Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The envoys of the former Song Dynasty described Wang Gou as follows: his eyebrows are sparse, his appearance is short and his appearance is plump, and his flesh is stronger than his bones.

These twelve characters mean "a short man with fine features and plump body, who is feminine and weak and seems to have a short life".

Meat is better than bone, which does not mean that this person is particularly fat.

Rather, it is said that his cheekbones are not prominent, his yin is strong and his yang is weak, his qi and blood are blocked, and he may not live long.

Wang Gou in history could live for another four years.

At a young age, he suddenly suffered from a serious illness, which was difficult to save with medicine and stone, and he died.

At this moment, the king was brought to Bai Chongyan. He is less than 1.6 meters tall, slightly fat, with delicate features, and a timid and angry look.

"Xiao Wang pays homage to the angel!" Wang Gou bowed to him.

The Ming court did not recognize the coup, and had not officially annexed Goryeo. Wang Gou is still the canonized king of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, Bai Chongyan abided by diplomatic etiquette and responded respectfully: "On behalf of His Majesty the Ming Emperor, I would like to send my greetings to His Highness the King of Goryeo."

Wang Gou said: "I am very safe. Long live the Emperor of Heaven!"

Zheng Zhichang also said: "Your Highness is well."

"It's so emotional to meet old friends again after so many years apart." Wang Gou sighed.

Zheng Zhichang used to be the most talented person in Goryeo, and as a representative of the Xijing aristocracy, he had been helping Wang Gou plan to move the capital to Pyongyang, completely breaking away from the control of the southern clans.

Unfortunately, they failed and attracted the Jin soldiers southward, turning Pyongyang into a hell on earth.

Zheng Zhichang wanted to persuade Wang Gou to offer his country, but when the words came to his lips, he didn't know how to speak. He could only say: "Your Highness is safe."

Bai Chongyan also wanted to save face, and it was also inconvenient to say this, so he quietly winked at Jin Yungui.

Jin Yungui immediately understood what he meant: "The king was almost taken away by those nobles. Fortunately, the king understood the general situation and shouted to surrender his country and escape."

As soon as these words came out, the room became quiet.

Wang Gou said at the time that he would surrender to the Ming Dynasty, but after breaking away from the control of the wealthy family, he actually had luck in his heart.

Especially Bai Chongyan's polite treatment made Wang Gou see the hope of continuing to be king.

But Jin Yungui exposed the matter in one sentence, and now he is forcing Wang Gou to make an immediate decision.

The fat little king had a sad expression. He lowered his eyebrows and glanced up quietly, only to see Bai Chongyan standing there with a serious expression.

It's over, this king really can't be made!

If the Ming Dynasty intended to retain Zuo of Goryeo, Bai Chongyan would definitely scold Jin Yungui. But Bai Chongyan didn't speak, obviously waiting for Wang Gou to express his attitude.

Wang Gou looked at Zheng Zhichang again. Zheng Zhichang quickly turned to look at the window. It seemed that the window lattice was particularly beautiful.

He looked at the poor scholars again, and they all bowed their heads and remained silent.

Wang Gou was completely disheartened. Everyone in the room was waiting for him to give up his country.

Without hesitating for long, Wang Gou suddenly said: "Excuse me, where are the golden seal of the King of Goryeo and the edict of the feudal state?"

Bai Chongyan had already prepared it. This thing was found from the Goryeo Palace.

When Wang Gou asked, Bai Chongyan immediately held it out and said hypocritically: "The property returns to its original owner. Please keep it safe for the king."

Keep it safe!

Wang Gou suddenly knelt down towards the west: "Chen Gou is the vassal king of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, his talents are limited and he cannot protect the country and the people. He is often controlled by treacherous ministers. Now that I want to dedicate my country to the Ming Dynasty, I ask the angel to accept it on your behalf." "

Bai Chongyan quickly moved to avoid it and said: "This is an important matter, and it must be done according to etiquette. Please ask the king to summon all the civil and military ministers, prepare a presentation, and act according to etiquette at the great meeting."

Wang Gou smiled awkwardly: "I was rude."

The middle of winter.

Wang Gou, the king of Goryeo, returned to live in the palace and immediately issued a series of orders.

First, declare Zheng Zhongfu and his party to be traitors. However, Li Junyi, Li Yifang and others performed meritorious service and rescued the king, so they can be pardoned. The rest of the rebel soldiers will be pardoned as long as they find their way back.

Second, it was announced that Zheng Zhongfu was supporting a false king, but the prince was coerced and not voluntarily, so it was still the prince who was pardoned. The reforms made by Zheng Zhongfu and the six-ministry system were abolished.

Third, the local nobles headed by the Li family in Quanzhou tried to take advantage of the chaos to kidnap the king, which was really an act of rebellion!

Fourth, reappoint the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs of Goryeo.

Fifth, convene the new civil and military ministers to hold a court meeting.

At the great court meeting, in front of hundreds of officials, Wang Gou personally read out the donation form, dedicating the Kingdom of Goryeo to the Ming Dynasty.

Zheng Zhichang was the real envoy of the Ming Dynasty, accepting the tribute from Goryeo on behalf of the Ming Emperor.

Moreover, Wang Gou was allowed to take all the treasures in the Goryeo Palace to Luoyang for enjoyment. In fact, there was not much left. Except for the valuable gold and silver utensils, the rest were ordinary things in the Ming Dynasty.

As the king of Goryeo, the last edict issued by Wang Gou was to order the people and troops of Goryeo not to resist the Ming army taking over the place.

Anyone who dares to resist the Ming army is a Goryeo traitor!

"Everyone, please."

The snow had just begun to fall, and Zheng Zhichang could not wait to set off.

In addition to Wang Gou's wives and concubines, his three younger brothers and several uncles also went to Luoyang.

Three younger brothers, all monks!

One is the monk of Xuanhua Temple, the other is the abbot of Faquan Temple, and the other does not hold any temple position.

At that time, Li Ziqian supported Wang Gou to succeed him. He not only forced Wang Gou's three younger brothers to become monks, but also closely monitored Wang Gou's ambitious uncles.

For example, Wang Gou's uncle, Prince Wang of Taiyuan, was frightened by Li Ziqian and fled to the south. He hid for nine years before returning to Kaijing.

Wang Kun was only forty years old this year, and he took his family with him to Luoyang with Zheng Zhichang.

When crossing the sea by boat, Wang Kan couldn't help but ask: "Mr. Zheng, can I, the Duke of Taiyuan of Goryeo, still have a title in the Ming Dynasty?"

Zheng Zhichang said: "You are different from the clans of Jin and Xixia. Those are all powerful and guilty. But you have been oppressed by powerful ministers and cannot take the lead in state affairs. Now you are willing to surrender to the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the emperor of Ming Dynasty I will definitely treat you well. I will try my best to intercede with the emperor and give you a viscount or baron. It is unknown whether you can get a real title, but you can at least get a salary from a low-level title. "

"Thank you, Mr. Zheng." Wang Kan breathed a sigh of relief.

After chatting for a while, he got up and returned to his cabin, where he met Prince Qi An in the cabin next door.

Wang Yan asked: "What did he say?"

"Maybe we can get a viscount or baron." Wang Kan repeated what Zheng Zhichang had just said.

"That's fine, that's fine."

Wang Yan was more relaxed and happy, and even said with a smile: "The meals in the Ming Dynasty are so rich. You can actually eat fresh Chinese cabbage while floating on the sea in the cold winter. There is also a kind of onion and a kind of carrot, both of which are excellent vegetables. I heard that they are all donated by foreign countries. Especially the roasted pork with carrots is full of spices and is delicious. "

Wang Kan couldn't help but smack his mouth: "The roasted pork with carrots is really delicious."

Wang Yan asked: "I think we have just surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, so we can eat such delicacies every time. As time goes by, I guess it won't be such a good thing."

"It's good to have a meal every ten days." Wang Dong began to look forward to the future life in the Ming Dynasty.

The meat ban policy of the Goryeo Dynasty was superficially due to Buddhism, but in the final analysis it was because agricultural technology was too backward.

Let’s put it this way, four wooden plows were later unearthed in South Korea and were confirmed to be agricultural tools of the Goryeo Dynasty.

wooden plow...

Of course Goryeo knew that iron plows were more efficient, but iron farm tools were expensive.

Even the high-ranking generals of Goryeo only had a few pieces of iron in their armor. How could they have any spare time to produce cheap iron farm tools?

Moreover, when the Shibata Ke system, which imitated the mediocrity of renting in the Tang Dynasty, was corrupted, Goryeo's land system became completely deformed. Coupled with the long-lasting aristocratic families, farmers who really cultivated the land could not afford iron tools at all.

If agriculture falls behind, the breeding industry will naturally fall behind.

At the beginning of the establishment of the Goryeo Dynasty, ordinary officials and common people were prohibited from slaughtering livestock on the grounds of Buddhism.

During the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, he sent an envoy to Goryeo. The envoy recorded this passage:

"Goryeo's policy is very benevolent. Only kings and dignitaries can eat pigs and sheep. They are not good at slaughtering livestock. I heard that the envoys were going to raise them specially for slaughter. They tied the limbs of the pigs and sheep and threw them into the house. Burn them in the fire, then rinse the charred fur with water.”

"If there are those who are not burned to death, they are beaten to death with sticks. Then the abdomen is cut open randomly, all the intestines are cut, and excrement flows everywhere. Even though it is made into meat soup and barbecue, the stench is still there. The slaughter and The cooking methods are so poor!”

This is what the king used to entertain envoys from the Song Dynasty. He doesn't even know how to kill pigs.

After the Ming Dynasty opened trade with Goryeo, there was an influx of cheap ironware. However, the people of Goryeo still couldn't afford it. Only a few nobles purchased some iron farm tools. Most of the nobles were unwilling to buy them because they were spending their own money and the users were lowly tenants.

Next year, Ming Dynasty will send some iron smelting craftsmen to first improve the level of mining and smelting on the Korean Peninsula.

After they can produce cheap ironware on their own, they will send agricultural officers to improve agricultural standards.

The next day, the ship docked at Dengzhou Port.

Zheng Zhichang led a group of Goryeo royal family and clan members and went straight to the hotel in Dengrai City.

The sky has cleared up, and the snow on the streets in the city has been swept away by businessmen and people.

This city is extremely prosperous. After all, it is the preferred port for traveling to Liaodong and Korea. Some merchant ships to and from Japan will also depart from here.

From the pier to the city, these Koreans were dazzled by everything they saw, and everything they saw felt extremely fresh.

It was at noon that a burst of fragrance hit me.

Wang Gou saw that roadside stalls outside the city were cooking all kinds of meat - mostly pig and mutton offal and fish, and some pork, chicken and duck, but mutton was relatively rare.

From time to time, vendors and footmen would stop and sit at roadside stalls to eat.

They didn't eat much. They bought a big bowl of soup with very little meat or offal, mostly white radish and Chinese cabbage.

The staple food is cheap pasta, which is mixed with corn flour and even wheat bran.

Take a bite of the steamed bun with mixed noodles, drink another mouthful of soup, and eat another bite of vegetables.

The few pieces of meat and vegetables were reserved for last.

There are also particularly frugal diners who shout when they sit down: "No meat, more soup and radishes!"

In the middle of winter, there are oily flowers floating on the surface of the soup. After a few sips of the hot soup, I suddenly feel warm and energetic.

Wang Gou was shocked and looked at the peddlers who were eating: "Can ordinary people eat broth every day?"

Zheng Zhichang held his head high and said: "Otherwise, how can we say that the Ming Dynasty was rich?"

Several father-in-laws, marquises and monks with Goryeo clan status, as well as their wives and children, smelled the cheap broth on the street and all started to swallow their saliva.

It seems that there is a lot of hope in moving to Daming.