Previously, Gao Xiaozhuang and Gao Mo's report to Gao Pragmatic only said that "the villa is quite big" and "quite magnificent", and there were few other expressions, until Gao pragmatic came to this courtyard in person, I didn't know what the generosity of the super-rich and powerful family was.

Zhang Siwei gave Gao Shishi this Jingxi Cherry Spring Annex, saying that it was Cherry Spring, but it was actually located near the Panlong Resort of the Later World Federation of Literary and Art Circles. In terms of topography, this place is the peninsula formed by the Yongding River turning a few words, and the villa courtyard sits in the north and faces south, and is near the mountain and water, and it is magnificent.

The annex itself is built on a small hill, which is rectangular from top to bottom, and the main gate at the foot of the mountain is not far from the Yongding River. Gao Pragmatic couldn't judge the size of this courtyard for a while, but casually estimated, it was at least larger than the Humble Administrator's Garden that he visited when he traveled to Suzhou. Of course, the garden styles of northern and southern China are different, and it is meaningless to compare the size alone.

The northern gardens are mainly distributed in the Gyeonggi area, which are mainly represented by the royal gardens, which are usually much larger in scale than the Jiangnan gardens. In the planning and layout of the garden, the central axis and the scenery line are used more, so the style of the garden is more solemn and serious.

Affected by the geographical location, compared with the gardens in the south of the Yangtze River, the rainfall in the north is less, and there are fewer lakes in North China, and there are not as many waterways as in the south of the Yangtze River, so the water source and water volume restrict the development direction of the gardens in the north.

As far as Gao Shishi knows, among the gardens near the left side of the Ming Dynasty, the better terrain is mostly occupied by the royal family and nobles, and the royal gardens are of course the most unique, with a relatively large scale of water surface, followed by the princes and nobles. There are even gardens that are dry gardens with no water features.

At present, there are two small ponds in this courtyard, one of which is located at the foot of the mountain, not far from the main entrance, through the shadow wall, which is probably slightly larger than a basketball court in later generations, and it seems that it should be a resting place for meeting guests and chatting; There is also one in the garden on the mountain, and from the planning point of view, it should be used by the owner's family to rest and enjoy.

Compared with the water, the northern garden is more inclined to the landscaping of the mountain, the mountain in the garden is majestic, with high and strong for the beauty, the kind of mountain is relatively tall, it is a symbol of the royal family and nobles, and even some gardens are located in the tall and majestic natural mountain, in order to highlight the identity of the owner. Lords and nobles usually wait for the high ground according to their titles.

According to Zhang Jin, this annex was built by the great eunuch Wang Zhi during the Chenghua period, but Wang Zhi originally did not plan to enjoy it himself, but was ready to enter the royal annex, but for some reason he failed to do so.

When he arrived in the Hongzhi Dynasty, this annex traveled several times, and was finally given by Emperor Hongzhi to Xie Qian, who was a famous minister at that time and was known as one of the "Three Sages". As soon as Xie Qian first came back to this courtyard, he went to the nearby Cherry Spring to view the scenery, and after he came back, he called it the Cherry Spring Courtyard, also known as the cherry orchard.

This garden later changed hands many times, and finally bought by Zhang Siwei before Jiajing was appointed as the examiner in the 41st year of the examination, and he probably thought that the cherry orchard was a bit like an orchard, so it was generally called "Cherry Spring Courtyard".

Zhang Jin also introduced to Gao Pragmatic that this cherry orchard had been somewhat dilapidated earlier, and Zhang Siwei had renovated it once after buying it. However, the renovation plan is more adaptable to local conditions, and some stones such as Taihu Lake stone are not deliberately used.

Here to explain a little, the northern garden in the use of stone, more use of Fangshan stone, Taihu stone, bluestone, etc., which is mainly limited by the region: Taihu stone is really a high-quality stone, but because its origin is located in the south of the Yangtze River, the transportation cost is high and less used or the volume is small; Similar to Taihu Stone is Fangshan Stone, known as North Taihu Stone, which is produced in Fangshan District, Beijing in the later generations, and is more convenient from mining to transportation, so it is used more in northern gardens; Bluestone is also similar to Fangshan stone, and the origin is relatively close.

Zhang Jin also introduced that Zhang Siwei had explained that in terms of trees, only pine, cypress, poplar, elm and other tree species were retained in the garden, and some locust trees and willows were originally removed by his order. The shrubs in the courtyard are mostly cloves, begonias, peonies, peonies, lotuses, etc., which are affected by the climate, so the plant scenery of the four seasons is quite different: everything recovers in spring, and the trees spit green. But now it's winter, and the flowers can't be seen.

Gao Shishi smiled when he heard it: "I like plum blossoms a lot, and I also love snow scenes." If you have time, you can show me the original location of the locust trees and willow trees that were removed from the past, and if it is appropriate, I would like to plant some plum trees. He didn't say this casually, Gao Pragmatic has always liked the poem "The sword is sharpened from the sharpening, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold", so he also has a love for plum blossoms.

Zhang Jin responded with a smile, anyway, Zhang Siwei had explained before he came, he was responsible for making a guest appearance as a tour guide for Gao Shishi to help him understand the situation of this courtyard.

Gao pragmatic looked at the architectural style in this garden again, and found that compared with some Jiangnan and Lingnan buildings he had seen in his previous life, the northern architecture of the cherry orchard appeared to be heavier, probably affected by the climate, to resist the cold climate, wind and warmth, and at the same time, the style of the roof should not only be able to drain water but also take into account the winter snow, so the scale of the beam frame is larger, so it looks majestic and majestic.

Of course, it may also be because Wang Zhijian had the intention of giving this garden to the emperor, so the style is more majestic.

Zhang Jin continued: "In fact, because this courtyard is built from the main gate at the bottom of the mountain and all the way to the mountain, it is planned into a three-story ladder, and each floor has a different role. ”

Gao pragmatic pointed to the top and said with a smile: "My residence, probably on the top floor?" ”

"Young Master Cousin sees thousands of miles." Zhang Jin explained: "The top floor, is your daily residence, the radius is about more than 30 acres, the north room (the master's bedroom), the wing, the study, the tea room, the library and so on are all available, there are about 20 maids and healthy women on weekdays. ”

Gao pragmatically said: Serve me alone to arrange more than 20 people? Oh, this should have been Zhang Siwei's pomp, I can't afford to raise it at that time, so I can withdraw it, at least I should be able to withdraw some of it, just leave a few people to cook and do laundry...... It is difficult to start a business, and if you can save it, you can save it.

Zhang Jin didn't care about Gao pragmatic's expression, and continued to explain: "The middle floor is about 50 acres in a square area, the east side is mainly the guest rooms and warehouses, the west side is the guards' wing rooms and various warehouses, the east side of the guest room can accommodate more than 10 distinguished guests and nearly 100 ordinary guests, and the west guard wing room can accommodate about 200 guards, and it is enough to squeeze 300 families. As for the warehouse, it occupies a larger area anyway, and the specific number of things that can be placed is not carefully understood by the small ones. ”

Gao pragmatic secretly smacked his tongue: If I can take this garden back to modern times, it will be developed, the area of the super villa on the first floor is as high as 20,000 square meters, and the courtyard left for guests and guards on the lower floor is nearly 40,000 square meters, and it is still in Beijing...... How much is this worth? Don't dare to count, don't dare to count!

Zhang Jin continued: "On the lower floor, in addition to the wide passage leading from the middle to the upper two floors, on the left and right sides are the residences of some peripheral family servants, long-term and short-term workers, and poor tenants under the name of the other courtyard, which is about 80 acres in size, and currently lives in about 500 people. ”

Gao Shishi was stunned when he heard this: This is a courtyard, this place is a little renovated, it is completely a town! Eunuch Wang was really a big person back then...... Well, but then again, my uncle is really rich! You bought such a big manor, but you didn't come to live there for a few days, are you wasting it?