Optimus One Pillar of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 24 Settling in the Capital

Another set of epoch-making theories, this one by Yin Zhengmao and Zhang Juzheng, is about another epiphany.

To be honest, in this feudal society with extremely backward technology, the fastest mode of transportation was horseback riding.But the fastest speed of a horse is only sixty kilometers per hour!Moreover, horses are driven by flesh and blood. They are subject to the same physical limitations as humans. They cannot run at high speed for a long time, especially when carrying a heavy load.

So for an ordinary horse, if it runs hundreds of kilometers a day, it will be so tired that it just falls down.Precisely because the ancient army had poor maneuverability, the ancients did not have that sense of life and death in terms of the depth of national defense strategy.

But in modern society, damn, the military is fully mechanized, advancing in all directions by sea, land and air, with that kind of speed and that kind of sustainability, but you don’t have the depth of a national defense strategy. You can imagine how dangerous this is.

"Three gentlemen, we have arrived at the city gate. If the three gentlemen want the younger one to send the three gentlemen into the city, then the three gentlemen can pay the entry fee for the carriage and people. In addition, they will have to add twenty Wen’s car money.”

Just when Wang Daoqiu and the other three were frustrated because it was impossible for them and others to move the capital to the imperial court.The coachman announced that he had arrived at the city gate, and said that if he wanted to take him into the city, he would have to pay more.This is reasonable. After all, if someone sends you into the city, he certainly can’t pay for the entry fee!Moreover, if someone takes you to the city, it will take a lot of time, and they should ask you for an extra [-] cents.

Wang Daoqiu and the others had so much luggage. Of course, they couldn't get off the bus at the city gate and carry so much luggage into the city like stupid donkeys.So they told the coachman to go forward and they would pay the extra cost.

The carriage drove slowly to the city gate, because it was afternoon, and there were more people leaving the city than entering the city.Therefore, the queue entering the city at the city gate was not long, and soon it was Wang Daoqiu's turn.

Facing the soldiers guarding the city, Wang Daoqiu, Yin Zhengmao, and Zhang Juzheng took out their certificates of election and handed them to the soldiers.Everything is low-grade, but the only certificate for being a good scholar in the Ming Dynasty is a special pass.There is no need to go to the government to apply for a road guide, explain where you are going, what to do there, and wait for the government's approval.

Because of this effect, the soldier took the certificate and compared the physical characteristics recorded on the certificate with those of Wang Daoqiu and the others. After finding no problems, the soldier returned the certificate to Wang Daoqiu and the others. .

Then the soldiers did not ask the coachman. After all, the coachman usually ran the route from Tongzhou Pier to Beijing City, and he was familiar with the soldiers.Therefore, the soldiers did not ask or check, but said to Wang Daoqiu and the other three, "It costs ten coins for a carriage to enter the city, and three coins for a person to enter the city, for a total of thirteen coins."

Thirteen copper coins were not used to blackmail anyone, so Yin Zhengmao rushed to take out the copper coins, counted thirteen coins and handed them to the soldiers guarding the city gate.

After completing the procedure, Wang Daoqiu, Yin Zhengmao, and Zhang Juzheng got into the carriage again and drove toward the city.

"Brother Wang, Brother Wang, hey, Fatty, I've finally waited for you."

As soon as they left Wengcheng in the carriage, Wang Daoqiu heard the voice of the fat man Jiang Zhijian coming from the side of the road. He looked for the voice and saw the fat man running toward him with his body trembling.

Seeing that it was a fat man, Wang Daoqiu hurriedly asked the coachman to stop, and then shouted at the fat man: "Fatty, you have arrived in the capital first!"

"That is, I asked you to take my boat, but you still refused. Except for the occasional temporary docking because I need to buy some fresh vegetables and meat, my boat always moves forward bravely. It's not like you taking a passenger ship, and the owner of the ship just wants to To make money, we stop at a pier to pick up and drop off passengers. Let me tell you, I have been in the capital for three days, and I just sent my dad back this morning. Oh, by the way, my dad bought me one in the capital before he left. There are nine rooms in the small courtyard! Now we don’t have to stay in an inn."

While talking, Fatty ran up to Wang Daoqiu, and Wang Daoqiu introduced Fatty to Yin Zhengmao and Zhang Juzheng.At this time, the fat man also invited Yin Zhengmao and Zhang Juzheng to live with him.

When they first met, Yin Zhengmao and Zhang Juzheng were very embarrassed and refused to stay with Fatty, a person they had just met.But when Wang Daoqiu reminded them how noisy the inn was, they agreed.

After all, the current Ming Dynasty housing construction is not the reinforced concrete of later generations. Its current stairs and floors are all made of wood. Anyone who has lived in an old-fashioned wooden building in the countryside will understand the sound when people walk on it.

Everyone reached an agreement on where to live, so the fat man showed the way, and the carriage drove towards the small courtyard that the fat man's father had just bought.

Sitting on the carriage, Wang Daoqiu chatted with the fat man. Wang Daoqiu asked: "Fat man, why did your father think of buying a house in the capital?"

"Hey, isn't this a sign? If I buy a house in the capital, that means I have taken root in the capital. Doesn't it mean that I can pass the National Examination this time and become an official in the capital? This is good for my luck in the exam. . And the house is not far from the Imperial City. If you look up, you can see the Five Phoenix Tower on the Imperial City not far away. It’s a good sign!”

"Hahahaha"

"Hahahaha"

"Hahahahaha" The damn fat man didn't feel ashamed at all when he talked about these feudal superstitions. Instead, he looked obsessed and believed.This amused Wang Daoqiu, Yin Zhengmao, and Zhang Juzheng.

After laughing, Wang Daoqiu asked again: "Fat man, how much money did you spend on this house?"

"Not expensive, not expensive. Nine rooms plus a yard, less than an acre of land! The total cost is 170 forty taels of silver. The house I bought is in the east of Xicheng, and its name is Neigongjian Hutong. Because of that alley There is an inner palace supervisor’s office in the palace, so it’s called that. Brother Wang, do you know what this inner palace supervisor does?”

"I know the official positions and departments in the imperial court, but I really don't know much about the ones in this palace."

"Hey, let me tell you, this inner palace supervisor is one of the 24 yamen of the inner court. He is responsible for ten workshops of wood, stone, tile, soil, building materials, eastbound, westbound, paint, wedding, gunpowder, and the rice and salt warehouse , construction warehouse, and imperial altar warehouse. To put it bluntly, the inner palace supervisor is in charge of the craftsman workshops that work for the royal family and the construction of the royal projects. Therefore, on the streets less than two miles away from the inner palace supervisor alley, there are Half of the place is their workshop, and [-]% of the residents in the alley are craftsmen in his inner palace..."

The fat man talked more and more enthusiastically, and gradually started talking nonsense about some interesting things he heard about the inner palace prison in the past two days.

After chatting and laughing, the carriage arrived at the Neigongjian Alley. As soon as it arrived, the fat man pointed to a courtyard facing the street and said: "It turns out that Yaren recommended this house to my father. He said that it has three auxiliary buildings facing the street, so that he can open a shop in the future. Business. To be honest, my father was a little interested at first. He also wanted to open a silk shop in the capital. He could make more money by retailing directly. But then I thought about it. Our family has no foundation in the capital. What's the point? It’s unfair, so let’s forget it.”

"Furthermore, my father also considered that the house facing the street would be too noisy, which would affect my study. There are a lot of troubles in the capital, and those who live on the street would be the most troublesome. So in order to avoid those troubles, my father did not buy this house. The one facing the street, but I bought the sixth one from inside, the word "sixhun" means "good sign, good sign."

As he talked, the fat man turned to feudal superstition again. He really refused to change his nature!

But after the fat man finished talking about this set of feudal superstitions, the carriage arrived at the door of the fat man's house.As soon as he arrived here, the fat man shouted into the house: "Sister-in-law Qiu, come out and move things quickly."

"Oh, here we come."

After the fat man shouted, a middle-aged woman in her 30s ran out of the courtyard.As soon as the woman ran out, the fat man pointed at Wang Daoqiu and introduced him: "Sister-in-law Qiu, this young man is what I have often told you in the past two days, my good friend from childhood, our Zhejiang Provincial Examination Master Jieyuan Wang. "

"Oh, it turns out to be Mr. Jieyuan! Mr. Jieyuan, you are so polite."

While talking, the woman named Sister Qiu wished Wang Daoqiu a long blessing.After Qiu Sao saluted Wang Daoqiu, the fat man helped Qiu Sao introduce her to Zhang Juzheng and Yin Zhengmao, and Qiu Sao also saluted Yin Zhengmao and Zhang Juzheng one by one.

Wait for Sister Qiu to finish the ceremony to Wang Daoqiu, Yin Zhengmao and Zhang Juzheng.The fat man pointed to Qiu Sao and introduced Wang Daoqiu, Yin Zhengmao, and Zhang Juzheng: "This is Qiu Sao, who lives next door to us. Her husband's surname is Li, and he is a mason under the supervision of the inner palace. His ancestors were from Zhejiang Province. Later, he was sent by Emperor Chengzu to build the Forbidden City in Beijing, and then generations of people lived in Beijing. I hired Sister Qiu to do housework. If you have any work in the future, you can ask Sister Qiu to do it. "

After the fat man said these words to Wang Daoqiu, Yin Zhengmao and Zhang Juzheng, he turned to Sister Qiu and said: "Sister Qiu, we have more people and more work, and I can't let you suffer. The wages I promised you, Now double that.”

"Oh, it's true! Then thank you, Master Jiang. Thank you, Master Jiang."

"Okay, okay, I'll take my three friends to choose a room now, you stay here with the coachman, unload the things first!"

"Hey, hey, sir, you helped me. Leave the work here to me."

Mrs. Qiu was also happy to get the promise of doubling her wages, and she was full of energy to work.

Ignoring Sister-in-law Qiu who was very energetic at work, the fat man warmly greeted Wang Daoqiu, Yin Zhengmao, and Zhang Juzheng into the yard.As soon as he entered the yard, the fat man pointed to the houses and introduced: "This house has three main halls, the middle one is the living room and dining room; there are two wing rooms on the left and right sides; there is also a kitchen and storage for sundries The penthouse. What do you think, Brother Shi Ting, Brother Taiyue, Brother Wang, you can choose one of your own!"

The fat man put his hands on his waist, looking like a rich man, and asked Wang Daoqiu and the others to choose a house.In fact, there is no choice. Feudal ethics, seniority, seniority, and who should live in which room at home all have rules.

So everyone followed the rules. Yin Zhengmao was the oldest, and the ancients respected the left, so he lived in the first room on the left. Similarly, Zhang Juzheng lived in the first room on the right. But Wang Daoqiu, as a sign of modesty, did not go there. The second room on the left wing was available, but I chose the second room on the right wing.

(End of this chapter)