Chapter 78: The Agreement on the Sharing of the Two Brutals (Part 2)

In April, the Song Dynasty won a great victory in Anyuanzhai. The Song Jingyuan Road Strait Commander Lu Bing sent general Peng Sun and others to break Hulugou (now Jialu River in Shaanxi). The King of Xixia Bingchang was furious and sent the commander-in-chief Ye Binma, and the deputy commander-in-chief Miebian led the army to besiege Anyuanzhai. The commander-in-chief Lu Zhen and Mi Yun fought, and the Western Xia army was defeated, and Ye Binma, and Meebian was killed.

This was the first victory that the Song army achieved since the defeat in Yongle City the previous year, and tens of thousands of soldiers and more than 100,000 city-building servants were killed. In the following years, the Song army's front in Lanzhou temporarily stabilized.

War is a bottomless pit that consumes wealth. After several years of war, the Song Dynasty was burdened with heavy burdens. Military expenditures such as money, grain and grass increased sharply. Before the war, Shaanxi, the main war zone, "invested 19.78 million guan and 15.51 million guan" and had a surplus of 4.27 million guan. As a result, the war turned into "invested 33.9 million guan and 33.63 million", with only 270,000 guan, and the income and expenditure were just balanced.

The Song Dynasty always equaled one tael of silver. It did not count the support from all over the country, but only the tax revenue in Shaanxi. This small-scale conflict was also a "war of 33 million taels of silver (1 Song liang equals 40 to 41.3 grams, which is converted at present silver prices, and the money is at least equivalent to 13.2 billion yuan).

According to records, during the Lanzhou Battle, the Song Dynasty used burning rockets and artillery. Before the war, the Northern Song Dynasty's court once allocated 250,000 gunpowder arrows to the army; the following year, the following year, 20,000 gunpowder arrows, 2,000 gunpowder artillery arrows, and 2,000 fire bombs.

A new weapon appeared in this war - the "copper musket". This is the first time that muskets have been used in wars in human history.

The whole city was cheering for victory, no, the whole country was jubilant. Zhao Xing looked back at the bustling street scene and the joyful crowd, and suddenly sighed to the sky.

This is an era that makes people excited, everything around them is boiling... But can the prosperous scenery in front of you be forever?

In this era, China's coal production is undoubtedly the world's first, and its mining technology is very advanced. People cook coal rather than firewood.

In this era, China's steel output had exceeded the output during the British Industrial Revolution. Based on the consumption of weapons production, iron coins casting and agricultural tools in the Song Dynasty, Professor Hao Ruobei calculated that the iron output in the first year of Yuanfeng (1078) was approximately 75,000-150,000 tons, while the iron output in the entire European countries (including the Russian and European part) to the 18th century was approximately 140,000-180,000 tons.

In this era, China's per capita GDP was the highest in the world and the highest in ancient China. The peak tax in the Northern Song Dynasty reached 160 million guan (1 tael of gold equals 10 taels of silver equals 10 guan, one tael of Song equals 40 grams, and always equals 4 grams of gold). According to the price of gold, the tax revenue was at least about 192 billion US dollars.

The population in the Song Dynasty was about 100 million. According to the tax rate of the Song Dynasty, the "fifteen taxes" were calculated: In the Song Dynasty, when it was "poverty and weak", the per capita GDP in China was US$28,800...

Thinking of this, Zhao Xing asked himself - What can I do for this era?

At this time, the Song Dynasty had entered the era of literary inquisition. Should we be like Su Shi - "I lost my life for my intelligence"?

Do I have the talent of Su Shi? Do I have the connections like Su Shi? Do I have the fame of Su Shi? Do I have the official position like Su Shi?

Why can I do what Su Shi can't do?

But why do you expect me to save this world?

I am just a mortal, I... I pay taxes in a proper manner, and I have never offended anyone!

"The frost and precipitation marks are closed, and the shallow blue scales are exposed to the distant continents. The wine force gradually fades away, the wind is soft, and the wind is whirling, and the hat is full of affection but the head is in love.

If the festival is a reward, it will ruin the Qingzun to autumn. Everything will be a dream in the end. Let the rest of the world, and the yellow flowers and butterflies will be sad tomorrow.

————————————————Su Shi·Nanxiangzi·Chunjiu Hanhui Building Presented Xu Junyou”

It was still early at this time, and Zhao Xing was stunned on the street for a while and continued to walk towards the bustling area in the street.

He walked into a jewelry shop. Chaofeng in the store seemed to be very familiar with him. When he saw him in, he hurriedly greeted: "Master Zhao, you are here. The goods you ordered have already been made. I think it's time for you to pick up the goods in the next few days."

The goods Zhao Xing ordered were not for Cheng Azhu, which made Cheng Azhu feel a little disappointed. The man ordered several pairs of crystal chips, and the white crystal chips were all polished into a round mirror, and the middle was bulging.

I don't know what these round mirrors are for. Zhao Xing treated them very carefully. He picked up the lenses one by one, carefully checked their finish in the light, and even faced the sun, allowing the sunlight to condense into a light spot behind the lens, and then took out a ruler to measure the distance of the light spot.

Chaofeng quickly explained: "No problem, don't worry, Zhao Daguanren, the craftsman of Cui Taizhao in our store is first-class, and it is polished according to the molds given by the Daguanren, and there will be no deviation."

Zhao Xing had no expression on his face. He nodded quietly, then carefully counted the lenses, raised his hand and wrote a signing and handed it to Chaofeng: "With this signing, go to Hu Shang Pu Yi'an to withdraw money, I saved enough money from him."

After a while, the errand-running gangster rushed into the store and muttered to Chaofeng. Chaofeng smiled and said to Zhao Xing: "Master, the guys are withdrawing money from Pu Daguanren. There is no problem with the money. Look, will you buy other goods in the store?"

I picked a few pieces of jewelry for Azhu in the jewelry store and paid with the Japanese Jin Xiaojue I carried with me. Zhao Xing continued to walk along the street and turned into a jewelry store next to him. Chao Feng in the jewelry store was still enthusiastic: "Master Zhao, the copper tube you ordered for the blocking number has been made. The blocking number felt that the shelf was very strange. Although the retractable copper tube was very light, the bare empty tube..."

Chao Feng added: "Do you see if you have the shield inlaid some jewelry on the barrel?"

"I brought the things that should be inlaid and called out your shopkeeper. I will see him making this thing in person."

All the thirty bronze cylinders were inlaid with lenses on the front and back. Zhao Xing did not test the use of the cylinder in front of the clerk. He calmly put the cylinder into the sandalwood box, as if it was just a strange gift customized by a strange customer, and he checked out with a relaxed attitude.

However, this is a nautical weapon - a monocular telescope.

Just a few years ago, Ibn Haysaimu, who was far away in Arabia, published the original theory of lens optics - the magnification of a telescope can be calculated using mathematical rules.

Next, Zhao Xing dragged Cheng Azhu to several jewelry stores and picked up all kinds of weird items he had customized earlier. These items were a bunch of scattered parts. Zhao Xing did not ask the clerk to assemble them on the spot, but instead put them into packages and carried them to Liu Xiaoer.
Chapter completed!