Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The county magistrate of Dengcheng, named Pu Shang, came from Yangzhou and invented garden shears using the principle of leverage.

Ju Ming recommended him to Song Huizong, and this man was left in Genyue to work as a steward among a group of gardeners. He was an official without rank (not a clerk).

If you are not happy with what you are doing, you will quit your job.

After the Zhu family and his son raised an army, Pu Shang hesitated for two or three months. It was not until Zhu Ming led his troops to attack Shuzhong that he went to Zhu Guoxiang to seek an official position.

Pu Shang followed Ju Ming and Wei Tai into the city and introduced as they walked: "Dengcheng County is only in the northwest. There are three reclamation villages, housing about 1,200 refugees. The weather is good this year, and the second season beans are being harvested. I will go to the reclamation in person. I’ve seen the village, and it turns out that life is pretty good, and we no longer need to borrow food from the government to satisfy our hunger.”

Ju Ming nodded and said, "I visited the Kenhuang Village in Dengcheng County before arriving in Xiangyang. You really didn't miss anything."

Pu Shang was very happy to receive the compliment from the generalissimo, and said: "Although Dengcheng belongs to Wang County, its specialty is only high-quality yellow rice. Rice, wheat and mulberry are also grown in the county, especially mulberry. I want to make it." A large water-turned spinning wheel that uses the water power of the Han River to spin linen. It can provide the generalissimo's army with a large amount of linen quickly."

Since it was a spinning wheel, it could only spin yarn, and weaving into linen had to be done manually.

Ju Ming praised: "I remember you invented the garden scissors. The mulberry scissors and tea scissors in Yangzhou were adapted from your scissors. Now they have spread throughout the states and counties in Sichuan. If we can recreate the hydraulic spinning wheel, it will definitely benefit the world. Ten Thousand People will have some success in the art of Taoism. When the time comes, they will at least be promoted to one level!"

"The Generalissimo still remembers my scissors," Pu Shang said happily, "They are just small objects, much simpler than turning a big spinning wheel with water."

Ju Ming asked: "I remember that many scholars came to visit Daming Village at that time, and there was also a man named who invented the dry compass..."

"My name is Yang Changyan," Pu Shang said. "He took his compass and went out to sea on the ship to find immortals under the orders of the Hunjun. Wen Zhengtong, who improved the distiller to make toilet water (perfume), did not return to Hanzhong to serve as an official. Went to Luoyang to open a floral dew workshop."

Shi Yuangong, who was following behind, immediately stepped forward and whispered: "Wen Zhengtong's Hualufang is the Luoyang liaison station, responsible for linking the detailed activities between Tokyo and Guanzhong."

Ju Ming nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

Shi Yuangong has now corrected his attitude. He understands that he lacks ability and simply engages in espionage seriously and no longer gets involved in other things.

Pu Shang continued: "One of the scholars who visited Daming Village together was named Rong Xun. He is now the magistrate of Biyang (Biyang) County, and has received more than 6,000 refugees in his jurisdiction. He is guiding the refugees to reclaim wasteland. At that time, the magistrate of Rong County changed the tread plow from a straight handle to a crank handle, which received great praise from the Minister of Economic Affairs and ordered that two kinds of tread plows be made to cultivate wasteland in the future. Local officials can choose according to the actual situation."

The tread plow is an agricultural tool of the ethnic minorities in Guangxi. It was introduced to the Central Plains in the mid-Northern Song Dynasty and was used in mountainous areas or areas where there were insufficient cattle for farming.

The efficiency is only a fraction of that of a plowing ox, but it is particularly suitable for plowing in mountainous areas and clearing land with a lot of rocks.

"Is a crank plowing faster?" Zhu Ming remembered that Daming Village used a straight-handled plow for land reclamation. Why didn't his father use a crank-handled plow instead?

Pu Shang explained: "Both have their own advantages and disadvantages. A straight-handled plow saves effort when piercing the soil, and it is easy to turn over hard soil. It can not only plow and open up wasteland, but can also be used to dig kudzu, yams and other things. But plowing When plowing the soil, the bending angle is large, and the backache will be sore after plowing for a long time. The crank plow is just the opposite. It is more difficult to pierce the soil and it is not easy to turn over the hard soil. However, the bending angle is smaller, and the cultivator is not so tired. If it is used for a long time A large amount of wasteland is cleared, but the speed is faster than a straight handle."

Zhu Ming understood. Daming Village was all mountainous and had a lot of hard soil, and the reclaimed land was not very large, so Dean Zhu used a straight-handled plow.

In the Nanxiang Basin, the land is not that hard and a large area needs to be cleared, so the crank plow is more suitable.

Of course, if there are enough oxen, there is no need for any kind of plow. Using oxen is the fastest way to open up wasteland. (Except for mountainous areas).

Rong Xun, the magistrate of Biyang County, invented the crank-operated plow, which can greatly increase the speed of land reclamation. It has been upgraded by Zhu Guoxiang by two levels. But he is still serving as the magistrate of Biyang County, but his grade has been upgraded, and he will be transferred when there is a vacancy for a higher-level official.

Wei Tai said beside him: "For the tread plows in Dengcheng County, Pu County Magistrate has asked the craftsmen to change them to crank handles. I have seen it with my own eyes. It is good for farmers. They will not get back problems after working for a long time."

Zhu Ming suddenly asked: "Xiangyang Mansion School will be resumed early next year. I wonder if the old gentleman would be willing to go and take charge?"

"Those things you were taught?" Wei Tai did not agree immediately, but asked rhetorically.

Ju Ming smiled and said: "If the old gentleman approves of my knowledge, he can naturally teach it himself. If he doesn't approve, just let other scholars teach me."

"Let me think about it," Wei Tai said.

After all, Wei Tai is from the older generation who associates with brothers Wang Anshi, Zeng Bu, Mi Fu and others. It is enough for him to go to Xiangyang Prefecture to study and become the principal even if he does nothing.

Ever since the Zhu family and his son started fighting, the official schools within the territory have been abolished.

Since there is no imperial examination and no way to advance to higher education, which student would still want to stay and study? Moreover, the principal and teachers were officials of the Song Dynasty, and those who could escape had already escaped.

The father and son have too many things to deal with, and running the school is the least urgent thing.

The main reason is that I haven't thought about how to handle official education.

Wang Anshi and Cai Jing's Sanshe method is very similar to the modern education system. But the financial expenses are too high. Except for the outside students who have to pay for it, all other students are free of charge, and meals are specially provided.

Even if it is done in this way, it can only be done on a small scale, as was the case in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

But if done on a small scale, it loses its meaning and becomes a symbol of culture and education.

The result of the discussion between father and son was exactly the same as Cai Jing’s final reform before he resigned as prime minister!

That is to say, the scale of official schools was reduced and the promotion system was retained, so that official students could participate in the imperial examinations. Taixue graduates can be awarded Jinshi status, but the number of annual graduation quotas must be reduced—normally, there are ten to fifteen graduates of Taixue every year, and it must be reduced to less than ten.

At the same time, primary schools and county schools will no longer be free of charge, and the tuition fees of self-financed students will be used to support government-funded students.

Cai Jing also did this in the later stages of the reform. All outside students had to pay tuition, and the proportion of the number exceeded 70%. Once you are promoted to the inner dormitory, tuition and accommodation fees will be waived immediately. As for higher-level students, the proportion is about 5%.

This is a deformed education system. Take primary school as an example. There are five grades in total. The first and second grade students need to pay tuition, accounting for 70%; the third, fourth and fifth grade students do not need to pay tuition, accounting for 30%. Not to mention graduation, it is difficult to move up a grade, and most of them are repeaters.

When going from primary school to county school, state school, or university, each time you go to a higher school, you will not only be judged by your grades, but also by your family connections.

There were so many holes that the father and son needed to fill them.

The first is to strictly upgrade entrance examinations to reduce cheating and nepotism. Cai Jing also did this, but he simply couldn't do it because his party members took the lead in breaking his rules. The phenomenon of favoritism and malpractice in Taixue even alarmed Song Huizong for a time, and he demoted five core members of the Cai Party in one breath.

The second is to provide a way out for those government students who cannot graduate through the normal imperial examination. Cai Jing did the same thing and was dismissed as prime minister as soon as he started reforming.

The difference between the Zhu family and Cai Jing is that they will also maintain official schools in remote states and counties, but with fewer students. In order to save funds, Cai Jing made a sweeping decision, ignoring remote states and counties and directly abolishing those schools.

So, what is the use of Taixue, which can only graduate a few people each year and obtain Jinshi status, and its supporting primary schools, county schools, and state schools?

Of course, it is to control the direction of education and distribute standard textbooks for various subjects.

At the same time, the emperor and state and county officials, through official schools, could control and guide the climate of public opinion.

Once a new territory is occupied, teachers can be immediately dispatched to teach those barbarian lands.

The father and son also decided to create a kind of Taixue undergraduates, that is, Taixue students who are unable to graduate can apply for undergraduates and be sent to local places as teachers. While working as a teacher, I could continue to take the imperial examinations.

In order not to affect teaching, teachers take the exam in the place where they teach, and the chief officer of a province personally invigilates the exam. Moreover, each government has only one teacher quota for each imperial examination.

The imperial examination system will adopt the form of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but the treatment will be the same as that of the Song Dynasty.

That is to say, there is no special preferential treatment for candidates, but they do not need to take the exam again.

This will inevitably lead to more and more candidates taking the exam, so the father and son revised it. Those who failed to pass the Jinshi exam for three consecutive years must go back and take the exam again. This is equivalent to forcing the candidates to give up the imperial examination. If they fail the examination in three times, nine years will pass. In addition, when they take the examination before, they are most likely over forty years old.

Similarly, if a scholar fails to pass the Juren examination for three consecutive years, he must go back to the drawing board and take the examination again.

Although there is no preferential treatment for being a scholar or a scholar, this status can already gain social status.

Ju Ming came to the county government office and explained the new rules to the county magistrate and Wei Tai alone.

"Provinces will be established in the future," Ju Ming said. "Those who are tested in a prefecture are scholars, and their status as scholars can be retained for nine years. Those who are tested in a province are called judges, and their status as judges can also be retained for nine years."

Wei Tai was surprised and said: "Isn't it more difficult for the scholars of the New Dynasty to pass the examination than the candidates of the Song Dynasty?"

"That's not the case." Zhu Ming smiled and nodded.

The candidates of the Song Dynasty were selected from a state or a prefecture.

Regardless of the state capitals in the Song Dynasty, they were smaller than those in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. At the same time, the number of candidates in state capitals in the Song Dynasty was smaller than that of scholars in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Therefore, the examination difficulty for candidates in the Song Dynasty was higher than that of scholars in the Ming and Qing dynasties, but much lower than that of candidates in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

"Why such reforms?" Wei Tai asked.

Ju Ming said: "During the Song Dynasty, tens of thousands of candidates came to Beijing at every turn, wasting money and wasting time, which was not good for the court or the scholars. After the reform, the quota for candidates was greatly reduced, and at most four to five thousand people came to Beijing each time to take the exam."

"That's right," Wei Tai nodded and said, "Juren can retain their status for nine years. Although the quota has been reduced, it also means that those who pass the exam do not have to retake the exam for three consecutive years."

Zhu Ming added: "If the old gentleman is willing to go to Xiangyang Prefecture to study and teach for one year, after he is familiar with the new examination content, he can go to Hanzhong to preside over the meeting hall."

"Meeting Hall?" Wei Tai thought about it.

Ju Ming said: "It is the Ministry of Rites, which will be responsible for organizing the examination in three years."

This is to directly become the Minister of Rites. No matter how Wei Tai regards fame as dirt, such a position makes him breathless.

The old man quickly calmed down his emotions, but he was still agitated. He stood up and bowed: "Ming Gong appreciates you so much, how dare I disobey you?"

When Zhu Guoxiang asked Zhu Ming to invite people, he also left the Ministry of Rites to his son.

(It was not stated clearly in the previous chapter, but has been changed. When the grain is transported to Yanjing, it is handled by the Yanshan prefect, and some will be used to relieve the people. But Pharmacist Guo used strong methods to directly withhold the grain.)