Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Kaifeng City is very large, so there is more than one Bell and Drum Tower.

During the Sui, Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties, there were bell and drum towers in the imperial city, but I don’t know why they were canceled in the Ming Dynasty.

Ju Ming felt that the clock with an error of two quarters a month was already very accurate, so he ordered two more large pendulum clocks to be made and placed on the Bell Tower and Drum Tower respectively. The completed pendulum clock was placed in the Daqing Hall for the emperor and his ministers to tell time when attending court meetings.

The Bell and Drum Towers in Kaifeng are arranged in an east-west layout, with the Drum Tower in the east and the Bell Tower in the west.

It was a very tall two-story building, with a base that looked exactly like a city wall, and a street-crossing arch below. Counting the stone base, it actually had three floors.

Ju Ming plans to build a four-sided clock that can be seen in all four directions.

He asked Taoist Wang if it would be difficult, but the answer he got was: designing and making four clock faces is much simpler than adding a minute hand...

On the contrary, the Chinese-style roof of the bell tower is not suitable for installing this thing.

During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, there were similar worries.

The solution was extremely crude, just cut a hole in the roof of the Bell and Drum Tower and build a small Western-style bell tower on top. With a blink of an eye, it looks like the Tianling Cap of a traditional bell tower, with bone hyperplasia and a horn suddenly growing out.

Extremely ugly!

But it saves money and trouble.

Of course, Ju Ming doesn't need to save the trouble, just let the professionals do the thinking. Thanks to Song Huizong's massive construction projects, many high-quality architects and craftsmen were trained.

The Ministry of Industry quickly came up with a design to narrow the top floor of the bell tower and continue to build three more floors above it.

It becomes narrower and narrower layer by layer, like a pagoda.

I don't know from which day, Tokyo citizens suddenly discovered that the drums in the Drum Tower stopped ringing, and they could only hear the bell ringing in the bell tower every day.

After careful inquiry, I found out that the upper floor of the Drum Tower was being demolished and rebuilt.

Everyone didn't take it to heart. They were used to being tormented by Song Huizong. As long as they didn't demolish residential buildings, no one cared.

Before the finished pendulum clock was moved to Daqing Hall, it was kept nearby in the East Palace for a few days.

Ju Ming's wives and children all came to see the fun and thought this thing was very fresh.

"Why does this needle keep moving?" Zhe Yanxiu squatted in front of the pendulum clock and couldn't help but ask after looking at it for a long time.

Ju Ming simply explained: "The thing that swings back and forth is called a pendulum. If there is no resistance between air and machinery, it can keep swinging, bringing power to the pendulum clock. The thing like a weight next to it is called a pendulum. Weight. Pull the weight up, and it will have a downward force to compensate for the frictional resistance of the pendulum."

Zhe Yanxiu blinked, as if she understood, but also as if she didn't understand anything.

"I know about friction, Grandpa Huang said it!" Zhu Kang, the seven-year-old eldest son of the concubine, raised his little hand.

Ju Ming asked: "What else do you know?"

Zhu Kang replied: "Grandpa Huang said that when my toy wooden ball rolls out, it will keep rolling if there is no friction, and it will stop when it encounters friction."

"Hahaha!" Zhu Ming couldn't help laughing.

Zheng Yuanyi stood next to him with a smile on his face. Her son had been smart since he was a child and was extremely favored by Zhu Guoxiang and Zhu Ming.

On the other hand, Zhu Yang, Zhang Jinping's legitimate son, looks dull and doesn't talk much at ordinary times.

Comparing the two, Zheng Yuanyi would inevitably have other thoughts.

The other concubines didn't have so many ideas. Anyway, the emperor's grandson would definitely not be able to have their children.

Zhang Jinping said: "I have been studying physics in recent years, but I have never learned a simple pendulum. I don't know what principles are used."

"Bring a pen and paper, I'll draw it for you." Ju Ming said.

Zhang Jinping immediately asked the palace maid to bring paper and pen, and easily attracted Ju Ming's attention.

Zheng Yuanyi was quite helpless, she really didn't understand those knowledge.

Li Shishi sat next to him with a smile and chatted in a low voice with Pei Chang'e, seemingly unaware of the competition for favor.

However, Zhong Miaoyun stood beside Zhang Jinping, patiently listening to Ju Ming's explanation of the principle of a simple pendulum.

Zhe Yanxiu also listened for a while, yawned hard, and took Zhao Fujin and Zhao Fujin to play ball.

Zhao Fujin turned around every step of the way. Her brother had been farming for half a year and didn't know how he was doing now. She wanted to go to the countryside to see it in person, but she didn't know how to talk to Ju Ming.

These women don't usually get together and have formed several small groups in private.

Ju Ming could actually see clearly in his eyes. After explaining the principle of single pendulum, he called the eunuch who was accompanying him and said: "Two Madams Zhao, let them choose a day to go out for a stroll in the city. Don't be too showy, bring a team of guards and a few close servants. That’s it.”

"yes!"

The eunuch's name is Li Hua, which is of course not his real name. He gave it to himself after entering the palace.

His position in the old Song Dynasty was "Jiban Xiaodi", which was affiliated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Specifically, he was responsible for running errands, such as helping the emperor convey urgent edicts.

And it belongs to the lowest level among the errands, followed by those who are enshrined, served, imprisoned, and held office. The slightly beneficial errand work had long been snatched up by other eunuchs. When it was his turn, it was all trivial matters, and the people he contacted were all concubines who were not favored.

But he didn't want to get a blessing in disguise and became a close servant of the new prince.

It was a pity that although the prince was powerful, he did not let the eunuchs interfere in official matters. Li Hua sighed deeply.

He ran all the way to send a message to the Zhao sisters: "Two madams, the prince allows you to leave the palace on a certain day, bring some servants and a team of guards, and don't make the ceremony too ostentatious."

Zhao Fujin was overjoyed, took out some reward money and said, "Thank you, the high official, for sending me a message."

Li Hua quickly said: "I don't dare to be called a high official."

Although Zhu Guoxiang and Zhu Ming and their sons carried out various reforms, they were too lazy to change their names. For example, concubines and eunuchs still use the old names of the Northern Song Dynasty.

The concubines of the crown prince such as Zhao Fujin and Zhao Fujin were titled "Mrs. of so-and-so county".

As for "big official", it is a respectful title for senior eunuchs.

There is also "Pavilion Chief", which is an honorific title for mid-level eunuchs.

"Zhongguiren" is the honorific title given to all eunuchs by foreign ministers. Similar honorifics include "Zhongguiren", "Angel", "Japanese people" and so on.

Zhao Fujin couldn't wait and took his sister out of the palace the next morning.

They rode in a chariot, brought along several palace maids and eunuchs, and a bunch of guards to clear the way.

Zhao Fujin looked particularly excited, like a bird escaping from its cage, cheering quietly as he looked at the street scene along the way.

"Be quiet, don't lose the royal dignity." Zhao Fujin reminded.

Zhao Fujin asked: "When I come back, can I go to the Daxiangguo Temple? I heard that the tiles there have recovered best, and it is very lively during the day and night."

Zhao Fujin answered ambiguously: "I will go if I still have time after returning to the city."

"Sister is the best!" Zhao Fujin hugged his sister and rubbed his head back and forth in her arms.

Tokyo natives are accustomed to cars coming out of the Imperial Palace. They can only turn their heads and look at them for a few times before giving up.

Only business travelers from other places looked at it again and again and asked people who the noble person was.

Soon they came to the southern suburbs. Since they missed the winter wheat, the corn and corn here were planted early and it was already the harvest season.

This year it’s floods in the south and drought in the north!

The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River were hit by floods, but there was no rain in Henan and Hebei for a long time. The change of dynasties did not seem to please God.

The corn crop grown in the southern suburbs failed, but the more drought-resistant millet was fine.

If the drought is worse next year, we may have to plant millet to spread the risk. Although the yield of millet is not high, it is more drought-resistant than corn.

As soon as the car arrived outside the village, several soldiers came to greet them and led them to the royal family.

Everywhere he saw was land being harvested, and Zhao Fujin saw Zhao Huan all the way away.

The former emperor was wearing brown clothes and walking in the fields with a backpack on his back. There was more than half a basket of corn in the basket on his back, and he was panting with sweat on his face.

His wives and concubines were working in the fields, picking at the corn leaves with small burrs, breaking off the corns one by one and throwing them into the basket.

Even the former prince Zhao Chen, a child under ten years old, helped in the cornfield.

"Emperor...brother..." Zhao Fujin shouted.

Zhao Huan had been walking forward with his head bowed. When he heard the shouting, he looked up and said with a hint of sadness in his joy: "I've seen Madam. I'm carrying something and I don't dare to put it down in the middle. Please forgive me for not being able to salute."

"It's okay," Zhao Fujin asked the soldier responsible for guarding this place, "Can someone help me?"

The soldier couldn't figure it out either, and said confusedly: "It should be okay."

The eunuch behind him immediately went to pick up the basket. Zhao Huan finally breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Actually, I have made great progress in farm work. I advised the agricultural officials to talk about the method of interplanting. Ordinary farmers just follow the instructions of gourds and gourds, knowing it but not knowing it. So. But I understood the essence of it. This time I planted corn with corn, and I grew it better than many farmers. When the corn is harvested, I can cut the corn back home, and I won’t have to worry about food this year."

"Brother has become darker and thinner. He must have suffered a lot." Zhao Fujin felt pitiful for him.

Zhao Huan forced a smile: "The pain on the body is nothing, the pain in the heart is more unbearable. Most of the surrounding farmers are refugees, and they hate Zhao Song in their hearts, and they can say anything on weekdays. But I didn't know before, The people of the Song Dynasty lived such a miserable life. They worked hard for a year but could not pay the exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes. If there was a slight natural disaster, the whole family would have to flee."

Saying that, Zhao Huan added: "I have cultivated the fields and realized that it is not easy for farmers. If the imperial court imposes excessive taxes and my harvest is not enough to pay taxes, I probably want to rebel in my heart."

Half of these words came from the sincerity, and half of them were meant to show to the guarding soldiers.

Because Ju Ming also assigned them homework, they must write an article on farming experience every month.

Zhao Huan's farming experience in the past two months was praised by Ju Ming.

The former emperor was very smart and roughly understood Ju Ming's intention, which was to make them repent sincerely through labor reform.

After chatting all the way, Zhao Huan pointed to a piece of land nearby and said sarcastically: "That's Zhao Kai's field. This man has no patience to plow the fields, and weeds grow all over the ground. He is too lazy to carry water when it is time to water, and many corns have already been planted." Withered, only a few corns could be harvested due to the drought. I don’t know where this guy got pen and ink, imitated famous paintings, and wanted to sell the money to buy grain. But the soldiers found out, and the prince asked someone to send a message and severely criticized him. he!"

Even now, the two of them are still fighting openly and secretly.

Zhao Huan gloated: "With the harvest in Zhao Kai's field, he will definitely be hungry in the second half of the year!"

Zhao Fujin didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and didn't know how to answer the question.