The emperor's grandson Qian Hujun passed through Chuzhou and Dingyuan County, and reached the capital Fengyang.
Along the official road, officials at all levels and ministers of military affairs came out of the city to kneel to greet him.
The car drove slowly through the majestic city gate, and Zhu Yunxi returned to the Zhu family's hometown for the first time, Fengyang, the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
Fengyang, known as Haozhou in the Yuan Dynasty, was not actually a great city in the world, and it was far from being rich. But because of the emergence of Emperor Zhu, this place became the most powerful city in the world.
Because it is the hometown of the old man and the place where he raised his army, and most of the senior ministers and generals of the Ming army were from Fengyang. In the early days of the establishment of the empire, this place almost became the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
In the second year of Hongwu, Li Shanchang, the first minister of the Ming Dynasty, and Wu Liang, the Marquis of Jiangyin (one of the twenty-four generals of Huaixi, later named Duke), were ordered to build the Huaixi General Administration Office and build the capital.
Zhu Yunxi of the carriage lifted the curtain of the carriage, and as the sonorous footsteps echoed under the city gate, he gazed at this fortified city, which was even more heroic than the capital.
Fengyang was not only a city, but also another military center of the Ming Dynasty.
When this city was built, it was like the founding of the Ming Dynasty, with every battle victorious. Therefore, the city built was also full of courage.
Zhu Yunxi's predecessors, Prince Zhu Biao, King Yan of Qin and Jin, and others all lived here when they were young. Especially the kings of Sai, this was the place where they first trained and commanded their troops.
The capital city is huge, covering an area of more than 300 hectares. The imperial city it builds is more than hundreds of thousands square meters larger than the Forbidden City in the capital. All the regulations in the city are exactly the same as those in the capital, or even better. The government barracks, the grain depot, the smelting plant, the manufacturing department,
Temples of emperors of past dynasties, temples of founding heroes, etc.
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The construction of this majestic city can also be said to be strict. The magnificent city walls are all made of city bricks. Each brick has its own manufacturing number and inscription. The city walls are made of a mixture of lime, tung oil, glutinous rice juice and other materials. The key to the connection is
In some places, molten pig iron was even used instead of mortar for casting.
The moat is more than 70 meters wide, and there are 104 squares in the city, all of which are well-organized in length and length.
Capital is not only the hometown of the Zhu family, but also the most spiritually treasured place for the founding fathers of the Ming Dynasty.
In order to build the city, the old man, who had always disliked imposing corvee labor on the people, conquered hundreds of thousands of people. Because the project was too big and the requirements were too strict, during the Hongwu period, some craftsmen with resentment wrote a curse when they were building the city.
words.
The old man Long Yan was furious, and tens of thousands of craftsmen were killed by the old man until only a thousand were left.
But later, after reflection, the old man felt that it was really not advisable to waste people and money in such a way. He decreed that construction should continue in places that have already started. Construction will not be done in places that have not yet started.
The construction of Fengyang Capital, such a magnificent and fortified city, actually reflects the achievements of the emperor, not the blessings of the people.
Building a city requires people and money, but in order to feed the city's huge army and bureaucracy, and maintain the imperial city and mausoleums, the people are overwhelmed. On the surface, it is the majestic capital of the world, but secretly, the people say it.
Speaking of Fengyang, go to Fengyang, Fengyang is a good place. Since Emperor Zhu came out, there has been a drought of nine to ten years!
It was not until later that the old man killed all the heroes in Huaixi, took back the property that had been granted to the nobles in various places in Fengyang, and stopped building cities, so the burden on the people became lighter.
Before the end of the Ming Dynasty, it remained intact. Later, Li Chuang and Zhang Xianzhong attacked the place and burned the Zhu family's ancestral tombs. During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, the Taiping Army burned the city again. Not even one of the ten palaces, pavilions and terraces of the capital remained.
Despite this, every time future generations see such majestic ruins, they can't help but feel regretful when they think back to those days.
(Hey, it’s watery again!)
~~
After Zhu Yunxi arrived in the capital, he stayed in the imperial city.
Different from the Forbidden City in the capital, the Imperial City has a bit more of a murderous and iron-blooded atmosphere. There are few flowers and plants in the Imperial City, but many ancient and simple trees. There are locust trees, elms, pines and cypresses. They are as dense as shade and look like a forest from a distance.
Zhu Yunxi's residence in the imperial city is exactly where Zhu Biao lived when he was a boy, Chengtian Hall. Standing at the window, you can just see the capital city, the towering bell tower and drum tower.
After they had just settled in, freshened up and lost all their fatigue, Wang Sha sent word that Gou Ren was left behind in the imperial city, and Wu Zhong, the manager of Huaixi, and other officials were asking for an audience outside the palace.
After Zhu Yunxi changed his clothes, he sat on the throne a little weakly and said, "Pass!"
With a creak, the heavy palace door was pushed open, letting in a bit of cold air.
The military commander was headed by Wu Zhong, Duke of Haiguo, the general manager of Huaixi, and the ministers were led by the Prime Minister of the capital and the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, Zhu Tong. More than a hundred people filed in neatly.
(Wu Zhong is the hereditary title of his father. His uncle is Wu Liang, Duke of Jiang State, and his father is Wu Zhen, Duke of Hai State. Zhu Tong is the youngest son of Zhu Sheng, the founding hero of the country.)
"My lord, please pay homage to His Royal Highness the Grandson of the Emperor. Your Highness is a thousand years old!"
The echo in the long-open hall was particularly strong, even a bit harsh.
"My dear friends, please be safe!" Zhu Yunxi said calmly, "I am tired from traveling alone, and you are both physically and mentally exhausted waiting to meet me. I will dispense with these false courtesy. Someone, come and give me a seat for my beloved ladies!"
The ministers in the palace sat down. The Ming Dynasty was not as clear-cut as the later Qing Dynasty. When the monarch and his ministers met, they all asked the ministers to sit down and talk, instead of kneeling.
However, among these ministers, there was an old man with a hunchback who was still kneeling.
All the eunuchs are left behind, Gou Ren!
"Old slave, let's meet His Royal Highness the Emperor's Grandson!" Gou Ren's beard and hair were all white, and he was a little weak when speaking.
"You should get up too!" Zhu Yunxi said with a slight smile.
Gou Ren, the left-behind eunuch, is the chief steward of the imperial city. Although the status of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty is now low, they are still high-ranking figures in the capital. But at this time, with his status in the palace, it is a blessing for him to stand up and speak.
Don't dare to dream.
"When I come to the capital this time, I must first pay homage to the mausoleum of the emperor, and then pay homage to the temple of meritorious officials." Zhu Yunxi looked at everyone, "Have all the preparations been made?"
Zhu Tong, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, bowed and replied, "Your Highness, I have already prepared everything according to the order. All kinds of worship utensils, ceremonial guards and other things are not defective. Everything used is only one of a million!"
"Yeah!" Zhu Yunxi responded.
No one is perfect. The old man himself is used to simplicity, and he doesn't like others' extravagance. But when it comes to ancestor worship, he is afraid that it is not prosperous and grand enough.
"Where are you?" Zhu Yunxi asked Gou Ren again.
"Go back to Your Highness, and the various livestock, silk, cloth, incense, candles, gold paper, etc. needed for worship are all ready!" After saying that, Gou Ren paused, suppressed the cough in his throat, and continued, "Qin Tianjian also
After checking the date, all the required slaves and maids have been arranged!"
"Okay!" Zhu Yunxi thought about it, "After worshiping the emperor's mausoleum, when worshiping the heroes in the temple, select the heroes who followed the emperor's ancestors to join the army. If there are disabled veterans in the city, bring them too, don't neglect!"
Compared with worshiping the ancestral tombs, Zhu Yunxi paid more attention to worshiping the temples of meritorious officials.
The ancestral mausoleum is the home, and the heroes are the world.
"I obey the order!" Wu Zhong, the general manager of Huaixi, replied, "In these years, the descendants and families of the meritorious soldiers have been raised in the capital. If Your Highness is summoned, they will be seen immediately!"
Zhu Yunxi nodded again, looked at Zhu Tong, and suddenly changed the subject, "How is the people's livelihood in the capital? In previous years, the imperial court would subsidize the capital. This year, the emperor's favor exempted the capital from taxes. Will the people's lives be better?
"
"Your Majesty's grace is so great that the people's lives this year are much better than in previous years!" Zhu Tong replied.
"How good is it?" Zhu Yunxi felt unhappy when he saw that his words were not pragmatic. "Don't just say nice things. I want to stay here for a while and take a good look at what you said about the good life of the people!"
Speaking of this, Zhu Yunxi snorted with an unkind expression, "Before I came here, I heard that the expenses here have increased dramatically year after year!"
All the court officials immediately lowered their heads and did not dare to express their anger.
In the final analysis, the decoration is still the same, there are too many people to support, and there are too many powerful people. And Fengyang's foundation is too poor, far inferior to Jiangnan.
In addition, not to mention the land owned by the Xungui family, there are too many imperial estates in Fengyang.
The world is actually ruled by one person, which is why Zhu Yunxi felt a little powerless after entering the capital.
Some things have their roots in the old man. Those are his Achilles heel, he is extremely stubborn!
This chapter has been completed!