Basically, Zhao Mengqi's New Year greetings covered all the families in Lin'an City.
However, for different objects, the value of the annual gift is almost the same, but the content is slightly different.
For example, in the homes of wealthy families and officials, in addition to briquettes and Spring Festival couplets, there is a can of fruit candies with various flavors and a piece of soap.
Fruit candy is made from various fruit juices plus snow sugar, maltose and other raw materials. It is considered a high-end product to be launched by sugar companies.
It is not difficult to make soap. You just need to saponify the oil with caustic soda. The caustic soda is prepared from slaked lime and natural soda ash. The oils are currently mainly cottonseed oil and eucommia seed oil. In the future, we will try to expand the source of oils, such as whaling or something. .
At this time, cotton was already planted in the two Zhejiang areas, especially in Huating County, Jiaxing Prefecture, where the soil and climate were very suitable for the growth of cotton, so planting increased day by day.
However, cotton spinning technology at this time was still relatively backward. Cotton seeds had to be stripped off manually, and there were no tools to loosely separate cotton fibers. This was not conducive to spinning and weaving. It was mainly used as filling for clothing and quilts.
Objectively speaking, cotton has many advantages over linen, a popular clothing material at that time, so it gradually became one of the mainstream fabrics in the Ming Dynasty a hundred or two hundred years later.
The tools for ginning cotton seeds and elasticizing cotton are actually very simple. With a little reminder from Zhao Mengqi, the craftsmen made it. After breaking through this threshold, with the developed textile technology in the Song Dynasty, I believe it will not take long to develop cotton cloth.
After Eucommia gum has made some progress, the next step is to promote artificial planting, so that some mountainous areas that cannot be used for farming can be used. In addition to raising seedlings, the seeds can also be used to extract oil.
Zhao Mengqi obviously had many utilitarian goals in this New Year greeting. Advertising for new products was one of them. Sugar and soap are currently in the high-end market. For a long time in the future, the consumer groups will all be wealthy. people.
In addition, Zhao Mengqi has not forgotten that there is a special group in Lin'an City who are candidates for the examination.
At this time, the provincial examination will begin in the first month of the first lunar month. Therefore, it is stipulated that candidates nationwide must arrive in Lin'an before the 25th of the twelfth lunar month at the latest to submit documents such as ultimatums and family certificates to the Ministry of Rites to complete the registration process.
Therefore, the vast majority of Juren are already in Lin'an and will celebrate the New Year here.
The New Year's gift that Zhao Mengqi gave them was a pair of wordless Spring Festival couplets, which were blank red sheets of paper. As educated people, of course, they were allowed to write them themselves.
There was also a winter coat, a bar of soap, a dagger, a gold pen, and a bottle of ink.
The gold pen is actually a copycat pen of later generations. The copper piece is the pen tip, and the pen tip is gold-plated for lubrication. The pen body is made of thin bamboo, which is made into a pump. The pen tip is connected with a goose quill inside to pump ink and store ink. Fortunately, there is Eucommia gum, otherwise the seal would be a problem. problem.
The ink is a by-product of research into new printing technology. Isinglass and coal tar are added to prevent the ink from settling.
With these two things, writing records becomes more convenient.
It is not difficult to deliver the New Year's gift to the two thousand or so people. Just take the registration book of the Ministry of Rites and find it according to the address.
The Gongyuan of the Ministry of Rites is located in Wulinfang in the north of Lin'an, so most of the candidates who are taking the exam live in buildings or temples nearby.
Opposite the Renhe County Government Office, there is a hotel with a long history, called Kuixing Hotel. It is very large in scale, with more than 100 rooms, and is magnificent and has attentive service. Therefore, it is very popular. During the imperial examination season, it only specializes in Entertain candidates who are taking the exam.
After the Eastern Guards soldiers who gave the gifts left, everyone stared at the gift bags in their hands for a while, and then most of them were surprised and novel. They looked at the items in their hands and started talking with interest.
A Juren from Sichuan picked up a winter coat that looked a little weird, "Isn't this the same as what those soldiers were wearing just now? The one they used was red, and ours is blue."
With that said, he tried to put on his winter coat and buttoned the wooden buttons that he was not used to, "Oh, it's really warm!"
If there are future generations present, they will probably be able to tell that this is an imitation of the 1987-style military coat. The fabric is two layers of fine linen and filled with almost two pounds of cotton. It can be worn on the body during the day and can barely be used as a quilt when sleeping at night. build.
Because soldiers often wear armor, this coat is relatively loose, making it look bulky, awkward, and even a bit rustic on some people.
It's not that Zhao Mengqi doesn't want to design the military uniforms to be more beautiful and handsome, but the current conditions don't allow it, so he can only put practicality first.
The Sichuan Juren looked quite happy, which made many people laugh. Some people imitated him and put on his coat, "Brother De Yao, you must not deceive me, it is indeed warm!"
Qin Deyao is the name of the Sichuan Juren. "Wearing this winter coat, you can even sleep in the wild. It doesn't matter if it doesn't look good. Your Highness, King Yan, really means it."
Many people also agreed, and of course there were different opinions. One Juren from Fujian said, "We, the scholars, should follow the rules in dress and etiquette. How can we dress in strange clothes!?"
It's a pity that this statement resonates with a few people, but is ignored by most people. Not everyone is stupid because of reading, and they have to be so pedantic.
The general atmosphere was still relatively cheerful, and everyone talked about several other things.
"It is said that His Royal Highness King Yan is very accomplished in couplets. The so-called Spring Festival couplets are quite elegant and interesting. Brother Shang Ming, you are also good at couplets and have good calligraphy. Why don't you write a couple for me and I will post them on In front of the guest room, I wish you good luck in the exam."
"Brother De Yao, thank you for the award. Why don't we brainstorm a few lucky couplets later..."
"Oh, this is great for writing small handwriting! It's just that it's very awkward to write, and the strokes are crooked... Isn't this how you hold the pen?... Oh, I understand, it is indeed much better. Thank you for your advice, Brother Qing."
"This soap smells really good... There are words on it, cleanse yourself and take care of yourself. It seems that this is His Highness's warning and expectation for us."
"Look, there are words engraved on the dagger, apply what you have learned and protect the country and the people!"
Hearing this, several people also picked up the exquisitely crafted daggers and drew out the sharp blades that shone with cold light. "Wow! This is a precious sword! I'm afraid it's worth hundreds of dollars..."
"We are all literati, but His Highness gave us a sword as a gift. It feels very strange."
"What's so strange? In the pre-Tang Dynasty, didn't all scribes carry swords? Mr. Taibai was also a master of swordsmanship."
"His Royal Highness King Yan often said that civil and military affairs should not be neglected, and I deeply believe it! Pens and swords are both used to realize ideals and ambitions. People with lofty ideals should have both!"
"Brother, this explanation is quite insightful. I think this is what Your Highness means..."
Just when everyone was thinking deeply, the Fujian Juren was very disapproving and laughed strangely, "Haha, what a big joke. A group of people who follow the trend of others are full of ridiculous words..."
The laughter was so harsh that everyone turned their attention to this man.
Lu Shangming frowned and walked over, "Sun Yuanzheng, who do you think is following the trend!?"
Sun Yuanzheng had a look of disdain on his face, "What you are talking about is nothing more than complimenting others. Haha, you are so devoid of scholarly character. It's really disgusting to watch!"
A dozen people around him also echoed, "That's right, King Yan can't hear you, and he doesn't know who you are showing these gestures to?"
"At first, I thought King Yan was really kind enough to wish me New Year greetings. Only when I saw these things did I realize that he was clearly insulting scholars like me."
"Wearing these clothes, won't we, the scholars, be reduced to the same level as the vulgar warriors!?"
"By giving me a piece of bathing stuff, are you mocking me for being dirty?"
"I have never heard of these Spring Festival couplets, and they are blank and wordless. I'm afraid they are mocking me for not having any ink..."
"We, the disciples of the holy sect, should behave in the way of saints, so why should we soil our hands with scraps of metal that only warriors need?"
Lu Shangming laughed angrily when he heard this group of people yelling, "How dirty do you think you are!? How could His Highness King Yan's caring act be so slandered!? These gifts are worth a lot of money, even if you don't like them. Yes, that’s also true. Your Highness, Prince Yan, doesn’t even know who you are. Is it worth his trouble and money to insult you? What good does this do to him?”
He tried to reason, but he didn't understand
The thing is, trolls are unreasonable, ignore facts, and do not need logic. No matter what you say, they can always find something to troll.
Sun Yuanzheng smiled and said, "Haha, it's nothing more than a tactic to win people's hearts. Only some shallow people will be so confused by such small favors. To win people's hearts, just buy people's hearts. You have to do some It’s hard for people to believe that it’s such a deviant thing that it’s not malicious… But it’s not surprising when you think about it. King Yan never follows the right path and doesn’t follow the rules. Most of his actions are confusing right and wrong and causing trouble…”
"That's right, I have read the books of sages for so many years, but I have never heard of anyone taking the initiative to release floods for disaster relief. The land of two palaces, which was originally a good place, has suffered unreasonable disasters and turned into a swamp country because of his nonsense."
"And that bullshit scripture world is obviously a way to embezzle the land and property of good people. Haha, he has obtained so much ill-gotten wealth, and he is trying to win people's hearts with all his money. Do you think no one can see it?"
Lu Shangming was so angry that the veins on his forehead jumped, "You are full of nonsense and slanderous words! We, the people of Pingjiang Mansion, all praise His Highness's actions. The people all say that His Highness is wise and benevolent. If you don't believe it, there are many people from Pingjiang and Jiaxing in this mansion. People, just ask anyone!"
"Haha, what's there to ask? King Yan suppressed the two places with a large army, how could the people dare to tell the truth? He covers the sky with one hand in the two places. I am afraid that this test is also controlled by him. You people can win. , it was probably obtained through secret communication. It is said that there is a nest of snakes and rats, so of course you helped him speak!" Sun Yuanzheng looked like he had already seen through the truth.
A group of people around him cheered, and one of them even threw the gift bag on the ground, "No gentleman will accept ill-gotten gains!"
The dozen or so others followed suit and threw the gift bags to the ground, spat on them, and trampled on them.
Seeing this scene, not only Lu Shangming and several Wujiang scholars were so angry that they were about to explode, but most of the other officials could not stand it any longer and condemned him one after another.
And Qin Deyao pointed at Sun Yuanzheng and shouted, "A dog bites Lu Dongbin and doesn't know a good heart! Even if you don't want this gift, there is no need to destroy things like this!"
"Haha, dogs don't want these things that corrupt people's hearts. If you are curious about them, I'll give them to you. I'll give them to you."
As Sun Yuanzheng spoke, he kicked the gift bags on the ground. People around him also kicked them, and even picked them up and threw them around.
In the chaos, a gift bag hit Lu Shangming and set him off, "Straight bitch! I have to teach you guys a lesson today!"
As he spoke, he rushed towards Sun Yuanzheng. Cui Feng, Qiu Lehe, Zhang Qing, and Xu Xiangqing also rolled up their sleeves and followed without saying a word. Then, Qin Deyao and other people who were good friends with them also followed closely.
A melee ensued, but the fight between a group of weak scholars was really unorganized and caused no harm, but the sound was quite loud.
The shopkeeper and a group of boys looked on, but they could only stare from the sidelines, not daring to get involved.
Just as the chaos was getting worse, a shrill scream suddenly sounded, and the smell of blood spread.
At this time, the scholars all stopped in shock. When they followed the sound, they found that Qin Desyao was lying on the ground clutching his stomach. A large amount of blood kept coming out. A blood-stained dagger fell beside him, and there was no trace of his body. People can figure out who did it.
"Killing! Killing!" Many people fled in all directions.
Lu Shangming and others threw themselves at Qin Deryao, wanting to save them, but they didn't know how to start, "Get the doctor quickly!!"
When the shopkeeper saw that something serious had happened, he was also very panicked. He quickly sent a few boys to find the doctor and the reporting officer.
As soon as the boy ran out of the hotel, he saw a group of Dongwei soldiers. He didn't care that the county government was opposite, so he immediately briefly explained the matter.
It was Zhao Mengqi who led this team of East Guards. He was relatively calm and knew that this matter was big or small, and it might cause trouble to King Yan.
So he immediately sent soldiers to report to King Yan, and he quickly entered the hotel to control the situation to prevent the situation from expanding.
