Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 246 Throughout the capital, who doesn't know of Grand Secretary Jiang's good reputation?

The first day of the second month of the third year of the Xifeng era.

After being approved by the cabinet, it was presented to the emperor, and several decrees were subsequently issued.

Promote officials to higher positions, unify taxation, lead troops across the sea, and lift the maritime ban.

Among them, the promotion of officials was only for the Imperial Academy, which was more like a "reward", while the command of troops to cross the sea was for currency, which was more like a long-term strategy.

For ordinary people, the two decrees that truly impacted their daily lives were the unification of taxes and the lifting of the maritime ban.

The unification of taxation was aimed at addressing the cumbersome tax system.

Once implemented, it would mean that the burden on ordinary people would be greatly reduced.

From the perspective of people's livelihood, simplifying procedures and unifying taxes are absolutely top-notch policies.

The lifting of the maritime ban was aimed at maritime trade.

Once implemented, it would signify the prosperity and flourishing of the commodity economy.

Maritime trade typically involves the trade of goods between countries, and its market potential is considerable. Thanks to the abundance of local products, the market profits are also quite substantial.

Once maritime trade flourishes, it will be enough to drive the prosperity of agriculture, textiles, ceramics, jewelry, spices and other industries, as well as create a large number of jobs and improve people's livelihoods, thus revitalizing the commodity economy from top to bottom.

Throughout history, policy has always determined the opportunities that arise.

From a macro perspective, lifting the maritime ban is undoubtedly a rare and significant opportunity.

Whether it's maritime trade, related industries, or even agriculture and textiles driven by maritime trade, there are considerable opportunities for takeoff. As long as they seize the opportunity, even ordinary people have a great chance to start from scratch and gradually "change their fate against all odds".

In fact, in addition to unifying taxes and lifting the maritime ban, the cabinet also issued a decree to establish the Maritime Trade Office.

The lifting of the maritime ban is not enough; maritime trade must also be regulated.

To this end, the Cabinet issued a decree to establish "Maritime Trade Offices" in coastal areas such as Hebei East Road, Jingdong East Road, Huainan East Road, Liangzhe East Road, Fujian Road, Guangnan East Road, and Guangnan West Road, which would be in charge of maritime trade documents, smuggling inspections, ship inspections, and sea-worshiping rituals.

However, the decree establishing the Maritime Trade Office was related to the lifting of the maritime ban, but it was listed as a policy related to the lifting of the maritime ban, rather than as a separate decree.

Generally speaking, the promotion of officials and the command of troops across the sea were policies that were temporarily irrelevant to the common people, while the unification of taxation and the lifting of the sea ban were policies that were more focused on people's livelihood and the economy.

Compared to the previous year, the policies of the third year of the Xifeng reign were much more "mild".

Several decrees were issued in succession, spreading throughout the land.

For a time, the discussion was endless among all levels of society, from the common people to the imperial court.

However, almost no one openly opposed it.

For officials, the fact that none of the several decrees addressed major issues related to governance is undoubtedly good news.

For local powerful families, the policy of unifying taxes was not surprising.

The reporting of land surveys meant that the tax reform system was almost irrelevant to local powerful clans and did not involve their interests.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense would know that the tax system reform was mainly intended to reduce the exploitation of ordinary people, with the village head and grain chief being the victims.

Even a minor local gentry wouldn't care about such a small amount of exploitation of the people, let alone a powerful local clan.

For the common people, both decrees are excellent news.

The unification of taxes brought joy to the farmers who made a living from farming.

The lifting of the sea ban brought joy to the laborers who made a living by working hard along the river.

Such a decree, which is accepted by all parties, is quite rare.

In practice, it went quite smoothly.

Wenyuan Pavilion.

On a small wooden table, about ten feet long, Jiang Zhao held a brush and wrote furiously.

Besides the letter being written, there was also a dried letter on one corner of the wooden table, with the words "county magistrate" faintly visible on it.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a letter of a thousand words was completed.

"call!"

With a gentle blow, the ink dried.

After glancing at it briefly, Jiang Zhao fell into thought.

One of the two letters was to be sent to Jiangdu County, Huainan East Circuit, and the other to the Anfu Division, Xihe Circuit.

The letter sent to Jiangdu County in Huainan East Road was mainly to "explain" some things to He Zhen, the magistrate of Jiangdu County.

In the third year of the Zhiping era, He Zhen, the magistrate of Jiangdu County, was knowledgeable in agriculture and was appointed by Jiang Zhao to be in charge of the breeding of Champa rice.

It has been three or four years since then.

Generally speaking, it takes one or two dozen generations of rice breeding to achieve some results.

He Zhen's breeding program has only been around for three or four years, so it's impossible for him to eliminate the slightly astringent taste of Champa rice.

According to conventional wisdom, it would definitely take several years until the slight astringency of Champa rice was successfully resolved before it could be promoted.

However, time waits for no one.

Recently, the system of land surveying and taxation has been implemented. The next step will definitely be to start with people's livelihood, namely, people's clothing, food, housing and transportation.

For the time being, housing and transportation are not important; clothing and food are of paramount importance, as they involve the risk of "freezing to death" and "starving to death."

The focus is mainly on keeping people warm with their clothing.

The main focus is on promoting high-yield crops.

As a top-yield crop, the promotion of Champa rice is for "food".

In order to solve the "food" problem as soon as possible, Jiang Zhao intended to use the water system of Liangzhe as a pilot project to try planting a kind of Champa rice.

If there are no problems with planting in the water system of Zhejiang and Jiangsu, then it can be gradually promoted.

Therefore, Jiang Zhao wrote a letter, mainly to "explain" the political situation to He Zhen, the magistrate of Jiangdu County, and asked He Zhen to transport some rice seeds into the Liangzhe water system.

As for the breeding of rice varieties, this research still needs to be conducted.

If the bitterness is truly eliminated, the promise of a "fifth-rank official" will be just as effective.

Another letter sent to the Pacification Commissioner of Xihe Road mainly asked Pacification Commissioner Wu Kui to find cotton to solve the problem of "clothing".

That's right, promote cotton!
To be precise, Jiang Zhao wanted to promote grass cotton, not tree cotton.

The cotton tree has low yields and high cultivation requirements; it was introduced to the Central Plains from India.

Herbaceous cotton has high yields and low planting requirements; it was introduced to the Central Plains from the Western Regions.

In fact, since the Qin and Han dynasties, many ancient books have recorded cotton.

In other words, people in ancient times knew about the existence of cotton.

However, they all tacitly refrained from promoting it.

Why is this so?
Because the Qin and Han people had the impression that cotton was introduced from India as tree cotton, which was difficult to grow and had a low yield, the rulers naturally did not encourage its cultivation.

During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, foreign tribes introduced cotton from the Western Regions.

Herbaceous cotton has a high yield and low planting requirements, making it an excellent material for keeping warm.

Unfortunately, due to the long period of chaos and turmoil since the Wei and Jin dynasties, and the unrest of the times, large-scale cultivation was difficult and could only be left unresolved.

Even if it exists, it is only limited to small-scale cultivation in Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan and other places.

Subsequently, the Sui and Tang dynasties also tried to cultivate cotton, but unfortunately, the Tang dynasty was in the transition period of the Little Ice Age for a considerable period of time, so grass cotton could not be grown.

Over time, high-ranking officials and nobles, based on their inherent "local customs" thinking, believed that cotton was not suitable for the local climate and soil and was difficult to grow, so few people planted cotton from then on.

Since the Little Ice Age at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period was a Little Ice Age phase. The Great Zhou Dynasty was established not long after the "warming period" began, and the weather was always relatively warm, which was suitable for growing cotton.

The problem was that the Great Zhou Dynasty was confined to a corner of the country and could not obtain cotton from the Western Regions.

Historically, the true popularization of cotton grass occurred in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties.

What can we do when the times are so cruel?
Fortunately, the Western Xia dynasty has now fallen and the Tibetan Empire has submitted, and the trade routes to the Western Regions are now open.

Jiang Zhao wrote a letter specifically to ask Wu Kui to try to find cotton seeds and to try to breed them in the Xihe border region.

Once breeding is successful, cotton can be widely promoted, and people can try to improve looms to make cotton more common.

This would alleviate the problem of people freezing to death in freezing weather to some extent. "Phew!"

Jiang Zhao took a deep breath, stretched out his hand, picked up a document, and was about to read it.

Just then, a clerk entered and announced: "Your Excellency, Shen Kuo, the Vice Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review and Supervisor of the Ordnance Bureau, requests an audience."

"Shen Kuo?"

Jiang Zhao pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Let him in."

The position of "Judge of the Ordnance Bureau," or the chief official of the Ordnance Bureau, was actually held concurrently by Shen Kuo.

Artillery and bombs are truly a top-notch strategic layout. Once there is a real opportunity to mass-produce them, achieving unification will not be a problem at all, and their importance is self-evident.

However, as important as it was, apart from Shen Kuo and Zeng Gongliang, very few people in the world truly understood how to use gunpowder.

Even Jiang Zhao only knew the slogan "one sulfur, two nitrates, three charcoal," and his eyes were blank beyond that.

Therefore, Shen Kuo, as the deputy commissioner of the Ministry of Justice, had to concurrently serve as the supervisor of the Armory, thus diverting his attention to the study of cannons and bombs.

The clerk bowed and withdrew.

In just over ten breaths, Shen Kuo strode in.

Rough black ash, a strong gunpowder smell, and rather messy hair.

This was Jiang Zhao's first impression.

"Mengxi, please sit down," Jiang Zhao said gently, looking up.

Shen Kuo nodded repeatedly, his face filled with unspeakable excitement, and reported, "Your Excellency, it's a success!"

"Done?"

Jiang Zhao was taken aback, somewhat surprised: "So fast?"

Shen Kuo's career as the Director of the Ordnance Bureau mainly began in August of the second year of the Xifeng era, which was the period when tea merchants were running out of supplies.

From that time onward, Shen Kuo was appointed as the supervisor of the ordnance commissioner, in charge of the research on artillery and bombs.

So far, it has only been about six months.

This time, Jiang Zhao thought he had come to ask for policy and resource support!
After all, the production of artillery and bombs is quite dangerous and difficult.

It's not unusual for subordinates to ask for some policies and resources.

Who would have thought that they came to bring good news?

"It's done!"

"The bomb is complete!"

Shen Kuo nodded emphatically and said excitedly, "Regarding explosives, the Grand Secretary stipulated that they must be made from sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal. After much thought, I decided to gradually increase the content of sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal from half to nine percent and test them little by little."

"Thus, a long-term experiment was conducted 4,913 times, and several more experiments were conducted for cases with high power, finally determining the bomb formula with the most stable gunpowder and the greatest power."

"Hi~!"

Jiang Zhao clicked his tongue. Exhaustive method!

Assuming that sulfur, nitrate, and charcoal each account for more than 10% of the content, then the sulfur content could be half, one, one and a half, or ninety percent, and the same applies to nitrate and charcoal.

This means that the possible percentages of sulfur, nitrate, and carbon content are 4,913.

Through repeated trials, the precise formula for the bomb can naturally be discovered.

"Okay, okay!"

Jiang Zhao nodded and said, "In that case, I will go and take a look at the Armory."

"If the power is indeed just right, I, Jiang, will definitely report it to the authorities and have you credited."

Shen Kuo was startled and quickly bowed:
"Thank you, Your Excellency!"

The Ordnance Bureau was an unmanned training ground, about a hundred feet in size.

As soon as they entered, a strong smell of gunpowder filled the air, and Jiang Zhao, Shen Kuo, and the pageboy Hesheng strode forward.

Before long, we arrived at the test site.

Sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal—the three main materials for gunpowder—were piled up in three corners, with no one else around except for three craftsmen.

"Besides myself and the three craftsmen, no one else knows," Shen Kuo explained.

He understands the importance of confidentiality in this kind of thing!

"it is good."

Jiang Zhao looked at the group and said slowly, "If you have truly succeeded in making gunpowder, I will write a letter to the emperor, asking him to grant you all exceptional official positions."

The three craftsmen trembled in unison, and bowed excitedly, saying, "We thank you, Your Excellency!"

In all of Bianjing, who doesn't know that Grand Secretary Jiang has a good reputation?
Han Menli stood in the snow, respecting his teacher and valuing the Way.

Expanding territories and possessing both literary and military talents.

Recommending Qi Heng exemplifies the virtues of sages.

Given this person's status, social prestige, and imperial favor, once he promises to grant an official position, he will definitely do so!
"Give it a try," Jiang Zhaoping said, waving his hand.

"Yes." The three craftsmen hurriedly went to prepare sulfur, saltpeter, charcoal, fuses, and other materials.

Shen Kuo lowered his hands and recounted, "After repeated proportioning by myself and three craftsmen, the ratio of sulfur to saltpeter to 75% and charcoal to 15% was achieved. After mixing and kneading it into a ball, its power was maximized."

Jiang Zhao raised his eyebrows.

This data sounds very scientific!
About half an incense stick's time later, the three craftsmen had prepared the gunpowder.

"Your Excellency, to avoid accidental injury, I will retreat with you a hundred paces. There is cover about a hundred paces away," Shen Kuo said hastily, stretching out his hand.

"it is good."

Jiang Zhao nodded and decisively stepped back.

He knew better than anyone the power of this thing.

Jiang Zhao stepped back a hundred or two paces and stopped to observe.

Three craftsmen put the kneaded gunpowder into a clay pot, stuffed it into the crevice of a rock about three feet in size, and strung a fuse more than ten meters long.

"Bah!"

As soon as the fire was lit, the three craftsmen ran together behind a wall on the side.

About ten breaths.

"Oh!"

An explosion occurred, sounding like a thunderclap.

The three-foot-long stone shattered into pieces with a crash, sending debris flying and dust billowing up.

Even from over a hundred meters away, the smell of dust and gunpowder was clearly pungent.

Even the earth trembled from the explosion.

As soon as the dust settled, the group walked over one after another.

Jiang Zhao glanced at him and nodded repeatedly.

Even the ground where the stones were placed was blasted into a crater about half a meter deep.

In terms of power, it may not be comparable to later ones, and its explosion method is more like a "landmine" than a "hand grenade".

But it was already a weapon powerful enough to change the course of the war!
"Hesheng, take my token and invite the official here," Jiang Zhao said, taking out the token from his waist and waving his sleeve.

This kind of power is already considered "auspicious," so it definitely needs to be reported to the authorities to claim credit.

Admittedly, Jiang did not make the bomb himself.

But can you guarantee that without Jiang Zemin's reforms, the imperial court would have had bombs?
"Yes." The pageboy Hesheng bowed and ran off with the token in his hand.

"Just wait," Jiang Zhao said, waving his hand.

Shen Kuo and the three craftsmen exchanged glances and nodded hurriedly, their eyes filled with shock.

With the token, one can summon the officials.
So only Grand Secretary Jiang has this ability, right?
(End of this chapter)