Song Gexing

Chapter 115 Di Qing Di Hanchen

The Champa State was the original Xianglin County, or Linyi for short. It was under the jurisdiction of Rinan County during the Qin and Han Dynasties. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Gongcao District of Linyi County killed several county rebels and established the Linyi State.

Because Linyi belongs to the Cham ethnic group, the majority of the area is occupied by the Cham ethnic group. They believe in the Indian Brahman religion and were later renamed the Champa Kingdom.

Not to mention, although the Champa State was small, it lasted for thousands of years. From the time when it became independent at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty until the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the Champa State was truly destroyed and annexed by Vietnam.

After thousands of years of ups and downs, it has always maintained a tributary relationship with the Central Plains dynasties. By the time of Song Renzong, it was the period from the Eighth Dynasty to the Ninth Dynasty of the Champa Kingdom.

In the fourth year of Qingli reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, the Eighth Dynasty of the Champa Kingdom ended and was replaced by the Ninth Dynasty. The Ninth Dynasty experienced three generations of emperors and is now in the second generation period.

Champa rice is an early-maturing indica rice. It is different from the japonica rice grown in the Central Plains. The grains of indica rice are smaller. Although the yield per mu is slightly lower than that of japonica rice, it is better because it does not pick the land.

Originally, the only rice grown in the Song Dynasty was japonica rice and japonica glutinous rice. Although the taste was excellent, it required fertile land and sufficient rainfall to plant it.

And it can only be grown one season a year, even in Guangdong and Fujian. Indica rice can be grown for two seasons in the warm south. Champa rice is indica rice, and it is an improved indica rice.
With its arrival, barren land and slightly dry land can be planted.

This greatly expanded planting area is also the reason why Song Taizong popularized Champa rice.

Later generations habitually believe that Champa rice was introduced to China during the Song Dynasty, but this is not the case.

It should have been introduced into China at the end of the Tang Dynasty or during the Five Dynasties. The earliest recorded record in history books was the order of Song Taizong to popularize it.

But this order was given to Fujian Road, requiring Fujian Road to provide [-] Dendrobium rice seeds to popularize planting on Jianghuai and Liangzhe Roads.

It can be seen that Fujian has already popularized it, so it can provide [-] dendrobium seeds. Otherwise, if Fujian people try to change it, they will not be able to make so much, and it will not be thirty kilograms.

One Dendrobium equals ten Dou, which was later changed to Five Dou. Calculated at thirty catties per Dou of rice, it is one hundred and fifty or three hundred catties.

Even if it’s 150 kilograms, 450 hu of dendrobium is equivalent to [-] million kilograms of rice. Fujian can hand it over in one go, which shows that it has long been popularized and the technology is mature.

Why was it planted first in Fujian instead of the closer Guangdong? This should be the road from Champa State to Guangdong and Guangxi, which was blocked by the chaotic Jiaozhi.

Although Jiaozhi did not become independent until the Southern Han Dynasty, the local indigenous people were always in chaos and at odds with the Cham people. Therefore, Fujian, which has excellent maritime transportation, became the first choice.

In addition, Fujian has eight mountains, one water and one farmland, and the land is barren. It is also necessary to find high-yielding grains. When doing overseas trade, they will consciously look for local grain seeds.

Later, the sweet potatoes were also brought back by Fujian people. This should be caused by the Fujian people's deep desire for food.

To put it bluntly, they are too poor, and the mountains and rivers in their hometown cannot support so many people. This is why Fujian people have the habit of seeking a living overseas since ancient times.

"Since you have decided to fight, who will you send? Where will your troops be dispatched?"

Zhao Zhen saw that he could no longer persuade him, so he had to compromise. However, this was a major national event and must be planned clearly.

Pang Ji smiled and said: "I recommend someone. Di Qing, Di Hanchen, the envoy of Changhua Army and the prefect of Yanzhou, can be the commander."

History has not changed here, in fact it is not that it has not changed, but Di Qing's military exploits were already prominent enough before the end of the Song-Xia War.

Di Qing was indeed conscripted into the army, but the place where he was conscripted was not the northwest, but the Forbidden Army in Bianjing City. He joined the Forbidden Army as a horseman and served as a cavalry officer.

He was only a teenager at that time. By the time Li Yuanhao rebelled in the early years of Baoyuan, he was already an envoy of the third squad and was sent to the Western Army as the commander of Yanzhou.In other words, when the Song-Xia War began, he was not a soldier, but already a military attache of the Song Dynasty. Although history changed here, the war still lasted for more than two years.

For a famous general whose name is passed down through the ages, two years of war is enough for him to accumulate meritorious service.

Moreover, he continuously met superiors who appreciated him in the northwest. He met Yin Zhu as soon as he arrived in the northwest in the early years of Baoyuan.

Yin Zhu was then the judge of the strategy and pacification department of Jingyuan Road and Qinfeng Road. When he saw him for the first time, he introduced the military situation to him and chatted with him. He was very pleased to discover his talents.

Soon in the first year of Kangding, Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi went to the northwest. Yin Zhu, a good friend of the two, immediately introduced Di Qing to them, and they both agreed that Di Qing was a good general.

Only then did Fan Zhongyan ask him to study. Then Pang Ji took charge of the northwest, and Di Qing was still appreciated by him.

Of course, Di Qing's strategic vision was excellent. This was his ability. The several military forts he determined and built were all built at joint points that made Xixia uncomfortable and contained Xixia's offensive route.

After the Battle of Sanchuankou, Di Qing had been promoted to the governor of Jingzhou and the deputy envoy of Xishanggemen. This was already the pinnacle of the mid-level military attache.

By the end of the Battle of Haoshuichuan, Di Qing was promoted to the governor of Qinzhou, deputy general manager of Jingyuan Road, deputy envoy of economic strategy and recruitment, and became a senior military attaché.

Later, Xixia became vassal, and there was no more war between Song and Xia, but the two sides were still wary of each other, and small fights on the border were still common.

Just like there has been peace between Song and Liao for a long time, small frictions always occur. This is the characteristic of nomadic people. The monarch generally does not care whether the small tribes under him cross the border.

Xixia is also a tribal alliance, so this kind of thing cannot be prevented. Di Qing was steadily promoted due to his merit. By the eighth year of Qingli, he had been promoted to the Jiedu Observation Station of Baoda and Anyuan armies, and the deputy commander of the Ma Bu Army.

Of course, this is four years later than in history, but it does not change the course of his promotion, and history repeats itself here.

The military reform that started last year made it possible for military generals to enter the Privy Council. A few months ago, someone recommended him to be the deputy Privy Council envoy, but he was not approved by the court.

Now that Pang Ji recommended him to be the head coach, it was actually inevitable. After all, Pang Ji knew him very well, and after the military reform, it should be on the agenda for generals to directly become commanders.

There won't be many troops in the southwest, so it's a good opportunity to try out the New Army's instructor system to see if checks and balances on generals are feasible in wartime.

Sure enough, after this candidate was proposed, the ministers only hesitated for a moment, and immediately seconded the proposal. Everyone here is the pillar of the country, how can they not know the intention.

Zhao Fang also laughed when he heard that it was Di Qing, and Zhao Zhen had known about Di Qing's military exploits for a long time. He once wanted to summon him, but he gave up because he had been in the northwest and had no time to come back.

But he still had a portrait of him drawn and sent back to Bianjing for himself to see.

Di Qing is very handsome, which is also a plus point in the Northern Song Dynasty. It is not a good thing for officials in the Song Dynasty to be ugly, and they will be disliked even for promotion.

And this is not unique to the Song Dynasty, it was like this in the Tang Dynasty, otherwise there would be no legend of Zhong Kui. Wasn't this guy just because he was ugly and was deprived of his fame, so he committed suicide out of anger.

The ancients actually had a certain reason why officials should be good-looking. From the appearance point of view, people with crooked melons and cracked jujubes are more likely to be cunning. Although it is not absolute, there is some truth.

Di Qing is very handsome, it should be said that he is handsome, so he wears a mask when fighting, just like King Lanling, to cover up his handsome appearance, so as not to be too good-looking to deter the enemy.

(End of this chapter)