The warm-blooded horses bred by the Great Song Dynasty walked very steadily on the road, and for these gentle but tepid horses, they could still walk freely on the official roads that had been treated with some kind of road hardening technology without the control of a rider.

With such a horse, Qin Yuzhen, who was riding on the horse, could even hold the reins and ask Zhao Jiaren: "Was this how the official family went on an expedition back then?" ”

"Yes." Zhao Jiaren gave a positive answer. In fact, when he went on an expedition to the north, it was much more difficult than now, not to mention that the Arab horse walked more bumpy, and the road at that time was completely incomparable with the present. There is a canal from Kaifeng to Luoyang, and it is very easy along the way. The route from Luoyang to Chang'an is now temporarily suspended, and the climate at this time is much colder than that of the Sui Dynasty, the amount of water is greatly reduced, and the river has become more turbulent after hundreds of years of erosion. The men and horses going to 'Tushan' changed horses from Luoyang to the west.

"The officials have worked hard." Qin Yuzhen sighed from the bottom of her heart. It was the first time she had traveled such a long distance on horseback, and the road of more than 100 miles in three days made her feel numb on both legs. But she just wanted to walk side by side with Zhao Jiaren, instead of sitting alone in the carriage. The journey of more than 100 miles is really insignificant compared with the journey of more than 100,000 miles in Zhao Jiaren's life. So much so that Qin Yuzhen couldn't help but sigh.

In addition, Qin Yuzhen also felt that she needed some exercise. When she was in Luoyang, she couldn't hold back and went to see the execution of the barbarians. Thousands of executions were streamlined in a day, and Qin Yuzhen, who watched it, had the urge to vomit when she thought about it. While there was a debate within the court about who should have the right to execute the barbarians, the government below had already taken full action, and the civil officials hoped to prove through their own actions that there was no need to use soldiers to sweep away the barbarians. The entire north of the Huai River has already taken action, and Luoyang is just one of the many capitals that have taken action.

The center of the whole team is not only the official family and the queen, but the westward trip itself is a 'vacation' action of the high-ranking officials of the Great Song Dynasty. Many high-ranking officials of the Great Song Dynasty participated in the operation. Therefore, the speed of the team's action is not high, and the number of high-ranking officials like Zhao Guanjia, who suffered a lot when they were young, is not particularly large, and even those newly rising 'young' science and engineering men have not been tempered enough.

When it came to the rest point, Zhao Jiaren picked up his wife from the horse, and Zhao Qian, who rushed to the rest station first, had already taken a simple folding small ladder, and when the old lady stood firm at the top level, he helped her walk down step by step.

Stepping on the ground under surveillance, watching her husband skillfully turn over and dismount, Qin Yuzhen, who was wearing riding leather pants, smiled. It is also a good feeling for her to be able to experience the scales and half-claws of her husband's journey back then. But before the smile disappeared, Qin Yuzhen only felt a lot of discomfort in her stomach, and couldn't help but bend down and retch. Zhao Jiaren patted his wife's back, this is not the 21st century, and people with motion sickness can easily take the high-speed rail. In this era, travel is tormented, and he admires his wife's perseverance very much.

As a cavalryman, Zhao Qian has seen too much of this kind of retching, and the cavalrymen, including himself, have experienced this kind of experience. When the old lady recovered, Zhao Qian helped the old lady to go to the rest station. At this time, the high-ranking officials either entered the rest stop by themselves or with their wives who got off the carriage. Looking at Wen Tianxiang and other high-ranking officials, Zhao Qian didn't dare to be too ostentatious, and when his father and mother sat down, Zhao Qian went outside to ask how the meal was prepared. After getting a clear answer, Zhao Qian breathed a sigh of relief. One of the important contents of this 'vacation' was the formal promotion of the theory of the modern nation-state to the upper echelons selected by Zhao Jiaren. Zhao Qian knew that his father had made up his mind. This new direction will be Zhao Qian's major policy in the future.

The modern nation-state is easy to understand, but the other reason for the trip is incomprehensible. Listening to what my father meant, I want to see if Zhao Qian can 'get the nine-tailed fox'. It has been more than ten days since he first heard this order, and Zhao Qian still can't believe that this is really his father's intention. Could it be that there really is such an auspicious thing as the nine-tailed fox in this world? Zhao Qian 99% did not believe it, and the remaining 1% doubted. But Daddy even brought his mother, is there any other way for Zhao Qian to cooperate with Daddy to play such a play?

After completing his own affairs here, Zhao Qian went to eat at the restaurant where he was. As a prince, sometimes it's a little embarrassing. If you follow behind your parents, it will inevitably give people the association that the child has not grown up. If you seem to be in charge, there will be other inconsistencies. On the contrary, it is easier to be an ordinary courtier.

As soon as he ate here, Luo Dahui, the latest Minister of Industry, sat next to Zhao Qian with a tray, he was in his forties, and he was a relatively early science and engineering man. So he swallowed a mouthful of rice and asked as he chewed, "Director Zhao, is there really a nine-tailed fox in this world?" ”

"I don't know." Zhao Qian could only answer so helplessly. As a science and engineering man, he has been trained to not believe in ghosts and gods since he was a child, and if you say that you believe in ghosts and gods, you will be laughed at by everyone if you say that you believe in ghosts and gods, or the kind of ghosts and gods propagated by the 'agricultural society'.

"What does the official family want us to see?" Luo Dahui's tone was similar to Zhao Qian's, he was really just curious, not ridiculous.

Zhao Qian tore up the steamed buns, put them into the thick soup of sliced meat and stewed bean curd, and asked while stirring them with a spoon: "If you want to find the nine-tailed fox, you must first have a nine-tailed fox." That's logical, right? ”

"Hmm." Luo Dahui answered, and put a spoonful of corn, pumpkin, and rice soup into his mouth. From the expression on his face, it can be seen that the male minister of science and technology likes this kind of common soup in the army.

"If the nine-tailed fox really exists, if we don't look for it, we won't see it. Right? ”

"Hmm." A second spoonful of soup is also served in the mouth.

"If this nine-tailed fox wasn't what we imagined it to be, we wouldn't admit it, would we?" After Zhao Qian finished speaking, he scooped a spoonful of steamed buns soaked in slow vegetable juice and put them into his mouth.

"This ...... In case of...... Forget it, this doesn't mean a deer as a horse. After a few twists, Luo Dahui also gave up saying something wrong.

Zhao Qian liked Luo Dahui's reaction very much. is worthy of being a science and engineering man identified by Zhao Jiaren, and he is completely different from those old men who were born in Jinshi. The men of science and engineering have a bottom line, and they are very straightforward. Then he listened to Luo Dahui's voice and continued to ask: "But is there really a nine-tailed fox in this world?" ”

"If you don't look for it, how do you know if you don't?" Zhao Qian could only turn the topic back to the original part. Dad also said that it was the ancient king, and when he went out on patrol, he often 'looked for the nine-tailed fox, but he couldn't'. Those times that are so old that it is very difficult to verify, all that remains are this kind of inexplicable historical records.

Luo Dahui lowered his voice a little and asked, "Do you think this is a misunderstanding, just like the four-legged and five-winged chicken in the legend last year?" ”

Zhao Qian was speechless. There is a project in the Ministry of Agriculture, and it was his father Zhao Jiaren who started first. It is a fast chicken raising method, so that the chickens can see less light, eat more, and reduce the invasion of bacteria as much as possible. For diseased chickens, they are buried on a large scale. As a result, the time spent raising chickens was much shorter, and the price of chicken plummeted.

This is a good thing, but no one expected that a rumor would suddenly appear among the people. It is said that there is a chicken raising technique that allows chickens to grow four legs and five wings. There was a lot of discussion, and even people were panicked. In the end, the government had to publicize through newspapers, schools, factories, etc., and invited everyone to visit the chicken farms that implemented the new chicken farming technique, so that the noise fell. But there are still people who believe that a chicken with four legs and five wings makes Zhao Qian very speechless.

I wanted to refute, but Zhao Qian couldn't help but think that if I didn't find the nine-tailed fox on this 'vacation', maybe it would be a good thing. If the development of things is unfortunately said by Daddy, he really found something like a nine-tailed fox. Zhao Qian didn't know how the world would shake. Zhao Qian, who was led by his father to the center of the shock, was miserable.

Polytechnic men like to argue, but they don't necessarily have the heart to be really embarrassed. Luo Dahui turned the topic to the question of why 'Tushan' is not on Huainan Road. As a water conservancy expert, Zhao Qian used a few simple elementary school divisions to make Luo Dahui believe that in the absence of horseshoes and various clear roads, it was impossible for the Xia Dynasty, located in Shanxi and Shaanxi, to cross the Qinling Mountains at that time and run to Dayun Mengze, which was still affected by the tide at that time, to control the water. It doesn't make physical sense.

After eating and resting for a while, the group continued to march along the road of spring to Shaanxi. I only walked 30 miles a day, and I had a day off every three days. Zhao Guanjia and the old guys talked about his theories with middle-aged people, and prepared them for the second great reform of China's political system after Qin Shi Huang.

The team arrived in Chang'an, and among these people, only Li Yun and Zhao Qian had been to Chang'an, and Zhao Jiaren was also here for the first time in the Great Song Dynasty. Chang'an is the banner of the Han people to the Chinese, and 'Hanzi' and 'Old Han' are very disrespectful titles in the Great Song Dynasty, but 'Dahan' is not. After the storm of war that swept through the land of China, they were allowed to live in the land of the Great Song Dynasty, except for the Song people, only the Han people.

Tall city walls, neat neighborhoods. All made these people forget the fatigue of traveling, and walking on the wide streets, these people couldn't help but sigh. Many people even excitedly said that they knew that they should have come to see Chang'an after seeing it with their own eyes.

After repairing in Chang'an, Zhao Qian couldn't help but go to his father, "Official, if we go out of Chang'an, we will only be left looking for the nine-tailed fox." ”

"Hmm. I'm going to have to work hard for you then. ”

After listening to his father's words, Zhao Qian said uneasily: "Dad, stay in Chang'an to rest for a while, it's still too late to go back to Kaifeng." ”

"Well, that's a way to do that, too. Are you scared? ”

Zhao Qian was very angry at his father's words. The more he thinks about it these days, the more wrong it becomes, according to legend, the nine-tailed white fox is Dayu's wife. Doesn't that mean that Xia's descendants all have fox blood? Then you don't need to find the nine-tailed fox again, just find Dayu's descendants. So he said cheerfully: "Dad, I don't believe there is a nine-tailed fox. ”

"Huh. It's terrible to be uneducated. Zhao Jiaren replied easily.

This is the first time that someone has described Zhao Qian as uneducated, and Zhao Qian is already so angry that he can't speak. Seeing that his father was so determined, Zhao Qian had no choice but to turn around and leave. I heard my father say behind his back: "Zhao Qian, whether you can meet the nine-tailed fox depends on the will of heaven, whether you have that life or not, I'm not sure." ”

Daddy is confused! Zhao Qian had sad thoughts in his heart.

However, it was difficult not to carry out the orders of the Great Song officials, even if the ministers scolded Song Lizong for recruiting official prostitutes into the palace for recreation, they could not stop it. In fact, in private, those people also spent a lot of money to sleep with official prostitutes who slept in official homes. It seems that they have seen the places where the official family has fought, so that they can also be contaminated with some special aura.

An official like Zhao Jiaren is an irresistible existence for ministers, and his orders must be carried out. Moreover, among the high-ranking officials who had rested in Chang'an for a while, there were also many people who wanted to leave Chang'an quickly. The Minister of Civil Affairs is the one who wants to leave the most. After the minister publicly urged everyone to 'look for the nine-tailed fox', he began to prepare for the packing.

Just as he was preparing, Wen Tianxiang came. Seeing the old boss, the minister didn't force out a smile, he really couldn't laugh. When he first heard about the idea of a 'modern nation-state,' the minister liked it, and he thought it was a way to make benevolent government the system of the future. That is to say, the benevolent emperor ruled under the bow, and the ministers united under the concept of benevolent government to serve the country.

However, this beautiful imagination was punctured with the explanation step by step, and it burst like those beautiful soap bubbles. Zhao Guanjia's latest analogy made the minister especially unbearable.

"Are you angry?" Wen Tianxiang said with a smile. He knew the reason for the Minister of Civil Affairs' anger, Zhao Guanjia was a guy who didn't have a gap with others, and his method was to tell the truth. For example, a recent example is to teach a pig how to climb a tree.

Option 1, Vision Incentive: Give the pig a good vision and tell it that you are a monkey.

Plan 2, performance appraisal: tell the pig that if it can't go up, the whole pig banquet will be placed in the evening.

Plan 3, responsibility implementation: decompose the task, specific time for each pig, climb the tree, and how to kill if you can't climb it at the specified time.

Scheme 4, cottage effect: cut down the tree and let the pig lie on the tree to draw a souvenir

Usually the imperial court chooses the first option, the second option is chosen by the various roads, and the third plan is chosen by the prefectures, but in fact, the grassroots often choose the fourth option!

As a secretary of the ministry, Wen Tianxiang felt that this was too spicy. Many officials from the Great Song Dynasty who were born as scholars are vividly described. Behind this is the determination of the Zhao family to prepare for the establishment of a strong government system. This is telling officials not to try to deceive the officials.

The Minister of Civil Affairs didn't want to talk to Wen Tianxiang at all, he said coldly: "Since the official family said that there is a nine-tailed fox, let's go and see it." This year, it was cold in spring, so we hurried to see it and went back to Kaifeng. Open the seal warmly. ”

Wen Tianxiang couldn't move, so he could only leave first. He knew that things had come to this point, but he was afraid that many people would want to see Zhao Guan's jokes. However, Zhao Guan's family looked like an old god, obviously not afraid. If the matter is solved, it seems that the only thing left is to find the nine-tailed fox. Whether you see it or not, let's end this matter first.

The next day the team continued westward, this time much faster. The climate in the northwest is much colder than in Kaifeng.

.。 m.