Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Night, sea.

Wang Chongdu pointed to the lighthouse in front and introduced: "There is the Zi'an Tower, named after Wang Bo. It is said that Wang Bo fell into the water and died of illness here. The tower is twenty feet high. When it was completed, a senior monk from Luoyang was invited to consecrate it."

The six second-generation officials stood in awe and bowed towards the lighthouse.

In fact, there are different opinions on the specific point where Wang Bo fell into the water. But Zhu Kang, the regent of Annan, asked someone to verify that it was at the mouth of the Taiping River, so Wang Bo must have fallen into the water at the mouth of the river!

The fleet sailed towards the lighthouse and soon came to a port.

Wang Chongdu said: "There was no port here before, it was just a small fishing village. Maritime merchants from the Song Dynasty and Ming Dynasty came here and traded supplies in Yong'an City in the northeast. Goods from the capital of Annan needed to be shipped out from the Taiping River, and then It is extremely inconvenient to transfer it to Yong'an Prefecture. It is probably done intentionally by the Annan monarch and his ministers for the sake of coastal defense."

"Has this port been built in recent years? It's even brightly lit at night." Fan Chengda asked.

Wang Chongdu said: "His Royal Highness the King of Yu (Zhu Kang) moved the people to build the port and reclaim the land. The people of Annan here are extremely supportive of His Highness the King of Yu."

"The truly virtuous king!" The six people hurriedly complimented the prince from a distance.

Actually, support is nothing!

At least the Annan people in this seaport hated King Zhu Kang of Yu deeply and had nothing to do with supporting him.

Zhu Kang had been regent of Annan for several years. The Annan nobles raised troops to rebel four times and conspired two coups. Regarding this kind of thing, Zhu Kang severely cracked down on it and frequently carried out confiscation of homes and extermination of clans.

They also captured those implicated and the rebels, and exiled them all here to build a port.

Why is it that the beautiful Taiping River Estuary, which can lead directly to the capital of Annan, has only one small fishing village? Because it is not suitable for human cultivation and habitation - large tracts of swamps and mangroves.

The criminals who were exiled by Zhu Kang drained the nearby swamps centered on the fishing village, and then went on to cut down the mangroves frantically. They also filled up a large area of ​​land with the soil transported from upstream, and pounded and compacted it day after day. Then the port and lighthouse were built (the lighthouse was built on the island for fear of unstable foundations). The mortality rate in the entire process was extremely high, and less than 30% of the prisoners survived.

This port is called Taiping Port, but every inch of land in the port is spilled with the blood and sweat of countless prisoners.

Even when there were not enough prisoners exiled due to rebellions and coups, Zhu Kang also transferred other prisoners from various counties in Annan to serve.

Although the process was bloody, the results were satisfying.

The largest port in Annan was built in a few years and became a key trade node connecting the Ming Dynasty and Southeast Asia.

The fleet docked at the port, and Lu You and others couldn't wait to hang out.

Their followers were particularly frustrated because these second-generation officials also deceived their own followers.

We agreed to take a boat to Guangzhou and then travel around Lingnan. As a result, when they arrived in Guangzhou, they discovered that their young master would not get off the ship at all. The entourage was not only afraid of being in danger at sea, but also afraid of being punished by the master of the family when they returned.

"Do you gentlemen want to stay in a hotel? If you need a girl to sleep with you, our store will help you find a girl."

Not far after landing, a group of boys came around.

Although the accent is very strong, he speaks Mandarin!

Wang Chongdu said: "Most of the merchants and clerks here come from Fujian and Guangdong provinces. In order to facilitate the recruitment of customers, they not only speak Mandarin, but even some foreign languages."

Li Zuqia asked: "There are even brothels?"

Wang Chongdu smiled and said: "Most of them are prostitutes from Nanyang, and there are also some local Annan women. Not to mention that the young princes look down on them, even maritime merchants don't look for women here. The clients of these prostitutes are all sailors looking for food in the waves. Sailors. In addition to brothels, there are also casinos where many sailors throw their hard-earned money.”

"A place where fish and dragons are mixed." Lu You curled his lips.

Wang Chongdu pointed to the outside of the port town: "In the past two years, His Royal Highness the Prince of Yu has also attracted some farmers from Fujian and Guangdong. The drained swamps around the port are extremely fertile, and farmers from Fujian and Guangdong have settled outside the town to cultivate land. ”

Fan Chengda nodded and said: "This is a plan that kills two birds with one stone. It can not only increase the number of Han people and prevent rebellion by foreign tribes, but also increase the port's food income and try to be self-sufficient to avoid being unable to supply food in the event of an accident."

Bai Shihou asked: "What kind of goods does Annan produce?"

Wang Chongdu said: "Good wood, precious stones, spices, ivory, medicinal materials, furs... and rice! Although the people here are poor, the rich have more than enough food, and they are willing to sell food to merchants of the Ming Dynasty. Generally speaking, Guangdong and Guangxi are short of food. Yes, with the arrival of Annan rice, food prices are cheaper than before.”

Wang Chongdu only went to Malacca once with the navy, but he recorded the information along the way in a small notebook, and he was able to keep the things about Taiping Port at his fingertips.

After walking around for a while, everyone went back to the cabin to rest, chatting and having fun together.

"It seems that the imperial court is going to annex Annan." Fan Chengda guessed.

Lu Youyou: "The so-called Annan is the ancient Jiaozhi land. Even during the Five Dynasties period, it was still under China, but the rebel separatist regime did not obey orders. It was not until the Taizong period of the former Song Dynasty that the Central Plains court officially recognized Annan's independence. Jiaozhi has been owned by China for thousands of years. It has only been independent for more than a hundred years, and its annexation is smoother than Goryeo."

Wang Lianqing said proudly: "All the land lost during the Han and Tang Dynasties must be taken back. We will all be citizens of the prosperous age of the Celestial Dynasty!"

Bai Shihou said: "I'm going to get wine and have a few drinks for this prosperous age."

Get the drinks and continue chatting.

The topic gradually turned to Wang Bo, and several people decided to go to the lighthouse named after Wang Bo to worship after dawn.

But it is said that the regency of Annan by King Zhu Kang of Yu is getting smoother and smoother now.

Revolt after rebellion and coup after coup were suppressed by him with force. They frequently ransacked their homes and exterminated their families, and they had already killed all those who dared to resist.

Annan's current mainstream thinking is to regard the Ming Dynasty as his mother country.

Nobles and wealthy people with a little bit of ability all created a family tree for themselves, claiming that their ancestors came from such and such a place in China. This is political correctness, and preferential treatment is given during imperial examinations and official promotions.

There really is preferential treatment.

In addition to the name, place of origin, appearance, etc., Zhu Kang also created an "original place" for Annan candidates. As long as the candidates fill in a certain place in Ming Dynasty as their "original place", they will be arranged to enter a special examination booth, where the papers will be graded differently and given certain preferential treatment.

The same goes for official promotion.

Over the past few years, all Annan officials and candidates have their ancestral roots in various parts of China!

What?

Your ancestors are actually Annan natives?

Barbarians!

Zhu Kang's eyes have now turned to Champa, which is his real feudal land.

The father and son corresponded over the past few years and finally determined the boundary.

From now on, the Ming Dynasty annexed Annan and only recovered the old land of the Han and Tang Dynasties, namely Rinan County established in the Han Dynasty (the southernmost part can reach Da Nang, Vietnam).

The rest of the territory was given to Zhu Kang.

At this time, the king of Champa was mentally retarded. After several years of succession, his regime was in turmoil. Not only did the Angkor dynasty of Chenla invade every year, but there were also many rebellions in the country.

Champa, which believes in Brahmanism, is a big place, but it is still a country within a country.

Now the most powerful person in Champa is King Bintonglong. In another time and space, this man replaced the King of Champa and established the Bintonglong dynasty in Champa.

Zhu Kang always pays attention to the information about Champa. Once the king of Champa is overthrown or executed, and King Bintonglong tries to seize power, he will uphold his righteousness and lead his troops to kill him!

Zhu Kang imitated his father in everything, including fighting.

He is still young and has plenty of time to wait and see what happens. It would be unwise to rush to send troops now.

…

All the way south, passing through Singapore.

At this time, Singapore was called "Pulu Zhong" and belonged to the territory of Srivijaya. There is also a port, but it is not large in scale and can only supply fresh water and a small amount of food and fruits. It cannot provide repair services for damaged ships.

Ming Dynasty did not want this place, but chose Malacca.

Only by building a port in Malacca can we effectively control the straits, otherwise Sriwijaya will continue to block merchant ships coming from the west.

Lu You asked Wang Chongdu: "Where is the farthest you have traveled this time?"

"Ceylon," Wang Chongdu explained in detail, "I have insufficient sailing experience. At present, I can only go along the mature sea route and do business while accumulating experience. When I am familiar with the sea route from Daming to Ceylon, I will go to San Kediri Kingdom (East Java) to the east of Foqi. His Majesty showed me a globe, and the vast sea area in the south was empty. After getting in touch with King Kediri, I decided to go south to explore. "

From South India to Java, and even Southeast Asia, most areas today belong to Brahmanical areas.

Indian epics circulated on the island of Java, and Javanese Brahmin literature was derived.

This situation has trade factors.

But the real key is that the Chola dynasty in India was very prosperous for a time and brought Brahmanism all the way through military conquest.

With the rise of the Ming Dynasty's maritime power, Confucian culture and Buddhism and Taoism will slowly spread in Southeast Asia in the future. If we can win one or two big victories, the spread will be faster, because this is a world where people are obsessed with strength.

Bai Shihou was very interested in exploration: "When you explore the southern seas, write to me in advance and I will take people to take a look."

Fan Chengda asked: "What is the globe?"

"Young gentlemen, please wait a moment."

Wang Chongdu returned to his cabin and took out a globe: "This is the globe, a gift from His Majesty."

He then pointed to the location of Australia and North and South America: "Your Majesty said that in such a vast area, there may be one or two continents, and maybe there are countries on the continent."

The second-generation officials gathered around to watch, and the more they looked at it, the more amazing they felt.

Lu You said: "When I was studying in Taixue, I also studied astronomy and geography, and I knew that the earth is a sphere. But this is the first time I have seen such an intuitive map of the earth. What your majesty said is true. The vast sea area There will definitely be unknown continents to be found.”

Li Zuqia smiled and said: "Maybe there is an emperor in the southern continent (Australia)."

Wang Lianqing's excitement is different: "Foreign landscapes are very different from those of China. When I get to India and Ceylon, I will paint a few pictures of foreign countries. If I explore a new continent, I will go to the new continent to paint."

Wang Lianqing is not only good at painting, he also knows medicine and herbal medicine.

While staying at Taiping Port in Annan, he was observing the unique local plants and drawing them carefully.

If this man goes to sea often, he might become a naturalist.