Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

When Cai Jing reported on Ju Ming, countless officials also reported on Cai Jing. Because the flood area was getting wider and wider, officials both inside and outside blamed Cai Jing.

Roads in Liangzhe, Huainan, Jiangnan, Jinghu, Guangnan, and Fujian are all flooded by midsummer!

Due to unfavorable relief efforts, the refugees fled everywhere.

Faced with the snowflakes of disaster reporting documents and impeachment memorials, Song Huizong issued two imperial edicts one after another:

The first is to ban cliques.

Those memorials impeaching Cai Jing, Wang Fu, Zhu Meng, Tong Guan, and Liang Shicheng must have been organized by parties to cause trouble. If it were not an organized and planned act, how could there be a massive number of impeachment memorials in a short period of time?

The second order was to order all supervisors in the south to quickly urge the refugees to return to their hometowns.

There are too many refugees, and trouble could easily occur if they are not dispersed. As for how the people would live after they were forcibly dispersed, that was not within the scope of Song Huizong's consideration.

Because Song Huizong had more important things - the emperor published a book.

Ju Ming's improved inks and movable type technology made printing cheaper. Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty printed 5,000 copies of the "Imperial Commentary on the Tao Te Ching" at one go. He personally annotated it and ordered it to be distributed to prefectures and counties, Taoism and Taoist temples.

This was just the beginning, and another 3,000 copies of "Dao History" were printed.

"History of Taoism" is a chronicle of Taoist history. Cai Jing is the nominal editor-in-chief, and it is compiled under the leadership of Lin Lingsu.

Next, we will compile the "Dao Canon" (a companion volume to "The History of Dao").

At the same time, doctors of Taoism were officially established in Taixue and preparatory schools. Under Lin Lingsu's suggestion, the levels of Taoist officials and Taoist positions were re-adjusted, and the official position system of Taoist priests became even larger.

…

"boom!"

In the back hill of the iron smelting yard, Ju Ming fired a shot himself, and the bullets flew away without knowing where to go.

Tu Shen smiled and picked up the other one. After loading the bullet, he carefully aimed at the target dozens of meters away.

Well...it didn't miss the target.

Bird guns are different from fire guns. This thing has a longer barrel and is equipped with an aiming star. It has a longer range and higher accuracy.

The name of the bird gun comes from its ability to hit flying birds.

Tu Shen said: "I led people to repeatedly measure the amount of medicine to be filled, and it is appropriate to use one cartridge and two cartridges."

As the air tightness of muskets increased and granular gunpowder was used, the amount of powder dispensed was constantly changing.

Initially, the weight of gunpowder and projectile were almost equal. Gradually, the gunpowder becomes two-thirds, one-half, and one-third of the projectile.

The optimal dosage can ensure the power while saving gunpowder and making it less likely to explode.

"Peel the bamboo tube to get the medicine. The capacity of the bamboo tube is constant." Ju Ming ordered.

Tu Shen nodded: "This method is good and it will fill the medicine faster."

After solving the problem of fixing the filling amount, Tu Shen added: "The craftsmen have become proficient and can make a bird gun in 28 days. When fixing the gun tube, riveting is used now. If it is replaced with a copper hoop, it can still be made." Reduce manufacturing time.”

Ju Ming asked: "What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?"

Tu Shen said: "The copper hoop is inconvenient to disassemble and clean, but it is easy to make. Riveting is cumbersome to make, but it is easier to disassemble and clean."

"Let's use riveting for the time being." Ju Ming is not in a hurry now, and will use copper hoop fixation when large-scale production occurs.

In fact, there is a more trouble-free way, that is, the Qing Dynasty learned from Turkey and used thin cotton rope to wrap it. When cleaning the gun barrel, it can be removed by untying the rope, which is more trouble-free than riveting and copper hoops. But the shortcomings are also obvious. If the barrel overheats, the thin cotton rope may be directly burned during combat.

Ju Ming is already very satisfied. His expectation was to make one in 40 days, but now he can make one in 28 days.

Ju Ming asked again: "How far can it hit?"

Tu Shen said: "We have made two kinds of bird guns, one with a barrel two feet and two inches (67.5 cm) long, and one with a barrel three feet and one inch (95.2 cm) long. It is difficult to measure how far it can shoot. , anyway, the longer the barrel, the heavier the projectile, and the more powder filled, the farther it will hit. The farthest projectile was found eighty feet (245 meters) away."

245 meters is a dynamic range, and the effective range must be more than 100 meters. Qi Jiguang asked the soldiers to fire the guns a hundred meters away. It seems that the range was carefully measured.

But that's too far. Even if the gun shot is highly accurate, the naked eye can't keep up with the distance.

Aiming a hundred meters away is entirely based on feeling.

Ju Ming made another circle and then returned to the city by boat.

This year's summer grain collection period has ended, and the quota has still not been fulfilled, so the performance assessment will definitely fail.

The flood season in the Han River Basin is even later. Roads in the south have been flooded, and large-scale rainfall has not yet started in Jinzhou.

As the magistrate of the state, Ju Ming was able to relax.

Each yamen is running well and does not require too much intervention from him. Instead, he focused more on giving lectures. During holidays, a large number of officials, scholars, and even common people came to listen to the lectures.

"University" is occasionally taught, and more often "Tao Yongce" is explained.

Coming back from the iron smelting yard today, as soon as he stepped into the gate of the state government office, Ju Ming felt that something was wrong in the atmosphere.

"Prefect," Guo Wenzhong and Wang Jia stood guard in the lobby and whispered, "there is an official document from the imperial court."

Zhu Ming quickly walked into Huangtang, where Huang Gui, Wu Mao, Qian Chen, Zhang Bor, Li Bao, Fan Zhun and many other officials had already gathered there.

"What happened?" Zhu Ming smiled.

Wu Mao handed over an imperial edict, which was at the edict level.

Ju Ming took it and took a look. The content was nothing more than banning books and learning. This was within his expectation and it was the worst situation.

Then I looked at the official document and found that the postal officer had been demoted to the sixth level. If he were demoted further, he would no longer be a Beijing official.

"Magistrate of Hanyuan County in Lizhou?" Ju Ming was a little surprised by his new assignment. He thought that the emperor wanted him to collect wine taxes.

Qian Chen sighed: "Oh, the prefect shouldn't give lectures."

"Why can't we talk about it anymore?" Zhang Bor was extremely angry. "The theory of the Three Cardinal Guidelines and the Eight Eyes is inherited from the knowledge of sages. If we can't talk about it, what else can we talk about in the future?"

Ju Ming comforted him: "I have been in Jinzhou for a year and a half. Even if I don't encounter this kind of thing, I will leave in as little as half a year or as long as one year. Don't think too much about it."

The term of office of the magistrate in the Song Dynasty was not fixed, and could be one year, two years, three years, six years, etc.

Magistrates with one- or two-year terms are basically gold-plated and mixed with seniority.

If it is in a border area, military generals will even be appointed as magistrates, and some will not move for more than ten years.

Ju Ming belongs to the magistrates who came down to gild the state. In half a year, as long as the emperor does not forget about him, he will definitely be transferred out of Jinzhou. If you do something like this now, you will just leave half a year early.

The iron smelting yard will continue to operate, and it is his private property.

"Prefect Zhu!"

When he learned that Ju Ming had returned to the state government, Li Daochong came over after hearing the news and gloated: "I heard that the prefect was about to leave office, so I came to see him off in advance."

Zhu Mingyun said calmly: "I wonder if Li Dapuan has ever been promoted?"

Li Daochong smiled and said, "I'm lucky that I was recommended by a noble person in the court. I was transferred to Hangzhou as a general magistrate, and I was promoted to a higher rank as a salary officer."

Hangzhou?

Ju Ming's expression was a little strange, and he raised his hands and said, "Hangzhou is prosperous and richest in the world. Congratulations to Li Dafan!"

"To each other, I also congratulate Governor Zhu," Li Daochong said with a smile on his face, "Lizhou is a border area. Today's Holy Emperor attaches great importance to martial arts. Perhaps Governor Zhu can expand his territory and become a marquis."

Ju Ming said: "I would like to lend you your kind words."

Li Daochong came to see the fun. He wanted to see Ju Ming's depressed and painful expression. But Ju Ming could still laugh and seemed completely unaffected.

He deliberately sarcastic a few more words, but still couldn't make Ju Ming lose his composure. Li Daochong soon felt bored and turned around and walked away.

"What a villain!" Huang Gui spat.

But Ju Ming smiled and said, "It's just a good time for him to be transferred, so as not to make this guy angry with you after I leave."

The Jinzhou officials did think so. It didn't matter whether Ju Ming left or not. They were afraid that Li Daochong would stay and give them little shoes to wear.

As long as Li Daocheng is gone, no matter who becomes the first or second leader, Jinzhou officials will have enough time to consolidate the power of various departments. No matter who the new magistrate or tongpan is, they will cooperate if they don't cause trouble. If they dare to interfere, they will work together to stand up.

Especially the subordinate officials, after Ju Ming's reshuffle, they have taken control of Jinzhou City.

Not long after, Zhang Gen also came.

The officials dispersed, and Ju Ming spoke to Zhang Gen alone.

"It's not easy to be the magistrate of Hanyuan County," Zhang Gen said upon meeting him.

Ju Ming asked: "What is the situation in Hanyuan? I don't know yet."

Zhang Gen explained: "Lizhou has only one county and one city, which is Hanyuan County. The Han people live around the county seat, and outside are the familiar barbarians, and outside there are the raw barbarians. The population of the native barbarians is more than ten times that of the Han people. Taizu held the jade ax to demarcate the border, and never used troops south of the Dadu River."

"The jade ax demarcates boundaries and never uses troops. Is this true?" Zhu Ming didn't quite believe it.

Zhang Gen said: "Maybe it's true, at least that's what the courtiers say."

Ju Ming asked again: "Who is the governor of Lizhou?"

Zhang Gen shook his head: "I don't know."

The magistrate of Lizhou at this time was Yu Wenchang, who came from the Yuwen family in Chengdu.

This guy's hometown is in Chengdu, and Lizhou is part of Chengdu Fulu. Logically speaking, he should avoid being an official. It can only be explained that the appointment of magistrates in border areas is not particular.

Zhang Gen said: "Jiangxi Province is flooded. I'm afraid my daughter's dowry will not be delivered until the floods pass."

Ju Ming smiled and said: "When a man marries a wife, why does he care about the dowry?"

Zhang Gen suggested: "Then you can take office after getting married?"

"Just follow what Taishan said!" Zhu Ming said with his hands in hand.

Li Daochong was really anxious to go to Hangzhou, so he took his belongings and personal entourage and set off by boat the next day. When we arrived at Jiangling, the floods had receded, and we happily went down the Yangtze River.

There is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below. The prosperous and prosperous Hangzhou is waiting for him.

Moreover, he is also the general judge in charge of finance, and all kinds of taxes in Hangzhou must go through his hands.

Li Daochong has long forgotten all about Ju Ming and Jinzhou. He would rather serve as a magistrate in Hangzhou for ten years than be transferred to another place to be a magistrate.

There is a lacquer garden owner named Fang La in Qingxi County who also suffered from floods this year.

After the flood receded a little, the flower collector came to the door. Not only was raw lacquer included in the Hua Shi Gang, but he also had to hand over a batch of wood. The government promised to pay him, but the money was only enough to cover the labor costs of felling wood and cutting lacquer.

Manichaeism was popular in Muzhou, so Fang La went to the city to study the teachings. After returning to his hometown, he opened a forum to teach the Dharma.

From the current point of view, it is more like a mutual aid organization. The believers are brothers and usually help each other and keep warm.

The cohesion is extremely strong, and people enthusiastically join the religion.

(Today is my son’s birthday. I was playing with him during the day. I originally wrote a single chapter to explain the situation, but I posted it to the front free chapter. It seems that no readers have seen it...)