Princess Zhu Yan of Shu Kingdom is about to get married, and her husband-in-law is Chen Ao, a handsome scholar with both civil and military talents.
Zhu Guoxiang married his daughter for the first time, and he took it very seriously and personally went to guide and supervise the decoration of the princess mansion.
The Princess Mansion was rebuilt from Dong's West Garden.
This garden was originally purchased by Dong Yan, who was nicknamed "Dong Banye" and his friend was nicknamed "Chen Sangen".
This is how the idiom "Midnight at midnight" comes from, and it can be said to have left its mark in history.
However, what remains is a bad reputation.
How greedy is this bastard?
When he was a local official, he spent public funds to buy high-end work clothes for the government officials, and stipulated that the clothes must be left at the government office for safekeeping during off-duty hours. Then he secretly customized a batch of inferior clothes to replace them, and then resold those high-end work clothes.
When he was an official in the Ministry of Personnel, he asked his subordinates to buy things for him. When his subordinates bought the things, he was unwilling to give him money. After taking the things, he even scolded his subordinates.
This guy built two gardens in Luoyang, called Dong's East Garden and Dong's West Garden.
Decades after his death, his children and grandchildren destroyed all the family property. Because they had been in arrears in taxes and still owed a large amount of debt, the government confiscated the Dong family's property and house.
The property rights of Dong's east and west gardens belonged to the government.
At the beginning, officials and scholars were still holding cultural gatherings in the garden. Gradually, no one took care of it. After all, maintenance costs money, and now it is in a dilapidated state.
"Can it be completed within three months?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.
"Report to the Emperor."
The craftsman of the Ministry of Industry who was in charge of the renovation said: "Although Dong Yan was a notoriously corrupt official back then, the gardens he built himself were excellent. This garden adheres to the principle of 'clear water brings out hibiscus, and natural carvings are left behind'. When it was built, there were no
With more carving, the pavilions, flowers and trees are natural and random, and the steps and strange rocks are also eroded by time."
"Now for repairs, we only need to clear away the weeds and trees, and paint the wall with a layer of white ash. Then replace the rotten wood and apply a new layer of paint. It takes one and a half months to complete the replacement and painting. It will be left to dry for another month and a half.
That’s enough.”
Shen Yourong nodded and praised: "Excellent."
The couple walked hand in hand and walked around the garden. Not far away, they saw a small lake, and the water in the lake came out of a spring.
As he gradually walked inside, the winding path led to a quiet place, and Zhu Guoxiang actually got lost.
It took a while to turn it around.
In the evening, return to the palace.
Zhu Guoxiang said to his son: "I visited Dong's east and west gardens today. Each has its own characteristics and is very beautiful. The west garden can be used as Yan'er's princess palace, and the east garden can be given to Kang'er as Prince Yu's palace.
I also heard that when Sima Guang retired to Luoyang, it happened that the Dong family property was confiscated. Sima Guang often went for a walk in the East Garden, and when he was drunk, he would lie on the stone bed and bask in the sun."
Zhu Ming shook his head: "Kang'er is studying in the military academy. From now on, we plan to let him fight with the army. After the city is captured, he will be sealed there to guard it."
"You set his fiefdom in Vietnam?" Zhu Guoxiang asked in surprise.
Ju Ming corrected: "To be precise, it was sealed in the southern part of Vietnam in later generations. As for northern Vietnam, it will be Cochin Province in the future."
"The orthodox culture in the north is Confucianism. It has been part of China's homeland since the Qin and Han Dynasties. It is relatively easy to educate and govern, so the imperial court directly established provinces to govern it."
"The Brahman religion is popular in the south. It requires a long-term rule to be naturalized. If you are not careful, you need to suppress the rebellion, so I, Kang'er, have been sealed there to guard."
"The north and the south can communicate and help each other. Especially if one side has a rebellion, the other side can quickly send troops."
Zhu Guoxiang said: "Although there are often small actions in Champa, they are just pretending to be pirates to rob merchant ships, and they are not specifically targeting Chinese merchant ships. On the whole, the Champa state is very respectful to the court. Wouldn't it be bad to send troops to swallow up Champa?"
Ju Ming said with a smile: "It's just feeding an unfamiliar dog. Historically, the Song Dynasty rewarded Champa very much. But when the Southern Song Dynasty declined, the tribute trade in Champa failed, and they went directly to Hainan Island to burn, kill and loot. The Ming Dynasty wanted to attack Champa.
, the reason is many, it must be a famous teacher."
"It's up to you, I'm retired anyway." Zhu Guoxiang was too lazy to think about it.
Ju Ming said: "When Kang'er graduates from the Military Academy, let him go to Hunan to follow Bai Qi first to adapt to the hot weather in the south. Then he will go with Bai Qi to attack Dali and practice his fighting ability."
Zhu Guoxiang nodded and said: "It's very thoughtful."
Anyway, Ju Ming's plan was to give all the southern parts of Vietnam to his eldest son, Zhu Kanglie, to build the country.
If Zhu Kang and his descendants are capable, they can lead their own troops to expand. How large a territory they can conquer depends entirely on their own abilities.
It mainly plays the role of guarding Jiaozhi. With the central court's ruling power, it is the limit to in-depth governance of northern Vietnam. The rest can only be ruled by a tyrant, and it is better to give it to a son. If anything happens, the body will rot in the pot.
…
The envoys of the Ming Dynasty are already touring the southwest.
The messenger's name was Xia Dajun, and he had been following the Tian family in Sizhou.
After Tian Yougong chose to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, Xia Dajun was also awarded an official position. After serving as a local official for two terms, Xia Dajun was transferred to Honglu Temple, and this time he visited the southwest on behalf of the imperial court.
He went south from Chongqing and first went to meet the Yang family (ancestors of the Yang family in Bozhou).
The internal strife between Yang's uncle and nephew has lasted for more than ten years, but no result has been achieved yet. Moreover, both of them actively submitted to the imperial court and claimed that they were the orthodox ones.
Xia Dajun said to his uncle and nephew respectively: "There are barbarians in the south who refuse to submit to the king, and the emperor of tomorrow wants to send troops to conquer them. You can build official roads and post stations in your respective territories. Whoever builds it first will be the master of the Yang family and the general of the court.
Officially conferring him the title of Commander-in-Chief of Zunyi. During the construction of official roads and post stations, no more meritorious deeds can be made against each other, otherwise the court will punish you!"
Yang's uncle and nephew all agreed. They stopped fighting and mobilized troops and civilians to repair officialdom.
After passing Zunyi and continuing south, Xia Dajun met with several chiefs one after another and conveyed the imperial court's intention for them to cultivate officialdom.
The chiefs all agreed that whether it would be a positive act or not would be clear only after two years.
Then we arrived in Guiyang.
It is now called Juzhou and was once called Guizhou by Zhao Kuangyin.
In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, it was occupied by the Luo family and was canonized by Zhao Kuangyin. Later, the Luo family left, and their remaining tribe would establish the "Shiren Tribe", and soon the Song family drove away the "Shiren Tribe".
The Song family is the ancestor of the Shuidong Song family in the Ming Dynasty.
The leader of the Shiren tribe is a collateral ancestor of the Shuixian clan in the Ming Dynasty.
The current patriarch of the Song clan is named Song Xihua. They actively pursue sinicization and claim that their ancestor Song Jingyang came from Zhending, Hebei.
It was a bit too sinicized, and he actually wanted to be loyal to the Song Dynasty, and still uses the reign title of Song Huizong to this day.
Song Xihua warmly received Xia Dajun in the city of Juzhou (Guiyang): "You are an envoy of the Ming Dynasty, but I am a minister of the Song Dynasty. You are a guest from afar, and I should treat you with hospitality. But don't mention surrender!"
Xia Dajun glanced at the other party and asked: "Since you are a minister of Song Dynasty, why are you dressed as a barbarian?"
Song Xihua said: "I often wear Han clothes."
"I don't know why you are loyal to the Song Dynasty," Xia Dajun warned, "but there is one thing I want to remind you. Don't attack and annex nearby tribes under the guise of fighting rebellion for the Song Dynasty. Those tribes have already
Submit to the Ming Dynasty. If you dare to attack neighboring tribes again, it will be regarded as a war against the Ming Dynasty court!"
Song Xihua suddenly felt guilty.
His loyal Song Dynasty was simply using Song Huizong as a cover to find an excuse to expand and annex.
Now his territory has doubled compared to the late Northern Song Dynasty, and he controls Guiyang and the surrounding five states (Jizhou).
Xia Dajun was too lazy to attend the banquet. He pointed at the musketeers behind him and said, "Do you know what weapons they have on their backs?"
"Iron rod?" Song Xihua was not sure.
Xia Dajun said: "Your Excellency, you can place ten pieces of armor, and I will let the soldiers shoot the armor."
Song Xihua also wanted to find out the details of the Ming army, so he immediately asked people to get ten pairs of armor.
He doesn't have much iron armor, and his army mainly consists of leather armor and rattan armor.
Ten pairs of iron armor were covered on the wooden stakes, and the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty raised their flintlock guns.
"Bang bang bang bang!"
Before the smoke cleared, some soldiers went to check, and then ran back to Song Xihua to whisper.
Song Xihua was horrified when he heard this and went to check it out personally.
He found that the armor was all pierced, his expression looked a little flustered, and asked: "What kind of weapon is this?"
Xia Dajun said: "The Ming Dynasty also has a kind of firearm called the divine cannon. A single shot can destroy the city wall two or three miles away."
"You may not know yet. Just last year, the Ming Dynasty not only regained the sixteen states of Yanyun, but also occupied the entire territory of the Liao Kingdom, and also destroyed the arrogant Jin Kingdom. Now, all the countries in the four directions have surrendered to the Ming Dynasty.
Do you still want to fight stubbornly?"
Song Xihua was startled when he heard this. Although he was not sure whether the Jin Kingdom had been destroyed, the fire in front of him was indeed difficult to resist.
After thinking for a while, Song Xihua suddenly knelt down: "I am willing to join the Great Tomorrow Dynasty!"
Xia Dajun smiled and helped him up, and said: "Since you sincerely surrender, you will take the tribute and go to Luoyang in person to meet His Majesty the Emperor."
"Isn't it Kaifeng?" Song Xihua asked doubtfully.
Xia Dajun said: "The Ming Dynasty moved its capital this year, and it is estimated that it has been moved there by now."
Song Xihua said: "I will definitely bring the treasures to pay tribute."
The communication between the two parties quickly became extremely harmonious.
At the banquet, Xia Dajun asked: "The Luo ghost kingdom in the west surrendered to the Ming Dynasty a few years ago. But it has not paid tribute since then. Do you know their details?"
The Luo Ghost Kingdom is also known as the Luo Man, and its leader is also the ancestor of the Shuixi'an family in the Ming Dynasty.
Its territory extends to Xuyong and Gulin in the north; to Zhijin and Liupanshui in the south; to Bijie in the west; and to Jinsha in the east.
Song Xihua said: "The great ghost lord of Luo's ghost country is named Pu'er Eze. He is usually referred to as Eze. I don't know his temper. He occasionally sends troops to plunder, but he never invades on a large scale."
Saying it is the same as not saying it.
Xia Dajun asked again: "Where is the Luo Dian Kingdom in the south?"
The territory of Luodian Kingdom included Anshun, Puding, Liuzhi, Guanling, Ziyun, and Zhenning in later generations.
They have the same origin as the Luo Clan Ghost Country, and are also regarded as ancestors by the Shuixi'an Clan.
However, the Luo Ghost Kingdom submitted to the Northern Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, while the Luo Dian Kingdom has always surrendered to Dali.
Song Xihua said: "Luo Dianguo is very poor, but it fights bravely. It is poor and fierce. There is no need to attack such a small country. The angels can go there with magical weapons and can definitely scare them into submission."
Xia Dajun was noncommittal.
Although Luo Dianguo is very poor, its geographical location is critical and it is stuck on the only way from Guiyang to Dali!
From now on, if the imperial court attacks Dali, it is estimated that the first one to be destroyed will be Luo Dianguo.
