Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Li Bangyan came to a classroom. It was very open and the beams were very high. He could tell at a glance that it had been renovated into a Buddhist temple.

The Buddha statue has long disappeared, and a large blackboard stands in front of it, imitating Zhu Guoxiang's teaching model in Daming Village.

The teacher was none other than Zhu Yu. His Confucian attainments were not bad. After all, he had passed the exam several times. But it was just okay. He failed every time he took the exam in Beijing, and it became even worse after he gave up the imperial examination.

"I have been corresponding with scholars from the Astronomical Academy. They are formulating the 'Da Ming Calendar'. The 'Da Ming Calendar' is calculated using new astronomical methods. Your Majesty has determined the longitude of Luoyang as the prime meridian of the earth."

"The longitude east of Luoyang, as the longitude goes by, is called a certain degree of east longitude. Vice versa, it is called a certain degree of west longitude."

"The zero-degree latitude is the Earth's equator. This Earth's equator is different from the previous celestial equator, and can be referred to as the 'celestial equator' and the 'terrestrial equator'."

"From today on, I will teach you more advanced astronomy and geography, and I will also teach you methods of measuring longitude and latitude in the future..."

Zhu Yu is already a little old man. He is talking about astronomy and drawing pictures on the blackboard.

Li Bangyan only listened for a few minutes and felt that this person was a great talent.

"As I said before, the earth will rotate on its axis and will also revolve around the sun. Moreover, the earth has a declination when it rotates. This phenomenon has been discovered by Mengxi's father-in-law (Shen Kuo) long ago..."

"Speaking of Mengxi's father-in-law, he is truly a genius through the ages. The prince reformed the Confucian Temple and invited Mengxi's father-in-law to worship in the Confucian Temple. My father and Mengxi's father-in-law were also old acquaintances back then..."

A good astronomy and geography class suddenly turned into storytelling.

The students listening below seemed to have already gotten used to it and knew that Zhu Yu liked to talk about messy things.

And he is full of private goods. When he talks about the new party, he praises him in every possible way, and when he talks about the old party, he is sarcastic.

After chatting with Shen Kuo for more than ten minutes, Zhu Yu forcibly pulled back the teaching content: "When the earth rotates around the sun, it not only has its own declination, but also its orbit is elliptical. This is a guess put forward by His Majesty, and it is temporarily unavailable. It can be proved, but it cannot be falsified, but it can explain many astronomical phenomena. For example, when observing the sun from the earth, it is assumed that the sun is rotating. The sun moves slowly during the vernal equinox and faster after the autumnal equinox."

"The Earth's elliptical revolution and the Earth's declination give the Earth four seasons..."

Li Bangyan originally wanted to chat with Zhu Yu, but now he stood outside the door and listened with interest.

When Emperor Zhu first came up with the heliocentric theory, these knowledge points had not yet been developed, so this was the first time Li Bangyan heard about it.

The students in the classroom were also fascinated by it.

To be able to study at Phoenix Academy, scholars must first be smart, otherwise they will not be able to pass the entrance exam; second, their families must be rich, because tuition, food and accommodation are all very expensive.

If you have leisure, money, are smart and good at studying, and you are still a young person, how could you not like this novel knowledge?

Zhu Yu opened his arms and closed his eyes and said: "Imagine that you are in the universe, with the endless starry sky behind you, and the earth and five stars revolving around the sun in front of you. All things grow and the seasons change, happening right before your eyes. The eternity continues forever. interest……"

The students then closed their eyes and began to imagine the grandeur.

Seeing this situation, Li Bangyan became more determined to donate.

He knows how to ask questions in the examination, and the teaching content of Phoenix Academy in Hangzhou is so advanced that the next imperial examination may produce many Jinshi.

The students here are worthy of political investment!

"Dang-dang-dang!"

The bell rang for the end of get out of class, and Zhu Yu packed up his teaching aids and left slowly.

Some students were still staring at the blackboard and thinking, while others surrounded Zhu Yu. They are like vegetation that has been exposed to cold rain for a long time, and is frantically absorbing water, and that water is astronomical and geographical knowledge.

It wasn't until the teacher came in for the next class that Zhu Yu was finally able to escape.

"My Excellency, Li Guodong, would like to pay my respects to Mr. Zhu!" Li Bangyan bowed respectfully.

Zhu Yu had just raised his hand to return the gift when he suddenly heard the mountain chief Lu Rong say: "This man's original name is Li Bangyan, prime minister of the old Song Dynasty and cabinet minister of the new Ming Dynasty. He has been stripped of his birth certificate and dismissed from all official positions."

Li Bangyan smiled awkwardly: "Chief Lu Shan is very knowledgeable about family treasures."

Zhu Yu was quite surprised and looked at Li Bangyan curiously.

Lu Rong didn't say much, pointed out Li Bangyan's identity, and then turned around to do his own thing.

Li Bangyan said: "I am also a new party."

This sentence instantly brought the relationship between the two of them closer. Zhu Yu had a much better impression of Li Bangyan and said: "When the emperor is in power, how can there be a new party or an old party? There are only treacherous parties."

Li Bangyan said: "The traitorous party is because the foolish emperor needs the traitorous party. Now that the Holy Emperor has come to the throne, naturally there will be no traitorous party. I have always been the New Party and supported reforms. The new dynasty has been reforming for several years since the founding of the country. As a minister, I I have always been supportive.”

"Go to my room and talk." Zhu Yu smiled.

Phoenix Academy has dormitories for teachers and students, which were converted from former monks' dormitories. Even the cafeteria is also a cafeteria for monks.

Li Bangyan walked around admiring the scenery and praised: "It's quiet and quiet, but it's a good place to study."

Zhu Yu returned to his dormitory and put down various items: "If you have anything to do with Mr. Li, just tell me. I have accomplished nothing in the past few decades, but I have been hanging around with all kinds of religions and I rarely make mistakes when judging people. Your Excellency is not seeking knowledge. A man of the Tao, don’t mention anything like visiting here because of your reputation.”

Li Bangyan asked: "I heard that Mr. is very familiar with overseas countries?"

Zhu Yu said: "I know some maritime merchants."

"Is there a Buddhist country overseas? One where the whole country believes in Buddhism." Li Bangyan said.

Zhu Yu said: "Yes. The whole country of Zhenla and Queen Kingdom believe in Buddhism."

"Queen's Kingdom?" Li Bangyan's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Because it is recorded in miscellaneous books of the Tang Dynasty that the Bodhisattvas were the tribute paid by the female barbarians. The "Zizhi Tongjian" also called the Numan Kingdom the Queen Kingdom and Luo Numan.

Zhu Yu said: "To the south of the Dali Kingdom, there are two countries, Bagan and Golden Teeth. To the south of the Golden Teeth Kingdom and to the north of the Zhenla Kingdom is the Queen's Kingdom."

The Kingdom of Bagan was located in the core area of ​​later Myanmar.

The Golden Teeth Kingdom, also called Mengpeng, is a tribal alliance country established by the Dai people. Probably in northeastern Burma and northern Laos, and part of Pu'er in China.

Between the Bagan Kingdom and the Golden Tooth Kingdom, that is, in the mountainous area of ​​northeastern Myanmar, there are still a large number of Shan tribes scattered around. They do not belong to any one country.

The Queen's Kingdom is located in northern Thailand, also known as Lamphun and Halipunchai. The main ethnic group is the Mon, which originated in the southwest of China during the pre-Qin period.

Li Bangyan asked: "Is the Queen's Kingdom close to the sea?"

Zhu Yu replied: "It shouldn't be near the sea."

"Is Zhenla Kingdom close to the sea?" Li Bangyan asked again.

Zhu Yu said: "Zhenla is naturally close to the sea."

Li Bangyan asked: "Are these countries at war?"

Zhu Yu said: "I don't know about other countries, but Champa, Chenla and Annan are often at war. The three kingdoms fight back and forth, and no one can do anything to anyone."

Li Bangyan asked: "Do Champa and Annan believe in Buddhism?"

Zhu Yu said: "Annan governs the country with Confucianism and calls itself Little China in the South of China. However, Champa believes in Brahmanism, a sect imported from India."

In fact, Chenla (Angkor Dynasty) also believed in Hinduism and Buddhism at the same time.

This is similar to Srivijaya, Buddhism is the main belief, and there are a large number of Hindus.

The above information is all Zhu Yu heard from hearsay. He has never been to the sea.

Li Bangyan deliberately catered to him. Although Zhu Yu understood in his heart, he was still put into a happy mood and told everything he knew.

Finally, Li Bangyan also learned some contact information of maritime merchants from Zhu Yu.

Hangzhou maritime merchants mainly engaged in trade with Japan and Korea, and some also ran trade routes in Fujian and Guangdong. They bought specialties from Fujian and Guangdong provinces, as well as some goods from overseas, and shipped them to Zhejiang for sale at a profit.

In last year's major corruption case, the top three Zhejiang maritime merchants were all involved and suffered heavy losses. One family was even confiscated of their property and exiled to the Penghu Islands according to their household registration!

The maritime merchant Li Bangyan found was named Luo. He was one of the top eight merchants and specialized in Fujian and Guangdong business.

He directly gave him a door-to-door gift of 800 guan. The other party was confused and did not dare to accept it, but invited him in very enthusiastically.

Li Bangyan walked with his head held high and had the aura of a superior person.

The official smell on his body was so strong that Luo Congxian did not dare to neglect him anymore. He raised his hands and asked, "I wonder what Mr. Li is doing?"

Li Bangyan said: "I was introduced by Zhu Yu and I want to negotiate a deal with you."

Luo Congxian warned: "My Luo family will not do anything illegal."

"Don't worry, I'm not from the Inspectorate," Li Bangyan said. "I want to buy young and beautiful women from Srivijaya, Chenla or the Queen's Kingdom. It's best if they can play musical instruments and dance. If not, that's not possible. You can buy men who know how to sing and dance. By the way, I also want to buy women’s clothing and accessories from these vassal countries.”

Luo Congxian understood instantly: "Similar to those Silla maids?"

"Of course." Li Bangyan nodded.

Luo Congyan said with a smile: "Goryeo is very close, the women are cheap, and with the ancient reputation of Silla maids, you can naturally make a lot of money. Those women from the vassal country you buy will definitely be expensive because of the long distance, and you can't borrow new ones." Luo Maid’s name. I’m afraid this business won’t last long.”

"I have a clever plan in my mind. Just bring people back to Yuanwai Luo," Li Bangyan reminded, "but don't make too much money, only thin water can flow. Also, don't want those who are too ugly, don't want those who are old, and don't have good figure." You can teach them that dancers are the best."

Luo Congyan thought for a moment and said: "Next time I go to Guangzhou, I can help contact you. As for whether I can buy it, I can't guarantee it."

It's best to get Zhenla women. They often kill them in Champa. It's just to capture a few more female prisoners during robbery.

Moreover, there are many Champa merchants in Guangzhou, so it is convenient to transport goods.

Li Bangyan was not afraid of being robbed of business by maritime merchants, let alone being investigated and punished by the court in the future.

He purchased young exotic women through maritime merchants, and then personally taught these women to sing and dance, and also designed clothing and accessories himself.

In order to reflect the exotic atmosphere, Li Bangyan will also study the music, dance and costumes of these countries.

The last person who appeared in front of the customer was dressed in luxurious and exotic clothes. From a distance, she looked like a female Bodhisattva, and she could sing, dance and enchant people's souls.

He only takes the high-end route!