Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Sizhou City (Wuchuan County).

This place was first established as a state in the fourth year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty. After five hundred years of operation, it still refused to accept the king's rule. However, it was heavily influenced by Han culture and customs - merchants from Dongting Lake often came to do business, and criminal Han people also came to hide and avoid trouble. .

At least one-third of the people inside and outside the city can communicate in Chinese.

"Zhao Yu and Zhong Youzhi wrote to me, asking me to join the Ming Dynasty. I must also go to Tokyo to donate soil in person," Tian Yougong asked, "What do you think, my nephew?"

Xia Dajun said: "Go."

Tian Yougong worriedly said: "When Li Bao conquered Kuizhou, he sent people to ask me to submit. If I delay it for a few years, will Emperor Zhu feel unhappy and design to lure me to the capital to kill me, and then send troops to annex Sizhou?"

Xia Dajun didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "The governor is too worried. The Ming Dynasty is already in the middle of the Central Plains, so he will not resort to such despicable methods."

"Then please ask my nephew to accompany me." Tian You said respectfully.

"You should obey your orders." Xia Dajun said with his hands in hand.

Xia Dajun was born into a prominent family in Hunan, and his father also served as a Imperial College student.

At that time, the party struggle was fierce. Since Taixue had been reformed by Wang Anshi, it was not taken seriously when the new party was in power. His father graduated from Taixue and was unable to become an official, and he really couldn't pass the imperial examination, so he traveled around and met Tian Yougong, who was also young.

Later, Song Huizong summoned Tian Yougong and discussed it with Xia Dajun and his son.

Tian Yougong made Song Huizong very happy based on the explanation given by the Xia family and his son. Not only was he promoted on the spot, but Xia Dajun also became a Baozhou literature (dismissed official in vain).

Xia Dajun spent money to run the business again and got a job as the chief bookkeeper of Fengjie.

When Li Bao marched into Kuizhou, Xia Dajun felt that his integrity was not guaranteed and he was unwilling to succumb to the thieves, so he quickly resigned and returned to his hometown. Xia Dajun now regrets this choice, otherwise he would at least have been a county magistrate in the new dynasty.

What is even more tragic is that less than a year after Xia Dajun returned to his hometown, Prime Minister Zhong started a rebellion in Hunan.

Xia Dajun's whole family was killed and he fled in embarrassment to seek refuge with Tian Yougong.

"My nephew knows etiquette, what should I do specifically? Is it the same as when he voted for Song Dynasty last time?" Tian Yougong asked.

Xia Dajun described the specific process: "Sizhou is subordinate to Qianzhou. You should present the map and household registration and ask the magistrate of Qianzhou to submit it to the court. At the same time, in the presentation, you should praise the emperor's merits, review your own mistakes, and request to go to Beijing to see the emperor in person." I heard that the prince has great martial arts skills, so I should praise the prince’s martial virtues.”

Tian Yougong understood: "It's almost the same as when he voted for Song Dynasty, except this time he has to flatter the prince."

"Of course." Xia Dajun smiled.

Tian Yougong said: "If you present the watch, your nephew will write it for you."

"It's just a little effort." Xia Dajun was also very happy. If I persuade the Tian family to donate soil, they will most likely be appreciated, and the revitalization of the family will depend on this.

When Tian was preparing to go to the capital to present his land, the Dali envoy had already arrived in the capital.

The chief envoy Li Boxiang and the deputy envoy Huang Jian brought with them 420 tribute horses, as well as musk, bezoars, homespun cloth, swords and other items.

There are more than 300 people in the entire mission, and it is mainly manpower-consuming to take care of the horses along the way.

"Compared to ten years ago, has Kaifeng changed?" Huang Jian asked.

Li Boxiang looked up at the city gate and then looked at the streets outside the city: "At that time, the Song Emperor was still in charge of the country, but now it has become the Ming Dynasty. I don't know how many ministers I made friends with back then. Bianliang is still prosperous, and there are more beggars than before. There are even fewer... Hey, how come there aren’t any beggars?”

Of course he was escorted to Hehuang Shibian!

The patrol troops inside and outside Tokyo were classified as sergeants during the Song Dynasty. Now they have been officially established, and even their names have been changed to patrol officers.

One of the duties of the patrol is to arrest those who beg on the streets during patrol. This is not a big credit, as it prevents the patrol from arresting people randomly.

The real achievement is to capture the disabled beggar, which may lead to solving the case of harvesting and cutting.

"Why are all the horses brought to the street?" A patrolman rushed over.

The Chengdu official responsible for leading them to Beijing quickly explained: "These are tribute horses presented by Dali."

But the patrolman said: "Hundreds of tribute horses can't go out on the street together. This will completely block the street and make it very dirty by peeing and pooping everywhere. You drove all the tribute horses to the suburbs and I will report it to the Sifang Pavilion." Lu Temple will contact Taipu Temple. When the time comes, the two temples will send people over together, and the tribute horse will be taken directly to Tiansi Prison for feeding."

"Thank you, this officer." The petty official from Chengdu did not dare to offend the patrol police in the capital, so he obeyed his arrangements honestly.

That night, they stayed at the Daxiangguo Temple because the Sifang Pavilion had been occupied by the heroes who had returned to Beijing to receive the title.

Honglu Temple makes statistics and estimates of tributes, and reports them to the Ministry of Rites to confirm the gift list.

Basically, the reward will be based on the market price in Tokyo. The Ming court will not suffer any loss, and the envoys from foreign countries can make a fortune by transporting it back.

At night, an official from Honglu Temple came to him and asked, "Do you understand the etiquette of meeting people?"

Li Boxiang said: "Ten years ago, I came to Tokyo and met with the then Emperor of Song Dynasty."

"As long as you understand the etiquette, prepare well and enter the palace to meet the saint tomorrow," the official said.

Li Boxiang was quite surprised: "So fast?"

The official explained: "In two days, there will be a grand ceremony for the canonization of heroes. After you meet His Majesty, you can follow him to watch the ceremony."

"So that's it," Li Boxiang inquired. "On the way here, I heard that the prince of the Chinese Dynasty won another battle. But there are different opinions on the outcome of the battle. Can you clear up our doubts?"

The official said proudly: "The rumors are not that outrageous. In the two battlefields in Hebei and Shanxi, as well as the cross-sea battle in Shandong, a total of 20,000 to 30,000 Jin soldiers were killed and captured. In addition, more than 100,000 puppet troops were killed, captured, and surrendered. There are tens of thousands of people from the Jin Kingdom in Liaodong who cannot bear the tyranny of the Jin people, and their whole families have defected to our great tomorrow."

Li Boxiang exclaimed: "The Prince of the Ming Dynasty is extremely virtuous!"

One of the official's duties is to brag to the envoys from the foreign countries: "You, the southwestern foreign countries, can't even defeat the Song soldiers. The Song soldiers are not as good as the Liao soldiers, and the Liao soldiers are not as good as the Jin soldiers. But my soldiers of tomorrow can." Sweeping the army of the Jin Kingdom. Let’s just say that Xixia actually peeked into our Han Dynasty and was defeated by my Ming Dynasty’s partial army. The Emperor of Xixia even worshiped my Ming Emperor as his father. Two days ago, he ignored the etiquette of diplomatic relations and sent a eldest daughter. "

"The Xixia envoy is also in the temple?" Li Boxiang asked.

The official pointed behind him: "In the courtyard next to yours, Yun Er and others can interact freely."

"Thank you for your understanding." Li Boxiang bowed quickly.

After waiting for the officials of Honglu Temple to leave, Li Boxiang became worried: "In the past few years, the Song soldiers surrounded and suppressed Prince Zhu, and the Duke of China (Gao Liangcheng) also sent troops. I am afraid that they have already angered the Ming emperors and ministers. Now, they are as powerful as Xixia and Jin. Surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, one was defeated by the Ming Dynasty. Will the Ming Dynasty raise troops to attack Dali?"

"Since we are allowed to come to Beijing to have an audience, I think we can forget the past." Huang Jian comforted himself.

The two discussed for a while and then went next door to visit the Xixia envoy.

The Xixia envoys were frequent visitors to Tokyo, but the Dali envoys rarely came to Tokyo. In the past, tribute trade was completed in Lizhou.

Li Renli came as an envoy again. He warmly received the two Dali envoys. After some pleasantries, he asked curiously: "I wonder where the Dali Kingdom is? Is it the Nanzhao Kingdom in the "Book of Tang"?"

Li Boxiang deliberately exaggerated when he answered: "There used to be six imperial edicts in the south, and Nanzhao was just one of them. Today's Dali Kingdom has all the land of the six imperial edicts, and it is not comparable to the Nanzhao Kingdom."

"I see." Li Renli was really interested in foreign countries. "I wonder what the customs are in Dali. Will the King of Dali live a long life this year?"

Li Boxiang said: "We in Dali advocate Buddhism, and all the kings of Dali have the ancient tradition of abdication. When the king gets old, he either abdicates the throne to the prince, or abdicates the throne to a worthy minister, and then ordains and becomes a monk to practice Buddhism."

Li Renli exclaimed: "This is a Buddhist country of true benevolence and righteousness!"

This was very much in line with Li Renli's taste. He believed in both Buddhism and Confucianism.

The king of Dali abdicated and then practiced Buddhism. He was simply a saint in Li Renli's mind!

Li Boxiang was filled with bitterness in his heart. If he were not forced by the situation, the King of Dali would have chosen to abdicate and become a monk if his brain was kicked by a donkey.

Fortunately, other countries did not understand the situation. They only knew that King Dali abdicated and made way for his successor, which gave the envoys more room to play.

Ten years ago, they met with Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty and were asked about relevant issues. The Dali envoy also made the same remarks. At that time, Song Huizong was inexplicably moved.

A similar plot also happened in the early Northern Song Dynasty.

Zhao Kuangyin heard that the Japanese emperors were "one line for all generations", and immediately thought of the chaos of the Five Dynasties. He really had mixed feelings, and he repeatedly praised Japan as a benevolent emperor and loyal ministers.

Li Renli began to exchange Buddhism with Li Boxiang and found that there were many differences in Buddhism between the two countries.

They quickly agreed to ask the king for instructions after returning and send monks to each other for friendly Buddhist exchanges.

Then he continued to brag.

Li Boxiang said: "Our country of Dali has 400,000 soldiers. All the barbarians are in submission and willing to obey the teachings. However, the kings of all dynasties are benevolent kings, and the barbarians will not punish them unless they are guilty. Therefore, the people under the rule enjoy peace for a long time. In the capital of our country, merchants from all over the world gather and disperse, discussing The prosperity is only slightly inferior to Kaifeng."

It's so prosperous. Last year, most of the houses in the capital city of Dali were burned down, and Duan Yu's palace was almost set on fire.

Li Renli also said: "Although our Daxia is located in a remote place, we have countless heroes and famous people, and there are 500,000 people who can control strings. The barbarians in the surrounding vassal countries all benefit from your majesty's kindness. The merchants of the Western Regions and the Ming Dynasty must all follow my Daxia Going back and forth to do business. When it comes to Buddhism, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty sent eminent monks many times to my country in Daxia to seek Buddhist scriptures!"

The two men were bragging to each other and chatting happily for a while. They both felt that they had earned face for their country.

In a room next to her, there was a girl lying on the window sill, looking at the moon to pass the time.

Li Qianshun had no sisters or daughters of the right age, so he chose a clan girl and couldn't wait to send her to Kaifeng to ask for marriage.

This is not in line with diplomatic etiquette and is very disrespectful.

But Li Qianshun just used this opportunity to show his weakness by embarrassing himself, so that the Ming army would not attack Xixia, so that he could gain a few years of secret development.

At least, they have to wait until a group of children grow up to fifteen or sixteen years old, then Xixia will have enough soldiers.

Xixia has always been shameless in its diplomacy. Li Qianshun originally wanted to marry the Liao Kingdom, but he shamelessly sent envoys every year to ask for the marriage of a noble daughter of the Liao Kingdom.

It is estimated that the Emperor of Liao was upset and finally agreed to make one of his eldest daughters a princess and marry Li Qianshun as the Queen of Xixia - that is Yelu Nanxian.

Li Renli returned to the house drunk, and the girl couldn't help shouting: "Daddy!"

"Why are you still not sleeping?" Li Renli staggered over and scolded, "Remember, you are now the Princess of Daxia and the daughter of His Majesty the Emperor of Daxia. You and I can no longer treat each other as father and daughter!"

The girl was unhappy, silent for a few seconds and then asked: "Will Emperor Ming agree to a marriage between the two countries?"

Li Renli said: "Princess Daxia has been sent to Kaifeng, and the Emperor of Ming Dynasty must agree. Prince Zhu is a hero of the world, and marrying Prince Zhu now is a perfect match. Stop thinking about it and go to bed and rest."

The girl still couldn't be happy and closed the window silently.