Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

In the winter of the first year of Hongwu, the first snow fell.

The weather is not too cold yet, but officials can already receive low-temperature subsidies.

As a cabinet minister, Zhongshi Dao took a carriage to the imperial city, but even he could only use inferior horses.

The Tiansijian Royal Racecourse has been restored, but there are currently only a few hundred horses there, most of which were recruited from Lanzhou.

The snow was not heavy, and it melted quickly when it hit the ground, leaving the street wet.

There are all kinds of hawking sounds, and patrol soldiers are checking along the street. If they find a beggar, they will immediately report it to the chief of the chamber. (Patrol soldiers are similar to community police, and they were already present in big cities in the Song Dynasty.)

The chief of the chamber sent people to investigate. If the beggar had family members, he ordered his family members to take good care of him.

Those who have no family, or whose family members are poor, will be temporarily taken over by the nursing home, and different arrangements will be made depending on the situation.

Those who are young and in good health gather enough numbers to migrate to the northwest frontier together.

Elderly or disabled people are adopted by nursing homes and arranged to work, usually in the production of military equipment. For example, making ancient version of compressed biscuits, making vinegar cloth, sewing soldiers' clothing, etc.

The first batch of regular uniforms for soldiers has been finalized and the uniforms will be given priority to the Gyeonggi army.

The style is not too outrageous, only the Song Dynasty's crotchless robe is slightly modified.

This kind of military uniform is very convenient for movement and was the standard clothing of soldiers in the Song Dynasty. But by the time of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, even the Imperial Army might not issue them. At most, they would give a few small coins to the soldiers to make them themselves.

The officers' clothing is more advanced, but there is not much difference in general style.

The hats include a futou and a hat, with leather hats for officers and straw hats for soldiers.

Officers can wear leather shoes, while soldiers can wear cloth shoes.

Zhu Guoxiang and Ju Ming didn't bother to care about the Five Elements and the Combat, and the soldiers' daily clothes were all dyed red.

Zhong Shidao looked at the street scenery through the car curtain, and he was more satisfied with Tokyo now.

Although Tokyo was prosperous in the past, there were too many beggars in remote corners. In winter, they cannot withstand the wind and snow, and some of them can only freeze to death, or hide in culverts and be absorbed by the underground world.

Now the imperial court has set up a special fund to send them all to cultivate land in the northwest frontier.

The carriage drove to Donghua Gate, Zhongshidao got off the bus and went in. After walking a few steps, he arrived at the "waiting room".

This is a new rule recently established. When officials enter the imperial city to meet, work or go to court, officials from the fourth rank and above can ride in carriages, and those over seventy can also ride in carriages.

Firstly, it can give officials dignity, and secondly, it can also improve work efficiency.

The palace also specially prepared some large carriages that can accommodate twelve people at the same time.

There were already three people in the "waiting room", and they all stood up and bowed: "You are so polite!"

Zhong Shidao quickly returned the gift.

Immediately a female official came to serve tea. It was a female official and not a palace maid.

Although this is the Imperial City, it is not the East Palace and the Harem. It belongs to the office area inside the Imperial City.

In line with the principle of using eunuchs if they can be used, the servants are all healthy people with a clean family background. Moreover, there are men and women. They have special uniforms and waistbands. They can only move in certain office areas, and even the cabinet and other institutions are not allowed to approach.

There is a charcoal fire in the "waiting room", as well as snacks and hot tea, which is quite comfortable in this winter.

After almost ten people had gathered, there was no need to wait any longer. All the ministers rode in carriages and headed to the Political Hall.

Today is not a meeting of the imperial court, but a meeting of ministers of the cabinet, and individual ministers have also been invited to attend.

After arriving at the political hall and sitting down, after waiting for a while, another group of ministers came in, and not long after, even the prince arrived.

"The emperor has arrived!"

Following several shouts from far and near, all the ministers stood up and bowed to Zhu Guoxiang.

Zhu Guoxiang smiled and said, "Sit down."

"Thank you, official!" Everyone sat down one after another.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Let's talk about the household affairs first."

Qian Chen stood up and said: "The municipal shipping system is still being revised, and it should be promulgated after the beginning of spring. All taxes in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Fujian provinces have been exempted this year. Reliable officials must be arranged as soon as possible to accept the taxes in these places." Field supervisors. Especially gold, silver and bronze supervisors should be changed to mint new Ming coins."

"Are the officials in trouble?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Li Hanzhang replied: "The third batch of officials has been selected, but there is snow today and there will be heavy snow soon. I may not be able to take office until spring."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Let them set off immediately and go as far as they can before the heavy snow blocks the road, so as to take over the affairs as soon as possible."

"Yes!" Li Hanzhang accepted the order.

Zhu Guoxiang asked again: "I heard that ministers in the Tang Dynasty could sit and take ginseng. Have you found the exact source?"

Meng Zhao replied: "I have read the Tang Dynasty books, and there is no precise record of the regular court rituals in the Tang Dynasty. But there are some clues between the lines. Officials in the Tang Dynasty often paid homage to the court, and officials of fifth rank and above were allowed to sit down."

Zhu Guoxiang nodded and said: "Then restore the Tang system. Officials of fifth rank and above will be given seats when attending court. Officials below fifth rank will still stand and attend the court."

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

The ministers in the political hall immediately shouted that they could all sit in court from now on.

Zhu Guoxiang added: "Are you preparing for the Spring Festival Ceremony Examination?"

Meng Zhao replied: "It is already under preparation. The examiner and supervisor must make the decision personally."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Nowadays, state affairs are busy, and all important ministers in the cabinet have important matters. Just find a minister to be the chief examiner, and the chief supervisor will be the censor of the Supervisory Academy. The other examiners and supervisors are all selected from among the Hanlin bachelors."

The Song Dynasty learned from the lessons of the Tang Dynasty's imperial examinations. Officials from the Ministry of Rites could only serve as organizers, that is, preparing and arranging examination rooms and examination numbers, and being responsible for reviewing the qualifications of candidates, etc.

The Ministry of Rites was not allowed to participate in the actual process of setting questions, invigilating exams, marking papers, etc. This rule was also followed by the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Zhu Guoxiang asked again: "Have the uncles and nephews of the Jiangxi Fan family not surrendered yet?"

Zhao Yu, the Minister of the Ministry of War, is a little transparent. He represents the Zhao and Song clan and has no say in the Ming Dynasty. The prince Zhu Ming is more like the Minister of the Ministry of War.

Zhao Yu replied: "Fan's uncle and nephew have occupied the entire territory of Jianzhou. The report a few days ago is that they are also traced at the border of Shaowu Army. The Fujian chief envoy sent people to surrender many times, and Fan's uncle and nephew kept bargaining. He killed too many gentry and monks, and perhaps he still had doubts, fearing that he would be punished after being recruited."

Zhang Gen suddenly said: "If the Fan family does not surrender, Li Bao can be ordered to send troops to fight against it. These uncles and nephews killed innocent people indiscriminately. Their crimes are really serious. If they are caught, they will be sentenced to death. Even if they are willing to recruit people, they cannot be entrusted with heavy responsibilities. Letting them serve as county captains is a mercy."

The ministers were convinced that Fan's uncle and nephew were killing landlords in Jianzhou to divide their property. Their methods were much more radical than Ju Ming's, and they were almost as good as Zhong Xiang on Jinghu Road.

But Zhu Ming smiled and said: "Let Li Baoti force them. If they are willing to recruit troops, let them come to the capital. I will come and ask a few questions myself."

Zhang Gen hesitated to speak, and finally said nothing more.

Shi Yuangong also attended the meeting: "The Jin Kingdom migrated a large number of Bohai people and Xi people this year and resettled them in Youyun Prefecture for settlement and cultivation. I heard that the wheat harvest is good, which can be said to be a great increase in national strength!"

The Jin people did not go south this year, mainly because they were digesting their internal affairs.

The Bohai people and the Xi people have always had a tendency to rebel, and this migration can be said to achieve multiple goals. It not only eliminated the hidden danger of rebellion, but also enriched Youyun's population, increased food production, and was more conducive to Jin's recruitment.

The only shortcoming is that the Jin Kingdom used extremely rough methods when relocating its population.

Many resettlement tasks were not done well, resulting in some migrant populations starving to death, or causing famine if farming was not done in time. Some tribes also rebelled due to lack of food. The Jin Kingdom directly sent troops to suppress them. Anyway, it was enough to kill all the rebels.

Shi Yuangong added: "It is difficult to send detailed work in the Jin Kingdom. Our detailed work is mainly in the Pseudo Song Dynasty. The Jin State's hair shaving order was strictly enforced for about four months. Because too many Han people in the Pseudo Song Dynasty fled, they entered After Qiu, it was slightly relaxed. Now it is just forcing the officials of the pseudo-Song Dynasty to shave their heads and change their clothes. Even the emperor of the pseudo-Song Dynasty had his hair shaved."

Huan Guo sarcastically said: "How can the pseudo-Song monarchs and ministers who shave their heads and have their heads shaved to the left have any trace of Han family style left?"

After talking about many military and political affairs to let the ministers know more about the situation in the country, the enlarged cabinet meeting came to an end.

Zhu Ming asked Zhang Bor to leave together, and said in a low voice: "Although Shandong has stabilized, some of the bandit generals who were recruited for peace were dissatisfied when reorganizing the army. After the spring, I will personally visit Shandong. You can arrange the route when you go back."

"Yes!" Zhang Bor accepted the order with his hands raised.

Today, the number of firearms workshops has increased to ten. In particular, the Xuzhou Firearms Factory has just started construction, but as long as the craftsmen can become proficient, the firearms output can quickly increase.

By next summer, there should be 3,000 musketeers, and the number of artillery can also be increased a lot.

It's just that the newly trained musketeers and artillerymen will definitely have to slowly adapt to this thing.

Hua Rong has returned to Kaifeng with the Shenji Battalion, and the number of soldiers has also reached 3,500. Half of the soldiers had no weapons and had to borrow muskets from veterans for training.

Saltpeter has also been included in the scope of the franchise this year and requires a license from the court. Merchants can only operate with a franchise license. And priority must be given to supplying gunpowder factories, and the rest can be sold to private customers.

"Dangdangdangdang..."

Bells suddenly sounded from two areas on the left and right of the city.

"Why are there bells ringing at this time? Go and have a look." As soon as Huan Guo left the palace, he heard the big noise.

Not only him, but other officials and people also followed the direction of the bell to see the excitement.

From a distance, you can see the four-sided clock of the Bell and Drum Tower. This thing has been repaired for half a year, and the big bell has only been installed in the past few days.

There has been one in Daqing Hall for a long time, but it is small and does not have four sides.

Countless people look up at the four-sided clock. Currently, there are only hour hands and no minute hands, so it is difficult to feel the movement of the hour hands. And it cannot tell the time automatically, so people have to ring the bell when the time comes.

Huan Guo looked up, stroking his beard and said with a smile, "This is a very good thing. It is more convenient than a sundial."

The clock face is inlaid with Arabic numerals, and Ju Ming is using the clock to promote this thing.

There are also notices posted below the bell tower to teach people how to tell the time.

I just heard a scholar read: "This big clock divides morning and evening, and one hour is one hour. The vertical one is one, and the earlier one is 'Zi Chu'. The one that looks like a duck is two, and two o'clock early is 'Zi Zheng'..." …”

In the Song Dynasty, the twelve hours were refined into twenty-four hours.

For example, the hour of Zi Shi is divided into two hours: Zichu and Zizheng.

In order to adapt to people's habits, Ju Ming moved the modern hour as a whole by one hour.

In Ju Ming's version of the clock, "1 o'clock" is directly above "12 o'clock", but it represents "11 o'clock" in modern time.

It seems quite confusing to modern people, but it was very intuitive to ancient people.

When the hour hand moves to a point directly above, the beginning of Zi hour (or the beginning of Noon hour) begins. When the hour hand reaches the two o'clock position, the middle hour (or noon hour) begins.

The beheading will be carried out at three quarters in the afternoon, and preparations can be made when the bell rings.

On the first day when the four-sided clock started telling time, groups of people came to watch the excitement.

There were also people who stayed there, looking up from time to time to observe, and found that the hour hand was indeed moving slowly.

It has become the number one sight in Tokyo!