Glassblowing technology appeared in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties at the latest, and there were blown glass bottles unearthed in the Northern Wei Dynasty.

In the Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties and Song dynasties, the glass manufacturing industry was quite prosperous.

Especially in the Song Dynasty, many daily utensils were also made of glass, and "glass" appeared in a large number of poems.

"The glass bowl of fragrant floating cheese is drunk every year. What is better than the spring breeze, and the singing lips are a little red. The rivers and lakes are clear, and the green cage is bright. Ten thousand pieces are written lightly and evenly, bowing their heads and ashamed of the savages. ”

This poem was written when Xin abandoned the disease and ate cherries.

Xin Qiji still knows how to enjoy it, using a glass bowl to serve cheese, and then mixing cherries in it, it is estimated that most of them have been chilled.

Hmm, cherry ice cream?

A new house is built in the garden of Yanfu Palace, and the area is not large, only about 100 square meters.

The structure of the building is also very simple, no different from ordinary houses. However, a large number of glass sheets are used, which are embedded in the walls or windows.

Due to process limitations, the glass pieces are very small, which is larger than the palm. And most of them are green and translucent, which is difficult to eliminate the impurities inside.

Greenhouse, greenhouse!

Song Huizong paced in the greenhouse, in addition to the hibiscus, there are some other exotic flowers and plants, all of which are varieties that are difficult to survive the winter from the south.

Due to the favorable temperature, Fuso has flowered early.

Touching the red flowers, Song Huizong sincerely admired: "Aiqing is really a god, this greenhouse is ingenious, where can the mortal craftsmen make it?" ”

There was a thermometer hanging on the wall, also glass-blown, thick and bulky.

The glass tube is sealed with mercury, with ice water as zero degrees, boiling water as 100 degrees, and then marked with finer scales according to the length.

At the bottom of the four walls of the conservatory, there is a hot water circulation system made of tin pipes.

Zhu Guoxiang pointed to the mercury thermometer and said: "Ice water is zero, boiling water is hundred, and the temperature can be known." When the temperature is suitable, the flowers and trees can grow well, and even bloom and bear fruit against the season. Of course, there are some flowers and trees that are not suitable for indoor cultivation. ”

Song Huizong looked at the thermometer for a while, then looked at the ugly appearance of the greenhouse, and said with disgust: "Although Aiqing is good at nurseries, she is not good at architecture. I plan to leave a piece of land in Gen Yue and build a magnificent and elegant conservatory. The strange flowers and trees in the north and south of the sky and the sea are all placed in the greenhouse and cultivated, so that those flowers and plants can also dominate the world. ”

Zhu Guoxiang advised: "Glass is not easy to manufacture and fragile when transported, and it is enough to have this house. ”

"Otherwise," Song Huizong shook his head and said, "I want to design the conservatory myself, and there must be mountains and rivers in the room." As soon as you enter the conservatory, it is like entering a blessed land, and it must be made into a warm place in winter and cool in summer. Aiqing's conservatory can only be heated with hot water in winter, and it will be very hot in summer. ”

Zhu Guoxiang wanted to speak and stopped.

A 100-square-meter conservatory obviously cannot satisfy the emperor.

He wants to turn the greenhouse into a blessed land, estimated to reach 2,000 square meters, and also carry out all kinds of decorations, and even put the rockery pool into the greenhouse. Not only does glass cost a lot, but also a lot of coal is used for boiling water for heating in winter.

To build such a large conservatory, giant trees are indispensable.

Song Huizong took a pen to calculate carefully, and soon said to the eunuch who accompanied him: "Draft the decree, order the kilns in the north and south to donate 200,000 pieces of glass." Each piece of glass, half a foot square. Then offer glass tiles, the bigger the better, the more transparent the better. The glass in the south let Zhu Mian be responsible. The glass of the north, the prisons to supervise. ”

Zhu Guoxiang rolled his eyes when he heard this.

The Flower Stone Class is not only a transportation of flowers and plants, but also contains a variety of strange things in the world, even lychee, longan, olive, coconut and other fruits.

The location is not only in the south of the Yangtze River, but also in Shandong, in the north to Sichuan, and in the south to Hainan Island, all of which have their own specialties to offer.

Now, there are 200,000 more pieces of glass.

After thinking about it, Zhu Guoxiang gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, playthings can't lose their minds, let alone disturb the place. If the conservatory requires 200,000 pieces of glass, the minister will be the sinner of the world! ”

Song Huizong's brows were furrowed, and his face was very ugly.

He received too much of this advice last year, and now he is annoyed when he mentions it.

Because of the construction of Genyue, since last year, Huashigang has become crazy, and the governors of various places have tried to persuade the emperor not to mess around.

"Why are you here to persuade me?" Song Huizong reproached, "I am a big Song Dynasty and Fu Minfeng, only 200,000 pieces of glass, can I still harm the small people?" If you persuade me again, I'll be angry! ”

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The minister really doesn't want to disturb the place, the greenhouse is planted with flowers and trees, just to cultivate sentiment, the two-zhang house is enough, why build so big?" ”

"That's a mistake!"

Cai You walked in suddenly, he was summoned early in the morning, and Song Huizong asked him to come to the warm house to accompany him to enjoy the flowers.

Cai You said with a smile: "The sea is rich, the people are happy, this unprecedented prosperity." Don't say that there are 200,000 pieces of glass, there are 1 million pieces, and I can easily make it in the Great Song Dynasty, which is nothing more than a few more years of burning in the kilns in the north and south. The two-zhang house, cramped and narrow, how can it appear to be royal? ”

Song Huizong said happily: "This is the truth. ”

Li Bangyan has made a Hanlin decree and is writing a new script for the emperor, and today's living room is someone else.

Julang stood beside him, carefully recording the words and deeds of the monarch and ministers.

Although Zhu Guoxiang had not yet received his son's letter, he did not want to be infamous and immediately reprimanded: "You traitor, you are used to bewitching the king, you really deserve to be exiled for 3,000 miles!" ”

Cai You spat on his face and did not refute it.

He knew Song Huizong, and the more he was scolded, the more the emperor had to protect him.

Song Huizong was in a very happy mood today, turning the conservatory into a blessed land, and he felt that it was a genius idea. Since you are happy, why bother to be in a bad mood, and immediately speak out to stop it: "Don't say more, you are all close ministers, and you can't spoil the harmony because of a little thing." Aiqing has made meritorious contributions to building a warm house, what reward do you want to ask for? ”

Zhu Guoxiang arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty promised last year that as long as the minister ordered the Fusang flower to survive the winter and not die, he would allow the minister to return to his hometown to reunite with his wife and daughter. ”

Song Huizong was a little reluctant, because Zhu Guoxiang could always come up with novelties, and immediately said: "Give you half a year off, and before Chongyang, you have to go back to Beijing." ”

Zhu Guoxiang said: "It takes two or three months to travel back and forth. ”

"Then come back before the snow falls," said Song Huizong, "and give you a few more sea mistakes, a strange stone, and three paintings and calligraphy." Whatever you want, you can choose. ”

Song Huizong felt that Zhu Guoxiang was an elegant man who was not greedy for money, and now he did not reward gold and silver, but rewarded him with what he liked.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The ministers don't want to be rewarded, they only ask for one thing from the official family." ”

Song Huizong clapped his hands and smiled: "Aiqing actually has a time to take the initiative to request? Come on! ”

Zhu Guoxiang said: "At the beginning of the dog's entry into Beijing to catch the exam, he got acquainted with a soldier in Tokyo, and this person helped the dog a lot. Last winter, he received an errand to escort Hua Shigang. Halfway through the heavy snowfall, the post house delivery shop did not give food, he was exhausted, and he could only sell knives for money to eat. There was a gang of splashes who wanted to snatch his treasure knife, and he killed one of them by mistake. Now, he has been assassinated in Weizhou, and he has asked the official family to pardon this person's crime. ”

"Just such a trifle?" Song Huizong was actually a little disappointed, "Since it is a crime for me to escort Hua Shigang, what is the point of killing a splash?" Is this person a non-commissioned officer of the forbidden army? ”

Zhu Guoxiang said: "It's not a forbidden army, it's just a box army." ”

Tokyo also has a box army.

Song Huizong said: "Wouldn't it chill the hearts of the soldiers in the world to escort the flower stone gang for me?" Not only do I want to pardon him, but I also want to promote him and temporarily promote him to the rank of general in front of the palace! ”

Zhu Guoxiang: "......"

Many times, Zhu Guoxiang couldn't keep up with the emperor's train of thought.

He just wanted to save Yang Zhi and throw him to Daming Village, or he could follow him or his son.

Song Huizong promoted Yang Zhi from the Xiang Army to the Forbidden Army, and also gave him the title of military attaché.

The "general" of the Song Dynasty is not literal, it is a kind of unqualified military attaché. Just a few years ago, he was officially renamed as the deputy lieutenant of the martial arts, but he was still called a general in normal times. (This is the same as civil officials, such as the judiciary joining the army, which has been renamed Fa Cao Peng, but everyone still uses the old name.) ）

If someone is promoted, they only need to make a casual meritorious service, and the general can be promoted to Chengxinlang (from the ninth rank military attaché).

This is a springboard official title, which belongs to the only way for a white-bodied martial artist to turn into a military general.

Yang Zhi became the general of the front division of the palace, and he had a military attache to take it. But there are no specific duties, and they have to be sent separately, often responsible for escort work (escorting military supplies, ordnance, etc.), to put it bluntly, it is still an errand.

Cai You's eyes rolled, and he already had an idea.

He understands the emperor too well, and Song Huizong has a good memory, but at the same time he can be very poor. As long as it is something that the emperor is not interested in, the people involved can easily be forgotten.

After a while, you can send Yang Zhi a dispatch, which is the kind of escort work that is difficult to complete. Once something goes wrong, you have to pay compensation, and you can't afford to go bankrupt.

Cai Jing focuses on the overall situation and is too lazy to pay attention to the little people, Zhu Ming is a small person in Cai Jing's eyes.

Cai You is different, he is now a close minister, and he needs to compete for favor with other close ministers, and Zhu Guoxiang is a thorn in his side. And Zhu Guoxiang rarely intercedes for others, and now he actually speaks for Yang Zhi, so he must value Yang Zhi very much.

Which one Zhu Guoxiang values, Cai You will suppress it!

Song Huizong felt that this matter was too small to reflect his generosity, and said: "If Aiqing finds talented and virtuous people, he can recommend a few." ”

Zhu Guoxiang hesitated for a few seconds and said: "Min Zishun and Bai Chongyan, the same scholars of the dog, are both talented and virtuous, and now they have a humble position in the Ministry of Industry. ”

"Give them one rank each, and let them out to be the county order." Song Huizong was quite satisfied.

This is like the words, if the ministers don't recommend a few cronies, what do you want to do in your heart?

To be honest, Zhu Guoxiang is very uncomfortable, and it is too nonsense to openly promote a private person, but it is precisely the two Song Dynasty that is popular with this.

Cai You didn't say a word, he also kept Min Zishun and Bai Chongyan in his heart, and when he turned around, he greeted the officials and threw the two of them to the poorest remote county.

After watching the flowers and trees in the conservatory, Zhu Guoxiang quit the palace.

He sent someone to call Sun Li: "Yang Zhi's matter has been done." The official family pardoned his crimes, and promoted Yang Zhi to be the general of the front division of the palace. ”

Sun Li was overjoyed, knelt down and kowtowed to Zhu Guoxiang: "I have thanked Xianggong on behalf of Brother Yang, what will I send in the future, Xianggong will say that our brothers can go in the water and fire." ”

They used to say that it was good, it was a small officer in the Xiang Army, and if it was bad, it was rotten Qiuba.

Although the general in front of the palace has no rank, he can be regarded as having an official status. Using civil officials as an analogy is equivalent to jumping out of the rank of officials and stepping into the ranks of officials with one foot.

It's a pity that Cai You will make a move after all, and I'm afraid that Yang Zhi will be guilty of a big crime.

(End of chapter)