Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Great court meeting.

Ju Ming asked the Minister of Rites by name: "Why does Ding You need three years?"

Huan Guo replied: "It's not three years, but twenty-seven months. On the first anniversary of the death of parents, a filial son should hold a small auspicious sacrifice in the next month. On the second anniversary of a parent's death, a filial son should hold a great auspicious sacrifice in the next month. After that, every other month In the first month of the month, the observance ceremony will be held, and the system will end after a total of twenty-seven months."

Ju Ming asked again: "What is Xiaoxiang's sacrifice like?"

Huan Guo replied: "A filial son can gradually remove his mourning clothes and put on auspicious clothes. Only after Xiaoxiang has passed, a filial son can eat fruits and vegetables."

Ju Ming asked again: "What is the Daxiang Festival like?"

Huan Guo replied: "After Daxiang, filial sons can eat soy sauce, vinegar and other condiments."

Ju Ming suddenly sat upright and asked: "In other words, only on the first anniversary of the death of parents can a filial son eat fruits and vegetables; on the second anniversary of the death of his parents, a filial son can add condiments to the meal."

Huan Guodao: "Yes."

Zhu Ming glanced at the ministers: "Among you, some of you have Ding You's fault. Who has strictly followed the etiquette and not exceeded the rules in the slightest? If so, please stand up and I will reward you heavily!"

The ministers looked at each other, but no one dared to stand up.

What age is it?

How could you strictly abide by that kind of etiquette?

No fruits and vegetables for one year, no sauce, vinegar and other condiments for two years. Not to mention whether you can hold it in with your mouth, the filial son’s body can’t hold it in either!

Even if he is truly a filial son, he will at most refrain from eating meat or other fishy food during the period of mourning.

At this moment, if anyone dares to stand up and claim that he strictly observes formal mourning, he will definitely become the target of public criticism.

Maybe one day, an acquaintance or neighbor will spread the news that this person ate vegetables while in mourning.

By that time, it doesn't matter whether you are filial or not, but you have committed the crime of deceiving the emperor!

Ju Ming asked: "Since you don't abide by the etiquette, then why are you worried? Why are you mourning?"

The ministers could not answer.

There was silence in the court hall for a long time. Prime Minister Zhai Ruwen stood up and came out holding the wat board: "Your Majesty, etiquette is nothing but love. Times have changed, and customs have also changed. Some of the ancient etiquette are out of date now. For example, in the former Song Dynasty As in the current dynasty, the system has been reformed, and the subjects only need to mourn for the king for twenty-seven days, which is beneficial to the country and the people."

"good!"

Ju Ming immediately praised: "From now on, official Ding You will only have to mourn for twenty-seven days, and will not have to mourn for twenty-seven months."

Huan Guodao: "The king is the lord of the world, so he can replace the sun with the moon. The ministers must not do this. It is really arrogant."

Zhu Ming was too lazy to bother and changed his words: "The minister will use the month to represent the year. One month after the death of the parents, the sacrifice of Xiaoxiang will be performed. Two months after the death of the parents, the sacrifice of Daxiang will be performed. One day in between, it can be removed. That is to say. , the time for officials to return home is set to be two months and two days."

The ministers looked at the emperor, not knowing how to retort.

They were tricked by the emperor!

Because it was impossible for all officials to strictly observe etiquette during Ding You, we came to the conclusion that funeral ceremonies could be reformed.

Who dares to say that it cannot be changed? With the character of the emperor in front of him, it is estimated that if the parents of the official who said this are dead, the emperor will directly send officials to watch the whole process.

You have to observe etiquette, right?

It can't be reformed, right?

Then you should be honest and stop eating fruits and vegetables for one year and all kinds of condiments for two years. The supervisor lives in your home and watches you eat every day to see how long you can bear it!

So, this thing can be changed.

Since it can be changed, the emperor has the final say.

The Minister of Rites said that officials cannot be the same as the emperor. The emperor has already made a compromise, so what else can be refuted?

Moreover, the emperor insisted on reforming the mourning time, and the officials implemented it without being suspected of being unfilial.

Since he won't be criticized for being unfilial, who would want to delay it for three years?

The ministers actually want to change it, but they can't say it out loud. With the emperor taking the blame, they just accepted it.

Ju Ming made a decision: "From today onwards, whenever there is an official who needs Ding You. Not counting the time spent on the way back and forth, from the day when he returns home and puts on mourning clothes, the mourning period only takes two months and two days."

"My parents have died, and I am definitely in a bad mood. I can rest for a while. Two months and two days will be spent in mourning, and the remaining twenty days will be for rest and relaxation. After three months, I can return to Beijing to report to the Ministry of Civil Affairs."

"If you are busy with official duties, you don't need to take a rest. You can return when the mourning period is over."

"Who still objects?"

Naturally, no one objects, but it is inconvenient to say that His Majesty is wise.

The ministers all stared at each other, standing and sitting there stupidly.

Ju Ming also said: "Bai Chongyan, the governor of Henan Province, has made outstanding contributions. His father is also a sage who has made great contributions to the country and was awarded the title of Tongyi Doctor (fourth grade)."

Only then did the ministers realize that it was Bai Chongyan's father who died.

Although it was an excuse to carry out Ding You's reforms, the ministers still had a new understanding of Bai Chongyan. Although this person has been a local official, he has always been simple in the heart of the emperor. He must not be offended in the future.

…

Bai Sheng received an errand to go to Shangbai Village, Xixiang County on behalf of the Supreme Emperor, the Supreme Empress and the Emperor to express condolences to Lao Bai.

By the way, to convey the imperial edict, the tomb of Lao Bai Yuanwai can be built on the scale of a fourth-rank official.

In addition, Bai Erlang was serving as governor in Japan, and Ju Ming directly asked him not to come back.

Bai Sheng still has a month's leave to repair the tombs of his parents. There is no need to expand the ancestral home for the time being. We will wait until one of the useless sons grows up. If he cannot become an official, he will be thrown back to his hometown to guard the ancestral home.

Bai Sheng took the Han River, upstream from Xiangyang to Xixiang County.

The officials along the way were very enthusiastic and wanted to take the opportunity to please the guard commander.

By the way, Bai Sheng also had a title this time, and he got a count without doing anything.

The fleet first docked in Daming Township. The dock here became more and more lively, but the population was not as good as when Zhu Cunzhang was there.

Because many families have moved out, more than a hundred prominent people have emerged in Daming Township, which developed from Daming Village.

The ones with the highest official positions are Zhang Guangdao and Liang Yi. The former is now the Duke of the country, and the latter is in charge of the Tongzhengyuan.

There are also many generals and middle- and high-level officers who, no matter how bad they are, can still lead hundreds of soldiers. This kind of ability is too poor and they are gradually eliminated by the army. Moreover, when they are older and middle-aged, they are thrown into various places. An officer of the garrison. There are also some who have transferred to the Cao Army system to become officers.

Bai Sheng walked around the town and couldn't find many familiar faces.

Suddenly, a middle-aged landowner came with his wife and children to greet him: "Zhang Lin, a small citizen, pays homage to General Bai... Bai."

Bai Sheng laughed loudly, took the man's hand and said: "Zhang San, your majesty still remembers you and asked me to bring you two pieces of Zhang Rong. This Zhang Rong is a good thing. It is rare even in the capital. It's rich." You may not even be able to buy it!”

"Your Majesty is so kind to me!" Zhang Lin was so excited that he wiped away tears.

Zhang Lin was the shop assistant who originally sold rice to the Zhu family and his son. Although he did not receive any official position or title, he did receive a tea mountain, a tea-making workshop in Daming Township from the father and son, and 30 acres of paddy field in Daming Village.

Bai Sheng glanced at Zhang Lin's children, nodded and praised: "You have many children and many blessings."

Zhang Lin said: "Thanks to your majesty, I have a son who is studying in the county school. When he is older, he will be sent to Yangzhou Academy. Chief Min Shan has promised to accept him a long time ago, and he may be able to pass the Jinshi examination in the future."

Yangzhou has long been changed to Yangxian, but the name of the academy has not changed.

Bai Sheng asked: "Is the academy still the same as the previous head of Min Shan?"

Zhang Lin shook his head and said: "It was no longer the case a long time ago. Now this is the nephew of the old mountain chief."

Bai Sheng and his entourage were all led home by Zhang Lin.

Observing carefully along the way, Bai Sheng said: "This Daming Township is even richer."

Zhang Lin introduced the situation and said: "There are actually fewer villagers. Those who are doing well have moved their families to other places and even sold their land in their hometowns. There are also some poor mountain people. I heard that the taxes are not that high after the dynasty changes, and The fields can be divided as soon as we go down the mountain. If they didn't come out of the mountains spontaneously, I wouldn't be able to recruit all the tenants and tea workers."

"I see that the dock is more prosperous than before." Bai Sheng said.

Zhang Lin smiled and said: "The tax cards along the way have been cancelled, and the number of merchant ships plying the Han River has increased. This is also the land of Longxing. Merchants like to stop at Daming Township, saying that they can make a fortune with a little luck. The inn in the town will be given by His Majesty. I gave it to Mr. Tian, ​​and the inn is often occupied by businessmen."

Bai Sheng suddenly thought of Tian Er: "I haven't seen that guy Tian Er for a long time."

Zhang Lin said: "Tian Erye works as a military quartermaster and has moved to Huzhou for many years. He came back the year before last to repair the ancestral graves and left. This inn is run by his son."

We had a meal at Zhang Lin's house at noon, and Tian Er's son and daughter-in-law also came to visit.

In the afternoon, Bai Sheng rushed to climb the mountain excitedly, wanting to see the Heifeng Village back then.

The large waterwheel built by Zhu Guoxiang is still there and needs to be maintained and renovated every year. But after Bai Sheng climbed up the mountain, he found that Heifeng Village had long been abandoned, and the houses where the Zhu family and his son lived were in decay.

There is land at the foot of the mountain, so who would go and live in the mountain?

Even those mountain residents who have moved here in recent years have been allocated sloping land where they can grow corn, and they can also do some farming.

On the contrary, the mountainside of Heifeng Village is covered with large tung oil trees.

At the beginning of the war, the rattan armor was still soaked in the tung oil produced here, but now it has completely turned into a cash crop.

Bai Sheng visited the ruins of Heifeng Village and was very interested at first, telling the story of the past to his entourage. As I talked, my interest waned, and it was difficult to see many of my acquaintances at that time.

When going down the mountain, Bai Sheng pointed to the tung oil forest and asked, "Whose forests belong to them?"

Zhang Lin replied: "In the past, it all belonged to the Supreme Emperor and His Majesty. The Supreme Emperor issued a message and distributed it to the nearby villagers who had not left. Every household has a share, and the pruned branches can be used as firewood. The tea mountains downstream are also divided, and now It was renamed Jubao Mountain. I heard that it was there that your Majesty encountered the Cornucopia of Divine Horses."

"Hahahaha, that is indeed a divine horse. It even kicked me back then." Bai Sheng laughed.

When Bai Sheng came back this time, he had another secret mission, which was to deal with the BMW car in the mountains.

All that could be dismantled were dismantled and brought back to the capital. If they couldn't be dismantled, they were burned. Anyway, those things would have been difficult to function in ancient times.