Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Ju Ming rode back to the city. It was already dark, but he was not afraid that the city gate would be closed.

From today until the end of the Lantern Festival, the Tokyo City Gate will be open. There is no longer a curfew in the city, and you can play all night long - Tokyo has a curfew system, but the time is postponed to the second half of the night, and citizens are allowed to play as much as they want in the first half of the night.

Night falls and the lights are bright.

Lanterns from all over the country start trying out the lanterns today. Especially the circle around the imperial city is full of large Aoshan lanterns, which were donated by various state capitals.

"I have also seen the lantern festival in Xixiang County. Compared with Tokyo, it is really a rural place." Bai Sheng sighed from the bottom of his heart. He had really gained a lot of experience at this moment.

Shi Biao was so shocked that he couldn't speak. He kept his mouth half open all the way, looking at everything in wonder.

Ju Ming led his horse forward, his eyes reflected the lights of the city, but in his mind were the stretches of shacks on both sides of the Cao River.

Comparing the two, the impact is too strong!

Adjacent to the south wall of the inner city, that area is full of tiled houses with hooked railings, and it looks particularly lively tonight.

Many Wazis do not need to pay tickets, and you can watch performances when you enter. They mainly make money from stall fees inside the venue. Vendors rent stalls to sell various goods, and their business nature is more like a large comprehensive shopping mall.

But during the Lantern Festival, the highlight is not the tile house, but the setting up of the stage in front of Xuande Tower. A four- to five-hundred-meter-long stage is set up on the wide Imperial Street, extending from outside the imperial city to the inner city wall. Kaifeng citizens can stand on both sides of the Imperial Street to watch the performance.

Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, and tonight has already begun.

Both sides of Imperial Street were already crowded, and there were so many people. Those who couldn't squeeze in had to go to other streets to watch the lanterns.

"Little athlete, little athlete!"

The audience suddenly shouted wildly that the "little athlete" was a big star recorded in "Tokyo Dreams".

I saw a young man wearing shorts and somersaulting to the center of the stage, accompanied by several stars.

After a fight, the young athlete suddenly breathed out fire, and the fire was of different colors.

He then turned around, lowered his head, took a deep breath, and breathed out flames again. A ball floats in the flames, spinning constantly in the air, as if it is practicing elixirs with the true fire of Samadhi. Moreover, this flame lasted for more than half a minute, and no one in Tokyo could match it.

"good!"

Countless spectators cheered loudly.

Even Ju Ming temporarily forgot about the bad things and applauded along with everyone.

"Li Waining, Li Waining..."

On the stage next door, there were also big stars on stage, and they seemed to be even more powerful. The audience crowded towards that side.

Ju Ming and the others couldn't squeeze through, so they could only watch from a distance, and there seemed to be vague fireworks.

Li Waining is a puppet master who is good at using medicinal puppets, that is, using gunpowder to drive puppets.

The whole Royal Street has different programs and is crowded with people, mesmerized and intoxicated.

Zhu Ming couldn't help but sigh: "Just looking at this place, it turns out that Henan Province is prosperous and prosperous!"

Among the crowd, there were many people wearing foreign clothes.

Chen Dong pointed not far away: "Those are the envoys from the Liao Kingdom, and next to them are the envoys from Korea. Every New Year's Day, envoys from various countries come to Beijing to participate in the Yuanhui. During the Yuanhui, only the envoys from Liao and Gaoli congratulate each other. The envoys can get a banquet, and the envoys from other countries can do their own thing. On the second day, the envoys went to Xiangguo Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha. On the third day, the envoys went to Nanyuyuan to shoot arrows. The envoys of the Liao State liked to shoot crossbows, and the warriors of the Song Dynasty all used bows and arrows. If a warrior in the Song Dynasty hits the bull's-eye, he will be rewarded heavily by the officials, and will then be paraded on horseback through the streets to be admired by the people."

Ju Ming asked: "Isn't the relationship between the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom getting worse day by day?"

Chen Dong said: "But there have always been envoys between the two countries. The Aoshan lantern in front of Xuande Tower was often lit in advance for the Liao envoys. It stayed on until the Lantern Festival, so that the Liao envoys could see the lanterns for more than half a month. "

"Which country are those envoys from?" Zhu Ming pointed further away.

Hou Xuan said: "The envoy from Khotan from the Western Regions."

"I've heard of this." Ju Ming nodded.

The Kingdom of Khotan is located in the Hotan area of ​​Xinjiang.

There are also Arabs, the food messengers. These guys don't come often, and in many cases, they are Arab businessmen pretending to be merchants, and their main purpose is to come to Tokyo to sell goods at high prices.

Southeast Asian envoys such as Srivijaya and Chapo often come and often offer elephants, rhinos, peacocks, parrots and the like. This resulted in an increasing number of animals in Tokyo, including dozens of elephants alone. The Emperor of the Song Dynasty opened a royal zoo in Yujin Garden outside the city.

Foreign envoys also presented Kunlun slaves.

The Kunlun slaves presented to the Three Buddhas are probably indigenous to Southeast Asia. But the Kunlun slaves offered by the big food merchants were most likely real black slaves.

Ju Ming watched the performance for a while, then went to have a drink with his friends.

On the way, I met a blue hat selling goods at a stall. Just by looking at the pattern on his hat, I knew he was a Jew living in Tokyo.

…

The emperor was not idle tonight either. He went to the Five Mountains Temple in his royal chariot. The people accompanying him all wore big hats with flowers on their hats. The palace guards wore red brocade lion shirts, and the gold-plated Heavenly King belt was comparable to Ju Ming's Heavenly King armor belt. The pumpkin in his hand had several layers of bones.

The military attachés of the Imperial Guard and the sergeants in front of the palace were equally joyful and exaggerated, dressed like generals on the stage.

The emperor's entourage carried various gadgets, such as golden chairs, spittoons, jugs, fruit plates, etc. These are the royal possessions of the emperor, and he carries them with him wherever he goes. Even for spitting, ordinary spittoons are not suitable for use.

The palm fan behind the emperor has a handle made of colored glaze and jade, and there is a wick in the colored glaze that can be lit.

The lanterns that illuminate the road in front are all wrapped in top-quality red gauze and decorated with jewels. There are four hundred such lanterns, all illuminated by the finest white candles.

All kinds of things are either gold or jade, and the rest are also gems and pearls.

It embodies four words: luxury and nobility!

Before the Royal Street stage was set up, Song Huizong sat on the royal chariot, came out of Xuande Tower, joined the civil and military officials waiting there, and the huge team headed south.

"Look at the driver!"

Following a shout from the imperial guard, the Sanya Taiwei opened the way and moved forward mightily.

Passersby along the way ducked, and for a moment no one dared to speak, and the noisy street became dead silent. To use the original text of "Tokyo Menghualu", it is "those who make loud noises will beat them to bleed." Those golden melon guards are not decorations.

First, we passed by Jiucheng Palace, where there was the Jiuding cast by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty.

In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a money shortage, and edicts were issued many times to prohibit the outflow of copper coins. In the late Northern Song Dynasty, the money shortage was so severe that it affected people's livelihood, and Cai Jing had to mint large amounts of copper coins.

But Song Huizong melted the copper coins and bronze vessels and cast the Jiuding to show his destiny. The Jiuding was later snatched away by the Jin soldiers.

Next door to the Jiucheng Palace where the Jiuding is placed is the Yingxiang Pond where tonight's banquet will be held.

There are willows planted beside the pool, there are water lilies in the pool, pavilions and pavilions, and the scenery is beautiful.

Under the illumination of four hundred royal lanterns and numerous lanterns, the Yingxiang Pond at night is as bright as day. The lights are reflected in the pool water and complement each other, which is really beautiful.

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty sat on the golden chair, music was playing, and all the officials paid their respects.

After the sound of music, it is auspicious.

Bai Shizhong, the Minister of Rites, who had just been demoted to a third official, took the list and began to read: "A white tiger and auspicious animal are presented on Jingdong Road and have been delivered to Yujin Garden..."

Every time an auspicious sign is recited, all the civil and military officials congratulate one after another.

After thinking about it, Bai Shizhong said: "Lizhou Road is offering fairy food, one hundred catties of corn and sweet potatoes each!"

Hearing the word "immortal", Song Huizong became more energetic and asked: "What are corn and sweet potatoes? It can be called immortal food."

Bai Shizhong said: "Peng Xi, the transfer envoy on Lizhou Road, said that there was a stranger who was looking for immortals overseas. He met an immortal and gave him corn and sweet potatoes, both of which could produce several stones per acre. And he did not choose the land, even the barren mountains. Farmable.”

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty did not pay attention to the yield per mu, but only asked: "Can immortal food have miraculous effects?"

Bai Shizhong replied: "I don't know."

Liu Zhengfu left the table and handed over his hands: "If the official family can really produce several stones per acre and cultivate it in barren land, these two things will be of great benefit to the world. Your Majesty will work hard to govern, and our Song Dynasty will be unparalleled in its prosperity, and Henan Province will be prosperous all over the world. , now that there is immortal food, it is really the blessing of the immortal!"

As a result, the ministers rushed to congratulate each other, saying that the emperor had a destiny.

Song Huizong suddenly became happy and said: "Send an order to the Lizhou Road Transfer Envoy and ask him to send strangers to Beijing. Let me ask about the overseas immortals."

Then, the Minister of Rites continued to recite auspiciousness, with various contents, including the birth of quadruplets by a folk woman.

After the auspicious ceremony was completed, the waiter began to bring the wine and food.

There were also opera troupes performing dramas, and the monarch and his ministers collaborated to share the grand occasion.

After the two dramas were performed, the imperial poets of Dasheng Mansion began to write poems praising virtues.

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty personally commented and ranked the top few, with rewards ranging from tens to hundreds of dollars.

…

Ju Ming was half drunk and rode back to the inn outside the city. No one came to check for drunk driving.

Bai Sheng and Shi Biao laid on the floor. They were tired from walking today, so they lay down and fell asleep. Their snoring made it difficult for Ju Ming to fall asleep.

Get up and light the oil lamp.

Ju Ming took out his sword and started to clean it. After wiping the sword, he went to clean the iron spear and mace.

He held the mace and came to the window, opened the window and looked outside. Although the outside of the city is not as prosperous as the inside, there are still lanterns everywhere, and a gust of night wind blows, accompanied by the smell of burning coal.

The trees near Tokyo have long been insufficient to support the city's firewood.

Every household, including officials, used coal to make fires for cooking.

Only the royal family and top dignitaries burned expensive charcoal, which was shipped all the way.

From the time he traveled to the present, Ju Ming has been clamoring to rebel, but his previous will to rebel was not as strong as it is today.

This is Tokyo, the capital of the Song Dynasty, and it already looks like this.

How miserable must the people everywhere be?

Ju Ming originally planned to launch an uprising after Jingkang, but now he wants to advance it.

How early should it be advanced?

Wait for Fang La to rebel, or will the Song army be defeated in the Liao expedition?

Anyway, it is not now. The elite of the Western Army is still there, and the rebel army cannot hold it back in the early stage.

Feeling extremely angry, Ju Ming waved his mace in the room, making a buzzing sound in the darkness.

Shi Biao slept deeply, but Bai Sheng was woken up, opened his eyes, looked at it, and continued to sleep.

Only Ju Ming is left going crazy alone!