Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

"I will pay my respects to the prince!"

Ten miles outside Jinan City, all Shandong military and political officials came to greet him.

The chief envoy to the left of Shandong was Zhang Shuye, and the chief envoy to the right was Ling Guxu.

Li Hanzhang, an old friend who went to Beijing for the imperial examination with Ju Ming, had the highest official position as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, followed by Ling Guxu as the right governor of Shandong.

Min Zishun is now the inspector-general of Henan (the next step is to be promoted to the right governor), and Bai Chongyan is the prefect of Hangzhou (the next step is to be transferred back to Kaifeng as the prefect).

The northern provinces have implemented a total military system.

The commander-in-chief of Shanxi is Zhang Guangdao, the commander-in-chief of Hebei is Guan Sheng, the commander-in-chief of Shandong is Deng Chun, and the commander-in-chief of Shaanxi is Yang Zhi.

These positions of commander-in-chief are all excessive. They will be transferred back to the Generalissimo's Office in the next few years and the positions of commander-in-chief will be given to other frontline generals. This approach not only promoted them to official positions, but also gave other generals more room for improvement.

For example, Li Bao, after returning from Fujian, directly entered the Generalissimo's Mansion and was only sent out to command the troops during wars.

Ju Ming called several civil and military officials on board the boat. As for the other third-level officials from the provinces, prefectures and counties, they all followed him by boat to Jinan.

This place used to be called Qizhou, and was promoted to Jinan Prefecture during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty.

In the Ming Dynasty, Jinan Prefecture annexed Zizhou and Dezhou, and the administrative area was much larger than before.

"Is Li Cheng still obedient?" Zhu Ming asked the military officer.

Deng Chun said: "This man is very disrespectful to his superiors, but he is very good to his soldiers. The troops in his hands have both good and bad military discipline."

"Good and bad?" Zhu Ming didn't understand.

Deng Chun explained: "A group of refugees and deserters were trained by him to be able to use orders and prohibitions. But last year, Shandong was short of food and occasionally defaulted on food payments. Li Chenggong led his troops to extort gentry and merchants. However, they only extorted wealthy households and did not Don’t attack the poor people. After the food and salary were enough this year, the ministry has never violated the rules again.”

"You didn't punish this person? Didn't you break up his troops and mix them up?" Ju Ming asked.

Deng Chun said: "The Jin people are in the north and may fight at any time. Li Cheng's old troops are quite capable of fighting. If they are broken up and reorganized, it will weaken their combat power. Moreover, it was the imperial court who defaulted on food and wages first, and Li Cheng led the troops to extort wealth. If the household is behind, he will lose military morale to a certain extent if he is punished with this. Therefore, I just dismissed the old and weak, leaving all the elite behind."

Ju Ming didn't express his position anymore. He was somewhat resentful of Li Cheng.

After all, in history, this man was the first general of the Puppet Qi Dynasty, and he had been playing tricks on the Jin Kingdom.

He is a very complicated man who loves his soldiers as much as his sons. He only eats when the soldiers have eaten, and he is hungry even when the soldiers have not eaten.

He was most likely forced to rebel against the Southern Song Dynasty and plundered Jiangnan in order to obtain food and grass. This was extremely common in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty. A large number of miscellaneous troops lacked logistical supplies and could only plunder, kill, and steal goods. They even came to the city to force the county magistrate to provide food.

Li Cheng was classified as a "thief" by the court because he made too much trouble and was too close to the core area of ​​the Southern Song Dynasty. He repeatedly looted.

The above experiences are all excusable.

What is unforgivable is that after betraying the Song Dynasty and joining the Jin Dynasty, this guy acted too aggressively in order to make meritorious deeds. He took the initiative to lead the Jin soldiers southward and beat a bunch of Southern Song generals to the point of losing their temper. In the end, Yue Fei had to take action to defeat him.

"Let's use it for the time being. Any further violations will be dealt with seriously," Zhu Ming asked Zhang Shuye again, "Does Shandong have enough food this year?"

Zhang Shuye replied: "It is barely enough without a war. If we go to Hebei to fight, we will need Huainan and Zhejiang to supply food and grass. During the Song Dynasty, Shandong was exploited excessively, and there have been many wars in recent years. We need to stop the army for at least ten years." Only then can you regain your strength.”

"It will be easier if we destroy the Jin Kingdom." Ju Ming said.

Zhang Shuye was hesitant to speak, and finally couldn't help but speak: "The former Duke Yansheng also came to pay homage this time, and he is on the boat behind him now. It has been more than a year since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, but I have not yet given the title to the Kong family. Sir, there has been no response to my previous request for a seal."

"It's almost time, let them wait." Ju Ming said.

The father and son had long discussed matters concerning the Kong family, and had also learned in detail about the situation of the Kong family in the Northern Song Dynasty. They decided to wait for a year and a half before talking about it.

The attitude of the Northern Song Dynasty towards the Confucius was to give preferential treatment while taking precautions, and their status was far inferior to that of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Usually, their treatment is as follows: they are granted the title of Holy Duke, initially appointed as a ninth-grade Beijing official, initially awarded as a prefecture magistrate, county lieutenant or county chief registrar, and can be promoted normally based on political performance.

Moreover, since Song Yingzong, Duke Yan Sheng could not serve as the magistrate of Xianyuan (Qufu). Even during the reign of Emperor Zhezong, Duke Yansheng was changed to Duke Sheng, who dedicated his time to worshiping Confucius in the temple. He only sent officials with salary but not dispatched officials, which further weakened the influence of the Confucius family.

This was the imperial court of the Northern Song Dynasty guarding against the Confucius family and preventing the Confucius family from monopolizing control of Xianyuan (Qufu).

But after Song Huizong succeeded to the throne, all kinds of restrictions were broken. Not only was the title of Duke Yansheng restored, but he could also serve as the magistrate of Xianyuan County. I don’t know what this faint king thought.

Zhang Shuye said in a low voice: "Your Highness, the old and new dynasties have changed, the doctrines of various schools are confused, and the minds of scholars are uncertain. We should canonize the Kong family as soon as possible. Even if we want to suppress them, we should give a clear explanation."

Ju Ming smiled and asked, "How should Mr. Zhang treat the Kong family?"

Zhang Shuye said: "Restore the treatment to the Zhezong Dynasty. That is, Yanshenggong was changed to Fengshenggong, and he was awarded a ninth-grade Beijing official to worship Confucius full-time. He was not allowed to hold other official positions. Neither the chief registrar nor the county captain could be dispatched. Give it, otherwise Xianyuan County will be ruled by the Kong family sooner or later."

"A good idea," Ju Ming said approvingly. "Do officials at all levels in Shandong, as well as civil servants, have any objections to this?"

Zhang Shuye asked in confusion: "What objections can officials and scholars have to the imperial decree?"

Ju Ming suddenly realized that it was the father and son who were overthinking it.

Before Confucianism became completely dogmatic, scholars did not have such unlimited admiration for Confucius.

This situation was most obvious in the Zhezong Dynasty, which was not even willing to give officials the official positions of chief registrar and county captain, so they could just go and worship Confucius. Of course, this also proves that the Kong family is not very disciplined, and their control over Xianyuan County has become serious enough to alarm the court.

Ju Ming asked again: "What title does Confucius have now?"

Zhang Shuye replied: "The most holy King Wenxuan."

Ju Ming asked again: "What is the title of Emperor Zhou?"

Zhang Shuye said: "King Zhou."

Ju Ming asked again: "Is Confucius a minister of Zhou?"

"Of course." Zhang Shuye said.

Zhu Ming sighed: "Professing Confucius as King Wenxuan and making the king and his ministers treat each other as equals is really setting Confucius up for disloyalty! If I want to restore Confucius' innocence, can I cut off his title as king?"

Zhang Shuye was stunned and praised: "It should be so."

When Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty consecrated Mount Tai, he planned to confer the title of Emperor Confucius on him. At that time, the ministers strongly opposed it. The reason was that the Emperor of Zhou was only the king of Zhou, and it was too presumptuous for Confucius to proclaim himself emperor.

Ju Ming asked again: "Is there a statue of Confucius in the Xianyuan Confucius Temple?"

Zhang Shuye replied: "There is no statue, but there is a portrait carved on a wooden board. According to the Kong family, this portrait has been carved for more than a hundred years and is copied from the sword portrait painted by Wu Daozi in the Tang Dynasty."

"It was copied from a portrait in the Tang Dynasty, so how do you know it is the true face of Confucius?" Zhu Ming said, "Scholars all over the world worship Confucius, and Confucius temples must not enshrine statues or portraits. Who knows who the painting is? From now on, Only the God of Confucius (tablet) is allowed to be worshiped in the Confucius Temple.”

"It should be so." Zhang Shuye couldn't find any reason to refute this.

"You are the Chief Envoy of Shandong. Please report this matter to the court," Zhu Ming said. "The Holy Saint King Wenxuan will be changed to the Holy Master from now on. Yan Sheng Gong will be changed to Feng Sheng Gong from now on. You can only offer sacrifices to others." Real duty. Brother Ling Gu, you also signed the memorial."

"yes!"

Zhang Shuye and Ling Guxu responded in unison.

Immediately, Zhang Shuye said: "If Confucius removes his title of king, the titles of the other two people should also be removed."

Ju Ming asked: "Which two?"

Zhang Shuye replied: "One is Jiang Taigong in the Martial Arts Temple, and the other is Wang Linchuan (Wang Anshi) in the Confucian Temple. Confucius lost his title as king, but the two of them have titles. This really shouldn't happen."

Ju Ming thought seriously and said: "These two should be demoted to dukes. Wang Linchuan's ranking in the Confucian Temple should also be moved back. You and I should write them in the memorial together, so don't be afraid of offending anyone."

In fact, regarding the matter of sacrifice, the father and son planned to destroy the Kingdom of Jin before talking about it.

Due to the Northern Song Dynasty emperor's canonization of gods, there were a lot of legal gods in the country. There are ten or twenty sea gods alone, and merchants and fishermen often offer sacrifices repeatedly for fear of accidentally offending any one.

Zhu Yuanzhang gave an example of what to do specifically, which was to canonize some gods and ban all other gods.

Of course, Ju Ming has no control over what the future emperor will do.

For example, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered that only Confucius be worshiped in Qufu. As a result, only a few decades later, Confucius temples were built all over the country. The emperors of the Ming Dynasty did not care about the laws of their ancestors.

Ju Ming added: "You will write another memorial to the court, please change Xianyuan County back to Qufu County."

"yes!"

Zhang Shuye and Ling Guxu responded again.

This bad name was changed when Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty was enshrining Mount Tai. He thought it was the hometown of the Yellow Emperor, so he changed its name to "Xianyuan". They even forcibly moved Qufu County and the people inside and outside the city collectively to Shouqiu, the birthplace of the Yellow Emperor, which was a waste of people and money and had no actual value.

The fleet arrived at Jinan Fucheng. After entering through Shuimen, Ju Ming went straight to the hotel to stay.

Officials at all levels were ordered to disperse and do what they were supposed to do. Only Yanshenggong Kong Duanyou was summoned.

Kong Duanyou was brought into the hotel by the prince's guards. He felt a little uneasy because the situation was too strange and he thought that the Kong family had offended the Ming Dynasty.

Before the separation of the Northern and Southern Confucian families, the Qufu Confucian family still had basic ethics.

When the new Ming Dynasty was established, Kong Duanyou did not present his watch immediately, but was still waiting to see the small court in the southeast.

It wasn't until last year, when Li Bao captured Hangzhou, that Kong Duanyou formally offered his support, but the Ming court never gave any attitude.

He, Yanshenggong, has not yet been recognized by the new dynasty, and even Confucius does not dare to worship him this year.

By the way, the Confucius Temple in Qufu during the Northern Song Dynasty often failed to offer sacrifices on time. Because Yanshenggong might be an official in another place and could not leave the place of employment at will, it would be difficult to perform sacrifices without the chief priest.

Confucius in the Northern Song Dynasty was so miserable that even the great sacrifices at Qufu Confucius Temple were interrupted from time to time.

"Your Majesty Kong Duanyou, I would like to pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Sir, please sit down."