Time flies by so fast, and it’s already mid-August in a blink of an eye.

On this day, Zhao Ning ran to Gewuyuan to discuss matters with Chen Gui.

Chen Gui said: "Your Majesty, at present, all the vacancies at the inns from Gyeongji Road to Shaanxi Zhulu, Hedong Road, Hebei Liang Road and Jingdong Liang Road have been filled. There is one inn every seventy miles, and there are horses at each inn. Twenty, mostly horses purchased from Dali."

"If a beacon fire breaks out in Huizhou now, how many days will it take for the military report to arrive in the capital?"

"Huizhou is three thousand miles away from the capital. If you use express delivery, you can reach the capital in seven days."

It takes seven days to reach the capital, which means that there is basically one station every seventy miles.

The number seventy miles is not something that comes out of the mouth.

In ancient times, the cavalry marched about seventy miles a day. Generally, when a large army went out for an expedition, it was impossible to prepare all the food and grass every time. Sometimes when local mobilization was carried out, the food and grass would be hoarded, sometimes even at the post station.

"Hedong, Hebei, and Jingdong have all been deployed?"

"I have checked the official documents reported below, and there are plans."

"So, newspaper news circulates faster in these places?"

Chen Gui said: "It's just as your Majesty said."

"This matter is quite important. You need to send people to keep an eye on it. It is impossible to do everything locally. If there are problems along the way, make up for it in time."

"yes."

"The military lecture hall in Chang'an that I told you about last time, has the Military Industry Director made arrangements to go there?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, arrangements have been made to go there."

"This matter is related to the northwest walled city and road construction. The key to destroying Xixia lies in logistical construction, which cannot be ignored. Now Yinzhou is building a defense line. When the time is right, I will take the initiative to send troops to destroy Xia. After destroying Xia, the Song Dynasty will Take back Hexi. Hexi has been separated from the Central Plains for hundreds of years and will inevitably require a large number of immigrants and rely more on walled city construction. You will go to the northwest in August to inspect and provide guidance on the northwest fortifications and make sure there are no problems."

"yes."

"By the way, there is also the construction of brick kilns in Hebei. The expansion of the brick kilns this time is to rebuild the northern defense line."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will handle it properly."

Although Chen Gui usually does not participate in court disputes, many of the things he does are crucial.

The defense lines in Hebei and Hedong were all made by him, and he was also responsible for the replenishment and reconstruction of the Great Song Station.

Even the expansion of the brick kiln was arranged by him.

In the Song Dynasty, except for some large cities that were built with bricks, most cities still had rammed earth walls.

Brick walls were really popularized in the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, Jing Chao came over and said, "Your Majesty, Lieutenant Gao has something to see you outside."

"Tell him, I'll go out right away."

"yes."

Before leaving, Zhao Ning said: "How are the new weights and measures used in weapons inspection?"

"Many manufacturing processes are indeed more precise. The Faculty of Engineering of the University of Tokyo is now teaching "Jingkang New Weights and Measures."

After Zhao Ning came out of the Gewuyuan, Gao Qiu came over quickly.

"Why is it so urgent?"

"His Majesty."

"Get on the carriage and say."

Gao Qiu followed Zhao Guan's family into the carriage, and the carriage drove towards the palace.

"I just found out the news that Duke Yansheng was invited to give lectures at Songyang Academy."

"Shenggong Yan?" Zhao Ning was stunned.

People from the Confucius Mansion.

Zhao Ning was quite surprised.

He almost forgot about the family in Qufu.

Since he time traveled, he has been busy fighting against the Jin Dynasty, and Yan Shenggong's official position in the Song Dynasty was not very high, only the eighth rank.

The title of Yanshenggong was given by Song Renzong, but it could only be regarded as a mascot in the Song Dynasty. It really improved starting from the Yuan Dynasty.

By the time of the Ming Dynasty, Duke Yan Sheng was so glorious that he often privately mocked the Zhu family for being a nouveau riche, and looked down upon those who did not care about the Forbidden City.

However, in the Song Dynasty, the Kong family still did not dare to ridicule the old Zhao family. After all, the titles were given by the old Zhao family.

"When did this happen?"

"Just a few days ago, people have arrived at Songyang Academy." Gao Qiu lowered his voice and continued, "I heard that students from Songyang Academy lined the road to greet him that day."

Zhao Ning asked: "What is the official position of Duke Yansheng now?"

"This generation of Duke Yansheng has no official position."

No wonder you are so busy!

When this person is idle, he will easily commit suicide.

"However, to be precise, it is not Yan Shenggong himself. Yan Shenggong has been claiming to be ill, and it is his nephew Kong Fan who came to Songyang Academy."

Kong Fan?

Zhao Ning was searching in his head, and the name seemed familiar.

He could not remember who Kong Fan was, but he knew that in the late Northern Song Dynasty, Kong Duanyou, the Duke of Yansheng, followed Zhao Gou to the south, and Liu Yu supported another Duke of Yansheng in Qufu in the north.

Zhao Ning asked: "Have there been rumors that the Kong Mansion is related to the Jin people?"

"There is such a rumor, but most of it is based on rumors. Since Kongfu is a saint, it should not be like this."

Zhao Ning looked at Gao Qiu. Gao Qiu was a little embarrassed by the Zhao Guan family.

Even people like Gao Qiu firmly believed that the Kong family would not collude with the Jin people, which shows that during the Northern Song Dynasty, people still had great confidence in the Kong family.

As for the disgusting things that the Kong family did after that, people in the Northern Song Dynasty probably would not have seen it.

As a time traveler, Zhao Ning is very aware of the nature of the Kong family.

If they have integrity, Qin Hui will be a loyal minister!

"Who asked people from the Confucius family to give lectures?"

"It is said to be Wang Shoude."

It’s Wang Shoude again!

He was also the one who recommended the prince to join politics before.

He's been dancing a lot lately!

"Why did he invite people from the Kong family to give lectures at Songyang Academy?"

"This...I don't know."

"Take a guess."

Gao Qiu said: "Maybe it's to discuss knowledge."

"People from the Confucius family may not be good at learning, right?"

Gao Qiu added: "After Kong Fan arrived at Songyang Academy, those students, as well as the Confucian scholars from Luo Jing, all went to see him. It may be..."

"What could it be?"

Gao Qiu replied: "Maybe someone wants to use people from the Confucius family to unite people's hearts."

“Why unite people’s hearts?”

Gao Qiu said in a questioning tone: "Fight against new learning?"

Zhao Guanjia stopped talking. Gao Qiu's guess was also his guess.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Ning said: "Send someone to Qufu to investigate."

"Chacon House?"

"Yes, Chacon House."

"What result does the government want?"

"Truthful results, check whether the Kong Mansion has colluded with the Jin people."

"The Kong family is of the bloodline of a saint, it's unlikely..." Gao Qiu didn't believe that the Kong family would flirt with the Jin people, but the look in Zhao Guan's eyes made him pause, "Yes, I will make arrangements right away."

"We are also paying close attention to the developments in Songyang Academy."

"yes."

August 16, Yingyang County.

He Bin and others were drinking at Wangchun Tower.

"Boss, there seem to be more people in Yingyang County recently."
To be continued...