Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The prime minister and prince of Srivijaya rebelled, and were quickly suppressed by the old king.

The prime minister was executed, and the prince fled to his grandfather, the Java Kingdom on Java Island, which also had some territory on Sumatra Island.

The old king was extremely respectful to the Ming Dynasty, which made it difficult for the envoys to take action, otherwise the diplomatic impact would be too bad.

After all, the envoys of various countries saw it.

The purpose of sending troops to Ceylon was to restore the prince's country and show off military power to the envoys of various countries. And attacking a vassal state that had not made any mistakes without reason would only make the envoys of various countries feel vigilant, and from then on they would be extremely wary of the Ming Dynasty.

So the two sides had a friendly exchange, Cheng Yu praised Srivijaya's respect, and Srivijaya sent envoys to pay tribute with the group.

The fleet stopped at the outer port of Guangzhou.

Those who were willing to sell goods went to trade, the damaged ships were towed away for repair, and the horses also got off the ship for treatment and recuperation.

While repairing the ship, Cheng Yu took the envoys of various countries to Guangzhou City to see the world.

As a result, before they arrived at the place, they saw a large construction site.

The official of the Maritime Customs who was responsible for leading them to Guangzhou City pointed to the construction site and introduced: "A new city is to be built there. Guangzhou City was expanded many times in the former Song Dynasty, but the population increased too fast. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, maritime trade was encouraged, and many farmers from the surrounding areas were attracted here."

Deformed urbanization.

Many prefectures and counties in Guangdong are sparsely populated, but Guangzhou City is densely populated, and a large number of farmers come here to make a living.

Although local officials lighten taxes and encourage land reclamation, there are still farmers who are unwilling to open up wasteland in the mountains and are determined to come to Guangzhou City to work.

Cheng Yu stood at the bow of the inland ship, observed carefully and asked: "How big is the plan to expand?"

The official of the Maritime Customs said: "Expand to the east and north, and the area will be expanded by about one-sixth."

"After it is built, Guangzhou will be more prosperous." Yu Yunwen sighed.

At this time, Guangzhou had three cities.

The inner city was located in the area of ​​the later city government and was expanded in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty. Today, the official institutions of Guangdong Province, such as the Sansi Yamen, Shibosi Yamen, and Guangzhou Fu Yamen, are all located in the inner city.

To the west of the inner city is Xicheng, which is also an old city with a long history. Nanhai County Yamen is located in it and has the largest area.

To the east of the inner city is Dongcheng, which was expanded in the late Northern Song Dynasty. Panyu County Yamen is located in it and has the smallest area.

Each of the three cities has a city wall, and there are gates in the middle to connect them.

If the servants of the envoys are also counted, there are hundreds of envoys from various countries.

They came to the Guangzhou Dongcheng Wharf by boat. The envoys of small countries were already shocked by the towering city towers, while the envoys of big countries were just admiring the prosperity here.

Especially the envoys from Persia, Egypt, and India, they are worldly-wise.

Anwari asked, "Is this the residence of a certain governor of the Ming Dynasty?"

Cheng Yu said, "You can use this analogy. The Ming Dynasty divided the country into several provinces, and each province had several prefectures, states, and counties. This city is called Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. Where is the most majestic wall of the Seljuk?"

"The Tuancheng of Baghdad, where the Caliph lives." Anwari said.

Cheng Yu asked again, "How high is the wall of Baghdad?"

Anwari said, "It is about twice as high as the wall of Guangzhou."

"The Caliph lives in a huge city." Cheng Yu couldn't help but sigh.

The Tuancheng of Baghdad is a circular city with an outer wall about 24 meters high, and the whole city is made of bricks and stones.

There are also houses and shops in the city, but more people live outside the city. Because a circular enclosure with a diameter of four miles was separated from the center of the city, and civilians were prohibited from entering, the Caliph's palace was built in the center of the enclosure.

This resulted in half of the city space in Baghdad being a forbidden area for civilians.

Anwari followed everyone into the East City, and his emotion became stronger.

Although Guangzhou City is not as majestic as Baghdad's Round City, most of the people live in the city and can be protected by the city walls.

However, Baghdad's Round City excludes many people, and most civilians can only live around the city.

"Silk, there are really many people wearing silk!" Suddenly an envoy exclaimed.

Without him shouting, the envoys of various countries would have been dazzled.

From the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, Guangzhou City has always been in this pattern. West City belongs to the residential area, Middle City (sub-city) belongs to the administrative area, and East City belongs to the commercial area - each city has residential houses, and here we only talk about their main functions.

At this moment, everyone is touring East City, which is the most prosperous area in Guangzhou, gathering merchants from all over the world at home and abroad.

Anwari even saw several people wearing robes and turbans. He went up to one of them and asked, "I am from the Seljuk. May I ask which country you are from?"

"I am from Muscat (an Omani port)." The merchant was not enthusiastic because they belonged to different countries and sects.

Anwari asked again, "Are you settling here?"

The merchant said, "Sifoqi cut off the merchant ships between the East and the West. I don't want to take risks anymore. I have settled in Guangzhou for 20 years. I have a shop in Dongcheng, but I usually live in Xicheng, where I can buy a bigger house."

"Are you considered a Ming citizen now?" Anwari asked.

The merchant smiled and said, "Of course, I have settled down long ago. My Chinese name is Li Wanli. My name is Ali, so my surname is Li. Wanli means that I came from a distant place. It is more peaceful here, there is no war, and the exploitation from the nobles is not heavy."

The two talked for a long time, and the merchant named Li Wanli said goodbye and left.

His hometown used to belong to the Seljuk territory, but later took advantage of the civil strife to become independent, and is now controlled by the Ahmad tribe.

The Azd tribe next door had been at war with the Ahmad tribe for a long time. The commercial taxes there were getting heavier and heavier. Li Wanli didn't like doing business and living in his hometown.

Although, he didn't like some of the policies of the Ming Dynasty.

For example, when reducing the number of temples in Guangzhou, all the temples where he could worship were demolished.

Another example is the promulgation of the law on intermarriage between different races. These overseas residents must intermarry with the Han people of the Ming Dynasty. If they violated the law, their homes would be immediately confiscated and expelled.

There were a few foreign merchants who didn't believe in evil. After being reported, all their property was confiscated, and the whole family was driven to the outer port to find a way to leave.

Li Wanli's youngest son married a poor Han girl.

Rich families would not marry their daughters to foreigners, so he could only pay a matchmaker to help him get a daughter-in-law who had read books.

His eldest granddaughter also got married, marrying the son of his own servant, and paid a lot of dowry.

Although his grandson-in-law was of low birth, he was smart and clever, and Li Wanli planned to cultivate him well.

He understood what the emperor meant.

It was nothing more than letting these foreigners assimilate into the Ming Dynasty, give up their original surnames and beliefs, and become completely Han Chinese after intermarriage for several generations.

Even though Li Wanli was extremely dissatisfied, he still chose to stay.

What else could he do?

Go back to his hometown and continue to be ruled and exploited by the tribe?

He had already gotten used to the prosperity of Guangzhou, and it would be very difficult for him to live there again.

In addition, their faction was relatively mild and open. Its symbol was not green, but light blue.

The laws and customs of the Ming Dynasty were more suitable for them than those of Persia and Egypt!

…

The envoys of various countries stayed in Guangzhou for more than 20 days, and they waited until the ship was repaired before setting off.

Anwari traveled all over the three cities of Guangzhou, and he actually didn't see any beggars.

Every day, patrol soldiers strolled around the city. When they saw healthy beggars, they would send them directly to the nursing home, and when they recovered, they would be thrown to Guangxi to enrich the population.

If they found beggars with disabilities, the patrol soldiers would be even more excited and would repeatedly interrogate whether they had practiced genital mutilation. Solving a big case can be a meritorious service!

Anwari certainly didn't know this. After communicating with envoys from various countries, he visited welfare institutions such as the orphanage and the orphanage.

In the end, everyone agreed that the Ming Dynasty was very rich and could feed all its citizens, and the weak could be properly cared for.

With the help of monsoons and ocean currents, the fleet arrived in Shanghai smoothly.

Haimen on the north bank of the Yangtze River is a port with a weak foundation after all, and there is no sufficient source of goods to back it up.

And what about Shanghai?

The Shanghai Office (located at the mouth of Songjiang River) was established in the Northern Song Dynasty. Now it is becoming more and more prosperous. It is estimated that it will be upgraded to the Shanghai Office in another ten years.

This place is relatively simple, and the wharf was also expanded three years ago. It is still just a small commercial town.

The houses and buildings are in a mess, there is no planning at all, and there are even a lot of shacks.

The envoys of various countries finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Ming Dynasty is not as prosperous as Guangzhou everywhere.

Everyone waited for several days and changed to inland ships.

If any country sends ships to China, the seagoing ships will be temporarily handed over to the Shanghai Maritime Affairs Bureau for custody.

Pass Jiangyin and arrive at Runzhou (Zhenjiang).

The prosperity and wealth of Runzhou has surpassed Guangzhou. When continuing north to Yangzhou, even the envoys who have seen the world were shocked and completely speechless.

What a huge city, countless people, and a dazzling array of goods.

"Brahma!"

The envoy from Solanqi (Gujarat, India) clasped his hands together and knelt directly in the center of Yangzhou City.

The envoy from Fatima (Egypt) mistakenly entered the porcelain shop, and the whole street was full of porcelain. He looked at the various kinds of porcelain, and felt that his legs were filled with lead and he couldn't walk. He muttered to himself: "If these porcelains are transported to Cairo, I'm afraid they can be exchanged for a city!"

The Seljuk envoy Anwari spent a whole day strolling around Yangzhou City, but he didn't finish visiting Yangzhou City.

He returned to the ship and asked Cheng Yu: "How many cities like this does the Ming Dynasty have?"

Cheng Yu lied: "Less than 20."

"That's more than 10..." Anwari felt incredible and asked again, "How many residents are there in Yangzhou City?"

Cheng Yu said: "Hundreds of thousands."

Anwari stopped talking.

The Seljuks also had huge cities, such as Baghdad, with a total of about 300,000 people inside and outside the city. But most of them lived outside the city and were very poor.

How can it compare with Yangzhou?

These guys took a boat all the way north, and when they took them to visit Kaifeng, everyone was shocked and numb.

Although Kaifeng is no longer the capital, it still retains the status of a deputy capital, and it is also a transit station for materials from all over the country to Luoyang.

After experiencing the decline in housing prices when the capital was moved, Kaifeng's housing prices have now recovered a little.

In addition, more and more foreign merchants choose to move to Kaifeng to settle down. There is a strong commercial atmosphere here, it is close to Luoyang, and the management is not as strict as Luoyang.

Compared to before the capital was moved, the population of Kaifeng has not decreased significantly.

"Is this the capital of the Ming Dynasty? It is indeed very huge." Anwari seemed to be in a dream.

Cheng Yu smiled and said, "It is the deputy capital, Tokyo. The capital of the Ming Dynasty is in Luoyang, and it was moved there a few years ago."

The envoys of various countries found it difficult to understand why such a huge city would move its capital?

To them, this city was already a paradise.

Especially after nightfall, the city was brightly lit inside and outside, and it seemed that the night could not stop people from traveling.

Anwari could not imagine how much the lighting cost for one night!