Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The day after Ju Ming arrived in Xuzhou, hundreds of people were waiting outside the hotel early in the morning. They were all officials, gentry and merchants who could travel with the prince.

"Back off, back off, don't block the streets!"

A group of soldiers came to maintain order, but they were not the prince's personal guards, but local Xuzhou soldiers.

As a steel smelting base, Xuzhou naturally had troops stationed there, and a new army was specially organized and trained.

Including the logistics troops, the total number is more than 3,000. The leader will be Yang He and the deputy will be Liu Long.

Yang He was a veteran of Jinzhou who followed Ju Ming in the uprising. He lost two fingers in the battle. He first stayed in Sichuan as an inspector and was transferred to Xuzhou last year to train the new army.

Liu Long was the son of the civil servant Liu Zong, who once promoted tea classes in Shandong. When the father and son encountered a rebellion by Song Jiang and others, they followed Zhang Shuye to recruit troops to quell the rebellion. Liu Zong had been transferred to Hebei as an official, but Liu Long directly became a military general.

By the way, Liu Long had a ten-year-old son named Liu Bao, who was the one who sat back and watched Wei Sheng die in battle. (Historically, both the Liu family and his son served as Yue Fei's generals, and Liu Long also followed Yue Fei to annihilate Yang Yao.)

"General Liu, be sure not to let strangers get close to the theater stage," Wei Gong warned.

"Don't worry, county magistrate, I've already made arrangements!" Liu Long said, patting his chest.

The relationship between the two was actually pretty good. How could they have imagined that in another time and space, each other's sons would have such a hatred.

"The Crown Prince's personal guards are out!"

"The prince's personal guards are also entering the city from the east gate!"

"..."

There were shouts from the crowd, and then they burst into admiration.

The personal guards were not wearing armor when they were on the road yesterday, but they were wearing armor today. The equipment of those heavily armored guards instantly brought a sense of infinite coercion.

The whole body was wrapped in the armor, with only three dark holes leaking out, which the guards used for observation and breathing.

A government official rushed to whisper, and Wei Gong exclaimed in a low voice: "Didn't you say we would visit the Yanzi Tower first?"

"What's wrong?" Yuwen Chang asked.

Wei Gong said: "The prince's personal guards said that they will go to Huanglou today. Hundreds of guards have surrounded Huanglou."

Yu Wenchang said: "The temporary change of route may be for the prince's safety."

Wei Gong guessed: "I'm afraid he is also encouraging Xuzhou officials."

When Su Shi was the governor of Xuzhou, less than a hundred days after taking office, the Yellow River burst in Henan.

Within ten days, the flood reached Xuzhou.

This flood lasted for two full months, which shows how terrible the flooding of the Yellow River is.

Before the flood came, Su Shi strictly prohibited the rich from leaving the city in order to stabilize the people of Xuzhou. Then he organized the construction of flood control embankments. Su Shi risked dismissal from office and illegally mobilized the Xuzhou Forbidden Army to build embankments.

After the flood, a large number of victims were left homeless.

Su Shi used work in exchange for relief, hiring victims to build yellow towers and strengthen city walls.

The Huanglou is more than thirty meters high. In order to save materials, Su Shi even demolished part of the state government office.

Zhu Ming chose to go to the Yellow Tower first instead of visiting the Yanzi Tower. He was encouraging Xuzhou officials to put people's livelihood first in everything!

"Dang Dang Dang!"

"Quack, quack, quack..."

After a few beeps, the hotel door opened.

First a group of guards came out, and then Ju Ming appeared with his accompanying officials. The crowd outside stretched their necks to watch, accompanied by overwhelming greetings.

Local soldiers cleared the streets, drums and gongs were played in front of the local government office, and the prince's guards protected the carriages as they moved forward.

Even the buildings on both sides of the street were strictly inspected and no one was allowed to carry crossbows. From time to time there were soldiers patrolling the streets to prevent anyone from sneaking in with weapons.

The battle was so big that Ju Ming couldn't blame him, because the local officials were not only trying to please him, but they were also afraid that he might have any safety accidents.

The Yellow Tower is near the east gate. There are already guards of the prince standing guard there, and there are guards on every floor to protect the safety.

It was difficult for the heavily armored guards to climb the steep stairs, so it was the musketeers who accompanied Ju Ming upstairs. Local people are only allowed to go upstairs with thirty people, and the rest have to wait slowly on the ground.

There are several screens with inscriptions on the first floor, engraved with poems and poems by Su Shi, Su Che, Qin Guan and others, and most of the contents are related to Xuzhou's fight against floods.

One of the monuments is the most precious. The dedication of Bi Zhongxun, Su Che's articles, and Su Shi's calligraphy are all combined together.

"These are all engraved based on the original works of each family," Yu Wenchang said. "Many scholars who passed by Xuzhou came to Huanglou to copy calligraphy."

Although Ju Ming has just started to learn calligraphy, he still enjoys it.

After watching it for a long time on the first floor, Ju Ming climbed up the stairs and soon reached the top floor.

The intersection of three rivers here is a transportation hub for water and land. The view is spectacular and you can have a panoramic view of the surrounding scenery.

Officials from Xuzhou Prefecture and Pengcheng County pointed in various directions in the distance and explained to Ju Ming how Su Shi fought against floods. He also talked about how to conduct observations in Huanglou to determine the annual flood control needs.

When he returned to the first floor, Yu Wenchang asked: "Your Highness, would you like to keep a pair of calligraphy treasures?"

The civil servants of the government office have already prepared pen and ink.

Ju Ming smiled and said: "This place is full of masterpieces by famous artists, so I don't want to do the same thing."

"Your Highness is too humble. Who doesn't know that Your Highness has mastered the Six Classics and is proficient in poetry. He is actually a great Confucian scholar in the world!" An accompanying gentry named Liu Mu flattered.

The most prominent family in Xuzhou is undoubtedly the Liu family in Pengcheng, which claims that its ancestor is Liu Bang. It is also said that Liu Xiang, Liu Yu and others are from this family.

After being rebuilt in the Song Dynasty, the Yanzi Building has changed several owners. The current owner of the Yanzi Building is Liu Mu.

Ju Ming smiled without saying anything and walked straight out of the yellow hall.

He suddenly looked back and found that Bai Juyi was also included in the main couplet at the door. He couldn't help but ask: "Who made this couplet?"

Yu Wenchang said: "It was created by Liang Yanshen, the prefect of Xuzhou during the Chongning period. His grandfather and uncle were both champions of the Song Dynasty. His father Liang Shi was also a capable minister. He changed the old bad government and made Shandong's iron smelting industry unprecedentedly prosperous. Di Qing was able to do what he did back then. Privy Council envoy, it was Liang Shi who was behind the scenes."

Ju Ming complained: "This couplet is suitable to be hung in the Yanzi Tower, but it should not be hung here in the Huangtang, at least it should not be used as the main couplet at the gate of the Huangtang."

"Your Highness, please leave a couplet!" the officials and gentry nearby said one after another.

Literary officials quickly brought pens, inks, paper and inkstones.

Zhu Ming took up his pen and searched his guts for a while, and wrote down a couplet written by Yongzheng: With the heart of heaven in mind, he wears clothes at night and eats at night, and enjoys the happiness of the people with a harmonious nature and a happy mood.

"good!"

"Your Highness truly loves the people like a son."

"This couplet hangs in Huanglou, it can be said that they complement each other perfectly!"

"..."

For a time, there was a flood of flattery.

The scholars in the periphery also began to praise enthusiastically when they heard the content of the couplet.

When Ju Ming strode back to the car, Yu Wenchang whispered to the officials beside him: "Please ask a famous seal carver to carve the couplets of the prince. The couplets of the prefect Liang need to be moved to another place."

"Yes!" The official immediately went to arrange the matter.

The next place is the Yanzi Building. This building was destroyed in the Five Dynasties. Now this building is rebuilt and is not far from the government office.

Including Su Shi's former residence next door, all were sold to local wealthy businessmen.

Zhu Ming went to take a look around. There was no Guan Panpan or Ma Panpan, but there was Chu Panpan, who was called by the wealthy businessman Liu Mu to sing.

As soon as I heard the name, I knew it was arty.

Yuwen often listened to the ditty and whispered to Ju Ming: "The imperial court is no longer allowed to keep official prostitutes, and they are being abolished one after another in various places. A few advocate excellence, but most are hired by wealthy households. This Chu Panpan used to be an official prostitute in Xuzhou."

From the central government to the local government, official prostitutes were supported by finance at all levels. How could the Ming court have so much money?

They were immediately laid off, but the prostitutes and musicians had no other way to make a living. Those who were famous could work for wealthy businessmen, while those who were not famous had a very difficult life.

No matter what, there will no longer be relevant yamen in the new dynasty, and officials will have to pay for themselves if they want to have fun.

After eating and listening to music at Yanzilou, Ju Ming went straight to the south of the city.

Xiang Yu's horse stage was long gone, and the officials temporarily cleared an earthen stage on the mountainside.

Next to it is Taitou Temple, which is said to have been built by Liu Yu.

Ju Ming asked: "How many monks are there in the temple?"

Yu Wenchang said quickly: "The unruly people have been ordered to return to secular life, and 80% of the temple fields at the foot of the mountain have been confiscated to accommodate the refugees. Today, there are only more than a hundred monks left in Taitou Temple."

"very good."

Ju Ming nodded and went to visit other scenic spots on the mountain.

Unexpectedly, two temples were discovered one after another. After Zhu Ming inquired, he learned that they were both founded in the Song Dynasty. He said directly: "Taitou Temple is an ancient temple, so it can be preserved. The other two temples were completely demolished, and the monks were transferred to Taitou Temple to pray for Buddha. They were demolished. Behind the temple, its stone and wood materials can be converted into an academy.”

"Yes!" Yu Wenchang didn't care.

Ju Ming asked for pen and ink, inscribed the words "Nanshan Academy", and asked: "Will local rich people donate money to build an academy?"

"The common people are willing to donate a thousand guan!" Liu Mu immediately agreed.

"I'll donate three hundred guan!"

"I, the Zhang family, donated five hundred guan!"

"..."

In a few minutes, there was more than enough money to build the academy, and even famous scholars from Xuzhou were willing to teach for free.

The academy to which the prince of the dynasty had inscribed his name would become famous all over the world in the future, and all capable people would want to join in and get involved.

As for the destruction of the temple, there are ready-made ways to deal with those Buddha statues.

Buddha statues that are intact and have provenance will be transferred to other temples. If there are any damaged or ordinary Buddha statues, dig a hole and bury them directly.

Archaeologists of later generations often dug large pits from the Song Dynasty, and piles of Buddha statues were buried in them. The reason is that with the rise of New Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, temples were often destroyed. Or maybe the temple has insufficient funds and cannot repair the damaged Buddha statues, so they keep digging holes and burying them.

Ju Ming sat on the earth platform halfway up the mountain, watched Xuzhou's new army, and practiced some military formations. Today's activities are almost over.

We ate at Yanzilou at noon and had vegetarian meals at Taitou Temple in the evening.

During the fast, local scholars took out poems one after another, hoping to show off their talents in front of the prince.

Unfortunately, the quality of the poems is average.

With the change of old and new dynasties, truly talented scholars have either become officials long ago or passed the Jinshi examination this year.

Since entering Beijing, Fu Zhirou has been working as a secretary and accompanying Ju Ming. This man, with just one poem, crushed all the Xuzhou scholars.

A scholar couldn't help but ask: "I wonder which of the great people in the world is next to Your Highness?"

Fu Zhirou cupped his hands and said, "I dare not call you everyone, Luoyang Fu Zhirou."

"It turns out to be the Eight Horses of Luoyang, the direct grandson of the wealthy Zheng Gong!" The person who knew the goods immediately exclaimed.

Fu Zhirou smiled and said: "The name of the Eight Horses cannot be true, it is just far-fetched. My literary talents are not as good as those of His Royal Highness."

So everyone asked Ju Ming to leave an article.

Ju Ming came to Xuzhou to inspect the iron smelting yards and military factories. Today's visit was purely for relaxation. In line with the original intention of saving Chinese cultural treasures, the prince shamelessly copied another poem——

"In ancient Xuzhou, all the heroes were defeated. I thought of the iron armor with heavy pupils, the sweat and blood of Wu Zi, and the jade tents were empty. Eight thousand soldiers of Chu Ge were scattered, and the dream souls were not expected to reach the east of the Yangtze River. The Yellow River is like a belt in the sky, and the chaotic mountains are turning around. Yunlong.

Autumn wind blows from the Han Mausoleum, and grains of millet fill Guanzhong. The horse stage is deserted, the thrushes are far away, and the swallow tower is empty. A hundred years of life is like a message, and you can drink a thousand minutes in one drink. Looking back at the deserted city and the setting sun, I lean on the column to send off the flying star. "

After finishing the poem, Fu Zhirou immediately recited it, which shocked the whole place into silence.

If Prince Zhu left his calligraphy treasure all the way to Shandong, it is estimated that many legends will be left in Shandong, and various stories will be made up of the messy food.