Zhao Ji looked up at the clouds in the sky through the window, frowned, and showed the worry in his heart on his face.

It is the summer harvest season, and an untimely heavy rain can often pull down the year's harvest by half of the harvest. It doesn't seem like much, but based on the harvest of tens of millions of stones along the way, it is an unbearable number.

Although the harvest has already been harvested in Beijing, there is no need to worry too much, but the time of opening the sickle in Hebei and Hedong is often a few days later than that of Gyeonggi. I wonder if there will be a rainy day. If a bumper harvest is already confirmed, and a torrential rain that destroys the harvest is a bad thing, this joy and sorrow is not good for the body.

Agriculture is the foundation of the country. On weekdays, the weather conditions of various places will be transmitted to the Chongzheng Hall in time. In the first half of this year, all roads in the world were in good weather, even if there were some floods, droughts, locusts and other disasters, which were only confined to a few counties in one state and did not spread.

A few days ago, the two Huai in the south opened the sickle, and the good news of the harvest was raised high in front of Zhao Ji a few days later.

And in the past few days, the wheat fields in Gyeonggi have also begun to be harvested. I don't see the counties in various states, but Zhao Ji planted a few acres of fields in the southern suburbs, and what was reported was also a bumper harvest, with a yield of more than 400 catties per mu. even offered two wheat stalks, which were placed on Zhao Ji's imperial case. Although the golden grains are not full, there are three ears on one of them, and two ears of wheat on the other, which is a rare auspicious omen.

Although it is a seed, it is actually just a gift of origin, and it is only pushed three times by holding the plow during spring ploughing. But after all, Zhao Ji has done it himself, and when he sees the harvest of the fields he has ploughed, he always has more joy in his heart.

The new wheat in the field has been sent to the palace, and tomorrow, maybe tonight, you will be able to eat cooking cakes, steamed buns, or soup cakes made from flour ground from the new barley.

However, Zhao Ji has also been an emperor for more than ten years, and he knows that the so-called four-stone yield per mu must be discounted by at least seven percent, and it would be good to have three stones. Moreover, because of Tianzitian, no one dares to save water and fertilizer, and weeds and pests are cleaned up from time to time, and they dare not slack off. The land resources of Gyeonggi fields are very depleted. In other words, it is an ordinary field, an acre of dry land, in a good harvest year, it is almost about two stones.

The wheat fields in the north are only related to the counties around Baiqu in Zhongzhong, the Daimyo Mansion in Hebei, and Yunji in Jingdong, and only a few places will have a yield of three stones per mu.

Zhao Ji sighed lightly. The yield of acres is not demanding. The harvest in the north is certainly not comparable to that in the south. The further south, the higher the yield, and it is also a double crop in a year. To the south of Wuling, the three crops are not a problem, it only depends on whether the landlord is diligent or not, and whether he will take care of the crops.

In the past, the rice output of Guangxi prefectures has increased in the past two years. Every year, there are always 560,000 or 600,000 stone of rice, which enters the sea along the left and right rivers, and is transported to Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangdong together with special products such as rice, timber and sugar from Jiaozhou. There are more than 1 million stones of Guangxi rice on the market, and because of the bumper harvest itself, the grain price in Jiangnan has been firmly suppressed at one and a half stones in recent years. Incidentally, the price of rice in the capital has also stabilized at the level of more than 60 yuan a bucket.

Although Zhao Ji was reluctant to admit it, he also knew that this was the reward that Han Gang brought to the imperial court and the country after serving as a transit envoy in Guangxi and the governor of Yongzhou.

Han Gang, who was born in a farming family, cared more about farming than any governor in Yongzhou in the past. And his huge local popularity can support all his claims. More importantly, the massacre of the Jiaozhi people in Yongzhou, as well as the large number of Jiaozhi prisoners, allowed Han Gang to drastically promote better farming techniques in Guangxi, and open ditches to irrigate the fields, without worrying about being obstructed by the local large households and the opposition of the common people to the labor. But if other officials were in his position at that time, I am afraid that they would not have scattered their energy on agricultural affairs.

Just looking at Han Gang's actions in Guangxi's agriculture, it is the position of the prime minister, not to mention that this is one of his many achievements, which is not very conspicuous. It's just too good, and it would be nice if his talent was owned by several people.

In the light gray sky, several black smoke clouds facing straight up to the sky are very conspicuous. There were several thick clouds of smoke in the west and east of the city, and Zhao Ji knew that it was the result of the vigorous furnace fire in the two iron yards.

In the iron yard of the capital, in order to release the remaining smoke after iron smelting, chimneys as high as nearly ten zhang were built, and there were four or five in the west and east of the city. The smoke and dust that came out of the chimneys drifted into the city from time to time. The sales of Sichuan fritillary, which moistens the lungs and relieves cough, have increased tenfold compared to the past when the iron field was not established.

At present, there are more than 40 million catties of pig iron and one million catties of steel in the iron yards around Tokyo City alone. The output of steel in Xuzhou is more than that of Beijing. Now the Great Song Dynasty Forbidden Army can achieve a strong army, relying on tens of thousands of catties of iron and millions of catties of steel a year.

The large amount of coal that is mined is not only used for ironmaking, but also for the daily life of thousands of households in Tokyo. Coal boats are flooded in the Wuzhang River. Outside the city, in the Twelve Charcoal Fields of Henan and Hebei, black peaks rise from the ground, and tens of millions of coal are hoarded. A few days ago, a coal mountain in Henan's No. 8 charcoal field suddenly spontaneously combusted without fire, causing the capital to be immersed in smoke for several days.

And there is more charcoal, and it is much cheaper to burn bricks. Hedong Road passed through the book of Han Gang a few days ago, using the charcoal near Shenmu Village in Linzhou to burn bricks and stones. Because of the alliance between the Yuanyuan Alliance, the walled forts on the border are not easy to rebuild and build, but thinking of the help brought by the brick and stone exterior wall to the city defense, the opposition of the Liao people can be thrown aside. If the city wall of a military village on the inner line is wrapped, and the front and rear double barriers, even if the Liao people come, they can only sigh.

Triggered by Han Gang's proposal, there was already a motion in the court to wrap the Tokyo City Wall in all the blue bricks, and now the fifty-mile Tokyo City Wall, with masonry protection, is limited to the vicinity of a dozen city gates and the top of the city wall. As for the walls, the rammed earth is still exposed. If you can wrap it with bluestone bricks, you can feel at ease even in the face of thunderbolts.

Seeing these recitals, Zhao Ji made up his mind about this, or transfer Han Gang back as soon as possible and let him stay in Hedong, I don't know what will happen. However, it has not yet been decided whether or not to build the city of Tokyo.

The construction of the Tokyo Castle Wall was completed only four years ago, and at this time, the construction of the city was carried out, and the complaints of the people of Gyeonggi and the Xiang army in Beijing will probably not be small. And the money and food still have to be left a little more to make people feel at ease. If you want to recover Yanyun, no amount of money and food reserves will only be too little.

Recovering Yanyun, Zhao Ji will not be in a hurry, but he has no intention of delaying it until ten years later. Zhao Ji is absolutely unwilling to keep the peace that has been bought with the New Year's coins now. It is his lifelong wish to recover Youyan and Yunzhong, and he is willing to pay a big price.

In order to initially settle down the newly acquired prefectures and counties of Ganliang and Yinxia, it will take a large number of immigrants and settlements, and even if the action is fast and the officials selected are properly measured, it will take about five or six years. After five or six years, when the northwest is slightly decided, at that time, it is almost possible to plan a war against Liao.

Zhao Ji looked back at the map hanging in the corner of the hall. The biggest problem in attacking from Hebei is that the movement of troops is not as good as that of the Liao, and the transportation of grain and grass is not enough, but for such a predicament, there are now means to deal with it.

However, what Zhao Ji wants most now is not to lay a track in Hebei, but to lay the track from Bozhou to Kaifeng in parallel to the Bianhe River.

Despite the fact that over the years, sleds have been borrowed, and the Bianhe River can still be used for transportation in winter. But the cost of using a sled on the Bianhe River in winter is too high and there are many restrictions. If the weather is not cold enough, the water of the Bianhe River is not frozen, and the snow is insufficient, you can only sit and wait for God to appreciate your face. From the point of view of time, the Bianhe River was sealed from November to February of the following year. In the long more than 100 days, it only takes more than a month to two months for the sled to run reliably.

If it can be replaced with an orbit, then the situation is different. At least you don't have to rely on the weather to eat, no matter winter or summer, it can come in handy. Moreover, compared with the waterway that can be used by anyone and cannot be stably controlled, after being changed to a track, it is not only convenient to collect taxes and audits, but also to spare an additional cost of transshipment. In recent years, the northern section of the Bianhe River has become higher and higher due to the influx of sediment from the Yellow River.

Just like the track at the pass of Fangcheng, the double line adds up to less than 100 miles, but the average monthly income is stable at around 30,000 guan, even if the cost of maintaining this track is nearly 5,000 guan a month, but the profit is five times the cost. With the current income level, as long as there are two more years, all the investment in the construction of the Jianghan Cao Canal can be completely recovered.

What's more, this does not include the benefits brought to the capital by one more lifeline connecting the south. And with the Jianghan Cao Canal, it is more convenient to develop Jinghu Lake.

Who will preside over the track from Xingxiu Bozhou to Kaifeng, starting from Shen Kuo, Zhao Ji has written seven or eight names on paper, but from beginning to end, Zhao Ji has not written Han Gang's name on it.

It was getting late, and Zhao Jifang came out of the Chongzheng Palace. The attendant standing behind the gate of the palace was not the tall Tong Guan who looked like a martial artist in the past. Tong Guan was ineffective in handling things, and he had already been sent to Hongzhou, Jiangxi, to bear it. But the newcomer Huangmen is not as smart as Tong Guan, and he has no other ability than diligence.

In the past few days, the only son Zhao Maid has been sick again, and after Zhao Ji came out of the Chongzheng Palace, he did not go directly to the Funing Palace, but went to visit his son's illness first.

The old palace maid who takes care of Zhao Maid full-time is called the mother-in-law of the country in the palace. Seeing the holy driver coming, he hurriedly led the palace people to kneel down to greet him.

The son was sick in the room, Zhao Ji didn't have the patience to take care of these common etiquette, and asked anxiously, "How is the sixth brother?" ”

"If I go back to the official's house, I can already sleep peacefully after drinking the medicine of Imperial Doctor Qian."

Zhao Yi was a little relieved, Qian Yi was a pediatric saint, and there would be no problems with the medicine he prescribed.

"Who was here today?" Zhao Ji asked again.

"Mrs. Zhu has been here in person. The Queen Mother, the Sage, the Big Liu Lady, the Little Liu Lady, and the Torture Lady all sent people to visit. The medicines that were sent were also compiled and put away. ”

Zhao Ji nodded when he listened, the only imperial heir was seriously ill, except for the biological mother who could come, everyone else had to avoid suspicion.

It is also because the sixth brother's physique has always been weak. The Great Song Emperor sighed secretly.

When I came out of the womb, I have never been sick, whether I wear too much or wear too little, I will inevitably get sick. A pox, a strong child can survive it, and a physique like Zhao Maid can only die young. After the pox, at least thirty percent of the heart was released. It's just that acne is not the only disease that can cause children to die.

Han Gang proposed the theory of immunization. According to this theory, all diseases that will not be recurred after the occurrence of cowpox may be prevented in advance, just like cowpox. For this reason, Zhao Ji's money to the Department of Health and Welfare and the Taiyi Bureau has never been saved. I don't know when we'll see results.