Suzhou Prefecture. Liujiagang.

This is the entire Jiangnan region, the original distribution center of grain transportation to the north, and also the place where mahjong was invented.

Since Zheng He's first voyage to the West, it has also been the material distribution center of the fleet.

Large quantities of silk, porcelain, and ironware were loaded on ships here, and then transported to various parts of the South Seas.

Huang Yuan, as the commander-in-chief of the rear army of the Southern Route Army of the Western Expedition, said goodbye to his mother after receiving the task, and brought his wife and children here to carry out various preparations before the army set off.

Although you can't bring your relatives with you when you enter the barracks, it is still in the preparatory stage, and Huang Yuan, as the chief military officer, can be said to be above 10,000 people, and arranging a place for his wife and children outside the barracks can be described as a gesture.

What's more, letting Huang Yuan bring his wife and children was also granted by Zhu Zhanji.

He followed Zhu Zhanji to the sea three years ago, and before going to sea, he also spent less time with his wife and more separation, which can be described as a high degree of hard work.

Now that he has been back to China for less than two months, he has left home again, so he has not yet gone to sea to reunite his wife and wife.

Liujiagang's preparations here have entered the most intense stage. Countless supplies were transported here and shipped onto ships according to numbers.

Now there is no need to worry about food for the time being, because this time the army is on an expedition, all the grain will be requisitioned from all over the South Seas.

However, in addition to food, various weapons, ordnance, barbed wire, as well as hemp rope, glue, paint, wood and other spare materials are still a complicated work.

However, these tasks, which are difficult for others to figure out, have become easy and easy in front of Huang Yuan, because this is his specialty.

In March, Jiangnan was already showing a bit of greenery, and just after the Qingming Festival, Huang Yuan received a letter from his father Huang Fu from Jiayuguan.

In the past month, the emperor's personal conquest, the Taisun Jianguo and the Shandong case have caused a sensation in the entire Ming Dynasty. However, there are still a few things that have caused a lot of impact, including the news that the Huang family's father and son served as the chief military officers of the northern and southern armies respectively.

Huang Fu, as the secretary of the military department, served as the chief military officer of the army, which is reasonable.

But Huang Yuan is just a newly promoted general, and he is only a small viscount in terms of title, but he can surpass those earls, marquises, and governors, and serve as the commander-in-chief of the rear army of the Southern Route Army.

And he is only thirty years old this year, this is a real wood show in the forest.

However, in the early days of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor was powerful, and even if some people were not convinced, they did not dare to make some small moves.

Qianjiuwuer: Seeing the letter is like a face.

In the middle of March, when my father learned that you had been appointed by His Majesty as the commander-in-chief of the rear army of the Southern Route Army, I was overjoyed, and I couldn't help but talk about the old man's youthful madness, and drank a pound of wine. My son's youth is better than blue, and I am deeply pleased to be reused by His Majesty in the year of my establishment.

My son has to be reused, and as a father, he should put state affairs first, and resign to His Majesty as the chief military officer of the Northern Route Army, otherwise my father and son are both chief military officers, and they are too amazing and deeply jealous.

For my father's old age, even my big teeth have been a little loose these days, and I no longer have the ambition of my youth. In this life, my father owes you a lot of your mother, and now I just want to return to the capital and live with your mother.

Qianjiu, now you are beautiful in the forest, although you have the protection of His Royal Highness, you should also be low-key. has been a father and an official for 30 years, and has gone through many detours, including because of his youth and vigor, he offended Xiao Xiao and implicated the family.

But he has no regrets for his father, because his father is worthy of the emperor and the people, and he never forgets his responsibilities because of personal interests.

There is no experience to follow in the way of officials, and the ministers, ministers, traitors, meritorious ministers, chaotic ministers, servants, tyrants, cabinet ministers, and admonishers each have their own talents and ways.

The following three grades are civil and military, but if you are on the third grade, in fact, there is no difference between civil and military.

Looking at your current behavior, your current position, although you have a different path to civil and military, you think it is the same as being a father, and you are going to be an auxiliary minister.

The so-called auxiliary ministers are the auxiliary ministers, the so-called ministers. Don't attach it with flattery, don't deceive it for merit, stand upright, stand up with conscientiousness, and all evils can't invade.

This is the path of my father and son, and I can be said to be a successor, which is the most pleasing thing for my father. Today, if the nine dive cones are out of the bag, the father's wish has been fulfilled.

May my son spread his wings if Dapeng spreads his wings, soars upward, assists His Highness, and achieves my Huang family's gatehouse.

In Huang Yuan's impression, although his father has praised him a lot in recent years, it is the first time that he has praised him unabashedly, which shows that his father is indeed very happy in his heart.

Huang Yuan's heart also felt a lot, he was in Rong, on the one hand, because his father had a bad relationship with other ministers, and if he joined the office, he was afraid that he would be suppressed.

On the other hand, he also wants to develop in the army and cultivate the military power for his family in Jiaozhi.

But he didn't expect that when he arrived in Beijing, he was reused by His Royal Highness, from the general to the garrison, and then promoted several levels to guerrilla, and now he has the rank of general.

In just a few years, he went from a low-level general to an upper-level general.

Although he may not have many opportunities to go to the battlefield in the future, he will be a governor in the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army, a Governor in the Navy Headquarters, or like his father, a military secretary is just around the corner.

He is only thirty years old this year, and His Royal Highness Taisun is only twenty-three years old, as long as he follows His Royal Highness Taisun in this life, he believes that this life will be glorious and rich, and the glory of the court is just within reach.

There was a knock on the open door, and the conductor walked in. "General Huang, urgent military order."

Huang Yuan put down the letter in his hand and asked, "What's the matter?" ”

"Your Majesty is coming."

Huang Yuan was shocked and stood up. "Where is the Messenger? Didn't Your Majesty say that you will leave at the end of the month? Why come now? ”

Meng Rishu is a brave Mengyuan man, who has voted for the Ming Dynasty as early as the Zhu Yuanzhang period. Because most of his subordinates are of different races, he was appointed as the commander of the Liujiagang Defense Station, which can also reduce a lot of corruption.

Meng Rishu shook his head and said, "Please also ask the chief soldier to go to the main hall to receive the order." ”

Huang Yuan didn't dare to be sloppy, got up and straightened his clothes, and then followed Meng Rishu and the two around a row of public houses and came to the main hall of the guard.

After some procedures, the eunuch Kang Li read out the holy decree, and Huang Yuan knew that Zhu Di couldn't stay for a long time, and it was like coming out for a walk in March.

He has decided to set off from the capital on the fifth day of the first month of March, and then go to Suzhou from the canal to have a tour.

Hearing that he didn't leave now, Huang Yuan's mood calmed down a bit. Because the preparations were already underway from the beginning, in another ten days, the supplies would be almost all loaded.

It's definitely too late to go now, but after half a month, there is still plenty of time.

And in Suzhou Mansion, because the emperor is coming, the entire city of Suzhou is boiling.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Suzhou was Zhang Shicheng's base camp, and the whole of Suzhou supported Zhang Shicheng.

But Zhang Shicheng failed in the battle for hegemony with Zhu Yuanzhang, and Suzhou was also implicated. In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, the tax revenue of Suzhou accounted for one-tenth of the entire Ming Dynasty, which shows that there are multiple taxes.

In the years since Yongle, the tax of Suzhou has dropped repeatedly, and now it is also considered a national peace and security. And decades have passed, and most of the people who originally recognized Zhang Shicheng as the main person have also died.

Zhu Di's willingness to go to Suzhou naturally means that he has forgiven the people of Suzhou.

From the fifteenth year of Yongle, Suzhou Mansion followed in the footsteps of Ying Tianfu and set up many powered water wheels. The establishment of the waterwheel has greatly benefited the textile and silk industries, and the development of Suzhou has become more and more rapid in recent years.

In particular, Liu Lin, the prefect of Suzhou, was also listed with his grandson because he deliberately made friends with the Ma family. In recent years, he has cooperated with the Ministry of Industry with the help of the Ma family's connections, and is committed to the development of industry and commerce.

Today, the commercial tax in Suzhou alone exceeds 300,000 taels every year, ranking third in the Ming Dynasty except for Yingtianfu, second only to Ningbo and Quanzhou.

And Ningbo and Quanzhou are completely because of the advantage of having access to the sea. Otherwise, it may not be as strong as Suzhou Fu.

The people of Suzhou greeted the emperor happily, while in Yingtianfu, the people saw off the emperor happily.

Zhu Di is a person who can't stay, as long as he has some excuses over the years, he wants to run everywhere.

So much so that Zhu Zhanji has always suspected that in the original history, his five northern expeditions, except for the first two had some effect, the latter few times did not achieve any effect, I am afraid that he was not for the northern expedition, but just to go out to let off steam.

At the end of February, he wanted to run away, but a group of officials persuaded him, thinking that his going to Liujiagang would only slow down the efficiency of preparations.

Moreover, he and Zhu Zhanji's power transition was less than a month, and the hundred officials also persuaded him to cultivate His Highness for a period of time.

At the court meeting on the first day of March, Zhu Di simply did not go to the court, and let Zhu Zhanji go to the court alone, he just listened.

Wenchen has his own rules for deliberations, and Zhu Zhanji has his own sense of proportion, all of which makes him extremely satisfied.

Without waiting for the dispersal of the dynasty, he announced that he would set off on the fifth day of the first month of March, and that the generals and soldiers would go to Liujiagang first, and he would go to Suzhou to preach his comfort.

Zhu Zhanji secretly thought it was funny, Zhu Di is now a tendon, a bit of a doer, and he likes to do things with others.

However, it would be better for him to leave early. When he is gone, he can carry out his ambitions step by step, saving him from having someone next to him to restrain him.

On the night of the fourth day of the first month of March, there was no peace in the whole palace.

Zhu Di's expedition was much bigger than Zhu Zhanji's expedition.

Not to mention anything else, just the imperial chef, he brought more than 200 people, and he was good at all kinds of tastes and dishes.

He didn't bring many concubines, only four of them, including his favorite Korean concubine in recent years.

Boxes of luggage were loaded onto the ship by the eunuchs, and the top and bottom, inside and outside, of the flagship were cleaned up again, so to speak, not even a single mouse.

Zhu Zhanji still followed the rhythm of his own life, fell asleep when he was a child, and slept for an hour and a half before he got up to worship his ancestors and worship the sky with Zhu Di.

At dawn, Zhu Di took Zhu Zhanji on the Chengtianmen Tower of the Imperial City, issued a document on the expedition, and then came down and boarded the dragon chariot to the pier of Yuejianglou.

Along the way, the civil and military officials followed closely behind Long Yuan, and the people of Ying Tianfu all stopped to say goodbye.

When he arrived at Sizheng, Zhu Di boarded the flagship in the farewell of hundreds of civil and military officials, and then he stood on the side of the ship, looking at the people on the shore.

Zhu Zhanji stayed by his side, waiting for the other soldiers to board the ship in turn.

After all the ships raised their flags, he turned back to Zhu Zhanji and said, "Zhanji, I will entrust this Ming dynasty to you!" ”

Zhu Zhanji knelt down on his knees, and the attendants who followed him also knelt down one after another. Zhu Zhanji respectfully kowtowed to him three times, and said firmly: "I wish the emperor's grandfather a victory, a great victory, and his grandson will pray for you in Yingtianfu." ”

Zhu Di laughed and said: "If I can flatten the Timurid country in one fell swoop, I will have no regrets in my life." I only hope that Zhanji can not be impatient and impatient, and plant the sun and moon flag of my Ming Dynasty all over the world! ”

"My grandson will do his best."

He turned to the thirteen ministers and said, "You will carefully assist the grandson, wait for me to triumph, and reward you for your meritorious deeds." ”

Everyone knelt down and kowtowed. "Obey."

Zhu Di twisted his body, raised his hand and said, "Okay, you guys should go too!" Raise the marching flag. ”

With Zhu Di's order, a green marching flag was raised above the flagship, and then an unloaded gun on the side of the ship was ignited.

There was a loud bang, and the ship was shaken, and many ministers who were not used to it couldn't help but stumble. Zhu Di laughed and said, "Let's go!" I will go to the country of Timur, and when I return to Beijing, I will drink victory wine with you. ”

Zhu Zhanji took thirteen ministers and a cadre of chamberlains along the gangway to the trestle, and the flagship slowly hoisted two anchors weighing 3,000 catties.

An eleven-meter-long row of boats protruded from the round hole in the back of the boat, reached the surface of the water, and then rocked rapidly.

The boat started slowly, then began to glide slowly down the current.

Even standing on the trestle, you can hear the sailors begin to test the wind and water speed, and based on this data, the sails begin to adjust their direction and then rise.

However, until the flagship left the public eye, these commissioning work was still not completed.

Zhu Zhanji asked Song Li: "Song Shangshu, is the test of loading the steam engine into the sea ship over?" ”

"Your Highness, the sea boat is different from the river boat is flat-bottomed, and there are still many problems in the transmission part that are difficult to solve......

Zhu Zhanji understood what he meant and said, "It's okay. On the fifth day of today's new year, I will arrange a trip to be alone, and around the fifteenth, I will go to Jiajiang Industrial Zone to inspect. Ladies and gentlemen, let's go back together. ”

Although it is just a simple sentence, it is interpreted differently in the hearts of many ministers.

Now it seems that His Royal Highness has not changed his attention to the Ministry of Works, and he has not paid special attention to the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Households!

But if you think about it, you can understand that the Ministry of Officials is the department that Zhu Di requires to maintain stability.

As for the Ministry of Rites, that is the foundation of the country, and Zhu Zhanji will definitely not interfere in the etiquette, sacrifice, and education of the country when he has not officially ascended the throne.

For the rest of the troops, the focus of the military department is now shifted to the western expedition, and it cannot be moved casually here.

Only the household department, the criminal department, and the Ministry of Industry can be tossed by Zhu Zhanji.

Because there are two banks, the budget of each ministry is now directly distributed, so the role has been reduced a lot.

Moreover, Zhu Zhanji will not move easily when he is not fully familiar with the operation of the household department.

The Criminal Department has its own rules and regulations, and everything must be done in accordance with the rules.

There is only the Ministry of Industry that Zhu Zhanji is most familiar with, and he can toss at will.

came to the square of Yuejianglou Wharf, and the hundred officials were still waiting for Zhu Zhanji on the shore. Zhu Zhanji was full of emotion at this time, but he didn't know what to say at this time to express his excitement.

After a while, he held back a sentence: "Ministers, today's emperor is on the expedition, and the future affairs of the court will be entrusted to you." ”

He bowed down for a long time, and the ministers who were standing neatly and neatly knelt down in panic one by one. "This is the duty of a minister, and he should work hard for the country."

Zhu Zhanji hurriedly stepped forward one by one to help the ministers. "Lonely and ignorant, you need to rely on you in the future, this kneeling ceremony will be exempted in the future, non-major ceremonies, you can't kneel, don't fold Xiao Wang's life."

Seeing that Zhu Zhanji was so kind, some ministers nodded.

Zhu Di has given them a headache over the years, when he is reasonable, he reasoned with everyone, and when he was unreasonable, he played a scoundrel.

Although His Royal Highness Taisun doesn't like Confucianism like him, he at least likes to be reasonable, and now that Taisun is in charge of the country, his life in the future will be much better.

The more than 1,000 ministers who saw them off naturally couldn't let Zhu Zhanji help them up one by one, so Zhu Zhanji helped several older ministers to get up, and the others got up on their own.

Only then did Zhu Zhanji order. "Drive back to the palace."

The long convoy set off again, returning to Chengtianmen Square.

When he came, Zhu Di was there, and Zhu Zhanji could still have a car with him. But on the return trip, only Zhang Guifei was left, and in order to avoid suspicion, Zhu Zhanji could no longer board the dragon chariot.

However, Zhu Zhanji did not take the car, but directly rode an Arab horse, which was even more heroic under the guard of everyone.

The ministers sent Zhu Zhanji into Chengtianmen after listening to their car, and then returned to their yamen.

Zhu Zhanji gave himself a holiday today, except for Wang Yan, the other ministers who took care of their lives did not need to enter the palace again.

The convoy passed through the end gate, entered the noon gate, and the front was Fengtian Gate.

The dragon chariot that the concubine rode would enter the harem from the west side, while Zhu Zhanji would enter the east palace from the left gate.

Long Yuan stopped, and Zhang Guifei showed her face and beckoned to Zhu Zhanji. "Junki."

Zhu Zhanji hugged his fists on the horse. "Does the concubine have any orders?"

Zhang Guifei said: "The emperor has been ordered to go on the expedition, before he returns, the harem has been blocked in the past few years, leaving only the Xuanwu Gate, and the back right gate is open in two places, except for me to issue seals, no one is allowed to enter and leave at will." Zhan Ji can let the princess come to visit, and I will let her know some strategies, and tell Zhan Ji to know. ”

"This is a trivial matter, and I will let Xian'er listen to the concubine's teachings later."

Although these concubines have to live in the harem for a few years, even if Zhu Di does not go on the expedition, they rarely have the opportunity to come out.

The harem is not small, it has a small society of its own, and there are gardens and theaters to spend time, but it is not sad to be in it.

Many palace maids, when it was time to be released, were still crying and shouting not to come out. They are used to the life of the harem and can no longer adapt to the outside world.

The scope of women's activities in this era is originally small, like tourism in later generations, and this era doesn't have to think about it at all.

Therefore, Zhu Zhanji has no idea of changing the order, if he really wants to let these people out from time to time and cause a little scandal, then it will be over.

Zhang Guifei knew that now that Zhu Zhanji was in power, his need for the Zhang family was already very small, but there were still many places where the Zhang family needed to rely on him.

So her attitude was not condescending, and she still said in a gentle tone: "There are rules for the use of money in the palace, and there are few times to spend money." But there will inevitably be some small things that will disturb Zhanji, and I hope that Zhanji will understand. ”

"Well said. The hour is not early, and the concubine goes to rest. What are the orders in the future, although it is for people, it will not disappoint the concubine. ”

Zhang Guifei heard the meaning of Zhu Zhanji's words, nodded with a smile, and put down the brocade curtain.

Watching the convoy enter the West Palace, Zhu Zhanji stood on the Jinshui Bridge outside the Fengtian Gate, looking around at the majestic palace city.

Unlike the Forbidden City in Beiping in later generations, the Jinshui Bridge in Beiping is outside the Noon Gate. But the Forbidden City in Nanjing, the Jinshui Bridge is inside the Noon Gate, outside the Fengtian Gate.

In this era, there is no talk of beheading at the noon gate, because of the noon gate palace gate. In addition, there is the end gate, and there is the Chengtian gate, which is the gate of the imperial city.

The Forbidden City in Peking is not only one-third smaller than Ying Tianfu, but also has a simplified set of regulations.

The innermost is Miyagi, with the three major halls as the center, divided into the middle palace, the east palace, the west palace, and the harem.

Outside the palace is the sandwich road, the Tibetan Soldier Alley, and then the imperial city. The imperial city includes the Sheji Altar, the Taimiao, the Twelve Prisons, the Inner Library, etc.

Located on the west side of the imperial city, the inner library is larger than the imperial palace, where the four divisions and eight bureaus and the twelve yamen of the palace maids worked, where the royal family's gold, silver, cloth, silk, etc. were stored.

Outside the imperial city, it is the inner city of Yingtianfu.

Seeing that Zhu Zhanji was motionless, Li Liang reminded softly: "Your Highness, it's past noon, it's time to eat." ”

"There's no hurry." Zhu Zhanji waved his hand, turned to the Zuoshun Gate on the right, and walked along the steps behind the Zuoshun Gate, raising his legs and walking towards the city tower.

Standing on the towering Wumen City Tower, looking to the south, it is the garden-like Sheji Altar and the Taimiao, the south of the Taimiao, is a low house, that is the place where the four inner prison yamen such as the Shengong Supervisor are located, and then the south is the Chengtian Gate that is higher than the Wumen.

Zhu Zhanji slowly walked to the east side of the Wumen City Tower, looking north, across the Fengtianmen City Tower, it is the highest building in Yingtianfu, Fengtian Palace.

The majestic palaces are spread out in an orderly manner, forming a spectacular picture. Further away, there are Yanque Lake and Zhongshan.

Although this scene is not new to Zhu Zhanji, he has often watched it before, but there has never been a time that can make him feel today.

This palace, this Ming, and this world will be dominated by him in the future.

Standing on the top of the city tower and staring for a long time, Zhu Zhanji slowly walked along the city wall towards the East Palace, and the other chamberlains and brocade guards followed behind him without making a sound.

Anyone could see that Zhu Zhanji was preoccupied and didn't dare to disturb him.

Zhu Zhanji walked all the way to the Donghua Gate, looked at the verdant Zhongshan, and stood for a long time, his heart was full of magnificent pictures.

"Go back to the palace and pass the meal. Let the governor prepare the car for driving, and I will visit my father later. ”

Li Liang hurriedly ordered to go down, and several little eunuchs hurriedly trotted to their own things.

Back at Xingqing Palace, as soon as he entered the door, Zhu Zhanji was stunned. Headed by Sun Xian, dozens of his concubines and more than a dozen children gathered in the square in front of the main hall of Xingqing Palace.

Seeing him come in, everyone knelt down together and bowed down one after another: "Meet Your Highness." ”

Zhu Qizhen and a group of children simply used all their strength and shouted: "Meet my father!" ”

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