Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

For Duan Yu, who had never been to Kunming, going north was a very novel experience.

The loss of the country was no longer a big deal.

As long as he could save his life, what was the difference between being a monk in Dali and chanting in Luoyang?

The actions of the Gao clan princes had disgusted Duan Yu. In his eyes, the Dali Kingdom was in name only.

However, his son Duan Zhengxing's crying made Duan Yu feel particularly upset, and he couldn't help scolding him several times during the journey.

Facing his father's scolding, Duan Zhengxing secretly complained: You have been the king for decades and have enjoyed everything, so it doesn't matter. I finally succeeded to the throne, and I haven't enjoyed it for long, but now I have to be the king of a lost country. Even if I stay in Dali as a puppet, it is better than running to Luoyang to live under someone else's roof.

After a difficult journey through Guizhou, Duan Yu felt relaxed when he turned into the Yangtze River and took a boat. He even enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the way.

Because he was very cooperative, the civil and military officials in charge of escorting him did not make things difficult for him. They even accompanied Duan Yu to the deck every day to see the scenery and explained some relevant historical allusions.

Before winter came, Duan Yu arrived in Luoyang.

It did not cause any sensation. He was just a king who lost his country. The officials and people of the Ming Dynasty had seen many such people.

…

Imperial City, Chuigong Hall.

The newly appointed Minister of Industry Hu Quan said: "Your Majesty, this is the discharged dyed cloth tributed by Jiangxi, there are two types: discharged white and color discharged. The color discharged dyed cloth is extremely expensive, the fine white discharged cloth is also expensive, but the ordinary white discharged cloth is extremely cheap."

Zhu Ming did not understand the cloth printing and dyeing technology, and asked with interest: "Why is it extremely cheap?"

Hu Quan introduced: "The printing and dyeing speed is very fast, and fewer workers are required. Ordinary people can buy flowered cloth cheaply."

Zhu Ming nodded in approval: "Excellent."

Hu Quan said: "This printing and dyeing technology was contributed by Zhang family in Dexing."

"It turned out that he was a member of the Queen's clan," Zhu Ming smiled, "This method benefits the country and the people, and should be rewarded."

In another time and space, the discharge dyeing method was invented in the Ming Dynasty.

It is to use a reducing agent to print patterns on colored cloth. The reducing agent used at the beginning was dilute sulfuric acid...

In the Tang Dynasty, dilute sulfuric acid could be prepared with gallstones, and Zhang family in Dexing also used gallstones for wet copper smelting. Although Zhang donated the gallstone mine to the court to refine copper and cast coins, he still kept a small part of it. It was easy to accidentally invent the discharge dyeing method by studying that thing all day long.

There were three kinds of cloth patterns presented to Zhu Ming.

One was the color discharge flower cloth, which had colorful patterns. In addition to dilute sulfuric acid, other chemical agents must have been used, and the dyed patterns and colors were extremely gorgeous. Not only was the formula extremely difficult to prepare, but the technique was also difficult, and the price was almost as expensive as brocade.

One was the fine white discharge flower cloth, which had only blue and white patterns. The price was also expensive, not related to the formula, but mainly because the technique was valuable, and the yield was not high.

The last one was the ordinary white discharge flower cloth, which was also blue and white. At first glance, it was rough and cheap. But it could be quickly printed and dyed in large quantities at low cost, allowing the lower-class people to wear cheap flower cloth.

Especially the little girls from poor families, who were at the age of loving beauty, making two sets of such printed clothes during the New Year was enough for them to look forward to the future happily.

Everyone loves beauty. Although floral cloth is more expensive and cannot improve warmth, it can meet people's spiritual needs.

Hu Quan took his leave, and Duan Yu and his son were led in.

"The guilty minister Duan Zhengyan (Duan Zhengxing) pays homage to His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty!" The two knelt and kowtowed.

"Stand up, and take a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Ming carefully observed Duan Yu and was a little disappointed. He was just an ordinary old man.

"Come closer and take a look at the floral cloth I just got." Zhu Ming smiled.

The father and son stepped forward, and the eunuch brought the chair over.

Duan Yu looked at the colorful cloth and praised: "I have never seen such cloth before. It must be dyed with a special method. The Ming Dynasty is worthy of being called the Celestial Empire!"

Zhu Ming shook his head and said: "These two exquisite ones are too expensive, and the production is not high. They are just to please a few rich people. I like this one that looks crudely made the most. It can be mass-produced and poor people can afford it."

Duan Yu quickly changed the direction of his praise: "Your Majesty cares about the people. The wise kings in ancient times were no more than this."

"Haha, I dare not compare myself to the wise kings in ancient times." Zhu Ming was very pleased.

Duan Zhengxing looked at the colorful cloth and did not move his eyes away for a long time.

This thing is like a watercolor painting. It is nothing in the industrial age, but it is extremely rare in ancient times.

It can even be called a work of art, because even the maker cannot figure out the specific composition of the chemical formula, and it is almost impossible to replicate the same pattern and color. Therefore, each piece of cloth is unique, and dyeing cloth is directly turned into an artistic creation.

"Do you like it?" Zhu Ming looked at Duan Zhengxing.

Duan Zhengxing said quickly: "I dare not."

Duan Yu was speechless. What was this silly son talking about?

Zhu Ming said: "Take it if you like it."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward!" Duan Zhengxing was overjoyed.

Duan Yu: "..."

Zhu Ming asked: "I heard that you want to stay in Luoyang as a monk?"

Duan Yu said: "I have always believed in Buddhism and am not keen on worldly fame and fortune. Luoyang is the holy land of Buddhism in the world. It is my lifelong wish to stay in Luoyang and worship Buddha."

No wonder!

If it weren't for the quarrels among the Gao family princes, Duan Yu might not have abdicated and become a monk yet.

Zhu Ming nodded in approval: "It's a good thing to concentrate on worshiping Buddha. But Dali Esoteric Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism are not prosperous in Luoyang. You can switch to Zen Buddhism in the future."

Duan Yu said hurriedly: "I have heard about the mysteries of Zen for a long time, but unfortunately I have never met a famous teacher."

Zhu Ming said: "You can go to Tianwang Temple in Luoyang to practice, and discuss Buddhist principles with the abbot of Tianwang Temple every day. When your Zen practice is advanced, I will give you a four-character Dharma name."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Duan Yu thanked.

Zhu Ming looked at Duan Zhengxing again: "You can live in Kaifeng. I will give you a house and 500 acres of good land. There is no vacant good land outside Kaifeng. The rent of 500 acres of land will be converted into money and collected annually. I will also make you a Dali Gong and receive a monthly salary. Your wife will also have an imperial decree."

Duan Zhengxing was overjoyed and hurriedly retreated and knelt: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward!"

When he passed by Kaifeng, he felt that it was very prosperous there. It would be good to be a rich man in Kaifeng for the rest of his life.

After chatting for a while, the father and son took their leave.

After leaving the palace, Duan Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

This ending seems not bad.

As long as Emperor Zhu does not play tricks, it doesn't matter where he is a monk. There is no difference between his son being a rich man in Kaifeng and being a puppet in Dali, and there is no political risk from powerful ministers.

Duan Yu can no longer take care of the other sons, and it is up to Emperor Zhu to arrange.

How to arrange?

Send them to Jibei and Liaodong to farm, where there are vast land and few people!

Duan Yu warned: "When you go to Kaifeng, be careful in what you say and do, and don't say anything nonsense."

"Father, there is no need to say more, the child is not a fool." Duan Zhengxing said.

Although Duan Zhengxing has no political means, he is the winner of the "battle for the throne" after all.

He still has brains, but he has already given up, because if he doesn't give up, he will die faster!

The puppet king of Dali is in a more dangerous situation than the King of Goryeo.

The King of Goryeo was at most under house arrest, and there has been no precedent of powerful ministers killing the king and usurping the throne. However, the King of Dali has been killed once, and the throne has been usurped twice by the Yang and Gao families!

By the way, Wang Gou, the former ruler of Goryeo, has died of illness in Kaifeng.

Those who died of natural causes will have their eldest son inherit the title at a lower level.

This family is short-lived, probably due to inbreeding. It is estimated that they will be passed down for several generations in a hundred years. Each time the title is inherited at a lower level, the title will disappear quickly.

When I returned to Sifang Pavilion, I suddenly saw a group of foreigners coming.

Duan Yu asked curiously, "Who are they?"

The accompanying official said, "The Western Liao envoys are here to pay tribute and negotiate."

As the Ming Dynasty was digesting and consolidating the newly occupied areas and was not in a hurry to attack the Ili River Valley, the tension between the two countries seemed to ease.

The Western Liao Dynasty kept sending envoys to the Anxi Protectorate to seek peace, and this year it simply sent an envoy directly to Luoyang.

Xiao Ta Buyan tried to give up the suzerainty of the north of the Tianshan Mountains (including the Naiman tribe) and regarded the Ming Dynasty as the parent country in exchange for long-term peace between the two countries. She was even reluctant to cede the Ili River Valley.

Of course, it could also be a delaying tactic, trying to delay the Ming Dynasty from sending troops.

Because Western Liao was fighting again!

Khwarezm, which was divided by the Seljuks, had been fighting a civil war. The troublemaker Ajisi could not win, so he asked Western Liao to send troops to help, and promised to pay 40,000 gold coins a year afterwards, increasing the tribute by 10,000 on the original basis.

In view of the Seljuks' covetous eyes, although Xiao Tabuyan hated Ajisi very much, he still suppressed his disgust and sent troops to help, in order to win over Khwarezm to fight against the Seljuks.

At the same time, Xiao Tabuyan also adopted an adopted daughter as a princess and formed an alliance with the Geqining Dynasty - the Liao Dynasty had once married Geqining, and the royal families of the two countries were still relatives.

Now that the situation in Central Asia has changed again, Western Liao, Geqining, and Khwarezm have formed an offensive and defensive alliance to jointly deal with the Seljuk Empire, which is on the verge of collapse.

The Ming Dynasty must be stabilized so that Western Liao can be at ease to fight against the threat from the west.

In fact, the current confrontation between the four major forces of Western Liao, Seljuk, Ghejin, and Khwarezm is purely a fight between weaklings. Each of them is constantly plagued by internal and external troubles, and will fall apart if they are not careful, but they have to bite the bullet and continue to fight.

It is very likely that while defeating the enemy, their own internal contradictions will also explode completely...

Therefore, no one dares to take the initiative to attack with all their strength, and they only repeatedly rub against the small countries in the middle area. For example, Bukhara and Gur in history will grow into regional hegemons in Central Asia in the future, but now they have become the center of war and are ravaged again and again.

"Go back and tell Xiao Tabuyan that if she does not cede Ili, everything will be off the table," Zhu Ming said in a tough attitude, "If she is willing to cede Ili, the remaining details can still be discussed. I have accepted the gifts you brought. You can take away the national gifts given by the Ming Dynasty after the beginning of spring."

The Western Liao envoy hesitated to speak, and finally said nothing more.

Because the Western Liao did not have any negotiating capital, continuing the negotiation was almost like begging, which would only make the Ming Dynasty monarchs and ministers look down on it even more.

Alas, I wish the late emperor (Yelü Dashi) were still alive!