Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 36 0035 [Water and Drought Raising Seedlings]

Bai family, study room.

Li Hanzhang compared the scriptures he had just written with a copy of "Selected Works of the Times", shaking his head and sighing: "The same passage of scriptures, the essays I wrote are not as good as those Jinshi. I am afraid that the provincial examination in the next year (National Conference) test), I couldn’t pass the exam again.”

"No matter how hard you work, you can always improve." Bai Chongyan was not only motivating his friends, but also cheering himself up.

At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, not only were there no stereotyped essays, but even scriptures lacked a fixed format.

After the reform of Wang Anshi's imperial examination, due to the abolition of poetry and prose, classics and righteousness became the focus of the examination.The imperial court published some model essays, and scholars summed up several routines based on those model essays.Candidates can roughly write according to routines, but they can also play freely, and the marking officers treat them equally.

The routines of Jingyiwen in the Northern Song Dynasty became more standardized in the Southern Song Dynasty, and the grading became more and more strict, so the prototype of stereotyped writing appeared.

If Zhu Ming takes the imperial examination, he can directly copy the stereotyped essay!
"Why hasn't Fatty Zheng come to make a fuss these days?" Li Hanzhang asked suddenly.

Bai Chongyan said: "He went to listen to Zhu Dalang tell a story."

Putting the writing brush on the pen holder, Li Hanzhang stretched his waist: "Let's go too, study for a few days, it's time for entertainment."

The two went out together and went to Mrs. Shen's house, followed by a few servants.

Zhu Ming and Zheng Hong are located in the corner of the courtyard, one sitting on the bench and the other sitting in the top chair, both eating the snacks brought by the little fat man.

Tell a story while eating.

They went over to listen, and they happened to be talking about the battle between Monkey King and Erlang God.

Li Hanzhang suddenly said: "Isn't Erlang God surnamed Li? He is the son of Li Bing, the prefect of Shu County."

Bai Chongyan said: "The surname is not Li, it should be Zhao."

The God of Erlang in the Song Dynasty wasn't actually Yang Jian?
Zhu Ming really didn't know, so he could only lie: "In Guangnan, Erlang God is called Yang Jian."

Li Hanzhang did not doubt that he was there, and suggested: "It is better to change it to Li Erlang, after all, he is the God of Lang enshrined by the government."

"Also." Ju Ming followed suit.

Erlang God, originally a Buddhist god, Dujian Erlang, the son of King Bishamon.According to the legend, not only did he help Li Shimin fight, but he was also summoned by Li Longji to help Anxi.

By the time of the Five Dynasties, the statue of Dujian Erlang had appeared in Guankou Tianwang Temple.

The Taoist priests in Qingcheng Mountain were not happy, and they launched "Zhao Erlang" (the prefect of the Sui Dynasty, beheading the dragon and eliminating harm) in an organized way to fight against the Buddhist "Dujian Erlang".The folks gave birth to "Li Erlang", who was said to be the son of Li Bing, and was quickly recognized by the people, so "Li Erlang" was also absorbed by Taoism.

When it developed to the Song Dynasty, it was chaotic.

First, Song Zhenzong named "Zhao Erlang" as Zhenjun.Then Song Renzong named "Li Erlang" as the God of Langjun.In a few years, Song Huizong will also make a move to make "Zhao Erlang" a real person.

On the whole, there is no doubt that the Erlang God officially recognized in the Song Dynasty should be Li Erlang.

Zhu Ming replaced Yang Jian with Li Erlang, and continued to tell stories while eating snacks, while the three young masters surrounded him and listened carefully.

Time passed slowly, and in the afternoon, Zhu Guoxiang suddenly shouted: "Come and help!"

Zhu Ming immediately ran over to the eaves of the thatched house.

Zhu Guoxiang pointed to the pile of fertilizer and said: "It's almost time to turn over the fertilizer. Use a shovel to turn it over."

"How long does it take to compost?" Zhu Ming asked after taking the shovel.

Zhu Guoxiang explained: "Composting is divided into two stages. The first stage is to decompose organic matter, kill insect eggs and germs; the second stage is to generate more fertile decay. The whole process takes 45 to 60 days, and we can't wait for that After a while, the first phase is completed and it can be used.”

The three scholars all came to watch Ju Ming gain weight, which seemed quite interesting.

The "Qi Min Yao Shu" of the Southern and Northern Dynasties recorded a primitive composting method.By the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, he had basically mastered aerobic composting, but in terms of ingredients, he was not as scientific and comprehensive as Zhu Guoxiang.

Li Hanzhang asked: "You two compost to grow flowers?"

"Growing food." Zhu Guoxiang said.

A few days passed like this, and the old lady Bai's birthday banquet was approaching.

The seedling field had been turned over and exposed to the sun, and Lu An came to report the situation, and Zhu Guoxiang asked him to call two tenants.

On the day of leveling the surface, not only Zhu Ming, Li Hanzhang, Bai Chongyan, and Zheng Hong were present, but even Bai Chongwen, the eldest son of the Bai family, came to watch.A few villagers who were not busy with farm work also came to watch the fun one after another.

"Drain the water from the fields, and I'll stop when I tell you to stop."

Zhu Guoxiang's first sentence stunned the two tenants because it did not conform to their common sense.

Bai Dalang watched from a distance, with a sneer on his face, he regarded Zhu Guoxiang as a liar, and just waited for the next joke.

The tenants opened the gaps in the field ridges and watched the field water discharge little by little.

After a long time, Zhu Guoxiang shouted: "Stop, block the hole!"

The field water has not been completely drained, and there is still a little bit left.

Then, Zhu Guoxiang instructed the tenants to evenly pour the retting farmyard manure into the field.

Under the eyes of everyone, Zhu Guoxiang rolled up his trouser legs and went to the field in person, holding a hoe and a pole in his hand, and stepped on the field splashed with manure.

The majestic Mr. Zhu refused his daughter's king's offer to marry him, but he picked up a hoe in the dung water and dug out the field mud to build a seedbed.Put the hoe aside again, smooth the seedbed with a pole, and pick up some sundries from time to time and throw them away.

After leveling a section of seedbed, Zhu Guoxiang turned around and asked the tenant: "Have you seen it clearly?"

"I see clearly," said the two tenants.

Zhu Guoxiang then returned to the field ridge: "You follow the same, the width of the seedbed will be like that."

The two tenants acted immediately, without any difficulty, and Zhu Guoxiang didn't even need to correct them.

When the seedbed was finished, Zhu Guoxiang turned around and left, saying: "Let it dry for three to five days, and then the seeds can be sown."

The tenants looked at each other in blank dismay. The water in the fields was almost drained, and the seedbeds built were higher than the water surface. If they were left to dry for a few more days, wouldn’t there be much water left in the soil?

How can you sow seeds!

Lu An hurried back to report the situation, and said, "The surname Zhu is messing around, I'm afraid the seedlings will not grow well."

The old white member thought about it and said: "He is not stupid, he probably has other means, so you just follow suit. From the beginning to the end, you have to remember what he did. If it can really increase the rice production, it will be done next year." Farm the field his way."

"Yes!" Lu An bowed and stepped back.

Zhu Guoxiang soaked the grain seeds and called the two tenants to sow the seeds the day before Old Madam Bai's birthday banquet.

"Go down to the field and level the seedbed again."

"Go fetch water, don't fetch dung water, river water and well water are fine."

Zhu Guoxiang gave instructions one after another until he asked the tenant to water the seedbed thoroughly. The tenant finally couldn't help it: "It's draining water and drying it again. The water is almost dry. Now it's watered again. Mr. Zhu Are you entertaining me?"

Unable to explain the scientific principles to the tenants, Zhu Guoxiang could only reprimand: "You just do what you want, if you have any complaints, send them to the old white staff!"

The tenant immediately shut up and obediently picked up the water ladle.

The seedling field is not far from the Bai family's mansion. Tomorrow is the old lady's birthday, and many villagers have come to help in advance.

Those who slaughtered pigs killed pigs, those who slaughtered sheep slaughtered sheep, and there were still people guarding there, wanting to get some blood and blood.

Some spectators spread the word about Zhu Guoxiang's farming methods, and many villagers laughed and ran to watch the show.

They felt that Zhu Xianggong might be good at fighting pirates, but farming was just nonsense.

"It's time to sow the seeds, the first time you sow thinly..."

"Okay, the second respawn..."

"The third time... use a wooden board to press lightly, and press down the grain seeds for a while, don't use too much force..."

"Have you sifted the soil? Spread the soil on the seedbed, and cover the grain seeds with soil... Pour manure on the cover soil..."

riverside.

Since noon, there have been passenger ships docking one after another.

The ninetieth birthday was not easy in ancient times.Many local gentry and local tyrants from all over the country, as well as officials who had been promoted by the old white officials, as well as prominent figures in the county, were invited to the birthday banquet.

Moreover, the guests who were far away came one day in advance. The Bai family's guest rooms were not enough, and the tile-roofed houses in the village were also cleaned up to entertain guests.

"Master, Master, Xiang Zhi County is here!"

The old white member was taken aback, and muttered: "I just sent out the invitation card casually, but he actually came, help me out quickly to meet him."

Xiang Zhixian had already got off the boat with his entourage, and he didn't go far, and saw many villagers watching the excitement around the paddy field nearby.

He sent someone to inquire about the situation, and his entourage asked carefully, explaining all the steps of Zhu Guoxiang's farming.

Xiang Zhixian laughed out loud when he heard this, and said to his followers: "This pedantic scholar has a good ear, his body is not diligent, and he doesn't know the five grains. Or if he finds an ancient book somewhere, he feels that he is the reincarnation of Shennong, and Bai Yuanwai is really a believer." gone."

Everyone laughed, and they all said that the old white man had lost his eye.

Even Mrs. Yan felt unreliable, and said to Zhu Guoxiang that night: "Mr. Zhu, I don't think your field method is good. The grain seeds have just been sown, and they can be picked up tomorrow. Sow seeds according to the old method. Okay. If you find it troublesome, I will help you go to the field to pick up seeds early tomorrow morning."

However, Shen Yourong has confidence in Zhu Guoxiang: "Auntie, Zhu Xianggong is cautious, and he will never target the target indiscriminately. His method will definitely work."

Grandma Yan said: "You have only planted dry land, but never paddy fields. I have planted it, and transplanting seedlings is very fast."

Shen Yourong said: "In the past, the county allowed rape and rice to be planted in rotation, and the farmers at that time didn't believe it, but now many people use this method."

Grandma Yan was speechless immediately, but she still believed that Zhu Guoxiang had made a mistake.

In the whole village, except for Shen Yourong, no one would believe it.

Outside of the old white members, he can be counted as half of them, but he is skeptical.

(End of this chapter)