The sixth year of Qingli is a special year for the Great Song Dynasty.

It was not only that the Western Xia suddenly made a move against Qingtang, which caused the Great Song Dynasty to be forced to participate in the war, and the troops were sent to the northwest to oppose the Western Xia.

It is also because from this year, the industry of the Great Song Dynasty is being carried out in an orderly manner, and the laying of the whole country has begun.

The first to start construction was the Nanyang Iron and Steel Plant, which was built in Nanyang County, Dengzhou, that is, Nanyang City, which began to prepare as early as the fourth year of Qingli and was put into production in the fifth year of Qingli.

Then in the sixth year of Qingli, the steel plants began to spring up like mushrooms after a rain, basically after the issuance of the document of the Political Institute at the beginning of last year, the transfer envoys began to respond to the call of the country, and officially built a steel production line on this road.

To this end, Wu'an Iron and Steel Plant stopped military construction and began to manufacture steel production furnaces in large quantities, and continued to train various skilled workers, first sending talents to Nanyang Iron and Steel Plant, and then sending guidance to the whole country.

If the Northeast was the eldest son of the Republic and the heavy industry production base of our country, then now Wu'an Iron and Steel has become the eldest son of the Great Song Dynasty and began to help his younger brothers and sisters thrive.

It is also to blame the bad luck of Western Xia and Liao, if they had started two years earlier, the steel mills across the country had not been laid. A single Wu'an Iron and Steel Plant was not enough to supply firearms to so many armies across the country, so the construction of firearms at that time was not so fully perfect.

But now the more than 600,000 troops of the Great Song Dynasty have completely realized a comprehensive iteration of firearms. In addition to wearing a ring-headed knife on the waist, only the bayonet developed by the School of Physics was the rifle at the front that could be used for loading and unloading.

At this moment, at the beginning of July, in the forbidden military school field in the northern suburbs of Bianliang, Zhao Jun and Fan Zhongyan stood on the stage, looking at the roaring sound in the school field in the distance, and the sound of "bang, bang" explosion did not stop.

In a cloud of dust and smoke, a small dirt hill about four or five meters high collapsed, splashing countless dust.

In the artillery position in front of Zhao Jun, more than a dozen gunners were loading ammunition from the rear of the cannon, cleaning up the remaining gunpowder in the ammunition magazine, and then stuffing the shells into the gun chamber, igniting and firing again, and in just one minute, three guns were fired.

This is actually the limit reloading speed of ancient front-loading shells, and an experienced crew member can quickly complete the task of cleaning, reloading, and firing after firing, so as to reach the level of 2-3 rounds per minute.

But it has also been said before that doing so will limit the life of the cannon.

Therefore, during the Napoleonic period, unless it was particularly urgent, a cooling project was generally added, that is, a rate of fire of one or two minutes per minute to complete the shelling mission.

Although the reloading shell also has concerns about exploding, it is much faster than the front-loading shell in terms of loading speed, although the steps are the same, it is also cleaning and loading, and the reloading part does not need to use a pinch to poke the shell in, which greatly increases the rate of fire.

Regardless of the limit of the explosion chamber and life, they can even reach the level of seven or eight rounds per minute, and if there are a few hundred guns, then they can completely complete the artillery fire covering bombardment, which can be said to be extremely powerful.

After watching the rear-loading cannon experiment, Zhao Jun and Fan Zhongyan went to inspect the test firing of the rear-loading musket.

Compared with the original Nimi bullet and fixed ammunition, the rate of fire of the rear-loading musket has now risen to a higher level, and it can basically be declared that it has reached the strongest technology and combat effectiveness in the gunpowder era.

"Yes, I didn't expect the School of Physics to be so powerful, the year before last told them how to design, how to manufacture, last year the design has been done well, this year in March almost completed, and after a few months of improvement, the effect is gratifying."

Fan Zhongyan finished reading the test shot and nodded with satisfaction.

He went to the School of Physics in March, and the School of Physics has been completed, and it has been improved for several months now, and it has basically reached the level of mass production.

Zhao Jun said with a smile: "There are two conditions that can have such fast efficiency, one is the emergence of steel mills, and the birth of industry has greatly increased steel production. The second is to cultivate scientific soil, and a large group of like-minded people engaged in scientific research and exploration will naturally be able to produce miracles. ”

"You've done it all."

Fan Zhongyan said.

"Yes, these eleven years of hard work have not been in vain."

Zhao Jun said lightly.

In the past, when I looked at history, other time-travelers had just come over and rubbed the steam engine by hand, and soon the industrial revolution could be started.

Only he knows how difficult it will be.

The Industrial Revolution was not a steam engine, but a system.

Otherwise, a screw, a lever, or even a sealing problem inside may be overwhelming.

In the past eleven years, Zhao Jun has perfected the gunpowder formula on the basis of the firearms owned by the Great Song Dynasty itself, so that the Great Song Dynasty can make grenades and artillery.

At other times, it is cultivating all kinds of talents, promoting basic junior high school mathematics, physics and chemistry education, and providing a research platform for talents interested in science, such as Su Song, Zhang Zai, Jia Xian, Wan Zhichen, Yan Su, etc.

This two-pronged approach has led to the point where we are today.

"Now it just so happens that Western Xia and Liao are plotting against us, and if we officially let the military factory start production, we should be able to send it to the front line to fight."

Fan Zhongyan said.

"Well, in the afternoon, let the military department draw up a sword, and first build a batch of new equipment for the forbidden army in Bianliang."

Zhao Jun said: "Now that the Great Song Dynasty has all installed the Suifa muskets, the cost of replacing all the muskets is too great, and the problem of redundant troops has just been solved, so we can't start to increase so much military spending right away." ”

"This is also true, it seems that the speed of upgrading weapons and equipment is not a good thing, maybe the front foot has just replaced the new equipment, and the back foot has developed a better one, and the cost has risen sharply."

"Now that the development speed of the Great Song Dynasty is still much faster, maybe we should slow down, first precipitate the era of steam industry, and then slowly change to the era of electrification after thirty or fifty years, and it will be better at that time."

"Well, take a step and look at it first. By the way, yesterday, Dean Wan of the School of Chemistry reported that another explosion accident occurred in the School of Chemistry while studying nitrate and sulfur, causing one death and three injuries. ”

Fan Zhongyan scratched his head and said, "Is this chemistry so dangerous?" ”

"Yes."

Zhao Jun sighed, looked into the distance and said, "Not only chemistry, but also biology." Once the protection is not in place, and some dangerous bacteria are studied without authorization, it is not good to say that there will be a large-scale plague infection. ”

"It seems that both chemistry and biology should be cautious."

Fan Zhongyan was stunned for a moment.

"It's to be cautious, but sometimes it's also helpless, like how many times Nobel escaped death, and was blown up to the point that nitroglycerin was invented, and if you want to progress, you need someone to make sacrifices."

Zhao Jun was also helpless, although explosives brought great disasters to mankind, but if the Great Song Dynasty wanted to dominate, he had to take this road.

Otherwise, if the Great Song Dynasty does not study explosives, others will. Maybe the chemistry of the Great Song Dynasty was stagnant in gunpowder, and hundreds of years later, the West developed explosives, so maybe it was another round of colonization.

For this reason, he can only let Da Song keep moving forward on the road of development, and there can be no time to stop.

After returning to the palace, in the afternoon they reported to Zhao Zhen the results of the morning's inspection, so the Constitutional Yuan planned to mass-produce about 10,000 or 20,000 breech-loading rifles for the Bianliang forbidden army.

The advantages of this gun are obvious, the reload speed is exceptional. And since the propulsion effect is achieved by igniting the gunpowder in the bullet by the firing pin, there is no need to be like a flintlock pistol, and every time the trigger is pulled, there is a 30% chance that it will not ignite.

However, since the bullet is fired by black powder and not by thundermercury or other smokeless powder, it is bound to inherit the shortcomings of black powder.

For example, every time a shot is fired, there will be gunpowder residue in the firearm, which needs to be cleaned up all the time. Moreover, the airtightness of the breech is very poor, and the smoke and gases of gunpowder that pour out will interfere with the shooter's aiming, and in serious cases, it will even burn the skin.

Although the problem of air tightness was barely solved by the Physics Institute with rubber pads, there was no way to solve the gunpowder residue.

After all, before the invention of thundermercury and other smokeless gunpowder, both rear-loading firearms and cannons had such problems, such as the first rear-loading rifle in history, the Dresser rifle, which had such a defect.

This is a matter of historical process, unless the Great Song Dynasty overtakes in the bend, chemical technology advances by leaps and bounds, and thundermercury and smokeless gunpowder are invented in advance, otherwise they must also go through, there is no way.

In the afternoon, Chongzheng Hall reported the situation to Zhao Zhen, Zhao Zhen was very happy, and it was basically time to get off work after the meeting.

But at this time, Wang Shouzhong came over to pass on a bad news to everyone - Wang Zeng had reached the end of his life.

"What?"

Zhao Zhen froze in place, unwilling to believe it for a long time.

And the faces of the people were sad.

Wang Sui, Sheng Du, and now Wang Zeng again, the original three phases and three ginseng, plus Yan Shu and Fan Zhongyan, have already gone almost three.

"Well, let's go see."

Zhao Jun stood up and sighed.

Zhao Zhen smiled bitterly: "Shouzhong, go and visit Xiao Xiangong for me." ”

"Yes."

Wang Shouzhong bowed slightly.

It is impossible for Zhao Zhen to leave the palace in person, and in history, Lu Yijian died of illness, and he could only mourn for him in the back garden, and dropped out of the dynasty for three days.

Therefore, it is often only possible for the eunuchs to take his place.

Everyone left the Chongzheng Palace, walked out of the palace from the Donghua Gate, and got into a carriage and headed towards Wang Zeng's mansion.

Wang Zeng has been an official for decades, the family is rich, the mansion is located in the inner city of Jiazi Lane, after going out from the Donghua Gate, to the east through Huihefang, Zhugan City, and then north through Yulin Lane to Jiazi Lane.

In the inner city, where every inch of land is valuable, his house is close to the old Caomen in the outer city, which is considered to be at the junction of the inner city and the outer city, with luxurious mansions and forest gardens.

Many prime ministers stopped at the door of the palace, and the porter outside the door hurriedly went in to call people, and a moment later, Wang Zeng's eldest son, Wang Jian, who served as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, led several younger brothers to come out to salute and greet them, and their faces still had sadness.

According to the chronology "Wang Wenzheng Gong Zeng Xing" written by Fu Bi, Wang Zeng had four sons and three daughters, namely the eldest son Wang Jian, the second son Wang Qi, the third son Wang Yan, and the fourth son Wang Fu.

But it's a pity that Wang Zeng's heir is not as talented and intelligent as Wang Zeng, and he finally became the prime minister. is not like Lu Yijian's third son, Lu Gongshu, who has been studious since he was a child, so that he forgot to sleep and eat.

Poor offspring is very fatal for a political family.

Because of this, the Wang family could not prosper, and in the end, the descendants of the descendants were reduced to loneliness and namelessness, unlike the Lu family, which could prosper in the future.

Under the leadership of the heirs of the Wang family, many prime ministers came to the back house of the palace, but before entering the door, they smelled a strong smell of medicine when they walked into the courtyard.

It is July, the crape myrtle, pomegranate, and moon flowers in the courtyard are fragrant, mixed with medicinal fragrance, which makes people feel in a trance.

The door was open, and the strong medicinal fragrance wafted from the house.

"Father, the prefect is here."

Wang Jian walked into the house and reported to Wang Zeng.

Everyone then entered the house and saw Wang Xiaoxian lying on the bed.

Wang Zeng turned his head with difficulty, and only then did everyone see his face.

I saw that in less than a month, Wang Zeng had lost weight very quickly, and his face, which was already clear, was even thinner, like dry bones, and his eyes were cloudy, revealing a blank look.

Everyone looked unbearable, they had worked together for many years, and although there were gaps in the past, they had long since disappeared, leaving only melancholy and sadness.

Cai Qi, as Wang Zeng's staunch ally, walked over quickly, held his hand and said sadly: "Prince." ”

Zhao Jun also came to his side, squatting on the ground and looking at him.

Wang Zeng's cloudy eyes glanced around, and after a while, he seemed to wake up again, and said with difficulty: "Everyone, I'm afraid that my limit has arrived. ”

Cai Qi hurriedly said: "No, the public still needs to recuperate and recuperate, and the public still needs to be in charge of national affairs." ”

Wang Zeng smiled bitterly, and then asked, "I don't know how the war in the northwest is going?" ”

"After Han Qi reorganized his troops and horses, he was about to go out of the border pass to attack the hinterland of Western Xia, there is no need to worry about these things, even if he can't destroy Western Xia, it will be easy to inflict heavy losses on them."

Zhao Jun comforted.

"Let's go out first."

The king looked at his sons.

Wang Jian and the others exited the house and closed the door.

There were only a lot of prime ministers left in the house.

Then Wang Zeng sighed: "Since ancient times, no one has died, leaving Dan to take care of his sweat." ”

As he spoke, he looked at Zhao Jun and said, "Hanlong, I remember you said that this poem was written by Wen Tianxiang, the prime minister of the Southern Song Dynasty at the end of the year." ”

"Yes."

Zhao Jun patted the back of his hand and said softly: "The prince has been observing festivals for many years, and he should be famous in history. ”

"Even if I leave my name in history, I don't want to be famous."

Wang Zeng shook his head and said: "However, the will of heaven is like this, when it is time for me to leave, everything has been put down, and now there are only two things to worry about." ”

"You say."

"One is a major national event, military, civil, and state affairs."

"It's all right, please rest assured."

"The two of my unsuccessful heirs, they are talentless, but they are still virtuous, they haven't caused me any trouble over the years, I hope you old friends will take care of it."

"The public is virtuous in the community, Your Majesty should be gracious to the children and grandchildren, these things are arranged by the court, and the prince is relieved."

Zhao Jun did not give his own promises.

But Wang has been in the position of prime minister for more than 20 years, how can Zhao Zhen be stingy, several sons in the family have graces, but the promotion of officials cannot all rely on the background.

Except for the third child, Lu Yijian's sons are all average, so they are basically unknown to everyone.

This was also the norm in the political circles of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Even if you are the prime minister, if the heir is not outstanding, it will be difficult to continue to ascend, so as to prevent the birth of the family.

It's just that even so, Wang Zeng was already very happy, barely showed a smile, and said tremblingly: "If that's the case, I'll have no worries." ”

Subsequently, Lu Yijian, Yan Shu, Fan Zhongyan, Song Shou, Li Di, Zhang Shixun and others came forward to express their condolences.

Everyone talked to him for a while, and it was just more than ten or twenty minutes, but Wang Zeng was already exhausted, and after chatting with Jiang Tang for a few words, he tilted his head and lay down.

This scene startled everyone, but fortunately, the doctor was called to know that Wang Zeng only fell asleep due to tiredness, and he was still alive for the time being, which made people feel at ease.

In this way, everyone will no longer bother and go back.

Two days later.

Wang Zeng couldn't sleep.

This Zaifu, who has worked hard for the Great Song Dynasty for many years, died of illness like this.

(End of chapter)