Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1199 Postscript : Buying Land from Sima Guang’s Descendants
Huangzhou Prefecture.

Xie Yiqin handed a telegram to his wife.

Wang Yitong quickly finished reading it and sighed, "I really want Princess Shang."

Xie Yiqin analyzed, "If it was just a folk rumor, how could the story of the black hair be published in the Daming Weekly? Even if the reporter wanted to write about it, he would only dare to mention it briefly. Since it was written in such detail, it means that the reporter is sure that he will not offend the princess."

"That's right," Wang Yitong asked, "Does the princess also need to write three letters and six ceremonies when she goes out to marry?"

Xie Yiqin said, "Of course we have to, otherwise it would violate the wedding rites. But the "Ming Dynasty Law·Etiquette·Wedding Rites" is very vague about the princess's marriage, and I am not sure how to do it specifically."

Wang Yitong said, "Liu Lang asked us to inform the elders in our hometown and to go to Luoyang with them. It seems that he is in a hurry to ask for the bride price? In folk cases, the elders go to the woman's home to ask for the bride price. Are we going to the palace this time?"

"Maybe that's the case." Xie Yiqun was not sure.

Wang Yitong muttered, "They are in such a hurry. Liu Lang must have already..."

Xie Yiqin rebuked: "Don't talk nonsense."

The next day.

Xie Yiqin called several officials from the Tongpan Hall and said to them, "I have to go to Beijing for something. You keep an eye on the counties and make sure to find out the floor space and number of chimneys of the factories and mines in the prefecture. When I come back, I will personally lead people to conduct random checks and verifications. If there are any major mistakes, you will be held accountable!"

"Yes, sir!" the officials responded quickly.

Then, Xie Yiqin assigned more specific tasks one by one. As for his own duties, he temporarily handed them over to his deputy. If there were any urgent or important matters, he would send a telegram and leave the telegram address given by his son.

After Xie Yiqin left, these people also went their separate ways, discussing the matter privately with those they were close to.

"Why is the Tongpan coming to the capital? He is not going to be promoted or transferred, is he?"

"Have you forgotten the newspaper from a few days ago? I guess the sixth son of the Xie family is going to marry the princess, and the magistrate is going to the capital to ask for the princess' name."

"The feng shui of the Xie family's ancestral tomb must be good, as it gave birth to such a good son. Alas, those two bastards in my family have made me worry so much that my hair has turned white."

"If I were Xie Liulang, I would definitely not marry a princess. The seventeen-year-old scholar Furong was specially recruited to study in the inner quarters of the Imperial College. I'm afraid he will graduate from the Imperial College and be awarded the title of Jinshi at the age of twenty. If he is promoted all the way to fifty, as long as nothing goes wrong, he will at least be a third-rank official. If he lives long enough, he can also be a second-rank official."

"You think so."

"Alas, I passed the imperial examination too late. I was thirty-four before I became an official. Until now, I am only a sixth-rank official. If I could become an official at the age of twenty, I would never marry a princess."

"Haha, just looking at your appearance, the princess would have to wash her eyes if she looked at it for one more second."

"A man of culture is naturally elegant, so why should a man be good-looking?"

"..."

After Xie Yiqin gave some instructions to his subordinates, he went straight into the government office to find the prefect Du Yinzheng.

The two men greeted each other and exchanged a few words.

After the servant brought the kettle, Du Yinzheng personally made tea for Xie Yiqin and said, "Brother, how come you have time to come and sit with me today?"

Xie Yiqin said, "I have to go to the capital for something, and I have already arranged the affairs of the Tongpan Hall. Brother, Li Tuiguan will be in charge of the contact for the time being."

Du Yinzheng was surprised and asked, "My dear brother, are you going to be promoted?"

"Asking about etiquette." Xie Yiqin said vaguely.

Du Yinzheng reacted immediately, cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Congratulations, congratulations!"

Although Xie Yiqin was very happy, he still pretended to be calm and said, "My children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. I am just following the etiquette."

Damn it, you just pretend!

Du Yinzheng was quite envious, but he still said nice things: "A good father will have a good son. I liked Liu Lang the first time I saw him. He is handsome and well-mannered. It's a pity that my daughter is already married, otherwise there would be no princess. I will definitely rush to recruit Liu Lang as my son-in-law."

Xie Yiqin laughed and said, "Your and my families have missed a chance to marry."

The two continued chatting about meaningless formalities. When Xie Yiqin had had enough of pretending, he said goodbye and left in high spirits.

Du Yinzheng sat in the Huangtang, watching Xie Yiqin walk away, and said to himself: "Why are you showing off in front of me? Your son married a princess, and you will be a third-rank official at best in your lifetime."

Du Yinzheng looked down on Xie Yiqin and sighed again. Why couldn't those bastards in his family be as motivated as him?

Before Xie Yiqun and Wang Yitong left Huangzhou Prefecture, the news that their sixth son was about to marry the princess had quickly spread throughout the government office and the Tongpan Hall, and then spread to the public.

……

Shou'an (Yi Yang) County is more than 50 miles away from Luoyang city, and can be reached by boat along the Luo River.

As early as the Warring States Period, this place was Yi Yang County in South Korea.

It was directly destroyed during the Five Dynasties period. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, the county was abolished and changed to Shou'an Town. It was not until the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty that it was upgraded to Shou'an County.

"That's Shou'an Kiln. There are only two official kilns in Luoyang Prefecture. One is Luojing Kiln, which produces white porcelain, and the other is Shou'an Kiln, which produces celadon."

The guide for Xie Yan was an official from the Ministry of Works named Qian Gu.

Fan Ying, the head of the Ministry of Works, was not able to ask for leave to go out of the capital for personal matters, so he asked a trusted clerk for help.

Xie Yan asked, "Is the entire Shou'an Mountain owned by Shou'an Kiln?" Qian Gu replied, "Only this area belongs to Shou'an Kiln. The rest of the mountains and forests are mostly public property of Shou'an County. The king of peony flowers is Yao Huang and Wei Zi. The mother plant of Wei Zi was found by a woodcutter in Shou'an Mountain. When officials and citizens of Luoyang go outing in spring, some people will take a boat here. Shou'an Mountain is also a place for outing and entertainment."

"Which family has the most land at the foot of the mountain?" Xie Yan asked.

Qian Gu replied: "Sima family."

Of course it is the Sima family of Sima Guang.

Sima Guang never took a concubine in his life. His two biological sons both died young, so he adopted his nephew Sima Kang to inherit the family line.

Although Sima Guang and Sima Kang, father and son, were both known for their integrity and frugality, the integrity and frugality of Northern Song officials were not something that ordinary people could match.

Sima Guang had a house in Luoyang, where he usually lived.

At the foot of Shou'an Mountain is Sima Guang's villa.

Across the Luo River here is Shao Yong's villa. When Shao Yong first arrived in Luoyang, he was so poor that he couldn't even afford to rent a house. With the help of Sima Guang and other friends, he not only found a place to stay in Luoyang, but also built a villa in Shou'an County.

Today, the descendants of Sima Guang and Shao Yong have long lost their properties in Luoyang, but they are still landlords in Shou'an County.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

"Is there a coal mine nearby?" Xie Yan asked again.

Qian Gu pointed to the south and said, "The large mountainous area south of the city is all government-run coal mines. In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, there was not much mining, and it was all small-scale. Luoyang had to transport coal from the north bank of the Yellow River. Later, the coal mines in Shou'an Mountain were dug deeper and deeper, and the output was getting bigger and bigger. Several small coal mines were merged into one government-run coal mine."

Xie Yan asked: "Is there any anthracite here?"

Qian Gu said, "Yes. Some are bituminous coal, some are anthracite, it depends on the specific mining area. Anthracite is mainly supplied to the Imperial City."

"Can private factories purchase the anthracite here?" Xie Yan asked again.

Qian Gu said: "The Ministry of Works cannot make the decision. It must be agreed by the Queen Mother and Your Majesty."

Increasing the mining volume means that the imperial city has no shortage of anthracite.

Alas, I have to ask Princess Sister for help again.

This soft rice tastes so good!

Xie Yan asked again: "Where are the limestone mines distributed?"

Qian Gu said, "There is limestone everywhere in the mountains around the county, and Shou'an Kiln also burns lime. The Sima family also has a lime kiln. As long as Mr. Xie offers a suitable price, they should be willing to sell it. Because all counties in Luoyang Prefecture produce lime, the price is very cheap, and you can't make much money by running a lime kiln."

Xie Yan continued to ask: "Are there any iron mines and iron factories nearby?"

"There are iron mines, but no iron factories," Qian Gu pointed to the southeast. "There is a Tielu Village over there. Every household makes iron. The iron ore is dug from the mountains. They are all traditional small mines and furnaces. They make daily ironware and sell it to the people in the surrounding areas. The Longmen Grottoes have been excavated for hundreds of years, and most of the hammers and drills used by the craftsmen came from this Tielu Village."

After listening to this, Xie Yan was extremely satisfied. There was everything around here.

After having lunch in Shou'an County, Xie Yan bought some gifts, wrote a visiting card, and went to Sima's house.

"A distinguished guest has come to visit me, and I am sorry for not coming in person to welcome him!" An old man came out trembling.

This person's name is Sima Wu.

If the original historical trajectory had been followed, the various branches of the Sima family would have fled to the south to reproduce and thrive during the Jingkang Rebellion.

In this time and space, not only did they not go to the south, but even the names of their descendants were all changed.

Xie Yan bowed and said, "I apologize for my intrusive visit."

Sima Wu said: "Mr. Xie is famous in the capital, and I have heard of your name for a long time even in Shou'an County."

After some greetings, Xie Yan was invited into the main gate.

The original main branch of the Sima family was in Shanxi, and the branch in Shou'an County was completely developed from Sima Guang's adopted son. After more than 200 years, there is no connection between them.

The Shouan Sima family was not even considered a powerful family. If it weren't for the emergence of a Jinshi in the Ming Dynasty, they would probably have to sell some of their land to survive, not to mention continuing to annex surrounding lands.

Xie Yan explained his purpose in a roundabout way, only to find out that the Sima family here had already divided their property and households.

The main family had less than 1,000 mu of land left, and the descendants of the Sima family who had divided it out became small landlords and self-employed farmers. The lime kiln belonged to one of the small landlords.

Moreover, it only has a small area of ​​hills near the lime kilns.

The ownership of the hill is still owned by several other families.

Sima Wu said, "That is the border between two villages. The forest on the west side belongs to my nephew. The other forests belong to the Liu and Gao families in the neighboring villages. Some of the forests are public property, and the people in several villages can go there to collect firewood."

After Xie Yan sat and chatted for a while, he proposed to go and check it out on the spot, and Sima Wu asked his eldest son to accompany him.

After wandering in the mountains and forests for four or five days and staying at Sima's house at night, Xie Yan finally got a basic understanding of the situation and asked each family whether they had land for sale.

Definitely worth buying at a premium.

The dust pollution from the cement factory is quite serious, and it is someone else's ancestral property. Don't even think about buying it without paying a high price.

(End of this chapter)