At nearly noon the next day, the group entered Yanzhou Fucheng.
Coming from the canal, you will live on the boat all the way, and there is no need to stay at the inn.
At this time, Zheng Haizhu took out the small Kanhe that he had obtained from Mr. Liu of the Suzhou Weaving Bureau and took everyone straight to the official post in Yanzhou.
With Kanhe in hand, you don't have to spend any money to stay in a state hotel.
But Zheng Haizhu only cared about safety and did not want to pay for accommodation and food, so as soon as he entered the door, he paid five taels of silver to the postmaster and asked for a few ordinary rooms in accordance with the standards of other mid- to high-end hotels.
The postmaster has been in office for many years and has received countless family members of officials who used the imperial contract for free food and accommodation. This is the first time that he has met someone who offered to give money, and he can't help but feel strange.
When I saw those lanterns that were not unfolded yet, they were already unparalleled in beauty. I learned that they were here to celebrate the princess’s birthday, so I immediately started chatting.
"Everyone, the current King of Lu is a virtuous king. We, the people of Yanzhou, all hope that the king and the princess will live a long life."
Zheng Haizhu nodded and said: "We saw a porridge soup shed outside the city gate. When we inquired about it, we found that it belongs to the palace."
The postmaster said: "No, how can the Yanzhou government have money? There have been constant natural disasters in recent years, and there have been rumors of Xiangjiao. Outsiders think that Yanzhou is located on the main road of the canal, so it should be richer than Suzhou and Hangzhou. In fact, the government is really rich.
I don’t have to pay. It’s a good thing that I met this generation of King Lu, who was a good man of the ninth generation. If you go to the southeast of Fucheng, you can see a big bridge on the Si River. It was built by King Lu’s Mansion who bought stones and recruited craftsmen.
, it cost three hundred thousand taels of silver. With that bridge, during the flood season for two months, no matter how heavy the water is, the flow of people and businesses will not be hindered."
Prince Lumi of the Ming Dynasty paid ten thousand shi per year, which is equivalent to more than ten thousand taels of silver according to today's rice prices. In addition, including silk, satin, tea and horse materials, this bridge cost almost ten years of King Lu's salary.
Yes, the current King of Lu, Zhu Shouhong, is very good.
Although in essence, the money was paid to the national treasury by the people from all over the country, not to mention that the prince's own land did not have to pay taxes on the food produced, but Zhu Shouhong was able to provide food, clothing, housing and transportation to the local people, which was considered a landslide for tens of thousands of sects of the old Zhu family.
There was a breath of fresh air inside.
Zheng Haizhu then said to the postmaster: "Okay, we are going to see the Sihe Bridge."
Then he asked: "By the way, Confucius's mansion is in Qufu, but Mencius's hometown is in Zoucheng? Is it far away from Fucheng?"
The postmaster waved his hand: "Not far away, just ten miles east of the Sishui River, you will see a charcoal mountain. That hill is specially used to supply charcoal to Prince Lu's palace."
Zheng Haizhu suddenly felt happy.
Great, the layout of Yanzhou in the Ming Dynasty is indeed different from that of later generations. Prince Lu's Mansion is so close to Zoucheng.
Zheng Haizhu asked about Zoucheng, of course not out of nostalgia for visiting Mencius's former residence, but because, as a later generation, she knew for sure that there were coal mines in Zoucheng!
Mencius said that everyone can be like Yao and Shun.
Zheng Haizhu said to himself that Yao and Shun first had to find the mine.
…
After a hurried lunch, Zheng Haizhu sent two intelligence agents, Mu Zaohua and Li Daniu, to take a big car and go to Zoucheng Chaitan Mountain to explore the road.
She herself, together with Wu Bangde and Xu San, went to visit Zhang Dai's father, Zhang Yaofang, the chief historian of Prince Lu's palace.
After all, Prince Lu's Mansion is at the level of a prince, and the palace facing north and south is also very majestic.
The colors of the palaces and pavilions are all the same vermilion and green as the Emperor's Palace. Even the pillars and auspicious clouds on the eaves are the same, except that the ones climbing on them are not dragons, but flat chilies without two horns.
One level lower than the emperor.
The south gate of the Wangfu faces the wide Imperial Street, overlooking the south gate of Yanzhou Prefecture.
On both sides of the imperial street, just like the imperial road in Kaifeng Prefecture in the Song Dynasty, there are rivers and pools dug, with weeping willows planted all over the riverside, and lotus seeds planted in the water.
In this late autumn season, which is popular but not green, because it coincides with the birthday of Princess Lu, countless silk flowers were planted on both sides of the imperial street.
Under the Bell and Drum Tower at the end of Imperial Street, several large sheds have been erected, and giant lanterns made of colored silk can be vaguely seen.
There was someone on duty in front of the shed. Wu Bondang went up to inquire about it and said that these big lights were to be used in conjunction with the fireworks on the day of the birthday banquet to be shown to the members of the royal family and distinguished guests.
Zheng Haizhu couldn't help but think of Zhang Dai in history. In the book "Tao'an Dream Memories" left to future generations, there was a special article about the fireworks and lights he saw when he came to visit his father in Prince Lu's Mansion, which was like a dream.
.
As the administrative office of the royal palace, the Changshi Division opened a separate side door on the east side of the city wall in the royal city to facilitate the entry and exit of those doing business or visiting.
Zheng Haizhu showed the doorman a stamped letter that Zhang Dai had asked his father, Zhang Yaofang, to write. One of the doormen immediately went to report it. Not long after, a middle-aged man in blue official uniform came over.
The middle-aged man, with a handsome face and long beard, and a gentle and gentle demeanor, raised his hands and said with a smile: "Several friends, please go to my duty room to talk."
Zheng Haizhu was not surprised that Zhang Yaofang, as an elder and the chief minister of the palace, came out to greet him in person.
She asked Zhang Dai to write a letter to her father, mentioning her friendship with Liu Shimin of the Weaving Bureau.
This is not a bragging statement like "I know Eunuch Liu, but Eunuch Liu doesn't know me", so why not mention it.
On necessary occasions, you should show your connections and boldly try to knock on the door of the public office instead of cautiously visiting private homes.
Public offices can obtain more information.
After entering the royal city, Zhang Yaofang made some pleasantries as he walked and asked if the journey went well. Zheng Haizhu answered respectfully and took the initiative to introduce Wu Bondang and Xu San as the shopkeeper and assistants who handled his business.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he passed the check-in room with the sign "Gongzhengshuo", a man hurriedly appeared from inside and almost bumped into Zheng Haizhu head-on.
An official soon followed and said in a loud voice: "General, don't be upset. I would like to give you a bold advice. After these few days, it's not too late to give me advice."
Zheng Haizhu looked intently at the man, who was about the same age as Lu Xiangsheng. He had sharp features and a graceful and blessed look, but his face was full of anger, like an angry Persian cat.
The prince's son attacks the prince of the county, and the son of the prince attacks the general who governs the country.
Zheng Haizhu thought to himself, so this young man is also a member of the Lu Fan clan?
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! While he was thinking about it, the man had coldly said to the official from the Gongzheng Office: "What? I, Zhu Yipai, also have the surname Zhu, so I can't take care of my Zhu family."
Is there a silverfish in there? Why do we have to wait a few days before we talk? I want to talk to Your Highness now."
After he finished speaking, he turned around and saw that Zheng Haizhu was a woman. He then looked at Wu Bond and Xu San, frowned and asked Zhang Yaofang: "Chang Shi, who are they?"
Zhang Yaofang did not expect that Zhu Yipai would appear in the Yamen today.
Zhu Yipai was the nephew of Zhu Shouhong, the current King of Lu, and the eldest son of Zhu Shouyong, King of Taixing County.
King Lu was nearly forty years old, but he had no children, so he doted on his nephew.
Although Zhu Yipai was the son of a county prince, everyone from the concubines and eunuchs in the palace to officials at all levels in the royal government offices called Zhu Yipai "Your Highness" on weekdays.
The official of the Gongzheng Institute was newly appointed, and he called him "General Zhengguo" sternly, while Zhang Yaofang, who had been in Lu Fan for a long time, already said in a warm tone: "Your Highness, this is Miss Zheng.
She works for Eunuch Liu, who is weaving in Suzhou. This time she came north for business, so Quanzi asked her to bring some lanterns from her hometown to celebrate the princess’s birthday.”
When Zhu Yipai heard the words "Suzhou weaving", the frosty air on his face dissipated a lot, and he just asked Zhang Yaofang calmly: "Isn't it among the subjects purchased by the palace?"
Zhang Yaofang smiled and said: "How come, it was presented by Quanzi."
Zhu Yipai nodded and said bluntly: "Hey, Lao Zhang, wouldn't it be better if your master had sent them earlier? We would not have to buy those lamps in front of the Bell and Drum Tower, and we would save a lot of money."
Zhang Yaofang waved his hands repeatedly: "Your Highness, you are so embarrassed. In our small place in Shanyin, the lanterns we make can only be hung in the transepts to add some joy. How can they be compared with the big lamps in front of the Bell and Drum Towers."
Zhu Yipai said: "Oh, that's it. Then I'll go and see how the big lantern is tied. If I want lanterns from now on, I will come from Taixing Prince's Palace to provide them. There are so many silks and silks given by the emperor in the treasury, I don't believe it can be tied.
Make beautiful headlights."
He paused, and then said to Zheng Haizhu and others: "You have come all the way, not only as guests of Zhang Changshi, but also as guests of my Lu Mansion. Come back to the banquet with Chang Shi."
Zheng Haizhu is busy squatting for a blessing
Li: "Thank you, Your Highness."
Zhu Yipai said "hmm" in his nose, said no more to everyone, and walked away.
The Changshi Division and the Gongzheng Office are two yamen, and there are outsiders present. Zhang Yaofang is naturally inconvenient to ask more questions, so he just bows his hands to the official office and bids farewell.
But from the word "silverworm" mentioned by Zhu Yipai, Zhang Yaofang could guess that this little highness, who was different from most of the sect's dandies, was angry about which clan was asking the Lu government for money to build a large-scale construction project.
Seeing the searching look on Zheng Haizhu's face, Zhang Yaofang said meaningfully: "Your Highness's father, King Taixing, is also a virtuous king praised by the people of Yanzhou. This year, the land of Lu has been plagued by disasters. King Taixing asked Long Live to donate Tianhu
More than ten people were sold for charity and exchanged for food to help the victims. Your Highness is very fond of his father and is worried about the expenses of the country."
Zheng Haizhu pursed his lips slightly: "It is really a blessing for our Ming Dynasty to have a vassal like Lu as an example."
Zhu Yipai in history became the penultimate King of Lu in the Ming Dynasty after the death of his uncle and father.
When the Qing army invaded Yanzhou Prefecture, Zhu Yipai committed suicide by hanging himself in the palace.
Zhu Yipai was a vassal king who was not even recorded in three lines in the history books. I didn't expect that the real person had such a personality.
Zheng Haizhu raised his eyes and looked at the dazzling glazed tiles on the top of the palace complex in front of him.
Zhang Yaofang pointed to the tallest one: "That is the Chengyun Hall, the main hall of the palace. The night banquet three days later will be held in front of the Cunxin Hall behind the Chengyun Hall."