Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

"My child has not been home for a long time. Today he comes with his wife to say hello to his father and mother!"

Bai Qi and his wife Zhang knelt down and kowtowed.

Such respect was not an act, Bai Qi had no impression of his biological father. Ever since he could remember when he was six or seven years old, Zhu Guoxiang has been playing the role of father.

Except for the two years when he was teasing Song Huizong in Tokyo, Zhu Guoxiang always took Bai Qi with him to teach him.

Both father and teacher.

"Get up quickly," Shen Yourong picked up his son and looked at him happily. "We haven't seen him for a few years. My son has grown taller again and is more powerful and stronger than before."

Bai Qi had a silly smile on his face and stood there letting his mother touch him.

Shen Yourong looked at Mrs. Zhang again and said with approval, "Dignified and generous, you are indeed a good match for my son."

Madam Zhang said another blessing: "My daughter has met her aunt!"

Shen Yourong took his daughter-in-law's hand and put a pair of bracelets on her as a gift for this meeting.

The four of them were doing household chores in the garden, when Zhu Yan jumped over and said, "Second brother, you have come to the capital!"

The relationship between the two brothers and sisters is much closer than that of Ju Ming.

Bai Qi touched the top of his sister's head: "I asked the potter from Lujiao Village to make you a set of twelve zodiac signs. They are all vivid little toys."

"Thank you, second brother. But I have grown up and no longer play with those little toys." Zhu Yan took out the wooden fifth-level magic cube. "I am smart. I can restore the fifth-level magic cube in the blink of an eye."

"I know you are smart," Bai Qi laughed, "This is your sister-in-law."

Zhu Yan immediately became dignified, and like a little grown-up, she gave the Wanfu salute to Mrs. Zhang: "Sister-in-law, Wanfu!"

Mrs. Zhang quickly returned the gift and took out the gift at the same time.

Everyone was admiring the scenery in the garden. Zhu Guoxiang asked: "How is Hunan? Can the remaining Manichaeism still behave?"

Bai Qi said: "Hunan has been riddled with holes. The people all want stability and are busy restoring production and living. Even if there are some remnants of Manichaeism who are unwilling to fail and want to cause chaos, they can't make any waves."

"That's exactly the reason." Zhu Guoxiang nodded.

Bai Qi added: "Haier also went to appease the leaders of the Wuxi Barbarians and Miao Yao and Dong tribes, and discussed with the Chief Secretary of Hunan Province. No matter which tribe the Han barbarians are, land taxes must be paid outside the mountains and in the valleys, and the barren land on the mountains does not have to pay land taxes. . And based on the current population of each tribe, the amount of their annual tribute will be calculated. In the future, even if the population increases, they will not pay more. All tribes will obey this and are willing to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty."

"Very well done," Zhu Guoxiang asked again, "Have you asked the leaders of various ethnic groups to send their children to study in Han Dynasty?"

Bai Qi replied: "It has been sent. The leaders of various tribes are also very happy to enable their children to read and learn."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "When Hunan's people's livelihood recovers a little, thousands more soldiers and horses will be trained. Firstly, to prevent the various ethnic groups from causing rebellion, and secondly, to prepare for the future conquest of the barbarians in the southwest. These newly trained soldiers and horses can absorb warriors from all ethnic groups. Serve as soldiers, train them for three to five years, then let them return to their respective tribes, and then recruit a new group of barbarians."

"The barbarian soldiers will be replaced every three to five years?" Bai Qi didn't understand for a while.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "It is of little use to let the children of leaders of various ethnic groups study as protons. The real intention is to promote enlightenment. The same is true for recruiting barbarian soldiers. After serving as soldiers in the Han area for several years, they will definitely learn to speak Chinese. Every time there is no need If there are too many recruits, a tribe can send a dozen people to join the army. If things go on like this, barbarians who can speak Chinese will continue to come home, and in a few decades there will be many barbarians who can speak Chinese."

Bai Qi said: "My child understands."

"We must always warn Han soldiers not to bully those barbarian soldiers. After becoming Ming soldiers, they are all brothers." Zhu Guoxiang added.

"Kid, remember this." Bai Qi listened carefully.

Zhu Guoxiang continued: "We must also encourage intermarriage among all ethnic groups, especially in the border areas between Han and barbarians. Local officials can give some rewards to intermarriage families. As long as it does not violate national laws, the customs of all ethnic groups should be respected, even if it violates moral ethics, don't bother . I will send official documents to all levels of government in Hunan regarding these matters, and you should also remember them."

"Yes!" Bai Qi stood up straight.

Zhu Guoxiang smiled and said: "Don't be formal, just chat casually. Is there anything unusual about the Sizhou Tian family?"

Bai Qi said: "It seems to be loose, and the trade route to Yuanzhou has been opened."

"The trade route from Sizhou to Qianzhou has also been opened." Zhu Guoxiang was like criticizing a disobedient child. "This Tian Yougong has been talking like a lion. I asked Zhao Yu, Minister of the Ministry of War, to write a letter to him personally. If he does not submit to the imperial court, he will be punished. Troops are being mobilized!”

Tian's ancestral home is in Jingzhao. During the Tang Dynasty, he went south to do business and settled down, and soon established a foothold among the barbarians.

During the Daguan period of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, Tian Yougong presented land to the court and became a minister, and Sizhou was officially established in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Tian Yougong showed great loyalty and actively sent troops to suppress the rebellion. Because of his repeated military exploits, he was promoted to the military and horse supervisor of Chengdu Fulu Road. He was also in charge of inspections on Chengdu Fulu and Lizhou Roads, and was ordered to lead troops to station in Lizhou.

This guy was afraid that if he stayed away from his territory for a long time, Sizhou would be infiltrated and annexed by the imperial court, so he resigned and returned to his hometown on the pretext of taking care of his mother.

If Tian Yougong had not resigned, this would have been the leader of the Song army that Ju Ming encountered when he marched south from Hanzhong to Sichuan!

By helping the Song Dynasty fight, the Sizhou Tian family rose in official position and expanded their territory. It has occupied Youyang, Xiushan, Wuchuan, Dejiang, Tongren, Zhenyuan, Sansui, Cengong and other places in later generations.

After Li Bao captured Kuizhou, he sent people to recruit the Tian family to surrender, but received no reply.

After killing Prime Minister Zhong last year, Tian Yougong finally relented and began to allow Ming merchants to enter his territory. At the same time, he sent people to contact Ming officials in Qianzhou.

However, this man was extremely arrogant and wanted to resume his official positions in the Northern Song Dynasty - martial arts doctor, Rongzhou governor, Zhongzhou regiment training envoy, Guizhou defense envoy, and Sizhou border inspection.

Among these duties, only Sizhou border inspection is a real duty, and the others are all empty titles that highlight one's status.

The Ming court can give it to you, but you can’t ask for it!

Zhao Yu, Minister of the Ministry of War, and Zhong Youzhi of the Zhong family were both Tian Yougong's old bosses.

They wrote together this year to promote the Ming army's great victories in Hebei and Shanxi, and to advise Tian Yougong to come to Kaifeng in person immediately to offer his land as a vassal.

If you don't go to Beijing in person, you will be waiting to be conquered from now on.

Bai Qi asked: "The entire south of Sichuan and the west of Hunan are all Jisu counties in the Song Dynasty, and many of them are not even Jisu. Will they have to be pacified and conquered in the future?"

"Use both recruitment and suppression to immigrate and educate!"

Ju Ming's voice suddenly came.

Bai Qi quickly turned around and bowed: "Greetings to brother, hello to sister-in-law!"

"Brother, sister-in-law." Zhu Yan also shouted with a smile.

Ju Ming patted the girl on the shoulder and said: "We should lead a large army to build a government in Juzhou (Guizhou) and immigrate 300,000 Han people to make it happen."

"Three hundred thousand?" Bai Qi was speechless.

Why was Guizhou able to establish itself as a province in the Ming Dynasty and then gradually change its land and return it to its current status?

The foundation is that during the Zhu Yuanzhang period, 300,000 soldiers and civilians were allowed to stay there directly.

The descendants of these soldiers and civilians thrived around the city. The Han population became more and more large, and assimilated and influenced all local ethnic groups, they finally gained a foothold step by step.

Guiyang and surrounding areas are a typical example. It continued to develop until the Zhengde and Jiajing dynasties, and the Han population finally reached the standard of returning to their native land. Taking advantage of the chieftain rebellion as an opportunity, after suppressing the rebellion, they established counties around Guiyang.

China's vast territory was not picked up in vain. It was acquired by the ancestors of all dynasties, and the roads and blue strands were opened up by the mountains and forests.

The Ming Dynasty conquered Jiaozhi but could not stand. The fundamental reason was that the Han population in Guangxi and Yunnan at that time was too small. The imperial court was unable to effectively mobilize the resources of chieftains of various ethnic groups. Once a rebellion broke out in Jiaozhi, the military forces and logistics that the imperial court could mobilize would be stretched thin. If repeated forcible suppression will consume money, food and troops, it will easily trigger chain rebellions in Yunnan and Guangxi!

Ju Ming said: "After the Jin Kingdom and Xixia are pacified, the conflict between people and land in Sichuan is expected to become more serious. At that time, Hunan and Sichuan will send troops together. After Juzhou is captured, the grain transporters and soldiers will stay in Juzhou. The fields will be divided and cultivated. They established a residence and settled down, then brought in their families, and then they thrived in the local area.”

"There is a lot of miasma in Juzhou, so many people may die from illness." Bai Qi could not imagine how many of the 300,000 soldiers and civilians could survive.

Ju Ming said: "Many doctors have been dispatched from Guangdong and Guangxi to study the prevention and treatment of miasma. Miasma is not a witchcraft ghost, but one or more diseases!"

Bai Qi sighed sincerely: "My brother's ambition is beyond my reach."

Zhu Ming put his arm around Bai Qi's shoulder: "If you are willing, from now on you can lead your troops to conquer Dali and conquer all the lands in Qianzhou."

At this time, Qianzhou was located in Pengshui. Later, large areas of Guizhou land were nominally controlled by Qianzhou.

Bai Qi was shocked when he heard this, and immediately expressed his position: "Although I can't go north to conquer the Jin Kingdom and Xixia, if I can help my father and brother conquer the southwest, it will not be a waste of time for me to come to this world!"

"When the time comes, I will make you the King of Dali and guard the southwest for the country for generations." Ju Ming didn't know what trespassing meant.

As soon as these words came out, Shen Yourong, Zhang Jinping and Mr. Zhang changed their expressions and quickly looked at Zhu Guoxiang, who was still the emperor.

Bai Qi was also stunned and subconsciously looked at the emperor.

Zhu Guoxiang laughed: "The prince's words will count."

Bai Qi did not dare to continue discussing the matter, fearing that his father and brother would have conflicts because of it, so he changed the subject and said, "But there is no cornucopia."

Ju Ming smiled and said: "That guy is kept in the Tiansi Prison, and is accompanied by many mares. If you miss him, go out of the city in the afternoon. The pasture is in the northwest suburbs outside the city."

"I must go and visit. I really miss it. I used to feed it beans when I was a kid," Bai Qi said.

Ju Ming said: "When there are enough horses in Tiansi Prison, we will guide the young people in Tokyo to play polo. As long as you play polo well, your riding skills will not be bad, and then you can recruit them into the army to practice and fight."

Bai Qi asked: "Brother, do you still want to drink Ma Mobei?"

Ju Ming smiled and said: "I also want to drink from Beihai and see where Su Wu grazes."

"The land of the North Sea is fascinating." Bai Qi agreed.

If these words were heard by civil servants in the DPRK and China, they would inevitably worry about resorting to militarism.

In Mobei, even with the power of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty, they were able to bring the entire country to financial ruin.

That is definitely a civil servant’s nightmare!