Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Winter has turned to spring, and it’s New Year’s Day.

This is the first year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty, the fourth year of Tianhui of Dajin, the eighth year of Yuande of Western Xia, and the third year of Yuanqing of Western Liao Dynasty.

If the separatist regimes are included, there are the Guangde three years in Jinghu, the first year of Taihe in the southeast, and the first year of Zhengtong in Hebei.

Even the first year of Jingkang was abolished!

Due to the continuous wind and snow, the summit ceremony was postponed again and again, and finally it was decided to be held before the Lantern Festival.

However, the imperial edict was issued at the end of the year. Zhu Guoxiang established the country as "Daming" and founded the Yuan Dynasty as "Hongwu". Kaifeng and Luoyang were tentatively designated as the two capitals.

Canonize Shen Yourong as the Queen and Wen Xiaomei as the Imperial Concubine.

Zhu Ming was appointed as the crown prince, and Zhang Jinping was appointed as the crown prince.

Bai Qi was canonized as the Duke of Shu, his grandmother Yan Dapo was made the country's wife, his wife was the county's wife, and his eldest son was the prince of Shu.

Zhang Guangdao, Li Bao, Yang Zhi, Zhang Boring and Shi Yuangong were all granted the title of marquis.

A total of twelve generals in each army were granted the title of count, and eighteen generals were granted the title of viscount.

After the southern roads are pacified, civil servants and generals will still receive rewards. Moreover, the edict directly stated that the Marquis would be promoted to Duke at that time.

In addition, he also drew a big picture: if Yanyun is recovered, at least three countries will be given the dukedom.

From now on, I will destroy the Xixia and Jin Kingdoms, and destroy a country and grant a prince with a different surname!

This reward edict was written just like a reward order.

The official positions in the Song Dynasty were constantly changing, and the titles were adjusted many times. There were three systems of twelfth, ninth and tenth ranks.

The new Ming Dynasty adopted the nine-level title system of the Song Dynasty, namely: prince, county king, duke, duke, county duke, marquis, uncle, son, and male.

Song Renzong should know mathematics. He found that the number of Zhao and Song clans was increasing exponentially, so he stipulated that non-descendants of the ten kings could not ascend the title. Later, repeated adjustments were made to determine that the descendants of the Fourteenth King could ascend the throne.

Let's put it this way, even the eldest son of a prince of the Song Dynasty may not be able to inherit the title!

This is true for all clans, and titles with different surnames cannot be hereditary.

In Song Dynasty film and television dramas, there are stories about young princes and young princes waiting for their father to die to inherit the title. That is pure nonsense.

It seems very advanced, but in fact the medicine is not changed.

My father has made great contributions to the country and shed blood for the country. Why can't I get any benefit at all?

Those in power must consider this issue.

As a result, a large number of descendants of nobles were assigned to work as sanitation workers because they could not ascend to the title of nobility... ah, they were sanitation officers.

This Zhonglang General and that Senior General were the environmental protection officers of the Song Dynasty.

To put it bluntly, you will not be allowed to seize the title, but you will be appointed as a military attache and you will receive a free monthly salary.

By the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, thousands of sanitation officers were online at the same time, all reaching out to the court to ask for money to eat. They were classified as "redundant officials" and were not listed separately.

It would be better to let the eldest son ascend the throne!

Anyway, the title does not give much salary, and the title of food has become more or less an honorary title. Only by "shishifeng" can you really receive money.

For example, if I am a marquis, "1,500 households in the city" is of no use. It only proves that I have a high status, great reputation, sufficient qualifications, and greater benevolence from my descendants. Adding the suffix "500 households with food and real food" means that they can receive real money and silver, with a monthly salary of 12.5 guan, a hundred yuan (25 cents per household per month).

The "food real seal" is a special reward, and among a hundred nobles, there may only be three or five.

If the Zhu family and his son do not implement the Enyin official system, then they must implement hereditary titles, but they must also learn from the lessons of history.

Zhang Bor has returned to Kaifeng and is studying titles with Shi Yuangong.

Zhu Ming was very generous. Zhang Bor was named "Juanhou" and Shi Yuangong was named "Fanhou", both of whom were named after their hometowns.

Zhang Bor muttered: "I live in a town of 2,000 households and have a feudal household of 1,000 households. I can receive 25 guan of money every month. I will be demoted to one title after three generations... Oh, I'm too lazy to figure it out. It's more cost-effective to just give money and land."

A well-fed marquis can receive an additional salary of 25 guan per month.

Shi Yuangong also felt that it was very nonsense. This hereditary title was not as good as that of the old Song Dynasty, and there was also a plan to demote one title in three generations.

Although the title of the old Song Dynasty has no direct benefits, it has a lot of indirect benefits.

In the old Song Dynasty, the higher the title and the higher the seat, the higher the official rank of one's own idle position (salary and salary were given according to official rank). At the same time, the level of descendants of Yinguan will be higher and the number will be greater. Generations of descendants will be able to receive wages and earn a living from the imperial court.

If someone among the descendants is admitted as a Jinshi, and happens to have Enyin qualifications, that would be even more awesome - the last Jinshi can get the first rank of No. 1 Scholar!

Shi Yuangong pondered: "The new dynasty has cut off the control of Enyin officials, so it should be easier to be granted a real title, right? The number of fiefs must be more than that in the old Song Dynasty, otherwise the ninth-level title will become a complete joke."

Zhang Boring said: "There must be other benefits, but I haven't made it clear yet."

The so-called benefits are privileges.

The father and son really didn't give too many privileges. They only gave special treatment to those with titles in terms of architecture, clothing, etiquette, etc.

In addition, in government-run civil and military schools, descendants of various titles have corresponding quotas for direct admission to the school. There is no need to fight over the single-plank bridge with the common people. The starting point of their studies may be the end point of many common people, but the specific appointment depends on the examination results.

Of course, the "food seal" is certainly more generous than in the old Song Dynasty. For a nobleman with 3,000 households in a food town, the full amount of food seal is only 75 guan per month.

In addition, with a title, you must be given a virtual position (or a real position), and the official salary is calculated according to the grade, which means that the nobles can receive double salary (juelu + official salary).

Now Zhang Bor is actually receiving 1,000 households of food, plus the salary of the Minister of War. In addition, this time the title of marquis also includes land, clothes, and gold.

What really matters is the title of Marquis!

Shi Yuangong felt very happy. When Shandong was completely stabilized, he would return to his hometown to repair his ancestral tombs and recount the genealogy to his clan members.

Although his family was ruined, his clan still existed.

The people in the main sect are not very kind to him, and he will be severely slapped in the face when he returns.

However, Zhang Bor was thinking about more distant things. The Zhu family had already offered a reward to destroy the Xixia and Jin Kingdoms, and he would be granted the title of king with a different surname.

King with a different surname!

…

The snow has not yet melted, and caravans are entering Beijing one after another.

If you go to Kaifeng, where supplies are relatively scarce, to do business, you will not only be able to sell at a higher price, but you will also get tax benefits.

When the vehicle stopped, Bai Chongwen asked the delivery shop for a few questions, then walked back and said, "Dad, Tokyo is thirty miles ahead!"

The old Bai Yuanwai has been frail and sickly in recent years, and his legs are completely paralyzed, but he still wants to come to Tokyo to see if he can.

His second son worked as a civil servant next to Ju Ming, and his third son went to Huaixi as a magistrate. The Bai family's generational wealth was right in front of them.

Last year, we rebuilt the ancestral graves and the ancestral hall, held a large banquet for the villagers, and spent money to build a bright school in the village. After that, we have been busy traveling north.

"Put me in a brocade robe!" Old Bai said while lying outside in the car.

Bai Chongwen asked: "Is it right here?"

"Go to the inn!" Old Bai said angrily. The second and third sons had already done important things, but the eldest son still couldn't carry them.

This is a small town, with three inns in it.

When the carriage arrived outside the inn, Bai Chongwen and his servants helped Old Bai out of the car, placed him on top of another healthy servant, and covered him with a blanket to protect him from the wind.

Asking the waiter to bring hot water, Mr. Bai went to clean up the instruments in the room.

Wash your face, comb your hair, put on a hat and scarf, and put on the luxurious brocade robe made of Shu brocade.

It is difficult for a rich country man to buy authentic Sichuan brocade even if he has money.

The robe that Mr. Bai wore was a brocade gift from Ju Ming to Bai Erlang. Bai Erlang asked someone to send it home. Mr. Bai took the materials and asked someone to tailor it.

It's almost evening, and Zhou Zheng is finally taken care of.

Jian Pu carried Mr. Bai out to the inn lobby for dinner, and put him on the bench to sit upright. The Shu brocade robe instantly attracted many eyes.

The old man smiled outside and asked his son to order some food and drinks.

The store clerk specifically reminded that this town is very close to Tokyo, so all the excess food has been shipped there, and the price of drinks may be relatively high.

When Old Bai heard the price of the wine, he wanted to scold his mother, but he said calmly, "You can bring the food and wine, but it won't be short of the wine money."

"That's right, this gentleman is wearing a rich flower robe, and he looks like he's doing big business." The shop assistant quickly flattered him.

There are many merchants in the lobby. They want to make a fortune by transporting goods to Kaifeng before the Lantern Festival.

"Have you heard? The date for the ascension ceremony has been decided!"

"when?"

"The twelfth day of the first lunar month is an auspicious day."

"This is really going to change the world. From now on, the world will change its surname to Zhu."

"It should have been changed long ago. As soon as the Zhu Jiajun came, they abolished the economic system. In the future, other exorbitant taxes and levies may also be abolished."

"I heard that the Hunjun fled to the southeast. Isn't he planning to rule across the river?"

"It's a beautiful thought. I don't know how much the people in the southeast hate that stupid king. How many years has passed since Fang La's rebellion? The new dynasty founded Hongwu, and it was clear that he wanted to sweep away the world. The word 'Hongwu' was not chosen randomly."

"I don't know when the imperial examination will be resumed. My master's son, Mr. Sanlang, just passed the examination in the old dynasty."

"..."

Old Bai was drinking outside, listening carefully, hoping that some businessman would take the initiative to talk to him.

Those tables chatted for a long time, and finally someone at the next table asked: "Where is the old gentleman coming from?"

The old member smiled and replied: "Yangzhou."

The person who spoke suddenly exclaimed: "That is the land of Longxing. Does the old gentleman recognize Zhu... the current Holy Emperor?"

The old man smiled and said nothing, and took a sip of wine.

Bai Chongwen held his head high and said: "Your Majesty and the Crown Prince lived in my village when they were living in the world. My family also gave His Majesty ten acres of land as a gift, but His Majesty was arrogant and insisted on buying it with money." "

As soon as this statement came out, it attracted everyone's attention.

A businessman said enviously: "Then you are really lucky. I'm afraid someone in your family is an official?"

Bai Chongwen said: "My second brother obeys the prince's orders, and my third brother studied at the same school as the prince, got Jinshi in the same subject, and became an official in the same year."

"You have eyes that don't recognize gold and jade. What a neglect." The merchant at the next table quickly stood up and bowed to the old man.

The other guests also stood up and bowed to each other.

Even the innkeeper asked the cook to prepare two more delicious dishes and gave him a free jug of fine wine.

Although Lao Bai pretended to be reserved and didn't say a few words during the whole process, his heart was already bubbling with beauty, and he secretly lamented that his life had not been in vain.

I really want to go to Tokyo right away. When he was young, he also had the dream of taking the imperial examination.