Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 313 0308 [Guangxi yet to be developed]

No matter how other officials lie down, they have to go to the yamen to order a seat.

Zhu Ming and Fan Zhiming had nothing to do all day, so they met to go to Qixing Mountain to relax and choose a site for the construction of the academy.

Seven Star Mountain is in the east of Guizhou City, on the other side of the Li River.

The two of them walked to the ferry with their own entourage.

Not far from the city, I saw more than a dozen Yi people coming together.The man has a bun like a vertebra and wears a striped gown; the woman's upper shirt and lower skirt have extremely fancy patterns.

Both men and women are armed and barefoot.

They are probably here to sell goods, and the goods are a bit scary.

The men carried a brown bear, whose limbs were cut off and carried separately due to its size.

This thing is called "Human Bear", that is, "罴".

Ju Ming looked at it for a while, and asked curiously, "Which clan are these from?"

Fan Zhiming said, "Yao people."

"Are there many Yao people in Guizhou?" Zhu Ming asked.

Fan Zhiming said: "In the surrounding mountains, there are all cooked Yao who can speak Chinese. In the mountains farther away, there are mostly raw Yao, who do not accept Wang Hua. Shu Yao has a gentle temperament and often comes to Zhoucheng to sell local goods. Sheng Yao is extremely violent. Every time they go down the mountain to plunder, the Han people suffer a lot.”

Zhu Ming inquired, "Can you farm?"

Fan Zhiming said: "Shu Yao is good at farming, and he grows many kinds of corn, beans, and yams, just like the Han people. Raw Yao cultivates slash-and-burn farming, supplemented by hunting."

The Yao people here do not grow rice, because they all live in the mountains and there are no paddy fields, so life is relatively difficult.

Perhaps because they saw that they were dressed better, those Yao people actually took the initiative to come forward: "Your honor, do you want to buy a human bear? The meat is delicious, and the skin is also strong."

Zhu Ming didn't eat bear meat, so he said, "What other local products are there?"

Several Yao women put down their baskets immediately.

Zhu Ming took a look. There were daily necessities such as linen and many handicrafts.

"What is this?" Ju Ming picked up a black stone.

A Yao woman said: "Talc."

Fan Zhiming said: "Talc is a tribute from Guizhou. It can be used as medicine or decoration. There are black and white, smooth as jade."

In fact, it is a silicate mineral, which is useless for the Yao people, but the Han people like it very much.

The talc was polished and oiled to look like jade.

Ju Ming found it interesting, so he paid for two.

Continuing to walk to the river, Fan Zhiming said: "Guizhou is very humid, talc can remove moisture, and it is also a good medicinal material."

There are several stone tablets standing in front of him. Zhu Ming didn't pay much attention when he came, but now he saw various prescriptions engraved on the tablet, and couldn't help asking: "How to erect a tablet with prescriptions engraved on the side of the road?"

Fan Zhiming explained: "At the beginning of the founding of the Song Dynasty, Guangxi was not yet civilized. Chen Gongyaosou, who served as the transfer envoy of Guangxi, first dredged the Lingqu and the Lijiang River, and then promoted the cultivation of rice and ramie in Guangxi. At that time, medicine was not flourishing, and the people in Guangxi were killed when they got sick. The rooster prayed for God's blessing. Mr. Chen sent people to collect and test prescriptions, carved steles and erected them on important roads, so that the common people could copy them, and medicine spread in Guangxi."

"What a capable minister!" Zhu Ming couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

He knew Chen Yaosou before he traveled, but not because of his achievements in governing the people.But Chen Yaosou, a native of Sichuan, suggested that the emperor move the capital to Chengdu after the Chanyuan alliance, but was scolded by the prime minister Kou Zhun.

Fan Zhiming said: "Unfortunately, Guangxi is still plagued by miasma, and it is difficult for the officials and people of the Han family to go deep into the barren."

It is easy to get sick here in Guangxi, and there are more than one or two officials promoting medicine.

For example, Fan Min, the magistrate of Yongzhou (Nanning), found that the people were sick, and he only worshiped the gods and refused to seek medical treatment.So a notice was posted that anyone who wants to see a doctor can ask him for reimbursement of medical expenses, and he will pay for it himself.And on the shrines in various places, many prescriptions are carved, which can be seen by patients who worship the gods.

The most troublesome thing is the miasma.

In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the death rate of officials sent to Guangxi reached 70%.

When Chen Yaosou left Beijing to take up his post, a friend wrote him a farewell poem. The general content is: the miasma in that poor place in Guangxi is very severe.I feel like my soul is broken when I send you out of the gate of Tokyo, so please take care of yourself, man.

Seven out of ten soldiers stationed in Shunzhou (Gao Binh Province, Vietnam) died of illness, and even Zhizhou was seriously ill.

More than ten years ago, Wang Zudao expanded land for 1500 miles, built a city and dispatched troops to garrison it.In just one year, nearly half of the soldiers died.When he was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of War, all the soldiers who survived ran away, and the barbarians made a comeback, and often went out to loot.

After crossing the Lijiang River by boat, Fan Zhiming pointed to the front and said, "In summer, Qixing Mountain also has miasma. If you want to give lectures here, you must not go too deep into the mountain, and you must build a house under the mountain."

Ju Ming was quite puzzled by this: "What exactly is miasma?"

Fan Zhiming said: "The diseases in the south are all called miasma, which is not found in the north."

It is probably the general term for some tropical diseases, such as malaria, dysentery, hemorrhagic fever, sand bug fever and so on.Some are transmitted by mosquitoes, and some are transmitted by water sources.

Fan Zhiming said: "In fact, drinking more hot water instead of unboiled water can prevent diseases. But it takes a long time to educate, and it doesn't happen overnight."

Zhu Ming was surprised: "Do you know that drinking hot water can prevent diseases?"

Fan Zhiming said with a smile: "Everyone knows the southeast."

The ancients were not fools, maybe they didn't understand the principles, but they knew the observations and conclusions.

The "Chicken Ribs" written in the late Northern Song Dynasty has a detailed record: "The world says that the water in the northwest is good but the wind is poisonous, so people are often hurt by the wind. Although the water is cold, there is no danger. The southeast is the opposite. You must drink decocted water, and when you lie down, turn your head outward..."

In the concept of Song people, the northwest region should pay attention to wind protection to avoid wind evil entering the body and getting sick, and it doesn't matter whether you drink hot water or not.In the southeast region, even small people must drink boiled water while walking on the road, and pay attention to ventilation to prevent heatstroke. They should face the outside when sleeping.

When Chen Yaosou governed Guangxi, in order to prevent miasma, he also paid attention to heatstroke prevention and drinking water safety.

He asked the people to plant trees on both sides of the official road for shade, and build pavilions every twenty or thirty miles, and pedestrians can enjoy the cool and quench their thirst for free.He also taught the people in Guangxi to dig wells. Well water is cleaner than river water and can effectively prevent parasite and bacterial infections.

Today, drinking hot water has become a consensus, and the death rate of officials in Guangxi has been greatly reduced.

But the ordinary people in Guangxi, as well as those soldiers, have not yet formed the habit.Scoop up unboiled water and drink it, and you will be tricked without knowing it.

There are farmers at the foot of Qixing Mountain. Zhu Ming walks up and down and knocks on the door of the small courtyard of the farm.

The Chinese New Year is approaching, there is not much farm work, and there are people at home.

Seeing that they seemed to have a lot of background, the farmer was a little scared and received them awkwardly.

Ju Ming smiled and cupped his hands: "We are visiting Qixing Mountain, and we are thirsty on the way, can we ask for a bowl of water?"

"Gentlemen, please come in." Hearing that they were only here to beg for water, several farmers became enthusiastic.

The old woman came out with a pottery pot and a pottery bowl in her hand.

This is obviously cold boiled, otherwise there would be no need for a kettle.

Ju Ming sat down and asked them how many people they had, and then how the harvest was this year.

After talking for a long time, Zhu Ming finally asked: "People in Lingui, do you know how to boil water before drinking?"

The old farmer replied: "The government ordered people to drink boiled water, saying that drinking unboiled water would make them ill. We are close to the city, and we are very obedient. If we are farther away, we don't listen, and the government doesn't bother to take care of it."

Zhu Ming continued to ask, and he probably understood what was going on.

It is purely a matter of concept. The Han Dynasty already had a porous stove that could heat several pots at the same time.When cooking rice, just boil water by the way, so there is no need to waste more firewood.

Jiangnan was developed early, miasma is no longer a problem, and the people have a better sense of hygiene.

On the Guangxi side, we still have to be educated slowly.

As for why the death rate of the soldiers is high, it is estimated that they went deep into the barbarian land. The environment there is indeed too harsh, and it is difficult to adapt to it for a while.

Zhu Ming plans to compile a hygienic pamphlet and spread it as a primer for elementary school in the future, so that children can also know about it.

"Is there any suitable place nearby to level the land and build a house?" Ju Ming asked again.

The old farmer asked: "Does the nobleman cut down trees to open up wasteland by himself, or buy ready-made land?"

Zhu Ming said, "It's all right."

"You can go to Mr. Pei to buy land," the old farmer suggested.

Zhu Ming gave a few pennies and asked the old farmer to lead the way.

The Pei family is a rich family in the vicinity. They have been awarded Jinshi, but they don't have a lot of land, and they mainly do freight business.

"Meet Fan Tuanlian!" Pei Yuanwai greeted when they met.

Fan Zhiming smiled and said, "You recognize me?"

Pei Yuanwai said: "Fan Tuanlian was also there when the former prefect was visiting Qixing Mountain. Cao Canjun broke his leg and went down the mountain on a bamboo vehicle. The one who carried the bamboo vehicle was my servant."

Fan Zhiming introduced: "This is Mr. Zhu Ming, Tan Hualang of Zhenghe for five years. Mr. Zhu plans to give lectures in Qixing Mountain and find a place to build an academy. What good place do you have?"

Zhu Ming said: "You give a piece of flat land, and other wealthy households donate some money to build an academy together, and all the children of the clan can come to study."

Pei Yuanwai's eyes lit up: "I am willing to donate the land!"

Guizhou had a number one scholar in the Tang Dynasty, the cultural context declined in the Five Dynasties, and the Northern Song Dynasty was in the recovery period.

So far there is not even an academy, except for government schools, they are all private schools.

The academies in Guizhou did not appear until the Southern Song Dynasty.

Ju Ming added: "In the beginning, a few thatched huts are enough, and I will move here after the Chinese New Year."

Pei Yuanwai immediately promised: "Before the Lantern Festival, the hut will be built, and even the furniture will be done!"

"Take me to see the place." Zhu Ming said.

The entire Qixing Mountain is a large scenic area, with many mountains and scenic spots.

The most famous one is Zenggong Rock, which was developed by Zeng Bu, and there are temples nearby, where the wealthy like to visit.

The address of Ju Ming's academy is in the south of Qixing Mountain.

With a mountain peak in the north, a lake in the east, and the Xiaodongjiang River not far in the west, this is purely a sanctuary for the aged.

At noon, I had dinner at Mr. Pei's house, and all my nephews and nephews called here. There were more than ten people in total, all of whom wanted to study in the academy.

Because Fan Zhiming had slipped his tongue and said that he would also give lectures.

One is the second place, the other is the third. They are teachers, and the students are rushing to sign up?

After half a month, Chen Dong and the others finally arrived.

The 27 students who had been expelled entered the city with their entourage, and went straight to the county government.When they revealed their identities, they caused a sensation instantly!
(Some book friends pointed out that Fan Zhixu and Fan Zhiming are blood brothers, so Fan Zhiming should also go home to attend the funeral. Well, let’s just treat them as clan brothers, the plot has already been written and it’s hard to modify.)
(End of this chapter)