Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

When the Xixia royal family and clan were escorted to Luoyang, the size of the team had been reduced by more than half.

The women were the main ones who left.

For example, except for the queen Wang, the other concubines of the fallen king Li Renxiao did not come to Beijing, and they were dispersed and given to the meritorious generals.

Zhu Ming himself did not want any of them. He already had enough women, so there was no need to take them into the harem to increase expenses.

In all dynasties, emperors liked to take concubines of the fallen country into the palace. Lust or satisfying the desire for control was only a very small factor. It was more to appease the local nobles, because a large part of those queens or concubines were daughters of aristocratic families.

Did Zhu Ming need to appease the aristocratic families of Xixia?

If the emperors of all dynasties did not take concubines of the fallen country, the main means of dealing with them was to let them become nuns. They could be Taoist nuns or Buddhist nuns, and they would be imprisoned in temples for the rest of their lives.

Zhu Ming did not like to let women become nuns, so he simply rewarded them to the soldiers.

"Is this Luoyang?" Li Renxiao looked at the towering city walls.

Li Renli said, "My foolish brother has been to Kaifeng on several diplomatic missions to the Ming Dynasty. Today is also his first time back in Luoyang."

They got off the boat outside the city. Before they even reached the city gate, the news spread quickly, and many people came to point and watch the excitement.

Li Renxiao was used to being watched. All the way from Lanzhou, every time he arrived in a city, the local people watched them like monkeys.

At first he felt very humiliated, but gradually he became numb.

They were all arranged in a large house in the city. It was a newly renovated garden, waiting to be given to the soon-to-be-adult Wu Wang Zhu Chun.

On the day they moved in, they were all under house arrest and not allowed to leave.

The next day, when they heard someone shouting "The prince is here", everyone was so scared that they ran out to kneel to greet him.

Prince Zhu Yang was about to turn twenty in two months. He said to the Xixia royal family and clan members kneeling in front of him: "Stand up, let's talk inside."

Everyone thanked him and welcomed the prince in.

Zhu Yang sat down in the main seat of the hall, got to know the people present briefly, and said to Li Renxiao: "The government gives you two choices. First, be a leisurely county lord, but before the title is reduced to Viscount, your descendants will not be allowed to take the imperial examination to become an official. Second, give up the title of the Ming Dynasty, so that your descendants can take the imperial examination, including yourself. No matter which one you choose, you will be given a house in Kaifeng and some good land outside Kaifeng."

When these words came out, everyone was stunned.

I have never seen such an arrangement for the king of a fallen country. Under normal circumstances, shouldn't the title, house and land be directly granted? The lucky ones will live a leisurely and wealthy life, and the unlucky ones will "die of illness" in a few years.

Li Renxiao hurriedly looked at Li Renli.

Li Renzhong, who committed suicide by hitting the pillar, is already dead. The old man was in poor health to begin with, and he would not live for a few years even if he didn't hit the pillar.

By hitting the pillar, he became a loyal martyr for his country, a model praised by Confucianism.

Under the strong advice of many ministers, Zhu Ming had to pretend to give extra preferential treatment to Li Renzhong's family.

Li Renzhong's eldest son and eldest son came to Luoyang with their families, and were given official positions in the Hanlin Academy to help compile the history of Western Xia. The second son stayed in Yinchuan Prefecture, retained a house, a shop, hundreds of acres of land in the suburbs, and served as an official of the Ningxia Governor's Office.

The old man died worthily, not only leaving his name in history, but also blessing his descendants!

Now, Li Renxiao only trusts Li Renli, and needs to ask for advice on everything he encounters.

Li Renli said silently with his lips: "Imperial examination."

Li Renxiao was very smart. He suddenly realized something and knelt down and said: "The old Xia is gone, and we should not miss it. I am willing to be a citizen of the Ming Dynasty and a Ming scholar loyal to the holy emperor!"

Zhu Yang smiled and nodded: "Excellent."

Li Renxiao, the last monarch of Western Xia, was severing his ties with his country. He will surely be able to pass the imperial examination and become an official, and then become a disciple of the emperor, without having to worry about getting sick unexpectedly one day.

Being a disciple of the emperor is both his blessing and a constraint on him.

It would be best if he could pass the examination based on his talent. If he cannot pass the imperial examination, he can go to the Imperial College to study. Then, as an outstanding graduate of the Imperial College, he will be granted the title of Jinshi, without any problems.

Zhu Yang looked at a child who was a few years old again: "Is this your brother Li Renyou?"

Li Renli said quickly: "It is my younger brother."

Zhu Yang said: "His biological mother is not here, you can take him with you to educate him."

Li Renli quickly pulled his brother to kneel down: "Thank you for the grace of the Holy Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and thank you for the kindness of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty!"

The biological mother of Li Renyou, the King of Yue in Western Xia, was awarded to Li Shifu as a concubine.

Historically, it was Li Renyou who killed Ren Dejing. His son later became the emperor of Western Xia, and his granddaughter was married to Genghis Khan...

Zhu Yang took out a blank imperial edict with a seal, and wrote down the arrangements for Li Renxiao on the spot: he would be registered in Kaifeng, given a house and good land, and the court would help arrange servants and tenants. The servants and tenants signed a contract in accordance with the "Great Ming Law". If Li Renxiao violated the employment contract, everything would be handled according to the law. In addition, Li Renxiao was specially granted the status of a student in Kaifeng Prefecture, and he could study for the imperial examination in Kaifeng Prefecture in the future.

After Li Renxiao was settled, Zhu Yang said to Li Renli: "Your house has been arranged, and you are a sixth-rank Hanlin official. You will study historical materials in the Hanlin Academy of Literature and History in the future."

When this arrangement was made, other clan members looked at him with envy - their daughters married the Great Ming Emperor as concubines, and they really had extra treatment, and they could live a noble life in the second half of their lives!

"Your Majesty, I am Li Renli. Thank you for your grace!"

Li Renli was also delighted.

When he was an official in Xixia, he was not very corrupt, and he also liked the scenery of the Central Plains. From now on, he can spend his later years in Luoyang and still hold a high-ranking official position in the Hanlin Academy. This is perfect for Li Renli.

Even more comfortable than when Xixia was not destroyed!

Zhu Yang then said to the rest of the clan: "You all have your own arrangements. Have a good time in Luoyang for a few days, and then break up and move to various provinces. Some go to Hubei, some go to Hunan, and some go to Hebei. They are all places where there is no shortage of land. I will give you some fertile land to live on, and no taxes will be levied for the next five years. I will also give you some money and food, so that you can learn to farm as soon as possible, so that you don’t starve to death in five years. "

The clan members were dumbfounded.

Damn it, you still have to farm your own land. If you don’t farm, you will go hungry.

Moreover, going to places where there is no shortage of land is actually to open up wasteland in states and counties with vast areas and sparsely populated areas!

The clan members were all in mourning, fearful of their future farming life.

Zhu Yang angrily rebuked: "You are all members of the subjugated clan. You spend a lot of money and money on your daily life to enjoy peace and prosperity. The princes of the former Song Dynasty all had to farm their own land to make a living. Are you still more noble than the royal family of the former Song Dynasty?"

"Don't dare..." The clan members were so frightened that they knelt down quickly, fearing that they would offend the Ming Prince and suffer disaster.

Zhu Yang added: "You have come all the way. The officials are kind and have given you some food and wine. Rice wine has been very valuable in the past two years, so enjoy it."

After saying that, Zhu Yang stood up and left, and everyone hurriedly saw him off.

Due to successive years of disasters that reduced production, Juming issued an alcohol restriction order last year.

Reduce the production quotas for rice wine and ale. Once violated, it will be the same crime as private property and smuggled salt. (It is not guilty of drinking home-made wine, nor is it guilty of giving it to relatives and friends in the countryside, or entertaining guests. The main reason is that it cannot be sold in other places, or transported to the city or suburbs for sale. ).

In addition, quotas for corn wine, sorghum wine, sweet potato wine and other liquors have been increased and additional licenses have been issued to fill the market vacancies of rice wine and malt wine.

Such a decree is extremely effective and can save a lot of rice and wheat.

But it also causes three phenomena:

First, the price of rice wine and ale wine has increased sharply, and ordinary people cannot afford it. Even well-off families can only try it on large festivals.

Second, workshops producing liquor have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, and liquor has been widely accepted by the middle and lower classes of society.

Third, many farmers brew rice wine privately, and urbanites travel together and go to farmers’ homes to pay for drinks. This phenomenon of “farmhouse entertainment” appears inexplicably. Especially rural landowners, who are not guilty as long as they don't sell it, often brew rice wine privately to invite distinguished guests from the city. Officials also like to travel more and enjoy the mountains and rivers, and have a few drinks at the homes of country gentlemen.

Watching the Ming Prince leave, these Xixia nobles were in despair.

Li Renxiao and Li Renli couldn't help even if they wanted to. Because those guys were scattered and thrown into vast and sparsely populated states and counties, it was unknown whether they would be able to see each other again in the future.

One clan member was full of resentment and said: "We shouldn't have surrendered in the first place. Our property and fields were confiscated, we were not even given an official position, and we had to go to remote places to open up wasteland! We are the nobles of the clan, do we really want to plow the land like farmers? ? This is the emperor of Ming Dynasty deliberately humiliating..."

"Be careful!"

Li Renli rushed over and covered the guy's mouth.

Another clan sneered: "You are noble, but you told us to be careful. Your daughter married the emperor as a concubine, and you also got a Hanlin official. From now on, you can stay in Luoyang and enjoy happiness. But we are going to open up wasteland, a Neither of us has ever touched a hoe, so how can we grow food? I’m afraid that in five years, when the government’s supply of food and money is gone, we will all starve to death!”

Li Renli was a man who wanted to save face, and immediately said angrily: "Even if I don't work as an official, I will go to remote counties and open up wasteland. The princes of the Song Dynasty can make a living by farming, can't we? Farming the land and studying at the same time, how beautiful it is. This is called the heirloom of farming and reading!”

As soon as he said this, no one said anything.

Although my heart was still unbalanced, after all, this was arranged by the emperor and had nothing to do with Li Renli.

Li Renxiao smoothed things over and said, "We are all relatives. The emperor has given us wine and food. Let's sit down and have a farewell banquet. After today's banquet, we don't know when we can get together again. Why bother to have another argument and hurt our feelings?"

In the middle of the afternoon, officials brought food and wine, and everyone sat at several tables to eat and drink.

While eating, some people cried bitterly.

Land reclamation, what a terrible word.

They didn't even know how to hold a hoe. The thought of having to farm for a living for the rest of their lives felt like they were being executed by Ling Chi.

It would be easier to just chop it off with a knife!