Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Regarding the high-rotating drum cart, the People's Education Press' version of "History" says it appeared in the Song Dynasty, while the People's Edition of "History" says it appeared in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

Both statements are correct.

The Tang Dynasty left a written introduction, but no name or pattern. It was only in Wang Zhen's "Nongshu" of the Yuan Dynasty that the specific name and map came into being.

It is very likely that they were not common in the Northern Song Dynasty, and Chen Yuan had never seen them all the way from Fujian.

"Is this a barrel cart?" Chen Yuan asked.

Zhu Ming introduced: "The high-rotating drum car existed in the Tang Dynasty, and my father improved it himself."

It's not an improvement, but an adjustment based on the specific terrain, which is somewhat different from the records in Wang Zhen's "Nongshu".

Chen Yuan got closer to observe the specific structure. Although it was not in use at this time, the ten-meter-high wheel still made him sigh: "It is really the way for people to use it every day."

Passing through the rapeseed fields that were already bearing seeds, Chen Yuan came to the aqueduct at the foot of the mountain.

Zhu Ming said: "The bandits didn't know how to build water conservancy. My father organized the villagers to dig this irrigation canal. The high-speed water truck lifted the river water and poured it into the canal. Half of the paddy fields in the village can draw water. When I went out, The canals haven’t been dug yet, but now they are, and we can only irrigate the fields after harvesting the rapeseed.”

Chen Yuan praised: "If Brother Yuanzhang becomes an official, he will definitely benefit the people of the area. It will be a waste of his talents to live in this small valley."

After walking for a while, there were villagers working in the fields.

The wheat seedlings in the field were lush and green, and the villagers were cutting sweet potato seedlings.

Chen Yuan asked curiously: "What is this?"

"The high-yield crops brought back from overseas are called sweet potatoes," Zhu Ming explained. "My father once said that educating people should be based on their aptitude, and farming should be adapted to local conditions. The dry land at the foot of the mountain is slightly fertile, and wheat and corn can be rotated. The sweet potatoes will be harvested twice a year. , beans are interplanted. Not only is the yield high, but crop rotation can also reduce pests and diseases. This is not possible in barren mountainous areas. Generally, wheat is not interplanted, but something else is chosen for rotation with corn."

"There is a way to farm." Chen Yuan nodded.

As he walked, Ju Ming said: "There are two weirs dug on the mountainside on the east and west side, which can also store rainwater for irrigation. I plan to dig another one this year, so that water will be more convenient."

Chen Yuan met working villagers from time to time. He had heard the story of Ju Ming's suppression of bandits and knew that all the villagers here were bandits.

Now that I saw it with my own eyes, there was no gangsterism at all, more like an honest farmer. He believed that this was due to the power of enlightenment. There were great Confucians in charge of this mountain. In just over half a year, bandits were very successfully transformed into civilians.

Everyone observed and chatted all the way to the high mountain where the village was located.

The barren slopes at the foot of the mountain have been reclaimed, and some broad beans have been planted casually, not expecting much harvest. The main purpose is to maintain the fertility of the newly reclaimed land.

These wastelands were given to newly arrived fugitives and poor people. There is no tax for three years. Broad beans are planted in the spring, soybeans are planted in the summer, and peas are planted in the winter. They are all legumes and can provide nitrogen fertilizer to the soil. Sprinkling some plant ash can also provide potassium fertilizer for the soil, and poultry manure can provide phosphate fertilizer.

After two or three years of farming like this, the wasteland will turn into mature land.

Under scientific guidance, land reclamation can be faster!

Zhu Guoxiang was halfway up the mountain, instructing the villagers to plant saplings.

When he heard that Chen Yuan was coming, he quickly stepped forward to greet him.

After greetings, Zhu Guoxiang pointed to the newly planted saplings and said: "They are all tung oil saplings. It is difficult to find them in Xixiang County, so I asked someone from Lu Guan in the county to help buy them. The mountainside is too steep, and it is inconvenient to plant and water. It is easy to cause soil erosion. All the trees here have been cut down by bandits, which is perfect for planting tung oil. The oil will bear fruit in three years, and then it will be another source of income."

Zhu Guoxiang was dressed like a farmer at this time, wearing a short linen jacket, his trousers rolled up to his calves, and his bare feet were covered with dirt.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Zhu Guoxiang smiled and explained: "I just came back from the paddy fields and taught the villagers how to control floods and droughts and cultivate rice seedlings. I haven't had time to change into clean clothes."

Chen Yuan bowed and said: "Yuanzhang is enduring hardship and practicing hard. I really admire him."

Zhu Guoxiang laughed: "It's not about hardship, I like farming. Some people enjoy drinking, some enjoy watching movies, but I enjoy farming."

Dean Zhu really enjoys it. He has a wife at night, crops during the day, and there is so much land in the village that he can plan and arrange as he pleases.

I’m already feeling a little happy and nostalgic!

Chen Yuan was even more impressed: "To turn suffering into happiness is to enter the Tao."

Zhu Guoxiang shouted to the villagers who were planting trees: "After planting these, call it a day and go back to your own land."

Several villagers bent down to say goodbye. They looked at Zhu Guoxiang with sincere admiration and love.

This is very different from when they faced Ju Ming. The villagers were more in awe of Ju Ming. After all, Ju Ming killed many people when he suppressed bandits.

The father and son led everyone to continue up the mountain, which became steeper and steeper as they went up, and the legs of several young masters became weak.

Li Hanzhang liked military affairs. When he passed by the Tiger Killing Pass, he exclaimed: "This is a natural danger. It is not easy for Dalang to suppress the thieves."

"I led troops to pretend to attack the front, and sent people to circle behind the mountain for three days. I won by climbing up the mountain stronghold at night and setting fire to it." Zhu Ming explained simply.

Li Hanzhang nodded and said: "Use the right combination to win with the unexpected."

"Sun Tzu's Art of War" was a banned book in the early Song Dynasty. It was only lifted in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty and has been widely spread.

Chen Yuan also read it and praised it: "It is not easy to attack with troops, but it is not easy to attack. Success requires the talent of leading troops."

The top of the mountain still looks like a ghost, with charred ruins everywhere.

But there is no problem in burning down the remaining house and arranging for more than ten guests to stay.

Shen Yourong was taking the female family members on the mountain to weed the vegetable field, where many vegetables were planted, including several square feet of yellow flowers - Dean Zhu was already preparing to extract colchicine.

Hearing that a visitor was coming, Shen Yourong dropped his hoe and came over.

"Mr. Chen, this is Zhuo Jing." Zhu Guoxiang introduced.

Shen Yourong bowed and saluted: "Happy sir."

Chen Yuan bowed and said, "My wife is well."

After greeting each other, Shen Yourong took everyone's entourage to select and clean the vacant houses.

Zhu Guoxiang led them forward. Behind a ruin, the land was loosened and watered, and a lot of fertile organic matter was piled up.

Dozens of basswood sections were half-buried in the soil, and some small mushrooms were already growing there.

Zhu Guoxiang happily introduced the results: "The ones cultivated last autumn can be picked in a few days, and can be picked until summer. Once the skills are thoroughly studied, the villagers will learn them. Women can grow mushrooms and sell them for money during the slack season. .”

"This mountain treasure can actually be cultivated," Chen Yuan sighed in admiration, "Brother Yuan Zhang has great agricultural skills."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The cultivation time of mycelium is too short. Not many mushrooms will come out this year. A large number of mushrooms should be produced in two or three years."

Chen Yuan didn't understand what mycelium was, he just thought it looked very powerful.

Zhu Guoxiang continued: "There are two tricks to this method, one is to chop flowers, and the other is to mushroom..."

The "fungus technique" is to use shoes or cork to beat the basswood used for cultivating shiitake mushrooms. The ancients thought that mushrooms would grow after a thunderstorm, so they beat the basswood to imitate thunder, which could awaken the seeds of the mushrooms.

In fact, it is through vibration that the hyphal cells are stimulated to become active.

People squatted nearby and watched, just like city people coming to a farmhouse, and everything they saw seemed strange.

Min Zishun even borrowed the woman's hoe and went to weed the vegetable field, just to enjoy the pleasure of farm work. This was very new to him. He had never been in the fields in Zhoucheng and had no idea how vegetables grew.

Chen Yuan pointed to the shiitake mushrooms that have not yet grown up: "In Kaifeng City, a plate of fried meat with fresh mushrooms costs at least two hundred cash. Even a plate of fried meat with dried mushrooms costs seventy or eighty yuan. In Guanzhong, The price will be lower, but it is also quite expensive, and this thing is of great use.”

"Then dry it and sell it to Guanzhong." Zhu Guoxiang said with a smile.

Prices in Kaifeng are really high. A breakfast of offal and offal costs at least 20 yuan.

Wealthy people are also willing to spend money on food. Large oysters from the Jiaodong Peninsula can only be sold for a low price when shipped to Jiangnan! Of course, the main reason is that the freight is expensive, and it has to be shipped quickly by sea ship. Without a cold chain, it is easy to smell and deteriorate.

All kinds of mushrooms are also very expensive and very popular.

If shiitake mushrooms can be produced, the profit per kilogram will be higher than that of tea. The price will not be reduced until the technology is popularized.

Zhu Guoxiang led everyone around until the room was cleaned in the middle of the afternoon, and they went back to their rooms to rest.

Calling his son into the room alone, Zhu Guoxiang asked: "Don't you want to become famous in Yangzhou? Why did you come back suddenly?"

"The fame has gone too far," Ju Ming said briefly. "I didn't expect that Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty actually issued an order to conquer the empire. I also underestimated the ancient people's worship of imperial power. Now people in Yangzhou call me Zhengjun every day. Someone came to a banquet. The old lady of the Li family died, and he actually paid a lot of money for me to write an epitaph. This made me determined to avoid the limelight for a while. "

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The Li family is powerful and we can make friends. Why don't you help write the epitaph?"

"The Li family also has a bad reputation," Ju Ming said. "They run gold shops and make loan sharks everywhere. You should understand what that means."

Zhu Guoxiang nodded and said: "It's good to come back. Reputation is such a thing. Sometimes too much is not enough."

Ju Ming expressed his thoughts: "That's the truth. Now we have no money and power, our own strength is still too weak, and even our fame has no roots. If we just seek wealth and officialdom, of course it doesn't matter, but what we want is I want to rebel. If I continue to stay in Yangzhou, I can only make friends with more celebrities and local powerful people. But do they value me? No, what they value is the imperial power, and Zhengjun can give them face. "

Zhu Guoxiang said happily: "It's rare that you still know yourself."

"Daming Village is our foundation, and it must be developed as soon as possible," Ju Ming continued. "Now that we have accepted too many favors from the powerful and interfered too deeply with those people, we will have nothing to do in the future. I plan to stay in the village, Stay here until the fall exams, and improve your actual level. At least you must be familiar with "The Book of Rhymes", and you must write the scriptures and meanings well, otherwise it will be broken by others. By the way, how is your tea research?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "I know how to make black tea. Without the help of modern technology, there are only a few ancient fermentation methods. You can study them with a little trial and error. In addition, I also discovered an important situation."

"What's going on?" Zhu Ming asked in surprise.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "When I chatted with tea workers, they said that tea can also be picked in autumn. Spring tea is the best and can be made into group tea. Autumn tea can also be sold, but it can only be made into loose tea. It doesn't matter if we fry tea. , although the quality of autumn tea is not that good, it is absolutely fine for frying.”

There are many records of autumn tea in the Tang and Ming dynasties.

Only in the Song Dynasty, there was very little autumn tea. The reason was that the drinking method of Song Dynasty had too high requirements on the quality of tea buds. Even the tea masters are too lazy to tax autumn tea, allowing tea plantation owners to make loose tea and sell it themselves.

Zhu Guoxiang said excitedly: "Utilizing the autumn tea, our annual profit from our more than 300 acres of tea hills is estimated to exceed a thousand dollars!"

There are also hundreds of acres of tea mountains outside Lao Bai. By evading taxes and selling private tea, plus a small amount of top-quality tea, the net profit is about 200 yuan a year.

Qian Guan's annual profit would make old Bai Yuanwai's eyes red, and he would probably send someone over to inquire about tea-frying techniques.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "There are many poor people outside Yangzhou City. When the Zheng family sends a boat to collect tea, you can ask them to help recruit people. The new villagers live in the waste tea mountain downstream. This year, the waste tea mountain must be cleared out! Tea leaves If you sell it, you’ll make money, and if you harvest corn and sweet potatoes, you’ll get food, and we’ll have no problem recruiting another 300 people this year.”

Ju Ming smiled and said: "With another three hundred people recruited, the population will be close to 1,400. This is the largest force in the county. The future is promising!"

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