Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

After leaving Tuxiu Academy, Zhu Guoxiang went straight to Kaifeng by boat.

He is quite familiar with this place, and there is no need to stay too long, but there are some people who need to be met, such as members of the royal family (royal family) whose country was destroyed.

Including the sons of Song Huizong, all received interviews and rewards.

The madman Zhao Kai died of illness after all.

Last winter, he was drunk and fell ill on the street. Someone sent him to a famous prostitute, and he successfully received a reward from the famous prostitute. The doctor said that he was terminally ill and there was no way to save him, so the famous prostitute sent someone to take Zhao Kai home, but his first wife took him in with curses.

When he was dying, looking back, Zhao Kai actually stopped going crazy and told his wife and children who had not paid for the painting.

This year, the lawsuit started, and his wife and children sued more than ten people at once.

Public opinion was favorable to his wife and children, but he was at a legal disadvantage.

First, they could not produce any evidence, and Zhao Kai had gone crazy a long time ago, and what he said before his death may not be reliable; second, Zhao Kai and his wife had divorced long ago, and he had severed the father-son relationship with his sons.

This lawsuit caused a sensation, and there has been no final verdict yet, but it is only a matter of time before the plaintiff loses.

Now being received by the Supreme Emperor, Zhao Kai's ex-wife cried without saying a few words. Zhu Guoxiang was so confused that he simply paid 200 yuan of his own money, but refused to interfere in the normal trial of the government.

After dismissing this family, Zhu Guoxiang talked to other people, and gradually it was Zhao Jiu's family's turn: "What are you doing for a living now?"

Zhao Gou said: "Reporting to the emperor, Xiaomin was hired as a teacher by a wealthy businessman to teach some calligraphy, painting, and music. He occasionally met with scholars and sold some calligraphy and painting paintings. He also edited and proofread for a printing house, and also gave people You can get a few polishing fees by writing an epitaph.”

"It's good if you are willing to rely on your own efforts," Zhu Guoxiang praised. "Your descendants have already relaxed the restrictions on the imperial examination, but who of them has passed the examination?"

Zhao Gou replied: "Xiaomin's second son and third son have all passed the scholar examination. But their talents and learning are still insufficient, and they have never been able to pass the examination. The fourth son is smart. He is still young now and is good at mathematics and physics. Xiaomin I plan to let him take the exam as a magician."

Zhu Guoxiang smiled and nodded: "It's also very good to be a magician."

Zhao Mo, the eleventh son of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, suddenly said: "Your Majesty, Xiaomin's eldest son has been admitted to the imperial examination and is expected to become a scholar and serve as an official for the imperial court!"

Zhu Guoxiang praised: "It's very valuable. I'll give him a set of pens, inkstones, paperweights, and some good ink."

"Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty!" Zhao Mo was overjoyed.

After some appeasement, everyone retreated.

When he got to the street, Zhao Mo held his head high and proudly looked at his brothers with his nostrils turned upward.

Zhao Gou curled his lips and was too lazy to talk to his younger brother.

Zhao Gou was not a pragmatic person. He had already sold the small amount of land allocated by the court and the dilapidated houses in the suburbs. Now the family rents in Chengguo and relies on him to work several jobs. Life is actually not tight, but buying a house is far away.

Moreover, Zhao Gou has been fascinated by this thing since his first loss in futures trading. As soon as I have some spare money, I go to the exchange and try to make back the money I lost.

There are losses and profits, but generally losses, and Zhao Gou is always happy with it.

Zhao Mo, whose son was admitted to the Juren Examination, was much more honest. His elder sister Zhao Fujin and younger sister Zhao Fujin were both concubines of Ju Ming, and they would send him some pocket money every year.

At first, Zhao Mo still had to farm his own land, but gradually he hired tenants to farm the land, and changed from growing grain to growing vegetables, specifically to supply vegetables to the citizens of Kaifeng. Zhao Mo also kept the pocket money sent by his sisters and bought land whenever he found an opportunity.

Today, Zhao Mo has more than 300 acres of vegetable land on the outskirts of Kaifeng. He also raised two oxen and four mules for his own use and rental. We also raise some chickens and geese, and the old vegetable leaves that cannot be sold can be used to feed the poultry.

As a small landowner in the suburbs of Beijing, Zhao Mo is quite satisfied with the current situation.

In addition to the Zhao and Song royal families, there are several Li, Duan, and Wang families in Kaifeng. The Li family is divided into the Xixia Li family and the Annan Li family. Their lives in Kaifeng are either good or bad, depending on their respective abilities and personalities.

After leaving Kaifeng, we went to Shangqiu.

This is Nanjing in the Northern Song Dynasty. Although Nanjing has become Jinling now, Shangqiu is still bustling with business and travel because it is located at an important node of the Bian River.

The same status quo also exists in Daming. Daming Mansion is Beijing in the Northern Song Dynasty. Although they now have no political status, there are no more frequent Yellow River disasters, and they are still connected to the land of Youyan. The daimyo has become more prosperous by sitting on the canal.

The population of Youyan has gradually recovered.

Compared with the Central Plains and Jiangnan, Youyan is naturally sparsely populated. However, with the continuous immigration organized by the imperial court and natural reproduction, the total population of Yanshan Prefecture counties has recovered to 380,000, which is already very commendable.

When the Ming Dynasty first recovered, Yanshan Prefecture was sparsely populated, so its jurisdiction was very large - Miyun and Huairou in the north, Juyongguan in the west, Zhuozhou and Gu'an in the south, and Jizhou and Baodi in the east.

In such a large area, there are only 380,000 people in total?

It’s really a lot, it was less than 20,000 when it was first recovered...

When the population of Yanshan Prefecture returns to 600,000, Ju Ming plans to turn it into Beijing.

At that time, the administrative divisions will also be changed: Zhuozhou, Gu'an, Anci and other prefectures and counties will be assigned to Hebei Province, and military important areas such as Chifeng, Chengde and Zhangjiakou will be assigned to Beijing Yanshan Prefecture.

The field army and garrison army of Yanshan Prefecture will expand in proportion to the population, and the field army will be classified as a forbidden army and assume the very arduous task of northern defense.

To put it bluntly, Yanshan Prefecture in Beijing and Jinling Prefecture in Nanjing are the central municipalities directly under the Central Government of the Ming Dynasty.

The main army there is the Forbidden Army.

The main official there is the Jingguan.

In order to hold Yanshan Prefecture hostage, Zunhua Iron Mine must stay in Hebei Province. The imperial court positioned the Zunhua Iron Mine as the main weapons and equipment supply base for Hebei, Northeast China, Monan, and Beijing in the future.

It's not possible now. Zunhua's population is so small that it can't even recruit miners.

…

Zhu Guoxiang came to Chuzhou for the first time. As the capital of Huainan Province, it did not disappoint him.

But after all, it is not a water town in the south of the Yangtze River, and it cannot satisfy the Emperor's beautiful imagination of ancient misty alleys. He had been here before he traveled through time. It was called Huai'an at that time, and there were not many ancient buildings left.

Continuing south, it is much better to reach Yangzhou, although Yangzhou has a smaller population than Chuzhou.

Moreover, countless literati and poets left many poems in Yangzhou.

Zhu Guoxiang, who has been engaged in agriculture for two lifetimes, is ultimately a literary youth. He likes Yangzhou.

The people of Yangzhou also like the Supreme Emperor.

Because today's officials and scholars speak highly of the Supreme Emperor. They control the direction of public opinion in the country. In the constant praise and praise, the common people also feel that the Supreme Emperor is the Yao and Shun of the world.

On the day the fleet arrived, the people of Yangzhou heard the news and rushed out of the city to the dock.

The Yangzhou prefect and commander were afraid that something would go wrong, so they urgently called in more officials and soldiers, and finally blocked the main road near Hangou.

"The Emperor is here, the Emperor is here!"

People were pushing and shoving along the road, and some even climbed into trees.

Ye Yiwen, the prefect of Yangzhou, was so worried that there would be a stampede that he quickly asked the commander to lead troops to separate the crowd.

"Long live the Emperor!"

I don't know who shouted out first, more and more people followed, and then there were thousands of people kneeling down to worship.

The people of Luoyang and Kaifeng would not kneel down even when they met Ju Ming, not to mention the Supreme Emperor. However, the people of Yangzhou were very curious about the Supreme Emperor. They knelt down and looked up at the same time, wanting to see what Zhu Guoxiang looked like and whether the top of his head was really covered with purple aura.

This kind of scene often occurs after Kaifeng, and Zhu Guoxiang's followers are already able to deal with it.

Soon more than ten people came over and asked the people to stand up. He also asked local civil and military officials to disperse the onlookers even further, and then Zhu Guoxiang and his concubines and children actually appeared.

The people suddenly became excited, waving and shouting wildly, and Zhu Guoxiang also bowed to everyone in return.

After struggling for a long time, the Emperor's team finally approached the Yangzhou city wall. But he did not choose to enter the city, but instead headed to Shanguang Temple in the northeastern suburbs outside the city, because entering the city would inevitably cause a larger commotion.

Shanguang Temple was built in the Tang Dynasty, where Su Dongpo once got drunk and slept in a boat.

Zhu Guoxiang, his concubines, children, eunuchs, maids, and some bodyguards will stay in the temple for the next few days. Most of the guards camped at the foot of the mountain and guarded the mountain roads.

The abbot led the monks to greet him at Shanguang Bridge, and took the Emperor to visit the mountains and temples.

Local civil and military officials wanted to follow, but Zhu Guoxiang sent them back to work, leaving only the chief civil and military officials to accompany him throughout the process.

The next day, partial martial law was implemented in advance, and Yangzhou civil and military officials led the emperor to wander around.

Ye Yiwen, the prefect of Yangzhou, had good political achievements, otherwise he would not have been transferred here to serve as an official.

But it certainly won’t work militarily.

Historically, he successfully predicted that the Jin soldiers would march south and suggested that the Southern Song Dynasty court should prepare early. As a result, Wanyan Liang came. The emperor and officials of the Southern Song Dynasty thought that he was knowledgeable in military matters, so they asked him to supervise the army to fight against the Jin Dynasty.

He spoke clearly and eloquently, but when he was actually in charge of the army, he acted in various ways and was soon dismissed from office and thrown into a Taoist temple.

After boarding the North City Tower of Yangzhou, Ye Yiwen pointed to the outside of the city and said: "Yangzhou has become more prosperous in recent years, but the population is too large to manage. I plan to build more northern city walls and regulate the streets in the new city. As long as I succeed in retaining my post, I can start the construction." ”

"Why do we need to stay in office before construction can start?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Ye Yiwen said: "It took two years to discuss relocation and resettlement with those people. My three-year term is about to expire and I must stay in office before it can be implemented. Otherwise, when the next prefect comes, we will have to talk again."

Zhu Guoxiang understood clearly: "Are there many disobedient wealthy households outside the city?"

Ye Yiwen nodded: "In addition to wealthy families, there are also official families. Li Yi, the first scholar in the Ming Dynasty, has his home and property over there. The Li family has negotiated a deal to replace them with a piece of land in the southern suburbs. The people who were moved Some people in the southern suburbs have moved to further rural areas, and some are given houses if they are willing to go to the city."

The situation in Yangzhou is quite special.

Yangzhou City in the Northern Song Dynasty was smaller in area than Yangzhou City in the Tang Dynasty.

During the Five Dynasties, this place was massacred and looted several times, and even large sections of the city wall were ripped off. It was destroyed again in the later Zhou Dynasty, and the area was not large when it was rebuilt and added to.

As the population increased, the houses outside the city were scattered and unplanned. In the early years, there were even large areas of cultivated land.

Moreover, there are so many families of officials and wealthy businessmen that the demolition work is extremely difficult.

Not only that, there are military garrison areas outside Yangzhou City. If you want to demolish it, you must obtain approval from the Ministry of War.

Ye Yiwen said: "When I was building the city of Yangzhou, I planned to restore the area of ​​Luocheng in the Tang Dynasty and directly double the area of ​​Yangzhou city. Yangzhou has money and people, so we can definitely build the city like that."

Zhu Guoxiang smiled and nodded without saying anything more.

According to Ye Yiwen's method of additional construction, the urban area of ​​Yangzhou will exceed the provincial capital Chuzhou City.

Yangzhou at that time was a complete Yangzhou, not the crowded city it is now, with all kinds of filth and chaos inside and outside the city.

After walking around for a while, Zhu Guoxiang wanted to visit the Slender West Lake.

As it turned out, there was no Slender West Lake in Yangzhou, only a few puddles in the northwest of the main city, and the puddles were not completely connected. As the number of residents in the suburbs increased, a large amount of domestic sewage was discharged, and the water quality deteriorated. The stench could be smelled from a long distance.

Zhu Guoxiang stood beside the Slender West Lake that he had been thinking about, covering his nose and looking at the turbid puddles. His beautiful fantasy was shattered like glass in an instant.

My Slender West Lake!

Zhu Guoxiang said to Ye Yiwen with great sorrow: "It is indeed necessary to build a city and clean it up. How can Yangzhou be like this? These puddles can also be connected into one piece, and some lotus can be planted to entertain the people. Hangzhou has West Lake, and Yangzhou can also have Slender West Lake."

Ye Yiwen was overjoyed, and immediately asked someone to bring paper and pen, and asked the emperor to write the three big characters "Slender West Lake".

With the calligraphy of the retired emperor, he would be able to stay as the governor of Yangzhou, and all demolition work would be smoother, including persuading the Ministry of War to demolish the Yangzhou military camp!

Zhu Guoxiang asked again: "Where is the Twenty-Four Bridges?"

"Over there." Ye Yiwen pointed to the west.

The Twenty-Four Bridges in the Tang Dynasty were just outside the west wall of Yangzhou, and now they are almost becoming suburbs.

There are randomly built houses everywhere near the Twenty-Four Bridges.

Where is the poetic feeling?

The retired emperor suddenly didn't want to visit Yangzhou anymore.