The dark canal water, the snow-capped banks, the ship heading north, heading north——
At dusk, Zhang Yuan, Wen Zhenmeng and Jin Nige, who had been translating "Aesop's Fables" for a day, were sitting in the cabin to rest, tasting tea, eating snacks and watching the snow scenery. Jin Nige just wanted to take this free time to ask Zhang Yuan a few words.
When someone preached the teachings of the Holy Religion, Jinni Ge never forgets to preach, but Zhang Yuan, who is studious, took out his flintlock gun and asked Jinni Ge for relevant questions. Jinni Ge introduced that this percussion type flintlock gun is from France.
It was invented by a watchmaker named Mahan. King Henry IV admired this gun very much and wanted to promote it in the army. King Henry was assassinated five years ago, and the French generals did not trust this new musket, which was percussion-type.
The flintlock was neglected——
Zhang Yuan wanted to try the power of this flintlock gun, but there was no ammunition in the wooden box. He asked Jinnige. Jinnige smiled, went back to the cabin and took out a cowhide bag from his luggage. There were a dozen bullets in the bag.
The projectile was slightly smaller than a pigeon egg. It was heavy. Zhang Yuan weighed it. The projectile weighed about half a pound. The diameter of the projectile was about the same as the caliber of the gun barrel. Jinni Ge stuffed a projectile into the barrel and used a purge bar.
He drove the projectile to the end, plugged it tightly, put a piece of polished flint on the jaw of the hammer, and said with a smile: "Master Zhang, do you want to test fire a shot?"
Zhang Yuan thought to himself: "Will the barrel of this gun explode? It is said that munitions guns often explode, so that sergeants are afraid of using muskets." He said, "Please ask Master Jin to give it a try for us."
Jin Nige pushed open the tent window, put the gun on the window sill, and said: "The longest range of this gun is about three hundred feet of Ming Dynasty. Master Zhang wants to shoot wherever he wants. My marksmanship is not accurate and I can't hit small objects."
"
Zhang Yuan thought: "If you build a 300-foot base, that's nearly 100 meters. Looking at the speed at which Jinni Pavilion just loaded the projectiles, it takes about two or three minutes to complete a shot." Look towards the left bank, which is the northern suburb of Yangzhou City.
The river bank was empty and there were no other pedestrians, so he pointed to an old tree with branches covered with ice and snow not far away: "Just shoot at that tree."
As soon as Jinnige took aim, he pulled the trigger. The spring drove the hammer to hit the flint, and the gunpowder in the ignition tank was ignited by the sparks splashed by the flint. With a "bang" sound, Jinnige's body shook, and the projectile flew from the flint.
The barrel of the gun whistled out of the barrel, and the old tree twenty feet away trembled in response. The ice and snow fell, and it was only then that it was recognized that it was an old pear tree. There was a "click" and a broken branch fell on the river bank, covered in gunpowder smoke.
spread——
Zhang Dai, Huang Zunsu and others on the front and rear boats all walked out to the bow and stern of the boat, wondering what the noise was and what happened?
Zhang Yuan smiled and said: "Don't be alarmed, Jin Siduo and I are testing the muskets."
Zhang Dai said happily: "Jiezi, one more shot."
Zhang Yuan said: "Okay. Wait a moment." He asked Jinnige: "Can I shoot continuously?"
Jin Nige said: "The barrel of this gun is made of fine iron. It can be fired continuously without worrying about the chamber exploding."
Zhang Yuan followed Jinnige's instructions, inserted the projectile, and put the gun on the window railing. The flintlock gun had a front sight in front and a rear sight. It was very well made. Zhang Yuan bent down and aimed at a willow tree on the river bank. He
I could only shoot a tree. It was my first time to shoot a gun. I was a little nervous, and the boat was still moving. I took aim for a while and then suddenly pulled the trigger——
There was a "bang" sound, and Zhang Yuan's body shook violently. The old willow tree on the river bank also trembled violently, with broken branches falling off, snow foam flying, and cheers from the boats in front and behind.
Zhang Yuan is quite satisfied with the power of this flintlock gun. Jinni Ge said that the ignition success rate of this kind of flintlock gun is more than 80%. It is much higher than the 50% of the matchlock gun. The impact of the flintlock gun not only greatly
It simplifies the shooting process. It is not afraid of wind and rain, and can fight all day long. These advantages, coupled with good training, are enough to change the fate of a soldier and an army on the battlefield. But as far as Zhang Yuan knows, in Sal
In the Battle of Hu, the Eight Banners soldiers of the Hou Jin Dynasty seemed not to be afraid of the Ming army's firearms at all. Regardless of the adverse factors such as headwinds, dampness, and exploding barrels, some Hou Jin soldiers did not suffer any damage even if they were shot by muskets. This made Zhang Yuan a little worried.
I'm confused, is it that Hou Jin's armor is more protective or is the power of the Ming army's blunderbuss too limited?
…
For more than half a month after that, Zhang Yuan translated books with Jinni Pavilion every day, talked with friends, and sometimes enjoyed the scenery along the way and observed the people's sentiments. The long journey was very fulfilling, and all "Aesop's Fables" had been translated.
Wen Zhenmeng made the final touches and transcribed the text. Zhang Yuan had already started cooperating with Jinnige to translate "The Law of the New Year". Jinnige was quite tiring. He had to deal with three co-translators by himself (Huang Zunsu also joined
came in), and also had to find every opportunity to preach. Fortunately, in addition to translating books, he also gained a lot. He spent day and night with Zhang Yuan, Wen Zhen and Meng, and his sinology cultivation increased day by day. In addition, Xu, a member of the Shanghai Juren family, conveyed information to the Catholic Church
The Lord was very interested and expressed that he would receive Catholic baptism when he arrived in Beijing——
On the afternoon of November 19th, Zhang Yuan and his party of five boats crossed the Yellow River from Xuzhou north. In the Ming Dynasty, the Yellow River intersected with the canal in Xuzhou, and then passed through Huai'an to seize the Huai River and enter the sea. The river course was completely different from that of four hundred years later. Once it crossed the Yellow River,
Entering the border of Shandong, the scene is very different. The houses on both sides of the strait are dilapidated and the people are all hungry. Zhang Yuan asked people and found out that there has been no rain for five months in six counties of Shandong this year. Locust plagues are everywhere. Qingzhou, Yizhou, and Mount Tai are burning for hundreds of miles.
, there are no buds growing, Fei County, Changle, hundreds of people gathered together to robber, looting during the day, snatching grain and livestock, and even the tragedy of cannibalism——
Zhang Yuan stood on the bow of the ship and looked to the right, thinking: "Is this the real situation in the late Ming Dynasty? In the south of the Yangtze River, the drought and snow disaster the year before last were also quite serious, but there was no news of cannibalism, and there were no large numbers of hungry people stealing.
Although the government does nothing, the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River is still relatively effective in providing disaster relief. This should be because there are many wealthy households in the south of the Yangtze River, but in the north of the Yangtze River, disasters are so miserable!"
Before noon on the 28th, we arrived at Jining, an important town in Shandong. The canal in front was blocked by ships and was impassable. The boatman went to inquire and came back and said that the Linqing Chaoguan in the north of Jining was occupied by thieves. The passing riverboats were robbed and dared not pass. The traffic between the north and south of the canal
Zhang Yuan and others were shocked when they heard that the canal was cut off. Linqing was an important place for banknotes, and the annual tariffs were among the highest among all the banknotes. What's more important was that the canal traffic was cut off. This loss was not trivial!
Huang Zunsu said: "The disaster in Shandong is so serious, why doesn't the imperial court provide disaster relief? The hungry people are thieves, so disaster relief should be given first, with equal emphasis on suppression and appeasement. The civil unrest will be quelled soon."
Ruan Dacheng said worriedly: "I don't know how long this commotion will last. Wouldn't it be bad if I missed my exam?" He then discussed whether to take the land route and bypass Shandong to Beijing——
Zhang Yuandao: "Linqing is an important tax area for the imperial court. It is impossible for the government to ignore it. If we wait here for a few days, the river should be clear soon."
So the group of people waited in Jining. There were ships blocked on the river for more than ten miles, and there were many complaints.
On the morning of the 29th, Zhang Yuan was not in the mood to translate the "Law on New Year's Eve", so he went ashore with Huang Zunsu and Jin Nige to inquire about the situation ahead. Mu Zhenzhen, Wang Dachui, Wu Ling, and Huang Sangao followed.
later--
Jining is the hometown of Confucius and Mencius. Qufu, the hometown of Confucius, is only fifty miles away. The products are abundant and the ancient customs still exist. Jining was also affected by drought in the winter of the 43rd year of Wanli. Because the canals were blocked and because of the fear of thieves, many shops were closed and the streets were crowded.
It looked depressed. Zhang Yuan and others entered from the west gate of the city and were about to go around to the north gate to leave the city. At the north gate, they saw an unkempt girl sitting at the foot of the city wall and crying sadly. A man in ragged clothes was lying on the ground, his head resting on the girl.
The thighs looked half-dead. The sun could be basked under the wall, but the sunlight was dim and there was no warmth——
Seeing Zhang Yuan and others walking by, the girl raised her head and said feebly: "Help, help my husband." She didn't hold out much hope. There were many people passing by her this morning. She just looked and asked a few questions.
, and finally turned around and left.
Zhang Yuan took a few steps closer and asked, "What's going on? Is your husband hungry or sick?" At the same time, he ordered Wu Ling to run to the steamed bun shop he passed earlier to buy some hot steamed buns -
The girl's face turned blue from the cold. She looked down at the man whose head was resting on her lap and cried: "I don't know what happened to him. He suddenly fell to the ground while walking, and I couldn't drag him back."
He, wuwuwu, his whole body is hot——"
Jinnige knew some Western medical skills and touched the man's forehead. He rolled his eyelids and looked at the man. He didn't mind the dirt and knelt on the ground. He leaned his head to his ear and listened to the man's heartbeat and lungs. He stood up and said to Zhang Yuan, Huang Zunsu
: "I think I had a cold, high fever, hunger, and extreme fatigue, so I fell into a coma. If we don't rescue, my life will be in danger, but there is no medicine around me——"
Zhang Yuan said: "Find a medical store to save him."
At this time, Wu Ling bought the steamed buns, put them in a paper bag, and handed them to the girl. The girl was also very hungry, so she didn’t have time to say thank you, so she grabbed a steamed bun and took a big bite, puffed out her cheeks, chewed, and then bit the other one.
The steamed bun with a large gap was handed to the mouth of the man lying on his back, and he said vaguely: "Husband, there is a steamed bun here. Take a bite. After eating the steamed bun, you will have the strength to go on your way -"
The man's face was red and his mouth was half open. He was panting and couldn't eat. The girl didn't know how to take care of others, so she stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth. The vegetable filling in the steamed bun fell to the corner of his mouth, but he still didn't want to eat.
eat--
"He is dead." The girl cried loudly. If her husband refused to eat such precious steamed buns, he must be dead.
Wu Ling carefully looked at the man lying on his back and said, "This looks very much like the fortune teller from Qingmo Mountain on the cross street - Master, do you think it looks like him?"
Zhang Yuan also felt that there was a bit of a resemblance, except that the Qingmoshan man on the cross street had three long beards under his chin, shook his feather fan, half-closed his eyes and pinched his fingers to predict the fortune, and he looked a bit fairy-like, and the man in front of him
Although his appearance is haggard, he looks younger than the people from Qingmo Mountain, and there is no hair under his jaw——
Unexpectedly, the girl listened to Wu Ling's words and said hurriedly: "Yes, my husband's name is Qing Mo, and he is from Shaoxing Prefecture."
Zhang Yuan was surprised and thought to himself: "They are really from Qingmo Mountain." At this time, without asking any more questions, he asked Wang Dachui to find a sedan to carry the Qingmo Mountain people to a medical shop for treatment——
Wang Dachui said: "No need to call for a sedan, I will carry him. I, Wang Dachui, have a lot of strength." After saying that, he bent down and stretched out his hand to lift up the man lying on the ground. He said, "He is very thin." He asked Zhang again.
Original: "Master, where are you going?"
Zhang Yuan stopped a passerby and asked, and the passerby pointed south: "Go down from here, and there will be a medicine shop at the corner."
When Wang Dachui heard this, he held the sick man in his hands and strode southward.
The unkempt girl was struggling to stand up on the ground. Mu Zhenzhen stepped forward to help the girl up, half dragging and half carrying her to the medicine shop with Zhang Yuan and others. When they arrived at the medicine shop, the doctor had already ordered the boy to boil the medicine.
, Xiao Chaihu Decoction, told Zhang Yuan that the patient would wake up after taking one dose of the decoction——
Zhang Yuan, Huang Zunsu, and Jin Nige were sitting in a teahouse opposite the medicine shop, drinking tea. After about half an hour, Wu Ling ran over and said, "Young Master, you are really from Qingmo Mountain, and you are awake now."
Zhang Yuan said: "That's good. Let him be taken care of first. Don't talk too much. Just say that I will come see him in the evening." Xiao Wu and Wang Dachui were left to help take care of him. He and Huang Zunsu went back to the ship first.
Zhang Dai heard that the people from Qingmoshan on Cross Street almost died on the streets of Jining, so he followed Zhang Yuan here in the evening. If he were a stranger, it would be enough to give him some medicine and help with some travel expenses, but the people from Qingmoshan were from the same hometown, so naturally he had to
Take more care——
Qingmo Shanren could already sit up. When he saw Zhang Dai and Zhang Yuan's brothers, he burst into tears: "If Mr. Zhang hadn't rescued him, Shanren would have died of hunger on the roadside." He asked the girl to help him to stay down and thanked him. Zhang Yuan hurriedly said
Stop, because I want to ask why the people from Qingmo Mountain are here?
Qingmo Shanren said: "I'm ashamed. Shanren is proud of what he has learned in his life. He knows astronomy and geography. He wants to go to the capital to find an opportunity to develop. Because his ancestral home is in Lu County, I have nothing to do anyway, so I came here to have a look.
But we encountered this great famine. People could be seen eating tree bark, digging grass roots, and starving to death everywhere. It was really terrible. In Tai'an, there were evil young men who were unwilling to starve to death. They formed a group of hundreds of people and robbed during the day, taking away all the mountain people's livelihood.
, Fortunately, the mountain people have skills, and they can tell fortunes and sell fortunes without starving to death——"
Zhang Dai couldn't help laughing and said: "Since the people of Qingmo Mountain know Yin and Yang well, they should know how to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, so why do they rush into this dangerous place?"
The Qingmo Mountain people were not easily ashamed, and sighed: "There is a kind of evil in this world that cannot be countered by individual destiny. Think about the wars in ancient times, when all the cities died, how could they all die short-lived and violently?"
Because the fate of life is like this, no one can escape except for a few lucky stars."
Zhang Yuan secretly marveled that this man from Qingmo Mountain seemed to be boastful, but sometimes what he said was quite reasonable. He pointed at the unkempt girl and asked: "Is this Ling Zheng?" He thought to himself: "A man from Qingmo Mountain.
When I opened a fortune-telling shop on the cross street, I didn’t seem to have a wife.”
The unkempt girl lowered her head shyly.
Qingmo Shanren nodded and said: "Exactly." Then he asked the girl: "What's your name? Dong, I told you last time, I forgot."
The girl whispered: "Dong milk tea."
Zhang Dai and Zhang Yuan looked at each other, wondering where this girl was abducted from Qingmo Mountain, otherwise they wouldn't even know their wife's name!
————————————————————————
Traveling is difficult. Xiaodao has written about the prosperity of the late Ming Dynasty, but also about the disasters of the late Ming Dynasty. Xiaodao is not just romantic. Use whatever kind of pen and ink you want for any situation and background. You must always find the most suitable one. Xiaodao is very serious.
I have been writing this book for a long time. Tomorrow Jiezi should be in the capital, asking book friends to continue to support Yasao and vote for recommendation.