As the year draws to a close, the streets become increasingly deserted.
Many of the people in Bianliang were migrant workers from surrounding counties, and it was not far from Tokyo.
After working and earning money in Bianliang this year, I bought some things for the New Year, big bags and small bags, and went back to my hometown by boat, on foot, or in a donkey cart.
Just like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen at the end of the year in later generations, Bianliang became a ghost town overnight, and its streets and alleys lost some of their prosperity.
However, the closer it got to the end of the year, the more lively the area around Donghuamen in the imperial city became, because according to annual custom, Zhao Zhen would hold grand celebrations on New Year's Day, Lantern Festival, and his birthday.
The people gathered near Donghuamen, and the court would invite many elderly people to the palace for a banquet, followed by firecrackers and fireworks, and the entire street was filled with people coming and going.
The royal family also distributed food, a small amount of copper coins and some daily necessities.
Especially this year, as many people froze to death in the city, Kaifeng Prefecture went door to door to comfort the needy people, purchased a large amount of charcoal, and delivered it to the people's homes to solve their urgent needs.
In the third year of Jingyou, except for the Huainan region which had not yet recovered from the aftereffects of the severe drought of the previous year, most places had good weather and no shortage of food.
This year, the price of grain in Bianliang has basically remained at one or two hundred wen per stone. As long as you have a job in Bianliang, it should not be a big problem to support your family.
However, due to the lack of warm cotton clothes, even though they had no worries about food and clothing, some elderly people and children still fell ill due to the cold weather and soon died of fever.
Under such circumstances, Kaifeng Prefecture and the Imperial City Administration both donated charcoal to keep warm in the name of the royal family.
This is called celebrating with the people.
"The middle of the Northern Song Dynasty and the early Yuan Dynasty weren't too far apart, only about two hundred years, but cotton cultivation was already quite widespread, especially in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. This suggests that cotton was able to adapt to the climate of the Central Plains during this period."
In Guanjia Hall, the Chinese New Year was just a few days away, and except for a few on duty, most officials were on leave.
The Constitutional Yuan has also been closed for the holidays.
But no one left. It's just that no one went to work in the morning to handle government affairs like before. Now everyone rests at home in the morning, comes to sit for two or three hours to attend classes in the afternoon, and goes home to reunite with their families in the evening.
The children in the yard have also returned home. Zhao Jun has been teaching for three months and has basically completed all the primary school courses.
Zhao Jun had nothing to do. As the government affairs that needed to be handled had already been dealt with, he simply ordered all the states and prefectures to submit this year's situation data to the Statistics Department. He usually visited the people or gave lectures in the palace.
Today let’s talk about cotton planting and promotion.
The current stage is no longer the popular science stage, but the stage where he helps solve the problems encountered by the Song Dynasty.
For example, the ability to keep warm in winter.
He told the crowd, "In the early Yuan Dynasty, the government established the Kapok Administration, which collected cotton cloth from the people on a large scale, as much as 100,000 bolts annually. Later, cotton cloth was made the top tax on summer taxes (cloth, silk, and cotton), indicating that cotton cloth had become the primary textile material of the time. After the Yuan Dynasty, rulers actively collected cotton and cotton cloth, published books on cotton-growing techniques, and encouraged the people to plant cotton. By then, cotton planting and cotton textile production had spread throughout the country. Zhu Yuanzhang's ability to promote cotton cultivation nationwide was actually a legacy of the Yuan Dynasty's system, so we should and must prepare in advance. Even if cotton can't flourish everywhere just yet, we still need to do some things to pave the way for the future."
Wang Zeng said solemnly, "I have already sent cotton seeds to Guangzhou and have them planted there quickly. I believe there will be results soon."
"Um."
Zhao Jun nodded and said, "Guangdong is a hilly country, so it's not suitable for large-scale cotton cultivation. However, we need to first allow cotton to take root and sprout in Guangdong, and then gradually promote it to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. I hope that within at least five years, cotton will be flourishing throughout Guangzhou."
"But that's a matter for the future. Fewer people froze to death in Bianliang this year than in previous years, but I still feel very sad. It would be great if the Song Dynasty could be like later generations, without fear of the cold."
Zhao Zhen sighed. He was a kind-hearted man, and like Zhao Jun, he felt equally upset when he saw the reports about the disaster.
"Not entirely."
Zhao Jun thought for a moment and said, "I've been visiting the people these days and have come to realize how poorly they resist the cold. Without cotton clothes, they can only use charcoal to keep warm. But charcoal heating has many drawbacks, such as uneven heat dissipation and a short-lived effect. I've come up with a better solution."
"What method?"
"Honeycomb briquettes."
"Honeycomb coal?"
Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what this thing was.
"Honeycomb briquettes are made by adding coal and other ingredients, mixing them with water, and then using molds to fix and dry them in the sun."
Zhao Jun explained, "When this thing is burned in a coal stove, it not only burns slowly but also releases heat evenly, with a very long-lasting effect. It was economical and affordable, and a must-have artifact for every household in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and even the 2000s."
"oh?"
Zhao Zhen quickly asked, "Can it be done?"
“We have to try this.”
Zhao Jun scratched his head and said, "To be honest, I didn't think of this at first. It's because I only remember this thing from when I was a few years old. I rarely saw it since I started elementary school. I don't even know the specific formula. I just know this thing. If I hadn't recently visited the people and found that they rarely go out to work in winter and just stay at home to keep warm, I wouldn't have thought of it."
If you are born in the 1980s or 1990s, you will definitely be familiar with honeycomb coal, but Zhao Jun was born in the 2000s.
It’s not that people born in the 2000s necessarily have less experience.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
