Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

"There are not many packs left, so save some."

Zhu Guoxiang lit Huazi, took a puff of the cigarette, and handed it to his son, looking blankly across the Han River.

The stick of Chinese cigarettes that came out of the car was consumed quickly. The father and son smoked whenever they had time to relieve the stress and confusion in their hearts.

Ju Ming didn't dislike the saliva on the filter. He took it and took a deep sip, then handed it back and said, "I'm afraid it's the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty or the Southern Song Dynasty. It's fine at other times. But..." Ju Ming smiled heartlessly, "War also means opportunities. Maybe we can still be emperors."

"To put it lightly, can you fight?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Ju Ming said: "I have studied the "New Book of Jixiao" and "Records of Military Training", as well as the history of the development of firearms, and am familiar with famous war cases at home and abroad in ancient and modern times."

"I understand, it's just talk on paper." Zhu Guoxiang concluded.

Ju Ming curled his lips and acquiesced in this matter. There was nothing to refute.

He is indeed a paper warrior. Although he is keen on playing with weapons and armor, he does not know any actual combat moves. A sword worth more than 30,000 yuan is no different from a wood chopping knife in his hand. As for war, he was very familiar with combat examples and formations, and the actual practice was limited to fighting with a few gangsters.

The father and son took turns smoking a cigarette. Ju Ming patted his butt and stood up: "Continue walking along the Han River, and you will always encounter villages."

Zhu Guoxiang asked: "What was the development status of the Hanzhong Basin in the Song Dynasty?"

Ju Ming explained: "In terms of this time period, in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the population in Hanzhong was scarce. Later, tea in the southeast was banned, and only tea from Sichuan, Shaanxi and Guangnan could be bought and sold freely. In addition, the Sichuan Basin was overpopulated, and a large number of Shu The Chinese people migrated to Hanzhong and planted tea extensively in various places in Hanzhong."

"What happened next?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Ju Ming continued: "Later, Wang Anshi's reform allowed tea from the Southeast to be traded freely. However, because the river and Huanghuang River opened up, tea from Sichuan and Shaanxi was purchased and sold by the imperial court, specifically to replace horses. As the saying goes, if you buy tea in Hanzhong, you can change horses in the Xihe River. From then on. , Hanzhong’s business is declining day by day, and the population is becoming smaller and smaller.”

Zhu Guoxiang said confusedly: "Why didn't I understand?"

Ju Ming explained in detail: "The imperial court monopolized the purchase and sale of tea, which resulted in heavy losses for tea farm owners. When purchasing from tea farmers, the imperial court not only lowered the purchase price, but also forcibly accepted good tea as bad tea. Big merchants colluded with officials to pass off inferior tea as good and monopolized it. Tea market. Hanzhong in the Northern Song Dynasty mainly grew tea, especially in mountainous areas. The tea market was in decline, and the people did not have enough to eat and had to flee to other places."

"Can't we plant grain instead?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Ju Ming said: "First, there are many mountainous areas in Hanzhong, and the grain output in these mountainous areas is very low; second, what should be planted in the land cannot be changed by farmers. What is registered by the government is a tea plantation. Even if you change to plant grain, you will still be unable to change it." Taxes are levied on growing tea. Barren mountainous areas cannot produce much grain to begin with, and high taxes are levied on growing tea. Not only do farmers have no income, they also have to pay taxes every year. In addition, Hehuang and Shaanxi often fight wars, and Hanzhong The exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes here are even heavier, and the people simply cannot afford it. Therefore, although the Hehuang Kaibian opened up thousands of miles of land for the Northern Song Dynasty, it also made the people in the Hanzhong mountainous area miserable."

Zhu Guoxiang asked again: "Has the Southern Song Dynasty recovered?"

"No, until the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, Sichuan tea was always banned," Zhu Ming shook his head. "And at the turn of the Song Dynasty, the northern part of Hanzhong was on the front line, with frequent wars, heavier taxes, and more serious population loss."

Zhu Guoxiang was very pleased and praised: "Your historical knowledge is quite solid."

Zhu Ming opened up the conversation: "My undergraduate thesis is to explore the impact of the Sichuan tea ban in the Song Dynasty on the population and economy of Hanzhong. It is actually very interesting to study those historical details. Take Wang Anshi and Cai Jing, for example, who are capable reformers , a traitor through the ages, but comparing their tea politics, we can find some very interesting phenomena."

"How do you say that?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Zhu Ming said: "Wang Anshi implemented a new law to lift the ban on Southeast tea, allowing Southeast tea to be traded freely. His intention was good, but he was afraid of repeating the mistakes of Qingli's New Deal, and did not dare to let go of reforming the government, resulting in the collapse of market transactions and law. It’s empty talk. The original intention of the Market Change Law was to crack down on commercial monopolies and mergers and protect the interests of small and medium-sized businessmen. But when implemented, it turned into officials controlling the market. Small and medium-sized businessmen were heavily in debt and went bankrupt. Tea farmers were affected and fled with their families."

"After Cai Jing came to power in the Huizong Dynasty, the two tea law reforms were very effective. The tea introduction system formulated by Cai Jing seemed to restore the ban, but it retained part of Wang Anshi's trade law. In this way, all parties can Deli was used until the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty."

Zhu Guoxiang shook his head and said: "A new policy cannot benefit everyone. Someone will definitely suffer from Cai Jing's tea method."

Ju Ming said: "Cai Jing's tea law increased the income of the imperial court and the profits of tea merchants. Where did these profits come from? Of course, it was the abolition and merging of tea regulatory agencies and the abandonment of the unified purchase and sale of tea, thus reducing administrative costs. expenses and corrupt processes. At the same time, small and medium-sized businessmen are also excluded, and tea farmers are still the targets of being squeezed."

"I understand, streamlining government departments and administrative links will reduce the number of officials lying on top to suck blood. At the same time, it will ensure the interests of big businessmen and big bureaucrats so that policies can get favorable support," Zhu Guoxiang commented. "It seems that Cai Jing has some tricks up his sleeve. It’s not like in novels and romances, it’s the faint official who only relies on calligraphy to please the emperor.”

Zhu Ming said with a smile: "It's not a faint official, but he must be a corrupt official. Cai Jing formulated and implemented the tea introduction law. He and his confidants made an unknown amount of money by relying on the tea introduction. In the past, officials at all levels were corrupt together, even in rural areas. Any official can make a fortune, but only after the reform he becomes a high official can he be qualified to be corrupt."

Under Cai Jing's tea law reform, the national fiscal revenue increased, and the important officials in the court were satisfied. Big businessmen and big tea plantation owners also benefited. Of course, Song Huizong regarded Cai Jing as his treasure.

Ju Ming wielded his sword and chopped through thorns and weeds, and said as he walked: "All of Cai Jing's reforms are, to put it bluntly, to make money. Make money for the court, but also make money for yourself. Sometimes it can go wrong, but more often it makes people angry. For example, in the currency reform, we created ten big coins and plundered the people's wealth. The people were not stupid, so they melted down the small coins and re-minted them into larger coins with a higher value. The currency market was even more chaotic."

The father and son continued to talk about Cai Jing's reforms, mainly Zhu Ming talking and Zhu Guoxiang admiring from the side.

Although Zhu Guoxiang was half-informed about many of the contents, he liked this way of communication between father and son. Unlike in the past, where disagreements broke out during conversations, chatting always turned into jokes and mutual complaints.

Zhu Guoxiang began to reflect. He thought that he cared about his son very much, but he didn't care what his son thought at all.

He always felt that his son had no serious abilities and knowing a lot of history was of no use. If you really like this aspect, you can take the postgraduate and Ph.D. exams, but self-media is the least ambitious.

Now, his son seems to be more capable than he thought.

…

Travel through the tenth day.

Both sides of the Han River are covered with green mountains.

A few hundred years from now, this would have been a physically and mentally enjoyable hike.

Unfortunately, transportation was inconvenient at this time, the riverside was overgrown with thorns and weeds, and it was extremely cold at night. The father and son were still semi-starved.

Due to lack of oil and salt, Ju Ming felt that his physical strength had dropped significantly, and his physique, which had improved during the time travel, could hardly hold on anymore.

They walked along the banks of the Han River and encountered several groups of ships, but without exception they did not dock. There were really too many water bandits and the boatman didn't want to cause trouble. What if he was lured over and robbed?

At noon on the tenth day, the father and son finally found a house by the river.

There are more than thirty thatched houses scattered at the foot of the mountain. It should have been a village in the past. But they are obviously dilapidated, and some of the walls have collapsed. It seems that no one has lived there for a long time.

Ju Ming quickened his pace and walked towards those thatched houses.

Zhu Guoxiang stopped halfway, stood in front of a tea tree growing freely, and said to his son walking in front: "This is an abandoned tea mountain."

After hearing this, Ju Ming looked around and found that what he thought was a small forest was actually a tea tree standing there.

Those tea trees grew luxuriantly, and some even grew to two meters high due to lack of human pruning.

There are weeds growing everywhere, mixed in among the tea trees, and it is unknown how many years it has been abandoned.

Ju Ming muttered: "The tea plantations are deserted and the population is declining. If this is Xixiang County, then we can continue to keep the precise time. It should be after Hehuang opened the border and before the Jin army went south. Earlier than this time period, the tea gardens in various places in Hanzhong It was very prosperous. Later in this period, the Jin soldiers ravaged Shanxi and Shaanxi, and a large number of people fled to Hanzhong, so the population would not be so sparse. Of course, if it was in the Southern Song Dynasty, it would be another story. I don't know the situation in Hanzhong in the Southern Song Dynasty."

Zhu Guoxiang was surprised and said: "Do you remember it so clearly?"

Ju Ming pretended, "It's just basic operations. Hehuang's opening and the disgrace of Jingkang are big events."

"Who were the emperors during this period?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Zhu Ming said: "Song Shenzong Zhao Xu, Song Zhezong Zhao Xu, Song Huizong Zhao Ji, Song Qinzong Zhao Huan."

"Wang Anshi's reform seems to be supported by Song Shenzong, right?" Zhu Guoxiang's historical knowledge is very limited. If he were not familiar with Wang Anshi, he would not even know the name of Song Shenzong.

Zhu Ming nodded and said: "It's Song Shenzong. It would be best if we traveled back to that time. We could take the imperial examination and interact with many famous officials. If we travel to the Huizong Dynasty, well... it would be fucking hard to explain."

Recognizing the passage between the tea trees, Ju Ming chopped weeds and moved forward, quickly arriving in front of several thatched houses.

There is even a small yard in front of the house, but the fence is broken.

The yard was also overgrown with weeds. After slashing with his sword, Zhu Ming found a bamboo dustpan among the weeds.

He squatted down and stretched out his hand to pinch it. The bamboo strips of the dustpan were crushed directly. They had been abandoned for too long and were completely weathered and decayed.

Zhu Guoxiang looked at the collapsed door panel and said: "There is no one here. We'd better not enter the house, or the earthen wall will collapse."

"You still have to go in and see if you can find a pot." Zhu Ming said.

The father and son stepped into the house cautiously, one behind the other.

There is a dining table in the main room, which is the Eight Immortals table that was popularized in the Song Dynasty. Moss has grown on the tabletop, and this doesn't happen every year or two.

There were some debris scattered on the ground, probably left behind by the owner when he moved.

After wandering around for a while and not finding any useful items, Ju Ming turned around and walked towards the side room.

This is obviously the kitchen. You can see the earthen stove at a glance, and there are unknown small mushrooms growing on the ground in front of the stove.

"nice one!"

Ju Ming's eyes lit up. There was a clay pot on the stove.

One of the jar's ears is missing, and the other jar's ear is still tied with a hemp rope.

A clay pot with missing ears, that's all they got. The father and son took the pot and left, finally able to make wild vegetable soup.

In a joyful mood, Ju Ming returned to the riverside with the can in hand. Suddenly, he heard a neighing sound similar to a horse's braying coming from a nearby tea garden.

"There is a horse!" Zhu Guoxiang said.

"There is someone!" Zhu Ming was overjoyed.

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