In the martyrs' cemetery outside the Baozhong Huguo Temple in Babao Mountain, rows of white marble tombstones towered into the sky like sharp swords. Some of these tombstones were blank because the names of the bodies could not be recognized, so they had to be buried as a memorial. Although their relatives could not find them, there were still monks and officials in the temple to worship and clean them during the four seasons and eight festivals.

There are also some tombstones that do not have corpse ashes under them, but are just a clothed mound for people to sacrifice and mourn. However, to be able to leave such a well-dressed mound, they are all generals with names and surnames, and they still died bravely in battle.

For example, the curtain of Zhang Dadou, the late Ming general Zhang Dadou, who is visiting the two brothers Zhang Yunjin and Zhang Yunmo, is such a clothed mound. Zhang Dadou was a Zhejiang general who fought to the end in the bloody battle of the Hunhe River, and his body was naturally buried on the edge of the Hunhe River like those Zhejiang soldiers, and he could never be found again.

The bloody battle of the Hunhe River was the most bloody battle of the Ming army in several major wars between the Ming Dynasty and the Later Jin, and even the Jurchens recognized the martial arts of these Zhejiang soldiers and Sichuan soldiers, believing that this was the first bloody battle encountered by the Jurchens since they raised their troops. The heroic and resolute places of these Ming troops can be described as dignified and vibrant.

And these Ming army soldiers who were almost all killed in battle were also the only Jurchens who collected their corpses after fighting with the Ming army, although it was just a large grave buried together, but it was also stronger than other Ming army corpses directly in the wilderness. Because they had already been buried, they could no longer transport the remains back to the gate, so they had to set up a mound as a memorial.

Zhang Dadou is a native of Jinhua, Zhejiang, and has followed Qi Jiguang to join the army since his grandparents. As a low-ranking officer, although he and his colleagues who died in the battle were posthumously sealed after the bloody battle of the Hunhe River, his descendants did not receive any benefits.

Because according to the military system of the Ming Dynasty, if the Qi family army still exists, the descendants of these officers can still fill their positions. But now that the entire Qi family army is gone, the descendants of these officers naturally lose the opportunity to fill their positions. There is no army that will allow the children of the shadow of other military guards to take their place.

Although the two brothers Zhang Yunjin and Zhang Yunmo have a vacant title, they have no official position to make up, so they can only work as a farmer at home. Of course, if they have enough money, it is not that they can't make up for the official shortage, but the Qi family's army was wiped out in the Hunhe River, and the imperial court only gave some honor and a little pension, and the bereaved families of those soldiers who lost their relatives basically did not receive much care, and could only be supported and taken care of by the families of the former Qi family's military generals.

After all, most of the soldiers in the Qi family's army are township party members from the same village and township, and some are still people of the same clan, so they can't help but help. In this way, whether it is the Zhang brothers or the generals in the other Qi family army, it is natural to break away from the army system.

The stone pillar Tusi who has his own territory can still rebuild the white pole soldiers, but the Qi family army, which relies on military salaries to survive, can only pass away with the wind. This is also why, after the bloody battle of the Hunhe River, the Qi family army can no longer appear in the sequence of the Ming army, and why did the Nine Border Generals become the largest landlords in the border land one by one.

The emergence of the new army not only dealt a great blow to the border army generals and the hereditary officers of the local guards, but also equivalent to rebuilding the military organization situation similar to the Qijia army, so that the soldiers at the bottom have a way to rise.

After the emperor re-mourned the sacrifice of the Ming army in Liaodong such as the bloody battle of the Hunhe River, a large number of Liaodong martyrs began to enter the military academy to study, providing fresh blood for the officer system of the new army. Compared with the low-ranking officers promoted in the army, the descendants of these martyrs have a cleaner background and are more loyal to the emperor.

After Zhang Yunjin and Zhang Yunmo were the first batch of martyrs to graduate from the military academy, one of them would enter the artillery unit and the other would enter the guard unit during this military exercise. Before setting off for the military exercise, the two brothers specially asked for leave to visit their uncle in the martyrs' cemetery, and by the way, they said hello to the elder.

After the two burned the yellow paper and tin foil they brought, they couldn't help but bend down and salute, muttering a prayer in their mouths: "... My nephew and others go to the battlefield this time, if we really start a war with Jianlu, may my uncle's spirit in heaven bless us, and kill a few more Jianlu to avenge my uncle... On the battlefield, the nephew will not dare to insult the uncle's reputation, but if there is a breath of air, he should fight to the last breath like his uncle..."

"Yun Jin, Yun Mo, it's not too early, are you done?" Several classmates who came to sweep the tomb stood far away on the passage of the cemetery and shouted to the Zhang brothers.

"It's coming, it's coming." Zhang Yunjin turned around and answered, then pulled his younger brother to bow to the tombstone three more times, and then turned around and waited for their classmates to meet.

Zhu Youzhen, who was standing on the wooden tower of Huguo Temple from a distance and looking at the scenery of Babao Mountain, obviously also saw this scene. He is also very touched by the actions of these young people. In last year's war alone, more than 800 new tombs have been added to the Babaoshan Martyrs Cemetery, which is still the number after deletion.

This made Zhu Youzhen realize that the current era is not the peaceful era of the later generations, and a war or rebellion may break out at any time in this era. Whether it is an official or a court official, the number of soldiers and civilians who died is just a number, and they have numbly forgotten the life behind those numbers.

So when he asked for the construction of the martyrs' cemetery, those officials thought it was just a waste of money, after all, there are so many living people in this world who can't even eat, how can they care about the aftermath of the dead, they are not some famous generals, just ordinary soldiers.

However, looking at these sergeants who came to worship in twos and threes today, Zhu Youzhen felt that his decision was not wrong. Whether it is in the 17th century or the 21st century, what can guide ordinary people to be positive comes from the power of example. Only when such a soldier grows up, can the disgusting vices in the Ming army be slowly washed away.

Zhu Youzhen turned to the host of the Huguo Temple behind him and said, "You manage the cemetery here well, but I think there are still too few trees in the cemetery, so you can find someone to plant more pines and cypresses." Wang Ban and you donated 5,000 yuan to Huguo Temple for me to plant trees and clean the cemetery. ”

The presiding officer of Huguo Temple was immediately ecstatic and praised the emperor Heshi: "Your Majesty is benevolent, the poor monks will definitely make good use of this fund to take care of the last dormancy for these martyrs..."

On the way back to the capital from Babao Mountain, Zhu Youzhen, who was sitting in the carriage, looked at a garden hidden in the lake and trees in the distance, and couldn't help but ask Wang Chengen on the side: "Is that the spoon garden of the Mi family?" ”

Wang Chengen stretched his neck and glanced out the window, then nodded hurriedly and said: "It is the spoon garden built by Mi Wanzhong, and it is said that this is the garden with the most outstanding scenery among the three gardens of the Mi family." Your Majesty, look at the bamboo fence and bushes surrounding the lake, which was first set up in the Spoon Garden. ”

Zhu Youzhen nodded and said, "It's already good to look at it from the outside, and it's even more amazing inside." Is Hai Lanzhu located here? ”

Wang Chengen replied: "Yes, Princess Horqin is arranged here, since Your Majesty is about to leave Beijing, it is better to take advantage of the present to see Princess Hai Lanzhu, so that she can live here with peace of mind." ”

Zhu Youzhen thought for a moment, then agreed to Wang Chengen's suggestion, and Wang Chengen immediately turned his head and knocked on the front wall of the carriage, asking the coachman to turn the carriage to the spoon garden.

Mi Wanzhong built the Spoon Garden, at first just to build a secluded and pure place for himself in the suburbs of Beijing, not a place to receive guests, so there is only a willow embankment path for people to walk between the entrance of the Spoon Garden and the main gate of the Spoon Garden, which cannot accommodate vehicles to enter.

Although he had just come down from the mountain, the beautiful scenery of the spoon garden built on the edge of the lake made Zhu Youzhen not tired of taking a walk. The spoon garden makes use of the original lakes and rivers in Haidian, and does not make major changes to the landform, so the two sides of the willow embankment path that go deep into the lake at the entrance are still a piece of primitive natural scenery, and there are still wild ducks faintly moving in it between the reeds by the lake, which is really very wild.

At the end of the willow embankment path is a high wooden arch bridge, and on the opposite side of the wooden bridge is the avenue that turns to the main gate of the spoon garden. Standing on the wooden bridge, you can see the pier near the lake of Spoon Garden, and there is a pleasure boat docked on the pier.

Looking at the pavilions and pavilions hidden in the trees in the Spoon Garden, Zhu Youzhen said to Wang Chengen on the side with envy: "Mi Wanzhong's garden is indeed well cultivated, living in this kind of place, it is estimated that there is no difference from being a fairy." ”

Wang Chengen hurriedly said: "If Your Majesty is willing, it is better to build a garden in a nearby area, and it is better to go out of the city in summer to escape the heat." ”

Zhu Youzhen thought about it, but still shook his head and said: "Forget it, the money in the inner treasury has a place to go, and the cost of building a garden here is probably not small." ”

Wang Chengen rolled his eyes, and then suggested: "Otherwise, Your Majesty will simply buy this place, after Mi Wanzhong died, he owed a lot of debts to build this garden, and his son was thinking about selling this place to pay off the debt." ”

Zhu Youzhen touched his chin, thought for a while and then said hesitantly, "Why don't you ask first?" It's too stuffy to live in this palace, and if there is such a foreign house, you don't have to go back to the city in such a hurry in the future. But if it's too expensive, forget it. ”

Wang Chengen immediately smiled and said, "Your Majesty doesn't have to worry, the minister will definitely do it properly." ”

When Zhu Youzhen was standing on the wooden bridge chatting with Wang Chengen, Mi Shoudu, the current owner of the Spoon Garden, had already received the news of the emperor's visit, and he hurriedly opened the middle door and brought his family to greet him.

After Zhu Youzhen chatted with him for a few words, he asked Mi Shoudu to take him to the courtyard where Hai Lanzhu lived. Hai Lanzhu's yard is at the other end of the spoon garden, which is clean and elegant, and was originally where Mi Wanzhong paints on weekdays.

When Zhu Youzhen came to the gate of the courtyard, he saw Hai Lanzhu dressed as a Han girl, watering the flowers and plants downstairs. Mi Shoudu looked at such a scene, his face turned a little pale, and when he was about to call the servant woman in charge of the garden to scold, he was stopped by Chongzhen. Zhu Youzhen motioned for everyone else to leave, and walked alone towards Hai Lanzhu, who bowed his head and watered the flowers.

"This is a begonia, if you water it like this, it will be watered to death." Zhu Youzhen stood behind Hai Lanzhu for a long time, seeing that she didn't notice herself, she couldn't help but remind her.

"Ah, it looks like such a tall tree, it can die if you water it?" Hai Lanzhu suddenly felt a little incredulous and replied, and then she reacted, put down the kettle in her hand, and turned to salute Chongzhen.

The two exchanged a few words, and Hai Lanzhu couldn't help but ask with some curiosity: "Why did Your Majesty come here today?" But is there anything you have to say to the concubine? ”

Zhu Youzhen looked at Hai Lanzhu with a quiet face, and couldn't help but smile and said: "It seems that you are easy to follow the customs, have you adapted to the life of Daming so quickly?" ”

Hai Lanzhu lowered her gaze and said, "Although Da Ming is good, the concubine still prefers the grassland of her hometown. However, for the sake of the Horqin Ministry and His Majesty, the concubine will still work hard to adapt. ”

Zhu Youzhen was silent for a while before continuing: "Then you prepare, I plan to go to Jizhou to inspect, maybe I will go out of the customs, you accompany me to go around..."