Chapter 1001: Summary

"Bai Shang, have you been rolling on the ground? Why are you covered in dirt?"

In the prince's study, Zhao Xu looked Bai Shang over with a curious expression and asked with a smile.

Just a moment ago, he had vaguely heard the sound of generals making a ruckus outside the manor.

Before long, Bai Shang, Huo An, and the others arrived.

"General Bai has been taught a lesson by General Yang Zhen," Huo An gloated.

Bai Shang scratched his head in embarrassment, then turned to Huo An and the other generals and said, "You lot are too disloyal. I wasn't the only one bullying Di Ying, so why kick my backside instead of yours?"

"Hahaha, who told you to have so much meat on your backside?" one general shouted.

The crowd burst into laughter again.

Zhao Xu shook his head, having basically figured out what happened. "Alright, stop messing around. And you lot, don't use your status in the Central Army to bully generals from other armies. Pay attention to unity."

"Yes, Your Highness," the generals immediately stood at attention and said in unison.

Zhao Xu nodded. "Since you have all returned, take a good rest and enjoy the New Year. Besides, how is the cleanup of the battlefield going?"

The scale of the Battle of Yongzhou was quite large.

Many people died, and there would be much to salvage.

Most importantly, in order to intercept the Northern Di, they had buried many landmines on the south bank of the Jin River.

Some of these landmines had been detonated by Northern Di soldiers.

Others still remained beneath the snow.

To prevent these landmines from harming the common people, they certainly had to be cleared out.

Fortunately, when these landmines were buried, they were covered by snow.

When burying the landmines, the soldiers could set markers near them to facilitate excavation.

And the reason he had Bai Shang and the other generals come to the manor upon their return—

On one hand, it was to see them and commend them.

On the other hand, it was to inquire about these matters.

"Reporting to Your Highness, the minefield has been cleared, the bodies of the Northern Di soldiers have been burned and buried, and the trenches have been filled in," Bai Shang replied.

After a pause, he continued, "Additionally, we captured a total of 160,000 sheep, 90,000 cattle, 520,000 warhorses, and 420,000 injured horses. The dead warhorses were also collected and sent back by each army to be made into cured meat, to add a dish for the soldiers in the future."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu felt a slight joy.

The number of warhorses the Northern Di participated in the war with reached at least 1.2 million, a massive quantity.

However, for the Northern Di who occupied the entire Grassland, this was actually not all of them.

In the contemporary 19th century, it was recorded that even Japan at that time had 1.7 million horses.

The northern Grassland could easily raise over two million horses.

In this war, the Northern Di basically lost more than half of their foundation, which could be considered a huge gain for them.

Thus, he ultimately did not lose money on this battle.

After all, the Battle of Yongzhou consumed quite a lot of ammunition and provisions, especially metal bullets; these were all money.

"Horses are expensive right now, so these warhorses are a large source of income. Aside from giving Chen Hu some fine warhorses to expand the Gun Cavalry, the remaining warhorses can all be sold," Zhao Xu said.

After pondering for a moment, he added, "When the time comes, take thirty percent of the money from the sales to reward the soldiers."

"Many thanks, Your Highness," Bai Shang, Huo An, and the others said with delight.

After the currency reform, one tael of silver in Great Song was equivalent to 500 Song Yuan.

The soldiers' previous military pay was three taels, so they now received 1,500 Song Yuan per month.

And one warhorse was worth thirty taels, which was equivalent to 15,000 Song Yuan.

Even thirty percent of 520,000 warhorses was a very objective amount.

It could at least allow the soldiers who participated in the war to receive an amount equivalent to half a year's pay.

Seeing that the generals were very happy, Zhao Xu nodded slightly.

Fighting a war was a matter of having one's head hanging from one's belt.

Even in contemporary warfare, the treatment of soldiers on the front lines was more generous than that of the troops in the rear.

This was also the reason why he frequently rewarded the combat troops.

After asking about some miscellaneous matters in Yongzhou, Zhao Xu let Bai Shang and the others return.

Half a month later, generals like Qin Shan and Guan Tong returned from Jiaozhou and Yunzhou, and naval generals like Zhou Yi also arrived.

He convened all the generals in the Deliberation Hall of Wuji Palace to summarize the gains and losses of the year.

At the same time, he assigned the tasks for the coming year.

Three days later, he again convened the civil officials led by Liu Fu to summarize the gains and losses and plan the affairs for the coming year, just as he had with the military.

Among these, the focus was naturally on the matter of the Thermal Power Plant.

He set a deadline for Liu Fu, Wang Chong, and the others, telling them to cooperate with each other and ensure that electricity was connected by June of next year.

Along with the Thermal Power Plant, the construction of the Substation had to be completed simultaneously to realize the power supply to Yancheng.

He did not think this date was particularly harsh.

Because the Thermal Power Plant of this era was not as precise and complex as contemporary ones; it could be said to be a simplified version.

If a contemporary construction team were to do it, they would likely finish it in half a year.

And he had given them a year and a half, which was quite sufficient.

"How is the Incandescent Lamp coming along? Can it be mass-produced by the New Year?" After discussing the Thermal Power Plant, Zhao Xu asked Wang Chong.

Electricity was, after all, an energy source that needed to manifest its value through machinery and appliances.

And lighting was naturally one of the uses that demonstrated the advantages of electricity.

Therefore, during this period, he had already had Wang Chong put the Tungsten Filament light bulb on the agenda.

Currently, the Great Song has a glass industry and can also refine Tungsten Ore to manufacture Tungsten Filament; all the materials for an Incandescent Lamp are available.

Moreover, the craftsmanship for an Incandescent Lamp is not complex; it mainly consists of two parts.

One is the light bulb, which can be made by blowing glass into a mold.

The other is the base, which has two needle-like copper wires on it, connected in the middle by a Tungsten Filament.

Afterwards, one simply needs to heat the bottom of the bulb to fuse it with the base.

"Reporting to Your Highness, mass production can begin in about March," Wang Chong replied.

Zhao Xu nodded; in this way, Electricity would be connected.

Yanzhou would then be able to achieve electric lighting.

By then, he would not only let thousands of households light up, but also install street lamps to make the streets of Yancheng shine.

He would make Yancheng, this Capital City, like a night-luminescent pearl, radiating brilliance in the dark of night and causing the world to admire it.

Next, Zhao Xu looked toward Chen Shou again and asked about the construction progress of the Ironclad Warship.

This month, the last batch of Sailing Warship vessels was launched.

From now on, the Great Song will never build Sailing Warship vessels again, and will advance toward the second generation of Warship.

"If things go smoothly, the first Ironclad Warship can be launched in April of next year," Chen Shou said.

This first experimental Ironclad Warship has been under construction for a year, and by April of next year, it will be close to a year and a half.

Zhao Xu nodded slowly; he could accept this timeline.

Then, he said, "Use the shipyards vacated by the Sailing Warship vessels to build Ironclad Warship vessels as well."

"Yes, Your Highness," Chen Shou said.

Zhao Xu then asked Yang He about the trade situation of the Great Song this year.

Of course, the focus was on foreign trade; whether internal trade was high or low was merely taking wool from the sheep's own back, so there was no need to ask much about it.

Upon learning that the trade surplus with Gaoli and Dongying was expanding, he revealed a satisfied expression.

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