Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Cornucopia is twenty-one years old, which for a horse is just entering old age.

"Basin!"

Ju Ming shouted, and the cornucopia came running with its head shaking.

The horse breeder had long been used to it, and immediately let go of the reins, and then chased after Cornucopia's butt.

This guy threw the horse breeder far away and rubbed himself in front of Ju Ming.

You can tell at a glance that it’s a dog!

Ju Ming let it rub it for a long time, then got on the horse and galloped around the racecourse on Cornucopia.

"Drive, drive!"

A tender cry came, but Zhe Yanxiu also arrived at the racecourse.

This concubine from the Zhe family couldn't sit still in Dongxi Garden, so she slipped out to ride a horse in Tiansi Prison alone.

Moreover, he also brought a bow and arrows.

Zhe Yanxiu raised her bow and shouted at Ju Ming: "Guan, do you dare to compete in riding and archery?"

"Get the bow!" Ju Ming shouted.

Zhe Yanxiu asked: "What's the prize for betting?"

Ju Ming rode up to her, winked and laughed in a low voice, "If I win, you can trick the concubine into going to your room to drink and play chess tonight."

Zhe Yanxiu is not shy about interactions between three people. She often speaks in a pornographic tone. If she had been born 900 years later, she would probably still be an expert in Ji circles. She immediately asked for the prize and said: "If I win, I will get the set of gilded polo clubs left by the former Song Dynasty Lord."

"It's a deal!"

Zhe Yanxiu has practiced riding and archery hard in the past few years. Except for his lower strength, his accuracy is not even inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty cavalry.

The two of them laughed and shot ten arrows each, but Zhe Yanxiu was still defeated.

She followed Zhu Ming back to Dongxi Garden and met Zhong Miaoyun in a pavilion: "Sister Zhong, the official family said that they will stay in Dongxi Garden tonight. Would you like to drink and play chess with me tonight?"

Zhong Miaoyun blushed and subconsciously turned to look at Ju Ming, then nodded and said, "Okay."

Ju Ming asked: "Where is the Queen?"

Zhong Miaoyun raised his hand and pointed: "They went over there, saying they wanted to finish visiting the garden. I'm really tired from walking, so I'll take a rest in this pavilion."

Zhu Ming rested there with his two daughters, lying on the bench in the pavilion and taking a nap in the breeze.

Not long after, Zhang Jinping came back with his concubines, saying that they had finished exploring the garden.

Zhang Jinping said excitedly: "Guanjia, Sister Zhong's hometown is in Luoyang. She said that the best place in Luoyang is the Tianwangyuan in the center of the city. When the peonies bloom in spring, more than 100,000 peonies bloom in the Tianwangyuan garden. . Visitors can enjoy the flowers, buy them on the spot, and go to the Tenno-in Temple to pray to Buddha and ask for fortune-telling.”

"Let's go together next spring." Zhu Ming also became interested.

Luoyang Tianwangyuan is located in the center of the city. It was originally the residence of Yang Wensi in the Sui Dynasty. After several transfers, it came into the hands of Li Chongjun, the crown prince of Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty, and was later rebuilt into Anguo Temple.

Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty destroyed Buddhism and demolished Anguo Temple.

Later, part of the building was restored. It is estimated that the financial resources were insufficient in the late Tang Dynasty, and all the areas that were not restored were used to plant peonies.

Today, it is not only a temple, but also the largest peony planting base in Luoyang.

Moreover, this temple also wholesales flowers and is the main supplier of peonies in Luoyang. There are also some ordinary people who go to Tenno-in in spring to buy two baskets, and then sell them on the streets inside and outside the city.

The former emperor and concubine are all here today.

Even three minors also came out for a walk. They temporarily stayed in Zhao Fujin's courtyard.

There are seventeen daughters of Song Huizong in front of him!

Only those who were married, Ju Ming did not care about them.

Yeluyan was also there, sticking to Li Qinglu's side like a little follower, looking at the emperor without blinking at this moment.

"Let's go play football and take the kids with you!" Zhu Ming likes to enjoy life more and more, and delegates more government affairs to the Cabinet.

Of course, those really big things still need to be firmly grasped.

…

The next day.

Cheng Hao's son Cheng Duanyi and Li Qingchen's son Li Hu received orders to come together to pay homage.

They are all old men and have not served in the Ming Dynasty.

"Old Cheng Duanyi (Li Yi), pay homage to Your Majesty!" The two of them bowed and saluted.

Ju Ming smiled and said, "Gentlemen, please take a seat."

The two of them did not hesitate and sat down next to the emperor.

Ju Ming chatted for a while and then asked: "What suggestions do you have for the imperial court to move its capital to Luoyang?"

Cheng Duanyi said: "It was too unreasonable to split up and move the big families in Luoyang before. If those big families are guilty, they can certainly be punished. But there are also big families who abide by the law, so why should their properties be confiscated?"

Ju Ming said: "The frivolous wealth was not confiscated and they were allowed to take it away. The rest of the property was also retained. Some clan members were allowed to stay and inherit part of their homes, shops and fields. For example, the rich family left some fields and gardens. The head of a wealthy family."

Although Luoyang gardens are among the best in the world, by the late Northern Song Dynasty, most of them were gradually abandoned and lacked repairs.

The really powerful people moved to Kaifeng.

Most of those who stayed in Luoyang were descendants of the old party. They were suppressed too hard by Song Huizong and Cai Jing. At most, they could get some minor officials, and they could not even become minor officials. The whole big family has been resting on their laurels.

Moreover, he had to be exploited by the Six Thieves and their henchmen, and he couldn't even get the money to repair the garden.

In other words, even if you have money, you don’t want to repair it, lest your home be too luxurious and be targeted by corrupt officials!

The best-maintained Luoyang garden is Fu Bi's house.

Fu Zhirou once served as Ju Ming's secretary, but now he is sent to the local magistrate again. Therefore, it was not convenient to confiscate his family's garden. He just moved all the Fu family's branches out of Luoyang and forced the head of the Fu family to divide the family and property.

After the family division, the Fu family's land exceeding a certain amount was redeemed by the court at a low price and then distributed to the original tenants.

Cheng Duanyi said: "Your Majesty's words are evasive and trivial."

Before Ju Ming could refute, Li Ru said angrily: "There are countless rich households in Luoyang who have hidden their land and people. Which family didn't break the law in the previous dynasty? Hiding their land and people is a crime. Their property should be confiscated!"

"This statement is wrong," Cheng Duanyi said. "When the Supreme Emperor was in power, he stated many times that old sins before the promulgation of the Ming Code would be forgotten."

Li Hu retorted: "That is another crime and has nothing to do with land property. If the land tax cannot be collected, the imperial government's finances will inevitably be ruined!"

Cheng Duanyi said: "If it is just a land tax, just pay off the land. Why are the properties and shops confiscated? Even some homes have been confiscated."

The two of them quarreled more and more fiercely. At first they were still discussing the new dynasty, but their quarrel turned into a party dispute in the Northern Song Dynasty.

When Zhu Ming saw this, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

You know, Li Ru's first wife was Cheng Duanyi's sister. And Li Ru's successor is also Cheng Duanyi's sister.

Li Ru's father, Li Qingchen, was also extremely "rebellious" back then.

Li Qingchen's two father-in-laws were Han Qi and Sun Zhu. Both father-in-laws had ambiguous attitudes towards Wang Anshi's reform, but on the whole they tended to oppose the reform.

But what about Li Qingchen?

Although his father-in-law and children's relatives all opposed the reform, Li Qingchen himself was a pioneer of the reform.

Even the New Deal was initiated by Li Qingchen. Unfortunately, his attempt to reconcile the contradictions between the old and new parties was unable to suppress the radical reformers, and eventually triggered the second large-scale party struggle in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Ju Ming smiled and said: "You two are already old, why bother worrying about those old things?"

Cheng Duanyi pointed at Li Ru and said: "The garden of his Li family is the largest in Luoyang, occupying an entire square in the city. Li's Guiren Garden has not been confiscated, so now it is natural to make sarcastic remarks."

Li Fu was furious: "When my father bought Guiren Garden, it was already dilapidated. Although it occupies a large area, it didn't cost much money. Moreover, my father's money for buying the garden came from my ancestors of the Li family who earned money from doing business in Daming Prefecture. Come on, there’s not a penny of dirty money!”

Li Ru cupped his hands towards Ju Ming and said, "Your Majesty, the ancestors of the Li family have been doing business, and my grandfather only became an official after he won the Jinshi. Moreover, my grandfather died young and did not hold any high official position. He could not be greedy even if he wanted to. My father is seven He lost his father when he was young and has no official relatives. He relied on his own hard work to study. After becoming an official, he became even more honest and selfless! "

Cheng Duanyi must have become so angry that he did not shy away from his real name when mentioning his predecessors, and retorted: "Han Qi recommended, Ouyang Xiu promoted, did your father rely on himself? He became an official even before he won the Jinshi!"

"But my father later got into Maoke, and Maoke is more difficult than Jinshi! Can someone who can get into Maoke fail the examination?" Li Ru immediately responded.

Zhu Ming scratched his forehead, not knowing how to break up the fight. Both old men were very angry.

Seeing what Cheng Duanyi wanted to say, Li Hu suddenly stood up: "Your Majesty, I, the Li family, are willing to sell Guiren Garden in Luoyang to the court at a low price! I, the Li family, have no land in the suburbs of Luoyang, and Guiren Garden will be exchanged for hundreds of acres of cultivated land. That’s it.”

"Uh...that's not necessary." Ju Ming said speechlessly.

Li Ru said: "It is necessary. Guiren Garden originally occupied the largest area in Luoyang. Now that other gardens have been split up, it seems that my Li family's garden is even bigger. Most of the Li family's properties are in Daming Mansion, and I am the only one here in Luoyang. Live with the descendants of the eldest brother. Today, please donate Guiren Garden to the court in exchange for hundreds of acres of land on the outskirts of the city, so that I and the descendants of the eldest brother can have a place to live. Only in this way can we block some people. Q!"

In fact, Li Yan had other ideas. His Li family's garden was too big. And there is no loss this time. The wood is beautiful in Lin Feng and will be destroyed, which will definitely attract countless gossips in the future.

It is better to present it directly to the court!

After Ju Ming thought carefully, he said: "Let's do it this way. Divide Gui Nhon Garden in two and keep half for your brother's descendants, while you move to the outskirts to build a house. The money to build the house will come from the court. Then give it to you and Qin. Each of the elder brother's descendants will be given five hundred acres of good land, as well as some gold, silver, cloth, and some oxen and mules."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Li Ru seemed to have won the battle and turned to look at his brother-in-law.

Cheng Duanyi curled his lips and said nothing.

Ju Ming asked: "The academic ban has been lifted for many years, why is there no academy here in Luoyang?"

Li Ru pointed at Cheng Duanyi: "He can only take the lead in raising money to build an academy in Luoyang. But he is unwilling to accept the new teachings of the Supreme Emperor and His Majesty, so the matter has been delayed."

Cheng Duanyi didn't refute, just sat there and acquiesced. In fact, he studied natural science, but he couldn't study it when he was old, and he never received recruitment from the court. In the end, he simply put on airs and rejected the new study.

Ju Ming smiled and said: "Let's do it this way. The royal family and the court will allocate part of the money, and some wealthy businessmen will voluntarily donate some to build a Longmen Academy near the Longmen Grottoes. Mr. Li will be the mountain director, and Mr. Cheng will be the deputy mountain director. Mathematics, physics , astronomy, geography, chemistry... these are all to be taught. As for other knowledge, you can do it yourself."

"Anything can be said?" Cheng Duanyi asked.

Ju Ming said: "As long as you don't slander the royal family and the court, you can say whatever you want."

Cheng Duanyi cupped his hands and said, "I would like to be the deputy mountain chief."