Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The rainy season in the Hanzhong Basin is two months later than that in the Yangtze River Basin.

It is the beginning of the seventh lunar month, corn has begun to pollinate, and the rice will be harvested in another twenty days.

Zhu Guoxiang got dressed and got up. Happy words were posted on the wall.

Shen Yourong was still sleeping. He was so sleepy that he didn't get up early for the first time.

Dean Zhu has been widowed for ten years and has never had any problems with his style. His physical condition improved after time travel. He spent most of the night eating meat.

While brushing my teeth, I happened to bump into Grandma Yan.

Mrs. Yan smiled with a smile on her face and praised: "Young people have good physical strength."

"Uh... ok."

This very common sentence made Zhu Guoxiang quite embarrassed.

Shen Yourong was still very reserved and couldn't stand Dean Zhu's fierceness. He screamed very loudly in the second half, so don't count on the sound insulation effect of this shabby thatched hut.

Shen Yourong didn't get dressed until it was almost time to eat. Blushing all the time, he lowered his head and didn't dare to see anyone, just eating in silence.

After breakfast, Zhu Guoxiang took Bai Qi out and came to the newly built village school.

It is said to be a village school, just a few huts.

There are exactly ten students, the oldest is 11 years old and the youngest is only 6 years old. Even if Zhu Guoxiang was exempted from the restrictions, the villagers were reluctant to send their children because children as young as several years old could already help cut the grass.

Among these students, there are only two who are not descendants of the Bai family and their clan.

After waiting for a while, he found that there was one less student. Zhu Guoxiang asked: "Where is Bai Zhen?"

A little kid raised his hand: "Baizhen is sick."

Zhu Guoxiang was too lazy to ask more questions and said, "If you don't want to learn Chinese calligraphy this morning, follow me to the mountains to learn farming."

Hearing this, the nine children cheered.

Followed by a string of little monkeys, Zhu Guoxiang walked up the mountain. When he came to the cornfield, there were already many tenants waiting there.

Zhu Guoxiang said loudly to the tenants: "Humans are divided into men and women, animals are divided into male and female, and these crops are also divided into male and female. Do you see the top of the corn stalk? The one that blooms is the man, and the pollen is the man's seed. The one spinning below is the woman. When pollen falls on the flower silk, even if a man has sex with a woman, it will produce food. Do you understand?"

"understood!"

The tenants laughed as they talked. A few middle-aged women laughed very loudly, while the young women blushed and remained silent.

Zhu Guoxiang continued: "The pollination of corn usually depends on the wind. But we don't plant much. We all rely on the wind to be the matchmaker. Some men can't get a wife, and some women can't marry a man. So, we plant Those who grow crops should be matchmakers at this time.”

The tenants all understood such a popular description and found it particularly interesting.

Zhu Guoxiang called the leaders of these tenant farmers: "Zeng Da, I may have to move away next year. You have a good brain. You must remember what I said today. If anyone doesn't understand next year, you have to teach them."

"I remember!"

Zeng Da was very excited, thinking that he had become Zhu Xianggong's first disciple.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Even if you plant a lot of corn and there is enough wind, if the weather is particularly hot, you still have to rely on people to pollinate the corn. Well... it's like I can't stand the heat and I don't have the heart to do that with a woman at night." "

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Everyone laughed again when they heard this, and Zeng Da also turned to look at his wife.

Really, there is no need to recite it deliberately, everyone present remembers it firmly. It’s just that the weather is too hot, people don’t want to eat, and corn doesn’t want to eat either.

Zhu Guoxiang added: "This man, the couple likes to do things at night, but Corn likes to do things in the morning. Two or three quarters of an hour in the morning and two or three quarters of an hour in Si hour are the times when Corn is most willing to have a bridal chamber. If you want to get more grain, you should Come and matchmake the corn at this time. The wedding period is not long, only seven or eight days. If you miss the auspicious day of the zodiac, the corn will not be able to give birth to a baby."

The nine primary school students looked at Teacher Zhu blankly. They half understood what he was saying.

Zhu Guoxiang made twenty homemade powder takers, made of bamboo poles, wooden boards and linen bags. He first demonstrated how to take the powder, and then distributed the powder taker to everyone, supervising and teaching them step by step.

After the tenants had finished collecting the pollen from the land, Zhu Guoxiang began to teach again: "These are pollen, these are pollen sacs, and these are husks. When we use corn as matchmaker, we only need pollen and nothing else. Bring the sieve and put the pollen Sieve to remove excess debris.”

The tenants studied very seriously, which was related to their future food and clothing.

After sifting the pollen, Zhu Guoxiang took out his homemade pollinator.

This thing is made of a bamboo tube with several small holes cut out, and the pollen is scattered out by shaking it. During pollination, part of the filaments must also be cut off. Zhu Guoxiang said while pollinating: "It's not easy to be a matchmaker on rainy days. You usually go to guests, and you won't go out on rainy days. For corn pollination, you should choose a good weather and let the matchmaker get married."

After all the tenants have learned it, go to another small piece of land and repeat all the processes just now.

It was not until he confirmed that the tenants had complete control that Zhu Guoxiang left the pollinator and pollinator, and warned: "Remember, the wedding period is only seven or eight days. Come here every morning to match the corn, preferably between the second quarter of the hour and the second quarter of the sixth hour!"

"I remember!" the tenants shouted.

Zhu Guoxiang said with a smile: "You guys should be busy, there is no need to send me down the mountain."

As the representative of the tenants, Zeng Da still sent Zhu Guoxiang down the mountain. He had already declared himself the eldest disciple of Zhu Xianggong.

Back at the village school, the students were sent home and had to come back to continue their classes in the afternoon.

Bai Zui and several cousins ​​skipped out of school and went back to report to his grandfather about the morning's lessons.

Bai Zongwang asked: "What did you learn today?"

Bai Zui replied: "Sir, take us up the mountain to make matchmakers for corn."

"Being a matchmaker?" Bai Zongwang was a little confused.

Bai Zui explained: "It's just that Corn is getting married, and we have to be matchmakers for Corn."

The old white member seemed to...understand.

He sent his grandson away, called the steward's son Lu An, and said, "You don't have to do anything else these days. Go to the mountain to see how the tenants serve the corn."

"yes!"

Lu An has been learning farming from Zhu Guoxiang and is almost becoming an expert in rice farming.

The days passed, and in a blink of an eye it was the rice harvest time.

The whole village was busy, with joy and trepidation. Because the autumn harvest is coming, it means it’s time to deliver the autumn grain.

The official tax in summer and autumn is actually not that much, only about 10% (calculated based on fields), and farmers can afford it.

What I am really afraid of is the exorbitant levies of miscellaneous taxes, which are always levied together with the grain and tax. Miscellaneous taxes are often several times the regular tax!

In today's Song Dynasty, the fire is cooking oil and the flowers are blooming.

The Hehuang area has expanded thousands of miles, Xixia has been suppressed, and the Liao Kingdom is gradually declining. The ministers in the court sang hymns loudly, saying that the Song Dynasty had entered a peaceful and prosperous era.

Since the Song Dynasty was so glorious, the officials should also enjoy it.

This year, the Palace of Preservation and Harmony was newly built in the palace, with a total of seventy-five rooms, which were built to a magnificent level. Various collections of classics and history were moved to the Baohe Hall for collection. Song Huizong also searched for literature, calligraphy and paintings across the country. So many new houses have to be filled, right?

Baohe Palace is nothing, and the new Yanfu Palace was completed this year.

The area is not large, smaller than the original palace.

It was probably the size of the imperial palace in the Northern Song Dynasty, almost doubled. What a prosperous time!

Since it was a prosperous age, the old rituals of the Tang Dynasty could no longer be used, as they were not worthy of the unique temperament of the Song Dynasty. Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty wrote the text himself and handed it over to the Etiquette Bureau for improvement. The Kaiyuan Rites were abolished and the court switched to the Five Rites of the Song Dynasty Zhenghe.

The palace has been expanded, the etiquette and laws have been revised, and corresponding status supporting equipment must be provided.

Song Huizong was summoned by Taishang Laojun in a dream. Laojun sat in the palace and said to Song Huizong: "You obey the destiny and should revitalize our religion."

So Song Huizong issued an edict to search for Taoist scriptures across the country. He wanted to establish a Taoist school and compile "History of Taoism". I don’t know if there is a person named Huang Shang among the staff who wrote the "Nine Yin Manual" while fishing at work.

In addition, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty also ordered that Taoist priests in the world should be given professional titles.

The professional titles of Taoist priests are being drafted, and there will be 26 Taoist levels and 26 Taoist officials.

A wild Taoist named Wang Laozhi didn't even have an ultimatum. He was originally just a Shandong civil servant. He claimed to have been taught by Zhongli, and was recruited to the capital by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty. First, he was given the title "Anchor of Anbo", and then "Mr. Dongwei". He was given a mansion to be Cai Jing's neighbor. At that time, there was an endless stream of important officials coming to visit him.

In addition, Dingzhou was upgraded to Zhongshan Prefecture, Suzhou was upgraded to Pingjiang Prefecture, and Runzhou was upgraded to Zhenjiang Prefecture. This was the beginning of Huizong's rise to the state. The more prefecture-level administrative districts there are, the richer the world will be!

At its peak, the Northern Song Dynasty had 37 prefectures across the country, 22 of which were promoted by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty. The number of palaces he built alone was more than that of the other emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty combined. Apart from sounding more beautiful and increasing administrative expenses, it seems... of no use.

All the people in the world, bathe in the divine grace, live happily and peacefully.

The people of Shangbai Village are also very happy. The government actually does not collect taxes owed in previous years. This year, there are a few more miscellaneous signs inexplicably.

For example, for beef tendon, seven families from the fifth class households must contribute one piece, while each family from the fourth class family must contribute one piece. If there is no beef tendon, it can be converted into money, and it is said that it will be sent to the northwest to make bows and arrows.

After the rice was dried and returned to the warehouse, Lu An happily came to report: "Master, the field planted by Mr. Zhu (about 0.4 acres) produced 154 kilograms of millet (not rice) this year!"

"How much was it last year?" Bai Zongwang asked.

Lu An replied: "Less than 120 pounds."

In ancient times, when calculating the yield per mu of rice fields, sometimes it was "how many stones the rice produced" and sometimes "how many stones the grain produced".

Calculated based on unhusked rice, the paddy field yield per mu in the Song Dynasty was roughly as follows: 100 catties per mu in the Yellow River Basin, 200 catties in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, 300 catties in the Huainan region, 300-360 catties in eastern Zhejiang and Fujian, and 540-630 catties in the Taihu Lake area.

The rice yield per mu in Hanzhong is comparable to that in Huainan and eastern Zhejiang.

"It's really magical!"

Bai Zongwang was overjoyed when he heard this. The rice field cultivated under Zhu Guoxiang's command was less than half an acre, and he could harvest more than thirty kilograms of millet, which is equivalent to an increase of seventy kilograms per mu!

Member Lao Bai couldn't sit still any longer and asked, "When will the corn on the mountain be harvested?"

Lu An replied: "The seeds have already set. Zhu Xianggong said that the tender corn can be boiled and eaten. But I am afraid it will take another twenty days before harvesting."

"Then I'll wait." Bai Zongwang was a little excited.

Less than twenty days later, Lu An came back to report that the corn harvest in several fields had begun.

Bai Zongwang took Bai Dalang up the mountain on a sliding pole.

I saw many tenant farmers breaking corn in the fields and carrying baskets to their homes.

This is a high-yielding variety that is resistant to insects and drought. The corn yields large and plump crops.

Zhu Guoxiang was supervising from the side. When he saw the Bai family and his son coming, he clasped his fists and bowed: "I'm fine, old man, I'm fine, sir!"

After the father and son returned the gift, they couldn't wait to know the production volume.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "It has not been dried yet, and it has not been threshed. We have to wait for a few more days."

The tenants hung the harvested corn under the eaves or put it on the ground to dry. A few days later, they began to peel the corn kernels happily, and they could already feel the high yield of this thing.

Zhu Guoxiang grabbed a handful of corn kernels and thought of what his son said.

If it can really mutate, the seeds will not degenerate...

After a few days, the corn kernels are dried.

The Bai family and his son went up the mountain again, and they also brought a large scale. One basket after another was weighed, the total was 584 kilograms!

Alas, the yield is so low without chemical fertilizers.

Zhu Guoxiang felt sorry for this. Even if the corn seeds he brought were planted in barren mountainous areas, if there were chemical fertilizers, he could easily harvest nearly a thousand kilograms.

Bai Zongwang's eyes widened and he asked, "Ms. Zhu, how many acres of corn have you planted?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The total is more than one acre."

Bai Zongwang asked again: "With such a high yield of corn, can we only plant corn instead of sweet potatoes and beans?"

Zhu Guoxiang explained: "Beans are used to supplement corn, and sweet potatoes can also produce high yields. If all corn is planted, the fertility will not be enough, and the planting will be too dense, and the yield will be reduced."

"What a pity." Bai Zongwang sighed.

Bai Dalang said: "Dad, it's a pity. We have just planted more than one acre of corn, which is almost as much as two acres of rice."

Zhu Guoxiang was worried about the deterioration of the seeds and vaccinated them in advance: "Corn is an overseas product. If we plant it next year, the soil and water may not be suitable for it, and the yield per mu will drop to two to three hundred kilograms."

"It doesn't matter two to three hundred pounds, it's more cost-effective than growing corn!" Bai Dalang said excitedly, he was very serious about this matter.

"Hurry up and help me up." Bai Zongwang said.

Bai Dalang and Lu An quickly helped Mr. Bai stand up.

Bai Zongwang bowed and saluted: "On behalf of the people, I have thanked Mr. Zhu. Can you sell this corn to me for 100 kilograms of seed?"

Zhu Guoxiang said with a smile: "Lu Tixue wants to send thirty kilograms to him. Xiangzhi County wants to send ten kilograms to him. Every villager in this village sells some, totaling twenty kilograms. If you want to buy outside the old man's house, you can only buy it this year. Fifty kilograms. I want to transport the rest back to Daming Village."

"Fifty pounds is fine. How many acres can we plant?" Bai Zongwang asked.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "When selecting seeds, you should choose those with full grains. If you select 50 pounds of corn seeds, according to this intercropping method, you should be able to sow more than 30 acres of land."

It is enough to plant thirty acres of corn. Bai Zongwang said: "I will use three hundred kilograms of rice to exchange for these fifty kilograms of corn!"

"Okay." Zhu Guoxiang didn't say anything. He also wanted to promote corn as soon as possible.

News of the corn harvest spread throughout Shangbai Village in just a few days.

There was an endless stream of villagers coming to change crops, so Zhu Guoxiang simply increased the amount and gave the villagers a total of forty kilograms of corn. He repeatedly warned that when selecting seeds, we should select the best from the best, and do not choose inferior seeds that will affect the next generation.

When Old Bai looked at the fifty kilograms of corn he had brought home, he felt that the glorious era of the Bai family was coming.

There are not many paddy fields here, but there are many mountains. If all of them were planted with corn...

Zhu Guoxiang's prestige has never been higher. He is now walking in the village. When the villagers see him, they immediately give way and wait respectfully for him to pass. Moreover, they all come from the heart and are not forced at all.

The story Zhu Ming made up was also remembered by the villagers again.

The villagers firmly believe that corn is planted by immortals from overseas. Zhu Xianggong must have met the immortals!