Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 661
The place where Zhu Youjian and his party are going today is the Xiyuan of the imperial city, which is the place where Emperor Shizong Jiajing handled his official affairs, which is also the famous Zhongnanhai in later generations.

After Ming Chengzu established his capital in Beijing, he began to recruit labor to build a new palace from the second year.

The newly built palace city moved southward based on the location of the palace in the Yuan Dynasty, so the imperial city wall also moved southward. In order to enrich the garden landscape of the imperial city, the South China Sea was excavated. Mountain (ie Jingshan).

Beihai, Zhonghai, and Nanhai are collectively referred to as "Taiye Pool" and belong to Xiyuan, the imperial city.The North Sea and Zhonghai are bounded by the Jinao Yuyu Bridge, and the Zhonghai and South China Sea are bounded by the Centipede Bridge.

Later, after the Manchu Qing ruled the Central Plains, they converted a large area of ​​land in Xiyuan into residential buildings, and at the same time set up "inner red walls" around the three seas of Beihai, Zhonghai, and South China Sea, and the scope of the imperial garden retreated within the inner red wall.

Xiyuan not only has the beauty of lush trees, but also has the victory of misty waves. Compared with the Forbidden City, it is undoubtedly vast and free. It is a good place for hunting, riding and shooting. Xuanzong, Yingzong, Xianzong and Wuzong all like to go to Xiyuan Riding and shooting, but Emperor Jiajing's interest in Xiyuan was to constantly build palaces.

From the 20th year of Jiajing to the [-]th year of Jiajing, the Yongshou Palace, Wuyi Hall, Qingfu Hall, Qingxu Hall, etc., the Binfeng Pavilion, Baoyue Pavilion, Cuifang Pavilion, etc., and the Sea God Temple were successively built in Xiyuan. , Leitan, Leigong and other ancestral altars, and later built Dagaoxuan Hall, Daguangming Hall, Yuxi Palace, Shenyingxuan and other palaces and pavilions.

In the 20th year of Jiajing, after the main building was completed, Emperor Sejong moved into Yongshou Palace in Xiyuan, and never left here until his death.

Xiyuan is very close to Miyagi.

After going out from the Xihua Gate of the Forbidden City, cross the bridge to the north for about two miles, and you will arrive at the Xiyuan Gate facing east. More than a dozen carriages carrying dignitaries drove into the gate. Thousands of Han generals were armed along the road. Be on guard, they will wait here in shifts until Zhu Youjian and his party return to the palace after playing.

In the cold winter season, the flowers, plants and trees in the West Garden are already withered, giving people a feeling of desolation and desolation. Only the figures of a large number of brocade guards who can be seen everywhere appear from time to time, which makes the desolate garden a little bit alive.

According to the prior arrangement, after entering Xiyuan, the carriage that Zhu Youjian and others took did not stop, but drove westward along the wide main road.

About a quarter of an hour later, as the first carriage stopped moving forward, Wang Chengen opened the carriage and jumped out. Wang Shiqin, who was in charge of the security mission, stepped forward to report a few words, and then Wang Chengen took out the brocade stool from under the carriage and put it on the ground. Okay, with a sound, Zhu Youjian in cotton dressing gown bent down and got out of the carriage, stepped on the brocade stool and got out of the carriage.

"Slave Wang Shiqin sees the emperor!"

Wang Shiqin stepped forward and was about to pay respects, but Zhu Youjian smiled and stopped him.

"No need to be polite.

It's really hard work for you to wait for the guards on this freezing day. After returning to the palace, each of the guards will be rewarded with three taels of silver! "

"Slaves and maids thanked the emperor for their generous rewards! This is the duty of slaves and servants, but they really cannot be rewarded by the emperor!"

Because of his involvement in the Liang Qi case, Wang Shiqin was fined for one year and demoted to Dongchang Daiqianhu, and has not been restored to his original position until now.

Wang Chengen, who was in charge of arranging the trip of Zhu Youjian and others this time, specially asked Wang Shiqin to take charge of the escort mission so that he could take the opportunity to get acquainted with Zhu Youjian and try to perform well so that he can return to his post as soon as possible.

Zhu Youjian's personal guards have been scattered around for a long time, cooperating with and monitoring the Jinyi school lieutenant who came to guard, in case of accidents, more than 1000 school lieutenants were all arranged at the outer duty posts, Zhu Youjian and others The security within 200 meters is all in charge of these inner guards.

This range is safe enough.

Because the school lieutenant who entered the guard no longer has a crossbowman, and the weapons he holds are firecrackers in addition to long knives, and each of the more than a hundred inner guards is equipped with three short-handled flintlock blunderbusses, and many of them are equipped with Bows and crossbows, these long-distance attack weapons are enough to deal with small-scale fighting.

"Okay, this is my reward, it can be regarded as an annual gift.

By the way, is there anything interesting happening in the capital recently? "

"My lord, in the past few months, the capital has been very stable, and everyone is busy with the New Year's Eve.

There are many large and small merchant ships at Tongzhou Canal Wharf and Tianjin Wei Wharf. All kinds of goods are transported into the capital for sale. Merchants, large and small, are making a lot of money. Countless people are praising the coming of the prosperous emperor.

The slaves have already dispatched all the captains of the East Factory, and they are divided into two groups, light and dark, to patrol the capital day and night, but any disturbances will not escape the eyes and ears of the factory guards, but please rest assured, the emperor! "

Wang Shiqin hurriedly bowed and saluted, briefly explaining the news he had received in the near future, Zhu Youjian nodded with a smile and praised a few words, and Wang Chengen, who was on the side, was immediately relieved when he saw the emperor's attitude.

"I'll wait until I see Daddy!"

"Daddy, Daddy, why is such a big Haizi frozen? If you step on it, will it fall into the water?"

At this moment, Zhu Cihong came from behind with Kunxing, Yongwang, and Dingwang to greet Zhu Youjian.

"Under the continuous severe cold, Haizi's freeze from the day before yesterday has not melted, and he will freeze again after that. The current ice should be half a foot thick, so you can rest assured to play!"

Zhu Youjian explained a few words casually with a smile, which made Zhu Cihong, who came to Xiyuan for the first time in winter, very excited.

"My servant, Wang Shiqin, has seen the young master, the princess, and the two princes!"

Wang Shiqin hurriedly knelt down again and saluted. After Zhu Cihong asked him to get up, he also gave a few words of encouragement casually. Afterwards, Zhou Hou and the others also came to the front slowly, and Wang Shiqin stepped forward to salute and greet him.

This is also the advantage of being the slaves of the Dongchang factory supervisor and Qianhu in charge, otherwise it would be inconvenient for foreign ministers to see the nobles in the harem at this time.

After everyone gathered, Wang Shiqin retreated quietly, leaving only Zhu Youjian's family and a group of eunuchs and maids who came to serve on the shore of Xiyuan Haizi.

Following Wang Chengen's order, the eunuchs and maids unloaded the long curtains from the carriage, began to set up barriers not far from the ice surface, and then lit the silver furnace charcoal basin to maintain a certain temperature.

Several strong eunuchs carried several ice beds to Haizi. Two iron chisels similar to Luoyang shovels stepped on the ice first, and after walking a short distance, they used the iron chisels to test the ice. The thickness of the surface, in case the ice surface is too thin, it will be dangerous.

"Daddy, how do you use that ice bed? Is it fun? Did you play with it when you were young?"

Seeing the eunuch busy on the ice, Kun Xing put on an impatient look while asking. Although Zhu Cihong tried his best to show a calm look, he couldn't hide his curiosity and eagerness anyway. look.

"Of course Daddy played it when he was a child, otherwise why would he think of bringing you here?
Come on, Daddy will show you a demonstration first!Ha ha! "

Seeing that the eunuch who was digging the ice had spent a long time and failed to dig through the ice, Zhu Youjian smiled and strode towards the ice. ice.

"It's a pity that there are no sled dogs, so we can only drive human power."

Zhu Youjian stepped onto the ice bed covered with soft cotton pads. Wang Chengen gave an order, and a strong eunuch with a few straw ropes under his boots gave a little push from behind, and the large ice bed began to move forward smoothly. OK.

"Push forward!"

Zhu Youjian noticed that the eunuch behind him didn't dare to use force, so he turned his head and ordered loudly. The eunuch bowed and pushed hard after hearing the sound, and the ice bed accelerated and rushed forward in an instant.

"I want me too!"

Seeing his father's hearty laughter from time to time on the fast-moving ice bed, Kun Xing ran onto the ice with a corner of his skirt in one hand, and got into a small ice bed ahead of Zhu Cihong. He bent down and pushed the ice bed to slide away.

Zhu Youjian slid two miles on the ice. After realizing that the eunuch pushing the ice bed was out of breath, he ordered to return to the shore. Wang Chengen, who had been following the ice bed, was not prepared enough. He fell several times along the way, which made Kun Xing, who was chasing after him, laugh out loud.

"Sister-in-law Huang, you guys hurry up and try it out, the joy of skating is really refreshing!

There are no outsiders here, and others can't see it. This kind of wildness is something you can't feel in ordinary times! "

Seeing that Zhang Yan and the others looked eager to try, but because of their status, they were too embarrassed to go up and try, Zhu Youjian who got off the ice bed smiled and explained.

Hearing the yelling and laughter of Kun Xing and others from a distance, Zhou Hou and others hesitated a little, then stepped onto the ice bed at the urging of Zhu Youjian, and several healthy women started Pushing them to chase Kunxing and others.

"Big Companion, are you not knocking? Go to the imperial physician and apply some safflower oil, otherwise it will hurt for several days!
Just stay here, I'm going fishing! "

Zhu Youjian saw Wang Chengen grinning at the side rubbing his waist and legs, and after a few words of instruction with a smile, he stepped on the smooth ice and faced the two ice-cutter eunuchs carefully. Wang Chengen wanted to follow up again, but just now As soon as he took a step, one leg was in unbearable pain, so he beckoned to two young eunuchs, who supported him and followed the car.

Zhu Youjian had long considered that someone might be injured, so Wang Chengen arranged for two imperial physicians to follow him.

It took a lot of effort for the two eunuchs to carve out two holes in the half-foot-thick ice. Zhu Youjian ordered one of them to bring the horse stalks and fishing gear, sit on the horse stalks, tie the fishing rods to the hooks, and float and fish food, and threw the hook into the hole.

When he was in the orphanage in the later generations, he and his friends often used crude fishing tackle to fish, and they still handle it with ease now.

It took only tens of breaths to throw the fishhook in, Zhu Youjian felt his hand sink, and saw the white float quickly sinking into the water, so he stood up quickly and raised his arms vigorously, a lively fish in the blink of an eye The big fish was caught. Amidst Zhu Youjian's laughter, an eunuch went up to catch the fish and took it off the hook.

"My lord, it's grass carp! It weighs two or three catties!"

The eunuch shouted loudly while holding the grass carp that was still writhing with both hands.

Kunxing, who was laughing loudly on the ice bed, turned his head to look at the movement here, and then yelled and ordered the eunuch to push the ice bed towards Zhu Youjian.

When Kunxing jumped off the ice bed and walked forward, he accidentally fell down. Zhu Youjian hurriedly threw away the fishing rod and pulled her up. It didn't hurt very much from the fall, but I laughed out loud, as if falling was also very happy.

After rehanging the fish food, Kun Xing threw the hook into the hole decently under the guidance of Zhu Youjian. At this time, a large number of fish that wanted to breathe fresh oxygen had gathered in this area. As soon as the fishhook was thrown into the water, the float was dragged into the water by the fish. Zhu Youjian hurriedly lifted it up with Kunxing's arm, and another fish weighing one catty was caught amidst Kunxing's cheers. up.

After a whole morning of play, around noon, some tired people returned to the palace with unsatisfied feelings after tasting the barbecue cooked by Zhu Youjian.

While Daming was immersed in the joyful atmosphere of the New Year, the Daming Mission, which was tens of thousands of miles away, was also traveling among European countries to complete various tasks assigned by Zhu Youjian.

(End of this chapter)