novelAbuy Chapter 13: Making New Bricks, Building New Houses: The Countdown to the Chenqiao Mutiny
Chapter 13: Making New Bricks, Building New Houses: The Countdown to the Chenqiao Mutiny
Before the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, housing prices in Kaifeng were not actually high. It was essentially a large military camp, with most of the inhabitants being soldiers and their families. The imperial court at least provided housing, and since handicrafts and other industries were not developed, the families of soldiers were practically all provided for.
In addition, the entire city of Kaifeng had just undergone a major expansion three years ago, so there was plenty of open space in the city, which naturally made housing prices cheaper.
After Chai Rong's death, property prices dropped even further. Savvy merchants had already packed their valuables, ready to flee at any moment. After all, dynastic changes are unpredictable.
Even though Guo Wei was considered to care deeply about the people and had the demeanor of a benevolent ruler, he still massacred the entire city of Kaifeng when he was crowned emperor.
As a result, the factory business of Wang Jun and his son Wang Lu went exceptionally smoothly. There were large open spaces in Tongjifang, and the few households and shops on the land either moved away after receiving some money, or simply agreed to the demolition unconditionally on the condition that they work in the factory and have room and board provided.
Although it's called a factory, it's completely devoid of assembly line production. The overall production methods are still very primitive, with nothing major besides a few kilns.
It was just a matter of finding a carpenter to make the molds, which took some effort, while the small tools needed were all made by the master craftsmen of the Ordnance Bureau with Han Tong's help.
As a result, the factory officially began trial production just four months later.
The entire factory only produces three things: hollow bricks, hydraulic cement, and low-cost glazed tiles.
According to Lao Wang, when they were young, they all built their own houses and even fired their own bricks. In the late 1980s, the government issued regulations banning the firing of solid bricks, so he knew how to fire hollow bricks.
Back then, cement was too expensive, and even if you had the money, you might not be able to buy it. The village used 3:7 lime as a substitute for cement. Later, I learned that this stuff had a scientific name: hydraulic cement.
Wang Lu was stunned. He had never even heard of such a thing, let alone made it. But to be fair, this technology was really suitable for the Fifth Generation.
As for glazed tiles, there is a story behind them; Wang Jun came up with them himself after arriving in the Northern Song Dynasty.
The imperial court recognized that only yellow tiles were glazed tiles and forbade their private use. Wang Jun, however, burned green ones. Now it was the Later Zhou Dynasty, and Chai Rong was dead. What kind of deterrent power did the imperial court have? They had Han Tong behind them. Not only did they dare to burn them, they also dared to sell them. Who dared to stop them?
Northern Song Dynasty glazed tiles were fired using high-temperature sintering, which was costly and had a low yield. Wang Jun, however, used a low-temperature glazing technique, essentially the same method as Tang Sancai (Tang tri-color glazed pottery). The resulting glaze was not resistant to sun and wind exposure, easily faded, and was not as aesthetically pleasing as high-temperature fired glazes.
Before glazing, Wang Jun applied a thin layer of sulfuric acid, and during firing, he would add a little pure alkali as a flux. The resulting tiles looked like pieces of jade.
Compared to this, even the glazed tiles from the Imperial Palace and the Great Xiangguo Temple are rubbish.
It is said that the factory took four months from preparation to production. According to the original historical trajectory, there were less than two months left before the Chenqiao Mutiny.
Han Tong's performance over these four months was mediocre, unchanged from the past. The only difference was that the incident of Han Wei murdering Zhao Kuangyin had not occurred, and he and Zhao Kuangyin had not broken off relations.
Over the course of four months, the Imperial Guards of Kaifeng underwent a series of changes and personnel adjustments. The entire Imperial Guards comprised fourteen high-ranking generals who held the title of Grand General and held the rank of Grand General.
With Empress Dowager Fu's deliberate support, eight of the fourteen generals were replaced by Zhao Kuangyin's men, and the three civil officials and prime ministers left behind by Chai Rong were unable to stop it.
This attitude was practically no different from eagerly offering the empire to Zhao Kuangyin. After all, the Empress Dowager was merely the aunt of a minor official, a perfectly healthy young woman, the daughter of the Prince of Wei.
Chai Rong suddenly married her as his empress before he died, but she died shortly after the marriage, and before she could even react, she became the empress dowager.
This was a dynasty that had seen fourteen emperors in fifty years, and they forced a young girl, not even twenty, to sit on the throne with her seven-year-old nephew. It's no wonder they acted recklessly; after all, Zhao Kuangyin was her relative, a relationship that Chai Rong had personally arranged.
This only made Han Tong feel more and more uncomfortable.
Originally, Zhao Kuangyin had a deeper foundation in the army than him. Now, with the Empress Dowager's actions, he, as the Grand Chancellor, was almost left with no troops. Standing in front of Zhao Kuangyin every day when attending court was extremely uncomfortable.
On this day, the Wang family's factory officially went into production.
Let's leave aside for now the city-wide astonishment, shock, and embarrassment at the production of these finished products.
Han Tong was even more generous than the Wang family father and son had imagined. After the products were produced, he discussed with them that only the glazed tiles would be sold, and he would be in charge of the sales. Half of the profits would be returned to the Wang family father and son, as well as Pan Wu and other small shareholders.
The remaining half was used to buy hollow bricks and lime from them. They didn't sell them at all; they used it all to renovate the barracks of the Imperial Guard and build barracks for the soldiers!
It should be noted that in the Later Zhou Dynasty, the Palace Guard was the favored son, the direct descendant of Chai Rong. Although the Imperial Guard had more soldiers and men, it had always been treated like a stepmother. The soldiers of the Palace Guard had long since moved into large tiled houses, while the Imperial Guard had always lived in latrines.
The Palace Guard Command was a new army, and its barracks were all new. It was the youngest of the Imperial Guard Commands, and its history can be traced back to the time of Zhu Wen. By the time of Shi Jingtang, it had already taken full shape, and most of the military camps were built during that period.
The houses were mostly thatched huts to begin with, and after so many years of repairs, they were all dilapidated. Han Tong was spending his own money to build houses for his own guards and personal troops, so who would dare to object?
You say he was recruiting soldiers with ulterior motives? In this day and age, who still has a heart on the right track? Of the 130,000 Imperial Guards, is there even one who is loyal to a minor official?
If he doesn't win over the hearts and minds of his troops, won't his life and death be completely in Zhao Kuangyin's hands?
Han Tong himself was the top contractor in the Great Zhou Dynasty. He knew everything about building houses, including how to build houses and which army could build houses. As long as there were materials, the soldiers would have no problem with being motivated to build their own houses.
Wang Jun also helped with the design, using hollow bricks and mortar to build small bungalows, row by row. Soldiers built the walls, raised the beams, and laid the tiles, while women mixed the mortar, carried bricks, and cooked. Children picked up bricks and handed over tools. In just ten days, Hu Jiejun's barracks were completed.
Each barracks, converted to modern terms, is only about ten square meters, but it's not a problem for a family of three, four, or five to live there.
For the imperial guards of the Five Dynasties, a house that didn't leak, didn't get muddy, and wasn't cold in winter was already considered a good house. They didn't even cook inside the military camps.
The day they moved into their new house, the entire Hujie Army was as lively as if it were New Year's Day. There was gongs, drums, and firecrackers going off all at once. Han Tongren stood at the door with a stick in his hand, and as usual, he cursed at anyone he encountered.
Lately, he's been overseeing construction every day, and he's gotten used to yelling at people, but every soldier he yells at is all smiles and extremely happy.
Besides the Tiger-Swift Army, the Dragon-Swift Army, and even other troops from the Imperial Guard, also came to watch the spectacle. Every commander was asking Han Tong when their own barracks could be upgraded, especially the Dragon-Swift Army, which was Zhao Kuangyin's direct subordinate, and they were feeling particularly distressed.
Even the ordinary soldiers weren't oblivious to the factions within the military. These houses were built by Han Tong himself, as he was afraid of treating them like stepchildren.
Ignoring the two commanders above, all the commanders below rushed over to pledge their loyalty, saying they would go through fire and water to follow Han Tong from now on, begging Han Tong not to show favoritism, and so on.
Han Tong didn't speak politely either. He glared and started cursing: "A bunch of bastards, what the hell are you rushing me for? Does firing bricks cost nothing? Does mixing mud cost nothing? My good son-in-law's workshop has been firing bricks day and night!"
"These new bricks may fire quickly, but they still have to be fired. Do you think bricks fall from the sky? Why should I give them to the Tiger-Swift Army first? They are our Imperial Guard's top elite force. Are you all elite forces too?"
As he spoke, Han Tong glanced at Liu Guangyi and Cui Yanjin of Long Jiejun, snorted angrily, and made the two of them so ashamed that they quickly lowered their heads and dared not look at him.
"Besides, my son-in-law's workshop also requires labor and materials. Doesn't it have costs?"
He needs to sell those glazed tiles first—oops, what glazed tiles? Glazed tiles are yellow, his are called jade tiles. He needs to sell the jade tiles, make money, and then he can have money to buy materials, hire workers, and make bricks and mortar for you, right?"
After that day, a strange sight appeared in Kaifeng: some ruffians would hold knives to the necks of wealthy merchants and say, "Boss, buy some tiles. They're top-quality glazed tiles. Look, they're no worse than those at the Xiangguo Temple. And they're cheap, only five coins a tile."
Time slipped by quietly, and the end of the year was drawing ever closer. More and more troops in the Imperial Guard were moving into new red-brick houses, and the New Year was becoming more and more anticipated. The festive atmosphere was much stronger than in previous years, and almost everyone bought new cloth and made new clothes for their children.
The soldiers who didn't get to build new houses weren't discouraged, because Han Tong had promised that everyone would get one sooner or later.
Only Wang Jun and his son Wang Lu became more and more nervous as the end of the year approached.
The Chenqiao Mutiny occurred on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
In the distance, Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi climbed to a high place and looked out at the rows of new military camps in the Imperial Guard Command, which were red and looked like waves of fire. Their faces were serious.
"They're just houses, brother, they won't affect the overall situation."
Zhao Kuangyin did not answer, but suddenly chuckled, shook his head, and said, "Then the Wang family's workshop is in Tongji Ward, right? Do you know the way?"