Ta Long has always thought that Nanjing City is the first fortified city in the world, and it is no longer a miracle that should appear in the world.

However, on the way from Nanjing to the capital, he saw more than ten such fortified cities!

Although many of them were seen from a distance, or a rough outline, the kind of deterrence that seemed to be entrenched on the earth, silently suppressing the heavens and the earth, still made him feel terrified.

When he curiously asked the officials of Honglu Temple who accompanied him, the officials of Honglu Temple were also a little confused - if they didn't approach those cities, who knew which city it was!

Daming is so big, can it be seen which city it is just by a distant outline?

What are you kidding, it's almost the same as asking those guys from the Ministry of Railways about this, they built the railways, they set the line, and they asked them to go if they had something!

If you have to ask the official, it's no problem, wait until you get close to the city, and let the official see what is written on the city gate before asking!

Obviously, the officials of Nanjing Honglu Temple did not deliberately conceal it, but they themselves did not know what the specific names of those cities were-Ming Zhixiong, which can be seen!

However, it is impossible to get close to the city.

Except for the railway stations in Beijing and Nanjing, which are directly connected to the city, all the remaining railway stations have been built outside the city, far away from the city wall, and the nearest is also three or four miles away.

For what purpose, no one knows, even Emperor Chongzhen didn't care, these decisions were made by Hong Chengchou and the horses of the Ministry of Railways.

In addition to the huge cities that appeared and disappeared along the way, all that remained were patches of farmland and busy people.

In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, a very painful year, God doesn't appreciate face, and he doesn't even give his son face, but it doesn't rain.

Up to Emperor Chongzhen, down to the common people, and then counting the large and small officials in the middle, there is no one who does not have a headache.

What can I do if it doesn't rain? It's not once or twice that I have done this kind of thing praying for rain, but God said that if you don't give face, you don't give face, do you still want His Majesty the Emperor to beg for rain?

This kind of thought, just think about it, if anyone really dares to say it, it will be death-first ask the people up and down the Ming Dynasty and the guards will agree?

Since Emperor Chongzhen can't be allowed to issue an edict against himself, and God doesn't give face, then there is only one way left - rely on well water!

Anyway, as early as the sixth or seventh year of Chongzhen, a large-scale well drilling project had already begun, and almost 20,000 barbarians died for this.

No matter how little water there is in the well, at least it can water some ground, right? Even if it is difficult to get water, you can always water the ground!

What he saw was that the people of the Ming Dynasty were fetching water and farming.

Collecting water is as simple as bringing water up from the well, filling it into a large bucket on top of a flatbed, and then pouring the basin into the ground little by little.

There's no way, now that there is little water, I can only save watering the ground - although watering is only better than nothing, but it can also make the crops have some harvest, right?

His mouth opened a little wide, and he asked in a daze: "The people of the Ming Dynasty are like this?" ”

Accompanying him to the north of the capital was Liao Jinzhong, the Shaoqing of Nanjing Honglu Temple.

The scene that King Ta Long saw, Liao Jinzhong also saw in his eyes.

Hearing his words, Liao Jinzhong's face couldn't help but be a little gloomy: "Your Highness should have noticed all the way north, there hasn't been a drop of rain for many days, but this field can't be barren, right?"

The government can only mobilize the people to obtain water from the wells for irrigation, which can save some of the harvest. ”

When he heard this, he couldn't help but nod and said, "No wonder, the upper kingdom has been buying grain from the lower kingdom before, so there must be this reason?" ”

Liao Jinzhong said: "There is this reason, but it is not absolute. The regular and reserve warehouses in all parts of my Ming Dynasty are now full of grain. As for the grain that has been being bought, it is just His Majesty's orders. ”

King Ta Long nodded thoughtfully, and said no more.

According to the statement of the young secretary of Honglu Temple, Daming is not short of food at the moment, but the purchase of grain has never stopped, and even the grain of Myanmar and Siam's neighboring countries has been bought up by Daming.

Where did all that food go?

Without thinking too much about it, he could guess where the food was going - either to use it as military rations, or as reserves, and partly as military rations.

In short, this matter must be inseparable from military rations!

After Emperor Ming ascended the throne, he fought so non-stop, and the food consumed was definitely an astronomical amount!

Through the grain that Myanmar sold to the Ming Dynasty itself, as well as the number of so many vassals of the Ming Dynasty, he secretly calculated it.

The conclusion is that so much food, not to mention the scourge for the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, even if the people of the Ming Dynasty don't do anything, it is enough for two or three years!

However, what has not stopped the action of buying grain?

Reserves, deliberately depleted!

These two words popped up in King Talong's mind in an instant.

Reserves are well understood, which means to reserve enough food for future wars and natural disasters from time to time, so as to cope with the situation of food shortage.

As for deliberate consumption, I'm afraid that His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty did it intentionally.

The price of grain purchased by Daming is not low, but it is not very high, so that these countries that sell grain can make money, but it will definitely not be too much.

If you want to make money, you have to sell more food!

In addition to the cost of purchasing grain from the people, the silver earned by selling grain basically flowed back to Daming through various trading channels.

The final result is that Da Ming basically didn't spend much money, and through all kinds of messy things, he solved his domestic problems and stored enough food!

And what kind of choices these countries, and the people of these countries, will make after they get the way to make money by selling grain, you can think of it with your ass!

Grow food in abundance! Don't think about anything else!

In some ways, King Ta Long thought he had to thank His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty for buying a lot of grain, so that the people would think that they could farm in peace, and that they would not think about other messy things, and the situation in Burma would be very stable.

But from another aspect, Emperor Chongzhen's behavior made King Long shudder a little - when everyone was busy growing food, would they be in the mood to think about anything else?

The answer is yes, soldiers do not think about fighting, but about growing grain, and merchants do not think about doing something else, but sell grain.

When a country is living for food, the country is basically abolished!

King Ta Long thought that he saw these things very clearly, and the more he thought about it, the more he admired Emperor Chongzhen's foresight, and he was even more convinced that his decision was correct!

From Nanjing to the capital, it took more than ten days to sway along the way, not faster than a horse, but not slow.

In particular, the specially made train carriages are as luxurious as a small palace.

Or the palace is a bit exaggerated, because it is limited by the area, and it can't even compare with the houses of normal people.

But the facilities inside are absolutely capable of meeting all needs, and they are luxurious enough!

The whole carriage was covered with thick woolen blankets, and several large beds were placed in separate rooms, and in addition to the space similar to the bedroom, there was a large space similar to a study, and there were even bookshelves full of books.

As for eating, there is no problem, there will be a special carriage, in which there are clever chefs to cook all kinds of food and send it over, you can have a good time.

In such a carriage, King Talong experienced a more luxurious and comfortable life than in his own Burmese palace.

Moreover, this kind of train is not like a horse-drawn carriage, it has to rest at night, and it has to stop to feed and water, as long as the front of the train is constantly changed and water and coal are added, it can move forward day and night.

Maybe not as fast as a horse in a short period of time, but really from Nanjing to the capital such a long distance, in fact, the speed of the two is not much different at all!

When the train swayed to the capital of the Ming Dynasty, he Long thought that he had come to heaven!

There were not many cities passed along the way, and King Ta Long thought that he had gained a little more knowledge, and he was no longer a countryman who knew nothing.

But the capital of the Ming Dynasty in front of him still made King Long deeply realize his insignificance and ignorance!

Like a giant beast that existed for eternity, it was entrenched on the earth, and the high walls stood upright, and the endless flow of people was something I had never seen in my life!

It took about two breaths for the train to fully cross the thick walls.

Judging by the speed of the train, which has not changed much along the way, the thickness of the city wall alone is almost five zhang!

In addition to the envoys of Burma itself, there was also Honglu Siqing in the capital who came to greet King Talong.

As for the Shaoqing of Nanjing Honglu Temple, there are also guards who accompany them all the way, and when they reach the station in the capital, their task will be completed.

After reporting to Honglu Temple and the Ministry of War, these people had to return to Nanjing - this time there was no train, and they went back by themselves by the official road and the post station.

King Ta Long is also very conscious, but he doesn't feel that having Honglu Temple Qing receive him is not an act of giving him face-he is already higher than the level of Honglu Temple Shaoqing in Nanjiao!

As for saying that the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty or the clan would send people to greet him, King Ta Long didn't think he had this face.

Along the way, King Ta Long learned a lot of information, even if he could take the train into Beijing, it belonged to His Majesty the Emperor and the Ministry of Rites specially approved, this is a special train that can only be taken by the prince, and no matter how high the other people's high positions are!

That's enough to save face, what more do you want? Even the King of Joseon and the King of the Ryukyus did not enjoy this treatment!

Of course, this also has something to do with the fact that the two guys of North Korea, Ayayang Jun Li Liang and Ryukyu King Shangfeng, were attached too early, and there was no such awesome train in the Ming Dynasty at that time.

After returning to Honglu Temple to rest for two days, King Talong finally received an edict from Emperor Chongzhen.

Receiving King Talong, Emperor Chongzhen did not choose to be in the time of the Great Dynasty Meeting, but in an ordinary palace.

The accompanying people included Wen Tiren, the first assistant of the cabinet, plus Meng Shaoyu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and the two big heads of the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo, and Zhang Zhiji, the Duke of the United Kingdom, which was almost the top reception specification of the Ming Dynasty.

No matter how high it is, Emperor Chongzhen can't think of it—do you want me to meet him alone?

Don't be funny, meeting him today with King Long has already given him a lot of face, how can everyone have this kind of opportunity to play alone?

After King Talong changed into the most solemn court clothes prepared by Honglu Temple, he was led by Shaoqing of Honglu Temple and waited outside the palace gate.

The high palace gate was closed, and there was no intention of opening it, and the guards guarding the door did not have the slightest intention of looking at themselves, just standing so straight, holding the fire gun in their hands.

King Ta Long looked left and right before he opened his mouth and exclaimed: "How majestic! ”

He Long could see that among these people guarding the palace ban, in addition to the Jinyi Wei Han General of the Ming Dynasty, there were also some people who did not look like the Ming people.

However, these people are all standing neatly outside the palace gate, guarding the emperor inside the palace, and in their hearts they exist like gods.

Shaoqing of Honglu Temple was startled by his voice of King Long, and said in a low voice: "Silence! ”

King Ta Long was taken aback by the words of Shaoqing of Honglu Temple - what's the matter, the people of Kuakua still don't let it?

The next actions of those guards made King Long deeply understand why Shaoqing of Honglu Temple had such a reaction - the guards closest to him had already raised the muzzle of the fire gun slightly, and he had the intention of killing himself if he spoke out again.

Through the news that those merchants and scholars could still study abroad, King Ta Long knew that his identity was not a big deal in the Ming Dynasty at all, and these guards were not necessarily just scaring themselves, or, they really killed them?

The Shaoqing of Honglu Temple explained in a low voice: "Your Highness is quieter, several ladies in the palace have given birth to dragon sons and dragon girls, if they disturb the nobles, I am afraid that they will really kill people!" ”

He raised his hand slowly and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead - such a big palace, even if he shouted here, I was afraid that no one would be able to hear it, right? Why play so much!

Is it specifically to give this king a dismount?

Before King Talong could think about it, a voice came from afar in the palace.

At first, he couldn't hear it clearly, but under the repetition over and over again, and the voice was also coming towards the location of the palace gate, it made King Long hear clearly what these voices were shouting: "Your Majesty has a decree, announce that the king of Burma will come to see him!" ”

The guards guarding the palace gate slowly opened the palace gate, and a eunuch slowly paced out from behind the palace gate, and said loudly: "Your Majesty has a decree, announce that the king of Burma will come to see him!" ”

PS: Today, I saw that "The Romance of the Red Mansion" was ahead of me, so let's sacrifice him!