Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1107 1102 [Australia]

A poem "Song of the Qin Woman" could not change the impression of Huang Chao's brutality.

Because Huang Chao was indeed cruel!

The officers and soldiers at that time were also in a mess.

The Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang not only record that Huang Chao ate people, but also clearly record that officers and soldiers sold human flesh to Huang Chao's army to eat. However, the Old Book of Tang directly uses the words "officers and soldiers", while the New Book of Tang omits the words "officers and soldiers". You have to combine the previous sentences to know that it was the officers and soldiers who did it.

At that time, the government troops were surrounding Huang Chao, and Huang Chao's military supplies were exhausted.

The local people fled into the valleys and built strongholds to protect themselves, but the officers and soldiers who besieged Huang Chao broke into the strongholds and killed people. They turned the fleeing people into human flesh and sold it to Huang Chao as military rations.

It's hard to make up such a weird and ridiculous thing.

Who in their right mind can think like that? The officers and soldiers in charge of the expedition against Huang Chao knew that Huang Chao had no military rations, but they did not take the opportunity to launch an attack. Instead, they killed the people and sold their human flesh to Huang Chao.

Moreover, the two Tang books also secretly wrote that local scholars "made a living by selling cakes" during the war.

At that time, food was the most important thing, and money was useless. Why would we make cakes and sell them if we had food?

What kind of cake did the scholars sell? Neither the New nor the Old Book of Tang clearly states it, but they deliberately mention it there.

The noble families, the officers and soldiers, and Huang Chao, none of them are good people!

As for Huang Chao grinding human flesh and bones into minced meat, this is still very credible. It is not said that the whole person was thrown in, but various parts were cut off and ground to make minced meat more convenient for cooking and sharing.

There is no need for the two Tang books to deliberately discredit Huang Chao, because they also wrote about the actions of the officers and soldiers. They often wrote about the great defeat of the officers and soldiers, and the remnants of the defeated army fled to certain places to burn, kill and loot.

The literary gathering discussed the chaos at the end of the Tang Dynasty centered around "Song of the Qin Woman", and then someone took out a copied collection of Tang Dynasty miscellaneous songs, "Yun Yao Ji".

"Yun Yao Ji" has greater value for literary and musical research!
There are a total of thirty quzici and thirteen ci forms, all of which are works by Tang poets.

Although these ci tunes were also passed down to the Song Dynasty, no related Tang Dynasty works have been found. As a result, many Song people speculated that they should have appeared since the Five Dynasties, but they did not expect that they already existed in the Tang Dynasty.

Moreover, some of these lyrics and music were created at least in the middle Tang Dynasty, and it is very likely that they were introduced to the public due to the dissolution of the Jiaofangsi in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

"Wu Guan, we have an appointment with a singer tonight. Let's go and listen to Tang Dynasty music together."

"I won't go. My father is very strict. He told me not to stay overnight in singing houses. I have to prepare well for the imperial examination next year."

"How old are you? Don't worry about taking the imperial examination."

"I appreciate your kindness. Goodbye!"

"Then let's make an appointment next time."

Lu You returned to the city in a carriage. He could imagine how bustling the brothels and theaters were during that time.

A total of thirty Tang Dynasty songs and lyrics have appeared in the world. Wouldn't the singing girls have to sing them all? Wouldn't the scholars have to listen to them all?
You can use this opportunity to feel the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty!
Actually, there is nothing good to feel, just a bunch of boudoir grievances and military campaigns. It reflects that the Sanlong area has been conscripting soldiers and fighting from the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, the middle Tang Dynasty to the late Tang Dynasty, and the people hate war very much.

"My dear, there is a letter from you, pressed under the paperweight in the study."

"got it."

His father, who had been transferred to become the Minister of Public Administration, had not yet finished get off work, so he had to wait a while for dinner. Lu You went straight to the study to read a letter from a friend.

His engagement has not yet been fulfilled, but the girl is already 18 years old, and they will get married next year regardless of whether they pass the exam or not.

The Ming Dynasty Code stipulates that the legal age of marriage for men is sixteen and for women is fifteen.

But these days, most people in ordinary families marry early, while it is more popular for rich children to marry late. There are many rich girls who are still unmarried at the age of 17 or 18, and rich children often get married in their twenties.

This phenomenon appeared as early as the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty.

The letter was written by Li Zuqia and the mailing address was Guangzhou.

Li Zuqia was Li Hanzhang's nephew, and of the same generation as Li Xiaojian, who committed suicide out of fear of punishment. However, their generation names were different, indicating that their blood relationship was a bit distant, and they had been separated at least a hundred years ago.

His father was involved in the Huainan case and was sentenced to eight years in prison. Three generations of his descendants were not allowed to take the imperial examinations.

This was a heavy blow to Li Zuqia, who was already a juren. Moreover, he was always criticized if he stayed in his hometown, so in a fit of anger he simply went out to sea again to make a living.

Not only was his family pursued by the government for stolen money, but they also had to pay a huge fine and were forced to sell their land and shops.

As his finances were tight, Li Zuqia could not go out to sea just to enjoy the sights and sounds like he did last time. He boarded the treasure hunting trio's ship and worked for others relying on his own skills.

"My dear brother, please read An Qi's letter..."

"I went to Hangzhou last autumn and heard that Wang, Gao and Li had already returned. Your Majesty once said that there might be a continent south of the South China Sea. The three of them have been exploring for several years and have learned about the trade winds and ocean currents. To sail south from Java Island, we must set sail in the twelfth month and sail southeast with the wind..."

Li Zuqia went to explore the sea, and was heading towards Australia.

He set out from Hangzhou by boat last winter and wrote a letter to Lu You when he passed through Guangzhou. The postal system was so slow that it took several months for the letter to be delivered to Luoyang.

Wang Chongdu and his three-member treasure hunting team went to Java Island three years ago.

There were two small countries on the island, both of which were vassal states of the Ming Dynasty. The king received them warmly and conducted friendly trade, selling silk, cotton cloth, paper and other items, and buying back a large amount of spices, pearls, tortoise shells and so on.

Two years ago, Wang Chongdu began sailing around Java Island and asked local fishermen in detail about the wind direction in different seasons.

After a year of personal exploration, they set out from Hangzhou last winter, carrying a large amount of supplies to Java. They repaired the ship in Java, sold some goods, and exchanged them all for supplies, and sailed into the vast ocean with a favorable wind at the end of December.

Li Zuqia's letters naturally did not explore the content. He was just afraid that he would never come back, so while writing to his wife and children, he also wrote a letter to Lu You to confide his feelings.

……

The humid Indian Ocean monsoon turns at the equator and blows from northwest to southeast towards Australia.

Everyone was very nervous.

Ahead was a mysterious sea that had never been explored. It took them two years to determine the wind direction. If they set out from Java Island at this time, it would take half a year for the return trade wind to arrive. If they could not find land for supplies during this period, everyone would most likely die of hunger and thirst at sea.

Li Zuqia's job was assistant to the stargazer, and he had a foundation in astronomy and mathematics.

As the days passed, Li Zuqia observed the stars and made records every day, while also observing and recording the conditions of the trade winds.

The whole journey was carried out with favorable winds. After only a few days, the lookout suddenly shouted with joy: "Land... there is land!"

Li Zuqia hurried out of the star-pulling room and met Captain Wang Chongdu on the deck.

Wang Chongdu personally climbed up the mast to watch, then rushed back to the captain's room to steer the ship, and someone else signaled with flags to the two ships behind.

As we got closer and closer to the land, we could see the coast with our naked eyes.

Everyone was ecstatic. They thought the journey would be difficult and they might not find any islands or land for two or three months. But they never expected that they would find their target in just a few days!

Of course, if you want to go back you have to wait another half a year.

It is possible to force a return early, but it is more difficult to operate against the wind.

Li Zuqia was very excited and went back to the cabin to sort out his books and boxes, waiting to go ashore to record his investigation. Perhaps there was an unknown country here, where he could be entertained by the king and bring back many mysterious treasures.

The shore was getting closer and closer...people's smiles began to disappear.

Two words: desolate!

They came to the north-west region of Australia, where the rainfall is quite mysterious. It is possible that the rainfall in one day is more than the annual rainfall in London. It is also possible that the annual rainfall is less than that of the Sahara Desert!

Whether or not it rains depends entirely on whether a cyclone happens to pass by.

Some small boats were sent out to explore the nearby hydrological conditions, and the three ships chose a natural harbor to dock.

The three captains landed in person with armed men and a few scholars.

Li Zuqia also went ashore. They searched for more than ten miles, but all they could see was a barren land. Not to mention humans and animals, there were not even a few blades of grass, and they had no idea where to find water.

A prospector suddenly stopped, took out a small shovel and started digging the ground.

After hoeing for a while, he moved to another place.

Everyone stopped and waited, and helped him collect mineral samples.

After struggling for a long time, the prospector said with a complicated expression: "Over there...over there...over there, and over here. They are all open-pit iron ore, which is very easy to mine and of high quality. But there is no grass here, and it is difficult to get food and water. It is impossible for miners to mine in large quantities."

Hearing this, everyone could only sigh.

This place is not suitable for human survival, even if there is a lot of high-quality iron ore, it will be useless.

Miners are not robots, they also need to eat and drink.

Wang Chongdu clapped his hands and encouraged everyone, "Don't be discouraged. We have only been out to sea for a few days since Java Island, and we have already encountered the mainland. Not long after landing, we encountered a large area of ​​high-quality open-pit iron ore. What does this mean? It means that the Sea Goddess is blessing us! If we land in another place, perhaps there will be lush water and grass, and gold and silver everywhere. Goddess bless you!"

"God bless you!"

"God bless you!"

Everyone immediately cheered and their morale was instantly lifted.

The Sea Goddess is the common name for Mazu, while literati prefer to call her Dragon Girl, Fairy Concubine, or Heavenly Concubine.

As for the title "Mazu", it is not popular at present.

There were dozens of sea gods in the coastal areas of the Northern Song Dynasty, three of which were goddesses. These three female sea gods from Fujian were all witches with the surname Lin in their lifetime, and gradually merged into one person, namely Mazu.

Thus, the only female sea god was born. How could the male sea gods compete with her?
As Ming Dynasty's maritime trade became more prosperous, the belief in Mazu spread rapidly.

Six years ago, in order to simplify and unify beliefs, the imperial court simply conferred the title of Heavenly Queen on Mazu and abolished all other sea gods.

The Buddhist and Taoist Department naturally followed orders, gave Mazu a mortal name, and made Mazu a disciple of Taishang Laojun, thus formally absorbing Mazu into the Taoist system of gods.

We returned to the boat, rested for a night, and sailed eastward along the coast with a crosswind the next day.

After another day and a half of walking, more green began to appear on the land.

When they landed to explore, they found that this place was a bit like grassland, with woods in some areas, and they also found a river.

After climbing a small hill, everyone and a group of animals looked at each other in surprise.

Those big rats with long tails stood there stupidly, observing humans.

"Rat spirit?" Wang Chongdu was a little confused.

Li Bin shouted, "Catch a few and bring them back to present to His Majesty!"

The armed men rushed forward at the order, and the kangaroos immediately jumped away. These guys had also seen humans.

There are indigenous tribes nearby!
After Li Bin and his men chased for a while, they encountered a native who was out hunting. He was dark and short, like a Kunlun slave.

The encounter between humans and kangaroos turned into an encounter between two different races.

Both sides were very nervous.

Li Bin raised the flintlock in his hand.

The natives also crouched low, their javelins ready to throw at any time.

(End of this chapter)