I studied in modern times

Chapter 195 Bianjing Sand Table
Xinsi (nineteenth) in June of the eighth year of Yuanfeng.

Because of the sutra feast, Shen Kuo just asked to see him.

Zhao Xu then came to Chongzheng Hall again to meet with Shen Kuo.

This time Shen Kuo did not come alone, he brought along the few courtiers Song Yongchen sent to assist him.

These courtiers jointly carried a thing covered with cloth to the hall.

Zhao Xu almost guessed what it was when he saw it?
Sure enough, after Shen Kuo lifted the covering cloth, a miniature model of Bianjing City appeared in front of his eyes.

Zhao Xu walked into the hall and personally watched the model of Bianjing made of clay.

Even Zhao Xu, who had studied abroad in modern times, was amazed by the scale of Bianjing.

There are 36 squares for the left army and ten squares for the right army in the old city.

There are nine squares in the east wing, twenty-six squares in the west wing, twenty squares in the north wing, and twenty squares in the south wing of the new city!

In addition, there are Tokyo, Jingdong, Jingxi, Jingnan, and Jingbei.

There are really hundreds of thousands of households, stretching endlessly.

Royal streets, rivers, bridges, roads...

Workshops, field services, and stacking yards can also be found on this clay sandbox model.

"Is this Tianmafang?" Zhao Xu asked, pointing to a wing outside Anshang's door.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it is Tianmafang!" Shen Kuo replied.

"I heard that one of the three charcoal fields is in Tianmafang?"

"As your majesty knows!" Shen Kuo introduced: "Tianmafang charcoal field, charcoal and charcoal are divided into 40 scales, and they are often piled up for daily use in the old city..."

Zhao Xu nodded, he naturally knew this.

Bianjing City is a city fueled by coal.

At the beginning of the founding of the Song Dynasty, Taizu and Taizong had already set up a coal field to supply fuel to the people in the capital.

After all, the Han and Tang Dynasties established Guanzhong as their capital, and finally cut down all the trees in Guanzhong. The lesson is profound!
And Song Dynasty already knew the importance of vegetation at the beginning of the founding of the country!
The entire Bianhe River and the embankments of the Yellow River near the capital are planted with elms, willows, and even ancestral trees of the Song Dynasty. It is also the obligation of the people along the embankments of the Bianhe River.

This is based on the edict.

In the third year of Jianlong, Taizu ordered: On both sides of the Bian River and the Yellow River, more elms and willows should be planted by the commissioned officials and the people every year to prevent the river from breaking.

In the fifth year of Kaibao, another edict: From now on in Hezhou counties such as Yanhuang, Bian, Qing, Yu, etc., in addition to the quasi-old planting of mulberry and jujube, the chief of the committee and the people planting elm and willow and the mother of the land are still in accordance with the household registration. It is designated as the fifth class, with fifty copies for the first class, and ten copies for the second class and below.People who want to grow more arts have heard more than this number, and those who are lonely and poor are exempted.

Therefore, the biggest reason for the old party to attack the embankment department is to change the sacred law of the ancestors and make a small profit for one or two petty gains, and give up the country's river defense!

If you don't plant trees for money, are you still human?
Therefore, the use of coal (coal) in large cities throughout the Song Dynasty was very high.

It has become the main fuel for heating and cooking for ordinary people.

Especially in Bianjing, the country has laws and regulations prohibiting random cutting of trees and burning charcoal.

Those who can burn charcoal are all dignitaries.

Ordinary people can only use coal as fuel!
As a result, the amount of coal used in Bianjing City has increased year after year, and it has become a major national policy!
The Great Song Dynasty set up three large charcoal fields inside and outside Bianjing, specializing in the sale of charcoal.

At first, charcoal was also taxed.

But now, the charcoal tax has been completely abolished, and merchants are encouraged to transport charcoal to Bianjing.

It is true that charcoal, like food, is too important to the city of Bianjing.

Especially in the cold winter season, the attention of the governors of all halls will be concentrated on the price and supply of coal.

Because, a huge man-made disaster once occurred - during the Zhenmiao period, Emperor Consort Chai Zongqing and a group of relatives and ministers took advantage of the severe cold weather in Bianjing to monopolize the supply of charcoal and manipulate prices, resulting in hundreds of people freezing to death in Bianjing. people!
This is still recorded by the government. If there is no record, I don’t know how many there are!

Chai Zongqing and others, naturally made a lot of money.

It is precisely because of this tragedy that since then, the supply and price of charcoal has become the focus of Dutang Zaizhi's attention every winter.

Zhao Xu's father even issued an edict to set up a coal field in the seventh and tenth year of Xining.

Thinking about this, Zhao Xu asked, "Shen Tiju, how do common people burn coal?"

Shen Kuo looked at Zhao Xu and replied, "Your Majesty, just put the charcoal in the stove..."

Zhao Xu nodded.

He naturally knew that Da Song's use of coal was still at a very rudimentary level.

I don't know how to wash charcoal to remove sulfur, and naturally I don't know how to make briquettes and coal stoves.

Not to mention how to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.

As for the high technology of scorching, I probably don't understand it—Zhao Xu doesn't understand either, I just heard of it.

But it doesn't matter, isn't there Shen Kuo and the thousands of craftsmen who specialize in manufacturing military weapons?

Therefore, Zhao Xu said casually: "Shen Tiju, investigate things to know, everything can be judged..."

"This charcoal, you might as well lift it up..."

"If you can figure out some truths, maybe you can bless the world!"

Shen Kuo listened, and his heart moved.

Can charcoal also make sense?
He looked at the young master in front of him, and couldn't help asking: "Please enlighten me, Your Majesty..."

Zhao Xu then asked: "Shen Tiju, what's wrong with Shi Tan?"

Shen Kuo thought for a while, and remembered some things he had heard: "I heard that charcoal seems to be poisonous... It has poisoned many people to death..."

"Where is the poison?" Zhao Xu said, "This is where you can pass!"

"Besides..." Zhao Xu was in a good mood today, so he said more: "Can the way the common people use charcoal be improved? Can the common people use charcoal more conveniently and save money?"

As he spoke, Zhao Xu shook his head and said, "That's it, Ai Qing has too much burden!"

"How about I ask Song Yongchen to share your burden?"

Shen Kuo immediately shook his head like a rattle: "Reporting to Your Majesty, now I get up early and return late every day, and I never feel tired!"

"It's a rest day..."

Then, Shen Kuo saw the young master's half-smile, bowed his head quickly, and stopped talking.

Zhao Xu also stopped mentioning the matter of coal.

Instead, look at the other workshops marked on the sand table.

Ask Shen Kuo one by one, and compare them.

Zhao Xu's understanding of this city is getting deeper and deeper.

Bianjing City, as Zhao Xu’s teacher in modern times said, is a city based on industry and commerce, standing before the era of capital.

There are hundreds of large and small government-run workshops in various workshops in the city.

There are countless private workshops!
This is a huge untapped gold mine!

In the Song Dynasty, there were still several large gold mines of the level of Bianjing City!

With emotion in his heart, Zhao Xu suddenly asked: "Shen Qing, is there any ratio conversion for this thing?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the minister's calculation is based on the picture of flying birds, and it is roughly two inches per mile!" Shen Kuo replied respectfully.

As he spoke, he introduced: "I was ordered by Emperor Daxing to draw a map of the world's states and counties, and also use the map of flying birds to measure...a hundred miles is divided into two inches!"

Zhao Xu nodded, this is indeed a technique mastered by Shen Kuo.

It is also the most advanced measurement technology in contemporary times.

Converting the distance a bird flew into a ratio, Shen Kuo was the first person in the world to use a scale for map drawing.

"In the future, all the sand tables presented will be written in good proportions!"

"Sand table?" Shen Kuo's eyes lit up when he heard the words that Zhao Xu casually mentioned, and he immediately bowed down.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Emperor Daxing liked to give names to things.

Be it weapons, cities, rivers or whatever.

Therefore, Shen Kuo did not have any surprises when Zhao Xu suddenly named the clay model he made as 'Sand Table'.

……

Send Shen Kuo away and tell him to make the sand table in the Gyeonggi area as soon as possible.

Zhao Xu ordered people to bring the sand table made by Shen Kuo to Baoci Palace.

Assemble this sand table in Bao Ci Palace.

When the two palaces saw each other, their eyes brightened.

After Zhao Xu and Lianggong introduced it, both palaces also showed interest, gathered around the sand table, pointed and searched for streets and alleys.

Especially the Queen Mother, who grew up among the people.

Looking at the sand table, especially the place where Xinchangfang is located on the sand table, and the familiar streets and alleys nearby.

Empress Dowager Xiang then praised: "Ingenious workmanship! Really ingenious workmanship!"

"Yu Hao's rebirth is probably nothing more than this!"

The Empress Dowager was also very happy, because she entered the palace as a teenager and left the palace to marry Yingmiao when she grew up. After getting married, she has been living in Pu Mansion and has little time to go out.

For decades, the empress dowager's activities in Bianjing City were nothing more than Kaibao Temple, Daxiangguo Temple, Jinming Lake, and Jingling Palace.

She is naturally curious about the outside world.

The sand table brought by Zhao Xu satisfied the curiosity of the Empress Dowager.

Let her know for the first time how big Bianjing City she is in, and also know for the first time that Bianjing City is so prosperous and lively.

Zhao Xu took the opportunity to say beside him: "With this thing, in the future, the Empress Dowager will be able to know at any time where the things that happened in Bianjing City are..."

"In the future, you can even see at a glance, the trend of mountains, rivers and rivers in the world... know the geographical features thousands of miles away..."

Ninomiya listened, his eyes gradually brightened.

What they didn't think of before, now they understand when Zhao Xu mentions it.

This is a military weapon!
Therefore, the two palaces issued an edict, ordering Shen Kuo to set up a special department in the bureau dedicated to the manufacture of military weapons, which was in charge of sand table construction.

Also allocated [-] guan of internal funds as funds for the sand table department.

It is even more ordered that all the things built by the sand table division should be sent to the palace. The order Liang Weijian and Shi Deyi will choose a side hall near the Funing Hall in the palace hall to specially store these sand tables.

At the same time, Shen Kuo was also ordered to give five copies of the Xuanming Zhazi, who would nominate and recommend meritorious craftsmen to be appointed officials.

This has been the system since the Song Dynasty.

Officials will be rewarded for those who have created useful or useful things that involve the military.

Although the official rank is very low, most of them are not in the first class.

But it is also an incentive for craftsmen!
After finishing these things, under Zhao Xu's suggestion, the two palaces ordered people to send the sand table to the side hall of Yanhe Hall.

He also ordered people to open a special place on one side of the temple to place the sand table.

Zhao Xu's reason is naturally very upright - this is so that when the court meets in the future, when the courtiers report their speeches, the top and bottom can know the geography of the place where they are talking!

　Note: Shen Kuo's flying bird painting technique was later lost.

　　But in the Northern Song Dynasty, it was widely used, and was used many times to delineate the boundaries of national borders or military states.

　　Note 2: Coal was widely used in the Song Dynasty, and it was also the most important fuel in Bianjing.

　　Note 3: River governance in the Northern Song Dynasty included planting trees in addition to embankment repairs.

　　Therefore, in the paintings of the Song Dynasty, there are dense trees on both sides of the Yellow River.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)