Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1022 1017 [It is confirmed that the Emperor knows the magic]

New Year.

The east-west telegraph lines were officially opened and incorporated into the administrative system.

The first telegram order Hu Quan received was that his official rank was promoted.

The Ming court once again adjusted the local administrative settings——

First, Jiangning was established as Nanjing, and the Ming Dynasty temporarily changed to a three-capital system.

That is, Xijing Luoyang, Dongjing Kaifeng, Nanjing Jiangning.

Taiping Prefecture (Dangtu, Wuhu, Fanchang) and Run Prefecture (Dantu, Danyang, Jintan) were merged into Jiangning Prefecture as a whole. These places were separated from Zhejiang and all changed to Nanjing territory directly under the central government.

The reason is simply that Jiangnan is too prosperous and Zhejiang Province is too large, which is not conducive to the court's control over the area.

Second, announce a list of super-quality mansions.

For example, the prefects of Denglai Prefecture in Shandong, Suzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang, Jiujiang Prefecture in Jiangxi, and Yangzhou Prefecture in Huainan were promoted from the fourth rank to the third rank.

The appointment of these prefects must be discussed by the cabinet and then approved by the emperor, and their rank is equivalent to that of provincial governors.

Third, a list of super-quality counties will be announced.

For example, the county magistrates of Fushun County in Sichuan (well salt), Fuliang County in Jiangxi (porcelain and tea), Guiyang County in Hunan (silver mines), and Jianning County in Fujian (gold and silver) were promoted from the seventh rank to the sixth rank.

The appointment of these county magistrates must be reviewed by the Minister of Personnel and approved by the Cabinet, and their rank is equivalent to that of a provincial governor.

Fourth, announce a list of special towns.

For example, Banqiao Town, Anfeng Town, Jingdezhen Town, Foshan Town, Xuanhua Town, Lujiao Town... Due to the developed industry or commerce, the tax revenue of a small town is often comparable to that of several or even a dozen poor counties.

Such towns are governed by a mayor.

The mayor is an official of the eighth rank, and the deputy mayor is an official of the ninth rank.

Zhu Guoxiang created Daming Township, Shangbai Village and Xiabai Village, all merged into Daming Town. It was also a waterway wharf, and although the tax revenue was far less than Jingdezhen, it was a place where the dragon rose after all, and it produced a large number of civil officials and military generals, so it was also included in the list of special towns.

The main purpose of the above four administrative adjustment plans is to strengthen the central government's control over local governments.

Zhejiang Province suffered the heaviest losses. A large area around Nanjing was designated as directly under the central government, and tax revenue dropped sharply.

The Inspectorate also set up a branch in Nanjing, with a Left Censor-in-Chief as its chief, to strengthen supervision of officials in the southern region.

……

After reading the 800-word telegram, Hu Quan could not help but sigh: "The court is generous again. Especially the establishment of Nanjing. From now on, Jiangnan will be safe. The governor of Zhejiang will probably be in tears and will have to be careful in the future."

As long as the officials are not stupid, they can see what the court wants to do.

Zhejiang Province has too much territory and too much taxation, and has always been feared by important officials in the cabinet. Now it is finally being severely cut off.

Huainan Province was also too large, and this time the levels of two prefectures were upgraded. The power to appoint their prefects was returned to the cabinet, and the emperor had to approve it in person.

"Sir, Minister Zheng will leave tomorrow."

"You're leaving before the day has even begun?"

"Hey, he's in a hurry to go back to Beijing to claim credit."

"Let's go and see them off tomorrow."

"Renri" is the seventh day of the first lunar month, a festival that originated in the Han Dynasty.

According to legend, after the creation of the world, six domestic animals were born in the first six days, and humans were born on the seventh day, so this is a festival for humans.

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, no executions are allowed, not even the use of a knife.

Even women have to hide their scissors and not touch them when doing needlework, and have to wait until the eighth day of the first lunar month to take them out.

On this day, humans are the boss and all demons and monsters have to stand aside!

In the city of Denglai, all kinds of Human Day Festival merchandise are sold starting from the second day of the first lunar month.

Because on the seventh day of the New Year, various celebrations should be held.

When the Koreans came out of the hotel, they saw many small paper-cut humans suddenly appearing on the street stalls.

Wang Gou couldn't help but ask, "What are those paper figures used for?"

Zheng Zhichang explained: "In two days it will be the Human Day. These paper figures are called 'Ren Sheng'. On the seventh day, you can wear them on your head or post them on doors and windows to drive away the evil spirits of the whole year."

Wang Gou said, "Korea also has a People's Day festival, but there is no custom of paper figurines. Can we buy some to wear on our heads?"

"Of course." Zheng Zhichang said with a smile.

When Hu Quan and his subordinates came to see them off, these guys had already bought a lot of people's wins.

They first took a ship to the mouth of the Ji River and then followed the Ji River to the city of Jinan, where a grand celebration was being held. There were also temple fairs organized by wealthy people in the countryside, which were no less lively than the Spring and Autumn Festivals.

Zheng Zhichang and those Koreans were invited to climb Qianfo Mountain.

Zheng Zhichang said: "There are two days for climbing mountains in China, one is Renri and the other is Chongyang. Although we are in a hurry to go to Luoyang, we have to delay today so that we can dispel the bad luck for the next year."

Accompanied by local officials, they traveled to Qianfo Mountain in the southern suburbs by donkey and horse carriages.

Even the carriages were covered with paper figures.

People celebrating can be seen everywhere along the way, and there is even a market at the foot of Qianfo Mountain. Looking around, there are densely packed heads, and they are heads wearing paper figures.

There are all kinds of food and entertainment everywhere in the market.

Wang Gou even saw some farmers wearing patched clothes and coming out with their families to visit the temple fair. The human-shaped ornaments on their heads were made of grass tendons. The frugal farmers were also willing to buy snacks for their children.

The cheapest is salty popcorn.

The price of salt in the coastal areas of Shandong is extremely cheap, and corn is also a cheap grain, so the favorite of poor children was born - salty popcorn.

Just spending a penny or two can be enough for a child to eat for half a day.

Or you can just make it yourself at home and save even those two cents.

In the crowded crowd, a group of naughty children chased and played, occasionally bumping into adults who were attending the temple fair. But no one scolded them, instead, it was the parents of the naughty children who chased and shouted, fearing that their children would be abducted.

"it is good!"

A burst of cheers was heard, and it turned out that a performance was going on on the temple fair stage.

It was too crowded and the officials did not stop.

After getting off the bus, they started climbing the mountain. Along the way, you could see young girls and wives on the mountain road.

Occasionally, there are various small stalls on the gentle slopes of the hill.

There were vendors selling flowers, water, wine, paper figurines... most of the stall owners were farmers from nearby areas who wanted to make some money during the festival.

The sale of privately brewed liquor was illegal, but officials in Jinan Prefecture turned a blind eye when climbing the mountain. No one would cause trouble during such a festival.

The officials even took out money to buy some wine when they were about to reach the summit.

The government reorganized the many temples in Qianfo Mountain into a Thousand Buddha Temple. Buddhism naturally followed the local customs, and the monks celebrated the Human Day Festival together, wearing paper figurines on their bald or short-haired heads - they looked similar to the paper crowns attached to birthday cakes.

The Human Day Festival also incorporates Buddhist elements.

That is, after the soul is reincarnated, it takes human form in the mother's womb on this day.

Zheng Zhichang climbed to the top of the mountain panting and said to the Koreans: "Wear the Rensheng on your head and look far into the distance, then the evil spirits and bad luck will dissipate, and you will have good luck in the coming year."

The Koreans were very excited and walked back and forth.

It seemed that by celebrating the festival with the people of the Ming Dynasty, they had truly become the citizens of the Ming Dynasty.

Outside the Thousand Buddha Temple, people would spread cloth as a blanket and put a lot of food and drinks on it. People would sit on the ground and play the game of guessing numbers and throwing pots, and some scholars would recite poems and write couplets.

Everyone's face was filled with joy and laughter was heard everywhere.

In this year of history, Yue Fei had died unjustly. At this time, Yue Fei's house was confiscated by Zhao Gou and converted into the Imperial Academy and Imperial College.

And because of the Shaoxing Peace Agreement, Shandong was legally ceded to the Jin Kingdom.

Shandong was devastated by the Jin people, and the uprisings were repeatedly extinguished and started. At that time, the people of Jinan had a hard time making ends meet, so how could they have the energy to celebrate the Human Day?

One is a scroll of the end of the world.

One is the scene of prosperity.

Wang Yi whispered to his brother, "Fortunately, we surrendered to the Ming. Just look at the farmers celebrating the festival and you will know that Korea will definitely not win. The Korean farmers are hungry and weak. The Ming farmers are well fed and much stronger. If we recruit them all as soldiers, even if we don't look at the quality of the weapons, the difference between the two countries will be obvious."

Wang Gou asked, "Are all the Korean farmers hungry?"

Wang Yi sneered: "Brother has been imprisoned by treacherous officials for a long time, how could he know what is happening outside the palace? I was persecuted by treacherous officials and exiled to Lingnan (south of Wenqingniaoling) for nine years. Compared with the farmers of the Ming Dynasty, the farmers of the Goryeo Dynasty are like beggars!"

The two brothers were walking and talking, but they heard some scholars talking nearby.

Those scholars brought their families up the mountain, spread cloth on the ground and ate and drank and played the game of tossing pots.

"As you all know, a new telegraph office has been built in Jinan City, and it was officially opened a few days ago on New Year's Day."

"How could you not know about such a big thing? The iron frame erected along the pagoda in the Thousand Buddha Temple is said to be a telegraph antenna."

“Isn’t it a copper frame?”

"I heard it was made of iron."

"What on earth are you talking about? Is the Telegraph Office some kind of government office?"

"The telegraph office is responsible for sending and receiving telegrams."

"What is a telegram?"

"A magical instrument that can transmit sound over a thousand miles! I heard that when the emperor was young, he traveled overseas and met an immortal, who gave him three volumes of heavenly books. One of the volumes contains the method of transmitting sound over a thousand miles. Originally, this kind of magic must be practiced for many years before it can be used. But the emperor combined physics and magic to create a telegraph that even ordinary people can use."

"What a mess! A scholar does not talk about strange things. You are a scholar in vain."

"Really? Why would I lie to you? The telegraph office is right next to the Governor's Office. I have a cousin who works as a senior official in the Governor's Office. If he can hold on for a few more years, he will have the hope of becoming a ninth-rank official. When the telegraph office was established, my cousin brought his subordinates to help clean up the office."

"What did your brother find out?"

"As long as we have telegraphs, we won't have to ride horses or take boats to travel day and night for urgent official documents of 800 or 600 miles. We can just use telegraphs to send messages from Jinan to Luoyang in a quarter of an hour. Isn't this sending messages over a thousand miles?"

"It's just a rumor."

"What do you want me to believe? I heard that the chief officials of the three provincial departments and the government offices all have a secret book passed down by the retired emperor. The chief officials of telegraph offices and telegraph stations in various places are all disciples of the retired emperor. They know how to use the magic tool of the telegraph, and combined with the magic secret books in the hands of the officials, they can convey messages thousands of miles away."

"Brother Bo Yu didn't say anything nonsense, but I still didn't make it clear. Why should the antenna be erected on the pagoda? Because the Buddhist Dharma is so powerful here, and all evil cannot invade. The official documents from Luoyang, with the help of the imperial energy and Taoist magic, and then connected with the Buddhist power here, can truly achieve the sound transmission over a thousand miles."

"..."

The brothers Wang Gou and Wang Qi were stunned when they heard this.

Imperial energy, Taoist magic, Buddha's power, three volumes of heavenly book, thousand-mile sound transmission...what the hell are these things?

Could it be that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty really knows some magical arts?
(End of this chapter)