Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 180 0175 [Prodigal Li]

Double Ninth Festival, one day off.

Zhu Guoxiang rode out on a cornucopia, while Zhu Ming, Zheng Fatty, and Zheng Yuanyi rode in a carriage bestowed by the emperor, and went out together with seven or eight entourages.

Across the river from Chejiatan is the famous Xiangguo Temple.

The reason why Xiangguo Temple is so lively is not how efficacious the Bodhisattva is, but because it has the largest tile in Tokyo!

There are so many stalls selling goods, and the square in front of the temple can accommodate 2 people.

The Dongmen Street of Xiangguo Temple is commonly known as "Writing Line".As far as the eye can see, it is full of bookstores, and there are all kinds of antique calligraphy and paintings. When the female relatives go to worship Buddha in the temple, the men can take the opportunity to hang out here.

The cornucopia and the carriage were handed over to the attendants, and everyone walked along Dongmen Street all the way.

After entering several bookstores in a row, Ju Ming couldn't find books printed with movable type.

"It seems that movable type printing is still not available on the table, and more formal books use engraving." Zhu Ming said.

Zhu Guoxiang put a book back, walked out and said, "Do you remember the formula of movable type and ink?"

"Goldfinger, we have a good memory," Zhu Ming said, "Gutenberg's lead type is made of an alloy of lead, tin, antimony, and bismuth. Antimony was called Lianxi in ancient China, and it was an additive for casting copper coins."

"How do you know it's Lian Xi's?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Zhu Ming said with a smile: "I spat on the Internet with the keyboard man. He said that antimony could not be produced in ancient China, and even tin could not be antimony. I checked a lot of information, and found that there was a real object unearthed in the Ming Dynasty. The purity of antimony was as high as 90.00%. A lot of %. A bunch of information was thrown in his face, but that guy is still talking hard."

Zhu Guoxiang said, "What about bismuth?"

Zhu Ming shook his head: "I don't know what bismuth was called in ancient times, and I don't know how to refine it."

Zhu Guoxiang asked: "Why are antimony and bismuth added to lead type?"

Zhu Ming said: "Although the cost of the cast lead type is extremely low, it is easy to deform after cooling. Adding an appropriate amount of antimony and bismuth can effectively prevent the lead-tin alloy from expanding with heat and shrinking with cold. I don't know how to get bismuth, so I can only Try adding antimony."

Fatty Zheng was not interested in Wenwan calligraphy and painting, so he walked quickly ahead alone, while Zheng Yuanyi and the maid followed behind the Zhu family and his son.

In a blink of an eye, we arrived at the square in front of Xiangguo Temple. Today is the Double Ninth Festival, and the square is crowded with people.

There are stalls everywhere, and there are hundreds of fortune-telling stalls.

Zhu Ming squatted down in front of an old bookstall, searched carefully for a while, and found two books printed with movable type.

The size of the handwriting varies, and the ink is too thick in some places, and the ink is too light in some places.

From these two books, it can be seen that movable type printing technology in the Northern Song Dynasty was still in a very primitive stage.

"Mr. Lang, second brother, there is a pearl Buddha statue here!" Zheng Yuanyi shouted.

Zhu Ming walked to the jewelry booth and saw more than a dozen Buddha-shaped pearls: "Where did these come from?"

The stall owner replied: "The ones from Taihu Lake are called Buddha beads and mussel Buddhas."

Probably when artificially cultivating pearls, first carve Buddha statues and stuff them in, and then wait for the Buddha statues to grow into pearls.

The dozen or so in front of me are all defective products, deformed during the growth process.

Zhu Ming picked out a pearl flower and said to Zheng Yuanyi: "The mussel Buddha here is not good-looking, buy a beautiful one another day, this pearl flower is very suitable for my sister."

Zheng Yuanyi said happily, "Lang Jun bought it, it looks good no matter what."

Pay and leave, continue to hang out.

Around and in the middle of the square, more than a dozen sheds were set up, all of which were performing various performances.

One of them has the most audience.

Ju Ming and the others leaned over curiously, only to see someone playing football inside.

One of the youths, with his upper body exposed, has large tattoos on his chest and back.

He stepped on the leather boots, raised his leg and hooked it, and the football flew to the top of his head, and it stopped firmly.Then the body leans, and the ball rolls down the neck, from the shoulders to the arms.Turning around suddenly, the football stopped on his chest, twisted all over again, and the ball fell on his back again.

"it is good!"

Fatty Zheng clapped his hands and shouted.

Amidst the cheers of the crowd, Zhu Guoxiang saw a person in the front row with a very familiar profile.

After observing carefully for a moment, Zhu Guoxiang whispered, "The emperor is in front of you."

"Ok?"

Zhu Ming squeezed in hard, took a closer look, and finally confirmed that it was Song Huizong.

The emperor also put on makeup, and his beard grew longer.Surrounded by a few people, they should be eunuchs and guards.

"Eleventh Lang also came to the theater?" Zhu Ming posted and said.

Song Huizong turned his head when he heard the words, and after seeing that it was Zhu Ming, he smiled and said, "Your father didn't come?"

"Here we are, outside." Zhu Ming said.

Song Huizong said: "Just playing together."

As soon as the emperor turned around to leave, the people around him rushed forward and pushed out a passage.

Seeing this, the young football player immediately passed the ball to his companion, and he followed out with his clothes.

Zhu Guoxiang was about to bow, Song Huizong said: "It's the same as success, just call me Shishilang."

"Eleven Lang Wan'an." Zhu Guoxiang cupped his hands and said.

The youth who played football had also squeezed out of the crowd, with a few followers behind him.

Song Huizong introduced: "This is Li Bangyan, and this is Zhu Ming."

Zhu Ming took a closer look, then cupped his hands and said, "I have long admired Brother Li's name."

Li Bangyan said with a smile: "I have also admired the name of my brother for a long time."

Li Bangyan's family is a silverware maker. He is very rich, but he has no official status.

His parents sent him to the state school. Not only was he excellent in his studies, but he was also good at playing, singing, dancing, playing football and composing music. He also liked to make friends with scholars.When Shanxi scholars go to Beijing to rush for the exam, they must pass through his house, and the father and son often give away travel expenses.

After coming and going, Li Bangyan has a great reputation, and he has a taste of "timely rain".

Through support and bribery, Li Bangyan was recommended to study in Taixue when he was less than 20 years old.Through calligraphy and articles, he was favored by the emperor, promoted directly from the outer house to the upper house, and then obtained the same background as a Jinshi.

Then he played ball and opera with the emperor, and was promoted rapidly all the way.

This guy became more and more energetic, not only went crazy in the palace, but also made up obscene words and songs, which were widely praised by the people in Tokyo, and earned the nickname "Li Langzi".But because of this, he was impeached for misbehavior and demoted to be a school secretary.

Unable to stand Song Huizong liking it, he turned around and was promoted directly to Wailang, a member of the Ministry of Officials, and also in charge of the Bureau of Rites (an institution set up by Song Huizong to reform the ritual system).

Last year, Li Bangyan was sent to Zhizhou to be gilded for a year. He recently returned to Beijing and served as a living man (a close minister of the emperor).

Song Jun and Jin Bing catapulted each other, and the reason why they were defeated so thoroughly was because Song Jun didn't dare to fight.A gunner of a catapult was ordered to be executed by Li Bangyan after firing a cannon.

Hardcore Surrender!
Following Li Bangyan's return to Beijing, Zhu Ming once again expressed emotion, there are so many crouching dragons and phoenixes in the city of Kaifeng.

But Li Bangyan is a self-acquaintance, he doesn't even bother to put on clothes, he hooks his shoulders with Zhu Ming's shirtless shoulders: "My dear brother, can you play Cuju?"

Zhu Ming was a little displeased: "The game is not good."

Li Bangyan said with a smile: "Kick it a few times and you'll be good. Guan... Shishilang is also good at Cuju. Let's play a game sometime later!"

Song Huizong said: "It's a good idea, so I went home and kicked it." Then he asked Zhu Guoxiang, "Can brother Zhu know how to play Cuju?"

"Slightly understand." Zhu Guoxiang said.

Song Huizong laughed immediately: "That's just right, let's play football together at my house."

The stupid gentleman saved a game, and then went to watch a play in a nearby tile shed.

The zaju was obviously tinged with yellow, and the narration and lyrics were quite explicit. Many female relatives blushed when they heard it, but more audiences applauded and applauded.

Li Bangyan proudly said: "This drama is written by me!"

Song Huizong praised: "Although it is unbearably vulgar, it is quite like the smoke and fire of the market."

Zhu Ming seriously doubts that Song Huizong's artistic aesthetic was biased by Li Bangyan.The emperor, who originally liked elegant art, gradually turned to vulgarity, and even those Dasheng poets followed suit to create obscene lyrics and pornographic songs.

An official named Wang Anzhong wrote a lot of erotic poems for Song Huizong, and he even became the deputy prime minister based on this.

Wandering around Xiangguo Temple, Song Huizong was very happy. He liked this feeling of "having fun with the people".

Song Huizong asked in a low voice: "Can you live in the house I gave you?"

"I've already stayed here, thank you Your Majesty for the reward." Zhu Guoxiang said.

Song Huizong said: "It's still early today, so I will go to Mr.'s house as a guest."

The father and son had no choice but to take Song Huizong and Li Bangyan home, and Zhu Ming asked Bai Sheng to rush back to prepare dinner.

The food was not ready yet, Zhu Guoxiang entertained the guests with black tea.

Song Huizong looked at the bright red tea soup, and was quite surprised: "This tea soup is really beautiful, but where does the tuancha come from?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "This is black tea. I made it myself, and I am going to present it to the officials."

Song Huizong clapped his hands and praised: "Mr. can also make tea. It seems that he and I are on the same path."

The group tea technology in the Song Dynasty reached its peak in the Huizong Dynasty.

Big and small dragon tea has become a thing of the past.Now the top one is "Shuiya Tea", among which "Incomparable Shouya" and "Longyuan Baochun" are the most high-quality teas.

The price is more expensive than gold!
Song Huizong took a sip of black tea and commented: "Although the taste is plain, it is better than natural, and it is considered a rare good tea."

No matter how good black tea is, it cannot be compared with "water bud tea".

Zhu Guoxiang asked someone to bring a few bags of tea, and Song Huizong accepted it, but he didn't list the black tea as a tribute, because this stupid emperor really didn't like it.

Song Huizong asked with a smile: "I have accepted the gift, so I should return the gift. If you want to, just say it."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "As a minister, if you have something good, you should dedicate it to the king, and don't ask for anything in return."

"Qing is really a loyal minister!" Song Huizong praised.

Zhu Ming took the opportunity to say: "The minister wants to ask for a job."

Song Huizong said: "Let's talk."

Zhu Ming said: "I invite you to also be in charge of the Guozijian library."

As soon as this remark came out, not only Song Huizong was a little surprised, but even Li Bangyan seemed surprised.

Guozijian Bookstore was the official book printing institution in the Song Dynasty. The chief official was called "Jian Guozijian Bookstore".

Song Huizong asked: "Why do you want to manage the library?"

Zhu Ming asked back: "Do officials know movable type printing?"

Song Huizong nodded and said: "I have heard about it a little, but it is difficult to enter the elegant hall."

Zhu Ming said: "I have a way to make the books printed with movable type be the same as the woodblock printing, and the man-hour can be saved by a hundred times."

"There is such a technique?" Song Huizong said with great interest, "Then let you supervise the Guozijian Library, and after the book is printed, it will be the first to send it to me for a look. It is as useful as you said. After it is done, I will let you go out to be the magistrate."

Song Huizong liked to collect books, and he also liked to publish and distribute books to the world. He still attached great importance to the improvement of printing techniques.

(End of this chapter)