Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Beside the water, the mountain road is steep.

In some sections, there are only narrow planks.

Those plank roads have been in disrepair for a long time, and the few rotten wooden boards have been replaced by new ones by trackers. And the replacement is very casual, just cut off a few thick branches and nail them on.

Trackers can only do this, and major repairs must be led by the government.

However, the government turned a blind eye.

The situation is very embarrassing. This place belongs to the boundary of Zhenfu County, but it is Xixiang County that is eager to use the plank road.

Perhaps when something happens to the plank road, the magistrate of Xixiang will come forward and ask Yangzhou to allocate funds. It won't work if we don't allocate it at that time, because the taxes from Xixiang County have to be hauled and transported from here.

Ju Ming stepped on the plank, trembling, fearing that it would suddenly collapse.

Bai Chongyan behaved calmly because he had been through it many times.

On the way, I met two groups of gold diggers, both of whom gathered in the shallows of the river. The rapid river current carries the golden sand with it and washes it down from the upper reaches. When it encounters the shallows, the speed slows down, and the golden sand also precipitates.

From the gold rush in the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, no matter how much gold sand there was, it would be gone.

Ju Ming stood on the shore and observed. There were several gold diggers in front of him, standing in the water in ragged clothes. It was just after the Lantern Festival and the river water was bone-chilling, making it easy to catch a cold and have a fever.

The cold river water is nothing, what is more difficult is that there is no harvest.

These people searched for a while, but it seemed that they didn't find even a grain of gold sand.

They seemed a little numb and all their movements were mechanical. Constantly collecting sand, constantly sifting and sifting, day after day, year after year, just to satisfy our hunger.

"Take a rest." Zhu Ming couldn't help but say.

The gold diggers turned a deaf ear and continued to repeat their actions.

After a while, someone finally picked up the broken porcelain bowl and took out a grain of gold sand from the bowl. The smile on his face bloomed like a flower.

Perhaps Ju Ming and others stayed too long, and a man came up to the shore and took the opportunity to rest. "Do you two scholars want to buy gold? We haven't found much gold sand in the past few days."

Bai Chongyan brought a bookboy, and Zhu Ming also brought two followers, carrying books and dry food in large and small bags. They were mistaken for scholars who were going on a study tour.

Iron money is too heavy and inconvenient to travel far away, but it would be much more comfortable to exchange it for gold.

Ju Ming took out the dry food again and handed the other party a piece of wheat cake: "My name is Ju Ming, what do you call me?"

The man took the wheat cake and replied: "My name is Liang Jin, the gold of gold."

"Are you their leader?" Ju Ming pointed at the other gold diggers.

Liang Jin said: "There is no leader here, we are all brothers and sisters."

Ju Ming asked carefully and quickly understood the basic situation.

These gold diggers live in the nearby mountains and have been pioneering and breeding for several generations. The food they grew was not enough to eat, so they had to pan for gold to support their families. They elected a leader to resolve disputes internally and compete for gold mining sites externally.

They are all poor people, and the leader has no privileges. If he cannot convince the people, he will be replaced.

Well, electoral system.

Zhu Ming inquired: "I heard that there is a good man nearby named Pi Dahu Gong Xiu?"

"What are you asking Brother Gong for?" Liang Jin suddenly became alert.

Bai Sheng immediately said: "My eldest brother Zhu is also a good man. He is nicknamed Tiger with Wings and has served as the capital of Xixiang County."

Liang Jin only knew about gold mining all day long, and he was not as well informed as the trackers. He had never heard of Zhu Dutou's name. But when I heard that they were from Xixiang County, I immediately became less vigilant because this place belonged to the territory of Zhenfu County.

Ju Ming said: "I like to make friends with good men. I heard that Gong Xiu is also a good man, so I wanted to have wine and meat with him."

Liang Jin pointed to the northeast: "There is a small river ahead that flows into the Han River. If you follow the river, you can get there in two or three days."

Ju Ming asked: "Are you all Gong Xiu's subordinates?"

"No, Brother Gong will send someone to collect the gold sand." Liang Jin explained.

After chatting for a while, I probably figured it out.

Gong Xiu guarded an abandoned gold mine and took the gold he mined to Zhenfu County in exchange for money and food. He also brought money and food in exchange for the gold sand in the hands of gold diggers.

All the gold diggers relied on Gong Xiu for food, and this big tiger had a high prestige.

Gong Xiu was a bit stingy, not generous, and cared about things, but he was more fair in his dealings.

After walking for a long time, we finally saw the tributary.

Bai Chongyan obviously didn't want to visit Gong Xiu, so he persuaded: "There is not much dry food to begin with, so we gave some to the trackers. The gold digger said that it would take two or three days to go to the abandoned gold mine. I'm afraid we don't have enough dry food." eat."

"Then forget it."

Ju Ming had to take Bai Chongyan's thoughts into account.

As for Gong Xiu, he will definitely pay a visit. He can wait until he comes back.

After two more days of walking along the Han River, we finally arrived at Zhenfu County.

This county is extremely small and does not even have a decent city wall. It is far inferior to even Xixiang County. It is located on the bank of the Han River, surrounded by mountains on all sides. Only the surrounding area of ​​the county seat is relatively flat. It belongs to the lowest level of poor counties in the country.

Bai Chongyan said: "You can stay here first and wait for the boat to Yangzhou."

So they went straight to the inn, and Bai Sheng was sent to inquire about the ship.

After leaving the luggage at the riverside inn, watched by Bai Chongyan and Shutong, Ju Ming took Shi Biao into the city.

The city wall is made of rammed earth, short and broken, and has collapsed in many places.

There are so many thatched houses inside and outside the city, so damn poor!

After not walking far, we arrived at the county government office, which was also in a dilapidated state. There is not even a county magistrate here, only a magistrate who is just waiting to die.

Zhenfu County was formerly called Huangjin County and was established because of its rich gold production.

As the old gold mines were exhausted and new gold mines were not discovered, its decline was inevitable. If this continues for a few more decades, it is estimated that the administrative divisions will be canceled and directly merged into the neighboring Xingdao County.

There was not much to see in the county town, so Ju Ming returned to the riverside and asked the innkeeper for information about the mountains and rivers.

The shopkeeper pointed to the north and said: "There is a river there, called Golden Water, and the valley is called Golden Valley. The largest gold mine is in the Golden Valley, and not much gold can be mined. It is estimated that it will be abandoned in a few years. The mine supervisors there don’t make money from gold, but rely entirely on collecting business taxes.”

"Business tax? What is the caravan doing there?" Ju Ming asked.

The shopkeeper smiled and told a well-known secret: "The private tea is transported to Xuxi (Zhouzhi County) through the Golden Valley."

Hundreds of years later, the golden water has long since dried up.

But at this time, you can go north along the Golden Valley, and then cross some mountains to enter the Luo Valley, and go straight to Zhouzhi County in Shaanxi Province along the Luo Valley for hundreds of miles!

During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Shuang took this Tangluo Road when he conquered Shu. Shu general Wang Ping led his army to block it and garrisoned it at Xingshi Mountain in the Golden Valley.

What was once a marching route has now become a trade route for selling private tea - the mountains are high, the valleys are deep, the mountains are blocking the way, and bandits are rampant. Serious caravans prefer to take Baoxie Road and Chencang Road.

To the east of Tangluo Road is the more steep Ziwu Valley.

After getting the news from the innkeeper, Ju Ming hired a small fishing boat and set off for the Golden Valley the next day.

After two hours of rowing, Ju Ming was observing the terrain along the river, but the fisherman was unwilling to move forward.

"Young official, there is a fence in front of you, and you have to pay when you cross." The fisherman said.

Ju Ming asked: "Official or private?"

The fisherman said: "It's a private pen set up by the government."

This answer is very interesting. The gold mine supervisor under the Changping Division actually openly set up a toll station privately to collect taxes from tea smugglers. He was obviously trying to steal the tea and horse company's job.

"I'll pay the money and you can keep walking," Ju Ming said.

But the fisherman shook his head: "It's been almost half a day of rowing. If we go further, it will be dark before I return to the county town. If I encounter bandits, I will suffer a lot."

What kind of world is this?

Bandits everywhere!

They are probably some farmers in the mountains who occasionally work part-time as bandits.

Bai Chongyan was still waiting at the inn, and Ju Ming didn't press him. He would wait until he came back from Xingyuan Mansion.

Another day later, they boarded a merchant ship bound for Yangzhou.

Yangzhou is the real "Little Jiangnan" and belongs to one of the elites of the entire Hanzhong Basin, second only to Xingyuan Prefecture (Hanzhong).

There are large tracts of fertile soil along the river. Ju Ming was standing on the boat. There were rapeseed fields and wheat fields on both sides of the river. The stretches of paddy fields near Zhoucheng alone are equivalent to the paddy fields area of ​​the entire Xixiang County.

Moreover, the city wall is so tall that it is even covered with city bricks.

Ju Ming almost shouted in his heart: This is my land of Longxing!

Bai Chongyan said proudly: "When it comes to taxes on Lizhou Road, Xingyuan Prefecture ranks first. But we in Yangzhou are the place where Lizhou Road is rich in culture. Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, more than 90% of the taxes All the Jinshi in Lizhou Road come from our three counties in Yangzhou. Yangzhou Academy is the best academy in Lizhou Road."

During the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, there were only 22 Jinshis in the Hanzhong Basin, 19 of whom came from the three counties of Yangzhou...

Yangzhou Academy is not in the city, but in the foothills outside the city.

After landing, Bai Chongyan introduced as he walked: "Yangzhou Academy was originally founded with money from the Min family. Now other gentry and merchants donate money to run the school. However, the director of the academy has always been the Min family. The Min family of Yangzhou is The most prosperous aristocratic family on Lizhou Road."

Among the 22 Jinshi in the Song and Han Dynasties, 4 were named Min.

"Is anyone in the Min family serving as an official now?" Zhu Ming asked.

Bai Chongyan shook his head and said: "Uncle Min Taowen died of illness a few years ago. He was a fourth-rank official. Now there is Min Zishun in the academy. He is the first in learning. He has traveled to Guanluo. In time, he will definitely go to high school. Min's family background, we are It’s incomparable.”

Bai Chongyan was talking about Jin Jingjun, and the Min family was temporarily dead. However, although the grades of Yin Guan and Zong Guan are not high, there are still several in the Min family.

This is a real official family. If Ju Ming wants to rebel in Yangzhou, he must either win over the Min family or kill the Min family directly!

Climb up the mountain along the stone steps, with lush trees on both sides of the road.

Buildings were quickly revealed among the branches and leaves.

This is a building complex with high walls and at least dozens of rooms inside.

When Bai Chongyan entered, he even had to take out a wooden waist badge, which was roughly equivalent to his student ID card.

"Yangzhou Academy also followed the example of the official school and practiced the three-shelter method. I am already a senior student," Bai Chongyan pointed to the buildings in front of him and said, "Those are the school buildings. I usually have classes in the school building. The tallest one is the library. There are all kinds of classics and histories, and you can only borrow them if you are a student of Shangshe. Over there is the dormitory, and over there is the dining hall. As long as you are a student of Shangshe, your food and accommodation are free."

Are board and lodging free for students in the dormitory?

Ju Ming immediately gave up the idea of ​​killing the Min family.

In the past few decades, the Min family has relied on the academy to win over countless scholars. Once the Min family is killed, Ju Ming's reputation in Yangzhou will be ruined, and he must win over and win over at the same time.

Bai Chongyan took Ju Ming to his dormitory, where a student was reading.

"Dalang," Bai Chongyan introduced, "this is my roommate Ling Guxu, named Zino."

Linggu is a very uncommon surname. Most of them have been changed to Linghu, but few still retain their original surname. Linggu and Linghu are related in most cases. These two surnames have a common ancestor.

"I've met Brother Zinuo!" Zhu Ming greeted with fists clasped.

Bai Chongyan said: "Zi Nuo, this is Zhu Chenggong, who has mastered the Three Classics and has outstanding poetic talent."

Ling Guxu's eyes lit up, he stood up and bowed, "I've been hearing your name for so long, it's like thunder piercing my ears!"

Bai Chongyan smiled and said: "Dalang, you have already become famous in Yangzhou Academy."