Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Glass blowing technology appeared in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties at the latest, and blown glass bottles from the Northern Wei Dynasty have been unearthed.

During the Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties and Song dynasties, the glass manufacturing industry was quite prosperous.

Especially in the Song Dynasty, many daily utensils were also made of glass, and "glass" appeared in a large number of poems.

"The glass bowl of fragrant cheese is used to taste new things every year when drunk. What can be better than the spring breeze, the singing lips are a little red. The dreams of the rivers and lakes are broken, and the green cage is the Mingguang Palace. Thousands of words are written lightly and evenly, bowing my head to shame the savages."

This poem was written by Xin Qiji when he was eating cherries.

Xin Qiji knew how to enjoy himself. He used a glass bowl to hold the cheese and mixed the cherries in it. It must have been chilled.

Um, cherry ice cream?

A new house was built in the garden of Yanfu Palace. The area is not large, only about 100 square meters.

The building structure is also very simple, no different from ordinary houses. But a large number of glass pieces are used, embedded in walls or windows.

Due to technological limitations, those glass pieces are very small, no bigger than a palm. Most of them are green and translucent, making it difficult to remove impurities inside.

Greenhouse, greenhouse!

Song Huizong was walking in the greenhouse. In addition to hibiscus, there were also some other exotic flowers and herbs, all of which were brought from the south and were difficult to survive the winter.

Due to the favorable temperature, hibiscus has bloomed early.

Stroking the red flowers, Song Huizong sincerely praised: "Ai Qing is really a divine person. This greenhouse is so ingenious that no mortal craftsman can do it?"

There is a thermometer hanging on the wall, also made of blown glass, thick and bulky.

There is mercury sealed in the glass tube, with ice water as zero degree and boiling water as 100 degrees, and finer scales are marked according to the length.

At the bottom of the four walls in the greenhouse, there is a hot water circulation system made of tin pipes.

Zhu Guoxiang pointed to the mercury thermometer and said: "Ice water is zero, boiling water is 100, and the temperature can be known. All flowers and trees have their own characteristics. When the temperature is suitable, flowers and trees can grow well, and even bloom and bear fruit against the season." Of course, some flowers and trees are not suitable for indoor cultivation.”

Song Huizong looked at the thermometer for a while, then looked at the ugly appearance of the greenhouse, and said with disgust: "Although Aiqing is good at nursery, he is not good at construction. I plan to leave a piece of land in Genyue and build a magnificent and elegant greenhouse. The wonders of the north and south of the sky and the sea All flowers and trees are placed in greenhouses and cultivated, so that those flowers and plants can dominate the world."

Zhu Guoxiang advised: "Glass is difficult to make and fragile during transportation. This house is enough."

"Otherwise," Song Huizong shook his head and said, "I want to design a greenhouse myself, and there must be mountains and rivers in the room. Once you enter the greenhouse, it is like entering a paradise. It must be made into a place that is warm in winter and cool in summer. Aiqing's greenhouse can only be used in winter. The hot water is provided to keep you warm, but it will be unbearably hot in the summer.”

Zhu Guoxiang was about to speak but stopped.

A 100-square-meter greenhouse was obviously not enough to satisfy the emperor.

He wants to turn the greenhouse into a paradise, which is estimated to be 2,000 square meters. He also needs to do various decorations and even put a rockery pool into the greenhouse. Not only does glass consume a lot of money, but also a lot of coal is used to boil water and heat in winter.

To build such a large greenhouse, giant trees are indispensable.

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty took a pen to calculate carefully, and quickly said to the eunuch who was accompanying him: "Draw up a decree and order the kilns in the north and south to donate 200,000 pieces of glass. Each piece of glass is half a foot square. And then donate glass tiles, the bigger the better. , the more transparent the better. For the glass in the south, Zhu Meng is responsible. For the glass in the north, each supervisor will supervise it."

Zhu Guoxiang rolled his eyes when he heard this.

The Hua Shi Gang is not just for transporting flowers, plants and strange stones, but also includes all kinds of rare things from the world, including lychees, longans, olives, coconuts and other fruits.

The location is not only in the south of the Yangtze River, but also reaches Shandong in the north, Sichuan in the west, and Hainan Island in the south. They all have their own specialties that need to be donated.

Now, there are two hundred thousand more pieces of glass.

After thinking about it, Zhu Guoxiang gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, don't let your playthings kill you, let alone disturb the place. If two hundred thousand pieces of glass are needed for the greenhouse, I will be a sinner in the world!"

Song Huizong frowned and looked very ugly.

He had received too many similar remonstrances and memoranda last year, and it bothered him to mention them now.

Because of the construction of Genyue, Hua Shi Gang became crazy starting last year, and magistrates from all over the country tried hard to persuade the emperor not to mess around.

"Why do you come to persuade me?" Song Huizong scolded, "I have a great Song Dynasty where the people are prosperous. I only have 200,000 pieces of glass. How can I still harm the common people? If you continue to persuade me, I will be angry!" "

Zhu Guoxiang said: "I really don't want to disturb the place. I plant flowers and trees in the greenhouse just to cultivate my sentiments. A house of two feet is enough, why do I need to build it so big?"

"That's wrong!"

Cai You suddenly walked in. He was summoned early in the morning. Song Huizong asked him to come to the greenhouse to accompany him to enjoy the flowers.

Cai You said with a smile: "The sea is rich and the people are happy. This is a prosperous age that has never been seen in ancient times. Not to mention 200,000 pieces of glass, there are one million pieces. I, the Song Dynasty, can easily make them. It just requires more kilns in the north and south to bake them." It’s only a few years old. How can a two-foot-long house appear royal and cramped?”

Song Huizong said happily: "This is the truth."

Li Bangyan has fulfilled the imperial decree and is writing a new script for the emperor. Today, there is another person who is living in the palace.

Qi Julang stood nearby and carefully recorded the words and deeds of the emperor and his ministers.

Although Zhu Guoxiang had not received his son's letter yet, he did not want to bear the infamy and immediately scolded him: "You are a traitor, you are used to bewitching the emperor, you should be exiled three thousand miles away!"

Cai You spit it out and did not refute.

He understood Song Huizong. The more he was scolded, the more the emperor had to protect him.

Song Huizong was in a very happy mood today. He thought it was a genius idea to build the greenhouse into a paradise. Since you are happy, why should you be in a bad mood? He immediately stopped him and said: "Don't say more, you are all close ministers, and you can't let the trivial matter ruin your harmony. I have done meritorious service in building the greenhouse. What reward do you want to ask for?"

Zhu Guoxiang cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty promised last year that as long as I keep the hibiscus flowers alive through the winter, I would be allowed to return to my hometown to reunite with my wife and daughter."

Song Huizong was a little reluctant to give it up, because Zhu Guoxiang could always come up with novel things, so he immediately said: "I will give you half a year's leave. You must return to Beijing before the Double Ninth Festival."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The journey back and forth only takes two or three months."

"Then come back before it snows," Song Huizong said, "and I will give you some Haicuo, a strange stone, and three paintings and calligraphy. Just go and pick out whatever you want."

Song Huizong felt that Zhu Guoxiang was an elegant man and was not greedy for money. Now he no longer rewards him with gold and silver, but instead rewards him with things he likes.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "I don't want rewards, I only want one thing from the officials."

Song Huizong clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Ai Qing actually made a request? Tell me quickly!"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "When Quanzi came to Beijing to take the exam, he met a soldier from Tokyo. This person helped Quanzi a lot. Last winter, he received an errand to escort Hua Shi Gang. There was a heavy snowfall on the way, and the post office delivery shop refused to deliver. He ran out of money for food, so he could only sell knives for money to eat. A group of rogues wanted to snatch his sword, and he accidentally killed one of them. Now, he has been appointed to Weizhou and asked the officials to pardon this person's crime. "

"Just such a trivial matter?" Song Huizong was actually a little disappointed, "Since he committed a crime for me to escort Hua Shigang, what does it mean to kill a rogue? Is this person a soldier of the Imperial Army?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "It's not the imperial army, it's just the Xiang army."

There are also Xiang troops in Tokyo.

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty said: "To escort Huashi Gang to me, I have to assassinate him. Doesn't that chill the hearts of the soldiers in the world? Not only do I want to pardon his crimes, but I also want to promote him and temporarily promote him to the rank of general in front of the palace!"

Zhu Guoxiang: "..."

Many times, Zhu Guoxiang could not keep up with the emperor's thinking.

He just wants to save Yang Zhi and then throw him to Daming Village, or he can follow him or his son.

However, Song Huizong promoted Yang Zhi from the Xiang Army to the Forbidden Army, and also gave him the title of military attaché.

The "general" in the Song Dynasty is not a literal meaning, it is a kind of unqualified military officer. Just a few years ago, his official name was changed to Deputy Lieutenant Jinwu, but he was still called General in ordinary times. (This is the same as for civil servants. For example, the judicial officers who joined the army have been renamed Facaopu, but everyone still uses the old name.)

If someone promotes him, he only needs to perform some meritorious service, and the general can be promoted to Cheng Xinlang (from the ninth rank military attache).

This is a springboard official title, which is the only way for a white-bodied warrior to become a high-grade military general.

Yang Zhi became a general in the front department of the palace and received a military attache salary. However, he has no specific responsibilities and must be assigned to other tasks. He is often responsible for escort work (escorting military supplies, ordnance, etc.). To put it bluntly, he is still an errand boy.

Cai You rolled his eyes and already had an idea.

He understood the emperor very well. Song Huizong's memory was very good, but at the same time it could be very poor. As long as the emperor is not interested in something, the relevant personnel can easily be forgotten.

After a while, Yang Zhi can be sent on an assignment, which is the kind of escort work that is difficult to complete. Once something goes wrong, you have to pay compensation, and you can't afford to lose everything.

Cai Jing focuses on the overall situation and is too lazy to pay attention to the small people. Ju Ming is a small person in Cai Jing's eyes.

Cai You is different. He is now a close minister and needs to compete with other close ministers for favor. Zhu Guoxiang is a thorn in his side. Zhu Guoxiang rarely pleads for others, but now he actually spoke for Yang Zhi, so he must value Yang Zhi very much.

Whatever Zhu Guoxiang values, Cai You will suppress!

Song Huizong felt that this matter was too small to reflect his generosity, and said: "If you find talented people, you can recommend a few."

Zhu Guoxiang hesitated for a few seconds and said: "Quan Zi's fellow Jinshi scholars, Min Zishun and Bai Chongyan, both have both talent and virtue, but now they hold low positions in the Ministry of Industry."

"Each of them will be promoted to one level and sent out to serve as county magistrates." Song Huizong was quite satisfied.

This is ridiculous. If your close ministers don’t recommend a few close friends, what are you thinking about?

To be honest, Zhu Guoxiang was very uncomfortable with it. It was ridiculous to openly promote private individuals, but it happened to be popular in the two Song Dynasties.

Cai You said nothing and kept Min Zishun and Bai Chongyan in mind. When he turned around, he greeted the officials and sent these two people to the poorest remote county.

After admiring flowers and trees in the greenhouse for a while, Zhu Guoxiang resigned from the palace.

He sent someone to call Sun Li: "Yang Zhi's matter has been settled. The officials pardoned his crimes and promoted Yang Zhi to the rank of general in front of the palace."

Sun Li was overjoyed and knelt down to kowtow to Zhu Guoxiang: "On behalf of Brother Yang, I have thanked your husband. If you have any assignments in the future, just ask your husband. We brothers can survive in water or fire."

They used to say that at best, he was a junior officer in the Xiang Army, but at worst, he was a rotten Qiu Ba.

Although the general in front of the palace has no rank, he can be regarded as having an official status. To use the metaphor of civil servants is to jump out of the subordinate staff class and step into the ranks of high-ranking officials.

It's a pity that Cai You will take action eventually, and I'm afraid Yang Zhi will be guilty of a serious crime.