Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Descendants of 11th Meng Zhao

The second brother left before it started to snow.

Also leaving Huangzhou together were Wang Sheng and the second brother's friend (similar to a book boy).

They will all return to their hometown in Hebei to take the county and prefectural examinations in February or March next year. If you can successfully pass the examination as a scholar, you will have to take the provincial examination in the fall.

If you are a former scholar, you will have to take a scientific examination before taking the provincial examination.

The scientific examination is similar to the qualifying examination for taking the provincial examination.

If previous scholars did not study all year round, fell behind in their homework, and failed to pass the scientific examination, they would not be qualified to take the provincial examination. It doesn't matter if you are a recent scholar, you can just take the exam.

As soon as the second brother and the others left, the house became much deserted.

As a southerner, Xie Yan was a little excited when he saw the first snow after crossing.

Although the snow is not heavy.

The winter at this time is not too cold, and the temperature has been warming up since the early years of the Ming Dynasty.

It has been recovering continuously for a hundred years and finally returned to the level of the mid-Northern Song Dynasty.

And it will continue to recover for another decade or two, and then it will continue to decline.

After the fall, although there were ups and downs along the way, we had to wait until the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China for the temperature to rise back to the current level.

At this moment, the Ming Dynasty is in a warmer era than the entire Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty in different time and space!

After the Lantern Festival, Xie Yan will also travel far.

The family arranged four healthy servants for him and set off on the official "smooth boat".

My parents and my little sister came to the pier to see them off. My father just told me some important things, but my mother and my little sister were crying.

Going against the Yangtze River, the boat reaches Hanyang and then turns into the Han River Basin.

The lower reaches of the Han River, especially the southern area, were relatively poor during the Northern Song Dynasty. There are swamps everywhere, flooding occurs, and the land is vast and sparsely populated.

After more than a hundred years of management during the Ming Dynasty, water conservancy projects have been perfected, and swamps have been turned into lakes and fertile farmland.

In the past, the land was vast and sparsely populated, but now it is densely populated.

When the railway was first built, more than half of the cargo volume at Hanyang Port was taken away, but the economy only declined for thirty or forty years. With the civilian use of steam engines and the discovery of surrounding mineral deposits, a large number of factories were opened in Hanyang and Jiangxia, and the three towns of Wuhan in later generations completed their counterattack in an instant.

In comparison, Huangzhou is much poorer.

When he arrived in Wuhan, Xie Yan stood on the deck of the official ship and looked at the towering factory chimneys on both sides of the Yangtze River and the people walking in ancient costumes on the shore. The magical feeling of steampunk became even stronger.

"Idiot!"

Xie Yan's literary talent is not good, so he can only use these two words to express his mood.

"Liu Lang, the official said that I want to take a rest in Hanyang." The leader of the accompanying servants came over.

These healthy servants all carry swords and arrows on their backs. They can kill gangsters if they encounter them.

Today's Ming Dynasty only prohibits civilians from possessing firearms, armor and crossbows, and all other weapons are not strictly regulated.

As social security deteriorates, martial arts practice has revived, and people often carry weapons when traveling far away.

Especially those caravans who either recruit their own armed personnel or have long-term cooperation with the escort agency.

At present, the central officials of the imperial court are arguing about whether to issue a ban on bows.

Public security is so bad that not only crossbows must be banned, but bows must also be banned.

Of course, in border areas and overseas jurisdictions, crossbows and leather armor have never been banned, only various types of firearms and armor.

The official ship docked, and Xie Yan also went for a walk.

The officials went directly to the post station to drink and take the opportunity to relax and have fun. They were heading to Xiangyang, the provincial capital, to deliver official documents.

Generally speaking, only urgent documents will be conveyed by telegram.

Ordinary official documents still need to be delivered by someone, which can save a lot of trouble.

But apart from rushing to take the scholar examination, no official is allowed to eat and drink for free at the inns along the way!

"Are those all students rushing to take the exam?" Xie Yan pointed at a group of young students who looked like students.

Jian Pu said: "I should be here to take the county and government examinations. Housing is in short supply here in Hanyang. I can't find a place to live if I arrive late."

Xie Yan looked at it carefully and found it quite interesting.

If his brain had not been damaged and he had not forgotten the Four Books and Six Classics, he should have returned to his hometown in Hebei to take the exam at this time.

The Ming Dynasty in this time and space has no concept of childishness.

The county magistrate presides over the county examination, and after passing the examination, he goes to the government examination.

Although the prefecture examination is organized and organized by the prefect, the exam must be invigilated and marked by the exam envoy. Just like the examination is organized and organized by the Ministry of Rites, but the Ministry of Rites is not allowed to participate in the invigilation and marking of papers, this is all to separate the organizers of the imperial examination from the examiners.

Supervise each other to prevent cheating.

The academic advisor has no skills and can only take exams in one prefecture. Therefore, the exam time is different in each prefecture, and the exam questions are also different to prevent leaks.

Usually held in February and March, the closer to the provincial capital, the earlier the prefectural examination will be held.

In some remote places, it may even be delayed until May.

Xie Yan walked over and listened to what those students were saying.

"I have inquired about it. The newly appointed academic envoy last year supports the reform. The government policy must be written on the reform."

"Hey, you liberal arts students, how are you studying the new textbook?"

"It's okay. I gave you half a year to study."

"Stop talking. My classic book is "Xunzi", and the annotations of "Xunzi" have been greatly changed!"

"Isn't the law really difficult? The new version of "Da Ming Law" has changed a lot. It doesn't matter in the government examination. I heard that the "Industrial and Commercial Law" is also tested in the provincial examination."

"Are you stubborn? Just memorize any changes. They must be the focus of the exam."

"..."

Xie Yan listened secretly with amusement and couldn't help but recall the college entrance examination that year.

Perhaps it was because Xie Yan was well dressed and had several armed entourages behind him, so he was considered by those students to be a member of a noble family.

Soon someone took the initiative to come forward, bowed in greeting and said, "I am Lu Gui from Xiahanchuan County, courtesy name Meiying. I have already obtained the qualifications and can directly take the government examination. I don't know your surname, brother."

After traveling through time, Xie Yan also learned some ancient etiquette, bowed in return and said, "I am Xie Yan, named Chaozong, from Hebei."

Lu Gui said in surprise: "Brother Chaozong didn't come to Hanyang to take part in the government examination?"

"Going north, passing by." Xie Yan replied simply, without revealing the specific itinerary.

Since they were not fellow villagers who took the exam together, Lu Gui had no intention of making friends. He looked at Xie Yan again and saw the jade pendant, but did not recognize it as the royal bachelor's badge.

Even if he recognizes it, he won't think about it because Xie Yan is too young.

We stayed in Hanyang for half a day and one night, then continued our journey north by boat the next day, and finally transferred to a train in Xiangyang.

During the Taizu and Taizong dynasties, trains only reached Nanyang, but now Xiangyang is also open to traffic.

Xiangyang is the provincial capital of Hubei. Most supplies from Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei and Hanzhong now go north via Xiangyang. Its status as a water and land hub has become more prominent, and it has become a city with a population of one million!

Of course, the port was built in the Fancheng area on the north coast, and Xiangyang directly annexed Fancheng.

This place is much more prosperous than Hanyang, so Xie Yan can't help but look forward to it: What will the capital city of Luoyang look like?

"Sir, there is the train station ahead." The temporary driver reminded.

Xie Yan quickly got off the car and walked towards the train station.

It was a three-story brick building, and the waiting hall was extremely busy.

There are many poor people in Ming Dynasty, but there are also many rich and middle-class people, and there is no shortage of those who can afford to take the train.

Even some small traders ship goods by train. The quantity of their goods is not large, and they can pay for the fare on the train without having to collect taxes along the way.

Of course, it must be a small and in-demand product, otherwise the profit will not be enough to pay for the ticket.

Coming to the platform, the locomotive is thick and domineering.

The machinery in the early days of the industrial revolution was beautiful in its size, and its power was overwhelming.

Especially due to insufficient air tightness, steam engines are often built very large, and the leakage of air can be ignored.

"Senior time traveler is awesome!"

Xie Yan stared at the behemoth in front of him, feeling more and more magical.

He bought a premium ticket. Although there were no sleepers, the seats were more spacious and comfortable, and the cleaning was better.

He chose a seat by the window and sat down, with four healthy servants sitting around him.

This premium carriage can seat eight people, and the remaining three seats are temporarily vacant.

Then there was the waiting, which lasted for more than an hour.

There are not many trains and the intervals between departures are long.

"Please give way."

In this carriage, two more people entered.

One master and one servant.

The owner is about 20 years old, wearing a cotton Confucian shirt, much more plainly than Xie Yan.

When Xie Yan saw this, he asked his servants to help them get their things.

The Confucian scholar bowed his head and said, "Thank you for your help. I am Meng Shu from Gong County, whose courtesy name is Shu Heng. What is your name?"

Xie Yan returned the greeting and said: "Xie Yan, Hebei Province, courtesy name Chaozong."

When Meng Shu bent down to bow, he suddenly noticed the jade pendant on Xie Yan's waist. He was very surprised and said: "Jasper white?"

Xie Yan smiled and said: "It's a fluke."

Meng Shu seemed a little unbelievable. He stared at the jade pendant a few more times until he saw the number on the jade pendant and then said: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm a bachelor of Jasper from the Physics Society. I joined the Astronomy Society, and I was lucky enough to do it." Bachelor of Medicine and Jade.”

Medicinal jade is colored glass.

Among the members of the Royal Society, the Bachelor of Medicine and Jade has the lowest rank.

Although the waist badges of various societies are all engraved with Baize, the shape of Baize is slightly different between different societies.

Knowing that this person was also a scholar, Xie Yan's entourage relaxed their vigilance and even gave up a seat.

The two sat opposite each other.

This high-end carriage can seat eight people, and it was not full until the train started.

"Woo~~哐哐哐哐!"

The whistle sounded and the train started slowly.

Meng Shu couldn't help his curiosity and asked, "How old are you?"

Xie Yan replied: "There are still two months until I turn seventeen."

Meng Shu thought Xie Yan just looked tender-faced, but when he learned his age, he immediately exclaimed: "Sixteen-year-old Jasper Bachelor, the second one since the founding of the Ming Dynasty!"

When Xie Yan corresponded with those pen pals, he did not reveal his age to avoid being looked down upon by those guys.

Of course, Nie Qi and his gang definitely knew that they had to submit detailed information when recruiting members.

"Brother Meng is not bad either." Xie Yan said.

Meng Shu was obviously very proud of his achievements and said with a smile: "I still can't compare with my virtuous brother. My achievements are purely accidental. Six years ago, one of my father's proud disciples worked with a craftsman from the Ministry of Industry who specializes in polishing lenses. Teamed up to improve the refracting telescope."

"Before their paper had time to be published, I used their telescope to observe and discover Europa. Although it is called Europa, it is actually the third closest satellite to Jupiter. It could not be seen with previous telescopes. I I was the first to come into contact with their improved telescope. By chance, I took advantage of it. "

Xie Yan said: "Brother Meng is too humble."

At this moment, Meng Shu seemed to remember something: "Brother Xian is the author of that damping paper? No wonder it sounds familiar to me!"

"Brother Meng also reads physics journals?" Xie Yan said with a smile.

Meng Shu said: "Although I was in Hanzhong last year, I have been paying attention to academic journals. Someone used your academic discovery to build a damping balance, which has already caused a sensation in the academic world!"

Xie Yan didn't want to talk about this, he changed the subject and said: "Is Brother Meng's hometown in Hanzhong?"

"The ancestral temple is in Xixiang County, Yangzhou," Meng Shu explained, "There are ancestral worship activities in my hometown. My grandfather is too old to travel far, and my father has a public office. I will return to my hometown to worship my ancestors on behalf of the Meng family of Gong County."

Xie Yan said: "Hello, Taizu Taizong It seems to be from Xixiang County. "

Meng Shu said proudly: "My ancestor was a disciple of Taizu and served as a cabinet minister in the early years of the country. Later, he was fascinated by academics, so he resigned from his high official position and founded a college in the mountains."

Xie Yan was in awe: "Resigning from the cabinet position for academics is really admirable."

Meng Shu said: "The ancestral precepts of my family are to warn descendants to study hard and work less as officials. Being an official can only bring temporary glory, but studying academics will benefit future generations."

Xie Yan really believed it.