Chapter Forty-eight Backyard

  Song Jiufei rushed back.

  To be honest, after spending dozens of years in the previous life and staying in the capital for a long time, it feels normal. There are people everywhere, but after staying in Hebei for a few days, I feel very uncomfortable. In some places, even if you walk tens of miles, you can't see villages or people. It's empty and desolate, with only birds chirping and clouds running, which makes Song Jiunan feel afraid.

  Perhaps it was only then that he understood what 12 million households meant.

  Back and forth very quickly, in less than twenty days.

  It's getting cold, I have to get some things out and make some money. After making the money, I must dredge the river. Why do I need to dredge the river? Because of the mud!

  But I couldn't go back immediately, and had to go to Zhongshu to hand over the seal, only then could this errand's task be considered complete.

  ……

  The Imperial City is not necessarily the Forbidden City. The East and West Chang'an Gates and the East and West Imperial Streets divide the Imperial City into two halves. On the south side are the Imperial City, the Two Administrations, various other government offices, the Mingtang, the grand ceremonial halls where foreign dignitaries were received, and so on. Only on the north side is the Forbidden City, where the emperor and his consorts, minor children, the Eastern Palace, and the ordinary ceremonial halls are located.

  To get to the Temple of Confucius, you must enter through the Xingtan Gate.

  Song Jiubai didn't care, the Song Dynasty was still in its early stages of development, and the Zhao brothers didn't like excessive luxury, including the imperial city, which wasn't that grandiose either. Compared to the Forbidden City he had seen in his previous life, it was far from comparable. The tense ones were Hu Lao Da and his three companions. Carrying the treasures collected by Song Jiubai from Hebei, they walked into Xuan De Gate, so nervous that they could hardly move forward.

  "Hu Xing's head, you want to be a great hero."

  "Little Nine, don't make fun of me, okay? Or are you just being bold?" Hu Lao Da couldn't admit it, but it seemed that he was indeed inferior to Song De, and even his own son wasn't as good. This guy entered the imperial city, saw the majestic buildings and the heavily guarded soldiers, and finally became timid. Then, in his heart, he began to ponder a question: this young man had a boundless future ahead of him, and it wouldn't be bad if he became a personal attendant either. The Song Dynasty's attendants were originally from some backward tribes that had broken away from imperial control in the south; nowadays, they were called "door guests" or "servants" in noble households, and they even had a certain degree of personal freedom. He thought about becoming an attendant, but there wasn't anyone who dared to take him in - wouldn't that be asking for trouble?

  The Grand Chancellor was Zhao Pu, and the Chief Minister of the Imperial Secretariat was also Zhao Pu! The two institutions were both located on the west side of the Left Silver Bird Gate in the imperial city, with the Grand Chancellor's office to the east and the Imperial Secretariat to the west, not far apart. But there was no need to see Zhao Pu, just report this line to some officials, present the items brought along, hand them over, and consider it done, Song Jiu went home.

  Nothing.

  Song Jiuzi handed over the official document and seal, a small official came, don't know what kind of official, wearing green official uniform, let him sit down and wait for a while. Just after a short while, he himself and the things he brought back were all taken to the Zhengshi Hall.

  Many people, the Zhao brothers, Zhao Pu and many other officials were all dressed in purple, red and green official robes. It was as if they were discussing important state affairs. Song Jiuzhen first paid his respects to Zhao Kuangyin with a deep bow: "Your humble servant pays homage to Your Majesty."

  "Be calm."

  Song Jiuyou then paid respects to Zhao Kuangyi, Zhao Pu and Li Chongju. As he had shown respect to many people, no one suspected anything. He also said to the other officials: "Gentlemen, seniors, I don't know you, please forgive me."

  A group of big shots all shook their heads, some people couldn't help but laugh.

  Zhao Kuangyi also shook his head and smiled, this kid is really good at making trouble, he's the living treasure of the Song Dynasty.

  Zhao Kuangyin smiled and said: "Song Qing, how was your trip?"

  "Disappointment."

  "Don't be disappointed."

  "Your Majesty, please look," said Song Jiulang as the two minor officials outside the gate brought in a piece of iron ore. "It takes at least two miners half a day to excavate this piece of iron ore, then another half day to transport it to the furnace, and after smelting, it becomes rough cast iron."

  "What's wrong?" Zhao Kuangyin asked in surprise, it has always been like this since ancient times.

  "Your Majesty, there's also..." Song Jiu brought out one by one the things he had seen and heard on his way. He also took out the iron furnace and steel-making diagrams that Song Jiu had drawn, as well as the pig iron and broken iron that had been smelted, and the long bamboo tubes used by coal miners to test for gas, showing them all to everyone.

  "What do you want to say?"

  "This system needs to be reformed, first, charcoal can no longer be used for smelting iron, as the temperature is not high enough to produce good iron, and a large amount of coal must be used. Moreover, the large-scale felling of trees will worsen the soil erosion in the north. Thirdly, the enthusiasm of the miners is low, which will seriously affect production. Fourthly, it is too harsh, out of ten wealthy households that get involved, at least eight will go bankrupt after ten years, and the lives of the customers on the mine are equally miserable. I brought a few strong men from the river to serve as attendants in Hebei, they said that compared to these people, working as laborers on the Bian embankment is like being in heaven."

  "Change the system?... How can it be changed!"

  "How to change?" Song Jiu was stunned. The problem is Alexander, and Song Jiu's request seems really not high. He asked the imperial court for support of 100-130 tons of steel per year, but it's not unconditional supply, but purchase. However, Song Jiu's promise is that in the future, at most one year, he will give the imperial court 100,000 taels of silver, and even more when the effect is high. In the middle, countless technologies will be handed over. But this problem is extremely serious. It's like a gear, I just need to replace a gear on the diesel engine, but this gear does not match the entire diesel engine. Replacing it is possible, but the machine body needs to be replaced, the piston needs to be replaced, the crankshaft needs to be replaced, and the flywheel needs to be replaced. Now what needs to be changed is not just a production problem, including smelting technology, mining technology, and even institutions.

  All the way, I was thinking wildly and didn't know how to start. It's like this system. Later, someone came up with a good solution - Wang Anshi! Many of Wang Anshi's reforms were controversial, but two of them were good. The first was the auctioning off of the Kunfang River ferry, selling off some inefficient or loss-making ferries to private operators for three to five years, and giving the court a certain amount of money regardless of how much was sold, which at least alleviated some pressure on the country. The second was the 2-8 system, where there were no regulations governing contracted production quotas for profitable ferries, with 80% of profits going to private operators and 20% going to the government. This loophole was quite large, but it relieved pressure on the people.

  That was suitable for the national conditions of the Song Dynasty at that time, but not applicable to the new technology of Song 9. Song 9 was very honest and said: "I have been thinking about it all the way, and I haven't thought of a good solution. I only know that this policy is harsh on the people and will not work. As for what method, let each of you gentlemen think about it, it's not within my duty."

  Zhao Kuangyin and everyone else burst out laughing.

  Don't say that Wang Anshi is more intelligent than those present, no. Wang Anshi implemented the policy of baochanghe and erba fen, which unified the entire Song Dynasty, and the output of various minerals increased, although it was not enough, unlike the pitiful output now. These two policies were suitable for the Zhenzong era but not for the current time. In short, this policy is to eat the big households! There is a disadvantageous side, but by adding pressure to the heads of the big households, the disadvantages are reduced and alleviated.

  "Yield."

  Stop being nosy, the master and servant have heard you're back, they're sitting here waiting for you together. Let's get down to business!

  "I have a way to increase production, but it's very troublesome."

  "It doesn't matter if it's troublesome, as long as there is a way," said Zhao Kuangyi.

  This is not good, Song Jiu thought worriedly in his heart. Gradually, he noticed that Zhao Kuangyi was supporting him, while Zhao Pu was opposing him. Of course, nothing has happened yet. But this is the most frightening thing - I must not be caught in the middle like a sandwich cookie. These two big shots will crush me with their overwhelming power. He glanced at everyone and said: "First, we need to speed up the mining process. This kind of rough stone-quarrying method won't work. Second, it's the coal used for smelting iron - this method is also unacceptable, as it wastes too much. Third, it's the iron furnace used for smelting iron. Fourth, it's the improvement of steel-making technology. And then there's this damned system."

  "Cough, cough!" Zhao Kuangyi choked, this damn system was his idea, was he supposed to be the one to die.

  "Specifically speaking."

  "Your Majesty, first of all, the improvement of mining technology will be very troublesome, and the technology must be kept confidential. I request that Your Majesty dispatch ten reliable officials to study with me, which is conducive to keeping the technology confidential, and then promote it nationwide."

  Song Ji, Your Majesty is a good emperor, but you cannot deceive the monarch with cleverness. What virtues and abilities do you have that make officials become your disciples? Zhao Pu said discontentedly.

  Song Jiuyi glanced at Zhao Pu, who looked displeased. He was even more displeased and thought to himself: "What's the big deal about deceiving the emperor with clever tricks? You, Zhao Pu, can only read half of the Analects of Confucius, you're not even as good as me, what a pretentious scholar!" However, Zhao Pu's words made him unable to retort. What kind of person was he, after all? Just a commoner, how could the imperial court possibly allow ten officials to study with him? This was like releasing hawks without seeing rabbits! Never mind, since it was this way, they would discuss the price later. He bowed and said: "Your Majesty, why not let me ponder on it myself? When I have news, I will dispatch someone to report to you. The time shouldn't be too long, about a month should do it. However, Your Majesty, I have one more thing to say."

  "Go on."

  "Your Majesty has appointed me as a Minister of State, I bid farewell."

  Watching him leave, a group of big shots stared at each other with wide eyes. Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help but shake his head: "This kid's parents died early, lacking family education."

  One of the officials wanted to speak, but Zhao Kuangyin waved his hand and said: "You must not say more, I want to take his good things, there is no way."

  Several ministers were dissatisfied, and the rest was all farce.

  Song Jiu returned home, with many things to do and a tight schedule as the summer vacation was about to end. However, seeing his over 100 students made him feel very comforted. In ancient China, there were two professions that were most respected: being an official and being a teacher. The idea of "officials as the foundation" had been deeply rooted in Chinese culture for thousands of years, with only a few brief periods where it was diluted. As for teachers, they were also highly esteemed, and Song Jiu was no exception to this tradition.

  He came to the two classrooms and turned around, but he wasn't there. He had no choice but to put aside several subjects such as classics, law, and arithmetic, which were problematic under Dr. Zhang's teaching. However, after Song Jiu turned around again, he realized something was wrong and came in to take another look. Suddenly, he asked: "Duan Xiaoxun, where is Chen Sifeng?"

  "Song Jiu, they were invited away by two shops," said Dr. Yan.

  It's a great pity that these two students, who were among the top in their studies, had their promising futures abandoned by their families for the sake of short-term gains.

  "What's going on? Didn't I say a year's time? Dai Xiaoli, you're close to their family, you speak up."

  "Master Jiǔ, after you left, many businessmen sent people to persuade us. Two families even offered a monthly salary of seven guan, and the families of Duan Xiaoxun and Chen Xiao were tempted. We also tried to persuade them, but they wouldn't listen, so in the end they left the school."

  "Seven strings of cash, is that a lot?" Song Jiu sneered.

  Dai Xiaoli was speechless and dared not speak, to be honest, a monthly salary of 7,000 yuan is really a lot, if someone were to offer this price to himself, he might also be tempted.

  He didn't answer, Song Jiu had already seen that the trip to Hebei had taken a toll on him. Excitedly returning home, he was again doused with cold water, making him somewhat disheartened and listless. Weakly waving his hand, he said: "Alright, you all go back home, I'll also lift the one-year learning ban for now. You discuss it with your families, if you listen to my opinion, you must stay and study for a full year. If not, give me an answer tomorrow, and I'll let you leave. Go back now."

  The students saw Song Jiu get angry and quietly left one by one. Dr. Zhang said: "Song Jiu, you can't lose confidence, only two people have left."

  "Dr. Zhang, why do I dislike your traditional teaching method? It will make students afraid and produce a fear of learning, leading to rejection. So, I promote a lively education style because students are different in age and ability. To avoid making some students with weaker abilities or younger ages feel inferior, I intentionally downplay grades. This way, every student can learn happily and apply what they've learned, rather than just memorizing useless knowledge. I even thought about their future and added accounting courses. But now it's not possible, I won't let the backyard catch fire again, and in the future, I will also prevent fires in the backyard. Students' psychology is shaken, and they can't learn well either. Changing the national system isn't my job, but changing the school system, I can still do that."