Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

"Although the land is barren and hard, it has been tilled and ploughed to the last detail..."

"When the land is gone, it becomes land, and when the land is gone, it becomes mountains. Although the soil is shallow and the water is cold, and the hills block the sun, the manpower and the rain and dew can bring some harvest..."

These two paragraphs are about the agriculture in Fujian during the Northern Song Dynasty.

After the paddy fields are reclaimed, the dry land is reclaimed, and after the dry land is reclaimed, the mountain land is reclaimed. Even the hard and barren land is all reclaimed as farmland, so at least there can be some harvest.

In comparison, the development of Guangdong is not that high, and there are still many mountainous areas that are not reclaimed.

So much so that every year, farmers from Fujian migrate to the counties and prefectures near Fujian. They enter the mountainous areas of Guangdong, and they work hard to open up the mountains and forests. The whole village speaks Fujian dialect.

More landless farmers in Fujian, however, turn to temples and become monks.

Those temples control industry, agriculture and commerce, and some large temples along the coast even monopolize the supply of goods going out to sea.

When the Ming Dynasty was founded, this phenomenon was severely rectified: a few temples could be retained, and all the rest were banned. The temples that have been preserved also have strict quotas for monks. The temple land was confiscated and distributed to farmers, and the shops and factories were confiscated and auctioned. Even the ten-sided monasteries that have been preserved have to pay taxes to the government honestly.

Huang Cun is a farmer in Chishui Township, Dehua County, Quanzhou Prefecture. When the Ming Dynasty banned temples, his family was allocated 27 acres of mountain land.

In addition to the promotion of corn and sweet potatoes, they had enough food for several years.

But they only had enough food for a few years. As the family grew, how could more than 20 acres of mountain land be enough to feed themselves?

The second brother was conscripted by the government and forced to immigrate to Guangxi.

At first, he asked someone to write letters to his family, but gradually there was no news. I don’t know if he died of illness in Guangxi or to save money on letters. Anyway, I haven’t contacted my family for almost ten years.

The third brother was deceived by the government to participate in militia training, but he went to sea with the army to fight.

He also asked someone to bring a few letters to his family. The third brother claimed to have arrived in a place called Zhanbei. The fertile land there can be harvested twice a year. The third brother was allocated dozens of acres of land, and several younger brothers were also allowed to go.

Going overseas was too risky, and the second brother lost contact in Guangxi. The parents were unwilling to let their son go.

Now, Huang Cun has become a monk.

This is a transitional profession. Although he is called a monk, he is actually a temple servant and can return to secular life and marry at any time.

Life is not bad. The third brother, who is far away in Zhanbei, sometimes asks someone to send money home.

"You guys, go and sweep the mountain gate quickly. The master will come to burn incense tomorrow!"

A middle-aged monk shouted at the top of his voice, and Huang Cun and two servants hurriedly picked up the broom.

This temple existed before, but it was once banned by the government.

Later, a monk traveled here, lived in a deserted temple and chanted Buddha. He also asked for vegetarian food in the surrounding areas and helped poor people to be liberated for free.

After a while, this monk became famous.

Some gentry donated money to help repair the temple, and some believers donated land to be used as temple land. Later, even the supervisor of the Chishui Iron Works came to pray for no accidents in the mines and ironworks.

The incense became more and more prosperous, and the temple property became more and more.

There was a year when food was scarce, and Huang Cun's father sold five acres of mountain land in the family to the temple. But the land still belonged to the Huang family, and they enjoyed permanent tenant rights, which was the preferred way for farmers to sell land.

Huang Cun was cleaning the mountain gate slowly, but his thoughts flew to Zhanbi, thousands of miles away.

He was illiterate, and the letters sent home by his third brother were read by the old scholar in the village.

In the most recent letter, the third brother also sent back a silver dollar. It said that he was a soldier in Zhanbi, and because of his meritorious service, he was awarded five acres of land, all of which were high-quality paddy fields with two crops a year, and he also recruited natives as tenants, so that his brothers and their families could enjoy the good life there.

Huang Cun was still very young, he didn't want to be a servant in the temple, he dreamed of going to sea to join his third brother.

If he went there, he could get a share of the land, and he could get rewards for being a soldier and fighting. He could earn his own fortune, marry a native woman and have children.

But his parents would never agree. They saved the money that the third brother sent home and looked for an opportunity to redeem the land sold to the temple.

If the third brother continued to send money back, his parents would buy other people's land.

"People are coming, so many people are coming!"

Fan Zhunfu from the same village shouted.

The monk who knew the guests thought that a noble person had come with a large crowd, so he hurried to the halfway point of the mountain to greet him.

Soon, the monk who knew the guests came back again: "It's bad, the county magistrate is here with the officials, and those officials are ferocious and look like they are here to cause trouble!"

The abbot sorted out his clothes and went to deal with it, while sending his confidant down the back mountain to get reinforcements.

Huang Cun, Fan Zhunfu and others hurriedly retreated to the side to hide.

But the county magistrate shouted outside the temple: "Seal off the illegal temple, arrest all monks and servants!"

The abbot put his hands together and stepped forward, chanting the Buddha's name: "I didn't know you were coming, please forgive me..."

"Arrest them!"

The county magistrate shouted.

Huang Cun was also arrested without knowing what was going on, and his hands were tied and he was pressed to the ground.

Batches of monks and servants were arrested and collectively detained, and the temple's warehouse was also sealed.

When the surrounding villagers heard that their children and grandchildren were arrested, they ran to block the way down the mountain, and more and more people gathered, and there were already hundreds of people.

The county magistrate said to the villagers: "This temple was built illegally, and the monks don't even have a certificate of ordination. This county is under the order of the emperor to rectify it. If you dare to stop it again, it will be against the emperor's order!"

Many villagers were frightened and gradually gave way to the way down the mountain.

At this moment, an official came with hundreds of young men and asked: "Xue County Magistrate came to Chishui Township to arrest people. Why didn't he send someone to the Chishui Iron Works to inform him in advance?"

The person who came was the supervisor of the official Chishui Iron Works. In terms of official rank, he was half a rank higher than the Dehua County Magistrate.

Moreover, the two sides belong to different systems, and the iron yard is managed by personnel sent by the Ministry of Industry.

This illegal temple has always been covered by the Chishui Iron Works. Legend has it that the monks chanting sutras can ensure the safety of the iron work.

The county magistrate sneered: "Supervisor Du Chang, did you know that Quanzhou Prefecture sent troops to ban the temples on the outskirts of the county this time. It was only me, the county magistrate, who came to arrest the temple in the countryside in front of me. I can give you face, but next time The ones coming next are the troops from Quanzhou Prefecture!”

When the supervisor heard this, his expression changed drastically.

"It's a misunderstanding. Let's talk about it over wine another day." The supervisor clasped his fists in salute, turned around and left with hundreds of miners and blacksmiths.

Damn it, the garrison in Quanzhou Prefecture has been mobilized. He, a small ironworks supervisor, still dares to lead people to defend the temple?

The county magistrate did not tell the villagers about the migration. He only said that he would take the monks and servants back to investigate.

After Huang Cun was taken to the county seat, he was detained for several days and ordered to go south early in the morning.

After crossing the mountains and ridges, we arrived at the border of Yongchun County, where there were also many bald fake monks. The two groups took a boat together to go to Quanzhou Fucheng.

Good guy, there are more fake monks in Quanzhou Fucheng.

They were urged to board the sea ship. Countless fake monks cried for their fathers and mothers, begging the government to let them go, and they would never seek refuge in the temple again in the future.

The cabin was full of people, and Fan Zhunfu, a fellow villager, was terrified.

Huang Cun was a little excited: "We are going to sea, and we will definitely be able to divide the fields!"

Fan Zhunfu said worriedly: "I'm just afraid of dying outside."

"It's better to die than to be a slave in a temple," Huang Cun said. "My third brother owns dozens of acres of paddy fields in Jambi. He employs many barbarians as tenants and sends money home every year. My parents don’t know how to work around, so they just save the money to look for opportunities to buy land. According to me, it’s time for the whole family to go overseas and join the third brother.”

A fake monk next to them said: "A brother in our village went to Taiwan and made a fortune by hoarding money. He wrote a letter and recruited more than 20 people from the village to buy land in Taiwan and form a society to cultivate wasteland."

"Why don't you go?" Huang Cun asked.

The fake monk said: "My brother went there and died of illness within a year. I heard that diseases are easy to get in wild places. It is better to die than to live. It is better to be a monk."

The conversation started, and more and more people in the cabin spoke up, chatting about the conditions of those who went to sea in their respective villages.

This group of fake monks were transported to the outer port of Guangzhou and landed.

Then I waited there as batches of fake monks were shipped. In the end, there were more than 14,000 fake monks and temple servants.

The government also assigned doctors, all fresh graduates of Lingnan Medical College.

Lingnan Medical College is very well-known in the south. They have done a lot of research on tropical diseases, and their understanding of parasites and bacteria is also leading the country.

However, there is a rule that prevents many people from applying for the exam.

That is, graduates of Lingnan Medical College must obey the government's allocation.

Some were transferred to Guangxi, Hunan, and Guizhou, some were transferred to Annan and Taiwan, some went directly to become naval doctors, and the even more unlucky ones were assigned to Malacca, Jambi and other places.

Therefore, anyone from a wealthy family will not go to Lingnan Medical College to study.

Huang was in the outer port of Guangzhou and drank herbal tea for the first time.

The doctor ordered it to be cooked, saying it could prevent diseases.

Merchant ships recruited by the government carried fake monks in batches from Guangzhou to Champa.

Huang Cun was among the second group to land. He was taken to the military camp as soon as he got off the ship. He was then assigned a spear, leather armor and waist knife, and was immediately given basic military training while the weather was not hot.

After training for three full months, King Zhu Kang of Yu finally returned with his army.

Zhu Kang did not formally hold a founding ceremony, but only announced a series of decrees. He had to wait for the imperial court to grant him the title of king before truly offering sacrifices to heaven and earth.

"The fields are divided, the fields are divided!"

Huang Cun's battalion, led by dozens of elites, headed to a certain area on the outskirts of the city.

This place was heavily attacked by Chenla's army. Many nobles and wealthy people were killed, but some also escaped back.

Without seriously measuring the acres, the officer pointed to the paddy field, walked with the roster and said: "Lin Shanyong, this field is yours... Zhou Zhong, that field is yours... Huang Cun, that field is yours..." It’s yours…”

There were rich people who had escaped and tried to reason with them, but they were driven far away.

There are also nobles who gather rich and poor people to come over, armed with knives and sticks, trying to protect their fields.

The officer gathered the battalion of armed immigrants and shouted and asked: "They are coming to rob your fields. What should we do?"

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing how to answer. They were still fake monks a few months ago.

The officer angrily said: "They are all trash. They are coming to seize the fields. Are the swords and guns in your hands just decorations? Follow the previous drills and form a formation with me to kill the enemy!"

Can this still be done?

Huang Cun was dumbfounded. He was obviously robbing someone else's land, but suddenly someone else was robbing his own field.

No matter what, as the bugles and whistles sounded, Huang Cun immediately formed a formation with his companions.

"The first team to the fourth team, outflank to the left. The fifth team to the eighth team, outflank to the right. The ninth team, the tenth team, follow me forward..."

"Pay attention to cooperating with your teammates, keep an eye on the flag and listen to the military whistle!"

"Who is the captain of the seventh team? The herald went over to ask, how did the straight bitch lead the team?"

Huang Cun followed the army in a confused way, then shouted "kill" along with others, raised his gun and rushed forward after the rattan player.

He thought it was just a bluff, but he didn't expect it to be serious.

The natives were frightened and fled, but Huang Cun was chased all the way. He saw with his own eyes the captain shot down one of them with a crossbow.

This captain is also a fake monk in an illegal temple. I heard that he is also a monk who has practiced spear and stick.

"kill!"

Huang Cun's blood surged, and he drew his gun and stabbed a native who was begging for mercy.

I don’t know how long it took. Huang Cun was lying on the ground panting. The officer came over and scolded him harshly: "You are as tired as dogs after fighting with a group of unruly people? What do you look like when you stagger around? All of you stand up!"

Huang Cun got up quickly. He was now extremely afraid of the officers, fearing that he would be executed under military law if he disobeyed.

On that day, land and houses were allocated and marked with stones or wooden sticks.

Huang Cun looked at his dilapidated house and went for walks in his paddy fields from time to time, giggling happily all the way.

There were many others who acted similarly to him, and they were all in a state of inexplicable excitement, completely forgetting the fear of carrying and burning corpses before.

In the evening, they returned to the military camp to rest. Early the next morning, the trumpets were blown to assemble, so that they could line up to collect the tenants and their wives.

Those tenants are all low castes and untouchables who occupy the city.

For them, it doesn't matter who they farm for. He did whatever he was told, with no sense of resistance at all.

As for the wives, some are from Champa and some are from Zhenla.

Many of those Chenla women were snatched from the second largest city in Chenla, and many of them were rich girls with extremely fair skin.

His Royal Highness King Yu came here, but Huang Cun was too far away to know what King Yu said.

After King Yu left, another officer came over and conveyed the instructions of His Highness King Yu: "From now on, you will all be soldiers of the Southern Yu Kingdom. Your Highness will allocate land, houses, wives and tenants to you. You must train and fight for His Highness." ! With military exploits and rewards, everyone can become a landlord..."

Huang Cun left the military camp as if in a dream, and his companions were all comrades who had been rowed to a village.

They all received wives and tenants, and some of the tenants also had wives and children. It's a pity that they can't understand Chinese, so they just follow them.

Back in the village, Huang Cunlian arranged a place for his tenants to live.

Then, he dragged his wife by the hand and went home.

Although this woman's skin is not white, it is not too dark either. She is quite pretty for a village girl. She seems to be a few years older than Huang Cun.

Huang Cun was talking to himself. The woman didn't know what he meant and just looked at him blankly.

A few days later, Huang Cun and others were called to the military camp outside the city to receive grain, seeds and cattle.

Those farm cattle were compensated by the Zhenla Kingdom. A village could have several of them, and they were considered the collective property of the village.

There were also many scholars sitting in the military camp, and armed immigrants lined up to write letters.

Huang Cun waited for a long time, and finally it was his turn. He said happily: "Father, mother, eldest brother, eldest sister-in-law, fourth brother... I got a wife in Champa. They are all paddy fields that are harvested twice a year. The government will give them back I hired tenants to help with the farming... What the third brother said was not a lie. There are many good fields overseas, and you can get them when you come here..."

The scholar who wrote the letter reminded: "You can persuade your family members to come too, and as long as they come, they will give you Tian."

"That's right, that's right," Huang Cun said, "Father, Mom, you and your brother, sister-in-law, brothers and sisters, come too. You can go to Third Brother's place in Jambi, or you can come to my place. It's better than planting those mountains in your hometown..."

When the scholar helped write the letter, he automatically blocked the content of Jambi and other content, and then added: Champa is better than Jambi, and it is much closer to his hometown. When the family business grows, it will be easier to return to his hometown to worship his ancestors.