Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

winter solstice.

This is a festival as important as New Year's Day, even more than the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Double Ninth Festival.

Heavy snow falls, and everyone celebrates.

In the first two years after Zhu Guoxiang ascended the throne, there were many floods, droughts and locust plagues, but the following years were always smooth.

Except... it's extremely cold.

Frost disasters are frequent and snow disasters are constant.

The temperature, which had been falling continuously since the middle of the Tang Dynasty, has almost reached the bottom, and is only slightly warmer than the late Ming Dynasty.

This cold climate will continue for several decades, and then slowly warm up, returning to the level of the early Northern Song Dynasty.

If Ju Ming succeeds to the throne next year, it will mean that he will become emperor in the coldest time. And his entire career as emperor was in extremely cold weather!

Of course, there are disadvantages but there are advantages in developing the southern region.

The whole of Yunnan, the whole of Guizhou, half of Guangxi, southern Sichuan, southern Jiangxi, the mountains of Guangdong... These places are full of barbarians. The colder the climate, the more suitable it is for Han people to develop.

The snow is still falling outside, and we are eating hot pot around the stove in the house.

There were many people in the royal family, so several pots were placed.

The main reason is that Ju Ming had many wives, concubines, and children. Counting the babies who were still nursing, there were more than ten children.

"Two awards and two words have been given. When do you plan to come for the third one?" Zhu Ming asked while rinsing the mutton.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Before the Lantern Festival next year. Finalize the matter and officially abdicate after the Lantern Festival."

Ju Ming said: "Zhao Ji abdicated the throne and went to Longde Palace to practice Taoism. Where do you plan to live?"

"Move to Shaanxi." Zhu Guoxiang smiled happily.

"Shaanxi?" Zhu Ming was extremely surprised.

Zhu Guoxiang pointed at Li Qingzhao: "This is layman Yi An's suggestion."

Li Qingzhao did not explain directly, but smiled and recited a poem: "Walking to a water-poor place, sit and watch the clouds rise."

Ju Ming gave a thumbs up: "You will still enjoy it."

After Zhu Guoxiang plans to abdicate, he will move to Wang Wei's Wangchuan villa to enjoy life.

It is the spiritual home of countless Chinese literati. Since the prosperous Tang Dynasty, "Wangchuan Villa" has appeared in countless poetry scrolls.

Zhu Guoxiang began to tell his plan:

"I sent someone to inquire two years ago. Wangchuan Villa is dozens of miles away from Chang'an and is located in a mountain valley. There are mountains and rivers, and the scenery is beautiful and stretches for more than 20 miles. There are not many residents in the valley, and it is divided into two parts. A natural village.”

"For villagers who are willing to leave, I can replace their land or give them money to move to the city. And I will give them more land and money to ensure that they will not suffer a loss."

"Villages who are willing to stay can keep some land and serve as tenants to the royal family. I will also build a school there so that children in the village can study for free."

"You allocate some money from the royal family's finances every year. I plan to use ten years to restore Wang Wei's business. By then, you can farm, graze, collect firewood, and fish there..."

Not only did Shen Yourong, Wen Xiaomei, Li Qingzhao, and An Niang listen with great anticipation, but even Ju Ming's wives and concubines had their eyes shining.

Ju Ming concluded: "Wangchuan Royal Summer Resort. If the weather is too hot in the future, I will go there to escape the heat. Don't kick me out then."

"Haha, if you come, I will fish and cook myself." Zhu Guoxiang said with a smile.

When Zhu Guoxiang moved there, eunuchs and maids would be indispensable, and there would also need to be a garrison.

When Zhu Guoxiang dies one day, these personnel can be withdrawn.

He will definitely pass the villa to his son, separate it from the royal family, and the royal garden will become the prince's residence.

Ju Ming said: "Don't be too happy. When we fight again with the Kingdom of Jin, I plan to lead the expedition in person, and then I will let you supervise the country."

"How can the Supreme Emperor supervise the country? This is unreasonable!" Zhu Guoxiang was furious.

Ju Ming said: "I don't feel comfortable leaving it to others, and it would be a burden to bring all the civil and military officials with me. Who else can supervise the country besides you?"

Zhu Guoxiang felt annoyed when he thought about it. He waved his hand and said, "Let's talk about it then."

The conversation between father and son made the wives and concubines dumbfounded.

Throughout the dynasties, fathers and sons have been fighting for the throne, but now these two are actually shirking each other. It seems that the emperor's position is a hot potato.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Guoxiang asked again: "When will the war with the Kingdom of Jin begin?"

"It depends on how long Jin Guo can endure it," Ju Ming said.

This year, the Jin Kingdom only used large-scale troops once, which was to drive the Wanggu tribe back to the north of Daqing Mountain and plunder the Wanggu tribe's population and livestock.

The rest of the time, it's internal counterinsurgency.

The temperature dropped to the point of the Little Ice Age in the valley, and the Jin Kingdom suffered a far greater impact than the Ming Dynasty.

The weather is good here in Ming Dynasty, but it faces frost and snow disasters.

However, the frost and snow disaster caused heavy losses to the Kingdom of Jin.

Think about it, the capital of the Jin Kingdom is in Harbin and its core territory is in the central area of ​​Liaozhong. How cold it is every winter.

The snow melt time has been delayed, and the sowing time of spring wheat and soybeans has also been delayed. However, the rainy season in Northeast China has not changed much.

The spring wheat harvest season coincides with the rainy season...

Nowadays, many Jin farmers have reduced their planting of spring wheat and increased their planting area of ​​soybeans.

In addition, Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zongqian joined forces to reform, although they deprived the powerful commanders of various ethnic groups of their administrative power and further controlled local civil affairs. But this requires the help of gentry from all ethnic groups to exploit the people by replacing them with officials, but they are no less powerful than the handsome men.

At least Haoshuai is from the local tribe and will deliberately protect his base.

But who cares about this?

Many Jin people who could not bear to be exploited fled over the mountains and ridges across the Yalu River and entered the Baozhou area of ​​Goryeo where the Ming Dynasty garrisoned.

There are many Jin Kingdom territories on the south bank of the Yalu River, where Jurchens and Bohai people live.

As time went by, the conflict between the two tribes became more intense because they could not go out to plunder. The Bohai people could not bear the Jurchen oppression and fled to Baozhou, Anzhou, Pyongyang and other places.

The Kingdom of Jin was unable to guard against this because the border was too long and covered all mountains and river valleys.

Last year, the Bohai people on Posu Road rebelled, and the Jin Kingdom sent troops into the mountains to suppress them for three months. In the end, more than a thousand Bohai people helped the elderly and children sneak across the Yalu River and successfully arrived in Baozhou.

This greatly consolidated Ming Dynasty's rule in northern Goryeo!

Because many of the Bohai people who escaped could speak Chinese, and their customs and habits were the same as those of the Han people in the north.

The Jin Kingdom protested many times, hoping that the Ming Dynasty would return the fugitives.

In autumn, the Kingdom of Jin sent envoys over, but they had been ignored by the Zhu family and his son for several months.

…

After the winter solstice, Zhu Guoxiang remembered that he was still an emperor and received the envoys of the Kingdom of Jin who were left to dry out and were about to become moldy.

The envoy of the Jin Kingdom was named Zuo Guangqing, and his tenth generation ancestor was Zuo Hao, the governor of Dizhou in the Later Tang Dynasty. When the Liao Kingdom came to kill him, Zuo Hao surrendered.

Zuo Guangqing's grandfather, Zuo Qigong, was a famous Liao traitor.

Aguda wanted to sell the sixteen states of Yanyun to Song Huizong, but Zuo Qigong firmly opposed it and even wrote a poem: The king should not listen to the proposal of donating to Yan. Every inch of mountains and rivers is worth an inch of gold.

As for Zuo Guangqing himself, he is famous for his calligraphy.

The succession edict bought by Wu Qi, the emperor's seal, and various plaques from the Jin court were all written by Zuo Guangqing.

Zuo Guangqing’s biological father, Zuo Yuan, was the top corrupt official in the Jin Kingdom!

"If you have anything to say, just say it. You should go back when the snow melts in spring." Zhu Guoxiang leaned on his chair, feeling more relaxed.

Zuo Guangqing said: "There are many people who have fled across the border in our country. They are all evil villains. I ask your country to repatriate these people."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The Ming court did not receive the news, perhaps because the border generals were negligent. Since Ming and Jin are friendly countries, I will send people to investigate carefully. If something is true, the fugitives will be returned."

Zuo Guangqing added: "There is also a rebel general named He Cheng. This man claims to have been canonized by the Ming Dynasty and is named 'General Yunzhong'. He gathered bandits to cause trouble in all directions. After being suppressed by our country, Da Jin, he seems to have led He fled into the Ming Dynasty with the remnants of his troops. Please also ask the Ming Dynasty to return this man so that he can be brought to justice!"

"I didn't know there was such a person." Zhu Guoxiang denied it.

The conflicts between the Song and Jin countries began when the Song State took in the traitorous generals of the Jin State.

Now it seems like a cycle of reincarnation, it is the Ming Dynasty's turn to take in the traitorous generals of the Jin Kingdom.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was obviously trying to shirk the situation. Zuo Guangqing was extremely upset and said in a serious tone: "Jin and Ming are already friendly countries. Please ask the Ming Dynasty to return the traitorous generals and fugitives. Otherwise, there may be a danger of war in the long run."

"Poof!"

Zhu Guoxiang, who had been sitting relaxedly, slapped the armrest and sat up straight: "Go back and tell Wu Qimai to learn how to govern the country. I have made the Jin country miserable and rebellions everywhere, but you come here to ask for escapees. It is simply unacceptable. Reasonable! There is no danger of swordsmanship. If he wants to fight, then the two countries will go to war next year!"

Zuo Guangqing panicked and quickly explained: "Your Majesty, this is not what the foreign minister meant..."

"Take it down!"

Zhu Guoxiang interrupted directly: "This person is disrespectful to the Emperor of Heaven. He will be expelled from Sifangguan immediately!"

It was freezing cold and the envoys of the Kingdom of Jin were driven out of the foreign hotel. This was a deliberate insult to the Kingdom of Jin and forced the Kingdom of Jin to take the initiative to tear up the peace treaty.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Zuo Guangqing was shocked and was dragged away by the guards.

Immediately afterwards, the Seljuk envoys Abu and Suleiman, both civil and military, were guided in by the eunuchs.

After the service, Suleiman asked: "Great Peach Blossom Stone Khan, we will leave when spring comes. Is there a decision on the marriage between the royal families of the two countries?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "My daughter is young and I can't bear for her to marry too far away. But I appreciate the kindness of your monarch. I thank him for sending many gifts, and I have prepared a gift in return. One of the gifts in return is The most precious treasure of the Ming Dynasty is difficult for even the nobles of the Ming Dynasty to obtain. Bring it up!"

The eunuch carried a horse of velvet into the palace.

The Seljuk Sultan's gifts were valuable and included two Arabian horses.

Unfortunately, they are all gelded stallions.

Naturally, Daming's return gift cannot be stingy.

How can the Seljuks, who regard silk as their treasure, withstand the temptation of velvet?

Suleiman and Abu both stared straight at the scene.

Suleiman asked with a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, can I touch you?"

"Of course." Zhu Guoxiang smiled.

Suleiman's palm touched the velvet, and the touch instantly made him intoxicated. Even if you close your eyes and touch it back and forth, you feel like you have encountered a treasure in the world.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "There are even better velvets of this kind. If your monarch wants it, you can bring war horses in exchange. You can transport them by land or by sea. The better the war horses, the better the velvet cloth I will give you." Excellent. And don’t let it fall off!”

Suleiman finally opened his eyes: "Your Majesty, I will definitely tell the Sultan."

…

(Please, stop mentioning constitutional monarchy.

Any upper-level system needs the support of the lower-level structure. The only result of establishing a constitutional monarchy in China is a melee between warlords, and finally a new emperor is raised.

It's the same in any country.

England's Cromwell almost succeeded, his son failed because of financial collapse.

In France, Napoleon succeeded.

As for Japan, it has been a family for generations, and its situation is special. )