not too early now, please enjoy it Your Majesty!" The owner of the workshop said again.

"No need for this, I came to Quanzhou, and I have to go to other workshops to have a look!" Zhao Chen said with a smile.

No matter how the owner of the workshop was retained, Zhao Chen still headed for the rest of the place, and in the course of this day, he visited five handicraft workshops, three of which were so large that they could be called "factories".

Late at night, in the Yamen of Quanzhou, Zhao Chen was very happy in his heart, Quanzhou is more prosperous than Tianjin Wei, Dengzhou and other places in the north, and the handicraft workshops here are also very developed!

While the rest of the world was still in a primitive and barbaric era, China had gradually moved away from the agricultural era and moved towards the commodity age!

In fact, ancient Chinese civilization has always been leading the world, even in the Ming and Qing dynasties, China is still leading the world in many aspects! It's just that in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the monarch became stronger and stronger, and Zhu Yuanzhang even abolished the prime minister, these monarchs in order to maintain their power, for new discoveries, new things, new technology continue to suppress, they are afraid that these uncontrollable new discoveries, new things, new technology will affect the monarch, they are only willing to maintain the old system and old traditions, and the result is that the Chinese nation has completely sunk and is far behind the world.

Unlike the kings of the Ming and Qing dynasties, Zhao Chen was only full of joy when he saw these new things appear.

The next day, Zhao Chen continued to inspect the handicraft workshop, the sea trade shops, the news that the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty came to Quanzhou also spread rapidly, late that night, Quanzhou City hundreds of merchants who did sea trade business came to Quanzhou Yamen to meet Zhao Chen.