Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 119 Three Wu Cities
"The southeast is beautiful, Sanwu City is the capital, Qiantang has been prosperous since ancient times... It seems that Liu Sanbian is sincere and will not deceive me."

"Master Lin, who is Liu Sanbian?"

"That was a lyricist from the previous dynasty. He claimed that he was on an order to pick up girls. No, he was on an order to write lyrics..."

Lin Hai and others took three carriages and rushed from Shaoxing to West Lake. Hurrying slowly, they finally reached the south of Hangzhou.

Early in the morning the day before yesterday, Wu Mengren braved the heavy snow and came to the Xuji Inn where Lin Hai was staying, and agreed to Lin Hai's request not to pay a deposit.

After a short and friendly negotiation between the two parties, the final purchase price of raw silk was set at a discount of five taels per load compared to the market price, while the silk and satin were traded at the market price.

The reason why there was no lengthy bargaining was because Lin Hai immediately agreed to the price offered by Wu Mengren.

After the deposit, he no longer had any expectations for Master Ren Wu's character, and he was really afraid that he would breach the contract if he was pressed too hard.

At the same time, he had a vague feeling in his heart that his future cooperation with the Wu family might not be so smooth, and he had to make second-hand plans early to be safe.

After the Wu family's raw silk business was settled, Lin Hai was ready to go to West Lake to meet Wang Wei, the famous prostitute who was friends with Qian Qianyi.

Originally, he planned to take a sea ship like when he came to Shaoxing from Ningbo, but after asking Ruan Mei, he learned that there is no seaport west of Shaoxing on the south bank of Hangzhou Bay.

Zhipu Port, where the Cao'e River's outlet is located, is the westernmost port on the south bank of Hangzhou Bay, and is also where Li Haisuo met the Ruan family and his son for the first time.

This is because the coastline from Shaoxing to Hangzhou is a tidal expansion area. It is not only a straight coastline but also has many shoals. The conditions for building ports are far inferior to those along the coast from Ningbo to Shaoxing. The coastline of the latter is more tortuous and often protected by islands. There are many good harbors along the way.

Lin Hai did not know how to ride a horse, so he was dumbfounded when he learned that he could not take a boat to Hangzhou because the snow blocked the road and the horse-drawn carriage could not move.

The most deceiving thing is that the inland rivers in Zhejiang would also freeze during the Little Ice Age. Even large rivers such as the Qiantang River had ice periods that lasted for one or two months, and they were already three feet frozen at the moment.

At this time, Ruan Mei said to him: "Mr. Lin, please be relieved. Now that the snow has stopped, I expect that the carriage will be able to run away on the official road in a day at most."

Lin Hai was hesitant at first, but he went to the carriage shop early the next morning and asked, and sure enough, he was ready to hit the road.

The owner of the carriage and horse shop proudly said to Lin Hai: "The village has a prosperous population, which is unparalleled in the world. It also takes into account the local customs and likes to go out for fun. The snow scene was pleasant yesterday, and there were thousands of people trampling on the official road. In the second half of the night, it was actually You can already drive."

Lin Hai then quickly hired three carriages and headed to Hangzhou with his entourage.

As they traveled through the prefectures and counties, they saw fields in the countryside covering the fields, houses full of string chants in the city, chariots and boats hitting each other on the official road, and people rubbing shoulders on the shore of the town. It was indeed what the owner of the carriage and horse shop said: The population is prosperous and ranks among the best in the world."

Wu Lang and Lun Yi shared a car. The dense population near Hangzhou once again refreshed the upper limit of his knowledge. Not only him, but also Lun Yi, a young man who grew up in the Pearl River Estuary, felt that vision.

After all, Zhejiang was the most populous province in the Ming Dynasty, and Hangzhou Prefecture was the most densely populated place in Zhejiang.

There are nearly a million people in Hangzhou alone. If you include the population living outside the city walls, the number is probably no less than 200 million. This was a first-tier city in the world in the 17th century.

Lin Hai came from a later generation, so naturally he would not be surprised by the dense population in the land of Sanwu. What really surprised him was the openness of the people here.

Because the New Year is approaching, there are many people going out in the countryside to go out for incense and go to the market, and more than half of them are women.

Yesterday, Lin Hai and others also encountered a perfume market. There were so many girls and wives that they were even more popular than the busiest pedestrian street in the future.

At that time, a few people were eating in a tea pavilion next to the official road, and Waizui almost didn't care about eating. He kept peeking towards Xiangshi with a pair of sly moves.

As long as he sees someone with beautiful looks or graceful curves, his eyes will immediately become like a knife, gouging back and forth all over his body. Feng Yidao coughed several times without hearing him.

Until he got on the carriage, the guy was still looking back reluctantly, almost twisting his neck.

Lin Hai was riding in a carriage with Ruan Mei. He had long wanted to personally experience the social changes in Jiangnan in the late Ming Dynasty, so he kept the windows open to watch the scenery along the way. At the same time, he also chatted with Ruan Mei, a local, about local customs. .

When I walked to the outskirts of Hangzhou that day, I suddenly saw a cavalry of 80 people roaring past the official road. The dozen or so people headed by it were all young girls.

These girls all look to be no more than [-] years old. They wear mink tassels on their heads and military uniforms on their bodies. One is sitting on a python, and the other is embroidering a unicorn. Among them, one of them is wearing a bright yellow dragon-patterned shoulder strap. In terms of clothing, it is more transgressive than The military attaches of the Ming Dynasty were even worse.

Lin Hai was surprised. In his impression, female generals were not popular in the Ming Dynasty except for the southwestern chieftains. He couldn't help but curiously asked Ruan Meidao: "Who are these women?"

Ruan Mei smiled and replied: "I am probably the wife of a wealthy businessman. Sanwu people pay attention to having fun at all times. One of the great pleasures in winter is hunting, especially after it snows. The footprints of wild beasts are easy to follow."

Lin Hai suddenly realized that this was originally a hunting team, and he continued: "Why do you conclude that they are the wives and concubines of a wealthy businessman? Is it impossible that they are from an official family?"

Ruan Mei shook her head and said: "After all, official families have strict family traditions. Even if a woman wants to go out to hunt, most of them will be led by a man. The leaders of the group just now are all women, and the rest are domestic servants. Most of them are men from the family who are out on the road. Discussed."

Lin Hai sighed when he heard this: "I didn't expect that women from Jiangnan can also ride horses. This is the first time I have heard of it."

In fact, this is really rare for him. Although it is not common for women to ride horses in the Ming Dynasty, they are definitely not a minority.

Even Emperor Chongzhen's favorite concubine Tian Guifei was good at riding. Maybe she was favored because she was good at riding.

"There are some decent women who can ride horses, but there are more people singing in the courtyard. Of the dozen or so women just now, I only had to catch them with my eyelids and I knew they were from the courtyard."

Ruan Mei said with envy and continued: "That's why I said they must be the wives and concubines of a wealthy businessman. Official families rarely allow their children to marry so many singers."

The so-called singing in the courtyard is actually a verbal name for prostitutes.

There were not a few prostitutes who could ride horses in the Ming Dynasty. During the Wanli period, Xue Susu, who was known as one of the most talented women, was famous in Yanzhong for her unique skill of carrying bullets on a flying horse. She often rode around with Wuling young people, attracting crowds of people in the capital to watch.

Only then did Lin Hai realize that these handsome young girls were all from prostitution, and they were even more powerful than Ximen Qing if they could marry more than a dozen prostitutes.

This was not unusual in the Ming Dynasty. The regulations prohibiting merchants from taking concubines became a dead letter more than 100 years ago. Wu Tianxing, an Hui merchant during the Jiajing period, had more than a hundred wives and concubines, and was known as the master of hundreds of concubines. It is said that he was the prototype of Ximen Qing.

Lin Hai secretly felt ashamed. He traveled back to the late Ming Dynasty, an era full of turmoil. He only thought about making money and recruiting soldiers every day. He still only has one wife. He really felt sorry for the audience...

Well, don't worry, except for Ma Xianglan who has passed away, the other eight beauties of Qinhuai are still young.As for the straw-clad Taoist Wang Wei, he is an old lady and has been married before.To avoid being called a wife forest, I’d better forget it.

What made him even more ashamed was that he, a military attache, could not even ride a horse, even the prostitutes of the Ming Dynasty could not compete with him.

This must be practiced as soon as possible, otherwise you will only be ridden in the future.

He was also a little curious about Ruan Mei's past experience. This boy was in his twenties and looked like a social person. He didn't know how he got it, so he asked: "What did your boy do before he became the team leader?" For what?"

"Lord Lin, you know, I used to work as a prostitute in the courtyard, commonly known as a prostitute. Later, my father came back from North Korea and wouldn't let me do this business. He had to drag me to be a gang leader."

Ruan Mei said, "Fortunately, Mr. Lin brought me back, otherwise he wouldn't have killed me at sea."

When Lin Hai heard this, he suddenly realized that this guy was Ximen Qing's sworn brother Ying Earl, a first-rate figure.

As the saying goes, "A good singer is no better than a singer, a thief is no better than a silversmith, and a thief is no better than a silversmith." These people also have their strengths, but the key is to use them in the right place.

While they were talking, three carriages had arrived at the Waiting Gate in the southeast of Hangzhou City.

Ruan Mei asked: "Master Lin, do you want to enter the city? If you go directly to see the Taoist priest in grass clothes, it will be faster to go around the city."

Lin Hai had seen the map of Hangzhou in this era. The West Lake was not far from Hangzhou City, and the Broken Bridge was at the northwest corner of the city wall a little further west. He thought for a while and said, "If we go now, when can we get there?"

Ruan Mei replied: "If we walk faster, we should be almost there before dark."

Lin Hai looked at the sky. The sun was hanging slanting in the sky. It should be Shenzheng time at this time, so he asked: "How big is the city of Hangzhou? It takes an hour to go around from southeast to northwest by carriage?"

"Then you have to run as fast as you can. The city wall of Hangzhou is forty miles long." Ruan Mei continued, "I heard that it was twice as long in the Song Dynasty. Later, it was demolished by the Mongolian Tatars. This city is still It was rebuilt by King Zhang back then."

The so-called King Zhang refers to Zhang Shicheng. This hero of the late Yuan Dynasty who was born in Yanhu has a good reputation in the Jiangnan area, and the people generally call him King Zhang.

It is said that Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty was very unhappy about this and sent people to spy on who was speaking favorably about Zhang Shicheng. When these spies saw someone whispering, they would yell "Don't talk about Zhang". From this, "talking about Zhang" became a common practice in southern Jiangsu. A common saying of , which probably means chatting.

But in the late Ming Dynasty, a period of unprecedented freedom of speech, no one cared about these. On the birthday of King Zhang, many people in Jiangnan would tie dragon grass and burn Jiusi incense in front of their doors to publicly pay homage to the mortal enemy of Ming Taizu.

After hearing Ruan Mei's words, Lin Hai said: "It's not good to kick down the widow's door at night. Let's find a place to stay in the city today, and it won't be too late to go to Broken Bridge tomorrow."

Ruan Mei smiled and said: "Wang Wei is not a widow. Her ex-husband is still alive and well. I heard that he is now the deputy commander-in-chief in Liaodong."

Wang Wei's ex-husband is Mao Yuanyi, the author of "Wu Bei Zhi", and her good sister Yang Wan also married into the Mao family with her.

Later, Wang Wei saw that Mao Yuanyi was treating Yang Wan better than himself, so he left the Mao family and returned to his old business.However, this Taoist priest in grass clothes is also free and easy, and he still has many contacts with Mao and Yang. Perhaps this is a peaceful breakup in the Ming Dynasty.

Lin Hai also heard Xu Yilong say that a big reason why he valued Wang Wei so much was because of her unusual relationship with Mao Yuanyi.

And behind Mao Yuanyi is a heavyweight - the emperor's master Sun Chengzong.

However, Lin Hai didn't need to tell Ruan Mei about this reason. He just asked, "Where are there more government offices in the city? Take me to see them first."

Ruan Mei then ordered the coachman to continue westward and enter the city from Zhengyang Gate to Yu Street.

This street was originally built by Qian Liu, King of Wuyue during the Five Dynasties period. At that time, it was a main road in front of the palace of King Wuyue, running through the north and south of Hangzhou City, and was more than ten miles long.

At that time, the city wall of Hangzhou was 20 miles long. It was built by Qian Liu who recruited [-] people. After Lin'an was established as the capital in the Southern Song Dynasty, it was further expanded and the street running from north to south was changed into Imperial Street. This name was used until the Ming Dynasty.

The length and width of the Imperial Street in Hangzhou during the Ming Dynasty were not as long as those of the previous generation, but it also surprised Lin Hai Xiaoxiao. He only heard Ruan Mei say from the side: "Further ahead there are all kinds of government offices. We have to get off the car and walk."

Lin Hai nodded and said to Ruan Mei: "You, Feng Yidao and Waizui are waiting here. I will take Lun Yi and Wu Lang down for a walk."

Lin Hai took the two people walking north along Yu Street. The first thing he saw was the Zhejiang Chengxuan Political Envoy Office to the west of the street.

It is a very grand building, surrounded by courtyard walls. There are three tall stone archways in front of the door. From a distance, you can see the cornices and brackets and the dense palaces inside.

"Guess who lives here?" Lin Hai asked Wu Lang with a smile, and Lun Yi was translating for him.

Wu Lang looked at the feudal government office and was stunned for a while. After a while, he said: "Is this the residence of the gods?"

Lin Hai shook his head and said: "He is not a god, but a person just like you. He is an official of the Ming Dynasty. He governs the people for the Ming Emperor I told you about last time. There are about 2000 million people under his control."

After he finished speaking, he was afraid that the word 1000 million did not exist in the language of the Basai people, so he added: "Well... there are probably tens of thousands of people in the Jinbaoli Society."

If he had heard Lin Hai say this before coming to Ming Dynasty, Wu Lang would have thought he was talking nonsense.But after seeing the dense population in Sanwu Land, he no longer had any doubts.

"Even if such a person is not a god, he is almost like a god." Wu Lang murmured to himself after hearing this. For primitive animist beliefs, the humanity of gods actually far exceeds divinity, so they are not taboo. Compare gods to humans.

"But in the eyes of Emperor Ming, the person living here is like an ant in your eyes. As long as Emperor Ming moves his fingers, this person's head can be moved soon."

Lin Hai said and continued to walk forward: "This yamen is called Suhang Weaving Department. The people living here are responsible for sewing clothes for the Ming Emperor... Don't get me wrong, he doesn't sew by himself, he manages thousands of people who work for the emperor." A person who sews clothes, regardless of the few people he manages, is much more powerful than the person who lived in the yamen just now."

"This man sounds a bit pitiful. He was originally a servant of the emperor. In order to prevent him from having an affair with the emperor's women, his lower body was slashed with a knife. By the way, do you know how many women the emperor has? That's it. Let’s face it, even if I sleep one night a night, I’m afraid I won’t be able to get enough sleep in my life.”

Lin Hai led Lun No. [-] and Wulang all the way, followed by Zhejiang Dusi, Hangzhou Qianwei, Hangzhou Youwei, Hangzhou Fu Yamen, Qiantang County Yamen, Renhe County Yamen, as well as Huangceku, Salt Transportation Department, Water Conservancy Road, Ti Xue Dao, Qing Military Dao...

Most of the yamen in Hangzhou City were located in this area. Lin Hai selected a few and told Wu Lang roughly who lived there and what kind of work they did for the Ming Emperor.

Finally, Lin Hai asked Wu Lang with a smile: "I plan to make you the emperor of Dongfan, what do you think?"

　Happy National Day to all my book friends!Lao Zhu spent more than ten hours coding this chapter, and the number of words deleted was almost the same as what was left.This is not counting the time for flipping through books. In order to write this chapter, I have read the books of Ming history experts such as Wan Ming, Fan Shuzhi, Chen Baoliang, Li Bozhong, Shang Zhuan, Han Dacheng, etc. I just want to focus on writing about Jiangnan in the late Ming Dynasty in this chapter. With a free and open style, I feel that the final product is barely passable.Some people may think it's watery, but Lao Zhu really wants to unfold a late Ming version of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" in front of everyone in this book. That era is far away from us, but it should not be forgotten, because it contains The vitality of the Chinese nation.Especially when I think about the later Manchu Qing invasion, it was like a piece of fine porcelain being smashed to pieces. The so-called tragedy is nothing more than this...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)