I studied in modern times

Chapter 798 Pu Zongmeng's Oath
"Why did Master Pu return to the court only now?"

Zhao Xu looked at the letter sent by Tongjiansi and asked Shi Deyi beside him.

As early as the Gengyin day (the ninth day) of April before the Zhang Dunli case broke out, he and the two palaces jointly issued an internal surrender order and sent people to recall Pu Zongmeng.

Zhao Xu remembered very clearly that that was the day when the news of the death of Zhang Dun's father Zhang Yu reached the capital.

Now, Cui Taifu who was in Luzhou has been in Beijing for a few days.

However, Pu Zongmeng, who lived less than 400 miles away from the capital and could travel most of the way via the Grand Canal, dragged his feet and did not reach Bianjing until almost May.

Is this normal?

unusual!
So, what did he do on the road?

Shi Deyi lowered his head and said, "Everyone, the Investigation Department reported that Pu Xueshi seemed to have turned back once on the road to visit a friend in Xuzhou..."

"Xuzhou?" Zhao Xu pursed his lips: "Did he go to see Song Yongchen?"

Shi Deyi lowered his head, trembling with fear: "I dare not speak nonsense!"

That means going to see Song Yongchen!

Starting from February this year, Song Yongchen brought a large number of craftsmen and imperial guards to Xuzhou to oversee the comprehensive transformation of the Liguojian.

The main thing is to repair the blast furnace!
Since the eighth year of Yuanfeng, the military equipment manufacturing bureau has been located outside Bianjing, overhauling blast furnaces, mastering the construction technology of reverberatory furnaces, and successively breaking through basic iron smelting technologies such as refractory bricks.

By the second half of last year, we were able to produce refined iron and even crude steel on a stable basis.

By the way, the craftsmen who specialized in manufacturing military equipment also reproduced the ductile iron from the Qin and Han dynasties.

Yes, you are not mistaken!

According to modern archaeological discoveries, as early as the Western Han Dynasty, Chinese craftsmen had mastered the high-tech smelting technology of ductile iron.

However, for some unknown reason, ductile iron was lost after the Western Han Dynasty.

In the Nanyang area, there was even a huge iron smelting workshop site discovered, with thousands of craftsmen working there. There were as many as seventeen large iron smelting furnaces alone!
It covers an area of ​​more than 120,000 square meters!
The records in the Biography of Gong Yu in the Book of Han thus shone into reality: Today, the Han family mints coins, and all iron officials have officials and soldiers moving to the mountains to take copper and iron, with more than 100,000 people working every year!
The records in the Salt and Iron Treatise have also been confirmed: In the past, the powerful families mined iron and stone to cast iron drums, boiled the sea to make salt, and gathered more than a thousand people in one family...

It is a period of prosperity for both state-owned and private enterprises!
Therefore, it is reasonable for the Han army to defeat the Five Barbarians alone.

Unfortunately, the industrial base and technology that the Western Han Dynasty had a thousand years ago were far behind those of the Song Dynasty a thousand years later.

The iron smelting industry of the Song Dynasty was also very large in scale.

But it is big but not strong, big but not refined!
Before Xining, the quality of Song Dynasty's military equipment was even worse than that of the Dangxiang people!

The arrows could not penetrate the leather armor, the bowstring was soft, the parts of the crossbow were broken, and even their weapons were not as good as those of the Tanguts - many soldiers' swords could not cut through the Tanguts' armor or break their defenses!
Therefore, the Western Army has been promoting powerful and heavy armor-piercing weapons such as iron maces and heavy axes.

I was really cheated!

We can only trust these bulky heavy weapons!

So it was only natural that we were defeated in the three battles of Sanchuankou, Haoshuichuan and Dingchuanzhai!
It was for this reason that Wang Anshi decided to establish a military equipment supervisory agency to coordinate the skilled craftsmen and resources across the country, promote the production of military equipment as a national key project, and promote it as the main line of reform.

It was for this reason that Zhao Xu's father decided to establish a bureau dedicated to the manufacture of military weapons, so that the production of military weapons would be controlled by the royal family.

These are the lessons of the Song-Xia War!

Fortunately, we now have reverberatory furnace technology, which has broken through the refractory bricks.

The new blast furnace was larger, better, stronger and more efficient than the ones in the Western Han Dynasty.

In particular, the invention of large hydraulic blowers made it possible to scale up blast furnace iron smelting.

The only problem is...

Today's various technologies still need to be iterated.

The high temperature resistance of refractory bricks is not strong enough, the construction technology of reverberatory furnaces is not mature enough, and the design of flues and fire channels needs to be improved... Therefore, the lifespan of today's blast furnaces is very short.

When its lifespan is reached, a new one must be built.

but it does not matter!
With a reverberatory furnace, coal can be used to smelt iron.

Thanks to these blast furnaces, Zhao Xu's reserves of refined iron and crude steel have now reached their peak since the founding of the Song Dynasty.

With iron, you can do all kinds of things.

But not enough!

Therefore, starting this year, Song Yongchen went to Xuzhou, and was appointed as the supervisor of the Xuzhou Liguojian as the chief of the Internal Palace Attendants and the envoy of Zhaoxuan, and was given full authority to take over the sites, workers and mines of the Liguojian.

Xuzhou is a coal-producing city and also has iron mines. In modern times, there are several large steel companies.

Although its output is not as high as Tangshan, it is still considered a heavy industrial base in modern times.

Therefore, there is no shortage of local resources.

Just ...

Zhao Xu could never have imagined that Song Yongchen and Pu Zongmeng would actually end up together.

Zhao Xu was not worried about Song Yongchen's loyalty.

However, it is never a good thing for an eunuch to get too close to a civil official.

Zhao Xu had not forgotten how Zhang Maoze had used his relationship with the ministers of the old party to leak the news from the Forbidden City to the whole world.

"What did they talk about?" Zhao Xu asked.

Shi Deyi shook his head: "The Investigation Department doesn't know whether Pu Xueshi has seen Song Yaban..."

"I only know that Pu Xueshi was in Xuzhou and met the hermit Shi Dao of Xuzhou, and also met Bian, the deputy envoy of the six routes of Jianghuai..."

"Master, what is this?" Zhao Xu asked, "Who is this person?"

"His surname is Chen, and he is a good friend of the governor of Dengzhou, Chen Shi..."

"Oh!" Zhao Xu knew. This was Chen Shidao, one of the Six Gentlemen of Su's School as known by modern people!
This person was a student of Zeng Gong, and he made it his mission to promote Zeng Gong's literary thoughts throughout his life.

Su Shi liked him very much and always wanted to steal Zeng Gong's girl.

With Su Shi's charm, he should have been successful in everything he did.

However, Chen Shidao said: I have always respected Zeng Nanfeng!

In my heart, there is only one teacher, and that is Mr. Zeng Nanfeng!

And this man named Big Beard likes scholars like Chen Shidao.

On the contrary, he liked him more and more, and kept recommending him to the court throughout the Yuanyou era.

However, Su Shi would never have thought that his love would soon turn into poison for Chen Shidao.

During the Shaosheng era, the New Party came to power and launched a counterattack. Because of his relationship with Su Shi, Chen Shidao was demoted to the Yuanyou Old Party and was directly dismissed from office.

Originally, Chen Shidao should have had a bright future - he was a student of Zeng Gong.

Is there any need to say more about the relationship between Zeng Gong and Wang Anshi?
Therefore, it was reasonable for Pu Zongmeng to meet Chen Shidao.

Because Chen Shidao was both a student of Zeng Gong and a good friend of Su Shi brothers.

Pu Zongmeng's daughter married Su Guo, the son of Su Che.

They are in-laws!
Just ...

"When did Cai Bian arrive in Xuzhou?" Zhao Xu asked curiously.

"This month is Xinmao..."

Zhao Xu calculated that Xinmao day was the tenth day.

That is to say, it was the day after the news of Zhang Dun’s father’s death reached the capital.

By that time, Cai Bian must have known that Zhang Dun had to observe mourning.

Then he heard Shi Deyi continue: "The Investigation Department reported that before Cai Fayun went to Xuzhou, he went to Jiangning and paid a visit to Wang Sikong..."

Zhao Xu pursed his lips. Cai Bian was Wang Anshi's son-in-law.

Now Wang Anshi promoted education in Jiangning and founded Jiangning Academy.

As a son-in-law, it was reasonable for Cai Bian to go to pay homage to Mount Tai and take his grandchildren to kowtow to their grandfather.

Not to mention, Zhao Xu secretly sent someone to inform Cai Bian, asking Cai Bian to provide all possible conveniences for Wang Anshi to run a school.

So Zhao Xu asked, "When did Cai Bian go to Jiangning?"

"Late March!" Shi Deyi replied.

Zhao Xu closed his eyes.

Late March?
In other words, he arrived in Jiangning shortly after Zhang Yu passed away in Suzhou.

Maybe, after hearing the news of Zhang Yu's death, he went to Jiangning to seek advice. And then he connected the matter of Pu Zongmeng to it...

Pu Zongmeng was ordered to return to the capital to report on his work... Halfway there, he turned around and went to Xuzhou, where he met Chen Shidao and Cai Bian, and possibly also Song Yongchen.

Then he went to Beijing from Xuzhou.

Calculating the time, he stayed in Xuzhou for at least seven days before slowly entering Beijing.

Maybe he was still on the road observing the situation in Beijing.

Maybe he also knows about the Zhang Dunli case.

Otherwise, why did he go to Beijing just after the Zhang Dunli case ended?
These ministers of Xi and Feng are all shrewd people!

Thinking of this, Zhao Xu asked, "Where is Pu Xueshi now?"

"I have just reported to the Ministry of Personnel and should be in the capital now."

"Yes!" Zhao Xu nodded and asked, "Do the two palaces know about this?"

"Know!"

"I understand. When Pu Xueshi's petition for an audience arrives, have the Interview Office deliver it to the palace!"

"promise!"

……

Pu Zongmeng stood in front of the mural in the capital hall, looking at the strange rocks and trees carved on the mural, a little absent-minded.

"Scholar, Duke Shen invites you!" A clerk in the hall came up to him and bowed to invite him in.

"Thank you!" Pu Zongmeng nodded slightly, then looked at the person who came, but it was an official from the capital whom he did not know, which made him a little dazed.

He couldn't help but ask, "Sir, you have just come to Dutang in recent years, right?"

The latter lowered his head and replied: "To be honest, Scholar, I was recommended by Kaifeng Prefecture in June of the first year of Yuanyou. After being examined by the Dutang, and after being stamped by Duke Kangguo, I was specially recruited into the Dutang as a clerk..."

"Were you a former official in Kaifeng Prefecture?"

The other party replied shyly: "Reporting to the Master, that's exactly it!"

Pu Zongmeng immediately sighed: "You must be a good official!"

How difficult is it to get the Que in Dutang?

Pu Zongmeng was deeply impressed.

After all, he is a seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister.

The officials in the capital lived with the prime minister day and night. Even if he was just a low-ranking clerk, as long as he was willing, he could at least be selected as a candidate if he was sent out.

The other party, however, bowed towards the direction of the imperial city and said, "This is all due to the emperor's great grace, allowing us, the humble officials, to ascend to the steps of heaven!"

Pu Zongmeng was stunned for a moment, and remembered the civil service examination method of Kaifeng Prefecture that he had heard of.

When he was in Bozhou, he intended to follow suit, but Bozhou was a place full of powerful families and they were intertwined.

In particular, there is a real Buddha in this local area - Gao!
Although, they are all branches of the Gao family.

The real direct descendants of the Gao family's relatives were all in the city of Bianjing.

However, even if the novice monks under the Buddha’s seat are not Bodhisattvas, they are still Arhats and Vajra!

Unexpectedly, the officials of Kaifeng Prefecture had a way to enter the capital?
This is his blind spot in knowledge.

When the other party saw Pu Zongmeng's expression, he started to explain to him.

After listening to the other party's explanation, Pu Zongmeng was deeply moved. He bowed in the direction of Funing Palace and said, "You are truly a wise and holy ruler!"

This was the official dismissal reform that Han Jiang had promoted in the capital last year.

According to Han Jiang's regulations, if a clerk in the capital hall made a mistake and refused to correct himself after repeated admonitions, he could be dismissed with the signature of the ruling official.

That means dismissal!
After the dismissal, Dutang would select talents from Kaifeng Prefecture, Street Office, Store and House Affairs and other offices in Beijing through examinations to fill the ranks of Dutang.

At the same time, these officials have a certain number of quotas every year and can recommend talents to the capital.

This reform disrupted the ecological environment of the city's clerks in one fell swoop.

In the past, hereditary positions were passed down from father to son, but now they have become popular positions that are coveted by countless people.

No one dared to pretend to obey or to challenge the prime minister anymore.

Ministers from both the New and Old Parties felt very comfortable.

Working in this capital is becoming more and more enjoyable.

"The capital is no longer what it used to be!" Pu Zongmeng sighed in his heart and couldn't help but think of what he saw and heard when he came to the capital.

Clean streets, orderly roads, well-organized flow of people, and street clerks enforcing the law with sticks.

The once congested Bianjing has become a thing of the past.

All kinds of garbage and human and animal feces that were once seen everywhere have also disappeared completely.

A track extends from the city to outside the city.

From time to time, a long carriage loaded with various goods, pulled by four horses, would gallop along the wooden tracks towards the outside of the city.

Thinking of this, Pu Zongmeng bowed to the clerk and asked, "May I ask your name?"

"My surname is Wang... my name is Cheng..." The other party was flattered and introduced himself.

Pu Zongmeng nodded: "Good! I'll remember it!"

If everything goes well when he returns to the court this time, he will be able to enter the two governments again.

If he were to sit in the capital, he would certainly need a few capable men.

Can't make the same mistake again!

There was a strange glint in Pu Zongmeng's eyes.

The past events came to his mind.

The scandals involving him...

Those stories that almost everyone in the world knows now...

What kind of meal costs hundreds of coins...

A set of clothes cost thousands of guan of ambassador's money...

There were dozens of concubines, maids, and servants to serve her, including taking a bath, boiling water, and...

There are also steps such as big face wash and small face wash.

It's all true!

only……

Those people only told part of the truth.

The truth is, he ate hundreds of strings of coins in one meal because he was entertaining guests.

When the ruling party entertains guests, is it too much to spend hundreds of coins for each meal?

not much!

This is the standard for prime ministers to entertain guests!

As for a set of clothes costing thousands of strings of cash...all the official uniforms of the prime ministers are that expensive!

Boiling water for a bath or something like that would be even more normal.

Because he had to go to court and meet the emperor.

Bathing and changing clothes are routine operations!
Wu Chong, the prime minister in the early Yuanfeng period, made even more exaggerated preparations every time he went to the palace to meet the emperor - because Wu Chong had a tumor on his neck, in order to cover it up, he would spend a long time at home putting on makeup, just like a woman.

But no one knew about these things, and no one was telling Wu Chong's story everywhere.

People only know that Pu Zongmeng is lustful, extravagant, and wasteful.

Who spread these things?
Who has been promoting him, fearing that the world would forget Pu Zongmeng's great achievements?
Pu Zongmeng knew it clearly in his mind!
One of the groups was the old officials in the capital whom he had offended in the past!

If I have the chance now, I will do it again.

Then, Pu Zongmeng swore that he would never make the same mistake again.

Especially in employing people, he will not make the same mistake as last time!
(End of this chapter)