jdhmnovel Chapter 186 Even I feel sorry for the beasts of burden in the Ming Dynasty court.
Chapter 186 Even I feel sorry for the beasts of burden in the Ming Dynasty court.
On the fourth day of the second month of the second year of Hongwu, in the fields of Liumiao Village, west of Ningyang County.
Magistrate Yang Shaofeng lay on the recliner like a salted fish unwilling to turn over, covered with a thin blanket. Next to the recliner was a small table with a tea set on it, and next to the tea set was half a cake of Xiaolongtuan tea leaves. Next to the table was a stove with a kettle on it emitting wisps of white steam.
The young maidservant who served Magistrate Yang had grown another year older, taller, and more beautiful.
After the water boiled, the young maid first picked up the kettle and rinsed the teaware with hot water. Then, she carefully pried off a corner of the small dragon tea cake, placed it in the teacup, and brewed it with boiling water. When the aroma of the tea filled the air and the water temperature had dropped a bit, the young maid brought the teacup to Magistrate Yang and whispered, "Sir, the tea is ready."
Magistrate Yang grunted in agreement and casually said, "Alright, go play with your girlfriends for a while," before turning his gaze back to the people working in the fields.
On the fourth day of the second lunar month, even Emperor Zhu Chongba personally went to the capital to cultivate the land to show his emphasis on agriculture. As a people-friendly official, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng naturally had to go to the fields to do some farm work himself.
Unfortunately, no matter how much the villagers of Liumiao Village pleaded, they wouldn't let Magistrate Yang work in the fields. In fact, that scoundrel Liu Thirty-Two even led a group of people to the county government office and brought Magistrate Yang Shaofeng's reclining chair and tea set to Liumiao Village.
According to Liu Sanshier, "We know that the master values spring plowing, but the best way to show that the master values it is to be on the ground and watch. It is absolutely unacceptable for the master to personally go down to the fields to work. Otherwise, I, Old Liu, will not be able to explain to the people of the other villages and communities in Ningyang County. I will be criticized and gossiped about whenever I go out."
Magistrate Yang felt that this sentence sounded familiar—it seemed that Liu Thirty-Two had already said it once back in the first year of Hongwu?
Then, unable to work in the fields because the villagers stopped him, Magistrate Yang could only lie helplessly on his recliner and watch as Liu Thirty-Two led the villagers of Liu Temple Village to plow the land.
Fortunately, thanks to the oxen and curved plows bestowed by Emperor Zhu and his deputy, the people were able to plow the land at a fairly fast pace, managing to plow about three or four mu a day, which was more than three times faster than when spring plowing had just begun in the first year of the Hongwu reign.
Important note: Students who haven't yet traveled through time should definitely not go to the Ming Dynasty to invent the curved plow. This thing already existed in the Tang Dynasty and is not considered a new invention in the Ming Dynasty, so it won't shock the natives of the Ming Dynasty.
Furthermore, oxen pull the plow, which plows more slowly but deeper, while mules and horses plow shallower but faster. The two animals have different plowing speeds and depths, and the depth of plowing determines the effectiveness of plowing, which affects the autumn harvest. This is why people prefer to use oxen to plow the land.
Magistrate Yang picked up the tea brewed from the small dragon tea cake, took a sip, put down the teacup, and then turned his gaze to the oxen pulling the plow, his thoughts once again wandering off course.
So, what are those beasts of burden in the imperial court doing right now?
Was he captured by that old scoundrel Zhu Chongba and forced to plow the fields?
While Magistrate Yang was venting his frustrations and complaining on the grounds of Liumiao Village, Emperor Zhu Chongba was leading the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty to worship Shennong at the Temple of Agriculture.
The Temple of Agriculture in Nanjing is located southwest of the Altar of Mountains and Rivers. It is dedicated to Shennong, with Houji as a secondary deity. The scale of the sacrifice is classified as a "grand sacrifice", meaning that the emperor would personally go to the Temple of Agriculture to offer sacrifices every year, accompanied by the crown prince and civil and military officials.
"Houji" refers to Houji, the ancestor of the Zhou dynasty, whose surname was Ji and given name was Qi. His mother was Jiang Yuan, a woman of the You Tai clan. He was born in Jishan. Because he was good at planting hemp and beans in his childhood, and was skilled at cultivating grains and crops in adulthood, he taught the people how to farm. He served as the prime minister of Yao and Shun, and was therefore revered as King Ji, God of Ji, God of Agriculture, God of Cultivation, and God of Grain. He was the ancestor of agriculture and the god of the five grains.
After the sacrifices to Shennong and Houji were completed, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices requested the emperor to stand at the plowing position, facing south. The three dukes and those below them, as well as those who were to participate in the plowing, each took their positions. The Minister of Revenue presented the plow and hoe to the north. The Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices guided the emperor to push the plow three times, the three dukes five times, and the minister nine times. This was the so-called emperor personally plowing.
Simply put, after offering sacrifices to Shennong and Houji, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices would invite Emperor Zhu Chongba (Zhu the Great) to personally cultivate the "one and a half acres of land" that the emperor would personally plow.
These fields were divided into twelve plots. The three plots in the very center were personally cultivated by Emperor Zhu Chongba. The specific process involved Emperor Zhu Biao, the Executive Vice Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, leading the ox in front, while Emperor Zhu held the plow with his right hand and the whip with his left. Civil and military officials with certain status and experienced farmers assisted from the side, and there were also special officials in charge of sowing the seeds.
After Emperor Zhu finished plowing the three plots of land, he would return to the viewing platform next to the fields to watch the civil and military officials plow the land. However, this process was just a formality. The real main force in plowing the land was the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, the magistrates of Shangyuan and Jiangning counties, and the actual farmers. They were responsible for cultivating the small plots of land. Finally, Emperor Zhu would give the officials tea and snacks as a token of his appreciation.
To put it bluntly, the symbolic significance of Emperor Zhu leading the crown prince and officials to personally plow the fields was greater than its practical significance. It was intended to demonstrate to the people the importance that the emperor and the court attached to agriculture.
And this was considered good—when Zhu Laosi became emperor, the number of officials from the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) was increased to lead their subordinates in making merry. Later, when watching the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers farm, the Jiaofangsi would arrange grand music and a variety of performances. Later, during the process of giving meals to the old farmers and to the civil and military officials, the Jiaofangsi would also make merry. Basically, the Jiaofangsi would make merry from beginning to end.
Later, during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor, things became even more absurd. A whole host of ridiculous rituals were added, while the projects involving personal farming were repeatedly reduced, to the point that it could no longer be considered a proper "personal farming and agricultural encouragement."
Of course, Emperor Zhu Chongba was not Yang Shaofeng. He did not know that a Yongle Emperor who liked to have the Jiaofangsi (a type of music and dance troupe) play music and make merry would appear in the future, nor did he know that a Daoist emperor who thought about cultivating immortality all day long would appear in the future.
After personally plowing three plots of land, Emperor Zhu chuckled and handed the ox reins and plow to Li Shanchang, saying, "Brother Shanchang, the rest is up to you to lead the officials to finish."
Li Shanchang took the reins and plow from Emperor Zhu, cursing the emperor in his heart for his inhumanity, while respectfully bowing and saying, "Your subject obeys the decree."
Then, Li Shanchang could only obediently lead the cattle and horses of the Ming Dynasty court to begin spring plowing.
Compared to Li Shanchang and the corrupt officials in the Ming Dynasty court, Magistrate Yang, far away in Ningyang County, was still lying on his recliner, indulging in tea from time to time, living a life of unparalleled comfort.
Of course, Magistrate Yang was always incredibly kind-hearted. If he knew that Li Shanchang and the court officials were plowing the fields, he would probably feel sorry for them for three seconds before continuing to laze around in the sun.
Another possibility is that Magistrate Yang might ask those officials in the court why they've all become so well-behaved lately. If they don't come and give me some amusement soon, I might have to send people to Jiangnan to buy silkworm paper!
Then, Magistrate Yang inevitably began to have a headache over the matter of silkworm paper.
Before his time travel, Magistrate Yang had never raised silkworms, but he had seen his grandmother raise them when he was a child. A small piece of silkworm paper could hatch several baskets of silkworms, and the mulberry leaves used for raising silkworms had to be washed and dried before they could be used to feed the silkworms, otherwise those delicate silkworms would die very easily.