With Prince Ning taking the lead, the others immediately became anxious. You and I were each looking for targets on the general map.
Even if you don’t know what this place is called, what the specific situation is, or what to do next, in short, let’s occupy it first.
As a result, King Xiang became the last one.
After everyone dispersed with satisfaction, he shook his head helplessly and said: "Your Majesty, don't blame me, I'm just...just..."
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said: "I know that suddenly summoning all the vassal kings to the capital will make everyone feel wary. The emperor's uncle's move is also to share my worries. This map has been divided up, and there is no suitable place nearby.
If the imperial uncle is willing to lead the army on an expedition, he can only go further."
King Xiang looked at the map, but couldn't see any clues, so he asked: "I would also like to ask the emperor to grant me a piece of land. I will spare no effort to include it in the territory of the Ming Dynasty."
Hearing this, Zhu Qizhen pondered for a moment, and then said: "Today's enfeoffment has reached Kunlun Continent, which is the farthest place Zheng He reached in his voyage to the West. This continent is very fertile. If we go further west, we will cross
After Kunlun Continent, across an ocean, there is an even more vast land called Golden Continent. However, the risk of a long voyage is too great. I plan to wait until the Navigation Institute in Quanzhou develops a steamship before exploring it."<
/p>
King Xiang said thoughtfully: "In that case, I kindly ask you to go to Kunlun Continent."
"Don't rush yet."
Zhu Qizhen passed his finger across the map and continued: "King Tan is now guarding Luzon. If you go south from the Luzon Islands, there is a slightly smaller continent. "Daoyi Zhilue" written by Wang Dayuan in the Yuan Dynasty
"It is recorded in "This continent is surrounded by the ocean on all sides, let's call it Oceania. It is an uncivilized land. Only a small number of soldiers and horses need to be stationed. In the later period, the people will be relocated to reclaim the wasteland. I wonder if King Xiang is interested?"
King Xiang didn't know anything about Oceania. He heard that it was an uncivilized land with almost no need for war. King Xiang could also take care of each other in Luzon, so he nodded repeatedly.
"I am willing to go!"
Zhu Qizhen nodded and said: "Uncle Huang will go back to the Zongren Mansion to rest first. If he has nothing to do, he will walk around the capital. These days, other vassal kings have entered the capital one after another. When the matter is settled, I will
Let’s see something new.”
King Xiang bowed and resigned. He had been away from the capital for twenty years. When he saw him today, he saw that the changes were so great.
The roads along the street have been turned into cement bricks, which is extremely spacious.
The shops on both sides of the road are organized in an orderly manner, and police officers from Shuntian Prefecture patrol back and forth from time to time. If anyone sets up a stall randomly and occupies the road, they will come forward to persuade them to leave.
What surprised him was that these police officers treated the people in the market surprisingly well.
Zhu Qiyong was amazed when he saw it. He was born in Xiangyang and had never been to the capital before. Everything he saw was new.
"Father, look at why those Shuntian Mansion officers are so condescending to the people. If this were in Xiangyang Mansion, they would have kicked the vegetable basket away long ago."
Zhu Zhanyi was also amazed and said: "When my father left Beijing, it was not like this at all."
Zhu Qiyong became interested and asked again: "What was the capital like before my father became a vassal?"
Zhu Zhanchen thought for a while and said: "At that time, the roads were all potholed dirt roads. When it rained...hey, it rained?"
While the two were talking, suddenly dark clouds came over, and there was lightning and thunder.
"Father, get in the car quickly!"
As soon as Zhu Qiyong took his father into the carriage, a heavy rain started pouring down.
The small vendors on the roadside quickly closed their stalls, and soon the streets that were bustling just now became deserted.
The carriage passed through the streets and alleys, heading towards the Zongren Mansion. Zhu Zhancheng opened the curtains, took a look, and suddenly shouted: "Stop!"
Zhu Qiyong also looked out curiously, but found nothing unusual and cast a doubtful look at his father.
The expression on Zhu Zhanzhen's face was very complicated, and he murmured: "Before my father left Beijing, I lived here."
Speaking of King Xiang, he had a rich resume in the Ming Dynasty. Before becoming a vassal, he had two experiences in supervising the country.
For the first time, Renzong Zhu Gaochi was seriously ill and suddenly died. However, Han King Zhu Gaoxu and Zhao King Zhu Gaosui were ready to make a move. When the throne was replaced, the political situation was turbulent and undercurrents surged.
Prince Zhu Zhanji received the news and rushed back from Nanjing. During this period, no one in the capital took charge of the overall situation. As Zhu Zhanji's half-brother, Zhu Zhanzhen embarked on his first journey to supervise the country in his life.
During that time, there were two supervisors in the northern and southern capitals.
And King Xiang Zhu Zhanzhen was the first vassal king to supervise the country in the Ming Dynasty.
The second time, the Han king Zhu Gaoxu rebelled, and Zhu Zhanji, who had become the emperor, went on a personal expedition. At that time, Zhu Qizhen was not yet born, so he once again left King Xiang to supervise the country.
He still remembered that he lived in this house at that time... Hey, where is my house?
Since the vassal king had to leave the capital to join the vassal when he came of age, under normal circumstances, a palace would not be built specifically in the capital.
Therefore, princes, princesses and vassal kings of all sizes will live in the Ten Prince's Mansion until they reach adulthood.
After all, King Xiang had a special status, so he found a house by himself outside, and he lived here until the vassal period.
Zhu Zhanchen opened the window of the carriage and looked around. This is it. Why is the house gone?
Although the street has been widened and the buildings on both sides have been renovated, he has lived here for more than ten years and will not admit it.
I searched back and forth several times, and in my impression, the place I lived in was only a three-story building with the words Daming Bank on the door.
At this time, two figures suddenly appeared in front of them. They were cleaning the mud in the ditch on the roadside in the heavy rain.
Zhu Zhanzhen was very puzzled. He looked at the ground outside, but he didn't see much water.
Because the road is very flat and the surface is paved with cement, there is almost no mud.
"Father, what are you..."
Before Zhu Qiyong could finish his sentence, he saw his father opening the car door and walking out in the rain.
He quickly grabbed an umbrella and followed.
Zhu Zhanzhen walked to the side of the road. They were two police officers wearing soap clothes. He didn't know which yamen they were from. They were shouting something in the wind and rain, but they couldn't hear clearly.
But they looked very serious, as if if the water channel was not clear, it would kill them.
In the distance, there are also four or five people who are also dredging canals and building earth and rocks.
Zhu Zhanchen stepped forward and asked, "Excuse me, is this Chaoyangfang?"
However, the wind and rain were so strong that the two police officers seemed not to hear it and were still concentrating on clearing the ditch.
Zhu Zhanzhen had to ask again. One person heard the noise, looked back, and said loudly: "This is Chaoyangfang, what's the matter?"
"Ben... I remember that there used to be a Prince Xiang's Mansion here, but why can't I find it?"
"After King Xiang became a vassal, the house has been abandoned. It was demolished a few years ago and a bank was built. Are you two from other places? Visiting relatives or doing business? If you have any questions or encounter difficulties, you can
Go to Shuntian Mansion and someone will help you solve it."
After coming out of the palace, Zhu Zhanzhen and his son had already changed into civilian clothes. Of course, these police officers did not know that the foreigner in front of them was the dignified King Xiang.
Zhu Zhanyi was very surprised and asked: "We are just ordinary people, how can we enter Shuntian Mansion?"
"Not only Shuntian Prefecture, but all government agencies now have to serve the people. Otherwise, as long as they are reported and investigated by the superiors, everyone from the chief officer to the police officer will be punished! You two, we have too much work in our hands.
I'm busy and I really can't help you much. If you have anything, just go to Shuntian Mansion!"
Zhu Zhanzhen was even more puzzled and asked: "It's raining so heavily, what are you doing?"
"I'm building ditches, they're all blocked!"
The policeman became a little impatient when asked, so he bent down again and said while working: "If this ditch is not dredged in time, there will be water on the street."
Zhu Zhanzhen asked again: "Isn't it normal for some water to accumulate on rainy days?"
"No, if you want to judge the best, if there is water accumulation, you will definitely count down."
"Evaluation, countdown..."
Zhu Zhanzhen felt like he was going crazy. It was raining so heavily. How could we not allow water to accumulate on the road?
The policeman seemed aggrieved and began to curse: "We were careless. I heard that Chongnanfang had dredged the ditch early in order to evaluate the excellent. We thought we were not in a hurry. Who knew the weather was so bad?
Just say it!”
At this time, another person also raised his head and said dissatisfied: "Stop talking and clear the ditch quickly. If you are really criticized because of the water on the road, I can't afford to lose this person..."
Zhu Zhanzhen was still frowning, unable to understand anything.
Of course he couldn't understand that the police officers were already in a state of confusion.
Because they have introduced a regular assessment system, as long as someone writes the paper, others can't be idle. Everyone wants to be embarrassed, and no one wants to be on the black list. Losing the bonus will be embarrassing.
Ta-ta-ta...
There was a sound of footsteps, and Zhu Zhanzhen looked for the sound and saw another group of people in soap uniforms, hurriedly rushing in one direction.
He was curious about everything here, so he stopped and asked, only to find out that he was going to patrol the embankment.
In fact, there is no river embankment here, but there is a moat passing between the inner city and the outer city.
The policeman explained that there had been too much rain and they were worried that the river would be full and cause backflow.
The principles are all clear, but what makes Zhu Zhanyi most incomprehensible is that on a rainy day, or a heavy rainstorm, these policemen actually want to clean the canals and inspect the river embankments.
Such a situation was unheard of and unseen twenty years ago.
In his impression, it rains, water accumulates on the road, and rivers backflow, which are all normal things.
You can't just evacuate the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture and deduct the monthly salary of the policemen just because of a rain?
If God wants to rain, who dares to care?
However, in front of him, those police officers at the lowest level in the government were taking care of this matter.
Zhu Qiyong held up an umbrella and said: "Father, we are still..."
"Let's go and have a look at the moat!"
Zhu Zhanzhen turned around and got on the carriage, but he was not in a hurry to return to the clan's mansion, but went all the way to the moat.
Here, I saw a large number of police officers patrolling back and forth, and even a few small tents were set up for temporary rest.
At the riverside, people kept taking bamboo poles to measure the water level, and some people rushed here on horse-drawn carriages to transport bamboo baskets filled with gravel.
A man who looked like an army officer was telling everyone: "The water level is temporarily safe. Everyone should cheer up and not be lazy. Especially at night, you must pay attention to the water level and transport some earth and rocks. Once backflow occurs, the problem will be serious.
”
Zhu Zhanzhen looked from a distance, with a lot of thoughts in his mind.
Zhu Qiyong asked: "Father, what are you looking at?"
"Go back first!"
Zhu Zhanzhen waved his hand. He had many feelings, but they couldn't be explained clearly in a few words.
Crossing another street, there were also some people in soapcoats leading people busy. In such heavy rain, wearing raincoats made it very inconvenient to walk, but everyone seemed to be quite energetic.
Someone saw King Xiang's carriage and stepped forward to persuade him: "The rain is too heavy. You should quickly find a place to take shelter. There is a tea shop in front of you. Just walk to the end!"
Zhu Zhanzhen ordered the groom to move forward, and sure enough, he saw a tea shop at the end of the street.
When the father and son got off the carriage, they discovered that, my dear, this place is already overcrowded, with as many as a hundred people.
Some are street vendors, and some are travelers from other places. There is really no place to hide from such a heavy rain.
There are also some people who live nearby. Because their houses are old and may collapse during heavy rains, they were notified by the police of Shuntian Prefecture to come here to take shelter temporarily.
As soon as Zhu Zhanzhen came in, he saw the waiter in the store coming to greet him: "Why are you still wandering outside at this time? There is still room in the back. Hurry up and have a sip of ginger soup to relieve the cold."
Zhu Qiyong hesitated and said, "No need, I'll take shelter from the rain and leave when the rain subsides."
The waiter smiled and said: "Don't worry, it doesn't cost any money."
Zhu Qiyong said in surprise: "You don't need money to do good deeds?"
The waiter said enthusiastically: "The official of Shuntian Prefecture said hello and cooked a few pots of ginger soup and put it on their account. However, our shopkeeper gave us the order. It's just some ginger soup and tea. It doesn't cost a lot of money, so we can serve it for free."
It can be regarded as a good relationship. If the customer is satisfied, just take care of the business of the store in the future."
Zhu Zhanzhen nodded his thanks and took Zhu Qiyong to find a seat to sit down.
The waiter brought ginger soup. After drinking it, I really felt that my body was warm and I felt much better.
Looking around, I saw merchants from out of town, speaking with various accents and having difficulty communicating.
Some nearby residents who were resettled kept mumbling that they didn't know if the river water would flow back, otherwise it would be bad.
There are also some owners of nearby shops who have no business now. Instead of hiding in their own stores, they might as well come here to join in the fun.
People lamented and sighed, saying that this year's heavy rain was unusual.
"Don't worry, everyone. Nothing major will happen. Definite news will come later. Everyone, sit down for a moment. By the way, I just got some dried fruits in the store. Let the waiters bring them and let everyone have a taste.
”
It turned out that this person was the owner of the dry goods store next door. Not long after, a waiter went to the store next door to get dried fruits and distributed some to each table.
Zhu Qiyong took a bite and said curiously: "It is said that businessmen are only interested in profit, but the businessmen here are different."