Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

at night.

The father and son started a discussion.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Today, you are in a hurry again."

"I'm not in a hurry." Ju Ming firmly denied.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "You are too eager to show your talent. You directly wholesale eight poems, and the quality is very high. This is inconsistent with your current age. There are some things that you cannot write at the age of fifteen."

Ju Ming said: "I have carefully considered which poems to copy. Except for the three poems by Xin Qiji, Zhu Xi and Yang Shen, which require more experience, the rest are very suitable for young people to write. Even their three poems are too young for their maturity. It can be accepted. Moreover, the quality of these eight poems varies from high to low, and the thoughts are profound and rich, which is very consistent with the actual practice of literary creation."

"I still think it's too impatient. Three songs are basically enough. Five songs is already the limit. After all, these are all famous lines." Zhu Guoxiang insisted on his opinion.

Ju Ming said: "Three songs can't create any scene, five songs should be enough, but why not eight? We need fame and influence, not only among the common people at the bottom, but also among the scholars. No matter how bad the scholars are, they will not be able to do it." They must be allowed to govern the local area, otherwise the local area will fall into an anarchic power vacuum, and the gentry will take the opportunity to seize local control. This state occurred during the Wanli period and became one of the key factors in the demise of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Guoxiang said nothing because he lacked research on history.

Zhu Ming continued: "Dean Zhu, do you think that I copied so many poems just to show off? No! I am preparing for a rebellion. Only by gaining fame and influence can I start a rebellion in the future, and those who are willing to join me will There are more scholars."

"I think you are a bit too optimistic. The traditional idea of ​​scholars is to be loyal to the emperor. They will not risk beheading to seek refuge with you just because you have written a few good poems." Zhu Guoxiang objected.

Zhu Ming smiled and said: "There were many scholars from the Song Dynasty in Liao and Xixia. The candidates in the Song Dynasty did not have any privileges, and some even came from poor families. This is a very large group. The more famous I am among the scholars, the more The more scholars I can attract. Otherwise, why would I go to study at Imperial College? Is it just a trip to Kaifeng?"

Zhu Guoxiang asked: "Have you ever thought about what kind of system will be established after the rebellion is successful?"

Ju Ming did not answer directly, but asked: "Have you heard of the uprising of Prime Minister Zhong Yang Yao?"

Zhu Guoxiang nodded: "I have an impression that he was put down by Yue Fei."

Ju Ming said: "This uprising occurred at the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty and is of great reference value to us."

"In the first stage, the leader was Zhong Xiang. He led three hundred archers to King Qin, but he was sent back halfway. Because money and food were cut off, and he was always discriminated against, he simply led those archers to rebel against Suqiu."

"Although Prime Minister Zhong rebelled under the slogan of Mingjiao, he initially followed the path of a mutual aid cooperative. Peasants paid money to join the cooperative and helped each other to resist natural disasters, oppression by landlords and government exploitation. The slogan of the rebellion was 'Equalize the rich and the poor, and equalize the rich and the poor.' , killing officials, killing scholars, killing monks and Taoists, killing enemies, and attacking local tyrants to divide their fields. Therefore, the development speed is extremely fast, but it destroys the order at the grassroots level, severely damages economic production, and makes the people at the bottom even worse off!"

"In the second stage, the leader was Yang Yao. Yang Yao learned his lesson and only killed notorious landlords and confiscated their properties. Enlightened landlords continued to be ordered to farm and pay taxes. He also burned Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian temples and robbed them. The fields were distributed to the poor people. The means of production, such as cattle, water canals, etc., were then uniformly allocated. Trade was developed externally and food was controlled internally. Officers and soldiers were equal, worked collectively, and distributed fairly. Yang Yao himself ate fish, shrimp, snails, and clams with the soldiers. . Even schools were set up for the children of the rebels to study."

The more Zhu Guoxiang listened, the more familiar he became: "This Yang Yao is really a talent!"

Ju Ming said: "When Prime Minister Zhong led the uprising, he relied on looting for food, and he often went hungry. When Yang Yao led the uprising, it only took two or three years to develop and the food was self-sufficient."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "No wonder the officers and soldiers were unable to quell the uprising, and finally had to send Yue Fei there."

"Yue Fei's success in suppressing the rebels was due not only to his own strength, but also to some degree of luck," Zhu Ming said. "Yang Yao's rebel army encountered a severe drought and their food reserves were gradually exhausted. And Yue Fei led his army to control the fortress. The road cut off the rebel army's food collection channel. In addition, the previous generals who suppressed bandits burned a large number of wealthy villages in the rebel areas, which also left Yang Yao with insufficient food. And these were not the key to Yang Yao's failure! "

"What is the key?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Ju Ming said: "When there was not enough food, Yang Yao ate and slept with the soldiers. But after the food problem was solved and the officers and soldiers were defeated many times, Yang Yao became arrogant and extravagant, and took life and death based on his preference. He betrayed the original intention of the uprising. , has become unpopular. Other officers and soldiers went to suppress the bandits, and they were more vicious than Yang Yao, so naturally they could not succeed. The Yue family army did not commit any crimes in Qiu, and won the recognition of the people in the uprising area. A large number of Yang Yao's tribe chose to join Yue Fei. This is a dragon slayer. The story of a young boy who eventually turned into a dragon, Yang Yao was only twenty-seven when he died."

Zhu Guoxiang sighed: "Just like the leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."

"What lessons can we draw from this uprising?" Ju Ming asked.

Zhu Guoxiang thought carefully and said: "First, guard against arrogance and impetuosity, maintain the original intention, and do not forget about it. Yang Yao brought it upon himself, and he did not die unjustly. Second, ensure the production order in the uprising area, especially grain production, and cannot be like Zhong Xiang. Recklessly……"

"How to maintain production order?" Ju Ming interrupted.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Landlords cannot kill indiscriminately, but they cannot kill no one at all. The gentry class is the defender and enforcer of order at the grassroots level. Killing indiscriminately will make a mess, and if you don't kill, you can't do anything. You have to find a balance point." . Moreover, it is difficult to control the balance point. It is okay if the territory is small, but it will be out of control when the territory is large. The bottom peasants who participated in the rebellion will pour out their hatred on all the rich. And the generals will gradually become corrupt and lead the peasants to rob the rich. Relieving the poor will ultimately lead to random killing and looting!”

Ju Ming smiled and said: "So, we need to set up a target of hatred, and that is the imperial court and the government. Scholars, landlords, businessmen, and farmers all have enough reasons to hate the imperial court and the government! Exploitation by the imperial court and the government is the main contradiction, and the rest are secondary. Conflicts. The conflicts between farmers and landlords can be resolved after the establishment of a new dynasty."

"Can you solve it?" Zhu Guoxiang questioned.

Zhu Ming said: "It's nothing more than Zhu Yuanzhang's approach, formulating strict laws and severely punishing officials. The drums are not just for decoration. The grain chief can also meet the emperor, and the people are allowed to kill corrupt officials. In the early days of Zhu Yuanzhang's reign, there were a lot of rebels in the country. He was In the process of suppressing the rebellion, we took the opportunity to attack the landlords.”

Zhu Guoxiang couldn't laugh or cry: "What kind of solution is this?"

"What else? You're going to divide the land among the local tycoons and push all the landowners to the Song Dynasty court?" Zhu Ming said, "This may have been feasible in the late Ming Dynasty, but it was absolutely impossible in the Song Dynasty. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were a lot of people who had no food to eat. The scholars in the Song Dynasty did not care about the landlords and could rely on them to implement policies. The number of scholars in the Song Dynasty was far less than that in the late Ming Dynasty. No matter how poor they were, they could not get much poorer. We attacked the landlords, and all the scholars ran away, leaving the big characters Are unknown farmers going to collect taxes?"

"Let's take it one step at a time. It doesn't matter whether we are going to rebel or not," Zhu Guoxiang said, then realized, "No, today we are discussing the matter of copying poems. Why are you telling me about these rebel contents?"

Ju Ming smiled and said: "I told you, copying poems is to rebel and improve my reputation among scholars. I also plan to go to Tangyin County. Maybe I can find Yue Fei and instill in him the idea that the people are valued and the monarch is valued. He is loyal to the people, and should not be foolishly loyal to the royal family of the Song Dynasty. Maybe the world will be in chaos, and Yue Fei can be kidnapped to rebel."

"How old is Yue Fei this year?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

Ju Ming said: "About ten years old."

…

At this moment, Lu Tixue, Xiang Zhixian, and Professor Qian were also discussing the eight poems.

"This song "Linjiangxian" (The Rolling Yangtze River Passes East)," Professor Qian tasted it carefully, "doesn't seem to be written by a young man, but more like it was written by a middle-aged or old man who has read all about the world."

Lu Tixue said: "Why can't a young man write it? Wang Bo was only twenty-six years old when he wrote "Preface to Prince Teng's Pavilion"."

Professor Qian said: "But this Zhu Chenggong is only fifteen years old."

"A child prodigy!" Lu Tixue believed in Ju Ming very much and believed that there were strange people and strange things in the world.

Xiang Zhixian suddenly said: "Could it be...that it was done by his father Zhu Yuanzhang?"

Professor Qian said: "This Zhu Yuanzhang even answered the three-character order incorrectly several times."

Xiang Zhixian said: "It's just Zangzhuo. Because the three-character order is simple, anyone who has learned a little about Ci Ling can easily take it. It's just that he can't make a rhyme. But Zhu Yuanzhang didn't answer a word and just drank. Zangzhuo also did it. It’s so obvious.”

"It's very possible!" Professor Qian agreed.

Now, even Lu Tixue is not sure. Is it really Zhu Guoxiang's poem?

Lu Tixue suddenly said: "No, Zhu Chenggong has real talent and practical knowledge. I used the 'doing knowledge' question to test the poetry talents of the students, and Zhu Chenggong immediately wrote a superior work that fit the situation. Such talent is extraordinary. Average. If you can write one song, you can write eight!"

Xiang and Qian stopped talking.

Borrowing the Bai family's study room, Lu Tixue wrote a letter that night, recommending Ju Ming's poems to Qian Chen.

Qian Chen was the son of a prince-in-law. He once served as an assistant to Emperor Zhezong of the Song Dynasty. He was thrown to Luzhou by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty to serve as a military governor. In the past two years, he was recalled to Kaifeng to serve as an official. This person also has an identity. He is the uncle of Lu You and Tang Wan.

The Qian family, the Lu family, and the Tang family were all in an awkward situation because of their marriage, and I couldn't figure out which party they belonged to.

Take Lu Dian (Lu You's grandfather) as an example. Although he was Wang Anshi's direct disciple, he thought that although the new law was good, it was difficult to implement, so he was thrown away by Wang Anshi to serve as an academic official. The old party came to power and recalled Lu Dian as one of their own. Lu Dian tried his best to protect Wang Anshi's reputation, so he was beaten to the new party. The new party came to power and labeled Lu Dian as the old party.

Lu Zai (Lu You's father) was an official in the capital at this time, and was temporarily regarded as a new party by Cai Jing. Because his alignment was unclear, he could be labeled as an old party at any time.

Qian Chen's situation is pretty good, after all, he has a biological mother who is a princess.

Lu Tixue was extremely complimentary in his letter, hoping that Qian Chen could help build momentum and spread Ju Ming's eight poems.

He was almost despairing of the current situation and was half-lying down. All that can be done now is to train a few juniors and promote new crops.